Overlord of Sichuan

Chapter 240: Heavenly Demon Cavern (3)

“Ha. This is absurd.”

Nameless’s mutter echoed as it drifted through the frigid air of the newly reached space.

Sewoon, Nameless, and Seori.

The three stood at the entrance of this inexplicable space, unable to hide their shock.

The new space was a corridor—narrow and elongated, stretching far ahead like the shape of a vertical stroke.

However, the material that formed the corridor was truly astonishing.

“The entire corridor—every single side—is made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron….”

Seori’s voice was filled with disbelief and reverence.

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.

A material so rare that forging even a single piece of weapons and arms required a price exceeding a thousand gold—yet here, it filled the walls, floor, and ceiling of the corridor without a single gap, as casually as common stones.

Its cold metallic luster spread in all directions, exuding a presence that seemed capable of freezing everything in existence.

‘This is good?’

Unlike the other two, Sewoon’s eyes gleamed with a very different light.

As his gaze swept across the walls of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, flames of undisguised greed flickered in his eyes.

‘With this much Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, I could forge more than enough treasure weapons for the war against the Blood Cult.’

To him, this place was not a trial left behind by the Heavenly Demon, but a material vault capable of drastically strengthening allied forces in the coming battle.

Nameless tilted his head and pointed at the wall with a finger.

“…But what are those?”

“Every wall is covered with strange markings.”

At regular intervals, countless markings were engraved into the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron walls.

They looked like serrated patterns, or perhaps indecipherable symbols.

“Ah, the Heavenly Demon was from your North Sea Ice Palace, right? Could these be some ancient language only used in your lands?”

“Don’t spout nonsense about ancient languages. Am I speaking a different language from you right now?”

“Oh. Right.”

Nameless scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

At that moment, Sewoon’s gaze shifted toward the distant end of the corridor.

At the very end, attached to the wall, was a solitary wooden handle.

Sewoon knew instinctively.

‘That mechanism must be the key to moving forward.’

Given the nature of the Heavenly Demon Cavern, there was no chance such a device existed without purpose.

At the same time, Seori also noticed the handle, her eyes lighting up.

“It seems we just need to cross the corridor and pull that. I’ll go this time.”

Muttering so, Seori took a bold step forward.

“Hey, wait—!”

The instant Nameless grabbed her shoulder to stop her sudden move—

Suuuu—!

Slash!

“?!”

“!!”

Something brushed past the nape of Seori’s neck.

Pasut—

A few strands of severed hair drifted down through the air.

Without any aura, any wind pressure—an utterly formless blade had passed through her.

Seori staggered backward.

“What… was that?”

“…If you’d taken even one more step, your head would’ve flown off.”

Seori sucked in a ragged breath.

Her face had gone deathly pale.

For the first time in her life, a primal fear crushed down on her heart.

Any mechanism, any formation or trap—she would have evaded them.

But this was on an entirely different level.

‘An invisible sword wind. No… can this even be called sword wind…?’

There was no aura, no sound, no shape to perceive.

It felt more dangerous than even the techniques of a high-realm martial master.

“…How are we supposed to avoid attacks we can’t even sense and make it over there?”

Nameless muttered under his breath.

His senses, honed to the extreme as an assassin, missed nothing—not even the faintest trace.

Yet the reason he had stopped Seori was not because he sensed anything.

It had been pure luck.

Still, they couldn’t just stand there doing nothing.

He cautiously stepped forward in different directions, trying to unravel the mystery of the trap.

“Damn it. No matter how I look at it, there’s no pattern at all.”

Every attempt failed.

Even when stepping into the same direction, entirely different sword winds flew out, as if they were alive.

Just as Seori and Nameless’s expressions darkened into despair—

‘So that’s how it is.’

Sewoon alone was different.

The other two hadn’t noticed anything at all.

Sssss—

Around Sewoon, demonic qi and cold qi slowly intertwined.

It was as if two completely different forces were merging into a massive vortex.

‘…It’s not that there’s no rule. They simply lack the qualification to sense it.’

His instincts strained to pierce through the essence hidden within this mysterious phenomenon.

‘This place isn’t merely a trap designed to kill intruders. It’s asking whether those who possess the qualifications can glimpse the seed of the enlightenment it once attained.’

Sewoon was certain.

At this very moment, the Heavenly Demon was testing him.

Testing whether he was worthy of meeting him.

Step.

Suddenly, Sewoon advanced into the corridor.

There was not the slightest hesitation in his stride.

“Junior Brother!”

“You—!”

Nameless and Seori cried out in shock, trying to stop him.

Their voices were filled with worry and incomprehension.

Step.

Ignoring them entirely, Sewoon took another step forward.

Shaaah!

Chwaaaah!

He unleashed the power of the Manifestation Realm to its utmost limit.

The Heavenly Demon’s qi contained within the Ice Wheel Thread scattered through his limbs and bones.

Only then did what could not be seen begin to reveal itself.

No—it was not seen.

It was felt.

The entire space itself— not a single stroke of sword wind.

Entangled, interwoven minute waves and currents.

All of it formed relationships spread out like a gigantic spiderweb, and that structure was now felt with startling clarity.

A faint smile rose to Sewoon’s lips.

Only now did the countless markings engraved into the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron walls begin to fit together in his mind, like scattered fragments snapping into place.

‘Three steps forward. Upper right.’

Sewoon sensed a fluctuation at a single point in the void.

Swish—

His body moved as naturally as flowing water.

Without even the slightest margin of error, he stepped through the space where the formless blade had just passed.

“!!”

“Wh… what?”

Nameless and Seori could not hide their astonishment.

They could not comprehend Sewoon’s movements, but one thing was unmistakably clear—he was advancing while perfectly avoiding the blades of death.

Meanwhile, as Sewoon moved forward, he stacked fragment after fragment of enlightenment within himself.

‘This isn’t sword wind. It’s the Heavenly Demon’s intent, spread across the entirety of space itself.’

No wonder no energy could be sensed.

What had been sustained here for countless years was not energy—but will.

The powerful will embedded by the Heavenly Demon had been engraved into the very fabric of this space, transforming into formless blades that struck intruders.

‘So this is the Life and Death Realm…!!’

A realm beyond imagination itself.

What should one even call the blades engraved into this space?

A formless sword forged from intent,

a sword that embodied will into the form of martiality.

At last, Sewoon muttered softly.

“…Mind Sword.”

Yes. There was no other name for it.

His voice carried both awe and profound realization.

At the quietly spoken words, Nameless and Seori swallowed their breaths, faces stricken with shock.

The Mind Sword was something that existed only in myth.

A realm where merely setting one’s mind allowed the killing of an enemy.

A state beyond the limits of humanity, spoken of only in jest—a domain belonging to gods.

‘And yet, the power spread throughout this place…’

‘That… is a Mind Sword?’

They now looked at Sewoon with eyes filled with reverence and fear.

It was not only the Heavenly Demon who was a monster for carving a Mind Sword into this place.

Sewoon himself—who alone recognized it and walked its path—was equally an inhuman existence.

At that moment, Sewoon stood with only ten steps remaining before the end of the corridor.

Chwaaa—

Sewoon slowly spread both hands.

Not a single strand of the Heavenly Net was connected.

‘With my current Heavenly Net, I can’t sever the Heavenly Demon’s will engraved into this space.’

Swaaa—

Kwarurur—

At the same time, Sewoon drew up every last ounce of his power.

The absolute peak of the Manifestation Realm.

He unleashed all of his inner power and stared straight ahead.

Demonic qi and cold qi poured from Sewoon’s body, intertwining into a massive vortex.

And in order to confront the Heavenly Demon’s Mind Sword—

‘Then there is only one way.’

Sewoon, too, drew forth a formless blade imbued with his own will.

Chwaaa—

From Sewoon’s Upper Dantian, the Invisible Dagger revealed itself.

Kwaaaang!

Kwarurur!

The moment Sewoon drew out the Invisible Dagger, space itself twisted.

Like two masses of thought colliding, their flows clashed and carved fine cracks into the air itself.

With a thunderous roar, the cold air convulsed violently.

Watching this scene, Sewoon finally understood.

‘The Invisible Dagger I created… was a divine weapon of the Mind Sword, forged by surpassing the limits of realm through pure will…!’

If the Heavenly Demon’s martiality spread intent across the entirety of space—

Then Sewoon’s martiality was a single blade, endlessly forged by stacking intent upon intent, like a blacksmith hammering without end.

Sss—

Chwaaaah!

A majestic spectacle unfolded within Sewoon, as if an immense universe were being recreated inside him.

After reaching the peak of the Manifestation Realm, his stagnant realm now ran rampant under the influence of new enlightenment.

Flash—

In an instant, Sewoon’s blazing gaze—like it contained a sun—scattered across the surroundings.

‘I will sever every last trace of the Heavenly Demon’s will remaining here.’

Sewoon’s will and intent began piling endlessly into the Invisible Dagger.

Until now, Sewoon had merely used the Invisible Dagger as a weapon.

But now, it was different.

Swaaa—

Kwarurur—

The more intent he poured into it, the more its destructive power grew without limit.

Three steps.

At last, the Mind Swords of the Heavenly Demon and Sewoon collided.

The Heavenly Demon’s Mind Sword, split into tens, hundreds, thousands of strands, crashed down upon the Invisible Dagger like raging waves of the sea.

But—

Slash!

Shrrrk!

Not a single blade managed to surpass the Invisible Dagger.

Like fallen leaves collapsing helplessly before a storm, the Invisible Dagger cut down everything.

Two steps.

Sewoon kicked off with true force and spun through the air.

A single arc of sword dance unleashed through the Invisible Dagger seized complete dominion over the surrounding space.

Slash!

Chwaaaak!

Amid harsh sounds of severance, every pattern engraved into the surrounding walls began to be overwritten by the new markings carved by Sewoon himself.

As the dance reached its conclusion, Sewoon’s eyes shone brightly.

One step.

Now, Sewoon held absolute dominion over the entirety of this space.

Kwarurur!

Kwa-ga-ga-ga!

Behind Sewoon, the wall of the corridor was severed apart, beginning to emit a new light.

The energy released by Sewoon transformed into pure white snowflakes, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Thud.

Like a raging gale, Sewoon’s body shot forward, finally reaching the end of the corridor.

And at that moment, Sewoon realized one truth.

‘I’ve surpassed it—the Wall of the Manifestation Realm.’

At last, Sewoon—having ascended into the Life and Death Realm—pulled the handle downward.

Kwarururung…!

With a heavy, resounding roar, the entire corridor began to shake violently.