Chapter 766
The Nature Sword created by the Sword Sovereign bore an uncanny resemblance to the very goal Bu Eun-seol pursued.
If he were to fight the Demonic Heavenly Emperor right now—Bu Eun-seol, too would likely employ principles similar to those of the Nature Sword.
"Indeed, there is no other way."
Bu Eun-seol's aim was not to ascend to some supreme, boundless Realm.
Rather, it was to drag down those Masters who wielded divine-level Martial Arts, forcing them to the ground.
And the Sword Sovereign had personally demonstrated that such a feat was not impossible.
The profundity of the Nature Sword had proven it could be the answer.
"The path is becoming clearer, bit by bit."
The Sword Sovereign's Nature Sword had broken through the Supreme Sword Path, reaching the Way of Heaven and Humanity.
And the path he pursued was not about destroying forms—but about rendering all things into their most natural state.
Through the Nature Sword, the way to reach that place was finally becoming visible.
"If I can make everything whole..."
Bu Eun-seol clenched his fist.
If he could achieve that—
Then even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, that invincible superhuman who seemed utterly unshakable, would inevitably fall.
With even Bu Eun-seol gone, Victory over Evil was swallowed by silence.
The surroundings, where even the sounds of nature had faded, looked as though they had been severed from the world itself.
Shwook.
But then—a shadow emerged, accompanied by a crimson glow.
It was none other than Jeok Bung, the first to have left Victory over Evil.
Swiik.
For a long while, he observed the collapsed Rocky Mountain around him.
Then, abruptly, his gaze fixed on the spot where the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had stood.
Flash!
A brilliant light erupted from his pupils. He had found definitive proof to confirm his suspicions.
He walked over to where the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had stood and scrutinized the area once more.
"Heh heh heh..."
Jeok Bung, who had been chuckling darkly, suddenly burst into Mad Laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
After roaring with laughter for a long moment, he abruptly cut off and spoke coldly:
"So he hadn't reached a flawless state after all?"
Where his gaze was fixed—
There remained a trace so minute that no human eye could perceive it: the mark of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor deploying his Movement Technique.
"He was injured."
Jeok Bung's lips curled into a frigid smile.
A Master of the Ultra-Extreme Realm, like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, possessed superhuman equilibrium—one that should never falter.
Yet the footprints left behind when he activated his Movement Technique and departed showed the slightest imbalance.
"That's why he didn't finish off the Buddhist Venerable."
Jeok Bung knew a secret about the Demonic Heavenly Emperor that others did not—
That he regarded the Buddhist Venerable as a thorn in his side, one he had repeatedly tried to kill whenever the opportunity arose.
This time, the Buddhist Venerable had come to Victory over Evil alone—the sole representative of the Righteous Faction.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to eliminate him.
Yet, even after casually slaying the Sword Sovereign, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had merely watched as the Buddhist Venerable collected the corpse before leaving.
Because if he attacked the Buddhist Venerable, his injury would be exposed. Though the Three Demons belonged to the Demonic Path, they could turn on him at any moment.
'He didn't even look the Buddhist Venerable in the eye.'
Had their gazes met, he might have lost control of his killing intent and struck him down immediately.
So he deliberately avoided looking at him altogether.
Jeok Bung, the first to leave Victory over Evil, had belatedly sensed something amiss and returned to analyze the traces left behind by the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
And just as he suspected—the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had suffered severe Internal Injuries.
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
Jeok Bung's eyes flashed as he gazed at the distant sky.
"There's Possibility now."
Muttering in satisfaction, he—
Shwook.
—vanished in an instant, leaving behind a bloody glow.
Yet not long after his departure—
Goooooo...
The sound of compressed Air echoed from the distant sky, followed by a thud as a faint shadow materialized in Victory over Evil.
None other than the Profound Demon, Wi Ji-mua.
Step. Step.
He, too, wandered the area for a while, examining every corner.
When he discovered traces of Jeok Bung's return, he gave a bitter smile.
"Indeed, old ginger is the spiciest."
Wi Ji-mua had also sensed something strange and returned to Victory over Evil late.
While focused on the battle between the Demonic Heavenly Emperor and the Sword Sovereign, he had felt an inexplicable dissonance.
Surprisingly, even Wi Ji-mua had detected it—
An indescribable, subtle Existence crouching within Victory over Evil.
But it was so perfectly blended into the surroundings, like Air itself, that he couldn't pinpoint its exact location.
If he could sense it, there was no way the Demonic Heavenly Emperor wouldn't have noticed its Presence.
He had belatedly returned to see how the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had dealt with it.
"How curious. Jeok Bung—did he surpass even my senses?"
Wi Ji-mua had mistakenly assumed that Jeok Bung, like himself, had returned to the Victory Over Evil Path after everyone else had left, in order to confirm the presence of some undetectable entity.
"Huh."
However, as Wi Ji-mua followed Jeok Bung's traces, he let out a deep sigh.
He had discovered traces of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's Movement Technique.
"So that's how it was."
The Sword Sovereign's Nature Sword possessed such transcendent might that even Wi Ji-mua couldn't help but marvel at it.
Yet the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, with his terrifying Demonic Arts, had seen through all its weaknesses.
By using the enemy's spear to pierce the enemy's shield, he had effortlessly brought down the Sword Sovereign.
But that was only how it appeared to the naked eye—in truth, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had suffered severe internal injuries from the momentum of the Nature Sword.
"Who will seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"
Wi Ji-mua's muttering voice grew thin.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor, who had remained invincible all this time, had now sustained grave injuries... From this point forward, the situation was impossible to predict.
Flash!
Leaving behind a streak of light, he unleashed his Movement Technique and vanished into the distant sky.
—The Demonic Heavenly Emperor has defeated the Sword Sovereign!
The outcome of the decisive battle between the Demonic Heavenly Emperor and the Sword Sovereign had finally reached the Murim.
The Sword Sovereign, who in his later years had attained enlightenment and achieved an unprecedented surge in martial prowess, had finally completed his long-cherished wish—the Nature Sword.
Confident, he had challenged the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, only to be defeated in the end.
This truth was revealed by the Buddhist Venerable, who had retrieved the Sword Sovereign's remains.
And in an unprecedented move, the Sword Sovereign's remains were enshrined within Shaolin—a place that never accepted outsiders.
As the news spread, countless leaders of the Righteous Faction mourned the fall of Murim's great star and traveled to Shaolin to pay their respects.
—The Demonic Heavenly Emperor. Is he truly an invincible superhuman?
With this battle, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had once again proven his supremacy.
Since his emergence in Murim, he had never once tasted defeat—an undefeated Great Demon, the Sky of the Demonic Path.
The only one who had ever ever drawn with him was Shin Do-mu-bi, the Heaven of the Righteous Path, said to have reached the pinnacle of orthodox martial studies.
Put another way—if even Shin Do-mu-bi, the Number One of the Righteous Path, could not defeat the Demonic Heavenly Emperor... then for all intents and purposes, he was an existence beyond defeat.
—Is the balance of power gradually crumbling?
With this outcome, the hearts of the Righteous Faction grew heavier.
While Shin Do-mu-bi continued to repeat his closed-door cultivation, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor no longer secluded himself.
This meant that the gap between them had widened by now.
And one could only assume that Shin Do-mu-bi was aware of this, hence his continued seclusion.
But then, another astonishing rumor began to spread.
—The Demonic Heavenly Emperor also suffered grave injuries in this battle.
Though he had emerged victorious,
it was revealed that he had sustained deep internal injuries from the Nature Sword, the Sword Sovereign's creation.
—The Nature Sword forged by the Sword Sovereign possessed the power to return all things to their natural, unaltered state. Because of this, even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor ultimately suffered severe internal injuries.
Despite the spread of these rumors,
the people could not bring themselves to believe them.
They found it hard to accept that the invincible Great Demon could have been wounded.
But when it was revealed that the source of these rumors
was none other than the Buddhist Venerable, who had witnessed the battle firsthand,
the martial artists of Murim burned with fury.
—Is now the time to kill the Number One of the Demonic Path?
Those who had reached the extreme heights of martial arts, like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, rarely suffered injuries.
And even when they did, they healed in an instant.
Having transcended the limitations of the flesh, they possessed regenerative abilities beyond human limits.
But exposed to the Sword Sovereign's Nature Sword—which returned all things to their natural state—his regenerative abilities had been nullified.
He had been reduced to an ordinary body, no different from any other person.
In other words—now was the time.
The time to kill the Absolute Master known as the Sky of the Demonic Path.
As these rumors spread,
the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, in turn, made a sudden move.
Without a single guard in tow, he began wandering the Rivers and Lakes alone.
The people could not understand it.
Even if he had secluded himself in closed-door cultivation to prevent his injuries from worsening, it would still not have been enough.
But despite the fact that it was now known he had suffered deep internal injuries from the Nature Sword—
he was wandering the Rivers and Lakes alone?
—Could it be... a lie?
Murim was thrown into chaos.
Was the Demonic Heavenly Emperor putting on an act to conceal his injuries?
Or was this a trap to lure out those who sought his life?
—A clever move. To prevent the Righteous Heavenly Emperor from making his move.
The Martial Alliance put forth the following opinion:
Since the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had not refuted the Buddhist Venerable's words, it was practically an admission that the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had indeed sustained injuries.
If the Righteous Heavenly Emperor were to challenge him in this state?
He would have no choice but to offer his neck.
By publicly declaring his injuries, he had effectively prevented the Righteous Heavenly Emperor from challenging him—or so they claimed.
—That couldn't be.
Yet most martial artists reacted skeptically to the Martial Alliance's reasoning.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor was the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
He was a man who held himself in the highest regard.
If he had been afraid of the Righteous Heavenly Emperor's challenge simply because of his injuries?
He would never have earned the title of Demonic Heavenly Emperor in the first place, nor would he have lasted so long in the Demon Hall without being ousted.
—Just what is he plotting?
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor—who could plunge the entire martial world into chaos with a single injury.
What was he doing? What was he aiming for?
But the world did not know.
That someone entirely unexpected.
Had challenged the Demonic Heavenly Emperor as he wandered the martial world, grievously wounded.
The sky stretched endlessly blue without a single cloud, and a gentle breeze carried the warmth of the sun.
As if savoring the pleasant weather, an elderly man walked slowly along the main road.
His appearance was ordinary, the kind commonly seen at the edge of a village, and his physique was unremarkable.
Yet his posture was ramrod straight, and his gaze was as still as a frozen lake.
Not only that—he betrayed no emotion whatsoever. No joy, no anger, no sorrow, no delight... nothing.
Tap. Tap.
The old man's strides were measured, as if drawn by a ruler.
The sound of his footsteps echoed crisply, as though he were walking on smooth glass rather than solid ground.
Even stranger was the fact that despite walking for a long time, not a single soul—not even an ant—could be seen.
In a bustling city like Chengdu, such complete absence of people was impossible.
A martial artist with keen insight would have guessed that some faction had mobilized to seal off the road.
But the old man paid no mind to the empty scenery, walking forward with an indifferent expression.
The further he went, the quieter the world became, until the only sound left was the echo of his own footsteps.
Chirp. Chirp.
Before he knew it, the old man had arrived in a dense forest where the sound of insects filled the air.
Green leaves swayed in the wind, painting a perfect picture of spring.
Yet as he observed the scenery, his eyes suddenly turned desolate.
The cool breeze, the rustling branches, the sliver of light peeking through—
Every sight before him held its own laws and truths.
The old man contemplated the natural world before him, pondering the profound principles of transcendent martial arts.
"I see. So that's how it was."
As if grasping something, he nodded repeatedly.
His mind, bathed in the spreading realization, remained in a state of endless tranquility—
Yet at the same time, an unbroken stream of thought continued to flow.
"The path to enlightenment is difficult, and the path to putting enlightenment into practice is even more treacherous."
The old man's name was Mu-myeong (Ignorance).
It was not his original name, but one he had given himself.
Mu-myeong referred to the state of ignorance—of failing to grasp the truth of the universe.
A state where reality becomes distorted, the mind grows chaotic, and desires and obsessions endlessly bloom.
And he wished not for himself, but for all in this world to remain in that state of ignorance.
"Even if one comprehends the true principle, if they cannot cast aside their desires, they will ultimately fail to act upon it."
Muttering softly, the old man suddenly halted his steps.
In that instant, the serene calm that had enveloped the forest vanished in the blink of an eye.
The surroundings abruptly took on a perilous, razor-sharp atmosphere, as though the landscape itself had been carved by a blade.
Thud. Thud.
At the same time, the sound of heavy footsteps approached from somewhere.
Unlike the crisp steps of the old man, these were deep and resonant, shaking the earth itself.
Swish.
Finally, a middle-aged man appeared before the old man—a towering figure clad in white robes embroidered with intricate patterns.
His pupils flashed like lightning with every movement, and his piercing gaze seemed capable of seeing through all things.
Whoosh.
Upon facing the old man, the man in white clasped his hands together in the utmost respectful manner.
"Martial Alliance, Commander of the Divine Might Hall—Baek In-cheong."
The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, and a crystalline energy radiated from his pupils like transparent shards.
"I pay my respects to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor."
The old man who had been walking so ordinarily was none other than the Demonic Heavenly Emperor—Sado Mu-myeong himself.
And the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared was none other than Baek In-cheong, Leader of the Divine Might Hall of the Martial Alliance.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor wandered the Murim alone, yet because of him, the Righteous Faction was being toyed with.
Because there was no one who could stand in his way.
—Does the Righteous Path truly have no one who can defeat even a wounded Demonic Heavenly Emperor?
As such whispers spread endlessly throughout the Murim, Baek In-cheong had finally steeled his resolve and stepped forward to block the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's path.
"So, in the end, you could not cast aside your desires."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor smiled faintly as he gazed at Baek In-cheong.
In his eyes, Baek In-cheong was nothing more than a foolish mortal—one who, despite knowing the truth, could not restrain his desires and had thus made an idiotic choice.
"I don't know what you mean."
"You've been making the back of my head burn these past few days. Have your calculations come to fruition?"
As the Demonic Heavenly Emperor chuckled, Baek In-cheong's eyes wavered slightly.
In truth, this was no impulsive challenge. He had been tailing the Demonic Heavenly Emperor ever since his appearance in the Murim, observing him relentlessly.
And at last, he had confirmed it—the Demonic Heavenly Emperor was truly, gravely wounded.
A Master of his caliber should never lose his perfect sense of balance, yet his footsteps had been ever so slightly unsteady.
Had he not confirmed the injury, he would never have dared stand in the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's way.
"This Leader—"
Baek In-cheong attempted to justify himself, but the Demonic Heavenly Emperor waved a hand dismissively.
"I accept."
"...You mean it?"
"Indeed. No need for lengthy words—let us begin at once."
Baek In-cheong's eyebrows twitched.
It was true that he had come to challenge the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
Yet he had hesitated to speak so boldly because... he had discerned that the Demonic Heavenly Emperor was truly injured—and that his condition was dire.
Thus, he had assumed the Demonic Heavenly Emperor would avoid this confrontation at all costs.
Yet here he was, agreeing without hesitation?
'In any case, he can only unleash his Limitless Power once in his current state.'
Having meticulously analyzed and calculated the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's condition, Baek In-cheong gave a faint nod.
"Very well."
If he could withstand just one burst of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's Limitless Power—
Then he could bring down the Number One of the Demonic Path, the man who had terrorized the Murim for decades.
Of course, even if he failed to block the Limitless Power... he still had a trump card hidden away to ensure victory.
Whoooosh—
A fierce wind howled, swirling with pale dust.
Shhhhk—
Baek In-cheong drew the Azure Heaven Fan Sword from his waist.
His sword was no ordinary longsword—it fanned out wide like an unfolded folding fan.
The Azure Heaven Fan Sword.
It was not a single weapon, but rather five ancient treasured swords fused into one.
Outwardly, it appeared crude, but once swung, it became the most fearsome weapon in the world.
For it was an Unorthodox Weapon—one that, like a Black Divine Artifact, could unleash terrifying power through the weapon itself.
"Brace yourself!"
With a thunderous shout, Baek In-cheong unleashed his sword techniques without hesitation.
Though his opponent was the Number One of the Demonic Path, he himself stood among the very pinnacle of the martial world.
Not only that—he had long since manifested the Martial Extremity Equal Enlightenment and was preparing to enter the Martial Extreme Realm.
Had that not been the case, even if the Demonic Heavenly Emperor were missing limbs rather than suffering internal injuries—
He would never have dared to challenge him head-on.
"You do not even know what life is—how, then, can you savor death?"
With an inscrutable sigh, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor flicked his wrist lightly.
In an instant, the sword techniques Baek In-cheong had unleashed dissipated like mist.
Fwish!
Yet Baek In-cheong, as if anticipating this, remained unshaken and swung the Azure Heaven Fan Sword at blinding speed.
A dazzling flash erupted, bleaching the world white—
And a spear-like Sword Qi shot straight toward the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's brow.
This was the hidden technique of the Heavenly Pole Sword, one of the five ancient treasured swords fused into the Azure Heaven Fan Sword.
Thwack!
Its speed was indescribable—by the time the light burst forth, it had already embedded itself into the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's forehead.
Zzzzzziiing—
At that moment, a translucent light flowed from the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's body, and the Sword Qi piercing his brow shattered into hundreds of luminous fragments, scattering in all directions.
'So that is Nature Shattering.'
As befitting a Leader of the Martial Alliance's Seven Great Battle Corps, Baek In-cheong recognized it instantly—
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's signature Limitless Power, Nature Shattering, which could alter the very nature of anything perceived in the moment of recognition.
'I can win.'
A smile curled at Baek In-cheong's lips.
He had prepared meticulous stratagems to bring down the Demonic Heavenly Emperor. If all went according to plan, victory was assured.