Chapter 188
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Cave (3)
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Cross over the Heavenly Mountains and head northeast.
There stretches a vast desert and great steppe so immense that one can't even guess where it ends.
And.
Where there is land, there are people.
All the men making their living on that boundless expanse carried a single thread of ambition in their hearts.
Hundreds of years ago.
To the south, the haughty Central Plains folk.
To the west, even the ghostly-looking Westerners.
Under the great Ye Ke Mongol Orus Khagan's name, they had crushed and dominated them all, basking in glory as warriors.
Though they had now lost all the splendor of rulers, how could they have forgotten their pride, even in decline?
Thus.
They had gritted their teeth and honed themselves, ever eager to recreate their past glory.
That group was known as the Gale Wind Sand.
Like the sandstorms that occasionally swept across the entire desert.
They were the gathering of those upholding their ancestors' legacy, aspiring once more to be the sole masters of the vast lands.
And their leader.
Borjigin Bat'ar—
Known in the Central Plains as Ironwood Xiong—was sharing drinks with his distant anda.
"You've grown a lot stronger since we last met. Central Plains martial arts?"
"Not long ago, I delved deeper into the cult's techniques. Well... I can't say I learned nothing from the Central Plains."
"Looks like you've found your place. Congratulations."
Instead of replying, Cheon Siu raised his cup and clinked it against Ironwood Xiong's.
With the dull thud of ox horns colliding, they both emptied their cups without needing prompting.
"The time has come to fulfill our aspirations."
"So that day has finally arrived."
Their bond had ripened long ago.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had suffered oppression from the Central Plains, especially the officials, over many years—and the Mongols had endured the same.
Ironwood Xiong, born of a great bloodline yet having faced harsh trials from childhood, had naturally forged a deep friendship between them.
And now.
The plans they had laid over time were finally coming to fruition.
Thud—
The conversation paused, but the cups circulated once more.
"How?"
Cheon Siu's question came out of nowhere, but.
"I'm thinking Liaoning."
"Liaoning? Isn't that too close to Beijing?"
"That's precisely why it matters. They need to feel the fangs at their throats to sense the crisis. Plus, it'll help rally us so-called barbarians there."
"Hmm..."
It made sense.
Crossing the Gobi Desert straight to Ningxia and then south toward Shanxi would fatigue the troops too much.
That cunning woman Cheon Luri had diverted the cult's main forces to Ningxia precisely to check the Gale Wind Sand's movements.
But Liaoning?
The only obstacle would be the Moyong Family.
They weren't crossing Shanhai Pass, so no immediate imperial troops. At most, nearby martial artists from the Hebei Peng Family or Hwangbo Family would stir.
It was an ideal setup to whittle down the righteous sects' power.
"And brother?"
"This side? Well."
Cheon Siu had also neatly arranged his own hand.
A bit unreliable, and perhaps hiding ulterior motives, but.
Centered on the Ghost Demon, from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains through Guangxi to Guangdong.
The Mad Demon should be expanding influence by now, forcing unorthodox warriors in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian to their knees.
And with the Desert Demon securing the Heavenly Mountains, allied with the already-persuaded Podalab Palace, and now the Gale Wind Sand moving.
They could stir a massive storm across the entire Central Plains.
Of course, the execution was still some time off.
Until now, everything had proceeded smoothly, mostly as predicted.
Until now.
"Excuse me a moment."
"Still carrying that ominous thing? Who knows what tricks are inside?"
Ironwood Xiong frowned at Cheon Siu pulling out his smartphone, but he ignored it and checked the incoming message.
And.
"Brother?"
Cheon Siu fell momentarily speechless.
[Hoyeonhwa: Blood Lord]
[Hoyeonhwa: The Heavenly Demon Cave has just opened]
[Hoyeonhwa: Signs of the 6th gate breakthrough appeared moments ago]
[Hoyeonhwa: If I may be so bold, have you perhaps returned without my knowledge?]
Cheon Luri was surely still in Xi'an. No, definitely—she'd reported yesterday.
Then who?
Could it be Cheon Luri?
How? ...Why?
Like someone flicking a Go stone onto a meticulously placed board.
Cheon Siu's mind blanked for a moment.
I had struck the nail on the head.
Thinking from the Heavenly Demon Cave designer's perspective had yielded such perfectly timed results.
The sixth gate was ridiculously simple.
A massive demon stone in the center.
And two engraved characters: Complete Charge.
I just had to play human battery and fill it with demonic energy—a straightforward setup.
And.
The payoff came immediately from greedily sucking up demonic energy at the fifth gate.
They say geniuses land on their heads safely even when falling backward.
A slight delay, but it turned into a blessing in disguise.
Rumble—
The path to the next gate opened upon fulfillment, and hazy text floated on the ceiling.
Forcing five hundred characters of incantation into my head naturally led to an epiphany with a flash.
This floor's core was.
"Sword Aura Technique."
It detailed how to embody and wield the far more unstable demonic energy as sword aura.
Indeed.
Sword aura requires substantial inner energy backing, so the gate's message was clear.
The incantation alone, with detailed explanations, felt like it could fill 5,700 characters.
Thanks to the Small Nothingness Art, I fully internalized the new Heavenly Demon Divine Art profundities via brain imprinting, skipping the process.
As a test.
"Yah."
Flashing a Luri-like smile, I flicked my finger.
Rumble...!
A beam surpassing Heavenly Demon Death Beam—with Heavenly Demon Death Star-level heft—punched a tiny hole in the wall.
...A wall of millennia-tempered steel.
"Whew."
Solid performance.
Now, what remained.
"Hup! Suuuuck!"
Bored alone, I yelled a weird kiai and shoved the demonic energy the stone had sucked back into myself.
Waste not.
Why toss it?
.
.
.
Seventh gate.
Second or third, maybe.
Another battle stage after that.
This time, wooden puppets? No, iron puppets, intricately designed.
...Reminded me a bit of Northern Bright Secret Realm event level, but.
"Ow, shit."
Scratch that thought.
What iron puppets wield real swords infused with sword aura?
And even.
Clang—!
Somehow, even when I fully wrapped mine in sword aura and smashed down, they took no damage and kept wriggling.
Eight iron puppets emulated the Eight Trigrams, flowing naturally with swords, spears, fists, kicks, and various weapons in linked assaults.
At first, I thought it was an endurance test—no hourglass timer—so probably not.
"Ugh, crap."
Rumble, boom...!
Rolling across the floor in Rammus-style Heavenly Demon Roll to disrupt their formation and escape crisis.
How the hell do you beat this? The thought flickered.
"Hm...?"
Sometimes, you see the view from below.
Not talking panties.
On one iron puppet's thigh underside, a tiny red dot like a period mark.
Buttons must be pressed.
Even if it's "Nothing happens when pressed" nonsense.
"Death Beam Saber!"
Pew!
On my third floor roll, calmly flicking to unleash Six Veins Divine Sword fused with Heavenly Demon Finger—Heavenly Peter-style unique art.
Screech, grind...
Boom...!
"Okay, analysis complete."
Confirming the Kun trigram puppet freeze in place, my hypothesis solidified.
After that, diligent Heavenly Demon Rabbit Jumping, occasional rolls to evade, find weaknesses, and dismantle.
Minor issues: thigh slash, side flesh tear, dizzy from pouring true energy like mad.
Anyway.
No holes in me, no mortal wounds.
Saliva, golden sore medicine, brief circulation—heal up.
And for this moment.
The spirit pill Luri yielded to me—her, who never shared food? Or did she? Anyway, presumed not—was still there.
Briefly invoking soul link or whatever.
Glimpsing Luri's current serene lotus pose with puppy on lap, and her squirming soul-face in my mind-space.
Then casually swallowed the pill and ran battle=recovery breathing.
.
.
.
Eighth gate.
"Is this... all? Disappointing."
"Hey now. Mode's part of skill."
Mirror matches are cliché in tower climbs.
But the opponent...
Dumbass Geum Sihyeon who only knows demonic arts?
Even sealed from demonic arts, my foundation is Northern Bright Divine Art.
No reason to lose to Heavenly Demon Divine Art I'd hosted a month.
I'm confident.
In victory.
Dominated fake-Sihyeon squarely, then slurped the embedded demonic energy with righteous Northern Bright Divine Art.
Fake Sihyeon is dead, gone now.
But lives on as one with my dantian...!
"Gulp."
Savory double demonic energy event byproduct.
"Oh."
This time, even Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship profundities etched into my brain.
...Sword forms numerous and tricky—can't master instantly.
Practice makes perfect.
Anyway.
Floor by floor.
Climbing, a strange sensation of transforming into the Heavenly Demon.
Now remaining.
The ninth gate, last per Cheon Luri—uncharted, even for her legends.
Well...
Not dying, surely.
If "Ah, Transcendent Realm," I'd dust hands and bail for next time.
But I'm still initial^9 Peak, short that final step.
What to do.
"Gotta push more."
Muttering for Luri's ears.
Then strode boldly to the open iron door.
Up the stairs, foot on next floor.
"...?"
When I came to, I was.
Floating in a pristine white void, no foothold, no gravity.