Chapter 334

Chapter 334
## Chapter 334

Golden Island Sect (1)

The surprise raid by the Demonic Cult during the Murim Alliance gathering, coupled with the sudden appearance of the Heavenly Demon, caught everyone completely off guard.

The revelation that he maintained a hidden partnership with the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, even possessing the capacity to utilize that entity’s sacred strength, came as an equally jarring shock.

‘Though this unfolded without any warning… it is far from an unfavorable turn of events.’

He harbored a distinct purpose beyond merely collecting Karma within this realm, after all.

His true mission was to shatter the operations of the Heaven’s Turn Society and eradicate their footprint entirely.

Now, fate had brought him face-to-face with an indispensable asset of their hierarchy—.

‘Letting him escape is out of the question. I will pursue this even if it requires abandoning my initial strategy.’

Tactics were meant to be modified when circumstances demanded it.

He had not intended to take such an extreme approach so soon, but passing up an opening of this magnitude was impossible.

That very choice had brought about his current perilous situation.

Rumble—!

An isolated zone plunged into a bottomless, pitch-black void.

Trapped within this bizarre, restrictive boundary, the Heavenly Demon raged blindly, discharging torrents of his corrupt essence.

His brow furrowed as reanimated corpses, identified as Abyss Revenants, emerged from the darkness to assault him without pause.

“What is the meaning of this?! These jiangshi… Not even the legendary Heavenly Jiangshi possess such devastating power! What sort of trick is…!”

These meticulously engineered ghouls, fashioned from highly refined specimens, possessed immense combat capability. Unlike standard reanimated corpses, their unique Earthling origins granted them immunity to dimensional restrictions.

Furthermore, as demonstrated by the prior maneuvers of Hans, the vast majority of these constructs were recruited from the deceased ranks of the Heaven’s Turn Society…

“Heavenly Demon Emperor! Why do you stand here…? You were supposed to have crossed back to Earth…!”

…And within the oncoming horde, a recognizable countenance appeared.

Identifying him immediately proved difficult, as his physical traits were heavily masked by the clinging tendrils of dark energy.

Yet the martial disciplines he executed, his physical maneuvers, and his distinct pressure… everything pointed to one identity.

In truth, the Heavenly Demon himself had brought the Heavenly Demon Emperor into the folds of the Demonic Cult during his initial period in Ganghwange, overseeing his martial education and providing vital backing.

Their connection was effectively that of a mentor and an apprentice.

Yet now, the very pupil he had reluctantly permitted to return to Earth had materialized once more as a mindless jiangshi, confronting his old master as a lethal adversary.

“…You are far from commonplace monsters. You emerged from Earth, wielding the metaphysical properties of an entirely different realm? How can such a phenomenon occur?”

Forced to acknowledge the grim reality, the Heavenly Demon ground his teeth together, his expression twisting into a dark scowl.

This development carried grave implications.

The Earthlings he had previously battled at the Shaolin Temple appeared utterly trivial when compared to the threat before him now.

His attention shifted toward a mature gentleman, Hans, who watched the confrontation from a safe vantage point, his gaze burning with an unsettling fascination.

Though initially uncertain, he now held absolute conviction.

Despite presenting a flawless human facade, that individual was fundamentally divorced from humanity, much like the savage brute currently attacking.

In fact, he lacked the spark of life entirely.

‘I was nearly deceived. Naturally, no genuine living entity could direct such an concentrated, oppressive aura of mortality with such casual ease.’

This went beyond mere corrupt energy; it resembled the primordial root of expiration itself.

Despite having amassed an immense reservoir of unholy malice through the cultivation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, he had never encountered an echo of death so untainted.

He found himself experiencing an involuntary wave of respect, even while standing as the man’s target.

‘But by what method did they breach the boundary between worlds? These are not mere individuals with the potential for transcendence, like that youth at the Shaolin Temple. These are fully developed, realized entities from an outside realm. And there are two of them standing before me…!’

The likelihood of additional interlopers could not be dismissed.

Three, four… perhaps more than a dozen extra-dimensional travelers were already executing operations from the darkness.

This boded exceptionally ill.

‘At such a critical juncture! Just as I have initiated my ultimate objective by assembling the Dragon’s Children!’

An unpredicted complication had manifested precisely after he had bypassed the disruptions caused by the Golden Island Sect to launch his grand campaign.

He cursed the grand design of the cosmos, gnashing his teeth in deep irritation, feeling as though the universe itself was deliberately subverting his ambitions.

It was a hypocritical sentiment, given that he was the original traitor to this domain… but his current survival demanded too much focus for such introspection.

“Khahaha! Let us engage in some entertainment, comrade!”

An abomination, having completely discarded any semblance of its mortal origin, bounded toward him.

The towering monstrosity exceeded four meters in height, its flesh protected by interlocking crimson scales, its talons and fangs resembling implements forged from calcified bone and iron, while its asymmetrical red and green eyes burned with a vicious, predatory intent.

“Ha! You display unearned confidence simply because you perceive a momentary vulnerability, you disrespectful creature. So be it. I shall demonstrate the nature of authentic supremacy. I will dismember your frame and scatter your vital organs.”

An unholy pressure, interlaced with a vibrant, twilight-hued sacred force, exploded outward from the Heavenly Demon’s form.

Under normal conditions, such diametrically opposed elements should have canceled one another out… yet inexplicably, they achieved perfect synthesis, drastically elevating his presence.

The power on display was vastly superior to the levels he had manifested during his engagement with Harley and Master Wu Jin at the Shaolin Temple.

He discarded any anxiety regarding the physical toll this might exact.

The circumstances permitted no moderation.

“The sovereign of all monstrosities, you claim? What boundless conceit.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke, his tone dropping to a guttural, threatening pitch as his personal storm of energy reached a crescendo.

He actively forced down the unsettling anxiety beginning to take root in his mind.

“I am the 14th Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Heavenly Demon. The unchallenged master of the Murim domain, the singular entity occupying the apex of this realm. Do you genuinely believe I would prostrate myself before a crossbred cur from an alien reality?!”

His declaration, saturated with a desperate need to believe his own words, a forced display of absolute certainty, boomed across the battlefield.

Kaboom—!

The clenched hand of Harley, wrapped in a deep crimson radiance, slammed directly into the obsidian blade of the Heavenly Demon, causing the latter’s features to contort under the strain.

His physiology, in its fully realized monstrous configuration, possessed incredible structural integrity, capable of brushing off standard trauma… yet his adversary’s combined output of sacred and unholy energy proved far more devastating than anticipated.

Furthermore, unlike their previous exchange, his foe was holding nothing back.

“…You dare to associate yourself with the title of demon?”

Hans, evaluating the clash through the perception of his 「Abyssal Eye」, his focus locked onto the duel between the Heavenly Demon and Harley, whispered under his breath as a faint smirk graced his features.

“Kkuk kuk— Let us test that assertion. Let us discover who truly embodies arrogance.”

His chuckle carried a deeply disturbing, unnatural resonance.

His perspective, looking down upon the struggle from an elevated state, conveyed nothing but frigid, mocking detachment.

“In any case, the final resolution has already been established. Khahaha!”

Goooo—

A malicious cackle reverberated throughout the enclosed space, causing the concentrated dark sorcery within the boundary to vibrate wildly, mimicking the crying of phantoms in a burial ground—a tragic lament for the condemned.

Wooong— Whoosh— Crackle!

An immense runic array, originating from Hans, began to expand outward, blanketed the interior of the barrier, while blazes apparently pulled from the lowest pits of damnation and a biting frost bordering on absolute zero manifested out of thin air.

The bizarre and miraculous displays multiplied exponentially, filling every corner of the zone.

Arks of lightning discharged, gravitational forces fluctuated wildly, spectral appendages clawed upward from the dirt, and a lacerating gale tore through the air.

It presented an overwhelming exhibition of alien sorcery, a chaotic sensory overload…

…though it offered nothing but despair for the individual targeted by it.

“…This is… highly offensive.”

And as a natural consequence,

Not even the Heavenly Demon, widely recognized as the supreme martial artist of Ganghwange, could endure the synchronized devastation unleashed by the Immortal King, who had once brought an entire landmass to the brink of ruin, and Harley, the legendary Fighting King of the Southern Tribes.

They had existed as mortal adversaries within the realm of Auterica, a Champion and a Fiend Lord… but here in Ganghwange, they operated as cohesive partners, their teamwork flawless and deadly.

—

“Cough!”

Thick, blackened vitality escaped his lips and ran down his jawline.

It spilled forth heavily, pooling on the earth beneath him before the torrent finally subsided.

The Heavenly Demon withdrew his stained fingers from his lips and surveyed the immediate area.

The shattered remnants of innumerable jiangshi lay strewn about, obliterated by his counterattacks.

These broken pieces were gradually drawn back into the encompassing dark void, dissolving into nothingness.

A portion of them would undoubtedly reconstitute themselves to resume their assault in due time.

‘…The end has arrived. How did I fall into this trap?’

Yet those trivial foot soldiers were the least of his anxieties.

“Kuh~ This is purely magnificent! A considerable amount of time has passed since I last enjoyed a genuine struggle! Hahaha!”

The feral tribal champion, Harley, his physical frame covered in lacerations and contusions but his martial fervor completely unchecked, roared with genuine amusement.

“Fascinating. The underlying relationship between sacred energy and unholy power. And additionally…”

Furthermore, Hans, the master of necromancy, remaining hemmed in by his undead thralls and swirling incantations, pondered aloud while keeping his eyes trained on the Heavenly Demon.

He presented an unprotected exterior, as though his guard was entirely dropped… but the Heavenly Demon recognized the deception.

They were merely pausing for a momentary lapse in his concentration, poised to renew their execution at any second.

Precisely as they had been doing throughout the encounter.

‘…My initial apprehension was entirely justified.’

The Heavenly Demon turned his gaze toward Hans.

He at last comprehended why his survival instincts had flared so violently upon their initial meeting.

Much like Harley, the opponent he faced prior, this figure represented his absolute antithesis.

‘No strategy yields results against him. He is my preordained doom.’

The most formidable trait of unholy martial styles lay in their sheer capacity for destruction.

The trauma they visited upon living flesh was horrific, calculated to breed terror and hesitation in even the most veteran combatants… yet it proved utterly useless against Hans.

The man was a walking corpse, his internal vessel already saturated with dark sorcery and the essence of the grave.

Even the sacred strength he had utilized, despite its inherent elemental superiority, had failed to yield significant results.

The Heavenly Demon remained ignorant of the underlying cause, which stemmed from Hans having integrated a portion of the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society’s holy energy, thereby developing an immunity to its properties.

Naturally, the potency of that defense remained untested against the actual Master… but it sufficed to nullify any reflected applications of that power.

‘This is… beyond comprehension.’

The Heavenly Demon exhaled heavily, his physical form collapsing as his internal reserves depleted completely.

He could sense the approach of his own mortality.

This brief intermission would serve as his final moment of peace.

An unexpected wave of sentimentality washed over him, his consciousness wandering back through the decades.

‘A vast expanse of time has drifted by.’

More than seventy years had elapsed since his arrival in Ganghwange.

He had ascended to the mantle of Heavenly Demon, directing the destinies of the Heavenly Demon Cult, primarily due to the backing of the Heaven’s Turn Society.

He had stood on the precipice of achieving total dominion over this reality…

‘…To think my path terminates in this fashion.’

He envisioned his inaugural meeting with the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, which had occurred over two decades prior.

An ethereal manifestation, adorned with plumages of pure radiance and an illuminating presence, descending from the sky above.

The architect of the current upheaval, the very entity that had facilitated his ascension to supreme authority.

He harbored no particular malice toward the Master or the grand design. Ultimately, had the strategy achieved its conclusion, he would have reigned as the undisputed monarch of this world.

During those days, it had never occurred to him that an enterprise so flawlessly structured by the Master could disintegrate so completely.

‘I failed to anticipate the existence of other entities matching his caliber.’

The Heavenly Demon observed his vitality slipping away and forced his gaze upward.

A massive chimera, its anatomy a horrifying amalgamation of predatory limbs and exposed structures, alongside a mature man enveloped in a dark, sticky vapor and flanked by reanimated minions, moved toward his position.

Their hideous countenances stood in absolute opposition to the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, who had manifested with the appearance of a celestial messenger.

“Hmm, abandoning the struggle already? You falter swifter than my calculations suggested. It appears your sacred output is optimized for physical enhancement rather than cellular regeneration. This constitutes highly useful observations.”

“Huu— Your preparations leave no room for error. Escape remained a viable alternative had I prioritized flight from the very opening.”

“Kkuk kuk— Naturally, we entertained no intention of permitting your departure. Our current display does not represent the entirety of our arsenal.”

“…Tsk, my calculations were flawed.”

The Heavenly Demon lowered his eyelids as he perceived an innumerable quantity of pale limbs and dark bindings, bursting forth from the soil, restricting his movements entirely.

An abrupt yearning for the land of his birth overtook him.

He had operated under the assumption that he had completely discarded Earth, a realm that had afforded him nothing but agony… yet now, staring into the face of his own cessation, it remained the sole location occupying his thoughts.

A covered palm clamped down upon his skull with crushing force.

And immediately following—.

“…The Dragon’s Child alongside the Golden Island Sect. It will be necessary to establish communication with them.”

The calculating conqueror, who had envisioned dominating Ganghwange as a mere instrument of the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, descended into the permanent dark.