The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 471

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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 471.
‘An extraordinarily skilled master.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed to slits.
How could I have failed to sense a presence, even from dozens of zhang away inside the cave?
“Do you have a death wish? Argh!”
With another thunderous roar, the members of Shil Hoon In were launched outward like arrows once more.
Whoosh.
At that same moment, an enormous shadowy figure emerged from the cave.
The figure wore a thick fur coat made from bear hide across its entire body, standing over seven chi in height.
Had I not glimpsed the long hair flowing behind that fur coat, I would have sworn a massive bear had emerged from the cave.
Thud, thud.
The shadow draped in bear fur strode toward where Bu Eunseol and So Yo stood.
As she stepped into the sunlight, her features became clear at last.
A beauty with large eyes and slightly full cheeks—it was So Ok Rim.
Unlike before, she appeared to have lost some weight; her face had grown cuter, and her robust frame had become somewhat more slender.
“Like a bear girl.”
So Yo murmured in a low voice,
“Why did you throw this brainless lump of flesh into my cave? You’ve ruined my meditation!”
So Ok Rim, still seething with anger, pointed accusingly at the fallen members of Shil Hoon In.
“Huh?”
Only then did So Ok Rim, mid-tirade, catch sight of Bu Eunseol’s face and her eyes widened.
“What brings you here?”
She puffed out her plump cheeks and approached Bu Eunseol with a broad smile.
“What is it? Did you come because you missed me? How did you even know I was here?”
“I came on business.”
“Business? Ah, these lumps of meat scattered across Cheon San?”
So Ok Rim, as if grasping the situation, snorted dismissively.
“Why bother coming all this way for such things? You could simply send your subordinates.”
So Ok Rim approached familiarly and placed a hand on Bu Eunseol’s shoulder.
“After all, they’re just wandering around near Cheon San and pose no real threat, right? It’s not as if these fools would walk thousands of li to reach the Demon Palace.”
“I didn’t come because of Shil Hoon In.”
Bu Eunseol pushed away the arm So Ok Rim had placed on her shoulder, her eyes filled with suspicion.
The fact that the Black-Robed Sage who had taught Jeong Cheon the Seven Bloodletting Techniques was hiding on Cheon San was classified information of the highest order.
Yet when So Ok Rim appeared here as if waiting, suspicion was inevitable.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What were you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I was training.”
So Ok Rim spoke with a puzzled expression.
“I told you I would train and then return.”
“You chose this place as your training ground?”
“Then surely I didn’t come to this desolate place for sightseeing?”
So Ok Rim frowned as she observed the suspicion etched across Bu Eunseol’s face.
“There’s no better place than here to temper one’s spirit, is there? It’s brutally cold, devoid of people. Despite the barren landscape, there are plenty of creatures lurking about, and frozen ponds and lakes abound.”
Even with her explanation, Bu Eunseol’s doubts remained unresolved.
“You’ve been training here continuously since we parted ways?”
“That’s right.”
As Bu Eunseol pressed further with her questions, So Ok Rim’s expression soured.
“What, are you doubting me now?”
“It’s all too convenient.”
“What’s convenient about it?”
As So Ok Rim puffed out her cheeks indignantly, Bu Eunseol gestured toward the cave.
“Can I see inside?”
“Where?”
“Inside the cave.”
So Ok Rim, seeing through Bu Eunseol’s intent, cried out in exasperation.
“Fine, a hundred words of explanation won’t be as convincing as this. Look all you want!”
Huffing indignantly, she entered the cave.
Bu Eunseol followed So Ok Rim and examined the cave where she had been dwelling.
It was clear she had lived here for quite some time—the cave contained furnishings carved from wood.
On one side lay a bed, and she could see rope fashioned from cut and bound wood.
A faint hum resonated through the air.
Nevertheless, Bu Eunseol immediately drew upon her Gong Sun Dan Ah technique to scrutinize the cave’s interior once more.
She sought to determine when these furnishings were crafted and when So Ok Rim had first arrived here.
‘They’re certainly old.’
Judging by the patina on the furnishings, it was evident she had remained here for at least a year or more.
‘So she truly was training here.’
When one overcomes the cold while refining one’s spirit, concentration sharpens as if one had drawn upon a frigid heart technique.
It seemed she had come here to master spirit cultivation, seeking to accelerate her learning time.
‘That day’s events must have been quite shocking.’
So Ok Rim had not begun her training because her martial prowess was weak.
She had been deeply shaken by the power of Hwan Wang Sa Ok Cheong’s technique.
Moreover, she had come to realize that unless she tempered her spirit thoroughly, she would be unable to face the torrent of formidable enemies that lay ahead.
And her choice had proven wise.
Afterward, a formidable master of soul-binding techniques named Hyuk Ryeon Eung had emerged, and Bu Eunseol herself had nearly perished when unable to break through his soul-binding art.
“Are you satisfied? Do you have more doubts?”
As So Ok Rim huffed indignantly as if wronged, Bu Eunseol sighed and shook her head.
“No, I don’t.”
“What do you mean, you don’t?”
“There’s nothing left to doubt.”
As Bu Eunseol conceded gracefully, So Ok Rim’s expression softened.
“You’re fine in every other way, but you’re far too suspicious.”
She wiped her nose and asked.
“So? What’s the matter then?”
Bu Eunseol, who had been lost in thought, opened her mouth while staring intently at So Ok Rim.
“Chilji Demonic Sect.”
“Chilji Demonic Sect? Is that man still alive?”
So Ok Rim seemed to know nothing about him.
“That’s not it. It’s just that someone here appears to have learned the martial techniques he once used.”
“What do you mean? The martial techniques he used?”
After a moment of deliberation, I relayed to So Ok Rim everything I had heard from Jeong Cheon.
It wasn’t because I trusted her implicitly, but rather because it was information that wouldn’t matter much even if revealed.
More than anything, I was curious about her reaction.
“If that’s the case, then Chilji Demonic Sect must have had extraordinary connections.”
So Ok Rim stroked her chin with a grave expression.
“So that’s why those chunks of meat were wandering around Cheon San?”
She seemed to regard the matter of Chilji Demonic Sect rather lightly.
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring intently at So Ok Rim’s eyes, asked.
“When did Shil Hon In first appear?”
“Before I came here.”
So Ok Rim smacked her lips as she spoke.
“I thought the Eight Emperors and Three Stars created all those Shil Hon In and then dumped them here because they couldn’t dispose of them properly.”
I narrowed my eyes.
So Ok Rim still believed that the faction controlling the square formation, based on what Shin San Ja had said, were descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
“If what you say is true, then that Black-Robed Sage likely chose Cheon San because he’s nearly impossible to track, and it’s a relatively comfortable place to hide.”
“That’s probably it.”
I nodded calmly and turned my body.
“Then I’ll continue my training.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
And I added one more thing.
“Given the presence of Shil Hon In, there may be masters from Sam Gye somewhere on this Cheon San. Be careful.”
“Sam Gye?”
Since dealing with Hwan Wang, So Ok Rim had apparently stayed only here and knew nothing of Sam Gye.
I had no choice but to share with her all the information about Sam Gye that I had gathered so far.
“Hmm, Sam Gye. Sam Gye.”
She wore a puzzled expression, as if dimly recalling something from a distant memory.
“They don’t come forward openly, but their Sa Ja are different. They issue commands directly and possess formidable martial prowess, so we must certainly be cautious.”
So Ok Rim’s background has never been clearly revealed.
However, having gone through hardships together and handled various matters for some time, I regard her as something of a comrade.
“Why worry about such things? If they catch my eye, they’ll just get crushed.”
So Ok Rim flexed her muscular forearm and spoke.
“So, the two of you intend to search for that Black-Robed Sage together?”
“Yes. The Masked Elder is certainly a figure from Sam Gye as well. We must find them before they do.”
“Hmm.”
So Ok Rim stroked her chin and nodded.
“Fine. Then I’m joining too.”
“Continue your cultivation.”
Bu Eunseol refused firmly.
It was also for So Ok Rim’s sake.
If she halted her spiritual cultivation midway, all the time invested thus far would be wasted.
“Hehe. What are you talking about? I finished my spiritual cultivation long ago. I’ve been engaged in a different form of training.”
“You’ve finished?”
“Yes. Look here.”
So Ok Rim pointed toward the depths of the cave.
The walls there were covered in a chaotic array of lines and geometric shapes.
In another section, constellation-like patterns were continuously carved within circular forms.
“Ugh.”
So Yo, who had been staring at them, furrowed her brow and turned her head away sharply.
Merely looking at them caused her head to spin and her stomach to churn with nausea.
‘Indeed.’
Bu Eunseol nodded.
She was newly reminded that So Ok Rim was truly a descendant of Seong Hwang.
To inflict spiritual damage through merely chaotic lines and shapes? Remarkable.
The martial arts of Pal Hwang Sam Seong consistently possessed power and abilities that transcended the limits of martial cultivation…
And So Ok Rim possessed such martial arts as well.
“I’ll help you. We’ll find them much faster that way, won’t we?”
“Mm.”
Bu Eunseol stroked her chin thoughtfully.
So Ok Rim was headstrong to a fault, but she possessed keen insight and excelled at pursuit.
Had they not resolved the Black-White Witch incident together, and far more swiftly than anticipated?
“Very well. Then let us depart together.”
“But.”
So Ok Rim finally fixed her gaze upon So Yo, who stood beside Bu Eunseol.
“Who is this little one?”
She opened her eyes wide and asked again.
“Your sister?”
With pale skin and eyes tinted silver that occupied half her face, she possessed an ethereal and beautiful countenance.
Moreover, she bore a striking resemblance to Bu Eunseol’s own serene yet melancholic aura.
“The Lesser Lord.”
“The Lesser Lord? Then there’s a Greater Lord as well?”
“Rather, she’s my adjutant who accompanies me when I venture into Gangho.”
The name So Yo was merely an assassin’s designation given by Baek Ryeol Sal Moon, not her true name.
However, when she entered my service, the Lords of Sayoung Hall—those with shallow connections—heard the name So Yo and made their own assumptions.
They took it as a surname of So with the given name Yo, and thus the assassin’s designation So Yo became her actual name.
But So Ok Rim, completely unaware of this truth, interpreted it not as a Lord with the surname So, but as a “small lord.”
“Even if we’re short on people, surely not this far? You’re sending out mere children into Gangho?”
She clicked her tongue and beamed at So Yo with a radiant smile.
“Little miss, what’s your name? Which sect are you from?”
“I’m older than you.”
So Yo replied coldly,
“Ahahaha! This adorable little miss has quite the sense of humor.”
So Ok Rim found even So Yo’s frigid demeanor endearing, and with a hearty laugh, she pressed her massive, pot-lid-like hand against the girl’s cheek.
So Yo tilted her head slightly to evade the touch.
A flutter.
Yet her hand moved in a chaotic blur, and before long, So Ok Rim’s palm was already pressed against So Yo’s pale, delicate cheek.
“Oh my, how adorable. When I marry my destined partner later… I do hope we’ll have a cute little daughter like you. Hehehehe.”
Based on So Ok Rim’s build and features, the probability of bearing a child like So Yo was infinitesimally small.
Yet she glanced at Bu Eunseol’s slender frame and nodded with conviction.
“Yes, it’s entirely possible.”
So Yo brushed away So Ok Rim’s hand from her cheek and spoke coldly.
“How old are you?”
“Me? Well… I’m twenty-one or twenty-two now.”
In that instant, I found myself speechless, my mouth falling open.
I had assumed she was either my age or perhaps a few years older.
But she had only just passed her twenties? That meant when I first met Seo Jin Ha, she hadn’t even reached twenty yet?
“That’s young.”
“Huh?”
“I’m thirty.”
In that moment, So Ok Rim’s eyes wavered.
It was the exact same reaction I had when I first met So Yo.
“Hahahaha!”
But So Ok Rim was no ordinary person.
She blinked her large eyes, pouted her lips, and pinched So Yo’s cheek again.
“So you wanted to be a thirty-year-old adult, did you, little miss?”
“Don’t pinch my cheek.”
“Ah, okay, okay.”
So Ok Rim laughed and patted her head instead.
“You shouldn’t tease adults either.”
“Don’t pat my head either.”
“Ah, okay, okay.”
After that, So Yo’s mouth continued to spill forth an endless stream of complaints: “Don’t mess with my hair.” “Don’t touch my earlobes.” “Stop patting my backside.” And so on.
Yet despite receiving constant reproach, So Ok Rim seemed to find such delight in it that she only ceased her caressing after a prolonged moment of indulgence.
‘She suits her better than I expected.’
I had anticipated that when So Ok Rim and So Yo collided, a commotion would surely erupt.
If So Yo were the howling north wind of deepest winter, then So Ok Rim was like the summer sun that made people sweat profusely.
Yet contrary to my expectations, So Yo did not grow angry, and So Ok Rim did not lose control.
Being polar opposites, their appearance together seemed oddly harmonious.
“Then let us depart.”
At my words, So Ok Rim broke into a smile, revealing her white teeth.
“Very well.”
Though our numbers had increased by one, searching through the vast expanse of Cheon San was no simple task.
Our search party consisted of three people, including myself. In truth, finding a single master hidden in this place was virtually impossible.
Yet I conducted the search of Cheon San with a distinctive method.
For Sam Gye had surely already dispatched numerous personnel to conduct their own search.
That meant they would have thoroughly examined all terrain suitable for prolonged concealment.
Therefore, I moved swiftly past areas showing signs of previous search, instead selecting locations that had not yet been investigated.
“It is a sound method, but ultimately it will not suffice.”
As the sun descended, So Ok Rim, who had been conducting the search under my direction, shook her head.
“Even with such an approach, it would take at least several months to thoroughly search all of Cheon San. In that time, he could change his hiding place.
She continued rapidly.
“If he is skilled enough to evade the pursuit of such formidable forces, he may possess an exceptionally sophisticated concealment technique. Or perhaps he is already hidden in a location we have already searched.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Your analysis is precise. In truth, it is virtually impossible for three people to locate someone who has eluded Sam Gye’s pursuit for so long in this place.”
“What? You already have a method in mind?”
“I do. I merely wished to attempt to find him directly first.”
“What will you do now?”
I surveyed my surroundings and spoke with measured calm.
“If we cannot find him, we must make him come out.”
“Ah.”
“Fortunately, I possess bait that would capture the interest of the Black-Robed Sage, and that would make the people of Sam Gye salivate with desire.”
I possessed the complete doctrine of the Chilji Demonic Sect’s Blood Flowing Seven Techniques.
The Black-Robed Sage had transmitted only the first and fourth forms of the Blood Flowing Seven Techniques to Jeong Cheon.
Not the first and second forms, but the first and fourth forms.
Therefore, it was highly probable that the Black-Robed Sage himself had not fully mastered all the foundational techniques of the Blood Flowing Seven Techniques.
“What is this bait?”
At So Ok Rim’s question, I fell silent for a moment.
I trusted So Ok Rim to a certain degree. But that did not mean I trusted her completely.
“The Blood Flowing Seven Techniques that he transmitted to me.”
I answered, mixing in a falsehood.
“Jeong Cheon left me the doctrine as he was dying. Since the Black-Robed Sage is the one who transmitted the technique to Jeong Cheon, if I leave traces of that technique throughout this place, he will surely come seeking me.”
In other words, it was a plan to use the Demonic Path techniques transmitted by Jeong Cheon, impersonate him, and lure out the Black-Robed Sage.
“Hmm. That makes sense.”
So Ok Rim immediately grasped Bu Eunseol’s strategy.
“Then, to ensure that hidden one comes straight for you, we must create a distraction to confound Sam Gye’s pursuit.”
If Bu Eunseol moved about alone, leaving traces of the Demonic Path techniques?
Not only the Black-Robed Sage, but also the forces of Sam Gye concealed throughout Cheon San could pursue Bu Eunseol.
Then, to prevent them from easily chasing after Bu Eunseol, So Ok Rim and So Yo would need to redirect Sam Gye’s attention.
“Precisely.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
So Ok Rim’s strategic mind was exceptional—there was no need for further explanation.
“Well, it’s not exactly a thrilling battle plan, but since I promised to help, what can I do?”
So Ok Rim smacked her lips and looked toward So Yo.
“Does she need to go separately too?”
“Yes. The more scattered the traces, the better.”
“Mm.”
So Ok Rim seemed concerned about So Yo, whose small, doll-like frame and lean body made her appear fragile, and spoke with uncharacteristic tenderness.
“Be careful. Don’t get hurt.”
“You too.”
“Haha. Still so few words. You clever little thing.”
As So Ok Rim reached out to poke her cheek,
Whoosh!
So Yo unfolded her divine technique and vanished in an instant.
“Oh, quite skilled with that divine technique. Nothing to worry about then?”
So Ok Rim, watching the direction So Yo had disappeared, nodded to herself.
“Shall we get started?”
“No need to make this too grand. A modest distraction will suffice.”
“Modest, my foot.”
So Ok Rim looked at Bu Eunseol and bared her fangs in a grin.
“Since we’re doing this, we might as well make a complete mess of things.”
Boom!
She soared into the air above Half-Sky in one bound, then unfolded her divine technique in the opposite direction from So Yo.
Crash!
Unlike usual, So Ok Rim charged forward with a tremendous sonic boom.
This way, the members of Shil Hon In scattered throughout Cheon San would surely hear the sound and come running.
While So Ok Rim and So Yo drew their attention away, Bu Eunseol would leave traces of the Bloodletting Seven Formations in various places…
And hope that the Black-Robed Sage would come seeking her.

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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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