Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 4

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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 4
“Sigh…”
A month had already passed since my rebirth as the Third Prince of the Cheon Family.
Confined to my chamber, enduring acupuncture treatments, filling my belly with medicinal broths, and spending days drifting in and out of consciousness—each moment a struggle merely to maintain awareness.
The one consolation was that vitality had begun to gradually return to my entire body.
‘At least I haven’t wasted time merely recovering.’
I had managed to glean considerable information about the Demonic Sect and the Third Prince.
-So, he’s twenty-three years old. What was his temperament like?
-If I may speak frankly, before this, it would have been difficult to believe he could hold such a conversation. He was remarkably quiet. And…
Cheon So-hyun was said to be so talented that he was mentioned as a leading candidate for Cult Leader.
Among the Cult Leader’s five children, he stood out distinctly, and indeed, this body’s frame and bones were far from inferior.
‘No, rather, they’re exceptional.’
Apart from the severe internal injuries that had left everything stiffened from prolonged immobility, the muscle quality and bone density I felt through my fingertips were of a caliber rarely seen even in Shaolin.
Setting aside personal sentiment, it would be no exaggeration to call this physique ideally suited for martial cultivation.
For a martial artist, it was a blessing beyond compare—yet Cheon So-hyun, unable to shed his impatience, had apparently allowed it to deteriorate gradually.
-He never showed it outwardly, but in the year before losing consciousness, he appeared quite unstable. He secluded himself in the Archive for half a year without emerging, and after he did, he seemed lost in thought, often muttering to himself.
-So his mind was truly breaking. And then he fell into demonic obsession?
-What? Ah… hmm. It does seem to be the case.
Unable to hear the true reasons since those around him never revealed his inner thoughts, I naturally came to understand the cause myself.
This body harbored two critical flaws that could not be overlooked.
First, demonic energy had taken root in my dantian.
‘Damn it.’
Demonic energy flowing through the body of a Buddhist practitioner?
‘What sin have I committed…’
Nothing could be more sacrilegious, yet in truth, it was natural for the Third Prince of the Demonic Sect to cultivate demonic arts.
Thus, calling it a flaw felt inappropriate, but it was fatal in that I could not practice Shaolin’s martial techniques.
The demonic energy permeating my dantian and meridians stubbornly rejected the pure essence of orthodox cultivation. If I forced conflicting energies together and worsened my internal injuries, I would never rise again—so I couldn’t even attempt it.
To make matters worse, my vital energy grew increasingly turbid, and with each breath I could feel my lifespan diminishing. Eventually, I had to make a decision.
-Right, no matter how foul it is… inner energy is inner energy. First, I must survive.
Survival forced me to rely on demonic cultivation.
Naturally, I didn’t know the name or incantations of the demonic arts Cheon So-hyun had learned, but I wasn’t entirely lost.
The foundation of any cultivation method is expelling the old and drawing in the new—this principle holds true even for demonic arts.
And immediately after resolving to do this, I discovered the second flaw.
-Damn it! What sin have I truly committed…
The demonic energy was concentrated only on one side of my dantian.
The opposite side was sealed as if declared forbidden territory—it was impossible to extend energy there.
In other words, I could only utilize half of my dantian.
“Sigh. I simply cannot grow accustomed to this.”
Though my internal injuries had improved considerably through breathing exercises, I was acutely aware of this clear limitation—a dantian only half-functional.
Just as frustration began to well up within me.
An unfamiliar voice called out from beyond the door.
“May I enter?”
“Who are you?”
*Click.*
Without invitation, the door swung open and a stranger appeared.
Is this the Demonic Sect?
I narrowed my eyes, studying the man with suspicion.
His impression was as sharp and keen as a blade honed to a cutting edge. A subtle aura of power emanated from him—so palpable that even I could sense it.
“I shall escort you to the Cult Leader’s Hall.”
His voice, cold as ice, left me momentarily speechless.
‘…The Cult Leader’s Hall?’
I had thought that as the Third Prince of the Demonic Sect, I would meet the Cult Leader eventually. Yet this uninvited guest’s presumptuous manner of simply escorting me without preamble irritated me.
“Ha! To simply show up and declare you’ll escort me without so much as a word—how presumptuous.”
“Gwangmyeong Right Envoy!”
Yeon Hong, standing behind the stranger’s shoulder, cried out urgently.
“If I may be so bold, the Third Prince has only just recovered his vitality. He requires more time to stabilize…”
The man’s sharp gaze turned toward Yeon Hong.
“It is the Cult Leader’s command.”
His voice was resolute, brooking no dissent.
His eyes held such intensity that a weaker person would have felt their spirit crushed and their legs give way.
Yet despite receiving such a piercing look, Yeon Hong glanced sideways at me.
It was as if she were saying, ‘Third Prince, you remember this person, don’t you? You must know who this is. In fact, you should know!’—and suddenly my mind cleared.
‘…Gwangmyeong Right Envoy?’
I knew nothing of this man himself, but I had heard of the Gwangmyeong Messengers—of which there were only two in the entire Demonic Sect.
In this world of absolute strength and hierarchy, they were supreme masters who had risen to become the Cult Leader’s most trusted confidants.
As one of the most formidable experts within the Demonic Sect, he would surely be able to detect at a glance that I was not the same person.
‘Amitabha Buddha.’
Those who follow the Buddha’s teachings must be free from rigidity and obstinacy.
I laughed and rose from my seat.
“How presumptuous—yet here stands one willing to follow. Ha! The Cult Leader’s Hall, you say? Truly, this shall be a momentous day.”
Yeon Hong interjected appropriately.
“Congratulations, Third Prince.”
“Indeed.”
I met the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy’s gaze.
“Forgive my rudeness in receiving you while seated. I am not ordinarily such a person, but illness has a way of corrupting one’s manners. I hope you will excuse any inconsistency in my behavior.”
“It is of no consequence.”
Seeing that he thought nothing of it, I released a breath of relief inwardly.
“Then we depart immediately?”
“A carriage awaits outside.”
“Excellent timing—I was growing restless. Let us go at once.”
A carriage painted entirely black, even its wheels, moved swiftly down the road. Inside, the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy maintained heightened alertness while drawing upon his inner energy.
Whoooosh—
A heavy demonic aura rippled across mountains and forests, transmitting sensations more vivid than touch itself.
He was currently taking every precaution to fulfill the Cult Leader’s command.
“Perhaps humans truly must wander here and there to live? Simply stepping outside my chamber, yet I feel as though something has opened within me.”
The peculiar detail was that he kept his eyes shut, deliberately blocking his vision.
Those who knew the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy’s meticulous nature would find such eccentric behavior difficult to believe.
“This carriage moves remarkably fast. Despite such speed, there’s no shaking—the coachman’s horsemanship must be extraordinary. Haha!”
No matter how precisely one spreads one’s perception, abandoning sight inevitably introduces variables.
The Gwangmyeong Right Envoy himself recognized this, yet saw no alternative.
An intractable variable stood before him.
“Haha, am I the only one thinking this way?”
Why was he doing this, exactly?
Since boarding the carriage, the Third Prince had been spouting nonsense continuously.
‘This won’t do.’
The moment he concentrated his inner energy upon the bone outside his ear canal—
“Hmm? There exists a martial technique that blocks sound? You’ve mastered such a thing?”
As the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy’s eyelids twitched slightly, Cheon So-hyun’s lips curved upward.
“So you’ve finally opened your eyes.”
“…How did you know?”
Cheon So-hyun pointed to the area beneath his own ear.
“Through the movement of the Wenmingxue acupoint.”
The Gwangmyeong Right Envoy regarded Cheon So-hyun intently, his gaze betraying considerable surprise.
Though he responded as though it were trivial, it was an extraordinarily difficult feat.
Considering the Envoy’s inner energy control, it would be impossible without the keen eye to perceive a fleeting moment.
A subtle curiosity kindled in the Envoy’s gaze.
‘So it remains unchanged.’
The Third Prince possessed martial talent so exceptional that he stood out even among the Cheon Family’s heirs.
Despite years of unconsciousness and demonic possession, his innate talent appeared entirely intact.
“What has piqued your curiosity so persistently?”
Cheon So-hyun nodded.
The Gwangmyeong Right Envoy had been focused solely on safely delivering himself to the Cult Leader’s Hall.
This meant he hadn’t noticed the person had changed at all, which was why he continued speaking.
“Why am I being taken to the Cult Leader’s Hall? Is it because I regained consciousness while lying in sickbed?”
“The Cult Leader wished to see you.”
His tone suggested that was sufficient explanation.
At this unexpected answer, Cheon So-hyun’s lips twitched.
“Wished to see me, you say…”
This was rather unexpected.
Though he had come to understand various aspects of the Demonic Sect, the nature of the relationship between the Cult Leader and Cheon So-hyun remained unclear.
Even as his son, meetings were exceedingly rare, and even when they occurred, there was no reason he would speak of what they discussed.
‘It seemed almost like neglect, didn’t it?’
The Gwangmyeong Right Envoy asked at my lukewarm response.
“Are you not pleased, sir?”
“How could I not be? Of course it’s joyful news… but it’s so sudden. It’s been so long since we’ve met, and I wonder if it’s right to visit him in this state.”
“For the Cult Leader, only the fact that you have awakened matters. There is no need for concern.”
Before the heavens, the distinctions of high and low among all things were meaningless—the Third Prince’s physical condition was never a concern to begin with.
Even in perfect condition, it would have been insufficient regardless.
Cheon So-hyun’s eyes wavered for a moment.
“Ah, I see… haha, of course that would be true.”
Clatter.
As the carriage jolted, the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy rose from his seat.
“We shall arrive shortly. I shall take my leave now.”
“Very well.”
* * *
Beneath a staircase of jet-black stone numbering more than fifty steps.
A man draped in a crimson robe knelt on one knee.
“Cult Leader, the Third Prince has arrived.”
Whoooosh!
The Cult Leader’s fingers swept gracefully through the empty air.
A rare vintage wine, uncommon throughout the Realm, materialized in the void and filled a jade cup. As the Cult Leader drained the vessel, his gaze sank deeper still.
‘Demonic possession.’
The third son, who clearly possessed qualifications befitting the Ultimate—once I had harbored rare expectations for his talent, yet those hopes too scattered into emptiness as they always did.
Only trivial misfortunes repeated themselves, incapable of stirring any genuine interest.
Thus I had come to believe that further meetings would be meaningless.
If no remarkable change manifested in this third son who had been given a second chance, today would be the end.
Creak, creak, creak.
The heavy doors of the Cult Leader’s Hall swung open, and moonlight seeping through the gap pushed back the darkness of the chamber.
And across the crimson carpet, Cheon So-hyun’s shadow stretched long.
Tap, tap.
Torchlight flickered in the breeze, illuminating him in patches.
Could Ban An or Song Ok, whose exceptional beauty had been recorded in the archives, have appeared thus?
Beneath long, delicate eyelashes, his eyes gleamed like stars embedded in the heavens, and despite his prolonged confinement to a sickbed, his skin possessed a fresh vitality.
Though the aftermath of demonic possession revealed itself in the subtly uneven stride of his feet, Cheon So-hyun gazed about as though visiting a wondrous place, utterly absorbed.
Soon his footsteps ceased.
A flicker of surprise crossed the Cult Leader’s eyes.
The third son, gazing directly at me—unlike before.
Utterly different from those days when he had been desperate to conceal the faint killing intent that leaked forth.
Strangely, that gaze held but a single emotion. Not the despair or frustration one would naturally expect….
‘Confidence?’
It was an emotion difficult to perceive even for those with keen spiritual sight.
“You’ve come.”
Cheon So-hyun’s vigorous voice immediately resonated through the Cult Leader’s Hall.
“Yes, Father! I have arrived!”

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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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