Chapter 124 : Chapter 124
Chapter 124. Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable (7)
Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk was by no means an omniscient or omnipotent being.
Even if his realm had reached an absolute height, he was still no more than a mortal.
He could not oppose every monster in the world, nor could he resolve every strange calamity that unfolded beneath the heavens.
‘My existence is closer to a final bulwark.’
When a calamity arises that no one else can withstand, Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk will stake everything he has to block it.
However, judging by the way the world currently turned, even that was hardly reassuring.
‘Even if I risk my life to stop one calamity, another may yet follow.’
The Heavenly Demon had warned of an unprecedented disaster. The Divine Maiden had prophesied the descent of the Demon Emperor. His own intuition pointed in the same direction.
The manifestation of a Monster King was something that occurred ritually once every decade or so.
But a Demon Emperor was different.
The term itself existed only because there was nothing else to call it. In truth, it was a cataclysmic existence of such rank that even the legendary Great Luo Immortals would struggle to approach.
‘That is why, Jeok-san, this world needs you.’
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle swallowed the words he wanted to speak as he looked at his disciple’s back.
There was no need to burden him already.
Once Dam Jeok-san could manifest a universe within himself, he would naturally realize it—the fact that the fate of the world beneath his feet hung by a thread.
His fingertips touched his disciple’s Life Gate acupoint. Immediately, a single thread of Genuine Qi flowed along the acupoints.
Within that Qi dwelled the will Man Su-geuk had accumulated over the course of his entire life.
What could that will accomplish?
It could forge Astral Qi capable of destroying all things. It could also twist providence itself and bring forth the miracle of annihilating space entirely.
Of course, that was only when Man Su-geuk acted personally.
For Dam Jeok-san to imitate such miracles was exceedingly difficult.
No—under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible. The instant Man Su-geuk’s Qi, carrying both form and will, raced through Dam Jeok-san’s acupoints, his body would have exploded.
Not qi deviation.
Quite literally, his acupoints would have swollen, crushing bone and tearing flesh apart.
An unembellished violent death.
But Dam Jeok-san was currently inside his own consciousness world. Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk could tell that through intuition and experience alone.
‘I do not know how that is possible.’
To manifest a consciousness world and enter it was a privilege reserved for only a handful of experts who had reached the Entering Transformation Realm.
It was not something achievable merely through high cultivation.
One had to cultivate a specific martial art bordering on sorcery, and attain the corresponding enlightenment.
‘It is impossible even for me.’
The Heavenly Demon, inheritor of the Ming Cult’s martial lineage, could manifest a consciousness world. Aside from him, Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk had never personally seen anyone else capable of such a feat.
Then why could his disciple, who had not even reached the Entering Transformation Realm, enter his own consciousness world?
He could not know for certain, but if he were to hazard a guess—
‘Perhaps it is a fragment or trace left behind by some transcendent being.’
If there existed someone who had reached a realm where they could not only manifest a consciousness world but also pass it on to others with tangible substance, then it might be possible.
It was not an entirely groundless speculation. Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk believed that Dam Jeok-san had inherited the legacy of some transcendent existence.
If he wished, he could have forcibly intruded into that consciousness world and uncovered the truth.
But he did not.
‘At the very least, it is not something impure.’
That alone was confirmed through the act of passing on his Qi. If so, there was no further reason for him to involve himself.
The Martial Sovereign took a step back and watched Dam Jeok-san.
By now, an awe-inspiring, ferocious aura was boiling violently from his disciple’s body.
***
Dam Jeok-san’s mental image world was entirely red.
As though bloodstains were entangled from the smallest units that composed the world itself.
‘Keuk.’
A suffocating pressure seized Dam Jeok-san’s chest.
That dreadful crimson hue was threaded through with thoughts.
Hatred, rage, and fear toward him—the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s lingering thoughts.
Even though this was his own consciousness world, those thoughts exerted an overwhelming pressure, enough to make him feel that he might lose control of his body the moment he let his guard down.
Yet Dam Jeok-san knew better than anyone that even this was a luxury.
Even with the Martial Sovereign’s aid, the situation had only reached this point because he had personally cut down the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable.
Had he encountered the man within his consciousness world without properly subduing him first, Dam Jeok-san would likely have already lost his sanity.
Left Protector of the Blood Palace.
A superhuman who had reached a realm comparable to the Eight Sovereigns of Murim.
Such a being possessed power of that magnitude.
‘Still, at least now, I can handle it.’
Thinking so, Dam Jeok-san lightly swung both swords.
KRRRRAAACK!
With that casual slash, the blood mist shattered apart, revealing the pristine white true form of the consciousness world beneath.
However, Dam Jeok-san’s expression did not brighten.
‘The sword did not reach the origin.’
The sensation was far too dull for something that had been truly torn apart. It felt as though the sword force had been completely absorbed.
As if to confirm his ominous premonition, the blood mist swelled once more and flooded the world again.
‘So it cannot be cut so easily after all?’
There had been a reason the Martial Sovereign had infused him with Qi.
…He had said that Dam Jeok-san might be able to imitate the Space Sword once.
Dam Jeok-san generally trusted his master’s words.
But the Space Sword?
How was he supposed to replicate that?
The Space Sword the Martial Sovereign had unleashed after seizing his twin swords was branded into Dam Jeok-san’s vision like an indelible mark.
Because of that, he knew with certainty that it was far too lofty a technique for a half-baked Ultra-Peak expert who had yet to reach the Entering Transformation Realm.
But if not the Space Sword, how was he supposed to deal with that blood-red mist embedded into space itself?
He could not find a sharp answer to that question.
And for one who had found no answer, the blood mist surged toward him.
SHRK!
Naturally, the blood mist scattered easily when struck with a blade.
But only for a moment.
Soon, it clumped together again, thickening as it expanded.
Dam Jeok-san swallowed a sigh and swung his sword once more, resolved to keep cutting until it worked.
But it was futile.
From the simplest vertical and horizontal slashes, to techniques like Red-White Extreme Smoke Slash and Grievance-Extinguishing One Slash—no matter what he unleashed, the result was the same.
After a brief delay, the blood mist returned, and only a crimson landscape that gnawed at his sanity greeted him.
Damn it.
He cursed aloud.
He would rather have been facing the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable himself. The man was an overwhelmingly powerful foe, but at least he could be wounded.
This blood mist, however, could not be cut at all.
Unless he truly imitated the Space Sword.
‘…I suppose I have no choice.’
Dam Jeok-san exhaled slowly and adjusted his stance.
The very same preparatory posture the Martial Sovereign had used when unleashing the Space Sword.
‘No, that will not work.’
The moment he tried to mimic it, he shook his head. That was not a swordsman’s stance.
The Martial Sovereign had simply assumed whatever posture was comfortable. He had possessed the confidence to cut space regardless of stance.
Dam Jeok-san was different.
He assumed a posture suited to the sword art most familiar to him.
The preparatory stance of the Three Talents Sword Technique—Path of the Immortal.
Path of the Immortal was a simple thrust.
Yet even Grievance-Extinguishing One Slash, the fastest quick-sword strike Dam Jeok-san could perform, originated from this very thrust.
Simplicity did not make it insignificant.
Moreover, when Dam Jeok-san had first taken up the sword, the Martial Sovereign had made him repeat this single technique day and night without pause.
To Dam Jeok-san, Path of the Immortal was deeply familiar, ingrained into his very being.
Holding that stance, Dam Jeok-san slowly drew up his Genuine Qi from his Dantian.
The first energy that responded with a dull tug was the power Martial Sovereign Man Su-geuk had planted within him.
A domineering force so tyrannical that, had this not been within his consciousness world, it would likely have torn his acupoints apart and exploded his body.
‘Ah.’
The instant he drew it up, Dam Jeok-san understood why the Martial Sovereign had said he might be able to imitate the Space Sword once.
Man Su-geuk’s Qi was truly cataclysmic. Simply channeling it into his blade and releasing it felt like it might sweep away more than half of the blood mist in one stroke.
‘But that would be meaningless.’
Even if he erased it entirely, the blood mist would only swell and rise again.
That was the true nature of the thoughts left behind by the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable.
It had to be overcome with power of the same rank.
‘…Wanting to devour the power he left behind is, in the end, my own desire.’
So he had to endure it.
Even if that meant meeting absurdly difficult conditions.
‘Because I need his power.’
If he devoured the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable and thoroughly digested his strength, he would likely gain enough ability to confront even the sealed thoughts of Wi Cheon-rak.
‘Of course, this will not let me reach the Entering Transformation Realm.’
Dam Jeok-san had only just reached the level where he could be called a fully mature Ultra-Peak expert.
Yet he could faintly glimpse what lay beyond.
That was probably thanks to the Ability of Predation.
Even though sealed, he had devoured beings who had reached the Entering Transformation Realm.
But that was not all.
Without the insight to interpret those principles and laws, even knowledge would have rotted uselessly within him.
‘So… I can do this.’
Do what?
—The Space Sword.
Yes. He could unleash the Space Sword.
Because this was a consciousness world.
A consciousness world.
A place where one was, at the very least, free from the limitations of the physical body.
Here, no matter how many times one died, one could revive—so long as the mind did not collapse.
Without hesitation, Dam Jeok-san loaded Man Su-geuk’s Qi onto his blade.
KRRRRAAAAAACK!!
A bizarre sound echoed from within his body—the sound of acupoints tearing apart and bones twisting. Naturally, this was accompanied by pain so intense his mind nearly went blank.
It was agony beyond anything he had ever experienced.
Even when his Dantian had shattered, its fragments lodging throughout his acupoints and twisting his qi and blood, it had not hurt this much.
That was only natural.
The human body was designed to die long before enduring pain of this magnitude.
Yet Dam Jeok-san endured it and extended his hand.
His acupoints tore apart, his body ruptured—he did not care.
Skin peeled away, ribs were laid bare, then those ribs themselves shattered into fragments. Soon after, even the muscles of his shoulder, meant to wield the sword, completely burst apart.
Under normal circumstances, he should not have been able to move at all.
But will was a force that projected intent beyond reality itself.
Though his muscles had ruptured, Dam Jeok-san’s sword continued to advance.
Three Talents Sword Technique—Path of the Immortal.
To manifest that simple thrust, Dam Jeok-san burned away his entire being.
By all rights, everything within his vision should have already burst and burned away, leaving him blind.
Yet Dam Jeok-san saw the thrust slowly push the entire consciousness world aside.
To pierce space meant to pierce everything upon which humans stood.
Perhaps even time itself.
That was why the Space Sword was an ultimate technique.
And why it could never be imitated with shallow enlightenment or an incomplete body.
Yet he succeeded nonetheless.
That was partly because Man Su-geuk’s Qi carried with it all the will and formulas necessary to manifest the Space Sword.
But above all—
‘Because my mind could endure it.’
That was why he could unleash it.
Dam Jeok-san never underestimated himself.
Within the consciousness world, his physical body had already turned into a handful of ash.
There was no trace of it to be found anywhere.
And at the same time—
The thoughts and blood mist left behind by the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable were completely annihilated.
The single thrust of Path of the Immortal swept away space itself, erasing even those thoughts entwined within space at the smallest level.
But this was not the end.
Dam Jeok-san was keenly aware that his physical body had been completely erased.
This was not a serious problem.
No—this was not a serious problem.
Within the consciousness world, he could reconstruct his body.
‘I can reconstruct it…’
The issue was that this reconstruction would not occur naturally.
He would have to recreate and stitch together his body piece by piece through sheer will.
Needless to say, it would not be easy.
A single mistake could twist his acupoints or attach his limbs backward.
Losing an arm or leg might be something he could laugh off.
In the worst case, however, his meridians and heart channels could be severed, leaving him with a crippling condition, or rendering him forever incapable of forming a Dantian.
Still, Dam Jeok-san took a deep breath.
And slowly began restoring himself.
Putting it off would not make it any easier.