Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Eternal Divine Thief (2)
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“Eternal Divine Thief?!”
“That mysterious thief who's been active for nearly three hundred years, the eternally undying Eternal Divine Thief?!”
The astonishing moniker that Seok Myeong-ju had uttered elicited shocked reactions from everyone present.
The Eternal Divine Thief.
About three hundred years ago, a thief had emerged with the supreme lightness skill in the Central Plains, mastery of disguise techniques to alter his appearance, and even the Bone Shrinking Art that allowed him to manipulate his very bones at will. No one knew the true face of the Eternal Divine Thief because of these perfect skills.
Most astonishing of all was that while the average lifespan of even the greatest martial artists was just over a hundred years, the Eternal Divine Thief had been active for three full centuries. In awe and reverence, people called him the Eternal Divine Thief—the thief who was a god that would thieve forever.
“Is that really true?”
The Heavenly Demon himself stared intently at Seok Myeong-ju, greatly surprised by the name.
“Is the Eternal Divine Thief truly still... alive?”
The Heavenly Demon knew the Eternal Divine Thief well.
It was inevitable. Before the Heavenly Demon had ascended as cult leader—back when the battle for the throne was in full swing—the Eternal Divine Thief had infiltrated the Demonic Cult's headquarters at Heavenly Mountain and caused a massive incident.
‘Back then, the Eternal Divine Thief had only been active for about a hundred years.’
Even those hundred years had been deemed extraordinary, earning him the prefix of "immortal eternity" before the illustrious "Divine Thief."
But if what these people were saying was true, it meant the Eternal Divine Thief had been active for a staggering three hundred years.
“You all know him well too?”
Unable to believe it, the Heavenly Demon asked the younger generation—Yang Hui-gun, Sogang, and the others.
“Of course. The Eternal Divine Thief has been pulling off heists since I was a kid.”
“Especially the story of him stealing a national treasure from the imperial palace—it's become pure legend.”
As they said, the Eternal Divine Thief had been active robustly even in recent times. The peculiar thing was that he would occasionally vanish for fixed periods.
“Another signature of the Eternal Divine Thief: he sends a warning letter before every theft.”
As if to prove his words, Seok Myeong-ju pulled a letter from his bosom.
It was a letter on pitch-black paper with stark white ink, the very symbol of the Eternal Divine Thief—completely opposite to ordinary stationery.
“May I read it?”
“Of course.”
Seeing the Heavenly Demon show even greater interest than expected, Seok Myeong-ju gladly handed over the warning letter, inwardly delighted.
Deep down, he hoped the Heavenly Demon would stay longer at Stone Buddha Manor and put an end to the legend of the Eternal Divine Thief that had persisted for three centuries.
Smoothly!
Receiving the full warning letter, the Heavenly Demon read it slowly.
Despite the ornate paper and calligraphy, the content was astonishingly simple.
-On the full moon's return.
I shall take the Stone Buddha Manor's prized Sitting Buddha Jade Statue.
Simple, yet utterly shocking.
Stone Buddha Manor brimmed with treasures and riches beyond monetary value, but among them, the Sitting Buddha Jade Statue was a national treasure supreme—even the emperor lacked its equal.
Carved from rarest gems into the form of a seated Buddha, it held immense value in itself. But to the Seok family bloodline of Stone Buddha Manor, it carried special significance.
“The Sitting Buddha Jade Statue... yes. It was unearthed from beneath the foundations when Stone Buddha Manor was first established. Possessing it brought immediate vast profits—a symbolic item of tremendous fortune.”
Thus, Stone Buddha Manor evoked the Sitting Buddha Jade Statue, and enthusiasts claimed the family's immense wealth stemmed from this lucky treasure.
Indeed, gazing upon the benevolent face of the seated Buddha lifted one's spirits naturally.
As such, the Sitting Buddha Jade Statue embodied Stone Buddha Manor's identity, fortune, and wealth.
“Countless enthusiasts, martial artists, and thieves have coveted this Sitting Buddha Jade Statue over the years, but none succeeded. The Eternal Divine Thief is different.”
This was precisely why Seok Myeong-ju was openly pleading for the Heavenly Demon's help.
“The Eternal Divine Thief has operated for three hundred years without a single failure on any item he targeted.”
With the Eternal Divine Thief aiming for the Sitting Buddha Jade Statue, it felt like flames were licking at their feet.
Thus, shamelessly, he wished to beseech the First Heavenly Demon Gunryong, possessor of tremendous power.
“I beseech Gunryong to lend us your aid.”
Seok Myeong-ju even bowed his head politely toward the Heavenly Demon.
Yang Hui-gun and Sogang, knowing the Heavenly Demon's temperament, expected a refusal.
His destination was the Sima family in Henan Province, and he hadn't even reached Henan yet, still wandering in Hebei. He'd likely cite lack of time.
But the Heavenly Demon's response exceeded all expectations.
“Sure.”
Far from refusing, he accepted with such effortless cheer that it made Seok Myeong-ju's worries seem unfounded.
“Y-Yes? Yes?!”
So swift was the agreement that even the requester, Seok Myeong-ju, panicked, his pupils shaking.
“I'm intrigued that the Eternal Divine Thief is still active. Plus, there's a reason I must catch that bastard myself.”
The Heavenly Demon flashed his signature mischievous grin.
It stemmed from the past: during the cult leader struggle, the Eternal Divine Thief had come to Heavenly Mountain and wreaked havoc.
“He stole a precious treasure from my sect.”
Since not everyone knew he was the Heavenly Demon yet, he phrased it that way.
And it was true.
Long ago, the Eternal Divine Thief had infiltrated Heavenly Mountain and stolen an immense treasure.
He only stole extraordinarily rare and valuable items, and many collectors desperately yearned to glimpse his collection even once.
‘The Eternal Divine Thief dared steal one of the Demonic Cult's Three Great Treasures!’
Shockingly, what he took was one of the Demonic Cult's Three Great Treasures.
For reference, the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword the Heavenly Demon now cherished was also one, hinting at its immense value.
“I'll help. I'll catch that smug Eternal Divine Thief and turn the tables—loot everything he's stolen so far.”
“Oh! Ohhh!”
With the First Heavenly Demon himself boldly pledging aid, Seok Myeong-ju felt immense relief.
Moreover, if the Heavenly Demon stayed, the other expert, Ghost Shadow Sword Yang Hui-gun, would too—making Stone Buddha Manor feel utterly secure.
“Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. I'm the one grateful to you, Manor Lord Seok.”
“Pardon?”
“Thanks to you, I remembered something I'd forgotten.”
Gunryong planned to reclaim the Demonic Cult's divine relic lost before he became Heavenly Demon, using this chance.
He'd intended to pursue it right after ascending as leader, but the Eternal Divine Thief had gone into hiding, his trail lost, and it faded from memory.
Afterward, focused on conquering the Central Plains, then sealed in Eternal Ice—he'd completely forgotten.
Yet Seok Myeong-ju's plea jogged his memory, and he learned the Eternal Divine Thief was still active.
‘Capture the Eternal Divine Thief, reclaim one of the Demonic Cult's Three Great Treasures. And one more thing.’
The Heavenly Demon had another curiosity about the Eternal Divine Thief.
His age and longevity.
In short, the secret to surviving over three hundred years intrigued him.
This wasn't because the Heavenly Demon desired long life.
On the contrary, a world where only he lived while all who knew him died felt utterly lonely to him.
His curiosity stemmed from one thing alone.
‘If there are others like the Eternal Divine Thief who age much yet survive... perhaps Sima Hui or my other subordinates are still alive?’
The Heavenly Demon Gunryong missed people and subordinates terribly.
He yearned to meet someone from two hundred years ago who remembered him.
Thus, he desperately wondered if others lived long lives like the Eternal Divine Thief and how they survived.
“It's been ages since I felt this fired up. I'll go all out and definitely catch him.”
A clash between legends: the First Heavenly Demon and the Eternal Divine Thief.
A rare showdown between legends loomed.
* * *
“Until the full moon the Eternal Divine Thief announced, we still have plenty of time. What should we do?”
With the Heavenly Demon pledging full cooperation, Seok Myeong-ju—grinning ear to ear—asked.
He wanted to muster extra forces, maximally reinforce the underground beneath the manor lord's quarters where the secret vault lay.
Also coordinate with the authorities for an ironclad defense.
But the Heavenly Demon's response was unexpected.
“Unlike usual, do nothing.”
“Y-Yes? Why?”
Seok Myeong-ju couldn't easily accept it.
The Eternal Divine Thief was the supreme thief whom no one—not even the Nine Great Sects, Five Great Clans, or Ten Righteous Clans of the unorthodox—could stop.
To thwart him, they'd need even more forces than usual, not less. Do nothing? What did that mean?
“I'm no expert on the Eternal Divine Thief, but I've experienced him once—when he infiltrated Heavenly Mountain.”
Mentioning the Demonic Cult and Heavenly Mountain, the Heavenly Demon lowered his voice, confiding only in Seok Myeong-ju.
“We deployed many forces against his appearance, but that backfired.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sudden influx of unfamiliar allies disrupted friend-foe identification. We knew faces and voices roughly and guarded strictly, yet he disguised himself so perfectly it was like cloning people.”
In essence, more personnel meant more strangers, creating gaps for the Eternal Divine Thief to exploit.
“But we can't just sit idle, can we?”
“Right. We can't. That's why I'm here.”
The Heavenly Demon spoke in his usual nonchalant tone, but Seok Myeong-ju found that composure reassuring— a hundred times more trustworthy than bluster.
‘Yes! I was foolish.’
Seok Myeong-ju realized his mistake.
One First Heavenly Demon equaled a thousand armies or a hundred thousand troops. Uselessly swelling lower ranks would only give the Eternal Divine Thief hiding spots.
“Got it now? Act as normal as possible. But from the Sitting Buddha Jade Statue's hiding spot to the manor lord's quarters, all movement and control is mine.”
“You'll handle it yourself...?”
“Everything inside requires my permission. Don't feel slighted. The Eternal Divine Thief's lightness skill is even faster than mine.”
The Heavenly Demon still remembered the Eternal Divine Thief from afar in his youth.
At the time, he'd disguised as a member of the Heavenly Demon Guard, the cult leader's direct escorts.
Coincidentally, the Heavenly Demon knew that member's appearance well, making comparison easy—yet even he was thoroughly fooled by the precision.
No, it transcended precision; it was like true replication.
‘And I still can't forget his lightness skill.’
Speed aside, the most shocking was his bizarre technique: splitting into multiple forms like the Monkey King using spells, scattering in all directions.
This shattered the Demonic Cult's encirclements, letting him narrowly escape.
“No extra reinforcements. Lure the Eternal Divine Thief straight into the underground secret vault.”
Only this plan could perfectly capture him alive.