The sky is red.

Because of the barrier formed by the Shamanic Gu Formation, this place was as red as if hell had manifested in the present world.

Naturally, there were no clouds either.

The lightning that Yi-gang summoned.

Originally, the ‘Thunder God’s Movement Art’ was clearly a spell.

It was a great spell that not just anyone could perform, but it was possible thanks to the yokai energy of the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Fox that Yi-gang possessed within his body.

Everything has cause and effect.

A giant tree needs a seed to grow.

To cut a person down, a sword must be swung.

For lightning to strike, there must be clouds.

If there are no clouds, at least the yokai energy containing the power of lightning must be used.

But none of the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Foxes present could feel any yokai energy from Yi-gang.

Bzzzzz-.

People’s hair stood up on its own.

Static electricity crackled with every movement.

The blades of the dead stuck in the ground.

From their sharp tips, a unique flame rarely seen in the mortal world burst forth.

Tadadak - tak.

It was a violet electric current.

No one recognized this phenomenon.

Far out at sea.

Sailors navigating that ocean often experience this phenomenon.

On nights when thunderstorms rage.

The tips of their masts sometimes emit blue flames like that.

The sailors interpreted this mysterious phenomenon as the gods watching over them.

They saw it as proof that the saints of the heavens were aiding their voyage.

It was a foolish and utterly mistaken belief.

It was a sign of a phenomenon.

A sign that lightning was about to strike.

The electric potential gradient in the atmosphere rises, causing discharge from metal objects.

The same phenomenon was occurring from Yi-gang’s sword.

It was not Sword Aura.

Blue and red flames alternately emitted from the sword’s metal.

“That…”

Dam Hyun muttered anxiously.

Those nearby quietly stepped back.

But soon, discharge phenomena began occurring on the weapons and blades they carried.

The dagger Dam Hyun held was no exception.

Startled, Dam Hyun threw his dagger aside.

Even the Absolute masters fighting brilliantly ahead noticed the anomaly.

Yi-gang warned Dam Hyun.

“Step back.”

Dam Hyun did not dare to question and quickly turned around.

That is not the power of the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Fox.

It was the Supreme Ultimate Technique that Yi-gang, who had reached the Absolute Realm, twisted reality to manifest.

And lightning burst forth from Yi-gang’s sword.

At the same time.

The negative and positive charges formed in the atmosphere began exchanging electrons.

In other words, a storm of lightning raged.

An ultimate swift sword surpasses sound.

Martial artists at the Absolute Realm can reach such speeds.

At best, they can cut a person into five pieces in the blink of an eye.

But the speed of lightning is…

Lightning speed is over 300,000 times faster than sound.

It is impossible to defend against an attack that spreads faster than human perception.

The lightning Yi-gang emitted struck all the Absolute masters tangled in combat.

The other masters fighting nearby were the same.

When the body is electrified, muscles contract instantly.

People’s bodies froze instantly.

Blue lightning filled the space, and those who were moving swiftly all stopped at once.

It was like a spider web.

And those who lost power were no different from prey caught in a spider web.

The sound followed after.

Kwahwahwahwang-!

The thunder god’s drumbeat struck the ground.

The masters all fell to the ground simultaneously.

Those below the Transcendent level could not control their bodies and tumbled on the floor.

If Yi-gang had harbored murderous intent, he could have killed at least three or four in that gap.

But the Absolute masters were different.

Though momentarily stiffened and struck, not a single one failed to land on their feet.

Their gazes fixed on Yi-gang as he sighed.

All wore faces of bewilderment.

In fact, not all Supreme Ultimate Techniques cause unreal phenomena.

The more a Supreme Ultimate Technique requires human imagination, the harder it is to acquire.

And a Supreme Ultimate Technique that releases an electric discharge of this scale was shocking even to them.

“Yi-Yi-gang!”

The first to shout Yi-gang’s name was Baek Ryu-san.

Yi-gang quickly shouted.

“Stop fighting!”

The martial artists who had been rolling on the ground hurriedly grabbed their weapons and stood up.

“This is a meaningless war! Lower your weapons and stop!”

But no one lowered their weapons.

Not only the demon warriors but even those from the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance.

Even Baek Ryu-san, joyful at his two sons’ survival, dared not lower his sword before the enemies.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

A demon warrior with bloodshot eyes looked around.

He stabbed the back of an unsuspecting Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance warrior.

“Y-You bastard!”

Spears and blades clashed again.

The Absolute masters were also provoked by the blood spilled by their subordinates.

“Waste of time!”

Nine Spear King So Jin-gwaeng was enraged. The one who died earlier belonged to his Seocheon Province.

The two spears strapped to his back rose high into the sky.

If the Absolute masters start fighting again, it will be over.

Yi-gang’s newly acquired Supreme Ultimate Technique was the kind that could not be used consecutively.

They had to stop.

Yi-gang gritted his teeth.

Something caught his eye.

“That one is…”

Unlike the relatively calm Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance, the demon warriors who had mastered demonic arts were greatly affected by the Shamanic Gu Formation.

Unsure if it was the same for the demon warriors whether they were in the Unrestrained Demon Realm or Extreme Demon Realm, the True Demon Palace Master Yo Dae-soon stood rigidly.

His eyes still flashed with red hostility, but his pupils trembled and his mouth was slightly open.

It seemed he recognized Yi-gang.

「Good. Convey my will to that guy.」

A spark ignited in Yi-gang’s mind.

He quickly turned his head and sent a brief telepathic message to Ha-jun.

Then he subtly revealed the necklace, the sacred relic of the Demon Sect’s leader, and shouted.

In a grand voice filled with internal power.

“True Demon Palace Master Yo Dae-soon!”

Yo Dae-soon trembled suddenly.

“I will convey the will of the Heavenly Demon!”

Yi-gang gathered and released the residual demonic energy in his body.

Though he could not use it as a demonic skill like Ha-jun, the energy was very clearly felt by the demon warriors including Yo Dae-soon.

“Stop the believers from being consumed as kindling for the True Cult!”

“As you prayed, I have appeared before you. Calm the believers and stop the fighting!”

Yo Dae-soon’s eyes widened and her breathing grew heavy.

Had Yi-gang’s persuasion worked?

The Heavenly Demon seemed confident that Yo Dae-soon would listen to him.

But Yo Dae-soon remained still and did not try to stop others from fighting despite Yi-gang’s words.

Just as Yi-gang gritted his teeth to say more.

“Who does that crazy orthodox bastard think he is impersonating!”

Another demon warrior at the Unrestrained Demon Realm, the Four Heavens Palace Master, did not stay silent.

He charged wielding an extraordinarily curved saber.

He intended to cut Yi-gang into pieces.

The absolute masters of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance, startled, tried to attack the Four Heavens Palace Master.

That was when Yo Dae-soon moved.

In a blood-soaked battlefield, few demonic skills are as powerful as the Great Blood Demonic aRT.

Without warning, he struck the temple of the Four Heavens Palace Master passing by.

It was a surprise attack from an ally at close range.

The Four Heavens Palace Master spun in midair and was flung away.

He fell but bounced up abruptly.

“Yo… Dae-soon, you crazy…”

Probably because his head was shaken badly, he bled from the nose and kneeled on one knee.

The sudden fratricide among the demon warriors stunned the masters of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance.

The fiercely aggressive demons were equally stunned.

Yi-gang understood why Yo Dae-soon suddenly acted.

Ha-jun stood beside Yi-gang.

Emitting demonic energy much denser and purer than Yi-gang.

Black scars like spider webs spread from the center of his body due to the demonic energy.

Trailing after his outstretched arms were afterimages, making it seem as if he had multiple arms.

It was the Asura Sky-Breaking Dance, a deadly secret martial art of the Heavenly Demon, put into practice.

「Your younger brother’s quick thinking is better than yours.」

Without being told, Ha-jun took off his shirt revealing his body.

The reason was clear.

“D-Demonic Energy Hole…!”

The black hole on Ha-jun’s back.

That legendary thing supplying nearly infinite demonic energy.

Only one demon in history ever possessed it.

Yo Dae-soon murmured in a trembling voice.

“T-The Divine Demon Descends…”

In response, Yi-gang said solemnly.

“I am the representative of the Heavenly Demon, and my younger brother is the successor who obtained the Heavenly Demon’s vessel and martial art. True Demon Palace Master Yo Dae-soon, calm the believers.”

It was certainly not a lie.

Zhang Sanfeng groaned, and the Heavenly Demon laughed as if incredulous.

But Yo Dae-soon took those words more seriously than anyone.

He knelt on one knee.

The True Demon Palace Master’s submission and Ha-jun’s clear display of the Heavenly Demon’s martial art.

The murderous intent of the demon warriors began to slowly subside.

The first to follow and kneel was the Deputy Palace Master of the True Demon Palace.

Demon warriors at the Extreme Demon Realm knelt one after another.

At least all the demon warriors around here knelt before Yi-gang.

Then, the warriors of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance quietly lowered their weapons.

Few could fully understand what was happening.

Nine Spear King So Jin-gwaeng also withdrew his spear.

Then he stood beside Baek Ryu-san and quietly said.

“Your sons have returned, so you must be ha… ppy.”

Until a moment ago, Baek Ryu-san’s face was filled with joy that his dead sons had returned alive.

But now his expression was twisted as if he had bitten into a bitter persimmon.

Yi-gang could accept that.

At least he appeared to be a gallant hero.

But Ha-jun, who returned with multiple arms and a black hole in his back…

His proud youngest son.

“Th-the Heavenly Demon?”

Had returned as the successor of the Heavenly Demon.

Baek Ryu-san unconsciously clasped his head with both hands.

It was an unbearable headache.

The war in Crouching Dragon Basin stopped.

It was a miraculous event.

The Shamanic Gu Formation provoked people’s murderous intent, but the leaders who had been killing each other until recently lowered their weapons.

From the center, more and more laid down their swords slowly.

It took about half an hour for everyone to stop fighting.

Though their grudges did not disappear, at least the increasing corpses stopped.

They must have noticed the sky around them turning red.

Yi-gang explained the truth to them.

That the Evil Cult had set a trap.

That they induced the war and the battle, then activated a Mysterious Gate Formation.

The suspicious disappearance of the Chief Commander Demon Brain supported that claim.

“Then what should we do?”

“We must leave Crouching Dragon Basin immediately.”

After counting the dead, about eighty thousand survived.

Nearly half had died.

They had to save those who remained.

Following Yi-gang’s suggestion, they tried to escape Crouching Dragon Basin.

And soon they realized.

“…The barrier cannot be destroyed.”

And dismantling it was impossible too.

They pondered together for three whole days but could find no way out.