The night was deep blue.
By the time Jeong Yeon-shin's group arrived at Xiahou Wei-jin's village, darkness had fallen.
The pitch-black formation sky was filled with faintly glowing stars. Things that might or might not be real.
"..."
In front of the cold anvil.
Jeong Yeon-shin saw the Tang siblings standing in the faint night mist.
They seemed like mere shells of their physical bodies. Though their faces were smiling, they lacked their usual vibrancy.
With complexions paler than the starlight above their heads, they only appeared solid as they stood on the ground holding hammers.
"They died after making the sword."
Xiahou Wei-jin said in a calm tone. Perhaps because he had already received the news of Obeying Heaven Wing Leader's death, his voice was somewhat hoarse.
Cheon So-so's demeanor beside him was also composed, which was likely because, apart from having no particular friendship with the Tang siblings, she had witnessed many comrades die during missions. For a very long time.
Jeong Yeon-shin was different.
He silently stepped toward the siblings.
Thud.
A slow gait. Even before he could consider how the siblings had met their death, his upper dantian whispered an intuition to him.
Jeong Yeon-shin immediately understood what had happened.
'Mental Strength.'
They had used the power of the upper dantian to its extreme.
While forging the blade to be strong, hammering the sword's surface, and focusing on extremely minute balance, they had exerted abilities beyond their capacity. Just like when he had first created his sword lineage.
Had the siblings felt it?
The death approaching with each hammer strike on the sword.
"I tried to collect the bodies, but they wouldn't budge even with four strong men. The traces of spirituality dwelling in your sword have taken root in the Tang children's feet."
The short old man walked over and stood beside the dead siblings.
He was the former village chief. With insight as remarkable as his wrinkled face, he glanced at Divine Hand Hegemon King, then looked at Jeong Yeon-shin with undisguised admiration.
"It seems you've changed the order of this land after all. Desolate Fortress is Desolate Fortress even here."
"Did they leave any words?"
Jeong Yeon-shin asked without taking his eyes off the siblings.
The village chief smiled bitterly.
"They said they would make a sword for their benefactor, so I should tell them everything I knew about the true silver ore of this land. Then after practicing forging and tempering a couple of times, they immediately began working the bellows."
"..."
"That was the end. Such geniuses… I've never seen before."
After saying this, he stared intently at the divine sword tied to the Radiant Demon Wing Leader's waist.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly made a fist-palm salute to the iron clan elder who was showing undisguised admiration, then withdrew his attention.
It meant there had been no last words.
Only a single sword remained.
Rustle—
Jeong Yeon-shin silently welcomed the night air.
The breeze that coolly brushed up his sleeve hem. At this moment, strangely enough, it was difficult to tell where the tail of the wind ended.
"Mourning will be needed. I'll go in first."
Hwangbo Gon, who had patted his shoulder, trudged past him.
He seemed ready to sleep anywhere even without someone to guide him to quarters. Divine Hand Hegemon King's expression remained as calm and shameless as ever after hearing the news of the Hwangbo family's annihilation.
His inner thoughts were impossible to gauge. The only time he had fully revealed his emotions was when he marveled at Jeong Yeon-shin's bone transformation.
A figure difficult for anyone but Jeong Yeon-shin to handle alone.
Xiahou Wei-jin, who had briefly glanced at the back of Divine Hand Hegemon King's head, opened his mouth toward his junior.
"…Those siblings, I left them because trying to move them forcibly might damage the bodies. The spirituality permeating their bodies was so thick that there was no sign of decay. If there's truly no other way, we could dig deep into the ground and cut them out. I'll help if needed."
"Thank you for the advice. Please rest now."
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke softly.
Though his tone wasn't particularly resolute, the Black-rank seniors didn't add anything further.
As Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so moved away, the former village chief, who had been staring at the Radiant Demon Wing Leader's divine sword, also had to leave. He was grabbed by the nape of his neck by Xiahou Wei-jin's large hand.
"This is my junior. He's close to the next purple of Desolate Fortress, so don't be meddlesome."
"I understand, so let go…! Isn't your broad forehead the one without restraint?"
After a brief moment of dim silence.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.
"Come out."
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to deceive you?"
A voice with rough resonance in its clear pronunciation. The originally crystal-clear voice had been strangely scraped by internal energy.
Thud—
Suddenly.
With the landing, the hem of a snow-white windproof robe appeared, and then the entire figure, including a silver mask that came down only from the forehead to the nose, was brightly etched in the darkness.
It was an appearance wrapped in mysticism.
The Young Sect Leader of Ming Cult.
"Have you been playing around?"
To Jeong Yeon-shin's question, the Young Sect Leader shrugged.
"I've been busy. Manipulating the life gates and death gates of this formation to block the Golden Wing Sect Leader from trying to enter, examining traces of the rain dragon… and occasionally reinforcing the spell power that binds your wife to your shadow. This is almost like defying heaven, quite an extraordinary task, and I wonder if you appreciate it."
"My ears hurt."
"Indeed. As my only kindred spirit, you understand."
The Young Sect Leader's dark blue eyes behind the mask briefly rested on the Tang siblings, following Jeong Yeon-shin's gaze.
"Ah. So that's why."
"What?"
"Why your wife was so frightened. I thought the upper dantian energy structure of the Tang siblings was remarkably similar to yours, but when I examined their acupoints, they were a joint creation of Blood Flame Cult and the Tang family."
"..."
"Didn't you stay at the Blood Flame Cult's main branch for quite some time? Your sharp-eyed wife, wanting to take care of you, made a messy human body diagram and passed it to the Tang family, and the Blood Flame Cult Leader and the Tang family's former patriarch created these twins accordingly."
"I told you. She's not my wife."
"In there."
The Young Sect Leader's long finger pointed to Jeong Yeon-shin's shadow.
"She's hiding and trembling. Probably because you're extremely angry right now."
The Young Sect Leader, who had slightly raised one corner of his mouth, concluded. The luster flowing like waves from the silver mask seemed to intensify his smile…. "Speak your true intentions."
Jeong Yeon-shin said quietly.
He sensed some intent in the Young Sect Leader's words and actions.
Some Sima Evil Path martial artists skilled in provocation would easily win fights by drawing out blind fighting spirit from their opponents through casually thrown words.
The Young Sect Leader must be the same. Unlike the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader, he couldn't have grown up righteously.
Whether aware of his thoughts or not, the Young Sect Leader clapped his hands.
While fluttering his snow-white scarf in the wind streams that were now sharply extending from Jeong Yeon-shin's body.
"What tremendous momentum. Even after reducing the former-generation monsters of the Secret Realm Peng Family, Peng Yu-lan, and Li Shi-ming to that state."
"Wind Lord was taken down by my seniors."
"Anyway."
The Young Sect Leader waved his hand casually.
"I was testing your remaining energy in case we might have to face the rain dragon's shed skin, but it was completely unnecessary."
"Explain in detail."
"First, I came up empty-handed. No matter where I looked in the formation, I couldn't find a single scale of the rain dragon. It would have been nice if it had at least left its inner pill behind."
"I'm not interested."
"Your consolation is appreciated."
The Young Sect Leader continued slowly.
"Anyway, now that I've seen everything, we need to leave, but the moment the space opens to the outside, the spirituality remaining in the rain dragon's formation will react."
"In what way?"
Jeong Yeon-shin asked as he slowly removed his hand from the sword hilt.
Seeing this, the Young Sect Leader's collarbones exaggeratedly lowered on both sides. It seemed to be his way of showing relief.
Even though Jeong Yeon-shin still couldn't accurately gauge his chances of victory against the Young Sect Leader.
"Keep in mind that the rain dragon's primal spirit might manifest."
"Now?"
"Mystical creatures that failed to ascend are extremely greedy. They let prey enter their domain, but they never allow anything to leave."
Primal spirit.
It's a realm passed down in Taoism. When spirituality that amplifies the power of true energy completely unifies with internal energy through some harmony, creating another body.
In folk tales, it was famous as the rumor that the Wudang Sect's Taoist Ancient Sword could use the art of splitting his body.
How many people in the world could withstand the Ten Transformations of Gold performed by two identical supreme masters?
Then what about the rain dragon's split body?
"It will naturally be far inferior to the original body, and it might not even appear… but it's worth noting, right?"
"I understand."
"Then, when dawn breaks tomorrow, we'll immediately…"
"Two days later."
"What?"
"We'll leave with the common people."
Jeong Yeon-shin said, still not taking his eyes off the Tang siblings.
***
***
It proceeded smoothly.
Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so took the lead in gathering people scattered throughout the formation.
They said it was a space that would soon perish. After the formation disappeared, it was difficult to gauge what would happen to those who remained in it.
Immortal Tree Spirit and Forest-Treading were assembled.
Obeying Heaven Wing, which had partially entered the formation, also gathered.
"Is that Lightning Genius?"
"Did he really defeat the Secret Realm Peng Family alone…!"
Nearly sixty people were surprised by Jeong Yeon-shin's appearance while gathering the common people.
Those who occasionally came to seize the sapling that Cheon So-so possessed were defeated by Divine Hand Hegemon King's kicks as soon as they crossed the village fence.
"I've never washed my hands in the golden basin, so breathing outside air won't be a great shame."
Hwangbo Gon, lying like a carefree wanderer on the high fence, was someone unbound by the martial order of the righteous path.
Even after hearing about the Young Sect Leader of Ming Cult's identity, he only said "I leave it to you" as if instructing a carriage driver.
Two days passed like that.
Jeong Yeon-shin spent two days and nights with the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons. He sat cross-legged in front of the siblings.
He remained in meditation with his eyes half-closed, and when the night came with stars densely spread, he occasionally took in the sight of the two.
The starlight, rather than the too-bright sunlight, made the siblings' appearance more prominent.
Jeong Yeon-shin placed the divine sword on both his knees and occasionally thought.
Could he, like the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons, deeply engrave his traces in the world? The divine sword that remained as the siblings' posthumous work would become extremely famous without ever breaking.
"Isn't it about time you got up?"
It came from above.
Jeong Yeon-shin opened his eyes at the Young Sect Leader's voice.
Under the orange-tinged twilight.
He saw the crowd surrounding them. The scale was difficult to count, with martial artists, iron clan members, and mixed-blood members of all sorts of clans.
Had the events Jeong Yeon-shin had caused become widely known?
None among the crowd dared to speak rashly.
They watched him with gazes filled with curiosity or fear. Unlike the outside martial world, everyone here knew Jeong Yeon-shin's true martial prowess.
Jeong Yeon-shin stood up. Leaving the Tang siblings' bodies still standing upright behind him.
'There are many.'
The village was crowded with people. He was at the very center of the densely packed crowd that wanted to be included in the spell formation the Young Sect Leader would deploy.
The presences of Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so could be felt far on either side.
A formation to protect the common people. Their subordinates scattered throughout were guarding against the approach of former-generation monsters who had tried to seize the sapling.
It was extremely quiet.
The Young Sect Leader standing beside him spread both arms.
"I told you. It will be over in a moment."
"Yes."
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded.
He had already heard. That the rain dragon was a monstrous being that freely traversed eternity and moments.
"It truly will be brief."
The Young Sect Leader opened his lips again like a nagging older brother or sister.
"Without the innate senses that you and I possess, it's highly likely that no one else will be able to react. Remember that."
Jeong Yeon-shin thought silently without opening his mouth. He's quite verbose.
The Young Sect Leader's lips rose diagonally.
"Let's begin."
The moment the Young Sect Leader's leather shoe stamped the ground.
Kwaaaang—!
A sudden roar began to race in a curved line from the outside.
The true silver ore pieces placed here and there along the long fence, serving as ritual implements, shattered one after another.
It was literally just a moment.
Incomprehensible ancient characters and complex patterns were engraved, crushing the soil, and soon formed a spell formation in a large circle.
Just as some iron clan members with sensitive energy perception were silently cheering.
Whoosh—
Suddenly the sky darkened. It felt as if all directions were immersed in an abyss.
Something's shadow had fallen over them…. Jeong Yeon-shin raised his head. Natural qi concentrated so thickly it was chilling. It covered the entire formation before anyone could even react.
Woooooong—!
An extremely long and thick shadow was looking down at the ground from the sky with its mouth open.
Numerous teeth protruding from a long snout, ominously fixed eyes above it, pupils flashing like massive obsidian…
Impossible to confront.
Just one head was nearly half the size of the village.
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes widened.
'This is it.'
The martial world where the purple of Desolate Fortress dwelled, filled with all sorts of monstrous beings, mystical creatures, and absolute masters.
"Rain dragon! Rain dragon…!"
"The dragon deity is angry!"
"Ah, no…"
"This can't be!"
Many of those who had fallen into panic as if their souls had left their bodies suddenly disappeared in an instant.
The power of the spell formation had opened the invisible life gate of the formation. People in front of Jeong Yeon-shin disappeared one after another in an instant.
That procession reached right in front of Jeong Yeon-shin before he could even blink.
"It really came out. Well, I've completed the spell formation."
Right after the Young Sect Leader's voice calmly rang out.
It happened unexpectedly.
After all the common people in front had escaped the formation, and even the Young Sect Leader's form, who had briefly looked up, had become faint.
Kwaaaang—!
The front was filled with bright red lightning. It was the breath exhaled by the rain dragon's shadow.
It was enormously massive. The void was instantly distorted terribly, and the lightning spread tremendous vibrations as it rushed right up to Jeong Yeon-shin's face.
By then, Jeong Yeon-shin was feeling the gravitational pull of the spell formation trying to draw him beyond the formation, but he slightly mitigated the spell power by rotating the Luminous Wheel in his heart once.
Not yet.
The siblings were behind him. Common people were still present.
As those who belatedly recognized the tremendous lightning and inevitably fell into terror were exhaling rough breaths.
The scene in Jeong Yeon-shin's vision slowed down. The realm of extreme acceleration.
Thud.
He stepped forward instead.
While feeling the urgent presences of his seniors rushing toward him, he recalled the image of the siblings who had been bathing in starlight with their breath stopped.
Crack—
It was a sound from his heart.
The Luminous Wheel peeled off one layer, and countless fragments of faint light flowed out from his body.
Simultaneously, his entire meridian system breathed according to the incantation of the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain, weaving a garment from that starlight.
It took only an instant to envelop his entire body.
Jeong Yeon-shin, wrapped in whitish starlight like a silk garment, collided with the massive lightning with the Tang siblings at his back.