Chapter 232: Immortal Divine Sword (3)

The lightning strike was powerful.

It was different from the usual strikes that merely set a tree or two on fire and then dissipated.

It was as if all the lightning meant for an entire province had been concentrated into a single destructive beam.

The lightning bolt tore through the air, heading straight for Baek Sung-cheon’s Shooting Star Fang.

In the process, the superheated air expanded at supersonic speed, creating a shockwave.

The thunderous roar that followed was due to this.

To those listening from afar, it might have sounded like just a loud noise, but thunder produced at such close range had a tangible physical force.

The Guardian Commanders who had been burned alive were thrown in all directions by the shockwave.

Then what about Baek Sung-cheon?

Fortunately, the meteorite steel that made up Shooting Star Fang had properties that absorbed electricity.

Just as Yi-gang, far in the future, would one day capture Cheongho’s lightning in his sword, Baek Sung-cheon should have been safe as well.

“Kkrrrgh…”

But in reality, that wasn’t the case.

The lightning strike that struck Baek Sung-cheon this time was at the level of a natural disaster.

The Shooting Star Fang shone like the sun.

Sizzle—

The sword’s hilt heated up, and the skin of Baek Sung-cheon’s palm seared, releasing steam as it burned.

It was, in a way, fortunate. He was able to hold onto the sword.

His entire body trembled due to the wave of electricity that swept through him.

His teeth chattered, causing blue sparks to flicker between them.

His eyes rolled back, showing only the bloodshot whites, and his tightly bound hair had come loose, standing on end.

“Ha, haha…”

But Baek Sung-cheon did not die.

The lightning bolt that burned his body also revitalized him.

The wounds that still marred his body began to heal.

Lightning bolts possessed a purifying force.

The Guardian Commanders, who were filled with the corrupt energy of the Evil Cult, either died or were left crippled, but Baek Sung-cheon was different.

The lightning bolt both destroyed and restored his body.

The muscles that had torn and shattered re-knit themselves with greater resilience. His empty dantian was filled with pure Qi.

Baek Sung-cheon regained the strength to wield his sword once more.

Step, step, step.

The first step was difficult, but the second was easier than the first.

By the time he took the third step, his body had completely returned to its original state.

Step.

And then came the fourth step.

Baek Sung-cheon felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration, as if his body were about to burst.

“Hahaha—!”

As Baek Sung-cheon rushed toward him, for the first time, fear crept onto the face of the Cult Leader.

“This cannot be. This should not be happening. Isn’t this an unjust intervention?!”

The words were not directed at Baek Sung-cheon.

The Cult Leader was shouting at the sky, as if reprimanding the heavens for interfering in the affairs of the mortal world.

Baek Sung-cheon did not care.

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

There were still three Guardian Commanders left beside the Cult Leader.

Moreover, the Cult Leader himself was nearly equal in skill to Baek Sung-cheon, making him a formidable opponent.

It was at that moment—

“Waaaaah!”

“Assist the Immortal Divine Sword!”

Through the open doors of the Cult Leader’s hall, masters of the Murim Alliance appeared.

Following the fallen suicide squad, the orthodox members of the martial world had come to aid Baek Sung-cheon.

The Guardian Commanders had no choice but to scatter and defend their respective positions.

Baek Sung-cheon finally had the opportunity to face the Cult Leader of the Evil Cult one-on-one.

The Cult Leader gritted his teeth and let out a strange sound.

“ॐ…”

What should have been a pure mantra echoed like the whisper of a demon.

Black smoke spewed from his mouth, enveloping his arms.

Seeing this familiar sight, Baek Sung-cheon swung his sword.

The shining Shooting Star Fang contrasted sharply with the Cult Leader’s blackened hands.

Zzzzzzng—

The sound that resulted from the clash between the sword and the hand was unbelievable.

Baek Sung-cheon felt as if he had struck a giant old tree with his bare hands.

Or as if he were swinging his sword while trapped in a sticky swamp.

“No matter how much you struggle, it’s useless!”

The Cult Leader’s dark Aura Qi had always been like this.

Like a sticky spider’s web, the Aura Qi restricted the movement of the sword.

Baek Sung-cheon’s powerful sword lost its momentum each time it clashed with the Cult Leader’s hands.

This was the reason for his earlier defeat.

“Hah!”

But now, things were different.

As the exchanges of attacks continued, the expression on the Cult Leader’s face hardened.

His Aura Qi could no longer restrain Baek Sung-cheon’s sword.

The lightning energy infused into the Shooting Star Fang was burning away the Cult Leader’s Aura Qi.

Thwack!

The sound of the collision changed slightly.

Baek Sung-cheon’s sword had been caught by the Cult Leader’s hand.

The Cult Leader hadn’t overpowered the Heaven’s Shadow Sword. He had caught it because he couldn’t deflect it any other way.

A small thunderous sound echoed constantly between the hand and the sword.

“Ugh, uuuugh…!”

It was the first time such a deadlock had occurred.

Baek Sung-cheon realized that this was the first golden opportunity he had been given.

His supreme ultimate technique wasn’t particularly well-suited against the Cult Leader.

Compared to the Cult Leader, who used all sorts of insidious methods, Baek Sung-cheon’s supreme ultimate technique was far too straightforward.

But now, just now, it was possible.

Baek Sung-cheon’s lips twisted into a grin.

A blue gleam, akin to madness, flashed in his eyes.

His supreme ultimate technique was a death-defying strike aimed to kill with a single blow.

Forget about intricacy, speed, or flair. This was a move that relied entirely on the strength of his body and the hardness of the meteorite sword.

Thus, there was no need for the Sword Aura that usually surrounded his blade.

As soon as the Sword Aura around Shooting Star Fang dissipated, the Cult Leader’s face lit up, and he exerted more force.

He intended to catch Baek Sung-cheon’s sword, which was aiming straight for his chest, and push it back.

“You’re arrogant! Arrogant!”

“…”

Shooting Star Fang was slowly pushed back.

The Cult Leader’s strength, too, had surpassed that of ordinary humans.

However, this was exactly the moment Baek Sung-cheon had been aiming for.

His supreme ultimate technique manifested by destroying his own body.

In an instant, he drained his True Qi, converting it entirely into physical strength.

His muscles contracted and expanded to their limits; unable to withstand the force, they began to tear apart.

Rip, rip, rip—

Muscle fibers snapped, and his skin burst open.

Internal organs bled, and blood gushed from his nose.

But in that moment, a force transcending this world was born.

Sword and body.

Breaking it apart and reviving it—

Sword Body Rebirth.

Baek Sung-cheon’s supreme ultimate technique was activated.

Thwack.

Like a battering ram smashing through a city gate, Baek Sung-cheon’s Shooting Star Fang pierced through the Cult Leader’s chest.

“Kuh…!”

The Cult Leader’s eyes widened.

He looked down at his chest in disbelief, then lifted his head to stare at Baek Sung-cheon.

Baek Sung-cheon twisted his bloodstained lips into a grin.

“You…”

The outcome was certain.

All the Cult Leader could do now was utter a curse.

In the pouring rain, he cursed Baek Sung-cheon.

“…I, Gwi-ryeong, curse you.”

“Sure.”

“I don’t know what trick you used… but you have altered fate with an unjust power.”

He was likely referring to the lightning that struck from the sky.

It was undoubtedly something akin to a miracle.

“Do you think that will be allowed? You believe you have won, but you have lost.”

“Nonsense…”

“You will spend the rest of your life writhing in pain. The path you walk will be stained with the blood of those you love most. Even in death, you will not find freedom, and you will regret everything…”

Baek Sung-cheon didn’t listen any further and beheaded the Cult Leader.

Thud, the severed head spun and rolled across the floor.

The Shooting Star Fang returned to its original dark hue.

Wiping the blood off his sword, Baek Sung-cheon spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.

“Shut up. I’m going to live happily for a long time.”

The Guardian Commanders were also dealt with by the masters of the Murim Alliance.

With heightened cries, people gathered around Baek Sung-cheon.

It was then that the severed head of the Cult Leader suddenly spoke again.

“Do you think it will all end by stopping us here? For a thousand years…”

At that moment, Baek Sung-cheon and the others didn’t understand what it meant.

“Damn, that scared me.”

Baek Sung-cheon cursed and crushed the head underfoot.

Crunch.

And so, the Evil Cult was eradicated.

It was a great achievement accomplished by the Heaven-sent Absolute master, the Immortal Divine Sword, and the Murim Alliance’s suicide squad.

However, there was someone watching them from afar…

A woman, who was in fact a fox, stood on the roof of the pavilion, drenched by the rain.

It was Yeon-mi.

She quietly observed Baek Sung-cheon, then looked up at the sky.

“…”

She was still unsure if it had been the right choice.

She had broken the laws of the heavens to repay a favor, and for that, she would have to pay the price.

But that wasn’t what troubled her.

She simply couldn’t be certain if it was the right thing to do for Baek Sung-cheon.

“…Living is better than dying, I suppose.”

Originally, Baek Sung-cheon was meant to die here.

If that had happened, he wouldn’t have been able to marry the woman he loved.

Yeon-mi felt sorrow for the misfortune that would befall him, but she was content with that.

Yeon-mi’s body gradually faded away.

A life born from one tail of Gumiho.

It was the moment when a Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Fox completed its mission and passed away.

Though she would disappear, what she accomplished would remain in this world.

Yeon-mi’s form finally vanished.

Only the paper umbrella she had been holding slid off the roof tiles and fell to the ground.

Baek Sung-cheon glanced briefly at the spot where Yeon-mi had just been.

Then, he tilted his head slightly and smiled again.

He had done it.

Now, he intended to return and finally propose.

Baek Sung-cheon’s proposal was accepted.

Even when he became the best in the world.

Even when he defeated the Cult Leader of the Evil Cult.

Even when he made the Baek Noble Clan the most prestigious in the Central Plains, he hadn’t felt such joy.

How happy he was when his child was born.

It was a late-born child, but he raised them with love.

However, life’s events did not always flow with happiness.

Time continued to pass, no matter how much one tried to stop it, and the web of fate eventually tightened around a person’s neck.

In the end, Baek Sung-cheon could not cure his wife’s tuberculosis.

On a particularly cold winter day, his wife suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed.

After that, she never got up again.

“…”

The smile vanished from Baek Sung-cheon’s face from that moment on.

He became a difficult person to approach.

Even though he possessed the best martial arts in the world, the powerlessness of not being able to protect his own wife closed off his heart.

“…”

Still, though he did not show it, he loved his child.

He loved his granddaughter even more.

And then one day.

Baek Sung-cheon accidentally stabbed and killed his own son.

When his granddaughter cried and cursed him, his already closed-off heart shattered and burned like a tree struck by lightning.

“…”

The Immortal Divine Sword, Baek Sung-cheon, collapsed.

His heart burned to ashes.

In truth, it could be said that he died that day.

He had forgotten the curse of the Cult Leader, or rather, Gwi-ryeong.

He didn’t think that all his misfortune was due to the curse.

He simply lived half-mad, like a hermit in the mountains.

Delusion, pain, guilt, and helplessness.

Even his body, which seemed never to age, began to deteriorate.

Perhaps it was inevitable since his spirit had weakened.

He didn’t die because of sheer stubbornness.

The sense of atonement he felt toward his son and granddaughter kept him alive…

“…”

He began to feel that his life was coming to an end at some point.

Baek Sung-cheon went to the Azure Forest.

At least, at that time, he could rely on the Forest Lord of the Azure Forest.

He made a request to the Forest Lord.

He said there was something he still needed to do.

That he needed to remain in the mortal realm, even if it meant becoming a spirit.

The Forest Lord granted Baek Sung-cheon’s request.

He bound Baek Sung-cheon’s soul to his beloved sword.

The Forest Lord looked at Baek Sung-cheon with pity and said,

“One day, a fated connection will come to you.”

“…”

“Until then… wait.”

Baek Sung-cheon was buried underground with his sword in the manor where he once resided.

A sacred rope was placed around the area to prevent anything evil from entering.

「…」

And so, he began his meditation.

Endlessly reflecting on his sins and the happiness of the past.

He spent what seemed like an eternity in that way.

It was likely a more painful wait than falling into hell.

An endless time of regret.

Forgetting himself.

Forgetting the flow of time.

Even though he tried to live that way, there were things that could not be forgotten, even after a hundred years.

Naturally, there were side effects.

At some point, his mind began to collapse.

It was as if he had become a stone sinking into the swamp of torment.

In that state, one day, Baek Sung-cheon heard a faint voice.

“As expected… you are very mature, Young Master…”

It was the voice of a young girl.

The first voice he had heard in nearly a hundred years.

Tragically, it was the voice of a dying child.

“…Rest in peace.”

A boy’s voice followed.

And then, there was silence.

Ragged, gasping breaths were heard.

The boy was holding back tears. The girl had died.

Then came the sound of heavy footsteps.

“…I will definitely return to give you a proper funeral.”

The boy’s tone was one of forced restraint, trying to hold back his tears.

Though he tried to act brave, the deep emotion in that voice awakened the Immortal Divine Sword’s mind.

Soon, a young boy appeared.

As Baek Sung-cheon gradually regained his vision and began to see clearly, he was startled.

Before him was a pale, frail boy.

He looked just like his son when he was young.

The boy couldn’t see Baek Sung-cheon. He was merely despairing at finding himself in a dead-end, facing a decayed sword.

Then, assassins appeared, following the boy.

“We’ve found you, brat. So, the son of a noble clan runs away like a rat, huh?”

Baek Sung-cheon thought the boy would be terrified by the murderous aura.

The boy might not have noticed, but his eyes were still red and moist…

“You dare speak so rudely. How lowly of you.”

But the boy didn’t cower.

“If you dare to brandish a wicked blade against the rightful heir of the Baek Noble Clan, reveal your identity!”

He was remarkably dignified.

Baek Sung-cheon felt a surge of emotion, as if his chest was on fire.

The Baek Noble Clan—his descendant had come here.

It was clear. The boy bore his bloodline.

In that moment, Baek Sung-cheon began to regain his form.

His soul gathered, and slowly, he started to resemble his former self.

Even as the assassins skillfully dealt with his descendant, he approached his descendant.

The assassin sneered and asked the descendant, “Are you just going to stand there like that?”

“…”

Baek Sung-cheon barely held back the lump in his throat.

Forcing himself, he spoke to his descendant in a cheerful voice.

「That’s not how you hold a sword.」

The descendant was startled.

He could hear Baek Sung-cheon’s voice. Moreover, he could see Baek Sung-cheon’s figure.

Fate had led both him and his descendant to this place.

「Meeting my descendant in a moment of crisis—this is surely a fated connection.」

The heavens had taken everything from him.

But in the end, they granted him this opportunity.

Baek Sung-cheon placed his hand over Yi-gang’s hand.

「I will borrow your body for a moment, my descendant.」

And then, he entered that frail body.

The major meridians were in a terrible state, with strands snapped all over, but Baek Sung-cheon used his willpower to reconnect them.

Kaang—!

He deflected the sword of the approaching assassin.

Then he growled at the assassins who dared to wield their wicked blades.

“Repent, evildoers.”

From the withered Qi and blood, internal energy surged forth like sparks.

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