Chapter 352

Chapter 352
## Chapter 352

Shifting Tides (1)

Yalu Huan, who once served as the Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Cult, found himself trapped in a difficult situation.

To execute the ceremony properly, he required a Dragon Vein, yet every viable site was already claimed by formidable organizations.

Because he maintained authority over the majority of the squads stationed away from the main base, launching an assault to capture a Dragon Vein was entirely within his capability…

‘The potency of the ritual scales with the magnitude of the Dragon Vein. However, the superior locations are held by the most dominant groups.’

Blooded conflict was unavoidable.

Ought he to focus on a weaker target to safeguard his own numbers, even if it meant settling for an inferior ritual? Or should he risk everything to claim the finest prize, despite the likelihood of massive losses?

Merely obtaining a Dragon Vein wouldn’t suffice. Operating under tight timelines and with restricted assets, he needed to make a deliberate choice.

‘…Is discovering an entirely new Dragon Vein truly necessary?’

An unexpected notion struck him.

An unclaimed, abandoned site of unparalleled scale existed. A spot that remained completely ignored by the world…

“The Dragon Heart.”

Beijing, the location where the remnants of the imperial palace crumbled.

It lay within comfortable riding distance of his current position, allowing him to economize valuable time.

‘Furthermore, it remains a tainted territory, ensuring no one will come looking for us there.’

The Dragon Heart, which functioned as the fountainhead of Ganghwange’s vitality, had been violently ripped away, leaving the site drained of its purpose. Even so, it had once stood as the premier holy ground across the lands.

Though it had transformed into a barren stretch of earth that siphoned the ambient vitality of the region, its profound symbolic weight endured.

‘My intentions do not involve bargaining with an otherworldly deity. A pristine, functioning Dragon Vein is irrelevant to my goals.’

His singular focus lay in absorbing the divine energy of the Dragon God that remained bound within the Dragon’s Children.

Provided the construction of the altar satisfied the fundamental prerequisites, he could execute the ceremony even amidst the corrupted ruins of the Dragon Heart.

‘In fact, it could prove far superior. Hosting the ritual at the epicenter of the realm, the exact place where the Dragon Heart was plundered, utilizing the Dragon’s Children marked by the Dragon God itself… ’

It represented a flawless alignment of destiny—a beautiful twist of fate.

Since the Dragon’s Children were brought into existence to mend the Dragon Heart, conducting the rite upon that exact ground would inevitably magnify its potency.

This was his grand opening.

Up to this point, he had been deliberately gathering his forces in the darkness under the protective umbrella of the Heavenly Demon, but that strategy proved far too gradual and tedious.

If he could forge a massive leap forward utilizing this strategy, however…

“Haha, Fortune is finally smiling upon me. I feared my life’s work had dissolved into nothingness when the Heavenly Demon met his end.”

Yalu Huan let out a low laugh, the skin around his eyes wrinkling as a predatory gleam flared within his vertical, reptilian yellow pupils.

—

Heavenly Demon Cult, Palace of Enlightenment, Private Laboratory.

“The Heavenly Riding Demon. Gathering the Dragon’s Children at a single destination.”

Hans pulled his hand away from the crown of the scorched corpse, tilting his chin slightly as he ran his fingers through his beard.

Scattered across the floor of the chamber lay dozens of additional bodies, each bearing the same blackened, lifeless appearance.

These individuals had been warriors of the Heavenly Demon Cult who had engaged in combat against Harley, ultimately finding their path back to their… birthplace through the utility of the 「Avatar Cloud」.

Though the manner of their return was far from what they had envisioned.

“Tsk, what a waste of breath and ambition. Life would have been far simpler for everyone involved had they merely surrendered.”

He could easily decipher their motives.

To a practitioner of occult arts such as himself, the Dragon’s Children represented ingredients on par with mythical panaceas.

He had previously been forced to stand on the sidelines, watching helplessly while the Heavenly Demon kept them entirely for himself… but now, a window had opened for him to seize every last one.

‘…Yet something feels amiss. Even assuming the ceremony concludes perfectly, it amounts to nothing without the backing of the Heavenly Demon. Does he truly believe he possesses the leverage to match me?’

He mentally cataloged the details he had accumulated regarding Yalu Huan, but nothing struck him as particularly extraordinary.

The man was a masterful tactician and an accomplished occultist, ranking among the absolute elite within the Demonic Cult, having delivered critical victories throughout their campaign against the fiends.

“Hmm, did he convince himself he could dethrone me once he gained control of the Dragon’s Children? Or could it simply be… an instance of blind devotion?”

Hans grimaced, sinking deeper into contemplation.

His current obligations were already overwhelming. He had absolutely no desire to contend with further disruptions.

‘I must intercept the Dragon’s Children, ensuring I secure Zhuge Hyemi and Zhu Gang-in before he initiates the ceremony. The captives I questioned possessed no knowledge of their destination… only the logistics squad held that data… And even if they did know, the route would have been altered by now.’

Extracting intelligence within Ganghwange, a realm where his immediate network remained limited, proved to be an immense irritation.

Even with his talents, operating through a mere handful of duplicates imposed severe restrictions.

‘If only Olivia and my phantom legions were at my disposal… Or if I could manipulate the information networks of the local factions… Ah? Hold on a moment.’

He froze mid-motion as a fresh concept materialized.

‘Why am I shoulder-bearing this crisis entirely on my own? The Dragon’s Children and the state of the Dragon Heart are crises native to this realm of Ganghwange. The residents of this world ought to be the ones sweating over it!’

He was aware that the Golden Island Sect was actively investigating the matter, but their preference for covert, isolated operations lacked the necessary scale.

‘I need to draw the remaining organizations into the fray. The grander the crowd, the better.’

He could comprehend why they had chosen to operate in complete isolation until this juncture.

Because the royal lineage had been utterly broken by the intricate plots of the Heavenly Demon Cult, they had operating under the assumption that no outside entity could be relied upon.

‘However, the landscape has shifted entirely.’

He had already established dominion over the Demonic Cult.

Granted, he had not completely wiped out every remaining pocket of resistance, but their capacity to execute maneuvers without the logistical backing of the main headquarters was severely crippled.

They lacked both the breathing room and the capital required to mount sophisticated operations while constantly looking over their shoulders in hiding.

“Heh heh— Excellent, let us set the wheels in motion.”

His tenure within Ganghwange had been brief.

His web of informants was still in its infancy, his territory remained unstable, and a vast number of mysteries regarding this realm eluded his grasp.

‘I shall initiate contact through the Golden Island Sect.’

Yet, he possessed an asset that eclipsed all those deficiencies.

The raw strength required to reshape the destiny of this realm.

—

The Golden Island Sect did not immediately fall in line with his proposal.

However, upon investigating the intelligence brought forward by Horus, they came to terms with the true peril of the situation and reluctantly conceded that this path represented their most viable course of action.

They proved willing to embrace the inherent dangers, given the extremity of the circumstances.

The consequences of this shift materialized immediately at Yungjung Mountain, the current residence of Hugo.

“Greetings to you. I am Qingguan, representing the Maoshan Sect. I have journeyed here on an urgent matter that requires our mutual attention.”

Qingguan, the wandering priest, offered a deeply respectful greeting, his garments remaining as unornamented and modest as they always were.

The Zhuge Clan, despite being caught completely off guard by his unannounced arrival, found themselves unable to turn him away.

Their initial instinct had been to dismiss him, given that the household was currently enduring a period of severe internal turmoil… yet the weight of his opening remarks made that impossible.

“My purpose involves Young Miss Zhuge and the Demonic Cult responsible for her abduction. This is an issue of paramount consequence.”

The Zhuge Clan and the Maoshan Sect were universally recognized as the twin pillars governing the occult arts of the Murim… yet unlike the Zhuge Clan, which operated as a massive, politically active dynasty, the Maoshan Sect was characterized by its insular nature and withdrawal from public affairs.

The martial arts practiced by the Zhuge Clan were formidable in their own right, even if they fell slightly short when measured against the other dominant families.

Conversely, the Maoshan Sect dedicated its efforts exclusively to the mastery of spiritual arts, taking on contracts for those requiring supernatural intervention and sending out their practitioners to fulfill those tasks, keeping their footprint restricted to localized territories.

Naturally, a vast disparity existed regarding their visible power and reach… but when evaluated strictly on supernatural prowess, the Maoshan Sect was widely deemed to hold a slight advantage, meaning the Zhuge Clan could not simply brush them aside.

Consequently, Qingguan’s revelation struck them like a thunderbolt.

“…Are you truly implying… that our Hyemi… is numbered among these ‘Dragon’s Children’, brought into this world to serve as mere fuel for rebuilding the Dragon Heart?”

Zhuge Howon, the Patriarch of the Clan, pressed for confirmation through a voice thick with skepticism, while the expressions of the assembled family elders turned profoundly dark.

Their response was entirely natural.

How could any family find joy in the revelation that a beloved relative, someone raised and cherished within their walls for a lifetime, was doomed to be utilized as a human sacrifice?

Furthermore, there was the matter of familial honor.

Even if their domains of expertise diverged, it dealt a severe blow to their collective pride to receive such critical intelligence from their direct peers, the Maoshan Sect, whom they had long regarded as slightly below them in status.

Nevertheless, they were practical individuals, accustomed to elevating intellect over raw sentiment, enabling them to master their emotions and address the crisis rationally.

Following a rigorous analysis of the gathered records and physical proofs, they arrived at a unified verdict.

The narrative delivered by Qingguan carried an incredibly high probability of truth.

The realization that Zhu Gang-in, the royal scion who exhibited identical physical anomalies to Zhuge Hyemi, had vanished into the custody of the Demonic Cult on that very same afternoon, served as the ultimate confirmation.

“The Demonic Cult is systematically exploiting the Dragon’s Children to skyrocket their internal strength. We have gathered definitive proof that the Heavenly Demon’s recent, terrifying escalation in power was achieved by offering up multiple Dragon’s Children as sacrifices…”

Qingguan pressed on, his delivery remaining perfectly measured and unshakeable.

The features of the Zhuge Clan elders grew incredibly tense.

This crisis extended far beyond the immediate welfare of Zhuge Hyemi.

They were well aware of the terrifying displays of power attributed to the Heavenly Demon.

He had successfully severed the arm of Master Wu Jin right within the heart of the Shaolin Temple—a sanctuary saturated with holy arrays and incantations engineered precisely to bind and neutralize malevolent internal force—and had comfortably held his ground against a newly descended master of the Mysterious Realm in a lopsided two-on-one engagement.

And now, he intended to orchestrate a grand ceremony to elevate his combat capability even further, utilizing the Dragon’s Children as the ultimate catalysts?

Moreover, those very catalysts held the secret to stabilizing the shattered balance of this fractured world?

“…This crisis has escalated far beyond our family’s solitary capacity to manage.”

Rebuilding the Dragon Heart was a secondary priority.

Even if it meant they would have to address the fate of the victims down the line, they were absolutely required to derail the machinations of the Demonic Cult immediately.

“That precise reality is what prompted my journey here. Utilizing the networks and standing of the Zhuge Clan, we can distribute this warning to the remaining premier organizations across the land.”

Though physical combat efficiency remained the primary currency of power in this realm, the competing factions recognized the strategic value of the occult.

They simply lacked the specialized knowledge and institutional assets required to deploy it effectively.

The Zhuge Clan, possessing deep diplomatic ties and far-reaching prestige, could rapidly disseminate this warning across every corner of the mainland.

“…Very well. Let us set the plan in motion. We have an exhausting road ahead of us.”

“The occultists of our Maoshan Sect, stationed throughout the various territories, stand ready to facilitate the process. They can function as spiritual nodes, drastically reducing the vital tax required to maintain long-range communication arrays.”

“Splendid. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.”

Employing sorcery to transmit messages over vast distances was an incredibly demanding and wasteful process, making it an extreme rarity… but with the structural network of the Maoshan Sect supporting them, the operational burden would be significantly mitigated.

Thus, combining the resources of the two premier authorities on spiritual arts, the intelligence surged outward, penetrating the inner sanctuaries of regional leaders everywhere.

Warnings concerning the grand conspiracy of the Demonic Cult, the escalating peril posed by the Heavenly Demon,

…and the sudden prospect of concluding the current era of lawlessness.

—

‘Excellent. The pieces are falling into place precisely as intended.’

The demise of the Heavenly Demon remained a closely guarded secret, preserved exclusively within the inner circle of the Demonic Cult, providing the ultimate rallying cry to coordinate the rival factions against a singular, terrifying antagonist.

The entire continent had heard tales of the devastation unleashed by the Heavenly Demon at the Shaolin Temple.

‘They will find it impossible to remain concealed for long if the eyes of the entire mainland are actively hunting them. Their positions will inevitably be betrayed.’

Naturally, broadcasting this reality would also motivate certain… less principled opportunists to make their moves.

There were undoubtedly individuals already brainstorming methods to hijack the Dragon’s Children to satisfy their own greed.

It possessed the potential to trigger additional catastrophes…

‘It is of no consequence.’

Hans remained completely indifferent to that outcome.

He wasn’t merely casting the Dragon’s Children aside to their fates.

It simply… no longer carried any relevance to his overarching goals.

He had successfully engineered a superior alternative.

“Stand up.”

His voice, dropping into a deep, authoritative cadence, resonated through the confines of the laboratory.

Twitch—

The form resting upon the examination slab gave a sudden jerk, its limbs gradually showing signs of animation.

Initially, it manifested as a subtle quivering, which rapidly evolved into a sequence of increasingly violent convulsions…

…before snapping into absolute stillness.

Swish—

An instant later, the figure materialized directly before him, dropping smoothly to one knee in a display of profound deference, its gaze fixed upon the floor.

Its eyes, entirely midnight-black and devoid of any distinctive irises, radiated an eerie, unnatural luminescence.

“…All honor to the Sovereign of Mortality. Awaiting your instructions.”

The Heavenly Demon, his consciousness entirely consumed by the immense tide of retribution he had accumulated, his physical form transformed into an absolute instrument for Hans’s dominance.

A revolutionary grade of the walking dead, a weapon specifically designed to obliterate his preordained adversary, the Sovereign of Heaven’s Turn Society.

A ‘Karma Jiangshi’.