Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Going to the Abyss Hall (2)
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Even the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Clan, which boasted the greatest intelligence networks among the orthodox sects, had failed to resolve the matter. Yet this Abyss Hall claimed they could handle it.
The Heavenly Demon learned their location through Yeo Rip, the lord of the Black Gold House and a bald man.
Fortunately, the Abyss Hall had set up base in Hebei Province, right next to Liaoning Province.
"Gunryong, please reconsider. They are truly dangerous. Even for you, the Fallen Immortal, it could end in disaster."
Yeo Rip had tried to dissuade him countless times while being half-forcibly dragged along by the Heavenly Demon.
"Don't call me Fallen Immortal."
"Yes, anyway! The Abyss Hall is stronger than the Fine Sword Sect, even stronger than the current Ghost Sword Manor! No matter how strong you are, Gunryong, how could you take on an entire sect by yourself?"
"Hmmm."
The Heavenly Demon listened calmly to Yeo Rip's words.
Seeing this, Yeo Rip smirked inwardly.
'Yeah, even you, who seems unbreakable, can't do it alone, right?'
But Yeo Rip didn't know the Heavenly Demon at all.
"Not on the level of the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans, right?"
"Eh? Yes. Of course."
"Then no problem."
Currently, the Heavenly Demon hadn't fully recovered his prime strength—only about seventy percent—but even that was enough for him to confidently wipe out any group short of the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Clans single-handedly.
'Whoa! This guy's completely insane!'
Yeo Rip was on the verge of exploding with frustration at the Heavenly Demon, who ignored all reason and spouted nonsense every time he opened his mouth.
"Then how about leaving me behind and going alone?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I left Sogang behind, and I'm bored."
"......"
Yeo Rip momentarily flared up, seriously considering a deathmatch with Gunryong, when—
"Hold on tight."
Having finally crossed Liaoning Province and reached the outskirts of Hebei, the Heavenly Demon grabbed Yeo Rip by the scruff of the neck.
And then—
Heaven-Defying Soaring Art
One of the world's three great lightfoot techniques, renowned even within the Demonic Cult
A lightfoot skill counted among the Demonic Cult's finest and one of the world's three supreme lightfoot techniques unfurled, embodying the Heavenly Demon's majestic spirit that defied the heavens to soar to their heights.
If the Central Plains Supremacy Step he'd used before was a swift and flashy movement technique, this Heaven-Defying Soaring Art was a lightfoot skill for sustained high-speed flight, far more suited to long-distance travel.
Fwaaaaaash!
Yeo Rip, unexpectedly clutched by the Heavenly Demon, soared into the sky alongside him.
"Uwaaah! Uwaaaaaah!"
Caught off guard by the sudden ascent, he suffered greatly from his acrophobia.
Watching the Heavenly Demon fly like a legendary great peng bird, faster even than a four-horse carriage, Yeo Rip vowed inwardly.
'He really is a Fallen Immortal. Not human. I was right not to provoke him.'
He resolved—nay, double-resolved—to obey Gunryong unconditionally from now on, no matter what.
Thanks to the blindingly fast lightfoot skill, the Heavenly Demon and Yeo Rip easily reached the entrance to the Abyss Hall.
Surprisingly, the Abyss Hall—the blackest of the black factions, rulers of the underworld—wasn't in the heart of Hebei Province but near a remote rural village where scarcely a soul passed by.
The entrance to this ultra-secretive organization looked like a shabby, oversized inn without even a signboard.
But that illusion didn't last.
"Oh ho~ Would you look at that?"
The Heavenly Demon drew closer to the building, intrigued by the faint presences and killing intent gradually emanating from it.
"Gu, Gunryong... Let's not. Just leave while we can..."
The timid Yeo Rip hesitated amid the sharp, tense atmosphere, but—
"Who are you?"
As the unfamiliar faces lingered at the Abyss Hall's entrance, people emerged as if they'd been waiting.
They dressed like inn staff or cooks, but something about them felt chillingly off.
"Is this the Abyss Hall?"
Sure enough—
Clang!
Before the Heavenly Demon finished speaking, they drew weapons from their clothes in unison, their demeanor shifting instantly.
"Who are you?"
"Where'd you come from?"
The Abyss Hall underlings pressed in aggressively on the Heavenly Demon and Yeo Rip.
It was only natural. The Abyss Hall took on any job for the right price—from finding people to killing them.
Such work naturally bred entanglements and grudges, so they were wary of strangers.
"Doesn't matter who we are... We're here to see the Abyss Hall Master."
As the terrifying Abyss Hall warriors multiplied one by one in the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Demon didn't so much as twitch.
'Gunryong really is crazy!'
Only Yeo Rip sweated profusely, torn between whether the Fallen Immortal or the Abyss Hall was stronger and whom to side with to minimize damage.
"What kind of lunatic is this?!"
"Get him! Chop off a limb or two first, then make him talk."
"Heh heh heh, I've been craving blood."
As was typical, those in black factions were mostly vicious criminals cast out from the Central Plains martial world or abandoned wretches.
The Abyss Hall, blackest of them all, consisted largely of wanted villains, perpetually starved for blood.
Moreover, seeing the Heavenly Demon leisurely wandering the land with a bald servant sparked not just envy and jealousy, but outright rage.
Waaaaah!
The Abyss Hall warriors closed in, weapons drawn.
Black faction fighters were usually third- or second-rate, but the Abyss Hall was different.
"There are lots of first-rate masters too, Gunryong!"
Despite his warning, Yeo Rip had already hidden perfectly behind Gunryong for protection.
The Abyss Hall warriors swelled to nearly thirty in the blink of an eye.
"Nice to meet you, you human butchers."
Unlike the anxious Yeo Rip, the Heavenly Demon showed no panic—in fact, he grinned welcomingly.
Violent Flame Dragon Fist
Mid-level form of the Mad Dragon Flame Fist Method – a killing technique meant to slay
Without hesitation, the Heavenly Demon unleashed a killing move aimed squarely at the charging Abyss Hall villains.
As proof, he didn't use a basic form of the Mad Dragon Flame Fist Method but a mid-level one—and the result!
Roooaaar!
Hellfire descended, roasting the wicked from head to toe.
The Heavenly Demon's flaming fists were impartial to all.
"Kuaaaaaagh!"
Even the black faction's third-rate thugs,
"Aaaack! Mercy! Please spare me!"
and even the top first-rate masters writhed, burned over every inch of their bodies. The Heavenly Demon gave these vile scum a burning lesson in virtue.
The thirty Abyss Hall underlings ended up as charred husks, some reduced to ash that scattered on the wind, not even bones remaining.
"Whoa, whoa!"
Yeo Rip gaped in awe, shock, and reverence at the Heavenly Demon's handiwork, which had erased over thirty men in moments.
'He is a Fallen Immortal. No... a Greater Immortal who's fallen to the mortal world!'
Yeo Rip was convinced this was a higher-grade immortal corrupted and descended to the world.
He was so shocked by the Mad Dragon Flame Fist Method that he nearly soiled himself.
Fwoosh!
Where the Heavenly Demon's scorching fist strength and wind passed, villains were punished, and a new path miraculously opened.
Having so effortlessly slaughtered the Abyss Hall's villains, the Heavenly Demon remarked,
"Villains really are the easiest opponents."
The reason for his delight was simple.
It was hard to strike mercilessly at half-decent villains or—even worse—good people.
But when outright evil scum like these appeared, he could attack without restraint, feeling utterly refreshed.
"What a maniac!"
"Who the hell is that guy?"
With thirty defenders of their secret base slaughtered in an instant, proper troops poured out from within the Abyss Hall.
Over fifty at a glance.
At this point, even the Heavenly Demon might try talking, or the Abyss Hall might swallow their pride and face reality—but neither backed down.
Of course, the pride standoff didn't last long.
Shing!
As the main force emerged, the Heavenly Demon finally drew the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword.
For the Abyss Hall, the ideal surrender moment was right now—actually, just before he drew his sword.
They'd charged boldly thinking they could handle his fist arts, but they'd misjudged badly.
"Yes, as martial world's janitors, you have to swarm like moths to the flame. Right?!"
The Heavenly Demon, thrilled to unleash his arts freely without holding back for once, was in high spirits.
Frankly, during the sect war with the Fine Sword Sect, he'd sweated suppressing his power to aid the Yang family of Ghost Sword Manor.
But now, he could frolic to his heart's content like in his prime, feeling liberated.
Dark Shadow Thunder Strike
From the Dark Heaven Thunder Sword Method – lightning accompanies shadowy sword aura
After the Mad Dragon Flame Fist Method came the Dark Heaven Thunder Sword Method.
This sword art, pairing dark sword aura with flashing thunderbolts, was renowned even in the Demonic Cult.
Even famed Demonic Cult experts,
Kraka-boom!
would cower and prostrate at falling lightning and raging thunder—let alone black faction rabble?
"Kuaaaaaagh!"
The Abyss Hall warriors couldn't halt—or even delay—the Heavenly Demon for a single moment, no, not half.
Especially his sword aura and thunderbolts electrocuted all fifty, killing some outright and leaving others twitching on the ground.
A colossal disaster, a human calamity no one could block.
That person was the First Heavenly Demon, Gunryong.
Considering this was without his full strength restored made it all the more chilling.
"Ah, aaaah!"
Yeo Rip, forcibly dragged along, collapsed in a whirlwind of shock, awe, and感動.
If his companion felt this way, imagine the Abyss Hall Master and leaders.
"Ah~ So refreshing!"
The Heavenly Demon savored the rare freedom of unrestrained killing moves, feeling invigorated, when finally—
"Supreme being! Please show mercy to our Abyss Hall!"
Even Yeo Rip, who wielded influence in black factions, had never seen the Abyss Hall Master—Abyss Faceless Chae So-ryeong—rushing forward in panic and prostrating herself.
The Faceless of the Abyss Hall, said to be unknown to all, was shockingly a woman.
A woman leading the brutal Abyss Hall, infamous even among black factions.
'I didn't know either.'
Yeo Rip stared dumbfounded, learning this for the first time.
Abyss Hall Master Abyss Faceless Chae So-ryeong possessed a figure that drew all eyes.
Her face was veiled in thin silk, but her curves and aura were mesmerizingly overwhelming.
"You're the Abyss Hall Master?"
Though her beauty might captivate others, the Heavenly Demon focused on sheathing his Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword, not sparing her a glance.
"Yes. Might I ask which esteemed master you belong to?"
Chae So-ryeong struggled to calm her pounding heart while gazing at Gunryong, who appeared younger than her.
'Our defenses could repel even a transcendent expert.'
Yet he'd massacred them all—an unfathomable supreme master. She had no choice but to be deferential.
"Doesn't matter who I am..."
The Heavenly Demon finally stated his purpose.
"I need you to find someone for me. As quickly as possible."