Chapter 460: Advancing into the Central Plains (6)

‘That place….’

The pavilion that rose most steeply even among the structures of Luoyang.

It was none other than the residence of the Lord of Luoyang.

‘What could be there?’

While Baek Sang-ah hesitated for a moment in thought,

So Cheon glared at Cheon Yura with a hardened expression.

“…Do you have business with your master?”

“Master?”

The only one she and So Cheon could refer to as a master was Murder Demon So Jeong.

However, the master So Cheon referred to now was not So Jeong.

Cheon Yura nodded her head.

“Yes. Because I must retrieve ‘that’ which he sealed away.”

“Seongnyeongcheon….”

So Cheon trailed off at the end of his words.

“……!”

Only then did she realize who Cheon Yura and So Cheon were referring to.

The former Heavenly Demon Founder who had trained Cheon Yura, Jin Yeomyung, and So Cheon in the past!

At the time, Baek Sang-ah had just ascended to the position of the Black Lotus Union Leader and could not follow them, but she had heard what had happened there.

“What is this thing that the Lady refers to?”

At Baek Sang-ah’s question, Cheon Yura answered without hesitation.

“My fallen body.”

“Your body?”

Baek Sang-ah, unaware of the truth, tilted her head in confusion, but So Cheon, whose memories of Seongnyeongcheon were vivid, understood what she meant.

“Though it was shattered long ago in death, if I can retrieve it, it could help hasten my resurrection.”

“That must be stopped, Lady.”

So Cheon stepped forward with a stern face.

“I may know nothing of sorcery, but letting this proceed will definitely not lead to anything good.”

“…….”

She agreed as well.

For some time now, a maddening sense of dread had been prickling and surging through her whole body like needles.

Baek Sang-ah discreetly signaled toward the rear.

Even if the others didn’t notice, Saber King or masters who had reached a certain level would surely catch it.

“Lady Cheon, we are friends, aren’t we?”

Cheon Yura nodded.

“Yes, we are friends.”

“Then, as a friend, may I ask you to simply turn back?”

“That is not possible.”

Naturally, a flat rejection came immediately.

“This is my final mercy. Step aside.”

Backing down was not an option.

If they backed down now, something irreversible was sure to happen.

At that moment, So Cheon crossed his arms and glared at Cheon Yura.

“No matter how I think about it, your claim of turning back quietly is a lie.”

“What?”

“Your promise to spare us… maybe that’s sincere. But judging from everything you’ve done so far, it wouldn’t be surprising if, the moment you got what you wanted, you painted Luoyang in blood.”

“…….”

“Am I wrong?”

Cheon Yura didn’t answer the question.

Instead, with fierce momentum rising, she gave So Cheon a low warning.

“As a disciple of our Cult, do not dare question the command of the Cult Leader.”

Despite Cheon Yura’s warning, So Cheon merely scoffed.

“Ha. I don’t need to listen to you anymore. You’re no longer the Cult Leader.”

Flinch!

“Not the Cult Leader…?”

“Yeomyung took your place and became the Cult Leader. And he became the fourth Heavenly Demon of our Cult. You’re the former Cult Leader now. Just a relic of the past.”

Baek Sang-ah grew slightly tense at So Cheon’s unrestrained provocation.

They’d have to fight anyway, but excessively provoking the opponent wasn’t beneficial.

“Jin Yeomyung….”

At that moment, Cheon Yura’s expression became dazed again.

“Jin Yeomyung… Jin Yeomyung… Heavenly Demon… Heavenly Demon….”

She kept repeating Jin Yeomyung’s name as if possessed.

“The man who cherished me more than anyone, the man I love.”

“…….”

“And…”

For some reason, a sinister smile crept onto Cheon Yura’s lips.

“The one I want to surpass more than anyone.”

“Huh?”

“I want to defeat him. I want to kill him, preserve him….”

“…….”

“…….”

“If it’s you… you can accept all of me, right?”

At the sight of her muttering ominous words with a vicious smile, So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah unconsciously gulped.

“She really seems a bit off mentally.”

“If her mind was intact, that’d be even stranger.”

So Cheon prepared to draw his weapon without flinching, wrapping Nine Heavens Thread around his hand.

Just as Baek Sang-ah began to feel a strange stirring from his reassuring stance—

“Alliance Leader!”

“Are you alright!?”

Led by Saber King and Dao Zun, the core masters of the Alliance arrived all at once after receiving the signal.

“Damn it, I had a bad feeling, and it turned out to be true.”

Dao Zun Jin Ryeong, standing at the front, glared at Cheon Yura, who was still muttering to herself.

She swiftly untied the cloth draped around her shoulders.

“I’ll use Six Path Reversal. We have to subdue her here no matter what.”

“Sister, is that even possible?”

At Saber King’s question, Dao Zun snapped.

“If it’s not, are you going to run away? Whether it turns into porridge or rice, we have to end it here!”

But someone like Saber King couldn’t possibly miss the slight unease in her tone.

‘Damn it, even at best, maybe half will work?’

Unfortunately, the Six Path Reversal had not yet fully recharged since it was last used at full power for Cheon Taejong and Jin Yeomyung.

It was only barely usable now because her energy had replenished somewhat—normally, it should’ve been sealed away for a year.

“I heard from him that the Grand Heavenly Lord fused with the Cult Leader is not in a good state. If we can get past that Black Demon Beast bastard, we still have a fighting chance…”

Sring!

Before the words could finish.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of crimson sword qi blades began to emerge behind Cheon Yura.

There was no doubt.

That was none other than…

“Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword?”

“…How?”

Those with even a basic grasp of sorcery were shocked by the sight before them.

To see both the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword and the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art being unleashed meant the Cheon Yura before them was very likely not just a mere replica, but the ‘real’ one.

A divine might that had clearly far surpassed the realm of Demonic Shedding.

“Yes, I’ve decided.”

Cheon Yura shouted, revealing a crazed smile.

“I’ll kill them all and greet him at Mount Tai. We’ll hold a wedding grander than ever before!”

“She’s completely insane….”

Or perhaps, being insane was a blessing?

Even amid that, Dao Zun sharply observed Cheon Yura’s state.

‘Two energies are interfering with complete unification. One near the upper dantian, another near the lower dantian.’

Was it a hallucination that she felt separate ‘lifeforces’ from the alien energies stationed at her upper and lower dantian?

But Dao Zun couldn’t ponder that for long.

“Die, all of you.”

As madness gleamed in her eyes—

Hundreds of Heaven-Slaying Demon Swords swept across the area.

***

“What do you mean by a lot of blood will be spilled?”

In response to my question, Qilin replied.

“Exactly what it sounds like. The candidate for Heavenly Evil won’t just wait quietly at the altar. For perfect resurrection, she’ll try to retrieve her fragments hidden across the world.”

“…Fragments?”

“Yes. Especially if she realizes her ideal, it’s inevitable. For example… she might go to find the ‘gate’ that once opened in the human city called Luoyang.”

“……!”

“Smashing a place filled with humans would speed up the advent of heavenly timing—killing two birds with one stone.”

‘The corpse of Heavenly Evil…’

The body of the giant deity that had once reached beyond the clouds if it had properly taken form!

Even if only the bones remained and were decayed, if the Grand Heavenly Lord opened the gate to Seongnyeongcheon and seized that corpse…

‘Master will be there, so the worst-case scenario shouldn’t happen… but I’m still uneasy.’

While I stayed silent, Qilin continued.

“You should know this already, but we have half a year at most. And even that could drastically shorten if things go awry. Do you think you have the luxury of time just because we’re pressed?”

“…….”

“Choose wisely. We’ll concede as much as we can, but you’ll have to accept a certain degree of risk as well.”

Qilin’s tone was resolute.

Indeed, if all the legendary divine beasts, the Linbong Ghost Dragons, were to revive, they could become powerful allies in the final battle against Heavenly Evil.

However—

I knew that the initiative in this negotiation hadn’t fully slipped from my grasp yet.

‘Why did they offer the resurrection of the Death King’s True Qi as part of the negotiation terms?’

It’s simple, if I think about it.

For the Spirit Turtle and the Phoenix to resurrect, there’s a part I must absolutely assist with.

Knowing that, there’s no scenario in which I would be at a loss.

“Let’s settle the terms.”

After the agreement with the Death King’s True Qi was successfully concluded.

Barely a few days had passed when Divine Ghost Unit Leader Bu Il-hwa urgently requested an audience.

“Cult Leader, it’s an urgent report from Luoyang.”

I hastily unfolded the letter she brought.

And after reading it through to the end, I quietly cursed under my breath.

‘…Damn it.’

The content of the letter could be summarized as follows:

In the vicinity of Luoyang, the forces of the Murim Alliance clashed with a figure presumed to be the former Cult Leader Cheon Yura.

As a result of the clash, Luoyang was half-destroyed. Tens of thousands were killed.

Alliance Leader Baek Sang-ah and most others involved in the clash are missing. Outcome unknown.

Though the Murim Alliance has not collapsed, it has clearly taken a critical blow. Acting on behalf of the Alliance Leader, Military Strategist Jegal Eun is currently handling the aftermath and requesting assistance from our Cult.

I burned the letter and turned my gaze to Sa Biyeon, who was waiting below.

“Clan Head Sa.”

“Yes, Cult Leader.”

“Is the deployment ready?”

Sa Biyeon replied confidently.

“At any time.”

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Sa Biyeon and many others, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult completed all preparations in less than a month.

I raised the Heavenly Demon Seal and issued orders to the heads of the Seven Clans.

“From this moment, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult marches for the Central Plains. The first target is Luoyang. Ultimately, we advance to Mount Tai and purge all enemies who dared disturb our Cult.”

“We obey!”

Sa Biyeon, the heads of the Seven Clans, and the Elders all bowed their heads in unison.

I led them directly out of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

In front of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion stood thousands of martial artists, lined up in orderly formation, looking only at me.

‘This may be the first and last time I see them like this.’

I had no idea how many of them would return alive.

But not a single one of them showed fear on their faces.

To them, the Heavenly Demon was leading them from the front.

‘I’ll bring back as many as I can alive. And…’

When I bring them back—Yura will be standing by my side.

Kwa-gwagwagwang!

Yorang, in the form of the Heavenly Demon Founder, and Cheon Yura continued exchanging sword strikes without end.

Superhuman exchanges—dozens, hundreds of moves per second.

In the midst of it, Yorang asked Cheon Yura, who silently swung her sword.

“Are you alright?”

“…….”

“You struck down a friend who tried to stop you. Even if it wasn’t by choice, the feeling must be vivid.”

“…….”

“I say this out of concern, but don’t let that destroy y—”

“She didn’t die.”

Cheon Yura cut off Yorang’s words in a low yet strong voice.

She drove Yorang back even more fiercely and violently.

“And even if she did die, it wouldn’t really matter.”

“…….”

Yorang’s expression slightly hardened upon hearing those words.

‘The progress is faster than I thought.’

Just as Cheon Yura influences the Grand Heavenly Lord, the Grand Heavenly Lord also influences her.

It’s fine for now, but if this continues unchecked…

“I can feel it. It’s soon.”

“What is?”

At her lips, the same twisted smile of madness she once showed Baek Sang-ah bloomed again.

“The day I meet Jin Yeomyung.”

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