Chapter 343: Fire Demon (3)
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
Originally, battles between martial artists were basically one-on-one. Even when facing multiple opponents, it was at most against roughly five people.
That was why this was my first time fighting one against dozens of opponents.
Slash!
The sensation of Bright Elegance severing a neck did not transmit even the slightest vibration to my hand. When blood sprayed toward my face, I lowered my head to dodge. If blood entered my eyes, it would hinder me in combat.
What made the Cloud Rainbow Sword unique compared to the other sword arts I had learned was that it was a sword embodying my very life, allowing it to unfold completely naturally.
There was no need to deliberately ponder or recite oral formulas. The mnemonics were already engraved within my body.
Although I moved gracefully to deflect sword strikes from all directions, the offensive of the Blood Cult members was formidable.
They were completely different from orthodox martial artists. Thus, the aspect of battle flowed with a sensation I had never experienced before.
“Aaargh!”
Unleashing martial shouts and eerie shrieks, the Blood Cult members swarmed in from all directions.
The man directly in front hurled mud infused with internal energy. Having noticed he had kept his hand behind his waist, I knew he had prepared something, so I leaned backward to dodge.
Looking up at the sky while leaning back, I saw a Blood Cult member leaping toward me at the edge of my vision, cleaving downward with his sword. Springing from my waist, I shot into the sky using the rebound force.
A clashing sound rang out below as the swords on the ground crossed and struck each other. A maneuver executing both evasion and attack simultaneously. Even as I flew rapidly using the repulsive force, there was not the slightest tremor in my opponent’s eyes. Their fear was currently suppressed by the Illusion Demon’s illusion arts.
Without thinking of defending, the Blood Cult member instead thrust his sword straight at me. A thrust concentrated an attack into a single point, making it the form of attack that most neglected defense.
Right now, the martial artist in front was within the reach of my blade. As he extended his sword in a straight line, his neck was fully exposed. Naturally, I had no intention of sparing him.
“Keuk!”
A head spun through the air. At the same time, I evaded his attack. Because it was an all-or-nothing attack staking his life, it came close enough to my body to tear the clothes across my chest.
This was the problem. Not only was the individual caliber of these men not low, but rather than just trading flesh to break bone, they came out desperately as if willing to sacrifice their bones just to take a scrap of my flesh, making things all the more troublesome.
“Crazy bastards.”
The words ‘crazy bastards’ escaped my mouth naturally. How foolish was the notion of throwing away one’s own life just to take a single shred of another’s flesh?
The issue was that the Illusion Demon himself had not even stepped forward directly yet. While I wondered if his personal martial prowess was unremarkable since he only cast illusion arts, the aura he exuded was dizzying and difficult to probe, making him fully worthy of caution. In any case, as one of the Nine Demons, he was unlikely to lack personal martial strength altogether.
For now, I continued to cut down the people constantly closing in. My entire body had long since been drenched in blood. Past a certain point, I simply kept my eyes wide open and took the splashing blood head-on.
Just then, the people rushing in suddenly pulled back all at once. I caught my ragged breath and looked around. Blood, entrails, and severed limbs were scattered gruesomely across the ground.
For some reason, the people no longer rushed me. Right now, they were under the Illusion Demon’s complete control. There was definitely some scheme at play, so I did not lower my guard.
“Is that the end?”
I spoke in a deliberately arrogant voice. It was also true that I had plenty of stamina remaining.
The Illusion Demon, who had stepped back, walked forward once more.
“How could that be? When dealing with the Heavenly Demon, one cannot be careless.”
“There is no need to put on a bluff.”
“No matter how different our lineages may be, you are the Heavenly Demon. One cannot practice deception before the Heavenly Demon. I will face you to the utmost of my ability, and that is my courtesy toward the Heavenly Demon of another cult.”
The Illusion Demon raised the corners of his mouth. Drawing a short dagger from his sleeve, he slashed his palm. Blood surged out, staining the Illusion Demon’s palm, and he clapped his hands together so that the blood coated both palms evenly.
At a glance, it was clear he intended to perform some sinister deed. There was no reason for me to wait. Lowering my sword diagonally, I charged forward swiftly.
However, before I could reach him, the Illusion Demon knelt down and pressed both palms against the ground. Simultaneously, light shone from the earth. To be precise, light shone from the blood scattered across the ground.
Shattered viscera and severed organs gradually seeped into the earth. It was a grotesque sight. Looking at the ground, the pools of blood were forming a circle along with mysterious patterns.
Normally, a catalyst was required for a formation. That catalyst was an object infused with the practitioner’s spiritual energy. But the catalysts for this formation were the corpses and blood of the Blood Cult members. The reason they had rushed at me to the death was all for the sake of this formation.
Realizing that, a shudder of disgust ran through me. At least the unorthodox sects acted according to human instincts, but these people were committing deeds devoid of human morality out of twisted convictions.
“You people are truly insane.”
Gritting my teeth, I thrust my sword at the Illusion Demon. A technique of the Ultimate surged out rapidly with momentum to pierce the Illusion Demon’s heart in a single point. But at that moment, blood erupted from the ground with a popping sound, creating a wall. That blood wall completely blocked my sword qi.
“……!”
Not expecting my sword strike to be blocked so easily, I came to a brief halt.
“Heavenly Demon of Torofan. Do you know anything about formations?”
“Quite a bit.”
Few people in the Central Plains had experienced as many mystical formations as I had.
I had met an immortal beneath the sea, and in Torofan, Gwan Seo-ye was also someone with profound knowledge of formations.
“Is this a formation that has reached the realm of Heavenly Evasion?”
I asked. The Illusion Demon gave a low chuckle.
“Seeing you know of Heavenly Evasion, you are certainly no layman when it comes to formations. But this is not Heavenly Evasion. It is said that in the realm of Heavenly Evasion, even when gods gaze down upon the mortal world, they cannot tell if a formation has been deployed. Having deployed it so conspicuously, there is no way it would go unnoticed.”
“That is also true.”
“Thus, Heavenly Evasion is the realm of entering the divine in formations. In terms of martial realms, it corresponds to the realm above the ultra-peak, the domain of supreme experts. Since a supreme expert also possesses the realm of Returning to Simplicity and True Nature, where martial practice shows no external sign, the two correspond.”
“Then deploying it so conspicuously means this is a low-grade formation.”
“If it were merely conspicuous, it would indeed be a low-grade formation, but if inner substance accompanies the grandeur, would it not be majestic or magnificent? I can state with certainty that this Blood Fog Formation is among the highest formations a human can execute right now.”
A trace of pride could be glimpsed on the Illusion Demon’s face. Then again, as a craftsman capable of producing the best that a human could create, it was understandable.
“I have experienced many formations as well. I wonder how this one will fare.”
“You may look forward to it. I will grant you the finest experience.”
The Illusion Demon extended his hand forward. Blood formed into droplets rising from the ground and flowed into the Illusion Demon’s hand. Soon, a sword dripping with fresh blood was completed in the Illusion Demon’s grip. Drawing it directly from the formation, he had no need for a physical weapon.
A snapping sound rang out. At the same time, the Illusion Demon’s hunchbacked spine straightened. With his waist completely straightened, the Illusion Demon was a full head taller than me. Having the old man I had been looking down upon suddenly become taller than me felt grotesque.
“This is not Heavenly Evasion. It is Defying Heaven.”
“Heh. You truly have an eye for seeing through formations.”
At my words, the Illusion Demon let out an exclamation of admiration.
That was because I could perceive natural energy. I could see the energy nurtured by feeding on blood and corpses in the ground being absorbed into the Illusion Demon.
That sight was truly defying heaven. It was a structure where the power of dead people was channeled directly into the Illusion Demon. It went against the basic principles of humanity.
“You people are truly a breed that must be eradicated.”
I spoke. The Illusion Demon’s eyes curved into an arc.
“So this is what happens when power precedes humanity. I have learned a valuable lesson.”
“Humans possess boundless possibilities. Is this not also an aspect of humanity?”
“No. That is abandoning being human.”
“Our perspectives differ.”
“That is not different; it is wrong.”
“On that as well, our perspectives differ.”
I shook my head. In any case, there was no reason to convince the Illusion Demon. Whether perspectives clashed as he said or I considered him wrong, all that mattered was clashing blades to decide the victor and the vanquished. That was precisely what the murim was.
The Illusion Demon also seemed to have no desire to converse further with me.
‘Here he comes.’
Having transformed into a healthy, vital body before I knew it, the Illusion Demon’s muscles could be seen twitching with the naked eye. I brought my sword forward.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, the Illusion Demon crashed against my sword. The ground beneath my feet sank deeply. That was how immense the destructive power of the Illusion Demon’s downward strike was.
Twisting my body, I swung my sword behind me. Through Shift Form and Change Position, the Illusion Demon had crossed behind my back. The Illusion Demon’s eyes widened slightly.
“Heavenly Demon. You are severely outside standard metrics.”
The Illusion Demon spoke in a heavy voice.
“I cannot even fathom what kind of fortuitous encounters you have experienced.”
“Does taking your sword twice make me that exceptional?”
“Indeed so. Facing me at your age is impossible according to the natural order of things.”
“Those plotting to defy heaven speaking of the natural order. Isn’t that far too shameless?”
“That is true as well. You caught me there.”
The Illusion Demon laughed heartily. I too captured the Illusion Demon’s rear using the technique of Shift Form and Change Position. The Illusion Demon turned his body and blocked my blade. What I was most confident in right now was speed after all. I knew after clashing blades just now: facing the Illusion Demon head-on, who had gained internal energy and power from countless corpses, was difficult.
I accelerated my lightness skill. I made maximum use of the vast open area near the entrance of Mount Wudang.
The Illusion Demon pursued me tenaciously. Every time sword clashed against sword, explosive roars and shockwaves rippled outward. It was truly flashing in the east and flashing in the west.
‘It is not easy.’
While I had also attained enlightenments along the way, the Illusion Demon was certainly easier to handle than the Sword Demon.
If the Sword Demon was a surprisingly orthodox martial artist who had elevated his martial power through his own enlightenment, the Illusion Demon belonged to the type who temporarily augmented his combat power through sinister arts.
Consequently, there were no profound principles in the Illusion Demon’s movements and sword techniques. Even though he possessed combat power rivaling the Sword Demon’s strength and speed, that was the reason I could still feel it was relatively manageable.
We used the wide area at the entrance of the Wudang Sect, clashing swords continuously. In the process, the Illusion Demon’s subordinates scattered widely around were caught in the sword strikes, bursting apart and dying. Naturally, I had no reason to care for people of the Blood Cult, and the Illusion Demon also seemed unconcerned about a few of his subordinates dying in the crossfire.
“All your subordinates will end up dead at this rate.”
“If they must die for my sake, is that not sufficient glory?”
“Crazy bastards.”
Yet in truth, the Illusion Demon’s words were correct. Right now, this was the Illusion Demon’s formation. The corpses and blood were soon absorbed back into the earth, granting strength to the Illusion Demon.
With immense strength and speed already difficult to handle growing even stronger, I too was gradually being pushed back, my body accumulating more wounds.
Yet trying to escape outside the formation was impossible, as the Illusion Demon, moving faster than me, tried to force me inward.
Could I defeat the Illusion Demon within his own domain? It felt as though that possibility was growing increasingly faint.
While I still had strength remaining, I had to turn the tide of battle.
Clashing swords, I retraced my memories. The clue to defeating the Illusion Demon must lie in my past. I never doubted that was how I had lived my life.
And suddenly, an oral mnemonic flashed through my mind.
‘This is called the shape of the shapeless, the image of nothingness, this is called the intangible and indistinct.’
It was none other than the mnemonic formula of the Taiji Wisdom Sword taught to me by Cheong-hwa.
Once the mnemonic surfaced, the formulas that followed continued seamlessly.
The astonishing part was that it continued even through sections I had never memorized or heard. Just as the Illusion Demon had said, being placed in a crisis seemed to stimulate something within me to move.
As I continuously clashed swords with the Illusion Demon, memories of clashing swords with Cheong-hwa replayed simultaneously. Along with those memories, even the formulas I thought I had never heard all connected together.
Thus, I comprehended the form and intent of the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
Simultaneously, energy spread outward from the soles of my feet, erasing the Illusion Demon’s formation.
“……!”
The Illusion Demon’s eyes opened wide.
It was the moment my very own Taiji Wisdom Sword blossomed.