Murim Login - Chapter 361
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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 361
Step, step.
There was not a trace of urgency or hesitation in the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s gait.
Whether stone fragments fell from the ceiling above signaling the beginning of collapse, or pitch-black darkness blocked the path ahead, nothing changed that fact.
The Four Great Demon Lords were beings worthy of such composure.
Yet there remained one concern—whether he could complete the command of the exalted Heavenly Master.
‘Jin Tae-kyung. That boy kept me occupied far longer than expected.’
I had not anticipated losing so much time in the confrontation.
At the thought of Jin Tae-kyung that suddenly surfaced, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord unconsciously touched his forehead.
A throbbing pain accompanied the sensation of a swollen lump. It was an injury that concerned me far more than the torn palms and bleeding forearms.
‘A prodigy, truly.’
Jin Tae-kyung had hung there with broken limbs.
His martial power was clearly depleted, and he bore internal injuries that would have killed an ordinary supreme master without question—yet…
“Even my protective aura could not fully block it.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord let out a hollow laugh.
Jin Tae-kyung had pierced through my protective aura with nothing but cloth and inflicted a wound upon me. By all conventional understanding, such a thing should have been impossible.
Two words surfaced in the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s mind: total commitment and certain death.
‘This is what one might call a miracle of strength.’
It was fascinatingly intriguing, yet at the same time, a chill ran through my chest.
In terms of martial mastery, Chung Poong had already reached the transcendent realm and would surpass Jin Tae-kyung, but the reason Jin Tae-kyung felt dangerous was something else entirely.
‘The person himself. He is simply strong.’
Martial skill that seemed unbelievable for someone at the supreme realm. And a determination that transcended imagination.
Had Jin Tae-kyung’s strength not run out at that moment, I would have severed his life without hesitation.
But now, everything was proceeding smoothly toward its conclusion.
“This is the place.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s steps halted before a tightly sealed iron door. In this Underground Prison, where most cells were constructed of bars, the massive iron door of the Treatment Chamber stood out distinctly.
Of course, even without such obvious markers, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s energy perception would not have missed it.
‘Without doubt.’
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord unhesitatingly brought his hand-blade down upon the iron door.
The force channeled through his palm easily severed the iron door—a hand’s breadth thick—and its locking mechanism.
Screech, boom!
The iron door, split in half, crashed down with a deafening roar.
As the Western Heavenly Demon Lord stepped into the Treatment Chamber, he caught sight of a figure and smiled faintly.
“Are you the Divine Physician?”
An old man sitting in a chair beside a bed made of cold ice stone opened his closed eyes.
A calm voice flowed from between his lips.
“It is merely a false reputation bestowed upon me by the people of the world.”
“I have heard much of you—that none know your name, your age, or even whether you are man or woman. I have long wished to meet you in person.”
“And now that you see me, what do you think?”
“Much as I imagined. You appear far more like an immortal sage than those pretentious Taoists who affect such lofty airs above the clouds.”
The Divine Physician exhaled a weary sigh.
“I wish that were the case. If this old man were an immortal, I would possess the power to drive out evil demons as well.”
“Do I appear to be an evil demon?”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord spread both arms wide and spun slowly in place.
An ordinary face and build. Had it not been for Jang Sam, whose clothes were torn and drenched in blood, he would have been an unremarkable middle-aged man seen anywhere.
“The Heavenly Master descends from the heavens to the earthly realm, and beneath the almighty power of That Person, there are four loyal servants.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord continued in a gentle voice.
“I am neither an evil demon nor an immortal. I am merely one servant who obeys That Person’s commands.”
“…!”
The Divine Physician’s eyelids trembled as he sensed the sincerity woven into those words.
The Heavenly Master? A servant? Regardless of what he meant, the man before him was undoubtedly a madman.
“Nonsense! If you are not an evil demon, then what are you, one who commits slaughter without hesitation?”
“It is unfortunate. But what can be done? It is also my duty to erase those who oppose That Person’s will.”
“W-who exactly are you…?”
The Divine Physician found himself at a loss for words as the Western Heavenly Demon Lord sighed softly.
Every word he spoke, every small movement he made—all of it reeked with such a thick stench of blood that it made one’s stomach churn.
“Leave at once.”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
“I said leave. No one is permitted to enter while treatment is underway. Especially not an evil demon like yourself.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord, who had been staring intently at the Divine Physician’s rigid face, burst into laughter.
“I thought you were a stubborn physician, but you have quite the sense of humor. Listen here, Divine Physician. The treatment is already finished.”
“It is not finished.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord moved forward with a pleased expression. His steps led him toward Jeok Cheon-gang, who lay motionless as if dead.
“In my opinion, the patient should be moved elsewhere.”
“Before that… you must obtain the physician’s permission.”
The moment the Divine Physician rose from his seat with a rigid expression.
Pap-pap-pat!
Dozens of streaks of light burst forth from within his voluminous sleeves. The needles of varying sizes flew in straight lines, while others traced arcs, targeting the vital points at the base of the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s skull.
Yet the smile on the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s face only deepened as he watched the needles fly toward him.
“How amusing.”
Tut-tut-tut!
There was no movement at all. The formidable protective qi that enveloped the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s entire body simply did its job perfectly.
Dozens of needles trembled as they were blocked by the protective qi.
“And how unfortunate.”
Crack.
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord clenched his fist and then opened it. An invisible, formless force obeyed its master’s will, seizing the needles and crushing them to dust.
No matter how much martial skill the Divine Physician had cultivated, the gap between him and the Western Heavenly Demon Lord was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
“I say it once more. The treatment is finished.”
“…!”
Along with the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s low voice, the Divine Physician’s body lifted into the air.
A technique of Void Seizing—an art visible only to those who possessed tremendous martial power.
As if repelled by something, the Divine Physician’s face turned deathly pale as his neck was seized in the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s grip.
“Evil… Demon.”
“It seems the Physician has no right to speak, having wielded assassination techniques without hesitation. But then, are you not also an Evil Demon?”
“If it means preventing blood from staining your hands, I shall gladly become an Evil Demon!”
Whoosh—crack.
The Divine Physician’s extended palm strike was easily blocked as blood spilled from his lips.
With a sickening crunch, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord crushed the old Physician’s hand, and a flicker of intrigue crossed his eyes.
“Your clan leader spoke truly. You possessed it after all.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s gaze fell upon the Divine Physician’s hand.
Upon his weathered fingers lay an object utterly incongruous with a healer’s station.
“So this is the Myriad Poison Ring…”
A band gleaming with subtle radiance, and a jewel that seemed to contain both light and darkness within itself.
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord, his eyes entranced as if bewitched by the objective of this mission, carefully withdrew the Myriad Poison Ring from the Divine Physician’s hand and slipped it onto his own.
“The Heavenly Master will be most pleased.”
Witnessing all of this unfold, the Divine Physician released a suppressed groan.
“What… what do you intend to do?”
“Do not concern yourself. Your role ends here, after all.”
Whoosh—thud!
A blade-like force of energy pierced through the Divine Physician’s abdomen.
As his lower dantian shattered in agony, the Divine Physician was hurled far away, coughing blood.
“Kueeeek!”
“It seems the Physician’s permission is no longer necessary. Would you not agree?”
The Divine Physician despaired, while the Western Heavenly Demon Lord laughed heartily.
Everything was finished. At last, he had obtained the Myriad Poison Ring that the Heavenly Master desired, and erased three of the greatest sects that ruled the realm from this land.
Now nothing remained to stand against him. The time had come to conclude all matters and return.
“Come now, let us depart together. There is one who wishes to see you.”
Whispering toward Jeok Cheon-gang, who lay sleeping peacefully upon the ice stone, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord drew his form through Void Seizing.
But it was at that very moment he attempted to do so.
Uuuuuung.
“…!”
A low, faint sound—as if a swarm of bees were humming.
Only the Western Heavenly Demon Lord could perceive it: a tremor in the air itself, a minute vibration drawing steadily closer.
‘Could the collapse have already begun?’
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord turned his head to locate the source of the sound.
Beyond the Treatment Chamber where the iron door had vanished, a faint light flickered in the pitch darkness.
“What is that…?”
In the next instant, after furrowing his brow, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s eyes snapped wide open.
Uuuuung, guguguguung!
The vibrations intensified, the wind tearing, the air itself rending asunder.
And then.
Roooaarrr!
A colossal beam of light tore through space itself.
No—a single spear wreathed in azure flames.
At the name that flashed through his mind in that instant, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord could not help but burst into laughter.
“Monstrous strength! Truly monstrous strength!”
A vast darkness erupted forth, rising with that booming laugh toward the heavens.
The white flames wrapped in azure fire collided with the darkness.
Roooaarrr!
Amid the deafening roar that shook the Underground Prison, a single voice rang out.
“The Hospital Room is off-limits to everyone except family and disciples. You bastard.”
* * *
Step, step.
I pressed forward through the clouds of dust.
Neither the rocks cascading like rain from the ceiling nor the pitch-black darkness could halt my advance.
I simply continued toward the one who lay beyond.
‘A monster. I never expected him to die so easily.’
I cannot see it, but I feel it—the immense force coiled within the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s body.
Yet it no longer frightens me as it once did.
I clenched my fist quietly. The overwhelming martial power flowing through my entire body felt tangible in my grip.
‘Cheon Ryeok-ma.’
My clash with the Western Heavenly Demon Lord had been a new opportunity for him.
When the ceiling collapsed and the falling rocks severed his restraints, the old man called Demon Master could finally emerge from the Underground Prison after decades.
And his first words to me were something I had never anticipated.
‘You killed all the other prisoners.’
‘Cough. So?’
‘Why did you spare me?’
‘Does it bother you that much?’
‘Answer only what I ask. I could end your life right now.’
‘Wait just a moment longer. It will end on its own.’
‘You!’
A conversation between cripples.
One whose limbs were shattered, another whose meridians were already severed.
But where Cheon Ryeok-ma held an advantage over me was that his martial power remained intact.
I was already dying, and I feared the approaching death.
I wanted to continue this final conversation with the one who would witness my end.
‘I didn’t want to kill you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the you I knew was never the Demon Master.’
‘…!’
‘I figured a good person from the Demon Cult was better than a bad one from the Orthodox Sects. If I killed someone like that, I felt I’d become just like the Demon Master.’
Truth be told, I wavered endlessly. Killing Cheon Ryeok-ma would have granted me substantial experience and several level-ups.
And after much deliberation, my choice was to let it go.
Looking back, it turned out for the best. The Western Heavenly Demon Lord wasn’t an opponent I could defeat with just one or two level-ups.
I thought it better to face him with a clear conscience than to carry the weight of an uneasy heart into death.
‘Well… this isn’t so bad either.’
Cheon Ryeok-ma, who had been studying me with a complicated gaze for some time, then made a proposal.
‘It was an offer I could never refuse.’
I recalled Cheon Ryeok-ma’s final words as I swept my hand through the air.
A tremendous gust scattered the dust cloud, revealing his form.
“Elder Brother’s here.”
“Kha! Kha-ha-ha!”
I watched over the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s shoulder as he burst into laughter, bent double like a shrimp.
About ten meters back, a figure stood unsteadily in the Treatment Chamber where the door had vanished.
The Divine Physician. His complexion was deathly pale as he nodded. It meant Jeok Cheon-gang was safe.
‘Thank goodness. We made it in time.’
Just as I exhaled in relief, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord finally stopped laughing and raised his head.
“You’ve changed beyond recognition.”
“I received a gift. From someone I never expected.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. I received cultivation power.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord let out an exclamation of understanding.
“Cross-body transmission of power!”
“Well, that’s one way to call it.”
“Did you use that power you mentioned? Something like the Qi-devouring Demonic Art?”
“No.”
“You’ve gained an opportunity, ha-ha!”
“It wasn’t free. I received a request in exchange.”
“A request?”
“Yes.”
I nodded quietly, recalling what Cheon Ryeok-ma had said as he transferred his power to me.
‘The Western Heavenly Demon Lord…’
“He asked me to kill you.”
Thud-thud-thud. Snap.
As I reached out, the White Flame embedded deep in the wall was drawn into my grasp.
The fire dragon, swollen with three decades of cultivation power, spread its wings.
“You’re… dead.”
The Western Heavenly Demon Lord laughed broadly.
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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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