The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 497

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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 497.
‘Or perhaps the power of harmony?’
Baek Ri Mu Jo, the Holy Sword, had revealed the power of perfection and harmony through the arrangement of the Office.
Perhaps the true formation of Gwi Gok Gate, together with soul-stealing techniques, drew forth others’ memories through such an arrangement.
―Mang Hon Valley is likely a communal settlement created by an Evil Sect.
Suddenly, a report from Sa Hon Dae regarding Mang Hon Valley surfaced in my mind.
According to Sa Hon Dae’s investigation, those who entered Mang Hon Valley and succeeded in settling there were
Murim practitioners bearing pain—the condition they had imposed.
Murim practitioners constantly tormented by anguish and regret finding happiness simply by entering Mang Hon Valley, isolated from the world?
This suggested that Mang Hon Valley likely employed brainwashing or soul-stealing techniques, exploiting the gap when Murim practitioners’ spirits were fractured by suffering.
‘Then it could be to steal their martial arts.’
The condition Mang Hon Valley sought was ‘a Murim practitioner consumed by anguish.’ This meant they might have lured them to steal their martial techniques.
‘But… something feels wrong.’
Whether through soul-stealing or otherwise, if such illusions were shown, the next step would be to deploy means of suppressing the spirit.
Yet this formation merely
created a tranquil landscape and stirred the wind, evoking beautiful memories from the past?
―Depending on what thoughts one carries through life, a human’s existence can be happy. Or it can be miserable.
Suddenly, Grandfather Bu Chanyang’s voice echoed in my ears.
Bu Chanyang had given his all to everything he could do, never yearning for or regretting what he could not have.
He was satisfied even with the modest meals he ate daily, and grateful that he could perform his work as a Yeomsa, cleansing the dead and conducting funeral rites.
‘But I… I don’t seek happiness. Grandfather.’
Bu Eunseol had not entered the Murim for her own happiness.
It was to deal with those who had brutally killed her grandfather and even disturbed his eternal rest.
Because she could not live otherwise.
Because she could not leave this world with those who had made her grandfather suffer still alive.
Whoooosh.
Yet again, a clear wind swept past Bu Eunseol’s ears.
Then the beautiful Flower Garden transformed into a landscape where corpses were piled high and blood flowed like rivers.
The place that had been beautiful when she recalled memories with her grandfather…
had become Hell Island when she thought of revenge.
‘Is it telling me I’m walking a wrong path?’
Crack.
Bu Eunseol clenched both fists.
‘I am not concerned with right and wrong!’
There is no right or wrong in this world.
What others call a wrong path can be the most righteous deed for someone else.
“If I cannot avenge my grandfather, nothing has meaning!”
Clang!
As Bu Eunseol unleashed her lion’s roar, all the surrounding landscapes vanished.
And with it, the true form of Gwi Gok Gate became visible.
“Flowers and… wind.”
The Corridor was empty save for a single artificial flower crafted by human hands.
And from the open window, only a whisper of breeze drifted through.
“So the flowers were merely flowers, and the wind merely wind.”
Bu Eunseol could not conceal her astonishment.
To shake a person’s heart using nothing but flowers and wind—such mastery was extraordinary.
This meant the Mang Hon Valley Master possessed far greater power than the rumors suggested.
“My son! My beloved son! Where have you gone, leaving your father behind?”
“Mother! Mother, you suffered such a terrible death!”
Unlike Bu Eunseol, Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi remained trapped in the illusion, their cries of anguish piercing the air.
They could only summon painful and tormenting memories, unlike her.
‘So that was it.’
Bu Eunseol had achieved the Yeonggyu Tatong, which prevented Gwi Gok Gate from invading her spirit.
When she recalled something joyful, a beautiful landscape unfolded before her.
When she unleashed her rage, a grotesque one manifested instead.
A low rumble echoed.
Then the door at the far end of the Corridor swung open, flooding the space with brilliant light.
Footsteps approached steadily.
Bu Eunseol, as if entranced, stepped outside.
There stood a middle-aged man with sharp, well-defined features and balanced proportions, smiling warmly.
“Welcome to our Valley.”
“Are you the Mang Hon Valley Master?”
“No, I am merely a guide.”
The middle-aged man extended his hand toward Bu Eunseol.
“Come with me. I shall take you to the Valley Master.”
“Only me?”
As Bu Eunseol glanced back at the wailing Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi, the middle-aged man offered a faint smile.
“Do not worry. Their suffering will be brief. They will soon find peace.”
As his words concluded, several men emerged from behind him.
All wore immaculate garments, and with each movement, a sweet fragrance rose from them.
“Please do not be concerned. Those were merely painful memories. Come with us.”
They supported the sobbing Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi, leading them away to some unknown place.
Their expressions and movements betrayed no malice; they seemed intent on causing no harm.
“Come along.”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to follow the middle-aged man into Mang Hon Valley.
Then a breathtaking sight revealed itself.
The interior was arranged like a sprawling mountain village bathed in sunlight, with well-tended fields and orchards visible all around.
They lived here in complete self-sufficiency.
“This way.”
The middle-aged man guided her to a house nestled in the deepest part of the village.
Then he pointed toward the gate and spoke.
“Go inside and have a look.”
Bu Eunseol nodded and stepped into the small house.
As I opened the weathered door, incense smoke curled through the air, and wooden floorboards lay beneath my feet.
It resembled a place where enlightened monks sat in meditation.
Before a table sat an elderly man dressed in white robes, his posture impeccably composed.
His hair had turned white as parsnip roots from the weight of countless years, and the sparse wrinkles etched across his skin evoked the image of an ancient, gnarled tree.
“I am Song Baek Do, the Valley Master.”
Contrary to his appearance, the old man’s voice rang clear and melodious. His eyes gleamed with such clarity that he bore no resemblance to a villain whatsoever.
“I am a wanderer named Seol So.”
As Bu Eunseol pressed her palms together in greeting, Valley Master Song Baek Do’s lips curved into an enigmatic smile.
“If you remain unaffected by the Gwi Gok formation, you must have reached the pinnacle of Absorption Mysticism.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“You should be capable of controlling your spiritual essence with perfect freedom, so why visit this valley?”
Song Baek Do never imagined that Bu Eunseol had achieved the Eternal Realm.
Instead, he believed the immunity to the Gwi Gok formation stemmed from cultivating extraordinary Absorption Mysticism.
“I’ve come to borrow the Hyeon Yeop Stone.”
“The Hyeon Yeop Stone, you say.”
Song Baek Do narrowed his eyes briefly, then nodded.
“Will lending you only that suffice?”
“Yes, that is all.”
“Very well, I shall lend it to you. Take it with you.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression turned blank with bewilderment.
Could matters truly resolve so effortlessly?
“However, there is a condition.”
“Please, speak it.”
“Remain here for four days and assist with the valley’s affairs. If you do so, I shall give you the Hyeon Yeop Stone at once.”
“What sort of assistance would you require?”
“Nothing significant.”
Song Baek Do revealed his white teeth in a smile unbefitting his age.
“Simply follow the same daily routines as the valley’s inhabitants.”
Bu Eunseol felt a stirring of doubt.
He would willingly lend a treasure as precious as the Hyeon Yeop Stone merely for four days of shared labor with Mang Hon Valley’s people?
That made no sense whatsoever.
“I shall consult with my companions and decide.”
“What is there to consult about?”
Song Baek Do’s smile deepened with mystery.
“You need only decide for yourself.”
His gaze ran so profoundly deep that I could not fathom his true intentions.
‘There is no malice in him.’
Upon achieving the Unity of Spirit and Body, Bu Eunseol naturally developed the ability to distinguish between benevolence and malice with instinctive clarity.
And the aura emanating from Song Baek Do’s body was unmistakably one of goodwill.
‘Of course, my intuition could be wrong.’
Bu Eunseol, lost in thought for a moment, nodded her head.
“I understand. Then I shall proceed as you suggest.”
“A wise decision.”
Song Baek Do smiled and extended his hand.
“Make yourself comfortable here.”
From that day forward, Bu Eunseol and her companions came to dwell in Mang Hon Valley.
The inhabitants of Mang Hon Valley shared every aspect of their daily routines together.
They rose at the same hour, ate together in a vast dining hall, tilled the fields in unison, and retired to sleep at the same time.
During rest periods, they either recited dharmic teachings such as the Scripture of Clarity and Enlightenment, which brought peace to the mind.
Or they listened to parables drawn from Buddhist sutras.
Though each meal consisted only of rice and vegetables, delicious fruits were served alongside.
And between meals, they were given sweet potatoes and other nourishing foods to stave off hunger.
Bu Eunseol, Neung Bi Hon, and Dae Gu Hwi labored diligently like true inhabitants of Mang Hon Valley, ate their fill, and recited the scriptures.
After one day had passed and the second began, a transformation manifested in the two men.
An ethereal aura flowed from their bodies, and their expressions grew serene like that of the Buddha himself.
The concept of time faded into obscurity, and their spirits became increasingly suffused with boundless tranquility.
“Is there not profound fulfillment in tilling the soil?”
Neung Bi Hon, who had been hoeing for some time, wiped the sweat from his brow and posed the question to Dae Gu Hwi.
“Indeed there is.”
Dae Gu Hwi straightened his back and broke into a radiant smile, his white teeth gleaming.
“I never knew that laboring while drenched in sweat could bring such happiness.”
It was extraordinary.
Merely two days had elapsed, yet the two men were adapting perfectly to life in Mang Hon Valley.
Moreover, their faces now bore serene smiles that had never graced them before.
‘Something is amiss.’
As I observed the two men, I finally sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
Peace of mind and happiness—
They do not arrive so abruptly, so swiftly.
Especially Neung Bi Hon—even if he had lost his memories, his temperament had merely grown more refined.
Yet that keen, cold edge of his nature still lingered beneath the surface.
But now, did he not appear as one who had renounced the secular world, utterly freed from all attachments?
“Neung.”
I approached him and spoke with measured calm.
“The fourth day of our promised stay draws near. Should we not prepare to obtain the Hyeon Yeop Stone from the Valley Master and depart immediately?”
“Hmm?”
Neung Bi Hon, who had been tilling the field, wore a slightly vacant expression.
“Depart, you say?”
He spoke with a hint of apprehension in his voice.
“What’s the rush? Four days or five days—what difference does it make?”
Dae Gu Hwi, who had been listening, nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. We’ve only been here for four days, and to leave so soon would be disrespectful to the Valley Master who has shown us such kindness, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re saying you won’t leave?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Dae Gu Hwi laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
“It simply doesn’t seem like the right time to depart.”
Though he smiled, his eyes remained resolute.
If I forced these two to leave, they would surely escape and return here at the first opportunity.
‘This isn’t something to be handled by force.’
Bu Eunseol, observing Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi, nodded.
“I understand. I shall first meet with the Valley Master and inquire about his wishes.”
“Yes, ask the Valley Master. Ask how long we may stay.”
“Indeed. We wouldn’t presume to remain long without the Valley Master’s permission, would we?”
Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi had already become indistinguishable from the people of Mang Hon Valley.
Bu Eunseol offered no further reply and immediately headed toward the house where Song Baek Do stayed.
The promised duration was four days.
There was no reason to prolong matters unnecessarily.
“Valley Master.”
Upon arriving at the house where the Valley Master resided, Song Baek Do was already waiting outside the door, as if he had anticipated her arrival.
“You’ve come.”
“Tomorrow will mark the fourth day.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Song Baek Do asked Bu Eunseol a question.
“Are you planning to leave Mang Hon Valley?”
“Yes.”
“I see. You were never influenced by the resonance from the moment you arrived.”
Song Baek Do smiled faintly.
Upon seeing that smile, Bu Eunseol could be certain of one thing: all of this was a situation Song Baek Do had orchestrated.
“Valley Master.”
Bu Eunseol asked, as if unable to comprehend.
“Why do you forcibly bestow peace upon people?”
All the people in Mang Hon Valley had not achieved peace through their own efforts and struggles.
All of it was stability and peace granted by the Valley Master, Song Baek Do.
And it was neither a binding technique nor a grand spell. Had it been, Bu Eunseol would have immediately shattered it and attacked Song Baek Do.
The peace felt by the people of Mang Hon Valley.
It was all an artificial ‘harmony’ created by Song Baek Do.
Every landscape in Mang Hon Valley.
The food, the monotonous daily routines and meditation practices, the shapes of the furnishings, the serene fragrance that permeated the surroundings….
All these elements of Mang Hon Valley intertwined together, bringing forth a powerful sense of stability and peace.
“The divine granted mankind the gift of forgetfulness… yet cruelly ensured that the most agonizing memories cannot be erased by one’s own will.”
“….”
“As time passes, painful memories only grow sharper and more vivid.”
Song Baek Do spoke while gazing toward the distant sky.
“Some spend their entire lives tormented by these indelible memories, until they finally breathe their last.”
Song Baek Do sighed deeply as he continued.
“Time cannot be reversed, and suffering changes nothing… yet we suffer regardless.”
He fixed Bu Eunseol with an unwavering stare.
“Do you not carry such memories yourself?”
“I do.”
“Did you not wish to forget them?”
Bu Eunseol drew a long, measured breath.
“There were times I wished to forget, but these are memories I must never abandon.”
“Why?”
“Because if I forget them, I lose all reason to continue living.”
My grandfather’s brutal death.
It was a memory I naturally wished to forget. Yet if I lost it, I could never pursue vengeance.
I could not move forward.
I would lose my purpose.
Much like Neung Bi Hon, who lost all memory.
“Painful memories torment us, yet they also forge our growth.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with quiet conviction.
“To forcibly erase such memories because they cause suffering is to destroy a person’s entire life.”
Her words carried profound spiritual resonance.
Song Baek Do seemed to acknowledge her point, yet he shook his head.
“The Valley Master and I differ in our thinking.”
He gestured toward the people wandering through Mang Hon Valley.
“They are all those who once attempted to end their lives because of painful memories. The Old Master understood this was born from Murim’s grievances, and thus created Mang Hon Valley.”
He indicated the surroundings.
“You must have felt it yourself—every blade of grass, every stone, every tree here has been deliberately arranged to bring peace and tranquility to the human heart.”
Song Baek Do exhaled deeply.
“Of course, your words hold truth as well. Without suffering, humanity cannot advance.”
He looked directly at Bu Eunseol, his expression tinged with regret.
“But few in this world possess the strength to transform suffering and pain into opportunities for growth as you do.”
Bu Eunseol too released a heavy sigh.
Song Baek Do had created Mang Hon Valley through his own goodwill and conviction.
With his exceptional abilities, he sought to save these people.
From my perspective, Song Baek Do’s actions could not be deemed entirely righteous.
None but the divine should manipulate another’s emotions, for humanity grows through hardship and suffering.
An infant must endure countless struggles and trials before learning to stand on two feet.
One must never lay hands upon another’s spirit to help them evade pain and suffering.
“I have spent long years studying the Art of Spirit Manipulation. And I researched ways to free those who needed forgetting from their torment.”
Song Baek Do spoke with evident anguish as he gazed toward the distant sky.
“It was my way of atoning for the grave mistakes of my past.”
From Song Baek Do’s form emanated only an immortal’s ethereal aura—no malice whatsoever.
He truly had committed grave transgressions in his past, and it seemed he had established Mang Hon Valley to help people as a means of redemption.
‘So it was not merely a mortal’s pretense at divinity.’
Bu Eunseol exhaled deeply.
‘Moreover, at this level, he must have reached the pinnacle of the Art of Spirit Manipulation.’
Merely by arranging the objects within Mang Hon Valley, Song Baek Do had granted Neung Bi Hon and Dae Gu Hwi something they could never have obtained before.
A tranquility and peace of spirit.
Even when I first entered the gate, it had affected my own spirit profoundly enough to influence even one who had achieved Eternal Transcendence.
In other words, Song Baek Do stood at a level comparable to Hyuk Ryeon Eung, who had once brought me to the brink of death.
“The Valley Master must have dwelled within Sam Gye in the past.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, as though she had already deduced this.
“Most likely the Moo Goong Gye, I would imagine.”
Song Baek Do’s eyes widened in shock.
In Murim, those who knew of Sam Gye were extremely limited.
Yet how could this young person have deduced not only the existence of Sam Gye, but also that he himself belonged to the Moo Goong Gye?
“You… were you also a person of Sam Gye?”
“That could hardly be the case.”
Bu Eunseol let out a soft breath through her nose.
“Because the Valley Master has lived in isolation from the world, you would not know. But many figures in Murim today are aware of Sam Gye’s existence.”
“Then…”
“I have clashed with them repeatedly.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
“Bringing them down is also my objective.”
Song Baek Do shook his head in disbelief.
No force or faction in Murim could stand against the power of Sam Gye, and those who opposed them were destined for annihilation.
Yet this bare-faced young person spoke of toppling Sam Gye as though dismantling a mere neighborhood gang?
“I cannot believe it. Who exactly are you?”
Song Baek Do, a master of the Art of Spirit Manipulation, could easily distinguish truth from falsehood.
But Bu Eunseol had already achieved Eternal Transcendence, so he could not peer into her inner thoughts.
“Since the Valley Master has already abandoned the mundane world, it would be better if you did not know who I am.”
Bu Eunseol concealed her identity not out of arrogance.
She feared that revealing herself would only entangle Song Baek Do in unnecessary grievances.
“Heh heh.”
Song Baek Do let out a hollow laugh.
“If you know that I am a person of Sam Gye, then you must also know who I am.”
“That is not so.”
“Not at all? Then how did you discover that I had placed my body in the Sam Gye?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with composure.
“Because I nearly died from the Gongryeong Chohon Milee.”
After taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth with an expression of utmost gravity.
“Are you the master who transmitted the Gongryeong Chohon Milee to Hyuk Ryeon Eung, that man?”
In that instant, Song Baek Do’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets in shock.
A name he had long forgotten, one he had wished never to recall even in dreams—how could it possibly spill from Bu Eunseol’s lips?

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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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