The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 387

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 387.
Boom.
As the gates of the Demon Palace swung open, a carriage painted in deep black raced swiftly down Gwan Do.
Inside the carriage sat a man clad in gray robes, his gaze fixed upon the window as his mind wandered. It was Bu Eunseol.
The news has surely spread by now.
It had been a long time since I traveled alone to Gangho without concealing my identity.
And such a fact would have rippled through every intelligence network of the Demon Hall.
And those who stood against me would not let this opportunity slip away.
Had I prioritized safety above all else, I would have assigned guards until just before arriving at Nam An Bu.
But through this journey, I wished to learn something.
Who were the enemies targeting me.
And what measure of information and martial prowess they possessed.
It’s possible that what resides in Myo Ga So may not truly be Shin San Ja.
In truth, I harbored no grand expectations for this venture into Gangho.
Of course, Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong’s intelligence network was the finest among the Ten Demonic Gates.
But the target was Shin San Ja, called the sage of Murim.
The probability of discovering in one stroke the location of the greatest sage of Murim, who cannot be found unless he reveals himself, was nearly nonexistent.
Of course, finding a person’s whereabouts depends not only on intelligence networks, but can also be easily discovered through chance encounters or small mistakes.
Yet I could not believe that one called a sage would commit such errors or reveal his traces through mere chance.
Then the conclusion was singular.
If Shin San Ja truly resided in Myo Ga So?
He must have deliberately revealed his whereabouts.
To summon Bu Eunseol, who possessed the Debt of Gratitude.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The carriage raced without rest, day and night.
Soon, having left the sphere of influence of the Demon Palace, the carriage continued for several more days without pause, finally entering a bustling village near Nam An.
“From here on, I shall proceed alone.”
At my words as I descended from the carriage, the young coachman bowed respectfully.
Footsteps echoed.
I walked toward Market Street, which teemed with people, without employing any martial technique to conceal myself.
I felt the sharp gazes of curiosity and admiration directed at me from all sides.
Yet their attention soon fell upon the lustrous black sword at my side.
….
Then the concentrated stares gradually withdrew.
To commoners, martial artists were like demons and calamities incarnate.
Should they linger carelessly nearby and become entangled in a conflict, they would suffer unbearable losses and injuries beyond their capacity to endure.
Hmm.
A flash of light crossed my vision as I headed toward the distant inn.
The moment I entered the market, my heightened senses began to sound an alarm.
Merchants lined the narrow alley with their stalls spread wide, and countless people moved between them.
A woman carrying a child on her back while baking dumplings. An elderly man haggling over vegetables. A Middle-Aged Man calling out loudly to attract customers. Tourists hurrying past with their companions….
Among these countless people, a sharp killing intent blossomed.
Yet Bu Eunseol walked forward as if she felt nothing at all.
In that instant,
Whoosh!
It was an extremely faint sound of air splitting.
But to Bu Eunseol’s ears, it thundered like a deafening roar.
Swish!
As Bu Eunseol quickly tilted her head back, a sharp flying blade embedded itself in the earthen wall.
A small child passing by had thrown the blade at Bu Eunseol using a technique of absolute silence and invisibility.
Crash!
In that moment, an elderly man passing by drew a sword hidden within his walking stick and thrust it toward Bu Eunseol.
Whoooosh!
Simultaneously, the woman carrying the child lowered her head. Countless thin poisonous needles, so fine they were barely visible, cascaded down like rain.
Screech!
At the same time, a powder of mountain toxins fell from the sky like mist.
As it turned out, the assassins had been hidden among the crowds filling this Market Street, waiting for Bu Eunseol.
And when she passed, they unleashed their killing techniques without hesitation, caring nothing for the innocent civilians caught in between.
‘They concealed themselves well.’
Bu Eunseol was somewhat startled by this ambush.
The wild beast technique of Nangya Pavilion, which could even capture the flow of air itself, was the pinnacle of assassin martial arts that specialized in surprise attacks.
But their assault had given no warning whatsoever—not even the sound of air splitting could be heard before the attacks reached her body.
Most impressively, they had blended seamlessly among the ordinary civilians without any sense of discord.
This meant these assassins were elite-class killers who had even cultivated secret concealment techniques like the Heavenly Calling Concealment Art.
‘They’ve researched me extensively.’
If I had deployed my martial arts carelessly, innocent civilians could have been hurt.
These assassins had completely grasped my nature.
‘If I hadn’t learned the Bing Ha Cheon Ryu Gyeol, counterattacking would have been difficult.’
White cold energy was already pouring from Bu Eunseol’s left hand.
She had drawn upon Bing Ha Dae Je’s supreme ice technique, the Bing Ha Cheon Ryu Gyeol.
Shuuuuuk!
In an instant, something extraordinary occurred.
As Bu Eunseol extended her left hand, the cascading hidden weapons and poisonous powder instantly became ice fragments, scattering to the ground like rain.
“….”
At the same moment, the assassins who had launched the ambush froze in their movements.
They had already anticipated that this ambush would not succeed.
Rather, their plan was that once Bu Eunseol began her counterattack, they would use the passing pedestrians as shields and turn the surroundings into chaos.
But not only had the weapons and poisons they unleashed become ice powder and fallen, they had also instantly frozen their own bodies.
―Such an ice technique exists.
Moreover, she had unleashed a devastating frozen qi powerful enough to freeze the very sky, directing it with perfect precision only at the assassins who had ambushed her.
Though the Murim had many masters of ice techniques, such divine abilities could not be wielded by just anyone.
Crack!
The assassins frozen in place drew upon their inner strength to resist the ice formation, shattering the ice and breaking free in one breath.
But in that instant, Bu Eunseol’s left hand flicked repeatedly.
Ping, ping, ping!
Sharp shards of ice shot forth, piercing through their hearts.
Thud. Thud.
The assassins disguised as ordinary citizens collapsed like logs, impaled by the ice.
“….”
The passersby who witnessed it turned pale.
To their eyes, people who had been walking normally simply fell to the ground without any apparent reason.
‘That should suffice.’
Bu Eunseol nodded as she passed by the bodies of the assassins.
Pierced by the thin, sharp ice, their bodies bore no visible wounds or marks.
Since the ice that penetrated their bodies would melt away shortly, no matter how thoroughly one examined them, they would never discover the method of death.
‘They must be attempting another ambush to assess my martial prowess.’
The assassins’ purpose was obvious—they attacked despite knowing they could not kill me.
Their clear intent was to carefully examine and study the level and methods of my martial arts.
‘But they will find no traces.’
When I employ the Glacial Heaven Absolute Technique, all moisture within the body freezes solid.
This causes the bodily tissues to rupture and disintegrate, making it impossible for even the greatest masters to detect any traces of martial technique.
Thump, thump.
Bu Eunseol calmly passed between the fallen assassins and the pedestrians, ascending to the Inn before her.
Even on the third floor, the inn was so packed with guests that not a single empty seat remained.
“Guest, I’m afraid there are no available seats, so we would need to arrange a shared table….”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol withdrew a heavy silver ingot and placed it in Jeomsoi’s hand.
“…If there are no seats, then we’ll make one. Please wait just a moment!”
Jeomsoi rolled up his sleeves and widened his eyes.
He rushed into the inn, whispered with Chong Gwan, and quickly arranged an empty table on the third floor.
“Please sit here, guest.”
Once seated, Bu Eunseol ordered five bottles of yellow wine and three dishes.
Then she sat quietly and sipped her drink in silence.
I had come to this crowded inn specifically to naturally overhear various news and information.
‘Hmm.’
As Bu Eunseol brought the cup to her lips, she slightly furrowed her brow.
As the wine entered her stomach, an uncomfortable sensation gathered in her dantian.
The wine contained poison.
‘How amusing.’
Bu Eunseol gazed at the poisoned wine bottle.
In such a large inn, it was easy to administer poison to the dishes coming from the kitchen.
The poison could have been added to the food when it was being prepared in the kitchen, or Jeomsoi could have administered it himself.
Alternatively, when Jeomsoi carried the dishes, someone could have approached in secret and poisoned the food.
Gulp.
Bu Eunseol drank from the cup again, savoring it despite knowing the wine contained poison.
A bitter yet metallic scent lingered on the tip of her tongue.
‘The fact that they used Blood Scorpion Powder so openly suggests they’re from the Righteous Path.’
The Righteous Path typically used poisons extracted from plants like toxic herbs and mushrooms, while the Demonic Path primarily utilized poisons derived from animals such as scorpions and snakes.
Moreover, poisons used by the Righteous Path generally worked slowly, whereas those employed by the Demonic Path were lethal and acted swiftly.
And Blood Scorpion Powder was a poison extracted from the venom of poison scorpions—a representative poison of the Demonic Path and…
Paradoxically, it was also the poison most frequently used by Righteous Path practitioners when disguising themselves as Demonic Path members.
‘I need to find out which sect this is.’
As the successor to the Demon Palace, it was hardly surprising that the Righteous Path would target me.
However, until now, I had rarely incurred the enmity of the Righteous Path Sect.
Rather, I had been in constant conflict with the Demonic Path, so being attacked by the Righteous Path Sect was almost peculiar.
Whoosh!
In that instant, a sharp hidden blade flew toward Bu Eunseol.
It had been thrown by an assassin disguised as a merchant sitting far away.
Clang!
But with a clear metallic ring, the blade was redirected straight into the merchant’s throat.
Bu Eunseol had used the chopsticks in her hand to deploy the Return to Origin technique, deflecting the blade back.
Whoosh!
At the same moment, an elderly couple sitting behind Bu Eunseol simultaneously wielded a sharp poisoned sword.
Flash!
With a slash through the air, blood spurted from the elderly couple’s necks.
Using the Meteor Chasing Moon technique with the chopsticks she held, she had severed both their necks.
Rumble.
In the meantime, all the guests on the third floor of the inn fled.
When the fighting erupted, they quickly vacated their seats.
Whoosh!
Those remaining on the third floor were all assassins targeting Bu Eunseol.
They attacked without hesitation, wielding poisoned swords.
Crash! Boom!
Before long, with a thunderous explosion, the entire third floor of the inn was obliterated, and dozens of frozen corpses were hurled out the windows.
Though these assassins possessed considerable skill, they were not of a caliber to match Bu Eunseol.
“Oh no.”
Chong Gwan, gazing at the ravaged interior and gaping roof of the inn, fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face.
“We’re ruined.”
Few martial artists would compensate an innkeeper for damages incurred during a fight.
In that regard, the innkeeper had been extraordinarily fortunate.
“Please accept this.”
Bu Eunseol handed a bundle of promissory notes to the crouching Chong Gwan.
“This should be more than enough to rebuild the establishment.”
Chong Gwan’s eyes widened as he accepted the bundle of notes.
“Y-you’re giving this to us?”
The money Bu Eunseol had given was far more than what was needed to reconstruct the building.
It was enough to fully compensate for the losses incurred during the reconstruction period when business would be suspended.
“Th-thank you so much!”
All the tavern servants, including Chong Gwan, bowed deeply as Bu Eunseol departed.
Among the warriors of Murim, few had ever destroyed an inn and yet been sent off with such warmth and gratitude.
After that, Bu Eunseol continued to face relentless attacks from the assassins.
They showed no hesitation in ambushing her in broad daylight, striking primarily in crowded Market Streets and inns.
At first, I thought they were doing this because it made escape and ambush easier.
―Hmm.
But when they began attempting ambushes with fire weapons, innocent civilians and merchants became caught in their attacks.
No—they were indiscriminately unleashing fire projectiles as if targeting the common people rather than me.
Crack!
Bu Eunseol instantly froze the assassins and gazed down at them with cold eyes.
“So that’s what this is.”
Finally understanding the assassins’ true intent, I muttered in a low voice.
“If only they had just told me directly, none of this would have happened.”
Blood-red light flickered in my eyes as I looked upon the fallen civilians scattered around Market Street.
“I would have moved only through quiet, unpopulated areas.”
But the assassins, now frozen to death, could not answer.
The assassins’ endless attacks from within crowds of civilians.
It was a silent pressure on me—not to traverse Seong Do, but to move only along desolate paths.
“I have no choice then.”
If they continued to send assassins endlessly?
Collapsed buildings could be compensated with money. But if innocent civilians continued to be caught in ambushes and injured like this…
That was something that transcended reputation and honor—something I could never accept.
“This will be a long journey.”
I sighed deeply and gazed toward the distant sky.
Now I would have to travel by night, avoiding Seong Do and villages, to reach Myo Ga So.
Thump, thump.
I turned slowly from Market Street, where the acrid smell of gunpowder still lingered, and departed the village at a deliberately leisurely pace.
So the assassins pursuing me could see me clearly.
Whoosh!
Rain was falling from the sky.
As I walked across the open field, I gazed up at the gray-tinted heavens.
The raindrops were as large as red beans—this didn’t seem like a brief shower.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol surveyed her surroundings and spotted a flickering light dancing between the distant trees.
Whoosh!
Deploying her divine technique in one fluid motion, she rushed through the forest and discovered a crumbling abandoned temple at the base of the mountain.
Passing through the mountain gate and entering within, she found a temple hall enshrining a massive Buddha statue.
Inside, a gilded Buddha sat upon the platform, its gold leaf long since peeled away, while a single candle burned nearby.
Below the platform, a gaunt shadow crouched with its back to the statue.
It was a young girl whose hair, bound in a single knot, fell to her shoulders.
Her frame was pitifully small and thin, yet a silver-gleaming short bow hung across her back.
The girl possessed sufficient martial skill to sit alone in this remote mountain sanctuary.
“So there was a guest here.”
Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice, careful not to startle the girl.
“I merely sought shelter from the rain and will depart shortly.”
The girl with the bow made no reply, remaining motionless in her seated position.
Patter, patter, patter.
Bu Eunseol turned her gaze toward the sky, which poured rain as if through countless holes.
How much time had passed?
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
With the songs of birds, the once-darkened sky revealed the bright sun as if it had never been clouded.
“A passing shower, then.”
Bu Eunseol murmured to herself and quietly departed the temple hall.
Whoosh.
Yet a piercing sound rent the air, and fifty-odd martial artists clad in black assassin garb descended from the heavens before the temple entrance.
‘So it begins.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed to slits.
By traveling the remote paths where people did not venture, the assassins had finally revealed themselves in full.
‘Their skill is formidable.’
Despite the concealment offered by the rain’s roar, they had closed to within a hundred paces before I detected their presence?
These fifty-odd assassins possessed martial prowess worthy of renown throughout the Murim.
Moreover, a formidable inner force radiated from their bodies—they were not assassins who relied on ambush, but warriors who struck down enemies through direct confrontation and palm strikes.
Shing.
As the assassins displayed their superior martial prowess, Bu Eunseol drew her ink-black sword with eager expression.
If the enemy was strong, she could engage in a fierce battle where lives hung in the balance. Such an encounter might offer another opportunity to elevate her martial abilities.
Swish.
Then the gaunt girl from within the temple hall turned and walked forward.
As the girl emerged from the darkness of the temple, her appearance was remarkably distinctive.
Her skin was extremely pale, and her eyes held a gray hue.
Moreover, her hair, catching the sunlight, was not purely black but threaded with a subtle blue shimmer.
‘She was not from Zhong Yuan.’
It became clear that this gaunt girl was of foreign descent.
“Do not intervene.”
As Bu Eunseol opened her mouth,
“It’s my business.”
The girl cut her words short and walked past Bu Eunseol toward the assassins.
Then one of the assassins, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward and spoke.
“So Yo. How far do you think you can run?”
“….”
“If you surrender it now, you might at least preserve your life.”
‘A little demon, then.’
Bu Eunseol, listening to their exchange, found herself nodding unconsciously.
So Yo.
The name suited the gaunt girl with those silver eyes perfectly.
“No.”
The girl called So Yo answered curtly, and murderous intent flickered in the assassin’s eyes.
“Then, there’s no need for further words.”
Click.
All the assassins drew black short bows.
Their form and size were identical to the silver short bow the gaunt girl possessed.
In other words, the girl was undoubtedly from the same Sal Mun as they were.
Whoosh!
About fifty assassins unleashed arrows—half toward the girl, half diagonally skyward away from her.
Snap!
The dozens of arrows that poured down split into hundreds, transforming into sharp short needles that rained down directly from the sky.
‘Hundred Shatter Arrow. So they were from Baek Ryeol Sal Moon.’
Watching a single arrow transform into a hundred short needles, Bu Eunseol recognized these assassins as the legendary Sal Mun from the Western Regions—
the assassins of Baek Ryeol Sal Moon.
‘I wonder why they’ve come all the way to Zhong Yuan.’
Baek Ryeol Sal Moon was an exceptional assassination sect comparable to Geuk Sal Mil Gak, the great sect of Assassination Arts, one of the Ten Demonic Gates.
Moreover, they specialized in superior short bow techniques, and their movement techniques were exceptionally refined.
Each member possessed elite-level assassin capabilities, and Baek Ryeol Sal Moon operated only in the Western Regions.
Why had these unique assassins come all the way to Zhong Yuan?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————