Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 463

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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 463
A mountain estate where the believers of the White Lotus Sect quietly continued their lives.
Whoooosh!
A chilling wind swept through.
Tree branches and leaves collided, producing dry, rustling sounds.
As every tree on the mountain trembled in unison, it seemed as though the mountain itself was groaning and writhing in agony.
Crash!
Just when the wind seemed to be subsiding, it surged forward again with enough force to sweep everything away.
Creak! Creak!
Every door in the estate swayed and rattled in the wind.
Though it was merely a fierce wind—the kind that commonly blew through mountains—the believers had stopped their work and fallen into an eerie silence.
The believers’ gazes unconsciously turned toward a single place.
The innermost part of the estate, where the Singnyeo’s quarters lay.
“Om… amoka…”
From the shrine shrouded in darkness, a voice that seemed ready to break at any moment flowed forth.
“…maha… zvara… hum…”
As if trembling with fear, or enduring unbearable pain.
Like a fragile wisp of incense smoke flickering within a small censer, the voice continued, precarious and wavering.
In an instant.
Whoosh!
The wind seeping through the door crack extinguished the flickering light within the censer.
The shrine plunged into complete darkness and silence. The violent gust that had swept through the area vanished as if it had moved elsewhere.
Soon the dark clouds retreated, and a vivid crimson twilight poured into the shrine.
“…How…”
Someone spoke.
“How could it come so quickly…?”
In the darkness, two figures—old and young—trembled.
“What did you see?”
The young girl, the White Lotus Sect’s new Singnyeo, asked.
The elderly Singnyeo merely shook her head, trembling with fear.
“I can no longer see. Will you tell me what you witnessed, Singnyeo?”
The elderly Singnyeo asked respectfully.
The voices of the two were so similar they sounded like one person.
“An ill omen… I saw an ill omen.”
A sinister gleam flickered in the young Singnyeo’s eyes.
The elderly Singnyeo closed her eyes tightly and asked.
“How, already?”
“I do not know either.”
The young Singnyeo’s lips trembled slightly.
“It is still only a sign. But we cannot… escape it.”
The young Singnyeo gazed at the last light of the day and spoke.
“The beings of the heavens have descended to the mortal realm, and vengeful bloodfiends stained with gore will soon walk this land. I can only pray that the darkness of heaven and earth does not grow too thick.”
* * *
Baek Mu-heun, who had left the sect on external business, returned in haste.
“Where is the General?”
“He should be in the Military Affairs Division.”
“I’ll go at once.”
His footsteps were hurried and heavy, unlike his usual pace. His attendants and guards followed behind him in quick strides.
“There’s no need for that. I anticipated your arrival and came out to meet you.”
“Tell me as we walk. What is the situation?”
Baek Mu-heun asked without even exchanging greetings.
Jegal Mun fell into step beside him.
“The eastern region of Cheonghaesong and all territories under our sect’s influence have essentially become lands of death.”
Baek Mu-heun fell silent for a moment, as if at a loss for words, before speaking.
“Speak plainly.”
“There is no plainer way to explain this.”
One corner of Baek Mu-heun’s eye twitched.
“The reconnaissance unit of the Martial Alliance we stationed there and the Gae-bang….”
“All.”
Jegal Mun spoke in a voice that seemed to sink to the ends of the earth.
“All of them are dead.”
Thud.
Baek Mu-heun’s footsteps stopped.
Those following behind and Jegal Mun also faltered.
‘All of them…?’
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes trembled.
Unlike the central plains, Cheonghaesong was sparsely populated, and the number of sect disciples stationed there was small.
Yet that was a relative figure. If they truly all perished, it was not a matter of mere hundreds. Perhaps….
“…Are you saying the Bloodfiend Sect has suddenly risen up like this?”
“That is not the case. The battle was led by fewer than twenty individuals. Therefore, the Military Affairs Division believes this is not a full-scale uprising.”
“Elaborate.”
Baek Mu-heun resumed walking. His footsteps had become noticeably heavier.
“It must be one of three possibilities. A rogue action by some members, a localized attack before a full-scale uprising, or simply… coincidence.”
“That you list coincidence last suggests you consider it the most likely possibility, Jegal.”
“Let me explain once we’re inside.”
They had arrived at the Military Affairs Division.
Baek Mu-heun went directly to the General’s office and took the seat of honor.
Soon Jegal Mun handed him something.
‘What is….’
It was a blood-stained letter.
Next, reports from the Intelligence Division and news from various regions were placed on the desk in succession.
“An urgent dispatch from the Extermination Squad dispatched to Saeoe.”
“They managed to make contact?”
“They say communications became difficult after entering due to immediate combat engagement.”
“Casualties?”
“Six dead and two critically wounded, they report. They abandoned the bodies.”
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes widened as he quickly read through the blood-stained dispatch.
“Noe-eum Temple and Potala Palace are both… already consumed?”
The existing disciples are suffering under all manner of forced labor, with the situation assessed to have persisted for at least a decade or more.
Strange-aura-emitting grotesque beings are currently exploiting the disciples…
Such unbelievable intelligence continued to pour in.
“Based on what is written in the dispatch and the assessment of the Qinghai Blood Envoy and the Intelligence Division, it appears we must consider Saeoe to be in a state of complete devastation.”
But that isn’t actually the problem.
The dispatch contained information that the Eight Great Demon Kings, the Six Guardians, the Divine Blood Ghosts, and other main forces—estimated to have remained in their respective positions—had suddenly vacated their posts recently.
“I’ll listen while reading. Continue.”
“We still need to investigate the Northern Sea, Southern Barbarians, and the Great Desert, but if the situation there is identical… it would be reasonable to conclude that all Eight Great Demon Kings of the Bloodfiend Sect have begun assembling.”
The recent tracking of the Bloodfiend Sect by the Extermination Squad and Intelligence Division.
The Martial Alliance had been assessing that the Bloodfiend Sect had dispatched the Eight Great Demon Kings to various regions of Saeoe.
“Are you saying that General Jegal’s words mean the Bloodfiend Sect hasn’t even begun their full assault, yet Qinghai has been completely drenched in blood merely from chance encounters during their assembly process?”
“That is my assessment.”
It was Shin San’s judgment.
He would never have spoken such words without at least seventy percent certainty.
“If the Bloodfiend Sect is assembling their full strength, why has such a thing only occurred in Qinghai?”
“What if it’s not limited to just Qinghai?”
“…?”
“A small number of Gaebangdo were discovered dead in the southern regions, belatedly. There’s already… a possibility that some of the Eight Great Demon Kings have infiltrated the Central Plains.”
* * *
Yes, I admit it.
To be honest, my vigilance had loosened somewhat recently.
Though I do have several excuses.
The Moyong Family and Jeongheol Sect, which had forced me to remain constantly on edge every moment, had fallen.
The Four-Color Plan was progressing smoothly, and the Martial Alliance’s control of the Central Plains was advancing without issue.
The wall was gradually crumbling, and my martial prowess had reached a new level.
Moreover, having taken a well-deserved vacation, I had deliberately tried to relax further. There were some nagging concerns, but I thought it had been quite an enjoyable vacation overall.
Yet the moment I stepped back into the jianghu…
Hell dragged Dokgo Myeong back in again.
“Why are you silent, Dokgo Myeong?”
Dokgo Myeong exhaled a long breath before his eyes sharpened.
“What of the Divine Blood Ghosts? At minimum, around twenty of them should have been moving together?”
Yuk Ho-beop spoke leisurely as he removed his bamboo hat.
“You abominable Central Plains rabble have certainly scattered your eyes far and wide. If so many of you moved together, you’d be caught in no time. That’s why I move with only two.”
“Thorough.”
The face of an exotic middle-aged man with dark skin came into view.
Whoooosh.
The reed field swayed violently. It was an intense aura as if he would burn through everything.
In truth, it would be strange if it weren’t intense. There stood before me one of the few masters in the martial world who had reached the realm of the Limitless.
“Yukho-beop Geukrak-sinjyo. Weren’t you supposed to be in the Southern Barbarian lands?”
Beneath the sky slowly tinted with a deep blue-green light, Yukho-beop’s eyes shone like red stars.
“Do you know me?”
“Yes, I know you well.”
“I wondered why the assembly order came earlier than scheduled. It seems many interesting people have been born in the Central Plains without my knowing.”
“Interesting they were. I sent all those Jeongheol Disciples straight to the afterlife.”
Dokgo Myeong glanced left and right, pretending to stretch his neck.
This vast reed field stretched at least ten li in all directions as flat terrain. It was not easy to hide or escape.
“Meticulous. You move your body naturally while observing the terrain, extending your aura to scan the encirclement?”
Dokgo Myeong sighed and clicked his tongue.
“This is troublesome. You truly are different from those Jeongheol bastards. They were so soft and pliable.”
“Hehehehe.”
“But why did you seek me out when the assembly order has been given?”
“Are you someone who follows orders well?”
“…”
“Yes, exactly. If I take you, everything ends. Why drag out the time?”
“You would use me, one who defies heaven’s will, as material for the great ritual to create a Bloodfiend?”
“In truth, I have been in the martial world for quite some time now. Wandering through this abundant yet hateful land, I have pondered and pondered and pondered again how to burn it all and how to kill it all…”
Yukho-beop muttered like a madman.
“Then, through the communication network of the Jeongheol Disciples—which barely functions anymore—I heard news of you. I waited for this opportunity for more than half a month.”
More than half a month, indeed.
While half a month might seem like a reasonable time to lie in wait, for these creatures it was not.
They were madmen with eyes rolled back, yearning to dye the entire Central Plains in blood. Holding their breath and waiting for half a month was like enduring an eternity of kalpas.
‘Still, I’ve gained one piece of information because of this.’
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
‘That bastard Hyeok Wi-sang didn’t seize control of the sect.’
The Sect Leader is the Sect Leader, but in reality, the Eight Great Demon Kings move as they please.
A non-Bloodfiend Sect Leader cannot operate the sect systematically.
That was a greater harvest than I had anticipated.
Of course, that was only if I could return alive.
“Have you enjoyed our final conversation in this life sufficiently?”
“Ah, was that consideration on your part?”
“Now the time has come. One who defies heaven’s will.”
“My name is Dokgo Myeong. Not some ‘one who defies heaven’s will.'”
“You know there’s no chance of victory. I’m giving you an opportunity. If you resist, I will fight you. But if you don’t resist, I’ll grant you a merciful death.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh.
“Has blood qi clouded even your brain? What kind of proposal is that? Do you really think that makes sense?”
“If you fight, you’ll suffer while alive and become a sacrifice—a great loss. But if you die gracefully, the suffering will be brief—quite the gift, wouldn’t you say?”
Tssss!
In an instant, blood-red mist spread outward from Yuk Ho-beop as the center.
The reeds turned ash-gray and collapsed one after another. The earth stained dark blue-green, and the air grew thick and stale.
The Eight Great Demon Kings all learned the same martial art.
The Asura Blood God Technique.
Yet the manner in which they unleashed this technique differed for each. Yuk Ho-beop was one who expressed it through sound-based martial arts and crude hand-to-hand combat.
‘It should have been that way… but what is this? Why didn’t he bring his signature weapon?’
Then.
Swish!
The sound of reeds rustling came from behind.
It was the sound of Yumhyeol-gun, who had been quite far away, drawing closer.
“Hehehehe. What will you do?”
His laughter sounded like a ghost’s wail, and Dokgo Myeong found himself laughing despite himself. They say that when cornered, one laughs—and it seemed to be true.
‘I thought I’d buy time by talking and find some variable… but there’s nothing to be done.’
The situation was truly dire.
Was there any way out?
‘Hold a blade to his throat and bluff again?’
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t work on him.
Yuk Ho-beop uses sound-based martial arts. If my body wavers even slightly from the sound technique, it will be the end.
‘Then I have to fight…’
One at the Boundless Realm, one at the Ascending Realm. Perhaps even the Blood Fiend hiding scattered somewhere.
Against that, I stand alone.
“Krung!”
Just then, Hoa suddenly struck his back with a tail as thick as a forearm.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled.
“Right, you’re here too. Will you handle the one behind us?”
“Kang!”
“Good.”
Dokgo Myeong exhaled sharply.
Yuk Ho-beop’s eyes turned cold.
“So you choose punishment.”
“Let’s see who drinks the punishment wine.”
Dokgo Myeong grinned wickedly.
“I’ve always thrived in crisis.”

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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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