Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 96
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 96
The Je Gal Clan!
This family, located on Taishan in Shandong, was known as the Divine Mechanist.
The Je Gal Clan had long been known as a house where wisdom surpassed martial strength.
But that was no longer true.
They now possessed martial power that rivaled the upper echelon even among the Eight Great Families.
And the architect of the Je Gal Clan’s current standing was its patriarch, Je Gal Shin, known as the Lesser Genius.
“Patriarch.”
The steward entered through the suddenly opened door of the patriarch’s study where Je Gal Shin resided.
“What is it?”
“A letter has arrived for you, Patriarch.”
“A letter?”
Je Gal Shin’s eyes narrowed.
It was rare for the steward to come personally merely for a letter.
That could mean only one thing: either the sender was no ordinary person, or the contents were grave.
The patriarch’s expression hardened as he asked.
“Where is it from?”
“From the Huashan Sect.”
“The Huashan Sect…?”
It was a place he had not anticipated at all, and Je Gal Shin’s brow furrowed.
The timing made no sense whatsoever.
‘The Huashan Sect sent a letter?’
The Wulin Alliance and the Bi Cheon Association were sworn enemies.
The Huashan Sect stood at the core of the Wulin Alliance, while the Je Gal Clan occupied the heart of the Bi Cheon Association.
They were never meant to exchange correspondence.
“Have you read it?”
“No, I have not.”
“Give it to me.”
Taking the letter from the steward, Je Gal Shin first sought out the sender’s name.
“Cheon Hui of the Huashan Sect?”
‘A disciple under Cheon Ja?’
Je Gal Shin’s brow creased deeper.
Cheon Ja was a figure of some standing, yet he was not one whose name Je Gal Shin had heard before.
“A mere disciple of the Huashan Sect sends a letter directly to me. Does he not regard our clan?”
The patriarch gazed coldly at the characters spelling “Cheon Hui,” then swiftly untied the cord binding the letter.
“Hm?”
In that instant, Je Gal Shin’s eyebrows twitched.
“He’s asking the clan to construct this mechanical formation?”
It was a blueprint.
Drawn with meticulous detail.
“The Huashan Sect asking our clan to build a mechanical formation because of this… tch!”
Je Gal Shin let out a dry laugh as he studied the blueprint, then his eyes widened sharply.
“This… this is…”
Bewildered, his gaze swept rapidly across the document.
“Patriarch?”
The steward called out in concern, but the patriarch was already lost in the letter.
‘This… how is this possible? What manner of mechanical formation is this? Is it an array formation? I have never seen such an array…’
His pupils trembled faintly.
The letter’s contents were simple enough.
Merely seven pages of letter and blueprint.
Yet any person with even passing knowledge of mechanical formations would be astounded by this design.
‘I have never laid eyes on such a mechanical formation or array in my life.’
Je Gal Shin bit his lip.
No matter how formidable the Je Gal Clan’s martial strength had become, what was the foundation of the family?
Though they excelled in cudgel work, water techniques, and throwing arts, the clan was more renowned for the Mysterious Gate Array Formation, the Theory of Changes, and the Civil Engineering Mechanism Technique.
Yet he could not comprehend it.
The mechanical formation detailed in this letter.
His hands trembled.
Je Gal Shin clenched the paper with such force it nearly crumpled, his eyes wide with shock as he shouted.
“Summon Je Gal Seong Hyeon at once!”
Soon after, in the patriarch’s study, Je Gal Seong Hyeon—a young man bearing the unmistakable weariness of exhaustion—leaned over a letter with the clan head, their foreheads nearly touching.
“What do you make of it?”
A soft gulp.
Je Gal Seong Hyeon swallowed hard.
“It differs entirely from any method known to our clan.”
The patriarch’s eyes narrowed slightly.
‘Seong Hyeon doesn’t know either?’
His temples throbbed.
Though Je Gal Seong Hyeon lacked talent in martial arts, he was a prodigy whose knowledge of mechanical formations and arrays admitted no peer.
“Father!”
At that, Je Gal Seong Hyeon lifted his head.
His eyes gleamed like starlight as he turned to the patriarch.
“We cannot let this slip away. If we could study this mechanical formation in detail, it would greatly advance our clan’s research into formations—something that has stalled for so long.”
“To that extent?”
“Yes.”
The patriarch was taken aback.
The Je Gal Clan’s history of mechanical formation research ran deep.
Yet this blueprint could contribute so substantially to that very research.
Meanwhile, Je Gal Seong Hyeon made no effort to conceal his excitement.
A blueprint and formation method he had never seen before—they ignited something within him.
“Do you know who sent this letter?”
“A man named Cheon Hui from the Huashan Sect.”
“Cheon Hui……”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon murmured the name.
The moment Je Gal Seong Hyeon showed interest, the patriarch’s eyes flashed with purpose.
‘Perhaps this is fortuitous. It is time for Seong Hyeon to venture into the world.’
The patriarch’s lips curved slightly.
“I intend to accept this commission, but I have no suitable person to send to the Huashan Sect.”
He glanced at Je Gal Seong Hyeon.
“Would you be willing to go?”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon’s face stiffened.
Then he nodded vigorously.
“Yes. I will go to the Huashan Sect.”
* * *
Panting. Heavy, labored breaths.
“I can’t go on.”
Cheon Hui paid no heed to Seol Ran, Jeok Geom, and Sim Wi Jin sprawled across the floor, his gaze fixed instead on the spiritual pills filling the box.
Exactly one hundred pills—crafted from herbs and poisonous plants the Bifeng Trading Company had delivered days ago, blended in precise proportion.
“Remarkable.”
So Hui picked up one of the spiritual pills.
The jet-black pill gleamed with an almost hypnotic luster.
Cheon Hui immediately withdrew three pills.
He handed them to So Hui.
“You’re giving them to me?”
“For your trouble.”
Cheon Hui spoke as though it were nothing.
When testing the pills’ efficacy had proven insufficient with only Jeok Geom and Seol Ran, both Sin Ui and So Ryeong had provided invaluable assistance.
“Thank you.”
So Hui smiled softly.
Cheon Hui, without so much as a glance, immediately secured the box.
“This worked out well!”
Sin Ui, standing nearby, folded her arms.
Though she had found herself making spiritual pills alongside Cheon Hui by chance, it had offered her numerous lessons.
‘Hmm, there might be other ways to use poison against martial artists.’
As she nodded to herself, she asked:
“Have you decided on a name for the pills?”
“What. They’re just black and smell odd.”
Cheon Hui dismissed it carelessly.
“The Anheung Dan suits them perfectly.”
It was an unexpectedly apt choice.
“Then I’ll go fetch them.”
“Fetch what?”
“They need to take Spiritual Pills.”
Cheon Hui immediately grabbed the box and vanished.
A short while later, Cheon Hui arrived at Taorin Field.
Cheon Hui passed between the Second Generation Disciples absorbed in their Inner Energy Practice and approached Hyeon Cheong, who stood guard at the center.
“Well, what brings you here!”
Hyeon Cheong, who had been surveying his disciples, greeted Cheon Hui upon noticing him belatedly.
“I’ve brought Spiritual Pills for them.”
“Spiritual Pills?”
Cheon Hui set the box down at once.
The box opened, and a subtle fragrance drifted gently outward.
Hyeon Cheong gazed at the numerous Spiritual Pills, astonished.
“Where did you obtain these?”
“I made them myself.”
“You… you made these yourself?”
“Yes.”
As Hyeon Cheong stared at Cheon Hui with an expression of utter disbelief, visibly startled—
“They just need to consume one and practice Qi Circulation and Meditation.”
“So you made these for the disciples.”
Hyeon Cheong broke into a radiant smile and examined each pill in the box.
“Excellent. I’ll distribute them now.”
“Ah, but there is a minor side effect.”
“A side effect?”
“It will be rather painful after consumption.”
Though Cheon Hui explained this kindly—
“Ha. Such trivial pain is something they can all endure.”
Hyeon Cheong, who had long placed unwavering trust in Cheon Hui, spoke lightly and infused his voice with Internal Energy, letting his words boom across the field.
“Everyone, finish your Qi Circulation and Meditation!”
Though Hyeon Cheong’s command came abruptly, the Second Generation Disciples quickly ended their practice.
After a moment, seeing that all had opened their eyes, Hyeon Cheong gestured toward Cheon Hui and spoke.
“Cheon Hui has brought Spiritual Pills for all of you.”
“Pardon?”
“Spiritual Pills, you say?”
“From Cheon Hui himself?”
The eyes of the Second Generation Disciples gleamed.
Spiritual Pills were typically given by the sect only to its most promising disciples.
Yet to bestow them upon every disciple in this manner was highly unusual.
The Second Generation Disciples bowed their heads at once.
“Thank you!”
“We are deeply grateful!”
Amid the ringing chorus of gratitude, Cheon Hui looked upon these Second Generation Disciples, unaware of what lay ahead, and let out a quiet chuckle.
This wasn’t going to last long.
After all, even Jeok Geom and Seol Ran—who flinched at his every word—had repeatedly resisted after consuming the pills, unable to endure further.
“Then I’ll distribute them one by one.”
The Second Generation Disciples stirred at once.
Each receiving a pill in turn, the disciples swallowed hard.
The jet-black Spiritual Pill gleamed with a lustrous sheen and emanated a distinctive, subtle fragrance.
Soon they all fixed their gaze upon Hyeon Cheong.
Like chicks awaiting their mother bird’s delivery of food, they stared intently at his lips.
“All of you, consume them.”
Hyeon Cheong’s lips finally parted.
“Yes!”
In unison, they all swallowed the Anheung Dan.
Immediately after, they assumed a cross-legged posture and began practicing Qi Circulation and Meditation—
“Hm?”
Hyeon Cheong shifted slightly, bewildered.
Sensing something amiss, he observed the complexions of the Second Generation Disciples.
Their previously healthy color suddenly darkened, and their features twisted in pain.
“Uhhh—”
Soon everyone was groaning.
Then, moments later, screams erupted.
“Ahhhhh!”
“It hurts, it hurts.”
Hyeon Cheong looked at his disciples writhing in agony, his alarm mounting. “Are you certain it’s a Spiritual Pill?” he demanded urgently.
Hyeon Cheong paced restlessly. “Are you certain it’s a Spiritual Pill?”
Though he trusted Cheon Hui, the sight of his disciples rolling across the ground after consuming the pill filled him with confusion.
“Yes, sir.”
“But this looks like poisoning symptoms…….”
“It’s an opportunity—such things come with a price.”
“They won’t die, will they?”
“They won’t die from this.”
Cheon Hui spoke quietly.
True to his word, they suffered greatly but none perished.
“Then how long until these children are well again?” Hyeon Cheong asked anxiously.
Taorin Field had become pandemonium.
“Once they’ve all absorbed the energy, they’ll be fine. Of course, it will be painful in the meantime, but that’s a small price to pay.”
Hyeon Cheong’s expression went blank.
“You mean they’ll stay like this the entire time they’re absorbing the energy?”
“That’s right. Oh, and apparently practicing Inner Energy helps dull the pain somewhat.”
Cheon Hui’s measured voice reached the ears of the Second Generation Disciples writhing on the ground.
“Unngh!”
One disciple, teeth clenched, assumed a meditation posture.
When the Second Generation Disciple beside him noticed his expression easing in relief, he started his own practice in amazement.
One, then two.
The numbers grew until not a single disciple remained standing—all had surrendered to their practice.
“Quite peaceful now, isn’t it?”
The screams had ceased.
“Mmmmgh…….”
“This … this isn’t a Spiritual Pill, it’s poison…….”
Instead, Taorin Field was filled for days with groans and labored breathing.
After that, time moved swiftly.
The mountain that had been blanketed with fallen leaves not long before was now covered entirely in fresh snow, pure and pristine.
Winter had arrived without warning.
The Huashan Sect changed dramatically alongside the season.
Cheon Hui’s Anheung Dan proved remarkably effective; with Hyeon Cheong’s assistance as sect leader, it was mass-produced and distributed even to the First Generation Disciples.
Martial prowess increased rapidly.
The Second Generation Disciples built their strength swiftly under Hyeon Cheong’s tutelage, while the First Generation Disciples refused to be outpaced, progressing methodically through their realms.
Thus the Huashan Sect quietly accumulated power, preparing for the day of its magnificent emergence.
Crunch, crunch.
A group was ascending Huashan.
“So this is the Huashan Sect…….”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon lifted his head.
Gazing at the breathtaking vista of Huashan blanketed in virgin snow, he exhaled.
Hah―
Warm breath appeared and vanished.
He then gripped the letter in his bosom tightly and murmured to himself.
“So this is where that Cheon Hui, who created this blueprint, resides?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————