The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 684
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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 684.
[Ma Cheon Je has broken his seclusion and returned to the Demon Palace.]
As Bu Eunseol made her way back to the Demon Palace, she received unexpected news from So Yo.
Ma Cheon Je had suddenly broken his seclusion and returned to the Holy Demon Pavilion.
‘Does he read every thought that crosses my mind?’
This time, no matter what happened, she was determined to find Ma Cheon Je’s whereabouts and request a private audience.
But Ma Cheon Je, as if anticipating this very move, had returned directly to the Holy Demon Pavilion.
‘When I think about it, it was not just Ma Cheon Je.’
Except for the Nangya Sect.
All the great masters Bu Eunseol had encountered in the Murim who commanded the Tianxia had sought to manipulate those around them according to their whims.
It was hardly surprising that Ma Cheon Je would do the same.
‘The only thing I cannot fathom is his purpose, what he desires from me…’
Ma Cheon Je was a figure who embodied chaos itself.
His reasons for manipulating her could not possibly be as trivial as the prosperity of the Demon Palace or personal advancement.
‘I will return to the Demon Palace as slowly as possible.’
Upon hearing that Ma Cheon Je had broken his seclusion and returned, Bu Eunseol deliberately made her way back at a measured pace.
To secure a private audience with Ma Cheon Je.
And to prepare herself for survival.
“I have come to pay respects to Ma Cheon Je.”
Upon her return to the Demon Palace, Bu Eunseol immediately made her way to the Holy Demon Pavilion.
“Ma Cheon Je awaits your presence.”
Wi Sa of the Holy Demon Pavilion clasped his hands respectfully the moment Bu Eunseol arrived.
A faint crackle of irritation.
Wi Sa’s natural composure kindled a spark of indignation within Bu Eunseol.
It was always like this.
Ma Cheon Je held her as if she were cradled in the palm of his hand, as if he had threaded strings through her very being.
He always anticipated her movements and prepared his responses accordingly.
‘But this time will be different.’
Bu Eunseol harbored a bitter smile within her heart.
No matter how formidable Ma Cheon Je was, he could not possibly predict what she intended to do this time.
Footsteps echoed softly.
As Wi Sa guided her out through the western gate of the Holy Demon Pavilion, Bu Eunseol could see Ma Cheon Je watering the crops he had planted in the vegetable garden.
“Muhonjung, Bu Eunseol pays her respects to Ma Cheon Je.”
Ma Cheon Je did not spare her a glance, continuing to water the plants with serene indifference.
Bu Eunseol spoke without hesitation.
“And since you have graciously broken your seclusion… I would humbly request instruction from you.”
A pause.
In that instant, Ma Cheon Je’s movements as he tilted the watering vessel came to an abrupt halt.
It was a reaction he had not anticipated.
For he had surely expected her to ask him many questions.
I had always thought rationally and logically.
A challenge against Ma Cheon Je.
It was not something to be taken lightly.
“Are you serious?”
Ma Cheon Je’s previously composed eyes began to emit a mysterious radiance.
Save for the Sam Ma Sam Jon, all who had challenged Ma Cheon Je thus far had perished.
Without even possessing qualifications equal to the Sam Ma Sam Jon.
To challenge the foremost master of the Demonic Path was tantamount to denying his authority as the very sky of the Demonic Path itself.
And that principle….
Admitted no exceptions, not even for the successor of the Demon Palace.
“Hmm.”
Ma Cheon Je stared intently at Bu Eunseol while gripping the water bucket.
His gaze was so profoundly deep.
It felt as though I were plummeting into an endlessly fathomless well.
Since reaching the realm of spiritual mastery, Bu Eunseol’s mental defenses had never been breached by anyone.
There was once a brief breach by Ak Moo Ryung, it was said.
That had occurred because I had essentially lowered my guard entirely when facing an elder of the same sect.
Bubbling, bubbling….
But Ma Cheon Je was different.
Absurdly so.
My mental defenses shattered in a single instant, and my consciousness was plunging into waters of infinite depth.
‘Is it still so far?’
Even as my consciousness grew dim, I struggled to maintain awareness.
Had Bu Eunseol possessed the strength to withstand Ma Cheon Je’s technique?
I would have converted the spiritual assault into a physical one, as Tak Ma did.
But that was impossible now.
I lacked even the margin to employ such a stratagem.
‘Yet… it matters not!’
In truth, even before requesting this lesson.
I had anticipated all of this.
That I would not land a single blow against Ma Cheon Je, and that he would shatter and frustrate my spirit.
‘He may seize control of my spirit.’
Bu Eunseol closed my eyes.
‘But he cannot seize the will inscribed upon my very body.’
Zing.
Upon opening my eyes again, a sallow light poured forth from my pupils.
Bu Eunseol knew of those who had clashed with Ma Cheon Je repeatedly and survived unscathed.
In Ma, Ak Moo Ryung.
He had not only collided with Ma Cheon Je on multiple occasions.
Far from losing his life, he had achieved a dramatic leap in martial prowess through life-or-death confrontations.
And there was only one way this could be possible.
By reaching the pinnacle of Nangya Sect martial arts, one could unravel any technique.
And perceive any subtlety of martial arts in an instant.
But Bu Eunseol had only just crossed the threshold of Nangya Heart’s Eye.
At her current level, she could not grasp Ma Cheon Je’s martial subtleties.
So she thought differently.
Rather than unraveling the subtleties of martial arts… she would unleash her own martial subtleties without reservation in any circumstance.
A slightly different application of Nangya Heart’s Eye.
And to perfect it.
Bu Eunseol deliberately returned to the Demon Palace slowly.
Zing.
Golden radiance flowed not just from Bu Eunseol’s eyes but from her entire body.
And simultaneously, regardless of her body’s hazy spiritual state, her instincts began pouring out martial arts relentlessly.
From her left hand came the Demon Fist Seventh Form.
From her right poured the Musang Cheon Ryu Form without end.
Crack! Whoosh!
Her consciousness had sunk, her eyes unfocused.
Even as she continued sinking into the water, even without any awareness.
Bu Eunseol’s body began unleashing attacks toward Ma Cheon Je without cessation.
“Hah.”
Ma Cheon Je let out a sigh and moved his hand holding the water bucket lightly.
Each time his fingers moved as if keeping time, Bu Eunseol’s martial arts were neutralized one by one.
Standing calmly with the bucket in hand, he completely blocked her attacks.
“You’ve devised quite a method.”
A subtle light flickered in Ma Cheon Je’s eyes.
“Surely you started with the calculation that I wouldn’t kill you.”
Ma Cheon Je gazed intently at Bu Eunseol.
Her unfocused eyes continuously unfolding martial arts.
“You must have guessed that I still need you as a blade.”
If he had wanted to kill Bu Eunseol?
Without even becoming one of the Ten Demon Immortals, she would already be a wandering spirit haunting Gu Cheon.
Yet the fact that she still lived until now meant only one thing.
There was reason and utility value in keeping Bu Eunseol alive.
Bu Eunseol knew this too, so she challenged boldly.
Considering the time and effort invested thus far, he could not simply strike her down.
“Hehehehe.”
Ma Cheon Je laughed and slightly raised his pinky finger holding the water bucket.
“But that calculation was wrong.”
Gooooo.
As the air of the entire world rushed toward his pinky, a tremendous force came crashing down.
“It is still too early to predict this seat.”
Ma Cheon Je was Ma Cheon Je.
He embodied chaos itself, a figure utterly beyond prediction.
Should anyone ever predict his actions, he possessed the power to shatter that prediction without hesitation.
Boom!
In that instant, a deafening explosion reverberated as if the entire world were collapsing.
Simultaneously, blood erupted from Bu Eunseol’s chest.
With merely a casual gesture of his hand.
A terrifying force had pierced through his protective qi and driven straight through his heart.
Zing.
Yet the heart remained unbroken.
Screech.
Black qi had materialized and gathered around Bu Eunseol’s heart.
He had deployed the Yeouui True Formation to block that devastating power.
“Through Nangya’s Divine Eye, you instinctively unleash the optimal martial technique.”
Ma Cheon Je smiled faintly upon witnessing Bu Eunseol deploy his Demonic Secret Method and recognizing the profound depth of his cultivation.
The deeper one refined the Demonic Secret Method, the more certainly one would achieve the desired outcome he sought.
“Just as you strive to fathom this seat, so too have I long studied you.”
Ma Cheon Je slowly extended his finger toward Bu Eunseol, and once again, a strange force surged forth.
It was no simple power like wind.
It could shatter in an instant the efficacy of Bu Eunseol’s Nangya Divine Eye, which instinctively deployed optimal martial techniques from the unconscious mind.
It was a new martial technique—a principle of combat that Ma Cheon Je had devised on the spot.
Like Ak Moo Ryung before him.
He grasped the subtleties of the martial techniques his opponent employed during fierce combat, then applied techniques to exploit them.
Whoosh.
As Ma Cheon Je extended his finger, mist-like qi swirled around Bu Eunseol’s body.
It was the principle of the martial technique Ma Cheon Je unleashed to kill Bu Eunseol.
A formally executed first strike of his technique.
The mist was viscous and tenacious, strangling Bu Eunseol’s breath.
Moreover, it sealed all the powerful inner energy circulating through his body.
It rendered him incapable of deploying any martial technique, freezing his joints and muscles solid.
With merely one movement.
Ma Cheon Je had woven chains that bound all of Bu Eunseol’s struggles.
Crack.
Bu Eunseol’s body, through the Nangya Divine Eye, had generated the optimal martial technique, yet this time it proved useless.
The force Ma Cheon Je unleashed possessed an extremely viscous and supple nature.
It had rendered Bu Eunseol incapable of movement from the start.
Thus both his spirit and flesh were sinking completely into darkness.
‘Was my prediction mistaken?’
Bu Eunseol finally awakened from unconsciousness.
Even my newly transformed Nangya Heart Eye was sealed by Ma Cheon Je’s methods.
‘He intends to kill me without hesitation.’
Given all the effort invested thus far.
I had believed he would not kill me in a single strike.
No, I had at least expected him to display some emotion in some form.
But contrary to my expectations, Ma Cheon Je had resolved to eliminate me without hesitation.
‘No, that cannot be.’
I could say with certainty.
Ma Cheon Je does not merely symbolize chaos—he is chaos itself.
And within that word ‘chaos’ lies a calculation so terrifyingly precise.
Ma Cheon Je would never carelessly discard a piece he had cultivated for so long.
‘After sealing my body, he will seek to completely dominate my spirit as well.’
I bit my lip.
What Ma Cheon Je desired from me was absolute obedience.
He would likely seize the moment when I fell into a state of near-death within death’s threshold, then take control of both my body and spirit.
But I had no intention of allowing that.
If I must die, then I would die—but I would never survive in a wretched state and kneel before Ma Cheon Je.
―Take my hand.
Finally, as I sank into the Abyss from which I could descend no further, another version of myself appeared as if it had been waiting.
―Together with me, we can bring him down.
My form stained by darkness.
Was dyed even blacker than the Abyss itself.
Yet the figure of the Black Shadow with only white lips moving held no real difference from the powerful ones who had toyed with me until now.
―Disappear.
I spoke coldly.
―Rather than strike down Ma Cheon Je through combined power, I would fight and die alone.
―That is also good.
The Shadow laughed brightly.
―Your madness is the very reason I exist.
Unexpectedly, the Shadow simply vanished, leaving only those words behind.
In that moment, my pupils grew transparent, and my breath began to fade.
Yet strangely, there was peace.
Death had always lingered beside me.
Even before I lost my memories and wandered through the snow, death had always been creeping upon my back.
But when my grandfather Bu Chanyang.
Extended his hand to me as I was freezing to death, the meaning of death changed slightly.
Quiet and peaceful.
And dying meant meeting my grandfather again in the afterlife.
It had become something peaceful and joyful instead.
Zing.
In that moment, Bu Eunseol’s spirit recalled something she had forgotten.
Mu Hwang Jeong Gak.
The supreme heart technique of the Orthodox Sects—one that could amplify the power of martial arts simply by harboring beautiful and joyful thoughts.
Until now, her spirit had been assimilated into the Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol, which lay closer to Ma Cheon Je’s nature.
After all, his temperament was inherently barren and desolate.
Yet deep within Bu Eunseol’s consciousness, affection overflowed abundantly, and she yearned for the peace that Mu Hwang Jeong Gak embodied.
‘I can draw strength from beautiful and joyful memories.’
Looking back, the martial art she had considered most fundamental to the Infinite Realm was none other than the supreme technique of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
Even as the Gwil Sect produced masters of old, and the Cheonghae Realm created dual personalities to forge the strong—
The Infinite Realm clung solely to artificial inner elixirs and Sasin techniques, striving to perfect the Eight Emperors and Three Stars’ supreme method.
That brilliant martial art from four hundred years past.
They had judged it capable of suppressing the current Murim’s strongest with ease.
And Bu Eunseol—
Had mastered the Thirteen Night Technique, the supreme pinnacle of Mu Hwang, which stood at the apex of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars’ martial arts.
Yet she had rarely employed it, nor had she advanced it through enlightenment.
Her foundation lay in the Nangya Sect, after all.
The heart techniques of the Demonic Path felt far more natural to her.
She wielded the Yeui Jin Gyeol so frequently, yet unconsciously rejected the Thirteen Night Technique.
‘I am not a practitioner of the Demonic Path.’
From the moment she resolved to reach an independent realm of martial arts rather than follow Ak Moo Ryung’s teachings—
The distinction between Orthodox and Demonic had vanished from Bu Eunseol’s heart, and the awareness of being a Demonic Path practitioner had dissolved.
‘And I am not of the Orthodox Sects either.’
In the endlessly descending darkness, nothing was visible—it was as death itself.
By the nature of martial arts, when one ventures into such infinitely profound depths, darkness casts its shadow upon the mind.
But Bu Eunseol was the opposite.
The darker, lonelier, and more profoundly silent it became, the more at ease she felt.
It had always been this way during the years spent with her grandfather Bu Chanyang.
She had always dwelt in dark places.
When her grandfather went to the Constabulary, Bu Eunseol would prepare the corpses for burial alone.
And those moments were, paradoxically, joyful and happy.
At the end of this silence, as deathlike as death itself—
Her grandfather would return with a weary face, meet her gaze, and gently stroke her head.
Death-like endless darkness, loneliness, profound silence…
These had always been her allies.
Zing.
From Bu Eunseol’s body, now suffused with boundless ease, a faint radiance began to flow.
The secret of Mu Hwang Jeong Gak—which grew more powerful the happier one became—had never aligned with her nature.
But when Ma Cheon Je forcibly thrust her consciousness into this abyss-like depth—
She had instead reached the ultimate truth of Mu Hwang Jeong Gak itself.
‘Deep as the abyss, becoming the source of all things’—the subtle principle of Yuen Xi Si Wan Wu Zhi Zong had been attained.
Flash!
The moment light returned to Bu Eunseol’s vacant eyes,
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Nine razor-sharp blades of energy began to whirl violently around his body.
The Thirteen Celestial Blades, which even with five hundred years of cultivation could only manifest four strands, suddenly expanded to nine in a single breath.
Crack! Crack crack!
And those razor-sharp blades began to slice through the viscous, tenacious force that had been coiling around Bu Eunseol’s body—
The martial principles that Ma Cheon Je had unleashed were being completely severed.
‘Mu Hwang’s martial arts are Seon Woo Jin’s martial arts.’
As Bu Eunseol was about to fully deploy the Thirteen Celestial Blades, a sudden realization struck him.
Mu Hwang’s martial techniques were those of Seon Woo Jin.
If he did not alter the form of the Thirteen Celestial Blades, Ma Cheon Je would immediately recognize that Seon Woo Jin was himself.
Boom! Boom!
Bu Eunseol forcibly infused the Demonic Path’s martial principles into the Thirteen Celestial Blades. Yet the power remained so overwhelming that
Crack.
he could completely shatter that viscous martial technique.
Brilliant light blazed forth.
A radiant brilliance erupted from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
‘Now it is my turn.’
Had I been content merely to escape, I would not have lifted a hand.
I would never have harbored the resolve to challenge him in the first place.
Whoooosh.
The nine blades of energy coiling around Bu Eunseol’s body became a whirlwind, soaring to the very edge of the heavens.
It resembled the moment Ma Cheon Je had forged a colossal sword dozens of zhang tall through the Binding Seal Formation.
Screech.
As the overwhelming energy blades whirled forth, blood vessels burst across Bu Eunseol’s body, and his eyes turned white.
It felt as though my body would tear asunder.
‘Unity.’
Bu Eunseol finally understood.
The true pinnacle of Mu Hwang Jeong Gak—the Thirteen Celestial Blades—required merging all the Orthodox Sects’ righteous martial principles into one and unleashing them
Like the power of ‘harmony.’
Crack crack crack.
But because the Orthodox martial techniques could not be integrated, the nine blades of energy, like ferocious evil dragons,
Whirled around Bu Eunseol’s body, tearing him to shreds.
‘It matters not.’
Even if my entire body were torn to pieces. Even if I became nothing but dust.
I must drive this whirling force into Ma Cheon Je’s body.
“Nngh… Haaah!”
Drawing his right hand back, Bu Eunseol began to gather the tempestuous storm of vital energy as though it would devour the entire world,
Slowly extending his arm forward.
Yet the savage aura, as if to shatter Bu Eunseol’s will entirely, slipped from his grasp and surged outward once more in a devastating wave.
“How tedious.”
Ma Cheon Je flicked his finger with an air of boredom.
In that instant, a technique surpassing the Meteor Pursuit Method struck at Bu Eunseol’s throat with even greater velocity.
Boom.
In that moment, the entire world seemed to freeze, and a tremendous resonance thundered through my mind.
As Ma Cheon Je unleashed the line of death.
The chaotic power of the Thirteen Nights Technique, which had been swirling like a whirlwind, became perfectly aligned.
“Haah!”
Bu Eunseol stretched both hands toward the line approaching his throat.
Whoosh.
Then the power Ma Cheon Je had unleashed vanished in an instant.
And at that same moment, from Bu Eunseol’s outstretched palms, an aura as if to annihilate the world itself poured forth toward Ma Cheon Je.
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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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