Chapter 497: Side Story 17 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy

“Haha, you’re going to kill me?”

Contempt surged through immediately.

Swoosh!

“How?”

Before she knew it, the gray hand of the Yeonggwi caressed Baek Sang-ah’s cheek.

“You couldn’t even react before I touched your cheek like this.”

“……”

“Right now, there’s a gap between you and me greater than heaven and earth. With your strength, you can’t penetrate my defense. And in return, you can’t even sense my movements.”

The eyes of the Yeonggwi glinted with a chilling light.

“So, let me ask again. How do you plan to kill me?”

“Somehow.”

Clang!

Her sword forcefully deflected the arm of the Yeonggwi.

A sharp trajectory immediately followed, slicing through the figure of the Yeonggwi.

Ka-ga-ga-gang!

This time, even the Turtle Shell-like defensive shield didn’t appear.

Baek Sang-ah’s chain strike couldn’t pierce even the enemy’s skin and was completely blocked.

“If it were outside, maybe. But here, I can draw out power nearly equal to my prime. I can tap into not just the Phoenix, but those beings’ powers as well.”

“……”

“Now that you’ve stepped into this place, you have no fate left but to become my toy.”

In a flash, the Yeonggwi’s eyes blazed golden.

“……Kuh!”

The moment she met those eyes, strength drained from her entire body, and she lost control of her limbs.

“Works perfectly. I thought there was something off about that human earlier.”

How could I play with her best?

The gaze of a snake traced over Baek Sang-ah.

“What you unleashed outside was a bit threatening. Who would’ve thought ‘they’ were backing you.”

“What… do you… mean?”

“Hmm? Don’t tell me you didn’t know? You who, on the surface, are the only ones able to wield Death Qi?”

The Yeonggwi tapped Baek Sang-ah’s forehead repeatedly in disbelief.

“Those from below the Netherworld. After the Heaven’s Favor passed, most returned, but some still remain on this land.”

“……”

“Ahaha. You’re not seriously thinking that power came from just your strength, are you?”

I had heard of them.

At the end of the great war, entities suddenly appeared and harvested countless human lives.

Had Jin Yeomyung lost, it’s said those beings would have brought an end to this world according to some ancient contract.

But in the end, because Jin Yeomyung emerged victorious, it became a mere “what-if” of history.

‘I did find it strange… The True Qi consumed was only half of what I expected for that level of power…’

Indeed, it was power that could only be explained as being from “outside.”

It had far surpassed the expected potency of Resonance Qi.

“But even they can’t interfere in here. Which means… you have nothing to rely on.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yeah, I think—huh?!”

Flash!

Baek Sang-ah’s right arm, which shouldn’t have moved, suddenly sliced horizontally through space.

“Kuaaaah!”

A deep gash immediately opened across the bridge of the Yeonggwi’s nose.

Unlike before, it was a definite hit!

“Ho…how?!”

“Obviously, because I was holding back earlier.”

A completely different type of opponent from any she had fought before.

One who believed in their absolute superiority and sought to enjoy the battle.

Naturally, that meant plenty of openings.

However—

‘I didn’t finish it with a single blow.’

Had it been a purely refined strike, she might’ve severed the neck.

But she had not yet fully reached the Transcendent Demon Realm, and could only coat her blade with Sword Intent.

‘No, it’s fine even so.’

She abandoned the dual-sword technique she had trained in all her life.

Releasing the Sword Qi, she gripped the Jade Heavenly Divine Sword with both hands.

“This… is making me angry!”

Dozens of razor-sharp tendrils sprouted from behind the Yeonggwi.

It resembled the form the Colorful Flower Lord had taken when he transformed into an Awakened Body.

‘But the power imbued is completely different!’

Those dozens of tendrils split all at once—

And fired straight gray beams in a line.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

Had it been outside, it would’ve easily erased a mountain.

Even compared to the power of Gunggi she faced inside Yukdobeon, it wasn’t lacking at all!

Baek Sang-ah desperately unfolded her movement art.

Right now, there was no So Cheon to divert the enemy’s gaze.

She had to face that monster with her strength alone.

‘No, I’m not alone. But if I can’t overcome the wall in the end, there’s no victory.’

In the past, Baek Sang-ah had asked Do Zun and Jin Yeomyung for advice about the next realm.

What must be done to reach the Transcendent Demon Realm?

But every answer was the same.

– You have to surpass the singularity.

When one reaches the peak of selflessness, they arrive at the singularity.

And beyond that singularity, a new world unfolds.

Most who had reached the state known as Transformation Realm, or Extreme Demon Realm—those called Absolute Experts—never even realized the existence of the singularity before they reached the end of their lives.

But by good fortune, Baek Sang-ah had experts of the Transcendent Demon Realm around her who could explain the singularity from various perspectives, and even a transcendental master who could theorize it.

“…Hoo!”

She let out a short breath and circulated the qi throughout her body.

As her qi flowed, the Sword Intent, which had been circling her body like Protective Energy, began to circulate with it.

“Stay still!”

The Yeonggwi’s eyes glowed again.

Normally, Baek Sang-ah would have been completely immobilized again…

Crack!

“…?!”

The energy of the Spirit Eye that had been binding Baek Sang-ah’s whole body suddenly shattered as if struck by an external force!

“…What?”

Same as before. Her spell resistance was, at best, that of a human spellcaster. She didn’t seem to have any artifact that enhanced resistance, yet the Spirit Eye’s binding had no effect.

‘This is impossible unless someone is helping her!’

This was the Phoenix’s domain. Even the kings of the Netherworld could not extend their power into this place.

‘How the hell is she doing this?!’

Had it been Girin or Eungnyong instead, they wouldn’t have faltered in such a situation. But the Yeonggwi, being closer to a spellcaster, tended to become overly shaken when confronted with the unknown.

Especially because he had absolute confidence in his own power.

“You bastard!”

Unaware that the cause was right behind him, the Yeonggwi maintained distance and fired beams once again.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

His focus shaken, the Yeonggwi’s strike had lost its previous sharpness.

Baek Sang-ah effortlessly dodged the Yeonggwi’s attack and swiftly passed by him.

Slice!

She cut through the bindings that were wrapped over the eggs of the royal lineage.

“……!!”

The Yeonggwi’s face twisted as he realized Baek Sang-ah’s intent.

His current power was entirely due to an external force.

If the source of that power was cut off, he could be sufficiently weakened.

“You think I’ll let you do that?!”

If he fired inward like before, he could shatter the Phoenix’s egg.

That was why the Yeonggwi tried to maintain his calm and respond carefully.

Pa-pa-pa-pat!

Dozens, hundreds of tendrils shot out, and simultaneously, spells aimed to bind Baek Sang-ah’s feet were unleashed.

It was a graceful manipulation of power that spellcasters on the surface could never even imitate.

But Baek Sang-ah deflected the Yeonggwi’s assault with incredible speed and precision, continuing her work of separating the royal lineages.

‘It’s still okay! As long as the Phoenix’s egg is unharmed…!’

They had already drained as much as they could.

Even if all of them were extracted, it would still be fine as long as the egg remained intact.

Thus—

Pop!

At last, having separated even Lord Baek Cheong, she caught her breath, now ragged.

“Huff! Huff!”

Fending off the storm-like onslaught of the Yeonggwi was no easy task.

Even a single lapse in concentration would have cost her a limb.

‘More… just a little more…….’

Her limbs, afflicted by the Yeonggwi’s spells, felt heavy like lead.

But strangely, her mind was becoming clearer with each passing moment.

“…Not bad. But that little show is over.”

The Yeonggwi suddenly snapped his fingers.

Then, something like a square mirror appeared before her eyes.

“……”

Beyond the mirror, a blood-soaked So Cheon, trapped among a horde of spiritual beasts, came into view.

For a moment, Baek Sang-ah’s eyes wavered.

“How is it? This is the ending you were meant to face before coming here.”

So Cheon’s condition beyond the screen did not look good.

Thanks to deploying the Nine Heavens Formation and constructing a temporary domain, she had managed to stay alive for now, but much of the Nine Heavens Formation had already been severed, and the Thunder Qi on the strings had significantly weakened in intensity.

In contrast, the number of enemies surrounding So Cheon still exceeded dozens.

“Yeah, keep holding on. Once that man dies, I’ll bring his corpse and wave it in front of your eyes.”

It was a taunt with clear intent.

But her voice remained calm.

“…He won’t die.”

“What?”

“So Cheon will never die. He’ll be by my side for the next hundred years.”

“On what basis…!”

“Even if So Cheon ends up in danger…”

She raised the Jade Heavenly Divine Sword and aimed it at the Yeonggwi.

“Before that, I’ll kill you and go save So Cheon.”

“You damn wench… if you think you can do it, then try!”

Enraged, the Yeonggwi overlapped both hands and drew out his spell power.

An ominous red aura, entirely different from the pulsating red qi of the Phoenix, began to emanate from the Yeonggwi’s entire body.

– Curse of the Calamitous King (凶王指)

A divine-level curse technique that forcefully imposes misfortune upon the target.

Its power came with such great backlash that it was a technique never to be used lightly.

But the Yeonggwi, consumed by rage and robbed of reason, no longer cared about the price—he only wanted Baek Sang-ah dead.

“…….”

However—

Even facing such a vicious technique, Baek Sang-ah did not budge an inch from where she stood.

“Ha! Looks like you’re spent. You bitch dare to bluff?”

In truth, her stamina hadn’t run out yet.

But the reason she didn’t move now was because of a certain incantation that had suddenly dominated her mind.

It was the incantation of the Underworld Net Sword that Jin Yeomyung had once passed on to her.

“…….”

She didn’t know why, at this moment, that incantation resurfaced in her mind.

But she realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment of revelation.

‘The clash of different true qis. Rejection and fusion, a contradiction.’

The technique born from overcoming that contradiction was the Underworld Net Sword.

But originally, the Underworld Net Sword was impossible to manifest alone.

Because one had to endure the repulsion between the different true qis entirely with their own body.

Jin Yeomyung had the powerful physique unique to the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan and had mastered a special technique called Asura Spirit, while Cheon Yura was born with the Divine Demonic Vessel—a constitution beyond discussion.

But Baek Sang-ah had none of those things.

Thus, it was supposed to be impossible for her to realize the Underworld Net Sword.

Originally.

“You foolish human! You don’t care if your own body is destroyed?!”

The Yeonggwi correctly understood Baek Sang-ah’s state.

She was clearly attempting to forcefully use a technique far beyond her capabilities—one that would destroy her own body.

But even knowing this, Baek Sang-ah did not stop the flow of her true qi.

Chzzzzz!

Killing King’s True Qi began to pour from the Jade Heavenly Divine Sword in her right hand.

But she did not possess So Cheon’s internal cultivation to form the Sangcheongi.

Instead, what flowed from her left hand was…

The Heavenly Star True Qi that formed the Heavenly Wolf Star Sword Form she had cultivated since childhood.

Following the incantation of the Underworld Net Sword, the Heavenly Star True Qi and Killing King’s True Qi began to fuse.

But unlike the original Underworld Net Sword that had branched from the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art, this was a fusion of fundamentally different true qis.

Crack! Snap! Crunch!

Each time the true qis tried to fuse, the muscles of her entire body ruptured and her bones shattered.

The Yeonggwi, who had been about to unleash his curse, began to sweat coldly.

“Th-this way… I don’t even need to activate the Curse of the Calamitous King.”

If the opponent would commit suicide on her own, there was no need to use a risky technique.

But then—

Fwoosh!

A red divine flame suddenly wrapped around Baek Sang-ah’s entire body.

“…Huh?”

A sacred fire symbolizing regeneration and rebirth.

That flame supported Baek Sang-ah’s body, which should have collapsed on its own.

And the qi that the Yeonggwi had been drawing upon until now suddenly began to recede like the ebbing tide.

“Ph… Phoenix!!”

Only then did the Yeonggwi realize who had broken his spell and caused all of this.

“You… betrayed me…!”

As the Yeonggwi turned his head toward the egg—

Flash!

The two repelling qi streams that had resisted until now forcefully fused as one.

A dark sea-like backdrop adorned with glimmering stars of the heavens.

It was nothing less than the beauty of a galaxy.

“……Th-this is…!”

The Yeonggwi, belatedly realizing his mistake, hastily unleashed the Curse of the Calamitous King.

– Galaxy Sword (銀河劍)

The newly born sword strike of Baek Sang-ah cleaved the Yeonggwi’s body vertically in one stroke.

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