The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 854

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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 854.
Jeon Baek Seung snorted derisively.
Handle the Ingui Party alone?
No matter how renowned a Lord of the Demon Palace might be, such confidence bordered on recklessness—a liver swollen with overconfidence.
“And more importantly, we must demonstrate the true martial prowess of the Sayoung Hall’s Lords….”
Whether Jeon Baek Seung mocked him or not, Yu Woon Ryong maintained an expression of serene composure.
“That pathetic Dark Path Alliance won’t dare intervene rashly.”
“Hehehehe!”
Unable to contain his amusement, Jeon Baek Seung burst into raucous laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
After laughing for some time, he shook his head.
“What did the Sayoung Hall’s strategist consume today to speak such nonsense….”
The Ingui Party’s forces numbered merely two hundred, yet each was a warrior worth a hundred men.
Moreover, under the Blood Cult’s support, they had mastered the Divine Descent Technique and the Demonic Binding Grand Method.
They possessed combat capabilities incomparable to ordinary Murim practitioners.
Furthermore, Dan Ri Yu Hwa had only recently recovered from days of dantian suppression, leaving her currently useless as a fighting force.
No matter how formidable Yu Woon Ryong was, he could not face the Ingui Party alone.
“I’ve already missed a perfect opportunity to warn the Blood Cult.”
Because of the incident with Sin Do Woon Hui before.
Yu Woon Ryong had failed to deliver a proper warning to the Jeok Hwang Gyo.
Now he intended to demonstrate the Sayoung Hall’s true strength.
To send a powerful warning that would ensure the Blood Cult never dared provoke them again.
Clang.
As he drew upon his inner power, the Ten-Segment Staff that had been limp as a serpent became rigid as wood.
Whoosh!
In the same instant, at a distance of three zhang away,
a warrior of the Ingui Party collapsed with a coin-sized hole bored through the space between his brows.
The technique was executed with such blinding speed that none could perceive when, how, or what move had been employed.
“He has some skill. Attack all at once!”
At Jeon Baek Seung’s command, the Ingui Party’s warriors threw themselves forward with full force.
Yu Woon Ryong spoke in a low voice to Dan Ri Yu Hwa standing beside him.
“Stay close to my body.”
“What are you thinking?”
Dan Ri Yu Hwa cried out urgently.
“They’re all masters at the pinnacle who’ve mastered those strange techniques. How can you possibly….”
She could not finish her words.
The Ingui Party’s warriors, transformed like evil spirits, swarmed forward like a hornet’s nest and unleashed their assault.
Boom.
Yet before they could reach within three zhang of where Yu Woon Ryong stood, they were sent flying as mangled corpses.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Yu Woon Ryong whirled the Chil Ji Ma Do at ultra-high speed, transforming it into a perfectly circular barrier of pure force.
“Heh heh. Using a technique that can’t even hold for half a moment.”
Jeon Baek Seung, observing this display, wore a contemptuous smile.
Creating an impenetrable wall with weapons was certainly an excellent defensive measure.
However, it consumed an enormous amount of inner force, making it absolutely unsuitable for one-against-many combat situations.
Crash! Bang!
Protected within the circular barrier Yu Woon Ryong had created, Dan Ri Yu Hwa walked calmly toward the outside.
The warriors of Ingui Party exerted all their strength to stop them, yet none could penetrate the circular wall Yu Woon Ryong had formed.
“Insolent fool!”
At that moment, with a shout that split heaven and earth.
Sang Gon, the vice-leader of Ingui Party, leaped into the air and unleashed the Heaven-Earth Splitting Strike technique.
An attack of such magnitude?
Inevitably, even the wall of the Chil Ji Ma Do would shatter.
Whoosh!
Yet from Sang Gon’s neck, suspended in mid-air, a spray of blood erupted.
Yu Woon Ryong had drawn another Chil Ji Ma Do and launched it like an arrow.
Whoosh.
The Chil Ji Ma Do that had embedded itself in the ground, despite being over a dozen paces away, writhed like a living serpent and swiftly coiled back around his left hand.
Thud, thud thud.
It took less than a quarter hour for two hundred soldiers to be reduced to half their number.
Choguk Dowon.
That supreme realm where only masters who had ascended to such heights could inflict even a scratch.
Had it finally awakened within Yu Woon Ryong?
“No, that is not the realm of Choguk Dowon.”
At that moment, Jeon Baek Seung, who had been observing Yu Woon Ryong’s Chil Ji Ma Do technique from afar, bit his lip.
“He has mastered the ultimate principle of staff techniques—the Infinite Circular Wheel!”
Within staff techniques existed a principle that consumed no inner force.
The Infinite Circular Wheel allowed weapons to rotate endlessly without depletion.
Jeon Baek Seung had discerned that Yu Woon Ryong was employing this principle to create an unceasing wall of weapons.
“But wait… is such a thing even possible?”
Even if the Infinite Circular Wheel technique allowed weapons to rotate endlessly, one could not possibly strike down enemies infinitely in this manner.
Because whenever the weapon collided with an enemy’s blade or severed flesh, there would inevitably be a consumption of vital force.
Yet Yu Woon Ryong possessed what seemed like an inexhaustible well of inner force.
Drawing infinite circles, he transformed the enemies that rushed at him into bloody pulp.
Thud thud.
Blood rained down like a downpour.
The bodies of Ingui Party’s warriors who had mastered divine techniques scattered in all directions.
Those unleashing the Gyeol Ma Dae technique had their arms severed clean.
“Has that bastard broken through to the Extreme Heavenly Realm?”
Yu Woon Ryong continued rotating the Chil Ji Ma Do at high speed infinitely.
Despite withstanding attacks from countless martial artists,
he had not sustained even a single wound.
This meant he could manipulate time two to three times faster than ordinary martial artists.
“Is this even possible?”
It was common knowledge that Muk Hon Ryeong Ju possessed extraordinary martial prowess.
But for a mere second-tier lord of the Demon Palace to display such martial skill?
“Muk Hon Ryeong Ju. That madman must have employed some technique.”
Jeon Baek Seung gnashed his teeth.
Since the Demon Palace was a coalition of the Demonic Path, promotions based on martial ability were strictly enforced.
Yet Muk Hon Ryeong Ju, despite his subordinate possessing such formidable strength,
despite displaying martial prowess of this caliber,
had deliberately refrained from promoting him and intentionally left him at this level.
Thud, thud, thud.
In that span, even the third of the forces that had been blocking Yu Woon Ryong’s advance collapsed entirely.
All that remained were Jeon Baek Seung and the thirty-odd martial artists guarding him.
Tremor, tremor, tremor.
In Gwi Dang Master Jeon Baek Seung trembled.
In truth, he had never been a great master from the beginning.
He was a man who had received support from the Blood Cult and been taught their supreme techniques, ascending to the Transcendent Realm and achieving successive victories.
Such a man had crossed the line of death alongside Bu Eunseol until now, engaging in countless battles.
He had lived studying military strategy and the Ten Absolute Techniques even during meals and sleep.
With innate martial talent and bone-grinding effort combined…
He was not even qualified to cross hands with a peerless martial genius from the Ten Demon Immortals.
Step, step, step.
Yu Woon Ryong did not attack Jeon Baek Seung, simply passing by him calmly.
Jeon Baek Seung could only tremble at the sight.
For if he made even the slightest move, his head would be severed instantly.
“Will you not kill him?”
At Dan Ri Yu Hwa’s question, Yu Woon Ryong replied matter-of-factly.
“He will be executed by the Blood Cult’s hand as the price of his failure anyway.”
And he continued.
“Above all, we need someone to report the situation to the Blood Cult.”
With him alive, he could deliver a vivid warning to the Blood Cult.
Moreover, knowing full well that he would be killed as the price of failure, I have spared Jeon Baek Seung.
“I see.”
Dan Ri Yu Hwa emerged from In Gwi Dang with a dazed expression.
The battle she had witnessed until now felt like a dream.
No, this entire situation felt far too surreal.
‘I thought he was merely a frail scholar….’
She had believed him to be a bookish official who spent his days buried in tomes and complained of ailments.
I had simply thought him to be an inflexible man, utterly rigid in his thinking.
Yet his true martial prowess was something altogether different.
He had reached a realm of martial mastery that surpassed even the Hyuk Ryeon Dang Master, whom my own father yielded to—a height few ever attained.
Moreover, his wisdom and insight transcended the boundaries of the ordinary so profoundly that his mundane, languid demeanor was merely a reflection of that transcendence.
‘I was blind to the measure of men.’
My chest swelled with emotion.
This extraordinary figure, possessed of such sublime wisdom and martial power,
had concealed his brilliance beneath an veil of ordinariness, never once displaying his true strength.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a black shadow descended from above Yu Woon Ryong, touching down upon the earth.
It was a man with long hair flowing freely, his frame possessed of razor-sharp definition.
It was Wi Cheon Gyeong, Master of the Chuhon Dae.
“All the captive women have been released.”
He had infiltrated the Ingui Party alongside Yu Woon Ryong at his prior instruction, securing evidence of their heinous crimes.
“However, we could not locate conclusive proof. The Blood Cult—they conduct their affairs with considerable competence.”
“That suffices.”
Yu Woon Ryong spoke with perfect composure.
“The women themselves, having been kidnapped by the Ingui Party, shall serve as testimony enough.”
“I see.”
Wi Cheon Gyeong glanced at Dan Ri Yu Hwa, who trailed obediently beside Yu Woon Ryong, then clasped his hands together.
“Then I shall return to my post.”
In an instant, he hurled himself skyward into the Half-Sky and vanished from sight.
“I too must return.”
Yu Woon Ryong turned to address Dan Ri Yu Hwa.
“Then take care of yourself.”
What should have been executed methodically had been hastily revised to rescue Dan Ri Yu Hwa.
In truth, it had been a plan fraught with mortal peril.
He and Wi Cheon Gyeong alone had to liberate the captive women, ensure not a single hair on Dan Ri Yu Hwa’s head was harmed, and annihilate the Ingui Party entirely.
Yet he treated her with perfect equanimity, betraying not the slightest strain.
“Thank you.”
It was all Dan Ri Yu Hwa could manage to say.
“Truly.”
“I did not do this for your sake.”
Yu Woon Ryong shook his head.
“The Ingui Party are merely puppets of the Blood Cult, and we of the Sayoung Hall have long intended to eliminate them.”
And he added,
“I also required time to assess my own martial cultivation.”
He had completed the Ten Severing Kun Do this time,
and had theoretically mastered the profound mysteries of Infinite Qi Flow and Boundless Qi Transformation—the very principles that had barred entry to the Extreme Heavenly Realm until now.
Yet knowing and doing are vastly different matters.
Yu Woon Ryong had staked his very life on this moment, testing his martial prowess once more, and finally confirmed his breakthrough into the Extreme Heavenly Realm.
A faint shimmer rippled through the air.
At that instant, a piercing sound of splitting air echoed as over a dozen figures clad in black robes rushed toward this location.
They were none other than Chang Wol Mun Master and his subordinates.
To safely escort Dan Ri Yu Hwa away.
Yu Woon Ryong had contacted the Changwol Sect in advance, timing it perfectly for when his business here would conclude.
“Then.”
Clasping his hands together, Yu Woon Ryong immediately unfurled his divine technique and departed.
“Wait, wait just a moment.”
Dan Ri Yu Hwa regained her senses too late and tried to grasp him, but Yu Woon Ryong’s figure had already vanished without a trace.
“What on earth happened?”
Chang Wol Mun Master rushed over urgently upon seeing Dan Ri Yu Hwa standing alone.
“Are you unharmed?”
“Yes.”
She gazed in the direction where Yu Woon Ryong had disappeared, her eyes distant and unfocused.
‘Yu Woon Ryong.’
The image of his haggard, weary face—exhausted and languid—surfaced in her mind.
Once, she had found that sickly appearance so displeasing, yet now he lived with concealed strength, noble and aloof.
A truly exceptional figure.
‘I must….’
Dan Ri Yu Hwa clenched her fists, murmuring in a low voice.
‘I will become a woman worthy of you.’
Yet her voice, flushed and trembling as she whispered, was far too soft.
No one could hear her words.
* * *
Deep within a mountain where even moonlight could not penetrate.
A mysterious aura permeated a certain cave hidden within a rocky crevice, as if all the wisdom of the world had been condensed there.
An iron gate forged from bronze stood at the cave’s entrance, with ancient characters delicately inscribed upon it.
Violet crystals were embedded around the gate’s frame, emanating a soft glow and radiating an almost sacred atmosphere.
A low rumbling sound echoed.
Bang Il entered through the cave’s entrance.
Beyond the corridor lay a vast stone chamber.
The ceiling bore a mural depicting the movements of the heavens themselves.
Remarkably, the stars inscribed there actually glowed faintly and moved according to the seasons and time of day.
The floor was composed of black marble, upon which unique patterns embroidered with golden thread spread out.
“He is not here.”
Bang Il, seated at a table, drew a deep breath.
“Why has the plan not been executed?”
It was incomprehensible.
He had served as Chu So’s right hand for a long time, handling numerous matters.
He was a strategist possessed of exceptional wisdom and insight capable of governing all under heaven.
And under his command.
To kill Muk Hon Ryeong Ju, the successor of the Demon Palace, Bu Eunseol, he had devised an exceedingly meticulous plan using Yang Seol Rin as bait.
Though he could not compare to Cheon Ki Sung, who possessed genius-level intellect.
With his assistance, he had prepared an intricate scheme of murder by proxy.
And even should it fail, he had crafted a seemingly perfect snare to ensure he would suffer no loss whatsoever.
―I am merely going to meet someone.
That is what he had said.
Yet he had never truly gone merely to meet someone—not once.
He had never wasted even a fleeting moment without purpose.
I had expected him to return calmly and issue orders to execute the assassination as planned.
But why, suddenly.
Had he suspended the assassination of Muk Hon Ryeong Ju?
“It seems his heart changed after meeting him.”
Bang Il felt an ominous premonition.
Chu So possessed not merely genius-level intellect and knowledge, but also the insight and intuition to predict the future.
Yet there was one weakness, if it could be called that.
He was exceedingly fond of talented individuals like himself.
“Muk Hon Ryeong Ju is renowned not only for martial prowess but also for exceptional strategic wisdom.”
Bang Il could sense it intuitively.
Chu So had certainly taken a liking to Bu Eunseol, and because of this, he could not bring himself to kill her.
“This will not do.”
According to his predictions.
The person who would become the greatest obstacle to Chu So was none other than Bu Eunseol herself.
She possessed not only formidable martial skill and strategic wisdom.
Was she not the inheritor of Chil Ji Ma Do, said to have achieved the most exceptional mastery of the Demonic Way in centuries?
She was an adversary one could never afford to underestimate or coexist with.
“The plan is perfect regardless, so failure is impossible.”
Bang Il made his decision.
Even if something went wrong, he would take responsibility himself.
He would seize this opportunity to kill Bu Eunseol and prevent calamity before it could unfold.
* * *
Bu Eunseol had returned to the Demon Palace.
As Man Wol had said, I had time alone and was able to compose myself.
And I intended to follow her final counsel.
―If there is anything weighing on your heart, resolve that first.
I had thought there was nothing weighing on my heart.
Whenever I felt even the slightest debt, I had always repaid it.
Even if I could not resolve the matter of the Executor.
I owed no one anything, so I could depart with a light heart.
‘Wait, is there one?’
As I pondered deeply.
There was one person to whom I had failed to repay a debt of gratitude.
‘Yang Seol Rin.’
Until now, she had shown me considerable kindness and provided invaluable information.
Had I not even promised to grant her three requests in return?
Yet I had not even fulfilled the third request.
‘Hmm.’
As I deliberated on how to repay this debt, Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s words suddenly surfaced in my mind.
―She too was a child kidnapped by the Jung Son Family, under the name Hwa Soo.
At that time, Gong Son Dan Gyeong had shared detailed accounts of the Jung Son Family’s kidnapping incident with me.
Yang Seol Rin, who retained no memories of her past, had likely fallen victim to either an exceptionally vicious soul-binding technique or a spirit-sealing art.
Particularly if she had been subjected to a terrifying soul-binding method like the Jeol Jeong Sim In Dae Beop, only the caster could undo it.
Indeed, I myself had lost my memories due to such a grand technique wielded by Hyuk Ryeon Eung and plummeted from a cliff.
Only through an extraordinarily fortuitous circumstance—when Tung Bo, who had saved and cared for me, faced death—did I recover my memories, did I not?
‘Then… I shall settle my debt to her by resolving this matter.’
I spent merely a day drinking and composing myself.
There was still ample time remaining.
I sent word to Yang Seol Rin.
And through her information, I learned that Sin Do Woon Hui had undergone peculiar experiments.
And that a man named Chu So.
Much like Sam Gye, manipulated people by exploiting their desires.
―I wish to hear the story directly.
As expected, a reply came from Yang Seol Rin.
Rather than through a letter, she conveyed her desire to meet in person and discuss the matter.
“Ryeong Ju, a reply has arrived from Jeol Cheon Myul Ji.”
At that moment, Wi Cheon Gyeong entered and handed me a letter.
It was none other than one sent by Hyuk So Jin.
―Bu Brother, while I do not possess the precious item you seek, it so happens that the Old Innkeeper, Myeol Jeong Gwang Ja, possesses a treasure with similar properties.
Things have grown somewhat quieter of late, so I shall deliver it to you personally.
‘Excellent.’
Until now, I had been searching through Sa Hon Dae for martial techniques or treasures capable of breaking soul-binding arts.
Yet I could find information nowhere.
―If there exists no martial technique to break the Jeol Jeong Sim In Dae Beop, then might there not be a treasure capable of doing so?
Pondering once more, I found another path.
―What of Jeol Cheon Myul Ji?
Just as I had been able to obtain information about the legendary Wind Divine Palace spoken of in Murim.
The former demonic experts who had endured countless trials.
Not only possessed knowledge of various secret information and circulating rumors.
But also held treasures they had discovered through their wanderings in Murim, or knew well the locations where such treasures lay hidden.
After much deliberation, Bu Eunseol reached out to Hyuk So Jin and began making inquiries among the demonic experts of the previous generation about whether such a treasure existed.
And by extraordinary fortune.
It was not merely information about a treasure capable of breaking the soul-binding technique.
Rather, she had found the very person who possessed such a treasure.
Though it could not perfectly shatter esoteric arts like the Executor’s Heart Binding Method, it would certainly possess some efficacy.
“Excellent.”
Tap.
Bu Eunseol set down the letter and nodded faintly.
“Then there is no need to delay any further.”
Fortune had smiled upon her.
Hyuk So Jin’s reply had arrived just in time, confirming that such a rare treasure lay within Jeol Cheon Myul Ji.
Now she need only meet Yang Seol Rin directly.
* * *
As the cool evening breeze began to stir.
Bu Eunseol made her way toward the cliff where pale moonlight cast its gentle glow.
Far below the dizzying precipice, a rushing river crashed against the rocks, sending up clouds of mist.
The sound of leaves brushing in the wind and the river’s winding murmur alternated.
Breaking through the profound silence that enveloped the cliff.
At last, reaching the summit of the cliff.
Whoosh.
A cool wind swept down from the heavens, and a crimson silhouette materialized upon the cliff’s edge.
Though scars marked her face and neck, they only served to enhance her strength and mysterious allure.
She was a beauty of extraordinary grace.
It was Yang Seol Rin.
“My lady.”
“It has been far too long.”
Yang Seol Rin smiled warmly.
In truth, she was a woman utterly indifferent to matters of the heart.
Yet the bittersweet and solitary aura that lingered even with eyes closed, the mysterious brilliance of her gaze like sunlight dancing upon water.
She had fallen for Bu Eunseol at first sight, with her cold, expressionless countenance that revealed no emotion.
And whenever she gazed upon her.
A trembling anticipation she had never known before would bloom throughout her chest.
“Of course. Have you been well during this time?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“I am relieved to hear it.”
After exchanging these brief pleasantries, Bu Eunseol felt something peculiar.
Yang Seol Rin had grown even more beautiful in the interim, and her gaze now shone with affection as though she gazed upon a beloved.
Though she had always been kind, this was the first time she had expressed her feelings so openly and transparently.
‘How strange.’
The moment their eyes met.
Bu Eunseol was seized by an inexplicable chill, a peculiar sensation that seeped slowly down her spine.
She could not discern precisely what had changed.
Yet one thing was certain.
In the time they had not seen each other… Yang Seol Rin had subtly transformed into someone different.

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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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