Chapter 100. There are still three left.

“It is called Soul-Splitting because the soul is divided… and Life-Returning because although the body has disappeared, it is resurrected? What is this…….”

Jincheon, while reading the content written in the very last part of the Heavenly Demon Scripture, was at a loss for words.

Dividing the soul… was this even a plausible statement?

It was a content that was hard to believe, but since it was written in the Heavenly Demon Scripture, it couldn’t be a baseless story.

Jincheon continued to read the content of the very last part of the Heavenly Demon Scripture and learned about the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art.

To summarize, the content was as follows.

(1.) The Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art was a secret tradition of the Kunlun Sect in the past, but became the property of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult when the first Heavenly Demon stole the secret manual and fled.

(2.) In order to use the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art, the vital essence of ten thousand people is needed while alive.

“This is crazy.”

Jincheon clicked his tongue at the fact that the material for the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art was a whopping ten thousand people.

It was easy to say, but was it an easy task to kill a thousand people?

For an ordinary martial artist, it was not easy to cut down even a hundred people in a lifetime, let alone a thousand.

But ten thousand…….

It was a number that Jincheon could not even imagine.

(3.) If the great art succeeds, a crack will form in the caster’s soul, and it will not break until death.

(4.) If the caster of the great art dies, the cracked soul will split into five pieces and scatter throughout the world.

(5.) The split souls will wander the world, find a suitable target, and take over their body, growing slowly.

(6.) The unstable soul will recover as time passes, and if it meets another piece and achieves union, an even faster growth is possible.

(7.) In theory, one person can become five, or a monster with the power of five people in one body.

“……So that’s what it was.”

Jincheon nodded his head as he realized the truth.

If this content was true, the first Heavenly Demon must have activated the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art right after he was executed by the Iron-Blooded Demonic God at Mount Hua.

Thus, the soul of the first Heavenly Demon would have been split into five pieces and scattered, and would have wandered the world…….

‘I must see the Cult Leader.’

Jincheon immediately closed the Heavenly Demon Scripture and headed to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s quarters.

“I need to see the Cult Leader urgently, so please send word.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Despite the late hour, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God readily granted an audience.

“What is the matter in the middle of the night.”

“I have found it.”

“……?”

“The first Heavenly Demon… Dokgo Seong’s soul was not one.”

“Explain in detail.”

Jincheon explained the content of the very last part of the Heavenly Demon Scripture to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“He was not continuously resurrected. He just existed in several divided pieces. You said you killed the Heavenly Demon three times. The first one must have been the main body. The second and third, the old man in Yunnan Province and the woman in Guangdong Province, were probably his split souls.”

“If so…….”

“Yes, there are still three left.”

Jincheon said with conviction.

“The answer has finally come out.”

A faint smile appeared on the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s lips.

“Before you traveled back in time, I could not prevent his resurrection. It must have been because I did not have the Heavenly Demon’s Physique, so I failed to realize that his soul was divided into several pieces.”

“I believe that is likely the case.”

“But now it is different. Now that one clue has been unraveled, we can look forward to his complete annihilation, can’t we.”

“Yes.”

Jincheon said with force.

“I will finish it. There are three left. If we just execute those three, his resurrection will never be achieved. So please leave it to me.”

“Will you really do so?”

“I am the Seventh Young Master of our cult, and also the Cult Leader’s disciple. Not only is it something I must do, but I believe it is my mission. As the Cult Leader has said, is that not the only reason why I, with the Heavenly Demon’s Physique, traveled back in time?”

“Good.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God smiled as if pleased.

“I will entrust that task to you.”

“Seventh Young Master Jincheon, I receive the Cult Leader’s command.”

Jincheon knelt on one knee before the Iron-Blooded Demonic God and bowed his head.

***

Due to the content written in the Heavenly Demon Scripture, the first clue was solved, but the problem was the next one.

Learning about the existence of the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art was a great gain, but finding the remaining three souls was still a mystery.

No matter how powerful the intelligence network of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was, finding the souls of the first Heavenly Demon scattered throughout the world was not an easy task.

The fact that the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had managed to find and execute two souls was said to be extremely lucky…….

‘Is it the Kunlun Sect after all.’

Jincheon focused on the Kunlun Sect.

He didn’t know why the Kunlun Sect had such a demonic great art…….

But the Kunlun Sect had long since been ruined during the First Righteous-Demonic Great War, so he couldn’t even ask.

Come to think of it, the annihilation of the Kunlun Sect was also due to the machinations of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

According to the Divine Cult Historical Records, during the First Righteous-Demonic Great War, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance used the Kunlun Sect, which was in a confrontation with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, as a shield.

Because of that, the Kunlun Sect, which had been waiting endlessly for the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s support, was eventually annihilated by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

The famous Taoist sect that had occupied Mount Kunlun for hundreds of years and confronted the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had disappeared into the back alley of history.

One fortunate thing was that the descendants of Kunlun still remained in the Central Plains.

“Commander Dan.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Tell the Bat Squad to gather all the information on the Kunlun Sect.”

“Understood.”

Danmok Cheong received Jincheon’s command without asking any questions.

‘Hunan Province.’

According to what he found out through the Bat Squad, the Kunlun Sect had left Mount Kunlun in Qinghai Province and was barely continuing its lineage in Hunan Province of the Central Plains.

‘Perhaps they have a way to track the first Heavenly Demon.’

Since they were said to be continuing their lineage, it was possible that they had some of the Kunlun Sect’s past secret manuals or records.

Of course, they might not, but it was worth a try.

‘Yes, I’ll ask the descendants of Kunlun.’

Jincheon made his decision and immediately went to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God to convey his intention.

“I intend to go to the Central Plains and meet the descendants of Kunlun.”

“It will not be an easy task.”

“I am aware.”

The emotional gulf between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Kunlun Sect was even more severe than that between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

And rightly so, the Kunlun Sect was an old sworn enemy that had been in conflict with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for hundreds of years.

Since their founding, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Kunlun Sect had not had a single day of peaceful relations.

As they were geographically close, they not only experienced disputes every day, but their history of killing each other spanned a good several hundred years.

Wasn’t the annihilation of the Kunlun Sect itself caused by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult during the First Righteous-Demonic Great War?

Although the Righteous Heavenly Alliance had backstabbed the Kunlun Sect quite badly, it was an undeniable fact that it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult that had actually killed them.

“This is about tracking the first Heavenly Demon. That much risk is worth taking. And I am also a martial artist. Is not a martial artist a being who lives with the resolve to die at any time?”

“Is that his teaching?”

“Yes.”

Jincheon nodded his head.

“Although I could not learn my master’s martial arts, I have definitely learned the mindset of a martial artist.”

“Yes, you are indeed your master’s disciple. He was truly a martial artist among martial artists, and you are no different. Good. I will permit your trip to the Central Plains. Request what you need from the External Affairs Manager, Elder Yi Ja-yeong. I will support you by mobilizing all the resources of our cult.”

“As you command.”

Jincheon immediately left the Cult Leader’s Hall and headed home, then summoned the Divine Demon Squad.

“We will be leaving for the Central Plains soon. Everyone, get ready.”

“As you command.”

“Commander Dan, please make arrangements for us to operate in the Central Plains. You can do it, right?”

“Of course.”

Danmok Cheong answered with a grin.

As a former member of the Bat Squad who had been active in the Central Plains for a long time, he could be fully trusted with the trip to the Central Plains.

“What, are you going somewhere again? How long has it been since you came back?”

Seop So-yeon came up to Jincheon and asked.

“I’ve found a clue to kill him.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

Jincheon nodded his head.

“It’s a bit much to explain now, I’ll tell you step by step.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“Of course you have to.”

This journey was about tracking the footsteps of the first Heavenly Demon, so Seop So-yeon was an indispensable person.

Because if she wanted to accumulate merit and reach the heavens, annihilating the first Heavenly Demon would be the fastest and most certain way.

***

The preparations were made quickly.

Danmok Cheong received support from Elder Yi Ja-yeong and was supplied with the necessary items for the trip to the Central Plains, and he distributed them to the members of the Divine Demon Squad.

In the meantime, Jincheon focused on learning the Disguise Art.

Since the appearance of Jincheon’s party would have been identified by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, they needed means like a human-skin mask or the Disguise Art to hide their identities and operate.

Although the Disguise Art was a martial art that fell into the category of miscellaneous skills, it was a fact that it was very difficult to use without professional training.

And rightly so, because transforming a person’s body was by no means an easy task.

However, Jincheon showed a truly surprising achievement by learning the Disguise Art to some extent in just a few days.

It was no exaggeration to say that the enlightenment contained in the Heavenly Demon Scripture encompassed all the martial arts that existed in the world, so he was able to learn even the difficult Disguise Art in just a few days.

Of course, compared to those who had professionally learned the Disguise Art for decades, it would be a drop in the ocean, but it was a level that would not be a problem for simply hiding their identities and operating, so it was a sufficiently satisfactory achievement.

A few days passed like that, and Jincheon’s party once again left the Divine Land and headed for the Central Plains.

The first place Jincheon set as his destination was Mount Kunlun.

A famous mountain of Taoism and a sacred place that could be called one of its roots.

A place where the Kunlun Sect, once a member of the Nine Sects One Gang and the First Taoist Sect under Heaven, was located.

But now, it was a mountain that was within the territory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a place that no one but a few Taoists visited.

“Why are we going to Mount Kunlun?”

“Just in case there might be a clue.”

Jincheon answered Seop So-yeon’s question.

“A clue……?”

“I heard that the secret to Dokgo Seong’s ability to resurrect without dying came from the Kunlun Sect.”

“Ah.”

Seop So-yeon nodded her head as if she understood.

“Right. That makes sense.”

“It makes sense?”

“The Taoists there have been serious about cultivation since a long, long time ago. They would not stop at any means to achieve ascension to immortality.”

“Really……?”

Jincheon tilted his head.

It seemed that there were considerable differences between the Kunlun Sect that Seop So-yeon knew and the Kunlun Sect that Jincheon knew.

“Originally, Mount Kunlun was a place where cultivators gathered from ancient times. The Taoist temple called the Kunlun Sect was just one of the many Taoist temples.”

“I see.”

“It was originally a place that focused more on ascension to immortality through cultivation rather than martial arts, so it wouldn’t be strange if such a method came from there.”

Indeed, as a being who had lived for over several hundred years, Seop So-yeon seemed to remember the appearance of the old Kunlun Sect.

“So, I’m going to go to the site of the old Kunlun Sect and see if there are any clues.”

“That’s not a bad method.”

Just as Seop So-yeon was nodding her head.

“Hah.”

A long sigh escaped Jincheon’s mouth.

“Why are you suddenly sighing?”

“Because I think there might be a little mouse.”

“A mouse?”

“Let’s see… where is the little mouse…….”

Jincheon picked up a stick and poked the luggage tied to the back of the donkey.

“Ack!”

A scream erupted from within the luggage.

Soon, someone poked their head out.

“How did you know I was here?!”

A handsome man with blond hair and red eyes.

The little mouse hiding in the luggage was, as expected, the Blood Qilin.

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