Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Righteousness and Demonic (1)
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The black martial robe that had covered my body was now reduced to fluttering rags, while my entire frame was torn and gashed, red blood streaming down in rivulets.
Even though I had fully enveloped myself in qi, that old monster's sword had left me in this wretched state.
Kekeke...
The old monster's eyes gleamed with an intensifying crimson light as he let out that eerie cackle, his entire body exuding a dark, murky demonic qi that blanketed the area.
"An incomplete Asura Demon Sword. If you can't even slice through the fool before you, then you've learned nothing from me all this time."
The voice that emerged from my lips was purely my own, yet it carried no trace of my will.
The old monster's martial art was the swordsmanship of the Black Heaven Asura, said to be the strongest among the Five Emperors of the Demonic Cult in ancient times.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva...!"
"Primordial Heavenly Lord...!"
The resounding Buddhist and Taoist incantations from behind me belonged to the Divine Monk and the One Yang Adept.
Kuhuhu...
An uncanny laugh leaked from my own mouth.
This laughter welled up purely from the depths of my heart.
I was thrilled.
Ecstatic, to the point where convulsions wracked my body.
How could I not be joyful facing such a formidable foe, staking my life in battle?
Shoooo...
Once more, tendrils of qi filled the space, swarming to encircle and assault my body.
I hurled myself into the midst of those qi strands, thrusting my sword forward.
The qi coiling around my blade obeyed my command, slicing through the incoming strands as it pressed onward.
Kwabang!
For the first time, the old monster leaped back.
I pursued him relentlessly, advancing without pause.
Swaaak...
Strands of qi laced with sinister demonic energy erupted from the old monster's sword, pummeling toward me like a storm intent on shredding my flesh.
Kwakwakwang!
I deflected the qi sword blasts and soared into the sky.
The crimson glare pouring from the old monster's eyes stared up at me.
Then, the sword in his hand shot skyward, plunging toward my throat in an instant.
I twisted my body to evade, but the blade spun midair and came hurtling back at my neck.
Kwang!
I swatted the sword away and plummeted to the ground.
The old monster below, looking up, extended his hand toward my falling form.
Kwang!
My qi-wreathed fist collided with his.
Kuuh...
Incredibly, the old monster's ferocious glare wavered, a groan escaping his lips.
Landing on the ground, I slashed right through him as I passed.
Yet there was no sensation of my blade catching flesh.
"Truly a demon fiend to shake the world..."
The old monster stood clutching his sword, his hand stained with blood.
Kekekeke... Kuhahaha...!
I was so exhilarated I felt like I might lose my mind.
Whiiiiaaa...
The black qi swirled around my body.
Kwakwakwang!
Qi clashed against qi. The old monster's sword pierced the qi barrier enveloping me and gashed across my chest before withdrawing.
A little deeper, and the blade would have run me through.
I thrust the sword that had been whirling around me toward the old monster.
Kwabang! Kwakwakwang...!
Resplendent qi strands poured down upon his entire body.
Kuuh...
The old monster's crimson eyes brimmed with disbelief, his chest and throat deeply slashed.
"How... how do you know my preemptive strike, when even ascension awaits me?"
Even amid this life-or-death peril, I couldn't hold back my laughter.
Kuhahaha...!
"Preemptive strike? In martial arts meant to seize your opponent's life, what is a 'preemptive strike'? And what even divides orthodox arts from demonic ones?"
Suddenly, the Divine Monk's chant rang in my ears.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva."
Almost simultaneously, a frail old woman's piercing cry reached me.
"That is Senior Pure Grace Immortal of Kunlun!"
Pure Grace Immortal?
Ah. So this old monster before me was the legendary master of old, Pure Grace Immortal.
But what did that have to do with me?
Kekeke...
The old monster's dimmed ferocious glare reignited crimson.
Before I knew it, the old monster and I had descended to the foot of the hill.
"You're clearly deluding me, demon fiend."
Swaaak...
A colossal sword qi capable of cleaving the world in two descended once more from above.
As I raised my sword to block, I noticed the old monster's forearm trembling faintly.
Kwabang!
I deflected the blade and retreated, but the old monster's sword clung to me relentlessly.
Kwabang! Bang! ...!
The sword qi remained vast and brilliant, yet it lacked the initial power somehow.
As I parried with relative ease, the old monster leaped back.
Then he produced a silk pouch from his bosom.
Curious about his actions, I watched quietly.
Upon seeing him extract a black pill from the pouch and swallow it, I suddenly realized what it was.
"You... insane old bastard!"
Kekeke...
As the old monster laughed in rapture, I flanked his left side.
Swaaak...
His crimson silk robe split open, flesh and bone severed.
Thud.
The old monster's left arm, lopped off from the shoulder, flopped on the ground.
Kuuh...
The old monster merely let out a thin groan, seemingly unfazed by the agony, and charged at me.
Shiiiiaaa.
A barrage of resplendent sword qi rained down.
But the sword qi barrage veered off course, aimlessly destroying and rending the surroundings.
In that instant, the sword qi erupting from my blade grazed his chest.
Kwawa... Kwabang!
The walls lining the hilltop split and crumbled.
Already cracked and ruined in places, the walls now resembled the pathetic barriers guarding a haunted house.
With one arm severed, the old monster had unwittingly lost his balance.
Kekeke...
"Do you think a demon fiend can defeat this body on the verge of ascension?"
I gazed indifferently at the old monster as he demolished the remaining walls and turned.
Drip. Drip. Drip...
As he raised his sword toward me, blood erupted like fountains from multiple wounds on his chest.
"Senior!"
His gray eyes flickered toward the anguished cry of Lady Azure Sound before returning to me.
Thud.
The old monster dropped to his knees.
His murky gray eyes turned to the sky, then back to me.
A faint clarity glimmered in those dull gray depths.
Huu...
He drew in a long breath, then exhaled.
"...It feels as though I've finally awakened from a long dream. What is your name?"
I sat facing him a short distance away.
"Un-san. Go Un-san."
It was a shame.
Without that damned pill, we could have enjoyed a longer bout.
"Cloud-shrouded mountain... A fine name. I wished to live like nameless grass in the fields, so I called myself Pure Grace Immortal. Long ago, I slew the Demonic Cult Leader Wi Jong-myeong and obtained a scripture he carried. Its cover read Jade Emperor Scripture. After reading it, I beheld a new world. Greed took hold—perhaps I could shed my mortal shell and ascend. But it was no immortal scripture; it was a demon's tome."
The blood flowing from Pure Grace Immortal's body had now staunched.
He turned his gaze to the approaching Five Heavenly Kings.
"Choeam, it's you. One Yang Adept, Namgung Jak, and Young Gai too. With Heavenly Tiger and Azure Sound here as well, my final path won't be lonely."
"Senior..."
Lady Azure Sound rushed forward, tears streaming like rain.
But Pure Grace Immortal spared her no glance.
"Choeam, cremate my corpse. And when Kunlun comes, tell them to strike my name from their rolls. A sinner cannot remain in Kunlun."
"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva."
As the Divine Monk clasped his hands and chanted, Pure Grace Immortal turned back to me.
"As death approaches... you look different somehow. A young man like you, appearing like some... wretchedly aged demon..."
He could not finish his words.
His gray eyes still fixed on me, but the light was fading.
"Green Mountain..."
With those final words, Pure Grace Immortal bowed his head.
"Senior!"
Lady Azure Sound, who had watched him weeping rivers of tears, collapsed to her knees in sobs.
I watched the scene briefly before rising and ascending the hill.
As I took a step, I staggered, losing my balance momentarily.
Seeing the shattered walls from my battle with Pure Grace Immortal and the massive hole Myeong-gak had punched in the house's center, a sigh escaped me.
Haa...
"This is why I wanted nothing to do with the martial world..."
"High Lord."
As I stepped into the ruined courtyard, Myeong-gak approached with an unscathed face.
"Why'd you butt into my fight?"
"I couldn't help it... my body moved on its own."
I flashed a wry smile at the junior disciples gazing at me with concern.
"I'm a bit tired, so I'll head in and rest first."
A few steps later, my legs buckled, and I swayed.
"High Lord!"
I looked down at my blood-smeared body.
This was no condition for a peaceful rest.
Hurried hands steadied me from both sides—Myeong-gak and Cheongpung.
Hurk.
Blood surged into my mouth belatedly.
Seemed my internal injuries were severe too.
"This... if I'm not careful, I might actually die...?"
With those words, I lost consciousness.
Lady Azure Sound stared endlessly at Pure Grace Immortal's corpse before abruptly rising, as if resolved.
"We must kill him."
Namgung Jak blocked her path as she moved to climb the hill.
"Please calm yourself, Elder Azure Sound."
"Why block me? Even the Sword King sensed his demonic qi!"
Revenge and jealousy consumed Lady Azure Sound's heart.
Though Pure Grace Immortal had become a demon and turned against her, she could never abandon him.
Moreover, that young one's martial prowess was excessively strong.
In their previous spar, he must have mocked her inwardly.
"Though he wielded demonic arts, he never harmed us in the least."
Namgung Jak soothed her with a calm voice.
But Lady Azure Sound had already shut her ears.
"Someday, he'll turn his sword on our righteous sects. We must nip it in the bud now."
"Even so, that young man is no demon."
"Sword King!"
Lady Azure Sound erupted in fury, glaring fiercely at Namgung Jak.
Then the Divine Monk's voice rang out.
"Lady Azure Sound, enough. Anyone can see this was Senior Pure Grace Immortal's fault."
"What are you saying? Divine Monk, surely you're not taking that young demon's side over Senior Pure Grace Immortal?"
Her resentment shifted from Namgung Jak to the Divine Monk.
The Divine Monk sat before Pure Grace Immortal's corpse, eyes gently closed.
"What Lady Azure Sound should do now is not draw her sword for blood, but first tend to Senior Pure's remains."
Lady Azure Sound's vengeful, jealous heart wavered.
He was right.
She could not leave him on this cold ground.
"You tend to him."
At the Divine Monk's following words, Lady Azure Sound carefully lifted Pure Grace Immortal's body.
The Divine Monk watched her retreating figure carrying the corpse, then turned his gaze across the river far away.
‘Namo Amitabha Buddha.’