The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 355

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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 355.
Bu Eunseol was making her escape from Dae Geom Mountain.
She did not deploy her lightness technique, instead moving forward one deliberate step at a time, slowly and methodically.
Moreover, as if drawing her inner energy to its peak, a faint mist of qi shimmered across her entire body like wisps of fog.
It was as though she were preparing for an imminent fierce battle, harmonizing her physical form and spirit to achieve the pinnacle of her senses.
As she descended from the summit and reached the broad middle slopes,
She stopped abruptly.
Her footsteps ceased without warning.
And as she surveyed the sharp auras that surrounded her, she spoke.
“Show yourself.”
“Hah.”
An astonished gasp shook the heavens.
In that same instant, a small silhouette emerged from behind a massive boulder on the opposite side. It was Neung In Sa Tae.
“From your expression, it seems you knew from the beginning—not just from discovering me on the roof moments ago.”
Neung In Sa Tae had been hiding on the roof of Yak Seok Won where Ah Yeon and Ok Yu Ha were, eavesdropping on every word of the conversation.
Bu Eunseol had known this all along, yet chose to feign ignorance.
The knot must be untied by the one who tied it. Such was the natural order.
“Indeed.”
“How did you know?”
“Since you are someone I must kill anyway, there is no harm in imparting my inner cultivation techniques, is there?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with measured calm.
“Given that you serve as Gak Ju, you must also control Geom Gak’s military forces.”
“Ho, and how did you discern that?”
Neung In Sa Tae wore a subtle smile.
“I have done nothing that would warrant suspicion.”
“No matter how vacant the position of Gak Ju may be, how could an elder unilaterally decide to transmit the dharma to an outsider?”
Transmitting secret cultivation techniques to outsiders was strictly forbidden within the sect.
Yet Neung In Sa Tae had casually imparted the culmination of the Mil Won Heart Technique to Ah Yeon under the pretext of saving her life.
This itself was proof that Neung In Sa Tae wielded the authority of the vacant position of Geom Gak’s Master.
“It was an unavoidable decision.”
Neung In Sa Tae nodded in acknowledgment.
“Anyone in my position would have made the same choice. Had that child perished, Bon Gak would have faced irreversible ruin.”
“However, I cannot comprehend one thing.”
Bu Eunseol tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Is repaying kindness with enmity the doctrine of Geom Gak? I treated her with utmost sincerity, yet why do you seek to kill me?”
At this, Neung In Sa Tae’s expression twisted with anguish.
“The previous successor fell into demonic delusion through a man and contracted illness because of it. How could I allow the next successor to suffer the same fate?”
“The previous successor…”
Bu Eunseol grasped the implication.
“Then both the former Geom Hu, Ok Yu Ha, and Geom Gak’s successor possess the same affliction of dual cultivation sickness.”
It was a somewhat abrupt statement.
Yet Neung In Sa Tae’s eyes flashed with considerable surprise.
“How did you know that?”
“The profound techniques of Geom Gak were extraordinary, but the pursuit of them was far too greedy.”
“Greedy?”
“To cultivate the profound technique by opening both the lower and upper dantian simultaneously… you sought out women who possessed the yang essence of Jinyang to create a successor, did you not?”
Neung In Sa Tae nodded, impressed by Bu Eunseol’s deduction.
“Indeed. To perfect the heart technique of Bon Gak, one must possess a dual-natured body.”
“So that was the cause.”
“The cause?”
“Women with dual-natured bodies who carry such scorching yang energy within them would naturally possess far richer emotions and more passionate temperaments than ordinary women.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head and clicked her tongue.
“When you impart to them the profound technique that calms and settles the mind, is it any wonder such calamities arise?”
“And because of that passionate and volatile nature, Bon Gak nearly lost its successor.”
Neung In Sa Tae, who seemed on the verge of an outburst, quietly acknowledged Bu Eunseol’s words.
“Twice, no less.”
“Twice?”
As Bu Eunseol tilted her head in confusion, Neung In Sa Tae spoke with eyes burning with resentment.
“Such incidents keep repeating because of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you pretending not to know of Ah Yeon’s condition?”
“I’m not pretending—I’m speaking the truth. I have no connection with her whatsoever.”
“No connection?”
Neung In Sa Tae let out a derisive laugh.
“No connection at all, yet she’s lost in longing and cannot gather her wits, and at night she calls your name in her sleep?”
“Her?”
Bu Eunseol could not hide her bewilderment.
Whatever other women might do, Ah Yeon had never once spared her a glance.
Yet she harbored such deep affection as to call her name even in dreams?
‘Is it like a first love?’
The fever of first love visits everyone at least once.
Especially in childhood, one can fall in love from a single glimpse of someone’s appearance or a single gesture.
Bu Eunseol believed that Ah Yeon’s heart was as pure as snow, and that the foolish fever of first love had merely begun late.
“Well, so be it.”
Bu Eunseol shrugged her shoulders.
“You would kill me for merely such a reason?”
“Merely such a reason?”
Neung In Sa Tae cried out with a venomous gaze.
“From the start, that Chilji Demonic Sect bastard should have been killed when he first came to Bon Gak. Had that happened, Yu Ha would never have become like this!”
A shocking revelation.
So the Chilji Demonic Sect actually came to Geom Gak in the end? How could such a fact have remained unknown?
“He came to Geom Gak?”
As Bu Eunseol furrowed her brow, Neung In Sa Tae bit her lip.
“That child had fallen ill of heart, so he came to see her.”
Her eyes trembled faintly as she recalled that time.
“He arrived drenched in blood, bearing grave wounds.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
The Chilji Demonic Sect had anticipated that Ok Yu Ha would suffer a heart ailment from the massacre of the Nine Elders, and had come secretly to Geom Gak to heal her of it.
“But why did he simply leave?”
Neung In Sa Tae’s expression grew confident.
“He had no choice but to leave. He stood before Bon Gak’s supreme force, the mightiest sword formation—the Jeok Heo Myeol Mu Jin.”
As it turned out, Neung In Sa Tae had intervened to prevent the Chilji Demonic Sect from meeting Ok Yu Ha, and had concealed this truth all these years.
“He said he did not wish to kill Bon Gak’s disciples, so in the end he departed.”
Neung In Sa Tae spoke with a cold expression.
“But I made a grave error.”
“What error?”
“I should not have let him leave so easily.”
A chilling murderous intent radiated from Neung In Sa Tae’s eyes.
“Had I activated the Jeok Heo Myeol Mu Jin, I could have slain the Chilji Demonic Sect in an instant. But through foolish mercy, I allowed Yu Ha to suffer a lifetime of anguish.”
“Is that the Chilji Demonic Sect’s fault?”
“Had I killed him, Yu Ha would have let go cleanly, and would never have developed such a profound heart ailment.”
Neung In Sa Tae clenched her teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
“But she harbored the hope that he would return for her someday, and waited her entire life.”
‘That is why she never took a dharma name.’
Ok Yu Ha, the successor of Geom Gak, had never taken a dharma name as though she had renounced her vows.
She had waited her entire life, even while despising the Chilji Demonic Sect.
“Because of that vile Chilji Demonic Sect, Bon Gak lost its successor and was forced into an unwilling closure for decades.”
“….”
“And now another spawn of the Demonic Path is bewitching Bon Gak’s successor—how can I stand idle and watch?”
From Neung In Sa Tae’s perspective, the successor meant to lead Geom Gak had lost her life to the Chilji Demonic Sect’s influence.
And now the next successor, Ah Yeon, had likewise fallen into demonic delusion through Bu Eunseol—she could not possibly allow this to continue.
“So you will kill me no matter what?”
“Yes.”
Neung In Sa Tae spoke with unwavering resolve.
“I have endured under the guise of an elder all this time so that such tragedy would never occur again, to obtain a successor who is truly whole.”
She gazed toward the distant sky, her voice tinged with a sigh.
“The errors of the past are repeating themselves—how could I simply stand by and watch?”
“If you kill me, will that truly end it?”
“Hmph. With that object removed, at the very least she will not suffer a lifetime of heart ailment or harbor eternal resentment.”
“Tae.”
Bu Eunseol exhaled a sigh rather than anger.
On one hand, she understood Neung In Sa Tae’s anguish and resentment.
For someone who had lived solely for Geom Gak, she could not stand idly by while her successor’s life was ruined by a man.
“It is natural for people to care for one another. How can one artificially suppress such feelings?”
“Such words belong to the secular world. How can one devoted to Hyun Moon harbor the emotions of desire?”
“The Geomgak Successor is being far too greedy. Is there truly a need to select someone with an inherently passionate temperament as the successor?”
Geom Gak’s choice of a woman with such a temperament as successor was meant to elevate the Hyun Moon cultivation to its peak.
But was there truly a need to place someone with such a temperament—one ill-suited to Hyun Moon—as the successor?
Such women possessed wide emotional ranges and expressed themselves actively and passionately in all matters.
“Geom Gak’s sword techniques are second to none among all sects. There is no need to seat a woman with such a temperament as successor merely to elevate the Hyun Moon cultivation.”
“What do you know to speak such words?”
Neung In Sa Tae cried out with an angry expression.
“Sects composed of women have always been swept away by the strong of Murim. Yet Bon Gak has stood tall in Murim for generations precisely because it possessed such overwhelming power.”
Bu Eunseol sighed helplessly.
It was true that female sects had generally become stepping stones for powerful factions.
Moreover, maintaining a sect required sufficient martial strength to support it.
As an outsider, Bu Eunseol could not criticize Geom Gak’s methods.
“So then.”
Bu Eunseol spoke while surveying the sharp auras that surrounded her.
“You are prepared for an all-out confrontation with Bon Gak?”
“Hahaha.”
Neung In Sa Tae burst into laughter with a furious voice.
“If you had come as the Demon Hall successor, such a thing would naturally be impossible.”
And she examined Bu Eunseol with sharp eyes.
“But coming under a different identity means you are moving in secret to evade the intelligence organization’s pursuit.”
“….”
“If I quietly dispose of you here, who would ever know of this?”
Neung In Sa Tae was not merely an old woman bound by stubbornness.
She was an outstanding leader with keen insight, capable of perfectly operating Geom Gak in place of the absent Gak Ju.
“Had I killed Chil Ji Ma Do from the start, this would never have happened. My greatest regret in life is failing to end that man and sever Yu Ha’s torment.”
Bu Eunseol fell silent.
She understood roughly half of Neung In Sa Tae’s suffering.
After all, both successors had fallen for men of the Demonic Path and succumbed to inner demons, forcing the elderly woman to worry about her successors despite her advanced age.
But to commit murder to prevent the disciples’ hearts from developing afflictions?
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, Neung In Sa Tae was not a disciple of Hyun Moon, but a murderer wielding a butcher’s blade.
“Your ambitions are quite grand.”
Realizing the woman had no room for change, Bu Eunseol spoke coldly.
“You failed to kill Chil Ji Ma Do not out of mercy, but out of lack of confidence. Had you failed, Geom Gak would have lost its finest disciples in an instant.”
Bu Eunseol smiled coldly.
“But you came forward confident you could kill an unripe Demon Hall successor like myself.”
“You may curse me however you wish. My mind is already made.”
Neung In Sa Tae spoke with unwavering resolve.
“If I do not descend into hell, then who will?”
A sharp sound cut through the air.
As Neung In Sa Tae raised her hand,
A rustling swept across the ground.
Suddenly, roughly sixty disciples emerged into the wide open ground, blocking Bu Eunseol’s escape route.
“You understand well that this is not a contest of martial prowess. We intend to dispose of you swiftly through overwhelming numbers, so do not resent us for our cruelty.”
“Have you not already repaid kindness with enmity?”
Bu Eunseol smiled calmly.
“There is nothing more vicious than that.”
The battle had already begun.
Bu Eunseol had struck at Neung In Sa Tae’s conscience with words, delivering another blow.
Neung In Sa Tae, being human, trembled slightly as shame washed over her.
But soon, steeling her heart and raising her hand to activate the formation,
Footsteps echoed softly.
At that moment, a white silhouette emerged from behind a towering tree some ten paces away, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
It was Ok Yu Ha.
Walking forward to stand before Bu Eunseol and in front of Neung In Sa Tae, her eyes were hollow and vacant.
“He… came to Bon Gak?”
She had come to find this place where Bu Eunseol and Neung In Sa Tae were, to give Ah Yeon time to deliberate.
And if the battle began, she had intended to delay matters by offering various pretexts.
But overhearing the conversation between Bu Eunseol and Neung In Sa Tae, was Bu Chanyang not saying that he had come to Geom Gak, risking his life for her sake?
“Bu Chanyang… he… for me.”
Ok Yu Ha staggered as though struck by a shock that drained her very soul.
“How… how could this be!”
And a wretched cry tore from her lips.
“How could you be so cruel!”
Ok Yu Ha’s voice poured forth all the anguish of days past at once, a torrent of sorrow and
“Knowing the heart with which I waited for him! Knowing that I yearned for him my entire life!”
She wept bitterly, her cries wracking her frame.
“How could you deceive me!”
“Then what becomes of Bon Gak! What becomes of it!”
Neung In Sa Tae too let out a wretched cry.
“To a disciple who abandoned everything for a man! That he was actually a righteous man who kept his promises? Should I have spoken thus!”
“Master!”
“Bon Gak was once the head of the Orthodox Sects! Yet through you, Bon Gak’s standing has fallen to the depths!”
Neung In Sa Tae too cried out in fury.
“At last I cultivated a successor to make Bon Gak bloom once more! Must I now repeat the same tragedy through you again!”
“This cannot be… this cannot be…”
A faint wisp of smoke rose from Ok Yu Ha’s body as she reeled from the impact.
Simultaneously, fine wrinkles began to creep across her once-taut skin.
Her Nok Bin Hwa Yun Dae Law was slowly shattering under the weight of her fury.
“He did it for me… knowing I would suffer heartache… he came to me drenched in blood….”
In Ok Yu Ha’s mind’s eye appeared the solitary figure of a bloodstained man ascending Dae Geom Mountain.
Strong, sculpted features and lips pressed into a resolute line.
Eyes that would not waver even if heaven and earth crumbled. And bearing a loneliness tinged with profound sorrow….
That lonely, peerless wanderer’s form.
“How could he….”
As her Nok Bin Hwa Yun Dae Law shattered completely and her face began to age,
A soft whisper of wind.
In that moment, a gentle breeze of energy pierced her Blood Sealing Point.
Bu Eunseol, standing behind her, had struck her Blood Sealing Point.
“Why…?”
As Ok Yu Ha murmured, consciousness slipping away, Bu Eunseol carefully seated her against a rock and whispered,
“Bu Chanyang would not have wished for you to shatter your cultivation in rage.”
If even the Nok Bin Hwa Yun Dae Law—the culmination of a lifetime’s practice—were to break, nothing would remain for her.
Bu Eunseol had struck her vital point to save her from this fate.
A warm pulse of energy.
And she infused soothing vital force to calm her spirit.
“Rest now, Sect Leader.”
“Bu… Chanyang.”
As consciousness faded, Ok Yu Ha’s vision filled with the image of the man she had dreamed of all her life.
Even when the whole world pointed fingers, he walked his solitary path with a melancholy smile….
That wanderer who had given her such bittersweet memories.
“I’m sorry.”
A crystalline tear.
A single clear tear rolled down the cheek of sleeping Ok Yu Ha.
Bu Eunseol carefully leaned her against a tree stump so she would not wake, then removed her outer robe and draped it over her.
“Neung In Sa Tae.”
Bu Eunseol turned, her gaze cold and solemn as she looked down at Neung In Sa Tae.
“Is it not your petty ambitions that have brought Geom Gak to this ruin?”
“What did you say?”
“Your greed destroyed Geom Gak.”
Bu Eunseol slowly drew her sword.
“Now I shall show you the truth.”
“Hahaha! You’ve gained quite the reputation, yet you seem blind to what stands before you.”
Despite the formidable aura Bu Eunseol unleashed, Neung In Sa Tae merely laughed heartily.
“I know your martial prowess is considerable. But if a sect has held supremacy for centuries across generations, you should have understood the depth of its foundation.”
And she cried out at once.
“Yeom Hwa Dae and Yeon Hwa Dae, listen well. Deploy the Jeok Heo Myeol Mu Jin formation against her.”
Whisper, whisper, whisper, whisper.
At once, sixty disciples of Geom Gak moved in chaotic patterns, encircling Bu Eunseol.
In that instant, a strange pressure erupted from all directions, beginning to bear down upon her.
“Even the Chilji Demonic Sect, invincible in those days, would have perished helplessly if trapped within this formation.”
Neung In Sa Tae’s lips curved upward.
The Jeok Heo Myeol Mu Jin was Geom Gak’s supreme sword formation, divided into three stages and composed of disciples from the most exceptional Yeom Hwa Dae and Yeon Hwa Dae.
With this, any master whatsoever could be routed in a single breath.
“Chilji Demonic Sect….”
Bu Eunseol murmured with a hollow expression.
“So he would have perished helplessly against such a formation.”
A spark of competitive spirit ignited within her heart.
Chil Ji Ma Do Bu Chanyang.
He was a supreme master of unparalleled martial arts who had dominated the Tianxia with a single blade.
And was I not the inheritor of his supreme doctrine?
“Deploy the First Formation!”
At Neung In Sa Tae’s cry, the disciples moved in chaotic patterns, unfolding their sword techniques.
The cascading pressure then became a tremendous wave of energy, swirling violently. It drew in the air ceaselessly, and to enter that vortex would make breathing impossible.
Yet Bu Eunseol stepped unhesitatingly into that circular maelstrom of energy.
It was not reckless pride, but rather faith in the absolute doctrine created by Chil Ji Ma Do—the power of the Blood Sealing Seven Forms.

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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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