Eun Byeok felt like he was going to lose his mind.

Such vicious demonic energy.

He wasn’t experiencing demonic energy for the first time.

He was also someone who, after turning twenty, had gone on a Roaming Pillar Journey.

Anyone who had completed a Roaming Pillar Journey gained the freedom to travel in and out of Mount Hua at will.

He, too, had naturally followed the Alliance’s martial artists and lent a hand in wiping out Demonic Cult remnants.

The first time he faced demonic energy was when he was twenty-four.

An encounter with one of the many armed groups of the old Demonic Cult: the Black Vast Brigade.

Because it was said the brigade leader was dead, the strongest in stamina among the suppression party was Eun Byeok.

Back then, Eun Byeok had been around the middle of the Apex Realm.

But in the cave where the Black Vast Brigade was supposed to be hiding, the brigade leader—who had been believed dead—burst out.

Only, he had lost his right arm and his left eye.

Eun Byeok brought him down and earned the epithet Eternal Bloom.

Even then, the foul demonic energy the man gave off had made Eun Byeok’s head swim…

But this place was beyond comparison—calling it ten times worse still didn’t feel like enough.

‘…And even though ten years have passed since then.’

His Primordial Clear-Heart Method had also deepened over those ten years.

He had been congratulated for crossing the wall of Transcendent Apex and had even been granted the Purple Firmament Pellet.

The Eun Byeok of now was clearly different from the Eun Byeok of twenty-four.

And yet, the pain felt more than ten times greater than back then.

The very air stung his skin like the Tang Clan’s poison.

Every time he drew a breath, it was saturated with demonic energy.

If he didn’t burn it away with pure internal power, it felt like his insides would rot.

‘What in the world is under here?’

Eun Byeok’s thoughts tangled.

The Sect Leader, silently releasing a purple radiance, and the master following behind him…

Those two seemed to know.

“...Over there.”

“Speak, Eun Byeok.”

Master Myunggon already had a sense of what Eun Byeok was curious about.

If it were him, he would be the same.

This kind of vicious demonic energy…

Yes.

Because it was something this era should never have to face again.

“What on earth is sealed beneath here that demonic energy like this is leaking out?”

“What it is, you say…”

Myunggon flicked his eyes toward Sect Leader Jeongyang.

“Why are you looking at me? The fact that I brought you here is the answer.”

“So you intended to tell us already, Master.”

“Yes. It’s a little earlier than I expected, but.”

Myunggon nodded.

It was certainly early.

Eun Byeok was still a Second Generation disciple who hadn’t even reached forty.

Meaning he still fell into the category of “young.”

At that moment, something crunched under Eun Byeok’s foot.

CRUNCH.

The sensation of stepping on a small animal—like a rat.

Eun Byeok’s pupils quivered.

It was a rat, all right, but…

It had more than a dozen legs, and its tail looked like it split into six or seven.

Its whole body was twisted into something grotesque, and on its back, five or six eyes were embedded, glistening wetly.

“Th-This—what— Hhk, huff, huff…!”

“Calm yourself. Demonic energy is like that.”

The “demon” in demonic energy was written with the character for demon.

A character made to render the name Mara, the evil god that appears in the sutras.

Also called Pashun, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, or the Demon Host—the ruler of the Sixth Heaven.

The oldest scriptures call it Denying Liberation.

The name of the one said to be a presence that prevents liberation.

A corpse that had been trampled until its entrails were crushed began to twitch again.

“...Ah, ah, ah, aaaaargh!”

Gooseflesh rose across Eun Byeok’s entire body.

In the end he couldn’t endure it and screamed—

Until Myunggon shoved a fist into his mouth to stop it.

“Mmph, mmph— mmph…!”

The aura of Denying Liberation.

A force that rejects awakening, natural order, nirvana, and the Way itself.

That was why anything eroded by demonic energy was extraordinarily difficult to drive out.

Because it carried an undying quality that ran against the natural order.

And so, anyone consumed past a certain point could not die normally.

Even if you cut off their head.

Even if you pierced their heart.

“A mere rat has been steeped in demonic energy and turned monstrous.”

Jeongyang let out a bitter sigh.

No matter how much of a villain he was, he was still a figure of the righteous path.

He would kill others to build his karma, yes, but…

He did not commit acts that indiscriminately defied heaven’s principle like this.

“...You’re saying this is only the demonic energy from the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader’s left arm?”

Myunggon asked.

At those words, Eun Byeok’s eyes went wide.

When Myunggon pulled his fist from Eun Byeok’s mouth, Eun Byeok finally spoke again.

“You said the Young Cult Leader’s left arm?”

Myunggon passed the answer to Jeongyang.

This was, by nature, a secret known only to the Sect Leader or someone of equivalent standing.

With the Sect Leader present, it wasn’t Myunggon’s place to open his mouth.

“That’s right. The head is sealed in the Sword Sovereign’s Namgung Clan. The torso is sealed at Shaolin. The right arm is sealed at Wudang.”

“And we, of Mount Hua, have the left arm… Then where are the rest?”

Eun Byeok’s face went paper-white.

If the Young Cult Leader alone was like this…

And they were still only at the mouth of the cave…

Then what kind of being had the Demonic Cult Leader—known as the Heavenly Demon—been?

“The right leg was sealed by the Jegal Clan using a profound formation. And the left leg was lost.”

“...Lost?”

“Yes. They cut it off, but it stayed alive, writhing, and fled.”

A chill ran down Eun Byeok’s spine.

Up until now, everything about the Heavenly Demon and the Young Cult Leader—core figures of the Demonic Cult—had been kept under strict secrecy.

Even stories like this.

“...Sect Leader, may I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Even the Young Cult Leader—his whole body was chopped apart, and he still hasn’t died. But…”

It was an obvious question.

A question anyone would have, if they knew this truth.

“How did Alliance Leader Sword Sovereign possibly kill the Heavenly Demon?”

*****

Cheonjeong still hadn’t woken.

Because it looked like Soyak wouldn’t leave his side, the Flame-Saber Lord and the monks blocked anyone from entering Cheonjeong’s room.

And thankfully, Seon-geung got back on his feet quickly.

“Did the young lady save me?”

He was a lively boy.

Lively enough that Soyak got swept along by it.

“S-So, I mean… It wasn’t just me. No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t me—”

“And you still helped, young lady! Thank goodness! Thank you!”

Soyak let out a long sigh.

Cheongak was already off mingling with the other warrior-monks.

Mingling… would that be the right word?

He was sparring with Shaolin’s Third Generation warrior-monks.

Mount Song was high and rugged.

But Mount Hua—called the Sword Peak—was no different.

That was why Cheongak and Soyak had no trouble going up and down Shaolin.

“...Did you thank the Flame-Saber Lord?”

“I did!”

It had already been a week since they arrived.

Cheongak was popular.

Of course he was.

There were so many boys his age here.

More than anything, Cheongak was also the kind of boy whose competitive spirit scraped the sky.

Shaolin’s young warrior-monks were the same.

Children raised hearing that this thousand-year Shaolin was the wellspring of all martial arts under the Nine Provinces…

How badly would they want to test what they had learned?

The younger you were, the more you wanted to show off.

“But why aren’t you going over to Cheongak and joining in?”

“Because they’re opponents I can beat.”

At that moment, Cheongak turned his head this way.

Even while sparring, he must have been keeping an eye on Soyak.

A Shaolin disciple didn’t miss that instant and lunged in with an outstretched hand.

Dragon Claw Hand.

One of the Shaolin Seventy-Two Ultimate Techniques.

A martial art that shaped the image of a dragon’s talons.

But Cheongak was a swordsman standing at the very edge of First-Rate, on the verge of the Apex Realm.

Seonggwang, who rushed him, was a warrior-monk who had only just stepped into the beginning of First-Rate.

Cheongak didn’t even look—he slapped Seonggwang’s hand aside and forced him to stumble back.

“I feel like someone just said they can beat me.”

Cheongak.

Even if Soyak had been overshadowing him lately, he was the one who had been called Mount Hua’s greatest prodigy until recently.

Even Cheonju and Cheonhwa—who had received Hair-Cutting and Marrow-Washing over and over—couldn’t compare to him.

“Out of everyone our age, I think I’ve only seen two people who can say that to my face.”

One was Namgung Seon.

The young clan lord of the Namgung Clan.

And the other, of course, was Cheon Soyak.

“Is that so?”

Seon-geung rose with a bright grin.

A face that was always smiling, a strange way of speaking that sounded slick and playful.

Even with Cheongak flaring his presence to the fullest, Seon-geung didn’t look tense at all.

“You can prove it, right? With skill.”

“This little monk’s fists may be small, but they’re enough to collide with yours, benefactor. Heh.”

Soyak took one step back.

This fight couldn’t be stopped anymore.

Competitive fire was blazing in both their eyes.

To Soyak, Cheongak and Seon-geung were on the same level.

Both were at the edge of First-Rate.

Both stood at the threshold of the Apex Realm, still unable to break through that wall.

Seon-geung’s words probably meant that.

If they fought, he’d win half and lose half—so he could beat him.

But to the other person, it sounded like a provocation.

Like: I don’t even have to worry, because I can beat the likes of you.

“Fine. Spar with me.”

“Do you think this little monk would refuse? Heh, heh, heh…”

The spar between the two prodigies was about to begin.

Soyak, too, felt a flicker of interest and was about to watch—

When the sound of a wooden gong rang out.

“Cheongak, what are you trying to do with Seon-geung?”

It was Gong-eop’s arrival.

Chapter 55

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