Chapter 233: You Have Appeared
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First Seat’s pupils rippled like waves.
A rapidly heightened sense of crisis.
PAPAP- CHARARANG!
First Seat quickly raised his body and drew his sword.
UWOONG.
The long blade cried out.
A massive invisible energy surged along the blade.
“What did you just say? Kill? Me…?”
Thick killing intent exploded and shook the interior.
The air suddenly became heavy.
But Yo Mong-ji appeared calm and composed.
“Your body is a wreck but your ears work fine.”
Her crimson lips drew a bewitching smile.
Her expression was relaxed.
No.
Was it only her face that was relaxed?
Even her gestures as she gently waved her fan exuded leisure.
“HOHO. You should think rationally. What are you going to do in that state?”
Faced with a smile impossible to distinguish as mockery or genuine, First Seat, having flashed fierce eye light, felt his mood twist further.
“KEUK. No matter how injured I am, against the likes of you…”
“Pi Hu-o.”
The moment Yo Mong-ji cut him off by mentioning three characters, First Seat’s complexion hardened like stone.
“How do you know…?”
A name that no one knew except Sun Moon Demon Cult Patriarch Aryun-nan. It was none other than First Seat’s own birth name.
The birth, origin, and such of cult members chosen as shadows are kept strictly confidential.
It was an old tradition and ironclad rule that had continued since the first Sun Moon Demon Cult Patriarch.
And yet.
That had been conspicuously broken today.
An utterly incomprehensible matter.
For his top-secret birth name to be leaked through Yo Mong-ji…
But the surprises didn’t end there.
“Birthplace is the prairie continent of Hohhot in the north, an orphan with no family, selected as First Seat candidate at age eleven and secretly inducted into the cult… HUT. How about it, I know quite a lot, don’t I?”
As Yo Mong-ji continuously mentioned classified information, First Seat Pi Hu-o was clearly flustered.
At that moment.
SEUK.
Yo Mong-ji lowered her fan and her gaze turned cold.
“You, you have no idea what kind of person I am.”
“True, I don’t know… so I’ll find out. Starting now.”
“I wonder. Can you?”
“Of course. I will subdue you here and hand you over to the Patriarch. Before that, let me ask.”
“……”
“Trying to strike me, the Patriarch’s shadow, means you’re plotting rebellion?”
“What an obvious question.”
“KEUKEUK… So you don’t deny it.”
Pi Hu-o curved his lips and spoke again.
“It must be a plan led by Yeom Sang-ah.”
“Don’t speak the young lady’s name so carelessly.”
“Shut up! Young lady indeed… You ungrateful wretches. Are you scheming to obtain the Patriarch’s position? Who else is helping with that matter?”
Pi Hu-o flashed his eyes and asked, but Yo Mong-ji shrugged as if ignoring him.
“HUT. If you’re really curious, go find out in the afterlife.”
“GO!”
Shouting, Pi Hu-o rapidly charged in.
A single sword harmonized with swift footwork.
SYUKAAAAAK!
Sword energy accompanied by demonic fiery power exploded forth.
It was Sun Demon Seize Heaven, the strongest technique within the Sun Demon Sword Forms.
KKWAKWANG-!
The ruined house’s remains were mercilessly destroyed and scattered into the air.
Amid the waves of dark heat haze scattering like spreading sunlight.
‘ALREADY!’
Pi Hu-o spun his body around before the thought was complete.
KANG-!
Sword and fan collided.
PEOHEOEONG!
In the instant dark energy waves exploded, Pi Hu-o’s form flew backward.
JIIIIK, JIIIIIIK…
Pi Hu-o barely managed to stop himself by scraping the ground with both feet.
HWIHWIHWIHWIT, HWIHWIHWIHWIT…
Yo Mong-ji, enveloped in darkness-like currents, multiplied into several people surrounding him from all sides.
Pi Hu-o’s expression hardened as he was seized by an eerie feeling.
‘WHAT IS THIS…!’
That was understandable because he couldn’t distinguish reality from illusion.
The presence scrambled his ki sense.
That’s right.
Each and every one revealed a distinct presence as if they were the real body.
The roughly twenty Yo Mong-jis spun around and spoke in eerie voices in unison.
-Did you think I only handle fans? KKAKKKAKKAK, KKKAKKAKKAKKAK… It’s not easy to find me, is it?
‘KEUK…!’
Just like the Six Directional Transmitted Voice, it was difficult to determine the direction from which the real Yo Mong-ji’s voice was coming.
He must not rashly launch an offensive here.
If he did, he would instead expose his weak points.
‘Scrambling my vision and then striking with a surprise attack!’
Pi Hu-o rolled his eyes and lightly provoked the opponent’s mood.
“What vulgar martial arts.”
-HOHO. Don’t mock my dance as vulgar. This is one of the supreme demonic arts… Such petty provocation won’t shake my mood.
The voice resonating like Six Directional Transmitted Voice vibrated inside his head.
Suddenly.
THUMP.
Pi Hu-o felt something squirming in his chest.
Was it the effect of that strange voice?
-Group Demon Seductive Dance. It’s a cursed demonic art that guides the soul to the dark netherworld. Also…
The dance movements abruptly changed.
No.
Their appearances suddenly transformed.
SAREUREU, SAREUREU…
The roughly twenty Yo Mong-jis shed their clothes and revealed their voluptuous naked bodies.
It was truly a breathtaking sight.
Countless naked bodies each moved differently and confused his mind.
-The end is extremely painful in exchange for ecstasy. HAAH… My body is getting hot. I’m excited. I want to see that look of yours soon.
‘THAT CRAZY WENCH!’
Pi Hu-o suddenly detected his lower body heating up.
‘KEUK! At a time like this, what…’
His expression was one of bewilderment at the forcibly aroused lust.
Simultaneously, the group dance surrounding him from all sides turned passionate.
Sticky-feeling movements.
Seductive motions of covering and then revealing shameful places with black fans.
Before the explicit dance of the voluptuous female bodies, Pi Hu-o’s lustful heart and desire amplified further.
PPADEUDDEUK-
Even gritting his teeth and trying to calm his mind was futile.
His body and mind reacted separately.
Soon his entire body’s blood vessels blazed fiercely.
Thus his whole body turned crimson.
His bloodshot eyes trembled greatly.
“KKEU…!”
Having let out a groan, Pi Hu-o soon dropped his sword.
JJEOLGEUREOK-
Immediately after, one thought crossed his mind.
‘Could that martial art be…!’
From the distant past, a name that had made great waves and remained as a legend in the demonic path surfaced.
But that thought was immediately cut short.
Because hot instinct exploded and began to dominate reason.
“HAAK… HAAAK…”
Having let out rough breathing sounds, Pi Hu-o shed his clothes.
Driven by intense desire, he forgot even shame and lay down on the ground, moving his body up and down as if having relations with a woman.
“HAAK… MORE, MORE…!”
Then Yo Mong-ji, having gathered her clones, approached.
-NOW… Feel me. KKKAKKAKKAK, KKKAKKAKKAK… You’re making sounds like a sick child.
Thus Pi Hu-o, drenched in sweat, sank deep into the space of ecstasy.
And yet.
He was completely unaware.
That from the beginning, everything spread before his eyes had been an illusion.
Yo Mong-ji, sitting neatly on a rock to one side, fanned herself gently and laughed.
“HUHUT. How pitiful. Going mad with carnal desire and heading toward the path of death. It was the same then. What you embraced wasn’t my body. It was merely an illusion.”
At some point, Pi Hu-o screamed.
“KKEU… KKEUAK…!”
It was because his entire body was rapidly expanding and causing excruciating pain.
Then.
TUTUK-!
His eyeballs popped out and crimson blood spurted up.
BURUKKBURUK, BURUKKBURUK…
His swollen body showed precarious movements.
Immediately after.
“AK!”
His entire body EXPLODED with a sharp scream.
HUDUDUK, HUDUDUK, HUDUK…
The mercilessly torn flesh and bone fragments scattered in all directions, spreading a bloody smell.
Seeing that, Yo Mong-ji swept back her hair.
“HUT. Thanks. For giving good information.”
Someone’s voice suddenly passed through her mind.
-The Sun Moon Demon Cult will be disposed of.
Yo Mong-ji, having quietly risen, looked at the darkening sky and murmured.
“HOHO. Now the end is in sight. The martial world will take care of the rest. Cheol Ryu-heun… In any case, I’m looking forward to it.”
* * *
Inside the Ximen Family’s conference room.
The assembled audience showed surprised gazes upon hearing Cheol Ryu-heun’s words.
“WHAT?”
“NO, surely there’s an enemy nest in this region…!”
“HEO, this can’t be…”
In the midst of that, Family Head Ximen Jwa asked cautiously.
“Sect Leader Cheol, why do you think so?”
“Yang Heart Divine Art.”
“……!”
“That’s why.”
“You mean…?”
“The person who last used Yang Heart Divine Art, that is, the space arranged by Jade Measure Water Master, is within the Shaanxi region. To be precise, it’s a cave in Xiaopeng Mountain. So I consider it highly likely that someone from Shaanxi obtained it. Of course, I can’t be certain yet.”
“But how did you learn of that location?”
“Thanks to a fortuitous encounter. In our sect, we call it the all-purpose cave.”
Cheol Ryu-heun answered vaguely as always.
At that moment, Azure Heaven Sword Sect Leader Seol Hu-yong added an explanation.
“The identity of the one who inherited demonic arts using Yang Heart Divine Art is definitely from either the orthodox or unorthodox factions. As everyone knows, Yang Heart Divine Art was created based on the essence of martial world internal energy cultivation methods.”
Family Head Ximen Jwa nodded quietly and stroked his chin while speaking.
“MMM, we need to quickly find out where the hidden nest in this region is.”
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun placed a sword on the table.
“We need to throw bait.”
At that, all eyes in the room turned to the sword on the table.
Ximen Jwa tilted his head and asked.
“Is that sword the bait?”
Cheol Ryu-heun suddenly drew the sword.
SAAAAK-
With a smooth sound, the blue blade was revealed.
Then Cheol Ryu-heun spoke expressionlessly.
“It’s the Divine Martial Sword. The one Sun Moon Demon Cult Patriarch covets so much…”
Simultaneously, the audience was astonished.
“HEUK!”
“THE, THE DIVINE MARTIAL SWORD!”
“GOOD HEAVENS…! Is that truly the Divine Martial Sword?”
When Cheol Ryu-heun nodded in lieu of an answer, Ximen Jwa spoke with a puzzled expression.
“UM, Sect Leader Cheol… I’ve never heard that the Divine Martial Sword’s blade is that blue…?”
“It’s because I’ve awakened part of its power. From then on, the blade came to have a blue color. Well, my studies are still insufficient and I’m researching, so I don’t know the details.”
Seol Hu-yong at his side spoke with a grave expression.
“As Sect Leader Cheol said, this sword is indeed the Divine Martial Sword, said to be the strongest of the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons and the Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon’s relic. Several of us, including myself, have already seen that power. On the day of the sparring match previously, Sect Leader Cheol deliberately spoke ambiguously about the Divine Martial Sword’s existence.”
Having sheathed the sword, Cheol Ryu-heun continued.
“Anyway, if we spread the news that the Divine Martial Sword exists… the enemy will likely make some move soon. I’ll try to identify their secret base at that time. There will be some risk involved, but there’s no other way to shorten the timeline.”
Then Ximen Jwa also agreed with a nod.
“As you say, it’s bait that’s hard to refuse. Our house will also cooperate actively. By the way, would you not stay and spend a night here?”
Immediately after, Cheol Ryu-heun made an expressionless request.
“Then may I stay at that mountain villa over there? I prefer quiet places.”
“YES! Gladly.”
Meanwhile,
Ximen Yue clenched both hands tightly beneath the table.
‘So it really did exist!’
Trembling, joy, and emotion.
Found it!
It had appeared of its own accord!
The greatest weapon among the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons, the divine artifact symbolizing the history of martial world hegemons…!
Having suppressed his surging heart, Ximen Yue inwardly smiled and spoke.
‘A perfect opportunity. Tonight, I’ll strike Cheol Ryu-heun and seize the Divine Martial Sword.’