Chapter 82: Demonic Path’s Three Blossoms (4)

“Ah?”

A severed arm flew through the air.

Colorful Flower Lord stared blankly at the limb.

Thunk!

A fleeting moment passed as if it were an eternity. Eventually, the severed arm slammed to the ground and twitched.

And then, reality kicked in.

“Kwaaaah!”

Screaming in agony, Colorful Flower Lord writhed as delayed pain overwhelmed him.

‘That sword form just now… wasn’t that the same one that aimed for my neck in our first exchange?’

Recalling the strike from just a moment ago, I broke into a cold sweat.

This time, the strike had flown vertically rather than horizontally, but it had been too intense to mistake for anything else.

The flow of Qi forming the slash had been eerily similar.

“Re, regeneration… it’s not regenerating! Why?!”

Colorful Flower Lord desperately fumbled at his severed arm, trying to do something.

But his desperate attempt was in vain.

“Damn that Heavenly Demonic Divine Art! You cursed descendant of a devil!”

“You’re the last person who should be calling someone else a devil.”

“Don’t be absurd! To belittle the noble divine beasts that once ruled the heavens like that!”

Though he had lost an arm, Colorful Flower Lord hadn’t lost his fighting spirit.

Suddenly, several tentacle-like appendages burst from his back and began writhing.

‘Fitting for someone with Yin energy to have something that grotesque.’

And yet, those tentacles carried a surprisingly divine Yin force.

So the part about the power of divine beasts wasn’t entirely a lie.

However…

“Keuh! Keuhahaha!”

From the moment the tentacles emerged, his eyes began to darken with a black aura.

“He’s losing his reason.”

Cheon Yura accurately assessed Colorful Flower Lord’s condition.

While he had forcibly drawn out his power, he was now suffering the side effects, just like the others had.

“I’ll finish him before he becomes more of a hassle.”

Even so, the sheer amplification of his power wasn’t something to be ignored, and Cheon Yura raised her sword once again.

“Kyaaaah!”

Colorful Flower Lord charged at Cheon Yura.

It was a mindless rush with no proper footwork or movement technique, but the speed and impact behind it were anything but ordinary.

Cheon Yura nimbly dodged the reckless charge.

Kwakwa-kwang!

A rock wall nearby was instantly blown open, causing a minor tremor to ripple through the ground.

“W-what madness!”

Geum Jeoksan shouted in shock at the sheer force of the shockwave.

If they couldn’t stop that maniac’s charge, they might really be buried alive in this place!

“He’s nothing but a beast now.”

Smirk.

A ferocious smile curled at the corner of Cheon Yura’s lips.

“When facing a beast, the most effective way is to beat it like one.”

“D-die!”

Just as Colorful Flower Lord prepared to charge again—

Slash!

This time, Cheon Yura’s sword sliced diagonally through Colorful Flower Lord’s torso.

“Guh!”

And that wasn’t the only slash.

“Th-this can’t be…!”

A storm of slashes filled his vision.

He’d fought many elites from the Evil Overlords of Heaven, and he’d taken attacks like this before.

But back then, not every strike had landed with such fatal precision!

Crack! Thud! Crunch!

Thin red lines etched themselves across Colorful Flower Lord’s thick hide.

And each time one of those lines grew longer, his vitality rapidly drained.

‘I-is this even something a human can do?!’

I had only seen Cheon Yura’s divine state once in my past life.

It was when she, poisoned by countless fatal toxins, charged headlong into the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad wielding twelve different blades.

But the way she looked now didn’t fall short of that moment at all.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The awakened form of Colorful Flower Lord, once thought to be unbreakable, shattered like a thin shell struck by a hammer.

“Damn it all!”

Even his prized Soul-Draining Blood Ghost Art was useless.

“Kuwaaah! Guh!”

He tried to put up a final struggle, but a barrage of sword qi slammed into his vision, smothering his final resistance.

Just like that.

Colorful Flower Lord, torn apart by Cheon Yura’s relentless assault, slumped over, bleeding blue blood from every part of his body.

A clear sign his life force had been extinguished.

“Phew.”

Cheon Yura exhaled as she retrieved her sword after killing Colorful Flower Lord in an instant.

“I’ve still got a long way to go.”

“……”

Several people were left speechless by that remark.

She’d overwhelmingly crushed her opponent without giving him a chance to resist—what did she mean she had a long way to go?

“Biyeon.”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sa Biyeon appeared, having concealed her presence until now.

“What about the task I gave you?”

“Here it is.”

In Sa Biyeon’s hand was a severed head.

A young man’s head, eyes still wide open as if in disbelief.

Recognizing it, Geum Jeoksan’s eyes widened in shock.

“…Mu-seong!”

The severed head belonged to none other than Geum Jeoksan’s youngest junior brother and one of the so-called Three Orders of the Heaven-Defying Society—Cheong Museong… no, Han Museong.

“How was it?”

“It wasn’t much. I cut his neck before he could transform.”

Sa Biyeon shook her head as if it truly wasn’t worth mentioning.

Hearing that, Geum Jeoksan was dumbfounded.

‘Even if my youngest junior was the weakest, he must’ve reached near the Master Level realm?!’

Despite the ten-year age gap between him and the third disciple, their master hadn’t taken him as a disciple for nothing.

He possessed overwhelming talent that would’ve stood out anywhere.

But the woman in front of them looked, at best, to be about the same age as Han Museong!

While Geum Jeoksan was reeling in disbelief—

“Hm, looks like it’s more or less over now.”

Baek Sang-ah approached the two.

“You were too caught up watching the Young Cult Leader fight to wrap things up, weren’t you?”

“Kh! I could’ve finished it any time!”

At Sa Biyeon’s jab, Baek Sang-ah snapped back, and the two started bickering.

Cheon Yura watched them with a faint smile, saying nothing to rebuke them.

Then—

“It’s the Three Blossoms.”

One of the members from the Evil Overlords of Heaven muttered this unconsciously while staring at the three.

“Demonic Path’s Three Blossoms!”

Another quickly echoed the term with awe in their voice.

“Three incredible female prodigies have appeared in the Demonic Cult!”

I clicked my tongue bitterly at their exclamations.

‘…The other two, sure, but one of them’s a bit…’

Before I knew it, one of the Four Pillars of the Orthodox Sect, Southern Sword Flower, had been lumped in with the Demonic Path’s Three Blossoms.

‘Well, regardless, the rumors will spread like wildfire throughout the martial world.’

These men were top elites even within the Evil Overlords of Heaven.

Naturally, their influence within the unorthodox factions was considerable.

If they all started talking about this event, even though we were in the remote regions, word would reach the Central Plains in no time.

Then it happened.

“I’ve seen the divine state of the Young Cult Leader for myself.”

“…!”

The Demonic Emperor Lord, Geum Jeoksan, stepped forward and locked eyes with Cheon Yura.

“You’re certainly worthy of succeeding the Great Heavenly Demon Cult. To think you surpassed even the peak of the Master Level at your age.”

“You flatter me.”

Though she replied humbly, there was a faint trace of exhaustion on her face.

Indeed, even she had to give her all to bring down Colorful Flower Lord.

“However, I must express my protest to you all.”

“…About what?”

Cheon Yura’s expression, along with the other two behind her, hardened at once.

“First of all, the head you severed was my sect’s youngest disciple. Even if he was a traitor, it was something that should’ve been handled by our own hands.”

‘Seriously?’

Geum Jeoksan had started nitpicking over a ridiculous reason.

“And then, while we were bleeding and fighting, you took it upon yourselves to plunder the legacy of Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. That’s just basic courtesy, isn’t it?”

“……”

None of the three answered.

This wasn’t just about greed for relics.

“Your words are misleading, Demonic Emperor Lord.”

“…You are?”

I stepped forward, placing myself between Cheon Yura and Geum Jeoksan.

“The legacy of Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden still remains intact at the far end. Countless treasures and sacred artifacts lie untouched on the altar. Didn’t you see them?”

“I did. But judging from the divine aura you’re all exuding… it seems the legacy wasn’t limited to material things.”

Geum Jeoksan glared at me coldly.

“Even you alone seem more than two levels stronger than when I saw you in Eastern Sea Fortress. And it’s only been a few days.”

So that was the reason behind his hostility.

“Hm, is that so?”

“The current you is clearly beyond my level. The strength of those three women is also abnormal. If you reached the end before us and took the true legacy, it all makes sense.”

“You’re mistaken.”

“Mistaken?”

“I’ve always been strong. As have those three.”

“What?”

Geum Jeoksan’s face twisted at how brazen I was being.

“Unless you have proof, can you claim with certainty what we discovered or took here?”

“You bastard…”

“And even if we did take something—what exactly do you intend to do about it?”

“Of course, we’ll be taking our rightful share.”

The moment he said that, the remaining elite members of the Evil Overlords of Heaven began surrounding us in a circle.

Tilting my head slightly, I asked with a gruff tone—

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“It doesn’t look like this is going to end with a friendly chat.”

“You mean, this isn’t about settling things—it’s about eliminating future threats?”

Only then did Geum Jeoksan reveal his true colors.

“Think of it that way if you like.”

His gaze slowly shifted to Cheon Yura.

“You’re already too much to handle as you are. In ten more years, we’ll be facing another nightmare.”

“Another nightmare, huh…”

It was clear who that word was meant to describe.

“We were desperately praying for your cult leader’s reign to end. But knowing that his successor is another monster we can’t handle—we have no choice but to act now, even if it means taking a loss.”

“Fair enough. It’s not without logic.”

Cheon Taejong—the Heavenly Demon.

One of only three ever permitted to bear the title of Heavenly Demon within the thousand-year-old Heavenly Demon Cult.

The title of Heavenly Demon was far too great a burden for Geum Jeoksan, who was poised to succeed the Evil Overlords of Heaven.

“Four Heavenly Demons.”

Flinch!

The moment I said those words aloud, Geum Jeoksan’s shoulders noticeably trembled.

“I see. Then I understand now. There’s no point in trying to negotiate with you, Demonic Emperor Lord.”

“Shame it came to this.”

“But what if, instead of a negotiation… it was a threat?”

“What?”

A mocking smirk tugged at the corner of Geum Jeoksan’s lips.

“You think you can threaten me with that little power?”

Cheon Yura, our biggest force, had just exhausted herself in a fight with Colorful Flower Lord.

While we still had a few Law-Enforcing Lions left, they were few in number.

Sure, there was me, Baek Sang-ah, and Sa Biyeon—but the other side still had more than ten fresh peak-level experts capable of matching us.

And our most reliable ally, Guardian Wang Cheongeol, was currently injured and out of commission.

“Of course, I’m not talking about threatening you with force. But how about this?”

“…?”

“We all get buried here—together.”

“……!!”

“Looks like you’ve forgotten where we are right now. Didn’t you say it yourself, Demonic Emperor Lord? That we obtained the legacy of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden?”

“Y-you can’t mean…?”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

I clapped my hands three times.

Rumbleeeee!

As if responding to the sound, an earthquake far beyond anything we’d felt before began shaking the area.

“W-what is this?!”

Thud! Thud!

Pebbles began falling from the ceiling. Cracks spread along the walls, and the ground began trembling unstably.

“Even at full speed, it would take you at least an hour just to reach the surface. So, tell me… do you think you can make it?”

“You’re trying to die together?!”

“I think you misunderstood me… when I said ‘together,’ I wasn’t including us with you. I meant just you lot.”

“W-what?!”

“We can escape thanks to the formation installed in this ruin.”

To be precise, I’d be manipulating the collapsing areas so the damage wouldn’t reach us.

At that moment, Cheon Yura let out a low exclamation, as if she’d realized something.

“Ah, I see. I thought the Nine Moons Blade Hall guys had been evacuated somewhere… turns out they were used for something else?”

“Sharp as ever, Lady Cheon. They’re currently stationed in the core of this ruin, watching everything unfold.”

Before Yoo So vanished, she had transferred the authority to control this ruin to me.

This ruin, filled with mechanical traps, magical beasts, and labyrinthine formations, would become a demonic abyss if no one controlled it.

‘Though I didn’t expect that giant centipede… that one was a mistake.’

The truth was that a juvenile Iron-Pipe Centipede, placed in some trap several centuries ago, had escaped and grown out of control within the ruin.

In any case.

I’d transferred the control authority Yoo So gave me to Bang Manhu of the Nine Moons Blade Hall as a failsafe.

And it turned out, my worry had been spot on.

“Kh, kghhh!”

Geum Jeoksan trembled with rage, unsure what to do.

A perfect checkmate.

Even if they were elite members of the Evil Overlords of Heaven, no one could reasonably expect to survive being buried this deep underground.

Just then—

“That’s far enough.”

A deep, commanding voice of an old man rang out from the distance.

Geum Jeoksan looked in that direction—and screamed.

“Ma-Master?!”

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