Chapter 344 : Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable
Chapter 344: Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable
【I will open the gate.】
Several hundred blade scales detached from the Dragon King's Scale and formed a ring roughly two zhang in diameter.
Into the ring flowed the power absorbed from the True Immortal, along with all the energy they had gathered until now.
While Lei Yunli, who had been absorbed into the Dragon King's Scale, opened the gate, Jang Woo-hyun recalled the battle from moments ago.
Whenever Lee Tae-seong fought True Immortals or Martial Gods, he overwhelmed them through absolute ability and power.
He predicted the future to evade or block attacks.
When he swung his sword, it could even affect the past and nullify the time that had accumulated.
Before such power, whether Fate was twisted or not hardly mattered.
Since interfering with time was a technique that even Jang Woo-hyun could not imitate, the memories of battles fought in the Upper Realm had not been particularly useful in practice.
However, after fighting the Demonic Dragon Sovereign personally this time, Jang Woo-hyun had gained a new power.
A sword that severed the causality of twisted destiny.
A sword that transcended space.
It had only been a single battle, yet he had gained much.
Only now could he properly understand the abilities of the True Immortals and Martial Gods that he had indirectly experienced through Lee Tae-seong's memories.
Until now, his own level had been insufficient to fully absorb those experiences.
'If True Immortals are only at this level, then this is more than manageable.'
Using the Blood World Eight-Headed Demonic Dragon Sovereign as a standard, he could fight at least three, perhaps even five or more True Immortals simultaneously.
'That True Immortal showing up actually worked in my favor.'
His timely battle against the Demonic Dragon Sovereign had allowed Jang Woo-hyun to take another step forward.
Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he spoke.
"Wait. Stop for a moment."
【Pardon?】
"I said stop."
The energy within the blue-glowing ring diminished.
Jang Woo-hyun wondered if he had overlooked something.
Is it really right to go like this?
What were the chances that a dying race in a shattered world would send a signal to a True Immortal?
And what were the odds of encountering such a race?
If he chose to think positively, it was certainly possible.
After all, Jang Woo-hyun had not arrived there immediately, and the True Immortal might have spent ages pretending to show mercy to the Wood Spirit Clan while making preparations.
'But something still bothers me.'
Regardless of probability, something felt wrong.
'The timing was too perfect.'
Just after Lei Yunli lamented that it would be nice if at least one True Immortal appeared because they lacked enough power, one had appeared and attacked them.
Moreover, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had known about Lee Tae-seong's regressions and preparations, orchestrating everything.
Someone like that could not possibly be this careless.
'It can't all be a dream.'
Although he had shattered the illusion created by the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable, that experience had planted seeds of doubt.
Could everything be an illusion?
Could he have entered another world?
Those thoughts continued to linger.
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had failed to imprison Jang Woo-hyun inside a false world, but if his true objective had been to sow suspicion and distrust, then his plan had effectively succeeded.
Jang Woo-hyun examined both his surroundings and his own mind.
Nothing seemed suspicious.
He sensed no unusual power.
His gaze turned toward the ring before him.
The gate Lei Yunli was creating by gathering the remnants and fragments left behind by the True Immortals.
Looking at it now, he noticed something else that was strange.
'Why is their power still here?'
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had been collecting every bit of power to resurrect his true body, which had become Heaven itself.
He had forcibly opened the Heavenly Gate, halting the world's development.
He had forcibly made martial artists Ascend.
He had even used the Regressor Lee Tae-seong to eliminate the Martial Gods and True Immortals of the Upper Realm.
For someone like that to leave behind the remnants and fragments of True Immortals simply did not make sense.
'What is this...?'
Once suspicion began, one question led to another.
After pondering alone for a long while, Jang Woo-hyun grasped the Dragon King's Scale, which still retained the form of a sword despite its blade scales having separated.
"What if heading to the Palace of Myriad Immortals itself is the trap?"
If everything had been arranged by the True Immortal, then meeting the Wood Spirit Clan, leaving behind the powers of the True Immortals, and the arrival of the Demonic Dragon Sovereign could all be explained.
In response to his question, the Dragon King's Scale vibrated, conveying its will.
【Knowing his personality, there will certainly be traps waiting for us. He must have prepared quite the welcome.】
Though it was Lei Yunli's voice, the tone and atmosphere were different.
The Dragon King's Scale itself was speaking through her voice.
【Even so, we can deal with it. He is not strong.】
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable was the Avatar of the Great Luo Emperor Who Destroys Heaven after he became Heaven itself.
Though he had been called the vanguard of the Palace of Myriad Immortals, he was never among the strongest of the True Immortals.
Had he truly possessed overwhelming power, he would never have needed Lee Tae-seong to eliminate the beings of the Upper Realm.
【He cannot move right now because he is preparing the resurrection of his true body. The one who needs time isn't us—it's him. We simply have to attack before his plan is complete. Besides, this very hesitation may itself be his trap.】
He had shown Jang Woo-hyun illusions and planted the seed of doubt.
Just as the Dragon King's Scale suggested, perhaps this very uncertainty was the True Immortal's objective all along.
【With the power we possess now, we can win.】
Jang Woo-hyun, who had reached the Primordial Unity Realm, was powerful.
So powerful that he had quickly lost interest while fighting True Immortals.
His strength had already exceeded all conventional limits.
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable was more than a manageable opponent.
【There is no other option anyway. If we give him more time, we will only place ourselves at a disadvantage. Are you afraid?】
Jang Woo-hyun shook his head.
"No."
He was not afraid.
He could fight True Immortals as much as necessary.
He wanted to end everything.
Yet at the same time, he still questioned the current situation.
The one who had manipulated even Lee Tae-seong, who repeated regressions countless times, possessed frighteningly deep schemes.
Everything had been proceeding far too smoothly.
【Remember this. You are the exception.】
Sensing his concern, the Dragon King's Scale added another remark.
Jang Woo-hyun was an existence that even Lee Tae-seong, who could glimpse the future, had failed to perceive.
He was a martial artist beyond all predictions and calculations.
【Trust your own strength. I have made preparations as well, so stop worrying. We've already come this far. There is no reason to give him more time.】
If even these doubts and suspicions had been intentionally planted by the True Immortal, then there was no reason to dance to his tune.
A short while later.
Jang Woo-hyun finished thinking and decided to head toward the Palace of Myriad Immortals.
When he told Lei Yunli to reopen the gate, she activated her power once more.
Rumble!
With the roar of thunder, the inside of the ring formed by the blade scales changed from blue to pure white.
【It is ready now.】
Her tone and atmosphere changed once again.
At Lei Yunli's words, Jang Woo-hyun stepped toward the white ring.
Baekmu and the Dragon King's Scale were already in his hands.
Without realizing it, he tightened his grip.
Once he crossed this ring, he would finally meet the one with whom he had shared a long-standing enmity.
He stepped into the ring.
Click. Clatter.
The blade scales forming the ring returned to him.
Jang Woo-hyun's figure disappeared.
He passed through the gate and headed for the Palace of Myriad Immortals.
Just as when he had Ascended from the Lower Realm, he flew rapidly through a world of pure white.
Within only a few breaths, he passed through the passage and arrived somewhere unimaginably distant.
The scene before his eyes was completely different from where he had just been.
Instead of a pitch-black universe without a single star, another cosmos stretched before him, filled with countless stars.
In the distance stood a white palace.
And between the palace and Jang Woo-hyun—
An uncountable number of puppets filled the space.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say they filled the entire universe.
He could not determine the exact number.
At the very least, there were several billion.
Perhaps far more.
Some were roughly the size of humans.
Others were as large as small moons.
Every one of them looked different.
And that was not all.
Rumble! Rumble!
An enormous ship bearing two stars that shone like suns continuously released more puppets.
Just as expected, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had prepared everything.
【The Grand Heavenly Net Ship (宏弘天羅船)... Wasn't it destroyed?】
"What is that?"
【Long ago, it served as the gatekeeper of the Palace of Myriad Immortals. Some say it was originally a sentient treasure that modified itself until it became a True Immortal. Others claim it was a True Immortal who transformed his own body into a treasure.】
"That ship is a treasure?"
【Yes. I believed it had been destroyed, but it seems to have been restored. It is also the craftsman that forges treasures for the True Immortals.】
Boom!
Perhaps Lei Yunli's explanation had served as the signal.
The ship, larger than two suns combined, slowly turned its hull.
At the same time, every puppet raised its head and stared at Jang Woo-hyun.
As billions upon billions of gazes focused on him, the pressure alone was overwhelming.
The scale of it completely defied common sense and the laws of physics.
He had witnessed many strange things in the Middle Heaven Realm.
But the Upper Realm existed on an entirely different level.
True Immortals larger than planets.
Billions—perhaps even tens of billions—of puppets.
And a ship larger than the sun itself.
Everything exceeded his expectations.
"But how many resources would it even take to build something that massive?"
A ship larger than the sun itself, emitting its own light.
Even hundreds of planets would hardly be enough material.
【Divine True Iron.】
Lei Yunli relayed the Dragon King's Scale's answer.
Jang Woo-hyun immediately understood.
Strictly speaking, the Divine True Iron that formed the material for the Monkey King's Ruyi Staff and Jang Woo-hyun's Baekmu was not an ordinary metal.
Weapons forged from Divine True Iron could transform into any shape when infused with Thought Fragments.
The Ruyi Staff could become a pillar vast enough to support the world itself.
Jang Woo-hyun could use Baekmu to summon the Eight Desolations Heavenly Sword God within his Microcosm.
Since Divine True Iron could become anything and expand to any size, such an absurd scale was entirely possible.
That was also why the colossal ship larger than the sun moved without causing spatial distortion or possessing any noticeable mass.
【You shall not reach the palace.】
【You shall not reach the palace.】
【You shall not reach the palace.】
Countless puppets spoke in unison.
【Meet your death here.】
The puppets moved in perfect unison.
Treasures, spells, and beams of light filled one side of the universe.
At that moment—
The Dragon King's Scale trembled.
As though declaring that it would handle the battle itself, it conveyed its intention.
Jang Woo-hyun threw the Dragon King's Scale.
Its blade scales separated and transformed into silver-scaled dragons.
One became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Before long, tens of thousands of dragons of every size stood against the puppets.
Explosions engulfed every direction as dragons and puppets collided.
Each movement of a silver-scaled dragon destroyed hundreds of puppets.
Yet thousands upon thousands more charged endlessly at the dragons.
Amid the explosions and shockwaves decorating the universe, one dragon flew over and lifted Jang Woo-hyun onto its head.
【Leave this place to me.】
The dragon carrying Jang Woo-hyun flew toward the battlefield.
The puppets rushed to stop him, while beams of light poured from the colossal ship in the distance.
Yet the silver-scaled dragons moved to intercept every attack.
"You'll be fine on your own?"
【Do not worry about something at this level. Absorbing the Divine True Iron will only benefit me.】
Passing through the battlefield that filled the universe, Jang Woo-hyun and the silver-scaled dragon arrived before the white palace.
【Call upon me when you require my strength. I will finish things here shortly.】
The silver-scaled dragon revealed his true name before returning to the battlefield.
After watching the battle between dragons and puppets for a moment, Jang Woo-hyun stepped into the white palace.
A palace where everything was white.
Columns hundreds of zhang tall lined an eerily vast corridor.
Although this was his first actual visit, his consciousness had once entered this place while fighting a cultivator of the Ascension Cult.
Unlike before, Jang Woo-hyun now walked through it in person, observing his surroundings.
Between the intricate and magnificent carvings decorating the walls and pillars—
There were peculiar engraved images.
Jang Woo-hyun examined them one by one.
A planet resembling Earth.
And above it, a gate.
'The Heavenly Gate... and the Closed World.'
A chaotic world that looked as though demons had been fused together.
'The Demon Realm.'
Formless monsters of unknown appearance moving from outside the world toward its interior.
'Outer Gods.'
He had never seen these images before.
There were no written explanations.
Yet without anyone telling him, Jang Woo-hyun instinctively understood what they represented.
'So this is the knowledge Baekan witnessed.'
After studying several of the carvings, Jang Woo-hyun continued onward.
Although he walked at a leisurely pace, he soon emerged from the long corridor.
What awaited him was not another chamber of the palace.
It was yet another universe.
Countless stars surrounded him.
A river of stars resembling the Milky Way stretched across space, shimmering with rainbow-colored light.
Opposite the corridor from which he had emerged—
Beneath a heart stitched together from pieces of differently colored flesh, upon a shattered jade throne, sat a single figure.
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
His ancient nemesis.
The one who had obstructed his Ascension and targeted both Jang Woo-hyun and Kim Min-su.
The True Immortal who had twisted the destinies of those living in both the Middle Heaven Realm and the Lower Realm, manipulated their memories, and sought to summon his true body that had become Heaven itself.
Toward the one who had started everything—
And who could finally bring everything to an end—
Jang Woo-hyun took a step forward.