Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

The first to break the attack's dam was Yi Cheong-un. Activating his Thunder God Possession, he zipped through the air at tremendous speed, unleashing thunderbolts.

Kwarung!

I could tell each of his strikes carried far greater quality and power than Yongbi-cheon's. Even in raw firepower, it was superior, thanks to the vast difference in his control over qi and intent. Yet even Yi Cheong-un's ferocious assaults only managed to shatter a single horn of the Lunar Yao Guardian—they couldn't deliver a fatal blow.

Amid the chaos, countless beams of light rained down, and Ganghwa Island was on the verge of losing its shape entirely. Grandmaster Seosan, who had evacuated alongside us, let out a sigh.

"Ahh, how could such a terrifying demon..."

"Master."

Yu Jeong glanced worriedly at Grandmaster Seosan before turning to me.

"I'll help however I can."

[Groooar...]

Just then, Yi Cheong-un's thunder spear struck the giant eyeball. The monster squeezed its eye shut with a scream, and the gray beams pouring from all directions halted momentarily.

Paat!

Yi Cheong-un pulled back temporarily and said,

"Now we can breach it."

"That eye didn't even burst after taking a direct hit from your thunder spear."

I muttered in dismay. The thunder spear Yi Cheong-un had fired in his Thunder God Possession form packed apocalyptic destructive power, yet the eye hadn't so much as ruptured—it merely reddened as if mildly stung. Its durability was shockingly high.

"There's a barrier."

"A barrier... you say?"

I frowned, reminded of the moon's barrier, but Yi Cheong-un continued.

"Of course, it's not as powerful as the one the moon deployed. But it seems to have incoming attacks and boost the thing's regenerative abilities."

"Annoying."

"The form you faced before didn't have one. This must be due to the yin-yang reversal making it stronger."

I nodded and said,

"Then let's get serious now."

Thunder Roar!!

I summoned power through my entire body and unleashed Thunder Roar. At the same time, Cheon Woo-jin, Jeon Woo-chi, Mang Ryang, and the others waiting behind cast spells on the warriors.

"Five Ways One Vehicle Technique!!"

Pabat!

Our bodies instantly teleported from the ground roots to the upper stem of the Lunar Yao Guardian. I noticed a blue membrane coating my form and thought,

'A spell to block mental corruption.'

Battling near this colossal demon would inevitably taint and erode the mind with chaos. The spell enhanced mental resistance to let the warriors fight properly. We had to infiltrate while Yi Cheong-un held off the eye beams.

'That guy, Cheon Woo-jin...'

I glanced at Cheon Woo-jin. Unlike before, he seemed deeply depressed—likely the aftereffect of directly sensing the ominous god's power. With his fighting spirit and confidence drained, he wouldn't join direct combat for a while. A single mistake against such a mighty demon could get him killed pointlessly.

Miyo would follow behind in a support role, aiding from afar while assessing the situation. She still seemed unable to fully control her immense granted power.

"Let's go."

We cleaved through the uppermost stem with sword auras and pressed forward. Soon, we entered a forest of fruits the size of human bodies dangling thickly.

Slosh.

Charrulk.

From them oozed unpleasant mucus as chaos-spawned demons were born, dropping like fruit. The demons screeched upon spotting us the moment they emerged.

[Kreeeek!!]

Kwarung!

Chaeng chaeng!

Intense combat erupted. Geomma, Geukho, Jin So-cheong, and the others slashed at the swarming monsters, and I did the same. Yi Cheong-un used the Heavenly Spirit Orb to sweep away hordes at once before dashing higher up.

Slosh.

More demon fruits formed. I realized with annoyance,

'Absorbing the earth's power to produce demons endlessly?'

As a tree, once it drained all of Ganghwa Island's earth energy, it would grow even larger, extending roots into the sea. Eventually, it could reach Goryeo or the Central Plains mainland as an overwhelmingly powerful demon. We had to eliminate it now while we could.

Yi Cheong-un suddenly shifted into his Thunder God Possession form and shouted,

[I'll try severing the main stem!!]

Gogogogo...

He gathered thunder energy in midair, forming a massive thunder spear over fifteen feet long. It still seemed insufficient to fell this colossal tree, but Yi Cheong-un drew natural energy to his limit and unleashed his ultimate technique.

Radiant Explosion Thunder!

Ku-kwang!

The entire stem reeled from the explosion. Astonishingly, the thunder spear's slash cleaved through thirty percent of it in an instant! Yet since it hadn't severed more than half, the stem retained its core stability.

Geukho watched in disbelief and said,

"Damn it. That strike from the Chief Priest could've blown away a castle wall... How is this insane demon so huge?!"

"It's a monster from the Mythic Age."

Geukho gave a wry smile.

"Ha! The moon monster too... I can really feel the world ending."

Pebuk!

We finished off the 'fruits' spawned here and advanced. As Mang Ryang said, this giant demon had a core somewhere, with clues at the stem's topmost layer. If we found the Lunar Yao Guardian's weakness, we could focus attacks there to break its qi.

"........."

It was manageable so far, but an uneasy premonition flickered in my mind.

'Yeo Dong-bin hasn't spoken to me once...'

Faced with a giant demon empowered by yin-yang destruction, Yeo Dong-bin showed no reaction. Normally, he'd offer to fight a world-ending monster. But it didn't seem like he'd ignored my signal and left for the Heavenly Realm entirely.

In other words—Yeo Dong-bin was refusing to fight for me of his own will.

Why?

What did I do wrong?

[Are you trying to become a monster to slay one?]

[...If it saves humanity by any means, what does it matter...]

[However, I, Yeo Dong-bin, will withhold judgment on you...]

I had guesses, but couldn't grasp the meaning of his words. Clearly, Yeo Dong-bin strongly rejected the fusion of 'chaos' and 'void,' and thus distrusted my interest in that path.

I shook my head while traversing the stem with lightness skill.

'Tch. No time to miss Yeo Dong-bin's help.'

My future foes were all god-level anyway. Relying on him meant I was worthless without him—which was absurd. From now on, I needed to build the capacity and courage to fight without his aid.

Eventually, we reached what seemed the topmost layer—a serene cluster of stems. The demon was so vast we pierced two cloud layers to arrive. As Mang Ryang predicted, a dark vortex writhed there, spawning bizarre demons.

One demon, like a giant twisted bundle of blood vessels, spoke to us in monstrous tongue.

[...You... why... interfere... Thousands of years... sealed... Soon... the Moon King... descends... Do not hinder... our origin's union... The Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns' restraints... finally lifting...]

Spotty as it was, I somehow grasped its meaning.

"Monster!"

"Take it down now."

My human comrades couldn't understand, hearing only roars. After a moment's thought, I replied to it.

"Who is the Moon King? What happens when it descends?"

The blood vessel giant flinched as if comprehending, then responded.

[Flesh and... spirit... fuse... Then... return to primordial complete being... An unbreakable... mission...]

"Flesh and spirit fuse...?"

[You... exalted one... Please withdraw... We return home... with the King...]

"........."

They hadn't anticipated our assault on this colossal demon tree. Seizing the yin-yang imbalance to escape the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns' seals, they aimed to revert to primordial [Ancient Ruler] level might. Geukho, overhearing our exchange, said incredulously,

"Baek Woong, you understand that thing?"

"Roughly."

"What now?"

I pondered, gripping my sword tightly, then declared,

"We kill them all!"

'Flesh' meant this demon tree. We fought an empty husk without 'spirit.' But if the 'spirit' arrived and fused, it could grow dozens of times stronger!

'I thought just grabbing the Lunar Yao and fleeing, but we have to take it down!'

Leaving it would spawn another catastrophe!

These monsters had to die here.

Syaa!

I surged forward at peak physical prowess, slashing the blood vessel giant's neck. It extended writhing tentacles to block, but I severed them wholesale, dividing its body into eight pieces.

[Kraaak...]

Blood vessels burst midair in a gruesome fountain. Ignoring the horror, I used Three Treasures Steps to evade sprays while attacking the slowly rising monsters nearby.

"Hah!"

"Hyah!"

Kakakang!

Shuk!

Sword auras, sword qi, and flying swords dazzled, carving through the peak-dwelling fiends. One shrieked,

[Humans... mere humans daring against our superior race!!]

Chaak!

"What're you babbling?"

"........."

Geukho irritably decapitated it, making the scene almost comical. These hibernating tree demons saw themselves above humans, yet perished pathetically before well-trained martial artists.

Once the slaughter ended, Jin So-cheong said,

"Attacking from the crown down seems effective."

"From the crown?"

Jin So-cheong nodded.

"This spot they desperately guarded is the monster's vital point and crown. If the Chief Priest uses Thunder God Possession and we unleash our intent-killing strikes together, we can split it in half."

"Good. Then..."

As I roared to summon Yi Cheong-un from outside,

Wuuuu...

"Urk."

An abrupt heaviness pinned us to the ground like glue. An untrained human would've been crushed flat instantly! This was unmistakably sorcery or magic. Scanning around, a dimensional gate ripped open in the air.

Wiiing!

[Kahaha... You dare!]

I instantly recognized the monster floating cross-legged in midair.

"Myo Cheong!!"

A skull clad in monk's robes!! It was the demon lurking in a powerful barrier beneath Dongnyeongbu in the Western Capital. Seeing Myo Cheong again filled me with disbelief and foreboding.

'It couldn't leave Dongnyeongbu a step, yet now it opens portals here? That powerful?'

Its spell suppressed even peerless masters. We gathered inner power to resist but couldn't move to attack. Even I risked losing a limb if I stirred recklessly, so I steadied my breath. Myo Cheong's skull clattered as it spoke.

[The ~great~ Moon Ruler reclaims his flesh soon. Do not interfere!]

"......!"

A chilling possibility hit me from its words.

'What? No way...'

Kugugu!

An ominous dark aura crept slowly from Ganghwa Island's distant horizon, visible to the naked eye. Cloud-like at a glance, it was dense fog. Realizing it'd reach this demon tree soon, urgency gripped me.

"Damn. This much is..."

With Cheon Woo-jin lost to battle-will from the ominous god's power, we had to dispel Myo Cheong's spell with intent alone. But as a centuries-old wicked spirit blessed by the Ruler, it wasn't easy. As I gathered intent to rise,

[Kakaka... Think you can break my spell so easi—]

Tuk!

A crisp rupture echoed, followed by Myo Cheong's gargling scream.

[Kaaak... Impossible...]

Jin So-cheong!

He'd shaken off the pressure first, instantly shattering Myo Cheong's core for a kill. Even as a dark demon, it couldn't withstand an Absolute Master's lethal strike. Sure enough, the spell lifted as Myo Cheong crumbled to dust.

"........."

Myo Cheong was beyond a normal sorcerer's capacity, yet felled in one blow.

More terrifying: Jin So-cheong's move was so sudden and swift, I couldn't track its execution. Unbelievable, but one hypothesis made me swallow hard.

'No way... Did he grow again after the moon battle?'

Inner strength surging in days?

'Grk! Focus.'

No time for that. Myo Cheong down, but the demon tree remained—we needed a quick assault, or the horizon's 'spirit' would fuse with this 'flesh' in horror.

"Huu!"

Exhaling, Jin So-cheong calmly eyed the horizon and said,

"Why not show yourself now?"

"Huh? Jin So-cheong, what..."

"The Chief Priest and I knew you were watching. Speak if you have words."

As Jin So-cheong finished,

Hwooong!

A gale roared in with a shout.

"Whoa, you humans? You spotted me even when I hid for real?"

A baffled voice.

Paat!

A monkey-like yokai-human appeared from nowhere. But seeing his long staff, golden circlet, and cloud tuft beneath his feet left me speechless.

'That... that's...'

The monkey yokai scratched his head fur and approached, grumbling,

"Man... Guess I'm past my prime."

The Heavenly Realm's strongest fighter.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Son Oh-gong, had appeared before us.

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