Chapter 277: Overwhelming Demonic Energy
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At the moment the caped figure called Ninth Great General was about to lead his group forward.
SASASASASAT…
A presence approaching with secretive lightness arts was detected.
Quick but quietly approaching movement.
It wasn’t just one.
At least ten people.
It was a quiet presence that only a first-rate master could barely sense.
However.
The Ninth Great General maintained an expressionless attitude even after detecting it.
He merely turned his head slightly to the left.
The reactions of the caped figures positioned behind were no different.
As if they already knew the identity of those personnel.
Sure enough, a group of black-caped figures in identical attire appeared to the left.
As expected, there were more than ten.
Precisely thirteen.
They were clearly on the same side as the Ninth Great General’s group.
The caped figure in his thirties at the front, presumed to be the leader of the thirteen, paid respectful respects.
“Ninth Great General, this Young General greets you.”
He was a subordinate of the caped figure named Master Bung-ya, who had observed the bloodbath at Mount Zhongnan after meeting with Aryun-nan before.
His rank was at the Young General tier, as he had just stated.
In other words, he held the same position as the caped figure who had contacted the mysterious monster Heuk Ma-yung hidden in the Shiwan Mountains.
At that moment, the Ninth Great General sent a cold gaze.
A cold voice followed.
“How impudent.”
The Young General caped figure, whose gaze met his, flinched.
His expression showed he was frightened by the unapproachable majesty.
The Ninth Great General spoke again in a chilly voice.
“Are there only one or two Young Generals?”
“Ah… I-I apologize! Ninth Great General!”
“If you understand, properly state your rank and name.”
At that, the Young General caped figure solemnly corrected his posture.
“I formally greet the Ninth Great General of the Southern Heaven Division once more. I am Third Young General Cho-on of the Third Minor Squads under the Eastern Heaven Division.”
Only then did the Ninth Great General nod with a satisfied expression.
“Hm, if you’re the Third Minor Squad of the Eastern Heaven Division… weren’t you recently summoned by Grand Commander Master Bung-ya of Headquarters?”
“Correct. We were summoned along with the Fourth Minor Squad.”
“But why did you come here? You’re not even under our jurisdiction.”
“Actually, it’s an order from Grand Commander Master Bung-ya. Upon hearing that contact was lost with the minor squad executives under the Southern Heaven Division who were investigating the existence of the fortuitous encounter’s secret location…”
“I see. So you’ve already received the report.”
“Yes. It was an urgent message from the Central Heaven Tower, which manages the communication network.”
“Hoot, is that so? As expected of the Central Heaven Tower’s agility.”
“As it happened, our minor squad and the Fourth Minor Squad’s mission was suspended, so he gave a separate investigation order. That’s why we assembled a team and rushed here to meet the Ninth Great General. I apologize for not contacting you in advance.”
“Enough. This isn’t something you should apologize for. Since the order of a Grand Commander who serves the Lord transcends affiliation.”
The Ninth Great General had an accepting attitude.
That was tantamount to proving that the figure called Grand Commander Master Bung-ya held the highest tier of position and status.
“By the way, why was the mission suspended?”
“Ah, yes. That’s… the Orthodox-Unorthodox allied forces launched a large-scale surprise attack on the Sun Moon Demon Cult’s secret base. By the time we arrived there, it was already too late. Grand Commander Master Bung-ya decided not to intervene after briefly observing the battle situation. He said that regardless of victory or defeat, it was evident that Aryun-nan would ultimately self-destruct. The reason being…”
“I know. He gave that one an improved prototype, didn’t he?”
Cho-on’s eyes widened upon hearing those words.
“Oh! You knew?”
“What do you take me for? I’m at the Great General rank after all.”
Since the gap in position between Young General and Great General was large, the timing of accessing important information was also different.
“I heard it through a secret courier urgently dispatched by Headquarters a few months ago. It seems a summary notification will go out to the minor squads under each Heaven Division soon. Since Grand Commander Master Bung-ya has already given word to you at Young General level.”
“Yes, that will probably be the case.”
“Do you not yet know the result of the Mount Zhongnan great battle?”
“We also had to hurry our steps without watching everything to the end…”
Right at that moment, a black shadow appeared in the sky above.
A hawk with sizable gray wings.
It was a messenger hawk used as a means of communication.
When the Ninth Great General made a hand gesture, the hawk in the sky rapidly descended.
PUDEOUKPUDEOEOK-
Thus the hawk landed on the Ninth Great General’s forearm with rough wingbeats and bobbed its head.
An action indicating mission completion.
A movement proving it had received advanced training.
TTALKKAK-
The Ninth Great General soon opened the lid of the bamboo tube hanging on one of the hawk’s legs and took out a small piece of paper.
The hawk rapidly flew up into the sky and disappeared.
Meanwhile, the Ninth Great General checked the contents of the brief letter and displayed a peculiar smile across his face.
“Hm, interesting.”
Third Young General Cho-on of Eastern Heaven Division, who had been reading his mood, asked softly.
“What is it about?”
“The Orthodox-Unorthodox camp won overwhelmingly. This is a report that various rumors are currently spreading rapidly.”
“What about the Orthodox-Unorthodox side’s casualties…?”
“Only about thirty percent of total personnel. Moreover, all the core masters survived. The brief letter isn’t detailed about the series of events, but apparently Cheol Ryu-heun subdued Aryun-nan in one-on-one combat. Of course his limbs are intact.”
At those words, the eyes of the group including Cho-on wavered.
“…!”
A conversation with Grand Commander Master Bung-ya flashed through the considerably surprised Cho-on’s mind.
-It’s too late to pretend to help him. As you can see, the Orthodox-Unorthodox camp’s actions were faster than expected.
-Yes, we were caught off guard.
-Even without going close to see, I can tell. That the highest-tier masters from each region have been mobilized. So Aryun-nan will forcibly overuse Star-Absorbing Great Art. The end will be death.
-Star-Absorbing Great Art is unstable to be called a supreme art. Because of its side effects…
-The White-Haired Demoness of the past also perished from overusing it without knowing that. The energies she had accumulated in her body caused disharmony and exploded… That Aryun-nan has endured until now only due to the influence of rejuvenation. He’s a foolish one. He may temporarily gain the upper hand, but each of those masters’ energies is at a very strong level. If he rashly absorbs those, he will eventually explode. And I… have made that possibility even higher. Hoo.
-Pardon?
-I gave him an improved prototype as a gift.
-Ah…!
-Star-Absorbing Great Art cannot absorb internal power stronger than the user’s. That’s why I gave it. So that if there was someone stronger than Aryun-nan, they would die together in mutual destruction.
-For us, it’s killing two birds with one stone.
‘What… he neutralized the gu poison that Aryun-nan consumed? Who exactly is this person called Cheol Ryu-heun…?’
While Cho-on was inwardly astonished, the Ninth Great General let out a quiet voice.
“To even overcome the prototype’s explosion – that’s exceptional martial power.”
Cho-on, having nodded, cautiously added.
“Somehow, White Peak Sword Sect’s growth trajectory seems unusual.”
“Indeed. At its center is the new Sect Leader Cheol Ryu-heun.”
“Should we observe him going forward?”
“What for – just let them run around freely. Now that the Divine Martial Sword has been destroyed, there are no variables. Even if there were, it would be within the Lord’s predicted range. What is astonishing to us… is nothing at all to the Lord.”
“Yes, those are wise words. No matter who obtains the greatest fortuitous encounter, without the Divine Martial Sword’s divine power, it’s merely incomplete – they’ll only be struggling.”
“Hoo, indeed… no matter how much one pours the power of various fortuitous encounters into a single body.”
The Ninth Great General soon took steps while briefly commanding.
“We begin the search.”
At that, all the caped figures answered in unison and moved.
“Yes.”
* * *
White Peak Sword Sect’s training grounds.
Cheol Ryu-heun gathered the sect’s executives and conveyed detailed instructions, then summoned Divine Wind, his beloved horse that had evolved into a spirit creature.
Having quickly mounted its back, he gestured to the side.
“Don’t dawdle, get on.”
The target was Ximen Yue.
“Ah, yes! Yes!”
When he hurriedly moved and sat his rear on the back of the saddle.
KKWANG!
Divine Wind, having kicked off the ground, quickly leapt into the void.
It was movement crossing more than twenty zhang in an instant.
Thus, Cheol Ryu-heun, wrapped in pure white haze, muttered while gripping the reins.
“He should have arrived by now.”
At that, Ximen Yue behind him tilted his head.
“Pardon?”
“That Heavenly Demon Cult fellow – around this time, he should have reached the Demon Buddha Secret Pool.”
“Ah… Grand Prelate Gun Mu-ak… hmm, I’m quite curious about his real strength. Will we meet him again while he stays in this land?”
“Who knows. Anyway, if he passes through the formation I arranged at the entrance, it will vividly prove that his personal talent is threatening.”
“How do you expect it will go, Sect Leader Cheol?”
However, Cheol Ryu-heun didn’t give even half a word of answer.
Only.
He merely muttered while laughing wryly inside.
‘He should pass. If he’s someone who dreams of becoming the new Heavenly Demon of this era.’
* * *
Gun Mu-ak, gazing at one spot, spoke.
“That tree is the key to opening the entrance to the secret location.”
The old tree to the side.
Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji, who had also shifted their gazes, opened their mouths simultaneously with puzzled eyes.
“Pardon? Key…?”
“Could some kind of formation have been installed?”
“Yes.”
Gun Mu-ak recalled Cheol Ryu-heun’s words along with his answer.
-If it’s you with your exceptional understanding of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, you’ll easily find the tree that opens the formation. Well, anyone else would have a hard time even if they died and came back.
‘Hm, you must have known I would find it easily.’
That’s right.
He had discerned it as soon as he arrived.
The location of the old tree imbued with power similar to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
It was an extremely secretive energy.
Such that one could barely detect it by maximizing energy sensing.
It was power that seemed to have become one with great nature.
That’s why it was difficult to clearly distinguish.
‘Indeed, exquisite. Cheol Ryu-heun.’
He soon strode toward the tree.
Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji, who had been following behind, let their expressions harden.
Because they had barely managed to detect the old tree’s secretive energy.
However, it wasn’t just one thing.
There was another energy besides demonic energy inside the tree.
Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji, who sensed that, hastily spoke.
“Grand Prelate, a conflicting energy is imbued inside the old tree.”
“Yes. This is like some kind of sacred Buddhist power…”
At those words, Gun Mu-ak nodded expressionlessly.
“It’s a mysterious formation where the Founder’s demonic energy and Bodhidharma’s Buddhist energy are harmonized. It’s Cheol Ryu-heun’s arrangement. He strengthened what was originally there…”
“Ah!”
Exclamations from Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji.
It was wondrous and miraculous.
To think he strengthened some kind of formation where conflicting energies were harmonized…
They couldn’t help but newly admire Cheol Ryu-heun’s bizarre abilities.
The two women soon spoke with careful attitudes.
“Somehow it seems like it will be troublesome.”
“We shouldn’t touch it carelessly, should we?”
Immediately after, Gun Mu-ak extended one hand while speaking in a heavy voice.
“According to what Cheol Ryu-heun said… he set it up so that merely touching it would cause the cliff beside it to collapse.”
At that, the two women were greatly startled.
“Such a thing…!”
“What should we do?”
However, Gun Mu-ak’s expression was still unchanging.
“I just need to control it with my power. By eliminating the Buddhist energy that’s creating the balance.”
In an instant, his palm was pressed against the tree.
TAK.
Simultaneously.
UREUNG, URUREUREUNG-
The entire cliff covered in vines created a majestic trembling.
It was a sign of collapse.
However, Gun Mu-ak paid no mind.
Rather, he rapidly emitted a massive amount of demonic energy through his palm.
DEUDEUDEUDEUDEU-
The old tree shook as Gun Mu-ak’s energy flowed in.
At that moment.
From each branch, countless rays of light seeped out at length like thread unraveling.
Black and yellow radiances.
They were lights symbolizing the energies of the Heavenly Demon and Bodhidharma.
But suddenly, countless yellow rays disappeared.
Seeing that, the pupils of Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji widened greatly.
Because they instantly realized.
That Gun Mu-ak’s demonic energy had become one with the Heavenly Demon’s, extinguishing Bodhidharma’s Buddhist energy.
The power of the unified demonic energy was absolutely overwhelming.
Immediately after.
The trembling abruptly ceased.
Due to the rapid destruction of the harmony of the two energies, even the collapse’s wondrous function that the formation had triggered was neutralized.
Amid the quiet surroundings, a path was created on one side of the cliff face.
SEUSEUSEUSEUSEU…
The vines that had densely covered all the way up to the top had vanished cleanly before anyone knew.
“Bodhidharma’s sacred Buddhist energy is also useless against me.”
Gun Mu-ak, having spoken as if reciting, leisurely moved his steps.
“Let’s go.”