Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 423

Tales of the Spirit Blade – Part 2, Episode 132

After the upheaval in Xuanwu Fortress.

Those who remained couldn’t help but feel deeply bewildered.

In the midst of their confrontation, the Ascended vanished entirely, leaving the remaining forces to aim their spears at each other for days before finally retreating.

The disciples of the Three Great Sects, the soldiers of the Celestial Palace, and the literary and martial Ascended of the Water Realm were all left in the same confused state.

Without a leader, it was only natural that no one could make decisions, regardless of their numbers.

Thus, the spear points aimed at each other gradually lowered, and most simply kept their distance, wary of one another.

And after several days passed.

A Celestial Maiden, leading soldiers of the Celestial Palace, appeared in Xuanwu Fortress for a specific reason.

Leading a massive army of thirty thousand, the Celestial Maiden swiftly seized Xuanwu Fortress, freeing the Ascended who had been captured and forcing the remaining Ascended to kneel in submission.

The Celestial Palace had been preparing to take control of Xuanwu Fortress for a long time, and she announced that the time had come to deploy their troops.

Yeon-ah had been planning this since Cheonbeom was trapped in Xuanwu Fortress.

Although she hadn’t personally orchestrated the preparations, she was confident that the Celestial Palace had been preparing for a long time and had infiltrated the fortress with ease. This allowed her to lead the troops and successfully occupy Xuanwu Fortress.

And that’s exactly what happened.

However, even she hadn’t anticipated the bizarre situation she found in Xuanwu Fortress.

“What’s going on here?”

Yeon-ah asked Deputy Commander Woo.

Woo-myeong explained the situation succinctly, and Yeon-ah’s expression grew increasingly troubled.

“Are you saying you don’t know where Master is…?”

“That’s the current situation,” Woo-myeong confirmed.

However, their time in the fortress hadn’t been entirely fruitless. They had managed to gather some information.

Numerous bodies were discovered among the cultivators of the Ak Gok Sect [a minor, evil sect] and in the Ak Gok Mountain area.

The bodies of most of the Ascended who had gone to seal the Murderous Ascended were also found, allowing them to piece together the general situation.

“They’re all dead. This poison is characteristic of Lord Tamhwa’s… and there are traces of lightning and Hwasin Art [Fire God Art, a powerful fire-based technique], as well as one of the Beopmok Divine Arts [Law Wood Divine Arts, a branch of magic focused on manipulating wood elements], the Six Monster Restraints.”

Cheonbeom was the only one capable of slaughtering Ascended using such diverse and powerful divine abilities.

Therefore, he must be safe.

“Then the Murderous Ascended is…”

“The Murderous Ascended is also…”

They had all witnessed the Heavenly Murderous Star falling.

So, when they combined all the information, there was only one possible conclusion.

The Murderous Ascended is Cheonbeom.

“Deputy Commander Woo.”

“Yes, Celestial Maiden.”

“It would be best to erase Master’s traces immediately.”

“That’s exactly what we should do.”

There was nothing to gain from the revelation that a divine beast of the Water Realm had become a Murderous Ascended and was now rampaging through the Immortal Realm.

‘If Master has truly become a Murderous Ascended, the repercussions will be unimaginable.’

She had heard that there was still plenty of time left before his tribulation [a trial or ordeal one must overcome to advance in cultivation], but she had no idea what he had done while she was away.

But the important thing wasn’t the cause.

It’s the fact that Cheonbeom has become a Murderous Ascended.

At the same time, judging from the evidence, he has completed his ascension as an Ascended.

But the tribulation is not over.

If that’s the case, few in the Immortal Realm can stop him, making it imperative to erase any evidence of his involvement.

Yeon-ah, who had been watching Cheonbeom for a long time, was shocked that he had received the Murderous Tribulation, but less so than others.

Her master had so many enemies.

From the Lower Realm, there was no one who did not fear him because of his many killings.

‘In order to fully complete the Murderous Tribulation, he must commit even more killings.’

For Cheonbeom to fully complete the Murderous Tribulation, the cultivators of the Immortal Realm would inevitably have to die.

‘If you really have become a Murderous Ascended, it won’t be difficult to find you.’

Wherever he goes, a storm of blood will follow.

Besides, the Immortal Realm is already in the midst of a war.

That makes his destination all but certain.

“If the closest place with a lot of bloodshed is…”

It’s the Crimson Rainbow Desert.

* * *

Crimson Rainbow Desert.

A desert where a rainbow of red light seemed to bloom. It was named so because battles had been fought there for so long that whenever blood splattered and rose into the sky, it would appear to bloom into a rainbow.

Even throughout its long history, the battles there had never ceased, and it was a place where bizarre phantasmal beasts and demonic trees grew, feeding on the blood and flesh of cultivators.

That day, as always, the war between the Celestial Palace and the Immortal Palace raged on in the Crimson Rainbow Desert.

Numerous cultivators were lined up, exuding murderous intent, engaging in constant skirmishes and attacks using various formations and magical artifacts.

Days of continuous attack and defense from their respective fortresses, with the desert as the dividing line.

It was just an ordinary day for them.

Until the footprints of a stranger were imprinted on the blood-soaked red sand.

“What’s that guy?”

A cultivator wearing armor bearing the Immortal Palace’s insignia spoke up.

He was a man of great stature and a thick beard, truly deserving of the title ‘manly man.’ With a cultivation base of Late Stage Ascended, he was a Great General among the generals of the Immortal Palace guarding the east side of the Crimson Rainbow Desert.

Having spent tens of thousands of years there, he had seen almost everything, but even he had never seen someone walking alone on the battlefield.

Whether they were a mixed Ascended or a human Ascended, they wouldn’t survive crossing the Crimson Rainbow Desert alone.

“Shoot him.”

Inside the fortress gate, the soldiers drew their bowstrings taut and released.

Whoaaaaaa!

Soon, hundreds of arrows imbued with powerful divine abilities were fired.

The arrows, each imbued with different divine abilities, unerringly took the form of divine beasts.

Hundreds of arrows in the form of dragons and all kinds of beasts hurtled towards the man in black armor crossing the Crimson Rainbow Desert.

There is a saying in the Immortal Realm.

The Immortal Palace is a bow, and the Celestial Palace is a sword.

That’s how powerful the bows and arrows of the Immortal Palace are.

So no matter how much that unknown, fearless cultivator struggles, he will not escape death.

But that’s when it happened.

Whooooooong!

Suddenly, a sandstorm erupted, and black chains burst out from the man’s armor, deflecting hundreds of Immortal Palace arrows without missing a single one!

“Hoo….”

The Great General’s lips curled up in a slight smile.

Whiiiiish, Thud!

“Ugh, ugh!”

Not only did the chains deflect the Immortal Palace’s arrows, but they also sent them flying back, embedding them into the fortress wall.

The Great General’s eyes gleamed with interest.

Driven by half curiosity and half competitiveness, he led his soldiers out of the fortress gate.

With the Great General leading on his Red Hare [a mythical, incredibly fast horse] and ten thousand troops following behind, it was a truly spectacular sight.

When the Great General of the Immortal Palace came out with his troops, a man from the Celestial Palace naturally emerged with his own forces as well.

Unlike the Great General of the Immortal Palace, he was a thin man with a fox-like face.

He must also be a Great General of the Celestial Palace.

The man in black armor, caught between the two armies of the Celestial Palace and the Immortal Palace, didn’t seem afraid at all and remained motionless.

“Hey, Boo Seom-jeon! I see something interesting, is it another one of your tricks?!”

The Great General of the Immortal Palace shouted to the other side, and an answer quickly came.

“You’ve thwarted my countless strategies for so long, what are you so curious about now?!”

“Boo Seom-jeon, you always make me happy, but I can assure you that’s not the case this time. That man has nothing to do with the Celestial Palace. You’re usually so protective of your own people!”

Then the Great General of the Celestial Palace, called Boo Seom-jeon, stroked his fox-like beard and laughed.

“Ok-dong, you’ve become much more lenient. What does it matter to you whether he has anything to do with me or not? After all, fighting today and fighting tomorrow is our destiny!”

“Hahahaha! That’s right! That’s right! Today is today’s war! And tomorrow there will be tomorrow’s war, so we just need to fight and nothing else matters!”

They had come out because of a lone cultivator, but their primary concern was how to weaken the enemy’s forces.

The life or death of the cultivator, who came from nowhere and who no one knew, was secondary.

General Ok-dong raises his bow.

Then Boo Seom-jeon of the Celestial Palace also draws his sword and points it to the sky.

No more words are needed.

The soldiers of the Immortal Palace draw their bowstrings, and the soldiers of the Celestial Palace raise their swords and shields and charge.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The bursting shouts and the iron sounds of swords and arrows fill the sky.

Bang, Clang! Kwaaaang!!!

“Hahahaha! You seem to be a little weak today! Did you hug a woman from somewhere, Boo Seom-jeon?!”

“That can’t be, Ok-dong, you’re the one who gave your heart to someone else! Your hand has become softer than yesterday!!”

Kwaaaang!!

The story of the generals of the Celestial Palace and the Immortal Palace, who are like old friends, talking and fighting while blood splatters, is well-known.

The two have been fighting for thirty thousand years, but neither can seem to gain a decisive advantage.

They have been fighting all along and know each other better than anyone else, but in the end, they are destined to kill each other.

That is also the fate and destiny that a manly man must endure.

He flinched.

“Hey, Boo Seom-jeon.”

“What is it, Ok-dong.”

“Who the hell is that guy?”

The two, who were competing with each other, narrowed their brows as they looked at one side.

In this vast Crimson Rainbow Desert, many cultivators waste their lives and die.

But that is considered honor and pride.

Even if each of their lives is gathered and scattered in the desert, it is not meaningless.

Each drop of their blood will gather and lead to victory.

Knowing honor, having pride.

When they go to the battlefield, they fight with their lives on the line.

That’s why Ok-dong and Boo Seom-jeon’s eyes were drawn to one man.

‘No, is he still alive?’

The man who suddenly appeared.

He is fighting without running away from the battlefield that is unfolding with him in the middle.

They thought he would die soon, but now it’s the opposite.

Rather, he is indiscriminately killing cultivators without distinguishing between friend and foe.

If they shoot an arrow, he deflects it, and if they stab a sword, he breaks it.

Even if a magical artifact touches his armor, it doesn’t even scratch it; instead, the attacking soldier’s grip is torn.

Dozens to hundreds of soldiers are killed by that one man in an instant.

When the man stomps his feet, the blood under his feet turns golden and flies away as sword energy, and a blue storm blows and kills.

He wields a spear, wields a sword, and can pierce even a mountain with one punch.

They know that soldiers who are just Upper Immortals are no match for him.

Because that man is an Ascended.

“General Yeok….”

But even the generals of the Celestial Palace and the Immortal Palace cannot match his power.

The position of general on the battlefield is proof that he is an Ascended.

Even though he is an Ascended like that man, he is no match for him at all, which is absurd.

Only then did Ok-dong realize.

“I knew his murderous aura was unusual….”

“Murderous Ascended!”

Boo Seom-jeon seems to have noticed as well.

“It’s not good to have a madman on the honorable battlefield. Boo Seom-jeon! We’ll have to postpone today’s match until tomorrow!”

“If he’s a Murderous Ascended, there’s no choice.”

In the old days, there was a precedent where one Murderous Ascended with a high level of cultivation turned the Immortal Realm into a mess.

“Your life, which rolled into the battlefield, ends here.”

When Ok-dong draws his bow towards the sky, dark clouds gather.

As soon as he releases the bowstring, ten thousand streaks of white lightning fall from the dark clouds with an earth-shattering roar and transform into the form of ten thousand dragons.

At the same time, Boo Seom-jeon’s sword transforms into a giant sword and strikes down with the force of a mountain.

But that’s when it happened.

Suddenly, the Sixty-Four Trigrams Formation [a complex divination system] and Mandala [a spiritual and ritual symbol] bloomed behind the man, and he thrust a double-edged spear into Boo Seom-jeon’s giant sword.

Thud.

It’s a double-edged spear that pierces through.

It was just a feeling of touching it.

But the change it brings about is extremely colorful.

“Cough!”

Boo Seom-jeon suddenly vomited blood, and the giant sword he had sent flying was instantly split in half.

Soon, lightning in the form of ten thousand dragons fell from the sky.

Kwaaaaaang!!

A faint smile appeared on Ok-dong’s lips, but it didn’t last long.

“What!”

Under the lightning of the ten thousand dragons, purple lightning appeared and struck in all directions, and at the same time, golden petals swirled in all directions, forming lanterns in the air.

“Taehwa Lanterns [Great Transformation Lanterns, a powerful defensive technique].”

Jiiiiing.

Soon, the Crimson Rainbow Desert was dyed golden, and another sun rose and set with a huge explosion.

No one survived in the Crimson Rainbow Desert that day, but after that, rumors about the Murderous Ascended spread rapidly in the Immortal Realm.