Chapter 242 : Reappearance of the Heavenly Demon (2)
Chapter 242: Reappearance of the Heavenly Demon (2)
One shijin (= two hours) earlier.
Sewoon, Nameless, and Seori cautiously stepped into the final chamber of the Heavenly Demon Cavern.
The moment they entered the silent interior—so still that even footsteps failed to echo—an immense cold wrapped around them.
The inside was arranged like a shrine.
Exquisitely carved ice walls held a faint blue glow, and at the center stood a lone throne, also fashioned entirely of ice.
That was all.
No matter how they looked around, aside from that, the place was completely empty.
Even after rubbing their eyes and looking again, there was not a single trace of any legacy of the Heavenly Demon.
It was as though the very reason they had endured countless hardships to reach this place had vanished.
Yet at present, neither Nameless nor Seori had any attention to spare for that fact.
“Junior Brother, don’t tell me you crossed beyond the Wall of the Manifestation Realm?”
“……!!”
At Nameless’s words, Seori—who had been harboring the same suspicion—turned her astonished gaze toward Sewoon.
Having become one of those closest to Sewoon before anyone else, Nameless was the first to notice the change in him.
No—truthfully, it was impossible not to notice.
‘It’s like Mount Tai itself is walking around right in front of me. How could anyone miss that?’
No matter how much Sewoon tried to suppress it, as his realm rose, the fundamental rank of his existence had elevated as well, and an overwhelming, transcendent pressure was spilling from him.
At that moment, Sewoon—who had been quietly looking at the two of them—opened his mouth.
“Yes.”
“……Hah. So it was real.”
“?!”
Sewoon admitted it briefly, without trying to hide it.
A deep awe colored Nameless’s voice.
It was a sincere admiration directed toward Sewoon, who had now reached a realm even Nameless himself could no longer measure.
“Ha, haha. Even if I told anyone about this, they wouldn’t believe me.”
“……So the sword wind left behind there was actually the Heavenly Demon’s legacy.”
Seori muttered as if to herself, standing there in a daze, as though her soul had momentarily left her body.
Then Sewoon spoke softly.
“Nothing has changed. Let’s focus on searching for now.”
“Nothing’s changed, my ass! It’s the Life and Death Realm—the Life and Death Realm! Junior Brother, how about spending a little time sharing even a fragment of your enlightenment with this Senior Brother?”
“Hoo.”
Shaking his head, Sewoon began to look around the chamber.
‘……Tang Sewoon.’
At that moment, Seori’s blue eyes shone even more intensely.
She seemed intoxicated by the massive demonic qi she felt from Sewoon, and by the vitality radiating from his flesh.
Within her ice-cold inner self, it was as if a blazing flame had been ignited.
‘I can’t let this slip away.’
Seori’s gaze upon Sewoon deepened further. Within her eyes, possessive desire flickered alongside an irresistible allure.
Naturally, however, Sewoon did not spare her so much as a glance, focusing solely on probing the interior of the cavern.
Soon, Nameless and Seori also thoroughly searched the surroundings.
“Hm, this doesn’t make sense.”
“……There really is nothing here, is there?”
The Heavenly Demon’s legacy they had come for—
There was not even a trace of anything like a secret manual or a divine artifact.
Just as Seori’s expression was beginning to darken, Nameless sent Sewoon a discreet voice transmission.
[If this is how it turns out, won’t the plan get messed up, Junior Brother?]
Sewoon’s plan had been to gather the Demonic Cult figures who would soon swarm this place under his command.
It was true that Sewoon had ascended to the Life and Death Realm through the trial left behind by the Heavenly Demon.
But—
‘That alone isn’t something that would make others mistake me for the Heavenly Demon’s successor.’
His personal realm had risen, but he had not acquired the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts or divine relics.
As such, it would be difficult for his plan to fully take effect.
However, contrary to Nameless’s worries, Sewoon replied without the slightest hesitation.
[You don’t need to worry.]
[Huh? Did you find something?]
Nod.
Sewoon nodded his head and headed alone toward one side of the chamber.
His eyes were fixed on a single target.
The empty throne placed at the center.
‘At first, I almost passed it by too, but it was a good thing I decided to send my qi through it just in case.’
Having stepped beyond the Manifestation Realm and set foot on the threshold of the Life and Death Realm, his qi was instinctively sensing the throne’s true significance as it lingered upon it.
The throne was condensing an enormous amount of energy, like the core of a grand formation.
It was not mere residual demonic qi.
“Everyone, step back.”
Sewoon’s voice was far lower and more resolute than usual.
Sensing the grim resolve etched on his face, the two immediately retreated.
They trusted Sewoon’s judgment completely.
There was no reason to ignore a warning from someone who had reached the Life and Death Realm.
“It’ll be over quickly.”
Sewoon slowly moved toward the empty throne.
There was no hesitation in his steps, yet an uncanny tension hung in the air.
Shaaah!
Kwarrr!
The closer he drew to the throne, the more vividly he felt the Heavenly Demon’s demonic qi filling the space.
Like a living being breathing, it stirred massive waves and enveloped Sewoon.
In that instant, Sewoon realized it.
This space itself was the Heavenly Demon’s legacy, and the throne was the core that condensed it all.
Sewoon accepted the energy pouring from the throne with his entire body.
‘It’s completely different from the Blood Demon’s energy.’
Though it was equally boundless and mighty, its essence was clearly different.
Making up his mind, Sewoon carefully sat down on the throne and leaned his back against it.
It was at that very moment.
Uuuuuung—!
Chwaaaah!
“!!”
“Sewoon!”
Mad demonic qi surged like a raging storm, flooding into Sewoon’s body.
The instant he sat upon the throne, the Heavenly Demon’s demonic qi that had filled the entire space rushed into him, as if quenching a long-standing thirst.
‘Kgh!’
His blood vessels felt as though they were about to burst as they expanded, and the energy within him surged to its very limits.
At the same time, a pitch-black, dark radiance burst forth from the back of the throne, swallowing Sewoon whole.
“No—!”
Nameless sensed the danger and shouted as he lunged forward.
However, his cry merely sliced through empty air in vain.
He closed the distance in a single step and tried to reach out to Sewoon, but he was blocked by a colossal storm of radiance.
Chwaaaah!
Sewoon was completely swallowed by the massive dark radiance, as though he had been devoured by the maw of a ravenous beast.
Paat!
As if melting into the darkness, his very existence vanished in an instant.
‘This place is……?’
When Sewoon finally opened his eyes once more.
What spread out before him was a space of pure white, where everything else had vanished.
In the endlessly extending white world, nothing existed.
Neither Nameless nor Seori, nor the surrounding ice walls—only absolute, pristine white remained.
‘Did I… die?’
For a brief moment, Sewoon was close to mistaking it for death.
There was no way such a place could exist anywhere beneath the heavens of the Central Plains.
But the confusion lasted only an instant, and Sewoon immediately steadied his mind.
In a situation like this—resembling a butterfly dream—the best way to break free was one.
Shaaah!
Kwar!
He stimulated the Reverse Heaven Qi and forced it to rampage violently within him.
After confirming his own survival through this rather extreme method, a sharp light appeared in Sewoon’s eyes.
Then only two possibilities remained.
‘A formation… or an illusion.’
The moment he sat upon the throne, he had been engulfed by overwhelming demonic qi.
And that unknown radiance which had covered his body.
It seemed to have brought about this situation.
‘If it’s a formation, I should be able to break it with force.’
Chwaaaah!
Kwarrr!
Destructive energy began to surge throughout Sewoon’s entire body.
As he ascended to the Life and Death Realm, his attainment of Reverse Heaven Qi had risen explosively.
It had reached a full eight-tenths level of mastery.
Had he not ascended to the Life and Death Realm, merely drawing out this much power would have reduced his entire body to dust.
Chwaaaah!
‘Now you are beneath me.’
The situation had completely reversed.
Rather, it was the Reverse Heaven Qi that was panicking.
Its resistance was returning as complete futility, without inflicting any impact at all.
Pussss—
Like air leaking away, the Reverse Heaven Qi withdrew its power.
‘Find the core that serves as the center and destroy it.’
Perfectly controlling his energy, Sewoon focused it into his eyes.
Through the Eye of Spectral Perception, he began to sense the surrounding texture of the space.
The first thing he felt was a clear sense of incongruity.
‘This isn’t a formation……?’
This was not the world where he had lived and set foot.
The same waves he had felt from the Mind Sword the Heavenly Demon had launched at him were raging throughout the entire space.
It could be called a false world created through Intent.
As Sewoon stood there, bewildered—
A calm yet heavy voice echoed through the void.
“You’re far younger than I expected.”
“……!”
Sewoon turned his head toward the source of the voice.
Chwararar!
At the same time, the Heavenly Net connected to all ten of his fingers erupted in flames.
At the sudden appearance of an unknown being, he had instinctively scattered the Heavenly Net.
Swaeeek!
With an air-rending sound, ten strands of black threads slashed through the space, but there was nothing where they struck.
“Threads? Hah. Now you even use such ridiculous things as weapons.”
‘What?!’
The voice sounded again from behind him.
Pabat!
Sewoon immediately stamped his foot, widening the distance as he confirmed his opponent.
Across his field of vision stood a single man.
A mysterious, strikingly handsome figure clad in jet-black robes resembling the night sky, with silver hair flowing down to his waist.
“Hm. You haven’t yet achieved the Natural Body, yet you harbor the energies of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic alike. I wonder what kind of absurd life you’ve lived.”
“…….”
The gazes of the two met in the empty space.
The stranger’s eyes were unfathomable, like a bottomless abyss.
At a glance, Sewoon realized that this being was the true master of this space.
Instinctively, he also guessed the man’s identity.
Sewoon opened his mouth heavily.
“Are you the Heavenly Demon?”
Even as he asked, he did not relax his guard.
At Sewoon’s question, the stranger smiled faintly.
Yet that smile held no emotion whatsoever.
It was merely a cold, merciless gaze, like that of a creator observing his creation.
Though his voice was low, it carried a weight that seemed to reverberate through the entire space.
“Judging by how you dare speak that name before me, you are not of the Divine Cult.”
“Who are you?”
Chwararar!
The Heavenly Net once again filled the entire space.
Fighting spirit flickered in Sewoon’s eyes.
If the opponent before him truly was the Heavenly Demon, then he could not afford even the slightest lapse.
This was an absolute being who had nearly conquered the martial world alone, centuries ago.
Thus, even after reaching the Life and Death Realm, Sewoon spoke calmly, without the slightest carelessness.
“Speak. Or I will cut you down.”
“……??”
At Sewoon’s declaration, the man stared straight at him once more.
Those abyss-like eyes seemed to pierce into and rummage through Sewoon’s very soul.
Just as everything felt as though it were being stripped bare—
“Kuahaha! Cut me down? You, cut me?”
The man suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
That alone was all it took.
Kurrrr!
Kwarrr!
The pure white space itself twisted and shook violently, as though struck by an earthquake.
And finally, when his laughter that rang toward the heavens came to an end—
“Very well. As payment for making me laugh after such a long time, I will tell you.”
He revealed his identity.
“That is right. This one is the Faint Silver Heavenly Demon.”