Chapter 264
Chapter 264
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: Return
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All the Arhats felt the mountain trembling.
As well as the destructive aura that seemed ready to shatter the world.
When a massive hole was suddenly torn open at the mountain's peak afterward.
"...What in the world am I looking at?"
"No way—is someone actually attacking the Pantheon Shrine?"
It was simply unbelievable.
For this was the first time anything like it had ever happened since the Practitioners' Mountain came into existence.
The Nine Great Families were thrown into chaos as well.
The mountain had been pierced defenselessly by a sudden, inexplicable assault.
And not just any attack—this one had shaken the entire mountain to its core.
"Isn't this the work of demons?"
"It has to be a demon invasion."
"Corpse Puppet Sect! Wasn't this your doing?"
The first to fall under suspicion was the Corpse Puppet Sect.
Anton had drawn attention recently due to the 'demon corpse puppet' incident, only to vanish without a trace.
Unaware that Chiwu had abducted him, they naturally suspected the sect had silenced the witness to cover up the incident.
And that wasn't all.
Kang Si-chan.
The Nine Dragons heir to the Corpse Puppet Sect had been revealed as the incarnation of a demon, and the situation was spiraling out of control.
Right on the heels of that, they'd suffered this mysterious attack. It was no wonder the Corpse Puppet Sect became the prime target.
"Don't try to frame the Corpse Puppet Sect without a shred of evidence."
"Anton committed his crimes on his own, and we excommunicated Kang Si-chan for his demon contract. Neither has any connection to our sect."
"Kang Si-chan and Anton were in cahoots from the start."
The Corpse Puppet Sect, of course, pushed back fiercely.
They vehemently denied any involvement in these events.
Even if their position would take a hit, admitting ties to demons would lead to utter ruin far beyond mere loss of influence.
There was no evidence anyway, and all the witnesses had vanished.
Still, there was something puzzling.
'Something this huge happens, and there's no movement from the Celestial Realm?'
'Even if the immortals never interfere in mountain affairs, the Pantheon Shrine itself was attacked.'
Of course, the Celestial Realm and the Practitioners' Mountain were entirely separate abysses.
The Celestial Realm was linked to the Pantheon Shrine, but only via warp gates—not a direct connection.
Yet the mountain's summit, the Pantheon Shrine, had been assaulted.
For the sake of Mount Taebaek's authority alone, the Celestial Realm should have mobilized.
But the Celestial Realm remained silent.
Mount Taebaek's shadows were far too quiet.
In other words...
'Something's happened to Mount Taebaek's leader.'
'Or they no longer care about Mount Taebaek's authority...!'
It had to be one or the other.
Either way, this was a golden opportunity.
Without Celestial Realm intervention, the Pantheon Shrine's seat was effectively vacant.
One of the Nine Great Families could claim it as the new master.
The families who realized this doubled down on their attacks against the Corpse Puppet Sect.
But they couldn't bring about the sect's downfall.
There was simply no evidence, after all.
"We have evidence."
It was then.
A woman ascended to the upper slopes of the mountain and presented decisive proof.
Arisa.
She had made contact with the Mirror Sect as planned and dragged the Corpse Puppet Sect to the tribunal.
"What evidence? If it's fabricated or false, your own secret scriptures won't escape unscathed."
The Corpse Puppet Sect's deputy sect leader appeared and issued a stern threat.
All the other families were watching.
Miss this chance, and the Corpse Puppet Sect would walk away scot-free from everything.
What's more, they'd tie the Mirror Sect's scriptures into it and counterattack.
Arisa pulled a single tome from her robes.
"...This is Anton's 'research journal.' It clearly states that the Corpse Puppet Sect used demons to create corpse puppets—even exploiting a 'demon lord' itself."
"What nonsense! There's no such thing! And even if there were, how do you prove it's not forged?"
"The contents implicate the entire Corpse Puppet Sect."
"Ridiculous! A mere journal holds no evidentiary weight!"
"...Then would you believe Anton himself confessing?"
"...What?"
A flicker of panic crossed the deputy leader's face.
If Anton himself spoke up about the journal, there'd be no more excuses.
But Anton had disappeared without a trace.
The sect had searched with all their might but found nothing.
He'd vanished like he'd ascended to the heavens—no clues at all—so they'd assumed him dead.
Yet he was alive?
And Arisa had been hiding him?
"I-I'll testify."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sudden arrival.
It was truly Anton.
The deputy leader's face drained to ashen gray.
The other Corpse Puppet Sect affiliates looked the same.
And all of this had been made possible by...
'Thanks to you, Park Chan-woo.'
It was all Park Chan-woo's arrangement.
He'd prepared everything so Arisa could uncover it all if the worst came to worst.
The secret journal and the method to open the Infinite Hell Gate, hidden in a place only she could find.
'To think he hid it within the sanctuary's trial...'
Sword Sanctuary.
Inside the trial grounds of that sanctuary, he'd left hints only Arisa could decipher.
She checked the trial area periodically, so she'd found it easily.
It was proof of how much he trusted her.
However...
'...He headed to the Celestial Realm and then vanished.'
Park Chan-woo and Chiwu, off to the Celestial Realm.
The massive hole that appeared right next to the Pantheon Shrine.
The immortals' silence.
Even Hanmir's sudden disappearance—one of the Mirror Sect heirs.
Putting it all together, something ominous was brewing on this mountain.
Something tied to demons, or perhaps something even greater.
The Corpse Puppet Sect's demon lord corpse puppets would seem trivial by comparison.
'I hope nothing's gone wrong.'
But more than that, she was desperate to know if Park Chan-woo was alive.
No word from him since heading to the Celestial Realm with Chiwu.
He'd trusted her with everything.
If something had happened to him...
'Just stay alive. I'll find you, no matter what.'
As long as he was alive, they could meet again.
The thought of him dead left an aching void in her chest.
Their time together had been short, but every action he'd taken was extraordinary.
Without him, she never would have made it this far.
She might have been stuck midway up the mountain forever.
'The Pantheon Shrine.'
Arisa's next destination was set.
She would climb to its heart.
She had no intention of stopping at the upper slopes.
With the Mirror Sect's full cooperation, now was the perfect time.
She'd ascend the Pantheon Shrine, perfect all her martial arts, and head to the Celestial Realm.
Even if he wasn't there.
'...I'll find you, no matter what it takes.'
Valhalla's domain.
The group, who had been all but kidnapped across via warp, stood dumbfounded upon stepping onto the vast warrior's territory.
Honestly, it still felt like a dream—or was it reality?
'He wasn't the successor after all...!'
Chiwu's mind and soul felt detached from his body, especially.
His thoughts couldn't keep pace with the situation.
Chiwu had believed Park Chan-woo to be the Heavenly Demon's successor.
It might not be true, but he wanted to believe it.
Yet Park Chan-woo's feats and appearance in the Celestial Realm.
Combined with the immortals' reactions...
'The Heavenly Demon...'
Wasn't he the Heavenly Demon himself—the one once called by that name?
The ruler above the heavens.
The true absolute being, the Heavenly Demon. The idea had taken firm root in his mind.
There was no other explanation.
His authority, swordsmanship, movement arts, and domain deployment.
All techniques no one but the Heavenly Demon himself could wield.
Yet it far surpassed the level of power Chiwu had sensed from him before.
'Sealed away, perhaps.'
Maybe the Heavenly Demon's power was sealed within Park Chan-woo, like a ferocious beast.
Just briefly unleashing that seal had overwhelmed the entire Celestial Realm.
"Wh-where is this?"
It was then.
A voice from beside him.
It was Hanmir.
The last survivor of Pandarian and heir to the Mirror Sect.
He'd been suddenly swept up and brought to Valhalla's domain.
Regaining his senses and looking around, he realized this was neither the Celestial Realm nor the Practitioners' Mountain—somewhere entirely different. He couldn't help but panic.
But that panic was nothing compared to what was about to unfold.
"You've returned, O Great One!"
Thud! Thud! Thoom!
A massive frame.
Jet-black scales and an overwhelming presence.
"D-dragons...!!!"
Hanmir shuddered at the sight of the black dragon Ataraxia.
Among the Twelve Races, dragons ranked at the pinnacle.
And the one before them was no ordinary dragon.
Such a being was calling Park Chan-woo 'O Great One.'
But this was merely the beginning.
Word of Park Chan-woo's return spread like wildfire across Valhalla's entire domain.
Flutter! Flutter!
"Father. I'm glad you've returned safely."
Another colossal beast descended from the skies.
Beast was too crude a term for its indescribable aura.
Similar in size to a dragon, but this one had torn through the Abyss skies to arrive.
In other words.
"Divine Beast..."
A Divine Beast.
The mystery at the top of the Abyss pyramid—dwelling in rifts, feeding on the Abyss itself.
And that mystery called Park Chan-woo 'Father.'
Thud!
Rumble!
In that instant.
A massive commotion erupted, like an earthquake.
Turning toward the source of the noise.
'Golems?'
An enormous number of golems were marching this way.
Hundreds at least.
Perhaps even thousands—an unbelievable horde of the highest-grade golems.
And that wasn't all.
In their midst loomed an even larger 'dragon.'
Far bigger than the black dragon from moments ago.
Chiwu himself groaned at the terrifying magic power radiating from it all at once.
And more.
The woman riding that dragon's shoulder.
Spotting Adora, Hanmir instinctively shivered.
Pandarians and witches were natural opposites, after all.
"Wh-where the hell...?"
Where in the world was this place?
And who exactly was that man receiving the reverence of them all?