Almighty God of War - Chapter 201
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
201
Cheongi Jinjun’s reminiscence continued.
[The Elder had known from the beginning that the Thousand Cold Bone-Cutting Wind blew in this place. This was the only location where Hyeonmu’s avatar could manifest.]
Indeed, the old saying that aged ginger is spicier was not something to be ignored.
[There was only one reason for building Cheongi Dungeon and placing Hyeonmu’s avatar as its guardian. It was to wait for a visitor with a body powerful enough to overcome Hyeonmu’s trial. To seize that body and return to the North Sea to awaken the Elder’s true form—that was the plan the Elder had carried out for three hundred years.]
However, his plan weathered away in terrible loneliness.
Ten years, one hundred years, and two hundred years…
During those long years, no one had visited this place.
When Cheongi Jinjun’s despair reached its peak, there was the first person to set foot in the Bottomless Pit.
It was Gyo Myosangin.
Thick irritation was evident in Cheongi Jinjun’s voice as he mentioned him.
[But that fellow couldn’t even withstand Hyeonmu’s presence, and fled upward before the avatar even revealed its body. He came down about once every ten years, but the result was always the same.]
Then appeared the person who was none other than Guyang Cheongang.
He had taken Hyeonmu’s strike head-on and proven his qualification—to Cheongi Jinjun, he was the last hope found after a long wait.
[But within your body was ‘something’ that even the Elder could not understand. The Elder’s intention was thwarted, and three hundred years of hope crumbled so futilely.]
Cheongi Jinjun’s voice wavered precariously like a dying candle flame.
[The ancient text before you is the Myriad Phenomena Essential Scripture containing the Elder’s learning and insights. And the silk pouch was made by compressing the space of formations, containing the formation flags and formation plates the Elder used.]
Bitter laughter mixed into the old man’s voice.
[But those are not the Elder’s true secrets. The Myriad Phenomena Essential Scripture is only the upper volume of the upper, middle, and lower parts, and the formation flags and plates are also low-grade. The real essence sleeps in the North Sea with the Elder’s true form. Guyang Cheongang, if you truly wish to obtain the Elder’s legacy…]
Like a final burst of light, his voice became clear.
[Come to the North Sea! If you restore the Elder’s true form, I will give you all the Elder’s lifelong research and all the power to obtain All Under Heaven. Not only that, I will teach you everything about how to completely obtain the authority of Shinsu Hyeonmu!]
It was an extraordinary temptation.
The legacy of one of the Ten Greatest Masters of Past and Present, and the authority of a divine beast.
Who among all people under heaven could refuse that?
[The Elder hopes you will accept, but you must consider carefully. The North Sea is a land of death where the living cannot set foot. Even if you succeed in finding the Elder, the guardian of that place may still be waiting for you…]
His voice grew smaller and smaller, leaving behind an ominous echo.
[The Elder’s intention will now disappear… But the true form will still be waiting in the ice. For the day you come to find me…]
With that faint whisper as the end, Cheongi Jinjun’s presence that had filled Cheongi Gak rapidly faded.
His thoughts no longer struggled violently, slowly sinking into the deepest abyss of the virtual space.
Guyang Cheongang let out a long breath.
‘Akasha.’
[Yes, Doctor.]
‘What is Cheongi Jinjun’s condition?’
[I have detected faint thoughts of Cheongi Jinjun sealed in the deepest layer of the abyss. I judge that he has not completely perished.]
Guyang Cheongang’s eyes changed slightly.
‘You mean he’s alive?’
[More precisely, he is in a sleeping state. The extremely exhausted thoughts have currently entered a dormant state within the infinite maze of virtual space.]
Akasha added in a calm tone.
[His consciousness will be trapped forever, and the possibility of awakening is almost nonexistent.]
‘At any rate, he hasn’t perished.’
[That is correct. Like his true form sleeping in eternal ice, he will dream forever in the abyss.]
Heavy silence once again came to the first floor of Cheongi Gak.
Guyang Cheongang’s eyes became complicated.
A strange sympathy arose in one corner of his heart.
Cheongi Jinjun was also a victim of his era.
The price brought by a moment’s arrogance was too harsh, and he had endured three hundred long years like hell in an ice prison and dark cave.
But sympathy and forgiveness were separate matters.
Cheongi Jinjun had set a trap to steal his body.
That was clearly an unforgivable evil act.
‘North Sea…’
The North Sea Ice Palace Brothers he had met at the entrance of Pungrim Valley came to Guyang Cheongang’s mind.
‘They might know where the sacred realm where Hyeonmu sleeps is located.’
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
There slept the middle and lower volumes of the Myriad Phenomena Essential Scripture, the ultimate of formation studies, and the authority of a divine beast.
But it was also a place where there was a mysterious guardian of unknown identity that even Cheongi Jinjun couldn’t withstand a single strike from.
Three hundred years had passed so he would be dead, but the possibility of successors existing could not be ignored.
‘Let’s postpone the decision for later.’
He couldn’t depart for the North Sea right now.
The sacred realm of the North Sea wouldn’t run away, and Cheongi Jinjun’s true form would also continue its eternal wait there, so there was no reason to hurry.
Guyang Cheongang reached toward the display stand.
He gathered the upper volume of the Myriad Phenomena Essential Scripture, the silk pouch with compressed space, and the jade box containing Hyeonmu’s scales.
These were the rightful possessions of Guyang Cheongang, who had overcome Hyeonmu’s avatar and the danger of death.
After collecting the treasures and leaving Cheongi Gak, the blue grassland bathed in bright artificial light spread before his eyes again.
A peaceful wind blew, but this peace did not last long.
Rumble—!
Crash!
The collapse that began from the bottom of the Bottomless Pit swept toward Guyang Cheongang like a giant wave.
As Cheongi Jinjun’s intention disappeared, the formation prohibitions that had supported this space for three hundred years were all crumbling at once.
An expression of disbelief appeared on Guyang Cheongang’s face.
“You won’t let me leave comfortably until the very end, old senior.”
Invisible Sword in the form of a large sword blade revealed itself beneath his feet.
“Akasha, let’s go up!”
Whoosh—!
The magnificent momentum of sword flight vertically cut through the pitch-black darkness of the Bottomless Pit.
But escape was by no means easy.
The walls on all sides cracked and house-sized rocks poured down like a meteor shower, while through the gaps the Thousand Cold Bone-Cutting Wind swirled like a mad whirlwind.
Extreme cold that seemed to slice flesh and scrape bone tried to devour him, but Guyang Cheongang didn’t even blink.
“Hup!”
He firmly grasped one Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade statue in each hand.
At the same time, he drew up his twelve-star power and deployed the protective energy barrier of Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.
Semi-transparent sword-blue energy extending three feet from Guyang Cheongang’s body deflected the swirling cold wind and falling rocks.
Bang! Crash!
The rocks that struck the energy barrier turned to powder and scattered, while the bone-cutting wind screamed like a wail and disappeared.
Guyang Cheongang looked upward with eyes burning fiercely.
From below, fragments of the collapsing earth were chasing closely at his heels like hungry beasts with their mouths wide open.
It was a race of death that allowed not an inch of mistake or a moment’s hesitation.
Whoooosh—!
Invisible Sword emitted blue lightning and changed trajectory.
Guyang Cheongang twisted his body movement to pass between the pouring rocks, and the place he had passed was immediately buried under a huge pile of stones.
The roar of the collapsing Bottomless Pit echoed ear-splittingly, but Guyang Cheongang shot up toward midair with momentum that overwhelmed even that noise.
At the end of the darkness, far away, the light of the earth began to appear as a pinhole-sized dot.
Guyang Cheongang gritted his teeth and poured out his internal energy.
“Break through!”
With explosive acceleration, he soared up to the surface like a dragon from within the maw of the collapsing abyss.
At the entrance of the Bottomless Pit, Neungnam Gwang and Gyo Myosangin were frozen like stone statues, staring into the pitch-black darkness.
Four hours had already passed since Guyang Cheongang had thrown himself into the abyss.
In the cave filled only with silence, Neungnam Gwang’s anxiety had reached its peak.
‘You must be safe, younger brother.’
Though he knew of Guyang Cheongang’s extraordinary abilities, this place was a forbidden zone that defied common sense.
On the other hand, a sinister light flickered in Gyo Myosangin’s eyes.
He desperately hoped that Guyang Cheongang would become the monster’s prey and the restraints placed on his body would be released.
Die, please just die.
Just as he was pouring out curses inwardly, an unimaginable change suddenly occurred.
Whiiiiiiing-!
The Thousand Cold Bone-Cutting Wind howled ferociously, spewing terrifying cold energy from the entrance of the Bottomless Pit.
Sharp ice fragments mixed within the swirling wind and scattered through the air.
What followed was a thunderous roar that shook the very foundations of the earth.
Bang! Rumble!
The sound of something being destroyed echoed from deep underground.
The ground screamed and trembled, and vibrations that seemed to collapse the entire Bottomless Pit traveled up through their feet.
“Wh-what is this…!”
Neungnam Gwang’s complexion changed drastically in shock.
He wanted to jump in, but the wind pressure of the Thousand Cold Bone-Cutting Wind had become so strong that it seemed to tear his entire body apart, making it impossible to even approach.
Though Gyo Myosangin couldn’t hide his bewilderment, a hint of joy flashed deep in his eyes.
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, but he suppressed his delight and immediately erased it.
‘He’s dead!’
If the space was collapsing due to the aftermath of the battle with the monster, there was no way Guyang Cheongang at the center could be safe.
Gyo Myosangin prayed for his heart to stop.
But he couldn’t feel even the slightest sign of the restraints being released.
‘Why…?’
Though puzzled, he couldn’t continue his thoughts.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The sound of the Bottomless Pit collapsing grew rapidly louder, the ground shook violently, and cracks appeared in the walls on all sides with creaking sounds.
Chunks of stone also poured down from the tunnel ceiling.
It seemed like the entire place would collapse at any moment.
Just as doubt began to rise like clouds in Gyo Myosangin’s mind, a blue radiance flashed through the darkness of the Bottomless Pit.
Swoooosh-!
What soared up, cutting through the falling rocks and swirling cold wind, was a large flying sword emanating a dark blue light.
And on that blade stood a man with serene composure.
It was Guyang Cheongang.
“Uhahahaha, brother! Of course! Elder Brother knew you wouldn’t die!”
Neungnam Gwang burst into wild laughter and cheers of joy.
On the other hand, Gyo Myosangin’s face turned deathly pale.
Despair and rage pooled like a swamp deep in his eyes. But he dared not show it.
Swoosh-
The large Flying Star Cloud Sword decomposed into fragments of light and was absorbed back into Guyang Cheongang’s body.
Though the sight was wondrous itself, there was no leisure to admire it now.
Guyang Cheongang’s complexion was pale as he landed and breathed heavily, but his eyes still blazed brightly.
“Elder Brother, Gyo Myo! Get out of here immediately!”
With that urgent word, he launched his body movement technique.
There was no time to look back.
The tunnel walls cracked like spider webs and the ceiling began to collapse.
Crash crash crash crash bang-
Neungnam Gwang also frantically activated his Georyeong Seonggong, pushing away the falling pile of rocks with his shoulders as he followed behind Guyang Cheongang.
Gyo Myosangin, who had been standing dazed, was also driven by survival instinct to move his feet frantically.
One hundred zhang, two hundred zhang. Behind them, a wave of destruction chased as if to devour them.
Just as dust from the collapsing cave rushed toward them like a storm, the stone gate came into Guyang Cheongang’s view.
It was the final barrier blocking their escape.
Whoosh!
Guyang Cheongang flew toward the stone gate like lightning.
There was no time to stop and open the door.
Flying toward the stone gate, he struck down with his right hand with terrifying force.
Crash crash crash crash crash-
The destructive energy of the Yin-Yang Flame King Blast swirled and burst forth in the form of flames.
Boom-!
With an eardrum-splitting roar, the stone gate weighing thousands of geun exploded outward.
Guyang Cheongang pierced through the lingering light of that explosion, passing through the collapsing debris like a meteor without a moment’s delay.
“Heave ho!”
Neungnam Gwang, who had been following behind, let out a rough shout as he followed, and just as Gyo Myosangin burst out after him,
Ruuuumble!
With vibrations that turned heaven and earth upside down, the area where the stone gate had been completely collapsed.
Massive rocks sealed the passage while spewing thick dust.
However, the danger was not over.
The chain collapse that began at the Bottomless Pit was already shaking the entire cliff.
The three men flew like the wind toward the Mysterious Cavern Dwelling without stopping.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————