Chapter 90
The Celestial Gate Opening Art consists of a total of twelve gates.
Among them, from the ninth gate, "Heaven's Gate," its power becomes something on an entirely different level.
The signature golden true ki of the Heaven Evading Way transforms into a dazzling platinum true ki—this is the very proof of its metamorphosis.
Of course, as great as its power is, beginning at the Ninth Gate, controlling and regulating the true ki becomes exceedingly difficult.
To handle the explosively surging true ki with delicacy requires superhuman concentration; if one fails at control, the dantian can be destroyed in an instant, leading to death.
This is why Jaseong could not open "Heaven's Gate" before reaching the peak realm.
'... The time I can maintain this gate isn't long. Barely a quarter of a single instant. I must decide the outcome within that.'
Feeling the cultivated energy in his dantian melting away like a bubble, Jaseong gripped the sword hilt tightly.
Without any hesitation, he immediately struck out.
'Heaven Evading Flash Sword, first move—Heaven Evading Flash Radiance!'
In an instant, a blinding platinum sword light exploded forth.
Next, an extended beam of light swept horizontally, bearing down on Yeom Musa.
'... His strength increased all of a sudden?!'
Yeom Musa's eyes twitched.
Just a moment ago, it seemed he would be able to make Jaseong kneel with ease; yet suddenly, Jaseong had become overwhelmingly formidable, almost like another person.
KWAANG!
Yeom Musa responded by unleashing the Heavenly Demon Blade Art, fending off Jaseong's blow.
Crimson demonic energy spewed from his blade, clashing with the platinum sword radiance.
At that moment, Jaseong's eyes also twitched, just as Yeom Musa's had.
'... As befits the Prestige of being the Heavenly Demon's disciple, his power is astounding.'
Jaseong felt his hand, clutching the sword hilt, tremble faintly.
If not for the Gate Opening state, he would never have dared to challenge such an extraordinary expert.
'Against such an expert, the phantom of the Heaven Evading Phantom Step is meaningless—a mere deception. In that case...'
Muttering inwardly, Jaseong did not create the phantom images with his Heaven Evading Phantom Step.
Instead, he focused all his concentration on activating his innate ability—Samadhi Eyes.
Saaa—
Upon opening the Gate, the effect of the Samadhi Eyes evolved further.
Time felt even slower than before, and his opponent's "intention" appeared even more clearly to him.
It had reached an almost precognitive power.
Just before Yeom Musa's attacks came, Jaseong would sense, in a flash, precisely what type of attack would unfold.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!!!
Thanks to that, Jaseong was able to block Yeom Musa's torrent of Heavenly Demon Blade Art attacks with remarkable skill.
But it was not easy to counterattack.
Heavenly Demon Blade Art was fiercer than even the Imperial Sword Form and as swift as the legendary Heaven Evading Flash Sword.
It felt as if he were fending off a hailstorm in a tempest.
"You came at me with such boldness, but now you do nothing but defend! Show me your ultimate technique already!"
He pressed Jaseong, provoked him.
Yeom Musa had been surprised by Jaseong's might after opening the Gate, but now he had realized he was still a step above and seemed relieved.
Then, at a certain moment—
Chuaak!!
A sudden fountain of blood erupted from Jaseong's thigh.
Yeom Musa's Heavenly Demon Blade Art had deeply cut his flesh.
But simultaneously—
ChuaAAk!
Blood burst from Yeom Musa's right flank as well.
Caught off guard by the unexpected blaze of pain, Yeom Musa's face contorted.
'This bastard...! He dares employ a strategy of mutual destruction...?!'
Even in the Gate Opening state, Jaseong was a step below Yeom Musa.
The reason both of them bled simultaneously was simple.
Having been focused on defense, Jaseong suddenly dropped his guard and launched his attack at the same moment as Yeom Musa.
An approach of forsaking defense for offense—mutual destruction.
It was, to any observer, sheer madness, but Jaseong did not care.
He had used this very strategy before.
It was the same tactic he had executed in the past, when he defeated Murong Dangcheon, sect leader of the Mocheon Sect.
Jaseong did as he had done then.
First, using the Samadhi Eyes, he meticulously observed every one of Yeom Musa's routines.
The crimson flow of "intent," the variations of the Heavenly Demon Blade Art's forms—thanks to the Gate Opening, his Samadhi Eyes had grown even stronger, allowing him to see Yeom Musa's every move as if on the palm of his hand.
And so, when Yeom Musa's attack was a feint, not a real blow, Jaseong simply took the attack with his body and, in return, delivered his ultimate technique to Yeom Musa.
'A graze won't kill me, after all.'
Quite literally, an approach of sacrificing flesh to break bone.
Cha-cha-chang! Chuaak! ChuaAAk!!
The scene repeated itself several times.
This time, a fountain of blood spurted from Yeom Musa's right shoulder.
Meanwhile, from Jaseong's left arm, a similar fountain of blood burst forth.
'What a madman...!'
Yeom Musa was flustered.
He had never faced this manner of combat before.
What was even more unsettling, however—
Siii—
Despite being covered in terrible wounds, Jaseong wore a wild smile on his lips.
'It's working...! My sword is cutting down the disciple of the Heavenly Demon!'
In this moment, Jaseong felt no pain.
There was only ecstasy.
His sister-in-law's murderer, the Demon Sect—
He was striking down one of their top experts.
Wasn't this the very moment he had envisioned, the one for which he had trained his martial arts in madness all this time?
"Kukukuk!"
That's why, even as he bled, Jaseong continued to grin fiercely.
Like a lunatic who relished being wounded.
His madness was enough to terrify even the disciple of the Heavenly Demon.
'Even among the demonic cult's fiends, there was never one so insane...! What on earth is this guy?!'
Jaseong's maniacal behavior, enough to unsettle even the Heavenly Demon's disciple—
It was something only Jaseong could do, having cultivated a madly poisonous spirit in the slums of the Red Light District, equipped with the prodigious talent of the Samadhi Eyes.
Of course, Jaseong had a constraint:
The time he could maintain his Gate Opening was nearly exhausted.
The power of opening Heaven's Gate was so tremendous that his inner strength was melting away like water draining out.
Moreover, even though Yeom Musa had been thrown off by Jaseong's mutual destruction tactics, in the end, Yeom Musa's might was superior.
He gradually adapted to Jaseong's methods and started to read Jaseong's next actions.
At this rate, Jaseong was bound to lose.
But he didn't care.
He had already prepared his next move.
Ssak!
In the midst of the heated battle, Jaseong suddenly retreated far back.
Yeom Musa caught his breath, watching Jaseong with a puzzled gaze.
At that moment—
Gulp—
Jaseong pulled something from his inner pocket and swallowed it.
A pill with a bluish hue.
Its identity—the Azure Spirit Pill.
It was a pellet Jaseong had made in the past after learning Heaven Evading Alchemy from Dongfang Hwabin, and it quickly restored the energy in the dantian, even healing depleted stamina and wounds.
Saaa—
The energy of the Azure Spirit Pill enveloped Jaseong's entire body.
Little by little, his wounds began to close.
Though they were too deep to fully heal, he was definitely in better shape than before taking the pill.
And above all, some of the inner strength he'd exhausted using the Celestial Gate Opening Art had been restored.
He could continue fighting in the Gate Opening state.
'What the hell is that...?!'
Of course, Yeom Musa was more flustered than ever.
He had just begun to regain the upper hand by adapting to Jaseong's suicidal approach—
Now, with the Azure Spirit Pill restoring his strength, how could Yeom Musa not be dismayed?
"All right, round two begins."
Watching Yeom Musa's astonishment, Jaseong took his stance again.
His voice carried a tragic resolve surpassing pain.
And in his eyes burned an unspeakable and deadly poisonous spirit.
Goooo—
A deadly aura, as if to devour the world.
A crazed intent to sweep away all enemies and become the World's Greatest—right now, it turned him into a calamity, a Calamity Sent from Heaven.
"......!"
Seeing Jaseong like this, a faint shudder ran down Yeom Musa's spine.
Even for the disciple of the Heavenly Demon, this was an unprecedented terror.
* * *
At that moment, Yeom Musa suddenly recalled the words of his master, the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon, who had fought the Ten Great Experts of the world alone for seven days and nights and had escaped through the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range, uttered these words before dying:
'In your generation, the Demon Sect will surely devour the world. I have killed or eliminated every useful expert among the world's experts.'
Second disciple Ma Gwangcheong had asked, full of doubt:
'But, Heavenly Demon, isn't there still Namgung Cheon-rui, the Hebei Peng Clan's head, and the sect leader of Mount Hua still alive...?'
First disciple Wiji Hak also added:
'On the other hand, our own sect's strength is devastated. Most elders and branch leaders are dead or missing; of your seven disciples, only the three of us remain. Now, even you, master, are...'
Their concerns were natural.
But the Heavenly Demon simply shook his head.
'Foolish disciples. Those people you mention do not have "intent".'
'......?'
'They act with no conviction, driven only by their personal greed. Swords wielded without conviction are nothing but hollow.'
'......!'
'What I eliminated were precisely those with true intent that could master the world... I have killed all conviction and will, now you must rebuild the Demon Sect and usher in a new era.'
Such were his final words.
After that, Yeom Musa and his two fellow disciples had slaughtered the orthodox martial artists and came to agree with their master's assertion.
None of the other experts in the Central Plains had true "intent" to master the world.
Even the much-maligned Demon Sect carried the conviction to "dye the world in demonic colors," but the orthodox experts were obsessed only with their own greed and vain pride.
But now, facing Jaseong, Yeom Musa felt his master was wrong.
The intent to master the world the Heavenly Demon claimed to have extinguished was still alive.
'Even as his whole body is being sliced apart, he smiles wildly... I have never seen anyone with such a terrifying intent... Is this the "intent" to master the world that Master spoke of...?'
An unnameable chill ran down Yeom Musa's spine.
It was then.
"Great hero!"
"Leader!"
Through the brush, Lee Rin and Gu Janghu appeared.
Having rescued all the slash-and-burn folk, they were coming to support Jaseong.
Lee Rin's mouth and nose emitted white breath, her dantian energy fully roused, While Gu Janghu stood ready with several hidden weapons in both hands.
With their arrival, Yeom Musa's fighting spirit rapidly waned.
If it were only Jaseong, he might somehow win.
But with two of his companions present, the odds were far worse.
"The mood's been ruined."
"......."
"Let's end it for today. Next time we meet, I will surely break your intent."
As soon as Yeom Musa finished speaking, a whirlwind kicked up beneath his feet.
Ssak!
His movement left a crimson afterimage as he vanished instantly into the woods.
Worthy of the Prestige of the Heavenly Demon's disciple, his movement skill was indeed extraordinary.
Jaseong tried to give chase.
It was a rare opportunity to kill a disciple of the Heavenly Demon.
But just as he tried to execute the Shadowless Body Technique to follow Yeom Musa—
Ulk!
Hot blood gushed from Jaseong's thigh.
It was the wound he had suffered from Yeom Musa while executing mutual destruction earlier.
Though the Azure Spirit Pill had partially healed it, the injury was still too deep.
With such a leg, he could never match Yeom Musa's speed.
So, in the next moment, Jaseong let his sword droop and gazed in the direction Yeom Musa had vanished.
'Demonic Cult... Soon, I'll come to obliterate you as well.'
Having already opened a great rift in the righteous Murim Alliance with his sword, Jaseong now turned his blade toward the Demonic Cult.