Chapter 589
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 589
Chapter Title: Now, Let's Die
At Akcho's pathetic display, Ha Mu-baek sneered dismissively.
The origin of Ha Mu-baek's ability to mimic demonic energy.
And the origin of the Demonic Cult's strongest martial art, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The six primordial fragments.
Emptiness, from the Primordial Six Bodies Art.
It was precisely that energy.
Ha Mu-baek channeled the aura of Emptiness permeating his own energy.
In that instant.
The demonic energy rampaging through his meridians turned meek as a lamb and was sucked into the Emptiness aura.
Akcho immediately noticed the change in Ha Mu-baek's demonic energy.
"Wh-what? How can you wield the power of our Divine Cult?"
His face was one of utter disbelief.
However.
"Shut your nonsense. This isn't demonic arts."
Ha Mu-baek pulled his sword from the ground.
With a casual swing, the blood swords swirling around him crumbled into powder and vanished.
"Annoying flies taken care of."
It was the erasure of an unpleasant memory from the past.
Ha Mu-baek's sharp gaze turned to Akcho.
"Now, let's die. Thrash around if you can."
A brilliant white sword aura erupted from Ha Mu-baek's blade, scattering radiant light.
"Sh-shut your mouth, you brat!"
All of Akcho's demonic energy concentrated at the tip of his sword.
The final, ultimate technique of the Underworld Demon Slaughter.
The twin blood swords were gone—a regrettable loss—but he could still unleash it with his sword.
Severing Annihilation Sphere.
Sching.
His final strike, infused with every last drop of his innate true energy, shot toward Ha Mu-baek like an arrow.
Ha Mu-baek's sword moved.
Infinite Free Eight Severings Sword Sea.
Fifth form. Heaven Splitter.
A white sword aura engulfed everything in all directions.
Akcho's ferocious sword sphere scattered into powder the moment it collided with Heaven Splitter.
Heaven Splitter then engulfed Akcho completely.
"Th-this can't be..."
He tried to say more, but Akcho's time had run out.
Caught in the energy of Heaven Splitter, Akcho was utterly annihilated.
Not even dust remained.
"Tch."
Sheathing his sword, Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue lightly.
This was no ordinary foe—it was the Illustrious Evil King.
The one who had landed a fatal blow that forced Ha Mu-baek to prepare for death.
The one who had driven him to a desperate gamble for survival amid excruciating pain.
Having dealt with such a bastard, he had expected the past grudge to dissolve in sweet catharsis.
But it was just... flat.
Killing someone who needed killing—that was all it was, nothing more, nothing less.
That was why he clicked his tongue.
Just this much?
The event that had lingered in a corner of his memory felt utterly hollow now.
"It was only this much, after all."
Muttering to himself, Ha Mu-baek turned away.
He had accomplished every goal of his visit to the Huashan Sect.
All that remained was to return, so he needed to stop by and bid farewell.
Upon arriving at the Huashan Sect, an urgent dispatch from Gong Son Dan-gyeong arrived.
Confirming its contents, Ha Mu-baek muttered.
"It arrives after everything's wrapped up."
He had checked the details on the Eternal Tribulation Ghost Forest Ten Thousand Demon Formation.
Even so.
He had no choice but to acknowledge Gong Son Dan-gyeong's abilities.
Sitting in the Heavenly Eye Pavilion, he had predicted the situation here with near-perfect accuracy.
Especially the demonic barrier that even Ha Mu-baek hadn't anticipated.
In other words, Gong Son Dan-gyeong had even accounted for potential changes in the formation.
"Worthy of being called the Full Scholar."
Muttering as if somewhat dissatisfied, Ha Mu-baek took up brush and ink to draft his report.
He sent it back to the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
And exchanged greetings with Ryu Hwi, Yu Chu-eun, and Wi Su-yeon as well.
"I've caused you much trouble during my stay."
Yu Chu-eun shook her head at Ha Mu-baek's greeting.
Then, clasping her hands in salute, she said.
"You saved the Huashan Sect from annihilation. We are simply grateful."
It was sincere.
Ha Mu-baek had shown them the dispatch from Gong Son Dan-gyeong as well.
Thus, Yu Chu-eun and Ryu Hwi now knew that the dark cloud over Huashan had truly threatened the sect's very survival.
They had already heard as much from Ha Mu-baek's explanation.
But the reputation and credibility of Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong carried different weight.
With that, Ha Mu-baek left Huashan and headed back to the upper regions.
The matters here were settled, but those there were not.
Ha Mu-baek's reply raced swiftly back to the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
It was a response to an urgent dispatch, so it returned via the same swift falcon.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong hurriedly unfolded the letter delivered to his hand.
"Heh."
A sigh laced with complex emotions escaped his lips.
He had informed Ha Mu-baek of his deductions, but too late.
Yet Ha Mu-baek had thwarted it regardless.
"Truly, he's transcended human limits to become a genuine monster."
He had called him a monster before.
But to single-handedly dismantle a formation.
A formation meant to annihilate an entire sect.
And win a direct clash of power between the formation and a single human.
How else could one describe it but as monstrous?
No, he was beyond even a monster, but lacking a better word, "monster" it was.
Even the Full Scholar Gong Son Dan-gyeong couldn't conjure a fitting term.
"Heh. Indeed."
His eyes widened at the letter's continuation.
It was an analysis of the Eternal Tribulation Ghost Forest Ten Thousand Demon Formation—details even he hadn't known.
Ha Mu-baek, no expert in formations, had simply recorded what he sensed from the energy flows.
But in the hands of Gong Son Dan-gyeong, it was different.
He immediately dropped everything and sought the old records from which he had first learned of the formation during the Great Martial War.
Combining them with the map from Huashan Sect, he delved into analysis.
It was a detail overlooked amid the frantic war.
Back then, focus had been solely on the mass slaughter aspect; what followed had been ignored.
Ha Mu-baek's report, the formation map, and those ancient records.
Plus Gong Son Dan-gyeong's mind.
They converged.
A day later.
"Heh. Such vicious, terrifying..."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong let out a deep sigh.
He rushed to the Alliance Lord's hall.
For it might not be limited to just Huashan Sect.
Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong listened intently to the sudden visit from Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
By the end, his face had hardened.
"So, the formation serves two purposes: massacring righteous warriors and absorbing demonic energy from Demonic Cult martial artists."
"Precisely."
"And as proven by the Huashan incident, given enough time, even a single individual could set it up."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong nodded.
"The means to install it undetected from within: the Soul Devouring Great Law."
"Yes."
As So Hwi-woong summarized what he'd heard, his expression grew sterner.
"And activating the formation requires demonic energy from just eight demonic barriers."
His voice could grow no graver.
"Damn it all. Those Demonic Cult bastards, scheming this filth in hiding."
"Letting all Eight Dharma Protectors slip away has come back to bite us."
At Gong Son Dan-gyeong's words, So Hwi-woong scowled.
Memories of that brutal bloodbath resurfaced.
On the way to strike down the Demonic Cult Leader, Sek Won-cho.
It had been a true blood road.
Blocked by the Eight Dharma Protectors.
To break through them and their legions, the Righteous Heaven Alliance had paid dearly.
In the chaos, the Protectors had slithered away like eels.
Finally.
They appeared in the battle against Sek Won-cho.
But as the tide turned against them, Cult Leader Sek Won-cho blocked So Hwi-woong and the suicide squad, allowing the Protectors to escape.
They slew Cult Leader Sek Won-cho, and the Demonic Cult retreated into the shadows.
The Great Martial War ended in Righteous Heaven Alliance's victory, bringing peace to the martial world—or so it seemed.
Who knew the Eight Dharma Protectors were plotting this.
"Don't celebrate today's victory. The Demonic Cult is eternal..."
So Hwi-woong muttered softly.
These were Sek Won-cho's final words, relayed by Ha Mu-baek.
So ominous that even heard once, they were etched deep in So Hwi-woong's mind.
"Alliance Lord..."
"So that's what he meant. Indeed."
Killing the leader changed nothing if the Eight Dharma Protectors remained to sow chaos.
Had they installed formations in all eight major sects under the Righteous Heaven Alliance, succeeding fully?
What would become of the Alliance's forces?
A chilling hypothetical.
"It can't be just Huashan."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong nodded at So Hwi-woong's words.
"Certainly. Among the Nine Great Sects, Five Great Clans, and Eight Emerging Schools, others are likely targeted similarly."
Seven Protectors still at large.
"The question is whom to inform."
A statement heavy with concern.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong looked agreeable.
"We can't tell who the Eight Dharma Protectors have ensnared with the Soul Devouring Great Law."
It risked alerting the wrong parties, worsening matters.
They might burrow deeper.
"Must we move covertly from within the Alliance?"
"Until we devise countermeasures against the Soul Devouring Great Law from the Immortal Valley, yes."
So Hwi-woong frowned.
The need for secrecy limited personnel.
Heavenly Eye Pavilion's informants and the Hocheon Corps.
But he couldn't dispatch them all.
"Sigh. No helping it. We'll request Mu-baek's aid too."
"Pardon?"
"He's Fierce Dragon Corps Leader, yet delegates to his deputy and roams freely. And hunting Demonic Cult's Eight Dharma Protectors? He won't refuse."
So Hwi-woong's logic held.
"Understood. I'll arrange it."
As Gong Son Dan-gyeong turned to leave, a nagging sense of omission halted him.
"What's wrong?"
"Feels like I've overlooked something..."
Trailing off, he sank into thought.
Knowing better than to interrupt Gong Son Dan-gyeong in this state, So Hwi-woong watched silently.
The thought had struck upon hearing of the Fierce Dragon Corps.
Why this hunch?
"Fierce Dragon Corps..."
Muttering the name, Gong Son Dan-gyeong recalled every detail about them.
Their current mission: monitoring the Four Evil Legions' movements...
That was when it hit him.
"The Four Evil Legions!"
Gong Son Dan-gyeong exclaimed in realization.
"Hm?"
"They wouldn't infiltrate only the Righteous Heaven Alliance. They've surely wormed into the Four Evil Legions too."
"Into the unorthodox factions? Would their martial artists rampage from demonic energy invasion as well?"
"Of course. Unorthodox arts are foul, but distinct from demonic energy."
So Hwi-woong pondered Gong Son Dan-gyeong's words.
"Wouldn't they focus solely on righteous sects, weaken us, and provoke a righteous-unorthodox war? Losing eight major sects would cripple our forces."
"Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Moon In Baek-song aren't fools. If our strength wanes from other causes, they'll bare their ambitions—like in Jiangxi Province. But if demonic energy's involved, they'll hunt the Demonic Cult instead."
So Hwi-woong nodded at Gong Son Dan-gyeong's reasoning.
It wasn't for nothing that the Righteous Heaven Alliance and Four Evil Legions had allied twice in past Great Martial Wars.
The Blood Cult and Demonic Cult were enemies to both righteous and unorthodox.
"Thus, they'll strike both sides. Chaos in the Righteous Heaven Alliance and Four Evil Legions creates their opportunity."
"We must send word."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong affirmed So Hwi-woong's decision.
"But to whom? Whom can we trust? With the Soul Devouring Great Law... even you or I might be compromised."
"Spare me such grim jests. The Soul Devouring Great Law isn't omnipotent."
True enough.
Devouring a single soul was no simple feat.
It demanded stringent conditions.
At minimum, So Hwi-woong and Gong Son Dan-gyeong hadn't fallen to them.
The reason was simple.
Targeting specifics required access, but their escorts made it near impossible.
The same for Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Moon In Baek-song.
"You'll have to deliver the news to Moon In Baek-song personally."