Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 154
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 154: Heartless Laughing Demon (5)
Seong Mu-ryeong, a disciple of Baekhyeon Sect.
He fled deep into the mountains with a woman who was the sect leader’s illegitimate daughter.
And the two of them spent peaceful time together, being self-sufficient in everything.
Cultivation resources weren’t as abundant as when they received support from Baekhyeon Sect.
Still, cultivating together with the woman he loved in the mountains with clear water and fresh air was meaningful time that couldn’t be exchanged for anything in this world.
However.
Such days didn’t even last a full year.
On the day when the mountain birds that usually chirped noisily suddenly became quiet.
As darkness fell, a black shadow came flying in.
It was none other than Jang Si-woo of the Phantom Wing Immortal Academy.
He had come to find the two people after receiving a commission from Baekhyeon Sect.
Baekhyeon Sect had lost face due to the incident of the two people running away.
The illegitimate daughter who had fled with another man could no longer be used for political marriages.
But if they just let this slide after their reputation was damaged, Baekhyeon Sect’s prestige would plummet.
So Baekhyeon Sect tried to find the two people, but unable to locate them with their own power, they decided to borrow the help of an outsider.
They asked Jang Si-woo of the Phantom Wing Immortal Academy, with whom they had been secretly dealing for some time.
Jang Si-woo quickly found the two people that Baekhyeon Sect couldn’t locate even after several months, and came personally.
This was because he had been eyeing the Baekhyeon Sect leader’s illegitimate daughter for some time after hearing rumors that she was a peerless beauty.
At that time, Jang Si-woo was not yet one of the Thirteen Venerables and had not reached the Nascent Soul stage either.
But he was not an opponent that the two people, who were still in the Qi Accumulation Stage, could face.
Seong Mu-ryeong instantly had his limbs torn off and was left rolling on the ground.
And he had to watch as the woman he loved was trampled by Jang Si-woo while screaming.
It wasn’t that Jang Si-woo violated her or anything like that.
In fact, Jang Si-woo had long ago removed his genitals for cultivation, achieving castration.
The problem was that instead, he had developed twisted desires.
Cruelly killing beautiful female cultivators and collecting their skulls… that was Jang Si-woo’s hobby.
In front of the screaming Seong Mu-ryeong, Jang Si-woo began cutting into her body with a sword.
She tried to take her own life, but even that was prevented.
While watching her cry and beg to be killed quickly, Jang Si-woo laughed heartily… and Seong Mu-ryeong had to watch the entire scene without being able to do anything.
In the end, she died in excruciating pain.
Jang Si-woo peeled the skin from her face off her corpse.
It was because he had promised to bring it to the sect master of Baek Hyeon Gate.
Then Jang Si-woo collected her skull as was his usual habit.
And he approached Seong Mu-ryeong… peeled the skin from his face while he was still alive, then burst his heart.
“Had a good time playing around.”
After leaving those final words, Jang Si-woo flew away.
However.
Seong Mu-ryeong did not die.
The reason he could survive even with his heart burst was because he had been distributing his heart’s functions to his lower abdomen dantian.
At that time, Seong Mu-ryeong had been practicing in advance, thinking he would soon be able to challenge the Core Formation Realm.
Distributing his heart’s functions to his dantian was part of that practice.
It was something only possible for Seong Mu-ryeong, who possessed such natural talent that he could achieve results just from overhearing things.
If Jang Si-woo had burst his head instead of his heart, he would have met death on the spot.
But Jang Si-woo had a personality that preferred making people die slowly rather than killing them instantly.
Thanks to that, Seong Mu-ryeong was able to preserve his life even with his heart burst.
Of course, he had only barely saved his life.
With his limbs torn off, his heart burst, and even his facial skin peeled away, if he had just stayed still, he would have met death.
Seong Mu-ryeong crawled across the ground like a worm, shedding tears of blood.
And he licked up the woman’s blood that was flowing on the floor to replenish his strength.
After that, he crawled to his hiding place and consumed the elixir he had hidden there.
Having recovered his body, Seong Mu-ryeong gathered the remains of his beloved woman and buried her in a sunny spot.
Then he descended the mountain, vowing revenge.
The place Seong Mu-ryeong headed to was the Blood World Demon Sect.
He judged that entering the Demonic Path was the best way to take revenge on Baek Hyeon Gate of the Orthodox Faction and Jang Si-woo of the Black Gate.
Seong Mu-ryeong, who entered the Blood World Demon Sect, was assigned to the White Face Division and became the disciple of the White Face Division Leader who recognized him at the time.
However, the White Face Division Leader was displeased with Seong Mu-ryeong, who only thought about revenge.
“Tsk, anyway, your current skills are insufficient to achieve revenge. You’ll need hundreds of years, but if you only think about revenge, you won’t be able to endure that time.”
“I want to work desperately hard while thinking only of revenge, Division Leader.”
“You’re a foolish person. Do you think you’re cultivating some kind of martial arts? If you’re trapped in such thoughts, your mind will become rigid. Your vision will also narrow, and you won’t be able to see the vast world.”
“But…”
“The world is vast. At the same time, it’s colorful. You need to learn that first.”
The White-Faced Sect Master took Seong Mu-ryeong around various places across the Continent, teaching her how to enjoy the world.
Seong Mu-ryeong also understood the White-Faced Sect Master’s intentions and obediently followed.
After about three hundred years had passed and she reached the Nascent Soul stage, Seong Mu-ryeong had transformed into someone who could enjoy refinement and culture like her master.
“Now I intend to pass the position of White-Faced Sect Master to you.”
“Sect Master, how could I…?”
“The end of my lifespan is approaching. Before that happens, I want to pass on the White-Faced Sect Master position to you.”
“…”
The lifespan of Nascent Soul stage is one thousand years.
If one cannot advance to the Avatar Mirror stage, they have no choice but to face death.
The White-Faced Sect Master, who could not overcome the limitations of the Nascent Soul stage, intended to hand over the White-Faced Sect before her end approached.
“I want to ask you one last thing. Even though over three hundred years have passed, are you still obsessed with revenge?”
“Sect Master, I…”
“It’s alright to speak honestly.”
Despite having traveled all over the Continent with the White-Faced Sect Master for over three hundred years and enjoyed all kinds of pleasures.
Seong Mu-ryeong could not abandon her desire for revenge.
“I’m sorry, Sect Master.”
“No, it’s alright.”
However, the White-Faced Sect Master did not show any signs of disappointment.
She removed the Mask she had always worn and smiled with her wrinkled face.
“Rather, this old woman is pleased.”
“…?”
The White-Faced Sect Master did not explain what she meant by that.
After passing her Mask to Seong Mu-ryeong, she disappeared alone.
She probably intended to quietly meet her end alone in a place unknown to anyone.
Seong Mu-ryeong wanted to follow and watch over her final moments, but ultimately let her go.
The only master in her entire life.
She wanted to respect that final wish.
Thus, Seong Mu-ryeong inherited the position of White-Faced Sect Master.
Keeping her master’s Mask close to her heart, she created her own Mask to wear on her face and took her first steps as the White-Faced Sect Master.
She attacked the Baek Hyeon Sect, her first enemy.
Thankfully, the sect master of Baekhyeon Gate was still alive and not yet dead.
When he learned that the disciple he had once tried to kill had returned as an executive of the Demonic Path, his face turned deathly pale.
He rambled on with all sorts of stories, begging for his life, but there was no reason to listen to such things.
While wearing a mask with a smiling face drawn on it.
He killed him using the most painful method of murder he had learned from his master.
From the day he achieved his first revenge.
Seong Mu-ryeong came to be called the Heartless Laughing Demon.
* * *
“Phantom Wing Immortal…!”
The Heartless Laughing Demon lost his reason and charged at Jang Si-woo.
He had to kill the enemy before his eyes. Dominated solely by that thought, he drew out all of his power.
However, at that moment.
[Phantom Night Yin Bone Wave]
The dozens of skulls that Jang Si-woo had just dropped on the ground.
From them, sinister sound waves burst forth.
“Urgh…!”
Shreeeeee…!
Immediately after being hit by those sound waves, the Heartless Laughing Demon felt extreme dizziness.
It wasn’t just dizziness. All his senses became distorted, making it impossible to maintain his composure.
The Heartless Laughing Demon forcibly drew up his spiritual power and tried to unleash random attacks.
But even that was thwarted.
The sound waves emanating from the skulls interfered with his spell formations, preventing the deployment of magic arts.
“Kuk kuk kuk, foolish fellow. Whether fifty years ago or now, you remain exactly the same.”
Kwakwakwa!
Attack magic that flew from Jang Si-woo pierced through the Heartless Laughing Demon’s entire body.
Unable to mount even minimal defense, the Heartless Laughing Demon spat blood and collapsed on the spot.
“You pretend to be a cold and calculating Demonic Cultivator hiding your face behind a mask, but in reality, you’re no different from your naive days when you only looked at one beloved woman.”
“Urgh…!”
“That’s your weakness, Heartless Laughing Demon.”
Fifty years ago.
The Heartless Laughing Demon attacked Jang Si-woo to achieve his second revenge.
But Jang Si-woo had also grown in power during that time, becoming a much stronger existence than before.
He had even heard news of the Baekheun Sect’s destruction and deduced the Heartless Laughing Demon’s identity.
Jang Si-woo met the Heartless Laughing Demon with full preparation, gaining the upper hand through psychological warfare and delivering a crushing defeat.
But even then, he couldn’t finish him off.
The Soul-Chaining Blood Demon of the Blood Soul Pavilion, who had been watching from behind under orders from above, intervened and rescued the Heartless Laughing Demon.
“Damn it….”
The Heartless Laughing Demon groaned, feeling extreme dizziness.
This time, he thought he shouldn’t get caught up in psychological warfare.
He thought he should maintain his composure and defeat the Phantom Wing Scholar Jang Si-woo.
But it was useless.
Even covering his face with a mask and trying to become a cold-hearted Demonic Cultivator.
He was ultimately still captivated by the feelings from those days.
Even after four hundred years had passed, his heart still ached whenever he thought about it.
The feelings for the person he loved for the first time in his life still remained vividly alive in his heart.
“Why, why am I still so….”
Ssaaeaeae….
The sound waves of the Phantom Night Sound Bone Wave invaded the Heartless Laughing Demon’s consciousness.
At this rate, he couldn’t even escape with his Nascent Soul.
Feeling his consciousness slowly fading, the Heartless Laughing Demon shed tears beneath his mask.
“If I had known it would come to this, I should have just brainwashed myself….”
If he had become a ruthless Demonic Cultivator without blood or tears.
If he could have dismissed his feelings for that person as merely memories of the past.
At least he wouldn’t have suffered like this.
“Master….”
Why hadn’t his master done that for him?
In the past, he had brainwashed his subordinates to turn them into ruthless demonic beasts.
Why didn’t he do the same to him, whom he had taken as his final disciple….
“That’s not true, Heartless Laughing Demon.”
Right at that moment.
In his fading consciousness, Cheon Woo-jin’s voice could be heard.
“It’s meaningful precisely because you entered the Demonic Path yet didn’t abandon your humanity.”
“Fellow Daoist…?”
“Your master also hoped that you wouldn’t lose your true self.”
“What are you… saying…?”
He could sense Cheon Woo-jin, who had been waiting in the rear, stepping forward.
The Heartless Laughing Demon wanted to stop Cheon Woo-jin.
From the beginning, Zhang Shiwu was supposed to be faced by the Heartless Laughing Demon alone.
Cheon Woo-jin, who was still only at the Core Formation Realm, was no match for Zhang Shiwu of the Nascent Soul Realm. If he charged in, he would only meet a dog’s death.
But his body wouldn’t move at all.
Even making a sound had become difficult now, so he could do nothing.
“What, Core Formation Realm?”
When Cheon Woo-jin stepped forward in place of the Heartless Laughing Demon, Zhang Shiwu sneered.
“How ridiculous. A mere Core Formation Realm cultivator against me, who has reached the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul Realm…”
“Don’t lie, Phantom Wing Immortal.”
But Cheon Woo-jin’s voice was cold.
Maintaining an eerily sharp composure, he struck back sharply.
“You must have failed to advance to the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul Realm.”
“…!”
The entire space felt as if it had frozen.
“If you had already reached the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul Realm, you wouldn’t have engaged in this kind of psychological warfare against the Heartless Laughing Demon. You would have crushed him with pure force.”
“You, you bastard, what…”
Toward the shaken Zhang Shiwu, Cheon Woo-jin spoke without hesitation.
“To survive after failing twice in a row, you must be incredibly lucky. But the price must have been steep.”
“You, you bastard…!”
“How much power did you lose from this failure? It will take time to recover, and you’ll need to find new Nascent Soul spirit materials… It seems you won’t be able to advance to the next stage in this lifetime and will meet the end of your lifespan.”
“…!”
The Heartless Laughing Demon was on the verge of losing consciousness.
But he could tell that Jang Si-woo had lost his reason and become agitated after being struck at his vital point.
Just as Jang Si-woo had used psychological warfare to attack the Heartless Laughing Demon’s most vulnerable part.
Cheon Woo-jin was also striking at the part where Jang Si-woo would react most sensitively.
At that sight, the Heartless Laughing Demon shuddered.
A man more ruthless than the Demonic Path, more ruthless than the Black Gate.
That was Cheon Woo-jin.
“Don’t run your mouth carelessly, you Core Formation Realm vermin…!”
Flap!
Jang Si-woo shouted as he spread his bat wings wide.
At the same time, a fierce aura burst forth. But somehow there was a feeling that he was trembling.
“Heartless Laughing Demon.”
As if he wasn’t afraid of someone like Jang Si-woo in the slightest.
Cheon Woo-jin spoke to the Heartless Laughing Demon behind him.
“Leave the rest to me.”
Just before the Heartless Laughing Demon lost consciousness.
A tremendous aura burst forth from Cheon Woo-jin.
It was an aura filled with his own conviction that would never be broken by anything.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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