Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 90

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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 90
Whoooosh!
As the demonic energy was sucked away, Cheol Jo coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even as his mind grew hazy, his gaze remained fixed on Cheon So-hyun.
“Young Master, please… abandon such futile thoughts. Surely you understand that even if you abandon us, the Great Master will eventually arrive?”
“Is that so?”
“If your hard-won departure from the sect is not to become meaningless, you must make a wise decision now. There is a stark difference between returning with us and returning after the Great Master arrives…”
“How curious.”
Cheon So-hyun continued his breathing technique and let out a soft chuckle.
“You’ve been speaking as though the Great Master Ryu will sense my location no matter where I am. Do you have some particular confidence in this?”
The moment Cheol Jo was about to respond, Cheon So-hyun seized his wrist and hurled him backward.
“Well, I can make a rough guess anyway.”
The guards who had been rushing forward hesitated and caught Cheol Jo, but Cheon So-hyun seized that opening and once again deployed his lightness technique, cutting across the empty air.
“We’ll meet again later.”
Boom! Boom!
The demonic energy absorbed through the Nine Heavens Suction Technique circulated through my meridians and seeped entirely into my dantian.
‘Excellent, truly excellent.’
Though there was a significant qualitative difference from the energy I had painstakingly accumulated thus far, there was no difficulty whatsoever in applying it immediately to the Crossing the River with a Single Leap technique.
The moment I added elasticity to my form according to my newly established enlightenment, my body traversed the Deep Mountain Valley at a speed faster than ever before.
“Hehehehe.”
As the distance between myself and the guards widened considerably, I finally felt that my true journey to the Central Plains had begun.
Naturally, the parting words of the Blade Emperor Sect Master came to mind.
-Departure from the sect, an unexpected achievement once more. If no time limit has been set, then regardless of success or failure, aim to return as late as possible. That alone would make for a sufficiently impressive hand to play.
True to the nature of a demon obsessed with stimulation, there was something scheming in his demeanor.
In any case, it was an instruction to maximize my achievements before returning, though truthfully it was a reminder that needed no mention.
Since my rebirth, I had never once abandoned my yearning for achievement, not for a single moment.
Cheon So-hyun’s eyes blazed with fire.
‘I will stop them. I absolutely will.’
My immediate goals were to understand Shaolin’s situation and lift the temple seal. Beyond that, I would prevent the Demonic Sect’s advance into the Central Plains.
Each of these objectives was non-negotiable…
Even if circumstances went awry and I failed, I was resolved to achieve enlightenment in that very process, crush the Demonic Sect disciples, and bind them in place.
Whether it was possible or not was irrelevant.
The result was always secondary. As always, what mattered was honing my mind like a blade and walking the path of ascetic discipline in silence.
‘First, I begin with Anhui Province!’
Crash!
Cheon So-hyun’s form shot through the empty air.
* * *
“Explain the situation.”
His tone was deeply subdued, as though suppressing his rage. Before Ryu Jeong-hak’s ominous presence, mingled with disappointment and fury, the guards bowed their heads.
“My apologies. The Third Prince has departed from the Yuhyeon Merchant Company, and we estimate he has currently broken through the northern regions of Gangseong Province.”
Cheol Jo spat out another mouthful of blood and explained the urgent circumstances, then continued with his subsequent report.
“…His light skill level rose for a moment, but not beyond what I could follow. Even after absorbing the guards’ qi, the situation remained unchanged. So I planned to maintain a certain distance while tracking and wait for reinforcements to arrive….”
Cheol Jo’s voice trembled as if he were utterly ashamed.
“Then suddenly, at a fork in the road, the Third Prince’s form split into two.”
Ryu Jeong-hak’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Split? Are you referring to the Ilhyung Hwanwi technique?”
“It appeared to be an application of the Ilhyung Hwanwi, to be precise.”
“….”
“Even after I deployed my divine technique, the phantom did not disappear and continued to move identically for a brief moment. Because of that, I had no choice but to divide my men to pursue both paths, and after repeating this several times, I lost track of the Third Prince. I sincerely apologize.”
The guards could not have known that this was the very essence of the Lotus Platform Nine Grades that had reached the Second Tier.
Ryu Jeong-hak made his cold judgment and took a step forward.
“Tend to the wounded first, then follow.”
Whatever method he had used, one thing was certain—the Third Prince had been concealing formidable strength all along.
Since there was no reason to rebuke his subordinates, Ryu Jeong-hak burst forward explosively and cut across the mountain ridge.
‘This is not the time to conserve my inner force.’
The best course of action was to catch up at full speed first, then assess the situation.
One step, two steps, three steps. With each stride, a deafening roar like splitting thunder accompanied his rapidly advancing form.
Boom! Boom!
Even as Ryu Jeong-hak deployed his light skill, his gaze remained fixed on a single point.
A blue line extending beyond the mountain ridge—a thread of true qi that originated from his dantian and connected to the Third Prince.
It was a detailed technique of Ryu Jeong-hak’s eye method, the Gwangrae Eye, which he had secretly attached during their previous martial encounters.
‘I can catch him.’
Boom!
His form advanced without hesitation, like a sword strike thrust forward with conviction, drawing a clear line as he rushed forward at a terrifying speed.
Soon the taut blue line began to lose its tension and grew slack.
The distance between him and the Third Prince was narrowing.
‘Four more steps, perhaps.’
Ryu Jeong-hak gathered more qi and deployed his light skill. When he finally ascended onto the jagged cliff like a bolt of lightning.
Suddenly, Ryu Jeong-hak sensed something was amiss.
The blue line hung limply without the slightest movement.
A line that responds to the target’s breathing and the flow of true qi remaining motionless meant one of two things.
Either the target was dead, or he had seen through it long ago and shaken it off.
‘Tsk.’
Ryu Jeong-hak quickly realized it was the latter case. The end of the blue line was connected to a small letter hanging from a tree branch.
He unfolded the letter that the Third Prince appeared to have written beforehand.
Ryu Great Master. It’s me.
If you’re reading this, it means I’ve disappeared far away, doesn’t it?
First, let me apologize.
I left without a word, so I have no excuse.
It wasn’t because the guards were in the way—there were unavoidable circumstances, so I hope you’ll understand.
On the day I arrived at the Yuhyeon Merchant Company, I discovered something.
To summarize, Dan Ju’s daughter hadn’t fallen ill from disease—or rather, while it could be called an illness, the true culprit gnawing away at her vitality was poison, so it would be more accurate to say she’d been poisoned.
What troubled me most was that this poison technique originated from the Sect itself.
Ryu Jeong-hak’s eyes narrowed to slits.
A poison technique from the Sect?
The poison technique’s name was the Corpse Spirit Poison Palm.
There’s a prisoner named Yu Baek who was released from the Demon Prison, and the method he employs matches this technique exactly.
How do I know so well, you ask? Because I’ve experienced it firsthand.
So what does this mean?
Well, honestly, I’m uncertain beyond that point.
There are too many possible explanations to pinpoint anything with certainty.
The only thing I can confirm is that the remnants of the Changeung Trading Company—those human traffickers—are operating openly near Gangseong Province.
The moment I grasped this, I decided I had to go into hiding.
The villain who poisoned the merchant master’s daughter could very well exist within the company itself. While that’s unlikely, if the eyes I left behind in the company discover both my true identity and this departure from the Sect, nothing could be more catastrophic.
I resolved to wait quietly and then escape Gangseong Province.
To be honest, I’m ashamed beyond measure.
The Cheon Family, fleeing with their tails between their legs?
I’m bringing nothing but disgrace upon the Sect.
Ryu Great Master, please do not live as I have.
I intend to cast off this shame and dedicate myself to elevating my cultivation until I can stand with pride and dignity.
As you know, gathering my vital energy is child’s play for me, so there’s no need for unnecessary concern.
I ask that you make a sound judgment.
What poses the greater threat to me, and which direction would be more suitable for my protection?
I trust that Ryu Great Master will judge wisely.
Then I shall see you again later.
Ryu Jeong-hak folded the letter and tucked it into his robes.
Two questions circled endlessly through his mind.
Should he continue pursuing the Third Prince’s movements and maintain his protection? Or should he first hunt down the villain and eliminate them at the root?
In his former self, this would have been no dilemma at all.
He would have accomplished both.
But Ryu Jeong-hak now recognized that he stood at a crossroads, forced to choose, and he deliberated deeply.
No—he already knew the answer, yet still he wrestled with the decision.
‘Tsk.’
When would the Third Prince be in greatest danger?
When assassins descended daily, when Baek Yeon’s hidden weapons and the masters of the Black Serpent Sword Sect came seeking with murderous intent?
No.
Whatever obstacles lay in wait, whatever masters blocked the path, Ryu Jeong-hak possessed absolute confidence in protecting his charge.
So the true danger was…
When they discovered the Third Prince’s identity and spread word that the heir of the Cheon Family had emerged in the Central Plains.
The most dangerous time is…
It’s time for them to discover the Third Prince’s identity and spread the word that the Cheon Family’s successor has emerged in the Central Plains.
That alone posed a significant risk of overturning the entire Jianghu, and worse still, there existed the possibility of fractures appearing within the Sect’s great foundation.
In other words, it represented the worst possible outcome—one that I could never tolerate either as a guard or as a disciple of the Sect.
In such circumstances, there existed only one ideal move.
To immediately subdue the Third Prince and bring him back to the Sect.
Yet as if he had anticipated all of this, the Third Prince vanished without a trace and departed abruptly.
Convinced that even the Great Master of the Dharma Protection Institute could not act rashly in a place where the absolute masters of the Central Plains lurked.
Ryu Jeong-hak’s eyes sank deeply.
‘Indeed… a man whose depths are difficult to fathom.’
He recalled the moment when he received orders from his superior, the Gwangmyeong Right Envoy.
-This mission is to escort the Third Prince, who has left the Sect. Though it began as a concern from the Chief Military Commander, the Third Prince will surely attempt to break free by any means necessary for his own purposes.
-You speak in difficult terms. Does that change anything?
-It does not. Ryu Great Master, you need only devote yourself fully to completing your mission as you have done thus far. However, it is also a fitting duty to prepare for contingencies. Should the situation inevitably progress beyond the point of no return… the Cult Leader’s command was to act according to the Third Prince’s intentions.
‘…What does the Cult Leader seek to see through the Third Prince?’
Ryu Jeong-hak pondered the question that had suddenly surfaced, then shook his head.
Cheol Jo, who had drawn near, asked.
“Great Master, what should we do?”
Ryu Jeong-hak answered after a brief pause.
“There is no change in the mission.”
“…Pardon?”
“You will continue to escort the Third Prince along this path. Divide the personnel, contact each branch, and focus on tracking his movements. The deadline is… until I return after rooting out this calamity.”
Ryu Jeong-hak swept his gaze coldly across the area before turning away.
“Now that I have grasped a thread, it will not take long.”
The guards’ eyes gleamed in unison. This was their final chance to make up for the current failure.
“Understood!”
* * *
“Phew. I’m dying, truly.”
Cheon So-hyun trudged forward with labored breaths, each step heavy.
I had endured seven days and nights with only fragmented sleep, sustained by dried meat, and rushed forward in a frenzy.
My eyelids felt leaden and my head throbbed—I could have collapsed onto the street and fallen asleep on the spot.
“Haha! Finally!”
Yet all the hardship had borne fruit.
The crowds had noticeably increased. Splendid halls and the colorful garments of passersby, the vitality emanating from the streets—all captured my attention.
I had finally entered Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province!
As the reality of returning to the Central Plains struck me, laughter burst forth unbidden. At the sight, people passing nearby murmured and quietly edged away.
“Mother, what is that person?”
“Don’t go near. He’ll spread disease. Don’t even look at him.”
“Are there beggars in the capital these days?”
“Indeed. The world is ending, truly ending. How does the world turn? Tsk tsk.”
My clothes, soaked in rain and dried repeatedly, hung in tatters, and tears from pushing through forests marked them further. Combined with hollow, sunken eyes and disheveled hair, I cut a figure that would make even a stray dog wince.
Cheon So-hyun laughed at the contemptuous gazes directed at me.
“This is absurd.”
Life was so fleeting and impermanent.
Revered like a god among the Demons, yet upon entering the Central Plains, I was now treated as a beggar.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
Regardless, my purpose remained unchanged.
The fastest route to Songshan was through the merchant roads established by the Namgung Family.
‘Let’s go at once.’
Cheon So-hyun immediately set his course toward Changryong Manor, the estate of the Namgung Family.

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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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