Chapter 112
Chapter 112
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Gateway to the Demon God Realm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Before Hyeok Mulin stepped out of the Heavenly Demon Palace, one person followed after him.
The one who trailed him, Sima Jin, saw him off with a face full of regret.
"You've only just returned to the palace, and now you're already heading back out into the world. I had hoped you'd at least take some time to rest..."
"This is only natural for a martial artist. Standing still means you'll be weeded out."
Sima Jin trailed off at Hyeok Mulin's matter-of-fact response.
"But..."
"Besides, this time it's not the Central Plains—it's Shinjang. It's not that far."
"However, the Demon God Realm is a place even we can't access. The only one in all the world who can enter it is you, the Cult Leader."
From Sima Jin's perspective, it had been better when Hyeok Mulin was in the Central Plains.
The distance was great, but they could at least exchange letters to keep tabs on the news.
But once he entered the Demon God Realm, all means of contact would vanish entirely.
Sima Jin couldn't shake his worry over that.
"Well... that's true enough."
Hyeok Mulin pondered for a moment in place before lifting one corner of his mouth in a smirk and continuing.
"Don't worry so much. I know your capabilities, which is why I'm not concerned about the cult."
"Cult Leader..."
Hyeok Mulin patted Sima Jin's shoulder in encouragement.
"Endure just a little longer."
"Yes."
It was true that Sima Jin's burdens had grown with Hyeok Mulin's departure.
No one knew how long it would take for him to return.
They would announce his absence to the outside as closed-door training, but with so many instances of seclusion, doubts about the truth would inevitably arise.
Sima Jin planned to fabricate suitable tales of Hyeok Mulin's activities to dispel those suspicions.
"If you need martial force, deploy the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad. If that's not enough, request aid from the Hyeok Clan and the Lone Valley Clan."
"Understood."
Sima Jin's hazy gaze sharpened, his face hardening as he nodded firmly.
Hyeok Mulin slowly turned his body.
"I'll be back soon. Let's have a drink then."
Soon?
You're speaking of something that might take eons as if it's a casual promise.
Sima Jin let out a wry chuckle inwardly but soon smiled, thinking it was just like the Cult Leader.
"Travel safely. I'll fulfill my duties and await your return."
Sima Jin bowed his head straight.
Leaving him behind, Hyeok Mulin gradually moved away until he vanished completely from sight.
Forest and river, waterfall and cliff.
Hyeok Mulin traversed that rugged natural terrain in a straight line toward his destination, Yakgang.
With no one following, he unleashed his full speed and raced onward.
Running at top speed, he reached his goal in just a few days.
Upon arriving at the entrance to Huanyou Mountain in Yakgang, Hyeok Mulin looked up at the peak.
"So this is the headquarters of the Phantom Shadow Gate, one of the Demon Realm Sects."
The reason Hyeok Mulin had come here.
It was to enter the Demon God Realm, which the Phantom Shadow Gate managed.
By order of the first Heavenly Demon, the Phantom Shadow Gate had gathered the world's renowned formation masters of that era and, over generations and a century of combined effort, succeeded in creating the Demon God Realm.
Since then, the Phantom Shadow Gate had guarded and preserved it for every successive Heavenly Demon.
Their sole duty was that, but everyone in the cult knew how vital it was.
No one denied that the Phantom Shadow Gate belonged to the Demon Realm Sects.
'But compared to that fame, the mountain seems a bit...'
Small and unremarkable.
Huanyou Mountain looked neither grand in size nor striking in appearance.
It was hard to believe a sect like the Phantom Shadow Gate was nestled within.
But that thought didn't last. Hyeok Mulin soon understood.
If they ignored outside eyes entirely, it wasn't impossible, no matter how miraculous.
What mattered to him now wasn't judging Huanyou Mountain, but finding the Phantom Shadow Gate.
With his thoughts settled, Hyeok Mulin stepped forward to enter—when someone appeared at the entrance path.
"Hm?"
The figure before him seemed on the verge of death, likely over a hundred years old, her spine bent halfway, barely standing with the aid of a staff—an old woman.
Her skin, dotted with age spots, hung wrinkled, bearing the marks of time, and her half-lidded eyes made it hard to tell if they were open or closed.
Hyeok Mulin observed her briefly before approaching close and speaking.
"The Phantom Shadow Gate?"
The old woman nodded slowly.
"Yes, it is."
She then fixed her gaze on Hyeok Mulin.
"We've received word. You wish to enter the Demon God Realm."
So they had confirmed the message properly.
He had set out without waiting for a reply to his letter, but they were prepared after all.
"That's right."
"Understood. Allow me to guide you to the Phantom Shadow Gate. Follow me."
The old woman turned slowly.
She tapped the ground with her staff, and in that instant, the air shifted starting from the entrance.
She had temporarily relaxed the formation to permit Hyeok Mulin's entry.
Witnessing this, Hyeok Mulin followed her steps.
But only for a moment.
Thud—
Before he could fully exit the entrance, a force tugged at him from behind, halting his feet.
Hyeok Mulin's shadow had been blocked by the formation, unable to advance further.
Confirming this, Hyeok Mulin condensed his internal energy into his feet.
Rumble—
As he pushed forward with force, his shadow began to yield bit by bit and move ahead again—
"You mustn't do that."
The old woman, who had returned unnoticed, stopped Hyeok Mulin's action.
Meeting his eyes, she glanced at the thickly stretched shadow and spoke.
"Only the Cult Leader may enter the Phantom Shadow Gate. No one else, regardless of circumstances, is permitted."
"......"
Hyeok Mulin halted and parted his lips.
"Heukya."
With that, a figure slithered out from Hyeok Mulin's shadow.
He gave a light order to it.
"Wait outside."
Heukya nodded at Hyeok Mulin's command and promptly vanished.
Meeting the old woman's eyes once more, Hyeok Mulin spoke.
"Now?"
"Yes. This way."
With the old woman turning again, Hyeok Mulin proceeded forward once more.
The path ahead wasn't ordinary; it felt somehow off.
They were clearly climbing the mountain, yet there was no strain, and his steps felt lighter than walking a plain.
Even so, the old woman advanced slowly, relying on her staff, and Hyeok Mulin matched her pace.
As they walked, she said,
"Thank you for seeking out our humble sect. It's been so long since we've had a visitor."
"We're the ones grateful for your guidance. You seem quite experienced at this..."
"Indeed. I guided both the previous Cult Leader and the one before him here. You are the third Heavenly Demon I've met, Cult Leader."
Her face carried the weight of deep experience.
"Among all the Cult Leaders I've seen, you're by far the youngest. I never imagined you'd come to the Demon God Realm before even reaching thirty."
The Demon God Realm was where the Heavenly Demon tested and transcended trials.
But in his previous life, Hyeok Mulin had never undergone it.
He had chosen to learn martial arts through reliable means in the Heavenly Demon Secret Vault rather than risk an uncertain trial.
Indeed, some Heavenly Demons had gained nothing from it, and others never emerged at all.
'But the situation is different now.'
Hyeok Mulin agreed with Sima Geuk's advice and sought ways to grow swiftly.
His final decision: enter the Demon God Realm.
"Have you steeled your resolve? Passing through may take months, years, or even decades—keep that in mind."
Each Heavenly Demon's time in the Demon God Realm varied.
Some emerged in a few years, others after decades as withered elders.
"Of course, I know."
But Hyeok Mulin was confident.
No matter the trials, he would end them swiftly.
"Please stop here."
The old woman halted before a brook flowing from left to right.
She tapped it with her staff, and the water vanished entirely.
As if evaporated in the blink of an eye.
He couldn't grasp the mechanism, but it was clearly another formation release.
She resumed her leisurely pace.
About half an hour later, Hyeok Mulin asked,
"When do we reach the Phantom Shadow Gate?"
She chuckled wheezily in response.
"The very ground you tread, Cult Leader—this is the Phantom Shadow Gate."
The Phantom Shadow Gate wasn't somewhere on the mountain; it was the entirety of Huanyou Mountain.
So her destination wasn't the gate itself, but the entrance to the Demon God Realm.
"Ho..."
Hyeok Mulin looked around the mountain in admiration.
"Impressive."
His earlier assessment of Huanyou Mountain had to be retracted.
This wasn't a small peak—it was a massive sect.
"Sect Leader, it must take great effort to manage."
The old woman sounded slightly surprised.
"How did you know I'm the sect leader?"
"With formations of such sophistication everywhere, how many in the world could dismantle them with mere staff taps?"
Besides, if sending a guide, they'd send a young, vigorous person—not someone on death's door.
At Hyeok Mulin's sharp deduction, the old woman laughed heartily and admitted it readily.
"Heh heh heh. This Cult Leader is sharp-eyed. Yes, I am Neungyang, leader of the Phantom Shadow Gate."
With her identity revealed, Hyeok Mulin added,
"To hold the sect leader position at your age—your vitality is remarkable."
"One can only step back when there's a successor ready. Regrettably, in serving three Cult Leaders, I've found no worthy heir and thus cling to the role."
No successor, huh.
Indeed, extending his senses across the mountain, Hyeok Mulin detected no other presences besides hers.
"So the Phantom Shadow Gate is a one-person sect?"
"Yes."
"You've worked hard."
"It's an honor that you recognize it."
Chatting lightly with the revealed Neungyang, they soon entered a windswept plain.
In the plain's center stood a massive stele.
Hyeok Mulin glanced at Neungyang, who smiled faintly.
His eyes fixed on the stele revealed one word.
Demon God Realm
Only four characters stood vertically inscribed, yet they filled it massively.
"So this is the Demon God Realm."
Hyeok Mulin approached and placed his hand on the stele.
'Definitely not an ordinary stone.'
Its surface was flawlessly smooth, without a single rough edge.
The energy felt in his palm was so varied he couldn't hastily judge it.
"Yes."
Hyeok Mulin nodded and stepped back.
"Then where's the entrance?"
"Heh heh. The entrance is right before your eyes."
"Right before my eyes?"
Hyeok Mulin frowned with one eyebrow, prompting Neungyang to curl her lips.
She drew a incantation on the stele with her staff.
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
The space before the stele split open, revealing a rift to another dimension.
At this astonishing scene, Hyeok Mulin looked to Neungyang questioningly, and she explained.
"This is the entrance to the Demon God Realm."
The stele itself was the entrance.
So the Demon God Realm wasn't a place somewhere?
"This stele is the Demon God Realm itself."
"Correct."
Neungyang nodded and recited warnings about the Demon God Realm.
"Once you enter, I cannot say what trials await you, Cult Leader. And there's no turning back midway."
Finally, she questioned his resolve once more.
"Will you still enter?"
"If I had no intent to become matchless, I wouldn't have come this far."
Reading the firm determination in Hyeok Mulin's eyes, Neungyang smiled in satisfaction.
"Among the Cult Leaders I've met, you're the youngest, yet your spirit is unmatched. I pray it doesn't break within."
She bowed as she finished speaking, and Hyeok Mulin faced forward.
Beyond the rift lay a world of darkness.
Staring intently at that alien realm, so out of place with its surroundings, Hyeok Mulin finally stepped forth.
Step. Step.
Pausing briefly before the stele, he left final words for Neungyang.
"I'll return."
"We await your return, Cult Leader."
Whoosh!
No sooner had the words left than Hyeok Mulin's form blurred and was sucked into the void.
The rift, having absorbed him, soon contracted and restored the stele to normal.
Left alone before it, Neungyang let out a pleased chuckle.
"Heh heh heh. I wonder how long this Cult Leader will take."