The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 409

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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 409.
“Lord In Guk….”
Bu Eunseol gently grasped both of In Guk’s lifeless hands.
Though the time had been brief, during her stay at Gae Bang she had felt a faint warmth from In Guk’s kindness.
“May you rest in peace.”
Bu Eunseol carefully lifted In Guk’s body into her arms.
He had been a disciple of Gae Bang, yet he was a man of integrity who knew how to help others.
Now that he had shed his mortal form and departed this world of suffering, he deserved to rest peacefully.
“He strived to uphold the beggar’s way—surely he would find an ornate tomb burdensome.”
After carefully burying In Guk in the earth, Bu Eunseol examined the corpses of the vagrants piled in the open ground.
The bodies had been burned with purification powder scattered upon them, leaving only charred remains barely holding their shape.
Yet suddenly, among the half-burned bones and flesh, a strange luminescence flickered into view.
‘What is that?’
Whoosh!
As Bu Eunseol summoned a gust of wind, the half-burned object floated before her eyes.
The spherical object gleamed with a soft radiance, and within it an orange light sparkled as if containing flames.
It resembled a tiny pearl with a burning candle carved inside.
‘An artificial core?’
A flash of brilliance erupted in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The sphere from the vagrants’ bodies—wasn’t it the artificial core that Sam Gye had been producing all this time?
“No, this is something entirely different.”
The cores discovered until now had been spheres with a blood-red lustrous sheen.
But the artificial core from the vagrant’s corpse was tinted with an orange hue as if it contained flames.
“So this was the objective.”
An inexplicable heat radiated from the core.
“They were refining the core.”
I knew not what method they employed, but the artificial core now discovered differed from before.
Like the core of a ten-thousand-year fire carp, it possessed the nature of extreme yang.
“Was stealing the purification powder for creating this?”
The culprit appeared to have used purification powder and some method to burn human bodies and manufacture cores containing extreme yang energy.
“There must be something more.”
Simply burning a vagrant infused with demonic energy would not produce a fire-attributed core.
Which meant there was certainly some secret method involved.
“Someone other than Sam Gye.”
Sam Gye had always prioritized secrecy above all else.
If they had desired to conduct experiments, there would be no need to raid the Murim Alliance’s warehouse, nor would they commit such a blunder as to draw public attention.
“Whatever their purpose….”
Originally, I had intended to complete the investigation of the purification powder and return to the Murim Alliance.
But now my thoughts had changed.
“I will catch them.”
Blood-red light blazed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
If I stopped here, another vagrant might be slaughtered in that very moment.
That was not the outcome In Guk desired—he who had risked his life to protect the vagrant.
I was determined to catch the murderer who killed the vagrant, no matter what.
Jeong Ma’s intelligence organization operated on similar principles, yet with subtly different methods.
The Demonic Path’s intelligence network collected all unprocessed information first.
Then, within the organization itself, they refined rumors with weak foundations and uncertain intelligence to extract what was truly needed.
The Orthodox Sects’ intelligence organizations, however, typically had their sources refine information immediately upon acquisition and report it upward.
In terms of accuracy, the Orthodox Sects’ intelligence network was superior. But in breadth and speed, the Demonic Path held the advantage.
I currently possessed not only the Demonic Path’s intelligence organization, but also the Elite Division—an intelligence network belonging to the Murim Alliance.
Though the Elite Division dealt with lower-grade intelligence, by consolidating and analyzing information flowing from both the Demonic Path and Orthodox Sects, I could proceed.
I could find the information I desired faster than any other intelligence organization.
“Gwang Yang Ja… is it.”
My eyes narrowed as I gazed down at the intelligence report transmitted by Sa Hon Dae.
The culprit who had stolen the Fire Wheel Crystal and burned the vagrant to death.
He was none other than Gwang Yang Ja, an elder of Yeol Ha Sung Gung.
“Why would an elder of Yeol Ha Sung Gung commit such acts.”
Yeol Ha Sung Gung.
A sect of the Demonic Path located in Nam Man, known also as the Sun Palace for employing powerful extreme yang martial techniques.
And this elder of Yeol Ha Sung Gung, Gwang Yang Ja, was the perpetrator of both the Fire Wheel Crystal theft and the vagrant murders.
“Then the Fire Wheel Crystal was indeed a secret method for creating a fire-attribute inner core.”
The Fire Wheel Crystal.
A treasure of Yeol Ha Sung Gung, a pearl said to contain the most pure and supreme fire energy in the world.
According to Sa Hon Dae’s intelligence, Gwang Yang Ja had stolen the Fire Wheel Crystal and fled, pursued by masters of Yeol Ha Sung Gung.
If so, the creation of a fire-attribute inner core imbued with extreme yang power must be intimately connected to the theft of the Fire Wheel Crystal.
“That’s why it couldn’t be found in either the Demonic Path or Orthodox Sects.”
An elder from a sect in the distant Sae Oe had secretly come to Zhong Yuan and wreaked havoc—no intelligence organization could have detected him.
Now I understood everything: who the culprit was and what he desired.
“So this is the final chapter.”
I would complete the Murim Alliance’s mission while also consoling the wronged spirits of the dead vagrants.
“I’ve been caught by an unexpected person.”
Having left Wirakmun, Gwang Yang Ja deployed his full speed in lightness martial arts.
The moment he saw Bu Eunseol throw the flying blade, he immediately grasped that all his actions had been exposed and the Murim Alliance had sent pursuers.
Yet he had absolute confidence he would not be captured.
An elder of a sect would inevitably become intimately familiar with how any alliance operated.
‘They won’t deploy massive forces for this.’
No matter how much the Murim Alliance preached righteousness.
They would not mobilize substantial troops merely over a stolen Fire Wheel Crystal or the unjust deaths of vagrants.
Face, justification, and prestige.
The Orthodox Sects valued these three things above all else.
Raiding the Murim Alliance branch warehouse, slaughtering vagrants in massive numbers…
He would absolutely not mobilize enormous military forces.
If he did, the shameful fact that the branch’s Weapon Storage had been plundered would become widely known, and he would face criticism for managing the branch negligently.
“A situation like this calls for a prolonged campaign.”
Gwang Yang Ja wasted no time erasing his tracks before heading straight for Uiyong Mountain.
Uiyong Mountain was where the Demon Palace branch and the Murim Alliance branch faced each other.
In other words, it was a place where the Murim Alliance’s massive forces could absolutely never enter, and even the pursuers from Yeol Ha Sung Palace could not rashly approach…
He intended to hide in the borderland where the Orthodox and Demonic forces clashed fiercely and endure for an extended period.
“Truly worthy of an old ginger—his schemes run deep.”
Upon receiving word that Gwang Yang Ja had hidden himself on Uiyong Mountain, Bu Eunseol nodded in acknowledgment.
Masters of the Murim were different from ordinary people.
They possessed agility incomparable to wild beasts, and their physical stamina and mental fortitude far exceeded that of common folk.
When such a master concealed himself in the mountains, one would need to deploy vast forces and conduct exhaustive searches.
Yet deploying large contingents to conduct searches in a mountain situated on the borderline where the Orthodox and Demonic forces interlocked was nearly impossible.
Gwang Yang Ja had chosen the optimal location to evade the Murim Alliance’s relentless pursuit.
“The calculation is that the Murim Alliance won’t take actions that would bring them into conflict with the Demon Palace just to catch the thief who stole the Hwa Jeong Stone.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“And since the forces of Yeol Ha Sung Palace cannot approach rashly either, it truly achieves two objectives with one stone.”
A smile playing at her lips, she curved the corners of her mouth upward.
“But he’s been far too clever. Far too clever indeed.”
Swish, swish.
Bu Eunseol withdrew her brush and ink, composed a letter written in the secret script of the Demon Palace, and discreetly handed it to a Sa Hon Dae member for immediate delivery to Yu Woon Ryong.
“Now it’s finished.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been gazing at the distant sky, immediately unleashed her lightness technique.
Her destination was the Taewon Branch of the Demon Palace located on Uiyong Mountain.
* * *
The Taewon Branch immediately went on high alert.
―Emergency training begins today!
The Sanghak Daeju of the Demon Palace, who had been secretly traveling through Gangho inspecting branches in various locations, had made an unexpected visit.
Upon witnessing the lethargic warriors of the Taewon Branch, he unleashed a thunderous rebuke.
―This Taewon Branch is situated in close proximity to the Murim Alliance branch, yet you’ve grown complacent in peaceful circumstances and abandoned all vigilance!
The branch commander’s complexion turned ashen.
The Sanghak Daeju of Sayoung Hall was the closest confidant of Muk Hon Ryeong Ju, the fearsome successor of the Demon Palace. A single word from him meant the commander’s head would roll in no time.
―I, I shall correct this immediately!
As the branch commander trembled prostrate, the Sanghak Daeju issued a stern command.
―Assemble near Uiyong Mountain and conduct training to display our hall’s might. Make it known that this region is controlled by our hall. If you fail to demonstrate proper grandeur, I shall take your head!
The branch commander grasped his trembling chest and gathered his weapons.
He then armed all the warriors of the Taewon Branch and mobilized them toward Uiyong Mountain.
It appeared as though they would pacify the entire Taewon region at any moment.
―Those bastards?
The Taewon Branch of the Murim Alliance, observing this spectacle, lit the double-wick candles of vigilance.
―Even if one’s liver swells, there are limits to audacity. How dare the Demon Hall’s branch conduct training right before our eyes on Uiyong Mountain?
The two branches facing Uiyong Mountain had tacitly maintained this area as a buffer zone, with neither force crossing over.
Yet now the Demon Hall’s branch had advanced all the way to the foot of Uiyong Mountain under the pretext of emergency training, and the Murim Alliance could not simply stand idle.
―Let us demonstrate the might of our Alliance!
In the end, the entire force of the Taewon Branch mobilized. They surrounded the opposite side of Uiyong Mountain where the Demon Hall had entered.
It was a resolute declaration: should even a single step cross this line, war would commence immediately.
―Cross this line and war begins at once!
As the forces of the Murim Alliance and Demon Hall branch faced off, Uiyong Mountain became enveloped in a murderous aura and an impenetrable encirclement.
Gwang Yang Ja, concealed within Uiyong Mountain, felt his courage beginning to waver.
‘What in the world is happening?’
As both the Demon Hall and Murim Alliance tightened their grip around Uiyong Mountain, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
‘They’ve mobilized the Orthodox and Demonic alliance just for burning a few vagrants?’
Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Gwang Yang Ja was seized by panic.
The reason he had deliberately fed the vagrants Mataei to create inner cores was singular.
He had known all too well that even if they perished en masse, the sects of the Orthodox and Demonic alliance would pay little heed to mere vagrants.
Yet his calculations had been utterly wrong.
Not only the Murim Alliance but the Demon Hall itself had come forth to encircle Uiyong Mountain.
‘Even if someone had committed treason, the combined forces of the Orthodox and Demonic alliance would not mobilize to this extent.’
As the standoff dragged on endlessly, Gwang Yang Ja was forced to make a decision.
If the masters of the Orthodox and Demonic alliance maintained this encirclement and began their search, he would be trapped like a rat with nowhere to flee—captured instantly.
And in the worst case, the masters of Yeol Ha Sung Gung might seize this opportunity to arrive.
‘Above all else, I must never be captured by anyone from that palace.’
He gripped the Wheel of Fire Crystal tightly in his hand.
With this and Mataei, he could create as many inner cores infused with extreme yang energy as he desired.
And if he could create just a few more inner cores, he could finally achieve the Yeolha Ilcheon Geombidan that had haunted his dreams.
He could not possibly stop here.
“There is still a way.”
Fortunately, the two forces had merely encircled Uiyong Mountain from front and back; they had not yet begun their full assault.
In other words, before they initiated their search, if he could move toward the flanks where the encirclement was loose, escape was entirely possible.
Just as Gwang Yang Ja finally resolved to move,
A sharp flash.
A keen light pierced through his mind. Suddenly, a single realization struck him.
“It’s a trap.”
If they had woven such an impenetrable encirclement,
There would be no need to waste time—they could simply ascend the mountain and begin their search immediately.
But the fact that they maintained their encirclement without advancing meant
They anticipated he would abandon his concealment and attempt to breach the weakest point, intending to lure him precisely there.
‘Hehehehe. A young, hot-blooded man would have fallen into this trap without hesitation.’
Gwang Yang Ja wore a cold smile.
‘He set a trap exploiting the anxiety of the hunted. There must be someone with considerable strategic brilliance behind this. But it’s futile.’
He had endured countless crises and trials across seven decades to reach this point.
At this age, one does not act rashly or make careless judgments that would ruin everything.
‘Even if they search, I can always escape somehow.’
Then there was only one task at hand.
He needed to find a place where he could survive on Uiyong Mountain for an extended period.
‘This place will do nicely.’
After wandering through various parts of Uiyong Mountain for some time, Gwang Yang Ja discovered an extraordinary location.
It was a naturally formed cave near a cliff, with a majestic river flowing beneath it.
“From here, I can endure for quite a long time… and even in the worst scenario, I can simply leap into that river below.”
Just as Gwang Yang Ja, having discovered the cave, was about to exhale in relief and smile,
“So you came here after all.”
A man in white slowly emerged from within the cave.
His frame was extremely slender and his features so gentle that he seemed like a scholar who couldn’t even properly catch a single insect.
It was Bu Eunseol, disguised as Seon Woo Jin.
“You.”
Gwang Yang Ja immediately recognized him as the person who had thrown the flying blade when fighting a beggar at Wirakmun, and his eyes widened.
“Did you weave this encirclement to lure me to this place?”
“How else could I find someone hiding like a mouse in this vast Uiyong Mountain?”
Only then did Gwang Yang Ja fully comprehend the situation.
The dense encirclement formed by deploying Jeong Ma Yang’s forces below—he realized it was all a stratagem to lure him to this cave.
In this expansive Uiyong Mountain, this was the only place where one could hide for an extended period and, in the worst case, escape.
‘But this man is alone.’
Confirming the absence of any allies nearby, Gwang Yang Ja extended both palms.
“Disappear!”
There was no need for conversation.
He had to quickly overcome this man and flee elsewhere. Any delay would leave him trapped with no way forward or back.
Whoosh!
Along with a pale mist, scorching heat poured forth around Bu Eunseol’s body.
‘This is the Extreme Yang Technique of Yeol Ha Sung Palace.’
The martial arts of Yeol Ha’s masters contained formidable extreme yang force and heat with each move.
The overwhelming heat confused the senses, making it impossible to discern from which direction the palm strikes were coming.
“Interesting.”
Bu Eunseol immediately extended her left hand to collide with Gwang Yang Ja’s palm force.
Boom!
With the explosion, Gwang Yang Ja was pushed back three full steps.
Yet Bu Eunseol stood firm as a celestial being.
“You’ve accumulated considerable inner force for one so young.”
Gwang Yang Ja was astonished by Bu Eunseol’s level of cultivation, yet a sinister smile played across his lips.
“But you made a mistake. My Yeol Ha Mu Heun Palm melts the meridians regardless of inner force level…”
Yet he could not continue speaking.
A man whose meridians should have melted and whose body should have been drained of all moisture stood before him completely unharmed.
Moreover, a sharp, needle-like pain now radiated from his right palm—the very hand where extreme yang energy should have been circulating.
‘What is this?’
As Gwang Yang Ja stared down at his palm, he suddenly realized that the mucus in his nostrils had frozen solid.
Looking down at his feet, he saw the grass beneath him had turned white and rigid as if covered in frost.
“She was from Buk Hae Bing Gung!”
Only then did Gwang Yang Ja comprehend that Bu Eunseol had not only neutralized the formidable Yeol Ha Mu Heun Palm’s power with her overwhelming ice technique,
but that the torrential extreme yin energy released when their palms collided had frozen both his body and the surrounding area.
“I’ll melt this ice technique in a single breath!”
Enraged, Gwang Yang Ja rapidly drew upon his power.
‘Truly exceptional extreme yang mastery.’
Bu Eunseol narrowed her eyes slightly.
With merely a surge of power, the air around them grew scorching hot, and with each breath she drew, searing heat threatened to incinerate her lungs.
“Die!”
As Gwang Yang Ja unleashed another palm strike, brilliant light as radiant as the sun erupted from his palms.
He had released an overwhelming extreme yang force capable of turning the entire world into a ball of flame.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol calmly extended her left hand, and white-blue light shimmered forth as a bone-chilling cold swept outward.
Crack!
As the Bing Ha Cheon Ryu Gyeol collided with the Yeol Ha Mu Heun Palm, white steam instantly erupted in all directions.
Gwang Yang Ja was a master who had refined the Yeol Ha Mu Heun Palm for countless years.
The subtlety of his palm force and the freedom of his technique surpassed Bu Eunseol’s Bing Ha Cheon Ryu Gyeol.
“Ugh.”
Yet the outcome was still Gwang Yang Ja’s defeat.
His entire body covered in a thin layer of ice, he stumbled backward five steps with a pained groan.
Bu Eunseol had only recently mastered ice techniques, but her power accumulated over four hundred years.
The disparity in cultivation was so vast that the subtlety of the Yeol Ha Mu Heun Palm could not manifest and was suppressed entirely.
“Excellent!”
Gwang Yang Ja let out a cry like a scream, then pulled an orange-hued inner elixir from his robes and tossed it into his mouth.
It was the extreme yang inner elixir he had created by burning vagrants using the Hwa Ryun Gyeol Jeong and demonic techniques.
Whoosh!
As he swallowed the elixir, tremendous heat erupted from his entire body,
and with a sharp sound,
he extended both palms, and a brilliant point of light as radiant as the sun began to form with immense pressure.
Crackle crackle crackle.
The flame that formed in his palm became a unique state—neither gas nor solid—and surged outward.
Rumble.
At last, it became a sphere as hot as the sun, undulating and shifting into the form of a sword.
The Yeol Ha Jeon Ri Geom, one of the supreme ultimate techniques of Yeol Ha Sung Palace, had been created.

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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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