The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 469

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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 469.
The Black-Robed Man’s clothes were drenched in blood, and his head hung lifelessly.
He appeared to be suffering from grave wounds and dying.
The moment Bu Eunseol grasped the situation at a glance and moved toward the Black-Robed Man,
“…!”
His expression, which rarely changed, suddenly hardened.
The Black-Robed Man, bound in chains, was dying.
Was he not Jeong Cheon, the deputy leader of Jeok Cheon Mak Ji Heng Gong Bu, whose strength had been evenly matched in a single decisive contest in the past?
“Do you know him?”
Bu Eunseol nodded at Gong Son Dan Ah’s question.
“I do.”
Clang.
Bu Eunseol severed the chains in one swift stroke with the Bing Hun Sword and drew closer to Jeong Cheon.
“Jeong, are you all right?”
The Black-Robed Man, Jeong Cheon, slowly lifted his head.
Upon seeing this, Bu Eunseol’s composure shattered in an instant.
‘This cannot be.’
Jeong Cheon’s eyes were darkened to black, and his canine teeth had grown unnaturally long like a beast’s.
Moreover, the blood covering his entire body emitted a grotesque, foul stench.
It was unmistakably clear that he had consumed Ren Hua-crafted vital points or artificial inner cores for an extended period.
“What in the world has happened?”
[Hrrgh.]
From Jeong Cheon’s mouth came a sound that was neither human nor beast.
Killing intent and fighting spirit.
All that remained in his eyes was the will to fight.
Clank.
Jeong Cheon, struggling to his feet, reached out and grasped the great sword that had fallen to the ground.
“So it was you, Jeong.”
The man who had defeated Tan Wang Buk Gung-ryeong.
That man was Jeong Cheon.
Jeong Cheon, as if hearing nothing, fastened the great sword to his waist.
―The research has shown some progress, I hear. By detoxifying a portion of Ren Hua’s potency, those Shil Hon In who have not been corrupted for long can be restored to their original state….
Yuk Cheong Ah’s words suddenly came to mind.
If I brought Jeong Cheon to the Jongli Clan immediately, could I not restore him?
‘No, it is impossible.’
Bu Eunseol shook his head with a sorrowful expression.
Jeong Cheon’s ribs, as he struggled to rise, were nearly exposed to the bone, with his organs visible.
His body was now closer to a walking corpse.
Even if the Ren Hua could be detoxified, there was no way to treat wounds of such severity.
Whoosh.
At that moment, Jeong Cheon gazed upon Bu Eunseol and began to draw his great blade.
It seemed the instincts of a warrior still lingered within him.
The moment he beheld the radiance of the Bing Hun Sword that Bu Eunseol wielded, he drew his blade to fight.
“Ryeong Ju.”
“Step back.”
Bu Eunseol drew the Bing Hun Sword and stood before Jeong Cheon.
It was clear he had devoted his life to perfecting his swordsmanship. Jeong Cheon’s entire body bore the marks of grueling cultivation.
And even as he lay dying, the moment he saw a blade, his body rose once more to fight.
How could I possibly stop him?
All I could offer was to grant him one final battle.
“Senior Jeong Cheon. Come.”
Bu Eunseol clenched his teeth and spoke, swallowing his anguish.
“I shall display the finest swordsmanship I possess.”
[Grraaah.]
Jeong Cheon grasped the chain with a groan.
As if infused with martial power, a sharp aura flowed from the tip of his great blade.
[Kaaht!]
With a thunderous cry, he thrust his great blade forward.
In that instant, hundreds of blade auras scattered around Bu Eunseol’s body.
‘This is…’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
What Jeong Cheon had unleashed was none other than the Blood Torrent Seven Forms, the fourth technique—Desire for Death Without Ground.
―Wishing to die, yet finding no place to do so…
It seemed to mirror Jeong Cheon’s very circumstances.
Unable to find a place to die, he had drifted across the Murim, eventually flowing into this Underground Fortress of unknown location.
But at last, he had found me.
Now, he sought the long, eternal rest.
Whoooosh.
The blade auras that poured toward Bu Eunseol carried tremendous power in each one, and they sealed off every possible avenue of escape.
Thwack!
Bu Eunseol immediately unleashed the Extreme Speed Shadowless technique, breaking free from the onslaught of blade auras.
But something extraordinary occurred.
The blade auras that Jeong Cheon had unleashed did not dissipate—they were pursuing Bu Eunseol.
“That’s impossible.”
Gong Son Dan Ah, watching from a distance, gasped.
With a single blade strike.
Not only had he suspended countless blade auras in mid-air, but they were pursuing the enemy?
Where in this world could such a blade technique exist?
‘This is…’
Bu Eunseol’s expression shifted to one of astonishment.
However, his shock was not due to the sword technique that Jeong Cheon had unleashed. After all, he already knew every move of the Blood Furnace Seven Forms.
Yet the Blood Furnace Seven Forms that Jeong Cheon displayed felt completely opposite to the sword principles that Bu Eunseol had mastered.
The Blood Furnace Seven Forms that Bu Eunseol had learned yearned desperately for her own death with every move.
But Jeong Cheon’s Blood Furnace Seven Forms did not seek his own death—instead, they wielded sword principles that invariably brought death upon others.
Whoooosh.
In that instant, hundreds of sword auras erupted from Bu Eunseol’s body.
Upon witnessing the moves of the Desire to Perish that Jeong Cheon had unleashed, I could now deeply comprehend the sword principles of the Sacrifice Form.
Craaaaaaash!
The sword auras that Bu Eunseol unleashed resembled Jeong Cheon’s, yet their range was far greater.
Desire to Perish.
This move, steeped in desperation where even seeking death finds no place to do so, did not trap the enemy with terrifying sword energy and seal off their escape before killing them.
‘Without distinction between enemy and self, transforming this battlefield itself into a place of death.’
Jeong Cheon, wrapping himself in sword energy to ensure the enemy would inevitably meet death.
Bu Eunseol, pouring sword auras across a range of a dozen paces to deliver death without distinction between ally and foe.
As the two supreme moves collided, a thunderous explosion erupted, and dust billowed skyward.
Whiiiing.
As a desolate wind swept away the rising dust, the figures of the two gradually became visible.
Drip, drip, drip.
Crimson blood streamed from countless wounds across Bu Eunseol’s body.
She had not managed to block all of Jeong Cheon’s sword energy, which had poured forth from every direction.
In contrast, Jeong Cheon’s body remained unchanged from before.
Shudder.
Yet his eyes had grown dim as if all vitality had drained away, and his body trembled faintly.
Desire to Perish.
A sword technique that, when perfected, silences all living creatures within a hundred paces.
By that formidable sword energy, his life force had been extinguished.
One who desires another’s death.
One who brings death to all surroundings where he stands.
The stark contrast between these opposing sword principles had produced contradictory results.
Upright.
Jeong Cheon stood firm, his back straight.
Even as death closed in, he refused to collapse weakly.
“It has been a long time.”
At that moment, a clear light flowed from Jeong Cheon’s eyes.
The phenomenon of the last flash of light before death had granted him a brief moment of clarity.
“Brother Jeong.”
“So it was true—the wanderer Seol So is indeed the Muk Hon Ryeong Ju who shakes Tianxia.”
Remarkably, Jeong Cheon not only recognized Bu Eunseol’s face at once.
He had already known that the wanderer Seol So was Bu Eunseol’s false identity.
“To cross blades once more, I searched relentlessly for traces of you… and learned of this by chance.”
Jeong Cheon smiled faintly and asked again.
“The swordsmanship you displayed… that is the true Blood Ruin Seven Forms, is it not?”
He seemed to remember everything that had transpired up until now with perfect clarity.
“What in the world has happened?”
When Bu Eunseol asked, Jeong Cheon smiled faintly.
“I made a foolish choice. Impatient and desperate to grow stronger quickly, that was all.”
Though his lips curved in a smile, his eyes were consumed by a bitter regret.
“You became a young grandmaster whose name shakes Tianxia… yet no matter how hard I strived, I achieved nothing of consequence.”
Hearing these words, Bu Eunseol’s expression twisted with anguish.
She could sense it instantly.
That Jeong Cheon had come to this state.
It was because of their duel—because of the draw they had fought to.
Jeong Cheon’s pride, having believed himself without peer among his generation, could not accept a result of stalemate.
“Brother Jeong.”
Jeong Cheon’s eyes were dimming.
Realizing his life hung by a thread, Bu Eunseol asked carefully.
“How did you learn the Blood Ruin Seven Forms?”
What Jeong Cheon had wielded was a modified version of the Blood Ruin Seven Forms, slightly different from the original technique.
Bu Eunseol had to uncover the reason why.
“It was… the natural course of things.”
Jeong Cheon spoke in a hollow murmur, his expression desolate.
“The ruin of one whose desires exceeded his abilities.”
His gaze deepened as if recalling a distant past.
* * *
Jeong Cheon had been confident that none among his peers could match him.
But after his bout with Bu Eunseol, he suffered a profound shock and his pride was wounded.
Eventually, to become stronger, he left Jeok Cheon Mak Ji and began his training.
Yet despite years of cultivation, he achieved no remarkable progress.
In that time, Bu Eunseol had become a young grandmaster whose name resounded through the Murim.
She had defeated Geol Wang and ascended to the position of advisor to the Four Gods Seven Kings.
Jeong Cheon fell into despair.
Once, he had been confident he would become the greatest master of the Demonic Path.
But it was nothing more than the delusion of a frog in a well?
“A pity.”
Then a low voice reached his ears.
“Is there any need for one your age to undergo such destructive training?”
There was a mysterious figure who had been watching Jeong Cheon as he trained in a remote area near Cheon San.
He wore black robes and his face was covered with cloth. His voice was deep and resonant, and he appeared to be in his fifties.
“Do not concern yourself with the affairs of others.”
Jeong Cheon did not even glance at the Black-Robed Sage and continued to hone his swordsmanship relentlessly.
Upon witnessing this, the Black-Robed Sage exhaled deeply.
Memories of his past self—one who had trained relentlessly upon realizing his talents were unremarkable—surfaced in his mind.
“Free yourself from such constraints. Even from the desire to grow stronger.”
Whoosh!
With those words, the Black-Robed Sage unfurled the First Form of his sword technique toward Jeong Cheon.
In that instant, Jeong Cheon found himself standing motionless, his mind utterly vacant.
It possessed no unique form, no discernible shape. Even with eyes wide open, there was no substance, no image to perceive. It was something that could not be distinguished or comprehended by any means.
It was death itself.
‘Such a technique exists.’
Jeong Cheon rubbed his eyes.
Until now, he had believed that what he lacked was not knowledge, but effort.
But witnessing the Black-Robed Sage’s technique, he realized that what he truly lacked was not effort—it was knowledge itself.
“If one could cast it aside… then one could truly ascend.”
The Black-Robed Sage spoke in a low voice and turned his body.
“Master!”
Jeong Cheon, regaining his senses, was startled and immediately prostrated himself before the Black-Robed Sage.
“Please, I beg you to accept me as your disciple.”
Fearing the Black-Robed Sage might refuse, Jeong Cheon pressed his forehead to the ground and cried out with solemn resolve.
“If you wish to leave, then strike off my head before you go!”
The Black-Robed Sage sighed heavily.
He had merely intended to awaken this youth to the flawed nature of his training, born from a momentary impulse.
Yet he realized he had instead stirred the heart of a young man who was training with such earnest desperation.
“I am a man forever pursued, unable to nurture disciples. However…”
Swiftly.
The Black-Robed Sage drew a thin manuscript from his robes and handed it to Jeong Cheon.
It was a secret manual containing the sword techniques of the Second Form.
“After all, I had promised to pass this manual to an exceptional young talent.”
The Black-Robed Sage spoke with a profound sigh.
“If you can master the two forms of sword technique while remaining here… you will become a sword master who dominates the Murim.”
And he spoke solemnly.
“Read it and burn it. Keeping it will only invite calamity.”
“This is…”
Jeong Cheon hastily unfolded the manuscript.
“Blood Flowing Seven Forms?”
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The secret manual the Black-Robed Sage had presented was the exclusive secret art of Chil Ji Ma Do Bu Chanyang, a legendary sword master of the Demonic Path.
However, the manual was severely damaged, and only the techniques of the Second Form could be verified.
Moreover, new characters had been arbitrarily inscribed over the erased sword formulas in places.
It appeared the Black-Robed Sage had personally restored the damaged sword formulas.
“Why is the manual so severely damaged?”
“It wasn’t damage—he deliberately altered the technique’s formula.”
The Black-Robed Sage sighed.
“Otherwise, those of us with ordinary aptitude would never be able to execute it at all.”
As the Black-Robed Sage prepared to leave, Jeong Cheon asked.
“Where are you headed, sir? If you permit, I would be honored to accompany you.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I am being hunted.”
“Then allow me to assist you.”
At this, the Black-Robed Sage smiled faintly.
“That man appears and vanishes like a phantom, and his martial prowess is as impenetrable as a demon’s. Even the mightiest forces in Tianxia would be powerless to aid me.”
Jeong Cheon blinked.
Appearing and vanishing like a phantom, with martial techniques that prove utterly ineffective against him.
Wasn’t this someone who had cultivated such a technique and yet remained beyond reach?
Jeong Cheon wanted to say more, but the Black-Robed Sage unfurled his divine technique and departed.
‘Regardless, with this technique, it is possible.’
Only two forms, he had said.
The Blood Dew Seven Techniques was an absolute demonic art that could perfectly fill what had been lacking within me until now.
After that, Jeong Cheon devoted himself ceaselessly to refining the techniques of these two forms.
Yet no matter how hard he strived, he could not master the techniques perfectly.
‘Is my aptitude truly this wretched?’
The Black-Robed Sage had clearly stated that he deliberately altered the formula so that even those of ordinary talent could execute it.
And Jeong Cheon possessed such exceptional aptitude that Cho Geom Rang, one of the Mado Sipgyeol, had taken him as a disciple in his final years.
Yet he could not master merely these techniques?
‘Am I truly capable of nothing more than this?’
After a year of relentless training with no progress, Jeong Cheon fell into despair.
But then,
“So you are his disciple.”
Another figure, having discovered traces of Jeong Cheon’s training, appeared before him.
He was an elderly man of unremarkable height. Because he wore a mask, only a pair of eyes gleaming with mysterious brilliance were visible.
“I can tell by the way you’ve learned this flawed Blood Dew Seven Techniques.”
Jeong Cheon’s eyes widened.
The demonic art the Black-Robed Sage had demonstrated possessed such superior power that all the martial techniques he had learned until now felt trivial by comparison.
Yet that art was a flawed version of the Blood Dew Seven Techniques?
“Who are you?”
When Jeong Cheon asked, the Masked Elder smiled faintly.
“A pity. You’re not quite ripe for the taking yet.”
That smile and those eyes resembled a lion savoring the moment before devouring a rabbit.
In that instant, Jeong Cheon understood.
The demon who had pursued the Black-Robed Sage for a lifetime was none other than this masked elder before him.
“Come then.”
Jeong Cheon drew his blade with courage.
Even if the old man before me were Yama himself, I had no intention of sitting idle and accepting death.
“Hmm.”
The Masked Elder’s gaze fixed upon Jeong Gwang, who lingered in Jeong Cheon’s eyes, and he nodded slowly.
“So, you wished to grow stronger. Desperately, it seems.”
Remarkably, not only the Black-Robed Sage but the Masked Elder as well had instantly perceived Jeong Cheon’s desperation.
“Very well. After all, what I desire is to experience a true Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques.”
The old man nodded and extended a peculiar proposal.
“I shall help you master the Blade Path you have learned to perfection.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your aptitude is not poor, but you have chosen the wrong master. You still cling to such tedious training methods, which is why your martial arts do not progress.”
“What are you saying?”
“You do not consume proper sustenance, nor do you rest adequately. Moreover, you cannot examine your own mistakes. Training alone in the Deep Mountain Valley is meaningless.”
“What do you want?”
“I shall give you an environment where you can master the Blade Arts perfectly, elixirs, and even a master.”
Jeong Cheon could not comprehend this.
This Masked Elder was clearly an enemy of the Black-Robed Sage who had taught him the Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques.
Then why would he wish to aid someone who had learned the Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques?
“Why do you wish to help me?”
“Did I not say so?”
The Masked Elder spoke coldly.
“I wish to taste a complete Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques.”
Then, suddenly swift as lightning, he drew his blade.
Screeeech!
A terrifying blade aura erupted and poured forth before Jeong Cheon’s eyes.
It was a fearsome blade technique comparable to the Black-Robed Sage’s Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques—one that could shatter the boundary between heaven and earth.
“Do you intend to break the Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques?”
At Jeong Cheon’s question, the Masked Elder let out a cold laugh.
“Break it? That’s amusing. Had I fought Bu Chanyang, he would never have earned the title of First Blade Master of the Demonic Path.”
Starlight flashed in the Masked Elder’s eyes.
“He would have died by my hand.”
Jeong Cheon’s eyes widened.
The Masked Elder’s words were no mere boast.
Even from this single technique he had displayed, one could see it possessed power and subtlety rivaling the Black-Robed Sage’s Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques.
“Since you cannot contend with the Chilji Demonic Sect, you pursue the one who mastered that technique. To determine victor and vanquished.”
“Correct.”
“Why could you not fight him? Your ages seem similar.”
“That is none of your concern.”
The Masked Elder spoke with eyes narrowed like crescents.
“Will you become the prey that stirs my appetite?”
In short, the Masked Elder meant to perfect Jeong Cheon’s Blood Slaughter Seven Techniques, and then cut him down.
“Very well.”
Jeong Cheon took a deep breath.
The old man spoke of his exceptional mastery of the Way, but if I could master the two forms of Blood Ruin Seven Techniques, I would be more than capable of facing him.
And with eyes burning with fierce determination, I gazed upon the Masked Elder.
“I will follow you.”
From that day forward.
I began to learn the Way under the Masked Elder’s guidance, training within the Underground Fortress constructed deep in the mountains of Gugok Mountain.
The place was filled with countless spiritual elixirs capable of enhancing my physical strength and memory.
And there was also one called Sa Ja who could point out when my practice of the Way was flawed.
The place even provided spaces to recover my exhausted body and spirit, along with meditation techniques.
“Once you master the Way, return to me.”
The old man departed with a sinister smile, leaving those words behind.
“Do not disappoint me.”
But Jeong Cheon’s ears had already closed to the old man’s words.
This place was nothing short of perfect for mastering martial arts. I immediately began to refine the two forms of the Way anew.
Yet learning the true spiritual teachings of the Chilji Demonic Sect was far from easy.
To learn the Blood Ruin Seven Techniques, one had to be born without fear, and had to equate death with life itself.
If only that were all. One also had to possess extraordinary talent and an unshakeable spirit.
“Damn it!”
Crash!
As time passed, I fell into despair.
Even in such ideal conditions, I could not master even this single form of the Way?
Was I nothing more than a worm, not even worthy of being called a frog in a well?
Just as I came to realize that mastering the Blood Ruin Seven Techniques was impossible and began to writhe in despair,
[Drink this.]
Sa Ja, who had been correcting my practice, held out a vial filled with crimson liquid.
[Drink this and you will gain stamina that never tires. The more you drink, the stronger your inner force becomes.]
“I’ve already consumed enough spiritual elixirs.”
[This is no ordinary elixir. You should know that already.]
Somewhere along the way, I had come to know it.
That they were cultivating Ren Hua in this Underground Fortress and conducting bizarre experiments repeatedly.
But by the time I learned this truth, I was already drowning in despair and sorrow, caring about nothing.
[Drinking this will allow you to transcend the limits of your current abilities. The only problem is the risk of addiction and the loss of reason.]
“You mean I would become a Shil Hon In.”
[Precisely. Ben Gye is currently researching ways to mitigate those side effects.]
“In other words, I would become an experimental subject.”
Sa Ja set the vial on the table and turned away.
[I am not forcing you.]
I stared blankly at the vial.
That crimson liquid was an extract of Ren Hua—a flower cultivated using human vital blood.
If he consumed that, nine times out of ten he would become a Shil Hon In devoid of reason.
Jeong Cheon knew he must not succumb to this temptation.
Yet he found himself drowning in profound despair and frustration, his mind consumed by nothing but the hunger to grow stronger.
Gulp.
He swallowed the crimson liquid in one desperate gulp.
In the end, he could not resist the temptation—he had accepted the pact with The Demon.

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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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