Almighty God of War - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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166

 

Crack!

 

The transparent barrier disappeared like a mirage.

 

At the same time, Guyang Cheongang stopped circulating the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.

 

The Taiji Mixed Origin Energy that had been rotating in his dantian ceased its movement, and the internal energy flowing through his meridians returned to his dantian.

 

Whoooosh!

 

As if it had been waiting, the blazing white flames engulfed Guyang Cheongang’s entire body.

 

Seol Hyang-yeong screamed.

 

“Young Master Guyang!”

 

It was a horrifying sight, but what happened next was beyond people’s imagination.

 

The white flames writhed madly as they wrapped around Guyang Cheongang’s body, but the heat rapidly decreased.

 

No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it disappeared.

 

The white flames that enveloped his body couldn’t burn him and merely swayed as if dancing.

 

[Analysis complete. The white flames only react to circulating internal energy. Now that Doctor’s internal energy has completely stopped, the white flames can no longer penetrate.]

 

Guyang Cheongang slowly exhaled.

 

Seol Hyang-yeong spoke with a trembling voice.

 

“Really… really…”

 

“Stop circulating the Ice White Divine Art completely. Settle your dantian’s internal energy and absolutely do not circulate it.”

 

Seol Hyang-yeong hesitated.

 

Stopping the martial arts she had practiced her entire life in such a situation was like throwing away her life as a martial artist.

 

However, the sight of Guyang Cheongang standing perfectly fine within the white flames led her to make her decision.

 

She stopped circulating the Ice White Divine Art.

 

Han Yu and Han Baek followed suit.

 

The white flames enveloped them, but just like in Guyang Cheongang’s case, they couldn’t burn them.

 

Han Baek muttered.

 

“We’re alive… we’re really alive…”

 

The nearby martial artists witnessed the scene of four people standing wrapped in white flames with their bare bodies, without any protective energy barriers or veils of cold energy.

 

Someone muttered.

 

“They stopped their qi circulation!”

 

“If you stop your internal energy, you can survive!”

 

As the realization spread, nearby martial artists stopped their qi circulation.

 

“My goodness…”

 

“It’s true!”

 

Cries mixed with relief and shock burst from the mouths of those who confirmed that the white flames wrapping their entire bodies weren’t burning them.

 

Since Gun-ung wasn’t far away, this situation spread rapidly.

 

Jegal Ryong’s eyes, who was leading the front, flashed.

 

He shouted.

 

“Stop your qi circulation and halt all internal energy flow!”

 

The warriors of the Six Great Families and Changcheon Martial Alliance all stopped their qi circulation at once, and the aura of Jinse disappeared.

 

The Gun Horse Alliance, Cheonsa Bu, and the surviving renowned masters of Gangho also followed his words.

 

All martial artists stopped circulating their internal energy.

 

Then something strange happened.

 

The white flames, having lost their prey, gradually subsided and lost their power.

 

The flames that had been burning white changed to blue light, then seemed to change to red light again before finally dying out.

 

At the same time, the exit of Hongnyeom-ro revealed itself at the front, and bright light poured in.

 

Guyang Cheongang slowly walked toward that light while still carrying the unconscious Jongnoeu on his back.

 

Seol Hyang-yeong, Han Yu, and Han Baek followed him.

 

About fifty surviving martial artists were walking ahead.

 

Guyang Cheongang followed behind them and emerged through the light.

 

Cool wind brushed against his face.

 

He had completely escaped Hongnyeom-ro, which had been like a fiery hell.

 

The scene that unfolded before Gun-ung after exiting was breathtakingly magnificent.

 

It was a massive valley that appeared to be at least several thousand pyeong in size.

 

Green grass reaching up to their wrists rippled like waves in the wind, covering the entire earth like a silk carpet.

 

And the cliffs surrounding all sides.

 

Sheer rock walls soared toward the sky, and from about halfway up they were shrouded in clouds, making it impossible to gauge where they ended.

 

Those cliffs that rose majestically like a boundary separating heaven and earth emanated an overwhelming presence that seemed impossible for human hands to overcome.

 

Sunlight filtering through the clouds gently illuminated the entire valley, and that light reflected off the dewdrops on the grass blades, sparkling like thousands of jewels.

 

The air was clear and refreshing, so cool that the hellish heat of Hongnyeom-ro felt like a lie.

 

Guyang Cheongang carefully set Jongnoeu down on the ground and looked around.

 

‘What a beautiful place.’

 

[Doctor.]

 

Akasha’s voice was heard.

 

‘What?’

 

[Don’t trust what you see.]

 

‘What do you mean?’

 

[The lower part of those cliffs was formed naturally, but the middle and upper parts were not.]

 

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes changed as he examined the cliffs once more in detail.

 

Something was definitely strange.

 

The boundary of the cliff’s middle section shrouded in clouds was too perfect, and the texture of the rock walls was excessively uniform.

 

Most importantly, no energy could be felt from those massive cliffs.

 

‘Are you saying this is also a type of Jinse?’

 

[That’s correct. It’s presumed to be a very sophisticated formation technique that combines actual terrain with illusions.]

 

Guyang Cheongang muttered in admiration.

 

‘To be able to create barriers of this level, the more I see, the more I can’t help but admire the person who made this.’

 

[Doctor.]

 

‘What?’

 

[Seeing how they’re trying to kill everyone who enters, they seem to have been a psychopath. Isn’t admiration going a bit too far?]

 

Guyang Cheongang chuckled.

 

‘Please consider that it’s admiration for their ability, not their humanity.’

 

[…I understand.]

 

Gun Horse Alliance Elder O Gwangnyeo’s gaze turned toward Guyang Cheongang. It was a cold and ruthless look, with killing intent lurking within.

 

Guyang Cheongang received that gaze with an indifferent expression.

 

Seol Hyang-yeong said quietly.

 

“Storm Demon Sword O Gwangnyeo… That man will definitely try to take revenge on Young Master. He’ll think that Young Master killed them rather than that he abandoned his subordinates.”

 

“I know.”

 

Guyang Cheongang answered calmly.

 

Seol Hyang-yeong continued asking.

 

“But is your body alright?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Seol Hyang-yeong performed a deep cupped fist salute and continued speaking.

 

“We owe you our lives. If not for Young Master, we three martial siblings would have become a handful of ashes in Hongnyeom-ro.”

 

“No. We simply helped each other.”

 

“This isn’t something that can be dismissed with a single sentence. Disciples of the Ice Palace don’t forget favors and grudges even after a thousand years. I will definitely repay this debt.”

 

Seol Hyang-yeong’s voice contained sincerity, and Han Yu and Han Baek also bowed their heads in respect beside her.

 

Since it wasn’t something he could stop, Guyang Cheongang silently smiled and turned his gaze away.

 

Two stone gates stood side by side under the cliff opposite the Hongnyeom-ro entrance.

 

Above the left gate, the characters ‘Return Path ‘ were carved, and above the right gate, the characters ‘Absolute Ice Valley ‘ were powerfully engraved.

 

One was a path that could lead back outside, and the other was a gate entering the second barrier.

 

Below the plaque reading “Return Path” was written text stating that the door would disappear after twenty-four hours.

 

It meant that if two days passed, they wouldn’t even be able to return.

 

Guyang Cheongang took his eyes off the door and slowly turned his head to survey the surroundings.

 

The warriors who had passed through Hongnyeom-ro were scattered throughout the valley.

 

About fifteen hundred had entered Hongnyeom-ro, but only about fifty had reached the valley.

 

His group’s atmosphere was harmonious, but the others were different.

 

Since most of the disciples from their accompanying sects had died without even leaving corpses behind, the atmosphere was inevitably heavy.

 

Those who survived were all masters of transcendent level or higher.

 

Jegal Ryong and Ju Jaryeom from the Six Great Families, warriors of tribute rank from the Changcheon Martial Alliance, core forces of the Gunma Alliance, leadership of the Heavenly Death Department, and renowned masters famous throughout Gangho.

 

Among them, over ten were absolute masters who had reached the Transformation Realm.

 

Their gazes watching each other were sharp with wariness.

 

Before treasures, they were not comrades but competitors, beings who could become enemies at any moment, so it was only natural.

 

Guyang Cheongang’s gaze turned toward the center of the valley.

 

There was a structure reminiscent of an altar.

 

The altar built with square stones was about three ja high and roughly ten jang wide on all sides.

 

Complex patterns were carved into the altar’s floor, and these patterns glowed faintly, making them feel as if they were alive and breathing.

 

On the altar were placed a white stone monument reaching one jang in height with thousands of characters written on it, and ten jade boxes.

 

The stone monument bore the title “Heavenly Martial True Formula” along with a thousand-character incantation.

 

And inside the wide-open boxes were red pills, each about the size of a walnut.

 

The fragrance flowing from them was intense enough to fill the entire valley, and the warriors who smelled it felt all the meridians in their bodies opening refreshingly.

 

At a glance, one could tell these were spirit pills that could shake all under heaven.

 

The warriors’ gazes toward the altar burned with greed.

 

But no one could move.

 

The distance between the altar and the warriors was only about a hundred jang, but what they felt was over a thousand li.

 

Anyone who tried to touch the treasures first would face coordinated attacks from all the rest, and then even an absolute master couldn’t survive.

 

Bone-cutting tension filled the valley as deep silence flowed.

 

Only the rustling sound of wind brushing through grass broke the stillness.

 

Jegal Ryong and other leaders of the Six Great Families, along with Ju Jaryeom from the Changcheon Martial Alliance, exchanged glances with each other.

 

Elder O Gwangnyeo of the Gunma Alliance slowly caressed his beloved sword, while the leaders of the Heavenly Death Department hid their hands within the sleeves of their traditional robes.

 

The renowned masters of Gangho also raised their internal energy from their respective positions.

 

Everyone was waiting for someone else to move first while watching for opportunities.

 

They planned to snatch the treasures in that confusion.

 

But even as time passed, no one moved.

 

It was a standoff between those harboring different dreams.

 

The silence continued to flow.

 

No one moved first, and everyone watched each other while waiting for opportunities.

 

Guyang Cheongang had not even the slightest interest in such treasures.

 

The bracelet wasn’t reacting at all.

 

The bracelet that had vibrated madly in Hongnyeom-ro had become completely quiet from the moment they arrived here, meaning these treasures were unrelated to him.

 

Rather, he was focusing not outward but inward.

 

Guyang Cheongang quietly closed his eyes and examined his dantian.

 

He felt subtle changes in his internal energy.

 

‘Akasha, analyze my dantian precisely.’

 

[Already in progress, Doctor.]

 

After a moment of silence, Akasha spoke.

 

[Doctor, the quality of your Taiji Mixed Origin Energy has become much purer than before.]

 

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes changed.

 

‘Purer? What do you mean?’

 

[The amount of internal energy hasn’t changed from before entering Hongnyeom-ro. But the quality has changed. As if impurities were removed and it was refined.]

 

‘Hmm…’

 

[Even with the same amount, the actual effect is equivalent to internal energy increasing by about thirty years of cultivation. Refined internal energy has high operational efficiency, strong power, and low consumption when deploying martial arts. Even swinging the same sword will be sharper than before, and even using the same palm technique will be more powerful than before.]

 

Guyang Cheongang concentrated his consciousness on his dantian.

 

Certainly the feeling of his internal energy was different.

 

If before it felt heavy and rough like muddy river water, now it felt refreshing and transparent like clear spring water.

 

‘How did this happen…’

 

[It appears to be due to the flames of Hongnyeom-ro. When you stopped qi circulation, Doctor, the white flames burned away the minute impurities mixed in the internal energy within your dantian. As a result, the internal energy was refined.]

 

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes widened.

 

[It seems it wasn’t a gateway with only the function of killing people.]

 

‘So Hongnyeom-ro was a place that served as a pill furnace, refining and elevating the internal energy of those who passed through.’

 

[That’s correct.]

 

Guyang Cheongang was genuinely amazed.

 

Pungnimgok was a training ground that tested those who entered and made those who passed stronger.

 

‘Amazing. Really… amazing.’

 

[I agree. This is a realm that even my scientific knowledge cannot yet implement. To selectively remove only the impurities from internal energy using earth veins and geothermal heat – it’s technology beyond imagination.]

 

In front, the warriors were still watching each other warily while emanating killing intent.

 

They hadn’t realized yet.

 

That the real treasure wasn’t the incantations and pills on the altar, but had already entered their own bodies.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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