The Heavenly Demon's Humiliation
Cheonma Tomb.
“The Heavenly Demon Sovereign— what has become of the Heavenly Demon Sovereign!?”
“He grew weary after emerging into the world after so long and is resting.”
“Is that truly so!?”
“I do not lie with my own mouth.”
Cheong declared, puffing out her chest with confidence. In truth, she was only honest with her mouth. Deception and lies were not the same thing, after all. She had never denied that the limping man was the culprit.
Ji Seungju could not hide his suspicious gaze. From the head of the assassins down to his imitation of a cripple—in Ji Seungju’s eyes, he was simply a cripple—this woman was utterly untrustworthy. Moreover, whenever the Heavenly Demon Sovereign had acted strangely, he had continuously cursed at women, so there was no need to think deeply about who the culprit was.
“Do you have proof?”
“Hoho. Your eyes are quite vicious. How dare you doubt this Lord, the incarnation of Ahura Mazda, who has received Seomun Cheong-nim?”
“It is Ahura Mazda.”
“That or that. Well, proof? Right. Just a moment. Hmm. Yeah. Yes. I’ll do that.”
Cheong muttered and nodded her head. It looked as if she were conversing with someone inside her.
Just as Ji Seungju was feeling uncertain—
“Now, listen. These are the words of your Sovereign.”
When Cheong opened her palm, the Heavenly Demon Soul protruded with a somewhat withered glow. The cultists, whose postures had grown lax as they watched the situation, immediately straightened up and focused their gazes at once.
“The Sovereign speaks!”
Cheong clenched her fist tightly.
—Kuaaaak!
A wretched scream echoed from the Heavenly Demon Soul. It was unmistakably the voice of the Heavenly Demon Sovereign. The agony of having one’s soul squeezed was the worst kind, indescribable by any worldly expression. If a living person experienced it, the shock would instantly cut off their breath. But the already dead had lost the right to escape through death.
Of course, Cheong did not know this pain, having never experienced it. However, if even the Heavenly Demon was casting aside all dignity and face to scream so wretchedly, it was clearly no ordinary matter. It was immensely satisfying.
When Cheong released her hand, what remained was a triangular pyramid riddled with cracks and shedding fragments. The sacred glow was nowhere to be found, flickering feebly like a sorrowful firefly.
Cheong spoke with a triumphant smile.
“Since you ignorant lot cannot understand the Sovereign’s voice, I shall interpret its meaning for you directly. The Heavenly Demon says: Today, this lowly Heavenly Demon committed the grave sin of defying the great Seomun Cheong-nim.”
Cheong clenched her fist once more.
—Kuaaak! Kua-kuaak! Kuaaaak! Urk, urk!
By adjusting the force with brute strength, she managed to create a rhythm. It seemed the Heavenly Demon had some talent for music as well.
“Therefore, do not defy Seomun Cheong-nim and serve her well on your own. This is the Heavenly Demon’s request to you all.”
Cheong clenched her fist again, and with a final scream of “Aaaak!!”, the Heavenly Demon Soul shattered into pieces.
“That’s all. Well, you heard it, right? That’s how it is. Of course, I don’t have the talent to understand screams, so I just roughly guessed what it might have said. What do you think? Does it sound right?”
It was the sound of a soul being torn apart alive. At that horrifying noise, everyone’s bodies stiffened, and no cultist dared to step forward.
“I can just summon it and ask. Yap, Heavenly Demon Summon!”
The triangular pyramid rose again above Cheong’s palm.
“Aaaah……”
Ji Seungju let out a lament. It was the sight of the Heavenly Demon Soul, the soul of the great leader, being completely subdued and toyed with.
“Stop, please stop!”
“Fine.”
Cheong immediately clenched her fist and crushed the Heavenly Demon Soul. With a short scream, it vanished. She knew how to take it out, but not how to put it back in. Since only the Heavenly Demon would suffer, there was no problem.
“Isn’t the Demonic Cult all about the strong ruling? From what I saw at the Palace of Ecstasy, devouring your superiors to take their place seems perfectly normal. So now I’m the Heavenly Demon, got it?”
Cheong was merely trying to provoke further. However, instead of Ji Seungju’s gaze rotting away, it suddenly gleamed with interest.
“Does that mean you have inherited everything of his?”
“What, something like this?”
Cheong activated the Pacheon-magi. More precisely, it was the remnants of the Pacheon-magi. Almost all of it had been tightly compressed along with the Heavenly Demon and sealed in a corner of her dantian, with only a tiny portion having defected and newly joined Cheong’s combined true qi.
Cheong’s hands were dyed pitch-black with demonic qi. Normally, when qi was manifested, it should have emitted a faint glow, allowing one to see through it. But the Pacheon-magi did not glow; instead, it devoured light, painting a lusterless, pitch-black void. And that was not all. Countless pupils sprouted from Cheong’s pitch-black hands.
Cheong looked at the most destructive qi under the heavens lingering on her hands and thought, What the hell is this. Disgusting and hideous.
Cheong withdrew her true qi. The Pacheon-magi, which had tried to curry favor with its new master only to be called ugly, returned dejectedly to her dantian.
“Pacheon-magi! It is truly you!”
“What? Why did the honorific suddenly jump up so many levels?”
“You” was informal. But “you” with the honorific particle became one of the highest forms of respect among honorifics. The cultists murmured at the implication.
Cheong frowned deeply.
“I have zero intention of becoming the Demonic Cult’s boss. Well, depending on the conditions, maybe. What is it?”
“At the very least, can’t we live like human beings?”
Cheong recalled life in the Demonic Cult. It was merely a city of man-eating demons. Since everyone but herself was an enemy, one could never relax or trust another for even a moment. Even when smiling and conversing, it was merely an imitation of a relationship. No one could become virtuous in such an environment. Goodwill comes from the storeroom. When everyone was only guarding their own warehouse with bloodshot eyes, how could anyone show kindness?
“The rule of the strong ends here. Even without that, people naturally listen to the strong. Stop slandering the Central Plains too. Let’s just live together. Send letters everywhere and make peace. From now on, live like humans and don’t go around stabbing people just because they stand out.”
Cheong thought of Gyeon Po-hui—no, Seomun Hui, that not-so-kind junior sister, now an older sister figure. How many Seomun Huis had existed in the Demonic Cult, how many had perished, and how many more would exist if things continued this way? That was why a breeding ground for villains must not exist in this world. Killing them all would be troublesome, and there might be fools who became villains merely due to their environment. She could just dump the troublesome tasks on someone else. Fortunately, there was a smart kid around.
“That is impossible! The very foundation of the Divine Cult will be shaken.”
“Do you even have a future anyway? If I just kill you all here and return to the Central Plains, won’t the Demonic Cult collapse regardless?”
At those words, the tomb fell silent once more. Since the Heavenly Demon Sovereign’s realm was presumed to be the Life and Death Realm, absorbing that power would require at least the Tal-ma realm. Even if Tal-ma and the Profound Realm were considered equal in height, Tal-ma was actually valued about fifty percent higher. In modern terms, it was a 1.5 tier difference.
It was not a matter of accepting a new Heavenly Demon or not. It was a matter of life or death.
In truth, it was a bluff. Cheong was bluffing despite having no ability. She had to survive and return, after all. While she was at it, she might as well say what needed to be said.
Her body had been reassembled into the latest specifications thanks to the Heavenly Demon parasite, but her enlightenment remained at the late stage of Peak Realm. Damn it! Heavens!! Why! Am I!! Still!!! Unable to reach!!!! Transcendent!!!!! It was a cry that would leave the heavens dumbfounded. What the hell have you even done?
Of the thirty-seven Heavenly Demon Divine Arts, all but three were locked, merely occupying space in her martial arts window. Heavenly Demon Heart Art, Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps, and Heavenly Demon Finger. These were the techniques the Heavenly Demon had used through Cheong’s body. If she had known this would happen, she would have tried to induce him to use more of them. But well, they were not gone, merely locked. If her realm rose, who knew? She had obtained three purple-grade arts for free, so complaining would be shameless.
Moreover, by nature, she was not the type to dwell on loss. Even before leaving the mountain, if she lost something, she would think “it can’t be helped” and worry about what to eat for dinner instead. Or perhaps it was resignation forged from being born with nothing.
“While we’re at it, how about establishing a country or something. Or a religious sect alliance. If you have power, you won’t get beaten up even if you go outside, right?”
“That is not something that can be said so easily.”
“That’s something the smart person should figure out.”
Ji Seungju closed his mouth at those words. You should be grateful you’re lucky. I’m only sparing you because you’re a smart brat and weak. Thinking about it, he had only talked back aggressively and did not seem to have caused any real harm. However, there was one person she could not spare.
Cheong looked down at the former Nature Realm claimant, now a mere mortal. The cripple, who had suffered a double blow of mental shock and complete loss of internal energy, was slumped over with a vacant gaze.
The moment Cheong’s eyes turned vicious—
“Wait! Please stop!”
“What? Why? I was about to have some overdue fun.”
“He is still the legitimate successor of the first Heavenly Demon. As you said, he is an essential religious focal point for reorganizing the Divine Cult, so please show mercy.”
“Tsk.”
Cheong clicked her tongue. It was annoying that someone was interfering after she had already dumped the work on them. Cheong asked, half-hoping, “Then, can I at least make him a eunuch?”
“Only the seed matters. Rather, cut off his arms or legs.”
“That’s the most agreeable thing you’ve said so far.”
Cheong chuckled and crouched in front of the Jijon. Her pale, slender palm gently caressed the Jijon’s cheek. Just as the Jijon’s focus began to return—
Cheong’s thumb dug into the Jijon’s eye socket.
“Aaaak!”
Having his eye gouged out while still alive, a scream was inevitable. But that was all. Cheong kept her thumb and palm firmly fixed inside the eye socket. Beneath the motionless head, only the torso flailed wildly in agony. The hands of an ordinary person without internal energy struck, hit, and scratched at Cheong, but with her stats explosively increased through Body Reconstruction, she did not even receive a single scratch. It was nothing more than meaningless thrashing.
Cheong finally wore a satisfied smile. The sensation of piercing through the soft yet firm eyeball, the sticky and soft contents mixing inside and wrapping around her thumb, sent a long-missed tingling heat rising through her.
“Still not coming to your senses? Should I poke out the other eye socket too?”
“It, it hurts, you, it hurts too much. Mother, it hurts,”
“Tsk. You should use honorifics. From now on, you will use honorifics with every person in the world. Since you’ve lived without manners all this time, you need to have some from now on to balance things out.”
Cheong spoke with a bright smile. The Jijon looked up at Cheong’s face while trembling in pain. The beautiful smile was reflected in his remaining eye.
“I understand, I understand.”
“Good. Well done.”
Cheong’s thumb slipped out of the Jijon’s eye socket. Unidentifiable contents of the eyeball flowed down.
“Ugh, kuh……”
The Jijon gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Cheong tilted her head in thought. What? He’s holding back his screams? Did it not hurt enough? Should I have pulled the eyeball out entirely? But the Jijon already looked like a cripple. The scene she had witnessed in the formation also came to mind, and her excitement completely cooled. Now he was just a commoner who knew no martial arts.
Cheong wiped her sticky thumb on the Jijon’s head. She rubbed the viscous foreign substance off on the front, back, and sides. As she wiped her hand clean, she said,
“Consider the stomach punch and eye-popping forgiven with this. From now on, live only virtuously. Then, even if we meet again, we can smile at each other nicely. You know what I mean, right?”
If he was not virtuous, she would smile at him unpleasantly. Cheong conveyed a chilling warning in a gentle voice. The Jijon nodded blankly. With that, Cheong completely resolved her grudge. His condition is completely messed up now. All that just from poking out one eye. How boring.
Anyway, she had neatly completed her revenge as well. She had done everything she needed to do. Cheong walked briskly out of the tomb chamber.
“Alright then. Take care of the rest yourselves.”
Cheong waved her hand behind her and disappeared into the stairwell leading outside. Thus ended her tedious kidnapping ordeal.