The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 584

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 584.
“All right.”
Chu So gazed into So Min’s eyes for a long moment, then smiled faintly and spoke.
“Then I’ll help you survive here.”
From that day forward, Chu So taught So Min the methods of survival.
What problems the instructors would pose next. How to pass the tests without drawing suspicion.
And he issued some rather unexpected instructions.
“From now on, eat more and gain weight. Pinch your cheeks to make them round.”
And he added:
“And cough slightly every hour or so, and furrow your brow.”
“Why on earth?”
“If you do that, one of the five instructors will approach you. Then, in an innocent tone, tell them you’re hungry and ask for food.”
So Min could not understand Chu So’s words.
But since she had survived thus far with his help, she followed his instructions without complaint.
“Is it difficult?”
As So Min did as Chu So instructed, one of the instructors spoke to her.
Her name was So Ye Rang.
It turned out she had a cute daughter who resembled So Min, but the girl had died from a plague.
The child had full cheeks, and her lungs were weak, so she often coughed slightly.
She loved food dearly and would pester for snacks even after eating rice.
Remarkably, Chu So had discovered the habits of So Ye Rang’s daughter and had So Min mimic them.
“I brought in a record of her secretly.”
Just as Chu So predicted, when So Min whimpered for food with innocent sincerity, So Ye Rang was overjoyed and began to care for her.
By the time they had built such a deep bond, the only children remaining in the village were Chu So and So Min.
Only the two of them.
“Tomorrow you’ll take the final test. It will be a game of Go.”
Chu So told So Min.
“Don’t worry about it. Just play as you wish.”
“Then I’ll lose.”
“Don’t be concerned. There’s a way for you not to lose and for me not to lose either. A way for both of us to survive.”
Only then did So Min grasp Chu So’s scheme and smile faintly.
“You’re going to draw the game so that both of us reveal we possess the talent of Jisalseong?”
Until now, the villagers had spent two years trying to find the most outstanding genius among the children.
But if there were two geniuses whose abilities could not be ranked?
They would have no choice but to let both survive, or conduct another test to determine the superior one.
“Listen carefully from now on.”
Chu So spoke in a mysterious tone.
“Probably when the full moon shines brightly, you’ll be able to leave the village. When you see a large pine tree, dig beneath it.”
“What is it?”
At So Min’s question, Chu So smiled faintly with a clearly sickly, pallid face.
“You’ll understand once you see it unfold.”
The next day.
The go match began exactly as Chu So had predicted.
So Min placed each stone with her full strength and concentration.
After all, with Chu So’s abilities, creating a draw would be trivial.
But as the game entered its final stages, something strange occurred.
Even if the match continued to its conclusion, Chu So had reached a position from which he could never reverse the board state.
He had deliberately lost to So Min.
“It’s over.”
The moment the match ended, the instructors dragged Chu So away somewhere.
Even as he was being pulled away, he wore a pallid smile directed at So Min until the very last moment.
‘Why on earth?’
Why had Chu So intentionally lost the match and chosen death?
Could he have created a way to survive by pretending to be dragged away?
‘I can’t believe this.’
So Min shot to her feet.
She had to confirm directly—why Chu So had chosen death in her stead, why he had orchestrated this outcome.
She had to verify it herself.
“Chu So!”
So Min cried out loudly and rushed toward him.
A sharp sting.
But as she bolted forward, a sudden pain shot through her back, and consciousness slipped away.
“This is incomprehensible. The Heavenly Star clearly manifested, and it was supposed to be among these children!”
An enraged voice pierced her ears from somewhere.
As So Min regained consciousness, she slowly opened her eyes.
But something was wrong.
Though consciousness had returned, she could not open her eyes, and her body was as immobile as a log—not a single finger would obey.
Yet from the sensations across her entire skin, it seemed she lay confined within some narrow box where not a sliver of light could enter.
“Why is it the Earthly Star shining instead of the Heavenly Star?!”
Jisalseong—the Earthly Star.
Literally meaning “the star of many schemes,” it was commonly used to describe a brilliant strategist possessed of exceptional wisdom.
‘So I was born with the Earthly Star.’
From the old man’s single utterance, So Min grasped the entire situation.
She had been born with the Earthly Star, and they were enraged that she did not possess the Heavenly Star. And as they had done before, they would discard her without hesitation.
And they would dispose of her without hesitation, just as they had done before.
“The Earthly Star is of no particular use to us anyway.”
The old man spoke in a voice devoid of all warmth.
“Dispose of her discreetly.”
The enraged old man’s voice became the ledger of life and death of the Yama King itself, reaching even into the box where So Min lay.
A dull thud.
As the command was given, So Min felt the box containing her being transported somewhere.
After traveling for a while, the box suddenly seemed to soar through the clouds like a feather before finally coming to a halt much later.
Scrape. Scrape.
Now an endless scraping sound echoed continuously from the ground below.
‘What on earth are they doing?’
So Min could neither open her eyes nor move a single toe.
Yet her mind remained intact, allowing her to clearly perceive the sounds from outside and even the texture of wood against her skin.
‘Am I already dead?’
The sensation was peculiar.
It felt as though I had died, but my spirit could not escape my body.
Thud.
At that moment, a cold wind brushed past my body along with a dull sound.
The air was bitterly cold, suggesting it was the dead of night and I had been brought to the Forest near the outskirts of the Village.
Swish. Swish.
Then, lying there, I felt thin cloth being wound tightly around me from head to toe.
From the scent, it was unmistakably oil-treated linen being wrapped around my body.
‘They believe I’m dead and are performing the ritual washing and dressing of the corpse.’
My suspicion proved correct.
My body, wrapped in linen, was placed into a deep pit.
Then, accompanied by more scraping sounds, I felt thick earth pouring down upon me.
‘This is how I die.’
I felt a bitter sense of frustration.
I had failed to avenge those who killed my parents, and I had sacrificed Chu So, who had always helped me.
And still, I could not escape this place.
‘Even in death, I will become a ghost and take my revenge!’
With each wave of falling earth, I cried out ceaselessly.
‘I will surely have my vengeance upon you all!’
But the weight of earth pressing upon my chest grew heavier, and eventually, I lost consciousness.
How much time had passed?
The weight of earth that had been pressing down on me lightened, and suddenly I felt fresh air once more.
“When the Namhwa Immortal’s Myeong Woon Dream Path Grand Technique is deployed, all vital signs disappear, yet breathing remains perfectly intact.”
At the same time, the voice of a middle-aged woman reached my ears.
It was the voice of Instructor So Ye Rang.
“I had already obtained the corpse of a child similar to you and used it as a substitute. From now on, you are free.”
She spoke in a low voice.
“After half a quarter of an hour passes, you will be able to move your body. Leave this place immediately and live quietly.”
In So Ye Rang’s voice, both sorrow and tenderness were intertwined.
“If you do not reveal what happened here, no danger will befall you.”
A deep sigh echoed before So Ye Rang’s presence gradually receded.
And after half a quarter of an hour had passed, just as she said, the paralysis lifted from my body and my vision gradually brightened.
Looking around, I saw the desolate landscape of a Deep Forest.
And scattered throughout the area were small mounds rising from the earth.
They were burial mounds.
The count was precisely seventy-six.
The exact number of children I had endured hardship alongside in the Village until now.
“Chu So.”
Then Chu So must be buried somewhere among these graves.
So Min searched through the mounds, trying to find where Chu So lay cold in the earth.
Surely he would have been buried last.
“Nothing.”
Since the trial had only begun a few months ago, the mounds were nearly new.
Moreover, without even a single gravestone, there was no way to know where Chu So had been buried.
I forced myself to dig up several mounds, but could only confirm the pitiful sight of dead children.
‘Even if I find him, there is nothing I can do for him now.’
Eventually, So Min gave up searching and bowed toward the mounds.
“I will surely take revenge, and then return to bury you in a place bathed in sunlight.”
As I recalled Chu So’s sickly face and smile, my chest ached with unbearable pain.
But there was no time to dwell in sorrow.
If I remained here any longer, I could be captured and dragged back to the Village again.
Whoosh.
Looking around, I quickly fled the cemetery.
Running endlessly down the rugged mountain path, I eventually descended to the foot of the Mountain.
Then the landscape changed.
As if entering a different world, an entirely different scenery unfolded before me.
‘A formation, or perhaps a spell?’
They had used mysterious formations or spells to conceal the Village’s location.
Exiting the Village would lead to a completely different place.
The Sky was bright with a full moon hanging above.
Running frantically with the moonlight at my back, I spotted a massive pine tree in the distance.
―When the full moon rises brightly, you’ll be able to leave the Village. When you see that large pine tree, dig beneath it.
‘A pine tree.’
Recalling Chu So’s words, I immediately dug beneath the pine tree.
There, I found a letter written in neat characters.
It was a letter left by Chu So.
―By the time you read this, you’ll have already escaped the Village, won’t you?
Remarkably, Chu So had anticipated every circumstance and left this letter here by some unknown method.
―Keep walking east endlessly. And when the fifteenth day arrives, you will meet people who will change your life.
…(omitted)…
Those who killed your parents are from the Infinite Realm, and those who kidnapped us are members of the Jung Sun Ga.
When you gain the strength to take revenge… you will understand how terrifying these two names truly are.
So Min could be certain of it.
Chu So possessed the exceptional wisdom that they had so desperately longed for—a gift bestowed by heaven itself.
He was a Celestial Sage, one who could divine the flow of heavenly fortune and even predict the future.
Yet Chu So had surrendered his own life to save So Min.
―The reason I chose you is because only you can avenge us all.
And at the end of the letter lay Chu So’s consideration.
―I suffer from severe lung disease and won’t live long anyway. Even without you, death was my fate, so do not torment yourself with guilt.
So Min clutched the remaining letter tightly to her chest.
And she wept.
“A lie.”
She had known.
Chu So had deliberately feigned lung disease all along.
Perhaps at first it was to avoid drawing the instructors’ attention.
But later, it must have been a way to ease his own guilt.
“Did you think I wouldn’t see through that?”
So Min shed hot tears without ceasing.
These were the first tears she had shed since her parents’ death.
“I won’t cry anymore after this.”
Carefully placing the letter in her bosom, So Min followed Chu So’s words and walked eastward without hesitation.
Chu So was a Celestial Sage.
A divine being possessed of the mysterious ability to divine the workings of heavenly fortune.
His prophecies would all come true. If she went to that place, she would surely gain the power to achieve her vengeance.
‘The Infinite Realm, the Jung Sun Family.’
As So Min walked endlessly eastward, she repeated that name over and over, never allowing herself to forget it.
When hungry, she would beg or scavenge for food from the sewers.
When that was not possible, she would chew tree roots and grass into fine pieces.
Walking thus endlessly eastward, she eventually discovered a beautiful Plum Forest at the foot of a mountain, its blossoms radiant with color.
“How beautiful.”
So Min found herself drawn toward the Plum Forest.
Upon entering, she spotted a place where clear stream water flowed.
Gazing at her reflection in the water’s surface, she saw the face of a beggar girl.
Splash.
Cupping water in both hands, she washed her face for the first time in ages.
Then, from beneath the grime of a beggar child, the beautiful visage of a young woman emerged.
“Oh.”
Before So Min, who had finished washing, appeared a middle-aged man with the bearing of an immortal and a beautiful woman with the grace of a celestial maiden.
Upon seeing So Min’s face, the middle-aged man spoke in a trembling voice.
“She bears a striking resemblance to Gyeong…”
The beautiful woman also nodded in astonishment.
The couple realized their daughter possessed an exceptional intellect, and they sought to nurture her talents so they could flourish.
I had sent her to Jeol Gal Seo Won in Sang Chun Valley.
But in the end, my daughter breathed her last there.
An illness of unknown origin claimed her—she passed away in her sleep one night.
Unable to bear the sudden loss of their daughter, the couple wandered through Gangho.
Then they discovered a child with an identical appearance, as if their daughter had returned to life.
And this day was
exactly a fortnight after reading the letter beneath the pine tree.
“Child, what is your name?”
So Min could not answer the middle-aged woman’s question.
“There is no need to fear. You simply resemble our daughter so much.”
So Min could immediately assess the situation.
The couple’s expressions bore a striking resemblance to So Ye Rang’s—the instructor who had saved her.
“I have no name.”
So Min pretended to be an orphan.
The couple asked her many questions afterward.
And they marveled at her keen intelligence as well,
finding it strikingly similar to their deceased daughter.
Perceiving it as fate, they took So Min with them.
They adopted her as their true daughter and bestowed upon her the name Gong Son Dan Gyeong.
The couple recovered from their grief, their bond strengthened, and they bore another daughter.
That child’s name was Gong Son Dan Ah.
The couple treated Gong Son Dan Gyeong as their biological daughter, never revealing the truth to Gong Son Dan Ah.
Yet So Min felt a measure of guilt toward Gong Son Dan Ah.
I was not the Gong Sun family’s true daughter, and I would have to risk my life for vengeance.
So I feigned inferiority and kept my distance from Gong Son Dan Ah.
When the time came, I left the Gong Sun family and entered the Murim Alliance.
For vengeance, I needed an exceptional intelligence network.
Fortunately, with my father Gong Sun Hwa Wook’s support and having proven my remarkable wisdom and intellect, I was able to begin at the high position of Chief Director of the Wi Ui Bu, which researched mechanical techniques.
Then, as Vice Leader of the Sam Jeon Dang under the Chief Inspector Division, I accumulated merit upon merit with remarkable speed.
Until at last, I ascended to the position of Chief.
And as Chu So had prophesied, the Infinite Realm and the Jung Sun Ga—
those who killed my parents and abducted me—their identities and names
revealed themselves to be far more terrifying and grave than I had imagined.
The Infinite Realm.
They were one of the three pillars that dominated Murim, and
the Jung Sun Ga.
One of the legendary families that had never revealed themselves in Murim until now.
Yet I had not discovered what connection existed between the Infinite Realm and the Jung Sun Ga.
However, the Three Realms dominated Murim, and their identities were known to the leaders of each faction.
If I could eliminate the Infinite Realm, I was certain I could uncover the Jung Sun Ga as well.
Yet contrary to expectations, no matter how much I probed and investigated the Infinite Realm, I could find no connection to the Jung Sun Ga.
―A figure from the Yang Seol Family has emerged in Murim.
But Seon Woo Jin, who had ventured into Gangho, brought unexpected information.
A legendary figure from the Yang Seol Family had descended into Gangho to capture Jisalseong.
A spark of inspiration.
In that instant, a new strategy crystallized in Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s mind.
The Yang Seol Family, like the Jung Sun Ga, was a hidden force lurking beneath the surface of the known world.
If she could capture that woman…
Perhaps she could uncover the true base of the Jung Sun Ga.
Knock, knock.
Just then, a low voice came from beyond the door.
“Chief, it is Song Ryeong.”
“Come in.”
Song Ryeong was her adjutant and also the commander of the covert organization she had established.
“We have found her.”
Song Ryeong spoke in a hushed tone.
“The individual suspected to be from the Yang Seol Family, as you mentioned, Chief, has been spotted at a temple in Sichuan.”
“Excellent.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“Relay this to Baek Ri Dan Ju.”
A chill so profound it could freeze the world itself poured from her gaze.
“If he brings her to me alive, I will honor my promise.”
“Understood. However…”
Song Ryeong spoke in an even lower voice.
“Individuals who appear to be from the Demonic Path’s Information Division have been detected in that vicinity. They seem to be operatives under Muk Hon Ryeong Ju.”
“Muk Hon Ryeong Ju?”
“Yes. Given that they are not attempting to conceal themselves, it appears there may be some connection.”
Muk Hon Ryeong Ju Bu Eunseol.
She had exchanged favors with Gong Son Dan Gyeong multiple times and had promised to cooperate in dealing with the Infinite Realm.
If she was present near the Yang Seol Family member, sending Baek Ri Dan Ju would be unwise.
“It does not matter.”
Yet Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke coldly.
“Proceed as planned.”
“Understood.”
As Song Ryeong departed, Gong Son Dan Gyeong bit her lip.
‘I will tolerate no one who stands in my way.’
A chill capable of freezing even the heavens poured forth from her eyes.
‘The Infinite Realm and the Jung Sun Ga. From this moment, I will bring you both to ruin, one by one.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————