Chapter 280: Demon God's Sword
Read more at Nineheavens.org
Chapter 280 – Demon God’s Sword Controlling Technique
“…!”
Cho-on, his complexion having turned deathly pale, had somehow lost his voice.
Just like his mute subordinates.
Words wouldn’t come out.
No, going further, he couldn’t even part his lips.
They merely barely moved, visible or not.
Even his throat was completely blocked.
It felt as if a large stone was obstructing his windpipe.
Would he perhaps die of suffocation like this?
That wasn’t all.
Looking into the other’s eyes made him feel like even the blood in his body was growing chillingly cold.
He had already perceived it himself.
That all these hallucinatory reactions were due to the fear in his heart…
However, there was nothing he could do.
Because the opponent’s martial level was at a degree that transcended his expectations.
Also, he clearly realized.
That this was the fork between life and death.
Cho-on, his body and mind having stiffened, soon gulped down dry saliva.
That was all he could do.
Merely swallowing dry saliva was the entirety of what he could accomplish.
All kinds of thoughts and emotions swirled at once.
So this is it.
The majesty of an absolute being.
Suddenly, an ominous premonition flickered by.
If the Southern Heaven Division’s Ninth Great General appeared here, could he stand against that person?
Well, he didn’t know.
It was a question difficult to be certain about.
If it were the Four Divine Generals who held the highest tier of superiors in his organization, he would be confident about victory…
Look.
He was a person like a massive pillar connecting heaven and earth.
And.
A mighty aura that seemed to cover heaven and earth in darkness.
An existence that made one feel reverence.
One wanted to submit on their own accord.
This was a first.
Except for the Four Divine Generals and the master he served.
He was certain.
That person was the descent of a dark divine rank that should not exist in this world.
Could he survive?
Him, and the others too…
But it was too early to give up.
When the Ninth Great General’s party arrived, the current situation would change.
Even if he couldn’t be certain of victory, wouldn’t a variable occur?
Yes, he must hold on until they came.
He would not die easily here.
He must not be defeated by fear.
His sense of mission as a Young General must come first.
He had much work left to do for the master to whom he had pledged loyalty to with all his body and mind.
He must survive.
He absolutely must.
The Third Young General Cho-on of the Eastern Heaven Division barely gathered himself thus and drew the gray iron sword at his waist as if forcibly shaking off his fear.
SEUREUNG-!
A slender blade came out of its sheath, guided by his trembling hand.
“Who exactly are you… KEOK!”
Cho-on’s voice, which he had barely managed to utter, was immediately cut off.
By the energy that Gun Mu-ak had operated.
Because an intangible force that had quietly extended had somehow constricted his windpipe.
“Come forward and speak.”
No sooner had Gun Mu-ak’s words ended than Cho-on’s body was rapidly pulled forward like a leaf blown by wind, then abruptly stopped.
A close distance of about two or three paces.
Cho-on, having met Gun Mu-ak’s gaze up close, felt his hair stand on end.
‘EEUU…!’
A body trembling like an aspen.
Countless goosebumps rose from head to toe.
Cho-on, who had lost his voice again, gaped fearfully.
The courage he had painstakingly mustered had been extinguished in one stroke.
It was futile.
To think it had been such an empty effort.
Suddenly, the words the unnamed opponent had spoken earlier flashed through his mind.
-Now let’s wait and see if the leader who commands you people comes.
‘He meant that he’s confident no matter who appears! That even if there are many people, it’s meaningless to him…!’
His sense of crisis heightened as even he, a Young General level, was hit not by some technique but by intangible force.
Now that he was actually in this state, all strength drained from his body.
Setting aside the power of the intangible force currently suppressing his whole body, he had lost his will to fight due to the helplessness that fear bestowed.
Subsequently, the opponent’s overwhelming presence grew infinitely larger.
Who… are you?
What manner of person are you to possess such tremendous power?
Cho-on’s questions as his body trembled were soon answered.
He finally saw it.
The distinctive shape of the sword that Gun Mu-ak possessed.
‘URK! The Heavenly Demon Cult…!’
The sword hilt, visible through the gap in the long outer robe he had draped.
There was an intricate ornament at the end.
It was chilling.
It was a small ornament shaped like the face of a demon god.
Only now did he realize.
That it was one of the sacred objects symbolizing high-ranking positions within the Heavenly Demon Cult…
At that moment, Gun Mu-ak’s voice was heard.
“Have you recognized it?”
“Th-that… th-that…”
The instant Cho-on stammered.
“I am the Grand Prelate.”
When Gun Mu-ak thus revealed his identity, Cho-on’s eyeballs created ripples.
‘G-Gun Mu-ak!’
The current Grand Prelate of the Heavenly Demon Cult, owner of the epithet Extreme Heaven Demon Emperor.
Deep despair arrived.
He had heard from his superiors at some point.
That Extreme Heaven Demon Emperor Gun Mu-ak, the youngest Grand Prelate in Heavenly Demon Cult’s history, was a first-class target for vigilance, that direct confrontation was forbidden unless one was at least at the Great General level…
He belatedly realized about the two women as well.
Through Eun Yi-bi’s external characteristics above all.
The iron bells in both hands, larger than human heads.
The only non-Central Plains demon practitioner who used a pair of iron bells as weapons was the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Demon Heaven Left Attendant.
‘It is Little-Face Bell Demoness! Th-then is the wench beside her also…?’
At that moment, Ya Baek-ji, having grinned, spoke softly as if reading his thoughts.
“Hoo. You’ll know who I am if you see this. It’s my first time taking it out since coming here.”
Immediately after.
Seuk.
She rummaged through her carrying bundle and pulled out something somewhat long.
A pair of black folding fans.
Unique weapons symbolizing the position of Demon Heaven Right Attendant and the personal epithet of Delusional Seductive Demoness.
The terrified Cho-on’s despair deepened further.
‘For both Attendants to appear here…!’
If he had observed carefully in advance, he would have immediately grasped their identities.
However, even so, nothing would have changed.
Even if he had quickly grasped their identities and awakened his subordinates’ vigilance… they would have been fated to be annihilated anyway.
Of course the two Attendants were fearsome, but the most powerful Grand Prelate was present.
Yes.
The annihilation of his subordinates had been a predetermined result from the very beginning.
In that instant.
Another hallucination assaulted Cho-on’s vision.
A curtain reminiscent of a huge screen of darkness enveloped all sides.
It felt like being confined in isolation in an alien realm of dark void.
It was terrifying.
He couldn’t even distinguish sky from earth.
Only darkness flowed.
The series of hallucinations were the effect of his maximized despair.
Suddenly, someone’s voice approached heavily from a distance.
“Looking at you, you’re demonic lot with corrupted power.”
Cho-on, amid his fear, immediately recognized who owned the voice.
‘Ah…!’
The Ninth Great General of Southern Heaven Division.
He hadn’t come alone.
He had assembled all the personnel who had been searching in separate teams.
Three Middle Generals, five Young Generals, and the mute subordinate groups under Southern Heaven Division.
A total of thirty-six people.
The distance between the two parties was roughly two zhang or so.
The Ninth Great General flashed his two eyes fiercely and coldly commanded.
“Secure the Third Young General’s safety first.”
It meant to use coordinated attack to snatch him away.
Simultaneously with the command, three of the Young Generals and over twenty mute caped figures charged forward and crossed the gap.
However.
PEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEONG-!
With a series of explosions, those personnel retreated.
They had all been rapidly advancing when they were blocked by some kind of force and bounced forcefully backward.
An invisible transparent energy barrier had obstructed their path.
That was, of course, Gun Mu-ak’s doing.
One of the Young Generals who had been pushed back whispered toward the Ninth Great General.
“Truly tremendous internal power!”
“Interesting fellow.”
At the instant the Ninth Great General emitted an even colder gaze.
“Are you the leader of the group that came here?”
Gun Mu-ak’s gaze turned toward the Ninth Great General.
At that moment, the Middle Generals, Young Generals, and mute members all flinched.
Because the voice that had softly escaped somehow reached both ears like a great echo.
They all seemed to feel threatened by that overwhelming presence.
The Ninth Great General, on the other hand, showed no reaction.
Instead.
He drew his iron sword while emitting killing intent.
And a question followed.
“Where did you come from?”
“Heavenly Demon Cult.”
“…”
“I am the current Grand Prelate.”
At that, the Ninth Great General’s expression showed minute change.
“Gun Mu-ak…”
It was an expression of unexpectedness.
However, at that instant, Gun Mu-ak’s eyes changed.
Chyuchyut.
Eyes that had turned entirely black instead of white.
Black Sky Demon Eyes.
The devastating eye technique that only five among all the past Grand Prelates of the Heavenly Demon Cult had ever executed.
“KKEO… KKEOKKEOK…!”
Cho-on let out metallic-sounding groans while distorting his face.
Desperately struggling painful movements.
His breath was completely blocked the moment he saw those eerily dark two eyes.
His reddened face spoke of that extreme agony in his stead.
His pressure points were going wild and his heartbeat was accelerating.
Because of that, all the meridians within his body were rapidly rupturing while making unpleasant sounds.
PPUDEUDEU, PPUDEUK, PPUDEUDEU- CHYUHAAK, CHYUHAAAK, CHYUHAK-!
While Cho-on’s entire body was being shattered and torn.
KKWAGWAGWAGWANG- HWAAAAAAAK!
Massive green flames were released.
An explosion of gu poison.
Fierce flames wildly struck Gun Mu-ak who was at close range.
But Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji took no particular action.
As if it were nothing at all.
The reason became clear soon.
When the flames died down, Gun Mu-ak stood there unscathed.
That’s right.
In that brief gap, he had blocked it with a formidable energy barrier.
Seeing that, the Ninth Great General smirked with an interested expression.
“Hoo. Indeed…”
Gun Mu-ak suddenly operated a certain amount of internal power.
KUUUUUUUUUUNG!
Some kind of massive energy that was hard to describe burst forth powerfully.
Was heaven and earth collapsing?
A truly heavy pressure, as if thousands of rocks were falling.
Thus, the Southern Heaven Division personnel collapsed one after another before the fearsome wave of intangible force bestowed by the Black Sky Demon Eyes.
TEOLSEOK, TEOLSEOK, TEOLSEOK…
It was demonic arts beyond overwhelming – wondrous.
The only one who remained standing while enduring the intangible force was the Ninth Great General.
Amid that.
PEOPEOPEOPEOPEOEK, PEOPEOPEOPEOPEOEK…!
The bodies of everyone including the three Middle Generals burst, and green flames erupted.
KKWAGWAGWAGWANG, KKWAGWAGWAGWANG- HWAAK, HWAAAAK, HWAAAAAAK…!
Thus, the chain reaction of explosions shook the entire flatland.
Following that, Gun Mu-ak sheathed his Black Sky Demon Eyes and spoke.
“Are you somewhat different?”
At that moment, the smoke that had been thick from the explosions cleared.
By the intangible aura that the Ninth Great General was emitting from his body.
Currently, his clothes and body were singed in various places.
However, no fatal external injuries could be seen anywhere.
That was tantamount to representing his supremely excellent martial prowess.
The Ninth Great General emitted a chilling gaze while tilting his sword toward the ground.
“Heavenly Demon Cult’s Grand Prelate… yes, you deserve appropriate treatment.”
Immediately after, the ground where he stood began to crack apart with a JJEOJEOJEOK! sound.
Suddenly.
Seuk.
Gun Mu-ak finally changed his stance.
A hand approaching the sword hilt.
Was he finally going to draw his sword to face his opponent?
He suddenly recalled Cheol Ryu-heun’s words.
-You resemble him.
-What do you mean?
-The first Heavenly Demon.
‘Hoot. Yes, as you said, I… intend to walk anew the path that he walked.’
SEUREURUNG.
The sword, drawn by Gun Mu-ak’s right hand, revealed its naked blade.
The demon god pattern inscribed along the blade emanated a terrifying feeling.
He looked at the Ninth Great General in front and spoke.
“This is not the existing symbolic sacred object.”
“What?”
“It is a masterpiece born from the essence of demonic arts accumulated over one thousand years.”
“…”
“The years spent making this sword… a full one hundred-some years, and including preparation time, a whopping one hundred seventy-some years, and…”
Having spoken thus, Gun Mu-ak continued while explosively emitting cold eye light.
“…My body was also created through the efforts of our cult that endured those long years.”
As soon as his words ended.
KWAKWAKWAKWA, KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA… DEUDEUDEU, DEUDEUDEUDEU…
The vast forest trembled and rumbled with roars.
“Can you withstand the result of those years?”
However, the Ninth Great General was not intimidated.
“A newly-made sword, is it… Kekeut, in that case, I’ll break it for you.”
At that moment, Gun Mu-ak’s sword trembled while emitting a magnificent sound.
JIIIIIIIIING- KYUUUUUUUUNG-
A faint smile flickered across Gun Mu-ak’s face.
“It is the Demon God Sword, quenched in the blood of the Black Dragon. Made to rival the Divine Martial Sword.”
Upon hearing those words, the Ninth Great General’s expression stiffened with a flinch.
‘What, the blood of the Black Dragon…?’
Soon, Gun Mu-ak took steps while operating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“Now let us have a time of questioning.”
* * *
Around that time.
Cheol Ryu-heun had arrived at a city in the Jiangxi region called Sangyeo.
He intended to stay one night here and depart in the morning.
However.
Cheol Ryu-heun and Ximen Yue encountered an unexpected rumor there.
-The legendary Divine Martial Sword exists within the Shiwan Mountains!