CheoChapter 288: Cheon Yujeong (1)
Baek Sang-ah cried out in shock.
“Y-Young Master So Cheon! Aren’t you supposed to be dealing with the backlog of documents at the main branch of the Black Lotus Union?!”
So Cheon, who had appeared while being grabbed by the scruff of his neck, scratched his cheek awkwardly at Baek Sang-ah’s remark.
“Uh, w-well…”
“That’s why you were excluded from this operation!”
What was even more absurd was that throughout the long journey from Luoyang to here, not once had I detected So Cheon’s presence!
“Heh, hehehe…”
At those words, So Cheon suddenly let out a foolish laugh and quickly darted behind me like a cockroach.
“……”
“……”
So Cheon whispered softly from behind my back.
“…Save me, please.”
I replied dryly.
“What the hell were you doing at the Black Lotus Union?”
So Cheon made a tearful face.
“That’s what I want to ask you. I belong to the Heavenly Demon Cult! But I somehow got caught by that brute of a woman and, seriously…”
A brute of a woman?
I wondered if there was such a woman in the Black Lotus Union.
Surprisingly, the answer came from Baek Sang-ah’s mouth.
“If Euni finds out, she’ll probably tear Young Master So Cheon apart…”
“…Ah.”
I roughly understood the situation.
Somehow, while hanging around with Baek Sang-ah, he must’ve gotten caught by Jegal Eun and exploited.
“Well, assigning work is one thing, but the Black Lotus Union can’t hold So Cheon accountable. He’s formally under my command.”
Currently, So Cheon’s family, the Hidden Shadow So Clan, was under closed-door isolation.
And So Cheon, along with So Soryu, was currently serving under me as an instructor for the Underworld Corps.
Baek Sang-ah clicked her tongue lightly and glanced at So Cheon.
“Well, Young Master So Cheon did cause some damage to the Black Lotus Union with his kleptomania…”
“…Ah.”
I understood immediately.
So it wasn’t exploitation, but a rightful consequence of his theft.
At that moment, So Cheon wailed from behind me.
“I don’t want to work! Why do I have to deal with paperwork?!”
“……”
Everyone’s expression turned somber at that soulful cry… yeah, as if.
“If you didn’t want to work, you shouldn’t have been stealing in the first place.”
I sighed and smacked So Cheon on the head.
Given the situation, we couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.
“Anyway, we need your Myriad Image Taiji ability. Can you get us to the top of the mountain?”
I didn’t know what kind of special training he received from the Heavenly Demon Founder of the Heaven of Sacred Spirits, but So Cheon now had the skill to hide himself even from a Supreme Demon Realm master.
“Well, it’s not impossible…”
So Cheon rubbed his sore forehead and asked back.
“Are you sure about this? Climbing the mountain is one thing, but what comes after is going to be hell.”
So Cheon’s eyes sharply faced the harsh reality.
Even if we managed to break through, what awaited us afterward would be a defensive battle against the swarming monsters.
Do Wang spoke up.
“We’ll have to cut off the source’s head as quickly as possible.”
“Ugh!”
So Cheon grimaced at the poisonous demonic realm before us.
Honestly, I didn’t want to step into that place either.
“Once this is over, you’re returning with me anyway. So help us just one last time.”
“Tsk, fine. I have no choice.”
The word ‘return’ seemed to move So Cheon’s heart.
Just as So Cheon, now fired up, stepped forward with determination—
Baek Sang-ah approached me and whispered softly.
“Well, Young Master Jin. We’re still short on administrative staff, so we could really use Young Master So Cheon’s help a bit longer…”
“Ah, I didn’t say where he’d be returning to.”
“……”
Baek Sang-ah’s eyes instantly turned cold after her brief hesitation.
…Wasn’t that a bit harsh?
Unaware that someone he considered a friend was scheming to trick him, So Cheon deployed his Myriad Image Taiji with all his might.
Tss tss tss!
A black and white Taiji sphere, emitting demonic energy, formed above So Cheon’s palm.
That small orb, worthy of being called a Demonic Taiji, rapidly expanded and swallowed the dozen or so members within its range.
‘Ho?’
If before it could barely fit two or three people, its range had now increased significantly.
Most importantly—
‘Since it’s the same domain of demonic energy, the miasma isn’t invading!’
The miasma that filled the surroundings couldn’t penetrate So Cheon’s Myriad Image Taiji.
While a Supreme Demon Realm master could achieve a similar effect by deploying their domain, the enormous internal energy consumption made this incomparable.
‘This is pretty useful.’
I had considered handing him back to the Black Lotus Union to work him harder, but at this rate, keeping him around seemed more beneficial.
“Alright, let’s go!”
So Cheon shouted enthusiastically.
At his words, I decided to put aside his future for now and focus on the task ahead.
Hidden within So Cheon’s Myriad Image Taiji, we easily broke through the monsters of Jungcheon Peak.
“It seems that pressing on any further is impossible.”
At the summit of Jungcheon Peak.
Before us stood a massive black domain enveloping the entire altar, and our advance came to a halt.
Most of us instinctively realized the moment we saw that domain.
Entering that place with a human body was impossible.
Even Baek Sang-ah, who had reached the Extreme Demon Realm, was visibly horrified. So what hope was there for the others?
“Hmph, what’s with the mighty Myriad Way King sounding so weak? Watch this!”
One of the newly recruited top experts of the Black Lotus Union, Blood Ghost Rage Claw, arrogantly approached the black domain.
“H-Hey! Blood Ghost!”
Blood Ghost’s companion, Blood Talon, reached out in panic to stop him.
“This measly demonic energy can’t possibly pierce this body’s Defensive Qi… Guaaaagh!”
The moment Blood Ghost Rage Claw set foot inside the black domain…
The black mass covering the altar moved as if alive, swallowing Blood Ghost Rage Claw whole.
“Sa-save…!”
Blood Ghost Rage Claw struggled desperately, but before anyone could react, his entire body began to shrivel like a withered tree.
“……”
“……”
As Blood Ghost Rage Claw was swallowed without offering any real resistance, a heavy silence fell over the group.
Gulp!
The loud sound of someone swallowing echoed when I stepped forward.
“It seems I’ll have to go in alone.”
“Y-Young Master Jin?!”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Saber King and Baek Sang-ah shouted in shock.
“That’s merely an abnormally high concentration of demonic energy.”
Of course, seeing how it had swallowed Blood Ghost Rage Claw, it seemed there was some defensive mechanism at work…
But at its core, his death was closer to self-destruction, unable to endure the density of demonic energy.
“For some reason, I think I’ll be fine.”
I slowly stepped ahead of the group, approaching the black domain.
That black, sticky mass that had swallowed Blood Ghost Rage Claw now reached toward me with its dark tendrils.
However—
‘Back off.’
With a firm will, I rejected the black energy trying to invade me.
And it slowly began to recede from around me.
“Ooh?!”
“Amazing!”
Dharma Transcendence.
This term wasn’t used just because one had refined their will.
It was the state where one’s body truly escaped the influence of ma (demonic energy).
No matter the type, demonic energy in this crude form could no longer affect my body.
Without hesitation, I stepped toward the altar.
Soon, my vision flipped, revealing an ornate altar with a small shrine placed atop it.
And the moment I locked eyes on that shrine—
‘I feel power surging.’
The power of the Founder within me resonated with something, flooding my entire body with incomparable vitality.
It had to be the fragments of the Founder resonating from within that shrine.
However—
Even as power surged within me…
A sudden haze began to cloud my mind.
‘If I could make that power mine…’
An overwhelming temptation dominated my thoughts.
I walked toward the altar in a daze.
And I thought…
If I could devour the ‘something’ handling the Founder’s fragment in there…
I was certain.
There would be no one left who could stand in my way.
Not even the Cult Leader…
If that happened, claiming her, ruling the world, balancing everything—everything would be within my grasp…
“……!”
Just then, the faint scent of chrysanthemum, lingering from within my clothes, tickled my nose.
The image of someone who had once been in my embrace flashed through my mind like an illusion, snapping me out of the mental fog that had almost swallowed me whole.
“…That was close.”
I clenched my eyes shut and looked up at the dark sky.
Though my body had overcome demonic influence, it seemed my mind was not yet free from the inner demon.
‘Had I been devoured just now… a demon capable of drowning the world in blood would’ve been born.’
That disaster would have rivaled the likes of Ma Seoyeon, once called the Blood Demon God.
It was then—
“Hahaha, incredible. To maintain reason even within the Great Evil Formation.”
A familiar voice I had heard once before reached my ears.
“What’s this Great Evil Formation?”
Surprisingly, the other party answered without resistance.
“Its proper name is the Great Heaven Evil Demon’s Servant Formation. It’s an ancient formation of the long-lost Sun and Moon Divine Sect.”
…I had heard of it.
One of the two formation arts that made up the original Celestial Observer, alongside the Demonic Spirit-Body Flow Formation.
‘I thought it was just a training formation… was this its true purpose?’
I didn’t know how this person came to know such an ancient formation.
But this wasn’t the time to interrogate them about that.
“Sixth Heavenly Lord, how are you still standing here?”
The man who had once approached me with a proposal to kill the White Azure Lady, Baek Cheonggunju.
Sixth Heavenly Lord now stood before the altar, blocking my path.
“Well, I’m somewhat the master of this ritual. I have my ways of holding on.”
I immediately saw through Sixth Heavenly Lord’s bluff.
“…You’re not holding on.”
“……”
“You’ve been devoured.”
“……”
Sixth Heavenly Lord’s expression stiffened.
Just as I suspected.
Sixth Heavenly Lord, the high priest of the Heavenly Evil, had become bound to the entity called Cheon Yujeong the moment the ritual succeeded.
But at the same time, a question arose.
Did that man really perform the ritual without knowing he’d end up like this?
That man, who had carefully plotted for decades, hiding under multiple identities?
No, that couldn’t be.
“You were aiming for the ritual to fail from the start, weren’t you?”
By all appearances, the ritual had succeeded.
The power I felt from within was greater than anything I had ever faced in this life.
Flinch!
Sixth Heavenly Lord’s facial muscles twitched.
With a resigned expression, he nodded.
“Yes, the ritual succeeded, but that’s precisely the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“The success of the ritual itself is the problem.”
“……!?”
Sixth Heavenly Lord sighed deeply.
“Well, I suppose you’ve already guessed, but that woman from the Cheon Clan and I had an alliance with matching goals.”
“……”
“I offered her power through the ritual, and she accepted. There was no issue up to that point.”
Cheon Yujeong had desired power, even if destruction awaited her.
Sixth Heavenly Lord had intended to grant her that destruction along with immense power.
However—
“The real problem… is that she, who wasn’t even a proper Demonic Divine Vessel, didn’t self-destruct but fully absorbed the power of Heaven’s Evil and intellect!”
Far from being destroyed, Cheon Yujeong had completed the ritual perfectly, gaining its full power.
He began muttering with a pained expression.
“Heavenly Researcher deceived us all. She wasn’t a failure. No… to be precise, she was a failure in terms of being a Demonic Divine Vessel, but she was a success in becoming ‘something else’…”
“What… did you just say?”
“I should have realized it when the Blood Sect’s maiden tried to steal her away even before she was subjected to the Soul Fusion Ritual…”
-You talk too much.
Thud!
A black tendril suddenly shot out from inside the shrine and pierced Sixth Heavenly Lord’s heart.