Chapter 363: Fatal Poison (2)

Cheon Juchun.

Once, he was chosen over Cheon Jumyeong as the successor of the Heavenly Brain Clan of the Cheon Clan.

A genius who had participated in an experiment led by the former Cult Leader and produced outstanding results.

But during that process, he became fascinated by forbidden knowledge and fell into corruption.

He failed in an attempt to abduct the former Cult Leader’s two daughters, who were the results of the experiment.

Ultimately, he was sentenced to erasure from the records within the Cheon Clan and was wiped from existence.

Cheon Juchun waved his hand in greeting.

“It has been a while, Elder Taemyung. Have you been well?”

He looked exactly the same as the last time he had been seen—unchanged, youthful.

Because of that, First Elder was all the more certain of his identity.

Boom!

“You bastard! How dare you crawl back here?!”

First Elder shot up from his seat and lunged at Cheon Juchun.

A massive flow of qi gathered at the center of his palm.

But then—

Fwoosh!

The energy First Elder was about to release scattered like a bundle of threads suddenly unraveling.

“…What?!”

First Elder was horrified as the flow of his inner qi spiraled out of control.

“My… my qi…!”

At the level of Extreme Demon Realm, most qi-scattering poisons didn’t have any effect.

With well-trained sword intent, one could forcibly rebind scattered qi.

Cheon Juchun lightly smiled while waving the fan in his hand.

“I barely have any of the instant-type Heaven-Slaying Poison left. You should feel honored that I used a portion of such a rare poison on you.”

“He… Heaven-Slaying Poison, you say?”

If it truly was the legendary Heaven-Slaying Poison, it made sense why his qi was dissipating like this.

But when—how—could he have been poisoned without noticing?

While pondering that, First Elder realized that several of the Seven Elders were staring at him without expression.

“You… you all…!”

“……”

“……”

“You wretches… you’ve crossed the line!”

“It was the Cult Leader who crossed the line, First Elder.”

The elders, including Fourth Elder, stared coldly at First Elder as they spoke.

“Nonsense! You were merely waiting for an excuse all along, weren’t you?!”

It was true that Cheon Yura, who had killed Second Elder, had done wrong.

But with Cheon Juchun’s appearance, and the Seven Elders’ swift and coordinated response to what was clearly treason, it felt as if…

“You’ve… been waiting for this day for a long time, haven’t you…?”

“I won’t deny it.”

Fourth Elder stepped forward to speak on their behalf.

“You damned traitors. The former Cult Leader showed you mercy…!”

First Elder recalled the past, how he had desperately pleaded with the former Cult Leader to spare these people. It all now felt utterly meaningless.

“Phuok!”

At last, First Elder, unable to control the energy rampaging within his body, began to vomit blood.

“Gah! Gugh!”

If the Heaven-Slaying Poison had only scattered his qi, it wouldn’t have been feared as a legendary poison.

Now activated, the Heaven-Slaying Poison began to erase First Elder’s sword intent and swiftly drain his life force.

Watching First Elder squirm and die like a worm, Cheon Juchun stroked his chin.

“Hm… he might still be useful as a hostage… Well, shall we keep him alive for now?”

Snap!

The moment Cheon Juchun snapped his fingers, First Elder’s condition began to improve as if it were a lie.

But it didn’t mean he was healed.

Cheon Juchun merely controlled the poison’s toxicity so First Elder could barely cling to life.

As First Elder’s condition stabilized, some of the elders were struck with dread.

To restore someone with a snap of a finger meant, conversely, that he could kill them the same way.

“I am the proxy of the Grand Heavenly Lord. Controlling the toxicity of the Heaven-Slaying Poison, infused with his sword intent, is a trivial matter.”

Clap, clap.

“Take him away. Lord First Elder will be undergoing recovery for a time due to a qi deviation caused by reckless cultivation.”

Soon, several warriors arrived from outside and retrieved First Elder’s limp body.

And once First Elder disappeared—

Cheon Juchun boldly sat down in First Elder’s seat and glanced around at the remaining five elders.

“Now then, everyone. With the nuisance gone, shall we have a productive conversation?”

Among them, the matter had little to do with Third Elder Cheon Rain, who quietly observed the proceedings in the hall.

‘With Second Elder dead and First Elder incapacitated, it would be natural for me to act in his place…’

But the very next words from Cheon Juchun shattered his illusion.

“Fourth Elder, please preside over the Seven Elders’ meetings for the time being.”

“Certainly.”

Fourth Elder nodded without hesitation.

‘…That won’t do.’

Cheon Rain clicked his tongue inwardly.

He had attained the seat of Third Elder thanks to his age and strength, not because of any active cooperation with outside factions.

Because of his characteristically passive, self-preserving nature, it was unlikely for him to ever take First Elder’s place.

‘In that case… perhaps…’

***

I returned to the Cult as quickly as possible.

The moment I crossed the border of Gansu and arrived near Ten Thousand Mountain, I received a report from a messenger sent by Bu Il-hwa, the sub-leader of the Divine Ghost Unit.

As soon as I heard the content of the report, I made straight for the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Once I reached the vicinity of the pavilion, I spotted two people loitering near the entrance.

“Lady Sa! Lady Pa!”

“L-Lord Jin…”

They were none other than Sa Biyeon, the heir of the Black Gold Sa Clan, and Pa Yeongyeong, the heir of the Pa Clan.

“I heard Yura—no, the Cult Leader—executed Second Elder of the Seven Elders.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Was it truly without any cause?”

Sa Biyeon spoke with a trembling voice.

“The Cult Leader is… currently so emotionally unstable that rational judgment is impossible.”

“Emotions, huh…”

“She refuses to accept anyone’s advice and lashes out in fury. Someone was even gravely injured by her killing intent. This… has never happened before.”

“……”

It seemed the situation was more serious than I had expected.

It was obvious that even Sa Biyeon’s words had been considerably softened.

“Y-Young Master Jin is our only hope. Please, Cult Leader….”

“Yes. Just trust me.”

After comforting Sa Biyeon, I turned my gaze to Pa Yeongyeong, who was staring at me with a sullen expression.

She opened her mouth.

“Pa Clan and the Ma Clan have decided to stand by as observers.”

Observers, huh…

Even though it was a coalition formed by shared interests, I couldn’t help but feel bitter.

Pa Yeongyeong crossed her arms and voiced her dissatisfaction.

“That alone proves how absurd the Cult Leader’s actions have been. If you don’t handle this properly, the alliance with the Three Clans will collapse in an instant.”

“That’s probably true.”

She let out a small sigh and continued.

“Right now, the Cheon Clan is rising up en masse and putting pressure on the Cult Leader. They’re interfering with the funds flowing into the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, or outright mobilizing the Thirty-Four Demon Squads under their influence to stage a military demonstration.”

“……”

“It’s not just about the Cult Leader’s mental state. You need to seriously consider how you’ll resolve things with the Cheon Clan.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I bowed my head to Pa Yeongyeong.

The fact that she came all the way here in person meant she was trying to be considerate of me.

I passed through the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Even though I hadn’t said a word, the Guardian Lions hurried to open the entrance for me.

Seeing the trace of hope in their eyes as they looked at me left me with a heavy heart.

‘Things must’ve gotten pretty chaotic.’

I collected myself.

Slowly, I walked deeper into the heart of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Without interference from anyone, before long I reached Cheon Yura’s throne.

She was in meditation, but slowly opened her eyes halfway.

“You’ve come?”

Her voice was far more composed than expected.

On the outside, she looked surprisingly fine.

Her expression was calm, and the energy she emitted flowed gently.

…That is, aside from her clouded eyes and the overpowering scent of blood surrounding her.

“……”

—She’s definitely lost it.

Yorang gave Cheon Yura a sidelong glance and clicked her tongue.

Perhaps hearing her voice, Cheon Yura’s gaze turned toward my chest.

“There’s something in your arms.”

“This is a shikigami I recently took in. I had a bit of a connection with it up north.”

“Is that so?”

Cheon Yura didn’t pay much attention to Yorang.

She slowly rose from the throne and descended the steps at a leisurely pace.

And then, she came straight toward me.

Tug!

She grabbed my collar roughly and pulled me in to kiss me.

“……!”

A sudden kiss.

It was rather rough and forceful, but regardless of the situation, I liked this kind of bold affection from her.

Usually, when Yura and I kissed, we both closed our eyes and turned away.

But this time, we stared directly into each other’s eyes.

Her eyes, now deep as the abyss, curved like a crescent moon.

“……”

“……”

How much time had passed?

I was so focused on her that I lost track of time.

Only then did her lips part from mine.

“It’s only been a month… but I missed you so much I nearly went mad.”

“…Me too.”

For some reason, during this brief separation, she had become very honest with her emotions.

Normally, I would’ve welcomed such a change.

But now, there was something I needed to address first.

“I heard you killed the Council of the Seven Elders’ Second Elder. Why would you do that…?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

She cut me off and embraced me roughly.

“What matters is… that I missed you.”

“……”

A yearning so deep it seemed carved into her soul.

Longing. Passion. Love.

All of it resonated in her voice.

However.

“Yura.”

I spoke to her in a cold voice.

“Don’t confuse your priorities.”

“……”

Affection was one thing, but duty was another.

I could do anything for Yura. But at the very least, if Yura committed evil deeds, I wouldn’t join hands with her in doing so.

No matter what it took, I would guide her down the right path.

“Fine.”

She slowly stepped away from me.

If you only heard those words, it would sound like she had come to her senses, but…

“So you’re saying you dare… to reject my affection?”

Her expression vanished.

Yura without her expression looked less like the usual chrysanthemum and more like a black rose laced with a deadly poison in its thorns.

“Come to think of it, before we parted ways… I lost to you, Jin Yeomyung.”

As if we had planned it, Yura and I drew our swords at the same time.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword and the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword revealed their blades and pointed at each other.

“Our lovely husband… this time, it’ll be a little different.”

Just as she said.

Though still unstable, a clearly refined Sword Intent was pressing against my entire body.

I nodded and responded to her words.

“Our first marital fight is going to be quite fierce.”

“Ha, ahahahaha!”

She burst into mad laughter and swung her sword.

Heaven-Slaying Qi

Heart Sword: Demon Heaven Descends

Her newly developed Heart Sword, having reached the Transcendent Demon Realm, came flying at me.

I, too, released my Heart Sword to counter hers.

Heart Sword: Heaven-Piercing Annihilation

The massive two waves collided, instantly tearing apart a corner of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

“Hahahaha! Just die already!”

Heaven-Slaying Qi surged out in torrents from her blade, now completely consumed by madness.

It seemed our Lady Cult Leader had truly lost her mind.

Even if I had to be rough, I needed to bring her back to normal.

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