The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 344

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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 344.
“Even so, that’s not it.”
However, So Ok Rim shook her head in disagreement.
“No matter how much a man dresses as a woman, he carries a distinctive aura. I’d do a better job.”
Then Won Se Moon offered a retort.
“So Ok Rim. Do you want to shatter the mountain?”
“What?”
“Your frame is far too massive for this to work.”
So Ok Rim’s eyebrows twitched as she cried out in frustration.
“I can use the Bone Shrinking Technique!”
Crack.
As she activated the technique, her height diminished to roughly five feet.
Yet her skeletal structure remained so thick and bulbous that when she shrank, her muscles only grew more compact, and her frame transformed into something resembling a snowball.
“…If you pushed her down a hill, she’d roll all the way to the Northern Sea.”
At my murmur, the Lords simultaneously nodded in agreement.
“I’m telling you, I should be the one to do it.”
As So Ok Rim returned to her original form and insisted stubbornly,
“Bu Eunseol. I think we need to see it firsthand.”
Myo Cheon Woo shrugged and spoke.
“We can’t afford to ruin a plan we’ve worked so hard to devise.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I reluctantly activated the Bone Shrinking Technique.
Crack.
My tall frame compressed into a delicate, petite form.
“Hmm. With such pale skin and crimson lips… we needn’t even apply cosmetics—just a slight adjustment to the brows would suffice.”
Myo Cheon Woo drew a short blade from his robes and carefully refined my sword-like brows.
“What if we arrange the hair like this?”
He then gathered my long hair into an elegant cloud-like coil that exposed the nape of my neck.
Beneath the sunlight streaming through the window, I appeared as a celestial beauty—like Chang’e of the Moon Palace herself, with long lashes cast downward.
“Ooh!”
Gasps erupted from those present.
The Demon Palace housed many beautiful women, and there were peerless beauties like Jin Seol and Dan Seo Ok.
Yet compared to my disguised form, even they seemed somehow plain and unremarkable.
With beauty so captivating it could ensnare the very soul, not only Won Se Moon and the others, but even Wi Cheon Gyeong—a man utterly indifferent to women—found his cheeks flushing crimson.
Crack.
As I returned to my original appearance, gasps of admiration filled the chamber.
The Lords all exhaled sighs of regret in unison.
Some even wished to summon a painter to capture my disguised form on canvas and preserve it forever.
My beauty in that form was breathtaking enough to make one’s very spirit soar to the heavens.
“Well? So Ok Rim.”
At Myo Cheon Woo’s words, So Ok Rim puffed out her cheeks and cried out in exasperation.
“Do as you wish!”
Bu Eunseol and So Ok Rim departed from the Demon Palace, heading toward Shandong.
This mission absolutely could not leak to the outside world.
Publicly, I announced that I was merely conducting an inspection of the Demon Palace branches scattered across various regions before slipping away.
And immediately afterward, I assumed the identity of Seol So.
Many people had come to recognize my face due to my confrontation with Cheon Geom, but more importantly, I needed to completely conceal my movements.
I am the successor of the Demon Palace, with the attention of all information officials fixed upon me.
Concealing my movements as such successor was considerably difficult and costly.
However, by once again assuming the identity of the wanderer Seol So and hiding both my status and appearance, I could easily obscure my true whereabouts.
―This venture into Gangho must remain covert, so absolutely do not follow me.
Furthermore, I had only ordered the erasure of my movements, strictly forbidding any covert escort.
The Black-White Witch was a master who had evaded countless pursuits until now.
She might even detect the movements of the Guusal Unit or any covert intelligence organizations.
Bu Eunseol and So Ok Rim soon arrived near Pyeong Do, where the Black-White Witch was known to frequent.
As dusk fell, the two entered an inn and took their evening meal.
Bu Eunseol consumed three bottles of yellow wine.
So Ok Rim ordered only thin noodles and sipped merely a little warm broth.
‘It seems she too has reached the Five Qi Convergence stage.’
When martial power reaches its zenith, the five vital energies composing the body transform into liquid and gather in the dantian.
Upon entering this realm, one generates the necessary qi independently, and can even sever the intake of grain essence without harm to life.
I myself had reached this stage long ago, consuming very little food.
Yet seeing that So Ok Rim also ate almost nothing, it was certain she had attained the Five Qi Convergence stage.
‘Her strength is surely not beneath my own.’
Among all the late-stage masters I had encountered, So Ok Rim was the strongest.
Strength encompassed not merely martial prowess, but wisdom, talent, and all abilities one possessed.
So Ok Rim’s rough exterior belied her exceptional wisdom and profound insight.
In fact, while I was dealing with the traitors of the Five Families of Buk Hae Bing Gung and planning reconciliation, she had heard nothing, yet she had vaguely discerned my intentions.
From that alone, one could infer that her wisdom and acuity were in no way inferior to my own.
‘Yet I still cannot fully trust her.’
Still, I could not completely trust So Ok Rim.
Virtually no one in Murim knew of her, and above all, she had appeared far too suddenly in Murim.
Those who make a striking impression upon their entrance typically employ such methods when creating false identities.
Yet I continued to travel with her because she possessed more knowledge than anyone regarding the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
“Why are you drinking so much?”
When Bu Eunseol drained five pitchers of yellow wine in rapid succession, So Ok Rim widened her eyes and asked.
“Is something troubling you?”
“You come to an inn and ask why one drinks wine?”
Bu Eunseol filled her cup as she spoke softly.
“That is the very essence of a foolish question.”
“No, well. You’re just drinking more than I expected.”
“This is decent liquor.”
“Does the liquor taste good?”
I couldn’t fathom why she would ask such a question, yet her wide, round eyes brimmed with pure innocence.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never drunk alcohol before.”
“I’ve only had it once.”
“Only once?”
As I furrowed my brow, she wrinkled her nose and spoke.
“My next drink will be the Harmonious Joy Wine, which I promised to share with my destined one.”
“Your next drink is Harmonious Joy Wine?”
I had no intention of listening to her prattling.
Yet So Ok Rim’s words were so peculiar that I couldn’t help but ask.
“My master said that since I drank the first cup from you, the next must absolutely be Harmonious Joy Wine as my first cup.”
I asked, sensing something.
“So you’ve drunk with your master before.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember that time?”
“No.”
I nearly burst into laughter at that moment.
Only then did I understand why my master had said such a thing.
‘It seems she becomes a complete mess when she drinks.’
Even normally, whenever something irritates her—whether it’s a person or an object—her fists fly first. That’s So Ok Rim’s nature.
Given that she had become thoroughly intoxicated, she must have caused quite a disturbance.
It seemed her master, likely fed up with that incident, had given her such a warning.
“But seeing you drink so pleasantly, I’m tempted to have a cup myself.”
In that instant, my heart grew cold.
This Inn was crowded with people, and I even spotted merchants dining with children.
“Your master’s warning must be kept without fail.”
“Hmm. Then shall I just have one cup?”
“One cup becomes two, two becomes a bottle. If you truly intend to keep your promise, it’s best not to touch it at all.”
As I spoke firmly, she seemed to understand at last, smacking her lips.
“I suppose you’re right.”
“The day is growing dark. Let’s scout around Geun Dong.”
According to the Guusal Unit’s intelligence, the Black-White Witch frequently appears in deep mountains or places where travelers rest.
Thus, I intended to first investigate the Guan Di Temple and Abandoned Temple areas in this Pyeong Do region.
After that, I would disguise myself as the Black-White Witch, stir up chaos in this area, and lure out the real Black-White Witch.
Murmur, murmur.
As we stepped outside the Inn, there was an unmistakable commotion somewhere.
Looking around, I saw a middle-aged man in ornate martial robes striding forward in the distance, leading dozens of young martial artists.
It was Gu Yang Chun, a renowned swordmaster from Shandong who had amassed great wealth by establishing the Cheong Woon Gwan Martial Hall.
Yet I gasped in astonishment, staring intently at the surroundings of Gu Yang Chun.
“Impressive.”
So Yok Rim, standing beside her, widened her eyes and nodded in agreement.
“Wow, that’s really something, isn’t it?”
The moment the two stood side by side, murmuring,
“Ahhhhh!”
Gu Yang Chun, who had been walking smoothly, suddenly let out a piercing scream.
“A thief!”
Only then did he realize that the precious sword at his waist had vanished.
“Find the sword!”
At his cry, the martial artists scrambled about, hastily scanning their surroundings.
Yet all that met their eyes were merchants and onlookers staring at them, blinking in confusion.
No one could even discern who had taken the blade.
‘A stealing technique and concealment art so swift that even the eye cannot perceive them.’
As Bu Eunseol stepped outside the inn, she caught sight of a shadow flitting past Gu Yang Chun as he led the martial artists forward.
In that fleeting instant as the shadow brushed past Gu Yang Chun, hands moved with the speed of lightning, depositing the sword into his garment. Then, unfurling a concealment art, he vanished in a single breath.
Yet because he moved at such extraordinary speed, his features remained invisible.
“To steal so brazenly before dozens of witnesses—truly, this one is remarkable.”
So Yok Rim, having witnessed it all, could not help but exclaim in admiration.
“Such incredible speed in his movement technique, and a concealment art that leaves no trace whatsoever.”
She stroked her chin thoughtfully, lost in contemplation.
The concealment art was a method by which one channeled their power to depress the earth and moved underground like a mole. Therefore, when deployed, it invariably left very distinct marks upon the ground.
Yet the shadow who stole the sword had used the concealment art without leaving a single trace—how could this be?
“This should be interesting.”
So Yok Rim, as if struck by an amusing thought, spoke to Bu Eunseol.
“Let us catch him first.”
And with that, she leaped into the air and began pursuing the traces of the concealment art.
Bu Eunseol, seeing no choice, unfolded her movement technique to follow her.
A faint shimmer.
Bu Eunseol and So Yok Rim pursued the fleeing thief’s trail through the concealment art, rushing in a single breath to the village’s outer reaches.
As a desolate Reed Field came into view, the shadow wielding the concealment art ceased its movement.
Bu Eunseol and So Yok Rim then concealed themselves atop a towering ancient tree overlooking the Reed Field.
A deep rumbling.
The earth of the Reed Field suddenly writhed like a living serpent, and at last, a small hole opened.
A soft whisper.
A small head poked abruptly from the dark opening, surveying the surroundings,
“Phew.”
Then, beneath the moonlight, he slowly revealed himself.
A lean man of unremarkable height—from a distance, one might mistake him for a woman.
His face bore unkempt whiskers, yet his eyes gleamed with clarity and his skin was clean. Still, there was something mischievous and eccentric in his expression, lending him a vulgar air.
The man surveyed the Reed Field once more before drawing the stolen precious sword.
Shing!
The sword reflected in the moonlight gleamed with an ethereal brilliance.
Moreover, the scabbard and hilt were studded with several diamonds the size of jujubes.
“How desperate were you to flaunt your wealth that you embedded diamonds into the scabbard and hilt?”
The man who snickered drew a sharp dagger from his robes.
He then began prying out the diamonds attached to the hilt and scabbard with the blade.
“Hehehehe. This is turning out to be quite the windfall.”
As the delighted man busily extracted the gems,
Whoosh.
So Ok Rim descended from the massive tree and approached the man with heavy, deliberate steps.
“Having fun, are we?”
In that instant, the man’s expression hardened.
This towering woman had deceived his perception and drawn so close without his notice?
‘She’s formidable. Extraordinarily so.’
Realizing that So Ok Rim possessed martial prowess beyond his comprehension, the man pocketed the extracted gems and respectfully clasped his hands together.
“Who might you be?”
“Who do you think?”
“I dare not presume…”
As the man continued speaking respectfully with his hands clasped,
Whoosh!
He vanished in an instant with a sound that split the air.
He had feigned casual conversation while making his escape in a flash.
“Ugh.”
But the man did not flee far before halting at the edge of the Reed Field.
A figure with a sword strapped to her back now blocked his path.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Your movement technique is remarkably swift!”
The man, offering his praise, attempted to deploy his technique once more and flee skyward.
Yet his legs remained rooted to the earth as if anchored in place.
A massive shadow had crept behind him, pouring forth formless energy.
“If you wish to escape, by all means try.”
So Ok Rim drew close behind the man and grinned wickedly.
“I’ll shatter your leg bones completely so you cannot deploy your technique for quite some time.”
The man swallowed hard.
Though her words sounded like a jest, he sensed she would truly follow through if he attempted escape.
‘Could Gu Yang Chun have hired such a formidable master?’
The man recognized that the man and woman before him possessed not only extraordinary martial prowess but also movement techniques that surpassed his own, and his expression shifted accordingly.
“Hehehehe. I merely stole it out of curiosity.”
The man quickly produced ten diamonds from his robes and offered them forth.
“I return them to you. I am truly sorry.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Pardon?”
“Keep that sort of thing for yourself.”
At So Ok Rim’s words, the man scratched his head.
“Then why did you chase after me, ma’am?”
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Jin Baek Rim, ma’am.”
Crack!
So Ok Rim’s fist, broad as a cauldron lid, came crashing down on the man’s head.
“I can distinguish all lies.”
“My apologies. The truth is, my name is Sa Jin Baek…”
Crack!
“Jin Cheong Woon… Ok Ja Myeong… Yun Gwang Seo.”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
“It’s Yu Cheong Rim! Yu Cheong Rim!”
Crack!
“I’m telling the truth!”
“I said I have a way to distinguish lies!”
Crack!
As she brought her fist down once more as if to crush his skull, the man finally grasped his head and began to weep.
“It’s true! I stake my life on it!”
He dropped to his knees before her, clasping his hands together.
“My name really is Yu Cheong Rim! Please, have mercy!”
“Oh, it was true?”
Only then did the man, Yu Cheong Rim, understand the truth.
She had no method to distinguish lies at all. She had simply beaten him until a sincere expression appeared on his face.
“Hmm, Yu Cheong Rim?”
After a moment of silence, So Ok Rim tilted her head as if recalling something.
“Yu Cheong Rim? Where have I heard that name before?”
Then, as if remembering, she nodded.
“You’re the thief known as the Thousand-Faced Divine Thief!”
The Thousand-Faced Divine Thief Yu Cheong Rim.
He was one of the Four Divine Thieves, renowned as the most skilled thieves in the current Murim.
The title of Thousand-Faced Divine Thief was bestowed upon him because he left almost no trace when committing theft.
Moreover, he had mastered the Thousand Transformations Technique, allowing him to change his face in an instant.
Possessing such remarkable body techniques and concealment arts, the Thousand-Faced Divine Thief Yu Cheong Rim was known as the most difficult thief to capture.
Yet he was such a young man.
“Someone like me, a Thousand-Faced Divine Thief? I’m just…”
Before he could finish speaking,
Whoosh!
Once his identity was exposed, he deployed his movement technique and fled for his life.
‘If I’m caught, I’m dead!’
Until now, he had stolen countless treasures not only from the wealthy but also from the martial sects.
He assumed So Ok Rim and Bu Eunseol were pursuers sent to capture him.
Whoooosh!
Yu Cheong Rim’s shadow was already bursting out of the Reed Field in an instant.
The thieves known as the Heavenly Thieves each possessed exceptional movement techniques.
In particular, Yu Cheong Rim had mastered one of the Eight Great Movement Techniques of the Murim—the Extreme Swift Divine Method.
The Great Lightning Extreme Flash Shadow.
It was a Demonic Path lightness technique that abandoned all concealment and focused solely on speed.
Moreover, his specialty was the Thousand Transformations Art.
With just a moment’s time, he could alter both his appearance and clothing, so he was using only the movement technique to widen the distance between himself and his pursuers.
Boom!
Whoosh!
Yet two shadows suddenly rose from the void and, in a flash, attached themselves to both of Yu Cheong Rim’s shoulders as he fled.
“Your technique is quite impressive.”
As Bu Eunseol, running on Yu Cheong Rim’s left, nodded her head, So Ok Rim blinked her eyes.
“Right. So he really is a Heavenly Thief?”
As Bu Eunseol and So Ok Rim, flanking him on both sides, conversed leisurely, terror bloomed in Yu Cheong Rim’s eyes.
He was deploying the Great Lightning Extreme Flash Shadow, one of the Eight Great Movement Techniques, with his entire body bursting with power.
Yet these two were actually speaking to each other while executing their techniques?
“Hey, you okay?”
At that moment, So Ok Rim, running alongside him, thrust her fist toward Yu Cheong Rim’s face.
“Want to get beaten up?”
As a fist like a cauldron lid loomed before his eyes, Yu Cheong Rim lost all will to fight.
Whoosh.
Finally, Yu Cheong Rim ceased his technique and bowed his head as if in prayer.
“Please spare me! I’m just trying to survive day by day….”
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, So Ok Rim extended her fist.
Simultaneously, a tremendous gale swept forth, and Yu Cheong Rim’s garments tore and fluttered violently.
Rustle.
Along with it, a hidden pocket ripped open, and jewels that had been concealed within cascaded out in a torrent.
“You survive day by day on hundreds of thousands of taels?”
Yu Cheong Rim kept his head lowered and his mouth shut.
Beads of sweat like grapes were forming on his forehead.
Though he had roamed the Murim until now, he had never heard of a master as terrifying as this appearing.
“Ugh, disgusting. Are you sick? Why are you sweating so much?”
“I apologize. I’m just very frightened.”
“Frightened of what? Who’s going to eat you?”
Yu Cheong Rim quickly composed herself and clasped her hands together.
“Might I ask the name of this esteemed female cultivator?”
“Why do you need my name?”
“Ah, forgive me—you seem to be someone of considerable standing, yet I cannot properly pay my respects without knowing your name….”
“You’ve supposedly dominated the Murim for so long, yet you lack even basic perception.”
“Pardon?”
So Ok Rim swept her thick arms through her long hair with a flourish, then crossed them over her chest.
“Does this appearance not remind you of anyone?”
“Well, I suppose Guan Yu….”
“I am the Eun Ha Goddess.”
Yu Cheong Rim’s eyes widened in an instant.
“Could it be—that Bung Cheon who destroyed Yangguang Murim?”
Crack!
As So Ok Rim extended her fist, Yu Cheong Rim’s head was driven backward into her neck.
“Who calls me Bung Cheon! It’s the Eun Ha Goddess!”
“I-I sincerely apologize!”
Yu Cheong Rim was utterly bewildered.
So Ok Rim—that fearsome master who had appeared a year ago and crushed the former experts of Yangguang Murim like vermin before vanishing.
Why had such a terrifying powerhouse suddenly appeared in this place?
“What do you think? Does this one seem useful?”
So Ok Rim gazed at Bu Eunseol, her white teeth gleaming in a smile.
“We’ve found an even better bait, it seems.”
“Indeed, we have.”
No matter how one reached the pinnacle of concealment where one’s martial essence remained hidden, one’s innate temperament could never be fully suppressed.
Even when she had disguised herself as a woman in the Conference Hall of Jam Ma Gak back then, an inexplicable grace and an unapproachable majesty had emanated from her entire being.
Yet Yu Cheong Rim had long evaded suspicion and pursuit by disguising herself as an ordinary person.
Because of this, not only was her demeanor unremarkable compared to her martial prowess, but an innocent, guileless aura also flowed from her.
Moreover, with her modest height and slender frame, she possessed ideal conditions for masquerading as a woman.
“Bait? What do you mean?”
Sensing something ominous, Yu Cheong Rim asked tremulously, and So Ok Rim waved her hand dismissively.
“Ah, it’s nothing much.”
Yu Cheong Rim grew even more anxious upon hearing those words.
When someone of her caliber said “nothing much,” it invariably meant something extraordinarily strange and grave.
“Listen here.”
So Ok Rim grasped his shoulder firmly with an affable expression.
“Work with me on something, will you?”

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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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