Chapter 320: A Thousand Years Ago (3)
“Ugh… hic!”
She kept sobbing.
It was as if she was finally releasing all the resentment she had bottled up her whole life.
Kugugugu!
As if resonating with her emotions, the surrounding sword intent and qi began to twist.
It felt ridiculous that the mere disturbance of emotions alone could form a domain surpassing even that of an Extreme Demon Realm master.
I sat next to her, enduring the storm of intent, and gently patted her shoulder.
Her sobs finally began to subside after nearly half a shichen.
“…Thank you.”
She barely managed to compose herself as she spoke to me.
However, her expression still didn’t look good.
“Don’t mention it.”
After fully regaining her breath, she let out a long sigh.
“So, you’re saying… that’s how it ended. The conclusion between me and Eldest Senior Brother…”
Ma Seoyeon muttered in a self-deprecating tone.
“No matter how you look at it, not being able to confess for a thousand years and hesitating all that time makes me nothing but a fool.”
“……”
…Go ahead, you’re doing great at insulting yourself.
“Well, I understand. I was probably too scared to try, afraid it would ruin our relationship. I was a coward.”
She continued.
“When you refuse to seek change, relationships just stretch endlessly without progress. And besides, there was no one else around to give me a little push either.”
“What exactly happened a thousand years ago?”
I had heard bits and pieces, but the Senior Brothers I met weren’t the ones who had lived through the original history.
I could guess based on the closest truth, but a guess was still just a guess.
At my question, Ma Seoyeon let out a short chuckle.
“Didn’t you say you trusted Eldest Senior Brother?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m curious.”
“Hmm…”
After a moment of thought, she finally nodded.
“Alright. You deserve to hear it.”
And so, the truth that had been buried for a thousand years began to flow from her lips.
***
“After Master rebuilt the Sun and Moon Divine Cult, which had been destroyed by the Heaven-Defying Society, he came to be known posthumously as the Heavenly Demon and was revered by all. But truthfully, during the early days of the sect’s restoration, he didn’t spend much time here.”
I nodded.
“I heard that Master traveled the world, thwarting their wicked plans.”
“That’s right. In truth, the greatest hero of that era was Master. Of course, no martial artist nowadays would ever admit that.”
Ma Seoyeon’s eyes still shimmered with respect for the Heavenly Demon Founder.
Even after going through a confrontation between the one she loved most and the one she respected most.
Even after being forced by the Founder to marry someone else, she still held respect for her Master.
“At the time, the Heaven-Defying Society had founded a powerful nation called Northern Zhou and were searching for the reincarnation of Heavenly Evil behind the scenes.”
I already knew this much, but I stayed quiet and listened.
“Using the resources of their great nation, they eventually achieved some success. Specifically, in the year I reached adulthood, they tried to perform the Bongseon Ritual on Mount Tai.”
Her eyes grew distant as if staring into the far past.
“To stop that, all of our sect’s forces set out for Ten Thousand Mountain.”
I already had a rough idea of how that ended.
Victory.
The Heavenly Evil that had tried to revive was ultimately stopped by the Heavenly Demon Founder and his disciples.
That era later came to be known as the first Demonic World Domination.
“A brutal battle took place, and many lives were lost. But in the end, we succeeded in destroying the Heaven-Defying Society and stopping Heavenly Evil’s resurrection.”
As a result, Northern Zhou collapsed, and the Sui Dynasty was established, unifying the Central Plains after centuries of division.
“Back then, I truly believed all battles had come to an end. I thought all the Senior Brothers and I would live happily ever after. And for several years afterward, we actually did.”
“……”
“That was until Priestess awakened as the personality of Heavenly Evil, and Senior Brother Hwan Seong, returning from training, pointed it out.”
Han Yeong, the Priestess of the Sun and Moon Divine Cult, had been born with the Divine Vessel constitution.
The Divine Vessel was a body that could easily receive divine possession.
Thanks to that, she had become the Priestess of Jiseong, the Earth Saint worshiped by the Sun and Moon Divine Cult.
But on the flip side, that also made her highly susceptible to influence from Heavenly Evil, another god.
“In truth, Hwan Seong didn’t notice the change immediately. If he had… maybe we could’ve reached a happier ending.”
Hwan Seong fully realized the Priestess’s transformation much later.
After they had already set a crucial turning point in a sacred mountain in the southern part of the Central Plains.
“She was like a mother to us. In Master’s absence, she had practically led and developed the sect.”
“That’s why we were so late to notice her change. Or maybe not. Master never doubted her.”
“Was it because Master… loved her?”
“That was part of it… but the Priestess herself was originally a figure established in a contractual relationship to assist Master.”
This contractual relationship wasn’t something trivial like a verbal or written agreement.
It was a mutual binding of souls.
Betrayal from either side meant death, so suspicion wasn’t even an option.
***
A thousand years ago.
The newly reborn Heavenly Demon Cult.
At a construction site bustling with thousands of workers.
One of the senior cultists in charge of the construction approached Ma Seoyeon, who had just arrived.
“Seventh Disciple, the primary construction inside is finally complete.”
“Is that so? Good work.”
Ma Seoyeon, then thirty-two years old and known in the Central Plains by the nickname Blood Demon God, nodded and praised the workers.
She immediately ran toward Yoo Jeon, standing a short distance away.
“Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Junior Sister, you’re here?”
Yoo Jeon greeted her with his usual gentle smile.
She admired the massive Asura statue, with three heads and six arms, that stood before her.
“It turned out pretty well, didn’t it?”
“Right? I was worried about the budget, but thanks to Junior Brother Sa’s support, we managed to complete it.”
Just creating that statue alone had required dozens of master stonemasons invited from all over the Central Plains.
Naturally, hiring such renowned artisans cost more than what the newly rising Heavenly Demon Cult could easily afford.
Ma Seoyeon grumbled at those words.
“Seriously, someone needs to check that guy’s hidden stash. I’m sure Master and the rest of us have no idea how much money he’s been secretly hoarding.”
In particular, that man had been spending an enormous amount of money, claiming responsibility for the woman he had once been involved with.
Everyone pretended not to notice, but those who knew, knew.
“Still, Junior Brother Sa has done so much for the cult’s finances that we should probably let that much slide.”
“…Well, if Eldest Senior Brother says so.”
The two of them slowly walked toward the inner entrance where the construction had just been completed.
Ma Seoyeon ran her hand along the wall, a wave of emotion crossing her face.
“It’s kind of nostalgic. I went through hell here…”
This was the place where Master had once locked up his disciples for closed-door training.
She had thought she would never set foot here again after leaving.
“Eldest Senior Brother.”
“What is it?”
“As I mentioned before, you said this place would be fitted with a formation to train future disciples.”
“I did.”
“But I think… you have another reason.”
“……”
For the briefest moment.
Ma Seoyeon caught a flicker of disturbance in Yoo Jeon’s expression.
“It’s because of what Hwan Seong Senior Brother said, isn’t it? That some unavoidable calamity is coming for us soon…”
“Junior Sister.”
Step!
Yoo Jeon turned his body to face Ma Seoyeon.
In the depths of the silent cave, devoid of any signs of life.
Yoo Jeon spoke his true feelings to his most trusted Junior Sister.
“I… know that Priestess-nim doesn’t love Master.”
“……”
“But even so, she never let that show in front of Master. She accepted the fate that had been given to her.”
“That’s…”
“But after the battle with Heavenly Evil, I noticed a change in her gaze. Even without Junior Brother Hwan pointing it out.”
“……!”
Yoo Jeon let out a faint sigh.
“I couldn’t help but notice. Her gaze, now tainted with something sticky and unpleasant, was directed at me.”
“……”
Crack!
Ma Seoyeon had to summon superhuman patience to suppress the murderous intent rising within her.
‘How dare she…’
In truth, there was no way Ma Seoyeon could have known whether Priestess had really awakened as Heavenly Evil’s persona.
But she had long suspected it.
That Priestess Han Yeong had harbored forbidden feelings for Yoo Jeon all along.
Up until now, those feelings hadn’t been so overt… or so she had thought.
Apparently, she had been wrong.
“Every time I faced her gaze, I could feel my reason wavering ever so slightly.”
“Could you wait here a moment? I’ll go kill that damned woman right now.”
Just as Ma Seoyeon was about to unleash the demonic energy of Heaven-Slaying Star, Yoo Jeon raised his hand to stop her.
“…Stop.”
Without any solid evidence… no, even if there was, the moment Ma Seoyeon harmed Priestess, there would be no turning back.
“Don’t act rashly. More importantly…”
Yoo Jeon’s expression grew serious.
“If something happens, it won’t be Priestess-nim who suffers. It will be Master.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You already know, don’t you? Master hasn’t been himself lately.”
She nodded quietly.
“I thought it was because, as the first Cult Leader and Founder, he wanted to appear imposing to the cult members. But it’s clear that he has lost his composure lately.”
“That’s…”
“That’s why I want to leave behind preparations here, in case the worst comes to pass.”
“And what… would that worst-case scenario be?”
“Obviously, it would be the cult collapsing from within.”
“If Priestess-nim changes, and Master loses control because of it… the cult is finished.”
“Hmm…”
“All of us disciples respect Master above all else. The problem is, if it comes to that, there’s a good chance we’ll end up siding with him rather than trying to stop him.”
And even if they didn’t side with him…
“Perhaps…”
“Perhaps?”
Yoo Jeon shook his head.
“…No, never mind. That’s too far-fetched.”
“…?”
Ma Seoyeon tilted her head in confusion, but Yoo Jeon had no choice.
The outrageous possibility that the awakened Priestess might brainwash all the disciples…
He couldn’t bring himself to say such a thing, not in their current situation.
“Well, it’s just a possibility. If nothing happens, I’ll just end up being a fool who wasted a ton of money.”
“……”
“Let’s discuss the details when Junior Brother Hwan returns.”
Hwan Seong, the first to warn of Priestess’s strange behavior, was quietly investigating the cause behind the scenes.
Ma Seoyeon couldn’t hide her complicated emotions.
Yoo Jeon, who respected and loved Cheon Yuseong more than anyone, could never betray his Master, no matter what.
And yet…
“Senior Brother, how do you… feel about Priestess?”
“What?”
Yoo Jeon looked baffled, but Ma Seoyeon clenched her teeth and forced herself to continue.
“As a woman… if she reached out to you… what would you do?”
She immediately regretted asking.
What answer had she even hoped to hear?
“Hmm…”
Yoo Jeon frowned, choosing his words carefully.
After a brief pause, his answer came.
“As a woman… I do find her… incredibly attractive.”
Thunk!
Ma Seoyeon felt something inside her crumble with a loud crash.
“But… she is someone destined to be with Master. She’s not someone I have the right to harbor feelings for.”
“……”
“That’s all I can say for now.”
“…Alright.”
And yet.
Even after hearing those words.
The ominous feeling lodged in her heart refused to go away.