Chapter 190
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Demon Whispered in Starlight (1)
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“Rise.”
That voice carried a demonic power so overwhelming that no Cult member who had cultivated demonic arts could even think of resisting it.
Of course, there were plenty of masters in attendance who had reached a realm where they could shake off such bewitchment by maximally circulating their inner energy.
How dare they.
How dare anyone defy the Heavenly Demon?
And so.
All of them rose in unison as if entranced, standing perfectly straight without the slightest disarray.
It was a unanimous wave of crimson, worthy of being called the return of the red tide!
After a fairly long silence.
“......Don't live groveling. Rise and die.”
When the Heavenly Demon spoke again.
Everyone felt a profound realization hit them simultaneously, like a hammer blow to the head.
Though the phrase was exceedingly brief, it sank into their ears like a line of poetry, sending unparalleled shivers of ecstasy through them.
Living groveling meant all the years they had bowed and scraped to the Central Plains just to set foot here again.
Rise and die meant the Heavenly Demon would stand with them, so they should gladly spill blood for the Heavenly Demon, for demonic supremacy under heaven...!
But their utmost ecstasy lasted only a moment.
The Heavenly Demon's exhortation did not end there.
“Even without form, our steps do not halt. That is the path of the demonic way. However... unshakeable conviction is evil. For justice to be justice, it must endlessly doubt its own righteousness.”
The words that followed.
Seemed at first glance unrelated to what had come before, yet everyone deeply comprehended their true meaning in their hearts.
The Heavenly Demon was rebuking them.
The Heavenly Demon knew everything.
How they had forgotten the greater cause, obsessing only over how the Cult could survive, how to define it.
Not content with splitting in two over some law made by a mere strongman worshiper, they had further fractured into four or five factions divided between the Heavenly Mountains and the Ning River.
He rebuked them in the name of righteousness...!
As everyone was overwhelmed by the returned Heavenly Demon’s sacred aura and the immense weight of his words, they couldn’t even utter a sound, caught between deep emotion and joy.
“Kuh...”
Only one person.
Only Hoyeonhwa truly doubted her own righteousness and let out a frustrated groan.
At that moment.
“Who is it?”
The Heavenly Demon's stern voice shook the world.
“Who made that coughing sound?”
And at those following lines.
Blasphemously, everyone thought the exact same thing.
Was that really a cough?
It didn't seem like it...
Of course.
That thought soon vanished from everyone's minds as perfectly as if it had never existed.
Why?
Because henceforth, 'kuh' was undoubtedly a cough.
The Heavenly Demon had whispered it in starlight.
To lose faith was to court death, after all.
And for all the Cultists exhausted from that long, endless wait, even this was a precious revelation.
Such was the thought process of fanatics.
If the returned Heavenly Demon pointed at one and whispered, 'From now on, your name is Chunsik,' they would shed even the name given by their parents without hesitation.
But...
The sole unbeliever here.
From another perspective, the sole pioneer, Hoyeonhwa.
“No, no...! That guy's a fake!”
Unable to bear all eyes turning to her, she vented her rage at her crumbling faith in Siu.
Before long.
“Hah...”
“A yokai!”
“Tails...!”
At the base of her tailbone, seven fox tails had sprouted.
At that dramatic change.
“Ho, Yin Pearl Force, is it.”
A glint flickered in the eyes of the Heavenly Demon, who until now had impassively overseen the deluded Cultists and delivered his exhortation.
Yin Pearl Force? What's that?
Who knows... When the time comes, the Heavenly Demon will explain.
The incomprehensible term once again stirred murmurs among the Cultists, but after a few telepathic exchanges, they all understood.
The Heavenly Demon had decreed it Yin Pearl Force, so henceforth, all fox yokai would be called Yin Pearl Force.
That was the new law of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“I, I must confirm it myself...! How could there be another Heavenly Demon besides Him!”
With those words.
Hoyeonhwa, her nails grown sharper than steel, charged blasphemously at the Heavenly Demon.
But.
The Heavenly Demon merely gazed at her steadily, a faint, low chuckle on his lips.
He simply said,
“Kneel.”
At that flat command.
“Keng!”
As if crushed by some immense weight from above, as if shackled by the chains of fate that wouldn't release her.
Hoyeonhwa, charging toward the Heavenly Demon, crashed harshly to the ground and neatly knelt.
It was a bizarre motion even she herself couldn't comprehend, and the watching Cultists were all the more astonished.
But the Heavenly Demon merely.
“This is the difference in our eye level, fox.”
In the same unchanging flat tone from beginning to end.
Proudly affirming his stature.
Phew...
That was close, for real.
What the hell, ancient monsters whose faces alone make my flesh crawl, lining up and waiting?
The original plan was to front the brainless one beside me and debut as the maximally harmless prophet, Heavenly Peter.
But even without peering through the Moon-Mixing Divine Eyes, the intensely felt demonic qi made me hesitate for a moment.
Moreover.
What yokai was rolling around in the Demonic Cult?
Of course, having seen peris like Darami or Mireuna countless times, I had plenty of mental resistance, but I never imagined a situation where one would charge at me trying to stab me with a mountain spirit iron skewer.
Thank goodness...
I had recently achieved great success in the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art.
Thus, right now, I am.
Not only the lord of ten thousand demons, the Heavenly Demon.
But also the king of beasts, the Golden Lion King...
The name gives me slight army PTSD vibes.
Let's call it Golden Lion King mode.
“Elder Il.”
“Ooh, Heavenly Demon...!”
A grandpa who looked at least Fusion Realm, with a terribly fierce face, knelt weeping before me.
Maybe because he's a Demonic Cult seed, he hasn't reversed aging... I absolutely didn't have such rude thoughts.
“Though this yokai harbors demonic qi and harbors malice, its essence is a spirit creature. I entrust its reformation to you.”
“By your command!”
As someone from the land of Eastern etiquette, armed to the teeth with respect for elders, getting half-bantering speech from a grandpa his age pricked my conscience sorely.
But.
“Heavenly Demon returned, ten thousand demons rejoice!”
“Heavenly Demon returned, ten thousand demons rejoice!”
This...
Before the fervent audience response.
How could I show a clueless 'Me? Heavenly Demon?' face, or utter words that undermine my own authority?
Impossible.
As Geum Sihyeon, a true Fusion Realm master, employing words befitting time and place was as natural as breathing.
If there was a minor slip-up...
Rushing with Reverse Appearance Art to sculpt Heavenly Peter's face left my jaw feeling a bit too sharp, causing a strong sense of incongruity every time I spoke.
But.
A sharp jaw is the mark of the strong.
Anyway, I could self-assess it as an excellent Heavenly Demon performance.
To cap it off...
“Rust a blade, and it can never stand again. Grip it wrong, and it tears your own flesh. Pride is like that blade. Thus, Cultists, hone yourselves sharply until the time comes. That is the only counsel I can give you now.”
As sternly as possible, lacing my voice with a spoonful of gravitas.
I plagiarized another line from my inner quotation book.
Honestly...
Not for nothing was he an All-Saint.
Every quoted line dripped with the weight that only the Heavenly Demon could utter.
And, as always.
The literary flourish, poetic enough to call a poem, elicited the fitting response.
“Heavenly Demon returned, ten thousand demons rejoice!”
“Heavenly Demon returned, ten thousand demons rejoice!”
It echoed so thunderously it shook the Heavenly Mountains, almost like a macro script.
Yes...
This is it...
.
.
.
After repelling the mad fanatics trying to overdo the formalities with Heavenly Demon Supremacy Step several times.
“Heehee. So cool.”
“Kyau!”
I was walking to the Cult Leader's quarters with Cheon Luri, who had been elevated to Little Cult Leader and Saintess of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and the wolf pup elevated to Divine Beast of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult...
I wanted to bolt straight to the Central Plains, but there was something about offering sacrifices to the heavens.
Forcing myself to preserve the dignity of the Heavenly Demon cosplay without blemish, I had come here swallowing tears and mustard.
And so.
“Phew...”
Finally entering the Cult Leader's quarters, lavishly decorated to the point one wonders where the money came from, where I didn't have to mind anyone except Luri.
Now I wanted to change clothes, soak in hot water, put down Luri whom I'd been carrying, and rest deeply.
But not even half an incense stick later, an uninvited guest arrived.
Phew.
Endure just today, then from tomorrow chase everyone away under the pretext of closed-door training.
I need to roughly grasp how the Cult operates anyway.
“Enter...”
Ack.
The rich red ginseng candy scent wafting from my voice nearly made me slip into polite speech without realizing.
Get it together, Geum Sihyeon.
You are now the greatest Heavenly Demon Nox, mocking even gods!
I can do this!
As I steadied my slightly cracking concept, the door opened cautiously, and a middle-aged man entered with a deferential posture.
Ah...
Really can't get used to it...
“What is it?”
Tensing my vocal cords to the max, I intoned as sternly as possible.
Even after the Heavenly Demon himself questioned him, the middle-aged man loyally offered a deep bow with utmost sincerity.
And then.
Still with a deferential expression, he offered counsel.
“If I may be so bold... Has the Heavenly Demon not yet fully recovered your realm? It seems you have not yet achieved the Extreme Demonic Body either.”
Hm.
The Demonic Cult's slogan is clear: strong rule all, weak meat strong eat.
Translating his words.
'You're not even Fusion Realm?'
......I'm screwed.
For an instant, an el elixir dangled hallucinatorily before my eyes.