The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 515

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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 515.
“Begin!”
At that moment, the Ghost-Face Messenger’s voice rang out.
The participants’ eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
―One must seize the initiative and target the heart!
To survive this gate entirely, one had to gain the first strike.
There was no other way than to instantly identify which of the fourteen holes pierced the heart.
Some fifty participants began fighting in turn under the Ghost-Face Messenger’s supervision.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Screams erupted in succession.
The probability of accurately finding the heart among fourteen holes was extremely low.
Yet conversely, there were three other holes capable of inflicting fatal wounds besides the heart. That was hardly a negligible probability.
Few died instantly from a pierced heart, but penetrations through shoulders and legs occurred with disturbing frequency.
“Hahahaha!”
Yet there was one who achieved consecutive victories.
It was Cheon Hwa In.
He always seized the initiative and instantly found the hole containing the heart.
Of course, there were others besides Cheon Hwa In who achieved consecutive victories.
But they merely avoided fatal wounds—their shoulders, arms, and thighs were pierced repeatedly.
‘The fact that Cheon Hwa In achieves consecutive victories means he satisfies something they desire.’
This was purely a battle of chance.
Yet for only Cheon Hwa In to achieve consecutive victories made no sense.
‘They are definitely selecting. If that’s the case…’
As Bu Eunseol pondered deeply, I could dimly discern what they sought.
‘It is to awaken the latent killing intent.’
In the first gate, through various toxic incenses, they had induced the eruption of the murderous frenzy dormant within the heart.
In the second gate, they had created a justifiable reason to protect one’s own life, causing participants to unhesitatingly push their opponents from heights.
In other words, the gates thus far were designed to make harming others seem utterly natural even in a sound mind.
They were a process of releasing the killing intent that lay buried within.
‘But what do they intend to do by awakening this killing intent?’
Bu Eunseol’s mind raced.
The third gate merely created holes leading to unknown destinations, allowing one to kill without pangs of conscience.
It did not seem designed to select individuals meeting any particular condition.
‘Geom Chong, Geom Chong…’
After thinking deeply for a time, my eyes suddenly brightened.
‘Could it be… they are searching for those capable of wielding the most vicious and wicked blade technique?’
If one possessed an immense thirst for slaughter?
They would instinctively locate the hole piercing the opponent’s heart in a single strike.
And such a person would be perfectly suited to wield a demonic blade that thirsts for human blood.
‘Then are they saying that Geom Chong they mentioned is the Demonic Sword Tomb?’
The legendary Geom Chong, the Tomb of Blades, naturally contained not only divine swords and righteous blades.
Of course, there also existed a Demonic Sword Tomb where blood-soaked demonic swords and dark blades slumbered.
‘But why?’
A question lingered here as well.
Whether it was Geom Chong or the Demonic Sword Tomb, if it were genuine?
There would be no need to summon martial artists and distribute swords among them.
As Bu Eunseol sank into deep contemplation.
“You there. Fight me.”
A figure whose eyes had turned a bloodshot crimson approached Bu Eunseol.
It was Cheon Hwa In.
“I don’t like that look in your eyes. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
Already consumed by an irreversible demonic nature, Cheon Hwa In’s face bore no trace of his former self.
His pupils swirled with killing intent, and his visage was grotesquely twisted.
He had brilliantly passed through the gates meant to awaken the instinct for slaughter, and now he was fully capable of wielding a demonic sword.
“I’ll strike first.”
Cheon Hwa In made no formal exchange of courtesies and immediately thrust the soft sword he held into the cylinder Bu Eunseol wore.
And that position would pierce directly through her heart.
‘There’s no choice.’
If I unleashed my inner energy, the ripple of true qi would spread, and the Ghost-Face Messenger would immediately notice.
Yet I cannot manipulate the mechanisms installed in the cylinder either.
Each time the hole’s position changes, a metallic click sounds.
‘This is the only way.’
Bu Eunseol drew upon the Water Spirit Technique to block the hole connected to the passage leading to her heart.
The power of Sasin originates entirely from nature.
Manifesting it does not cause true qi waves to spread or momentum to be exerted.
With a solid thud.
As the soft sword could advance no further and was blocked, Cheon Hwa In’s expression twisted.
“How…”
“Now it’s my turn.”
Bu Eunseol, holding the soft sword, stared fixedly at Cheon Hwa In.
‘This one is not worth sparing.’
There was no lingering resentment toward Cheon Hwa In from past events.
When he had become a cripple, I had already closed all debts and settled my heart.
But the current Cheon Hwa In was different.
He was completely steeped in malice and showed no hesitation in taking the lives of others.
If such a person were to obtain a demonic sword? A demon would be born that should never appear in Murim.
‘Pierce the heart in one strike.’
Through the senses of the Beast Blade, Bu Eunseol could instantly locate the hole connected to the heart.
And without hesitation, she thrust the soft sword into the hole that passed through the heart.
Thud!
With a dull piercing sound, Cheon Hwa In staggered backward, impaled upon the Yeon Blade.
“Hnngh…”
Yet something extraordinary occurred.
Despite the blade passing cleanly through his heart, he remained standing, teeth gritted, refusing to fall.
‘So that’s it.’
The heart typically resides slightly to the left of the body’s centerline.
However, rare individuals exist whose organs are positioned in complete reverse.
Cheon Hwa In was precisely such a person—his heart lay not on the left, but on the right.
“Kehehehe.”
Despite writhing in agony, Cheon Hwa In burst into dark laughter.
Though his heart remained unpierced, his chest was still skewered—he should not have survived intact.
Yet he laughed as though impervious to pain, seizing the Yeon Blade with his own hands.
“Now it’s my turn. Hehehehe.”
He grasped the Yeon Blade, his dark laughter echoing.
“Even if not the heart, there are other vital points to exploit.”
Consumed by malevolent and demonic energy, Cheon Hwa In swiftly located the passage through the collarbone and drove the blade through.
‘I cannot block this.’
Bu Eunseol’s instincts screamed the truth.
The Ghost-Face Messenger watched her intently; should she defend against this strike as well, discovery would be instantaneous.
‘I must minimize the damage.’
The Yeon Blade they had provided was extraordinarily sharp—even one versed in the Third Gate could pierce through with ease.
Thud.
The moment the blade entered her flesh, I dispersed my crystalline vital energy throughout my body.
Not to block the blade, but to shield the blood vessels and pleura in the region where the collarbone lay.
Thud.
Since the skin had already been pierced, the sound of penetration rang clear.
Cheon Hwa In, feeling the satisfying resistance, burst into dark laughter.
“Hehehehe. How does that feel?”
Bu Eunseol deliberately contorted her face in agony, dropping to one knee.
Though I had avoided a fatal wound, I needed to deceive the Ghost-Face Messenger’s gaze with an expression of suffering.
“Now, it’s my turn.”
As Bu Eunseol rose, Yeon Blade in hand, Cheon Hwa In clenched his teeth.
The wound near his heart was far from trivial.
Should he be struck again in such a place as the collarbone? Exsanguination could claim his life.
“You’re prepared for this, I trust.”
Bu Eunseol approached slowly, employing the Beast Path’s perception to locate the vulnerable passage through the collarbone, and drove the Yeon Blade through.
Boom.
Yet in that instant, someone on the opposite side collapsed, blood streaming from their form.
“Stop.”
The Ghost-Face Messenger raised his hand and cried out.
“Now all those who will enter Geom Chong have been decided.”
Looking around, I saw six martial artists remaining, excluding Bu Eunseol and Cheon Hwa In.
The Ghost-Face Messenger raised his hand.
With a metallic clang, the metal cylinders attached to the participants’ bodies fell away on their own.
Then the figures, all covered in blood, became visible.
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
They all bore piercing wounds where their hearts should have been.
It turned out that all the survivors were those whose hearts were positioned on the right side of their bodies.
And inside the small empty container within the metal cylinder, blood that had flowed from their bodies had been collected.
“Hmm.”
The Ghost-Face Messenger gazed at Bu Eunseol, whose heart region remained intact, and narrowed his eyes into crescents.
“Quite the formidable master. You deceived this messenger’s ears.”
Bu Eunseol had initially thought this Third Gate trial was
This.
designed to find demonic blade users with such keen slaughter instincts that they could instinctively locate the heart.
But now it seemed they desired those who survived even after their hearts were pierced without dying.
Yet even here, doubt arose.
If they wanted to know the heart’s location, there was no need to create such a gate.
They could easily discover it by simply examining the body before entering Geom Chong.
So why make them wear these strange cylinders and conduct a slaughter battle?
And why collect their blood in those cylinders?
“Another spy sent by the Murim Alliance?”
Surprisingly, the Ghost-Face Messenger had already deduced my identity to some extent.
“The spies sent by the Murim Alliance were all remarkably skilled.”
Thud, thud.
The Ghost-Face Messenger slowly approached where I stood.
“Shall I test your abilities?”
I quietly drew upon my inner energy.
At this point, I had no choice but to slaughter them all and eliminate the evidence.
The fortunate thing was that with the martial prowess of Seon Woo Jin, I could reach a level capable of confronting the Ghost-Face Messenger.
Whoosh!
As I infused energy into the soft sword I held, a sharp blade aura surged forth.
‘I’ll go with Iron Sword Thirteen Forms.’
With Iron Sword Thirteen Forms combined with Jade Butterfly Technique, I could engage the Ghost-Face Messenger in a proper battle.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
At that moment, Cheon In Sect disciples wearing robes inscribed with mysterious patterns came rushing out from the open door.
But the Ghost-Face Messenger raised his hand to stop them and spoke.
“Treat them and send them to Geom Chong. I will handle this one.”
“Understood.”
The sect members who had rushed in took with them all those who had survived piercing wounds near the heart, including Cheon Hwa In.
“Attack first.”
The Ghost-Face Messenger didn’t even draw his sword, standing confidently with his arms crossed.
The swordsmanship he had employed thus far was an extreme swift killing technique, drawn at a speed imperceptible to the eye.
He stood in a relaxed posture, but what if Bu Eunseol revealed an opening?
He would instantly unleash a lightning-fast blade strike.
Thump.
Bu Eunseol, gripping the soft sword, rolled her foot lightly.
Vibrations rippled outward in all directions, and the internal structure was instantly painted in my mind’s eye.
‘No one is watching.’
Bu Eunseol, surveying her surroundings, smiled.
A strategy had occurred to me to transform this desperate crisis into opportunity once more.
Shatter!
Bu Eunseol immediately swung the soft sword.
The Ghost-Face Messenger’s face went pale as he instantly retreated backward.
It was an initial move that resembled the extreme swift killing technique he had deployed, yet far faster.
Splash!
Despite his rapid evasion, he couldn’t escape completely, and blood sprayed near his neck.
“What? Exactly who are you….”
The Ghost-Face Messenger’s words couldn’t continue to their end.
The soft sword that had grazed his neck drew a semicircle in midair, then descended once more toward his vital point.
It was the Nine Dragons Thunder Strike—an extreme swift killing technique capable of changing direction multiple times in midair.
Moreover, Bu Eunseol had further refined Cheon Woon Gwang’s Nine Dragons Thunder Strike.
Incorporating all the advantages of Demonic Path swordsmanship.
Slash! Slash!
The Ghost-Face Messenger deployed his movement and body techniques frantically, yet the sword still embedded itself deeply in his shoulder.
Originally this single move could have severed the Ghost-Face Messenger’s neck, but I deliberately held back.
Because I needed to confirm his true power.
“You…!”
Shatter!
But as the sharp soft sword that had been lodged in his shoulder grazed his cheek, he could no longer move his mouth.
Screech!
The Ghost-Face Messenger instantly drew his sword.
Crimson sword energy spread in all directions, and in an instant, the interior seemed to ignite like a raging inferno.
A demonic blade.
What the Ghost-Face Messenger wielded was not a divine sword, but a demonic blade possessing extraordinary properties.
“Die!”
Roar!
The Ghost-Face Messenger swung his sword with all his might.
Before the sword technique could even fully unfold, I felt the searing heat as though trapped within the flames.
At that same moment, Bu Eunseol’s movements became sluggish, as if moving through water.
‘It wasn’t the Ultimate Swift Killing Sword—it was the power of a Demonic Blade.’
The trajectory had been invisible to the eye, appearing as the Ultimate Swift Killing Sword, but in reality, the Ghost-Face Messenger was employing a Scattered Sword technique brimming with variations.
‘So this was vacuum force.’
Having grasped the nature of the Ghost-Face Messenger’s unique swordsmanship, Bu Eunseol gazed upon the cascading heat and thrust her Soft Sword with all her might.
Thereupon, a tremendous radiance blazed forth, and the very world seemed to freeze in time.
Roooar!
The Soft Sword became a ball of flame, extending forth as if in slow motion, yet the Ghost-Face Messenger found himself unable to move at the sight of it.
Though it appeared to descend with ponderous slowness.
In truth, she had seized the precise instant to sever life itself, and thus the one receiving the blow could perceive only its leisurely approach.
Tal Meteor Overtaking Form.
The Swift Sword technique, reborn and recreated through the battle with Peng Ryun, had shattered its shell.
It had evolved into an ultimate swift Demonic Blade form that first allows the eyes to taste the meaning of death.
Thud.
The sluggish fireball vanished, brilliance flashed, and the Ghost-Face Messenger stood rigid as a statue.
Drip.
A faint line of blood had appeared across the Ghost-Face Messenger’s neck.
His neck had been severed by the Tal Meteor Overtaking Form.
Thump.
He crumbled and collapsed where he stood.
Had he ventured into Murim proper, he would have possessed the strength to dominate a region, yet he became a vengeful spirit from a single blade of Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh!
As the Ghost-Face Messenger fell, Bu Eunseol immediately unfurled her Void Grasping technique and seized the ghost mask in her hand.
‘This person…’
When she removed the ghost mask, the unremarkable, gentle visage of a middle-aged man was revealed.
“The Benevolent Sword. Yeon Baek Ryang?”
Astonishingly, the Ghost-Face Messenger’s true identity was.
Yeon Baek Ryang, a renowned righteous hero and bearer of the epithet “Benevolent Sword” in the Orthodox sects of Murim.
“So this man too abandoned everything in pursuit of a sword.”
Yeon Baek Ryang’s fame stemmed not from exceptional martial prowess, but from his benevolent and virtuous nature, befitting his epithet.
Though his martial skill was merely competent, his inherited wealth was considerable, and he had cultivated broad connections by entertaining Murim’s masters.
And true to his epithet of Benevolent Sword, he had spent freely to aid those in hardship.
Yet such a life could not endure.
Under the pretense of entertaining friends, of aiding the destitute.
He had squandered his fortune through endless disbursement.
His swordsmanship was unremarkable, and when his sole advantage—his wealth—vanished, no masters sought him out or maintained their associations with him.
Thus he too faded from Murim’s sight.
That such a lonely end had befallen the Benevolent Sword, only for him to emerge as the Ghost-Face Messenger of the Cheon In Sect—who could have foreseen it.
“I suppose it could happen.”
Yeon Baek Ryang, like Cheon Hwa In before him, had once been a figure of considerable standing in Murim, flaunting his connections with various personages.
Yet when he squandered all the wealth he had accumulated to maintain those connections, what remained was nothing but a desolate and wretched twilight of life.
In the end, his only choices were to surrender his life—or to stake it all in pursuit of formidable martial prowess.
It seemed that when he threw himself into the Cheon In Sect, he was able to obtain a demonic blade and become a Ghost-Face Messenger.
“They exploited those who were desperate.”
The Cheon In Sect lured the desperate to Geom Chong and granted them demonic blades.
But why would they do such a thing? What could they possibly hope to gain from such actions?
“Now I shall discover the answer.”
Bu Eunseol changed into the clothes Yeon Baek Ryang had been wearing, then donned the crimson ghost-face mask and demonic blade.
Fortunately, their builds were similar enough that with only her face concealed, she became a perfect Ghost-Face Messenger.
She then altered Yeon Baek Ryang’s face beyond recognition and dressed him in her own clothes.
He had deliberately fought to thoroughly mimic the Ghost-Face Messenger’s mannerisms, all to discern the true nature of his sword technique.
“Mm.”
Having mastered the art of vocal mimicry perfectly, Bu Eunseol immediately replicated Yeon Baek Ryang’s voice.
“Hmm. Hmm.”
Then, with supreme confidence, she approached the exit through which the Cheon In Sect disciples had departed.
‘How did they open the door?’
Recalling something, Bu Eunseol rummaged through the clothes she now wore.
There she discovered a small metallic whistle-shaped key.
‘So that was it.’
When she inserted the whistle into the aperture, a heavy door swung open with a resonant sound.
“Messenger.”
The Cheon In Sect disciple standing guard bowed his head, and Bu Eunseol spoke with icy coldness.
“What of those who remain?”
“After treatment, we sent them all to Geom Chong.”
Bu Eunseol felt a flicker of doubt.
Their hearts had not been pierced, yet they bore deep blade wounds across their chests.
How could all their injuries have been healed in such a short time?
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol swallowed her rising questions and spoke coldly.
“Dispose of that corpse.”
“Understood.”
The disciples casually carried away Yeon Baek Ryang’s body, which still wore the ghost-face mask.
Thud, thud.
Observing her surroundings carefully, Bu Eunseol walked nonchalantly down the long corridor.
When she finally reached its end, she spotted a stone staircase descending to yet another level below.
Without hesitation, she descended, and the damp moisture and acrid stench of mold assailed her senses.
Looking around, another lengthy corridor stretched before her, reminiscent of an underground cavern.
As Bu Eunseol walked boldly forward, an enormous iron gate suddenly came into view.
The gate, standing at least three zhang in height, was covered entirely with incomprehensible inscriptions and patterns.
Should this door swing wide open, it seemed as though the demons imprisoned within would pour forth in a torrent and bring ruin upon the world itself.
‘Is this the Entrance to Geom Chong?’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed as she examined the door with meticulous attention.
There was only one door, yet it bore six keyholes.
‘Hmm.’
Bu Eunseol paused to consider.
The key that Ghost-Face Messenger possessed could only open the gate.
This meant Yeon Baek Ryang was neither a leader nor a senior member of the Cheon In Sect.
He was someone without the authority or qualifications to enter this place.
‘Then this must be an extraordinarily important location.’
Bu Eunseol examined the keyholes once more.
Upon closer inspection, five of the keyholes showed signs of repeated use, but the bottommost one bore no such marks.
After a moment’s deliberation, Bu Eunseol extended her fingertips toward the space between the keyholes.
Crystal Divine Energy and Glacial Heavenly Stream Essence poured forth, filling the cavity.
Crackle.
When she withdrew her hand, an intricately crafted key of solid ice had formed.
Click.
As she slowly turned the key, a low vibration resonated through the air.
Yet the door did not open. Instead, the six keyholes merged back into a single one.
‘Quite an impressive security mechanism.’
Bu Eunseol combined Crystal Divine Energy and Glacial Heavenly Stream Essence once more, fashioning another ice key and turning it.
Rumble.
The massive door swung open, revealing a staircase descending into darkness below.
‘If that previous door was the Entrance to Geom Chong, then what lies beneath must be Beneath Geom Chong.’
Had they created another chamber beneath Geom Chong itself?
There had to be a reason.
Bu Eunseol sensed intuitively that descending further would unveil the secrets of Geom Chong.
Thud, thud.
As she reached the bottom of the darkness-shrouded staircase, a stench so vile and acrid it defied description assailed her from all directions.
‘This is…’
The reek was somewhat familiar to her.
It was the nauseating stench of blood she had grown weary of smelling during her time with Yeomsa.
Yet this was no mere blood spilled by one or two people—it was an overwhelming, staggering reek as though dozens, hundreds had shed their blood simultaneously.
As Bu Eunseol descended, the vast interior shrouded in darkness came into view, along with colossal pillars supporting the ceiling.
Splash.
The floor was slick with viscous liquid—blood.
Lifting her gaze, she saw that the ceiling, some four stories high, was crisscrossed with long pipes arranged in a chaotic web.
Drip, drip, drip.
Blood dripped ceaselessly through the gaps in the pipes.
The wet floor was a result of this constant bleeding from above.
Vast quantities of blood were clearly flowing through those pipes toward some unknown destination.
“So that’s what it was.”
Bu Eunseol finally grasped the full picture.
Why the Cheon In Sect had deliberately spread rumors of discovering Geom Chong, continuously recruiting vast numbers of people to enter this place.
“Sacrifices. They needed massive quantities of sacrifices.”
The reason the Cheon In Sect had constructed Geom Chong and lured martial artists here was.
They required blood to awaken the sleeping Demonic Sword.
“Without becoming Murim Gongjuk.”
If they slaughtered or killed vast numbers of people, no matter how discreetly executed, the truth would eventually surface.
So they had devised an ingeniously clever method to obtain sacrifices for the Demonic Sword.
“Ah, so that’s why.”
The deep grooves embedded in the floor at each gate.
They had been channeling the flowing blood to a single location, directing it somewhere.
Then the participants’ blood collected in empty vessels at the final gate
must have been for a reason.
Likely to awaken some special Demonic Sword.
“What manner of Demonic Sword requires such vast quantities of blood with such specific conditions?”
The more formidable the Demonic Sword, the greater the quantity of blood it demands, and sometimes it requires blood from those meeting particular criteria.
Moreover, the blood they had obtained was
the blood of martial artists whose innate killing intent had not merely erupted but been consumed by murderous intent itself?
“And if it’s the blood of those stained with bloodlust…”
A sinister thought flashed through my mind.
The name of a legendary Demonic Sword that appeared once every hundred years in Murim surfaced in my consciousness.
The Demonic Sword, Thousand-Man Blood.
“Could it be that the Cheon In Sect constructed Geom Chong for the sole purpose of awakening Thousand-Man Blood?”

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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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