Chapter 258: Invaders
Not everyone in the Corpse-Blood Realm fought to the death constantly. Nor were they all obsessed with devouring one another every second.
Though it was a far harsher world than the Central Heavens Realm, the Corpse-Blood Realm still possessed cities and villages, along with organized factions and groups.
The Black Shadow Sect was one such organization.
A group led by one of the Eight Kings, the Black Beast Bubble Phantom King.
“Not long ago, they contacted nearby factions and wandering cultivators. They announced that a massive passage to the Central Heavens Realm had opened and invited everyone to head to the Central Heavens Martial Realm together.”
If the opponent ca from the Corpse-Blood Realm, one could only absorb power from those of similar level. But things were different for those from the Central Heavens Realm.
They were living beings, making them excellent prey for the cultivators of the Corpse-Blood Realm regardless of strength.
“Apparently, at first there was little response, even though a path to the Central Heavens Realm had opened.”
That reaction was inevitable, because the location of the gate was terrible.
The Central Heavens Martial Realm.
Invading the Central Heavens Realm by crossing into the domain protected by the monster known as the Sword Heavenly Lord was simply too dangerous.
“Of course. The mont they crossed into the Central Heavens Realm, they could die imdiately. But then the King delivered another ssage.”
* The Corpse King will stand with us. The guardian of the Central Heavens Martial Realm cannot stop us!
“The Corpse King? And who’s that?”
“One of the top three among the Eight Kings. A Great Ascension cultivator.”
If the Corpse King truly joined them, the situation changed completely.
A Great Ascension cultivator was equivalent to the Immortal Realm among martial artists. Such a being could absolutely contend with the Sword Heavenly Lord.
From that point onward, the atmosphere among the Corpse-Blood Realm cultivators changed.
“Doesn’t this complicate things? The enemy’s numbers have increased.”
The sudden appearance of another powerful figure caused Jang Woo-hyun’s expression to harden.
“No. The Corpse King will absolutely not participate.”
Among the three strongest mbers of the Eight Kings, one ca from the World of Magic, while the other two ca from the Spiritual Realm of Cultivators.
“The Corpse King is from the Spiritual Realm. And the two from the Spiritual Realm have both vanished recently. That’s common knowledge among the Eight Kings.”
“Are you sure? They could’ve disappeared to prepare for this.”
Lee Ahn shook his head.
“You may already know this, but sothing has happened in your side’s Upper Realm—the place martial artists and cultivators ascend to.”
It was sothing Jang Woo-hyun had already heard several tis.
So unknown problem had appeared in the Upper Realm, and even Fusion Stage and Great Ascension cultivators from the cultivators’ territories had vanished.
“The Corpse King is focused on that issue. I don’t know the exact details, but I can say this with certainty. The Corpse King will never interfere in this matter.”
“Then why did the Black Beast Bubble Phantom King say sothing like that?”
“He’s scheming sothing. Perhaps he plans to sacrifice the others. If it’s the Phantom King, that would be perfectly in character.”
Even to Jang Woo-hyun, it sounded highly plausible.
Hyeonwol had sacrificed his own sect in order to open the passage connected to the Corpse-Blood Realm. A cultivator working with him would likely be even worse.
“In my opinion, the passage created this ti isn’t an ordinary one. That may be why they need so many people. Honestly, this works out well. Help while we’re at it. You deal with Hyeonwol, and I’ll deal with the Phantom King Baek Jeong-ak.”
Since Hyeonwol had beco involved with one of the Eight Kings, soone would need to face him. Jang Woo-hyun agreed with Lee Ahn’s reasoning and asked about the plan.
“Unlike , Baek Jeong-ak doesn’t wander around. The Black Shadow Sect has occupied the sa territory for a very long ti. The area surrounding the sect is protected by a massive barrier, so I can’t enter. Neither can my subordinates.”
Lee Ahn explained that his summoned creatures and followers possessed such distinct energy signatures that they could not enter the Black Shadow Sect’s territory.
“There are three cities surrounding the Black Shadow Sect’s main headquarters. Each city has a tower, and those towers function as the devices maintaining the barrier.”
A fist-sized sphere of blue light floated before Lee Ahn. Around it appeared three elongated streaks of light, after which a translucent barrier wrapped around the entire structure.
“If you destroy even one tower.”
Lee Ahn touched one of the elongated lights with his finger, and the translucent barrier shook violently.
“Then I’ll be able to enter his domain.”
Next, a crimson cloud shattered the translucent barrier and entered inside. The red cloud destroyed the remaining towers before swallowing the fist-sized sphere of light at the center.
“So we’ll be fine entering?”
“The barrier was created to deal with opponents on the level of the Eight Kings. You entering won’t matter. Besides, the Black Shadow Sect is currently gathering troops, so getting into the city should be easy.”
Allowing outsiders to enter so freely was also a display of confidence. It ant they believed they could handle anyone below the level of the Eight Kings.
“This won’t be easy, will it?”
“You’re asking the obvious.”
“And even if we destroy the tower, can you really defeat the Phantom King? He’s still one of the Eight Kings.”
“That’s another obvious question.”
Lee Ahn grinned.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely kill him. Just focus on your own task. Though I want to ask you sothing too.”
“Go ahead.”
“Can you really defeat Hyeonwol? This isn’t the Central Heavens Realm. It’s the Corpse-Blood Realm.”
“Then don’t ask obvious questions either. Even if it’s difficult, it’s sothing I have to do.”
Jang Woo-hyun smiled back at Lee Ahn. From each other’s eyes, they could read unwavering resolve.
The two stared at one another briefly before discussing the upcoming operation.
“I’ll drop you near the outskirts of the Black Shadow Sect’s territory. Enter the city, then destroy the tower when you find an opening. But before that, we’ll need to change your appearances. Especially those two.”
Lee Ahn’s gaze shifted toward Seo Ryeom and Cho-su.
The two of them belonged to entirely different races, so disguises were necessary.
---
“I have to wear this too?”
Although Jin Ha-un could move around the Corpse-Blood Realm normally, Lee Ahn still handed him a breastplate made of bones.
“You have to. Even if people can’t tell you’re alive, there’s no reason to let them know you’re martial artists.”
There were no martial artists in the Corpse-Blood Realm. Occasionally, people who practiced bizarre demonic arts or sinister techniques crossed over, but they were closer to cultivators than martial artists. So were not even human.
The inhabitants of the Corpse-Blood Realm were cultivators from the Spiritual Realm, mages from the World of Magic, or as Lee Ahn had explained, beings who were born as Hungry Ghosts or Corpse Ghosts in the depths and clawed their way upward.
Jin Ha-un and Jang Woo-hyun put on the breastplates Lee Ahn handed them. A gloomy energy imdiately wrapped around the two.
“Now nobody will realize you’re living humans.”
“This thing is seriously uncomfortable. What about you, Brother Cho?”
“Sa here.”
A short distance away—
Seo Ryeom and Cho-su wore Ghost Bone Armor that completely covered their bodies in bone. To conceal their identities, the two had no choice but to hide everything, including their faces.
“I already handed all usable Dharma Treasures over to Cho-su, so now we just need to do our jobs.”
“Do we not need so kind of contact thod?”
“Don’t worry about that. The mont you destroy the tower, I’ll rush over imdiately.”
Once preparations were complete, Cho-su pulled out not the Flying Apparatus he normally used, but one Lee Ahn had given him.
A bizarre magical artifact composed of the skull of an unknown beast attached to a long spine.
Ten actively moving arms extended from both sides of the spine. Naturally, the arms were also made entirely of bone.
The three boarded the strange artifact first, but Jang Woo-hyun approached Lee Ahn with one final question.
“You said you wander around instead of settling down sowhere, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then have you ever seen symbols like these? No… sothing like this?”
Jang Woo-hyun wrote characters onto the floor.
[쑤뮤붼짹]
After the first strange character, he added several more words and sentences. Lee Ahn frowned as he stared at them.
“Why are you showing this scribbling?”
Since it looked neither like symbols nor letters, the reaction was understandably poor.
“Scribbling…… yeah, I suppose that’s how it looks. Never mind.”
Jang Woo-hyun turned away again.
‘So there’s nothing here after all?’
He had asked just in case. Kim Min-soo had once said he had left things hidden all over the place.
‘The Corpse-Blood Realm was probably impossible.’
Even if Kim Min-soo had sent Projections here, the Corpse-Blood Realm rejected the living. He probably could not leave anything behind in this world.
“Then we’re leaving. See you later.”
Having finished his final question, Jang Woo-hyun boarded the bizarre-looking magical artifact and took flight.
---
Even while heading toward the Black Shadow Sect’s territory, Jang Woo-hyun trained whenever he found spare monts.
After experiencing it once, he could now read the energy of the Corpse-Blood Realm even while wearing the bracelet. Though admittedly, it was still imperfect.
‘The Energy of the Five Elents exists here too.’
It was not balanced like in the Central Heavens Realm, but rely being able to sense it was a great gain.
Resonating the Five Elents Qi within his Middle Dantian with the surrounding energies, he spread out both hands. After concentrating briefly, a tiny fla ford in his right hand while a droplet of water appeared in his left.
“……Captain, did you figure sothing out again?”
Seo Ryeom asked with a weary expression.
Seo Ryeom himself was obsessed with battle and martial arts, but even he could not compare to Jang Woo-hyun. Compared to him, Seo Ryeom almost seed ordinary.
“It’s still lacking. I can’t really do anything with it yet.”
Hyeonwol had prepared to co to the Corpse-Blood Realm long ago. Judging from everything, his power was probably even stronger here.
Even if Jang Woo-hyun had taken a step forward, he still lacked a proper way to face him imdiately.
Moreover, he still could not use his full strength. He needed sothing new.
‘If only the Five Elents Qi beca a little stronger, things would change.’
Now that he could read the flow of the world, he felt he might be able to control the Five Elents in an entirely different way than before. However, the Corpse-Blood Realm lacked too much ordinary energy.
He considered contacting Lee Ahn again to search for another thod, but then he noticed Jin Ha-un combining two swords together.
“Ah!”
“Hm? Hyung-nim, did you want to say sothing?”
When Jang Woo-hyun suddenly exclaid, Jin Ha-un looked at him curiously.
“No. I just rembered sothing.”
Watching the two swords rge, Jang Woo-hyun recalled the being ford from the fusion of the five energies.
And he rembered the gift that being had given him.
Jang Woo-hyun possessed an item capable of strengthening his energy and creating an entirely new domain.
‘If I use that, this might actually work.’
“Woo-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but stay alert.”
It was Cho-su who pulled Jang Woo-hyun from his thoughts.
Raising his arm, Cho-su pointed into the distance.
“Soone’s coming.”
Thanks to Lee Ahn’s help, they could use their strength in the Corpse-Blood Realm, but the group could no longer spread their Qi Perception as widely as before.
They had to rely solely on sight to detect distant figures, which delayed their reactions.
Where Cho-su pointed, a small boat-shaped Flying Apparatus appeared. The tiny boat rapidly approached before crashing nearby.
At the sudden situation, everyone looked toward Jang Woo-hyun.
Their gazes silently asked what they should do.
“Let’s go talk to them. We should also test whether this disguise works.”
Jang Woo-hyun pointed at the breastplate he wore and the bone armor covering Seo Ryeom and Cho-su.
Cho-su stopped the spine-shaped artifact, and Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un approached the fallen group.
“Are you alright?”
The small boat was broken apart, and around it stood six cultivators. One of them approached.
“Ah, we’re fine. It’s nothing serious. Our Flying Apparatus malfunctioned and suddenly crashed. If we startled you, then I apologize.”
A middle-aged man with a gentle appearance responded to Jang Woo-hyun’s words. He smiled kindly without any trace of suspicion.
Several among them were injured, but after standing up and casually shaking themselves, broken bones reattached and torn wounds healed.
“Since fate brought us together like this, let’s at least exchange nas. I am Yang Yeon.”
“I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”
“Jin Ha-un.”
“Brother Jang, Brother Jin, and the two behind you as well—are you all heading toward the Black Shadow Sect?”
“That’s right.”
As Jang Woo-hyun carefully observed not only Yang Yeon but also his companions, his eyes shifted for a fleeting instant before returning to normal.
“Haha, this really must be a major event. Seeing so many people gathering like this.”
Unaware of the subtle change in Jang Woo-hyun’s gaze, Yang Yeon continued smiling warmly while introducing his companions.
But Jang Woo-hyun did not pay attention to their nas at all.
“Brother Jang, forgive for asking this on our first eting, but may I ask a favor?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“Our artifact is broken. Would it be possible for us to ride yours? We’re heading the sa direction anyway. Once we reach the Black Shadow Sect, I’ll definitely repay you.”
Yang Yeon continued rambling about blood and hearts taken from cultivators captured in the Central Heavens Realm, but Jang Woo-hyun rely smiled and nodded casually.
“This eting is fate as well, so why not? Let’s travel together.”
Jang Woo-hyun led Yang Yeon forward.
Even without turning around, he could tell Yang Yeon and his companions were smiling behind him.
“You can board from this side. It’s a fairly spacious artifact, so even if all of us ride together— Brother Yang?”
As Jang Woo-hyun turned around again, Yang Yeon and his companions had completely surrounded Jang Woo-hyun’s group.
“Haha, to think there are still such naive fools around. I can’t imagine how you survived in the Corpse-Blood Realm.”
The gentle smile had vanished from Yang Yeon’s face, replaced entirely with contempt.
One by one, his companions began drawing upon their power.
“Hyung-nim, idiots like these are how we make a living. Don’t be too harsh on them.”
“Hehehe. You idiots, now hand over your magical arti—”
Slash.
The speaker’s head flew off.
“Huh?”
Before anyone could even react properly, the head of another man standing nearby was severed as well. The world spun wildly within his fading vision.
“…….”
Slash.
Several cutting sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
When it ended, only Yang Yeon remained standing.
“You bastards are exactly what I expected. Still, this works out nicely. There were so things I wanted to learn about the Black Shadow Sect.”
At so point, Black Wilds Sword had appeared in Jang Woo-hyun’s hand.
From the very beginning, he had never trusted the cultivators.
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