Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 953
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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 953
At last, that entity walked up to the small lantern on the wooden boat.
Upon the water.
Standing with serene, unyielding presence.
Clad in a black robe, with a jet-black cat perched upon his shoulder.
He did not walk swiftly like the others—he walked upon the water itself.
No, he simply stood there.
It spoke of only one thing.
This man’s mastery of water-treading had reached the realm of transcendence!
“A distinguished guest arrives. What brings you on such a night, Soegooju?”
The masked figure responded.
The one standing before the lantern spoke with a pale voice.
“Ju Yeong-yeong, the secondary clan head of Simhon Gwirelyeongga, known as Simgwihwa. By my authority as Soegooju, I ask this.”
Are you a living person or a dead one?
Or perhaps darkness itself? Those crimson eyes seemed to speak of his very fate.
Called by the Demonic Sect the living death.
Yeo Ha-ryun of Cheon Sal-seong!
“Why would that concern you?”
Above his head, a darkness fundamentally different from the surrounding gloom materialized.
The air around him gradually drew inward toward that point.
And as that suction intensified, it began to devour everything around it as if a tempest had been unleashed.
Whoooosh—
An overwhelming force.
All witnessed the darkness within darkness that Yeo Ha-ryun had conjured.
They could not tear their eyes away.
Yet Ju Yeong-yeong, the secondary clan head of Simhon Gwirelyeongga.
She who bore the epithet Simgwihwa and was the third consort of the former Namgung Family head, did not answer.
Then.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s lips parted once more.
“Two.”
The pressure intensified further.
“Answer me, Ju Yeong-yeong. Before I count three.”
“Ahahaha!”
Ju Yeong-yeong burst into laughter.
“Soegooju. You are not yet the formal successor. You have no authority to command me, the secondary clan head of Simhon Gwirelyeongga…”
“No. I do.”
Yeo Ha-ryun extended his hand toward the darkness above his head.
“Behold.”
The ‘undulating darkness’ that had materialized there now trembled like a black sun.
And.
The powerful suction force that had existed until moments ago had completely vanished.
Because of this, there was silence.
A silence so eerie it sent chills down the spine!
“Surely… that was… the Black Demonic Sun…? Soegooju, you haven’t reached such a realm yet—how on earth did you manage this?”
Ju Yeong-yeong was astounded.
The realm she knew from intelligence reports and the realm being displayed now were fundamentally different.
No matter how much of a genius one might be, could one truly grow this much in such a short time?
‘However, the Black Demonic Sun just displayed is genuine. If it were merely an illusion, I would have seen through it immediately.’
Yeo Ha-ryun asked calmly.
“Under the will of sun and moon, those close to the Demonic can command those beneath them, can they not? So I ask again, Ju Yeong-yeong.”
Beneath the black sun, Yeo Ha-ryun posed his question once more.
“Why do you take such interest in my brother?”
Yeo Ha-ryun.
The existence most despised by the Majongyuk Kings, branded as one who must never become the Cheonma.
For the sake of the Majongyuk Kings, he was a man who had to die anyway.
‘For the sake of our Shimhon Gwireung Sect, we must eliminate this sprout as soon as possible.’
She was the Deputy Gaju of the Great Majongyuk Kings.
Even if she were called Soegooju, she was ultimately just a fledgling.
The Black Demonic Sun displayed just now was impressive, but with her true realm of understanding the Shimhon, she would never lose.
Ju Yeong-yeong laughed wildly.
“Ahahahahaha! How splendid, Soegooju! However! If you wish to hear my answer… you must prove directly to me whether that power is illusion or reality!”
And.
The third consort of the previous Namgung Family Head and a spy of the Demonic Sect.
Ju Yeong-yeong leaped from the boat and launched a murderous attack against Yeo Ha-ryun.
Everything was for the Shimhon Gwireung Sect!
Witnessing this, Yeo Ha-ryun’s fury turned glacial.
Behind him, the black sun swelled once more.
A surreal natural disaster that no human could create erupted from the Yangtze River, engulfing the surroundings.
* * *
As Yeo Ha-ryun clashed with the Deputy Gaju of the Shimhon Gwireung Sect, Jin Cheon-hee rode upon Hwang-gu, racing swiftly across mountains and rivers.
A place that could be called the frontier and outer reaches of Gangho.
A place ruled beneath the dominion of a single religion.
At the heart of that place, a gathering was being held for the first time in ages.
An underground temple.
The height from floor to ceiling reached a hundred zhang, and stone pillars equally thick and tall stood in multiple places.
These pillars bore countless carvings of demons and humans locked in combat, creating an atmosphere of profound mystery.
Magnificent and grandiose in scale.
Yet the absence of any people created something that sent shivers down the spine.
At the head of such a strange place.
Before the altar and throne stood a shabby round wooden table.
And around that circular wooden table sat six distinctive individuals, chattering away.
“Ah… it’s been so long… everyone…”
A woman in scholarly robes spoke in a leisurely tone.
Her eyes were as black as obsidian, and her hair bore an odd pale pink hue.
The one who answered her was a giant seated across from her, standing nearly ten feet tall.
Not just his height, but his entire body was massive and thick—the kind that deserved to be called a giant.
He wore only leather-woven trousers, his upper body bare as he bellowed.
“Blood! Fresh blood! Bring me blood! Things made of blood!”
At that monstrous cry, the one seated beside the giant—
A handsome young man with his eyes closed but a third eye open on his forehead grumbled.
“Why hasn’t this fool died yet?”
“Because he’s healthy, that’s why. This bastard is the sturdiest among us, isn’t he?”
And answering the three-eyed handsome man was a strikingly beautiful young man whose eyes sparkled.
He wore extremely thin, translucent cotton garments through which his interior was completely visible.
Despite this, a snake coiled around his body inside the clothes, writhing about.
“Hehehehe. You’ve all survived well, I see.”
A figure wearing a black and white mask—whether woman or man was unclear—chuckled softly.
In response to that laughter, a woman whose eyes were covered with black cloth spoke.
“I feel joy at your safety.”
Six different individuals.
Yet it was obvious at a glance that these six were no ordinary humans.
Not just their appearances, but the very aura they emanated was different.
The density of qi swirling around the six was such that an ordinary human’s heart would stop merely from approaching.
They harbored something so sinister.
“I never thought we would be able to walk in this mortal realm again…”
The captivating young man with the snake coiled around him spoke languidly, resting his chin on his hand.
“My calculations were wrong. Who would have thought the heavenly mechanism would tear like this.”
And the one who answered him was the figure in the black and white mask.
“For Honnoeja… to miscalculate… is… rare…”
The woman in scholarly robes murmured slowly once more.
“Blooooood!”
“Ah. Can’t this bastard just shut up?”
“Impossible… Seonhyeol Gangseon is originally… like that…”
“But Honnoeja, what happens to us then? Are we allowed to walk around?”
“I too am curious. When Cheonma ascended, we followed in her footsteps and accepted the seal of our own volition… ”
Assisting Cheonma’s ascension.
That was their original duty.
So that Cheonma could spread demonic energy throughout the celestial realm, they had even surrendered their own souls.
Yet somehow, they have awakened and are moving.
“Aah~ I’ve done something sorry to the young ones~ the Gaju fellow whined so much…”
“But listen here, you lot. Isn’t the Soegooju adorable? Doesn’t she remind you of the old Cheonma? Those dark eyes, the way she says things… Ah, how cute~~”
“I know you don’t discriminate between men and women, but… your taste really is something…”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Fresh blood! When will we get some!”
“You, be quiet for a moment.”
“Soegooju… so cute… I want to devour her…”
Their words seemed meaningless at first glance, but listening carefully, each one was bizarre and horrifying.
They could only be described as the ramblings of madmen.
Yet one thing was certain.
The Soegooju they spoke of was unmistakably Yeo Ha-ryun!
And these beings were the previous or even earlier clan heads of the Majongyuk Family.
Their existence had long been forgotten even in the Gangho.
Geomals who had been active more than a century ago!
The Majongyuk Kings!
Why were they here?
How were they still alive?
It was a secret among secrets.
“Ah. I’m pleased to see you’ve all come through unscathed.”
Then.
Without warning, someone was sitting upon the throne.
Cheonma!
“Cheonma… you have come…”
“Cheonma~ we didn’t need to call these wretches. I alone could have handled it…”
“This one greets Cheonma.”
“Cheonma! Blood! Give it to us!”
“This one greets Cheonma.”
“This one greets the noble countenance of Cheonma.”
In different ways.
The six rose from their places and paid their respects to Cheonma.
Yet it was not the formal ceremonial etiquette typically employed by the Demonic Cult.
A peculiar relationship.
The six walked forward to Cheonma and prostrated themselves.
“Cheonma. We heard that Mu-jon has come…”
“Indeed. That beast came and destroyed much of ours before departing. As always, he is unreasonable. However, I have inflicted wounds upon him… so peace should reign for a time.”
“That… you wounded Mu-jon…! Truly… you are Cheonma…”
“Tsk. That ignorant brute has caused us no small amount of loss. Therefore, it is now time for our sect to emerge from the shadows we have long huddled in and spread our wings to soar.”
“Though the plan has changed… that would be welcome. Since the Heavenly Mechanism has been torn asunder, there is no longer need for Deungseong. We shall prepare for the propagation.”
A handsome young man with three eyes.
The one known by the epithet Honnoeja spoke thus in a low voice.
“Good. Then in my name, I command you all. Under the will of the Sun and Moon. Let Demons run rampant across all under Heaven.”
“We accept the Cheonma’s command!”
Everyone.
Spoke with one unified voice.
“Furthermore, there shall be only one Soegooju from now on… Let your martial spirits clash and become one,” the command rang out.
Those words meant the Soegooju conflict would be settled.
At last.
Was the Demonic Cult finally moving in earnest?
* * *
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Hwang-gu’s current size was nearly that of a large automobile, wasn’t it?
By Earth standards, he would be classified among the large-scale SUVs.
About the size of a celebrity’s tour van.
If I attached a carriage or cart to him, he could carry people like a decent-sized bus. Though I couldn’t guarantee a smooth ride.
‘Of course, when transporting patients, I do make sure he runs carefully.’
I myself wasn’t entirely sure when Hwang-gu had grown to such a massive size.
He just kept eating and grew this large!
One day he suddenly began developing the ability to enlarge himself, and by now his fur couldn’t be cut even by blades or sword energy.
People had begun calling Hwang-gu a superior spirit beast.
A superior spirit beast.
That’s what they called spirit beasts that far transcended the normal level.
Such a Hwang-gu raced along the riverbank at a terrifying speed.
Yuanxiang Province connected to Anhui Province along the Yangtze River.
In the past, traveling by boat would have been faster, but now Hwang-gu Express was quicker.
As I traveled at such tremendous speed along the riverbank,
I spotted something.
“Wait, Hwang-gu!”
“Woof~!”
Hwang-gu came to a halt.
I leaped down from his back and stood on the riverbank.
Then I pulled out an empty talisman from my robe, made a tiny cut on my finger, and wrote characters in blood upon it.
“Petals walk upon the water. Water-Surface Flower!”
This was one of the sorceries I had learned while staying with the Moshan Sect.
A sorcery that allowed one to walk upon water!
The talisman ignited in mid-air, and a strange power settled upon my feet.
“Hwang-gu, wait here.”
“Woof!”
I left Hwang-gu behind and dashed across the surface of the Yangtze River.
‘I could use Lightness Technique if needed. But this is better for now.’
Since I had learned something good, it wasn’t bad to test it out.
Still, mastering it in one attempt was a different matter altogether.
None of the literary scholars who had taught Jin Cheon-hee the Water-Walking Technique ever imagined he could accomplish it so effortlessly.
Yet Jin Cheon-hee walked forward with remarkable ease.
Then he reached toward something he had just discovered.
Splash.
It was a corpse.
A slightly bloated corpse.
But there was something peculiar about it.
Not a drop of blood remained.
‘The blood… was it all drained? Could it be the Hyeolseonggyo?’
An ordinary person would have retched at the mere sight of such a corpse, but Jin Cheon-hee was accustomed to it.
Rather, he had the composure to deduce who might have committed such an act.
Immediately, old information whispered across the back of his neck.
Blood sacrifices for human offerings, or rituals and martial cultivation requiring blood.
I could not fathom why such forbidden techniques came to mind.
Yet they were all sinister and wicked practices.
‘Could this be the work of that unidentified group that performed ritual sorcery in Gangso Province?’
That was possible.
As I pondered this, I saw corpses drifting downstream one by one.
There was not just one corpse.
Splash!
I drew the corpses toward me using the technique of grasping from emptiness.
I gathered them until no more drifted downstream, and their number reached dozens.
I dragged so many bodies toward the riverbank.
Hwang-gu, as if he knew beforehand, had already dug a wide pit in the ground and was waiting.
“Thank you, Hwang-gu.”
“Woof woof!”
Hwang-gu laughed, pleased by the praise.
I took out dried meat for Hwang-gu and carefully laid the bodies down.
One by one, I reverently arranged them and covered them with earth.
“Come here. Come here. Weary souls, depart from this life. We who wander with blinded eyes are leaving from this place.”
And I sang a funeral dirge I had sung in the past while burning incense.
“Ah. In life, burdened and blinded by hardship, wandering in search of the underworld, many years have already passed. Ah. How difficult. How painful. Trapped in delusion and affliction, unable to find the path. Now, forget it all. Set down your burdens and depart. Go thus to paradise.
Leave your suffering here and go lightly with a smile beyond that distant mountain of the dead, beyond the underworld to paradise.”
In that moment, light bloomed around Jin Cheon-hee.
-Ah… Thank… you….
-Now… to the underworld….
So they had been bound by resentment, unable to leave this world.
Such sinister dark arts do not merely drain the opponent’s blood—they defile the very soul.
The purified deceased all disappeared, leaving voices of gratitude.
A profound heart.
Relief replaces the original tension.
The brilliant light that had blazed finally fades into the distance.
I exhaled deeply at last.
Then I lifted my gaze toward the inner reaches of the Yangtze River that Wonhyangban indicated.
“…Let’s see this through to the end. You wretched creatures.”
With that, I mounted Hwang-gu’s back once more.
Hwang-gu surged forward like a tempest.
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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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