Chapter 283: Bongseon Ritual (1)

After returning from Namcheon Baek Clan, every single day became hell for Cheon Yura.

Both professionally and emotionally.

With the current Cult Leader, Cheon Taejong, having practically declared his retirement, Cheon Yura had been handling all major and minor affairs of the cult in the Heavenly Demon Pavilion in preparation to inherit the position of the next Cult Leader.

For someone who had spent her entire life swinging a sword, this paperwork felt like it was going to split her head open.

But deep down, Cheon Yura thought this might actually be better.

Because immersing herself in work was at least bearable.

If she had recklessly dug into the truth behind what had happened in Akyang and confirmed Jin Yeomyung’s death, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

So she clung to the old saying, “No news is good news,” and held on, surviving each day.

“Excuse me.”

A man entered, holding piles of documents in his arms.

Cheon Yura cast a crooked glance in his direction.

“…You’ve been showing your face quite often these days.”

The young man, receiving that icy gaze, scratched his head and let out an awkward laugh.

“Hahaha, I have no choice. I have to visit frequently to deliver the Heavenly Thunder Corps’ opinions on advancing into the Central Plains.”

He was Han Mubaek, the senior scribe of the Heavenly Thunder Corps.

Commonly called the traitor Han Mubaek.

Once a member of the Wudang Sect and holding a position called Illyeong in the Heaven-Defying Society, he had betrayed Heavenly Reverence Hwan Clan and sold out the entire Heaven-Defying Society’s intelligence, defecting to the cult.

Since then, he had belonged to the Heavenly Thunder Corps and had been heavily favored by Cheon Jumyeong, the Heavenly Thunder Corps leader.

Cheon Yura coldly pointed to one side with her finger.

“Put it there and get lost.”

“But, Young Cult Leader…”

“I told you to get lost, didn’t I?”

Her tone allowed no room for conversation, and Han Mubaek shrugged his shoulders.

“Still, since this is the Heavenly Thunder Corps’ official stance, you should at least hear it once.”

“……”

Taking her silence as tacit approval, Han Mubaek asked with a faint smile.

“If that Young Master really is dead… how far do you intend to push the campaign into the Central Plains?”

Twitch.

In an instant, Han Mubaek clenched his teeth, feeling the overwhelming killing intent pressing down on his entire body.

Tremble, tremble, tremble!

“Is that question from Cheon Jumyeong… or from you?”

“T-That is…”

Seeing her clear intent to allow no frivolous answer, Han Mubaek clenched his jaw desperately and responded.

“It’s both.”

“Hah.”

Cheon Yura reached out her hand.

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon Sacred Sword, which had been displayed a little distance away, was sucked into her grasp through object-attracting qi.

“Both, huh. And you think a mere worm like you has the right to offer me counsel?”

In truth, he did have that right.

Just by standing here, he was practically acting as the deputy of the Heavenly Thunder Corps leader.

But Cheon Yura showed not the slightest care for that fact.

Han Mubaek silently clicked his tongue at her stubbornness.

‘What a troublesome lunatic. It’s going to take a lot of work to get close to her.’

Still, he hadn’t brought this up without preparation.

“There’s a high chance he’s still alive.”

“…What?”

Cheon Yura’s hand, which was about to draw her sword, froze mid-motion.

“Say that again. What did you just say?”

“I said, there’s a high chance he’s still alive.”

“And your reasoning?”

“Because the Grand Heavenly Lord himself came here not long ago.”

“Explain properly.”

“The Grand Heavenly Lord is someone who avoids moving at all costs. He only came here because something outside has gone seriously wrong. He took the risk to come confirm your status, Young Cult Leader.”

“…Something outside has gone wrong, you say.”

“Yes. Actually, I didn’t abandon all my contacts when I defected from the Heaven-Defying Society. I managed to plant a spy to gather inside information. According to that spy—”

Han Mubaek’s lengthy explanation was suddenly cut off by Cheon Yura’s strange behavior.

Swish!

All of a sudden, she turned her head toward the south.

“…?”

Ignoring Han Mubaek completely, she hastily burst through the doors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion and ran out.

“Y-Y-Young Cult Leader?!”

The guards stationed at the entrance turned pale with shock at her behavior.

But Cheon Yura didn’t care and fixed her gaze firmly toward the distant south.

Han Mubaek, who had followed after her, stared dumbfounded at the back of her head.

“Ah…”

And when she finally spoke, he couldn’t hide his astonishment and blinked rapidly.

“So you were alive, Jin Yeomyung…”

***

Gam Unbi stared blankly at his severed arms.

“…How?”

One Blade to Sever the Heavens.

The signature technique that had raised him to the position of Lord of the Evil Path, and one he proudly believed to be unmatched in sheer destructive power.

Even if his opponent had reached the Transcendent Demon Realm, Gam Unbi had absolute confidence that this technique would never lose.

Yet, the confusion far outweighed the pain coursing through his entire body.

He hadn’t held back anything.

No, in fact, he had acknowledged his opponent and poured everything he had into that strike.

So why… why had this outcome happened?

As blood began to flow down the cut surfaces of his arms, Gam Unbi realized the answer.

“…I see.”

A faint fracture had been created only because his opponent had gone all out as well.

“That ominous power… it hasn’t disappeared.”

He felt it through the crack—an instinctively repulsive force, like that of a natural predator.

“You’ve just hidden it more subtly as you advanced in realm.”

“…Not exactly wrong, I suppose.”

But I didn’t feel the need to correct him.

“For now, let’s just say you’re right.”

“…I see.”

Gam Unbi slowly let his arms hang down and looked up at the sky.

“A single strike, huh…”

There was a deep sense of emptiness in his eyes.

“Still, the result is the result. I have no choice but to accept it as the loser.”

It was then.

“Lord!”

“Protect the Lord!”

A group of a dozen or so high-ranking warriors of the Evil Path, who had been unable to interfere due to the duel, suddenly surrounded Gam Unbi to shield him.

“Stand down… you fools…”

“You haven’t lost yet, my Lord!”

“That’s right! Once night falls, you’ll be able to defeat that monster!”

Those who had come with him were his personal soldiers.

They were the only ones who had some knowledge of the truth concerning the Heaven-Defying Society.

“Night, huh.”

Certainly, when night came, even those severed arms would regenerate in an instant.

It would be best to finish this before that happened.

“To die in defeat at the hands of a stronger opponent… that has long been my wish. Don’t get in my way… Ugh!”

Suddenly, Gam Unbi’s body staggered like a bent shrimp.

His subordinates were puzzled by the strange reaction.

But their confusion did not last long.

“Half of you, take the Lord into the mountains! The rest, hold that monster back!”

“Yes, sir!”

Gam Unbi’s subordinates all drew their weapons and raised their fighting spirit.

“What touching loyalty, hardly fitting for people of the Demonic Path.”

Though each of them had nearly reached the peak of martial arts, they posed no real obstacle to me in my current state.

I would just have to kill them all one by one and take Gam Unbi’s head.

“I’ll make sure your head takes the place of a pig’s head on my master’s sacrificial table.”

No matter the cost, I intended to kill Gam Unbi.

However, at that moment…

“Y-You damned bastard, Grand Heavenly Lord…!”

Gam Unbi’s entire body suddenly began to tremble violently.

Puk!

“…What?”

One of the warriors standing in front of him had his heart pierced straight through by Gam Unbi’s arm.

‘Wait, his arm?’

I was certain I had severed those…

Before I realized it, Gam Unbi’s arms had grown back.

The difference was that they were now covered in blue fur, like a monkey’s.

“…What the hell is that…?”

I flinched when I looked at Gam Unbi’s face.

His expression was the same as when he had lost control and revealed the blood of Docheol during our previous battle.

“L-Lord…?”

The subordinate, who had been stabbed through the heart, looked at Gam Unbi in disbelief, blood dripping from his lips.

But Gam Unbi didn’t answer his subordinate’s unspoken question.

Instead, he touched his face with his remaining arm, his face contorted with rage.

“Grand Heavenly Lord! How dare you play such tricks on me?!”

The moment Gam Unbi’s eyes turned completely black, including his pupils…

Creak, crack!

“L-Lord… ugh!”

The subordinate’s body dried up like a mummy in an instant.

I widened my eyes at the sight.

‘Absorption Demonic Art?!’

No, this was something far more primitive.

An ancient human-sacrificing dark art that extracted life force by devouring people!

Gam Unbi didn’t stop there—he began to attack his own subordinates one after another.

“Lord!”

“Please, come to your senses!”

Four were killed in the blink of an eye, and the remaining warriors tried desperately to resist, but it was futile.

‘…How is that even possible in broad daylight?’

If I had to guess, I’d say he was burning the life force gained from human sacrifices in real time just to maintain that state….

“Graaaagh!”

Gam Unbi, who had killed all his subordinates in less than ten exchanges, let out a monstrous roar.

‘It doesn’t matter what’s going on. I just need to kill him again.’

There was no need to play by the rules of martial arts with a creature that had turned into a monster.

‘No matter why he transformed into that state, I’ll make him realize that’s a bad move under the sun.’

This was a good chance to fully test the power of the True Star Sword as well….

I began preparing to release the power that Hwan Sang, my senior brother, had charged into the True Star Sword, readying myself for the next clash.

But then…

Thud!

Just when I thought Gam Unbi was going to charge at me again…

He suddenly turned around and flew off toward Yoo Family’s Sacred Mountain!

“…What the hell?!”

It wasn’t like he was running away in fear.

He was completely ignoring my presence!

“That damned bastard…!”

As if something deeper inside there was his true priority, Gam Unbi ran off, leaving me standing there in disbelief.

But that disbelief didn’t last long.

“Damn it, you think I’ll let you go?!”

I let out a furious roar and was about to give chase after Gam Unbi.

‘Hm?’

At that moment, I sensed multiple powerful presences not far from here through my Qi sense.

‘Someone’s coming.’

At first, I thought they might be reinforcements from the Evil Path.

But I quickly ruled that out.

‘Two of them have Qi at the peak level. One of them isn’t inferior to Gam Unbi.’

There were fewer than five groups in the world, outside of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Murim Alliance, that had more than two peak-level masters.

‘Who could they be? Are there any groups nearby with such strength?’

The only nearby possibility would be Namcheon Baek Clan, who had the Southern Sword King and the Divine Night Sword.

But they had no reason to come all the way here.

What was even stranger was that one of the two didn’t feel like a peak-level master… but something more like an Extreme Demon Realm existence.

That uneasiness made me stop pursuing Gam Unbi for the moment.

I decided to use this time to recover my spent Qi and wait for them to arrive.

And not long after…

“L-Lady Baek?!”

The warriors who had arrived at Yoo Family’s Sacred Mountain were none other than the elite of the Black Blood Lotus!

At the front, riding a horse, Baek Sang-ah widened her eyes in shock when she noticed my presence.

“Y-Young Master Jin?!”

“Lady Baek! You’re alive!”

I shouted toward Baek Sang-ah with open arms, overcome with joy.

Baek Sang-ah also dismounted immediately and rushed toward me with light footwork.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Young Master Jinaaaaaaaa!”

“Lady Baek!!”

Overwhelmed by her emotional cry, I responded in kind.

‘Hm?’

In that brief moment, my heightened senses caught something strange about her movement.

For some reason, her body seemed to be slightly lifting off the ground as she charged toward me?

‘No, that’s one thing, but why is her center of gravity shifting toward her lower body?’

If the weight had been leaning forward, I might have thought she was rushing in for an emotional hug.

But the moment the soles of her feet entered my view…

A flawless, clean double flying kick struck me square in the stomach.

Wham!

“You bastard!!”

The instant her feet slammed into my gut, my back bent like a shrimp.

Crash!

I flew several dozen feet like a cannonball and crashed pitifully into a rock.

And it didn’t end there.

Baek Sang-ah immediately flew over to where I lay, stunned, and began pounding me with her fists.

“You bastard! If you were alive, you should have let us know you were alive!!”

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

“L-Lady Baek! M-My face, please! Or at least not my solar plexus!”

“Shut up and take it!”

I tried to curl up and defend myself somehow.

“How dare you block me?!”

But for some reason, despite her having reached the Extreme Demon Realm, her punches moved with strange precision, thoroughly exploiting every gap in my defense.

Baek Sang-ah’s pummeling continued for quite some time.

At least until Saber King, who couldn’t stand watching any longer, stepped in to stop her, telling her to give it a rest.

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