The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 768
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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 768.
Around the time Ma Cheon Je was annihilating the Shin Wi Dan.
Bu Eunseol ceased all activities momentarily, drifting endlessly northward.
Upon finally arriving at the Black Dragon River region, she immediately made her way to a village in Mohe.
This northernmost village was as frigid as the Northern Sea itself.
More importantly, it was a place where one could witness the aurora—a phenomenon visible only in the polar regions.
Ma Cheon Je and Geom Joon.
After witnessing their duel, I gained immense insights.
Yet the profound enlightenment regarding the Natural Sword that Geom Joon had attained could not be immediately assimilated.
Even grasping the martial principles embedded within it proved extraordinarily difficult.
After much deliberation, I sought out this village in Mohe, where the polar night and aurora existed—phenomena strikingly parallel to the essence of the Natural Sword.
Here, where the sun never rises, one could witness the mystical and beautiful aurora, a landscape that resonated perfectly with the principles of the Natural Sword.
Settling in this desolate place, I began to comprehend the essence of the Natural Sword.
“Geom Joon is truly the foremost swordsman of the Orthodox Sects, having achieved the pinnacle of the Swordless Way through the Natural Sword.”
Murmuring softly, I shook my head with a regretful expression.
“Had Geom Joon’s spirit reached the heights of ascending without distance and attaining the supreme without doubt, harboring not even a hairbreadth of uncertainty in his mind….”
Geom Joon could have struck down Ma Cheon Je in a single instant.
Yet because of his unwavering resolve to kill Ma Cheon Je.
Even as he unleashed the Natural Sword, he ultimately forgot its most sublime mysteries.
And the price of that was death.
A day had passed without notice.
I remained motionless, gazing toward the distant sky.
Ceaselessly studying the subtleties of Geom Joon’s Natural Sword as he had wielded it against Ma Cheon Je.
And finally, I understood that the essence of the Natural Sword was emptiness becoming fullness, non-attachment becoming the way.
In other words: “One must empty oneself to become complete, and shed all attachments to reach the supreme path.”
“In truth, it is impossible to break the spirit of one who has reached such a realm.”
And only then did I realize that Geom Joon’s defeat.
Could not be explained merely by saying he possessed strong competitive spirit against Ma Cheon Je and sought to kill him at all costs.
“No traces to follow.”
I exhaled a deep sigh.
“Ma Cheon Je transformed the Natural Sword into a living sword because his spirit had transcended all attachments… moving without any trace according to nature’s inherent order.”
It was not Geom Joon.
But rather Ma Cheon Je who truly embodied the way of nature.
Ma Cheon Je’s actions—his motives and intentions.
Were utterly impossible to discern, and that was the extraordinarily natural power of Ma Cheon Je.
It was Geom Joon who had performed something ill-suited to his own nature.
“I was an outsider, and thus could perceive such truths.”
I exhaled a deep sigh.
“Had I faced Ma Cheon Je now, my head would have been severed within eight moves.”
I was merely a spectator.
Because of this, I could perceive both the greatness of the Natural Sword that the legendary warrior Geom Joon had achieved, and even his fatal flaws.
What if I had fought Ma Cheon Je instead?
I would not have been able to withstand even the destructive waves he unleashed.
Perhaps my head would have been severed before I could even deploy my martial techniques, let alone survive eight moves.
“Ma Cheon Je.”
Bu Eunseol muttered the name in a low voice, clenching her fists tightly.
What made Ma Cheon Je terrifying was not the martial mastery he had attained.
With his insight that pierced through all phenomena,
he possessed an impenetrable power to instantly comprehend and shatter an enemy’s spirit.
“He trusts himself absolutely.”
Ma Cheon Je could trust his judgment without the slightest doubt and act upon it immediately.
Where an ordinary person would need half a quarter of an hour to process information and make a decision,
Ma Cheon Je could comprehend it faster than the snap of a finger.
Because of this, no matter how formidable a warrior might be,
regardless of their martial cultivation level, they could never truly oppose Ma Cheon Je.
Kuung.
Suddenly, the earth trembled with a deep sound, and the sky darkened.
At that same moment, a towering figure emerged behind Bu Eunseol, radiating an aura as imposing as Mount Tai itself.
A large built man with a tyrannical presence capable of shattering everything in existence with a single blow.
It was none other than Ak Moo Ryung.
“Gak Ju.”
Bu Eunseol gasped and immediately clasped her hands in respect.
“What brings you to this place?”
Ak Moo Ryung let out a cold scoff and said nothing.
He walked some distance away, placed his hands behind his back, and gazed pensively at the aurora that beautifully adorned the sky.
Seeing his demeanor, Bu Eunseol came to a realization.
‘Gak Ju has also come to comprehend the principles of the Natural Sword.’
An inexplicable smile bloomed within her.
The pinnacle of the Nangya Sect’s martial teachings was to unravel and absorb an enemy’s techniques, reaching the ultimate heights of martial mastery.
Of course, if Ak Moo Ryung had merely sought to digest the insights gained from watching two absolute masters clash,
he could have comprehended the Natural Sword through meditation alone.
But to create new martial techniques through these profound principles,
he too needed to find a place where the scenery resembled the essence of the Natural Sword.
Ultimately, Ak Moo Ryung judged that the principles of the Natural Sword were remarkably similar to the aurora unfolding in this polar region,
and like Bu Eunseol, he sought out the village of Mohe in the far north.
And the reason such events unfolded was,
ultimately because both had awakened the Nangya Heart-Eye in tandem,
making it possible for them to interpret the ultimate principles of martial mastery through the lens of nature.
‘But I have not yet reached the same realm as Gak Ju.’
Ak Moo Ryung, with eyes wide open, contemplated the aurora, swiftly comprehending the principles of the Natural Sword,
I was creating a new martial art.
Yet even after witnessing the extreme light, Bu Eunseol had only savored the martial realms of Ma Cheon Je and Geom Joon.
I had not yet managed to create a new martial art through the mysteries of the Natural Sword.
‘I have no choice but to strive in my own way.’
Bu Eunseol collapsed to the ground in that spot.
Since I had not reached the same realm as Ak Moo Ryung, I ceased observing nature.
Through meditation, I sought to unravel the principles of martial arts once more and create a new technique.
‘Gak Ju will surely understand.’
Sitting in lotus position, Bu Eunseol closed both eyes.
And I plunged into meditation of boundless, infinite depth.
“….”
The master and disciple, separated at a distance, each unraveled the principles of martial arts in their own way.
The light of the extreme radiance was mysterious, and its profundity was without measure.
The same thought flickered through the minds of Bu Eunseol and Ak Moo Ryung.
Those rays of multicolored brilliance were ultimately born when something poured forth from the sun collided with the void.
In other words, because of the collision, they took on their varied hues.
―Then could one not naturally create unforeseen secrets of martial arts through collision with an enemy?
Geom Joon, like that extreme light,
had inscribed the mysterious principles of nature itself into his blade, creating the Natural Sword—an absolute sword technique.
But Ak Moo Ryung, who had reached the pinnacle of practical martial arts, and Bu Eunseol, who had inherited the secret teachings of Nangya Pavilion that he had achieved,
focused on the very principle by which that extreme light was generated, and through collision with an enemy’s powerful martial art, utilized the shockwave produced.
A technique to counter the enemy’s martial art.
Or I began researching methods to fell the enemy by utilizing that shockwave itself.
Two days had passed.
Flash!
Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes snapped open, and suddenly I was writing something on the ground with my finger.
Scratch, scratch.
It was a new technique that could utilize the martial art unleashed by a powerful enemy and counter-attack with that very force.
A new method that did not exist in conventional martial arts.
Ak Moo Ryung gazed upon the extreme light and, applying the mysteries of Geom Joon’s Natural Sword, created a new martial art.
“….”
Ak Moo Ryung observed Bu Eunseol, still lost in meditative trance.
A twitch.
In that instant, Ak Moo Ryung’s thick brows twitched.
‘She intends to master a martial art created through meditation?’
Comprehending the principles of martial arts and creating them is possible through meditation.
But mastering a newly created martial art requires forming both shape and pattern.
Grasping it merely through thought is nearly impossible.
Yet Bu Eunseol was attempting
to create and master a new secret immediately within her mind, was she not?
Even Ak Moo Ryung, who commanded the Demonic Path across Tianxia, had completed his martial arts by drawing various lines and diagrams upon the ground.
Yet this one sought to master martial arts through meditation alone, eyes closed, comprehending it purely within his mind?
‘This bastard.’
Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes flashed open.
Moreover, Bu Eunseol was not merely entering meditation.
As he unraveled the mysteries of the Natural Sword, his very body was merging completely with nature itself.
Had he not discovered Bu Eunseol before the meditation began?
He would never have sensed his presence until witnessing it with his own eyes.
‘Hmm.’
Ak Moo Ryung gazed upon the characters and diagrams he had inscribed upon the ground.
Should Bu Eunseol see these…
He would grasp the mysteries of the Natural Sword in an instant, obtaining profound enlightenment.
Cunning.
Yet suddenly, he extended his palm and erased them all.
‘You will reach your own conclusions.’
Ak Moo Ryung understood well how exceptional Bu Eunseol’s spiritual aptitude truly was.
Should he see the insights I have left behind,
Certainly he could advance into higher realms of martial arts more swiftly.
But that would be my enlightenment, not his.
Even if it took longer… even if it required more time…
I believe he will attain enlightenment far greater and loftier than my own, and so I deliberately erased them.
Whoosh.
Ak Moo Ryung turned his body away from Bu Eunseol, lost in meditation.
Having grasped new principles of martial arts once more from Geom Joon’s Natural Sword and created a martial arts secret technique,
He intended to depart this place without hesitation.
Then, seized by some thought, he turned his body back and drew upon his inner power.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The rocks surrounding the area then enveloped Bu Eunseol’s body, and soon a small stone tower was formed.
Bu Eunseol, already one with nature, emitted no trace of presence whatsoever.
While perfect harmony with nature was admirable, should someone appear and launch a surprise attack during such a state, he would be defenseless.
By creating this stone tower to cover him, no one would ever find him.
Whoosh.
As Ak Moo Ryung turned to depart, the sky suddenly began to brighten intensely.
The polar night phenomenon had sustained endless darkness, yet how could daylight suddenly break through?
“Reversal of the natural order.”
Ak Moo Ryung murmured in a low voice.
To his knowledge, there was only one who could defy even the laws of nature itself.
“Sa Do Moo Myung.”
A sickly yellow gleam flashed across Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes.
“Have you come seeking death?”
Whoooosh.
Before the words could even finish, luminous points converged before him, and finally a human form took shape.
Yet that form was infinitely dark, casting no shadow even beneath the bright sun.
Swish.
As that figure took a single step forward.
An old man, unremarkable to any observer, suddenly revealed himself.
Ordinary in appearance, yet in truth the most terrifying figure in all of Tianxia.
Ma Cheon Je.
The supreme master of the Demonic Path, the greatest demon cultivator standing unrivaled across Tianxia, had appeared before Ak Moo Ryung.
Whoooosh.
As Ma Cheon Je revealed his complete human form, the sky reclaimed its darkness once more.
Yet this darkness was utterly different from before—thick, viscous, and profoundly alien.
“Hmm.”
Ma Cheon Je glanced at Ak Moo Ryung as though he were an old man returning from an evening stroll, then spoke with casual indifference.
“You must have perceived my injuries first. Why did you not challenge me?”
Whenever Ma Cheon Je was not in closed cultivation, Ak Moo Ryung would visit frequently to test his martial prowess.
No—he came with genuine intent to kill.
For he too harbored contempt for Ma Cheon Je, constantly scheming to end his life.
Yet knowing that Ma Cheon Je had suffered grave injuries, why had Ak Moo Ryung not struck?
“A demon is a demon. If one can slay an enemy, surely such petty pride can be discarded without hesitation.”
“Hmph.”
Ak Moo Ryung let out a derisive snort and turned his body away with an expression of utter disinterest.
As though his body itself were declaring: “It is my will.”
“Then what of this?”
As Ak Moo Ryung turned, Ma Cheon Je presented a proposition of shocking magnitude.
“What if I were to challenge you?”
Boom!
In that instant, an explosive sound erupted as tremendous power surged forth from Ak Moo Ryung’s body.
“Are you serious?”
The pupils of Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes, turned back toward him, flickered with a sallow light.
Ma Cheon Je’s injuries were no fabrication—they were grave indeed.
If he were to act now?
It was not impossible for Ak Moo Ryung to slay Ma Cheon Je in a single breath.
Jeok Bung, Wi Ji Moo Ah, and Bul Jon were also aware of Ma Cheon Je’s injuries, yet none seized this opportunity to challenge him.
All three were great masters who had reached the pinnacle that humans could attain.
Bul Jon, of the Righteous Path, possessed boundless magnanimity, while Wi Ji Moo Ah and Jeok Bung, of the Demonic Path, harbored pride as immovable as mountains.
But Ak Moo Ryung was different.
Like Geom Joon, he had made the overthrow of Ma Cheon Je his supreme objective.
He was a great demon cultivator who would employ any method without hesitation if it meant felling his enemy.
―Would he truly let slip such a golden opportunity?
Ma Cheon Je understood this point all too well, which is why he had come seeking Ak Moo Ryung.
“Are you trying to drive a wedge so that I can never defeat you again?”
Ak Moo Ryung, having grasped something, lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile.
“You fear me?”
He had already seen through Ma Cheon Je’s true intentions.
Currently, Ak Moo Ryung had reached the state of Haoran Ascendance and was breaking free from the boundaries of the Mujik Gyeong.
If, in this very moment—
he could not defeat the wounded Ma Cheon Je once more—
then a despair of never being able to surpass him would be etched upon his spirit for all eternity.
Even if he were to ascend to the Thousand Intent Realm or beyond.
He must never harbor thoughts of defeating Ma Cheon Je again.
“Perhaps.”
Ma Cheon Je smiled faintly.
“What say you? Does it pique your interest?”
A blazing roar erupted.
From Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes, flames burned like the very sun itself.
Once Ma Cheon Je had issued his provocation, the outcome was sealed.
For he had never once shied away from a challenge.
“The final point simply arrives a touch sooner than anticipated.”
A sallow radiance exploded from Ak Moo Ryung’s eyes.
Here and now, he would settle the matter of life and death with Ma Cheon Je.
Yet as Ak Moo Ryung gazed upon Ma Cheon Je, something seemed to dawn upon him, and he bared his fangs in a grin.
“Have you reached your limit?”
“….”
“Or can you no longer advance further?”
If Ma Cheon Je possessed confidence in endlessly elevating his martial prowess—
he would never have sought to settle things with Ak Moo Ryung in such a manner.
But now that he had reached his ceiling—
he was systematically eliminating those who might become obstacles to him.
“How disappointing.”
Ma Cheon Je smiled faintly.
“I merely came because I could not bear to miss this excellent opportunity.”
And he uttered words most ominous.
“It seems to be the last chance I have to fight as a human being…”
Had he already entered the Thousand Intent Realm?
Ma Cheon Je was now—
saying that the time remaining for him to fight as a human was running short.
He was confident that he would soon reach the divine realm that none had ever ascended to before.
“Hehehehe.”
Yet Ak Moo Ryung unexpectedly burst into sinister laughter, mocking him.
“You speak words fit only for a fool like Geom Joon.”
He strode forward toward Ma Cheon Je with purposeful steps.
“Do not delude yourself into thinking you can manipulate the spirits of all humanity as you wish.”
Ma Cheon Je answered not with words, but with a faint smile.
Upon seeing that smile, Ak Moo Ryung burst forth with a confident, sinister laugh.
“Did my unexpected move catch you off guard?”
“I grow weary.”
As Ma Cheon Je’s expression shifted to one of boredom, black mirage began to rise from Ak Moo Ryung’s body.
No further words were necessary.
Whether Ma Cheon Je had orchestrated this confrontation out of caution regarding Ak Moo Ryung’s advancement,
or whether he truly stood on the precipice of achieving unity with heaven and earth,
a power he would never again obtain,
or whether he sought to sever Ak Moo Ryung’s neck as a commemoration of his wounds,
the answer would soon be revealed.
A deep rumble echoed forth.
The energy flowing from Ak Moo Ryung’s body pushed back the darkness Ma Cheon Je had created, and thick mist began to rise within dozens of paces.
He had unfurled the illusory realm to unleash the power of the Mujik Gyeong.
At last, the moment when the forces of two absolute masters would collide arrived,
A thunderous crash erupted!
Suddenly, rocks nearby shattered under the violent sound.
Crackling energy surged forth.
In that same instant, a tremendous wave of vital energy swept through, and a grey-robed figure emerged from within.
His expression was languid, as though he had just awakened from a long slumber.
It was Bu Eunseol, who had been meditating within that very space.
“….”
In that moment, Ma Cheon Je’s gaze shifted subtly.
Until now, he had never failed to sense any living creature within three hundred paces,
and he had even detected Bu Eunseol’s aura—the one Ak Moo Ryung had concealed even in Seung Sa Do.
Yet this time, he could not detect that aura at all.
For Bu Eunseol, through the Extreme Light, had been comprehending the multitude of Natural Swords, achieving perfect unity with nature itself.
“Hehehehe.”
Ak Moo Ryung gazed at Ma Cheon Je and burst into laughter.
He had perceived that Ma Cheon Je had sensed something for the first time—and been shaken by it.
“Hahahaha!”
Ak Moo Ryung, laughing so hard he gasped for breath, shook his head.
“You boasted as though you had reached the Heavenly Realm, yet you failed to detect the presence of this young whelp.”
As Ak Moo Ryung’s scorn took hold, Ma Cheon Je chuckled and smiled faintly.
“He has wrapped himself in the Great Natural Essence…”
He was the sky of the Demonic Path,
the supreme master of the Demonic Path—one who possessed the power to shatter all predictions and defy every law of the world.
I possessed the ability to transform any crisis into an opportunity.
“How fortuitous.”
Ma Cheon Je gazed upon Bu Eunseol and nodded.
“With master and disciple standing side by side, we shall witness far more formidable power unleashed.”
A flash of white light flickered across his eyes, which held the faintest hint of a smile.
“Come at me together.”
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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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