Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 77

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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 77

Swish—!

A blue sword energy surged toward the darkness in the sky.

Kwaaaaang!

The mental world shook violently.

With a tremendous explosion, the demonic form split in half, but Namgung Cheon didn’t stop.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He swung his sword relentlessly without pause.

Cheoncheon Mansang Style.

Soft like clouds, piercing intensely like heavenly thunder, and cutting secretly like moonlight.

Dozens of sword energies swept in like a storm.

After unleashing everything like that.

‘Is it over?’

Namgung Cheon paused his sword for a moment and stared ahead.

The area around where he stood was scattered with black fragments everywhere.

Darkness torn so miserably that its form was unrecognizable.

However.

Rustle.

The scattered black fragments began to writhe again.

Like living creatures, they drew each other together, instantly coalescing back into one massive form.

In a shape even more enormous and ferocious than before.

Mocking laughter seemed to echo from within the black energy.

Namgung Cheon furrowed his brow.

‘Clearly, I cut through everything.’

Moreover, he had deployed the Cheoncheon Mansang Style, created by mixing the purity of orthodox martial arts with the mysteries of the Demonic Dao.

Such inner dregs should have been easily removed.

‘But why…’

At that moment.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

The darkness shot toward Namgung Cheon like arrows.

Tap tap!

Namgung Cheon used his footwork to dodge the pouring black arrows while swinging his sword again.

Clang! Clash!

His sword strikes hit and deflected the arrows, but the cut darkness barely scattered to the ground before transforming back into arrows aimed at him.

Moreover, the black crack in the sky was growing larger and larger.

Beads of sweat formed on Namgung Cheon’s forehead.

The mental fatigue was greater than the physical exhaustion.

The fact that his sword wasn’t working, the unpleasant feeling that his created martial art was being denied.

‘Am I wrong?’

He asked himself.

The experience accumulated as Cheonma in his past life, the enlightenment gained as Namgung Cheon in this life.

Was this a fight he could only win by denying all of that?

‘That can’t be.’

He strongly deflected an incoming arrow and gripped his sword tightly again.

‘If I were wrong…’

He wouldn’t have become Cheonma, and this second chance at life wouldn’t have brought him this far.

Then.

‘The method is wrong. I need to think again from the beginning.’

Tap—.

He used the Cheonhaeng Step to create distance, dodging the incoming arrows with minimal movement.

First, the identity of that black energy.

‘What exactly is it?’

Demonic energy?

No. That’s impossible.

This body has never accumulated demonic energy.

What’s stored in his dantian is only the pure internal energy of Cheonggung Daeyeon Simbeop.

‘Then is it resentment from my past life?’

That’s also not it.

The memories of his past life remain in his head only like knowledge from old books.

The rage that trembled with betrayal, the resentment that craved revenge—he had already let flow away with death.

New wine should be poured into a new cup.

‘I’m not foolish enough to drag emotions that cooled with death into this life.’

The moment Namgung Cheon organized his thoughts and looked at the black crack in the sky.

Swish—!

One of the flying black arrows twisted its trajectory and aimed for Namgung Cheon’s neck.

“…!”

That cunning movement.

The vicious habit of reading the opponent’s breathing and thoughts, striking at the moment of carelessness.

It was all too familiar.

As if he were looking in a mirror.

“…Ah.”

A sigh flowed from Namgung Cheon’s lips.

It wasn’t an enemy.

‘It’s me.’

Cheonma from his past life, Namgung Cheon from this life—in the end, both were himself.

Therefore, that black energy wasn’t an invasion from outside, but the weight of years he had lived with and his instincts.

The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow becomes.

Because he tried to embrace the enormous light called Cheoncheon, an equally deep shadow was born.

And he.

‘I tried to cut away that shadow.’

He had tried to deny his other half, the other force that had sustained him.

‘How foolish.’

Namgung Cheon let out a bitter laugh.

While trying to complete himself, he had actually tried to deny half of himself.

“So that’s how it was.”

Namgung Cheon lowered his sword.

Then.

Stop.

The flying black arrow halted in midair.

“It was something that couldn’t be cut away.”

Namgung Cheon murmured quietly.

“Because you were also me.”

He slowly walked toward the black energy.

With peaceful steps, as if trying to look closely at himself in a mirror.

Rumble—!

The black energy surged violently again.

Swoosh—.

Sharp thorn-like energies grazed his skin.

Sharpness that seemed ready to cut, cold that penetrated to the bone.

An ordinary warrior would have instinctively swung their sword to strike it away.

But Namgung Cheon did not stop.

Because he felt a strange heat within that coldness that touched his skin.

A heat he had forgotten for a long time.

And Namgung Cheon knew what this heat was.

‘Fighting spirit.’

The heart that desires to fight, to survive.

From starting as an orphan to reaching the pinnacle of the Demonic Dao.

It was an emotion gained through struggling to live, and proof of the law of the strong carved deep into his bones.

Yes, without fighting spirit one cannot grasp a sword, and without a sword one cannot reach the heavens.

“Come back.”

Namgung Cheon extended his hand.

His fingertips touched the black energy.

At that moment.

Hwaaaak—!

A brilliant light burst forth.

The black energy flowed into Namgung Cheon’s hand without any resistance.

It was a natural union, like a river flowing into the sea.

Namgung Cheon’s dantian, the blue Azure Sky.

That clear and lofty sky began to change.

Half the sky remained as piercingly blue daylight, while the other half was dyed in deep darkness.

A sky where day and night coexisted.

A great taiji where the natural order of righteousness and the reverse order of demonic forces meshed and turned together.

Not merely remaining in the blue heavens, but embracing even darkness and extending endlessly outward.

‘This is…’

Flash.

Namgung Cheon opened his eyes.

Blue light clear as the sky and red light like flames.

His pupils, holding two lights, gleamed brilliantly in the darkness.

‘My Cheonggung Daeyon.’

* * *

Lady Namgung Rin’s face turned toward where Namgung Cheon sat, beyond the thick black cloth.

Her hands had long since left the pipa.

Though her eyes were covered with cloth so she could see nothing, and she had circulated her internal energy to block her ears so she could hear nothing, she knew.

That playing was no longer needed.

‘It’s become quiet.’

Namgung Cheon’s energy, which had been turbulently fluctuating until just moments ago, had become calm as if by magic.

For energy to become calm in such a situation meant.

‘…The realm of selflessness.’

It signified a state of absolute immersion.

‘There’s nothing more I can do.’

But she couldn’t break her promise and remove the cloth covering her eyes either.

Lady Namgung Rin quietly placed Cheonwolhyeon on her lap.

The fingertips that had been plucking the strings felt slightly numb.

It was because she too had consumed no small amount of internal energy continuing to play against Namgung Cheon’s energy.

Sweat beaded and trickled down her forehead, but she didn’t even think to wipe it away.

She simply waited.

With both sight and hearing blocked, sensing her younger brother’s presence through energy alone.

‘Please succeed…’

How much time had passed?

When such a long time had elapsed that it was difficult to even gauge.

Hwaaaak—!

An intense flash occurred, strong enough to penetrate the thick cloth covering her eyes.

At the same time, the entire stone chamber vibrated heavily from the energy that burst forth.

Kugugugu—.

Old dust poured down from the ceiling like rain, and the stones laid on the floor shook.

Lady Namgung Rin instinctively hugged Cheonwolhyeon to her chest to protect it and curled up her body.

Sharp energy that stung her skin swept over her entire body.

“…!”

Just as startled Lady Namgung Rin was about to open her mouth.

—It’s finished.

Namgung Cheon’s telepathic message reached her first.

A clear and pure resonance that rang directly in her mind.

At those words, Lady Namgung Rin untied the cloth covering her eyes with trembling hands.

Swish.

The cloth fell to the floor and her vision opened.

The first thing that entered her sight was the scene of dust that had been floating in midair slowly settling down.

And at the center of it all was Namgung Cheon, sitting facing her and looking at her.

Though he appeared unchanged on the surface, she could tell.

That this very ordinariness was proof he had reached a realm she couldn’t even dare to fathom.

Like how a great river becomes quiet when it reaches the sea, he had been perfectly composed, making his depth impossible to measure.

“…You did it.”

At Lady Namgung Rin’s words, Namgung Cheon slowly rose from his seat.

He looked down at his own hands, then raised his head to face Lady Namgung Rin.

Then he showed his respect.

“Thank you.”

A short and simple phrase.

Namgung Cheon bowed his head deeply in respect.

Then Lady Namgung Rin waved her hand as if embarrassed and said.

“That’s enough. What’s this between family? Oh, and it was a deal from the start anyway. Thanks to you, I also obtained Cheonwolhyeon.”

Lady Namgung Rin smiled brightly.

Perhaps because the tension had lifted, her voice was higher than usual.

She stroked the pipa on her lap as if it were nothing and added.

“If you had failed, this precious pipa would have almost gone to waste too. So when you think about it, I gained more… Huh?”

Stopping mid-sentence, Lady Namgung Rin tilted her head and moved it to the side as if listening intently.

And soon her brow furrowed slightly.

“What is it?”

Lady Namgung Rin muttered with the smile gone from her face.

Her gaze turned toward the ceiling.

Her eyes sharpened as if trying to see through something beyond the thick bedrock.

“Outside is… a bit noisy.”

“What do you mean?”

At Namgung Cheon’s question, she closed her eyes.

The work of filtering out surrounding noise like wind sounds and insect chirping to pick out only alien vibrations.

It was a realm only possible for her with her innate hearing.

Soon, Lady Namgung Rin opened her eyes and spoke with a flustered expression.

“…It’s a bit rough?”

Only then did Namgung Cheon also raise his energy sensing.

The senses expanded due to the mastery of the mental cultivation method pierced through the thick walls of the Stone Chamber and extended above ground.

Then he felt it.

Faint but distinct killing intent.

And.

‘He’s drawn his sword.’

Branch manager Namgung Seon had drawn his sword and was confronting someone.

Suddenly, the words Namgung Hwi had said before departure flashed through Namgung Cheon’s mind.

The words that there seemed to be some problem at the branch.

The commotion happening outside right now might be related to that problem.

Namgung Cheon’s eyes sank coldly.

A chilling coldness swirled around him.

“Let’s go.”

Namgung Cheon placed his hand on Mukhon and spoke quietly.

“Before trouble breaks out.”

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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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