The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 467

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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 467.
Gong Son Dan Ah’s beauty was such that even when placed on a scale against Yeon So Ha, who was called the Priceless Treasure of Heaven, it would not tip even slightly.
Moreover, she was known to be a prodigy possessing medical skills rivaling those physicians called Divine Doctors in the Murim.
“So you are the prodigy of Shenshui Palace known as Hae Eo Hwa.”
Bu Eunseol finally nodded her head.
She had mistaken one of the most beautiful women in Tianxia for an eccentric who enjoyed disguising herself as a beggar.
It was no wonder she had wept with indignation and had a fit.
“But why do you wander about in beggar’s rags?”
“Well….”
Gong Son Dan Ah was regretting having revealed her face so impulsively.
Men were all like that, after all.
Upon seeing a beautiful and lovely face, they either lost their senses or could not help but harbor lustful thoughts.
“…!”
Yet that regret transformed into surprise.
Those eyes behind the mask.
They had not changed at all from when she was disguised as a cantankerous old woman, despite seeing her true appearance.
“I see. There is no need to explain.”
At those words, Gong Son Dan Ah’s eyes darkened once more.
What in the world was going on in that masked man’s head?
If she did not answer,
he seemed to conjure strange imaginings of his own, his eyes filled with compassion.
“Since childhood, I was recognized as having talent in both scholarship and martial arts. Because of that, despite not being born as the Successor Heir….”
Gong Son Dan Ah began explaining her circumstances as if she had no choice.
“The Shenshui Palace Master herself came to find me and wished for me to become her disciple. She said it was because I possessed the aptitude to perfect Shenshui Palace’s martial arts.”
“….”
“After that, I became the Palace Master’s final disciple and diligently cultivated my martial arts. Since then, I have continuously achieved merit and finally rose to become a candidate for Palace Lord.”
As if her words had broken free, she continued her story rapidly.
“And the Palace Lord’s trust in me grew deeper and deeper, so much so that he even created a direct unit of elite fighters who would obey only my commands.”
She lowered her head with a sorrowful expression.
“But do you know what everyone says about me behind my back?”
Gong Son Dan Ah continued speaking incessantly before Bu Eunseol could even answer.
“In the palace, they whisper that I used my appearance to bewitch the Palace Lord and the leadership to reach this position. And men everywhere look at me with lecherous eyes or constantly pester me with their advances.”
As she poured out circumstances she had never spoken of to anyone before, her emotions became uncontrollable.
“Without my disguise, I cannot even rest comfortably or eat a meal in peace. But do you know what’s funny?”
As she waited for an answer with wide eyes, Bu Eunseol was forced to open her mouth.
“…I do not know.”
“My older sister is also beautiful and intelligent. That is why she rose to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Murim Alliance. But she faces none of these rumors!”
Gong Son Dan Ah cried out with an aggrieved expression.
“Yet I am constantly subjected to such prejudice and jealousy simply because I am counted among the Three Most Beautiful Women or the Three Most Infamous Women of Tianxia!”
“Miss Gong Son.”
“Do you understand what I’ve been through? Don’t speak of such things without knowing! Everything I’ve accomplished to reach this point has been through my own strength alone!”
Bu Eunseol’s expression turned blank.
Those with unattractive appearances face discrimination.
But she had never heard of anyone suffering hardship because of beautiful looks.
“My apologies.”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to apologize.
She had spoken of disguising herself as a hobby without understanding the other woman’s pain.
“Typically, beautiful women receive corresponding respect, yet you have instead borne terrible wounds because of that very beauty.”
As Bu Eunseol offered warm consolation, Gong Son Dan Ah spoke through sniffles.
“I despise this old woman’s disguise. I wish to adorn myself beautifully like other women.”
“Then why not do so?”
“The moment I appear in my true form, people whisper that it’s because of my looks, that I’ve benefited from my appearance. Even a simple conversation with a man in my natural form invites scandal.”
Gong Son Dan Ah spoke with a trembling voice, her head buried in her crouched form.
“But when I dress like a beggar and wander about, at least people don’t scrutinize my appearance. What other choice do I have?”
“I see.”
A single misspoken word had brought down a thunderbolt upon her.
Bu Eunseol quickly changed the subject once the woman seemed to have finished her lament.
“Then this journey through Gangho was not undertaken by order of the Shen Shui Gong Master?”
“I’ve always traveled Gangho in this form. Hearing that Shil Hon In were swarming Gugok Mountain, I came here to establish merit.”
Bu Eunseol, understanding the situation, nodded.
It seemed the Shen Shui Palace was currently selecting their next Palace Lord, with each member undertaking journeys to establish merit.
“When I wander about in this state, everyone—old and young alike—furrows their brow and refuses to even look at me.”
Gong Son Dan Ah recalled Bu Eunseol’s composed demeanor and wore a pure smile.
“But you treated me with great courtesy and consistently called me Elder.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. From that moment, I knew you were a person of integrity.”
Once Gong Son Dan Ah spoke what lay in her heart, she laughed openly as if a weight had lifted.
“Now it’s your turn.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve introduced myself, so isn’t it your turn now?”
Gong Son Dan Ah seemed to possess a remarkably bold and cheerful temperament, quite contrary to her appearance.
“Come now, remove your mask and tell me your name. Your martial prowess suggests you’re no unknown wanderer. Which sect do you belong to?”
Throughout my life, I had never once had a good outcome from revealing my appearance before women.
Bu Eunseol hesitated briefly, then averted her gaze as she spoke.
“A wanderer of Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, they call me Seol So. Just a drifting wanderer.”
The Shen Shui Palace had always maintained the lineage of the Orthodox Sects.
Revealing my identity as the Muk Hon Ryeong Ju would bring no benefit.
Since I would have no further dealings after leaving Gugok Mountain, I spoke the lie without hesitation.
“A wanderer? With such skill?”
“Among wanderers, many have no desire to make a name for themselves. I am of that sort.”
“I see. But why do you continue wearing that mask?”
“If a wanderer’s face becomes too well-known, it can limit my assignments. That’s why I keep my face hidden whenever I move through Gangho.”
“Hmm. How fortunate that you’re a wanderer.”
Gong Son Dan Ah laughed playfully and gestured toward her leg.
“I’m injured right now and need an escort. How much would that cost?”
* * *
Bu Eunseol treated Gong Son Dan Ah’s injuries lightly before moving forward again.
Surprisingly, her inner energy was quite solid.
With just a small boost to her qi circulation, the internal injuries healed instantly.
However, her sprained ankle couldn’t be treated, leaving her with no choice but to limp.
Bu Eunseol proceeded slowly through the cave with Gong Son Dan Ah positioned behind him.
She immediately understood why he walked so cautiously with his sword drawn.
Should any sudden traps or enemies emerge, he would deal with them instantly to protect her from behind.
Gong Son Dan Ah nodded, feeling his consideration.
‘This man. His tone is so rigid, yet his heart is warm.’
Though she walked through the dangerous underground cavern where Shil Hon In was being created, her mind felt at ease.
It wasn’t just because his martial prowess was formidable, but because she had never met a man so unmoved by her appearance.
‘So peaceful.’
Every man she had encountered before displayed only two expressions.
Either their eyes went vacant, or they turned sinister.
But this taciturn wanderer maintained the serene gaze of a high monk in meditation.
And Gong Son Dan Ah found such a gaze profoundly comforting and reassuring.
‘If only all men in the world were like him.’
As she followed him lost in idle thoughts, they passed a branching passage and a massive gate came into view.
“Mm.”
Bu Eunseol let out a low hum as he gazed at the gate.
Clearly, they had to pass through this gate to reach the exit.
The problem was that this cave itself existed to block intruders.
In other words, dangerous traps were certainly installed on the other side.
‘Why did I even mention the wanderer identity?’
If he unleashed his full power, he could respond to any danger.
But because he had claimed the wanderer identity, Bu Eunseol might unfortunately have to seal his power.
“It’s fine.”
At that moment, Gong Son Dan Ah flashed her white teeth and winked with one eye.
“My leg is the only problem. I can still lend a hand with one arm.”
Gong Son Dan Ah was a cheerful woman with keen perception.
She had discerned what worried him and spoke as if to reassure him.
“Very well.”
Clang.
Bu Eunseol immediately opened the iron gate.
The ceiling opened wide, revealing a space with walls of smooth, polished metal.
No exit was visible on the opposite side, and the metallic walls appeared impossibly solid.
“What is this place?”
Gong Son Dan Ah gazed up at the gaping, distant ceiling.
The height appeared to be well over a hundred feet.
It felt as though she stood at the bottom of a volcanic crater, the ceiling yawning open above like the mouth of a mountain.
“Surely they don’t expect us to climb up there?”
She ran her fingers across the smooth metal surface, then shook her head.
“The wall is too slick. Even using the Wall Gecko Technique wouldn’t allow us to ascend. And the space between the walls is too wide to use a running start.”
A low rumble echoed through the chamber.
Then, without warning, something entirely unexpected occurred.
A dark, massive object slowly emerged from the distant ceiling above.
It was an enormous boulder capable of completely crushing the entire space—a span of over a hundred feet.
“This cannot be happening.”
Gong Son Dan Ah’s mouth fell open as she watched.
“They’re dropping it down on us.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at the descending ceiling.
The boulder’s weight alone had to exceed tens of thousands of pounds.
If such a massive stone—filling a chamber over a hundred feet tall and spanning more than a dozen feet—were to fall from such a height…
No human strength could possibly stop it.
“Are we going to die here?”
Gong Son Dan Ah’s voice trembled as she watched the enormous boulder slowly blot out the ceiling.
“No matter how skilled one’s martial arts, there’s no way to stop a boulder falling from such a height—one that perfectly matches the width of the floor below.”
Her body shook with fear.
This place harbored a death trap designed to eliminate any intruder without fail.
“I shouldn’t have come to Gugok Mountain.”
Gong Son Dan Ah spoke through trembling lips.
“If I’d known it would come to this, I should have lived more ordinarily. Dressed beautifully… met more people.”
Facing death, she found herself regretting the life she had lived.
She reflected on her foolish choices, her body quaking with terror.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
And finally, she sought the warmth of another presence, desperate for comfort.
Grasping for any measure of solace.
“Say something. Anything.”
But Bu Eunseol was different.
As death approached, I found myself transformed.
The entire world fell silent… my spirit and body merging into one.
My consciousness ascended to an unprecedented height, entering a state of profound meditation.
‘Only strength.’
I gazed at the mass of metal suspended above my head, lost in deep contemplation.
That metal was like the very embodiment of absolute ‘death’ given form.
Martial prowess alone was utterly useless against it.
Only destructive force could prevail.
Only a transcendent power that surpassed the limits of human capability.
Something that could transcend all the forces contained within this world was necessary.
‘How could such a thing be possible?’
In that moment, a faint word surfaced in my mind.
‘Manifestation.’
Warriors who reached the Wuji Realm each wielded their own ‘Manifestation.’
And the term ‘Manifestation’ was one I had coined myself.
Because they wielded abilities that humans could never achieve through ordinary strength.
Or they created things that could not exist in this world.
And looking back, all of them were forces that did not exist in this world.
―If you’ve gathered things like a beggar picking scraps, shouldn’t you mix them together skillfully and consume them!
Suddenly, Ak Moo Ryung’s voice echoed in my ears.
My body, which contained all the power of the Four Righteous and Demonic Forces in a single vessel, was slowly collapsing.
If Ak Moo Ryung had not used his inner energy to heal my body while testing me at that time?
I would not have survived until now.
―If you cannot erase all the unnecessary things in your body and return completely to the Demonic Path… someday the same thing will happen again, and then no force will be able to stop it.
That was what Ak Moo Ryung had said.
But I chose a new path instead of entering the Demonic Path.
I forcibly unified the mutually repelling forces of the Four Righteous and Demonic Forces, then used Ak Moo Ryung’s tremendous power pouring down to bind them into one.
Harmony.
And when I unleashed this Harmony, even Ak Moo Ryung could not dare oppose it, forced instead to redirect his course through the power of illusory transformation.
Thud!
Then, with a dull sound, the metal mass fell from the sky.
“Ah!”
As death’s moment arrived, Gong Son Dan Ah curled her body and let out a brief scream.
But I stood tall, watching the falling metal.
Time froze.
My spirit became infinitely serene… reaching the world of Wuha where nothing existed.
‘Since I cannot resist with the power within my body… I will unleash Harmony once more by utilizing the pressure crashing down from outside!’
Whoosh.
The powerful forces of the Four Righteous and Demonic Forces flowed simultaneously from my body, wrapping around me like a whirlwind.
Boom!
In that instant, a massive boulder fell toward my head.
That boulder was like a Manifestation unleashed by a master of the Wuji Realm.
It could not be blocked by any force or martial technique.
And as the boulder drew near, golden light shimmered across my body.
The overwhelming pressure had triggered the Prajna Omnipotence automatically.
‘Now!’
I immediately aligned the four forces in perfect ‘harmony’ and unleashed them in a single breath. But in that moment, an odd thought flashed through my mind.
‘What if I erased everything? If even phenomena themselves vanished, wouldn’t that be better….’
And with all my strength, I extended my hand.
Boom!
At that instant, a thunderous pressure and impact crashed through me.
The entire world spun wildly, and my meridians felt as though they were being torn to shreds.
Gush.
I felt a surge of blood rising from my lower abdomen and pouring from my mouth.
And then, I slowly lost consciousness.
Patter, patter, patter.
Was it raining?
I felt cold droplets falling against my cheeks and forehead.
I opened my eyes weakly.
Then I saw the beautiful face of a woman with hair as lustrous as silk cascading loosely around her shoulders.
It was Gong Son Dan Ah.
“Are you… alright?”
Her face was streaked with tears, and her body trembled gently.
As I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying on her lap with blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.
“How did this happen.”
I slowly tried to sit up.
Thud.
But as pain shot through my entire body as though it were crumbling, I could only collapse back onto her lap.
“I, I apologize.”
I panicked greatly and struggled to move.
“This was… absolutely not intentional.”
“It’s alright. Rest a bit longer.”
Gong Son Dan Ah wiped her tears and smiled as I regained consciousness.
“The energy of the Divine Vessel hasn’t been completely absorbed into your body yet.”
“What are you talking about? Divine Vessel?”
As I furrowed my brow, Gong Son Dan Ah spoke.
“You collapsed bleeding from your ears and nose. When I took your pulse, I found four kinds of energy contained within your body all at once.”
Most of the human body is composed of water.
The disciples of Shenshui Palace deeply study the properties of that water and train in martial arts that transform its nature…
Thus they can discern the condition of another’s body more thoroughly than any physician.
Moreover, Gong Son Dan Ah was a talented prodigy with medical skills that rivaled those called Divine Physicians.
She had immediately grasped the state of my body.
“Ever since you erased that, the four energies have been colliding and destroying your body.”
“That, you say.”
Gong Son Dan Ah pointed toward the ceiling.
“That rock.”
I gazed faintly upward at the ceiling.
The boulder that had been falling with such terrifying force—it had vanished without a trace.
“If I hadn’t infused the Shenshui Palace’s vital energy into you, your body would have been torn to shreds by now.”
“What in the world happened?”
I forced myself to rise once more, drawing upon what little strength remained.
“Did I… eliminate that rock?”
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t see clearly either.”
As I blinked, Gong Son Dan Ah lowered her hands and shook her head.
“When the boulder fell, I was so terrified that I bowed my head. But after a long time passed, nothing happened.”
She continued speaking with an expression of equal bewilderment.
“Hmm.”
“So I cautiously looked up, and there you stood, your body radiating light, while the falling rock had simply… disappeared.”
―What if I simply erased everything? Phenomena and all…
In that moment, I recalled my final thought before everything went dark.
‘Could I have actually manifested a phenomenon?’
I examined my own body carefully.
A soft, warm energy flowed through me, seeming to heal the torn meridians that felt as though they might split apart.
It appeared to be the vital energy from the Shenshui Palace’s essence that Gong Son Dan Ah had infused into me.
“Was it… permissible to infuse this energy into another person?”
My voice carried concern for Gong Son Dan Ah.
To carelessly transmit a sect master’s martial techniques or cultivation to another without permission was the gravest transgression any sect could commit.
“What else could I do? Without it, your body would have burst apart.”
And she spoke in a quieter voice.
“Since it was to save the benefactor who showed me life-saving grace, the Palace Lord would surely understand.”
“Then I am relieved.”
I nodded and examined my body once more.
There were no internal injuries, and my cultivation was intact, though my external wounds were severe.
Unable to contain the energy flowing from my body, my skin had split across my entire frame, blood seeping from countless fissures.
‘It vanished… it all vanished.’
Having grasped something profound, I nodded faintly.
Ma Cheon Je, Ak Moo Ryung, Wi Ji Moo Ah, and even Shin San Ja.
I had wished to erase the phenomena of all the Wuji Realm masters I had encountered thus far.
And it seemed that this fervent desire had unconsciously manifested in a technique I had unleashed.
‘Yet I… have not reached the Wuji Realm.’
The Wuji Realm was achieved only by reaching the apex of nothingness, enabling one to consciously manifest phenomena.
Moreover, manifesting a phenomenon should not result in the destruction of one’s physical form.
In other words, I had not reached the Wuji Realm. Instead, I had harmonized the power of the Four Mahayana Truths, manifesting a force comparable to a phenomenon.
‘Whatever the case may be.’
I found hope in this realization.
I had discovered the clue to a power that could stand against masters of the Wuji Realm without reaching it myself.
If I could wield such power freely? I would be able to match even the masters of the Wuji Realm.
‘It will surely come to pass.’
In truth, this incident revealed that Bu Eunseol would soon break free from the confines of the Extreme Heaven Realm, where body and spirit were bound, and enter a state of absolute freedom.
That is, it was a sign that she could ascend to the Wuji Realm—a glimpse of Martial Extreme Enlightenment.
Yet among all the formidable opponents she had faced, there were few opportunities to compose her spirit and unleash her power over such an extended duration.
Bu Eunseol’s realization of this truth would come much later.

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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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