Chapter 193: The Primordial Heavenly Demon
For a moment, a faint smile spread across Moyong Cheonhwi's lips.
“Sever my lifeline... What an absurd thing to say.”
His gaze settled on the Heavenly Law Sword.
“Do you truly think that merely because you managed to cut off a fraction of my power, you can reach me as well?”
“We'll find out once we try.”
I kept the Heavenly Law Sword pointed at him and refused to back down.
“Very well.”
The corner of Moyong Cheonhwi's mouth twisted upward.
“Then I shall make you understand with your own body.”
WHOOOOOSH!
An enormous amount of dark-red energy erupted from him.
The force spreading in every direction quickly gathered in front of Moyong Cheonhwi.
WOOOOOM!
The condensed energy rapidly swelled.
Before long, a massive dark-red curtain several jang wide rippled before him.
Moyong Cheonhwi raised one hand.
“Let us see how much of my power that sword can withstand.”
BOOOOOOOOM!
The entire curtain of death surged forward.
The vast wave swept away everything in its path as it advanced toward us.
Hssssss!
The corpse of a demonic human lying ahead was swallowed by the ominous force.
Its body blackened and distorted in an instant.
Flesh and bone collapsed together.
HSSSSSS! HSSSSSS!
Wherever the dark-red energy passed, the bodies of the demonic humans disappeared without leaving even recognizable remains.
“What is that...?!”
“W-We have to dodge!”
Urgent shouts erupted around me.
But with something that large, simply avoiding it myself wouldn't solve anything.
If this continued, everyone around me would be swallowed by that curtain of death.
I tightened my grip around the Heavenly Law Sword.
“Everyone, fall back.”
I stared directly at the approaching wall of energy.
WOOOOOM!
The Heavenly Law Sword cried out loudly.
The blue flames surrounding its blade surged violently.
I immediately opened the sword path of the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword.
“Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword, Third Form.”
The Heavenly Law Sword carved a wide circle through the air.
Powerful sword winds rose wherever the blade passed.
The following movements drew those winds together, expanding their range.
“Snowstorm Spiral Shatter.”
WHOOOOOOSH!
With every movement, the storm of sword wind grew fiercer.
The blue flames surrounding the Heavenly Law Sword flowed into the spiraling winds along the sword's path.
In an instant...
a massive snowstorm filled with blue fire surged before me.
And as I continued the technique, the Flow I had comprehended until now naturally blended into it.
True Immortal Cheongun.
Immortal Yeonha.
Dokgo Cheonyul.
The enlightenment I had gained through all three merged into the movement of the Heavenly Law Sword.
I didn't stop.
The roaring snowstorm surged forward along the path of my blade.
BOOOOOOM!
The blue-flamed sword storm collided head-on with the dark-red curtain.
WHOOOOOSH!
The winds created by Snowstorm Spiral Shatter wrapped around the entire barrier.
Wherever the blue flames touched...
the dark-red energy rapidly faded.
HISSSSSSS!
The violent sword wind forced its way through the holes appearing across the collapsing curtain.
I continued all the way to the final movement.
SWAAAAASH!
The Heavenly Law Sword carved a massive arc through the air.
Snowstorm Spiral Shatter swept across the entire dark-red barrier.
WHOOOOOM!
The curtain of death that had seemed capable of devouring everything vanished without leaving a trace.
“Oh?”
A short exclamation escaped Moyong Cheonhwi.
“Interesting.”
He sounded like someone who had discovered a curious toy.
His gaze moved across the Heavenly Law Sword in my hand...
then slowly followed the path my sword had just drawn.
“There is definitely a trace of Cheongun in it.”
Cheongun?
Why the hell was True Immortal Cheongun's name coming out of his mouth?
“No.”
Moyong Cheonhwi's eyes slowly moved over my entire body.
“Not only him.”
Then—
“Yeonha.”
My grip tightened around the Heavenly Law Sword.
“And... even traces of Dokgo Cheonyul.”
True Immortal Cheongun.
Immortal Yeonha.
Dokgo Cheonyul.
He had named all three people whose Flow I had inherited.
How?
Then—
the final message I had seen beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.
Immortal Yeonha's warning at Mount Hua.
The single existence both of them had feared suddenly surfaced in my mind.
The great evil.
I raised my sword toward Moyong Cheonhwi.
“Moyong Cheonhwi.”
My voice sharpened.
“What exactly is your connection to the great evil?”
“Great evil?”
Moyong Cheonhwi stared at me for a moment.
Then his lips twisted.
“Great evil... Is that truly the limit of Cheongun's insight?”
Confused murmurs rose behind me.
Most of them had never even heard the term before.
Only the few people who had heard about the great evil from me looked on with grave expressions.
Moyong Cheonhwi sneered.
“He encountered something his narrow understanding could never hope to comprehend.”
His eyes darkened.
“Naturally, he must have been afraid.”
Then—
“So the best he could do was give it some crude name like ‘great evil’ and remain wary of it.”
His contempt deepened.
“Cheongun and Yeonha...”
He scoffed.
“To worthless fools filled with nothing but empty reputation, perhaps that was all they were capable of seeing.”
“You bastard!”
Elder Hyeoneom's furious shout exploded through the chamber.
“How dare someone like you speak Immortal Yeonha's honored name so disrespectfully!”
“Yeonha.”
Moyong Cheonhwi didn't even glance at Hyeoneom.
“That woman was rather troublesome as well.”
Hyeoneom's expression twisted.
“What did you say?”
Moyong Cheonhwi looked back at me.
“Cheongun.”
“Yeonha.”
“And Dokgo Cheonyul.”
His gaze grew strangely distant.
“I will acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment.”
Then—
“In all those long years, those three were the only ones who ever caught my attention.”
His eyes returned to me.
“I never imagined I would see traces of all three again.”
A faint smile appeared.
“Much less all within a single person.”
I silently turned his words over in my mind.
True Immortal Cheongun.
Immortal Yeonha.
Dokgo Cheonyul.
All of them had lived more than two hundred years ago.
Yet Moyong Cheonhwi was talking as if he had personally encountered them.
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
Then—
“Moyong Cheonhwi....”
A rough voice came from beside me.
Dokgo Jinak.
He had forced himself back to his feet while clutching his chest with one hand.
He glared at Moyong Cheonhwi.
“Do you truly know about Origin Demonic Qi?”
Moyong Cheonhwi laughed mockingly.
“Know about it?”
He shook his head.
“What an incredibly foolish question.”
Origin Demonic Qi?
I looked toward Dokgo Jinak.
“Cult Leader.”
“What exactly is Origin Demonic Qi?”
Dokgo Jinak swallowed a rough breath before answering.
“It is a name recorded only in the secret records passed down among successive Heavenly Demons.”
“The secret records?”
“Yes.”
He continued.
“It is said that the Heavenly Demon Divine Art originally contained formulas related to Origin Demonic Qi.”
I frowned.
“Then why does it no longer?”
“Even I do not know that.”
Dokgo Jinak's eyes returned to Moyong Cheonhwi.
“All that has been passed down is that the First Heavenly Demon...”
He paused.
“The one also called the Primordial Heavenly Demon...”
Then—
“personally removed them.”
My expression hardened.
Dokgo Jinak continued.
“But one warning concerning Origin Demonic Qi has been passed down to every Heavenly Demon since.”
“A warning?”
His eyes narrowed.
“If Origin Demonic Qi ever appears in the world again...”
Then—
“it must be destroyed.”
"..."
I silently stared at Moyong Cheonhwi.
Origin Demonic Qi.
Something the Primordial Heavenly Demon had personally removed from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Something only the successive Heavenly Demons should have known about.
Yet Moyong Cheonhwi knew it too.
Dokgo Jinak finally shouted,
“How did you learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?!”
His voice echoed through the chamber.
“How do you even know of Origin Demonic Qi, which the Primordial Heavenly Demon himself abolished?!”
Then—
“Who the hell are you?!”
Moyong Cheonhwi's lips slowly curled upward.
“Good.”
He looked satisfied.
“At last, you have asked the right question.”
Then he smiled.
“Do you still not understand?”
"..."
“Who I truly am?”
A chill passed through my chest.
Cheongun.
Yeonha.
Dokgo Cheonyul.
