Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Blood Demon's Advent
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Jade-green sword energy tore through all directions. Blood blossomed wildly.
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden, Geum Seo-ryeon, clicked her tongue.
Too light on the hands. Another worthless one cut down. The rampaging unaffiliated demonic cultivators cried out.
"G-Gu... Nine Heavens Jade Maiden!"
"What?! The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden?!"
"Run! She's a mad bitch!"
Mad bitch, huh.
It wasn't a flattering title. The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden lightly swung her hand, ripping the mouth of the one who had spat the vicious words.
The situation was chaotic overall, but the Blood Cult's spies were being steadily weeded out.
They had already sifted through the internal infiltrators using a pre-prepared roster.
The situation itself was going smoothly. It looked messy from afar, but up close, the tangled threads were unraveling one by one.
And mixed in here and there were the real ones as a bonus.
---Kaaaaang!!
"You bitch! You knew everything!"
See? Another one emerged.
Not quite to her taste, but still worth crossing blades with for a bit.
"State your affiliation."
"You think I'll tell you?!"
"You die if you don't, and you die if you do. In that case, don't you need someone to at least remember your name?"
"...Bi Ik-ryeon!"
"Good. Bi Ik-ryeon. You wield your sword decently, so you must hold a fair position in the Blood Cult. Even if it was just a casual swing, you blocked it once."
She placed her hand on the blade.
Smoothly drawing forth jade-green sword energy along its length.
"Can you block this too?"
"...Urk! You damn bastard! A Demonic Cult dog like you dares...!"
Bi Ik-ryeon kicked off the ground. The downward strike carried the momentum of a hawk.
But that was it. The lightly slashed sword energy struck five points.
Not even a technique with a grandiose name-just a simple motion.
In that one strike, Bi Ik-ryeon's body spewed a lethal amount of blood.
"Y-You... insane monster...!"
"I don't think you're in charge here. Name your superior. Who's above them?"
"You think I'd... tell...!"
It was then.
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden sensed something off. In an instant, she turned without thinking, raising her sword at an angle.
Something was exploding. Bursting up from below...
Something...
"...This is...?!"
Her impassive face twisted. In that moment, a bloody aura swirled around her infused energy.
The reaction came next.
---Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In a chilling roar, a red flash pierced the clouds.
As if piercing the heavens themselves.
"Wh-What?!"
"What the hell is this?!"
The sect warriors halted their swords. Their gazes stolen for a moment, they looked up at the sky.
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden's expression hardened. This was...
Opening Heaven.
She knew better than anyone what that signified.
The sky was splitting open. Singing as it dyed everything red.
Common sense crumbled. It was natural for humans to look up at the sky, but that logic was collapsing.
The clouds trembled. Dyed red. Even the white clouds lost their color.
The great city of Aekmin.
A massive pillar of red light piercing its heart.
"...No way."
Cracks began to spiderweb through the writhing earth. Amid the churning noise, the Nine Heavens Jade Maiden regained her balance.
...The mortal's...
A mortal's limit was usually first-rate. No matter how much they swung their sword, they could never manifest sword force and ultimately fell short.
What of the dullards? Their limit was called peak. They could manifest sword force but lacked further enlightenment.
Genius differed. They surpassed sword force peak, gathering the flickering energy into one, comprehending Unity and then Duality to wield sword energy-what was usually deemed their limit.
And among those geniuses, the rare few whose bones were extraordinary, born with everything called talent-they could reach the fringes of the Manifestation Realm.
Beings who shed their shell to become anew. Those who drew human power to its extremes, strong enough to count on fingers.
Such were...
Warriors who had reached the Manifestation Realm.
Even giving leeway, up to there could still be called human. A realm reachable only after being blessed with talent clumps, a great master, and efforts others wouldn't make-but still considered attainable by humans somehow.
...But.
The Profound Realm was different.
No human body could reach it. No matter what, those called human could never attain it.
It wasn't human. From the moment they arrived there, they no longer belonged in the category of martial artist.
Could one equate monster and human on the same level?
No. Of course not.
Communing with heaven, earth, and myriad things, inner power becoming infinite.
Surpassing sword energy infused with will, beginning to wield mind sword.
Unfurling mindscape that even corrodes surrounding reality, twisting the world...
How could one dare call that human?
"...Blood..."
Bi Ik-ryeon, crawling on the ground vomiting blood, forced himself up. A body that should have died long ago, yet his eyes held only ecstasy.
"Blood Demon Blood Heaven! Blood Demon Sovereign Eternal!"
Madness mixed into his blood-spewing shout. As if fulfilling a lifelong wish, he writhed.
The voice didn't end with one. It spread in chain reaction, seeping into the Blood Cult members hidden among the crowd.
"Blood Demon Blood Heaven! Blood Demon Sovereign Eternal!"
"Blood Demon Blood Heaven! Blood Demon Sovereign Eternal!"
"Blood Demon Blood Heaven! Blood Demon Sovereign Eternal!"
The smell of blood began to pour. Swords drawn as if no longer fearing death, bloody energy dripped from them.
Resistance intensified. With solemn resolve, as if having achieved everything, they stepped toward death.
Fanatics.
Mad fanatics drunk on bloody aura.
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden kicked off the ground immediately.
"Subdue them!"
"Vice Leader!"
She would handle the source of that light herself.
Otherwise, the flowing blood would grow fiercer. Break the symbol, and their will would shatter too.
...No.
Wait, no. That's not the point right now.
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden's lips twitched. By the time she snapped to, she was scattering jade-green misty sword energy, charging ahead.
What was the tip of the sword?
Challenging something stronger.
But she had stagnated. Bound by her position as Vice Demon Leader, she had even forgotten to hone her blade.
So what should she do now?
Drooping sword energy crushed building roofs. She leaped over crowds, launching herself forward.
She saw it. Clearly.
The red energy. Within it, a man with eyes closed.
"Blood...!"
Instinctively realized, it burst from the Nine Heavens Jade Maiden's lips.
"Blood Demon!"
The ugly group once crushed by the Divine Cult's hand.
The one resembling the Blood Cult's leader opened his eyes. He turned, facing the oncoming jade-green sword energy.
His hand rose. With it, something appeared.
A snake looming behind his back, moving.
"Begone..."
Panting. But with no time to heed the cause, a massive red shadow engulfed her.
A form of energy she faced for the first time.
Mind sword.
---Kagagagagagagak!!!!!
Sword energy shattered. All that had scattered like mist was swallowed by bloody aura and crushed.
Swinging her sword did nothing. Flailing kept her from advancing.
Collapsing?
All the martial realm she had built up till now...
From a single gesture... collapsing?
"...Ahaha!"
The Nine Heavens Jade Maiden laughed.
But the next moment, even that laugh was drowned in the smell of blood.
Only the voice of her pursuing Vice Demon Squad members remained, wailing desperately.
"Vice Leadeeeeer!!!!!!!!!"
...
Breath returned.
Then consciousness.
Amid panting, unprecedented pain poured in. In the collapsed rubble, I gasped, trying to rise.
But they were gone. Both arms. Both legs too.
Heavenly Tribulation screamed. Amid it, I realized a hole pierced my gut.
Regeneration... was slow.
What hit me?
"Huh? You survived somehow? You?"
Someone sat beside me. I turned to look.
Biting pain blurred my vision, but it was bearable. I'd endured worse anyway.
"Who... are... you...?"
"Wolhyang."
".......!"
I closed my eyes, then opened them. I looked up at someone no less battered than me-if anything, worse.
Red hair. The rags below were full of holes. And the blood leaking from wounds had long surpassed lethal levels.
"You look like you're gonna die. Well, now that that's out, you're as good as dead anyway."
"...Pardon?"
"Kid. What's your sect? Familiar blood smell... but mixed with someone else's, so different. Wanna check myself, but my hands won't move."
Looking again, faint golden chains dangled from the woman's body. Some broken, but two remained, hindering her.
"That's... not important... right now..."
"It is. Your blood reeks of Blood Cult mixed in heavy. I'm thinking of killing one more before I go, so spill quick. Yeah? Didn't wanna kill outright since you seem to have something big. Like the Leader's. What was it... Heavenly Tribulation?"
I spat pooled blood from my mouth. Fortunately, lungs worked fine.
Wounds were healing, slowly. I felt my crushed body returning to normal.
Should I be grateful my head was intact?
"Hoo..."
Steadying breath, I spoke again.
"The First Demon sent me."
"...Really?"
"Yes."
"......"
---Clank.
Sound of chains shifting.
Wolhyang scrutinized my face closely.
"Newbie in the Blood Squad?"
"No."
"Then... Blood Demon Squad?"
"Used to be."
"Where now?"
"In a new group called Soul-Chasing Pavilion. Leader is the First Demon."
"Soul-Chasing Pavilion? Who's in it?"
"Just me."
"Just you... and the First Demon above? Weird... she's not the type...?"
Trailing off, Wolhyang grinned.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter. You die, I die, everyone dies. Sorry, kid. Honestly, didn't expect that level. Thought it was all bluff... guess one thing wasn't."
"......."
"You don't get it, so I'll teach you. Listen. Martial realms are many, kid. This, that... tons. Third-rate... first-rate... peak... you know, like that? Right?"
"Y-Yes...?"
"But swinging a sword, you hit a wall, right? That limit point. You struggle to break it... but can't? Hate it, sooo much. But it happens... a moment you gotta accept it."
Wolhyang grinned.
"Every genius has a limit. That's the Manifestation Realm. Infusing will into sword energy, manifesting mind's whispers outward. They split it into entry, proficiency, peak... but those guys are idiots claiming they're at the top."
".......?"
"Ignore 'em. Tons think they're world's best at Manifestation. Just idiots strutting. Pure bullshit. But real ones who see the end go 'ah---' and realize early. Can't go further. Not a line to cross. All that tiger-roaring puppy shit was nonsense..."
"What are you... saying...?"
"I'm at the edge of those edge-dwellers, so I know. What the line is. What lies beyond. Right in front of you now? The one trying to cross it."
Wolhyang nodded upward, vomiting blood.
"Guts churning. Ahaha! But seeing those strutters get smashed feels good! I'll die soon... but mood's not bad. Anyway, look. What's up there."
I raised my head. Confirmed who stood at the end of the massive straight pit.
Bloody aura settling on my nose tip. Not mine. Overwhelming presence blanketing the whole city.
"Only five in the Cult. Even in the monster era, only five. One more emerging now. See?"
"Th-That... is..."
"Leader's unclear... our cute pretty Blood Squad Leader's there too. Demon Horse Sect Lord, Raksha Sect Lord, Black Snake Sect Lord-what's to say? Sect heads 'cause of that. Strength. Humans unbound from fate's chains, writing their own limits. Not human."
"......."
"See? The Profound Realm."
Profound... Realm?
That fabled realm... right there...?
My body shuddered. Presence alone threatened to shatter me.
Blood burst from wounds. Heavenly Tribulation screamed again. Distant Ghost Sword White Night hummed faintly.
I knew instinctively.
That... can't be overcome.
But something was off. The settled energy rippled in strange flows even to me.
What? Is Profound Realm like that? Not what I imagined...
"Well, half-baked anyway."
"...Pardon?"
"Real one's not like that. Fake. Why choose that? Misunderstood something? Unstable. Fragile as glass. Question is if anyone's here to strike it. Anyway, one thing's sure. That guy's wiping all martial artists in Aekmin. Can't control his own power-already qi deviation incarnate."
Misunder... stood?
「That's the sword my master taught me. One I had to learn to survive.」
「Maybe treating a mere disciple not as a person but a sword to wield? Just a guess.」
In the bloody aura, I felt the foe groan in pain.
Could that Shake Blood... not just surpass realms...?
"...Kuh."
I forced my body up. Suppressed Heavenly Tribulation's screams, soothing it.
Feet first. Then sealed the gut hole. Wolhyang marveled.
"Doesn't hurt? Heard Blood Squad Leader said it hurts like hell."
"More important things than pain."
"Like what? We're dying anyway. Look at me. Won't last an hour. Couldn't even break these Myriad Year Golden Chains fully. When two left, thought 'break 'em and I'm done'."
"One hour given? I'll end it before then."
"Impossible. Half-baked or not, crossed half the line. Different species now. Infinite power. Infinite sword. Power to reshape world by will. Different paper-think your sword threatens? Not even mine, one not even at Manifestation?"
"...I..."
Right arm regenerated.
I picked up severed Ghost Sword White Night. Soothed its sorrowful wail, brushed off dust.
"Came to save you."
"What mission makes you do that?"
"Not a mission. Came by my will."
"Know me?"
"No. But know your superior cherished you greatly."
"First Demon?"
"Yes."
"...Didn't know to that extent. But what's that to you?"
"The First Demon... to me... is..."
I sorted words to say.
Pulled one out.
"No different from a benefactor."
"......"
"Received much, repaid little. So just want to settle the debt. Don't want to see her grieve."
"Love?"
"Tried as master, rejected-so not quite love. But..."
Left arm returned.
Shed torn robe, tying at waist.
Checked body.
To do what must be done, naturally.
"Still, wanted to protect-so will."
"...Go up, won't even leave a corpse? Half mind sword's still mind sword. No keen sense, can't even dodge. Mind Instant Kill. No precursor-you, not Manifestation, catching it? Doesn't seem likely."
"I know. But..."
Something in hand.
"Senior. Came to save you. Met many along the way."
"......"
"Companion up there followed me. Don't move now, lose not just you but all bonds made here. Savior returning empty-handed? Pathetic, no?"
"......"
"So plan to save all within reach. Path I chose."
"Even if it costs your life? Think, kid. Ties vanish when you die. Others' lives more precious? Hypocrisy. What meaning in world without you?"
"Death... then..."
Lie if not scared.
Life's weight heavier than death's potential. Yet must grip sword.
"Scary."
"Then why?"
"Gripped sword to fulfill will. Spent years advancing. Vowed at end to fell Heavenly Demon."
"......."
"Life heavy? Not heavier than will. Just protect each moment. Will harbored. Path sought. Call hypocrisy, won't deny. But vowed to protect-so make true, not false. Wouldn't harbor path I'd bend from hardship."
I turned to Wolhyang.
"Fear death, but more fear what yielding to it costs me."
Slashed remaining cracked Myriad Year Golden Chains with all might.
"One seeking to fell Heavenly Demon from start."
Felt crushing presence weigh body.
Still looked up.
As always...
"Can't fell even Blood Demon? Makes sense how?"
To crawl to unseen heights.
"...Ahaha! Ahahahahaha!!!!"
Freed Wolhyang laughed, bleeding.
"Wow! You're truly nuts! Love it!! Love it so muuuch!!!"
Wolhyang rose. Vomiting blood, slung arm over my shoulder.
"Dying body, but I'll help. I'm gifted-can see it? Clear path, we'll manage. Good luck, might gain something. Life-or-death gambliiing... my specialty! Ahaha! Luck's shit though!"
"No."
"What? Why?"
"Said I came to save you. Hide, wait for chance to flee. Blood Demon's mine."
"Hng? Cocky? Kinda cute. Telling this Wolhyang to run?"
"No more words."
"Don't wanna... Don't..."
---Rustle.
I turned. Amid fallen debris, Yeon Mi-ryeong rose.
Approaching, she coughed. I hurried to support her.
"Miss Yeon. You okay?"
"Message... to relay..."
Slurred words held something. She reached into mouth.
Surged out. Cloth-wrapped pouch emerged from her mouth.
"Kill... him... please... that one..."
"...Hey. Don't tell me this is..."
Unwrapped pouch, lifted black pill.
Uncommon scent. Sudden medicinal aroma overpowered surrounding bloody aura.
"Last elixir left in headquarters... Ghost Snake Black Night Pill... to you..."
Yeon Mi-ryeong clutched my sleeve.
"Avenge Seven Stars Gate... kill him... please...!"
"......."
Entwined blood scent.
I looked up. Red qi blanketing sky.
Last elixir from woman who lost whole sect, imprisoned over half-year.
Hid in mouth-dangerous act. Not caught meant endured silently all that time.
Weight of grudge. Weight of elixir.
Held it all.
"...Hide, Miss Yeon. I'll somehow..."
"Give it."
---Snap.
Wolhyang snatched Ghost Snake Black Night Pill with ragged body.
Popped in mouth, crunched. Sudden surge propped her crumbling form.
"Stealing others' opportunities tastes best... haaaa... don't look like that. Useless for you anyway. Elixir, but essentially medicine. Kid, know why path from super peak to Manifestation so harsh?"
".......?"
Gazed at Wolhyang who stole and ate it. Confirmed healing external wounds, sighed.
Wouldn't listen anyway. Nothing for it.
"What do you mean?"
"Simple. You seem teetering there... but infusing will into sword energy ain't easy. Brutally hard."
"I know."
"You don't seem the type to get it from words... so blunt: draw it. End of your path, even roughly."
"...Pardon?"
"Draw. All your might. It'll open. That's Manifestation. End you crave. Human limit. Dream it, it'll show. Where you wanna reach."
"......."
"Can't surpass even that, no chance. Opens path you can't break. Can you?"
Thrust Ghost Sword White Night forward. Pondered her question.
Unwavering destination.
Too obvious...
Gazed at rippling shadow.
Her back, far despite long chase.
"...I'll try."
"Good... good... heating up...! Shall we? One-shot gamble!"
"Yes, Senior."
Stepped forward to rise once more.
"I'll prove. Not all talk."
"Ahaha! Great! Two crazies-nothing we can't do!"
Realm may lack.
Skill far short.
May not be my moment.
Yet grip sword.
Move. Devour even fear.
Draw.
The target. As always.
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