The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 330
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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 330.
“My friend’s dantian has been destroyed, and his martial power has dissipated.”
Bu Eunseol, gesturing toward Seo Jin Ha, explained calmly.
“He has cultivated a unique martial technique, making conventional healing impossible. Therefore, the only way to fully restore his martial power is to open the upper dantian through the Ten Thousand Transformations Dharma Wheel.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master, grasping Bu Eunseol’s intention, nodded in understanding.
For a martial artist who had cultivated their inner power centered on the lower dantian to open the upper dantian, they would need to completely dismantle their existing martial power.
However, since Seo Jin Ha’s dantian had been destroyed and his martial power dissipated, there was no loss to him.
Moreover, since he had possessed formidable martial power before, once he mastered the Ten Thousand Transformations Dharma Wheel, he could easily recover his previous strength.
Not only that, but having newly opened the upper dantian, he could rapidly reach a far higher realm, far surpassing his previous level of power.
It was comparable to a skilled chef easily learning a new cooking technique.
“Many sects throughout the realm open the upper dantian and cultivate their inner power. So why seek to learn our palace’s secret methods?”
In response to the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s question, Bu Eunseol answered again.
“I have heard that the fundamental secret capable of reaching the Three Elements Three Harmonies and the Primordial Spirit Emerging from the Womb is the secret of Yunhai Biyeok Palace.”
This was what Hyul Geum Gang, who had transmitted the inner power, had told her.
“For him not only to recover his existing power but to advance to an even higher realm, there is no method but the secret of the Ten Thousand Transformations Dharma Wheel.”
“I see.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master, nodding, sighed and spoke.
“It is remarkable that you have found our palace, isolated from the world, but I cannot transmit our palace’s inner power secrets to outsiders.”
However, Bu Eunseol’s expression remained unchanged.
She slightly furrowed her brow and continued speaking.
“My husband and I admitted you to the palace simply because we were curious about why you brought the Great Abbot of Guangyang Temple to find us.”
Despite the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s firm refusal, Bu Eunseol stood calmly.
As if waiting for what would come next.
As silence fell, A Min, the Grand Empress who had been sitting quietly until now, spoke as if remembering something.
“Palace Master, is there not a way to transmit the teachings to them?”
At this, the Hwa Mi Palace Master frowned at A Min.
“How could they possibly break through that gateway?”
“It might not be bad to give them a chance.”
Then Bu Eunseol clasped her hands together and spoke again.
“If you grant us any opportunity, we will surely accomplish it.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master then opened her mouth as if she had no choice.
“Our palace has a prohibition passed down through generations, which is why we do not reveal ourselves to the world.”
“A prohibition, you say…?”
“We can only leave this place by destroying the Heart Sect Wall that our ancestor established.”
Taking a deep breath, she continued.
“You must endure at the gateway for four days, then destroy the Heart Sect Wall. But no matter how I think about it… that is an impossible task.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master’s eyes grew distant and grave.
“If you could destroy it, you would become benefactors of our palace, and I could transmit the Ten Thousand Transformations Dharma Wheel to you.”
“Ah, destroying things is my specialty.”
So Ok Rim, who had been listening quietly, smiled with confidence.
Then she turned her head and spoke to Bu Eunseol and Seo Jin Ha.
“I’ll handle it. This one.”
She flexed the thick muscles of her forearms with sudden force, flashing a bold smile as she spoke.
“I’ll smash anything to pieces in one blow! Hahahaha.”
“To be honest with you.”
Then the Hwa Mi Palace Master shook her head and sighed.
“The gateway of Sim Jong Ji Byeok can only be breached upon entering the Wuji Realm.”
In that instant, not only So Ok Rim’s face but Bu Eunseol’s as well turned rigid.
The Wuji Realm.
It referred to a state of cultivation that touched the very pinnacle of martial arts that humans could achieve.
Even Bu Eunseol, known to have transcended age and talent, had only just set foot into the Extreme Heaven Realm, had she not?
If Sim Jong Ji Byeok was a gateway that could only be destroyed upon reaching the Wuji Realm, then in the current situation, it would be impossible to pass through even if one died and returned to life.
“Moreover, if one fails to breach the gateway, most become crippled or mentally broken. The reason the palace has not continuously challenged it until now is precisely because we have repeatedly witnessed such outcomes.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master’s expression and gaze made it clear she was not jesting.
Thereupon, So Ok Rim’s complexion, which had been bright and smiling with tensed forearms, suddenly darkened.
She immediately stepped back one pace and suddenly coughed.
“Cough.”
Then, dropping her shoulders, she spoke to Bu Eunseol and Seo Jin Ha with a powerless expression.
“But from the recent battle against the Diamond Sage of Guangyang Temple, my strength has been depleted, so this won’t do.”
“I will enter.”
When Bu Eunseol spoke without hesitation, Seo Jin Ha shook his head.
“There’s no need for that.”
And with an expression of utmost seriousness, he sent a transmission of thought.
「Recovering my martial power is a trivial matter. But if something happens to you, it absolutely cannot be. What of the subordinates of my hall who look only to you?」
Bu Eunseol is the commander of Sayoung Hall and the heir to the Demon Palace.
She is not a wanderer who need only bear responsibility for her own life alone.
「It’s fine.」
Bu Eunseol replied through transmission of thought as well.
「The Wuji Realm is not expressed as a martial cultivation stage in the first place. It cannot possibly create a gateway.」
Bu Eunseol had directly experienced the martial prowess of Ma Cheon Je, who was said to have reached the pinnacle of the Wuji Realm.
And she had also witnessed firsthand the martial abilities of Ak Moo Ryung and Jeok Bung, who were known to be slightly below him.
The Wuji Realm was merely the individual martial manifestations displayed in phenomena. She understood well that such a state could never be made into or expressed as a gateway.
「Moreover, if the ancestral founder of Yunhai Biyeok Palace had entered the Wuji Realm, they would have left great footprints throughout the Murim.」
Bu Eunseol sent a transmission of thought with an expression of conviction.
「Surely they are witnessing a different phenomenon and calling it the Wuji Realm.」
「Bu Eunseol.」
「Trust me.」
At Bu Eunseol’s resolute transmission, Seo Jin Ha sighed.
Even if all her words were true, the gateway would still be perilously dangerous.
For the aura of the Hwa Mi Palace Master, who wore the appearance of a young girl, was every bit as formidable as Bu Eunseol’s own.
Since they couldn’t even muster the courage to attempt a breakthrough, saying that one must stake their life was no exaggeration whatsoever.
“Do you truly mean that?”
“I do.”
At the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s words, Bu Eunseol clasped her hands together with unwavering resolve.
“I will challenge it right now.”
* * *
While Bu Eunseol was passing through the trial at Yun Hae Byeok Ryeong Gung, accommodations were provided for Seo Jin Ha and So Ok Rim to rest comfortably.
Seo Jin Ha wished to help Bu Eunseol, but in his current state without martial power, he would only be a burden.
Thus, he grasped Bu Eunseol’s shoulder and offered a serene smile.
“Go crush it and come back.”
Infinite trust.
In this situation, all I could offer was infinite trust.
Bu Eunseol nodded and followed the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s guidance, walking deep into the underground depths of the Byeok Ryeong Palace.
After walking endlessly through an artificially constructed lengthy corridor, a metal gate gleaming with an otherworldly luster came into view.
Whoooosh.
When the Hwa Mi Palace Master placed something against the wall, the massive metal gate slowly opened.
Beyond the opened gate lay a vast stone chamber. As she stepped inside, the hanging oil lamps on the walls brightened of their own accord.
Simultaneously, the wall opposite the stone chamber emitted a transparent luminescence.
That wall was crafted from a material so transparent that reflections could be seen upon it.
Yet it was not glass—it resembled stone infused with a faint, translucent glow.
The Sim Jong Ji Byeok.
This was the forbidden seal that caused Yun Hae Byeok Ryeong Gung to vanish from the world—the Sim Jong Ji Byeok itself.
“This is the Sim Jong Ji Byeok.”
As Bu Eunseol drew closer to the Sim Jong Ji Byeok, light flowed forth from it, and
transparent characters began to project the heart sutra.
“This is our palace’s Pure Spirit Heart Sutra. When the trial begins, it would be wise to rely upon this sutra.”
As Bu Eunseol turned her head, the Hwa Mi Palace Master spoke with eyes narrowed like crescents.
“To survive here for four days without losing your mind, that is.”
Bu Eunseol could not comprehend.
A heart sutra from Yun Hae Byeok Ryeong Gung would surely be exceptionally refined.
Yet the sutra inscribed upon the Sim Jong Ji Byeok was hardly worthy of bearing the name “Pure Spirit.”
‘They named such a sutra “Pure Spirit”?’
The sutras carved into the wall all amplified killing intent, and merely reciting them produced a peculiar sensation of bloodlust.
Such a secret technique bearing the name “Pure Spirit”?
“There are two types of heart sutras that clarify the mind, you see.”
As if perceiving Bu Eunseol’s doubt, the Hwa Mi Palace Master spoke.
“One enters from the Demonic Path into the Righteous Path to regain equilibrium, and the other enters from the Righteous Path into the Demonic Path to find equilibrium.”
Equilibrium.
It meant to settle the mind, but in internal cultivation sutras, it referred to the process of suppressing all elements that disturb the spirit.
Thus, whether through the Demonic Path or the Righteous Path, the method of suppression matters not.
However, that was merely theoretical. The heart method for transitioning from the Demonic Path to the Righteous Path could not be found anywhere in the Murim.
“Then this must be the heart method for transitioning from the Demonic Path to the Righteous Path.”
“That is correct.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master spoke in a low voice.
“Once the door closes, the gateway of Sim Jong Ji Byeok will activate. This door, once sealed, will not open for four days, so… you must be prepared.”
“I understand.”
“Then I wish you fortune.”
The Hwa Mi Palace Master slowly departed. As she did, the heavy iron gate began to close gradually.
‘How strange.’
Bu Eunseol sensed something amiss in the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s expression.
Her countenance had remained dark throughout. It was neither concern for Bu Eunseol’s life, nor was it a complete absence of hope.
Displeasure.
It was clear that she resented Bu Eunseol’s very attempt to challenge this gateway.
‘She dislikes breaking the seal?’
That could not be.
A life lived in isolation from the world at the edge of this towering mountain could hardly be satisfying.
There was certainly some hidden secret of the Yunhai Biyeok Palace that Bu Eunseol did not know.
―Whoooooosh.
At that moment, the Stone Chamber trembled, and an incomprehensible sound began to reach Bu Eunseol’s ears.
It was a very low and ominous sound emanating from within Sim Jong Ji Byeok.
It was like the curse of a demon trapped in darkness, or perhaps the chanting of mantras passed down through esoteric Buddhism.
Upon hearing it, Bu Eunseol felt a murderous intent surge forth a hundredfold more intense than when reading the dharma of the Qing Ling Heart Method inscribed on the wall.
―The gateway of Sim Jong Ji Byeok requires not only risking one’s life, but also entering the Realm of Infinite Extremes to break through.
‘So that was it.’
Only then could Bu Eunseol comprehend the meaning behind the Hwa Mi Palace Master’s words.
The sound reverberating through the Stone Chamber was exerting a function similar to the illusory phantom technique wielded by Ak Moo Ryung, the Nangya Pavilion Master.
A direct assault upon the spirit.
The gateway of Sim Jong Ji Byeok required enduring this direct spiritual assault for four days.
‘This will be difficult.’
Bu Eunseol could not help but acknowledge it.
The gateway of Sim Jong Ji Byeok was an immense obstacle incomparable to any trial she had faced thus far.
‘Though not as formidable as the Pavilion Master’s illusory phantom technique…’
The sound emanating from Sim Jong Ji Byeok was a hundredfold weaker compared to Ak Moo Ryung’s illusory phantom technique.
The problem was that she had to endure that sound for four days.
‘There is no other choice.’
If she simply remained passive, she would either become an idiot or have her spirit torn to shreds.
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to gaze upon the Qing Ling Heart Method inscribed on the transparent wall surface.
To endure for four days, there was no method other than memorizing that Qing Ling Heart Method.
“Mm.”
Before long, one day had passed.
As Bu Eunseol continued reading the dharma text endlessly, a groan escaped her lips.
One cannot generate killing intent without limit.
Just as all things have an end, a well runs dry if continuously drawn from, and vital essence becomes depleted if constantly expended.
Qi can be replenished at any time, but if consumed ceaselessly, its total quantity diminishes.
Yet Bu Eunseol’s killing intent had not diminished even slightly after a full day.
In terms of the total quantity of killing intent, it matched the level of deploying the Thousand Thunder Unparalleled Technique for an entire hour.
‘Ugh.’
As extreme killing intent erupted from her body, Bu Eunseol found it difficult to maintain her rationality.
She wanted nothing more than to draw her blade and kill someone immediately.
Blood fragrance.
In the past, when she annihilated Saixiang, her spirit had fallen into demonic possession, and she had been intoxicated by the sweetness of blood fragrance.
Yet now she felt killing intent far more intense than back then.
‘Rather… let me use this.’
Bu Eunseol, pouring out killing intent that dyed even her thoughts crimson, clenched both fists.
She did not wish to become a demon drenched in blood.
What if she continued expending killing intent for four days?
Would this not become an opportunity to lower the killing intent inherent in her spirit? This thought had seized her.
‘I shall pour it all out.’
An ordinary person would have already lost their mind in such circumstances.
But Bu Eunseol continued thinking endlessly and pursuing enlightenment even in this situation.
And seizing this ordeal as opportunity, she would not suppress her killing intent but expend it with all her might.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Though her rationality melted away and she craved blood, it mattered not.
Sizzle!
The relentless, intense killing intent became scorching heat, burning away Bu Eunseol’s garments.
Yet she paid no heed, remaining hunched as she poured out her killing intent.
Thus time passed, and three nights had already gone by.
‘…’
Suddenly, the entire world fell silent.
Sensing something amiss, Bu Eunseol slowly straightened her hunched body.
The sound that had continuously echoed within the Stone Chamber had vanished.
Bu Eunseol could instinctively sense that today was the fourth day.
But the promised four days had not yet passed—why had the sound stopped?
Sensing the strangeness, Bu Eunseol moved her head left and right to examine the interior of the Stone Chamber.
“…!”
As she turned her head, as if in a dream, her neck moved with sluggish slowness.
The sound had not ceased; rather, time was passing at an extraordinarily slow pace.
Bu Eunseol suddenly gazed upon Sim Jong Ji Byeok, which emitted a faint luminescence.
Then a strange sight was reflected upon the transparent wall surface.
‘Am I… two?’
On the left wall, a figure in black robes with crimson eyes blazing and black demonic energy pouring forth,
and on the right wall, a figure in white robes with the Frost Soul Sword strapped to their back, surrounded by thirteen strands of the Thirteen Celestial Formations.
Both figures were Bu Eunseol.
One resembled a Demonic Path Grand Master—inherently indifferent and cold. The other resembled an Orthodox Sect Grand Master—righteous and just.
‘Is that wall projecting my spiritual essence?’
The two shadows stood back-to-back, their auras sharp and piercing.
As if they might turn at any moment and engage in a life-or-death duel.
‘This is…’
Bu Eunseol, who had poured out killing intent for four days, was exhausted. Yet her mind was not so clouded as to lose clarity.
‘Sim Jong Ji Byeok. Sim Jong Ji Byeok… so this is what it truly is.’
The Sim Jong Ji Byeok was a gateway that destroyed the spirit. Therefore, one could only transcend it by reaching the Wuji Realm.
To defend against intangible force striking the spiritual essence directly, one had to reach the Wuji Realm.
Yet Bu Eunseol had endured Ak Moo Ryung’s illusory phantasm in the past without reaching such a state.
Moreover, when she overturned Saixiang, she had controlled her spiritual essence from the Demonic Path to the middle way of her own volition.
At that time, she had thought it merely the power of the Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol… but now, reflecting upon it,
she realized it had been possible precisely because her spiritual essence was divided into two paths from the beginning.
‘In the end, I must make a choice.’
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
Currently, Bu Eunseol was trapped in a light demonic affliction caused by the Sim Jong Ji Byeok gateway.
To overcome this and shatter that wall, she ultimately had to choose one of the two forms.
What if she did not choose?
Her divided spiritual essence would endlessly wage war, and Bu Eunseol would ultimately become a crippled husk.
‘Hmm.’
Bu Eunseol gazed intently at her own reflection in the Sim Jong Ji Byeok.
The form in black robes was truly her original nature.
That cold, indifferent demeanor had wielded great power whenever she faced crisis.
Had she lacked such temperament, she would have succumbed to despair long ago.
But the form in white robes was the self she had become through her grandfather’s teachings.
Through that rich emotional depth, she could observe things profoundly, gain enlightenment from all things, and advance her martial way.
Had she lacked this aspect, she would never have achieved her current level of martial mastery.
An innate nature frozen in harsh severity, and the acquired warmth gained through Bu Chanyang’s teachings.
Both of these forms dwelled within her spirit.
‘But these two cannot coexist.’
It was the same principle as trying to hold water and fire in a single vessel.
If she chose nothing and remained as she was…
the roaring flames would dwindle, and the brimming water would also diminish.
In other words, insisting on coexistence would cause Bu Eunseol’s martial way to regress, or she would suffer spiritual fragmentation.
‘What must I choose?’
Bu Eunseol’s ultimate goal was revenge against her grandfather. Then she should unhesitatingly choose the path of the Demonic Way.
But if she walked the path of the Demonic Way, all those around her would fall into misery.
And there was also the probability of becoming a puppet manipulated in secret by those who sought to control him.
‘Is there truly a right answer in life?’
Life could be described as an endless process of making choices and subsequently harboring regrets.
No matter what one chose, there would always be lingering disappointment in the days to come.
‘After all, wasn’t this something that had to be decided clearly at some point?’
Now that he had become aware of his heart being divided in two, maintaining a middle path was impossible.
If he did not set his course with certainty, such conflicts would only repeat endlessly.
‘Very well.’
Bu Eunseol chose his path without hesitation.
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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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