Chapter 260: The Emergence of Legend (3)

“…….”

The host of Heavenly Evil.

The moment those words were spoken, the Grand Heavenly Lord shut his mouth.

“Host? Grand Heavenly Lord, what does he mean…?”

Swoosh!

Just then, when the still-injured Seventh Heavenly Lord tilted her head in confusion—

The Grand Heavenly Lord reached out toward her.

“G-Grand Heavenly Lord, what are you doing…!”

Crackle!

Suddenly, Seventh Heavenly Lord’s entire body twisted like a spiral, and her figure vanished completely.

Upon witnessing that, Cheon Haseong let out a chuckle.

“Hoho, so you relocated her somewhere so she wouldn’t hear the rest?”

“…….”

“Still, considering you didn’t kill her on the spot like usual, it seems that young lady plays a somewhat important role in your organization. Probably not in terms of combat ability…”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Maybe she’s your financial pipeline or something?”

“Silence.”

“Hahaha, sorry, but that’s not happening.”

A black aura rippled out from Cheon Haseong’s entire body in a perfect circle.

His Heaven-Slaying Qi, spreading like a domain, rapidly devoured the area held by the Grand Heavenly Lord.

“Hoo, it can’t be helped then.”

Only now did the Grand Heavenly Lord properly unfold his energy and confront the Heaven-Slaying Qi head-on.

Crackle!

Crack-crack!

In stark contrast to Cheon Haseong’s rough and dark power, the Grand Heavenly Lord’s domain was pure white, like snow.

But the madness and strength lying dormant within it were by no means inferior to Cheon Haseong’s might.

Their massive energies clashed like blades drawn at each other.

“How dare a mere lingering thought that crawled out of its coffin…”

Cheon Haseong countered without backing down.

“Isn’t your condition more or less the same as mine? We’re both coffin-buddies, after all. No need to be so harsh.”

The Grand Heavenly Lord’s lips twisted grotesquely.

Four hundred years ago, hadn’t that damn tongue ruined everything?

He could not allow himself to make the same mistake again.

“That filthy mouth of yours hasn’t changed a bit since four hundred years ago.”

Grin!

A smile of an entirely different kind than the Grand Heavenly Lord’s twisted across Cheon Haseong’s face.

“With this mouth, I seduced Yoo Mae. Thanks to that, your grand plan got smashed to bits. You could say my mouth saved the world, couldn’t you?”

“You son of a—!”

The Grand Heavenly Lord finally lost his temper.

“Hahaha! Thanks for the high praise!”

Their war of words ended in Cheon Haseong’s victory.

He laughed heartily, then suddenly changed his expression entirely.

“But there’s still something I want to know. Where’s the host of Heavenly Evil—the one you chose?”

“You think I’d tell you that, bastard?”

Rumble!

Their clashing energies couldn’t overpower each other and instead shot up into the sky like towering pillars.

“Four hundred years ago, the Murim Alliance Leader was born with Heaven-Slaying Qi.”

Cheon Haseong’s expression suddenly grew distant.

“He was a good friend who generously yielded land for the sake of our sect.”

Hearing that, the Grand Heavenly Lord, who had been fuming in anger, responded incredulously.

“…You call that ‘yielding’?”

To be honest, the Grand Heavenly Lord had done all kinds of unthinkable things from the shadows back then, but this man’s words were shameless beyond belief.

“And that good friend of yours nearly caused the world to perish because you made him the host of Heavenly Evil.”

The Grand Heavenly Lord’s eyes twisted coldly.

“Don’t make me laugh. It was your threats and constant coercion that destabilized his mind—”

“Hahahaha!”

Cheon Haseong’s laughter drowned out the rest of his words.

“And because of your unforgivable actions, Yoo Mae, who used to be one of the Third Heavenly Lord, turned her back on you, didn’t she?”

It was shamelessness worthy of a man who commanded hundreds of thousands of demonic cultists.

“…Truly, you have no conscience, as expected of a demonic cult leader.”

They seemed like two men desperately trying to cover up their own sins.

Regardless, the two began to draw out their full powers, slowly wearing down each other’s strengths.

Cheon Haseong reached out his hand and spoke.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to answer anyway. But today, your grand plan will have to be put on hold.”

The Grand Heavenly Lord didn’t back down.

“Your appearance was certainly unexpected. But my plan is still proceeding smoothly. You won’t be able to change anything, and you’ll disappear just the same.”

“Is that so?”

Cheon Haseong smiled faintly.

Indeed, even if he chipped away at the Grand Heavenly Lord’s power here, unless he could fundamentally stop the plan, it was all meaningless.

But—

“Well, it doesn’t matter who the host of Heavenly Evil is. As long as I have the little brother, your plan is doomed to fail.”

“…….”

“You’ll deeply regret not killing the little brother today.”

Ruuuumble!

Their powers collided again and again, gradually reaching a critical threshold.

Signs of an explosion far greater than the earlier resonance were beginning to emerge between them.

At that critical moment—

“…Fine, maybe you’re right.”

The Grand Heavenly Lord bared his teeth and glared at Cheon Haseong.

“But it doesn’t matter even if I fail. I’ll just try again. Time is no obstacle to me. One day, I will surely return to that great time.”

“Then go ahead and give it your best shot.”

With both sides so firmly convinced of their future, there was no need for further conversation.

The two unleashed their energies in full force.

Ssshhh—

At that very moment, the power of the Second Heavenly Demon, which had been dormant inside Jin Yeomyung’s body, vanished completely.

Boom!

A massive black-and-white pillar pierced the clouds and surged into the heavens, shaking all of heaven and earth.

“Y-Young Cult Leader… over there…”

“……”

Cheon Yura blankly stared at the black-and-white pillar rising high into the distant sky.

Only after her subordinates had wailed and flailed in panic for a while did she finally calm down.

“Jin Yeomyung…”

The moment she uttered that name—

Twitch!

Her subordinates tensed every nerve in their bodies, bracing themselves to stop their lord from losing control again.

“Hm…”

At that moment, Dao Zun, who had been watching the pillar with a serene expression, muttered.

“Auspicious.”

“…Auspicious?”

His voice trembled slightly as he looked at the pillar.

“If he were truly dead, an explosion of such scale that could shift the entire balance of the heavens and earth wouldn’t have occurred.”

She trembled, sensing a fragment of the power hidden within that pillar.

“That’s not something that could happen from a mere death-match between peak-level fighters. Not even this Dao Zun could cause that. Which means… someone beyond even this Dao Zun is up there.”

“……!”

“That’s not a power granted to humans.”

Even Dao Zun, a master of the Transcendent Realm, instantly recognized her defeat the moment she saw it.

In the present era, only one person could possibly possess such power.

“It’s not the Cult Leader. If it were him, he would’ve shown himself to you first.”

Indeed.

If he were truly the Cult Leader, he would’ve checked on Cheon Yura, his daughter and the Young Cult Leader, before Jin Yeomyung.

Saber King gently patted Cheon Yura’s shoulder.

“Just focus on returning to the cult for now. The crisis you’re facing isn’t over yet. The moment you set foot near Sichuan through a tributary of the Yangtze, collaborators of the Heaven-Defying Society will swarm like wild dogs.”

“…Understood.”

Cheon Yura barely managed to pull herself together.

Now was the time to trust in Jin Yeomyung’s return and endure the weight of responsibility on her shoulders.

After that, Cheon Yura and the delegation suffered all kinds of hardships but eventually managed to return safely to the Heavenly Demon Cult.

The suppression unit from the righteous faction, which had charged at them most aggressively, ended up being blocked by internal conflicts and, ironically, were thwarted by other members of the same faction.

Later, rumors spread across the Murim about the former head of the Namgung Clan being reinstated, the Namcheon Baek Clan sealing their gates after successfully hosting the Murim Tournament, and even of the Three Supremes being killed by someone.

However, the Heavenly Demon Cult only received these reports some time later.

The most troublesome pursuers from the Evil Path Castle were unexpectedly blocked by the allied demonic faction, the Black Lotus Union.

Jegal Eun of the Black Lotus Union from Luoyang sensed that something was amiss and had already prepared troops for deployment.

As soon as the Sect Leader Baek Sang-ah returned, she swiftly headed south.

She succeeded in intercepting the pursuit unit from the Evil Path Castle targeting the delegation.

And so, Cheon Yura returned to the Heavenly Demon Cult, thanks to the arrangements Jin Yeomyung had prepared.

A month passed, then two…

Cheon Yura spent the days with her heart aching, waiting for Jin Yeomyung’s return.

Even after a year—

Jin Yeomyung never came back.

***

The Second Heavenly Demon said to me,

—Now, I’ll tell you the three favors I’ll be entrusting to you, little brother.

I tilted my head slightly.

—…? Wasn’t it two?

—Hahaha, would you stay quiet before it becomes four?

—……

I shut my mouth obediently as he said.

—I read through your memories, and you seem like the kind of guy who’d be adored even working at a retirement home.

—Well, I mean…

He must’ve read my memories from the Heavenly Thunder Corps.

I even managed to appease that million-year-old spinster goddess, so a few century-old elders should be nothing…

—The first thing I want you to do is this: please go and soothe and entertain some of the old fogeys who, like me, haven’t managed to ascend yet.

—……?

Old fogeys?

While I was still puzzling over what he meant—

He continued speaking.

—And the second and third are…

Shwaaaa!

Shwaaaa!

A refreshing sea breeze and cool seawater soaking my lower half.

And an oddly rich flow of Qi.

When I finally regained some faint sense of consciousness, my first thought was:

‘Did I… somehow survive?’

I remembered the negotiation with the Second Heavenly Demon ending successfully.

I had lost consciousness as he took over my body.

He said he’d take care of everything cleanly, so I trusted him and let it go, but…

Where on earth am I?

‘My body… feels heavy.’

My internal energy, which had been sealed by the True Star Sword, was now flowing freely again for some reason.

However, the vast inner Qi of the Second Heavenly Demon, which had been dormant within my dantian, was gone.

And the second special privilege, “Vitality,” which was usable from near the heart area, seemed now revoked—as if I’d been stripped of the authority to use it again.

I felt instinctively that I would never be able to use it again.

‘Still, as a price for surviving… it’s a bargain.’

Especially the third privilege—being able to resolve things without invoking “Fate” was sheer luck.

“Ughhh!”

Groaning through a splitting headache, I tried to get up.

‘Seems like a beach… but just how far have I drifted… huh?’

I suddenly blinked as I made eye contact with someone.

I didn’t even know when she got there, but someone was crouching by my head, looking down at me.

A woman.

“……”

“……”

She had a sharp, irritable expression.

But more striking than that was the fact that everything about her—except her skin, from her hair to her clothes—was dyed in blood-red.

“Hey,”

The woman suddenly asked me.

“Who the hell are you to end up in here?”

I replied with my eyes.

And you, who are you supposed to be?

Catching my gaze, her expression immediately turned sour.

“What’s with this bastard’s eyes?”

“I think they’re more normal than yours, frankly.”

“Hah? This little punk’s talking back to a senior?”

“I don’t think there’s that big an age gap between you and me, lady.”

She snorted at that.

“I’ve eaten tens of thousands more meals than you ever have, kid.”

Kwaaaah!

In an instant, blood-red Qi surged from her entire body.

I flinched and sprang up, putting some distance between us.

“Someone with the key climbing over the wall? That was already suspicious, but first, let’s fix that rotten attitude of yours.”

Then, a deep crimson Qi Sword formed in her bare hand.

From her sword, unmistakably that of an absolute master—

A very familiar technique emerged.

Blood Dragon Heaven-Slaying Sword Art

Ultimate One Kill

…What?

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