Kugugugugu!
Kang Min-hee is chasing from behind, while a snake is flickering its tongue beside me, making a suspicious proposal.
I look at Seo Hweol.
I know this bastard well.
No matter what the situation, a liar who only utters empty words.
That is the nature of the person known as Seo Hweol.
'But...'
I simply can't refuse.
Information about Seo Hweol's main body.
And the grace period I can gain by sending Kang Min-hee outside the Bright Cold Realm.These are things that can't be ignored.
They are too valuable to dismiss as mere scams.
'So that's why. The reason the Mad Lord always attacked Seo Hweol whenever he opened his mouth might be because even that Mad Lord could be swayed by Seo Hweol's intentions if he listens to Seo Hweol's proposals.'
I let out a groan, glaring at him.
But since he is blind, there is no sort of battle of wills between us.
After a moment of hesitation, I nod.
"Fine. I'll accept it for now."
[Thank you, Daoist.]
"But there are conditions."
I glare at Seo Hweol as I speak.
"According to your words, we need to work together to snap the Mad Lord back to his senses, right? During that process, you will stay out of my sight and act only remotely."
If that bastard were to meet my comrades and brainwash them with his filthy Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, I would be extremely furious.
What if my comrades turn into copies of Seo Hweol?
Grit—
Just imagining it makes my teeth grind.
I can't afford to lose any more comrades carelessly.
If such a thing happens, I might lose control of my anger and lose my reason, leading me to do something even I can't predict.
'Maybe I might even lose my mind and start chanting the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra until the Owner of Great Mountain descends.'
Seo Hweol smiles faintly and nods at my words.
[If it's necessary, I will comply. Don't worry. Until I find my main body, I have no choice but to rely on my madam and Daoist Seo.]
"..."
The fact that there are only two options from the beginning means that there's no trust between us.
A highly suspicious and dubious alliance.
But in the current situation, it's necessary.
"Fine. In that case...I will form a temporary alliance with you."
[Hoho. Thank you for your kindness, Daoist Seo...]
He smiles widely and bows as if he is genuinely pleased.
"...In any case..."
[Aaaaaahhh—]
I frown as I watch Kang Min-hee, who is relentlessly chasing us.
"It seems we'll need to deal with the Ghost Guiding Holy Mother first before we can reach the Mad Lord. Any ideas?"
To expel Kang Min-hee from the realm, we need the Mad Lord's help.
But to meet and persuade the Mad Lord, I, Seo Hweol, Kim Yeon, and Oh Hye-seo will first have to separate from Kang Min-hee before combining our strengths.
However, Kang Min-hee is chasing me like crazy.
If this continues, we won't even be able to start the alliance, let alone anything else.
'It's highly likely that she senses the death aura emanating from my body and my Quasi-Star Shattering level power, and is trying to capture me to turn me into a Ghost King.'
Especially for a powerful ghostly being like her, my death aura would be extremely conspicuous.
'Unless I escape from the Star Shattering stage sight in one go, she will endlessly chase after me.'
Since things have come to this, I decide to test Seo Hweol's cunning and ask him for a strategy.
He seems to smile faintly and then says,
[There is a plan that will buy you enough time to meet up with your comrades. Would you like to hear it?]
"Speak quickly."
[Head to Heaven-Earth Palace.]
"...You bastard."
Understanding why he's implying, I glare at him.
He continues with a faint smile.
[Go to Heaven-Earth Palace and lure that thing to the Flying Immortal Platform—in other words, drop it under the Void Spirit Pond. Since it seems to lack intelligence, it won't be too difficult. The Vestiges of the Interdimensional Void react more strongly to beings with great auras, so at least one or two Star Shattering level Vestiges will pounce on that thing. Of course, the Void Spirit Pond is an open door, a gaping hole, so it will quickly escape again, but the Vestiges of the Interdimensional Void will buy you some time.]
"...Are you suggesting that I send everyone in Heaven-Earth Palace into the belly of the Ghost Guiding Holy Mother?"
[Hmm...]
Seo Hweol makes a contemplative expression before asking back.
[Isn't that rather a good thing? I understand you don't have a good relationship with the Heaven-Earth Palace Lord Hon Won.]
"..."
Instead of getting swayed by Seo Hweol's words, I shoot him a sharp glance.
"Stop wagging your sly tongue and help me out. With your skills and ambition, it's hard to believe you haven't already placed Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens on the living beings residing in the Heaven-Earth central region. Use your ability to evacuate everyone there right now."
[Hoho...]
Seo Hweol chuckles at my words, raising one finger as he speaks.
[As expected, I can't outmatch Daoist Seo. But evacuating 'everyone' is impossible.]
"What nonsense is that now?"
[Heaven-Earth Palace Lord Hon Won. That person...that person has something dangerous lurking within his consciousness, so I only let Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens flow into him but did not brainwash him. Hence, Daoist will need to convince him yourself.]
"..."
I recall Hon Won.
The [name] buried within Hon Won, Cheon Ra!
'Damn it...'
A sense of dread is already creeping in.
I don't know exactly what that name means, but given my situation, even a child can understand that it's related to the Owner of Great Mountain.
It's possible that perhaps the Immortal Treasure of the Mountain God is called Cheon Ra.
I hoped to shove such a dangerous task to Seo Hweol, but it seems I will have to face it myself.
"...Fine."
Cursing inwardly, I fly towards Heaven-Earth Palace with Seo Hweol.
Hon Won makes me uneasy.
From the character 監 (supervision) in his eye, to the Great Mountain Splitting Emperor Technique he has learned.
Perhaps through him, the Owner of Great Mountain is able to monitor me in real time.
But that's all the more reason I need to know more about him.
To find out about Hon Won's current state,
And to tie down Kang Min-hee according to Seo Hweol's plan, I head towards Heaven-Earth Palace.
Kugugugugu!
After flying for about half a day,
The Heaven-Earth central region comes into view in the distance.
'It's noticeably faster now.'
In the past, it would have taken several days at the speed of a Grand Cultivator to travel from the Human Race territory to the Heaven-Earth central region.
But now that I have reached the Quasi-Star Shattering level,
Combining the ground-shrinking technique, Flying Escape Technique, Gliding Technique, and Sword Flight, I reached the Heaven-Earth central region from the Human Race territory in just half a day.
Of course...
'The same goes for Kang Min-hee.'
Kang Min-hee has been chasing me in a straight line, absorbing all the vengeful spirits from every race along the path, empowering herself, and making them her subordinates.
Though she hasn't yet absorbed as many vengeful spirits as she did when she was in the Human Race territory, Kang Min-hee continued to steadily grow in size.
Kugugugugu!
Is it just her size?
Her speed is also increasing, albeit gradually.
Glancing back at the dark storm chasing after me, I hurry even faster towards Heaven-Earth Palace.
As a result of pushing myself like mad for half a day, aiming to reach Heaven-Earth Palace even a bit faster than Kang Min-hee,
I manage to arrive at Heaven-Earth Palace slightly ahead of her.
'Now, in about 15 minutes, Kang Min-hee will arrive.'
The confrontation with Hon Won has to be finished within this time.
Swooooosh—
Perhaps because Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens made everyone evacuate, Heaven-Earth Palace is quiet.
However, at the center of Heaven-Earth Palace,
I frown, feeling a powerful presence.
Despite Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens persuading him, Hon Won remained in place.
Bo-oong!
Jeeooong!
At my gesture, a vast sword energy surges forth, tearing through the palace walls and rushing towards the area where Hon Won resides.
Kugugugugu!
As Heaven-Earth Palace crumbles, I look down at the place where Hon Won's cultivation chamber is located.
He is dressed the same as when I last met him.
The same purple dragon robe, with hair sticking out messily from beneath his manggeon, and his disheveled topknot—a worn and haggard appearance.
But there is one difference from before.
Suuuk—
He looks up at me.
Clicking my tongue, I gaze down at him.
"...How did you end up in such a state, Heaven-Earth Palace Lord?"
Hon Won's eyes have lost their former brightness.
The once brightly shining 監 (supervision) has completely lost its light, leaving only darkness.
It likely has something to do with the Owner of Great Mountain being captured by the Light.
It seems as though he lost his sight entirely, as his eyes fail to focus on me.
However, even if beings at the Integration stage lose their sight, they have a consciousness domain. While he appears to be looking at me with vacant eyes, he is aware of my presence.
"...I don't know. My eyes suddenly lost their light not long ago. I don't know why."
"Haven't your subordinates told you? A terrifying ghostly entity will soon arrive at Heaven-Earth Palace."
However, Hon Won chuckles and says,
"What do you want me to do? If it's stronger than me, I'll die. If I'm stronger, then I'll capture it."
"They are someone you absolutely cannot capture. Quickly retreat."
"...I don't want to."
He sneers with gloomy eyes.
"In any case, the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect that you and that Jin Myeong-hoon one failed to properly protect...Ever since that sect vanished from the Human Race territory, to be honest, I haven't felt any reason to continue living. Yes...I've lived long enough. The Grand Cultivators at the Grand Perfection Integration stage know this secretly. That in ten thousand years, this world will meet its end...there's no reason to keep living anyway, and since everything will end in ten thousand years, what's the point of living longer?"
He turns his head and says,
"I will sit here and recuperate, in case a miracle happens and the disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect manage to ascend. If all you came to say is to retreat, then get lost. I have no desire to face you..."
"..."
I look down at him for a moment.
And then,
"Huuu."
I descend in front of Hon Won.
"Listening to you is unbearable."
I growl as I grab Hon Won by the collar.
"Saying the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect was annihilated, saying that it's because of me and Jeon Myeong-hoon, saying you feel there's no reason to live...you really know how to say the most irritating things."
"Will you not let go?"
"We only have 15 minutes, but that should be enough. For the next 15 minutes, I will fix that completely rotten mentality of yours...once you feel pain close to death, perhaps your will to survive will awaken."
"Puhuhu...a brat not even ten thousand years old...Do you even know what the pain of loss truly is...?"
He sneers as he looks down at me.
"Born with good talent due to luck and reaching the Integration stage within 500 years, it seems you're under a delusion. Do you think you're the protagonist of the world? Do you think you understand all the misfortunes of misfortunes and all the pains of pains in the world and dare to lecture me? Don't delude yourself! You're nothing more than a brat who hasn't even lived a tenth of what I've lived! The pain you've gone through isn't even worth a fingernail compared to what I've experienced!"
"..."
Kuguk, kuguguguguk!
Gradually, Hon Won's weight begins to increase.
The momentum of the one I am holding begins to rise.
"Let go of me and get lost. Whether I live or die is my own concern."
"...You should have lost your tongue, not your eyes."
I glare at Hon Won with a piercing gaze and let go of his collar.
"I've slightly changed my mind. You will truly experience a pain so severe that even death will seem merciful."
"You brat, thinking my power from back then when my body was in poor condition is my true power..."'
Hon Won draws forth the Great Mountain's Splitting Emperor Technique and reaches out to me.
The next moment, I literally shatter his Great Mountain Splitting Emperor Technique and grab his face, slamming him down.
The entire Heaven-Earth Palace turns into rubble in a single blow.