Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 265

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 265

A gigantic blue serpent.

Cheonggyeo, the earth spirit yokai sage who had dreamed of becoming a dragon and cultivated for long years in serpent form.

He was a snake born with spiritual roots.

After birth, he devoured his mother, devoured his siblings… and eventually consumed everything tangled within the snake den, becoming a beast with spirit energy.

He had triumphed in survival.

Having grown stronger through gluttony, he began to crave even more spiritual power, and his indiscriminate acts naturally drew the attention of hunters.

He repeated cycles of being chased and hiding.

As time passed, his strengthened spiritual power liberated him from the boundaries of being a mere beast.

Through the hunters he had devoured, he gained enlightenment and learned about the World of Goodness.

He wanted to be with those who gazed upon the same place.

But in their eyes, he was nothing more than a beast that had violated taboos. There was no place for him anywhere.

Those bastards.

What made them think they were so noble?

So what if he was alone?

He just needed to steal more from those who had things.

Hiding in the shadows, Cheonggyeo became more cunning and agile.

Being alone meant he had to become even stronger.

Then one day, Cheonggyeo discovered snake heat flowers growing from the remnants of prey he couldn’t digest and had spat out.

But a beast that was enchanted by that energy and devoured the snake heat flowers showed a strange reaction.

It was the flame of passion.

The beast, intoxicated by the heat and releasing all its desires, died when its blood vessels burst. And in that spot remained traces of spirit energy filled with impurities.

It was a new possibility.

Perhaps through snake heat flowers, he could create spirit energy cores in the bodies of beasts or humans.

For a while, he repeated failures.

Those worthless creatures couldn’t expel the impure energy created by the snake heat flowers and died from burst blood vessels.

When another long period had passed, Cheonggyeo created the unprecedented supreme technique called the ‘Human Furnace Pill Refinement Method.’

It wasn’t something anyone had taught him, but his own immortal art that he had learned and mastered by himself for survival and to become stronger.

They said he shouldn’t violate human boundaries?

Bullshit.

The weak being devoured by the strong was the natural order.

There were plenty of materials to become pills.

Those who desired power were overflowing in all directions.

Moreover, how wonderful was it that he had even obtained methods to amplify the effects of snake heat flowers from what humans possessed?

It was a type of martial arts commonly called dual cultivation or energy absorption techniques.

He burst into laughter watching those fools eagerly learning it, not knowing they would someday become pills for him.

Among them, meeting Hwangbo Yun at Mount Tai was truly heavenly fortune.

He was the most greedy among them all.

How amusing it was to see him rejoicing about gaining power, not even knowing he had been lured.

He was even enthusiastic about it.

How wonderful was it that he even captured and offered children who were born with spiritual roots but had become disabled because they didn’t know how to control spirit energy, all in his desire to gain more power?

He was even so pleased that he brought his own son and asked for help.

What could he do?

They were the ones who liked it.

Not even knowing they were becoming spirit pills for him…

But things had been going so smoothly.

[You, you ruined everything!]

Looking down with bulging eyes, there sat that damned bastard on his rear.

Zhuge Munhyeon.

A lowly human who didn’t know his place and crawled up here just because he was lucky enough to cultivate spirit energy.

He could accept that the Hwangbo father and son, who were almost fully ripened, had been destroyed.

After all, this bastard contained far more spirit energy than those two who were full of impurities.

But he never expected to receive such wounds.

Who would have thought he’d turn around the trap designed to obtain his weapon?

It was pain beyond imagination.

His entire body was torn apart and he nearly faced death.

If he hadn’t revealed his true form, he might have actually died.

[Still, I’ll praise you. It’s been quite a while since someone forced me to reveal this form. But you’re not surprised.]

True to those words, Zhuge Munhyeon’s expression was calm.

Unlike before, it wasn’t a voice heard by his ears but one echoing in his head.

Perhaps this was how those who called themselves immortals communicated when they revealed their true forms.

‘Damn it, even so. I’m already dizzy enough to die… This bastard makes my head shake more every time he speaks.’

Staggering to his feet, Zhuge Munhyeon first spat out the blood filling his mouth.

“Khack! Ptui!”

Torn flesh came out mixed with it.

Still, thanks to resting briefly, his rough breathing had stabilized.

“If it were my first time, sure. But my life hasn’t been that ordinary. Fish, tigers… what’s so surprising about adding one talking snake bastard?”

[Fish and tigers? You… I’m not your first?]

“I told you, I met a tiger-shaped monster before. Anyway, whether it’s my cursed fate, I meet all sorts of strange creatures.”

Zhuge Munhyeon frowned and looked up at Cheonggyeo.

“So that’s your true form?”

[That’s right.]

“You don’t have any other forms you can change into, right?”

[What?]

“Just asking in case. Wondering if you might be hiding something more.”

[…]

Cheonggyeo was simply dumbfounded.

What made this bastard who couldn’t even properly control his body so confident?

[Your mouth will be alive until the very end. Even though you must feel my power.]

“Yeah, I feel it. So tremendous that my flesh is trembling.”

[Yet you’re quite confident.]

“It’s my innate nature. No matter how strong the opponent, I’ve never cowered.”

[You’re insane. What more can you do when you’re practically a wreck?]

“That’s true. My head still feels like it’s shaking. But… are you any different?”

[What?]

“Looking at your state, you don’t seem to be in perfect condition either.”

Zhuge Munhyeon looked at Cheonggyeo with a slight smile.

He looked like a blood god.

Blood flowing from his burst head was soaking his body, and the scales that looked like iron armor were torn off in places.

Most importantly.

“You’re afraid too, aren’t you?”

[What did you say?]

“That’s why you couldn’t attack immediately. Worried I might be hiding something else.”

At the mockery, Cheonggyeo’s eyes turned cold.

He was definitely hit where it hurt.

If he had looked down on him, he would have attacked the moment he revealed his true form.

But he couldn’t because the previous terror was imprinted in his mind.

Afraid that if he recklessly charged in and was countered, he might really die then.

“How about it? Should we call it here?”

[…]

“At first I wanted to kill you, but at this rate I think I’m going to die instead. How about we settle this another time?”

Cheonggyeo couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Zhuge Munhyeon’s proposal.

Stop now?

So brazenly?

[Are you… trying to mock me?]

“Mock you? I’m being serious. That’s just how I am. I don’t really have much of a sense of justice. Whatever you’ve done, whatever you plan to do, I don’t care. Just don’t harm me or those around me. So let’s call it here and go our separate ways. I’ll keep your existence a secret. But if we go further… I’ll have no choice but to risk my life. You’ve heard of mutual destruction, right? In my current state, that’s my only option. Then we’ll both really die. You and me. That’s not what you want, is it?”

At those words, Cheonggyeo’s eyes trembled.

That snake bastard.

Yeah, I’m angry too.

What kind of person wouldn’t be angry after losing?

The way he devoured those poor children to build his strength is infuriating too… but what can I do?

I need to survive to have a future.

I need to retreat and build my strength again to have a chance to kill him.

But even after explaining at length with such feelings, he seemed unable to understand.

Instead, his eyes turned red as if he took my honest opinion as provocation.

He was clearly angry.

‘Hmm, was my tone too challenging?’

But what can I do?

I was born this way.

No matter how difficult it gets, I can’t bring myself to beg.

When negotiating, you’re supposed to be confident.

[You’re being stubborn. Do you truly think you can kill me?]

“Yeah.”

To Cheonggyeo’s question, filled with rage, Zhuge Munhyeon answered simply.

At the same time, the massive head struck without warning.

Kwaaaaang!

The gaping maw crashed into the ground.

He barely managed to retreat backward, or he would have been swallowed immediately.

As expected, the negotiation had failed.

Then there’s no choice.

“I’ll have to see this through to the end…!”

Zhuge Munhyeon drew up his spirit energy, gripped the Silver Cold Staff, and took his stance.

Mutual destruction.

Literally, you die and I die.

For that, he couldn’t fear the opponent’s attacks. He also had to pierce through vital points without hesitation.

He already knew the creature’s techniques.

Earth magic using earth spirits, and physical attacks utilizing that massive body – that would be all.

The only problem was not knowing where the weak points were since it wasn’t human.

‘First, I need to figure that out.’

The moment his resolve was set, Zhuge Munhyeon launched himself toward Cheonggyeo.

Following his movement, the ground rose and fell.

Simultaneously, the gaping maw flew threateningly, and the thick tail swung with murderous intent.

Crack crack crack!

A massive tree struck by the tail shattered like a reed.

But the creature was huge.

That meant there were plenty of places to hit, and there were two best techniques for rapidly striking multiple spots.

Residual Light Continuous Strike, which created numerous afterimages like starlight leaving traces, and Seven Stars Revolving Heaven, which didn’t stop until completing forty-nine strikes.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Light erupted from the Silver Cold Staff, falling upon Cheonggyeo’s body like a meteor shower.

But his body was so sturdy that not even a scratch appeared.

Revealing his true form didn’t just strengthen his spiritual power, it seemed.

The creature’s movements grew faster and faster.

His recovery ability was considerable too, as previous wounds were gradually healing.

In contrast, his own body felt heavy from accumulated shock.

He could barely manage to narrowly avoid the creature’s attacks using Heavenly Mystery Bewildering Steps.

Even that was gradually being caught up to.

‘I need to hurry and find a weak point…’

This kind of attack only consumed spiritual power.

Eventually, when his physical strength ran out, he would become the creature’s prey.

But then it happened.

Near the creature’s neck.

Strangely, one scale attached in the opposite direction from the others caught his eye.

‘Ah! The reverse scale!’

Why was it?

Placing hope in that one imagination that someone might have created…

Ping!

Zhuge Munhyeon immediately flicked his finger charged with spirit energy.

A spirit bullet, so to speak.

And whether his guess was luckily correct, the creature writhed in shock.

Thwang!

It missed.

At the same time, he was struck by the creature’s swinging tail and crashed into the ground.

His consciousness grew distant from pain as if his spine had broken.

But Zhuge Munhyeon smiled.

‘That’s the weak point.’

Though his whole body felt like it would shatter, he sprang up and launched himself with all his remaining strength.

The creature’s attacks continued, but one move would be enough.

Pierce the reverse scale.

Even if it meant dying.

“I won’t die alone…”

The desperate cry couldn’t continue to the end.

The moment Zhuge Munhyeon’s form flew like a streak of light into Cheonggyeo’s embrace.

Kwaaaaaa!

Black liquid poured from the creature’s seemingly grinning maw.

The color alone told him.

Poison.

Ah… it was a snake, wasn’t it?

He’d been had.

It was common knowledge that snakes have poison.

The carelessness that comes when you think it’s over wasn’t something that applied only to the creature.

But there was no way to avoid it.

Already in the creature’s embrace, his spirit energy had hit rock bottom and he’d even inhaled the scent from the poison.

Damn it… even after being the Heavenly Demon, to make such a basic mistake.

Who should I blame?

It’s my fault.

A momentary error in judgment had thrown his body toward death.

It would melt, wouldn’t it?

If even the ground melted, flesh couldn’t possibly endure it.

But I won’t die alone.

If my flesh melts, I’ll endure with my bones!

Zhuge Munhyeon immediately thrust the Silver Cold Staff toward the creature’s reverse scale.

But then it happened.

At the very moment he was about to be drenched in poison, a pure white flash blocked Zhuge Munhyeon’s path.

Thunk!

The Silver Cold Staff was deflected helplessly.

Though his best effort had failed, his bewilderment was even greater.

‘Huh? Who is that?’

It was a strange feeling.

He had experienced appearing with a ‘ta-da’ to save others in moments of crisis, but never the opposite situation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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