Chapter 617: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (162)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 617: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (162)
“The Divine Cult is undefeated! All demons bow down! The horde of demons is eternal! The Cheonma has returned!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A chant that shook the heavens and the earth erupted. As thousands of Demonic Cult members knelt in unison, bowing their heads, the very ground rippled like a wave. A grim and reverent murmur filled the air, heralding the arrival of their faith, their absolute authority.
Opposite them stood the forces of the Celestial Sphere assembly, their formation already set. But they were no longer the Four Heavenly Kings. After Mak Gang-woo’s defeat at the hands of Jin Seo-yun, only three remained: Golden Demon Du Hang-cheol, White Wolf No Sa-un, and Crimson Ghost Gwak Cheon-hong.
The three exchanged glances, unable to hide their tension. The sound of them instinctively swallowing their saliva was loud enough to pound against their eardrums.
And then—
All eyes fell upon one spot.
A woman stood there. An indifferent face, a single sword in her hand, lips pressed firmly together, and unwavering eyes. Like a demon wearing human skin, she exuded a chilling, overwhelming aura.
The Little Cheonma, Wi Dan-wol.
But she could no longer be called that.
She was the Little Cheonma no more.
Wi Dan-wol had already defeated the Cheonma—her father, the absolute ruler—and usurped his throne. She was the new Cheonma.
Upon her ascension, she had perfectly mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, something she had never been taught.
And the power now pouring from her body was on an entirely different dimension than before. Its sheer weight was enough to make the thousands of cultists erupt in near-maniacal ecstasy, while the warriors of the Celestial Sphere assembly found it hard to even breathe.
White Wolf No Sa-un gritted his teeth, his face hardening.
“Hey, hey… this is completely different from what we were told… Golden Demon! What the hell is going on?”
Beside him, Golden Demon Du Hang-cheol growled under his breath.
“I don’t know either…! Before I left the Demonic Cult, Wi Dan-wol’s Nine Yin Severed Meridians were definitely incurable…!”
Crimson Ghost Gwak Cheon-hong spat out sardonically.
“Well, at least it’s a relief that Gwonma and Ma-cheon are gone. Not that it changes the fact that we have to face that monster…”
The gazes of the three remaining kings trembled as they fixed on Wi Dan-wol. She merely swept her indifferent eyes over them, yet it felt as if a hand was tightening around their throats.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Just then, black shadows appeared one by one behind Wi Dan-wol.
“Heh heh… How dare heretics like you set foot on the sacred ground of the Divine Cult. You must be eager to die.”
The low, deep voice of the first shadow.
“Gwonma…!”
“Hmph, it’s been a while. This brings back old memories.”
As the second shadow slowly revealed itself, the faces of the three kings hardened.
“Ma-cheon…?!”
“Hahaha! I’m here too.”
“And even Geomma…”
The moment the Dharma Protectors of the Divine Cult revealed themselves, the front line of the Celestial Sphere assembly froze completely.
“Golden Demon, did you really think you could betray the Divine Cult and get away with it?”
Golden Demon Du Hang-cheol’s neck trembled under Gwonma’s cold, gleaming eyes.
“Impossible… They said you were gone… Why…?”
It was then that another shadow slowly walked forward.
“Because it was a deception, of course.”
All eyes turned to him.
“…Cheonma, Wi Ja-myeong…!”
Du Hang-cheol’s voice cracked.
“Ahem, I am no longer the Cheonma.”
Wi Ja-myeong turned his head, his dark eyes looking toward his daughter.
“From now on, the Cheonma is… Wi Dan-wol. Do not dare to call me by that title.”
Golden Demon sucked in a breath. This was a fight they could never win.
‘Damn it, why is Wi Ja-myeong perfectly fine? He should have been poisoned…!’
Cold sweat beaded on Du Hang-cheol’s forehead.
“Golden Demon. Are you curious as to why I’m fine? Thanks to the antidote my son-in-law sent, I was able to cure the poison you fed me.”
“There shouldn’t have been any antidote…!”
“I didn’t know either. That it could be cured so simply. But what can you do?”
A slow smile spread across Wi Ja-myeong’s face as he gripped his sword.
“Here I am, standing before you, completely healed.”
His gaze was fixed on a single point. There stood his daughter, Wi Dan-wol, who had already become the absolute ruler of the Divine Cult.
He recalled the events of two months ago.
The moment she returned and pointed her sword at him, declaring, ‘I will inherit the throne of the Cheonma.’ At the time, he had been utterly dumbfounded.
He could never have imagined that his runaway daughter would return with her supposedly incurable Nine Yin Severed Meridians completely healed, let alone with a husband in tow.
‘And that audacious son-in-law of mine hasn’t even shown his face.’
Thanks to the information Ma-cheon and Gwonma had gathered while scouring the Central Plains for a cure, he had a rough idea of what kind of man this son-in-law was.
‘Jin Seo-yun, was it…?’
A sense of anticipation bloomed in a corner of his heart. The man who had changed his daughter so drastically. The man who had even sent him an antidote.
‘I’d like to sit down with him for a drink soon.’
Ordinarily, his body should have perished the moment he relinquished the title of Cheonma. But he was still alive.
Because his daughter had saved him.
‘Did she say I should stay alive and manage the Divine Cult in her stead?’
How absurd that had sounded.
Wi Ja-myeong chuckled, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists to check his condition.
His body was certainly healed. But he had been steeped in poison for too long. It would be difficult to wield his power as perfectly as before.
Moreover, his body still ached from the bloody battle he’d fought with his daughter over the throne not long ago.
‘Still, as the former Cheonma… I can’t show any weakness.’
Wi Ja-myeong raised his head and awaited the command of his daughter, the new Cheonma.
Click, clack.
A single, quiet step. But that one step was enough to make the earth tremble and the air grow heavy.
Wi Dan-wol’s black eyes swept over the three kings of the Celestial Sphere assembly.
“So you’re the insects called the Celestial Sphere assembly. And—my husband’s enemies.”
As her voice echoed, someone screamed as if in terror.
“She’s coming—!!”
BOOM!
The moment Wi Dan-wol’s foot kicked off the ground—
KRA-KAAAAAANG!
A storm of black energy erupted, tearing through the sky and crashing down like a tidal wave. As a jet-black sword light swallowed their entire field of vision, the earth shook and the warriors of the Celestial Sphere assembly screamed.
“Damn it, begin the ritual! The target is Wi Dan-wol!”
At Golden Demon’s shout, dozens of sorcerers raised their hands in unison. Complex formations were carved into the air, and vast spiritual power gathered, about to complete a massive magic circle—
CRASH!
Wi Dan-wol was already upon them. The sword force flowing from the tip of her blade was as thunderous as a bolt of lightning splitting the heavens.
The Nine Heavens Demonic Sword—.
The moment the first form of the Cheonma’s sword art was unleashed.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!
A jet-black sword light that seemed to pierce the sky exploded in all directions. The formations the sorcerers were carving were torn apart one by one, followed by a continuous spray of blood and screams.
“Aaargh!”
“The formation…!”
The sword light was no mere attack. Within it churned a killing intent that devoured all energy and sliced through even the soul, like a divine punishment from the nine heavens.
“Damn it! Gwak Cheon-hong! We attack together!” Golden Demon Du Hang-cheol screamed in desperation.
“Got it!”
Gwak Cheon-hong’s body blazed like a fire. The blood energy erupting from him whipped into a violent gale.
KWAAANG!
The wave of red flames and the black sword light collided head-on. In that instant, the air tore apart, and a shockwave exploded in all directions.
“No Sa-un, now!”
As Du Hang-cheol roared like a beast, White Wolf No Sa-un’s shadow flashed, cutting through the air. The form of a white wolf soared up, its sharp claws descending to rip at Wi Dan-wol’s neck.
However—
CLANG!
A single sword strike.
With nothing more than a fluid flick of her wrist, Wi Dan-wol’s black light swept out, simultaneously cutting through and extinguishing both Gwak Cheon-hong’s flames and No Sa-un’s white wolf.
“Kuh… Impossible…!”
A cry bordering on despair burst out. But Wi Dan-wol’s face remained impassive.
Her fingertips slowly reached toward the empty air.
‘My husband… he called the Dark Chaotic Thunder the Cheonma Death Beam, didn’t he.’
At first, she’d found it absurd that he would call a technique of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art by such a strange, nonsensical name, but for some reason, it had stuck.
A cold smile spread across Wi Dan-wol’s lips.
A blackish-purple energy condensed at her fingertip, flashing.
“—Cheonma Death Beam.”
KRA-KAAAAAAAAANG!!
A bolt of lightning, a chaotic mix of black and violet, erupted forth. With a deafening roar that tore the world asunder, it swallowed No Sa-un’s body whole.
“Damn it…!!!”
No Sa-un resisted with all his might. He clawed at the air, mustering his energy, but his body was pushed further and further back until he could hold on no longer. His flesh sizzled and distorted.
“Gaaaargh!”
No Sa-un’s body tumbled to the ground. He was charred black, barely clinging to life.
Wi Dan-wol took a step forward.
Stab.
The tip of her sword pierced his heart, then thrust down toward his dantian.
Her eyes were cold and downcast.
‘My husband said that the members of the Celestial Sphere assembly only truly die when their Soul Stones are destroyed…’
As she twisted the sword, a faint light hidden deep within No Sa-un’s eyes shattered into pieces.
“Im… Impossible! She knows about the Soul Stones…?!”
In that moment, all the blood drained from Gwak Cheon-hong’s face. Du Hang-cheol’s eyes bulged as if they would pop out, and he let out a furious, desperate scream.
“Damn it—Run!!”
At his shout, the disorganized warriors of the Celestial Sphere assembly scattered in every direction. But their path was blocked.
BOOM!
“You came to the Divine Cult as you pleased.”
Wi Ja-myeong’s voice was calm, but a frosty aura spread from within it.
Gwonma straightened his back and let out a low laugh.
“But… you won’t be leaving that way.”
With their escape route cut off, sweat poured down Du Hang-cheol’s forehead.
“Haha… Look here, fellas… If we surrender, will you accept…?”
“What do you think?”
*
“Hey.”
“Yes…?”
“You never learned the chamber arts?”
Ha-myo’s eyes went wide before she answered, her tone incredulous.
“Of course not! I only learned formations and necromancy to survive…!”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“Tsk, what a useless bitch.”
“Hey! That’s so mean! I, uh, found information for you and everything! And you just barge in here and, uh, torment me!”
“Whatever. Just bring me the books on souls.”
“Hmph… Does he think I’m his servant or something?”
“What was that?”
“I didn’t say anything~”
I chuckled as I watched Ha-myo stomp away, and the two women beside me spoke up.
“Honey, you’re not going to do her?”
“That’s right. It’s strange to leave a beauty like that alone. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
I shook my head lightly and replied, “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Maybe it’s because she’s practiced necromancy… but there are a lot of spirits attached to her. Probably the people who died in the Mosan Sect… Among them, I can feel some that are unbelievably strong.”
The strange chill I’d felt when I first met Ha-myo. The shadowy figures of spirits that had been only faintly visible when I entered the Mosan Sect were now becoming clearer. The more time passed, the more distinct their forms became.
‘A few of them tried to latch onto my body just a moment ago.’
I had felt their cold touch seeping deep into me. But my Absolute Resistance trait rejected all spiritual intrusion. An invisible barrier seemed to surround me and my women, preventing the spirits from ever getting close.
“There’s no telling what might happen if I mess with her.”
When I spoke firmly, Bi-yeon flinched and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Gh-ghosts…! There are… ghosts here?”
I glanced at Bi-yeon.
“But you’re a spirit. You didn’t feel anything?”
Bi-yeon shook her head vigorously.
“No, not at all… All I felt was that this entire place is covered in yin energy. Ghosts? I haven’t seen any.”
Seo Ryeo-hwa, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.
“Honey… in that case, isn’t that woman, Ha-myo, dangerous? If those spirits were to go berserk…”
I crossed my arms and fell into thought for a moment.
“She is dangerous. But at the same time, she’s also a valuable asset.”
If she could properly control the most powerful spirit lingering around her, she would undoubtedly become a tremendous military power.
‘Should I try to seduce Ha-myo first?’
If I touch her by force, there’s no telling what crazy shit the spirits might do. So, forcing myself on her is out of the question. But I can make her spread her legs for me on her own.
Wi Dan-wol
