Chapter 285: Bongseon Ritual (3)
Though it had been a surprise attack, if it was Lord Baek Cheong, she could have avoided it somehow.
Even if her physical condition was at its worst.
However, she had failed to dodge.
Because of the existence of a certain spell that had bound her body.
“Cough! Cough!”
In an instant, shadows darkened Lord Baek Cheong’s eyes.
She raised her head and stared directly at the old man who had appeared near Cheon Yujeong before anyone realized.
“No... Sa.”
It was Sixth Heavenly Lord, Sangdo, who had appeared without any forewarning.
He let out a mocking chuckle.
“Heh heh heh, your life surely clings stubbornly, Lord.”
“You… plan to offer me as a sacrifice…?”
Sixth Heavenly Lord nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s right.”
“Since… when…”
“Since the moment I realized you were born with the blood of the Nine-Tailed Fox through hereditary transmission.”
Just as Cheon Yujeong had said before, the current imperial bloodline was never that noble to begin with.
However, as time passed, those who carried traces of ancient bloodlines began to appear one by one in the palace’s inner court.
And more individuals began to awaken special powers in the imperial family, until finally, in this generation, a mutation worthy of joining the Ten Heavenly Lords had been born.
“My Sangga clan has served under the command of the Grand Heavenly Lord, supplying noble blood to the imperial family for generations. We had grown anxious from the lack of results over such a long time, but when you were born, we were overjoyed. Heh heh…”
“……!!”
Sixth Heavenly Lord slowly approached her side.
“Now, look closely.”
He grabbed her hair and lifted her head.
“That over there is the god we serve.”
At the very top of the altar stood a single statue.
It had six arms, each forming the Mudra of Turning the Dharma Wheel.
It was the statue of a beautiful woman dressed in the robes of a monk, seemingly from ancient India.
Heavenly Evil.
The sky god who, in the mythological era, was said to have divided and ruled this continent.
However, Lord Baek Cheong had seen this statue of Heavenly Evil several times while following the Grand Heavenly Lord.
After all, there had been a similar statue in the Grand Heavenly Lord’s residence as well.
But what caught her eye now wasn’t the statue of Heavenly Evil itself.
“…What is that?”
On each of the statue’s six hands forming the mudra, there was a black, ominous object.
Just looking at it felt unsettling and creepy, yet it radiated an unbelievably pure energy.
“That is the fragment of the Heavenly Demon Founder, our greatest enemy from a thousand years ago.”
“……!!”
“Is it not beautiful? Over the course of a thousand years, countless Ten Heavenly Lords sacrificed themselves to gather those fragments. Though I heard that decades ago, there existed a piece far larger than all those combined…”
That particularly large fragment, larger than the six combined, had reportedly been consumed in a ‘deal’ by the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“Still, it should be enough to carry out the ritual.”
“What ritual… exactly…?”
Even as her consciousness began to fade, Lord Baek Cheong felt doubt.
The sacrificial setup before her was far too genuine for a sealing ritual where the timing of heaven, earth, and man were all misaligned.
It seemed more fitting to be used at the actual ritual site on Mount Tai.
“Hm, a reasonable suspicion indeed.”
Sixth Heavenly Lord let go of her hair and began circling around her as he spoke.
“I once asked the Grand Heavenly Lord the same thing. Whether performing such a ritual with a ‘failed product’ like this wouldn’t simply waste a precious sacrifice and enormous resources.”
Flinch!
The word ‘failed product’ made Cheon Yujeong’s brow twitch.
But Sixth Heavenly Lord, unconcerned, continued speaking.
“However, the Grand Heavenly Lord told me it was fine. That the most important sacrifice had already been completed, and all that remained was to quietly wait for the right time.”
“The most… important… sacrifice?”
“Hm, they never told me what that was either. Truly a disappointing thing.”
Though he claimed to be disappointed, his face was filled with excitement.
“Still, the Grand Heavenly Lord said it could serve as valuable data to compare with the ritual that would take place in the future, and told me to try it.”
His expression transformed, much like when he had pierced Cheon Yujeong’s heart.
“By using you… as one of the sacrifices.”
“…….”
Was I nothing more than a puppet to these people from the start?
Sixth Heavenly Lord savored the sight of Lord Baek Cheong’s face sinking into despair.
“Heh heh heh! Though one loach stirred up the waters a bit too much, as long as this ritual succeeds, it won’t significantly impact the bigger picture.”
He straightened his back and slowly walked to the altar, standing beside Cheon Yujeong.
“Let’s begin. Are you prepared?”
“…Whenever you are.”
“As the high priest serving Heavenly Evil, I shall fulfill my promise and make you the one and only being in this world.”
Sixth Heavenly Lord spread both arms wide before the statue.
“You shall become the fourth Heavenly Demon in history, and the third incarnation of Heavenly Evil!”
Cheon Yujeong slowly closed her eyes.
‘At last…’
The Heavenly Demon and Heavenly Evil.
If she could possess the power of both these beings, she would be able to surpass Cheon Yura.
Of course, in exchange, she would cease to be human.
“Then now, let us begin the sealing ritual!”
Fwoosh!
The fragments of the Heavenly Demon Founder held by the statue’s six arms resonated.
A tremendous demonic energy erupted from the fragments, piercing the ceiling of the altar and shooting up into the sky.
As the energy stretched into the heavens, it began to consume the atmosphere, dyeing the entire world black.
It was the beginning of a distorted sealing ritual.
“Th-That…”
The world was turning black.
No other words could describe it better; it was that visually overwhelming.
“Heh, heh heh… To think I’d witness something so grotesque in my lifetime.”
Blood Talent forced out a chuckle, but no one was fooled by his attempt to sound brave.
“Hey, Muwon, how much longer do you think it’ll take?”
At Blood Talent’s question, Wisdom Talent frowned as he answered.
“It’s going to take a bit longer. It’s not just the level of it… it’s spread too densely.”
Originally, it should have taken no more than a short while to reach the center of the mountain.
However, despite having entered for nearly half a sijin (one hour), the group had yet to reach the central area.
The reason was the massive Maze Formation spread across the entire Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain Range.
Wisdom Talent Seo Muwon was taking the lead, dismantling the formation, but the area was so vast that progress had been painfully slow.
"Still, I’m getting used to the structure of the formation. If we keep this pace, we should be able to reach the peak soon."
"That’s a relief, at least."
As the group pressed on with Wisdom Talent at the forefront, Baek Sang-ah quietly called my name.
"Young Master Jin."
"Yes, Lady Baek."
With calm eyes, she asked me this question.
"Do you really believe Cheon Yujeong is there?"
"……!"
Her insight was sharp.
I nodded.
"Yes, I believe she is."
It was a truth I didn’t want to accept, but the chance of her not being there was far lower.
"Didn’t Cheon Yujeong keep reaching out to you since Hainan Island? Saying she would gain a power even greater than Lady Cheon’s?"
"…That’s true."
"From what I can tell, that phenomenon up there seems to be the very power she was referring to."
I thought the same.
I had briefly witnessed a fragment of Heavenly Evil’s power.
Ironically, despite its epithet as ‘Evil’, Heavenly Evil’s aura resembled ‘Light’ more than anything else.
If things had gone as they should have, that pitch-black, sticky Demonic Energy would never have emerged.
At that moment, Baek Sang-ah spoke again with a meaningful tone.
"I understand that you feel pity toward Cheon Yujeong."
"Pity, you say…."
"Because, in your eyes, Cheon Yujeong must look just like Lady Cheon Yura who once fell into ruin after failing."
"……."
A failed Cheon Yura.
So that was how she viewed Cheon Yujeong?
No. Honestly, I didn’t see it much differently.
"But if you truly cared for Lady Cheon Yura—based on what I’ve seen from you—you would have killed Cheon Yujeong without hesitation. Because she is Lady Cheon’s enemy."
She pressed me further.
"Then why didn’t you do that this time?"
"……."
I had known from the start that Cheon Yujeong would stab me in the back.
I had expected that letting her go would eventually lead to innocent casualties.
Even so, there was only one reason I had left her alone.
"Because I needed to see it at least once."
"See… it?"
Her eyes widened as she realized what I meant.
Even I wasn’t sure what kind of expression I was wearing as I spoke.
But I knew what I had to say.
"If I witness it once, it’ll be easier the next time."
"Easier… to do what?"
Baek Sang-ah asked back, even though she had already figured it out in her mind.
"To know whether or not it’s possible to bring Yura back if she ends up like that."
"……?!"
I took out the Heavenly Demon’s Physical Records from my chest.
Not all of its contents had been deciphered yet, but I had read it dozens of times already.
And the final goal of the Grand Heavenly Lord that could be inferred from it…
Was undoubtedly Cheon Yura.
"I need to see what Cheon Yujeong becomes, what kind of power she gains, whether her ego remains… and most importantly, if she can be brought back."
Baek Sang-ah’s jaw dropped in shock.
"This is a chance to observe the entire process."
"……."
This was clearly just the prelude.
A prelude in preparation for the far greater ritual that was bound to happen in the future.
After watching me in silence for a while, she finally lowered her head with a resigned expression.
"I see… You really are a demonic cultivator after all."
I slowly nodded in response to her words.
"I won’t deny it. But I’d appreciate it if you’d at least acknowledge that I carry a sense of moral responsibility."
"You’d better. If not, I’d have beaten you half to death by now."
"…Please spare me that, will you?"
I didn’t know what kind of miraculous opportunity she had obtained, but ever since she reached the Extreme Demon Realm, her punches had become frighteningly sharp.
"Still, I’m glad you have enough of a conscience left to try and clean up the mess."
Baek Sang-ah let out a deep sigh.
"Let’s go. We have to stop Cheon Yujeong."
"Yeah."
Just as the group started moving toward the center of the ritual again—
"Young Master!"
"Gu Chil?"
I had sent him deeper into the mountain to secure Lord Baek Cheong, but I didn’t expect to run into him here.
Gu Chil came running toward me with tears welling in his eyes.
"Uwaaah! Young Master! You really came to save me!"
"…What are you doing here—no, never mind."
I was about to scold him but stopped myself.
After all, who could have predicted there would be a maze formation covering the entire mountain?
He had probably wandered around aimlessly, failing to find Lord Baek Cheong, and ended up getting lost.
This was clearly my fault.
"Still, how did you manage not to get lost in the maze?"
Gu Chil nodded and pointed somewhere.
"Thanks to that kid. If that little one hadn’t saved me, I really would have been stuck here forever."
"Kid?"
Now that he mentioned it, I noticed a small figure hiding between some thick trees.
Peeking out cautiously, the one staring at us was…
"Hyung-nim!"
"Cheong-i?"
It was Yoo Cheong, the current head of the Yoo Family.
He had saved Gu Chil.
Yu Cheong recognized me and came running over.
"What are you doing here?"
"There’s a shrine belonging to my family nearby. I’ve been waiting there."