Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 221

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 221. The Attitude Toward the Divine (1)
As I stepped outside, Guo Lao and Neung Hyeong were already standing before the main gate.
“Young Master.”
“You felt it too.”
“Yes, this is clearly….”
Though Guo Lao’s words trailed off, his face blazed with vivid rage.
Neung Hyeong’s expression, by contrast, was peculiar—cold and composed, yet devoid of anger or passion.
Moyong Bi glanced back over his shoulder.
In the distance, Moyong Su Hyang and the Fire Sword Unit Members lingered restlessly.
“I instructed them not to come, Young Master.”
“Well done.”
Moyong Bi spoke while observing Neung Hyeong.
“Do you have any suspicions?”
“None.”
Guo Lao replied sharply.
“Are you certain?”
“I said none.”
Ordinarily, Neung Hyeong would have answered with profane mockery, but now he spoke with an uncanny composure.
A soft rustle.
Ja Dam descended from somewhere and took her place beside Moyong Bi.
“Silver Patron. This aura—could it be?”
“Demonic Energy.”
A peculiar expression flickered across Moyong Bi’s face.
“Demonic Energy indeed, yet remarkably serene and concealed.”
The Brain Gate Heart Technique released a faint resonance.
Whenever Demonic Energy enters the designated domain, the Brain Gate Heart Technique responds immediately.
Yet this time, the alert came late. Moreover, the intensity of the alert was extraordinarily faint.
‘This is truly cunning.’
When war erupts, I will destroy my opponent by any means necessary to ensure my own survival.
Through that process, all manner of strategic weapons emerge, and martial arts, sorcery, fire weapons, and tactics all advance.
Among these, the Demon People of Seonghyeol Palace devoted particular fervor to developing the concealment of Demonic Arts. Because Demonic Energy is conspicuous by nature regardless of its type, they labored extensively to conceal it.
‘But these ones are different.’
Unlike Seonghyeol Palace, which focused on concealing Demonic Energy itself, whoever now transmits Demonic Energy here covertly possesses an inherently tranquil nature to their power.
The difference between concealing force itself and altering the nature of force itself. If the former is Seonghyeol Palace, then the latter is whoever sends this Demonic Energy now.
“My Lord Neung.”
“I know what you’re about to ask.”
“And your answer?”
“…I don’t know.”
Neung Hyeong’s expression bore an air of detachment.
As Moyong Bi studied his face intently, he suddenly understood—Neung Hyeong was far from merely composed.
No, rather, Neung Hyeong was seething with rage.
His fury had exceeded all bounds, which is why he appeared so composed. Neung Hyeong’s calmness was cold-blooded anger.
“I’ve had my suspicions all along. But now it’s certain.”
“….”
“Those bastards aren’t from Sacred Blood Palace.”
Beneath his definitive tone, a faint trace of rage seeped through.
Moyong Bi, who had nodded, opened his mouth.
“The sun’s beginning to set. They certainly picked an ambiguous hour to visit. The fact that they deliberately transmitted their Qi to this place suggests they have business with us.”
“With us? You mean with you.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Those bastards don’t know how many masters are in this place. If they’re using Demonic Energy this subtle, they might believe only you could detect it.”
“Because I know, everyone knows. But… you have a point.”
Moyong Bi adjusted the pair of curved blades hanging from his belt.
He’d been wearing them habitually since he’d just finished instructing Su Hyang.
“Guo Lao and Ja Dam will guard the Main Family House.”
“Understood.”
“I’d prefer you stay here too, My Lord… but I suspect you won’t?”
Neung Hyeong growled menacingly.
“I need to see their faces.”
“Very well.”
The two men opened the Main Gate and stepped outside.
No one was visible in their field of vision. It was a remote location, and at this hour, there were no passersby at all.
Yet the two men turned their bodies leftward as if they already knew.
“What about that Ho Jeong Dan Vice Leader?”
“He’s lodging at the Marketplace, I hear. Seems he quite enjoyed the lively street.”
“You probably played the sage again.”
“How remarkably well you understand me.”
Neung Hyeong’s eyes deepened.
“These bastards are definitely from the Black Sect.”
“….”
“But the question is—why now, of all times?”
The corners of Moyong Bi’s mouth lifted.
“Indeed. Why did Demon People appear precisely when the Martial Alliance dispatched their envoy?”
In the Jianghu, coincidence is rare, and because of that, the answer is always simple.
“The road to the Martial Alliance will be quite treacherous, won’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Many of our junior disciples will likely fall to your blade. A tragic affair.”
This was precisely why Neung Hyeong was strong. The fact that he could jest about those who might have been the very architects of his ruin—not merely his juniors, but those who could have destroyed his very life—spoke volumes about the fortitude of his spirit.
A moment later.
“Welcome.”
A young man with a broad smile revealed himself.
Concealed Demonic Energy. His skill was considerable—had he participated in the Hubei Posterior Meridian Energy Competition, he would have easily placed in the top eight.
“I’ve been waiting. As expected, you sensed my Demonic Energy….”
“Boy.”
Moyong Bi waved his hand dismissively.
“Stop spouting nonsense and guide us to your master.”
“Pardon?”
“Neither I nor this ugly friend here have much patience. Stop playing games and guide us.”
The young man’s smile deepened.
“I’m not sure what you mean….”
Flash!
A brilliant gleam of light passed vertically through the young man’s body.
Splurt!
The bisected young man collapsed to both sides in a spray of blood. His eyes and mouth still smiled, but trembled faintly.
A terrifying blade draw technique.
As Moyong Bi sheathed his sword, Neung Hyeong asked.
“That was fast. What was that?”
“Brocade Shadow Blade.”
“That martial art has such a technique?”
“Weren’t we both trapped by its forms back then?”
“It seems he multiplied his speed several times over using slight waist elasticity and footwork rotation.”
“Nice eye for detail.”
“So even such powerful and sharp blade strikes ultimately originate from softness, don’t they? This is completely Wudang Sect martial arts, isn’t it?”
“There are many similarities.”
Moyong Bi stepped over the blood without hesitation.
Though they walked a path that had claimed one life, neither showed any change in expression nor any tremor of emotion.
This place had already become a battlefield for both of them. They knew well that hesitation or excessive thought in a battlefield meant risking one’s life.
A path leading to a small hill.
As the two walked slowly, their faces stiffened slightly.
“Do you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“These bastards sure are thorough in their preparations.”
Neung Hyeong’s eyes grew increasingly sharp as he surveyed the surroundings.
“A Formation Technique… but not just any Formation Technique. This is a Demonic Path Formation Technique.”
“Do you know its name?”
“No. But it feels familiar.”
“How do we break it?”
“How can I know the method when I don’t even know the name? Still, I grasp the principle roughly.”
“Then stay here.”
Neung Hyeong obediently stopped in place, crossing his arms.
Though he appeared stubborn, he knew precisely when to hold firm and when to yield.
Of course, he didn’t forget to offer a parting word.
“You may not be what you once were, but don’t come back having suffered a shameful defeat.”
“If it looks like I will, you can always come help me.”
“You’re quite the jester.”
Moyong Bi chuckled softly and climbed the hill alone.
As he ascended, his thoughts grew heavy.
‘This is certainly something I need to think through carefully.’
Neung Hyeong’s remark about not being what he once was struck his heart more keenly today than ever before.
It was true that he devoted considerable time to the explosive growth of his Family Members. Of course, he trained alongside them, and given his current realm, he could achieve growth without even wielding spear and sword.
Yet there was no denying that the pace of advancement differed when one’s focus was divided rather than wholly concentrated on oneself.
Moyong Bi, lost in contemplation, soon shook his head.
‘Pointless thinking. I am progressing well in my own way right now.’
The Three Pure Infinite True Formula was not a martial art where effort alone guaranteed achievement.
Though he had grown by leaps and bounds thanks to the realm he had attained in his past life, since it was a Divine Art at the pinnacle of Taoist cultivation, beyond a certain level of mastery, genuine enlightenment was necessary.
‘My past enlightenment guides me. It certainly helps. But I cannot afford to be complacent, relying on that alone.’
Past enlightenment belonged only to the past.
True, thanks to it he had grown so much in mere months and would receive countless benefits in the future, but simultaneously, he could not afford to disregard who he was in this very moment.
Even if the soul remained the same, if the circumstances differed and the degree of achievement varied, one ought to train with the mindset of learning martial arts for the first time.
He was merely in a state where he knew multiple solutions, not one who had mastered everything.
‘Many would laugh. Those fools who think that with enlightenment alone, anything becomes possible.’
Especially those who had learned the martial arts of the Taoist School.
‘Martial arts are the art of the body. Even if the soul is the same, if the body differs, even identical martial arts must be learned in entirely different ways.’
Whooooosh.
His Infinite True Qi trembled softly.
A single blunt remark from Neung Hyeong suddenly shook his heart anew.
Moyong Bi felt his vision brighten.
‘Yes, by simply changing my mindset, I can advance swiftly once more.’
Flash!
A thread of enlightenment pierced through his mind.
Though he had obtained similar enlightenment long ago, this enlightenment was subtly different.
Not the enlightenment of Moyong Cheon, but of Moyong Bi.
Here, in this very place, the diverging path had begun.
‘I will advance again.’
Whoooosh.
Above his crown, a translucent golden flower bud rose and slowly faded away.
A transformation he himself did not perceive. The Three Pure Infinite True Formula, which had been sealed behind a solid wall, was now shattering through it, gazing toward the path ahead.
It was just as Moyong Bi approached the summit of the hill.
Rustle.
Along both sides of the darkening hill, he sensed several presences.
Zing.
The Brain Gate Heart Technique resonated with a sharp, brief cry.
‘Look at this.’
A moment of enlightenment subtly elevated the density of my Infinite True Qi.
That minute shift revealed what I had never perceived before.
‘Quite substantial.’
About twenty concealed figures were moving slightly on both sides.
Invisible to the naked eye—advanced Stealth Technique, reminiscent of assassins.
Yet among them, I detected two presences I couldn’t have sensed before this enlightenment.
‘Formidable.’
I discarded my former self.
As Moyong Bi, I assessed their martial prowess.
‘Strong. These aren’t easy opponents.’
They seemed to have mastered unfathomable techniques beyond Demonic Arts.
A feeling that I shouldn’t engage them carelessly.
“You’ve arrived.”
A gruff voice tickled my ears.
After advancing about twenty paces, someone stood atop a flat rock with hands clasped behind his back.
Neither young nor old in appearance. His voice matched that quality, but his gaze was particularly striking.
A man who feared not death.
Indifferent to life and death, he rarely lost his composure.
“Well, well?”
Moyong Bi nodded as if genuinely impressed and spoke.
“I thought perhaps some mere foot soldier had come to pay respects, yet you’re at least a commander-level figure?”
So Gwang’s eyes flashed.
“You’re Moyong Bi, correct?”
“That’s right, but next time you introduce yourself, state your own name first.”
The tone was as if instructing a younger youth.
So Gwang, who had been studying Moyong Bi intently, spoke in a deeper voice.
“My instinct was right after all.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re someone with more beneath the surface than what appears.”
“That means you’ve been watching me for quite some time…”
Moyong Bi tilted his head, then snapped his fingers.
“I’ve occasionally felt an itch at the back of my neck. There were times it was unpleasant, as if someone were watching me from afar.”
“…?!”
“So it was you?”
So Gwang’s face hardened.

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