Shiver!

I hastily step back and say with a smile.

"Greetings, Old Man Mad Lord. Old Man..."

"Come to think of it, you're that fellow who followed when I ascended! Such an adorable one. So you wanted to be my disciple! What are you doing, dear? Hurry, take this praiseworthy child and let him be reborn!"

Old Man Mad Lord starts manipulating [Her] with wide, flickering eyes.

'Damn it, let's just say what we need to.'

"Old Man, please listen to what I have to say. Do you know that Seo Hweol is getting married?"

"What!!!"

At that, Old Man Mad Lord's eyes completely roll back as he yells furiously.

"No, that Seo Hweol! To hold such an important event without telling me! This won't do! You, can't you guide me to where Seo Hweol is!"

"..."

I somehow feel a chill running down my spine.

'Damn, continuing this conversation itself is exhausting.'

It's a relief that I know the logic of Old Man Mad Lord.

"Yes. I will guide you immediately. First, please head quickly to the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and activate the fortress. Shouldn't we hurry and 'bless' Seo Hweol?"

"Yes, yes, yes. That's a good idea. Follow me!"

Old Man Mad Lord and [Her] immediately tear through space and enter the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, and helplessly under [Her] gaze that cut off my escape routes from behind, I follow him.

Then, I leave a mental message for Jeon Myeong-hoon to stay outside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress before sneaking in.

"Now, where should we go? Where do we have to go to bless Seo Hweol?"

'Seo Hweol isn't actually anywhere at this point...'

It seems better to offer up the Black Dragon King Hyeon Eum as a substitute.

"This coordinate will do. This is where Seo Hweol will receive everyone's blessing."

After giving the Mad Lord the location of the Black Dragon King's cave residence, I step back.

Mad Lord's eyes spin once again as he begins to operate the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, and soon, the fortress rises into the air.

I then shout loudly to Old Man Mad Lord.

"I will take a look around this place where I will be living!"

"Oh, yes yes. You're getting to know your new home. Alright. Go and come back quickly to be reborn."

"Thank you!"

After saying so, I slip out of the control room of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

'I already feel my mental strength depleting.'

Talking with him is truly draining and I can't let my guard down for a moment.

As I leave the control room, I explore the various parts of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

'Terrifying...'

The puppets of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress 'pretend' to form a society and live.

And in various places, puppets are being mass-produced by the 'factories' they operate.

What's terrifying is seeing the corpses of what appears to be Integration stage Grand Cultivators hanging everywhere.

The corpses of nearly thirty Integration stage Grand Cultivators.

And the presence of six Grand Cultivator-level spiritual pressures is felt throughout.

'In my past life, creating that many Integration stage puppets within 100 days was possible because there were plenty of materials already. Judging by the corpses of the Grand Cultivators, if there had been more time, not just 28 but even 60 could have been made.'

Even though I reached the level of power of a Grand Cultivator, if Mad Lord loses his mind, I will likely end up hanging there too.

If I don't want to end up hanging there like General Seo or something similar, I can't let down my guard for even a moment.

Already, there are six Grand Cultivator-level puppets made.

Even Hon Won would be just a toy to the Mad Lord.

'At the Grand Cultivator meeting, I just said I'll be stopping by another place, not meeting up with the Mad Lord, but somehow I ended up deep inside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.'

Originally, I wasn't supposed to go deep inside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress but rather call Kim Yeon from the outside and take her with me, but plans have changed a bit.

'Well, if the plan has changed, I'll just move accordingly.'

I know the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress well enough to find a way.

I begin searching for Kim Yeon.

Tsstsstsst!

My consciousness resonates through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

And I locate Kim Yeon.

Paaaatt!

"Yeon-ah!"

I dash to the spot in a flash..

And within the estate formed of puppets, I am able to meet Kim Yeon.

"Eun-hyun, Oppa! You've been captured too!"

Kim Yeon runs up to me with a tear-streaked face, and I shake my head.

"No, I came to save you."

"What?"

She looks up at me with tears streaming down her face.

"What do you mean? How can we leave from here? That's impossible. It might have been possible before I was captured, but now that we've entered the belly of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress..."

I shake my head and take her hand.

"No, it's definitely possible. We just need to create a moment's opportunity."

I feel Kim Yeon's consciousness.

Her cultivation is already at the Heavenly Being stage, and the magnitude of her consciousness reached the level of Integration.

"By the way, Yeon-ah. Have you completed the homework I gave you?"

"What?"

I pat her shoulder reassuringly and say,

"Let's see you perform."

"...Is that really important right now?"

"Yes. The chances of our escape depends on how much you've grown."

I connected to the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon to ensure the Mad Lord can't eavesdrop on our conversation.

Shortly after, she takes out a fan from her storage scroll and begins performing the Paired Wing Dance in front of me.

Tsstsstsst!

Her movements are those of a first-rate master.

At the same time, I notice with delight that her consciousness is moving perfectly in sync with the flow of intent.

"It's a relief. You've reached the peak!"

"Yes. Just like you said, Eun-hyun Oppa. At some point, my consciousness became more finely perceivable...the colors of the intent became clearer."

The Mad Lord's consciousness method inherently opens the path to Three Flowers Gather at the Summit and Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

Therefore, mastering the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon and achieving the pinnacle in martial arts, although a bit forced, has the same effect as a martial artist dedicating their life to reach Three Flowers Gather at the Summit and Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

In theory, she is already a master of Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

Of course, because the proficiency in martial arts differs, she will likely lose if she were to face a real master of Five Energies Converging to the Origin in martial combat...

'Anyway, since martial arts aren't Kim Yeon's main focus, it doesn't matter.'

The important thing is that from Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, she can use the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts.

This is impossible with just the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

At least, one needs to be at the pinnacle stage of martial arts to perform the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts.

"Now, Yeon-ah. I'm going to enter within you."

Wo-woong!

I start to explain while floating a Gang Sphere above my hand.

"Given Mad Lord's personality, he'll probably come to the modification room to capture me soon because I haven't returned. And when he comes to capture me, you and I will leave the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. Once outside, Jeon Myeong-hoon will appear, and you must run straight to him."

Jeon Myeong-hoon's Red Lightning Heavenly Tribulation has a unique technique.

It's the technique of Returning Lightning Strike.

Commonly called Reverse Lightning Strike, this technique is based on the fundamental properties of lightning.

Heavenly lightning strikes from the sky to the ground, and the path created by the lightning allows the lightning to travel back from the ground to the sky.

It's lightning returning to the heavens.

Based on this property, the technique of Reverse Lightning Strike is often used to reclaim the energy expended in Lightning Path Methods.

'But in this situation, the best use is to escape.'

Using the technique of the Returning Lightning Strike, Jeon Myeong-hoon had flown here following his own trajectory, creating a 'Path of Lightning.' And when we return, we can use the 'Path of Lightning' that Jeon Myeong-hoon created to go back much faster than on the way here.

With my help, that speed will essentially be no different from using a teleportation array.

"And while I buy time in front of the Mad Lord, entrust your body and consciousness to my Gang Sphere inside you. Then we can escape."

"..."

She looks uneasy.

I smile at her and pat her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. We'll succeed."

"...Okay. I'll trust you."

She hesitates for a moment but then accepts my Gang Sphere.

I merge the Mysterious Bizarre Gu I had implanted in her with the Gang Sphere, securing a place within her consciousness.

Our consciousnesses become even more closely connected through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

And then, it happens.

[Whenexactlyareyoucomingyouneedtocomeherequicktoquicklybecomeanewpersonofanewnationhurryhurryhurry]

The Mad Lord's speech echoes throughout the entire Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

"Let's go...!"

I grab Kim Yeon's hand, and at the same time, unfold the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

Simultaneously, her vast consciousness, controlled by me, permeates throughout the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

In an instant, the control of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress shifts to us.

'We have about 3 seconds.'

And three seconds are enough.

I draw out the Colorless Glass Sword and hold it in my other hand.

Severing Mountain!

Kwadududuk!

While the Grand Cultivator-level puppets are frozen.

My sword strike pierces through one side of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Kwaaaah!

I move through the frozen world with her, quickly escaping to the outside.

'That took 1 second.'

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress is tougher than expected, taking a full second.

'With the remaining 2 seconds...'

It's then,

[Youscoundreltoyournewnest...]

"What!"

Mad Lord swiftly regains control in an instant.

I grit my teeth and emerge outside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, throwing Kim Yeon with all my might towards Jeon Myeong-hoon, who is waiting in the distance.

"Ahhhh!"

"Yeon-ah, just like I told you!"

I quickly finish speaking and turn back to face the Mad Lord.

Click click click...

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress restarts, and from inside, I sense forces that seem comparable to the entire Human Race.

'Mad old man, just how does one become equivalent to an entire race in just 100 years?'

It's something I see every cycle, but it's astonishing every time.

Kugugugu!

Centered around [Her], six Integration stage puppets appear, gathering strength.

Mad Lord, beside [Her], does not hide his fury as he begins manipulating the puppets.

'It's done. As expected, taking Kim Yeon prompts him to come forward.'

I shout with all my might.

Even if I leave here, I must land this one blow on the Mad Lord.

"Old Man Mad Lord! We will be borrowing your disciple. We will ensure she grows even more correctly..."

I position myself and infuse my Nascent Soul into the Colorless Glass Sword.

"Please forgive us this once!"

Flash!

Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace!

My Nascent Soul turns into a beam of light and strikes directly at the Mad Lord at the center of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Kugugugu!

"What!"

In a split second, the Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace accelerates viciously, and directly strikes the Mad Lord who is caught off guard.

Then, I enter the Mad Lord's consciousness.

If Seo Hweol's heart essence is hell, then the Mad Lord's is akin to purgatory.

That's why, even within it, I feel my mind is not completely corrupted, and I can use all of my remaining strength to clear his spirit.

Tsstsstsst!

Flash!

At the same time, I feel the Mad Lord's confused mind momentarily clear.

'It won't last long!'

Paaaatt!

I exit the Mad Lord's consciousness and retrieve my Nascent Soul.

It was a risky gamble that could have ended this life, but it succeeded!

"...Impressive. What was that just now?"

The Mad Lord looks at me with eyes cleared of madness due to the Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace.

I calmly reply.

"The technique's name is Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace. Think of it as a kind of...Heart Sword."

"Is that so..."

He smiles bitterly.

"Go. Free my disciple from me. Right now, my concern is focused on Seo Hweol's blessing, so I won't chase you until I capture Seo Hweol."

"Thank you."

He strokes his face,

"My condition won't last long, so hurry! Go now!"

I bow to the Mad Lord and then fly towards Kim Yeon and Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"Let's go!"

Even without displaying the Twin Immortals Dance, I reversed his consciousness once.

This means I can perform the Twin Immortals Dance in front of him later to gain another opportunity.

I grab Kim Yeon's hand again and place my hand on Jeon Myeong-hoon's shoulder, then activate the Gang Sphere avatar I placed in Kim Yeon.

[Karaaargh!]

The Mad Lord begins to howl again.

The reason is him trying to suppress his madness, but it won't last long!

"Let's go!"

Manipulating Kim Yeon's consciousness that reaches the Integration level, I complete a technique formula.

Her peak-level martial arts comprehension combines with the formula, manifesting into the world as a martial art.

Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts!

Paaaatt!

The Integration-level consciousness moves, and our very existence is erased from the Mad Lord's perception.

"Jeon Myeong-hoon!"

"Got it!"

At the same time, Jeon Myeong-hoon uses the Returning Lightning Strike technique.

Pajijijik!

Our bodies are enveloped in lightning, and we travel back the way we came at a speed close to teleportation.

Kugugugu!

However, as I feel the Mad Lord's madness prevailing.

I sense [Her] and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress crossing space, coming towards us.

I grab Jeon Myeong-hoon's shoulder and insert a Gang Sphere avatar into him as well, accelerating him further.

Tsstsstsst!

Jeon Myeong-hoon accelerates even more, and we move away from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress at a transcendental speed.

Paaaatt!

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress recedes to the horizon and soon completely disappears from our consciousness domain.

Kim Yeon watches this scene, tears streaming down her face.

"...Oppa. I..."

"Yes."

I hug Kim Yeon.

"Congratulations on escaping."

Jeon Myeong-hoon watches us while caressing a wooden box he holds close to his chest.

Kwaduk!

Then, [Her] left arm grabs my leg.

"Haaaaaaah!!!"