Chapter 253
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Cheon Luri (1)
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Facing the endless waves of jiangshi that seemed to pour forth from nowhere.
"You will never bring down Wudang...!"
His body was already covered in countless wounds, yet Ilunja still burned with unyielding fighting spirit.
Even so, the situation had improved a little compared to before.
...He didn't know what bizarre martial art they had cultivated, but through his qi sense, he caught the women who had come with him occasionally crying out in unison as hordes of jiangshi were swept away.
"Yup. Poof. Yap."
True to form as the Little Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult, the girl radiating cuteness reminiscent of Mara Papiyas herself was lending aid to Wudang's defense.
The Heavenly Demon who had appeared in the temple grounds earlier...
No, Great Hero Geum Sihyeon had also sought out the source to resolve this crisis at its root.
If they just held out a little longer, victory was surely within reach.
That was what he believed.
Rumble, ruuuumble...!
A colossal roar that shook the entire mountain.
"Urgh...!"
When an intense malice and despair—erupting from deep below the mountain, perhaps even bursting up through the earth itself—twisted his qi and blood.
"Not here, then."
"...!"
When a warrior radiating a ferocity beyond any master he had ever witnessed glanced indifferently at the Wudang grounds—like one might eye insects—and turned on his heel.
Ilunja's resolve was chipping away bit by bit with every passing moment.
Was it a lack of discipline on his part?
No, that wasn't it.
The situation itself simply felt too bleak for their current numbers to overcome.
Even Great Hero Geum Sihyeon didn't strike him as capable of defeating the man who had brushed past earlier.
And so.
Strength began to drain from his hands.
But.
Bang!
A tiny hole pierced the head of the jiangshi lunging to exploit his momentary lapse.
And.
"Hold on."
The Little Heavenly Demon—who appeared no older than a third-generation disciple, seated in lotus position and desperately suppressing her fear—delivered a stern rebuke to Ilunja.
"Geum Sihyeon, can solve."
"So, hold on."
Her words were crude, almost as if the demonic arts had eroded her speech.
But.
The moment he heard them.
Ilunja's chest began to stir in a strange way.
Right.
He too was Wudang's future Taiji Sword Sage, bearing the sect's tomorrow.
Folding here would tarnish the trust of those who had departed for the Martial Alliance to rally their spirits on his word.
"Thank you, er... may I have your name...?"
"Little Heavenly Demon. Don't call name."
"Pardon?"
"Only Geum Sihyeon can call."
A flicker of bewilderment crossed his face at her affectionate yet brusque tone.
Well, exchanging names hardly mattered in a situation like this.
Glare locked on the jiangshi, who now seemed just a touch slower than before, Ilunja began weaving Taiji once more.
Plunged anew into that state of no-mind.
"No chance...!"
As he swung his sword, countering the jiangshi's glare with an instinctive left palm strike that effortlessly deflected it.
He hadn't realized it yet.
But this was the first time the Yang Heart Divine Art, which he had steadily honed, had manifested smoothly without twisting his qi.
And shortly after.
"──!"
"──, ──."
"──relieved, this──"
"────."
Incomprehensible wails erupted simultaneously across the entirety of Wudang Mountain.
The jiangshi bodies began crumbling to dust, as if they had never truly existed.
The next instant, even the oppressive weight of the formation vanished cleanly.
"Is it... over?"
With Ilunja's murmur.
"W-We survived...!"
"Phew, what fortune, what fortune..."
"Primordial Heavenly Worthy, we thank you...!"
Cheers exploded from all around.
Relief at having endured—at having survived—swept through the group.
But in that moment, only one figure caught Ilunja's eye.
The Little Heavenly Demon alone wore a hardened expression as she pitter-pattered off toward the direction Geum Sihyeon had gone.
Watching her receding back.
Ilunja thought absently.
If a man like Geum Sihyeon earned affection that deep, it wasn't so unreasonable for him to pledge himself to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
A gruesome notion, utterly unbecoming of a Taoist.
* * *
Carrying the unconscious Hong Sundok—whose presence had faded almost entirely, as if she'd lost much of her power—upon his back.
Cheon Siu chewed over his tangled emotions as he exited Wudang's secret cave.
The jiangshi swarming Wudang like a plague had vanished in one fell swoop, so Geum Sihyeon must have pulled something off.
But the pact he had struck with Geum Sihyeon was that he "wouldn't take Hong Sundok's life," and Geum Sihyeon had upheld his end.
Which meant Cheon Siu couldn't lay a finger on the defenseless Geum Sihyeon, not even a hair.
"That bastard... did he maneuver me into it...?"
A belated unease welled up.
With Geum Sihyeon's cunning depths, he might have foreseen this and coaxed those very words from Cheon Siu's mouth.
But the moment had passed; turning back now felt awkward at best. Cheon Siu merely sighed and quickened his pace to flee Wudang.
But then.
"What're you doing here?"
"...Cheon Luri. It's been a while."
Cheon Siu's steps faltered upon spotting Cheon Luri drifting lightly toward him from the opposite direction.
Clearly, this tiny, brazen official Little Heavenly Demon shared a profound bond with Geum Sihyeon.
And considering the unique nature of her constitution.
Even without Hong Sundok, he could advance to the next phase of his plan using Cheon Luri.
Such a thought flickered through Cheon Siu's mind.
"Where's Geum Sihyeon? Is he okay?"
But.
The moment he glimpsed the anxiety and fidgeting unease shaking in the eyes of Cheon Luri—who always wore a blank or arrogant expression.
"...He won't be moving anytime soon, but he'll be fine. Probably."
Cheon Siu quietly reined in the aura he had begun to muster.
Abducting Cheon Luri and forging a blood feud with Geum Sihyeon would mean nothing if his plan succeeded.
But.
- Live like a human, you blood cur.
"Like... a human."
Cheon Siu had always pursued his aims without regard for ends or means.
Yet Geum Sihyeon's words had left a faint resonance in his heart.
...Unlike himself, she possessed everything the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult offered.
Paradoxically, that very fact made her seem perpetually unhappy and alone—and the moment he witnessed that side of her.
Cheon Siu no longer felt any desire to touch Cheon Luri.
That was all.
.
.
.
After fleeing Wudang and running a good distance away.
Hong Sundok finally stirred to consciousness.
"...Troublesome wench. Awake already?"
Cheon Siu's gruff words reached her ears.
But.
She couldn't comprehend their meaning.
And so.
"Big brother... who are you? Why am I here?"
She voiced her honest feelings.
Cheon Siu scowled, wondering if this hag had finally lost her marbles from the shame of her blunder.
But upon seeing Hong Sundok—Hong Ryeon—wear a look of genuine terror, her body trembling uncontrollably, he checked her pulse and.
"Ha...!"
Cheon Siu could only sigh.
He had no idea what method was used.
But Geum Sihyeon, that mad bastard.
Had perfectly sealed away both the vicious malignancy and the blood arts lurking within Hong Sundok's body.
At this point, Hong Sundok was utterly worthless.
Should he turn back to Wudang Mountain now and thrash that dog of a man? As Cheon Siu pondered.
"Um, big brother...? Am I... being abandoned again? I don't want to be abandoned anymore....... Please? I won't be a bother. I'll run errands perfectly. So, so please......"
Perhaps reading the emotion on his face.
Hong Sundok began pleading for mercy with a heartrending expression.
And at that sight—overlapping with the ancient tale of Hong Sundok's past that he had once heard—Cheon Siu.
Let out a profoundly deep sigh that lingered on and on.
* * *
Cheon Luri, who had crossed paths with Cheon Siu on her way in, pitter-pattered urgently along the trail of the soul-binding spell's presence until she found Geum Sihyeon.
Geum Sihyeon remained seated in lotus position right there.
"Geum Sihyeon...!"
Cheon Luri's frantic voice echoed through the cavern.
At a glance, Geum Sihyeon's condition was far from normal.
Though a faint smile graced his face.
One of his arms was clotted with bloody qi, as if the limb itself had dissolved into a pool of blood.
In destroying the formation's core, he had been drenched head to toe in every foul curse comprising it.
Incomprehensible, grotesque patterns were branded across his entire body like tattoos.
Even so.
Cheon Luri stepped toward Geum Sihyeon's side.
Pain was something she knew well.
And if the curse clinging to his body transferred to hers—if she could share that suffering, ache alongside him.
Even if that place wasn't by Geum Sihyeon's side but hell itself, Cheon Luri would step into it willingly.
Because it was the only place where she could rest easy.
Perhaps sensing her intent.
"Don't... come... I told you......"
Even with his eyes closed, he could sense Cheon Luri.
Geum Sihyeon's voice emerged low and trembling.