The First Heavenly Demon’s Origin
Jegal Hyeok was a member of the Jegal Clan and a leading candidate in the succession race. Considering that the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans boasted power akin to kings, far exceeding that of mere local magnates, he was essentially a prince of a nation.
The problem was that he was not yet a crown prince with a solidified claim, but merely a prince. Furthermore, figures like the Pointed Sword of Diancang or the Dragon Sword of Mount Hua were individuals who had already secured their positions as the next sect leaders.
No matter how much the Five Great Clans were favored over the Nine Great Sects when it came to the status of their heads, the gap between a candidate and a true successor was vast.
'These are people I must never turn into enemies, even if I have to win their support.'
The First Tomb had already been picked clean down to the last speck of dust. Since the warriors of the Murim Alliance were likely still investigating, guiding them there was no difficult task. In the end, Jegal Hyeok led Seong-jin and his party to the First Tomb.
'But who on earth is this man carrying the relic of the Mount Hua sect leader...'
A robe made of fire-rat fur. If that robe had been draped over the shoulders of the Dragon Sword of Mount Hua, Jegal Hyeok would not have been flustered; he would have simply bowed his waist a little lower than usual. However, seeing that robe in the hands of an unknown man, with the Dragon Sword of Mount Hua himself vouching for him, even the flexible-waisted Jegal Hyeok couldn't help but be rattled.
Wasn't Mount Hua the subject of much gossip lately? Since it was awkward to directly ask someone from the Nine Great Sects with whom he wasn't particularly close, he had no choice but to grab his sister, Jegal Rin, and ask her.
-Who on earth is that person?
-Oh, that is...
As far as Jegal Rin knew, the events that transpired at Mount Hua, including the appearance of the Thunderous Asura, were classified information. As a martial artist who valued clear debts and grudges, she had no intention of blabbing about Seong-jin, who had saved her life.
'I'm caught in the middle; why should I make an enemy of either side?'
Jegal Rin decided to make up a plausible excuse.
-Young Master Ju is actually a master from a previous generation who has achieved Ban-ro-hwan-dong (rejuvenation), and he is currently carrying out a secret mission.
-Is that really true?
Wasn't it said that the best way to hide a lie is to bury it within the truth? Jegal Rin explained the situation based on information asymmetry.
-Yes. Even the Byeokha-nangrang (Lady of the Green Mist) entrusted him with her relic so he could move freely without revealing his identity, and she even assigned her favorite disciple to him. Does that not require further explanation?
At Jegal Rin's words, Jegal Hyeok fell into deep thought.
'The Mount Hua relic is real. That is indeed the robe of the Byeokha-nangrang.'
Having navigated the succession race within the Jegal Clan, Jegal Hyeok’s political instincts were as sharp as his martial arts. His mind raced, assessing the situation.
'Is he a puppet left behind by the Byeokha-nangrang while she’s away? Well, fine. Even if it’s an obviously transparent lie, if I play along, I can owe Mount Hua a debt.'
-I understand. I will handle this appropriately.
Thus, Jegal Hyeok became instantly courteous.
"Although the investigation of the First Tomb has been transferred to the Murim Alliance, if you are with me—the one who discovered it—you will be able to look around the interior."
Jegal Hyeok exerted his influence to win Seong-jin’s favor.
"It is a merit for having discovered the Heavenly Demon’s tomb and revealing the Songmun-go-geom (Ancient Sword of Songmun) without hiding it."
The Cheonma-singong (Heavenly Demon Divine Art) was a demonic art; not only was practicing it a grave crime, but merely possessing it was as well. However, as a martial artist, could one simply destroy a martial art that was undeniably the best in the world? Even if it wasn't the Cheonma-singong, the same logic applied. How could one just disclose it to the Murim Alliance without knowing how many other treasures might still be hidden in a tomb that produced the Songmun-go-geom?
'Of course, just swallowing it whole would be a fool's errand.'
What use would there be in hoarding treasures with clear original owners, like the Songmun-go-geom, the Green Jade Staff, or the Dog-Beating Staff? If a treasure said to have been taken by the Heavenly Demon suddenly appeared in the Jegal Clan, it wouldn't be strange for them to be branded as public enemies of the Murim world.
'If it’s an item I can’t swallow, it’s more profitable to give it up and earn a debt.'
Based on that calculation, Jegal Hyeok had disclosed the First Tomb and gained the strong support of the Wudang Sect.
'I’ve taken a big step toward the position of Clan Leader by gaining the support of the Wudang Sect; if I can secure the support of Mount Hua and Diancang here, the next Clan Leader position is as good as mine.'
Having finished his calculations quickly, as befitting a descendant of the Sleeping Dragon, Jegal Hyeok promised full cooperation.
"The structure of the tomb itself is simple; it consists only of a passage connected to the surface and a single inner chamber. Since the Songmun-go-geom that was kept in the inner chamber has already been recovered, the only thing left to see is the mural painted in the passage."
With that, Jegal Hyeok guided the party into the passage. Under the light of the night-luminescent pearls, the passage revealed a mural that densely covered the walls.
"The Jegal Clan presumes this contains the history of the founding of the Demonic Cult."
The mural contained content that flowed horizontally along the passage of time. In the paintings that appeared to be from the earliest era, beasts were depicted being chased by people. It looked as if it were a hunting scene from the primitive age. However, in the chests of the beasts in the painting, a flame-like energy was depicted in each one; it signified the demonic energy (Ma-gi) residing in the middle dantian.
The chased beasts left the Central Plains and scattered to the outer regions. Endless pursuit. Cold and hunger. They lived trembling in fear, never knowing when they might go mad. Extreme situations evoke extreme emotions. The beasts depicted in the mural were portrayed becoming increasingly violent, devouring one another and shedding blood.
Their madness was like sleep. Just as a person cannot go a lifetime without sleep even if they stay up for a few days, after enduring and enduring, if they lost their senses for even a moment, an irreversible scene would unfold. Parents who lost their minds and harmed their own children despaired at the horrific sight once they came to their senses. It was even more common for a child who had lost their reason and gone wild to end up harming their parents. If that was the case for the relationship between parents and children, what about other cases?
Demonic arts were an original sin. Some were born in remote areas on thousand-foot cliffs and learned demonic arts to survive. Some were born as low-born, sold to martial artists, and became test subjects for internal energy cultivation methods before learning demonic arts. Some were simply born as half-human, half-demon, with their middle dantian open from birth. It was cruel that a price too heavy to bear was demanded of those who had no other choice from the beginning.
A chaotic era. As the heavens opened before the despairing demonic practitioners, a great being descended. That existence took pity on the beasts and bestowed teachings upon them. The beasts who received the teachings of the great being gradually returned to being human. The change was not complete, and they still retained beastly appearances in places, but it was a change that could truly be called dramatic. Countless demonic practitioners sought the great being in search of teachings, and the great being accepted them all. That was the beginning of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The Heavenly Demon taught the demonic practitioners how to control their instincts, and the demonic practitioners regarded the Heavenly Demon as their monarch, teacher, and parent. Demonic practitioners from all over the world gathered at Mount Tian following the Heavenly Demon. It didn't take long for the refugees in the mountains, who couldn't even be self-sufficient, to be reborn as the greatest force in the outer regions. The Heavenly Demon Cult of Mount Tian spread demonic arts to the North Sea Ice Palace in the north and the Sun-Moon Divine Cult of the Ten Thousand Mountains in the south, rapidly expanding its influence.
No matter how prosperous the Heavenly Demon Cult became, there was one fundamental goal that never changed for them: Return to the Central Plains. Just as countless heroes dreamed of unifying the world from the Spring and Autumn period to the Three Kingdoms period in the past, the demonic practitioners dreamed of returning to the Central Plains that had once driven them out. Their enthusiasm eventually reached the heavens, and the moved heavens advanced into the Central Plains. Nothing could stop the footsteps of the Heavenly Demon.
The War of Righteous and Demonic factions, which began with the Kunlun Sect closing its gates, became the Murim War as the Samma-ryeon (Demonic Alliance) collapsed, and became the Rebellion of the Heavenly Demon as the imperial army was attacked. In every step of that process, the Heavenly Demon fought alone without borrowing the hands of the demonic practitioners, and in every fight, the Heavenly Demon achieved victory without defeat. The Murim Alliance Leader, called the World's Best Sword, and the Samma-ryeon Leader, called the World's Best Blade, both fell to the hands of the Heavenly Demon. After the two greatest figures fell, the Ten Great Experts of the world fell, and after the Ten Great Experts fell, the Hundred Great Masters fell. The Heavenly Demon struck down everyone, whether they were eccentric villains of the evil faction or righteous knights of the orthodox faction.
However, that did not mean the Heavenly Demon achieved victory easily. He was hit by the wheel-tactics of countless masters, chased by the net of heaven and earth, and faced the absolute masters of the entire world with an exhausted body. That was the end of the mural in the First Tomb, showing the Heavenly Demon defeating the masters of the Central Plains.
"The method of defining a ruler as a being sent by heaven and making people worship them is common since ancient times. It is the same for an organization taking the form of a religion in that process."
Jegal Hyeok commented on the contents of the mural like that, but Seong-jin did not answer. No. He could not answer. Because the contents of that mural were all stories that Seong-jin had started, and stories that had been left to Seong-jin.
* * *
The child was born with a fate to die before reaching the age of twenty. However, to a child who hadn't even lived ten years, let alone twenty, that fact was too vague. The child was more saddened by the sight of his parents grieving over his death than by his own death, and he worked hard just to please the adults around him.
The first Gu-gyeol (oral formula) was born that way. Until then, demonic practitioners had only stored energy in their middle dantian, and like the lower dantian, they controlled their internal energy using ordinary internal cultivation methods. However, there is a method suited for the middle dantian.
Born with a fate that was naturally gifted—no, had to be gifted—regarding the circulation of Qi, the child created a new internal cultivation method for the people who were suffering from the energy in their middle dantian. It was just an act to alleviate the pain of others. Because the child knew better than anyone how painful it was to circulate energy through the wrong path. However, what the child created was not something that could be dismissed as mere child's play. In the past, after the Bodhidharma of Shaolin created the first internal cultivation method, the Murim world became a world of superhumans. Later, when the Sam-bong Jin-in of Wudang created the first Shin-geom-hap-il (Unity of Body and Sword), the Murim world faced a great upheaval. The first Gu-gyeol created by the child's hands was the same.
Unlike incomplete demonic arts that could go mad at any moment, the first Gu-gyeol could completely control the energy of the middle dantian. The demonic practitioners of the world worshipped and gathered around that unique and perfect demonic art, and that was the beginning of the Heavenly Demon Cult. It was created by a talent sent by heaven in response to a fate of short life. A martial art created by the child's heart, worrying about his father who practiced a clumsy family martial art. It could be said that it was inevitable that the martial art at the pinnacle of dealing with emotions would contain the child's pure heart.
Therefore, it was inevitable that the father hid the child's existence. The child's talent was such that it could turn even a third-rate martial art of the marketplace into a divine art. Footwork, palm techniques, fist techniques. There were countless martial arts in the world depending on their purpose, but there was no right answer. However, the child was born with the talent to provide the right answer to all those martial arts, but he himself had a frail body that could not practice them. If this talent became known to the world, the son would not even be able to live out the short lifespan that heaven had determined.
In the end, the father polished the martial art the child had created and controlled the demonic practitioners; that was the beginning of the Cheonma-singong, and the birth of the first Heavenly Demon.