Chapter 443: The Overturned Heavens (4)
Blood flowed.
With every step I took, the metallic scent that rode on the wind wasn't my imagination.
Throughout the Ten Thousand Great Mountain, factions centered around the Yuk Clan rose in revolt, spilling blood extensively.
I closed my eyes, feeling the flow of blood.
All the karmic connections of this blood flowed far toward the Soaring Demon Peak.
“The Jin Clan is prepared.”
At that moment, Jin Gun-ak approached and stood shoulder to shoulder with me.
“We will move according to your wish. Give your command.”
Recently, the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan had abandoned their main house following Jin Gun-ak's decision and joined me in Eunrugok.
Although their losses were considerable while breaking through the encirclement of the Heaven-Defying Society, Jin Gun-ak succeeded in preserving the main forces and arriving here.
‘A command, huh….’
Who would have thought I'd hear such words from Jin Gun-ak of all people? I suppose if you live long enough, you see everything.
It meant he was staking everything on me.
My request was simple.
“Clear the path up to the entrance of the Soaring Demon Peak. After that, I will handle things myself.”
“That's not too difficult.”
For some reason, Jin Gun-ak smiled sinisterly.
“Hey, Eldest Son.”
“Yes.”
“You are indeed the Jin Clan’s eldest son, yet you've never properly seen the true strength of the clan, have you?”
I chuckled softly, nodding my head.
“Now that I think about it, I've often borrowed the clan's reputation but never truly felt its power.”
“Today, I’ll show you clearly the nature of the clan you were born into.”
Jin Gun-ak turned to both sides and shouted loudly.
“Heaven-Crushing Dragon Unit, Nine Heavens Fist Demon Unit, forward!”
“At your command!”
“We heed the Clan Leader’s command!”
Men whose physiques vastly exceeded those of ordinary people stepped forward.
Notably, though their attire varied slightly, each wore heavy armor and gauntlets.
-Kyaaaah!
-Kraaa! Krararagh!
As if responding to the roar of the Jin Clan warriors, Demonic Beasts radiating ominous energy burst forth from every direction.
Enormous centipedes, horned wolves, and even ape-men rarely seen in the North.
The number easily numbered in the hundreds at a glance.
Standing before these creatures, each capable of swallowing a human whole, Jin Gun-ak shouted.
“The world says the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan distances itself from weapons and pursues bodily extremes, but that's only half correct!”
As he said, the Jin Clan mainly focused on physical and fist martial arts, but in actual warfare, they didn’t merely rely on their bodies recklessly.
“We don’t disregard the effectiveness of weapons. Rather….”
Crack!
Clenching his fist, Jin Gun-ak smiled fiercely.
“A sturdy body capable of bearing the weight of weaponry is essential to properly wield arms.”
Jin Gun-ak unleashed a lion’s roar toward the front.
“Charge!”
“Oooaaaahh!!”
At their leader’s command, the warriors of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan charged forward in unison.
The Heaven-Crushing Dragon Unit. The Nine Heavens Fist Demon Unit.
All directly under the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, elite warriors among the Thirty-Four Demon Squads of the Cult.
What stood out was that such elite forces usually formed careful Formation Techniques even when charging.
But the Jin Clan had none of that.
They simply charged straightforwardly at incredible speed!
Thump!
Jin Gwang-ho, the Captain of the Heaven-Crushing Dragon Unit, known as the Fist Demon Immortal Beast, crushed an ape-man's skull head-on with his fist.
Not ‘Crack’, but ‘Thump’.
Considering these Demonic Beasts' hides were notoriously difficult to cut even with sword qi, it was an absurd display of destructive force.
And it wasn't just Jin Gwang-ho.
The elites of the Jin Clan drove the Demonic Beasts back like a whirlwind.
Occasionally, an attack slipped through, resulting in a warrior being swallowed whole.
Crunch! Crackle!
One beast, biting through the armor of Hundred Refined Steel, stopped suddenly, unable to penetrate the muscular resistance, blinking in confusion.
“…?”
Grin!
Moments later, an iron fist literally smashed into the beast's face.
“Hahaha!”
“Destroy them all!”
In this manner, the Jin Clan elites cleared the path in a crushing advance.
‘To think they'd beat them down like that….’
Watching from afar with Jin Gun-ak, I couldn’t help but marvel at the ‘Jin Clan’s war’.
Their strike was not a simple blow.
Each hit was the culmination of the Rising Martial Arts infused with the secret techniques of the Master of the Diligent Hand.
Jin Gun-ak shrugged his shoulders and asked.
“Heh heh heh, how is it? The power of the Jin Clan.”
“Honestly… it’s impressive.”
If warriors of the Pa Clan or the Ma Clan cut their enemies with overwhelming power, the Jin Clan was like a tank crushing foes head-on.
“Most of those are just low-level brutes with big bodies. At this rate, we can break through easily.”
Just as he said, it seemed possible to carve a path all the way to the Soaring Demon Peak with only the Jin Clan’s forces.
However, things always had variables.
“Stop!”
Soon after, dozens of black shadow figures appeared alongside another group of Demonic Beasts ahead.
These clearly emitted a presence distinct from ordinary Demonic Beasts.
Among them, the two leading figures radiated an aura comparable to Awakened Bodies.
‘Ten Heavenly Lords... and Awakened Bodies, huh.’
Jin Gun-ak frowned upon seeing them.
“Troublesome bastards have shown up.”
Unlike the mindless attackers before, these ones could make proper tactical decisions.
‘They said there were heavy casualties during the escape because of these guys, right?’
What was most troublesome about them was their tremendous regenerative ability.
Unless their heads were completely crushed, even serious injuries healed instantly, which was a nightmare for martial artists who had not mastered extreme yin or yang arts.
‘But it’s broad daylight now, so they shouldn’t be able to transform into Awakened Bodies… hmm?’
Crack! Crack!
“…Huh?”
My prediction was completely wrong.
Despite the sunlight, they began transforming into Awakened Bodies without hesitation.
‘What is this?’
For some reason, the sunlight had no effect on them.
‘Is it because the Heavenly Time has come? Or is there another reason?’
Either way, the situation had gotten complicated.
If they intended to trap us, even the Jin Clan’s elites would be stopped.
‘I have no choice but to intervene.’
Just as I clicked my tongue and prepared to step forward, a voice came from behind.
“I implore you, leave them to us.”
The Vice Captain of the Supreme Demon Palace, the Ghost Shadow Demon, approached and pleaded.
“Though I have spent my whole life on battlefields, never before has my instinct so strongly warned me of danger as today.”
“......”
“There is no need for you to be caught up by such foes. Many of the Supreme Demon Palace’s warriors have mastered elemental demonic arts and can handle them. Leave it to us and proceed forward.”
If the Supreme Demon Palace was willing to take the lead and bleed, there was no reason to stop them.
“Then I ask of you.”
The Ghost Shadow Demon knelt on one knee and clasped his fists.
“Yes, we shall surely meet your expectations, Heavenly Demon!”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
Even Jin Gun-ak, known throughout the world, was shocked by the Ghost Shadow Demon’s words.
Because he had recently joined, he hadn’t fully grasped the situation... but those words went beyond imagination.
“W-wait. What did you say? He-Heavenl...”
“Asura King. There’s no time for idle talk.”
Though older in age, the Ghost Shadow Demon sharply cut Jin Gun-ak off.
Then he bowed deeply with utmost respect toward me.
“Please proceed.”
“……Very well.”
Ignoring my father’s gaze demanding an explanation, I turned away and stamped toward the Soaring Demon Peak.
At the summit of Soaring Demon Peak.
***
“Huhuhu, betrayal in the end…”
Grand Heavenly Lord glared at Gwang Rahi Yeo Jin, drenched in blood before her.
Though still standing on two feet, Yeo Jin’s body was nearly at its limit.
“I once heard a saying.”
Yeo Jin raised her blurry eyes.
“That the words ‘trust’ and ‘human’ can never coexist.”
“......”
“Humans are much better paired with the word ‘betrayal’.”
Around her lay the bodies of Cheolyeong and other Cheon Clan masters, brutally dismembered.
Cheolyeong and the Cheon Clan masters had slain all of Grand Heavenly Lord’s guards and pressed her hard.
But, of course, Grand Heavenly Lord was an immortal who ordinary swords could not even touch.
When she deployed Four Atrocitie Chaos, who had cornered Cheon Yura, the tide immediately turned.
Because Grand Heavenly Lord’s attention was focused on the Cheon Clan forces, Yeo Jin’s betrayal went unnoticed for almost two hours.
Only after Chaos annihilated the Cheon Clan’s supreme masters did Grand Heavenly Lord notice Wang Garak’s absence, grow suspicious, and interrogate her, exposing her betrayal.
“I don’t understand. Did you really go to such lengths for some trivial item to hand over to them?”
Grand Heavenly Lord’s words were not addressed to Yeo Jin.
They were meant for Cheon Jumyeong, who had now vanished from this world.
“No matter what powers the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword and the Heavenly Demon Seal possess, it is too late. The ritual will soon begin, and all the lives in the Ten Thousand Great Mountain will become the energy for our fusion.”
Before Yeo Jin’s eyes was the figure of Cheon Yura lying still like a corpse inside a coffin.
Although utterly motionless, Yeo Jin noticed that Cheon Yura’s breathing was faint but present.
“She’s still… alive…”
For a moment, relief flashed across her expression.
“Thank goodness.”
“...What’s so thankful about that?”
Thunk!
Grand Heavenly Lord grabbed Yeo Jin’s neck.
Exhausted of most of her energy, Yeo Jin went limp under her grip.
“I could break your neck right here, but I have a sliver of curiosity left, so I’ll prolong your life a bit longer.”
Squeeze!
“Tell me honestly what plan you’re plotting.”
It would take some time to unravel everything with the Demonic Spirit Severing Technique.
The problem was time itself.
A master who had reached the Extreme Demon Realm possessed excellent mental strength, so proper brainwashing would require great effort.
“……”
Yeo Jin only showed a faint sign of pain but refused to speak at all.
Grand Heavenly Lord clicked her tongue softly.
“Well, as expected. A stubborn bastard who foresaw this far would never confess easily.”
Losing even the little curiosity she had left, Grand Heavenly Lord gripped her neck tightly.
“Just die.”
At the moment when Yeo Jin’s head was about to be severed from her body.
Drip.
“...Huh?”
Suddenly, black blood flowed from Grand Heavenly Lord’s nose.
The strength of his grip instantly weakened!
“...!!”
In shock, Grand Heavenly Lord released Yeo Jin and touched his own face.
“What... is... this...?”
“M-master!”
Sangdo of the Sixth Heavenly Lord, guarding Cheon Yura’s coffin, rushed over in horror, but now was no time for the Sixth Heavenly Lord to act.
Power was fading.
The law was collapsing.
The divine form of Grand Heavenly Lord, standing on the boundary between reality and illusion, began to blur.
There was only one possibility for this sudden event.
The contract binding the contractor’s body to reality—the contract spirit—was breaking down!
“Ha, Han... Han Mubaek...!”
She shouted toward somewhere.
“Han Mubaek! What on earth has happened to you?!”
“Gulp!”
Han Mubaek, who had betrayed the Heaven-Defying Society and joined the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, was dying after an unexpected ambush.
“How...”
Han Mubaek looked at the young woman before him.
No, to be precise, the ‘rejuvenated’ woman.
Her blue hair and blue eyes gave an exotic impression.
This was a discoloration phenomenon that appeared in masters who had reached the extreme of Ice Arts.
“No need to feel wronged.”
Crack! Crack!
“I didn’t notice your presence at all either.”
Han Mubaek’s entire body began to freeze.
Though his skills had surpassed the peak and were approaching the superlative, his opponent was a being who had reached nearly the zenith of the Extreme Demon Realm.
Most importantly, now that she had risked her life to perform a forbidden technique, she was not at all inferior compared to Transcendent Demon masters.
Within the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, only one martial art could freeze a person like this.
And only one being could raise that art’s peak to such a height.
Cheon Yeongha, the elder who had become nearly half a century younger, continued coldly.
“Your only mistake was staying too long by Cheon Jumyeong’s side.”
Freezing Han Mubaek and the Awakened Bodies protecting him with a demonic art, she reached out her hand.
“No matter how dark the lamp’s base, he must have checked it.”