Chapter 435: The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King (3)

It was the moment the stone pagoda and Yi-gang’s sword collided.

Screeeeeech!

An unbelievable clamor for what should have been just a sword striking a stone pagoda.

It sounded as if immense stone slabs had struck each other perfectly.

A shockwave rippled outward in all directions.

“Ugh!”

He felt his insides convulse from the impact.

Veins bulged at his mouth as if he’d taken an internal injury.

And yet, what of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King?

As if he’d been waiting for this moment, he swung the stone pagoda nonchalantly.

It swept past directly in front of Yi-gang’s nose.

Yi-gang’s hair flew. If he hadn’t dodged, that blow would have taken his head.

Yi-gang staggered backward in alarm.

Even from that single clash, he could tell.

That stone pagoda was something he must not collide with.

The great force in Yi-gang’s blade seemed to be reflected right back.

It was an absolute defense of a completely different kind from the Non-Act Daydream.

Yi-gang recalled something he’d read long ago in Journey to the West.

Wasn’t it said that when the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King holds the stone pagoda, nothing can harm him?

It was a harmony that couldn’t be explained by merely calling it “strong.”

「So a single point attack can’t pierce him.」

Yi-gang immediately understood the Heavenly Demon’s commentary.

Yi-gang immediately kicked up a nearby rock.

A boulder the size of a child’s torso rose easily, and Yi-gang turned Shooting Star Fang to its side and struck it.

Unlike the stone pagoda, that rock shattered into pieces with ease.

Not only that, the countless fragments flew toward the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King like arrows.

He couldn’t possibly swat away hundreds of rock shards with the stone pagoda.

Yi-gang watched with wide eyes to see how the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King would respond.

“Foolishness!”

But the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King didn’t even consider swinging the stone pagoda.

He snorted, sneered, then gathered himself and froze.

Then the stone pagoda emitted a radiance.

Whirrrrrr!

Hundreds of rock fragments were simultaneously stopped by something invisible and fell.

So Yi-gang’s blade hadn’t missed for no reason.

The opponent held the Radiant Pagoda. The heavenly treasure’s power blocked every attack.

Yi-gang took careful note of the range that defense covered.

“I’ll grab you and learn your identity.”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King seemed certain of his victory.

He still didn’t seem to completely understand martial arts.

If so, he must have gauged Yi-gang’s level and wouldn’t have been so complacent otherwise.

Yi-gang held Shooting Star Fang and pondered.

He hadn’t yet used everything at his disposal.

Though he’d drawn Shooting Star Fang, the heavenly Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King wouldn’t see it and think of the Baek Family.

But the Supreme Ultimate Technique, Qi-sword Control, and the Heavenly Demon’s assistance weren’t to be used recklessly.

At that moment Yi-gang hesitated.

If he used all his power, would he be able to kill the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King in an instant?

Could he slay a heavenly god meddling in the lower world through a human body so quickly…?

「Withdraw, Priest.」

Then a small whisper reached Yi-gang’s ear.

It was Zhang Sanfeng’s voice.

「The Thirty-Three Thousand Radiant Treasure Pagoda blocks all that its owner sees. You alone cannot easily handle him.“

「Borrowing the Heavenly Demon, Jo Gwang’s power would also be burdensome. First, withdraw and use your companions’ strength.」

After saying that, Zhang Sanfeng’s voice faded again.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King would wait no longer for Yi-gang.

When he swung the stone pagoda, it grew even larger than before.

The stone pagoda smashed down as if to crush Yi-gang.

Dust billowed up.

This is the drawback of a massive, heavy weapon.

When masters clash, small gaps decide life or death… but the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King paid no heed to such things.

Probably because he had the treasure, the Radiant Pagoda.

In the end, his stone pagoda did not hit Yi-gang.

Where the pagoda had struck, there was only a deep pit left, not a bloodied corpse.

“You bastard…!”

He burned with a fierce gaze in the swirling dust, but the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King could not find Yi-gang’s trace.

Only then did he realize Yi-gang had slipped away in the meantime.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King roared with rage.

“You rat! Did you think you could run away from me! Aaaah!”

Yi-gang concealed his presence and left the spot.

Maybe because he had exhausted some energy, there were no longer flashing beams from the pagoda like before.

“Aaaah!”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s furious roar echoed through the forest.

One would think celestial beings and immortals transcend worldly passions, but not so.

Yi-gang had escaped the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s sight, but the problem wasn’t solved.

It seemed the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King intended to stand in Yi-gang and his party’s way until the end.

The stone pagoda spanned across the very sky.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King flew along as if suspended from that pagoda.

And ahead, from the direction Yi-gang’s party was heading, came the sound of a landing.

Thud!

Yi-gang frowned and walked toward it.

A lotus petal fluttered and floated along his path.

Yi-gang followed the lotus petal.

Not long after.

They came to a densely shaded part of the forest, and as they entered, the lotus petal vanished.

Yi-gang paused briefly, then moved on.

He felt the air change.

“You’re safe.”

Dam Hyun greeted him.

The whole party was gathered there.

“How was it?”

“…I don’t think I can take him down alone.”

“I should have joined too.”

Ha-jun showed his regret.

But Yi-gang disagreed. Even with Ha-jun joining, it wouldn’t be an easy victory.

Indeed, a heavenly god is a heavenly god.

Much as Yi-gang had shone when Zhang Sanfeng possessed him, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s descent was terrifyingly strong.

“The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King has returned to the pass. It seems impossible to slip by.”

Yu Su-rin said.

Even now the Inescapable Net was likely closing rapidly.

There was neither time nor room to detour.

They had to break through the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s chokepoint.

“We need a plan.”

They had to act.

How could they defeat the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King with the resources they had?

At that moment, Zhang Sanfeng, who had appeared earlier, revealed himself.

Yi-gang looked at Zhang Sanfeng, who had appeared after a long time.

To the others, it must have looked like Yi-gang was staring into empty air.

「Long time no see, Priest.」

Zhang Sanfeng gave a bitter smile.

It shouldn’t be, but somehow Yi-gang thought Zhang Sanfeng looked gaunt and tired.

‘…Why did you disappear and only show up now?’

「Explaining will take much time. Shouldn’t we first consider how to break through the Heavenly King Lee?」

He wasn’t wrong.

Heavenly King Lee was another name for the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

‘Do you know a way?’

「He is an ancient heavenly god, father of Prince Nezha. A very dangerous man, and the Radiant Treasure Pagoda’s defense is rarely pierced in the world.“

Reiterating what everyone knew suggested there might be a way to overcome it.

「If it were the true Radiant Treasure Pagoda, there would be no way to defeat it now. But borrowing only the rank of the treasure is another matter.」

The Radiant Pagoda’s power Yi-gang had faced was overwhelming.

The pagoda spat beams, changed size at will, and protected its user.

Zhang Sanfeng meant it was far inferior to the original Radiant Pagoda.

「Didn’t you see it? The limit to its defense.」

‘…Yes.’

When he broke the rock to attack.

Yi-gang had observed with wide eyes how the Radiant Pagoda operated.

And he realized the Radiant Pagoda’s defense wasn’t absolute.

「You must pierce that point.」

‘It seems I can’t do it alone.’

But even that gap wouldn’t be easy to exploit.

It was like piercing a single insect-eaten leaf among a million fluttering ones.

「If there’s only one path, you must charge boldly.」

「True enough.」

The Heavenly Demon agreed as well.

Moreover, Yi-gang was not alone now.

He intended to devise a detailed plan with his companions to breach the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

But then.

A loud clatter came from inside Jun Myung’s bosom.

Clatter, clack.

It sounded like something wooden rattling wildly.

Jun Myung startled and took from his bosom a wooden box the size of an acorn they’d seen before.

Dam Hyun brightened his eyes.

When the wooden box was set on the ground, it trembled and shook on its own.

Clack!

“Seems like Senior Brother Hee-il is approaching.”

Yu Su-rin explained in his stead.

The wooden box seemed designed to signal Son Hee-il’s approach.

“Let’s see how close he is.”

When Dam Hyun said that, Yu Su-rin picked up the box, shook it lightly, and set it down again.

Clack!

Something inside the box thrashed and vibrated.

It slowly changed direction.

A red-painted arrow on the box indicated which way.

Yu Su-rin’s complexion drained white.

“…In the direction where the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King is.”

“He’s quite close, isn’t he?”

Dam Hyun made a sour face.

“This complicates things.”

“…Let’s move quickly.”

Dam Hyun and the others also rose to follow.

“If you don’t want your great senior brother to be captured and killed.”

And Son Hee-il.

He who, under the Forest Lord’s orders, was to deliver the Heavenly Demon’s final soul fragment.

As Yu Su-rin and Jun Myung had changed, Son Hee-il had also changed much in three and a half years.

A large scar ran across his forehead.

Even so, he remained incisive and sharp.

He usually let his bangs cover it.

But now he couldn’t afford to.

Perhaps because he’d run a long distance.

Unsuitable for a Supreme Peak master, his whole body was soaked with sweat.

A black metal ring adorned one of his fingers.

That was indeed the Heavenly Demon’s final soul fragment.

His mission was to deliver it to the returning Yi-gang, his junior uncle.

Clack-

The wooden box in his bosom vibrated and rattled loudly.

Paired with Jun Myung’s, it meant he was almost there.

But he never expected an entire stone pagoda to plummet down from the sky right ahead.

As the dust and leaves settled, a hulking figure hanging from the pagoda came into view.

Son Hee-il immediately realized the man was no ordinary person.

Something had possessed a human body to incarnate.

And holding the pagoda that had shrunk by itself, it was clear…

‘The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King!’

He knew that among the enemies there was a Cham Sa Sect follower borrowing the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s power.

But he hadn’t expected the possessing spirit to be present here as well.

Son Hee-il quickly tried to hide his presence, but—

“…So there was one more insect.”

The tip of the Radiant Pagoda flashed.

Son Hee-il spat a curse.

A blast of hot wind engulfed him.

He narrowly avoided being burned by the beam, but the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King swung the Radiant Pagoda and attacked Son Hee-il directly.

Son Hee-il fought back with all his strength.

But unlike Yi-gang, who dodged the Radiant Pagoda easily, Son Hee-il couldn’t match him.

It didn’t take long before his neck was caught in the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s massive grip.

Despite being a heavenly god, he resorted to taking hostages.

“You rat! If you don’t show yourself immediately, I’ll snap this insect’s neck off!”

He bellowed loudly.

Son Hee-il’s face flushed with anger and shame.

He desperately hoped neither Yu Su-rin nor Yi-gang would appear.

“You’ve come!”

He couldn’t imagine Yi-gang showing up alone.

Son Hee-il, horrified, warned him.

“Junior Uncle! Don’t—ugh!”

He wanted to shout “don’t come,” but his throat was constricted and he couldn’t.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King gave a bitter laugh.

He wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t just stand and wait.

The Radiant Pagoda, charged to its limit, flashed brilliantly.

Not a thin beam as before, but a white, searing ray from the intense heat blasted forth.

Szzzz-!

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was certain his opponent would be reduced to ash and die instantly.

He would interrogate that Soul fragment for its identity afterwards.

But Yi-gang did not raise his sword to defend as before.

He simply raised both hands and formed a circle.

It was as if he was performing Taijiquan…

And the moment the beam was about to touch Yi-gang, it vanished as if by magic.

It wasn’t refracted nor intercepted.

The whole beam, which had been drawn like a line, simply disappeared.

Turning all attacks into non-action.

Even scattering the enemy’s intent…

A Supreme Ultimate Technique of an immortal.

“…Zhang Sanfeng?”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was aghast.

“Long time no see, Heavenly King Lee.”

Before long, Zhang Sanfeng had taken residence within Yi-gang’s body.

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