Almighty God of War - Chapter 198

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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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198

Guyang Cheongang’s pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.

The fact that the legendary master who commanded divine beasts still existed in this abyss of the eastern lands shook his composure to its very roots.

But he took a long breath and calmed his turbulent mind.

Now was not the time for secrets, but to focus on what lay before him.

‘If it’s just one strike…’

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes flashed.

Hyeonmu was an existence that could never be defeated in a direct confrontation.

But if it was just ‘one strike,’ the story was different.

It wasn’t a gamble with no chance of winning, but at least a challenge worth attempting.

Guyang Cheongang hardened his expression and answered.

“Very well. I accept.”

As soon as his words fell, Hyeonmu’s golden eyes blazed with a terrifying light.

Whether it was admiration for Guyang Cheongang’s courage or mockery of his foolishness in walking into death, the emotion was unreadable.

[Then prepare yourself.]

It was an ultimatum.

Now all that remained was whether he would survive before the divine beast’s authority, or become part of the eternal ice and snow.

Guyang Cheongang unleashed the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art with all his might.

Massive internal energy flowed through his meridians like a raging torrent.

Sensing that he was ready, Hyeonmu moved.

The turtle’s head raised toward the sky, its dragon-like maw slowly opening as the cold energy of the bottomless pit concentrated.

Whooooom-!

Blue radiance flickered from deep within its mouth, and the cold energy scattered in all directions formed a storm-like vortex, gathering into a single point.

Soon, a massive sphere of blue light formed before Hyeonmu’s open mouth.

It was a harbinger of disaster.

The sound of air crystallizing and crumbling could be heard, and with each breath, his lungs felt as if they would freeze and tear with excruciating pain.

Within the blue sphere that blazed with light too brilliant to look at directly, countless ice crystals rotated at ultra-high speed, condensing destructive energy.

Pure will of annihilation that sought to obliterate life itself, where mercy did not exist.

Guyang Cheongang’s instincts were already screaming at him to flee.

Around the sphere of light, microscopic ice particles explosively multiplied to form white clouds, and the cracks in the floor were once again filled with steel-like ice.

The underground plaza became an absolute zero hell where life was not permitted, a scene of divine punishment.

In an instant, a sphere of yin-cold light reaching one zhang in diameter was completed.

When Hyeonmu’s golden eyes turned toward Guyang Cheongang, a familiar man’s voice echoed in his mind.

[Receive this.]

The moment those words fell, the flash of destruction flew toward Guyang Cheongang at tremendous speed.

Kwaaaaaaaaa-!

The atmosphere where the light sphere passed became ice fragments that fell, and the long white afterimage struck Guyang Cheongang directly like a signpost of death.

In that instant, time seemed to slow as if unable to bear the weight of eternity.

The shadow of the blue death god filled his vision.

Before the fatal strike that could not and must not be avoided, Guyang Cheongang’s eyes blazed like the sun.

From his right hand, which deployed the Dual Mind Divine Art, a spiral-shaped awl-like Explosive Thunder Piercing Red Thrust poured forth.

From his left hand, the Supreme Flame King Cannon unfolded.

Red and blue energy streams burst from his palms, drawing a massive taiji pattern as they explosively flew toward the sphere of yin-cold light.

Twin Palm Unity-!

The spiral destructive force and the explosive barrier of yin-yang energy fused into one.

The storm of tremendous energy became a massive tsunami of light that collided head-on with Hyeonmu’s strike.

Kukwakwakwakwakwang-!

An explosion erupted as if the entire world was shattering.

The tremendous shockwave distorted even the phase of space, and rainbow-colored flashes swallowed the dark abyss.

Water vapor generated by the rapid temperature difference explosively expanded, and massive cloud pillars shot up, covering the bottomless pit.

Kwadeudeuk, kwang!

The ice floor that had endured for thousands of years could not withstand the pressure and shattered, and the layers of accumulated ice and snow evaporated, revealing the rough surface of primordial bedrock.

At the center of the catastrophic collision, there stood Guyang Cheongang.

“Kueok!”

With a suppressed scream, bright red blood stained the air crimson.

The shockwave left by the divine beast’s strike struck him with terrifying force.

The protective body energy that had been shielding him was shattered beyond recognition.

His feet, sliding backward, scraped the ice floor miserably, carving deep furrows.

Thud… thud… thud… thud…

Each footstep created a bursting sound, and like a fallen leaf blown by a storm, he was pushed back precariously before finally managing to stop.

His entire body swayed violently as if about to collapse.

His balance was already broken, and his knees trembled as if they would buckle at any moment.

But he did not fall.

“Grrrr…”

He gritted his teeth as if they would crumble and put all his remaining strength into his collapsing legs to support himself.

His wide-open eyes did not lose focus, and he forced his trembling body to stand straight.

The skin visible through his tattered clothes was scraped raw in places with blood seeping out, and dark red blood continuously flowed from his nose and mouth.

His meridians were twisted and his organs felt as if they were being torn apart in agony that threatened to shatter his mind, but he stood on his two feet and faced the divine beast.

He had withstood Hyeonmu’s strike.

Heavy silence dominated the abyss.

Hyeonmu lowered its head and quietly looked down at Guyang Cheongang.

Subtle ripples appeared in those mysterious golden eyes.

It was clearly surprise that a mere human had endured its strike.

After a moment, Cheongi Jinjun’s majestic voice resonated in Guyang Cheongang’s mind.

[I grant you entry into the cave.]

The moment those words fell, Hyeonmu’s form became hazy like a mirage before transforming into light and disappearing into the dungeon.

A faint smile spread across Guyang Cheongang’s blood-stained lips.

Though it was a smile distorted by pain, it contained the arrogance that only one who had crossed the threshold of death by his own power could possess.

Guyang Cheongang straightened his staggering body.

And without a single word, he silently stepped toward the Cheongi Dungeon.

Guyang Cheongang crossed the boundary of the cave and stepped inside.

He had expected pitch-black darkness to swallow him.

But the scene that unfolded before his eyes instantly overturned his common sense and expectations.

The bone-cutting harsh cold had completely disappeared.

In that place where not even traces of ice fragments and blizzards remained, languid and cozy warmth circulated.

His vision became unbelievably bright, and objects became distinct.

There was no darkness there.

Leisurely flowing white clouds and sky blue so clear it dazzled the eyes seemed like a peaceful spring afternoon transplanted intact.

Beneath his feet, fresh grassland extended endlessly, and unknown small wildflowers poked their heads up, radiating abundant vitality.

A warm breeze from somewhere gently caressed Guyang Cheongang’s cheek.

He stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded.

Just a few breaths ago, he had been in the underground bottomless pit, a space of death filled with ice and cold energy.

He had fought a life-and-death battle with the divine beast Hyeonmu, his entire body battered as he crossed the line between life and death.

Yet now, he stood in an incredible illusion as if strolling through some peaceful field on earth.

‘How is this even possible?’

As Guyang Cheongang looked around in shock, he soon caught the alien sense of déjà vu within this perfect scenery.

The sky was blue, but the sun that should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

Though bright light like midday filled the space, there was actually no light source.

The light was not pouring from a specific direction, but seeping evenly from the empty air in all directions.

Most crucially, he cast no shadow.

The grass swaying in the wind and the delicate wildflowers cast no shadows on the ground.

It was the pinnacle of unreality, transcending the laws of physics with the directionality of light completely severed.

The space itself was one massive miracle, and simultaneously a product of meticulously designed surrealism.

Guyang Cheongang instinctively realized that he had not simply entered a cave, but had walked into a mysterious space created by Cheongi Jinjun.

[Doctor.]

Akasha’s calm voice resonated through Guyang Cheongang’s mind, frozen in astonishment.

[This is the interior of an ultra-high-level Gimun Daejin where reality and illusion are intricately combined.]

‘Gimun Daejin?’

[Yes. It follows the same principles as the formation techniques we encountered at Pungnimgok, but is so sophisticated that comparison is impossible. This is not a simple hallucination, but is presumed to have distorted space itself to project a separate dimension.]

Akasha’s explanation continued.

[The sky above and the grassland below are projected phantoms, but the tactile sensation and temperature of the atmosphere are physically real. It perfectly deceives all five senses—sight, hearing, touch, and even smell—making it impossible to distinguish reality through ordinary biological perception.]

‘Any danger factors?’

[No hostile reactions have been detected so far. Analysis indicates that the primary purpose of this formation is not killing or defense, but the creation and maintenance of an independent space.]

Guyang Cheongang nodded slightly.

This place was the legacy of an unparalleled genius counted among the Ten Greatest Masters of All Time.

He slowly surveyed his surroundings once more.

The endlessly spreading grassland extended beyond the distant horizon, flaunting the vastness of this space.

And above that horizon, a structure came into view that overwhelmed the surrounding scenery with its alien presence.

A pavilion.

The white pavilion standing proudly at the center of the grassland emanated breathtaking majesty despite being hundreds of zhang away.

That place was undoubtedly the true heart of the Cheongi Dungeon, the core where all secrets lay dormant.

When Guyang Cheongang reached it with heavy steps, an exclamation burst from his lips involuntarily.

It was a two-story pavilion that seemed carved from a single piece of white jade.

A dazzling white radiance that permitted not a speck of dust mysteriously enveloped the entire pavilion, and the smoothly polished walls rippled with mirror-like transparent light.

Though the pavilion was not particularly tall, its dignity was more magnificent than any tower that pierced the heavens.

The sturdy pillars of the first floor gripped the earth firmly, while the elegant curved railings and eaves leading to the second floor displayed a noble bearing like a crane spreading its wings to soar above the clouds.

Dragons and phoenixes were carved in relief on the outer walls, overflowing with such vitality that they seemed ready to burst from the wall surface and fly into the clear sky at any moment.

The sight was enough to inspire awe in any observer.

Guyang Cheongang stopped at the entrance to the pavilion’s first floor.

The first place his gaze fell was on a large plaque hanging with antique elegance directly above the jade gate.

Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

The three characters carved in gold on a black background were as vigorous as a living, writhing dragon, yet overflowed with dignity as if contemplating the principles of the world.

Below the plaque, a jade gate two zhang high made of spotless white jade like the main structure stood wide open without any resistance.

Guyang Cheongang took a deep breath.

His eyes deepened.

The moment he crossed this threshold, trials more severe than his confrontation with Hyeonmu might await him.

But he was not afraid.

If he had been, he would never have thought to descend below the Bottomless Pit in the first place.

Then, a mysterious man’s voice flowed from inside the tower.

“Come in.”

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes grew intense.

Now it was time to get answers to all his questions.

He stepped without hesitation into the tower’s interior, where a gentle dawn light flowed.

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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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