Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Birth of the Heavenly Demon God Cult
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The warriors of the Martial Emperor Fortress trembled with rage. The Martial Emperor had been their unifying force—the only one capable of coordinating their vast martial organization. And he was the man they all revered.
With their Martial Emperor dead, their fury was inevitable, and it was inevitably directed at the Heavenly Demon.
The warriors of the Martial Emperor Fortress and the Martial Alliance moved in unison. They began slowly tightening their encirclement. They didn't act rashly. The Heavenly Demon might take the women standing in front of the carriage as hostages.
But they weren't worried. They had the Golden Demon Art on their side.
Demonic cultivators struck by the Golden Demon Art were reduced to near-vegetables. Healthy fighters could easily handle such cripples. Besides, to Jin Guk-ho's eyes, the women by the carriage were clearly trained in martial arts.
The Heavenly Demon wore a troubled expression. With enemies gradually closing in, escape wasn't straightforward.
Though the Martial Emperor was dead, the Heavenly Demon hadn't emerged unscathed. He'd suffered severe internal injuries. His qi wasn't circulating properly. He could probably muster less than thirty percent of his usual power.
In a clash between two of the world's top experts, that wasn't a huge loss. But given the circumstances, it felt otherwise.
The Heavenly Demon pondered for a moment, then glanced at the Sword Demon.
"Will you help me?"
The Sword Demon nodded at the Heavenly Demon's question. He had no choice. The man before him now wasn't the Heavenly Demon he'd known. That made refusal even harder.
The Heavenly Demon's face brightened slightly. With the Sword Demon's aid, escaping this place wasn't entirely impossible. The Illusion Demon's immunity to the Golden Demon Art improved their odds further.
Dan Hyeong-u watched their exchange silently. He couldn't yet decide his own course of action, but one thing was clear: He didn't want to let the Sword Demon go.
Dan Hyeong-u acted on his thoughts. He stepped forward, blocking the Sword Demon's path.
His intent was unmistakable.
The Heavenly Demon's expression turned hollow. If Dan Hyeong-u opposed it, there was nothing he could do. The Illusion Demon alone couldn't get them out safely.
"I beg you. Let me go."
The Sword Demon pleaded earnestly, gazing at Dan Hyeong-u's back. He couldn't bear to watch the Heavenly Demon fall to the Golden Demon Art.
Had he died fighting the Martial Emperor, the Sword Demon would have simply nodded and offered condolences. But to see him crippled by the Golden Demon Art, dragged away like a dog—no, that he couldn't stomach. The Heavenly Demon was the pinnacle of all demonic cultivators.
Despite the Sword Demon's plea, Dan Hyeong-u shook his head firmly. Then he spoke.
"Instead."
It was a single word from Dan Hyeong-u. But its implications were far from simple.
"Cough!"
The Heavenly Demon spat blood. With his internal injuries, disrupting his demonic arts was all too easy.
"Urk."
His demonic arts surged anew. Composed of pure demonic qi, it was overwhelmingly powerful. The initial pain gradually twisted into ecstasy.
Whoosh!
Vast demonic qi swirled around the Heavenly Demon. Only then did he fully comprehend. The sheer might of pure demonic qi. And why he hadn't surpassed the wall before him.
The Heavenly Demon's eyes sank like deep pools. He reined in the raging demonic qi, drawing it deep within.
"This... this is true demonic art."
He murmured calmly. But his heart raged. He nearly fell into qi deviation from sheer excitement.
Forcing his mind to settle, the Heavenly Demon looked at Dan Hyeong-u.
"Huuu...."
After a long, deep breath, the Heavenly Demon cupped his fists toward Dan Hyeong-u, pouring in every ounce of respect he could muster.
Age meant nothing now. Nor did anything else. From the depths of his soul, the Heavenly Demon sincerely yielded to Dan Hyeong-u's power.
With the wall shattered, far more lay revealed. He realized the power he'd glimpsed—and measured—in Dan Hyeong-u was mere dust.
Having paid such respects, the Heavenly Demon turned his gaze to the approaching Martial Alliance and Martial Emperor Fortress warriors.
With this power, he could slaughter them all. Scanning the Alliance ranks, he spotted the Demon Extermination Squad members. Those, at least, had to die.
As the Heavenly Demon eyed the Alliance warriors, Jo Seol-yeon stepped forward and urgently asked Dan Hyeong-u,
"You don't plan to kill them all, do you?"
The Heavenly Demon turned at her question.
"Must I tell you?"
"Please do."
Her bold demeanor sparked interest in the Heavenly Demon's eyes. Though he'd contained his demonic qi, his aura was beyond imagination.
The approaching warriors from the Alliance and Fortress had noticeably slowed under its pressure.
To withstand that aura and speak so forthrightly was intriguing. No ordinary martial skill could achieve it.
"If I said I would, would you stop me?"
Jo Seol-yeon shook her head.
"Please don't."
The Heavenly Demon smirked faintly.
"Why should I?"
"You've already gained what you came for. So spare their lives."
Her words silenced the Heavenly Demon. For some reason, he felt compelled to listen. This seemingly insignificant woman tugged at him oddly. But he couldn't just flee and leave them all—especially the Demon Extermination Squad.
He decided: Spare the rest, eliminate only the squad. He opened his mouth to tell her as much. But the words wouldn't come.
It was baffling. She was truly nothing special. Yet he couldn’t defy her. A sense of crisis even crept in.
The Heavenly Demon panicked. He couldn't grasp what was happening to him. Then he noticed the Sword Demon.
The Sword Demon was quietly shaking his head, as if to say, Look at me.
The sight snapped him awake like a cold dousing.
"Very well. As you say. No need for needless bloodshed. The Martial Emperor's dead anyway."
With those words, the Heavenly Demon leaped away. The remaining three demonic cultivators followed.
His sudden move threw the Alliance warriors into chaos. But their response was swift.
"Unleash the Golden Demon Art!"
Jin Guk-ho shouted. Before he finished, the Demon Extermination Squad had already activated it. Golden Demon Art qi blanketed the area. Naturally, the Heavenly Demon's group couldn't escape its reach.
The Blood Path Guest and Demon Archer staggered. But the Heavenly Demon and Illusion Demon held firm.
The Heavenly Demon seized the Blood Path Guest by the scruff. The Illusion Demon hoisted the Demon Archer.
In an instant, the four vanished from sight.
Jin Guk-ho stared blankly at their retreating backs.
"We had them...." ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Free of the Martial Alliance's pursuit, the Heavenly Demon set the Blood Path Guest down in a suitable spot. He'd been hit by the Golden Demon Art but escaped quickly enough to suffer no major harm.
As the Blood Path Guest entered meditation, the arriving Illusion Demon laid down the Demon Archer. He too began circulating his qi.
The Heavenly Demon stood silently, then addressed the Illusion Demon.
"What do you think?"
This journey to the Central Plains had confirmed it for the Heavenly Demon. The Illusion Demon's exceptional talent. He possessed a mind unlike ordinary demonic cultivators—a strength beyond all else. The most vital power in the Heavenly Demon Fortress.
The Illusion Demon nodded in response.
"Well done, my lord. That woman is clearly close to him."
He referred to Dan Hyeong-u as "that one." Such was his deep admiration for the power.
"Indeed. Without the Sword Demon, I'd have botched it."
The Illusion Demon had seen the Sword Demon's head-shake too. It gave him another certainty.
"She's likely someone profoundly important to him. The sort he might do anything for if she asked."
The Heavenly Demon looked puzzled.
"That significant?"
"Else the Sword Demon wouldn't have pleaded so desperately. Had she asked, even these two might have escaped the Golden Demon Art."
The Heavenly Demon's face showed disbelief. But he soon nodded gravely.
"Perhaps. If so, we must win her over."
"Exactly. And in my view...."
As the Illusion Demon trailed off, the Heavenly Demon frowned questioningly.
"What is it? Speak freely. I acknowledge you."
The Illusion Demon's eyes widened. The Heavenly Demon never lightly acknowledged anyone. Hitherto, only the Sword Demon and Demon Archer.
The Sword Demon for his sword, the Demon Archer for his bow. Himself—for his mind.
"We should make him a god."
The Heavenly Demon's face twisted oddly. He knew Dan Hyeong-u's power was immense, but deifying him? Even if true, it posed issues.
"What do you mean?"
"No need to settle for a fortress. If we can draw him in, enshrining him as a god and forming a cult wouldn't be amiss."
"A cult...."
The Heavenly Demon's eyes gleamed. It made sense. Demonic cultivators were willful, hard to unify. But religion could bind them simply.
"The Golden Demon Art will help greatly. Good we didn't kill them."
Grasping it instantly, the Illusion Demon smiled.
"Yes. With it, we can draw most demonic cultivators into the cult. But first, before releasing their Golden Demon Art, we must indoctrinate them thoroughly—near brainwashing—with our doctrines."
The Heavenly Demon nodded.
"Good. You handle it. I expect great things."
The Illusion Demon bowed deeply.
"As you command."
The cult's leader would be the Heavenly Demon himself—the first pontiff. Dan Hyeong-u, filling their turbid demonic arts with pure demonic qi, would be a god to demonic cultivators. The perfect Demon God.
"Demon God indeed. The Demon God to seize and shake the world. We'll name it the Heavenly Demon God Cult."
"Brilliant."
And so, in a small forest in the Central Plains, the Heavenly Demon God Cult began. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Mo Yong-hu received word of the Five Great Families' gathering via carrier pigeon. The letter was penned by Mo Yong-seol herself.
"Phew, looks like we barely scraped by. Thank goodness."
He muttered in relief, but worry lingered. The dispatch noted the Jegal Family seemed to have caught wind of the Mo Yong Family's troubles.
"How did our family end up like this...."
He sighed briefly, to no avail. The Azure Dragon Sword was dead, over half their warriors reduced to bloody pulp, and they'd suffered massive financial losses.
For the Mo Yong Family to rise again would take over a decade—at best, unhindered. Rumors would spread soon, drawing checks from Liaoning's myriad sects.
"If not for that bastard...."
Mo Yong-hu thought of Dan Hyeong-u. Fear drowned his rage. But if he could kill him, he would.
At that moment, a eerie voice whispered in his ear.
"Do you desire power?"
Mo Yong-hu startled, scanning around. Nothing.
"Do you desire power?"
He nodded fearfully. Of course—who wouldn't? With power, such worries would vanish.
"If you wish, I shall grant it. That power."
A man appeared before Mo Yong-hu, rising smoothly from the floor like mist. His gloomy eyes fixed on him.
"Wh-who are you?"
Fear crept in. The man emanated nothing—no presence.
Without seeing him, Mo Yong-hu wouldn't have known he was there. No aura, no warmth.
"I am Shadowless. The messenger who will link you to the council henceforth."
A chilling smile curled Shadowless's lips.