Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 266
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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 266
The back blocking his path.
A man’s back that gave a completely different feeling from his father’s was right before his eyes.
Dressed in crane-like elegant white robes, the one who had blocked Cheonggyeo’s poison with just an outstretched hand turned his head and asked.
“What is your relationship with Yeongbuhwa?”
“….”
Yeongbuhwa?
For a moment, he blinked in confusion.
Ah! Elder Uncle Yeongmun’s true name?
“I’ll ask again. What is your relationship with Yeongbuhwa?”
“…He is my uncle.”
He had no choice but to speak respectfully.
The divine technique of blocking such deadly poison that could melt even soil with just a gesture was surprising, but his voice was filled with inexplicable dignity.
He was also a benefactor who had saved his life.
Well, he must be much older too.
Even including the Heavenly Demon’s life, this one who clearly appeared to be an Immortal must have lived for hundreds of years easily.
“Uncle… I see. I’ll ask for details later, so first tend to your body.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s primordial poison infused with spiritual energy. If left alone, your body will rot.”
Though expressionless and his tone dry, Zhuge Munhyeon immediately sat in meditation.
It seemed there was no need to help.
He was pushing back Cheonggyeo’s poison and approaching step by step.
He closed his eyes and stabilized his breathing according to the breathing technique, but expelling the poison energy was not easy.
It wasn’t made through mixing, but was original poison infused with spiritual energy.
Only after barely containing it with a spiritual energy sealing method created by mixing the Heart Method and Formation Technique could he spit out the poison.
“Whew….”
As his breathing stabilized, Zhuge Munhyeon opened his eyes.
Though he needed to tend to his body for a longer time, he couldn’t contain his curiosity.
Who exactly was he?
Since he had mentioned Yeongbuhwa, Elder Uncle Yeongmun’s true name, he was certainly not an enemy.
But as soon as he opened his eyes, his worries disappeared and only amazement remained.
The moment the White-Robed Man, no, the White-Robed Immortal waved his hand, lightning struck down toward Cheonggyeo.
Kwaaaaang!
The violently exploded ground burned black.
If the startled Cheonggyeo hadn’t quickly dodged, it would have become roasted snake and more.
[You, you bastard, who are you?]
Cheonggyeo, seemingly greatly shocked by the White-Robed Immortal’s appearance, moved his body frantically trying to escape.
“Beast that broke the taboo. Do you think you can escape?”
For some reason, the moment the White-Robed Immortal’s hand swept down again with a voice tinged with subtle anger, pillars suddenly shot up around Cheonggyeo.
It was as if he had been trapped in a prison. Soon the pillars that turned bright red were engulfed in flames and exploded in succession.
Kwakwakwakwang!
The flames that shot up with a tremendous roar were sucked between the pillars.
[Kyaaaaaaak!]
Cheonggyeo, with fire spreading to his body, screamed and thrashed about.
But he couldn’t escape the prison of pillars.
Rather, the range of the pillars narrowed, giving the feeling of strangling him.
[You damn bastard!]
Cheonggyeo’s writhing in extreme pain and rage finally broke the pillars, and soon his massive tail was swung toward the White-Robed Immortal.
“Tsk….”
In the moment of that short tongue click, Zhuge Munhyeon could see something in the White-Robed Immortal’s hand.
‘That is?’
A talisman.
And the moment it was tightly grasped.
Jjeeoong!
Cheonggyeo’s tail, charred black by the flames, struck the White-Robed Immortal’s torso.
“I-Immortal!”
Zhuge Munhyeon’s worry as he jumped up from his seat was meaningless.
Despite Cheonggyeo’s heavy attack, the White-Robed Immortal’s body didn’t even budge.
“Did you think your power gained through wicked methods could surpass the Vajra Protection Talisman?”
[Th-this bastard!]
“Foolish thing… Even taking only purity wouldn’t be enough, yet you broke taboos and accumulated only impurity. What a waste of cultivated years.”
Another talisman appeared in the White-Robed Immortal’s fist as he spoke in the same dry tone.
Kwang!
He struck directly, and Cheonggyeo’s head was smashed into the ground.
He could only gape in amazement.
Cheonggyeo, who had been so difficult to face, was being beaten one-sidedly without even being able to resist.
And only then did he realize.
‘The Immortal of Bosan Pavilion?’
Certain.
This was definitely the Immortal of Bosan Pavilion that Elder Uncle Yeongmun had once told him to visit.
But why?
Why had he come looking for him?
Yeongmun should have been trapped in a hundred-year barrier as payment for taking Baekryeongwa from Aenoe Mountain, unable to send word.
But for now, rather than such questions, the White-Robed Immortal’s strength dominated his mind.
Kwajik!
Cheonggyeo was being repeatedly slammed into the ground by his fists.
The creature he had been prepared to die fighting against.
‘S-so strong. Truly.’
It was a scene so intensely shocking that he swallowed hard.
The name of the Heavenly Demon, who had once prided himself as the strongest human under heaven, seemed less than a firefly facing the full moon compared to him.
The same was true when comparing spiritual energy.
No, an even greater gap was felt.
Unlike himself, who had been changing the nature of spiritual energy through Eunhangon and relying on Jinryeongju and Suryeongju, the White-Robed Immortal was using all the powers of the Five Elements.
Sometimes he created fire, sometimes he made ice shards harder and sharper than steel to cut Cheonggyeo’s body. And sometimes he struck that body with fists imbued with the weight of mountains.
He was clearly different from those who had luckily been born with spiritual roots, achieved enlightenment, and reached the Half-Immortal stage through gluttony.
‘A true Immortal….’
Just watching made his heart race.
When he was so captivated by that strength that he couldn’t even blink, the White-Robed Immortal approached the exhausted, panting Cheonggyeo and pulled another talisman from his robes, sticking it to the creature’s body.
“Silkworm Prison….”
With those quiet words, thread-like energies flowed endlessly from the talisman attached to Cheonggyeo’s body.
[N-no!]
The threads of spiritual energy, ignoring even his blood-curdling screams, instantly wrapped around Cheonggyeo’s body.
Bound tightly, he looked like a giant cocoon, fitting the name Silkworm Prison.
Soon, with a crushing sound, its size shrank, and finally only a single talisman remained, fluttering as it fell.
The battle that had been so fierce for Zhuge Munhyeon that he had to risk his life ended disappointingly easily.
Not a speck of dust clung to the Immortal’s white robes.
When he turned and their eyes met, Zhuge Munhyeon unconsciously swallowed hard.
‘What kind of eyes….’
They were empty.
Somehow, it felt like he might be sucked into them.
But he didn’t want to avoid that gaze.
Though his entire body was trembling violently, he gritted his teeth and endured.
The White-Robed Immortal, who had been staring intently, chuckled and spoke.
“Hmm, quite impressive. To face the Eye of Fate and not look away.”
“….”
Though he expressed admiration, the only defiance Zhuge Munhyeon could show him was merely not averting his gaze.
This was a strength unlike any he had encountered before.
His breath was choked, making it difficult even to respond.
“Tsk tsk, pointless pride.”
“….”
“Well, that’s probably why you were chosen by the Bagua Heavenly Cycle.”
The moment he clicked his tongue, the crushing pressure weighing down on his entire body disappeared and breathing became easier.
“Puha!”
Zhuge Munhyeon barely managed to exhale the breath that had been trapped.
But what did he mean?
About being chosen by the Bagua Heavenly Cycle.
“You look like you have many questions. But first, deal with the commotion outside. I’ve set up a barrier… but those trying to rescue you are causing quite a disturbance.”
“Those trying to rescue me?”
His eyes suddenly widened.
The barrier Cheonggyeo had deployed had long since been broken.
The subsequent battle had caused such a commotion that Mount Tai itself shook, so they couldn’t help but come running.
Though the White-Robed Immortal seemed to have deployed another barrier afterward, he was worried that someone might have gotten caught up in it after coming nearby.
“Was anyone hurt?”
When he asked with a hopeful heart, the White-Robed Immortal tilted his head.
“Huh, what a strange fellow. You seem to have already surpassed the stage of energy accumulation, yet you still haven’t severed your worldly ties?”
“That, that’s….”
“No one was hurt.”
“Ah….”
At those words spoken with a warm smile, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
That no one was hurt.
As he felt relieved, the White-Robed Immortal approached and placed a talisman on his chest.
“It’s a healing talisman. It will take some time for your depleted spiritual energy to recover, but the physical pain should subside.”
Just as he said, the pain disappeared as if washed away and his body felt light.
How miraculous.
To heal wounds in an instant.
Thanks to this, moving became much easier.
“I’ll release the barrier, so finish up and come find me at the mountain peak. I’ll be waiting.”
“The mountain peak… you say?”
He asked back, but the White-Robed Immortal vanished in an instant as if he had never been there to begin with.
He hadn’t even blinked.
‘All sorts of things are possible.’
After a hollow laugh escaped, commotion immediately rushed in.
“Munhyeon!”
Led by Zhuge Munho, familiar faces came rushing in a group.
The Dang Family, Namgung, and even the Paeng Family.
Everyone had expressions full of worry and questions.
It was understandable.
The moment the barrier disappeared, things that hadn’t been visible would have appeared.
Meanwhile, they would have seen that the mountainside had been completely overturned, changing the terrain.
The fortunate thing was that no poison remained.
When had he even cleared away the poison…?
He was quite a generous Immortal.
Anyway, anticipating the barrage of questions Zhuge Munho would unleash, Zhuge Munhyeon quickly took the initiative.
“How did it go?”
“Huh?”
“Is the matter regarding the Hwangbo Clan settled through negotiations?”
“No, that’s still… We were in the middle of a meeting when suddenly vibrations came through like an earthquake, so it was suspended. Hwi said you went to Mount Tai…”
“What unnecessary worry.”
“Un, unnecessary?”
“Isn’t it? With Hwangbo Yun and his son, as well as the entire Hwangbo Clan subdued, what could happen to me?”
“That’s true, but…”
“I heard it was where Hwangbo Yun used to cultivate, so I thought I’d try cultivating there too. I deployed a formation technique in case of interference… but I guess I used too much power.”
“Ah… I see.”
He glossed over it roughly.
There was no way they would know whether it was a barrier or formation technique.
After all, he was the most skilled in formation techniques here anyway.
“But what are you all doing staying here?”
“Huh?”
Zhuge Munhyeon frowned as he looked over Zhuge Munho, who had stepped forward as representative, and those who had followed behind him.
“Stop worrying needlessly and go back to finish the matters related to the Hwangbo Clan first. I’ll continue cultivating.”
At his irritated rebuke, Zhuge Munho pouted his lips.
“Well, wouldn’t it be better if you presided over the meeting instead?”
“Why should I?”
“What?”
“Elder Brother, you’re the Young Family Head.”
“But… you’re the main figure in this incident after all.”
“Elder Brother Munho.”
“….”
“You’re the Young Family Head. You’re going to inherit the family in the future. So you should step forward confidently. I’ll continue to support you from behind.”
Zhuge Munhyeon patted his elder brother’s shoulder and smiled.
That’s how it should be.
Behind him was their uncle Zhuge Domyeong, the clever Zhuge Junggi, and various other family members, but Zhuge Munho had to be the center.
Though he intended to help them forever, he must never become the center himself.
He was someone who wandered between the boundaries of immortal and human, and might leave someday.
After meeting the Immortal who clearly came from Bosan Pavilion, his resolve had grown even stronger.
His strength had been so shocking that he wondered if he could ever catch up.
Zhuge Munhyeon only wanted to meet him as soon as possible.
So he would leave the human world to Zhuge Munho.
“Just go. It seems I need to move to a place where I can use my power freely. Instead, negotiate well. Neither too little nor too much.”
“Sigh, fine. I got it.”
At Zhuge Munhyeon’s words, Zhuge Munho nodded while letting out a sigh.
Here he goes again, this guy…
How could he not know this was for his sake?
It was like deliberately showing everyone gathered that he himself was behind him.
Watching the back of Zhuge Munhyeon as he trudged off toward the mountain peak, Zhuge Munho steeled his heart and turned around.
“Master Geomchi.”
“What is it?”
“Since my younger brother will continue his cultivation, let’s head down now. We need to hurry and finish the negotiations.”
“Mm… let’s do that.”
At Zhuge Munho’s resolute expression, Namgung Ilhak nodded without a word and followed behind him.
He too had many questions but didn’t bother asking.
It was an act of acknowledging Zhuge Munho as their leader once again in front of people from various families.
The others also didn’t add any unnecessary words.
Right now, they were far more interested in the benefits that would follow after solving the Hwangbo Family’s problem.
“Tch, we’re sworn brothers… and he won’t even say a word to me.”
Among them, Dang Yeon muttered his disappointment to himself, but since he was representing the Dang Family, he had no choice but to turn away.
Watching this scene, Zhuge Domyeong couldn’t shake off his sense of pride.
Zhuge Munho was at the very front.
The Young Family Head of a clan that had always lived as second-best was leading everyone.
‘Family Head, can you see this? Our Zhuge Clan is…’
Zhuge Junggi, who had been watching him getting emotional, shook his head and whispered.
“Stop scowling like that.”
“…”
“Others will think you’re angry.”
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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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