Chapter 993 – 993. The Ascent Of Light
Splash.
Seong Yujin’s corpse fell into the sea below the cliff. Normally, a corpse would float to the surface, but a massive wave swallowed Seong Yujin’s body like a monster opening its mouth.
Hwangbo Gahye turned her gaze away from the sea. She had killed him for sure. She pierced his heart and broke his neck. No matter how skilled a martial artist at the Five Qi Realm was, there was no way he could survive. After all, the sea wasn’t just filled with ordinary fish.
‘This is the Myriad Demon Tower. There’s no need to pick a fight with the Namgung Clan.’
There were witnesses from the Three Extremes Sect, including Oh Jimu. But they were all in on it. They wouldn’t go around blabbing. Even if the Namgung Clan found out about this, they wouldn’t declare war just for a son-in-law.
‘…But why do I feel so uneasy?’
Hwangbo Gahye’s face was stiff and unyielding. Seong Yujin was just like any other man. He pretended to be a great hero, but in the end, he was just a man who fell for her beauty.
“Haha. Good work, Hwangbo Gahye.”
Oh Jimu approached, smiling. Her fiancé. An engagement that was forced upon her for the sake of the family. Hwangbo Gahye’s eyes turned cold. Was there even one thing that Oh Jimu was better at than Seong Yujin? After comparing them, the answer was none.
In terms of martial arts, Oh Jimu was clearly inferior. Seong Yujin had the backing of the Namgung Clan, and when it came to wealth, Seong Yujin seemed even more impressive. Seong Yujin had casually gifted her elixirs and handled several magical artifacts she had never seen before. He even had a spatial storage item.
‘On the other hand, Oh Jimu… Haa. He’s so lacking.’
The marriage would proceed after Oh Jimu conquered the Myriad Demon Tower and gained fame. Oh Jimu’s Three Extremes Sect was a group that cared a lot about appearances.
“That red sword, it’s quite a fine blade. Gahye, give it to me. You don’t need that weapon since you use fist, palm, and foot techniques, right?”
Greed and lust flickered in Oh Jimu’s eyes. To control Oh Jimu, she handed him the Crimson Lotus Flying Blade.
“Yes. It’s useless to me. Take it.”
“Thank you, Gahye.”
Oh Jimu grinned broadly. His eyes dripped with honey as he looked at Hwangbo Gahye. But Hwangbo Gahye only found it disgusting.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of using Oh Jimu and the Three Extremes Sect. Though it would be difficult now, in a few decades, the Hwangbo Clan would absorb the power and influence of the Three Extremes Sect. And she would be recognized for her contributions and become the head of the family.
Hwangbo Gahye suppressed her murderous intent toward Oh Jimu, feeling her ambition surge.
“Kuh-euk?!”
Oh Jimu, who was swinging the Crimson Lotus Flying Blade in the air, suddenly groaned and dropped the sword to the ground.
“Oh, Young Master Oh. What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“I just channeled a bit of my inner energy, but this damn sword reacted.”
He couldn’t even swing a sword properly? Suppressing a sigh at his incompetence, Hwangbo Gahye said,
“They say that superior weapons choose their masters. In other words, that sword is exceptional.”
“…Gahye is right. Now that I know it’s not an ordinary sword… I’m even more interested? What was the name of this sword again?”
“Crimson Lotus Flying Blade.”
“Right, Crimson Lotus Flying Blade. I’ll make it acknowledge me before we go to the next floor.”
Oh Jimu picked up the sword with a confident expression.
“By the way, Gahye. Is that sword you’re holding a spatial storage item?”
“This is mine. I can’t give it to you, Young Master Oh.”
“Well, you killed that guy, so I’ll acknowledge it. And anyway, once we get married… Hehe.”
“……”
Oh Jimu stared blatantly at her face and body. She maintained a blank expression. It was annoying, but it was also something she was used to. Reacting to it would only make Oh Jimu happy.
“Have you collected all the orbs?”
“We need about 30 more. There are quite a few of us. Gahye, what about you?”
“I’ve collected all the orbs. All that’s left is to gather more elixirs…”
Hwangbo Gahye’s gaze fell downwards. The blazing Solar Flower was in her hand. This seemingly hot elixir was surprisingly warm. And the Solar Flower was gradually weakening. Some elixirs needed special handling after being harvested to prevent their effects from diminishing. The Solar Flower was one of them. And unfortunately, Hwangbo Gahye didn’t know how to handle the Solar Flower.
“…I’ll consume the Solar Flower in a safe place and then gather more elixirs.”
“Ah, the spiritual energy of the Solar Flower is fading. What safe place are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen a few places on the way here. And I also have a magical artifact for barriers.”
The barrier artifact was something she had taken from another martial artist she had killed. With this, she could prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
“I respect your decision. But as your fiancé, I’m not comfortable leaving you alone. Yeonju, Jogung. You two will attend to Gahye. And if anything happens… protect Gahye with your lives.”
“Yes, Young Sect Master.”
“Understood.”
Two subordinates approached Hwangbo Gahye. Hwangbo Gahye clicked her tongue inwardly. They weren’t there for protection, but for surveillance.
Hwangbo Gahye and Oh Jimu quickly parted ways. Oh Jimu moved to find the orbs, and Hwangbo Gahye entered an underground space and set up a barrier. Oh Jimu’s subordinates, Yeonju and Jogung, disappeared at the entrance and stood guard.
Hwangbo Gahye took out the spatial storage item she had taken from Seong Yujin from her pouch.
A rigid, rectangular object. The surface was smooth, and it was very light. She had seen top-grade spatial storage items a few times. More than 80% of them were in the form of small boxes, and the remaining 20% were in the form of pouches.
‘Box-shaped ones could be opened and the items taken out… but how do I use this one?’
When she pressed a button-like spot, light appeared on the surface. Hwangbo Gahye wasn’t flustered. She had secretly watched Seong Yujin operate his smartphone a few times. A pattern lock screen with nine dots appeared on the screen.
‘He moved his fingers like this….’
It was fascinating to see lines drawn on the glowing screen. She somehow managed to unlock the pattern by recalling how Seong Yujin did it.
The problem was what came next.
The screen was filled with unfamiliar characters and pictures. When she touched various things with her finger, the screen reacted, but she had no idea how to take out the items.
After fiddling with the smartphone for over an hour, Hwangbo Gahye sighed and carefully placed the smartphone on the ground.
‘I can’t do this here. I’ll have to leave it to a magical artifact expert later….’
Hwangbo Gahye sat cross-legged in the center of the underground space. She took out the Solar Flower from her pouch. The blazing Solar Flower was mysterious and beautiful.
Hwangbo Gahye’s current realm was at the 10th stage of the Emerging Will. The Five Qi Realm was just around the corner. If she could properly harness the effects of this Solar Flower, she would more than reach the Five Qi Realm.
“Huuu….”
She took a deep breath as if to shake off her tension and shoved the Solar Flower into her mouth. Her mouth was hot. The heat quickly spread to the center of her body. Hwangbo Gahye focused on circulating her inner energy. A hot wind continued to blow around her body, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.
She focused and focused again to form her inner core.
***
Splash!
He fell into the sea. He was dead, but his senses hadn’t completely disappeared. The cold seawater entering his body and the waves tossing him around made him feel disgusted.
No, to be honest, what had thrown his mood into the abyss was Hwangbo Gahye’s betrayal.
‘That bitch! I treated her kindly for the past few years!’
Using auto-progress, it hadn’t been that long in real time, but from Hwangbo Gahye’s perspective, they had known each other for several years. If a man and a woman spent that much time together, they would have built enough affection to have slept together.
‘She used me several times in the Myriad Demon Tower… and she’s still acting so high and mighty…. Well, she is beautiful enough to act that way.’
He had to admit it.
But his mood didn’t improve. He had wanted to see Hwangbo Gahye clinging to him, saying she loved him… but that was gone.
‘That bitch…. The one you killed was the great hero Seong Yujin. From now on, I am….’
[Remaining time for death resistance: 3 seconds]
He used Complete Recovery. His broken arm returned to normal, his broken neck bones healed, and his pierced heart began to beat again.
‘I am the demon lord Seong Yujin!’
He regained his balance in the sea. He was about to rush out, but sea monsters were approaching him. They were fish monsters with ferocious appearances. The fish monsters with red eyes and sharp teeth circled around him.
They were cunning. They knew that humans couldn’t stay underwater for long and were waiting for him to tire out. If they waited, they would have a meal. There was no need to take risks.
But the fish monsters didn’t know one thing. He had the [Blessing of Water]. It allowed him to breathe underwater and gave him more freedom from the constraints of water.
‘First… I’ll kill you guys.’
He moved first. The fish monsters were startled and then rushed at him with their mouths wide open.
Zzzzzzzap!
The current generated from his body electrocuted the fish monsters. That was the end of it. The fish monsters were no different from ordinary fish in appearance. Except for the underwater environment, they were nothing.
‘How boring. I’m going to go up there right now, kill that bastard Oh Jimu, and violate Hwangbo Gahye… Hmm?!’
Something was rushing towards him from below. He was startled and moved to the side. A single octopus tentacle pierced the spot where he had been.
He looked down. Below the sea, a giant octopus with glowing red eyes was glaring at him. It was over 30 meters in size.
‘Shit, I got swept away by the waves… and ended up in a place with a dangerous monster.’
Seeing the over 30 tentacles wriggling, it seemed like it had no intention of letting him go.
‘I’ll kill it and take its core.’
It was a tough opponent to deal with barehanded. He summoned Stormbreaker from his inventory. Although his smartphone had been taken, he had no problem summoning items from his inventory thanks to the item summoning effect.
‘I can find the Crimson Lotus Flying Blade and the smartphone later.’
The level of civilization in this world was low. Even if they had the smartphone, they wouldn’t know how to use it. Even if they did, the [Play Life App] wouldn’t be visible to others, nor could it be operated.
The [Play Life App] wasn’t a smartphone, but his ability. The smartphone was just a convenient controller. In his current state, he could end the game and return to reality.
‘Flash.’
He dodged the 30 tentacles that were attacking him from all directions with Flash and swam towards the octopus’s head.
He transformed Stormbreaker into a long harpoon. Zzzzzap, zzzzzap! Lightning continued to crackle at the tip of the harpoon.
‘Die.’
He threw the harpoon with all his might. The harpoon pierced the monster’s head accurately. But the octopus didn’t die. It turned its mouth, which was lined with hundreds of teeth, towards him and spewed ink.
The surroundings instantly turned dark. He activated Heavenly Eye to observe the monster. It was swinging its tentacles in the darkness. He focused on dodging the tentacles for now.
‘This ink… it’s not ordinary either? My body is stinging. And I’m gradually losing strength…. It’s not the time to conserve my strength. Let’s finish this before it gets more dangerous.’
He activated the Demonic Heavenly Art. A dark aura appeared around his body. The monster didn’t miss the brief opening while he was gathering his energy. Over 10 tentacles wrapped around his body tightly. The monster’s tentacles were as rough as sandpaper. As the tentacles slowly moved, his skin was being scraped off, and red blood mixed with the seawater.
Demonic Heavenly Art (天魔神功) – Returning Demonic Dragon (回天魔龍).
Demonic energy began to rotate around his body. The monster’s tentacles were torn apart in reverse.
A current began to rotate around him, forming a whirlpool. He was the whirlpool. He charged towards the octopus.
The octopus was shredded in the mixer. He somehow managed to get his hands on the core deep inside the monster’s body. His surroundings were spinning with ink and the monster’s flesh mixed together.
He accelerated the rotation and shot upwards. It didn’t take long for the whirlpool to become a tornado.
