The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 786
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 786.
‘That bastard.’
Ak Moo Ryung watched Bu Eunseol trudge forward with hunched shoulders, her steps heavy and labored, and his eyes gleamed with sudden intensity.
‘What is this energy embedded in the Noe Ho Hyeol?’
Even amidst their brutal clash, Ak Moo Ryung employed a secret technique akin to the Thousand Heart Sutra, meticulously probing the depths of Bu Eunseol’s inner being.
Yet what he discovered near her Noe Ho Hyeol was a formidable force—one so overwhelming that even he could not unravel it.
Moreover, woven mysteriously within her inner energy was a power whose nature utterly eluded him.
Had he known that this was the Hong Mong Mi Ki—the supreme secret art of Wu Zong, who stood as the patriarch of all inner energy under heaven and held the position of chief abbot of the Seo Jang Secret Sect—
Ak Moo Ryung would have been utterly astounded.
“Could it be… that this one is not a fake, but a true bloodline of Baek Ri Mu Ha?”
If she were a fake, there would be no need to seal memories with such overwhelming force.
From the start, one could simply implant fragmented memories alongside—
—the mere suggestion that ‘memories have been sealed.’
Then the absence of recalled memories would be easily attributed to the sealing itself.
Yet within Bu Eunseol’s mind—
—there existed a power so tremendous that even Ak Moo Ryung himself could not break it, completely blocking her Noe Ho Hyeol.
As if genuinely sealing away certain memories.
‘Could it be… Bu Chanyang?’
A bizarre thought flashed through Ak Moo Ryung’s mind.
Baek Ri Mu Ha had transformed his true son into a shadow to preserve his bloodline—
—and what if Bu Chanyang, having seen through this intention, deliberately declared Bu Eunseol to be a fake?
‘Hmm…’
Ak Moo Ryung recalled a past confrontation with Bul Jon.
By chance, he had learned information about the power possessed exclusively by the bloodline of the Baek Ri Family.
If he truly wished to verify whether Bu Eunseol was of Baek Ri bloodline, he could simply summon her now and confirm it.
“But that is not the concern of the Bon Gak master.”
Ak Moo Ryung gazed toward the distant sky.
“Regardless of what anyone says, that one is the successor of Bon Gak.”
It mattered not what Bu Eunseol’s true origins were.
Ak Moo Ryung had simply found a successor capable of inheriting the transmission—
—and the Nangya Sect had finally found an heir who could perfect the martial way they had so desperately pursued.
“Now then.”
From Ak Moo Ryung’s narrowed eyes, an aura burst forth as if tearing the very heavens asunder.
“I can see the end of you all.”
* * *
“I still have so far to go.”
Having departed from the Nangya Sect, Bu Eunseol—
—could not lift her head at first, so overwhelming was her fatigue, and shame burned within her.
“Ten years.”
Ak Moo Ryung had commanded her to survive for ten years.
He interpreted those words to mean that he would need another decade of training just to survive.
For Bu Eunseol, that span of time stretched endlessly into the distance.
“Not to mention Jin Ma himself—if his subordinates could match Gak Ju in combat prowess…”
Eight Immortals Heaven, despite being the lowest-ranked subordinate, stood shoulder to shoulder with the mightiest master of the current Murim.
This meant there existed adversaries worthy of my full strength in battles to come.
In truth, as a disciple of Nangya Sect, this should have been cause for joy.
Without formidable opponents, one cannot advance.
Only through fierce combat could one ascend to ever-greater heights of mastery.
Yet after witnessing Ak Moo Ryung’s terrifying prowess, my confidence had begun to crumble.
In reality, this was a grave misconception on Bu Eunseol’s part.
The reason my all-out attacks had failed to land was something I had completely overlooked—
That every time my martial power surged, I had collided with and tested myself against him repeatedly.
That my master was the supreme expert of Nangya Sect, fully comprehending all my martial techniques and the blended forces woven through my inner strength.
I had forgotten this entirely.
This spoke to the intensity of Bu Eunseol’s fighting spirit.
As befitted a disciple of Nangya Sect, I regarded even Ak Moo Ryung as a worthy rival to be overcome.
[So Yo, create false records of my movements for a time.]
As Bu Eunseol sent the transmission across a thousand li, So Yo replied with concern in her voice.
[Where are you going?]
[Just a brief personal matter. I’ll return soon.]
[Travel safely.]
So Yo spoke with conviction.
Ever since returning from Nangya Sect, Bu Eunseol had seemed drained of vitality.
Now, to step away from the intricate duties of Demon Hall and the Murim Alliance for personal business—
From So Yo’s perspective, this was something to welcome with both hands raised.
[Don’t try to handle everything alone. Act as though nothing is amiss.]
But Bu Eunseol had already departed this region in a single breath, so So Yo’s transmission never reached her ears.
Whoooosh.
Leaving Geommi Mountain behind, Bu Eunseol unfurled her movement technique endlessly toward the north.
Running ceaselessly without pause, she soon arrived at the Jade Gate.
“I wonder how that fellow is doing.”
As Bu Eunseol passed through the Jade Gate, the face of a young scholar with pure, innocent eyes suddenly surfaced in her mind.
My first companion in the Gangho, a prodigy of exceptional talent.
Heuk Pyo.
“He must be training diligently.”
Heuk Pyo possessed not only exceptional talent but was also a diligent genius who trained without rest, day after day.
Surely at this very moment—
He continued his endless cultivation, advancing ever forward.
“….”
Bu Eunseol, lost in deep thought for a moment,
Whoosh.
As if seized by sudden resolve, I unfurled my divine technique in one fluid motion.
After running for what felt like an eternity, the endless expanse of the desert finally revealed itself—golden sands stretching beyond where any horizon could be seen.
I pressed onward without pause, my legs carrying me relentlessly across the barren wasteland.
The brilliant azure sky gradually transformed.
As night descended and stars began to pour across the heavens, I glimpsed vegetation sprouting beyond a massive rocky mountain in the distance.
There, a spring bubbled forth where water could be drawn.
Surrounding it stood the remnants of stone structures—crumbling ruins that evoked the mystery of ancient civilizations.
Crackle, crackle.
And between the stones, the glow of flames danced.
Someone had kindled a campfire and was resting there.
Under normal circumstances, I would never have disturbed another’s rest.
But perhaps it was the endless wandering through this boundless desert.
Or perhaps my spirit had grown too weary.
Without conscious thought, I found myself walking toward the campfire.
There, crouched before the flames, sat a young man with a hunched back.
His face was obscured by cloth, making his features indistinguishable.
Yet his drooping shoulders and vacant gaze suggested he was drowning in profound despair.
“Oh?”
The young man gasped the moment our eyes met.
“What brings you here?”
“Heuk Pyo.”
I blinked in astonishment.
The hunched young man was none other than Heuk Pyo himself.
“I didn’t recognize you.”
It was an honest admission.
Not because Heuk Pyo’s face was hidden behind cloth.
But because those eyes that once sparkled with vitality now lay hollow and vacant—like those of a dead fish.
“What has happened to you?”
At my question, Heuk Pyo lowered his head and spoke.
“I am ashamed.”
“Ashamed?”
“I wander about bearing the grandiose title of Wanderer King, yet in truth, am I not utterly worthless chaff?”
“Your self-deprecation has become excessive.”
As I furrowed my brow, Heuk Pyo shook his head.
“It is not excessive at all.”
And he gazed upon the strange armament affixed to his shoulder.
“Not long ago, I chanced upon an eccentric master and obtained a formidable weapon.”
Upon his shoulder was affixed a pauldron that gleamed with an otherworldly luster.
A substitute technique said to elevate the divine methods of Murim to an even higher plane.
It was the Il Woo Pa Cheon Ryeong of Heuk Ik Hyeol Ju.
“So it is the Il Woo Pa Cheon Ryeong.”
“Yes, my lord. You recognize it at a glance.”
Heuk Pyo gazed back at the campfire, his voice hollow.
“Despite possessing such a treasure, I found myself fleeing from those bizarre creatures with two eyes—no, two pupils.”
Heuk Pyo had obtained the treasure of ages, the Il Woo Pa Cheon Ryeong.
No, he had obtained Heuk Ik.
Yet he had failed to eliminate all of the Cheop Dong In and was forced to flee, his confidence shattered by the experience.
Because of this, he had set aside his work as a wanderer and now drifted aimlessly through the desert alone.
“In the end, I too was nothing but a frog in a well.”
The legendary demonic creature, the Cheop Dong In created by the Sagup Yeon Hon Gyeong, had appeared only once since the founding of Murim.
It was known as a biological weapon of such tremendous power that it could be deployed against the legendary Baek Ri Ga.
The fact that Heuk Pyo had single-handedly defeated that terrifying demon and survived proved
that he had reached the pinnacle of Murim.
Yet Heuk Pyo, unaware of this truth,
merely regarded the Cheop Dong In as a demonic creature similar to the living corpses of Zangsang Gate.
He was ashamed and reproached himself that he, bearing the grandiose title of Wanderer King, could not properly dispose of such a creature.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol sighed and crouched beside Heuk Pyo.
“To call yourself a frog in a well at that level would be a contradiction in terms.”
“Pardon?”
“I have been fortunate enough to directly and indirectly master the martial arts of Murim’s greatest masters, including Bon Gak Ju.”
As Bu Eunseol continued speaking, her shoulders
were far more hunched than those of Heuk Pyo sitting beside her.
“Yet I was still evaluated as barely capable of surviving in Murim after ten years of cultivation.”
Her eyes had already lost focus, like those of a dead fish.
“That assessment came from Bon Gak Ju herself.”
“Ah, I see.”
Heuk Pyo nodded in agreement.
“If In Ma Ak Moo Ryung, the strongest among the Samma, evaluated you thus, it must be certain.”
“Indeed.”
“It seems you too have made little progress during this time, my lord.”
As the two continued their conversation, their eyes grew increasingly dim and lifeless.
“Now that I think of it, your prayers also seem rather ordinary.”
“Everything I do is like that, after all.”
Sigh.
As if by agreement, both lowered their heads simultaneously.
Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo had trained relentlessly without a single day of rest,
advancing their martial prowess through battles that danced with death.
Yet after experiencing all of this,
He was now reproaching himself, thinking his abilities had been overestimated all this time.
“So that’s why you came to this place.”
“So that’s why you were alone in this desert.”
The two, speaking simultaneously, turned their unfocused gazes back to the campfire.
By the next day, both remained crouched before the extinguished flames.
Both of them had reached the realm of the Immortal Golden Immortal, so even if they didn’t eat for several days, it wouldn’t matter.
—it posed no threat to their lives whatsoever.
Mmm, mmm.
Heuk Pyo continued to murmur martial techniques ceaselessly.
Even in his unconscious state, he researched methods to wield Heuk Ik more powerfully.
Swish, swish.
Bu Eunseol crouched and drew strange diagrams on the ground.
They were new fist forms of the Seven Heavenly Fists—variations of Musang Cheon Ryu.
She was researching how to defend against attacks from masters like Ak Moo Ryung and counterattack instantaneously.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Then the earth trembled.
Dark shadows arrived one by one, accompanied by sounds like a herd of cattle passing through.
Turning to look, she saw soldiers in bizarre garb with covered faces approaching on horseback.
Their force numbered three thousand strong.
Their eyes gleamed fiercely, and sharp qi radiated from their entire bodies.
“Bandits, it seems.”
“They appear to be bandits.”
They were mounted with only their faces concealed.
Upon closer inspection, they possessed formidable qi that set them considerably apart from ordinary bandits.
But the two had spent days crouching in the desert, absorbed in their respective pursuits, and as a result—
—their minds were so muddled they could barely distinguish whether these were bandits or something else entirely.
“Halt!”
As they advanced, they discovered two figures crouching by a spring where clear water bubbled forth.
“We rest here.”
They wore crimson robes and had their entire bodies completely covered except for their eyes.
The Leader dismounted and gazed at Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo, his eyes flashing with light.
Both possessed ordinary qi, and their eyes appeared strangely unfocused.
Crouching in dust-covered garments, they looked almost simple-minded.
“Begone.”
The Leader’s voice was low and resonant, carrying an irresistible force.
“This is where our unit must rest.”
Yet in response to his command, the two merely shook their heads with vacant expressions.
“They’re not bandits—they’re a heretical sect.”
“They appear to be a heretical sect.”
Then they withdrew their gazes once more, scribbled something on the ground, and continued murmuring to themselves.
‘Martial Arts Techniques?’
The Leader realized that everything the two were murmuring about was the principle of advanced martial arts.
‘They’re no mere fools.’
Upon recognizing that the two possessed exceptional martial prowess, the Leader commanded his subordinates.
“We cannot afford to have our movements exposed. Kill them at once.”
The battle commenced.
Two against three thousand.
Under normal circumstances, victory would be unthinkable in such a conflict.
Yet Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo remained composed.
Bu Eunseol had reached the Choguk Dowon realm.
Without achieving an equivalent level of martial mastery, no matter how vast their numbers,
they could never inflict true harm—she had attained a terrifying pinnacle of power.
Heuk Pyo, who had wandered the borderlands between life and death as a vagrant, after obtaining the Heuk Ik,
had doubled or tripled his movement techniques and evasion capabilities.
The two stood back-to-back, leisurely dispatching the torrential waves of soldiers.
—Hm?
Yet as the battle intensified, Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo’s expressions darkened.
They had assumed bandit gangs or heretical sects would pose no challenge whatsoever.
But these strange masked assassins possessed considerable skill, and they had mastered bizarre forbidden techniques
that suppressed the power of their martial arts and slowed their movements—how was this possible?
—Has martial arts truly regressed?
—Could martial arts have genuinely declined?
Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo locked eyes, both harboring the same thought, their gazes growing infinitely darker.
They had ascended to the realm of advancement and progressed ceaselessly,
yet now they had reached their limits.
Could they not easily defeat masters from some nameless heretical sect or bandit gang?
Boom!
Finally, Bu Eunseol unleashed the Musang Cheon Ryu technique accompanied by Thunder Divine Energy.
The enemies’ methods were so bizarre and their forbidden techniques so strange that they slowed her movements.
Without drawing upon Thunder Divine Energy, her body felt as sluggish as if submerged in water.
Screech! Slash!
Simultaneously, a torrent of overwhelming force erupted from Heuk Pyo’s shoulders.
Since ordinary movement techniques could not generate sufficient speed, he began channeling the Heuk Ik at full power.
Whoosh! Rend!
In an instant, the area within thirty paces became a sea of blood.
Muk Hon Sword in hand, Bu Eunseol bounded upward like a gazelle, alternating between Musang Cheon Ryu and the Seven Palms technique.
Crash!
With each thunderous explosion, Heuk Pyo, transformed into a single black streak,
spiraled around the vicinity, unleashing razor-sharp force with the Heuk Ik.
“What is happening….”
The Leader’s voice trembled as he surveyed the battlefield, disbelief flooding his eyes.
These three thousand soldiers were a Secret Military Unit hidden from the world.
In terms of combat prowess alone,
they possessed a terrifying force equivalent to ten mid-sized sects combined.
Yet these elite warriors,
were being slaughtered like a nameless bandit gang by merely two young martial artists.
“This is impossible….”
In truth, they were the Secret Intelligence Organization of the most powerful faction in Sae Oe.
Under the influence of a mysterious grand technique, their bodies were like diamond bodies, and their martial prowess reached the level of one against a thousand.
They could achieve victory even if an entire Murim sect attacked them en masse.
Yet they could not overcome two young men covered in dust and grime?
Moreover, even after half a day had passed,
they fought like tireless machines, like madmen without rest?
How could such a dreamlike situation possibly unfold?
“Retreat!”
Finally, the Leader commanded a withdrawal.
Even if they held out a little longer, the result would be total annihilation.
No matter how desperately they fought, they could not defeat those two monsters.
Rumble.
The retreat was swift.
Of the three thousand soldiers, only about a thousand remained.
Even they had barely escaped with their lives; few possessed intact limbs.
Rumble rumble rumble.
As they retreated in clouds of dust, Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo’s movements ceased.
Despite their great victory, both their expressions were deeply contorted.
“Ryeong Ju.”
Heuk Pyo spoke to Bu Eunseol with an exhausted face.
“It seems I cannot continue any longer.”
I had expended every last ounce of strength,
yet failed to eliminate all three thousand soldiers?
“The same for me.”
Bu Eunseol, watching the forces retreat like an ebbing tide, released a bitter sigh.
No matter how much the bizarre technique had dulled the body,
to fail to cut down all three thousand heretical sect members in half a day of battle?
This was the first humiliating defeat in Bu Eunseol’s history in the Murim.
For a long while, both stood with lowered heads, savoring their bitter victory.
How much time had passed?
“Psychological shock can temporarily cause martial prowess to regress.”
Suddenly, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and gazed toward the Distant Sky.
“One can fall into despair and frustration. But one must use that as a stepping stone to climb ever higher.”
These words were not merely spoken to Heuk Pyo, but were also a vow I made to myself.
“You speak wisely.”
Heuk Pyo clenched his fists tightly.
“I fear I have grown complacent of late. I must return to my roots and begin refining my fundamentals anew from the ground up.”
At Heuk Pyo’s words, I smiled faintly.
Looking back, when I first met Heuk Pyo and began teaching him, I too learned much.
The act of teaching is not merely the transmission of knowledge to another.
Rather, it becomes an opportunity to advance oneself through the very process of instruction.
“Are you departing for Zhong Yuan now?”
After a moment’s contemplation, I shook my head.
“Since I’ve already ventured beyond Sae Oe, I thought to visit several poison sects along the way.”
“Poison sects?”
“I am searching for a method to eliminate the Three-Time Worm.”
All the Jeoljeong Dae Won members had been poisoned with the Three-Time Worm through Mu Jon’s dark techniques.
Before departing the Murim Alliance, I must absolutely cure them of these toxins.
“The Three-Time Worm.”
Heuk Pyo, who had been deep in thought for a moment, spoke.
“Among those I lead in the Nangindae, there is one highly versed in poisons. He is also an expert in toxins.”
“An expert in toxins.”
“Indeed.”
Heuk Pyo continued calmly.
“According to him, if there exists a place capable of curing such a vicious poison as the Three-Time Worm, it would be none other than the Cheon Dok Mun in Haenam.”
“The Cheon Dok Mun?”
I blinked.
The Cheon Dok Mun was the sect that first gave birth to the realm of Poison Immortality in the Gangho.
It was also the root from which Hyeok Roo, the great progenitor of the Yunnan poison sects, had sprung.
Yet Hyeok Roo had become a fallen sect.
Naturally, the lineage of Cheon Dok Mun had been severed long ago, leaving no trace of its existence.
But suddenly, the Cheon Dok Mun?
“It appears the Cheon Dok Mun has been rebuilt on an uninhabited island in Haenam.”
Heuk Pyo spoke in a measured tone.
“They discovered Jang Bo Do, who was said to have buried gold on the uninhabited island of Haenam, and while searching for treasure, they happened upon the rebuilt Cheon Dok Mun.”
I furrowed my brow.
I had already witnessed countless fallen sects being rebuilt by Sam Gye.
“Then is it Sam Gye?”
“I cannot say for certain. However, it would be worthwhile to investigate as a means of countering the Three-Time Worm.”
“Understood.”
I replied calmly.
“From now on, try not to wander alone if possible. The landscape of the Murim has changed completely.”
Recently, Heuk Pyo had been roaming the desert alone, abandoning his leadership of the Nangindae.
But through this incident, they would have felt it keenly.
That wandering alone like this, one could be ambushed by other factions at any moment.
“I understand.”
“Continue your cultivation.”
“Yes.”
The two exchanged farewells and simultaneously soared off in opposite directions.
Neither imagining the rumors that would soon spread in their wake.
―Muk Hon Ryeong Ju and the Nangindae King had single-handedly repelled the Blood Cult’s invasion!
A stunning rumor suddenly swept through the Murim.
The Blood Cult, breaking its pact with the Demon Palace, had attempted to establish another branch like the Blood Cult in Zhong Yuan.
They had secretly led their forces across the Jade Gate to infiltrate Zhong Yuan.
And they had done so with the Rakshasa Squadron composed of Soul-Slayers.
Soul-Slayers.
The mightiest warriors created through the Blood Cult’s supreme technique.
Their bodies were said to be as indestructible as diamond, and their martial prowess capable of matching a thousand enemies alone.
Their number was a staggering three thousand.
In short, the Blood Cult had.
Perceived the chaotic state of Joong Won Murim and was breaching the Jade Gate with forces rivaling a major sect.
Yet somehow, Muk Hon Ryeong Ju and the Nangindae King had learned of this.
They had been waiting at the Jade Gate in advance, and the two of them alone had repelled three thousand troops.
―Muk Hon Ryeong Ju. What kind of intelligence network does he possess?
The Blood Cult, boasting the most formidable forces among the Sae Oe factions, possessed an intelligence network as vast as its scale.
Yet no intelligence organization in Zhong Yuan had detected the Rakshasa Squadron’s covert movements across the Jade Gate.
How could these two have been standing brazenly at the very passage where the Rakshasa Squadron moved in secret?
―The intelligence networks and martial prowess of Muk Hon Ryeong Ju and the Nangindae King have been gravely underestimated until now.
Muk Hon Ryeong Ju Bu Eunseol, who had long refrained from public Murim activities.
And Heuk Pyo, the Nangindae King, who had traversed Sae Oe building exceptional martial skills.
Contrary to what had been known.
Both commanded intelligence networks of unimaginable scale, and their martial prowess transcended the Extreme Heaven Realm.
―As long as Muk Hon Ryeong Ju and the Nangindae King exist, the Sae Oe factions must abandon their ambitions toward Zhong Yuan.
As such rumors shook the Gangho,
―Hmm?
―Huh?
Bu Eunseol, heading toward Haenam, and
Heuk Pyo, who had returned to the Nangindae, simultaneously blinked and opened their mouths in bewilderment.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————