Chapter 99. You were serious.

Jincheon, responding to the fiery support of the cult members, entered the Divine Land with a confident stride.

And waiting for Jincheon was the Cult Leader, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“The Heavenly Demon’s Reign! Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission! Long live, long live, ten thousand years!”

As the Iron-Blooded Demonic God revealed herself, all the cult members performed a full prostration at once, paying homage to the supreme ruler of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Soon, a hush fell.

No one dared to even breathe.

The Cult Leader, the Heavenly Demon, was a being revered as a god by the cult members.

As such a being had personally shown herself, the passionate fervor and cheers for Jincheon also had to quiet down in the blink of an eye.

Because one could not dare to cause a commotion in front of the descent of a god…….

“I…….”

As the Iron-Blooded Demonic God opened her mouth, everyone held their breath once more.

“I greatly commend your hard work. On behalf of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I express my gratitude to you. It is because of your hard work that the warriors of our cult were able to return to the Divine Land.”

“We are overwhelmed with gratitude.”

Jincheon’s party, with Jincheon as their representative, knelt on one knee before the Iron-Blooded Demonic God and bowed their heads.

“Our cult will sufficiently reward your hard work, and we will never treat you poorly. Therefore, continue to devote your body and soul for the revival of our cult.”

“As you command!”

“You must have suffered much coming a long way, so for today, everyone, disperse and rest.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God slowly moved her feet and headed towards the Cult Leader’s Hall.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A roar erupted from the mouths of the cult members once again.

And rightly so, it had been a truly long time since the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had come out to commend someone’s achievements.

Moreover, was the opponent not the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, which could be said to be the greatest enemy from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s perspective, and not some other hostile force?

There had been no significant clashes with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance since the last Righteous-Demonic Great War, so it was only natural that the cult members could not hide their excitement after achieving such a great military success after a long time.

“My Lord, let’s go.”

“Alright.”

As soon as the welcoming crowd quieted down a bit, Jincheon immediately headed home.

“Young Master, you’ve really worked hard.”

“What’s with all this commotion?”

Baek A-rin and Seop So-yeon welcomed Jincheon.

“My Lord, you have returned.”

“I have heard the rumors. As expected of my Lord.”

The Mad Demon Revered One and the Undying Fighting Demon also welcomed Jincheon.

‘There are people to welcome me when I return. Is this why they say home is good?’

Jincheon felt this situation to be somewhat unfamiliar.

When he first received this house, there was no one, but now it was to the point of overflowing with people.

Danmok Cheong, Baek A-rin, Seop So-yeon, the Mad Demon Revered One, the Undying Fighting Demon, the members of the Divine Demon Squad, and in addition, the Blood Qilin and Yeom Bi who visited from time to time.

The number of people coming and going was close to thirty, so the already small house now felt cramped.

‘I guess I’ll have to look for a new house.’

Jincheon thought so and entered the house.

***

The next day.

As soon as he finished his morning training, Jincheon headed to the Cult Leader’s Hall.

And then, he requested an audience with the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

Normally, he would have first sought out the spirit tablet of his master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior.

However, the reason he requested an audience with the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was because of the conversation they had last time.

‘The dead Azure Heaven Divine Warrior wins against the living me.’

‘Pardon……?’

‘I am also your master, yet you seek his spirit tablet first, that’s what I said.’

From the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s perspective, it must have been just a light joke, but for Jincheon, who was on the receiving end, it was not.

Come to think of it, it seemed to make no sense to take care of his dead master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior, before his living master, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

His master’s spirit tablet would always be in the backyard of the Cult Leader’s Hall, so there seemed to be no need to pay his respects to it while bypassing the still-thriving Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“The Heavenly Demon’s Advent, Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission. Long live, long live, ten thousand years. I greet the Cult Leader.”

“What brings you to see me first?”

“Pardon……?”

“Wouldn’t you normally have sought out the spirit tablet of the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior first?”

“Come to think of it, it seemed proper to visit the Cult Leader first, so I made my way here.”

“Is that so?”

Jincheon did not miss the faint smile that appeared on the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s lips.

‘She was serious.’

Jincheon realized that the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s expression of disappointment was by no means a joke.

That was quite unexpected.

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God rarely showed emotion, and there were many times when she felt not human.

To think that such an Iron-Blooded Demonic God also had such a human side…….

“Does it matter who you pay your respects to first? What’s important is to pay due respect to your master as a disciple, isn’t it?”

“Your words are wise.”

Just then.

‘What is it?’

For a moment, Jincheon thought the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s form had become faint and he doubted his eyes.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s form seemed to have become transparent like glass.

But that was only for a very brief moment.

When he looked again, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was still showing her presence, as strong as ever.

‘Could it be that she’s not the real Cult Leader?’

Jincheon thought that might be the case.

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God was a person who had already reached a state where she had broken down the boundary between martial arts and sorcery, so it seemed quite possible for her to create a clone.

“What is it? You seem uncomfortable.”

“It is nothing.”

“Are you trying to lie in front of me?”

“That is not it.”

Jincheon hastily shook his head.

“It’s just that the Cult Leader’s jade body seemed to have become faint…….”

“Did it.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God answered in a nonchalant tone, and glanced at her own hand.

“I’m trying my best to hold on, but it is not easy.”

“……?”

Jincheon could not understand the meaning of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s words.

What was the greatest of all time trying so hard to hold on to?

“Yes, you wouldn’t understand what I mean.”

“That is correct.”

“It is not easy for me to remain in the human world.”

“Pardon……?”

“The laws of the universe are so. When one surpasses the state of divinity and reaches the state of ascending to immortality, one cannot remain in the human world.”

“What in the world do you mean by that…….”

“It means that one ascends to immortality regardless of one’s will.”

“……!”

“I am trying my best to prevent it, but it is not easy.”

Jincheon could not continue his words.

Preventing ascension to immortality…….

Didn’t the Taoists of the Taoist sect and the cultivators of the Sea of Trees not stop at any means to achieve ascension to immortality?

And yet, to think that the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, who had reached the state of ascension to immortality, was struggling to prevent it.

“You must have been curious all this time. Why I do not step forward, why I do not rise up and achieve the Demonic Dao’s rule over the world myself.”

“Honestly… I was.”

“I am a body that cannot intervene in the human world. Even if I could, it would be extremely limited. Just holding the position of Cult Leader is a considerable burden.”

“My goodness…….”

“The more I use my power, the more I intervene in the affairs of the world, the more my ascension to immortality is accelerated.”

“To what extent is that?”

“One tenth.”

“……!”

“Even if I use just one tenth of the power I possess, my ascension to immortality will begin, and I will no longer be able to remain in this world.”

Jincheon felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer.

To sum up the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s words, was she not in a state where it was no exaggeration to say that she could not interfere in the affairs of the world?

‘Ah.’

Only then did Jincheon realize the reason why the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had met a mutual annihilation with the resurrected Heavenly Demon.

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God had not suffered a mutual annihilation in a battle with the Heavenly Demon, but had been forced to ascend due to her ascension to immortality.

“Is there no way to stop it?”

“There is not.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God said curtly.

“Of course, if I remain quietly without interfering in the affairs of the world, I could last for a thousand years.”

“Then even now… ah.”

Jincheon stopped talking mid-sentence.

He had spoken in a hurry, but on second thought, he had almost dared to recommend retirement to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“I have not not thought about retirement or ascension to immortality. However, it is not the right time now, so I am just holding onto my position forcibly.”

“When you say it is not the right time…….”

“The situation of our cult is not good, how can I leave my position.”

Jincheon fully understood the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s feelings.

Currently, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was very different from how it appeared on the outside.

Not only was it surrounded by hostile forces on all sides, but it was also in the process of just barely recovering from the damage it had suffered during the First Righteous-Demonic Great War.

Moreover, even the first Heavenly Demon, Dokgo Seong, was plotting his resurrection, so if one knew the inside story, the situation was precarious to the extreme.

It was only because the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was still going strong that the status quo was being maintained without any trouble; otherwise, it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any time.

How had the Second Righteous-Demonic Great War unfolded after the death of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God?

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God was a great tree that supported the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult just by being in the position of Cult Leader.

“But you need not worry too much.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God said with a smile.

“With just one tenth of my power, I am the greatest of all time and invincible. As long as I stand firm in this position, no one will be able to harm our cult.”

“Yes, Cult Leader.”

Jincheon bowed his head towards the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

***

In effect, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had told Jincheon her secret, which was no different from sharing it.

If the fact that it was not easy for the Iron-Blooded Demonic God to intervene in the affairs of the world were to leak out, a great confusion would surely break out within the cult right away.

Not only would a full-fledged competition for the succession structure begin, but a power struggle surrounding it would also break out.

Moreover, the other forces surrounding the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would also attack more boldly, so this secret must never leak out.

So Jincheon decided to keep this fact only to himself.

He had never told anyone about the conversation he had with the Iron-Blooded Demonic God in the first place, nor did he intend to…….

In any case, after that day, Jincheon devoted himself even more to training, honing and polishing himself.

The reason was simple.

‘I must become stronger. I must become stronger to stop the resurrection of the first Heavenly Demon and to crush the Righteous Heavenly Alliance. Only then will the safety of our cult be guaranteed.’

After learning that it was impossible for the Iron-Blooded Demonic God to step forward, Jincheon hardened his heart even more.

Now that he knew that there was a reason why the Iron-Blooded Demonic God could not retire, he had no time to rest.

Even if they were to face the worst-case scenario of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God ascending to immortality, it would be more important than anything to strengthen the internal affairs so that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would not collapse.

To do that, individual martial strength would be the starting point, so it was only natural for Jincheon to step up his training.

As if she knew Jincheon’s heart, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God also did not seem to spare any effort in giving her teachings.

“Starting today, I will teach the latter half of the Heavenly Demon Scripture.”

“Yes, Cult Leader.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God helped Jincheon’s understanding by interpreting the contents of the latter half of the Heavenly Demon Scripture one by one.

However, despite the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s interpretation, Jincheon could not well understand the contents of the latter half of the Heavenly Demon Scripture.

Not only were the contents of the Heavenly Demon Scripture themselves abstruse and difficult, but they also contained such a high level of enlightenment that it was nearly impossible to understand without experiencing it directly.

It was only thanks to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s interpretation that he was able to follow along at a beginner’s pace; otherwise, he would not have even dared to look at the Heavenly Demon Scripture…….

Then one day.

“That’s enough for today.”

“Uhm…….”

Jincheon cautiously opened his mouth.

“May I stay and look at the Heavenly Demon Scripture some more?”

“Even today’s teaching must have been overwhelming?”

“I want to stay and reflect on the teachings a little more.”

“Do so.”

“Thank you.”

Even after the Iron-Blooded Demonic God left, Jincheon looked at the Heavenly Demon Scripture all night long, reflecting on its teachings, and examined the passages he did not understand hundreds of times, following the footsteps of the Heavenly Demon.

In the middle of that.

‘This is.’

Jincheon was suddenly enveloped in the illusion that the contents of the latter half of the Heavenly Demon Scripture were coming into his eyes.

The content recorded in the last chapter of the book was a part that even the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had said was impossible to interpret.

But for Jincheon, it was not.

Jincheon could read the content written in the very last part of the Heavenly Demon Scripture without making a single mistake.

‘Could it be that only those with the Heavenly Demon’s Physique can see it?’

It was a plausible inference.

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God did not have the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.

“Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art……?”

Jincheon, thinking that he might have found a clue to the resurrection of the first Heavenly Demon, continued to read the content.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep