Chapter 348: Fire Demon (8)
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Ma Cheon-wi looked at Muk Hui-yeong standing before Cheong-ui. Not much time had passed since their last meeting, yet Muk Hui-yeong had grown even further in the meantime. He was truly a person suited to the phrase ‘renewing oneself daily.’
“As I felt when I met you last time, the Heavenly Demon is truly a dangerous existence.”
The moment those words came out, Ma Cheon-wi saw the expressions of both Cheong-ui and Muk Hui-yeong change simultaneously.
“Ah, could it be you were unaware? The New Justice Association Master is the one who sits on the throne of the Heavenly Demon.”
Ma Cheon-wi laughed delightfully. To his displeasure, however, Cheong-ui did not particularly look at Muk Hui-yeong with eyes filled with betrayal.
“Sect Leader. I will explain later.”
“It seems it will be no simple explanation.”
He thought it was surely a revelation that would drive a massive wedge into their trust, yet Cheong-ui and Muk Hui-yeong were composed.
“If you were the Heavenly Demon I know, there is no way you would have come to save the Wudang Sect. I believe there must be circumstances.”
“This trust is heavy.”
Muk Hui-yeong spoke heavily. From the perspective of the Wudang Sect Leader, he was trying to find reason even in the unacceptable truth of having a member of the Demonic Cult as a disciple. Ma Cheon-wi found that thoroughly grating.
“Could you not embrace each other after death?”
Ma Cheon-wi sneered. It was undeniable that Muk Hui-yeong had grown astonishingly. But that did not mean Muk Hui-yeong could defeat Ma Cheon-wi.
“If I were you, I would have fled Hubei first and planned for the future. You made a foolish choice.”
“This is not a choice. It is a duty.”
“The Heavenly Demon has been tainted strangely by the orthodox people. The Heavenly Demon must display a transcendent aspect to common believers. One must not maintain a narrow vision clinging to karmic ties that vanish upon death.”
Ma Cheon-wi spoke as if feeling genuine pity.
Muk Hui-yeong seemed to let Ma Cheon-wi’s words go in one ear and out the other. He merely gripped his sword and glared at Ma Cheon-wi.
Suddenly, Ma Cheon-wi realized that Muk Hui-yeong’s clothes were heavily stained with blood.
“Did you by any chance meet the Illusion Demon?”
“And if I did?”
Muk Hui-yeong’s response was cynical. From that reaction, Ma Cheon-wi realized that the Illusion Demon was no longer of this world.
“Oh dear. That hunchbacked old man died. How regrettable.”
“You will be meeting him soon as well, so there is no reason to feel regret.”
“Haha. It is troublesome if you place me on the same level as an old man who only relies on formations.”
Ma Cheon-wi brandished his sword. The sword wind swept across the pools of blood and corpses on the ground.
Muk Hui-yeong made the first move. Muk Hui-yeong knew as well. That right now, his combat power was deficient compared to Ma Cheon-wi.
The Illusion Demon had merely grown strong through sinister arts, remaining far removed from a martial artist in the true sense. In contrast, the Sword Demon was a martial artist who had honed his path through orthodox discipline.
The Illusion Demon, who could do nothing more than swing with overwhelming speed and strength, was different from the Sword Demon who had comprehended the subtle mysteries of the sword.
Muk Hui-yeong first unleashed the New Moon at the Sword Demon. Naturally, he did not expect that sword qi to cleave through Ma Cheon-wi.
A battle between high experts is akin to a game of baduk built move by move. One controls movements with blade strikes, gradually reducing the opponent’s range of motion. And driving them to the edge, one constricts their breath.
However, if one noticed the attempt to control movements, one simply had not to comply. Rather than dodging as expected, Ma Cheon-wi cleaved through the sword qi head-on, shattering it, and instead kicked off the ground.
Not entirely ruling out that possibility, Muk Hui-yeong immediately unfolded the Taiji Wisdom Sword imbued with his most recent enlightenment.
Considering speed and power alone, the Illusion Demon was actually faster and stronger. Instead, the Sword Demon possessed a depth the Illusion Demon lacked. A person who simply built power and a craftsman who studied the art of killing humans were inherently different.
Only after crossing blades several times, however, did Ma Cheon-wi notice Muk Hui-yeong’s condition.
“It seems dealing with that old man, the Illusion Demon, was quite arduous.”
Although his enlightenment had grown higher and he had become stronger, that was separate from depleted stamina. Indeed, Muk Hui-yeong was already short of breath after swinging his sword only a few times.
“It seems so.”
“Then why did you come? While I am merely grateful, on the other hand, it is pitiful beyond measure.”
Ma Cheon-wi sneered.
Without a word, Muk Hui-yeong grabbed Cheong-ui and leaped backward. Chuckling heartily, Ma Cheon-wi moved stealthily in pursuit.
Certainly, Muk Hui-yeong’s power and speed had dropped compared to before. As the saying goes, a rotten fish still has bones, so he was faster than ordinary people, but it seemed he would be caught before even covering five li.
Ma Cheon-wi savored the surging euphoria. As the Heavenly Demon of the Blood Cult, not Muk Hui-yeong, had said, the only thing truly existing within this vain mortal world was sensation and emotion. Therefore, what he felt and enjoyed right now was the entirety of life.
Just as Ma Cheon-wi expected, Muk Hui-yeong was overtaken before long. Unable to evade the sword qi unleashed by Ma Cheon-wi in time, Muk Hui-yeong was slashed across the back and rolled forward.
Ma Cheon-wi could not stop laughing. To think that the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, considered so noble in the murim, and the Heavenly Demon, one of the most exalted beings in the world, were rolling across the muddy dirt ground covered in blood like that.
“Haa, haa.”
With weary eyes, Muk Hui-yeong braced his sword against the ground and stood up.
Ma Cheon-wi looked around. It was a desolate, empty clearing with nothing around. It was far too petty a place for two noble individuals to die. That was thoroughly satisfying to Ma Cheon-wi.
“To choose such a place as your burial ground. It seems the Heavenly Demon is not very adept at geomancy.”
“Why would I not know geomancy? No one is more sensitive to geomancy than merchants. Where to set up a shop, where to place the doors, and where to install the windows are all based on geomancy.”
“Then why did you choose such a place?”
Ma Cheon-wi stepped on the squelching ground. Lacking sunlight, it was damp and full of mud. A classic inauspicious land.
“Naturally, I had to choose such a place. Because it is where you will be buried.”
Muk Hui-yeong’s eyes flashed. Ma Cheon-wi laughed heartily. Because it seemed Muk Hui-yeong was putting on a bluff by squeezing out nonexistent strength.
“It is painful to watch. Heavenly Demon.”
“No matter how you look at me, I do not care. Do you live your life caring about the gaze of an insect?”
“Your mouth has become quite foul, hasn’t it?”
Savoring his composure, Ma Cheon-wi took a step forward. At that moment, light erupted from beneath his feet.
“A formation?”
Ma Cheon-wi furrowed his brow. Since Ma Cheon-wi was not someone who had never seen a formation, he could quickly notice that whatever lay spread across this ground was a formation.
“I did not know either, but formations can accomplish far more than I thought.”
Muk Hui-yeong spoke in a low voice.
The formation glowed sinisterly. At a glance, it was clearly not an orthodox formation. Just by looking at the patterns and the aura it exuded, one could roughly guess where it had been made. This was a formation of the Demonic Cult.
“You people use formations, so there is no reason I cannot use them as well.”
“It is difficult to alter the overall tide with a single formation. Unless countless sacrifices are offered like the Illusion Demon did, that is.”
Ma Cheon-wi spoke in a deliberately leisurely manner. And his words were the standard truth.
Ultimately, the power of a formation varied depending on what catalyst was used. If it was an unremarkable catalyst, the formation would be unremarkable as well.
He did not know how Muk Hui-yeong had stealthily prepared a formation like a ghost and lured him here. But since it must be a hastily prepared formation, he thought its influence would surely be negligible.
“I also know formations to some extent. A formation that pulls up power goes against the natural energy of heaven and earth. Because it draws and uses power that originally should not exist. Therefore, laying such a formation requires a great deal of time and catalysts. Coming here after dealing with the Illusion Demon, I hardly think you had the leisure to create a formation of that scale.”
“It is fine. Because among my subordinates, there is someone skilled at handling formations.”
“Could that person be the legendary Master of Heavenly Secrets or Marquis Zhuge?”
Ma Cheon-wi scoffed, even mentioning the Master of Heavenly Secrets, revered as the progenitor of all formations.
“To lay a formation reaching Heavenly Evasion or Defying Heaven, one would indeed have to be of that caliber. But it was plenty of time to lay a formation that flows naturally along with the energy of nature without defying it.”
“A natural-cycle formation. What help could such a formation be? Isn’t that merely a minor trick used at best to make trees or flowers grow faster?”
“Because your imagination ends there, you live as a slave beneath that Heavenly Demon.”
Muk Hui-yeong recited quietly. A vortex spun within the formation.
Ma Cheon-wi soon recognized the function of this formation. Because the soil within the formation turned dark, and green tree leaves rapidly turned brown.
“……What have you done?”
“Purification is defying nature, but contamination is following nature. Because everything in the world is born clean and dies dirty.”
Muk Hui-yeong muttered. Ma Cheon-wi still did not properly comprehend Muk Hui-yeong’s words.
“In that sense, while it is difficult for you people to possess clean demonic qi like mine, for me to possess turbid demonic qi like yours does not go against the natural order of things.”
Of course, it had taken quite some time for Muk Hui-yeong to gain enlightenment regarding this formation as well. Because he had almost no foundational knowledge of formations themselves.
Insight into his own demonic qi and the Blood Cult’s demonic qi, combined with experiences of formations that slowed the flow of time, had converged to design such a formation.
Naturally, Muk Hui-yeong had not been swept away by emotion as he rushed over after killing the Illusion Demon. On the way, Muk Hui-yeong had met Gwan Seo-ye and ordered her to create a formation on rough terrain. Because he thought that facing Ma Cheon-wi in the current situation with nothing prepared would be impossible.
The moment he arrived at the battlefield, Muk Hui-yeong had acted like an orthodox martial artist filled with righteous conviction, and thereafter fled according to Gwan Seo-ye’s markers to where the formation lay, creating this very situation.
Soon understanding the full picture, Ma Cheon-wi’s complexion changed. As a high-ranking demonic practitioner himself, Ma Cheon-wi was not ignorant of the disparity in demonic qi.
Previously, because the texture of their demonic qi was different, it did not matter whether Muk Hui-yeong’s rank was superior, but through the formation, their energies had temporarily become identical. That meant the difference in texture no longer mattered.
A chill running down his spine, Ma Cheon-wi immediately attempted to escape the formation. But the moment he locked eyes with Muk Hui-yeong, Ma Cheon-wi froze in place.
Muk Hui-yeong’s eyes were transmitting his intent. Commanding him not to move. Ma Cheon-wi had no choice but to remain completely still.
“You, I told you. Do not think of returning alive.”
Muk Hui-yeong approached slowly. Ma Cheon-wi knew he had to escape, but he could not move as if roots had grown from his feet.
Even when Muk Hui-yeong walked right before his eyes, Ma Cheon-wi could not utter a word, let alone move.
“Hea, Heavenly Demon……”
A single phrase spilled from his trembling lips. But Muk Hui-yeong did not permit him to speak further.
Muk Hui-yeong’s blade moved slowly. Ma Cheon-wi’s body trembled violently.
Muk Hui-yeong had no intention of granting him a comfortable death either. Very slowly, he sliced through Ma Cheon-wi’s neck. So that Ma Cheon-wi could feel terror and despair to the utmost.
With the slowest decapitation in the world, Ma Cheon-wi’s head dropped to the dirt ground.