Chapter 198: Beiming Divine Art (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: Beiming Divine Art (3)
Cr-cr-crack! ────────
The Ice Palace Master had completely lost her mind. A Transcendent Realm martial artist who had lived for hundreds of years was actually burning her own Primordial True Qi?
It was a phenomenon so rare it was practically unheard of. On the few occasions in history it did happen, it was whispered of as a walking catastrophe.
"This is…!"
"I’ll kill you… I’ll kill every last one of you!"
The Sword Demon hastily swung his blade and retreated, but the rampaging Baek Seol-hyang was utterly terrifying. The Yin Cold Energy she unleashed began to freeze the very space around them.
Cr-crack!
For some inexplicable reason, even time seemed to flow sluggishly within her domain.
The Sword Demon slowed; Baek Seol-hyang accelerated. Closing the distance in a flash, she slammed her palm directly into the Sword Demon’s abdomen.
"Guh…!"
Thump! The Sword Demon was sent flying like a broken kite. He struggled to steady his stance, his body already beginning to freeze from the inside out.
"Divine Priestess…! I beg of you!"
The Divine Priestess began to pray, her eyes wide open.
"May the fire demon that shall shroud the world descend…."
Her fully opened Upper Dantian resonated with the world. Her spirit dyed the surroundings, finally succeeding in pushing back Baek Seol-hyang’s domain just enough to breathe.
Whoosh!
Sacred Fire bloomed, melting the frozen space. Baek Seol-hyang laughed maniacally at the flickering flames surrounding the Divine Priestess.
"Heh, hahahaha…! Yes! A Divine Priestess of the Demonic Cult! I shall slaughter you and throw your corpse to the pigs right before Mara’s eyes!"
Whoosh!
Riding a biting wind, Baek Seol-hyang reached the Divine Priestess in an instant and thrust her palm forward.
"Divine Priestess!"
The Greed Demon threw himself into her path. Suppressing his bloated stomach, he thrust his own palm out to meet hers.
Crack!
Though most of his forearm froze instantly, the grotesque mouth on his palm managed to devour Baek Seol-hyang’s Astral Qi.
"Fine spirit, Palace Master!"
Seizing the opening, Seo-jun grinned and quickly targeted the Divine Priestess. But just as she was about to cast a spell, Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes rolled back in her head.
"You goddamn son of a bitch!"
Boom! She mercilessly kicked the Greed Demon away and extended both hands, brimming with a massive amount of Yin Cold Energy.
Cr-cr-cr-crack! ────────!!
Terrified by the approaching wave of energy, Seo-jun unleashed the Beiming Divine Art—or rather, what looked like it, but was actually the Star-Absorbing Great Art.
He had long since deciphered the oral chants of the Ice Soul Divine Art. He unraveled the composition of the martial art, absorbed the incoming attack into his body, and fired the overflowing energy right back at the Divine Priestess.
Pshaaaa!
The Divine Priestess countered with a prepared spell.
Fwoosh! A tiny spark spread wide, forming a barrier. It was thin enough to see through, but it was an absolute shield containing the Sacred Fire.
Sizzle!
The energy of the Ice Soul Divine Art turned into steam and froze white in the air. Seo-jun kicked off the empty space, retreating as he gave an approving nod.
"Mm. That was a good combination, Palace Master."
Drip.
Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes turned entirely blood-red. Capillaries burst, and tears of blood streamed down her face. Gasping for breath as her Qi Deviation rapidly worsened, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Now… kill these bastards right now!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
The Super Peak experts of the North Sea Ice Palace stepped forward. They rapidly formed a formation to face the monsters of the Extreme Demon realm, exchanging quick, uncertain glances all the while.
Is he a hidden Young Palace Master?
Seeing him use the Beiming Divine Art, isn't it obvious?
But the Palace Master's reaction…
The Palace Master isn't in her right mind. If he uses the Beiming Divine Art, he must be the Young Palace Master.
Despite their confusion, they funneled their strength into one woman who served as the axis of the formation. She poured that overflowing power into her most confident technique.
Ice Crystal.
The Yin Cold Energy condensed into a mass the size of a human torso before violently exploding forward.
Pshaaaaaa! ────────!!
The Sword Demon stepped up. He had already expelled the foreign energy Baek Seol-hyang had forced into his body. Though the ambush had been sudden, he felt deeply ashamed of his failure to respond properly. He swung his sword with everything he had.
Slash ────────
The Sword Demon’s blade cleanly cut through not only the Ice Crystal but also the martial artist who had unleashed it.
"Agh…!"
In an instant, a Super Peak expert was sliced in half. The remaining Ice Palace martial artists gritted their teeth and unfolded a joint attack formation.
"Vanguard!"
The Ice Palace’s Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation followed the principles of the Eight Trigrams. A fierce blizzard raged within, driven by the combined energy of the martial artists positioned in the eight directions.
The Sword Demon swung his sword indifferently.
Swish!
With just a light swing, deep wounds were carved into the martial artists' bodies. Yet, not even a single thread of the Sword Demon’s clothing was nicked.
Eight against one. The result was the Sword Demon’s overwhelming dominance.
That crazy bastard.
He was clearly one of the top dogs among the Seven Demons. Seo-jun clicked his tongue and moved to help the Ice Palace martial artists. It would be highly troublesome for him if the Sword Demon was cut loose.
First…
Normally, a joint attack often backfired if the participants hadn't coordinated beforehand. Seo-jun was completely ignorant of the formations used by the Ice Palace. Someone who didn't know the intricacies of the formation would only be a hindrance if they tried to blindly jump in.
However, given the nature of the Ice Soul Divine Art, the formations utilizing it were closer to pure Qi-based techniques. Reading the flow of energy was absolute child's play for Seo-jun.
Naturally slipping into the optimal position within the array, Seo-jun unleashed the Ice Soul Divine Art.
Exploding Snow.
Boom! Seo-jun thrust his palms multiple times. The unleashed Astral Qi exploded, turning into countless razor-sharp fragments that showered down upon the Sword Demon.
Combined with the power of the Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation, the might of the attack was extraordinary.
But it didn't mean much. Even an amplified attack at the Super Peak level was effortlessly swept away by a single stroke of the Sword Demon’s sword.
Swish!
Having easily blocked the attack, the Sword Demon immediately counterattacked.
"Young Palace Master!"
Bang! A woman threw herself forward, blocking the blow in his stead. Bleeding from the corner of her mouth, she shouted, "If we hold out just a little longer, reinforcements will arrive! Just until then…!"
Seo-jun focused, mostly tuning her out. Extreme Demon and the Fire Demon Realm. They were realms he had successfully achieved, but he couldn't afford to use them right now.
The battlefield's balance was barely holding. This was partly because the Ice Palace Master was doing far more than her fair share, but also because the demons were incredibly wary of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons' sprout hidden somewhere within the Ice Palace buildings.
Therefore, his best course of action was to utilize power at the Transcendent Realm level without revealing his true identity. While the Fire Demon Realm would be vastly more convenient for dealing with these demons, this was his best option for now.
"Sss…."
His Qi swelled massively, bridging his Essence and Spirit. Through the medium of Qi, his Essence and Spirit drew closer together, and his soul, now elevated in status, rejoiced.
The Qi Spirit Scripture. As he achieved that miraculous state, the world around him began to flow in slow motion.
Was it because he had already stepped into the Fire Demon Realm? Maintaining this heightened state was significantly easier than before.
Suddenly, Seo-jun’s eyes flashed.
Now.
At a timing the Sword Demon could never have anticipated, Seo-jun kicked off the ground.
Thud.
Appearing right before the Sword Demon’s nose in an instant, Seo-jun extended his palm.
"This is…!"
His speed had multiplied several times over in a single heartbeat. Flustered, the Sword Demon hurriedly blocked with the flat of his blade. Seo-jun lightly pressed his hand against the cold steel.
Riiip!
While rapidly absorbing the Sword Demon's Astral Qi with the Beiming Divine Art, Seo-jun condensed the purest Yin Cold Energy onto his own palm. The sensation was strikingly similar to the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art. However, this was unadulterated, pure Yin energy.
"Haa…."
His breath froze white in the air. Seo-jun smirked and powerfully fired the dense mass of Yin energy condensed on his palm.
Zip!
The glowing white energy pierced straight through the Sword Demon’s blade—which had just been drained of its Astral Qi—and punched through his abdomen simultaneously.
"Guh…!"
The Sword Demon hastily retreated, swinging his sword rapidly to create distance. Because of the violent energy ravaging his internal organs, a thick clump of blood surged up his throat. He glared murderously at Seo-jun while gripping his snapped sword.
"You're quite something…."
The boy's realm clearly appeared to be Super Peak, yet the sheer power he wielded was much closer to the Transcendent Realm.
The Sword Demon growled and quickly tapped several points on his own body. By sealing his pressure points, the bleeding stopped almost immediately.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, Sword Astral Qi surged over the broken blade, artificially extending it back to its original length. The Sword Demon narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"It seems if I want to take the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons' sprout…."
Just then, a massive, oppressive energy fell from the sky.
"Tsk."
The Sword Demon reacted instantly. He threw himself aside, narrowly evading the crushing energy plummeting from above.
BOOOOOOM! ──────────!!
A giant fist mark was violently engraved into the earth.
Thump! Thump!
Evading the successive, earth-shattering fist strikes, the Sword Demon retreated far away. He lifted the brim of his bamboo hat to look up at the sky.
"…A big shot has appeared."
A man stood suspended in the air, his hands clasped casually behind his back.
It was Je Cheon-hyeok, the Family Head of the Heaven-Breaking Je Clan, one of the factions belonging to the Seven Evil Black Sect. Though it was widely said he was a step behind Namgung Jin-cheon, the current strongest man in the world, he was by no means an opponent to be taken lightly.
Being only a single step behind the absolute strongest meant that with just one more stride, he would be his equal. He was an incredibly burdensome opponent, even for someone like the Sword Demon.
"Divine Priestess, what shall we do?"
The Divine Priestess, who had been desperately fending off Baek Seol-hyang alongside the Greed Demon, also looked deeply troubled. While the sprout of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons was important, they could lose absolutely everything if they got too greedy here.
"…We retreat."
Fwoosh! Unleashing a burst of Sacred Fire to shake off Baek Seol-hyang, the Divine Priestess kicked off the ground and fled.
"Finally…!"
The exhausted Greed Demon quickly followed close behind her.
Baek Seol-hyang rushed madly toward the three rapidly retreating demons.
"Where do you think you're going…! You won't escape!"
"Enough."
Je Cheon-hyeok descended, cleanly blocking her path. Baek Seol-hyang, still streaming tears of blood, glared at him with unhinged fury.
"You dare… block my way?"
"Qi Deviation. This is troublesome."
Je Cheon-hyeok unleashed his overbearing momentum. Baek Seol-hyang released hers in response, but her internal injuries caught up to her, and she coughed up a sickening handful of blood.
"Cough…!"
As the blood spilled from her lips, Je Cheon-hyeok mercilessly struck Baek Seol-hyang in the abdomen.
Thwack!
"Gah…!"
Baek Seol-hyang instantly lost consciousness. After confirming the demons had completely vanished from his Qi sensing range, Je Cheon-hyeok spoke to the surviving Ice Palace experts.
"Clean up the damage. Reinforcements from the Black Lotus Union will arrive soon."
The Ice Palace martial artists nodded and immediately began looking around for the Young Palace Master. Since the Palace Master was unconscious, the right of command naturally fell to him.
"Eh…? Where is the Young Palace Master…?"
But the Young Palace Master was nowhere to be seen. The martial artists looked around in confusion before turning back to Je Cheon-hyeok.
"I shall take my leave. It is troublesome for me to be away from my post for too long."
He casually tossed the unconscious Baek Seol-hyang to the martial artists.
"Palace Master!"
As one of them scrambled to catch her, Je Cheon-hyeok turned his back.
"Devote all your efforts to the Palace Master's recovery. The damage here is too great. At this rate, those Righteous Faction bastards will completely take over the western part of the Central Plains."
With those parting words, his figure vanished without a trace.
The martial artist holding Baek Seol-hyang looked around blankly. The Ice Palace was utterly devastated. The Palace Master had collapsed from severe Qi Deviation, and the Young Palace Master was nowhere to be found.
"What on earth is happening…."
His hollow voice faded into the freezing North Sea wind.
*
Having quickly escaped the perimeter of the Ice Palace, Seo-jun suddenly found himself facing Je Cheon-hyeok, who had silently appeared before him.
"Well, do you have business with me?"
Seo-jun didn't know much about Je Cheon-hyeok. He only knew the man was, roughly speaking, 'incredibly strong.'
But even so, the man was alone. Even if Je Cheon-hyeok attacked, Seo-jun was entirely confident he could escape safely.
As Baek Seo-jun furrowed his brows in suspicion, Je Cheon-hyeok observed him closely.
"The Beiming Divine Art…. Fortunately, it seems the Ice Palace won't collapse entirely."
Je Cheon-hyeok vanished after leaving those cryptic words. Seo-jun couldn't tell what the man's true intentions were.
"Phew."
In any case, the escape was a success. Seo-jun quickly found a secluded spot and finished applying a suitable disguise. He was now just a generic Evil Sect expert who hadn't even made a name for himself yet.
It's a shame.
It seemed he shouldn't use the identity of 'Baek Seo-jun' for a while. He had used it out of sheer necessity this time, but even if others couldn't logically link Cheon Seo-jun and Baek Seo-jun, they might still intuitively feel something was off.
Since he could alter his appearance in various ways anyway, he planned to lay low and watch the martial world's trends for a while.
I can still use it for assassinations occasionally, though.
Or maybe next time he stopped by the Ice Palace, it would be nice to swipe that 'Ice Crystal' thing. Honestly, he didn't really need the Ice Crystal, but he was incredibly curious to see the Ice Palace Master's reaction to having her precious treasure stolen.
He felt a little bad, but… weren't they an Evil Sect currently at war with the Righteous Faction anyway? If they didn't like getting robbed, they should have joined the Righteous Faction.
Actually, even if they were Righteous, he probably still would have harassed them since they were the source of the martial art that had tormented Chun-bong. But regardless, their suffering wasn't Seo-jun's concern.
Should I try to move away from the name "Seo-jun" for my next identity?
Seo-jun hummed a cheerful tune as he unfolded the New Primordial Unity Divine Art.
BOOM! ────────!!
Setting aside the retired identity of Baek Seo-jun, he had gained quite a lot this time. First of all, his achievements were absolutely brilliant.
The North Sea Ice Palace was devastated, the Ice Palace Master was severely injured, and the fragile relationship between the Demonic Cult and the Black Lotus Union had completely soured. On top of that, he had managed to temporarily draw a Transcendent Realm expert into the Ice Palace's messy affairs.
Unless the Murim Alliance's strategist was completely incompetent, the Righteous Faction would be able to gain significant advantages from this chaos. If they had any conscience at all, he felt they should officially summon both Baek Seo-jun and Cheon Seo-jun and award them a grand commendation.
In effect, hadn't the two of them single-handedly removed the North Sea Ice Palace—one of the pillars of the Seven Evil Black Sect—from this war?
Thinking about it again, I'm basically a war hero, aren't I?
Seo-jun nodded repeatedly with immense pride as he circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he achieved both the Fire Demon Realm and Extreme Demon simultaneously. Now that his safety was fully secured, he planned to move quickly toward the Namgung Clan.
But before that, he had to quickly finish the naming process he had postponed.
A realm that achieves both the Fire Demon Realm and Extreme Demon. Then… Demon-Demon Realm? Fire-Extreme Realm?
After a brief moment of thought, he reached a simple conclusion.
I'll just call it the Fire Demon Realm.
He had turned into a literal demon, after all. Fire Demon Realm wasn't a bad name at all.
Standing tall in the sky for a moment to enjoy the refreshing sense of liberation, Seo-jun waved toward the distant horizon.
"Thanks, Tianshan! Thank you, North Sea Ice Palace!"
He had achieved tremendous growth through this little escapade. If he settled his recent enlightenments and trained just a bit more, he would surely achieve remarkable results.
If that happened, experts who could actually face him in the Central Plains would become exceedingly rare. It meant he would soon possess the power to openly defy the sect leaders of the Sixteen Major Sects and Clans.
But such grandiose things weren't what was truly important to Seo-jun.
Hehe, time to go rub Chun-bu-i's heaven-defying cheeks.
Seo-jun hurried his steps toward the Namgung Clan with a beaming smile.
With a light heart, he leaped straight toward the jaws of adversity that waited wide open for him.