The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 866

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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 866.
As a wave of destruction spread across the entire world,
Crack.
The boundary of time tore asunder, and the seams of the formation technique split wide open.
Neither past nor future existed—only an endless, undulating vortex of distortion remained visible.
Whoooosh.
In that same moment, mist rose forth.
As if brilliant sunlight were shining down upon the lakeside, countless points of light scattered outward.
The Musang Cheon Ryu’s Ninth Technique—the natural essence of Ho Yeon Gyeong’s wave propagated in succession.
Zing. Zing.
The mist and points of light advancing toward the formation’s seams carried within them the power of harmony,
Burst!
The instant they touched the cracks, dazzling light erupted outward.
By layering harmony upon Ho Yeon Gyeong’s technique—which renders all things into their natural state—
A power that transcended mere physical explosions and shockwaves emerged, collapsing time and space itself.
And returning everything to nothingness spread forth.
Ziiiiing.
In that instant, the flow of time halted, and the formation’s space began expanding infinitely, then contracting.
Crack crack.
At last, space itself began tearing apart with an anguished, otherworldly sound.
Tremble tremble.
Bu Eunseol’s body, pouring forth power without cessation, began trembling like an aspen leaf.
The backlash of deploying two transcendent techniques simultaneously
Melted not merely the flesh, but spirit and soul alike, collapsing her very existence.
‘I must maintain consciousness.’
If for even a single moment she lost awareness?
Her body would shatter to pieces, and her soul would scatter as ten million points of light, vanishing forever.
Drip drip.
Thick blood vessels burst across her face.
She wanted to scream, but no sound emerged.
Her spirit shattered like fragments, her skin burned as if aflame, her bones stretched and elongated.
Sizzzzle.
Then a vast opening began to appear.
At last, the formation technique was collapsing.
Crack crack crack.
The space gradually opened wider and wider,
Whoooosh.
The lights surrounding everything instantly transformed into blue flames and vanished.
At last, a space large enough to escape through had been created.
“Hnngh.”
Bu Eunseol’s body swayed, and she dropped to one knee.
The price of merging two incompatible martial arts, each difficult to manifest even once, was catastrophic.
Her entire skin tore open, and waves of agony surged through her organs as if they were burning away.
‘There is no time.’
Yet there was no time to even acknowledge the pain.
Any delay risked endangering Han Sang Ja and the Sa Hon Dae members.
Kwaarang!
Bursting through the formation with a deafening boom, Bu Eunseol shot upward more than a hundred zhang into the air.
Then she began channeling every ounce of her remaining power into the Extreme Speed Shadow technique.
Kwauuuu!
As her body surged forward, a ribbon of pale vapor began forming before her.
This level of exertion consumed both the Sam Sin Gi and all her remaining force—something one should never attempt before facing a formidable opponent.
But she could not stand idle while Han Sang Ja and the team members risked sacrifice for this plan.
Kwaarang, kwaaah!
Bu Eunseol became a single streak of meteor, shooting skyward with unstoppable momentum.
* * *
Han Sang Ja stood alone in the dimness where light barely penetrated.
Around him, thirty-two Sa Hon Dae members stood motionless as statues.
The Gui Yu Wu Geuk Formation, woven from warriors possessing inner force exceeding a full decade—a formation of extraordinary power.
It rendered the interior space of the formation into a state of perfect natural harmony.
Moreover, it heightened sensory perception a thousandfold, allowing one to detect even the movement of an ant miles away.
Should anyone appear in this vicinity, I could locate them faster than any master of the Murim.
‘The Executor will come first.’
Though his expression remained composed, exhilaration blazed through Han Sang Ja’s eyes.
‘But once the formation cannot be breached… a being superior to the Executor will surely emerge.’
Intense fervor radiated from Han Sang Ja’s gaze.
‘To inevitably eliminate me, who seeks to shatter and mock the laws themselves.’
The Murim contained incomprehensible laws, and he had devoted himself to studying them within Hyeonja Forest.
The Executor, in particular, had captivated him.
A mysterious being that appeared only before the supremely powerful, imposing restrictions upon them.
No one had ever glimpsed its true form, yet it possessed transcendent power capable of transforming humans into monsters in an instant.
Yet there were scarcely any texts that explained this entity in detail and completeness.
Moreover, most texts containing information about the Executor were damaged and incomplete.
As if someone had deliberately destroyed them.
The Jejeop Gyeong that had spread throughout Gangho as well.
It had been severely damaged from the outset, and Hyeonja Forest had simply transcribed and distributed it as is.
To verify whether someone was truly preventing any mention of the Executor.
‘They cannot be unaware that I artificially manipulated spiritual resonance to lure the Executor.’
Han Sang Ja took a deep breath, surveying the formation.
‘They will have no choice but to reveal themselves.’
The formation technique Han Sang Ja had laid out for Bu Eunseol and Geuk Hye Bin was not meant to perfectly conceal their bodies from the Executor.
Rather, it was a peculiar formation designed to confine them within its boundaries and transmit their spiritual resonance to this location where the Gui Yu Wu Ji formation existed.
―Sending puppets would be useless, and dispatching the Executor himself would be impossible to handle… so what could be done?
Han Sang Ja had provoked the one who upheld the laws and commanded the Executor, forcing him to come to this place by necessity.
‘Ryeong Ju must not learn of this plan.’
It was not merely because he cherished everyone’s lives.
Whether the Executor was a transcendent being or not remained unknown, but he certainly possessed formidable intelligence networks.
He had precisely grasped Muk Hon Ryeong Ju’s martial prowess operating covertly throughout Gangho and proposed a covenant…
If everything were revealed beforehand, the plan could be compromised.
‘I have longed for this for so long.’
I wished to research the Executor, yet lacked both materials and any means to encounter him.
But heaven had shown mercy.
The very person targeted by the Executor came to Hyeonja Forest seeking aid.
As Han Sang Ja listened to Bu Eunseol’s account among the senior disciples gathered at the entrance, his heart raced.
At last, an opportunity to unravel the secrets of the Executor had presented itself.
‘Moreover, he was a good person.’
Throughout Gangho, the reputation of Muk Hon Ryeong Ju was remarkably generous, contrary to what one would expect of a Demonic Path practitioner.
Yet Han Sang Ja did not trust rumors. After all, those of renown typically wore at least one mask before the world.
But when he transmitted the Heart Seal Dharma to Geuk Hye Bin, he came to understand.
That he was a person so virtuous and righteous as to move even that pure woman to tears.
‘This matter will become a precious gift for the disciples of Hyeonja Forest as well.’
Bu Eunseol was a person of excellence, and
this opportunity would become the catalyst to uncover a truth that had remained obscured for so long.
Without hesitation, I staked my own life and planned this affair.
‘When pursuing truth, sacrifice is inevitable.’
Should I encounter the Executor?
Not only myself, but those martial artists composing the formation could be slain.
Yet that cannot be helped.
Since ancient times, it has been commonplace for those pursuing truth to perish in the attempt.
Keeeeng.
At that moment, a strange resonance vibrated through Han Sang Ja’s eardrums.
It was an ominous sound, as though an unknown entity was revealing itself to the world for the first time.
‘He has come.’
I could sense it instinctively.
The mysterious being that had existed throughout the ages of Murim,
the Executor who constrained even the mightiest cultivators, had finally arrived.
Keeeeeeng.
The ominous sound grew increasingly intense.
In that instant, the faces of the Sa Hon Dae martial artists standing at their positions contorted.
They were experiencing excruciating agony from the strange resonance flowing into their ears.
Yet in contrast, Han Sang Ja’s expression remained serene.
The Team Members of Sa Hon Dae were all masters whose internal cultivation exceeded this level.
How could he calmly endure a cacophony that even they could not withstand?
‘So he’s employing sound as his weapon.’
The Executor could detect spiritual resonance to identify targets, or so it was said.
But if spiritual resonance was detected, yet the location of the hidden target could not be found?
By what method would he attempt to locate the target?
The answer I anticipated was sound.
No matter how magnificent a formation technique or concealment method one employed, completely blocking sound would prove difficult.
Surely he would deploy a sonic technique to draw out the hidden target.
That prediction proved accurate.
Strange noises echoed ceaselessly within the Gui Yu Wu Ji Formation, which supposedly blocked all things.
But I, who commanded the formation itself,
had already embedded a harmonic resonance at the Tian Yuan position—the formation’s heart—capable of neutralizing sonic attacks.
Thus I could stand unmoved.
A horrible grinding sound tore through the air.
The warriors of Sa Hon Dae bled ceaselessly from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.
‘Endure just a moment longer. You will recover soon.’
In truth, I had not merely deployed the Gui Yu Wu Ji Formation.
As the people serving as the formation’s material were attacked, they grew ever more flawless and complete.
I had layered the Thousand Tribulation Tempering Formation—infused with the mysteries of Tian Ni Gui Huan and Fan Gong Gui Yuan—atop it all.
This technique transcended the very limits of formation mastery, and only Gwi Jin Ja, the Rim Ju of Hyeonja Forest, and Jeok Cheong Ja, the Supreme Elder, could wield it.
For it demanded calculations far more intricate than computing the movements of thousands of constellations.
Yet Han Sang Ja had learned it by observation alone, then achieved perfect success in actual combat on the first attempt.
‘Will the Executor shatter the formation? Or will he fail?’
A strange fervor blazed in Han Sang Ja’s eyes.
‘If the Executor himself is a transcendent being, he will break through. If he is merely a master with mysterious power, he cannot even enter.’
A piercing wail shrieked outward.
The cacophony grew ever louder.
Each time a scratching sound echoed forth, the warriors staggered.
A soft luminescence flowed forth.
Yet as mystical light emerged from beneath their feet, the faces of the Sa Hon Dae members gradually grew peaceful.
As external attacks rained down ceaselessly, the formation itself grew ever more resilient.
‘I sense no presence…’
Even with my senses expanded to their absolute limit,
I cannot perceive the form of whoever deploys the sonic technique from beyond.
‘Then perhaps he is merely a puppet for verification.’
A creaking sound echoed.
The bodies of the Sa Hon Dae members gradually hardened like stone.
They were becoming living material for the formation itself.
Soon now.
Unless one defies the laws of nature itself, it will transform into a perfect formation technique that can never be broken.
‘The Executor said that each person is assigned a single target.’
Endless questions bloomed in Han Sang Ja’s mind.
What if the formation technique cannot be destroyed?
Would he summon other allies?
Or would he create puppets infinitely to destroy the formation?
Or perhaps the one before him is also a puppet, and ultimately a transcendent being will appear?
If the formation cannot be broken, would he wander the surroundings and then vanish?
‘I need only wait a little longer.’
A smile bloomed across Han Sang Ja’s lips.
Whether puppet or Executor, he would absolutely never break this formation technique.
Then a superior existence would inevitably appear, and before long, Bu Eunseol would arrive at this place.
Even if he were a master capable of wielding Mujik power, I had installed an absolute formation that could not be penetrated within half a double-hour.
Boom!
But then, a tremendous sound that shook heaven and earth erupted from outside.
It was the sonic boom that spread when a supreme master deployed their lightness technique at full power.
‘This is impossible.’
Han Sang Ja could not hide his shock.
‘He shattered the Mujik Heaven Chain Formation in a single moment?’
It was utterly impossible.
Until now, my calculations and predictions had never once been wrong.
The Mujik Heaven Chain Formation, with eighty-one overlapping formation techniques layered within it.
Even if a master of the Mujik Realm poured out their full power, it could easily withstand half a double-hour.
A formation so impregnable that it would not be destroyed even if tens of thousands of catties of gunpowder exploded continuously for an entire hour—yet the greatest formation technique of Hyeonja Forest was shattered in less than a moment?
‘Could it be that he has reached the stage of Heaven’s Will Annihilation?’
Within Hyeonja Forest.
There existed texts describing the Heaven’s Will Realm, which martial artists called the realm of imagination.
And when one reaches the initial stage of the Heaven’s Will Realm, signs of absolute power like Mujik Equivalence manifest.
It was said that one could comprehend the principles of all things under heaven and earth, and wield the power of Heaven’s Will Annihilation to control or shatter all forces.
‘No, that cannot be.’
To reach the Heaven’s Will Realm, one must necessarily manifest power that transcends the Mujik Realm.
If Bu Eunseol could do such a thing, she would have already ascended to the seat of the greatest under heaven.
‘There is certainly something I do not know.’
Boom!
Thunder roared once more from the distant sky.
The sound was far closer than before, making it certain he would arrive here in less than half a moment.
‘I was wrong.’
Han Sang Ja squeezed his eyes shut.
The superior existence above the Executor had not yet revealed itself.
Yet contrary to expectations, Bu Eunseol had already revealed herself… and so, all the plans had crumbled to dust.

* * *
A thunderous boom.
Before Bu Eunseol’s eyes, racing faster than sound itself, stretched nothing but a wasteland of stone and rock.
Her vision transcended the limits of human perception.
It surpassed that of a hawk spotting a mouse from ten leagues away by several times over.
Thus, she could observe the state of the plains with perfect clarity—what would appear as a mere blur to ordinary people.
And there she detected it: a hemispherical space shrouded in darkness, and before it, a Black Shadow Being pouring forth an eerie dark energy.
‘A puppet.’
It was unmistakable at a glance.
This was not the Executor himself who controlled people, but rather a puppet the Executor had created.
‘Thank heavens.’
Even though a superior entity had not appeared, Bu Eunseol felt relief wash over her.
The formation had not yet been broken.
If that were so, then Han Sang Ja and all the Sa Hon Dae members within would remain unharmed.
If no one suffered because of her, that would be enough.
‘Was it not a supernatural being after all?’
Her only concern had been.
Whether the Executor was truly an omniscient and omnipotent existence.
If that were the case?
Then not only would all of Han Sang Ja’s plans be meaningless, but any resistance would be futile.
Yet the puppet visible in the distance.
Seemed to have belatedly sensed Han Sang Ja’s presence hidden within the formation, continuously pouring forth dark energy.
Which meant the Executor controlling that puppet… was certainly not a supernatural being capable of predicting all events.
‘But this puppet is different from those before.’
Though it bore human form, it was oddly enshrouded in light.
Which meant the probability that ordinary martial arts would prove ineffective was high.
A thunderous boom, a sharp crack.
At last reaching the formation where Han Sang Ja dwelt, Bu Eunseol positioned herself before the Black Shadow.
A piercing wail, a piercing wail.
The shadow steeped in darkness, upon discovering Bu Eunseol, unleashed that eerie sound once more.
It was less a dark energy technique and more a malevolent sorcery that scattered the force of life in all directions.
“Haah, haah.”
Bu Eunseol was greatly exhausted, having poured all her inner force into her desperate sprint.
‘Then.’
Purple energy suddenly bloomed across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Before long, a purple aura spread across Bu Eunseol’s pupils.
The Thunder Divine Qi that had been roiling within her body throughout her use of lightness technique.
She released it all at once in a single, devastating burst.
A deep rumble. A massive explosion!
As a violet shockwave rippled outward in all directions,
A thunderous roar!
Deafening blasts—many times louder than thunder itself—erupted ceaselessly, swallowing the sound the Black Shadow Being had been emitting.
A sharp whistle.
Unable to withstand the intense energy and vibrations of the Thunder Divine Technique,
the shadow stained in black began to writhe, radiating colors of every hue.
A rippling, undulating sound. Again and again.
The form around its body wavered like water, then swiftly transformed into the shape of an ordinary person.
It was none other than Grandfather—Bu Chanyang.
The puppet had immediately analyzed Bu Eunseol’s spiritual essence and clearly grasped what she was vulnerable to.
‘Of course.’
The Executor, I had heard, distinguishes targets not by appearance, but by spiritual resonance.
Moreover, the grace period of some sixty days meant that time had been secured to conduct a thorough analysis of the target.
It was evident that during this period, the target’s weaknesses would be meticulously identified and an attack strategy formulated.
A brilliant flash!
The Black Shadow unleashed an ink-black sword radiance that split heaven and earth upon Bu Eunseol.
Blood Dew Seven Techniques.
The Black Shadow in Grandfather’s form naturally unfolded Grandfather’s swordsmanship.
A sharp draw.
Bu Eunseol, unperturbed, drew the Muk Hon Sword to meet the assault.
From the moment the Black Shadow transformed into Grandfather’s likeness, she had already anticipated that Blood Dew Seven Techniques would come flying.
A brilliant flash!
Black radiance erupted from the Muk Hon Sword, dyeing the entire world in black sword energy.
She had unleashed her most confident technique—Living Spirit Returning Corpse Form.
‘Tch.’
But the sword exchange did not connect properly.
She had deployed her movement technique with all her strength, eyes blazing with stars, to arrive even a moment sooner.
It was impossible to properly execute Blood Dew Seven Techniques, which consumed such vast reserves of power.
‘I’ll see it through to the end!’
Bu Eunseol bit her lip and forced the sword exchange to continue.
A crackling sound.
An aura as deadly as death itself spread outward in all directions, igniting black lightning.
Blood Dew Seven Techniques collided with Blood Dew Seven Techniques.
Black mist surged forward as if the Grim Reaper itself had exhaled.
It did not merely obscure vision; rather, it writhed as though alive, draining the life force from all around it.
As the techniques clashed repeatedly, piercing shrieks of parting air echoed, and wailing sounds reverberated in all directions.
Whoosh! Screeeech!
Before her eyes, black sword energy spread endlessly—sometimes like mist, sometimes like brilliant flashes.
Yet due to her depleted reserves, Bu Eunseol’s sword exchange could only be weaker than what the shadow unleashed.
Whoosh!
The radiance of death—inescapable, unavoidable—grazed past my body.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed as I stumbled backward repeatedly.
But something extraordinary occurred.
Despite being struck by the Blood Dew Seven Techniques, my body remained unharmed, and no shadow of death descended upon me.
Still.
When Shadow ceased its movements, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
“So that’s what it was.”
I had once fought at Gocheomlim’s Gate.
Against a phantom of Baek Ri Mu Jo—the mightiest adversary my imagination could conjure.
And that Baek Ri Mu Jo was, in truth, a being born from my own mind.
Because I believed the opponent was unbeatable, victory had seemed impossible.
Yet I eventually discerned the paradoxical weakness of that absolute illusion.
The enemy possessed only the strength I had imagined it to have.
“What you’ve unfolded is not Grandfather’s true technique, but rather the technique I imagined in my mind.”
The sacred sword Baek Ri Mu Jo wielded at Gocheomlim’s Gate was merely a sacred sword born from my imagination.
Not the true sacred sword
that Baek Ri Mu Jo wielded—the one with perfect, flawless attributes.
Upon realizing this,
I could immediately shatter the initial moves of the sacred sword within my own mind.
Just as I was doing now.
“You seem to be more than a mere puppet.”
Whoosh.
Realizing this method would not work against me,
Shadow—which had worn Grandfather’s face—transformed once more into that grotesque form suffused with black radiance.
Clang.
I twisted the Muk Hon Sword in my grip and asked.
“Are you perhaps the Executor himself, the one called by that name?”
The shadow before me possessed martial prowess that did not pale in comparison to any formidable opponent I had encountered thus far.
If so, was this truly not a puppet, but the Executor in person?
What would happen if I defeated this being?
Would other Executors come endlessly? Or would something above them appear?
Screech.
Then Shadow extended its hand.
Zing.
With a low vibration, something unbelievable transpired.
The vital energy within my body began to drain away, and I suddenly reverted to the form of a boy no more than ten years old.
Shadow had reversed time itself,
returning me to my childhood—before I had even learned breathing techniques.
“….”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened in shock.
No matter how extraordinary one’s abilities were, how could anyone possibly reverse the flow of time itself?
Was the Executor truly a divine being?
‘No, that’s impossible.’
If the Executor truly possessed such power…
then breaking through a mere formation technique created by Han Sang Ja would have been effortless.
Flash!
At that moment, Shadow’s assault came crashing down once more.
Bu Eunseol tried to dodge quickly, but her physical response time had become far too sluggish.
‘I cannot evade.’
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to spin the Muk Hon Sword in circles, dispersing the torrent of attacks.
‘Tch.’
Yet with a child’s body, I could not execute proper swordplay.
My strength was so feeble that even wielding the Muk Hon Sword—which weighed merely four taels—was becoming a burden.
Stumble.
As Bu Eunseol retreated,
Thud, thud.
Shadow approached slowly, as if announcing death itself.
I had managed to block the attacks thus far.
But if the Executor unleashed another devastating assault?
There was no way a child’s body could withstand it perfectly.
Whoosh!
Just as Shadow unleashed a barrage of consecutive attacks poised to deliver a fatal blow,
Zing.
Suddenly, those movements began to appear in slow motion.
As death drew near,
extreme concentration activated, causing time to feel as though it were flowing slowly.
‘So it is not time reversal after all.’
If the Executor truly reversed time completely—
if they could reverse only the body’s time without any warning or movement whatsoever—
then such a phenomenon should never occur in the first place.
Moreover, there would be no need for the Executor to exist, nor any reason to manipulate the humans around the target like puppets.
They could simply reverse time from a distance and deliver death.
“It was nothing special after all.”
With small, delicate hands, I twisted the Muk Hon Sword once more, and brilliant light exploded from my eyes.
“A simple method.”
Smirk.
Having discerned Shadow’s technique, Bu Eunseol’s lips curved upward.

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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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