It had ram horns on its face, its entire body was covered in fur, and it had hands and claws like a human’s.

Its appetite was tremendous, leaving nothing it couldn’t devour, and by nature it was cunning and vile.

It grovels before the strong and delights in threatening and bullying the weak.

The king of a clan that ruled the southwestern marshlands.

A descendant of the Jinun Clan.

Later, it submitted to Gongsun Xuanyuan and entered under him once again.

Docheol.

Mang-hon.

He had been one of the kings called the continent’s Four Perils, and he had also stood opposed to Qiongqi, another of the Four Perils.

To Docheol, the lord of the marshlands, gnats were a familiar thing.

In those days, the world was a place where gods lived and breathed.

Naturally, it was an era overflowing with spirituality.

There was no bird or beast that was ordinary.

The things now called yokai or spirit creatures are, in truth, only keeping a fragment of that era’s spirituality.

By today’s standards, every beast back then was a spirit creature, and also a yokai.

That was the same even for gnats.

There were beetles that exploded on their own, and grotesque things that burrowed into the brains of humans or beasts and controlled the host.

In that sense, the marshlands were an environment like hell.

Even so, Docheol eventually became the king of the swamp.

He lived more than half his life with his body sunk in damp marsh mud.

Like the other Four Perils, Docheol was a child of a god, and his body was different from an ordinary human’s.

His body could scatter, made of bugs, or gather again, clumping like marsh sludge.

He could even split his own body into three or four without difficulty.

It was a truly terrifying ability, but he could not reign forever.

After he was forced to kneel before the Yellow Emperor Gongsun Xuanyuan, he submitted to him.

He even fought Chiyou, the Yellow Emperor’s enemy.

His cruelty, present from birth, was in fact a fine virtue for a warrior.

And many things happened.

Any human alive at the time would not dare deny the weight of the sins they committed.

All the honor and glory he enjoyed became meaningless, and Docheol began to repeat countless reincarnations.

He gained a new name, Mang-hon, and once again repeated innumerable slaughters.

He felt no guilt at all.

Everything was to achieve his goal, and to reclaim what had originally been his.

And at last, the end of that long journey drew near.

Mang-hon was the king of the swamp, and he had confidence in enduring and waiting.

It didn’t matter if the environment was a disgusting, sticky quagmire.

This time was the same.

Even though the Azure Forest disciples dared to raid the main headquarters, Mang-hon waited for now.

He thought that unless they were fools, they would have prepared some move.

His guess was right.

The moment the entrance was blocked, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who had been hiding finally sprang out.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s combat ability ranked among the very top even among heavenly gods.

If you judged by martial force alone, even Mang-hon would find him hard to handle.

But in the end, patience did not betray Mang-hon.

If an opponent was burdensome to face, you only had to exclude him.

Even if Mang-hon could not kill the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in an instant, he had a means to sink him deep into the swamp dozens of kilometers away.

When the Great Sage Equal to Heaven opened his eyes now, he would have opened them under a swamp deeper than a lake.

Even so, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven would not drown to death, but he would not be able to return until these people were wiped out.

The Mang-hon split into three burst into laughter at once.

The laughter resonated, like the wailing of a ghost.

Mang-hon scattered killing intent around without mercy.

His arm stretched out and pierced through an Azure Forest disciple’s chest.

Then an enraged swordsman cut off Mang-hon’s arm.

He cut through Mang-hon’s black arm with ease, but the result was utterly futile.

Mang-hon’s arm, made of viscous fluid and bugs, reattached easily as if it was nothing.

No matter how many times they cut, they couldn’t kill Mang-hon. Even using sword qi or sword aura was the same.

“Use blunt weapons or palm techniques!”

Someone gave that advice.

It was right. If they spread Aura Qi wide and struck in sweeping blows, they could burst and kill hundreds of bugs at once.

It was a way of shaving Mang-hon down bit by bit.

However, not everyone could fight that way.

Those who could not oppose Mang-hon effectively had no choice but to retreat.

And then they realized that at some point, the environment here had changed.

The ground that had been solid had turned damp.

As if it had become a swamp, greenish pools that reeked of rot had formed.

If they used lightness skill, running across terrain like this should have been manageable.

But it was not like that at all.

Every time they stepped, they were sucked down into the earth, and they couldn’t pick up speed.

That was not all. One of the relatively young third-generation disciples swayed.

Aquatic weeds had snagged his foot that was sunk to the ankle.

It wasn’t even funny.

But if he fell, it would not end with just dirty clothes.

When the fallen third-generation disciple turned his head in panic, Mang-hon was lunging at him.

At the brink of death.

What blocked the space between them was Yi-gang, rushing in.

All Yi-gang held was a single sword.

It had already been shown that a sword could not deal much damage to Mang-hon, so what would he do?

But there are more things an absolute master can do than you might think.

Especially a Supreme Ultimate Technique that called lightning across a wide area…

It could be said to be specialized for striking Mang-hon as he was now.

The bugs that made up Mang-hon’s body burned black and collapsed.

The third-generation disciple who had survived expressed his thanks.

“Th-Thank you, Martial Uncle Yi-gang!”

“Get back!”

But Yi-gang showed no ease, and he didn’t smile.

Sensing the severity in his expression, the third-generation disciple retreated almost as if crawling.

Yi-gang still gripped his sword and stared ahead.

It was empty air. Mang-hon’s body had vanished without a trace.

But in Yi-gang’s head, alarm bells warning of danger rang without end.

Unlike the others, Yi-gang’s feet were not sunk into the damp ground.

This entire area had become Mang-hon’s domain.

However, Yi-gang was resisting the influence of that domain.

But perhaps his skill still had not fully ripened.

The ground caved in and snared Yi-gang’s feet.

At that moment, thousands of bugs sprang out from the swampy ground.

Yi-gang’s form looked as if it had been swallowed by a swarm.

Peobeobeobeobeok!

Yi-gang swung his sword at an unbelievable speed, resisting it.

But when the storm of bugs passed, all that remained was Yi-gang drenched in blood.

The bugs had carved wounds all over Yi-gang’s body.

The fortunate part was, perhaps, that there were no fatal wounds.

The swarm gathered again, taking on a human shape.

Mang-hon, appearing again, sneered at Yi-gang.

They clearly had met before.

“I told you.”

Back then, in the Western Lands, Yi-gang had cut off Mang-hon’s breath.

“That I’d come back. You impudent brat.”

Back then, Mang-hon had retreated in defeat, but not now.

Yi-gang clenched his teeth and prepared a Supreme Ultimate Technique again.

Pajik-

Blue sparks flew from his shoulder.

But soon, Yi-gang’s expression stiffened hard.

“Hahahaha!”

Mang-hon burst into loud laughter toward the sky.

The Azure Forest disciples were not the only ones who had hidden a move.

Mang-hon had as well.

Yi-gang realized that his qi would not gather properly.

Not only that, droplets of blood from his wounds rose into the air and moved toward Mang-hon.

His True Qi and life energy were being absorbed into Mang-hon.

Yi-gang was not the only target.

Everyone stepping on the wet, sticky ground.

That is, everyone within the domain, whether Evil Cultist or Azure Forest disciple, was offering power to Mang-hon.

Yi-gang felt his strength drain away.

It was dangerous when there was still so far to go.

Meanwhile, Mang-hon’s body grew larger and larger.

At first it had been about the same size as Yi-gang, but before long it was a head taller.

It was the moment Yi-gang tried to swing with sword aura layered over his blade.

Someone flew in like lightning and struck Mang-hon.

Mang-hon’s upper body burst apart by nearly half.

The one who had rushed in with all his strength was none other than Ha-jun.

-Brother.

The voice transmission was short.

But with that single word, Yi-gang understood Ha-jun’s intent.

Yi-gang pulled back, and Ha-jun looked at Mang-hon.

In the meantime, Mang-hon restored himself to his original form again.

The face that formed again twisted in displeasure.

“You pathetic thing.”

Just as he had done to Yi-gang, the ground heaved and tried to bind Ha-jun’s body.

Ha-jun lifted one foot and stamped down lightly.

But the result was anything but light.

That peerless step worked even in the swamp.

No, perhaps because it was a swamp, the effect was maximized.

Waves spread out from the point where Ha-jun stepped.

The damp ground surged up violently.

Mang-hon’s body, made of a cluster of bugs, shattered to pieces.

Mang-hon’s body formed again, but its size was not as enormous as before.

There had been a definite hit.

Mang-hon saw Yi-gang.

Yi-gang and several Azure Forest disciples were running into the main headquarters.

Mang-hon hurried to stop them, but.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

He couldn’t shake off Ha-jun, who roared in fury.

For a moment, Ha-jun’s hands seemed to multiply.

The completed Asura Sky-Breaking Dance burst Mang-hon’s body in an instant.

The Heavenly Demon’s martial arts are based on fist-and-foot techniques.

They carry the principles of waves within them, producing tremendous destructive power.

It could be called Mang-hon’s natural bane.

But what truly displeased Mang-hon was something else.

“Why are you still fine?”

Within his domain, living beings were made to offer their qi and life force.

Yet Ha-jun looked as if he was not affected by that at all.

His movement had not slowed, and unlike the others, he was not breaking into cold sweat from weakness.

Then did the domain not affect Ha-jun?

That was not it either.

Mang-hon felt it in real time.

Ha-jun’s qi was flowing into Mang-hon.

However, it was a different kind than the others.

It was not the pure internal energy built up through the orthodox sects’ inner arts.

Rough demonic qi, savage enough to be feral, was flowing in.

It was power burdensome even for Mang-hon.

The more he absorbed, the more it felt like he would choke on it, and that rough energy hindered Mang-hon.

He had already absorbed enough to make even a seasoned internal-energy master collapse, yet Ha-jun showed no sign of fatigue.

Irritated, Mang-hon reached a hand toward Ha-jun.

“Dry up and die!”

He focused what had been absorbing everyone else’s strength solely onto Ha-jun.

Demonic qi poured out thickly enough to be visible.

Even so, Ha-jun didn’t fall.

Mang-hon’s eyes widened.

The flow of demonic qi going in didn’t stop.

Rather, it was to the point Mang-hon found it hard to endure.

If he were human, this would be impossible, because there is a clear limit to how much qi a human can contain.

“So there’s a hole in your soul.”

Only then did Mang-hon realize Ha-jun’s abnormal state.

The Demonic Qi Hole pierced into his back.

That hole born in his soul was connected to an infinite sea of demonic qi.

Mang-hon clenched his teeth, but Ha-jun’s expression was still cold.

He slid his gaze aside and confirmed that his brother and a few others had entered safely.

Only then did Ha-jun bare his white teeth.

“Yeah, you bug-like bastard.”

Once, Baek Ha-jun had been a promising talent of the Orthodox Sects, but an unforeseen accident turned him into a demon.

He did not feel sorrow over that fact, nor did he despair.

However, this was the first time he had thought it fortunate to have become a demon.

Ha-jun hurled his fist with all his strength.

Pouring all his will into that single punch.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep