Chapter 44
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Yama Demonic Lord (1)
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The Enlightenment he had sought his entire life.
The Third Elder's wish was granted.
In the worst possible way.
*Thrust!*
The Heavenly Light Sword pierced through the Third Elder's dantian.
Demonic energy still surged through his entire body, but the internal energy the Third Elder had cultivated his whole life poured out like grains of sand.
"Ah..."
The state of Enlightenment he had reached, however fleeting, drifted away like a dream.
For the Third Elder, who had sold his very soul to reach the state of Enlightenment he had craved his whole life, it was but a fleeting moment.
Cheon Muryang wanted to give the Third Elder something worse than death: despair.
"How does it feel? Reaching the state you so desperately desired."
The price of his choice.
The cursed demonic arts instantly replaced the internal energy scattering from the Third Elder's dantian.
This meant the Third Elder could never again reach the state of Enlightenment.
The demonic energy controlling him would never allow it.
*Smirk.*
Cheon Muryang sneered.
In the end, the Third Elder's choice was wrong.
He must have realized that he could have reached Enlightenment even with the Cheon Family's swordsmanship.
"I... I..."
The Third Elder was dumbfounded.
The demonic energy that had been surging within him just moments ago now felt insignificant.
The stench of blood that filled his nostrils suddenly felt nauseating.
"What on earth..."
As his doubt reached its peak.
The Third Elder was overcome with self-loathing.
"They say it's always too late for regret. The old sayings are never wrong."
Ignorance is also a sin, they say.
The Third Elder, trapped in his own narrow-minded stubbornness, had failed to see the true essence of the sword.
"You're already finished."
With impure demonic arts, he would never be able to reach the state of Enlightenment again.
The Third Elder's life had been completely negated.
It would remain a despair worse than death.
"..."
The Third Elder's hollow eyes had completely lost the will to live.
"Aah..."
Was that why?
The Third Elder's hair was visibly turning white.
"*Tsk.*"
The light in his eyes vanished.
Despair was more terrifying than death.
Cheon Muryang asked the demoralized Third Elder.
"Where is the Grand Elder?"
The Third Elder was merely a pawn.
The true culprit behind all this was the Grand Elder; he had to be confronted.
But the Third Elder stared at Cheon Muryang with a soulless expression.
"It's too late. No matter how much you struggle, you can't change anything."
That was the reality.
The Cheon Family could never escape this trap.
Before the Demonic Cult, the Cheon Family was nothing more than a small, insignificant firefly.
"The Cheon Family will fall to the depths of hell."
"Is that all?"
"I was not wrong."
Although he had realized his own ignorance, the Third Elder refused to admit it until the very end.
"The Cheon Family. The Cheon Family. The Cheon Family!"
And so, the Third Elder finally gave up on himself.
Whether it was because his internal energy, which had been suppressing the demonic energy, was gone, or because he had completely lost the will to live, the Third Elder descended into madness.
"Khuhuhuhu!"
The focus in his eyes vanished.
Only a man driven by insanity remained.
How was he any different from a beast?
However, Cheon Muryang did not pity the Third Elder's miserable end.
"*Tsk.* My sword isn't meant for cutting down beasts."
He had wanted to let him rot in prison for the rest of his life, but sadly, that seemed impossible now.
The sanity that made him the Third Elder was already dead.
Not even a great immortal could restore the Third Elder to his former self.
"Uncle, what about the children?"
"Fortunately, they're alive."
They were on the brink of death, but as long as they were alive, there was hope.
Cheon Muryang did not want these children to die.
"Please protect these children."
"I will."
Cheon Seonhak was Cheon Muryang's sword and shield.
In this moment, Cheon Seonhak, now a shield, would protect the children with a spirit that no one could dare challenge.
"I thought you were different from my brother, but it seems you're similar in this regard."
"..."
Cheon Seonhak was one of the few true martial artists of this era who understood the value of chivalry.
That was why he, too, did not want innocent children to die like this.
"Muryang, you must feel it. We need to end this quickly."
"Yes. Or shall I do it?"
"That one is mine."
"Then finish it quickly. It seems... we have a guest waiting."
The corners of the Wandering King's mouth lifted.
*Zap!*
He could feel it on his skin.
An immense presence that pressured the two who had reached Enlightenment, and even Cheon Muryang.
"The martial world is indeed vast."
The Wandering King was right.
The martial world was vast, and the strong were many.
He was reminded once again that the state of Enlightenment was not the end.
'It makes the Third Elder's demonic energy look like a joke...'
He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of person it was.
However, this was the mastermind from the Demonic Cult, someone even the past Nameless had not reached.
'This is rather exciting.'
And so, Cheon Muryang prepared to cut down the Third Elder.
The Third Elder's demonic energy, which pressed down on the area, felt laughable.
*Whoooosh!*
So too did the Heavenly Light Sword.
It showed no fear of the Third Elder it had already cut.
'I must cut the source.'
The source from which the demonic energy sprang.
To Cheon Muryang, the path of the sword leading to that source was clearly visible.
*Whoosh!*
At that moment, the Heavenly Light Sword cried out.
A cry that seemed to emanate from hunger.
The will of the Heavenly Light Sword was conveyed.
'Devour the demonic energy, Heavenly Light.'
The moment permission was granted.
The Heavenly Light Sword began to suck in the demonic energy.
*Whoooosh!*
The Heavenly Light Sword trembled violently.
For a moment, the blade of the Heavenly Light Sword seemed to be stained black.
'It seems the Heavenly Light Sword also senses that we'll be facing the Demonic Cult often.'
The sword seemed to understand that to become the greatest sword under heaven, it must be able to cut even demonic energy.
'Good.'
The trembling stopped.
The strangely altered blade of the Heavenly Light Sword silently pointed at the Third Elder.
"Grrrrrr!"
As if its instincts were warning it.
The howling Third Elder suddenly turned to flee.
But there was nowhere for the Third Elder to run.
'The heart, is it?'
Kicking off the ground, Cheon Muryang's surging strike was utterly clean.
The subtle imbalance in his body had been perfectly realigned through his metamorphosis.
Thus, he could unleash his full power perfectly.
"This is the end, Third Elder."
With those words.
Cheon Muryang swung the Heavenly Light Sword toward the source of the demonic energy.
*Swiiish!*
Surging like lightning, the Heavenly Light Sword shot forward in a straight line and pierced the Third Elder's heart.
"Kiaaaaaak!"
The Third Elder, left with only instinct, writhed in agony, but the Heavenly Light Sword lodged in his heart showed no sign of coming out.
The wound began to heal and reopen repeatedly.
But that, too, was brief.
The Heavenly Light Sword embedded in his heart began to fully absorb the source of the demonic energy.
"Keeeeok!"
Was it because of the Heavenly Light Sword, now imbued with demonic energy?
Before he died, the Third Elder regained his sanity one last time.
"Cheon, Cheon Muryang..."
"..."
"In the end... was I wrong?"
"Yes. You were wrong."
"I just wanted to become strong."
"But you shouldn't have given up on being human."
Nothing.
Could ever cover the Third Elder's sins.
"W-was I... truly wrong?"
*Crack, crunch!*
The end for one possessed by demonic energy was set.
The Third Elder was no exception, as his body slowly began to shrink.
"..."
Not wanting to watch, Cheon Muryang moved to behead the Third Elder.
But something flew from somewhere and wrapped around the Third Elder's neck.
*Snap!*
The Third Elder's head fell.
*Fwoosh!*
Then, from the severed neck, a flame that could purify all things in the world erupted.
The fire, which burned away even the demonic energy that constantly defied death and sought to regenerate, slowly turned the Third Elder's body to ash.
"..."
"He's here."
"Muryang, behind you."
*Whip!*
Cheon Muryang's head whipped around.
It was the path leading to the summit of Mount Putuo.
*Scrape.*
*Scraaaape.*
The sound of a saber dragging on the ground was somehow chilling.
Not just Cheon Muryang, but the Wandering King and Cheon Seonhak tensed up at the same time.
The tension from the two who had reached Enlightenment completely crushed the air around Mount Putuo.
Then, an old man appeared, dragging a single saber.
"Have you been waiting?"
Despite the old man's small frame, he exuded an oppressive aura that dominated the space itself.
The ground where he stood glowed red hot.
The embers left on the saber touching the ground made even the innocent earth boil.
That heat proved he was the one who had turned the demonic-energy-ridden Third Elder to ash in a single blow.
"Y-you are..."
"It's been a while."
"Saber Lord..."
"The Wandering King, was it?"
"I never thought we would meet again here on Mount Putuo."
The Wandering King seemed to recognize the old man.
Moreover, the Wandering King's tone was uncharacteristically polite.
'Saber Lord?'
The Orthodox Faction deliberately concealed information about the Demonic Cult.
Their main enemy was not the Demonic Cult, but the Unorthodox Alliance.
For that reason, information about the Demonic Cult was relatively scarce.
'Could it be...'
But even so, the names of the Demonic Cult's greatest masters were known to the world.
"The Seven Great Demonic Lords...?"
The Seven Great Demonic Lords.
Aside from the Heavenly Demon, the leader of the hundred thousand demons, they were the ones who had each reached the pinnacle of demonic martial arts.
The Saber Lord's gaze, which had been on the Wandering King, soon turned to Cheon Muryang.
"This old man is not particularly fond of that title... but I am the one called the Saber Lord."
*Shudder!*
Merely from his gaze, Cheon Muryang felt every nerve in his body stand on end.
"Were you the cause of this entire incident?"
"The cause... Let's just say I am the one who will clean up this mess."
"First this one, then that one... Does everyone think the Cheon Family is some kind of punching bag?"
"..."
"Uncle, it seems our family is being underestimated. What should we do?"
"We just need to show them the price of antagonizing the Cheon Family."
*Smirk.*
Cheon Muryang smiled.
It was a clear answer.
"Yes. I suppose we must. We must show them there is a sky that even the pawns of the Demonic Cult cannot touch."
It didn't matter if his opponent was the Saber Lord.
The sky of the Cheon Family had to remain high above all.
"What magnificent spirit."
The Saber Lord was genuinely impressed.
"That was a fine sword. I have never seen anyone your age achieve such swordsmanship..."
It wasn't a matter of strong or weak.
The Saber Lord had clearly seen it.
Cheon Muryang's sword, moving serenely through the storm of demonic energy, was a sword that pierced the essence of things.
"Truly worthy of the Cheon Family, I must say."
It was a sword with such a promising future.
But that was precisely why it was a pity.
"That it will never fully bloom..."
A dense and chilling demonic aura, incomparable to the Third Elder's, emanated from his entire body.
"I offer you my sincerest condolences."
He expressed his pity, but his eyes showed no emotion at all.
*Gwoooooooh!*
The Saber Lord just stood there.
But Cheon Muryang could feel the air around them slowly heating up.
The Wandering King warned him.
"Get back."
"No."
"You'll die."
"No. I won't."
On the contrary, Cheon Muryang stepped forward.
The hem of his clothes was singed.
Another name that described the Saber Lord: Yama.
The saber of the Yama Demonic Lord was blazing with the flames of hell.
Before it, Cheon Muryang looked small and weak.
But Cheon Muryang stood firm, not retreating a single inch.
"If I were going to die here, I never would have started in the first place."
"...!"
The Wandering King was amazed by Cheon Muryang's perfect composure, like a clear mirror.
"Besides, I have to keep my word to save face, don't I?"
He was about to show them.
The untouchable sky of the Cheon Family.
He was also about to issue a warning.
Toward the Yama Demonic Lord, the wielder of that irresistible, colossal saber of flame, he spat out his resolve like a vow.
"No one can touch the Cheon Family."