The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 850

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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 850.
A brilliant flash.
Bu Eunseol traced a luminous arc across the night sky, escaping the Jenam region in the blink of an eye.
As I rushed forward at full speed,
I spotted a vast Reed Field with nothing around it and descended there immediately.
[Uuuuh…]
By then, Sung Su Ryeo’s face had transformed into that of a completely different person.
Bu Eunseol urgently infused her with Reverse Extreme True Qi at her vital points.
Boom!
But with a thunderous explosion, my body was hurled backward three zhang.
Sung Su Ryeo had unleashed a palm strike at my chest.
Sizzle.
The power of her palm force was extraordinary.
My clothing near the chest melted away, and pale smoke rose from the wound.
“Haa, haa.”
Sung Su Ryeo, having unleashed the palm strike, breathed heavily.
With each breath she drew and released,
her complexion and expression alternated between returning to normal and becoming grotesquely distorted.
“Miss Sung Su Ryeo.”
As Bu Eunseol approached, Sung Su Ryeo responded with another palm strike instead of words.
I could have countered, but unable to bring myself to attack her, I evaded.
Crack crack crack!
Then, as if possessed by poison, she unleashed a continuous barrage of sharp nails slashing through the air, displaying Claw Technique.
It was not crude and reckless, but rather strikingly similar to Shaolin’s Dragon Claw Hand,
and like a master who had refined claw techniques throughout a lifetime, her methods were stable and vicious.
‘How could this be.’
Bu Eunseol was bewildered, unable to simply evade, yet unable to subdue her either.
Striking vital points was completely impossible, and there were no restraints in this place to bind her.
Thud.
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to seize both her arms with the Golden Silk Grappling Technique and embrace her.
“Come to your senses.”
Snap!
Instead of responding, she bit at my neck.
Ting.
But thanks to my thick inner force, her teeth bounced back as if striking rubber.
[Screech!]
When her attack failed, Sung Su Ryeo twisted her face in rage,
freed her restrained hands, and formed a finger technique to pierce my throat.
Her fingers contained the power to pierce even metal and stone,
Thump.
Bu Eunseol deliberately leaned her shoulder into her.
Then, grasping her hand, I spoke in a low voice.
“Please regain yourself, my lady.”
Had my earnest plea reached her?
“Mu Mu….”
Sung Su Ryeo’s eyes cleared for a moment, and tears streamed down her face.
“This is strange. I don’t understand why I’m doing this.”
“It is not your fault, my lady.”
“And my body….”
Sung Su Ryeo shook her head.
Yet against her will, her fingers dug deeper into my shoulder.
But I gazed at her with an unperturbed expression.
“I am fine. Please, try to focus your mind once more.”
I feared her heart might suffer.
I paid no heed to my own pain.
“Mu Mu.”
Feeling my gentle consideration, Sung Su Ryeo wept.
And she smiled brightly.
“I’m sorry.”
Then, without hesitation, she drove her other hand toward her own temple.
She had chosen to end her own life to avoid harming me.
Crack.
But her fingers merely tore the skin at her temple before stopping.
I had unleashed a technique swift as lightning, immediately seizing her hand.
“Do not surrender.”
Drip, drip.
As she exerted force despite the deep wound, crimson blood streamed from my shoulder.
Yet I held her hand firmly and spoke with composure.
“I will resolve this for you.”
“My body won’t obey me. At this rate, I’ll hurt you.”
“Do not worry. I will not die.”
“Why is this happening?”
Seeing Sung Su Ryeo’s anguished expression through her tears, I finally recalled it.
―You will weep tears of blood and come to regret.
The Blue-Robed Elder’s vow from the past.
―This warning ends here. From now on, even if you live, you will not truly live. You will weep tears of blood and regret.
And the curse Ma Bu had sworn upon me before my body was destroyed.
‘So that was it.’
This very situation now.
Was the price the Blue-Robed Elder had vowed—the consequence of refusing the Covenant.
Yet even if I turned back time, I could not escape the bonds of the Covenant.
If I did, I might fail to avenge my Grandfather’s death.
I had already stated that regardless of my will, I must abide by the laws of the Covenant.
‘Perhaps the Sam Sin Gi could make it possible.’
I had grasped a portion of Geom Joon’s Natural Sword’s mysteries, and created a technique that restored all things to their original state.
The Musang Cheon Ryu’s Ninth Form, River of Gangho.
Of course, it was a method for cutting down enemies, so I could not use it on Sung Su Ryeo.
But what if I combined the natural forces that possessed an aura similar to Dae Yeon Ji Gi with the Sam Sin Gi?
Perhaps I could restore Sung Su Ryeo to her original state?
‘I have to try.’
A resonant hum.
Drawing forth the Sam Sin Gi, I infused it into Sung Su Ryeo.
Thump, thump, thump.
In that instant, thick veins bulged across her body, and she began to emit pained moans.
Originally, the Sam Sin Gi could only be accepted by those with special bodies bestowed by Heaven.
That I, with an ordinary body, could accept the Sam Sin Gi was because
my body contained a mixture of Jeong Sa Mu Hak within it.
And the power of the Sam Sin Gi served to harmonize it.
Otherwise, even if I possessed the inner force of ten heavenly stems,
I could not have accepted all of the Sam Sin Gi into a single body.
A wet sound.
Blood streamed from Sung Su Ryeo’s eyes as if she could not bear the force.
In the end, even the infusion of Sam Sin Gi could not restore Sung Su Ryeo to her original state.
“Please kill me.”
Suppressing her pain, Ryeo smiled as she looked at me.
“I cannot endure any longer.”
She deliberately smiled broadly.
So that I would not carry guilt. So that I would surely kill her.
“Help me die as myself.”
When I shook my head, she spoke with desperate urgency.
“Because of me, not only you but countless others will die.”
She was right.
Even if I somehow suppressed her, I could never know when she might explode using the Kang Ryong Tak Bi Hun technique.
And beyond that, she could be controlled by someone else again and commit slaughter.
The only choice remaining was death itself.
A resonant hum.
Instead of answering, I drew forth my power and created a great wall of true energy.
“Endure just a little longer. I will summon my subordinates here.”
“Mu Mu.”
“And until a solution is found, I will remain here with you.”
If I cannot immediately restore Sung Su Ryeo to her former self.
Then I would rather perish alongside her in this explosion than abandon her.
“No, you cannot do this.”
Sung Su Ryeo shook her head, but Bu Eunseol’s expression remained unmoved.
“Your suffering is entirely my fault.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with measured calm.
“How could I possibly survive alone, leaving you behind?”
To the world, Bu Eunseol appeared infinitely cold and emotionless.
Yet in truth, she possessed affection as vast as the ocean and as deep as the roots of ancient trees.
And because of that profound depth of feeling,
she had formed countless bonds with others, never abandoning her quest for vengeance.
This was why she continued to wander through Gangho.
“Wait just a moment.”
And as I was about to whistle to summon the Sa Hon Dae members,
‘This is…’
A peculiar sensation flooded my mind, accompanied by searing heat.
That distinctive feeling I could sense from dozens of leagues away.
Could it be Man Wol’s presence?
Zing.
Before long, transparent light streamed forth from across from Bu Eunseol.
A stunning beauty in brilliant crimson robes materialized.
It was Man Wol.
“Man Wol.”
“Withdraw your energy and step away from her.”
Man Wol held a lean swordsman with a cloth mask covering his face suspended in the air.
“Hurry, there is no time!”
At Man Wol’s cry, Bu Eunseol had no time to think—she withdrew her energy threads and stepped away from Sung Su Ryeo.
Thud.
Then she hurled the lean swordsman, bound in chains with his face concealed, before Sung Su Ryeo.
Simultaneously, she formed a seal and began chanting a low incantation.
Hum, hum.
As she recited the incantation without pause,
Zing, zing.
Mystical lights around Man Wol’s body began to flicker like stars in the night sky.
At the same time, the strange energy enveloping Sung Su Ryeo’s body gradually began to dissipate.
Slip.
I felt that energy slowly transfer toward the cloth-faced man.
“Now is the moment. Finish him quickly.”
Man Wol pointed at the man and spoke.
“The Executor’s power binding her has transferred to him. Kill him and it will all be over.”
‘The Executor?’
I murmured the word softly, then shook my head as understanding dawned.
“I cannot kill an innocent person to save her.”
My grandfather had shown reverence and compassion even toward the corpses of complete strangers.
If I were to kill someone to save another, then there would be no need for vengeance on my grandfather’s behalf.
“He’s not an innocent person!”
Man Wol spoke urgently.
“This man has murdered countless women through his twisted methods. He’s someone destined for execution anyway.”
“Krrgh.”
At that moment, a grotesque, guttural sound erupted from the mouth of the man whose face was concealed beneath cloth.
Simultaneously, his skin began to emit a metallic sheen.
Thanks to the incantation Man Wol had recited, the malevolent force that had tormented Sung Su Ryeo had transferred to him.
Crack.
Just as Ma Bu had before, the man transformed into a grotesque creature of unnatural form.
“There’s no time!”
At Man Wol’s cry, I drew the Muk Hon Sword.
Since Ma Bu had possessed a formidable body that ordinary strength could not kill, I intended to rely on sword technique.
Shing.
With a resonant ring of the blade, a sharp crimson light erupted across the man’s neck.
The Tal Youseong Chuwol technique unfolded.
Psshht!
A spray of blood shot upward a foot high, and the cloth-covered man’s head tumbled to the ground in an instant.
Thud.
As the headless corpse fell, Sung Su Ryeo, who had been convulsing, collapsed into unconsciousness.
“Lady Sung Su Ryeo.”
I quickly supported her and examined her condition carefully.
Fortunately, there were no serious abnormalities, and her pulse was returning to normal.
It appeared she had simply lost consciousness from complete exhaustion of her vital energy.
“What has happened to her?”
At my question, Man Wol took a deep breath and spoke.
“The Executor always selects people close to the target and transmits the curse to them.”
Man Wol’s expression was grave beyond measure.
“Because of this, even if one possesses the strength to survive the Executor’s direct assault, they are condemned to live a lonely, solitary life. There is no way to prevent this method.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. What is this Executor?”
“Haven’t you heard from the Covenant member?”
“By Covenant member, do you mean that Blue-Robed Elder who was pressuring me to join the Covenant?”
Man Wol shook her head.
“The Covenant member is not just one person. But if they spoke to you about the Covenant, then that person is likely the one.”
“Speak plainly.”
I spoke with utmost gravity.
“And what is this Executor? Why does Sung Su Ryeo transform into a monster?”
Man Wol took a deep breath.
Then she spoke calmly.
“It’s for balance.”
“Balance?”
“Think of this world as a large basket, and people as small balls placed inside it.”
Man Wol spoke steadily.
“If large balls keep being created instead of ordinary ones, the balance will inevitably collapse.”
“So….”
Bu Eunseol grasped Man Wol’s meaning immediately and opened her mouth.
“You’re saying there’s a fixed total number of masters whose power transcends human limits in this world?”
“Something like that. Though it’s really a matter of choice.”
“What choice are you talking about?”
Man Wol shook her head.
“You’ll understand soon enough without me explaining that part.”
“My lady.”
“If I explain now, I might actually ruin everything.”
Man Wol spoke earnestly.
“Trust me. It won’t take long. You’ll understand very soon.”
Bu Eunseol bit her lip.
But seeing the earnest and deeply concerned look in Man Wol’s eyes, she had no choice but to nod.
“I understand.”
Then she asked.
“Can you at least explain what an Executor is?”
“An Executor is a person created to deal with masters trying to break the Covenant. And they can never escape.”
Bu Eunseol furrowed her brow.
What kind of bizarre nonsense was this?
“And the Executor infects those in extremely close proximity to the target, making them carry out the work instead.”
“Those in close proximity?”
Bu Eunseol finally understood.
“So it’s simply a matter of physical distance.”
Ma Bu, and Sung Su Ryeo.
They had both been people in extremely close proximity to me.
In other words, the Executor.
It seemed to mean turning those at a certain distance from the target into puppets.
“Exactly.”
“Does an Executor always come if you don’t join the Covenant?”
“Not necessarily. But I don’t know the criteria either.”
Bu Eunseol asked again.
“Then are all the supreme masters of Tianxia, including Ma Cheon Je, enrolled in the Covenant?”
The supreme masters, including Ma Cheon Je.
Were generally in seclusion or living in solitude.
Yet that did not mean they were completely severed from the world of people.
After all, had Ma Cheon Je not spent time with Jin Seol, his beloved courtesan of the highest rank, not long ago?
“That much I cannot say.”
“What method does the Executor use to turn people into puppets? Does he infect only a single person?”
“The Executor’s methods follow a pattern as well.”
“A pattern?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
Until now, I had heard the word “pattern” from several individuals.
“What is this pattern you speak of?”
“It is as the words suggest. Something akin to the laws of nature passed down through generations.”
Man Wol’s eyes grew even more narrow.
“We know such things occur… but we cannot know why they happen or how they function.”
Yet something felt strange.
As Man Wol continued speaking, her complexion had taken a sudden turn for the worse.
And at some point, white strands of hair had begun to show faintly at her temples.
“Man Wol.”
Bu Eunseol perceived something and her eyes gleamed with understanding.
“Could the price of the technique you just displayed have been your lifespan?”
When she first revealed herself, there had been no white hair.
But after chanting those strange incantations to save Sung Su Ryeo, her hair had turned white like this.
That could only mean one thing.
In exchange for wielding such great magic or technique, she had sacrificed her vitality or perhaps her youth.
“That cannot be.”
“My lady.”
“I must go now.”
Man Wol spoke with sorrowful eyes.
“I am sorry. I could not be of greater help.”
Bu Eunseol let out a long sigh.
Man Wol.
What is your true nature, that you aid me whenever a crisis emerges?
Why do you convey to me what I must know whenever such knowledge becomes necessary?
Bu Eunseol wished to cry out and ask, yet could not bring herself to do so.
I had no right to demand answers from Man Wol, and above all, it was she who was suffering.
She was troubled by what she could not speak of.
Just as she was now.
“You have nothing to apologize for, my lady.”
Bu Eunseol sighed deeply.
“If nothing has been revealed about the Executor’s true nature or how the great magic they use spreads…”
And with confident eyes, I nodded.
“I’ll ask Gak Ju. He would know about the Covenant and the Executor.”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“If someone unrelated to the Covenant learns about it, there’s a high probability they’ll be killed. And those who’ve sworn the Covenant cannot disclose its secrets.”
Man Wol spoke to Bu Eunseol with reassurance in her voice.
“But since you’ve evaded the Executor’s attack this time, you have approximately sixty days until their next appearance.”
“They appear every sixty days?”
“It’s my prediction. Not certain, but.”
Had anyone else made such a statement, I couldn’t have hidden my bewilderment.
But Man Wol was a shaman.
Such predictions surely had solid grounds behind them.
“And during that time, you will certainly be able to resolve this matter.”
“Is that from a shaman’s perspective?”
“No.”
Man Wol offered a somewhat austere smile.
“It’s faith. I believe you will certainly be able to resolve it.”
And she continued speaking calmly.
“But without accurate information about the Executor, you’d be helpless before you could even attempt a solution… which is why I’ve sought you out.”
It turned out that Man Wol had grasped my situation and bought me two months of time.
She had helped me find a way to resolve this matter somehow.
“But even if you find a method, don’t execute it immediately. First, calm your mind and settle your thoughts.”
Man Wol offered another piece of counsel.
“Two months is quite a long time. During that period, spend time alone if you wish… or if there’s something weighing on your heart, handle that first.”
Her words were cryptic.
Of course, two months was hardly a short span.
But the Executor’s task was something that couldn’t be delayed even for a moment.
So why was she telling me to proceed slowly and deliberately?
‘Could it be that I’ll fail otherwise?’
Yet Man Wol’s expression held unwavering conviction.
She wouldn’t have bought me two months merely for personal affairs.
‘I don’t understand.’
What faction did Man Wol truly belong to?
How did she come to know such secrets?
Swallowing my curiosity once more, I could only ask this:
“Why are you helping me?”
“You’ll understand soon. Surely.”
Man Wol spoke to me with encouragement.
“So grow stronger. Strong enough never to lose to anyone.”
―Grow stronger.
Her final words of caution were always the same.
And within those words lay a profound, desperate earnestness.
“I understand.”
I offered Man Wol the same withered smile she had shown me.
If no further information could be extracted, it would be cruel to torment her further.
“And… thank you for your help.”
Man Wol nodded and smiled.
“Then I’ll be going.”
She turned immediately.
Light gathered around her form, and in an instant, she vanished from sight.
I watched her departure with a vacant expression before clenching my fists tightly.
“The Executor.”
If those who remained close to me were continuously turned into puppets?
I would be unable to do anything, and my life would be ruined.
“Then how did my grandfather evade the Executor’s reach? Or was he acknowledged instead?”
There was no one to ask, and the uncertainty gnawed at me.
She had said that asking such questions of those unrelated to the Covenant could result in their execution.
And those bound by the Covenant who knew of it were compelled to silence on such matters…
In the end, there was no one I could ask about this.
“Even if I hide my tracks, the Executor will not fail to find me.”
According to Man Wol’s words, the Executor’s methods were themselves the laws of Murim.
In other words, concealing my identity or using deception would not allow me to evade the Executor.
‘Then.’
The secret tome I had found at the Manma Yujin Pavilion.
Within it were inscribed, like hidden words, the locations where the sages dwelled.
‘Please.’
I gazed at Sung Su Ryeo, who lay in deep slumber, and clenched my fists.
‘I can only pray my suspicion is correct.’
I took a deep breath.
No matter how many times I deliberated, this was the only path.
But if I followed Man Wol’s counsel?
I could not leave this place immediately.
Yet how could I possibly do that in this situation?
‘I trust her.’
Was it because she bore the face of the woman I had thought of as my mother?
The reason remained unclear.
But I would follow her words and first calm my mind, as she had advised.

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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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