Chapter 126
Chapter 126
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Hell's Arrival
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Would the flames of extreme heat I'd only heard about in tales feel like this?
The blaze I'd conjured was the Heat Wave Technique, born from compressing the Crimson Dragon Banner to its utmost limits.
Laced with sorcery, it couldn't be extinguished without my permission, and infused with the razor-sharp cutting power of sword winds, it had shredded everything in its path.
As a result, the Black Bone Death King burned like dry tinder, roaring fiercely.
The agony of flesh and soul alike going up in flames.
Kyaaak! Kyaaaak!
His writhing form, emitting unearthly shrieks, could scarcely be called human anymore.
Yet his super-regeneration outpaced even the flames' destructive speed.
The Black Bone Death King barely reverted to human shape and exhaled a long, ragged breath.
"Haa... Haa... Haa...!"
Black smoke reeking of charred flesh billowed from his mouth with every breath.
His clothes were mostly torn to shreds, his skin blackened and scorched across most of his body.
The flames had largely died down, but tiny embers still flickered stubbornly in spots.
"You... bastard...!"
His vocal cords must have been badly damaged. The sound was horrific, like nails scraping glass.
And this was the guy who loved to talk. What a shame.
I covered my mouth with my widely spread Fear Wind Fan and chuckled.
To him, it probably looked like my eyes were just crinkling in a smirk.
"Feels refreshing after a nice steam, doesn't it? See, I told you. If you just hang around with those ice ghosts, you'll only ever touch cold, lifeless ice and miss out on luxuries like this."
"Tru... ly...!"
"Well, if you'd actually listened to me, you wouldn't be in this mess, right?"
"Take... my... life...!"
"That's enough."
In that instant, my pupils flashed with purple ghostly light.
Violet Eye Web.
Flash!
The world surrounding me, the Black Bone Death King, and the zombies of the Super Soul Ice Ghost Grand Law inverted.
A scorched black wasteland.
Hundreds, thousands of swords stabbed into the ground like graves.
The floor bristled with sharp iron spikes growing wild like weeds, while winds raked across them wildly, sounding like the wailing dirges of ghosts dragged up from hell.
Whooo- Whooo- Whoooo-
Kiyaaaaah!
Kee kee kee keek-
Every time shadowy specters flitted about chaotically, the air thickened with poison.
This was the Evil Ghost Hell Array, though different in nature from the one I'd shown Gu Min-chae before.
It was a new Evil Ghost Hell Array, infused with insights from cultivating the Heavenly Demon Heart Technique, fully reflected in my mindscape.
The countless ghost swords and demon swords plunged into the ground were proof of that.
Ziiiiiing!
"The Young Lord's mindscape has finally allowed swords to take root properly-"
"And thus, changes have come to the Evil Ghost Hell Array."
"It could now be called the Sword Tree Hell."
"This is also the judgment hall of the King of Hell, where sinners are sentenced to execution!!"
The spirits perched casually atop the mound of swords, cackling.
Under the influence of my array, their ghostly auras were sharper and stronger than ever.
Some wept bloody tears from their eyes, others bared fangs sharpened like beasts', while yet others had deathly pale faces with blood-red lips that sent chills down the spine just looking at them.
Was this what grudge ghosts were like—those who died unjustly and wandered the nine heavens endlessly, unable to pass on?
"Wh-what is this...? Even the vanished elders...!!"
The Black Bone Death King glanced at the spirits with a trembling voice and took a slight step back.
The spirits tilted their heads.
"Huh?"
"Does that guy see us?"
"Black Bone Ghost Wail's aged branch leader! Can your eyes behold us?"
"To command so many grudge ghosts at once without any ghostly artifacts... Even as Ghost King... This is impossible... Young Lord... What in the world are you...?!"
The Black Bone Death King muttered incoherently, then widened his eyes as realization dawned.
"No way...!!"
I flashed him a bright, cheerful smile.
"You're right. It's thanks to the Heavenly Demon Heart Technique."
"!!"
"The Heavenly Demon Heart Technique stands at the pinnacle of all demonic arts. Even unorthodox paths, shamanic divinations, and bizarre sorceries are no exception."
Step!
I advanced slowly, extending my hand into the void.
With a fluttering sound, a purple ritual cloak descended into my grasp.
"Naturally, the spirits in my service couldn't escape its influence. So they, too, could naturally ascend to grudge ghosts."
I draped the Evil Ghost Cloak over my shoulders.
At the same time, much of my long, unbound hair slowly turned white.
A ghostly mask etched itself onto my back, amplifying both my sorcery and inner energy several times over.
But in tandem, the demonic nature deeply embedded in my inner energy began to awaken, twisting the quality of the aura around me.
Ghostly ki turned to murderous煞, poison to calamity厄, dominance to demonic魔, warping the air of the Evil Ghost Hell into something grotesque.
Heavenly Demon Heart Technique
Fusion: Evil Ghost Cloak
Ghost King Descent
Boom...!!
The air transformed.
"Under the Heavenly Demon's blessing, this place can become a true hell where evil ghosts rampage, not just in name."
I'd birthed the Crimson Dragon Demon Body through the Heavenly Demon Heart Technique, but that was merely one of its many miracles.
What I'd coveted most was the authority of the Ghost King.
Even recovering just a fragment of that lost power would greatly aid in capturing the Black Bone Death King and the North Sea Sect Leader.
This could become my trump card from here on.
Look at it now.
Simply donning the Evil Ghost Cloak and elevating the spirits to grudge ghosts had him quaking in terror.
Of course, to pull this off, I had to slip away from the eyes of the other Tang family members.
So when the North Sea Ice Emperor's presence appeared at the main gate, I didn't head there—instead, I lured them in the opposite direction.
To the spot in the manor where the array anchors I'd pre-planted were most concentrated.
The White Chamber.
Tzzzzz-
Murderous intent, calamity, and demonic energy intertwined evenly, further twisting my purple gaze into something bewitching.
Its influence spread evenly to the spirits.
"Ahhh-"
"We mourned the loss of our deathly vessel, but was this the greater design?"
"We can unleash our power!! Here, at least, we can fight for the Young Lord!"
The grudge ghosts burst into manic laughter toward the heavens.
With that, the ghostly wails filling the Evil Ghost Hell grew louder.
Kiyaaaaah!
"Our living prowess isn't fully restored yet-"
"But even this power should suffice to aid the Young Lord."
The grudge ghosts descended one by one from the sword mound, drawing the blades they'd perched on.
The edges gleamed beautifully or ferociously.
Yet no ghostly faces reflected on the blades—only ominous black shadows rippled darkly.
"We'll slaughter you all here and turn you into our fertilizer."
"For daring to defy the Young Lord, repay with death-!!"
Whoosh-
The grudge ghosts kicked off the ground in unison.
Grotesque figures in eerie garb charging wildly across the blackened wasteland of death.
It couldn't suit them better.
"Ghost... swords... do... not... approach... the... Tang... young... lord...!!"
At the Black Bone Death King's frantic command, the Super Soul Ice Ghost Grand Law zombies surged forward.
"Not so fast."
I lightly formed a hand seal with my left hand and pointed my index finger downward, as if pressing down the air.
Though briefly, these five had withstood the Lion Death King's assault.
Pitiful as the grudge ghosts still were, facing them head-on would strain us, so leveraging the terrain was key.
Evil Ghost Hell Array
Swift Murderous Calamity Number
Boom!
The zombies' shoulders were crushed as if the air had grown dozens of times heavier.
Their footprints sank a full inch into the ground.
This slowed their movements enough to blunt the grudge ghosts' assault.
"And that's not all."
Ghost Mist Evil Poison
I amplified the mist's toxins several-fold, melting away skin and muscle outright.
Golden Chain Binding
From the earth's surface, dozens of golden shackles erupted to forcibly bind the zombies' limbs.
Needless to say, once ensnared, escape was impossible.
For these golden shackles could bind even gods at times.
Rumble rumble-
The ground upheaved as chains burst forth.
Like crocodiles lurking in swamp depths snatching prey skimming the surface, the chains twisted relentlessly, pursuing the zombies doggedly.
Clang! Clang clang clang!
Ching ching ching!
Even if they batted the chains away, it changed nothing.
The chains knew no fatigue.
Flicked aside, they simply curved back to strike elsewhere.
Inevitably, some zombies' ankles or wrists were snared, and in their hesitation, the grudge ghosts exploited the openings, thrusting blades home.
"Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!"
"Puhahaha! Die, die die!"
"Drop dead, you lot! Quit the useless struggling and become our juniors!!"
"Let's make a ton of new little brothers for our idiot youngest who lost all his!"
"Uhahaha! Sounds fun, why not?"
"S-Seniors...!!"
"From now on, no more lone wolves—obey us properly, got it?"
"Fifteenth Cohort!! To the bone! We'll engrave it deep!!"
Slash, slice!
Thud thud thud!
The grudge ghosts truly flew across the hellscape.
Peerless masters in life, even if their bodies lagged, their skills endured—and ghostly essence empowered them further, making this a perfect playground.
"How... how did you do it, Young Lord...?"
Despite his precious troops dying, the Black Bone Death King didn't dare move, merely watching me wield my sorcery.
The shock must have been that profound.
Rash sorcery might get read by me again, inviting counterattack and loss.
In the meantime, his super-regeneration had progressed enough for his voice to mostly recover.
"What else? This body is the Demonic Cult's rightful heir, acknowledged by a hundred thousand fiends. I've merely mastered the Six Great Secrets the cult leader must cultivate."
Rumble rumble!
The ground beneath me quaked as chains rose like serpents, writhing in dance.
"And I'm merely punishing a rebel who dared challenge the cult leader's authority. Nothing more."
"That's not what I mean!!"
The Black Bone Death King's eyes blazed red as he bellowed.
"How did you return from hell alive?! Even a Ghost King can't defy death-"
They'd completed the Super Soul Ice Ghost Grand Law with the council's aid.
But that wasn't true resurrection.
Zombies were zombies—destined to shatter eventually, forever bound to their sorcerer's will.
I'd achieved full revival without such crutches.
Even perfecting arts I couldn't in my past life.
To a sorcerer like him, it must seem utterly bizarre.
Handling death and souls, the shock would hit harder.
"Who knows. Do I really need to explain?"
"Right... No reason you should tell me... You're right... In the end... it doesn't matter...."
Yet the Black Bone Death King struggled to regain composure.
He was trapped in hell.
With all his sorcery read by me, escape was practically impossible.
His only option was to break me somehow.
"Young Lord, you've always been like this. Barely a decade into sorcery, yet your talent and arts left even me—with over a century of life—stunned. I pored over the Ghost King's treatise to surpass you, but it was all in vain."
A bewitching glint entered the Black Bone Death King's eyes.
"For someone like you—the Little Heavenly Demon—wielding such impossible miracles is no surprise. But you made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"Yes. Revealing yourself before fully restoring your former power!"
The Black Bone Death King unleashed his ghostly ki again. But its nature was utterly different from before.
In that moment, I knew.
This was another of the council's "true" secret arts or sorceries, like the Ice Soul Demon Mother Art.
"You thought you could read all my sorcery? Don't delude yourself. That was just me clinging to sanity. The real one... is this!"
"So that's it."
Rumble rumble crash-
The world around him warped.
The monstrosity began.