Chapter 207: Lightning Flash (1)

Chapter 207: Lightning Flash (1)

Paaat!

With a bright light, we are released into the void under the spatial pressure.

Simultaneously, the Return to Bright Cold Realm Formation shines, syncing with the coordinates of the Bright Cold Realm I had entered into the formation.

We are forcefully launched towards the Bright Cold Realm, with Yu Hwa protecting us from the tremendous spatial pressure.

Kugugugu!

Among the Heavenly Being stage cultivators, those more skilled take on the spatial pressure for others, bringing them along in their ascension.

Such Heavenly Being stage cultivators face even greater pressure than what they are supposed to bear, often causing their faces to distort due to the effort.

This is also true for Yu Hwa, who is ascending with me, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and Gyu-baek, who is practically no different from a mortal.

While I support her with life force from behind to prevent her from collapsing during our ascension, Yu Hwa's face is still terribly contorted from the pain and spatial pressure.

Kururung!

Each time her melody, now akin to a Heavenly Tribulation, resonates, a crimson river surges upwards and shakes off the spatial pressure.

[Whenever your energy wanes, let me know. I will take over.]

[I'm still fine.]

Being a Nascent Soul stage cultivator of both the Heaven and Earth Tribes and having achieved Treading Heavens, I am robust enough to withstand more than the average Heavenly Being cultivator, allowing us to take turns.

Clinging to her back, I observe the surrounding scenery.

The beautiful stars of the Astral Realm scatter beneath us, passing by below.

Swallowing my saliva, I wonder, 'If we ascend this time, perhaps the point of regression might become fixed again.'

The criteria for fixing the regression point is inscrutable, no matter how much I think about it.

Crossing dimensions, for instance, did not change the return point when I went to the True Devil Realm.

Then, would ascending fix the point?

'...Let's just go and see.'

Whether the point is fixed or not,

I have done my best in everything I could.

'In my life so far, there's nothing I'm ashamed of....'

Even if it becomes fixed, let's just be grateful and move forward!

After a while, Yu Hwa asks to switch, and we take turns enduring the spatial pressure head-on.

Three days might have passed when, suddenly,

Paaat!

Far away, I feel a familiar flow of spiritual energy.

I breathe vitality into Yu Hwa.

[It's just the beginning. Be alert.]

[Yes.]

Paaat!

Squinting at the rays of light visible from afar, I brace myself for the impact of the dimensional barrier soon to envelop us.

'Formless Sword!'

I raise my Formless Sword upright and plunge into the dimensional barrier. Shortly after,

Flash!

We finally succeed in our ascension, returning to the Bright Cold Realm.

Paaat!

Sssht!

Familiar spiritual energy.

The scarce spiritual energy of the lower realms felt so sparse in comparison to the ocean-like heaven and earth spiritual energy that now envelops my body.

As I look around, a Four-Axis stage cultivator dressed in familiar clothes approaches.

"Welcome, this place is the Flying Immortal Platform of the Heaven-Earth Palace in the Bright Cold Realm. You are... Hm?"

Then, after scanning my cultivation, he looks over Gyu-baek and Yu Hwa behind me.

"...No, one Nascent Soul and one... Qi Building stage... And that one... a slave race?"

His casual mention of Gyu-baek as a slave race momentarily sparks rage in Gyu-baek's eyes.

"What are you? How did you ascend? Are you monsters that live in the void?"

The next moment.

Yu Hwa smiles softly and begins to play her instrument.

Tuwoong

Her performance, though profoundly beautiful to those who listen properly, sounds merely like thunder to those who only sense the phenomenon.

The nearby Four-Axis stage cultivators' faces twist in horror at the sight of the crimson river and the sound of thunder around her.

[A Heart Tribe spy!!!]Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

[Just kill her first!]

It seems as though the barrier wants to resist, but I begin laying down the circuits of the Mad Lord on the barrier.

A very small part of the barrier transforms into one of the Mad Lord's puppets.

"Open."

Click!

I easily open the barrier's door and enter, surveying my surroundings.

'This is Thunder Spirit Island'

Woong, Woong

It isn't a dark feeling.

However, clouds float everywhere with blue or yellow lightning flashing within.

'Let's gather some information first.'

I infiltrate the market on Thunder Spirit Island to gather information about the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and the Heavenly Lightning Banner.

A few days later.

My investigation of the Heavenly Lightning Banner and Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect proves quite fruitful.

The Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect established its position by pushing out the previously dominant Supreme Thunder Spirit Sect.

Rumors were widespread throughout Thunder Spirit Island that Jin Byuk-ho of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect killed an elder of the Supreme Thunder Spirit Sect who was at the Four-Axis stage in one strike.

'That elder was probably Yeon Wei. And Yuan Wei, inhabiting the body of her descendant Yeon Jin, should be in the True Devil Realm.'

The Heavenly Lightning Banner, the sacred artifact of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, is kept in a shrine on the highest peak of Thunder Cloud Peak where the sect was established. Normally, only the sect leader can retrieve it.

Of course, the Council of Elders can also retrieve the Heavenly Lightning Banner, but in principle, the Heavenly Lightning Banner is managed by the sect leader.

'The Heavenly Lightning Banner is mainly taken out during sect rituals. Normally, the security around the Heavenly Lightning Banner is tight, but it actually becomes a bit lax after the rituals.''

The shrine where the Heavenly Lightning Banner is sealed is guarded by the highest-ranking disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, taking turns on watch. Their cultivation realms are filled with Nascent Soul stage cultivators, much like the disciples of the Azure Heaven Creation Sect.

'The security won't be a problem.'

If necessary, I can push through and take it by force.

The problem is that the place where the Heavenly Lightning Banner is sealed, Thunder Cloud Peak, is the central peak of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.

'If I take the Heavenly Lightning Banner, the Heavenly Being stage elders practicing nearby will be furious and charge at me.'

In fact, that doesn't matter.

After all, I plan to steal it while revealing my horns and scales by activating the Black Dragon's True Blood.

'It's a dragon's doing, after all. If I get caught stealing, the Dragon Race will take the blame, not me.'

My biggest concern right now is Jin Byuk-ho, the current Sect Leader of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and the only Four-Axis stage cultivator.

'Was killing Grand Perfection Four-Axis stage Yeon Wei due to Jin Byuk-ho's individual capability, or was it a stroke of luck because of the Heavenly Lightning Banner?'

If it's the latter, then I can just beat Jin Byuk-ho up and steal it.

However, if it's the former, it complicates matters significantly.

'The best method is to disguise myself as a disciple of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, get close to the shrine, steal the Heavenly Lightning Banner, and then disappear quickly with the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts.'

That is the cleanest way.

So, what will be the most efficient way to disguise myself as a disciple?

I begin to investigate the disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect as well.

Roaming the territories near the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, I observe the disciples, learning about their behavior, characteristics, and backgrounds.

While I'm digging into the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect for several weeks.

"Hmm!"

During that time, I stiffen upon seeing a familiar face of a man walking affectionately with a woman.

'It's been a while, Jeon Myeong-hoon.'

Since the day we fell to this world and he was kidnapped by the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect,

I see Jeon Myeong-hoon looking the happiest I have ever seen him.

He is walking down the street chatting amicably with a woman, seemingly his lover.

'...So he was like this before meeting the True Immortal.'

The discrepancy is too great.

He looks far too different from himself after the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect fell, with disheveled hair, wearing bright red clothes, and the clear bloodstains on his face.

'...If I can't handle the Heavenly Lightning Banner properly, Jeon Myeong-hoon will eventually become like that.'

Although I don't particularly like Jeon Myeong-hoon myself,

The number of people who will suffer from the descent of the True Immortal isn't small.

That's why I resolved to save not only Jeon Myeong-hoon but the entirety of Thunder Spirit Island.

Let's bring the abomination that is the Heavenly Lightning Banner to someone who can use it better, creating a story where everyone is happy.

And to do that, I begin to observe Jeon Myeong-hoon.

'You seem to be the most suitable.'

I plan to kidnap Jeon Myeong-hoon within the next few days.

'I'll borrow your identity for just a few days, Jeon Myeong-hoon.'