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“Do you think I’m going to just stand here and take it?”

The Ten Thousand Soldiers suddenly seemed to warp space and time, stacking their moves like before to amplify their power. With the combined strength of eight Ten Thousand Soldiers, they became far more powerful than when they surrounded me, especially with the Golden Light Saint and Wang Cheon-gun holding back the Sorcerer.

With a combative grin, the Sorcerer lifted the Sabre Sword into the air. In this critical moment, I hesitated whether to jump in or not, but Cheon Woo-jin spoke to me.

“Let it be. This isn’t our fight.”

Is it really okay? At that moment, one of the Sorcerer’s Sabre Swords started to tremble in the air as they reached out their hand.

“Six Immortal Swords, pierce!”

Bam! A burst of blue blood erupted. Out of nowhere, the blade ripped through Wang Cheon-gun’s shoulder, slicing down to his leg. It definitely looked like a fatal wound, yet Wang Cheon-gun just grinned and said to the Sorcerer,

“You missed.”

With a crackling sound, Wang Cheon-gun instantly regenerated his body. Being a Monster Sage, he could heal much faster than a human. Closing in closer, the Sorcerer’s expression soured.

“The Red Water Formation has developed quite a bit, huh? Have you been training for thousands of years? But it won’t save you from your doom!”

Suddenly, a dark fabric started fluttering behind the Sorcerer as if it were alive. Taken aback, Jin Tian-Jun screamed in fear.

“The Six Soul Banner!”

“Hahaha.”

The Six Soul Banner suddenly expanded into six tendrils, aiming to engulf the area of the Ten Thousand Soldiers. The Golden Light Saint’s energy radiated to try and slice through it, but the dark mass filled the space completely, until everything went pitch black.

Thanks to the barrier created by Cheon Woo-jin, we were safe. I turned to him, asking,

“What’s happening right now?”

“Just watch.

Cheon Woo-jin replied nonchalantly.

“From the start, this battle had a predetermined outcome.”

He was right. A little while later, when the Six Soul Banner receded and visibility returned to normal, the only two Ten Thousand Soldiers standing were Wang Cheon-gun and the Golden Light Saint. Even they showed extreme fatigue, indicating they were nearly out of energy. The others were sprawled out on the ground.

With an arrogant tone, the Sorcerer spoke.

“What’s the matter? I haven’t even used all my Sabre Swords yet, and you’ve all already been wiped out by the Six Soul Banner?”

“That’s… impossible… have you really regained your full power? No, this is even more than before…”

“With the power of Tongtian Road in my hands, isn’t it obvious?”

Wang Cheon-gun despaired. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said,

“Sorcerer! What do you gain by killing us all? What’s your aim with the hollow Golden Crow Island?”

“Haha. That’s none of your concern. It would be nice if you become my subordinates, but my goal has always been to make the power of Tongtian Road mine. Once that’s achieved, you will be as insignificant as chicken ribs!”

…!!

“I’ll give you one last chance. Will you become my subordinates or will you die?”

Wang Cheon-gun seemed to hesitate intensely.

But a moment later, he wore a knowing look and actually smiled.

“Smiling?”

“Hehehe, you’re toast…”

Boom! Suddenly, the entire Tongtian Road shook violently as if a giant meteor had crashed into it. It definitely felt like a natural disaster was setting in, and while everyone was in shock, Wang Cheon-gun declared,

“You should give up now. If you promise to retreat, I’ll make him stop.”

……

The Sorcerer remained calm. After some thought, she said,

“I thought this might happen, but you’ve truly become an Apostle of God.”

“Retreat…”

Puff! Wang Cheon-gun was about to reply, but the next moment, a Sabre Sword flew in and instantly wiped out all the Ten Thousand Soldiers. They had been drained of all energy and couldn’t even resist.

The Sorcerer, having committed the most brutal massacre, nonchalantly retrieved her Sabre Sword, then turned her gaze towards us.

“Celestial Sage, how about making a deal?”

“What are you talking about?”

Unbelievably, Celestial Sage stood behind us. I don’t know when he got there, but clearly, he had pierced through every obstacle to reach the heart of Tongtian Road. Fixing his gaze on Celestial Sage, the Sorcerer continued.

“Right now, outside, that Apostle, Daji, has broken free from her seal and is rampaging. If you manage to catch her for me, I’ll assist you in the future.”

Celestial Sage stroked his chin and frowned.

“…I saw that too, but why do you sound like you’re being generous? From the moment you started helping us take control of Tongtian Road, you’ve owed us. If Xiang Yu hadn’t taken care of those two, you wouldn’t have dispatched them so easily earlier. If we hadn’t helped, you would have exhausted yourself trying to break through Tongtian Road’s defenses alone.”

“Ugh.”

“And can’t you handle Daji by yourself? Surely, with the power of Tongtian Road, employing the Sabre Sword and Six Soul Banner would suffice.”

“I’m not that strong.”

The Sorcerer’s reply drew a scoff from Celestial Sage.

“You’re kidding me~ You’re afraid of Daji acquiring the Law of Cause and Effect and receiving infinite divine power. I see you trying to redirect the arrow of causality towards us.”

……

“This isn’t our concern. You’ll have to survive alone and keep your promise later!”

As Celestial Sage turned away, the Sorcerer quickly interjected.

“Are you scared of Daji? You coward.”

To everyone’s surprise, Celestial Sage nodded.

“Yeah, I’m scared. At least the current Daji is someone I wouldn’t want to face. So long!”

“W-Wait! Hold on! I was wrong!”

Even more bizarre was the Sorcerer’s reaction. She truly looked panicked, almost begging.

“…If you want the precious treasures of Golden Crow Island, I’ll give you several. Anything you want, just help me! If this goes on, Golden Crow Island will face destruction!”

……

Celestial Sage glanced at me. He was honoring the promise he made to me earlier and passing the decision-making power back to me. Feeling grateful for his loyalty, I asked Celestial Sage.

“Celestial Sage, is Daji really that dangerous right now?”

Boom! Once again, Tongtian Road shook. While it wasn’t as violent as before, it was still enough to instill fear within us. Responding to my question, Celestial Sage scratched his head and sighed.

“Yeah. Just as I said before, I’d be a fool to face Daji now.”

“Why? With the power of either Xiang Yu or Celestial Sage alone, you could handle Daji easily…”

“If it’s just facing Daji summoned to the lower realm, maybe. But things are different now.”

“Huh?”

“Ugh, Sorcerer. You explain it. I’m too tired.”

When Celestial Sage pointed to Cheon Woo-jin, he looked utterly bewildered but soon regained his composure and said calmly.

“Baek Woong. While a Daji summoned to the lower realm is indeed powerful, just being summoned doesn’t mean that there are no restrictions on the main body bound within Golden Crow Island. It’s like just unlocking a few giant locks and summoning her to the ground.”

“…?”

“The case is different now.”

Cheon Woo-jin sighed.

“Right now, we are the invaders that have forced an all-out assault against Tongtian’s God of the Imperial Palace. Of course, the God can intervene directly, and the Law of Cause and Effect and divine powers at play are entirely different than a human sorcerer summoning her from the mortal world. Additionally, it feels like all celestial seals have been lifted from Daji.”

“What?! All the seals have been lifted?”

“Yes. The God of the Imperial Palace must have personally undone them, giving Daji the justification to fight against the invaders.”

I couldn’t help but be shocked.

All the celestial seals that tied down Daji’s giant form were simply removed?

“Furthermore, a Daji released from seals will naturally be immortal, receiving direct divine support, and her sorcery will far surpass what it used to be. I can’t even be sure if my illusion techniques will work against her now. Even if Xiang Yu or Celestial Sage were stronger than her, Daji will only grow stronger while fighting.”

…!!

“This means that the “Old Ruler” intervening would signify such a trend.”

“No way…”

“Daji’s essence is the Yin Spirit of Nüwa. She was never a mere monster, and now she’s become a calamity that breaks heaven and earth.”

At that moment,

“What are you worrying about? Worrying about things that aren’t even your concern makes you a fool of the world.”

Xiang Yu’s apathetic voice came from the entrance. Everyone turned their gaze towards him, and following behind Xiang Yu was Gong Gong, who prepared to place his giant sword back in its sheath.

“I think the same. Since this isn’t our fight, let’s just leave.”

Everyone opposed this. With no more dilemmas, I turned to the Sorcerer.

“I’m sorry. We’ve honored our promise to help, so you’ll have to handle the rest.”

“You want me to give up now after regaining Tongtian for the first time in thousands of years? That’s not happening!”

“I can’t help that.”

“Ugh! You guys… If that’s how it is, then I’ll make this your problem!”

A fierce glare sparkled in the Sorcerer’s eyes. Raising her hand, she shouted.

“No matter what comes out, you’ll regret not helping me!”

With a snap, space distorted tremendously, and an overwhelming magical power burst forth. Even Xiang Yu and Celestial Sage flinched at the immense magical aura, while Dang San and Seo Mun-hye looked like they were about to choke. I panicked and shouted,

“What are you doing?!”

“I was preventing the manifestation of the Old Ruler here, but now I’m done holding back.”

“What?”

“Hehe… Try to escape with all your might!”

Bang! With those words, the Sorcerer vanished into thin air. Simultaneously, Celestial Sage released his clones to cast a sorcery, and Cheon Woo-jin urgently chanted a spell to assist Celestial Sage. Celestial Sage’s main body grew frustrated as he said,

“Damn it. This is just a matter of time. Xiang Yu, you too, lend a hand.”

“Hmph.”

Xiang Yu seemed annoyed but still released energy from the constellation, helping without a word. He appeared to find the current situation somewhat troubling.

“Gong Gong, you too.”

“Got it.”

As powerful beings began to block the dimensional door, I asked,

“What’s going on?”

“As you can see. They think summoning Daji isn’t enough, and the God is planning to descend here. That’s something we can’t handle. If we manage to flee haphazardly, they will come for us, so we have to hold it off for now.”

“We need to run immediately.”

“I’ve been saying that since earlier. Damn it, we don’t have enough time to block this all!”

Celestial Sage shook his head and turned to me.

“By the way, where’s Jin So-cheong?”

“Oh.”

“Find her quickly. If we leave her here, she will definitely die.”

“Hang on a sec.”

I hurriedly asked Seo Mun-hye and Dang San about Jin So-cheong’s whereabouts. However, neither of them knew, and I began to panic. If the Heavenly Mysterious Woman were here, she could have used the Corpse Dissolution Technique to find her quickly, but that convenient method was unavailable now.

At that moment,

“Baek Woong.”

Jin So-cheong’s voice called to me as she walked over.

“I found something strange on my way.”

“What is it?”

“An egg.”

Jin So-cheong held an egg in her arms. Not knowing what it was, I quickly said,

“Now that you’re here, let’s escape!”

Whoosh! A moment later, Cheon Woo-jin used a large-scale Transmission Technique to move us all, and shortly after, we found ourselves at the ruins of the Four Talents Sect where Dang San was.

In the sky, there was a gaping hole, about a hundred at that size, and a colossal version of Daji appeared, smashing the Tongtian Road to pieces.

“Kraaaak.”

Ka-boom! Ka-boom!

It was as if Daji screamed, her body and tail collided harshly, and yet the massive Tongtian Road, protected by the Ten Thousand Soldiers’ might, was demolished effortlessly. Furthermore, every time Daji screamed, hundreds of bolts of lightning struck all across Golden Crow Island, wreaking havoc on the world.

I could feel Daji’s immense power even beyond the dimensional door, and I swallowed hard.

“She’s strong.”

Just as Cheon Woo-jin and Celestial Sage had said, Daji here was certainly dozens of times more powerful than when summoned to the mortal realm. If we had stayed behind and directly faced Daji, we would have likely suffered massive casualties or been entirely annihilated. The existence known as an Apostle could gain unfathomable strength as long as the Law of Cause and Effect was permitted.

Celestial Sage breathed a sigh of relief.

“Fortunately, we managed to slip away without leaving traces. But the power given to Daji remains intact…”

Cheon Woo-jin continued.

“If someone summons Daji to the mortal realm, then that power will come with them.”

“Exactly. That’s the problem.”

……

I realized the danger wasn’t completely over yet. And feeling worried, I turned to Cheon Woo-jin and asked,

“Could the Eight Parts of the Divine or Chi You summon Daji to the current world?”

“It’s possible, but you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Why?”

“While the Chi You and the God of the Imperial Palace might be allied, there’s no true trust between Old Rulers. The current Daji has grown powerful by consuming the Law of Cause and Effect. Knowing her personality, would she really let someone like that into her own home?”

“Ah.”

“The Eight Parts of the Divine could not control her. For the time being, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Honestly, the current Daji could easily be considered an inferior Old Ruler.

Chi You enjoyed clever and intricate schemes, preferring to withdraw entirely if things didn’t play out according to his intentions. No matter how much of an ally they were, he would never accept someone like Daji.

Jin So-cheong sighed.

“…In the end, all we got was this egg we found in the secret space.”

…

I looked at the egg, feeling glum.

What significance could that egg possibly hold?

‘That Sorcerer, what a pain…’

In the end, we went through hell on our way to Golden Crow Island, but we came away with nothing.

 

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