Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Inhuman Demonic Realm
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“ What do you take demonic qi to be? ”
The old immortal, now fallen and serving as the practitioner of the Jeam Jincheon Scripture, posed the question to Yeon So-hyeon.
“ Demonic qi, you say… ”
Yeon So-hyeon stroked his chin.
“ Truth be told, there’s no energy as poorly researched as demonic qi. It’s domineeringly powerful in a hegemonic way, but aside from how the energy itself is so pernicious that it corrupts a person’s very character, almost nothing is known about it. ”
Even the demonic cultists of the Demonic Cult might possess a bit more information about demonic qi.
Yet even the Luoyang Sword Clan, renowned for obsessively collecting every scrap of information related to martial arts, had woefully scant fundamental records on demonic qi.
Yeon So-hyeon himself, who had reached a realm approaching grandmastery in the academic study of martial arts—that is, wushu—knew next to nothing about demonic qi.
The old man chuckled.
“ Placing it on the same level as a martial artist handling qi, as if demonic cultists handle demonic qi in the same manner—that’s a profoundly misguided way of thinking. ”
“ Is that so? ”
The old man raised his hand, summoning demonic qi.
“ To begin with, this isn’t an energy originating from the world in which you exist. ”
Yeon So-hyeon’s eyebrow twitched.
There were certain fields that could never be properly researched from the ground up.
Ghosts, the underworld, talismans, curses, Taoist arts, immortal arts, Buddhist dharma, celestial methods, and so on—domains regarded as existing only in the realm of human imagination.
Some called such fields the occult or metaphysics.
“ Demonic qi is an energy that flows in from outer space, beyond the reach of mortal observation. ”
Yeon So-hyeon couldn’t fully grasp the words, but he understood the context.
“ Demonic qi is a force that erodes, corrodes, and distorts our universe—our reality. ”
* * *
The flames of the bonfires that the Black Bone Gang had lit here and there in preparation for night combat grew dim.
Flames darkening—something utterly impossible by common sense—was nonetheless unfolding.
Even the torches in their hands failed to properly illuminate the surroundings.
The shadows thickened further, and the night deepened.
“ Ugh… ”
Groans began leaking one by one from the mouths of the Black Bone Gang members who, just moments ago, had been consumed by madness bordering on frenzy.
The excruciating pain from wounds they had forgotten came rushing back.
The terror born of the primal urge for survival returned.
The incantation wielded by Geumju had been futilely extinguished by the demonic qi originating from Yeon So-hyeon.
The Black Bone Gang members clutched their large and small wounds, gradually backing away.
The fiercely blowing wind was cold as a blizzard, making their entire bodies feel as if they were freezing solid.
And above all,
The gaze of the white-masked figure overlooking them from atop that tower was utterly terrifying.
“ Tch… ”
Geumju suppressed the primal fear and dread welling up from the depths of her heart.
She unleashed a powerful aura wave and bellowed with infused internal energy.
“ Anyone who flees dies! Fight! ”
But her resounding voice produced an effect entirely contrary to her intent.
“ R- Run! ”
“ It’s a malevolent ghost! A malevolent ghost has appeared! ”
The battle lines formed by the Black Bone Gang crumbled like sandcastles, as if they had never existed to begin with.
Terror paralyzed their reason, and they all began fleeing without distinction.
Some discarded their weapons as they ran, others cried out the names of their gods, and some even fled not toward their main base but in the direction of the foes they had just been clashing swords with.
“ W- What do we do?! ”
At the question from the Crescent Moon Pavilion command staff—a deputy who had regained his senses—Se-ah shouted.
“ All personnel, hold your current positions! ”
Even if she hadn’t shouted it, the vast majority had already lost their will to fight.
Even the elite battle agents of Crescent Moon Pavilion, tempered through real combat, felt no inclination to deal with those fleeing past them.
But Yeon So-hyeon—the practitioner of the Jeam Jincheon Scripture—had no intention of letting them go so easily.
“ Now that the curtain has risen, the characters must not exit at their whim. ”
In the previous raid on their lair, he had spared a few at the brink of death to amplify the terror within the Black Bone Gang, but there was no reason to do so now.
[ Halt right there. ]
His will infused the demonic qi, and his voice, transformed into a command, mercilessly eroded reality.
A Black Bone Gang thug fleeing with his face a mess of tears and snot tumbled to the ground on the spot.
He saw a white hand gripping his ankle.
“ Aaagh… ! ”
He kicked at the hand with his other foot, shaking it off.
But dozens of hands soon seized his lower body.
[ Die right there. ]
No sooner had the words ended than those with weak minds began spewing blood from all five facial orifices, slamming their heads into the ground.
Instant death.
Even those who resisted a little fell one by one, their brain vessels rupturing and hearts bursting.
For ordinary folk without internal energy, resisting the command laced with the Jeam Jincheon Scripture’s demonic qi was nigh impossible.
The Black Bone Gang members who had filled every alleyway dropped dead in an instant, collapsing everywhere.
“ … Primordial Heavenly Venerable. ”
At that surreal sight, the on-site commander of Crescent Moon Pavilion invoked his god.
He was a man who had spent more than half his life serving on those brutal northern battlefields.
He had witnessed several bizarre phenomena suspected to be the work of barbarian shamans.
He had seen grains of rice in the meal he was eating in the rain after a bloodcurdling battle turn into maggots before his eyes, and soldiers afflicted with unknown diseases have their entire skin covered in boils.
But none of the horrific sorceries he had beheld compared to the grotesque terror unfolding right before him.
“ L- Look over there! ”
Se-ah looked in the direction her deputy pointed.
“ Corpses… ?! ”
Not just her—everyone beholding the scene could scarcely believe their eyes.
White hands rising from the thick darkness pooling on the ground were dragging away the fallen dead.
The pulled corpses sank into the floor’s darkness—their own shadows.
Growls emanated from some shadows that had devoured the bodies.
Others seemed to wail.
At this sight that twisted common logic and transcended sanity, some Crescent Moon Pavilion members collapsed in place.
Some vomited; others burst into tears.
‘ T- This is… ’
Seeing it, Se-ah finally understood why no bodies had been left at the Black Bone Gang site raided by the Dark Heaven Venerable.
‘ What in the world… ’
With trembling eyes, she looked back up at the tower’s summit.
“ Curse your fates—pray to the indifferent heavens! ”
The white-masked monster erupted in狂笑.
“ I have come here at the call of the innocent folk you tormented and slew! ”
That laughter seemed to shake the thick clouds blanketing the sky.
The few Black Bone Gang survivors barely clinging to life met their ends from the sound alone.
Se-ah’s knees buckled, but she barely held firm.
Before seeing him in person, she had analyzed him extensively with Crescent Moon Pavilion’s key figures.
He was sure to be a supreme expert, or perhaps one who had reached the wall.
He must have outstanding aides providing significant aid.
Some insisted the rumors were greatly exaggerated.
But no prediction or analysis mattered.
That thing was an entity utterly divorced from the normal course.
“ … That’s the Dark Heaven Venerable. ”
That was the true form of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s mocked Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
* * *
Geumju had no intention of sitting idly by.
“ What the hell are you lot lying around for?! Attack right now! ”
From the start, none of the black dao martial artists under the Black Bone Gang had stepped forward.
This moment was what they had all been waiting for.
“ Move, all of you! ”
Dozens of Black Bone Gang martial artists and hastily summoned black dao martial artists simultaneously unleashed lightness skills and revealed themselves.
Their sight—leaping from rooftop to rooftop—was enough to chill the blood.
“ The Black Bone Gang had that many martial artists?! ”
Se-ah was stunned by the display.
“ It looks like at least twice our intelligence suggested. ”
Even the on-site commander couldn’t hide his surprise.
That number of martial artists was enough force to challenge even a supreme expert who had surpassed the wall.
And over there was Geumju herself, who had reached the realm of masters.
The Dark Heaven Venerable wielded grotesque powers defying common sense, with origins impossible to fathom—but the enemy’s forces were no laughing matter.
“ We have to help… ”
“ No need, miss. ”
The one stopping Se-ah was Gyu.
Se-ah brightened at the sight of her, supported by agents as she appeared.
“ Gyu! ”
“ Made it back safely. ”
Gyu offered a faint smile.
Her appearance was a mess, but her injuries didn’t seem severe.
Se-ah helped support her to the ground and asked.
“ What do you mean no need to help? ”
“ That thing—no… ”
Gyu shook her head, correcting herself.
“ The Dark Heaven Venerable is a true monster. ”
“ But they have Geumju over there, who’s reached the master realm… ”
“ No. Trust me. ”
Looking into Gyu’s eyes, Se-ah felt a shock.
This was Gyu, who had stood tall even before Geumju.
The woman who hadn’t yielded an inch even before imminent death.
Yet deep in her pupils dwelt an undeniable, profound fear.
“ He’s a being for whom surpassing the wall is meaningless. I can tell. I’ve seen countless experts. ”
Everyone around was listening intently to Gyu’s words.
“ If I were to face him… ”
Gyu gave a hollow smile.
“ I’d probably not even qualify as a one-move opponent. ”
“ What do you… ”
As someone moved to question Gyu again, an immense killing intent erupted behind them.
As if all prior killing intent had been mere play, it exploded centered on the Dark Heaven Venerable.
“ L- Look there! ”
At someone’s shout, all eyes turned to the tower where the Dark Heaven Venerable stood.
And their jaws dropped.
“ … ! ”
Those who had scaled the tower in an instant unleashed merciless attacks in unison, only to be flung back themselves.
The Dark Heaven Venerable’s strikes weren’t even visible.
Each time something like a black lightning flash streaked, one from the Black Bone Gang side was hurled from the tower.
Limbs flew in midair, entrails scattered.
The area near the tower top was shrouded in a misty fog of blood.
“ H- He really is a monster… ”
At someone’s murmur, Gyu shook her head.
“ Not yet. To my eyes, this is just the beginning. ”
Gyu added.
“ He hasn’t even shown his true power yet. ”
At her calm words, everyone fell silent, reduced to staring up at the tower.
It was a one-sided slaughter.