Chương 282: Sword Ghost

The bisected Four-Axis cultivator is utterly bewildered, not comprehending what had just befallen him.

However, a second later,

"Aaaaah!"

He screams as he claws at his bisected torso.

Kududuguk!

At the Four-Axis stage, one's vitality is so tremendous that even if they are split in half, they will fuse back together.

There is only one way to fatally wound a Four-Axis stage cultivator.

Within the Golden Core sleeps a Nascent Soul.

And inside that Nascent Soul is either the Heavenly Circle (天圓) or Earthly Bearings (地方) that one has to tamper with.

"This, this bastard!"

Feeling that my abilities are not ordinary, seven Four-Axis stage cultivators form seals and press towards me.

Yet, I grin coldly and raise the Colorless Glass Sword once again.

"Until now, I always had to hide that I am of the Heart Tribe."

In the Bright Cold Realm, the Heart Tribe is persecuted.

But at this moment,

"But now that I think about it, is there any need to hide that I am from the Heart Tribe from the likes of you?"

Kuagwagwagwagwang!

I swing my sword down.

A colorless Heavenly Tribulation spreads in all directions.

The ground itself splits in half.

A canyon stretching 5, 000 li forms, and red-hot lava flows down the walls.

The Four-Axis stage cultivators struck by this attack are sliced apart.

"This is crazy! He's from the Heart Tribe!"

"He's a fourth-stage Heart Tribe member!"

"Everyone, attack together!!!"

However, I smrik at them as they rush towards me in horror.

"You're mistaken."

Kugugugugugu!

Pure spiritual force surges tumultuously throughout my body.

Demonic power flutters wildly, empowering me.

I begin to dance.

"You should have attacked together from the start. Not now, when some of you have already been decisively defeated."

Kwagwang, Kwagwagwagwang!

The first through twelfth moves of Severing Mountain Swordsmanship unfold wildly.

The first twelve moves are the 'basics' of swordsmanship.

The thirteenth to twenty-fourth moves concern 'Sword Energy', 'Intent', and 'Control of Power'.

And the moves I started creating from the twenty-fifth to the thirty-sixth forms, I hadn't yet set a standard for those techniques.

But today, facing the Four-Axis stage cultivators at full strength, I am finally able to grasp a feel for the latter half of the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

'Moves integrating Heaven, Earth, and Heart—the Three Powers.'

That will be the essence for the latter part of Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Thirteen Four-Axis stage cultivators each use their Flying Escape Technique to charge at me.

But they are slow.

Bo-oong, boong, boong, boong boong boong boong!

I dance bearing the Three Great Ultimates, facing them head on.

A pagoda dharma treasure strikes down at me from the sky.

A stamp dharma treasure assaults me from both sides.

A ring dharma treasure expands enormously and constricts around me.

One cultivator, holding a mirror dharma treasure, reflects himself upon it.

Instantly, a clone looking exactly like him emerges from the mirror and attacks me in a formation.

When another cultivator shakes a bell dharma treasure, immense heat bursts forth, engulfing the surroundings.

Next to him, a cultivator fans a fan, creating whirlwinds that mingle with the flames, engulfing me in a vortex of fire.

Kuagwagwagwang!

Centered around Seo Eun-hyun and the Four-Axis stage cultivators, a radius of 3, 000 li is swept by a shockwave that triggers earthquakes and a tsunamis.

Those who came to capture Seo Eun-hyun are inspector cultivators from the Heaven-Earth Palace, tasked with apprehending those who cause disturbances within Heaven-Earth Palace.

Sometimes, when exceptionally skilled individuals from the Lower Realms ascend, or monsters from the Interdimensional Void invade the Bright Cold Realm and escape from Heaven-Earth Palace, these cultivators are tasked with chasing and capturing them.

However, for the first time in their lives, they face a monster that even 15 inspectors combined cannot capture.

Kwaang, Kwaang!

Their spell techniques are shattered.

Their dharma treasures, made from precious materials, are torn apart like paper.

"Aaaargh!"

One by one, Four-Axis stage cultivators who have lived for thousands of years are split in half by a single sword strike.

"Block him!"

"Block that monster, even for a moment!"

But they can't stop him.

No defensive spell or dharma treasure.

All their attempts to 'block' are passed through like a ghost, sliced apart.

Escape is also impossible.

When they think they dodged the sword, something colorless, traceless, and formless would unpredictably change shape and chase them down, splitting them apart.

"We can't stop him!"

"Aaaaah!"

Before long, the 15 Inspectors who had come are reduced to nine.

"Form the third formation! Regroup!"

Kwadeuk, Kwadeuk, Kwadeuk!

The nine remaining inspectors simultaneously cut their fingers.

From their severed fingers, their essence blood spurts forth and gathers in the air.

"Bind!"

Han Jo, the leader of the inspectors and a Grand Perfection Four-Axis stage cultivator, commands the remaining eight cultivators.

"Deploy the Soul Binding Seal Formation!"

Chrrrrrrrk!

The essence blood connects to the life force of the Four-Axis stage cultivators, forming chains in the air.

Cling, Cling, Cling!

Simultaneously, nine chains pierce through space and embed themselves into Seo Eun-hyun's body.

Kwadududuk!

Han Jo, sweating profusely, shouts.

"We've caught him for a moment! Unleash all attacks now!!!"

At the same time, all the inspector reform their hand seals, and each of their natal innate techniques pour down on Seo Eun-hyun simultaneously.

A loud roar erupts as light scatters in all directions.

Where they attacked, a massive spatial rift has formed.

Kugugugugu― How intensely had they bombarded Seo Eun-hyun? A moment of lull follows.

Han Jo swallows his saliva.

'Everyone has reached their limit on how many spells they can continuously deploy. Even a typical Four-Axis stage cultivator would hardly leave any remnants in this situation.'

He looks hopefully into the dark smoke billowing from within.

"Did, did we get him?"

Then, from within the smoke, a pale arm suddenly bursts forth.

[You're mistaken.] Wo-woong, Wo-woong!

"This is madness! Everyone, attack again!"

And then, a fleeting sense of foreboding passes through Han Jo's mind as he gives the order.

'He survived that? Even a fellow Four-Axis stage cultivator would struggle. Unless it's someone extraordinary among the Grand Perfection ranks of Four-Axis cultivators, it's tough! And what was that, that clear voice just now?'

Surviving a bombardment that even a Grand Perfection Four-Axis cultivator would find hard to withstand.

What does this imply?

It's quite simple.

That monster out there might be at the level of an Integration stage Grand Cultivator.

[It's not me who got caught…] Cling, cling, clang Bound by the Soul Binding Seal Formation, Seo Eun-hyun speaks from within the smoke, revealing his teeth.

[It's you who are caught.] Then, his arm cuts through the smoke as he swings his sword.

"Evade!!!!!"

Han Jo's urgent voice spreads in all directions.

Kwaang!

The bodies of the Four-Axis cultivators are cleaved apart.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Around Han Jo, four axes emerge, and a Four-Axis Canopy unfolds.

However, his barrier is easily shattered.

From within the dark smoke, Han Jo catches sight of Seo Eun-hyun wielding a colorless sword and utters one name.

"Sword… Ghost…."

And that name quickly spreads from mouth to mouth among the inspector cultivators." Sword, Sword Ghost!"

"It's the Sword Ghost! The Sword Ghost!"

Kwaang!

Finally, Han Jo, who is essentially the leader of the inspectors, is severed in half by the merciless sword of Seo Eun-hyun, now known as the Sword Ghost. The remaining cultivators completely lose their will to fight.

"Ru, run away!"

"It's a monster!"

"Huaaaah!"

"Senior, spare me, please spare me!"

The four surviving cultivators run in different directions, and only then does Seo Eun-hyun's ruthless sword dance stop.

Chiieeeee― I extinguish the smoke flowing from my body with a smile.

"Hoo…."

It had been a confrontation initiated while being exhausted from being pursued by Hon Won.

Because of that, I had inevitably needed to use Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains to deal with them.

"Hmm, good…."

Now, the fatality of the self-destructive techniques used through Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains is outweighed by the undying aspect of my physical body, meaning a brief use of Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains doesn't kill me anymore.

Of course, since Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains can theoretically become infinitely stronger with continuous use, long-term use will still indeed result in inevitable destruction.

However, unlike before when it was a certain-death technique, now it can be used for short-term battles.

'It was a bit risky though.'

Even though they could revive after dying, they still hesitated to risk their lives. Or perhaps, it was precisely because the Four-Axis stage investigators valued their lives so much that they dared to fight to the death.

Having expended much energy while fleeing from Hon Won, it might have been slightly risky had it been a prolonged battle.

If everyone had collaborated with the intent to risk their lives from the beginning, I would have certainly been defeated and forced to start the 19th cycle.

'But they all value their lives a lot.'

They value their lives despite being able to resurrect after dying.

No, perhaps it's precisely because they cherish their lives so much that they struggled desperately to reach the Four-Axis stage.

By the time one reaches the Four-Axis stage, the obsession with one's own life seems to surpass imagination, and because of that, everyone crucially backs off, allowing for 1-on-1 battles.

They thought they were attacking me together, but in fact, apart from one or two, hardly anyone was properly coordinating their attacks, resulting in my victory.

However, despite that…

"…Fifteen Four-Axis cultivators…"

I grin.

"I won…!"

They were individuals who hesitated at critical moments due to an unimaginable fixation on life, but they were still fifteen Four-Axis cultivators.

Among them, there was even a Grand Perfection Four-Axis cultivator.

And it was after being drained while escaping from Hon Won that I managed to defeat them.

That is, if I hadn't been drained and had fought with full power from the beginning, they wouldn't have stood a chance against me, even if they risked their lives.

Considering Hon Won practiced Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation and is a monster of late Integration stage strength despite being in the early stage...

Kududuk― I finally grasp the extent of the realm I have reached as I gather the power of the Three Great Ultimates in my fist.

"Grand Cultivator…!"

I have reached a stage where I can challenge the domain of an actual Integration cultivator!

'Now, not only the Four-Axis stages who fled, but also the remaining Four-Axis cultivators who will revive will surely inform the Heaven Tribe about me.'

Based on my predictions, even if they are Grand Cultivators at the Integration stage, the damage they sustained from witnessing the Owner of Heavenly Punishment wouldn't have been much different.

They too must have suffered immense damage, and probably they had been nearly wiped out and hidden up till now to heal those injuries.

If news reaches them that a new Integration stage human has emerged, regardless of what Hon Won thinks of me, it wouldn't matter anymore.

I will be seen as a precious force to be protected by the Heaven Tribe.

"Alright then. Now, come out."

I dust off my hands and unfold the Peach Garden Painting.

From within, Jeon Myeong-hoon and Hong Fan emerge.

Jeon Myeong-hoon whistles and laughs.

"I saw a bit from inside the Peach Garden Painting. It was brutally spectacular. Now then…"

"I said come out."

At my words, Jeon Myeong-hoon furrows his brow.

"We all came out already…"

Ignoring Jeon Myeong-hoon, I speak with a fierce glare to the owner of the sticky and unpleasant intent that has been spying on us.

"This is your last warning. Come out, or I will kill you."

Then, as if the space itself is warping, a [Small Domain] created by the Four-Axis Canopy reveals itself.

Rather than a domain, it should be called a subspace, floating like a droplet above space.

As the droplet-shaped Four-Axis Canopy recedes, a rather unpleasant face appears.

"Haha, long time no see, Daoist Seo."

It's Seo Hweol.