The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 687

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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 687.
“You must be the one to negotiate with the Blood Cult this time.”
As the meeting concluded, Bu Eunseol discreetly summoned Seo Jin Ha to the Secret Chamber.
And she uttered something astonishing.
She was entrusting him with the negotiation—to meet the Blood Cult Master and strike a bargain, securing a promise that they would abandon their designs on invading Zhong Yuan.
“That’s a sound strategy. Very well. I’ll go.”
Seo Jin Ha nodded without hesitation.
No matter who Bu Eunseol was.
To venture to the Blood Cult unprepared and persuade the Blood Cult Master to renounce their ambitions of conquering Zhong Yuan—
it was, in truth, an impossible task.
Moreover, venturing into the Blood Cult’s headquarters meant his life could not be guaranteed.
From Bu Eunseol’s perspective, it made more strategic sense to entrust the Blood Cult matter to him while—
he aided the Sayoung Hall’s subordinates in safely completing the subjugation of Eum Gyeol Ma Ji.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my utmost to persuade them. If it fails, I’ll simply slip away.”
Seo Jin Ha deliberately flashed a broad smile.
“Even if the Blood Cult Master’s courage swells to bursting, he won’t sever the neck of the Demon Palace’s heir.”
To venture deep into the Blood Cult’s core and emerge unscathed—
even for Bu Eunseol, it was no simple matter.
Yet Seo Jin Ha, fearing her resolve might waver, struck his chest and spoke with unwavering confidence.
“If they possessed such courage, they would have invaded Zhong Yuan long ago and tested themselves against Ma Cheon Je. Wouldn’t they?”
He laughed and puffed out his chest.
“So worry not. Leave it to me.”
Sacrificing himself to save the lives of hundreds from the Sayoung Hall was the rational choice.
Even if that place were Hell itself, he could walk into it with a smile.
“I understand what you’re thinking, but that won’t happen.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“I have no plan to send you to your death and save the Sayoung Hall in exchange.”
“What?”
“The negotiation may fail. But you will face no danger.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with absolute conviction.
“I will ensure it.”
“How?”
“I have already ensured it.”
Seo Jin Ha was curious but asked no further.
Among Bu Eunseol’s promises, not a single one had ever gone unfulfilled.
“Very well. I understand.”
In the past, Bu Eunseol had disregarded her position as the Demon Palace’s heir and even her own life.
She had pulled Seo Jin Ha from danger when he fell into a trap.
And from the moment Seo Jin Ha resolved to become Bu Eunseol’s shadow, he swore an oath—that he would die in her stead should danger ever befall her.
Not a single day had he forgotten that resolve and that vow.
Even if the Blood Cult Master attacked him, even if it cost him his life.
He could face the Blood Cult with a smile on his face.
“Then I’ll go.”
As Seo Jin Ha left the Secret Chamber, Bu Eunseol spoke again.
“Don’t worry. Trust me.”
Her voice carried a power that could ease any heart.
Seo Jin Ha smiled faintly and nodded.
“I’m not worried.”
And immediately, he reversed his form back to Bu Eunseol’s appearance before departing for the Blood Cult.
* * *
‘So you can make mistakes too.’
As Seo Jin Ha’s consciousness finished its recollection, it slowly sank into darkness.
The Blood Cult Master, without revealing himself, was inflicting torment upon Seo Jin Ha as if death itself.
If he was attacking with this level of intent, it meant he had resolved to capture Bu Eunseol.
Escaping the Blood Cult unscathed was an impossibility.
‘If it comes to this, I’ll drag all of you down to Hell with me.’
I couldn’t simply sit here and die.
I would invoke the Dharma of the Severing Emotion Secret Method to take them as companions to Hell.
Crack!
Thick veins bulged across my entire body.
My vision, which had been tinted red like blood, slowly began to return to normal.
At the same time, black mirage began to rise from my entire being.
The searing pain that felt like it would burn my mind disappeared, and an inexplicable exhilaration spread throughout my body.
‘What use is it for a martial artist to harbor emotion?’
The ultimate principle of the Severing Emotion Secret Method was to preserve the body by abandoning the heart.
By casting away all emotions that dulled and weakened a martial artist’s body and senses.
One could construct a formidable spiritual barrier.
And master the secret technique of freely controlling the emission of true energy.
This was the power one could wield.
Flash!
When Seo Jin Ha opened his eyes again, black energy swirled within them.
As the Severing Emotion Secret Method seized control of my spirit.
All the thoughts that had filled my mind vanished, and quietude flooded in.
‘There it is.’
I could immediately discern Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s position controlling the interior of the Great Hall.
Everything I was seeing now was an illusion, and Pae Ryuk Gyeol sat upon the Platform’s throne, looking down upon me.
And on both sides of me, two men emitting strange radiance appeared to be casting soul-binding techniques.
Whoosh!
The black true energy spreading from my body became a fierce whip, drawing a massive circle.
It happened in an instant.
*Crack.*
Red lines of blood traced across the two men’s necks, and in an instant, their heads separated from their bodies.
The crimson-stained landscape vanished, and I could see the pristine interior of the Great Hall.
Stone tiles lay beneath my feet, night-luminous pearls adorned the ceiling, and lanterns hung from massive pillars three spans thick, casting brilliant light throughout the chamber.
Bronze statues stood scattered about—grotesque figures with the heads of sheep and the bodies of men.
A thoroughly evil sect’s aesthetic.
“Welcome.”
My burning black eyes fixed upon Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s face as he sat upon the high seat.
He wore blood-red robes adorned with ornate jewelry, his complexion notably dark.
Yet his eyes gleamed with an enigmatic radiance, suggesting both considerable sorcerous mastery and profound internal cultivation.
“The rumors of Murim prove unreliable.”
Pae Ryuk Gyeol smiled, his chin resting upon his hand as he looked down at me.
“They called you a righteous cultivator within the Demonic Path. Yet I see now you are a true follower of the Demonic Way—no different from Ma Cheon Je himself.”
Even as his subordinate lay dead, his head severed from his body, he maintained an unhurried tone and expression.
“The fact that you entered this temple alone suggests you have some confidence.”
As Pae Ryuk Gyeol tilted his head, the large ornament hanging from his ear made a loud jingling sound.
“I confess, I cannot discern what that is.”
Had I been my ordinary self,
I would have mimicked Bu Eunseol somehow and continued negotiating.
But from the moment I drew upon the Secret Scripture of Annihilation, an uncontrollable killing intent surged within my heart.
“You speak like a fish caught in a net.”
I regarded Pae Ryuk Gyeol with emotionless eyes.
“Does the world appear so simple to you?”
I shook my head coldly.
“A false cult leader, nothing more.”
In that instant, Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s eyes flashed.
“Why do you believe the true leader is false?”
“If the Blood Cult’s master—one who constantly schemes to seize the Murim of Zhong Yuan—possessed only this caliber of ability, the Blood Cult would have been destroyed by Bon Jeon long ago.”
My eyes gleamed with dark radiance.
“A crude figure who would bring subordinates to cast sorcery merely to kill one Ryeong Ju, confining them in such a grand hall—that would be beneath the true leader’s station.”
*Hehehehe.*
The false Pae Ryuk Gyeol chuckled at my cutting words.
*Hahahaha.*
Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s murky, grotesque voice gradually transformed into a clear, resonant tone.
As if male and female voices were intertwined.
*Whoosh.*
With a single spin of the body, Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s form instantly shifted to that of a woman of mature beauty.
She was Hong Seon, one of the ten elders of the Blood Cult.
“As merely one of the ten elders, I would never dare so brazenly impersonate the cult leader.”
I spoke with an emotionless expression.
“In the meantime, she must have been promoted to Left Emissary or Right Emissary… or perhaps she’s the cult leader’s favorite concubine.”
“Don’t wag your tongue so carelessly!”
Hong Seon cried out, struck by the accurate jab, and Seo Jin Ha sneered coldly.
“I specifically requested an audience with the cult leader, so why is some elder nobody stepping forward?”
“Nobody?”
Hong Seon’s eyes widened sharply, and she spoke with icy precision.
“The very fact that a mere child like you dares to enter alone and request an audience with the cult leader is itself an insult to our sect.”
So that’s why they let her inside so readily…
She believed that this woman’s audacious attitude in coming here alone to demand an audience with the cult leader was itself a desecration of the Blood Cult.
That’s why she had attempted to kill her by impersonating the cult leader.
“Excessive loyalty, I see.”
As Seo Jin Ha let out a suppressed chuckle, Hong Seon spoke in a sinister voice.
“Let’s see if your skill matches your talent for running your mouth.”
Even if Bu Eunseol had truly come.
Once the Blood Cult had sealed the doors and decided to strike her down, there was no way to escape.
“Try it.”
Yet Seo Jin Ha advanced toward Hong Seon with complete confidence.
With each step forward, dense black heat shimmer rippled from her body.
With the Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol activated, there was no fear or hesitation in her mind.
Only an endless desire to cut down her enemies, again and again.
“Your confidence is quite remarkable.”
Hong Seon smiled coldly, then raised her right hand.
A deep rumbling sound echoed.
Suddenly, countless cult disciples dressed in blood-red robes surrounded Bu Eunseol.
Their numbers were at least five hundred strong.
Moreover, judging by the strange energy they emanated, they seemed intent on deploying sorcery rather than martial techniques.
A resonant hum filled the air.
The heat shimmer flowing from Seo Jin Ha’s body intensified, and soon black mist began to rise.
Her spirit had entered the Demonic Path.
A crackling sound.
Simultaneously, the black vital energy flowing around her body began to protect her meridian points.
A sharp whistle.
As she drew the Bing Hun Sword that Bu Eunseol had given her, black blades materialized around it.
The Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol was a heart-method demonic art that embodied the practitioner’s spirit.
Aligned with Seo Jin Ha’s spirit, prepared to cut down all enemies even at the cost of death,
an armor capable of protecting her body and a weapon of expanded power had been forged.
“If you won’t come, then I will.”
A brilliant flash!
Black radiance blazed, and blood erupted from the bodies of the warriors surrounding the Great Hall.
“Gahhh!”
Screams echoed from all directions.
With each movement he made, the disciples’ arms and legs flew through the air, and fountains of blood sprayed across the chamber.
Yet the Blood Cult disciples were no ordinary foes.
They transformed the blood of their fallen comrades into arrows and unleashed them in torrents.
They wielded sorcery to slow Seo Jin Ha’s movements or roil his internal organs, inflicting grievous internal injuries with direct strikes.
But Seo Jin Ha paid them no heed, ceaselessly wielding the Ice Soul Blade.
At first, he employed the Musang Cheon Ryu that Bu Eunseol had taught him, cutting down his enemies.
Yet as the battle raged on, his movements transcended the sword techniques of Nangya Sect—they became instinctive slaughter.
How could he sever his enemies in a single stroke? How could he most effectively cut off their breath?
The Serene Stillness Secret Technique answered his desires.
It guided his spirit into an infinitely tranquil state, making the Blood Cult disciples’ movements appear endlessly slow.
It allowed him to counterattack at the optimal moment with perfect precision.
Crack! Thud thud thud.
The first formation of Blood Cult disciples positioned throughout the Grand Hall crumbled completely.
Their number: nearly two hundred.
Yet Hong Seon merely nodded as if it were nothing.
“Let’s see how long he lasts.”
The true terror of the Blood Cult lay not in their unique sorcery or martial prowess.
It was that their disciples, brainwashed by the cult’s twisted doctrine, threw away their lives without hesitation.
The rumor held that Yu Ma Hyeol Mun, once the Blood Cult’s bitter rival, was annihilated.
It was because they could not withstand the relentless assaults of Blood Cult disciples who sacrificed their bodies without end.
“Hahahaha.”
Yet Seo Jin Ha found himself laughing.
The sticky blood was sweet, and the screams his enemies poured forth were delicious. He wished this slaughter would continue endlessly.
His spirit had already been completely consumed by the Serene Stillness Secret Technique.
Boom boom boom!
Then suddenly, a strange vibration echoed from outside.
Creak.
At the same moment, the doors of the Grand Hall swung open, and nearly hundreds more disciples in crimson robes poured forth.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
The disciples arranged themselves solemnly in two columns, creating a wide passage.
And then a dark-skinned man adorned with ornate jewelry emerged.
It was the true Pae Ryuk Gyeol.
The moment he revealed himself, a ghostly wail seemed to echo from nowhere, and a sinister aura filled the Grand Hall.
Merely by appearing.
The very air and atmosphere flowing through this vast chamber had completely transformed?
Blood Cult Master Pae Ryuk Gyeol.
Leading a hundred thousand Blood Cult disciples, a colossal sect that constantly eyed Zhong Yuan with ambition.
His cultivation and martial power transcended imagination.
“Master.”
Hong Seon hastily knelt and bowed respectfully as Pae Ryuk Gyeol arrived.
“Please wait a moment. I shall capture that whelp and bring him before you shortly.”
[Bring him to the Blood Life Hall.]
“Yes?”
Hong Seon looked up in confusion, lowering her head.
“But he is one of the Demon Palace’s chief commanders. I must certainly capture him….”
[Since when.]
Pae Ryuk Gyeol’s voice carried an unimaginable authority and power.
[Did you dare to contradict the Cult Master’s words?]
At those words, Hong Seon immediately bowed her head low.
“I shall send him at once.”
Pae Ryuk Gyeol gazed at Seo Jin Ha, who was emanating black demonic energy, then turned away.
“Where are you going?”
At that moment, Seo Jin Ha called out sharply.
“The true stage is only beginning now.”
His killing intent surged violently.
Whether facing Pae Ryuk Gyeol or Ma Cheon Je himself, he had entered a state where he feared nothing whatsoever.
Footsteps echoed.
Yet from the open doorway behind Pae Ryuk Gyeol, another shadow slowly approached Seo Jin Ha.
“Hmph. So you send the small fry first.”
Seo Jin Ha immediately unleashed the Yeouui Jingyeol technique.
The blade sang through the air!
But the black sword passed through the shadow without substance, slashing emptily through the void.
“Impressive.”
As Seo Jin Ha prepared to unleash the Yeouui Jingyeol once more,
Footsteps continued.
Beneath the light of the Great Hall, the shadow’s face gradually came into view.
A man with tousled short hair and sharp, melancholic eyes.
It was Myo Cheon Woo.
“How did you come to be here?”
Seo Jin Ha furrowed his brow.
In that moment, Pae Ryuk Gyeol turned and departed the Great Hall with his followers.
“Yes, that was always your nature.”
Seo Jin Ha wore a cold smile.
Before becoming one of the Ten Demon Immortals, Myo Cheon Woo had been recruited by the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
Even after becoming a Lord of the Sayoung Battle Division, he continued to serve as their agent.
Of course, Myo Cheon Woo had carried guilt throughout, and ultimately revealed everything to Bu Eunseol while challenging Wi Ji Hye Sang, but
In Seo Jin Ha’s eyes, he was nothing more than a spy who flitted between both sides like a bat before meeting his own destruction.
“Now that you’ve recovered your martial prowess, you harbor different ambitions.”
Bu Eunseol had risked her life to venture to the Hwawoo Sword Sect in order to save Myo Cheon Woo from his duel with Wi Ji Hye Sang.
However, in the meantime, Myo Cheon Woo’s dantian had been severely damaged by Wi Ji Hye Sang.
Ultimately, Bu Eunseol sent Myo Cheon Woo to the Yunhai Biyeok Palace to recover his dantian.
The lords of the Sayoung Battle Division also knew he had engaged in scheming, but they did not mention such things.
Bu Eunseol would handle everything properly on her own.
Yet that very Myo Cheon Woo suddenly appeared at the Blood Cult alongside Pae Ryuk Gyeol.
This could mean he had been absorbed into the Blood Cult.
“How tiresome—scheming again without end.”
At Seo Jin Ha’s words, Myo Cheon Woo shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Does it seem that way?”
“Once a man begins treachery, he cannot escape it.”
Black flames ignited in Seo Jin Ha’s eyes.
Under normal circumstances, he would have recognized that Myo Cheon Woo’s actions and gaze were remarkably clear and composed.
But Seo Jin Ha’s spirit had been consumed by the Demonic Path through the Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol, his mind drowning in murderous intent.
Upon seeing Myo Cheon Woo emerge with Pae Ryuk Gyeol, it appeared to him as nothing but a complete surrender to the Blood Cult.
“Come to your senses.”
Myo Cheon Woo spoke with unwavering resolve.
“You came here to settle accounts with the Blood Cult Master, not to fight me.”
“Silence!”
Crash!
Seo Jin Ha unfurled the Yeouui True Formation wrapped around his blade, immediately ensnaring Myo Cheon Woo’s body.
Whoosh!
Myo Cheon Woo deployed his movement technique, swiftly evading the assault.
Yet the terrifying aspect of the Yeouui True Formation was not merely that it could freely materialize true qi,
but that it could employ countless combat techniques in response.
Slash!
Seo Jin Ha altered the form of his true qi to match Myo Cheon Woo’s movements.
Myo Cheon Woo continuously executed evasive maneuvers, yet the razor-sharp blade of true qi invariably awaited him at his next position.
“Ugh.”
“You played the coward even on Hell Island!”
At Seo Jin Ha’s cry as he pressed his assault, Myo Cheon Woo’s gaze darkened.
It was true.
When Myo Cheon Woo had been on Hell Island,
he had belonged to Do Cheon Rin’s faction, which had attacked Bu Eunseol.
Yet only because of the relief at surviving Death’s slaughter did the Ten Demon Immortals harbor no hatred for one another afterward.
But Seo Jin Ha, consumed by the Sak Jeong Bi Gyeol,
was dredging up those ancient grievances to shake Myo Cheon Woo’s resolve.
“Yes. Compared to you all, I was lacking. That is why I joined that faction.”
Myo Cheon Woo spoke calmly as he evaded the attacks.
“But I am not so shameless as to betray a friend twice.”
“Humans never change!”
Shring.
Seo Jin Ha drew the Bing Hun Sword.
With it, he began to unfold the Musang Cheon Ryu technique that Bu Eunseol had taught him.
Flash!
A massive cross-shaped sword aura enveloped Myo Cheon Woo’s body, and sharp, dark true energy burrowed into his vital point.
By deploying both the Musang Cheon Ryu technique and the Yeouui True Seal simultaneously, the technique became even more mysterious, and its power multiplied several times over.
‘I cannot afford to drag this out.’
Myo Cheon Woo surveyed his surroundings.
Fortunately, Pae Ryuk Gyeol had led all the disciples away, but if this fierce battle continued as it was?
Eventually, Seo Jin Ha’s identity could come under suspicion.
Slash!
In that moment, sharp blades of true energy grazed past Myo Cheon Woo’s chest and shoulder.
Now only two options remained.
Either use vacuum force to suppress Seo Jin Ha, or abandon the Blood Cult and leave.
Whoosh.
As if resolved, silver radiance swirled violently in Myo Cheon Woo’s hands.
He was about to unleash the Silver Flame Palm, a technique of his own creation.
Whoosh.
As he poured forth his energy, along with silver flames,
the blades of the Yeouui True Seal that had been burrowing into Myo Cheon Woo’s vital point vanished in an instant, consumed by fire.
“Hmph.”
Seo Jin Ha, as if his competitive spirit had been ignited, endlessly created and unleashed blades of the Yeouui True Seal.
Then a web-like pattern of black blades poured forth relentlessly toward Myo Cheon Woo.
As time passed, Seo Jin Ha grew more adept at wielding the Yeouui True Seal, and its power grew even stronger.
It was a phenomenon occurring as his spirit perfectly merged with the Demonic Path.
Boom! Boom!
Myo Cheon Woo annihilated all the Yeouui True Seal blades with his Silver Flame Palm and closed the distance.
And finally, as the two drew close enough to see each other’s faces,
Flash!
As if he had been waiting, Seo Jin Ha unleashed the Meteor Pursuit Moon technique, aiming for Myo Cheon Woo’s throat.
Thud.
But Myo Cheon Woo did not evade the Meteor Pursuit Moon technique; instead, he twisted his body to receive it with his shoulder, and in an instant, extended his hand toward Seo Jin Ha’s face.
“Ugh.”
Seo Jin Ha froze.
He had not expected Myo Cheon Woo to abandon his own shoulder and launch such a self-destructive attack.
Just as the silver palm force was about to crush Seo Jin Ha’s face,
Thump.
A thick hand came to rest upon his shoulder.
“Come to your senses, Seo Jin Ha.”
Myo Cheon Woo had deliberately taken a sword strike to the shoulder in order to speak with Seo Jin Ha once more.
“If you lose your mind, Bu Eunseol will fall into danger.”
“Bu Eunseol.”
In that instant, Seo Jin Ha’s eyes—burning with black flames—trembled.
Bu Eunseol.
To the Lords of Sayoung Hall, it was a word as potent as magic itself.
And for Seo Jin Ha, it was no different.
‘Poor wretch.’
Always concealing childlike tenderness beneath that cold exterior…
He had ventured into Gangho seeking vengeance, only to be swept away by its turbulent currents.
Yet still, he stakes his very life to protect his subordinates.
What if I were to lose myself here?
That wretch would surely suffer anew, tormented by guilt and self-recrimination.
Crack. Crackcrack.
In that moment, dozens of razor-sharp blades materialized from Seo Jin Ha’s body.
Had Myo Cheon Woo’s desperate wish gone unfulfilled after all?
Thud!
Without hesitation, those blades pierced through flesh.
Seo Jin Ha’s own flesh.

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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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