Chapter 681: The Heavenly Demon Destroys the World
Chapter 681: The Heavenly Demon Destroys the World
“You might think it’s just a superstition.”
When the mash had first spoiled, Geom Mu-geuk had teased him. Seeing how anxious the other man was, he’d asked what kind of Demon Lord believed in superstitions.
The Drunken Demon’s gaze deepened as he looked down at the ruined brew. “To me, it isn’t.”
At that moment, Geom Mu-geuk’s voice drifted in from behind. “If it isn’t to you, Brother…”
As the Drunken Demon turned around, Mu-geuk finished his sentence. “…then it isn’t to me, either.”
Mu-geuk walked up beside the Drunken Demon and stared down at the spoiled mash. “I suppose we’re still lacking.”
The Drunken Demon looked at Mu-geuk, his expression questioning.
“It means we need to become even stronger, and things need to go even more smoothly.”
Since their fates had changed, the fates of their enemies must have changed as well.
Yes. Just because we’ve grown stronger doesn’t mean we should assume our opponents have grown weaker. Taking a different path than before could lead to unforeseen consequences. I cannot afford to let my guard down until the very end.
“This spoiled mash is telling us to live even more diligently,” Mu-geuk added.
The Drunken Demon shook his head. “How could you possibly live any more diligently than you already do?”
“You must not know me well, Brother. I slack off plenty. I went hunting with Father and my brother, and I was just drinking with you earlier, wasn’t I?”
“That drink you had with me was the first one in a hundred years. And that hunting trip was the first time the three of you have ever gone together in your lives. You talk a big game, but you’ve never actually taken the time to enjoy yourself properly.”
As if to prove that seeing someone often didn't mean truly knowing them, the Drunken Demon understood Mu-geuk better than anyone.
“It’s only because you haven’t seen the wild drinking parties I have with my friends.”
“A gathering of successors? I highly doubt it was ‘wild.’”
“We even danced. Why don't you believe me?”
Mu-geuk threw open the doors and windows to ventilate the room, then brought over a wooden bucket from the corner to begin clearing away the spoiled mash.
“Leave it. I’ll clean it up later.”
“So you can wallow in a mountain of worries while you do it alone?”
The two of them cleared the mash together and washed the cups clean. Mu-geuk rolled up his sleeves, suggesting they might as well clean everything while they were at it. Eventually, the two of them scrubbed the entire interior of the brewery.
“You’re not going to brew any liquor for a while, right?” Mu-geuk assumed.
But the Drunken Demon disagreed. “I’m going to brew more.”
And the reason was Mu-geuk himself.
“Didn’t you say you were going to believe in this superstition? Then I have to keep brewing. I need to see if it spoils even more hideously or if it starts to spoil less. The liquor is constantly giving us signals.”
Mu-geuk could feel it—the Drunken Demon’s heart was telling him to fight more cautiously based on those signals. Even though it made him anxious, his older brother still wanted to give him every warning he could.
“The next time I leave the Cult and return, I’m definitely coming to see you first, Brother. Elder! I apologize in advance!”
“Come see me last. If you’re busy, you don’t have to come at all. I’ll be fine.”
The Drunken Demon stepped out of the building first. Mu-geuk followed behind him.
“Now that you have a woman to protect, I suppose you’re finally growing up, Brother.”
“As if.”
The Drunken Demon took a long swig from the Blood Tear at his waist before walking into the mist-like haze of liquor qi. “Where in the world would you find a drunkard who’s grown up?”
*
After parting ways with the Drunken Demon, Mu-geuk headed to his father’s quarters.
In front of the residence, Hwi deactivated his stealth and revealed himself. “Young Cult Leader, you’ve arrived?”
Hwi greeted Mu-geuk with his usual, unchanging demeanor.
“Have you been well, Uncle?”
“Yes, I have.”
Hwi’s gaze toward Mu-geuk was soft. It was the only moment when Hwi, who usually never showed any emotion, allowed his expression to soften.
“The Cult Leader has not yet retired for the night. Please wait a moment.”
Hwi disappeared and then reappeared shortly after. “He says you may enter.”
Mu-geuk opened the door and stepped inside. It was his father’s bedchamber, a place he had visited before.
“You haven’t gone to sleep yet. Oh!” Mu-geuk, who was about to offer his greetings, stared at his father with a look of surprise.
His father was wearing floral pajamas—the very ones Mu-geuk had bought as a gift in Wuhan. Mu-geuk beamed with joy.
“They really suit you! My gift is much more practical and better than my brother’s, right? Where did you shove that scroll? You’ve already thrown it away, haven't you? I’ll keep it a secret from him.”
As Mu-geuk scanned the room, his gaze stopped on a spot that held both his brother and himself. It was the scroll hanging on the wall.
Mu-geuk wasn't moved just because it was hanging there. It was because of where it was hanging. The scroll was placed in the spot most visible to his father when he lay in bed. He could picture his father looking at his sons before falling asleep.
Mu-geuk stared at the scroll in silence for a moment. Seeing it hanging in his father’s room made it look different somehow.
“My brother will be so happy when he sees this.”
“Mu-yang has already seen it.”
“What? When?” Mu-geuk looked at his father in surprise.
“Mu-yang was the one who hung it there.”
Had his brother visited first? Or had his father called for him? Whichever it was, it was proof that both of them had changed significantly.
“Father, next time, let’s have a painting done of all three of us. Should I send the Demon Army to Wuhan right now to kidnap a painter?”
In the past, his father would have immediately said no. This time, the refusal didn't come.
“What brings you here at this late hour?”
“Well, for most people, it’s only early evening.” When his father’s eyes narrowed, Mu-geuk spoke quickly. “I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve come to learn the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.”
Despite the sudden request, his father didn't seem particularly surprised.
“Did you know I would come?”
His father nodded.
“Did you not notice that my recent closed-door training was effective? I knew you would come eventually.”
“Of course. If I don’t learn it now, when will I?”
And he had a specific goal for his martial arts training. Up until now, he had mastered up to the Fifth Form of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
“I believe it is time for me to learn the Sixth Form.”
Since the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Forms were techniques performed by the Heavenly Demon Soul, the Sixth Form was effectively the final technique of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
The Sixth Form: Heavenly Demon World Destruction.
The Heavenly Demon destroys the world.
It was known as the single most powerful move in the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. However, the final Sixth Form was extremely difficult to execute. Moreover, because it was a technique that poured out almost all of one's internal energy at once, a single mistake could lead to severe internal injuries.
“I am ready, Father.”
Geom Wu-jin, who had been quietly observing his son, stood up. “Follow me.”
Still wearing his pajamas, Geom Wu-jin grabbed the Heavenly Demon Sword and headed outside. Mu-geuk walked behind him. Seeing his father in pajamas, carrying nothing but a single sword, Mu-geuk felt a sense of freedom radiating from him—a feeling he had never sensed from his father before.
The place they arrived at was a training ground deep within the Inner Court. It was a different location from the training ground where Mu-geuk usually met his father. This place was surrounded by iron walls on all sides.
Mu-geuk tapped on a wall. “These walls are incredibly thick.”
“There are ten more walls like this standing behind it. At ten-pace intervals.”
“Is this a place for imprisoning criminals so they can’t escape?”
Then, a particular wall caught Mu-geuk’s eye. There was a wall standing in the back, just large enough for a grown man to hide behind. It wasn't an ordinary iron wall.
“Is this… Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”
To his surprise, his father nodded.
“Why is such precious Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron here?” Mu-geuk asked. Furthermore, it was incredibly thick. “What exactly is this room for?”
His father didn't answer, as if implying he would find out soon enough. “Now, perform the Sixth Form.”
Since he already knew the oral formula, he could attempt it. He had never performed it before, nor had he ever seen his father perform it.
As Mu-geuk prepared to execute the Sixth Form, his father stepped behind the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron wall.
“What are you doing?”
“I cannot allow you to commit the ultimate act of filial impiety by harming your father, can I?”
The moment he heard those words, he understood. The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron wall was placed there to block the power of the Heavenly Demon World Destruction. It meant the technique was powerful enough that it could potentially harm his father.
Then what about this room made of iron walls and the other walls behind it? They were meant to measure the power of the technique and prevent that power from leaking outside. Just how strong was it?
“Normally, to manifest the Sixth Form, one must train specifically for it for months—or at the very least, ten days.”
“Then why are you already going behind the wall?”
An unexpected answer followed. “Because it’s you.”
It meant his father believed he might be able to release it in one go. It was also a sign of how highly he evaluated his son’s talent.
“How long did it take you, Father?”
“Ten days.”
“Then I should be able to do it in one day. After all, the person teaching me is you, Father.”
That familiar smirk played on his father’s lips.
“Well then, I shall begin.”
Mu-geuk took a deep breath and moved his true qi according to the oral formula to execute the Sixth Form. However, the technique did not manifest.
“Your movement of true qi is slow.”
Emerging from behind the wall, his father explained the oral formula in detail. It was an explanation from a realm entirely different from when he was at the Ten-Star stage.
“Try again.”
Once more, his father went behind the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. If it were anyone else, they might have said they didn't need such a wall. But his father wasn't ashamed at all to hide behind it. Mu-geuk understood why. Because this was the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. It was his father’s own martial art. He wouldn't have acted this way with any other technique.
Again, it failed to manifest. However, he felt that the movement of his true qi was different from before.
“The feeling is different now.”
How could it be the same when the caliber of both teacher and student was so high? With every bit of guidance, things changed.
“This time, internal energy has gathered in the sword! Only a tiny bit, but still!”
Execute and fail, execute and fail. Mu-geuk asked questions, and his father provided explanations. Several hours passed in this manner. The night deepened and time marched toward dawn, but his father did not stop teaching. Mu-geuk felt it every time—his father became a completely different person when teaching martial arts.
And finally, the moment came to see the fruits of his labor. An immense amount of internal power gathered in Mu-geuk’s Black Demonic Sword.
WHAAAAAAAANG!
Light exploded from the Black Demonic Sword pointed forward.
FLASH!
The world turned white. It was as if a sun had exploded right before his eyes. There was a massive explosion, but no sound could be heard.
The iron wall vanished. It simply melted away. The wall standing behind it vanished, and the wall even further back vanished as well. Everything in all directions was disappearing. When the light faded, nothing remained in the vicinity. Everything in sight had vanished.
This was no longer a room made of iron walls. Sunlight streamed down from the missing ceiling, revealing the blue sky. Only one thing remained: the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron wall standing directly in front.
“Father!”
As Mu-geuk called out in alarm, his father walked out from behind the wall.
“Phew.” Mu-geuk let out a sigh of relief. He now understood why the technique was named Heavenly Demon World Destruction. It was a martial art that annihilated everything.
This is a crazy technique.
Mu-geuk asked his father in a trembling voice, “Was it a success?”
Geom Wu-jin nodded. As if he had expected his son to manifest it in a single day, he wasn't surprised. Mu-geuk jumped up and down in joy. He was finally able to manifest every single technique of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, including the final one.
“I did it!”
Then, he collapsed onto the ground. All the internal energy in his dantian had vanished. It was a move that could only be performed by using every ounce of one's power.
Geom Wu-jin looked around. He was supposed to evaluate the power by how many iron walls remained, but there was nothing left. The power was immeasurable. It was because Mu-geuk’s vast and pure internal energy was simply too overwhelming. Even the wall made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron had been deeply gouged.
Geom Wu-jin looked at his son with eyes full of surprise and admiration before speaking calmly.
“If someone were passing by outside the fence when you performed the Sixth Form, they would die. People in buildings far away would die too. Every living creature in sight dies. Those lying down die, and those flying away to escape die. Do you understand what I am saying?”
Geom Wu-jin warned him of the consequences of using this martial art recklessly. He said this because he now knew his son well. He knew that if an innocent person were to be sacrificed, it would become a wound in his son’s heart forever.
Mu-geuk made a request to his father. “I want to see your Heavenly Demon World Destruction, Father.”
The Heavenly Demon World Destruction that had reached Twelve-Star Great Achievement. His father might have told him to come back after reaching Ten-Star Great Achievement, but for whatever reason, Geom Wu-jin drew the Heavenly Demon Sword then and there.
“Wait a minute! I need to get behind the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron wall too! Father, you’re going to kill your son!”
But light was already erupting from the Heavenly Demon Sword.
FLASH!
In that moment when he thought he was dead, Mu-geuk saw it. The light, which seemed like it would expand to cover the entire world, was shining only around his father.
Father is controlling the gang qi of the Heavenly Demon World Destruction!
The light that should have flown in all directions gradually gathered in one place, forming the shape of a single sword. The moment the sword of pure white light was completed—
SHAAAAAAAANG!
With the sound of a refreshing breeze unlike anything he had ever heard, the sword of light flew toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. His father had aimed for a corner.
PUAAAAAAAANG!
The sword of light passed straight through the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. That thick slab of metal was pierced as if it were tofu.
“Ah!” An exclamation of awe escaped Mu-geuk’s lips. It was his first time seeing such thick Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron pierced by a single move.
Geom Wu-jin asked calmly, “Did you see?”
His father could likely perform a Heavenly Demon World Destruction that annihilated everything, just as Mu-geuk had. And by reaching Twelve-Star Great Achievement, he had succeeded in concentrating that power into one.
His father controlled destruction. There was order in his father’s annihilation.
“Yes, I saw it clearly.”
Once again, his father had nonchalantly set up a new milestone for his son. Then, letting out a large yawn, he walked away from the site.
“I’m going to sleep.”