Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 312

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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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312
Chapter
Shinwha County in Hunan Province.
To ordinary people and merchants, Shinwha County was merely one county through which the roads of Hunan passed.
But in the Gangho, its meaning was altogether different.
It was the location of Sa Hyuk Ryeon, one of the three powerhouses that divided the current Gangho among themselves.
And within the heart of Shinwha County stood a fortress.
Huk Cheon Fortress, as it was known, which belonged to Sa Hyuk Ryeon, was now in turmoil.
“The Main Headquarters of the Immortal Heaven Sect has fallen?”
“That’s not all. The great Immortal Heavenly Cult Master himself is dead.”
The martial artists within Huk Cheon Fortress held their breath at a rumor that shook all under heaven.
It was different in texture from when Baek Gwi Seong had collapsed.
In a way, it was only natural.
Though it had been one of the Six Pillars at the time, Baek Gwi Seong was a faction that had been established not long before.
Its strength was so modest compared to other places that anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Murim would acknowledge that it held the lowest rank among the Six Pillars.
But what of the Immortal Heaven Sect?
It had already made its name known throughout all under heaven before the era of the current Guzhou Three Powerhouses came to pass.
And what manner of being was the Immortal Heavenly Cult Master?
An old master who had lived a good hundred years.
His standing was equal to that of masters from generations before, and the martial prowess he possessed was among the few to be counted within Sa Hyuk Ryeon itself.
Yet he had breathed his last.
The unorthodox martial artists belonging to Sa Hyuk Ryeon could not help but fall into chaos.
“They say it was someone called the Maehwa Sword Association.”
The martial artists of Sa Hyuk Ryeon swallowed hard at the identity of the one who had slain the Immortal Heavenly Cult Master.
They could not help but be astounded.
A Daoist from the Huashan Sect in his early twenties.
He was the one who had killed the Immortal Heavenly Cult Master.
Though it was said to be fact, the rumor was scarcely believable.
“……Damn it! Is it really him?”
“It must be. I heard he defeated the Nok Lim Dae Je before. A madman has appeared.”
They spat out curses as they spoke.
Admiration and envy were mixed within their words.
“But doesn’t this seem to be getting dangerous?”
“Dangerous?”
“Think it over carefully. Starting with Baek Gwi Seong, the Nok Lim and the Nok Lim Dae Je were defeated, and now the Immortal Heaven Sect has lost its master and its Main Headquarters has collapsed.”
As the words continued, the brows of those listening furrowed deeper and deeper.
Though reports of victory were being heard from other quarters, these three matters were enough to bury all of them.
“At this rate, not only will we fail to gain victory in the war against the Murim Alliance, but rather we will suffer defeat…….”
The martial artist who had been speaking fell silent.
He had perceived something.
Cold sweat broke across his brow.
His pupils dilated, and sweat poured down like a waterfall, completely drenching his Martial Robe.
“What is it?”
At his sudden change, the martial artist who had been listening grew flustered and asked.
“Continue speaking.”
A low voice sounded from behind them.
Startled by the voice, the martial artist turned his head, and he too fell silent.
An old man stood where the voice had come from, his hands clasped behind his back, and his appearance was deeply striking.
With long white hair like a wolf’s mane and a long white beard grown wild, the old man gazed upon them both with transparent eyes.
The martial artist felt his breath catch in his throat.
He knew the identity of the old man.
“Gui, Gui Tian Saje……!”
His voice trembled.
One of the death generals of the Immortal Heaven Sect.
Now that the Immortal Heavenly Cult Master was gone, a matter they could scarcely bear to hear had reached the ears of the one who represented the Immortal Heaven Sect.
‘Damn it!’
‘I’ve lost my mind!’
Both their spines went cold.
Because the Main Headquarters of the Immortal Heaven Sect had collapsed, the martial disciples of the Immortal Heaven Sect within Huk Cheon Fortress were in disarray.
And the one who was most furious among them was none other than the Gui Tian Saje now before their eyes.
As if to prove his point, Inner Power surged from the back of Gui Tian Saje as he stared at the two men, manifesting the form of a malevolent specter.
It was the martial force of the Gui Tian Sa Kyeol.
The two men, their spines suddenly chilled, hurried forward and performed a full kowtow before Gui Tian Saje.
“We—we sincerely apologize.”
“Pointless excuses…….”
Both men apologized in haste.
“Did you not hear what I said?”
The old man, Gui Tian Saje, spoke softly, as though their apologies barely registered.
His voice rippled outward with eerie calm.
And in that instant.
“……!”
The warriors’ heads lifted upward.
Not of their own will.
Against theirs.
Gui Tian Saje, bent slightly at the waist, looked down at the two men with their heads forced up, and spoke.
“Continue talking.”
In the same motion, he thrust his face forward.
The image of a man leaning in with only his face, hands clasped behind his back, was grotesque beyond measure.
The two warriors saw him clearly before them.
It was chilling.
Yet they could not look away.
Gui Tian Saje was forcing them to hold his gaze.
Soon, with his face drawn close, Gui Tian Saje’s mouth moved while his eyes remained fixed upon them.
“Speak the words you dared not speak before.”
Then his voice burrowed into the two warriors’ ears, drilling deep, and bore down upon their minds with devastating force.
It was a pressure beyond words.
Blood vessels suddenly rose beneath their skin.
Drip, drip—
Soon blood and tears streamed down their faces.
No—not blood and tears alone.
Blood poured from seven acupoints on their faces, drenching their Martial Robes.
They had died.
Their bodies crumpled to the ground.
Thud—
Blood sprayed in all directions.
Those who had watched Gui Tian Saje’s entrance in breathless silence trembled.
“Seems his anger is truly kindled. To waste so much Inner Force demonstrating the Gui Tian Sound Art on mere rabble—what a spectacle.”
A voice tinged with mockery echoed through the air.
Gui Tian Saje turned his head.
At the end of his gaze, a middle-aged man approached with a wine bottle held in his mouth.
His appearance was rather unsettling.
A gaudy earring dangling from his left ear and thick crimson rouge painted around his eyes.
With such adornments on a face that might otherwise be masculine, the effect was decidedly repugnant.
Upon seeing him, Gui Tian Saje opened his mouth.
His tone carried a vicious undercurrent of power.
“They were those who showed contempt for this sect.”
“They were also this organization’s warriors.”
The middle-aged man answered without concern, unmoved even by Gui Tian Saje’s sinister Sound Art.
“Before you blow off steam by killing more of this organization’s men, why not go kill that Maehwa Sword Association kid instead? That would suit your anger better than this.”
“…….”
“Or do you lack the courage?”
The middle-aged man, still sneering, trudged forward and hurled the wine bottle he held.
It flew toward Gui Tian Saje’s face.
“…….”
Gui Tian Saje raised his hand swiftly, catching the thrown bottle with ease, and hurled it back down.
Clang!
The sound of shattering glass echoed from below.
The wine bottle shattered into countless fragments.
Meanwhile, Gui Tian Saje’s eyes narrowed.
‘Did he infuse it with power!’
His hand still carried traces of piercing force.
It was an intensely concentrated internal energy residue.
Gui Tian Saje clenched his teeth, drawing up his internal force to brush away the traces of penetrating energy lingering on his palm, his eyes blazing.
“What was that?”
“The same thing I’d do to you.”
The middle-aged man’s words carried no courtesy whatsoever, and in that instant, fury began to rise in Gui Tian Saje’s gaze.
But he had to swallow that anger immediately.
The figure before him was a monster.
Baek Un, the Soul Devouring Emperor.
The man who had created the Seven Luminaries Immortal Line, and the monster once called the first master of the Sapa before the Sa Hyuk Ryeon master—this was he.
“Why have you come here?” Gui Tian Saje ground out.
Normally, he was the sort who wouldn’t spare a thought for such matters, content to sit quietly in some inn within Huk Cheon Fortress and drink.
Yet he had come himself.
That meant something extraordinary.
“I have something to tell you. Or rather—I am delivering a message.”
“A message?”
Just as Gui Tian Saje’s eyes began to narrow.
Siiiiick—
Baek Un’s smile deepened further.
Against his white face paint, it looked all the more grotesque.
Soon his lips parted slowly.
His voice emerged, chilling.
“The master calls for you.”
* * *
Not without reason was this vast library called the Secret Heavens, for it was lined with innumerable Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
Beyond counting.
Which is why Cheon Hui moved with urgency.
Flip-flip—
He seized whatever came to hand and absorbed the contents into his mind.
‘Hm? This is here too?’
At some point, Cheon Hui’s eyes widened with interest—he recognized far more of the Martial Arts Secret Manuals in the Secret Heavens library than he had anticipated.
The manuals here were mostly either from past sects that had been destroyed but were once renowned, or exceptional martial texts drawn from the boundary between orthodox and unorthodox schools.
It made sense, now that he thought about it.
No depository would be so careless as to preserve just any random martial text.
‘Wave-Stirring Ocean Force? That could be quite useful. And this one—the So So Shin Gong—it would pair well with my stealth techniques later. And the Windless Trace Form…’
As Cheon Hui read through the martial manuals, he considered how each might connect with the arts already in his arsenal.
‘No, this one isn’t necessary. That other one would serve better than this…’
Within Cheon Hui’s mind as he read, dozens, hundreds of martial disciplines arose and faded in the span of a single blink.
‘…Is he reading the manuals?’
Yuk Mu Gwang, watching from a distance, opened his eyes slightly wider.
His gaze fixed on Cheon Hui.
From drawing out a manual to flipping through it completely and setting it back—barely two breaths.
And he continued repeating this.
It was a speed that made genuine reading seem impossible.
Yet for him not to be reading would be equally strange behavior.
‘…I cannot fathom it.’
He finally shook his head.
Mere observation could not pierce that mystery.
Afterward, Yuk Mu Gwang, seated in a chair placed to one side, fixed his gaze on Cheon Hui once more.
‘So this is Cheon Hui of the Maehwa Sword Association.’
Though he had spent long years in this underground chamber, his eyes and ears remained open.
Of late, he had taken particular interest in the rumors surrounding this figure from the Maehwa Sword Association.
‘Called the finest talent of all ages, or so they say…’
Yuk Mu Gwang’s gaze upon Cheon Hui deepened.
‘Curious. Such a prodigy emerges from Huashan, not from Wudang or Konglun.’
Then a low chuckle escaped him.
‘Indeed, the Murim remains unpredictable.’
The emergence of the Eight Martial Gods had been one surprise; now, from Huashan—a sect entirely unrelated—came a prodigy who might threaten even them.
The Murim was truly a place where nothing could be foreseen.

Meanwhile, Cheon Hui reached for the next secret manual.
‘Should I skip this one?’
It was an ancient text.
The title printed on the manual had become nearly illegible from age, and pressing too hard felt as though it might crumble to dust.
Cheon Hui hesitated, then shrugged and opened the volume anyway.
‘Well, might as well take a quick look.’
The moment he unfolded the manual—
‘Hmm?’
Cheon Hui’s eyes went wide.
The opening passage that met his gaze had caught him entirely off guard.
— With two swords I shall depict the Sun and Moon, and follow their extremes.
‘Wait. This is…’
Cheon Hui’s mind raced, his eyes darting across the lines with feverish intensity.
He’d seen these words before.
They referenced a particular martial art from the Martial Arts Classification Record of Gangho, a text he’d perused in the past.
‘How did this end up here?’
The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
‘The Classification Record said this manual couldn’t be found anywhere.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
This was an entirely unexpected windfall.
And no wonder—this wasn’t merely any martial art, but one of the Eight Great Sword Laws, the sword technique of the Jeonjin Sect that had once ruled Gangho before even the Nine Major Sects and Four Unorthodox Schools.
The Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol.
‘I never thought I’d encounter this.’
Cheon Hui’s lips twisted into a smile.
In his past life, even he had only read about the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol through documents.
Yet now he held it before him.
How could he not be fascinated?
Cheon Hui began reading at once.
‘This is the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol, right?’
After reading through what he presumed to be the manual, Cheon Hui tilted his head slightly, puzzled.
The text reputed to be the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol was filled with vague, ethereal language.
It resembled guidance for cultivating one’s Way rather than a martial arts formula.
But as he continued reading the martial teachings that defied his initial assumption—
‘Ah, I see.’
Suddenly, Cheon Hui understood.
This wasn’t simply cultivation prose—it contained the profound mysteries of supreme martial wisdom.
Or rather, to be precise…
The heart insight of the one who had composed this.
That was what lay within these pages.
The Baek Hoe Acupoint at the crown of Cheon Hui’s head opened wide.
His boundless martial knowledge unfurled, seeking to interpret the heart insight before his eyes.
Soon his gaze began to shimmer with brilliance.
Profound resonance flowed from his eyes.
Such was the intensity of Cheon Hui’s concentration.
On each and every phrase.
‘What? To hold the Sun and Moon as one?’
It was absurd.
The Sun and Moon were opposites.
When the sun rises, the moon hides; when the moon rises, the sun hides—such was the natural order and principle of Heaven and Earth.
Yet this Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol sought to raise both simultaneously.
To violate the very laws of nature.
But that was not all.
— Sometimes the sun and moon overlap. What is that day? Why does the sun eclipse the moon, the moon eclipse the sun? If light exists because of darkness, and darkness because of light, then what state is it where both are absent?
The words were intricate and profound.
Light and darkness had existed since the dawn of creation. But if they were to cease?
Yet Cheon Hui could grasp the intent behind these enigmatic utterances and questions.
What the author sought was singular.
‘Return to the Source.’
As that single concept crystallized in his mind, his eyes grew distant.
The one who had written this manual on the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol was expressing through the sword the ultimate truth of All Rivers Returning to Source.
At last, he reached the final passage.
— The Sun and Moon shall illuminate All Under Heaven.
Just a single phrase.
Yet in that instant, Cheon Hui’s mind opened like a door, and two sword traces materialized before him.
Two strokes—one horizontal, one vertical.
‘I see.’
In his mind’s eye, Cheon Hui’s hands moved.
Horizontal first, then vertical—tracing the phantom sword marks.
Then.
A click.
His hands crossed.
And at once they became one.
A flash!
In a heartbeat, a brilliant blue light blazed across his vision.
Profound Resonance flowed unbidden from his eyes as he grasped the depths of the martial way.
“Few others will attain this.”
The corner of Cheon Hui’s mouth twisted as he murmured to himself.
And truly, the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol was no trivial discipline—it demanded extraordinary mastery.
To comprehend it at all, one had to reach at least the Heavenly Martial Realm.
How could it be easy?
‘Well, I have one now.’
Having accomplished something so remarkable, Cheon Hui’s face remained serene.
As though gaining the Ssang Geuk Geom Gyeol were nothing extraordinary.
He promptly returned the Martial Arts Secret Manuals to the shelf and drew out the next book.

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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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