Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 304

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

Chapter 304

It didn’t take long for the initial dazed expression to harden into cold tension.

This was Hwasan Sect’s domain.

Anyone not wearing Taoist robes who wished to set foot within had to receive permission.

Mujin subtly blocked Dan Yeonhwa’s path and asked the old man.

“Who are you?”

His eyes were full of wariness.

Though the old man wore shabby clothes, his aura was far from ordinary. Moreover, not just anyone could climb such a sheer cliff.

“Ho, seeing you up close like this makes me even more pleased. Strange child of Wudang.”

“Pardon?”

Strange?

What did that mean?

“Fortunate. I was worried it might become troublesome if others were mixed in… but only those I need are here.”

“What do you mean? Do you know us?”

“Of course I do. I’ve been watching for quite some time. I am called Sword Ancestor.”

The old man, Sword Ancestor.

The immortal of Taeudon had been watching them all along.

While his main curiosity was focused on Zhuge Munhyeon, he was also interested in the three beside him.

A brief conversation should be fine.

As Sword Ancestor approached with his hands clasped behind his back, Mujin frowned and watched him with even more wary eyes.

However, he didn’t draw his sword.

Since the opponent hadn’t shown hostility yet, learning his identity came first, so he refrained from taking action.

But Jin Yalim was different.

“Tch, what’s with all the questions? If he came here without warning, isn’t his intention obvious?”

“Young Master Jin!”

“Move aside! What does this damn old man think this place is!”

Jin Yalim pushed Mujin aside and immediately revealed killing intent as he blocked Sword Ancestor’s path.

“Oh my, child. Don’t do that.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Recognizing your opponent and bowing your head is also a skill. Right now I bear goodwill due to curiosity and show kindness… but if not, your neck would already be severed.”

It was a moment’s instant.

Sword Ancestor still wore a smile, but when he stepped one pace closer, what appeared in his eyes was an unbearable savagery.

Momentarily, breath caught and bodies seemed to freeze. Despite only a single step drawing closer.

It was enough to understand Sword Ancestor’s strength.

But a frightened beast showed two types of behavior.

Either tucking its tail and shrinking its neck while watching nervously, or bristling its fur and baring its teeth.

Jin Yalim was the latter.

“You crazy old bastard!”

Like a beast extending its claws, his raised hand swung while containing gang qi.

It was an amazing move.

Both the internal energy contained in that instant and the lightning-fast movement.

Five streams of gang qi extending from his fingertips curved like whips, drawing arcs as if to slice Sword Ancestor to pieces.

Clang!

But the result was futile.

With Sword Ancestor’s gesture, as casual as shooing away a fly, all five strands of gang qi were deflected.

“Kuk!”

Jin Yalim grimaced, feeling heavy recoil from what was merely a collision.

His stomach felt queasy.

But gritting his teeth and enduring, venom appeared in his eyes.

Even knowing the opponent was stronger than himself, he couldn’t yield the path.

Stopping his retreating steps, fighting spirit surged from his body like a whirlwind as both hands crossed.

Ten strands of gang qi stretched like long, tough threads trying to entangle Sword Ancestor.

Blood Wolf Technique, Ten String Strangling Kill.

It was an attack that would not just entangle and constrict, but tear the opponent to shreds.

“Hah, that fellow really is… quite hot-blooded.”

Sword Ancestor’s smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed.

If it were ordinary gang qi, he wouldn’t have paid it any mind.

But Jin Yalim’s gang qi possessed completely different properties from other similar martial artists.

Fine spirit energy was contained within his internal energy, capable of injuring even those who had reached the immortal level.

Though the power was too weak to threaten his life, he couldn’t just let his clothes get cut.

Especially since he had little interest in appearance and didn’t have many spare clothes.

Swish!

Ten strands of gang qi struck where Sword Ancestor had been standing.

“Tch!”

But they failed to cut him.

They only futilely sliced through empty air.

“Pretty fast… huh?”

Jin Yalim, about to attack again, couldn’t move further.

The vanished Sword Ancestor was standing in mid-air.

Beyond the cliff.

In a place where there wasn’t even ground to stand on.

“Wh-walking on air?”

That’s what he thought.

It would be impossible without legendary light body technique.

But Sword Ancestor wasn’t walking—he was simply standing still in mid-air.

At his appearance of floating there, both Mujin and Dan Yeonhwa couldn’t help but be shocked.

How could a person…

“Hmm, normally I would have severed the neck the moment teeth were bared… but having come to have a conversation, I can’t do that. Yet I can’t just leave it alone since you don’t seem like you’d listen to words… Very well, I’ll play with you briefly.”

Sword Ancestor grinned and raised his palm.

“Hup!”

The shock intensified.

Something pierced through Sword Ancestor’s palm and shot upward.

What soon revealed its full form was a single sword.

Then the sword that had soared high grew increasingly massive, dividing into dozens of pieces that covered the retreat.

“Wh-what is this?”

Unlike Jin Yalim or Dan Yeonhwa, Mujin had seen a similar scene before.

The strange beings that had fought against Zhuge Munhyeon until now.

What he had heard about them… those called immortals.

Perhaps yo and goe, or even gwi.

This was the worst.

“Damn it, Dan Mae! Wake up Young Master Munhyeon! Hurry!”

“What?”

Dan Yeonhwa couldn’t help but be surprised too.

In her eyes, she could see the tremendous spirit energy that Sword Ancestor possessed.

It was too dense.

Perhaps even much more than Zhuge Munhyeon.

“He’s not someone we can handle!”

Mujin shouted forcefully, sending Dan Yeonhwa toward the cave, then immediately drew his sword and circulated his internal energy.

He still didn’t know the man’s identity.

But his purpose was more than clear.

Until now, he had encountered several beings with similar power, but none had ever harbored good intentions.

“Young Master Jin! He’s not someone you can fight alone.”

“What?”

“We must combine our attacks.”

Seeing Mujin’s appearance with eyes gleaming like obsidian and revealing fierce aura, Jin Yalim didn’t insist on his stubbornness.

If that usually calm fellow was acting like this…

Jin Yalim stepped back to create distance and positioned himself beside Mujin.

Meanwhile, the Sword Ancestor walked through the air and descended to the ground.

In his hand was another sword with a white blade.

“I was thinking of meeting you anyway, so it’s good that I came to call. I’ve set up a barrier so Huashan won’t interfere. I’ll play with you for a while as I wait.”

Though the Sword Ancestor spoke with a constant smile, Mujin and Jin Yalim’s insides were burning black.

Their hearts felt suffocated.

It was because of the aura the Sword Ancestor was emitting.

It felt like being trapped in a space separated from the world.

“Young Master Jin.”

“Mm.”

“Please watch my back.”

“…Understood.”

Normally he would have refused, but this wasn’t the time to be stubborn.

Jin Yalim was feeling it too.

The Sword Ancestor’s aura seemed far more dangerous than what they had felt from Zhuge Munhyeon.

“Child of Wudang, what are you waiting for? You’re not going to sheathe that drawn sword again.”

At the Sword Ancestor’s provocation, Mujin drew up all the internal energy he possessed.

Mad Soul Art.

The energy that transformed him into a beast of rage surged up, spreading through his limbs and meridians, making his eyes gleam with an even blacker light.

“I’m going… Young Master Jin.”

A chillingly cold voice.

Then, as he took a step forward, Mujin unleashed a ferocious aura.

Bang!

The ground where he stepped exploded upward, and the sword in his hand was swung violently.

“Excellent!”

The smile on the Sword Ancestor’s lips deepened.

From the shockwave of sword clashing against sword, fierce winds blew out in all directions.

Then Jin Yalim’s ten strands of steel thread rushed into the gap that Mujin couldn’t fill.

Sometimes shooting like spears, other times coiling like whips.

Though it was their first time coordinating, the attacks of sword and thread allowed not even the smallest opening.

All directions were filled with Gang Qi.

But they couldn’t break through the trajectory created by the Sword Ancestor’s blade.

As if reading all their attacks, he deflected, shattered, and severed both men’s Gang Qi.

Moreover, his face was full of leisure.

Like a grandfather playing with his grandchildren, he pressed forward with an excited expression.

The level of power was different from the start.

The two, who felt shocking impacts just from touching the Sword Ancestor’s blade, soon had their movements disrupted.

When their Combined Attack Technique, which had maintained perfect balance, fell apart, they were instantly pushed into a defensive position.

The only reason they could still compete evenly was because the Sword Ancestor hadn’t moved a single step from where he stood.

Confidence that he could win at any time.

Creating hundreds of variations with a single sword, he was an opponent that Mujin and Jin Yalim could never defeat no matter how hard they tried.

“Ugh!”

The first to show change was Jin Yalim.

No matter how much one had reached the realm of Gang Qi, limits clearly existed.

He could no longer endure the recoil that had begun accumulating in his body with each clash against the sword.

“Now, shall I push a little harder?”

The moment the Sword Ancestor spoke playfully enough to seem mischievous and took a step forward, the two felt as if a massive space was crashing toward them.

They gritted their teeth and endured, but internal injuries spread and blood flowed like threads from the corners of their mouths.

‘There’s no chance of victory like this.’

Mujin looked at Jin Yalim.

Though he was desperately holding on, he seemed to have reached his limit.

He himself was at his limit too.

They would soon collapse.

With their current strength, they couldn’t stop the Sword Ancestor’s advance.

Wudang’s swordsmanship no longer worked.

A different method was needed.

A method that would allow him to surpass himself in an instant.

“Young Master Jin!”

“…?!”

With a shout that seemed to make the mountains ring, Mujin threw the sword in his hand toward the Sword Ancestor.

The moment it flew like a flash of light, Jin Yalim, startled, hastily pulled his body back.

Because he realized Mujin was about to do something.

Clang!

Mujin’s sword, thrown like a hidden weapon, was deflected.

And the fifth seal was released.

Swirling demonic energy spread in all directions, instantly covering the entire space within the barrier.

Rumble rumble rumble.

The ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and as the barrier cracked unable to withstand the emanated energy, the Sword Ancestor’s complexion changed drastically.

“Th-this fellow?”

It was a power he had never expected.

Mujin, who had surpassed his limits, had transformed like a wild beast.

His eyes pouring out black light.

Grrrrr.

Even his faint growling.

How could a human contain such power within their body?

It was neither immortal arts, nor the power of yokai, gwi, or spirits.

If he had to describe it, it was close to a demon that retained only the nature of extreme destruction.

“Could it be? The makings of a Demon Immortal?”

The moment he cried out in astonishment, the Sword Ancestor quickly raised his sword at the chilling sensation he felt at close range.

Bang!

His body staggered.

Mujin’s fist, which had deceived his eyes and approached in an instant, had been swung.

Three or four steps.

Considering the pattern of battle until now, this was an incredible occurrence.

Though he had been momentarily distracted, he had lost track of his movements and been shocked by his attack.

But Mujin didn’t give him even a moment to be surprised.

Whoooosh!

His hand flew toward the Sword Ancestor’s opening.

Feeling anger at being pushed back by a mere human’s attack, the Sword Ancestor added force to his sword and struck that hand.

Crash!

Mujin’s struck body was embedded in the clearing.

Grrrrr.

But as if he felt no pain, he quickly raised his head and growled.

“You were hiding something quite interesting!”

The Sword Ancestor’s aura changed.

From playing around to genuinely engaging with his opponent.

The moment the added spirit energy spread out in all directions, the tearing barrier stabilized and pale white energies formed around the Sword Ancestor, taking shape.

Immortal Spirit Heaven Sword Formation.

Swords drawn with spirit energy filled the sky, soon ready to descend.

Demonic immortal.

Though it was merely a seed, it possessed a power that could not be left alone and had to be destroyed.

That was the calling of the righteous.

But then it happened.

Swoosh!

Something that shot out of the cave like a gust of wind flew toward Mujin.

Thwack!

And mercilessly struck his head.

“Arghhhh!”

As Mujin screamed and writhed in pain, another lightning-fast blow struck his head.

Smack!

And then.

“Why is this bastard going crazy and acting up again?”

With an irritated voice, Zhuge Munhyeon appeared, scratching his head.

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