Chapter 202
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: The Three Demons' War (12)
The key figures of the Heavenly Dance Family.
Family Head Baek Gun-hak.
The Azure Dragon Unit.
The Blade Leaf Demon.
Pavilion Lord Bul-wi of the Mengwu Pavilion.
They were all racing towards the Sidalmok Basin.
Each of them worried for different people.
The key figures of the Heavenly Dance Family and Baek Gun-hak worried for Mu-heun.
The Azure Dragon Unit for the Azure Dragon Unit and Cheon Ga-rak.
The Blade Leaf Demon for the Maple Leaf Unit, Un-gak, and Un-pyo.
Pavilion Lord Bul-wi and the Moon Spirit Unit for Pa-sun.
But in the end, their concerns all converged on one person.
Baek Mu-heun.
When they thought of him,
no matter what disaster struck,
they had faith that he would overcome it.
However,
his opponents were the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon.
It was impossible not to feel anxious.
Just then.
CRRRRRAAAAACK!
A deafening roar, as if the mountain itself was exploding, echoed through the air.
An explosion unlike any they had ever felt in their lives.
“Please… be alive…”
They pushed themselves to their limits, quickening their pace.
* * *
-Sidalmok Basin, Yeomho Lake.
The energy emitted by martial artists is formless.
An energy without shape.
Therefore, to use it in actual combat, one must undergo grueling training to refine that energy, a process that feels like carving one's own flesh and bone.
Condensing and imbuing color into this normally invisible and intangible energy—that was how martial artists accumulated and wielded their internal energy.
However, the Heavenly Demonic Energy was no ordinary energy.
It was an energy processed into sharp lines,
then made to collide and explode.
Hence, it was both coarse and delicate.
It didn't just end with an explosion; the lines would then flow again to be reprocessed.
The Heavenly Demonic Energy was menacing and rough, but just as sharp.
The formation Mu-heun had laid out over Yeomho Lake using the Myriad Fragrance would not be swept away by any ordinary wind, nor erased by any common impact. The powerfully fixed fragrance was so intricately sculpted that it could deflect any physical shock.
However, there were those who understood the characteristics of such a formation.
The successive Cult Leaders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
They had striven tirelessly to find a way to strike at the weakness of formations that were difficult to overpower with brute force. The result was their conclusion: if one could process their energy to its absolute finest limit…
they could destroy the very foundation of any formation. Even formations not made of the Myriad Fragrance ultimately relied on a flow of energy.
If one could sharply pierce and scatter that flow, the formation would become useless.
And now, the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon were attempting to dismantle Mu-heun's formation.
Fwoosh!
The Ice Demon unleashed a Heavenly Demonic Energy as chilling as the ten-thousand-year-old ice of the North Sea Ice Palace.
The Flame Demon began to emit a Heavenly Demonic Energy like the boiling lava of a volcano.
““Formation!””
““Technique!””
““Dispel!””
Fshhhhhhh!
A sharp Heavenly Demonic Energy, condensed to its utmost limit and then condensed again and again, rained down over the entire lake. It was an energy like finely honed needles. Mu-heun's Myriad Fragrance formation was mercilessly disrupted and erased.
Among the warriors surrounding Yeomho Lake, the only one who accurately understood the situation was Jin Mu, the Lord of the Bright Heavenly Demon Unit.
Mu-heun could feel a drop of sweat trickling down his back.
“This is…”
Mu-heun realized this fight would be anything but easy.
‘This is dangerous. These two are more threatening than any enemy I've faced before. This… a single misstep and I could die.’
Mu-heun quickly assessed the situation.
‘The one I must be most wary of right now is…’
The Flame Demon, Cho Yeom-wi.
Unlike his constant smiling, this man was exceptionally cold-headed.
‘At some point, Cho Yeom-wi even started referring to me as ‘that man.’ He has completely abandoned the mindset of looking down on me as a junior martial brother, someone of a lower station.’
Just as Mu-heun had predicted, Cho Yeom-wi had resolved to fight with all his might.
‘He is no ordinary man. I can't let my guard down just because there are two of them. One wrong move, and it will be Senior Sister and I who lose our heads.’
“Senior Sister! If we attack now, he won't be able to completely exploit our power like before! But as long as that man has his sword and dragon robe, attacking together is a bad move! From now on, we must take our time and attack separately!”
“…”
Instead of answering, Yeon Ah-ryeong gave a silent nod. Then she spoke to the Flame Demon via telepathy.
[ I will attack first again. I'll use a sharp strike rather than a wide-ranging one, so analyze his response. ]
[ Understood. ]
Yeon Ah-ryeong unfolded her Ice-White Demonic Fan once more. A melody of blue poetry swirled and began to form a waterspout, rising in a circle with a radius of ten feet around her.
“Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon, Ice-White Demonic Fan. Myriad Ice Arrow Azure.”
She pointed the Ice-White Demonic Fan in her hand at Mu-heun and swept it down. In an instant, ice arrows filled with a viciously cold aura began to pour from the sky.
‘As expected…’
Even with his Sun and Moon Sword and the Yin-Yang Twin Dragon Robe, Mu-heun could not absorb the solidly frozen arrows. It was an attack that concealed condensed energy within a physical form.
It was a move born from perfectly observing and countering Mu-heun.
Mu-heun had no choice but to erupt with Heavenly Demonic Energy as he gripped his Sun and Moon Sword. He held the hilt tightly with both hands and infused it with his energy.
Then, drawing a smooth arc from his lower left, he thrust his sword toward the sky.
“Divine Sword of the Heavenly Demon, First Form! Nine Heavens Demonic Sword! Asura Slash!”
CRACK—!
A formidable sword strike soared as if to split the heavens, and it was repeated.
The demonic sword that rends the nine heavens.
Asura Slash.
A strike so powerful that most martial artists would not survive a single blow.
Such strikes were launched again and again. As countless ice spears adorning the sky rushed toward Mu-heun, a massive sound of tearing air filled the space above.
The Ice Demon, Yeon Ah-ryeong, and the Dragon Demon, Baek Mu-heun.
The two were evenly matched in energy.
And…
The Flame Demon, Cho Yeom-wi, was concentrating the energy of a fire demon into his divine weapon, the Blazing Hell Blade.
“If you can absorb energy, then try this. I will give you an attack that you can never absorb.”
It was the moment Mu-heun's ominous premonition came true.
The vermilion light that Cho Yeom-wi had previously shot at Mu-heun.
That flame, so highly condensed it had become light, was truly menacing. It had pierced through even the frozen storm Yeon Ah-ryeong had created around his body.
Even when he absorbed and defended with the Sun and Moon Sword and the Yin-Yang Twin Dragon Robe, the shock had still been transmitted to his body.
It wasn't an attack that spread wide to create a large-scale explosion, but the Flame Demon's power compressed into a single point. No matter how one defended with a divine artifact, it was not a force that could be completely blocked.
But now, Cho Yeom-wi had compressed and condensed that crimson flame even further, imbuing it into his blade. He had poured all his energy into the Hell Blade, sublimating it into a physical attack.
This was clearly because he had seen Mu-heun counter the Ice Demon's physical ice with a sword strike and had figured out the weakness of Mu-heun's divine artifacts.
Cho Yeom-wi kicked off the ground and charged.
Fwoosh!
“Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon. Flame Demon's Annihilation. Flame Dragon Dance!”
As if lava had burst through the earth's surface, the Flame Demon elegantly swung his dark red Blazing Hell Blade.
CLANG!
“Kuh…!”
Mu-heun instantly recognized how sublime the Flame Demon's blade techniques were. His bladework was as graceful as a dancer's movements.
A sharp blade flying from the left would suddenly change direction and come from the right; its trajectory was unpredictable.
If he hadn't known the dance-based footwork of the Heavenly Dance Family, he might have lost an arm.
KANG! KANG! KANG!
CLANG!
The Flame Demon's blade seemed to aim for Mu-heun's knees, then suddenly changed its path and flew toward his neck. However, Mu-heun remained composed. He altered the path of his Sun and Moon Sword, which had been moving to defend his knees, to protect his neck instead.
CLANG!
K-K-K-K-KANG!
“Ugh!”
‘It’s like fighting a blade made of lava…’
Mu-heun realized that even with the power of the Sun and Moon Sword and the Yin-Yang Twin Dragon Robe, he couldn't completely deflect the Flame Demon's attacks.
‘Dammit, he should have been hit by the full force of the Dark Soul Dance Strike… How is he moving like this?’
Just then, he noticed a red bead around the Flame Demon's neck. A powerful red energy was emanating from the bead, flowing ceaselessly into the Flame Demon.
‘Is that it…!’
Mu-heun immediately erupted with his internal energy and powerfully struck the Flame Demon's blade away.
KWAANG!
Then, Mu-heun unleashed an ultimate technique of the Divine Sword of the Heavenly Demon at the Flame Demon.
“Divine Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Second Form. Heaven-Descending Sword. Dragon's Descent, Heaven's Breach.”
The sky tore open and a black dragon descended, landing on the tip of the Sun and Moon Sword. The ferocious dragon then spread its fierce aura, opened its mouth, and roared before flying forward as if to destroy everything in its path.
At that moment.
“Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon. Ice-White Demonic Fan. Ice-White Space Sever.”
Yeon Ah-ryeong unfolded her demonic fan and stood before the Flame Demon. With her ice arts, the ice of Yeomho Lake rose up. The whitish-blue ice wall looked like a single barrier at first glance, but it was not.
It was a wall made of hundreds, thousands of layers. An ice wall of a level that mediocre ice arts could not even hope to imitate.
And.
Crack, crack, crack.
Awl-like shards of ice began to protrude from the ice wall. The shards soon gathered together, forming a bud like a single lotus flower… When the beautiful lotus blossomed, something like a seed was revealed. In the center of the lotus was an ice sword, crafted like a diamond.
“Ice Lotus Demonic Sword.”
The lotus began to close its petals again. The seed-like ice sword also absorbed a blue demonic energy.
K-k-k-k-kak!
“Open!”
With Yeon Ah-ryeong's shout, the ice sword, wreathed in blue demonic energy, was launched.
Mu-heun realized that, once again, this was a physical attack he could not absorb.
KWAGAGAGAGANG!
“Nine Heavens Demonic Sword! Asura Slash!”
Mu-heun also unleashed a formidable sword strike. Not just once, but several times.
However.
His internal energy was severely depleted, and his aura was shaken from his battle with the Flame Demon. There was a limit to how much he could block the Ice Demon's already highly refined attack.
Mu-heun hastily changed his form.
“Divine Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Third Form. Asura's Heaven-Annihilating Art. Heaven Sever!”
CRRRRRAAAAACK!
“Keuk!”
Although he had blocked all the blue ice swords, large and small cuts remained all over Mu-heun's body. Blood also trickled from the corner of his mouth, a sign of internal injuries.
Just then. Crack!
The ice wall the Ice Demon had created split in two, and from within, the Flame Demon walked out, the flames on his Hell Blade even more condensed.
Two absolute masters. And to make matters worse, even the formation Mu-heun prided himself on was useless. A desperate situation.
Swish.
Mu-heun raised his sleeve to wipe the blood from his mouth, then spoke.
“Well, now. It seems the Cult Leader’s disciples are not to be taken lightly.”
“Still running your mouth? Stop bluffing.”
“Senior Sister, I can see his energy waning. Let's press our advantage. But we must not let our guard down.”
The Ice Demon nodded and said,
“Go. Don't give him a moment to think.”
“…Yes.”
Fshat!
The Flame Demon's Flame Dragon Dance. It was a blade honed to the extreme, with absolutely no wasted energy. Its destructive range was very narrow and limited, but… the Flame Demon's speed, bordering on demonic transformation, perfectly compensated for that weakness.
A life-or-death situation. Mu-heun smiled faintly again.
His eyes wide open, he stared fixedly at the Flame Demon's blade.
Then he raised his Sun and Moon Sword and began to clash against the Hell Blade with all his might.
KWAAAAANG!
“Come! I will not retreat, even if it means my death!”