Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 189 – Concerns (1)

***

“Huff!”

When he heard Woon-seong’s words, Sang Gwan-chuk sucked in a cold breath. Then his expression quickly hardened. 

The Buddhist and Sword Stars. If there was the One Demon in the Cult, then there were the Twin Stars in Orthodox Murim.

In other words, this small tent suddenly housed all Semi-Divine Beings mentioned in the ‘Twin Stars, One Demon’. 

Besides, the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was at war. Sang Gwan-chuk could not believe that the Buddhist Star and Sword Star, the giants of the Orthodox factions, had come to visit the Heavenly Demon’s tent for a chat.

No matter how harmless they appeared, the Senior Strategist of the Demonic Cult could not come up with any good intentions. 

No, in order to best serve the Demonic Army in the current situation, there was no need to find out their good intentions. 

Whee!

Sang Gwan-chuk stood in front of Woon-seong. 

Seeing the Strategist like that, the Sword Star smiled bitterly, while the Buddhist Star muttered, “Amitabha.”

Woon-seong’s expression hadn’t changed much. “Looks like you are not here to fight.”

The Sword Star nodded, expressing his agreement. “Yes.”

The Buddhist Star also nodded, but he did not say anything. 

Despite their answers, the Senior Strategist did not open the way for them. 

Then, Woon-seong waved a hand and said, “Let’s sit down.”

Two chairs from the corner flew into the air and landed before the Sword and Buddhist Stars. 

Tak, tak. 

The swordsman’s eyes trembled. I thought he had just barely entered Semi-Divinity, but it’s already like this…

The Sword Star was a natural martial artist; his enthusiasm rose when Woon-seong’s skills were not inferior to his own. 

Depending on the mood or physical condition, the gap between the Sword Star and Woon-seong was enough to reverse victory and defeat. 

“Haha.”

The Sword Star hid his surprise with a smile, and Woon-seong sat down in the seat of power. 

The same was true of the Buddhist Star. 

“Master of the Second Jade Knife.”

When Woon-seong asked the Buddhist Star to sit down, the man laughed loudly. He had a kind smile on his face, reminding one of the Buddha. 

“It has not been that for a while, Leader.”

“How long ago?” Woon-seong titled his head, as if confused by the fact that the Buddhist Star was no longer the owner of the Second Jade Knife. 

“I have already handed over the position of owner of the Jade Knife to the next generation.”

“But that does not change the fact that you are related to the Justice Alliance.”

The Buddhist Star nodded. 

When the man admitted that, Woon-seong turned to the swordsman. 

The Sword Star was an old man who looked like the embodiment of a sword, his skin like pure iron. 

“It is my first time hearing that the Sword is associated with the Justice Blood Sect.”

The Sword Star smiled, revealing slightly yellow teeth. “Of course I have nothing to do with the Justice Blood Sect.”

“…….”

Woon-seong would not ask useless questions like ‘Why are you here then?’ 

The Sword Star knew that too. 

“But that does not mean that I have nothing to do with the ‘Five Skies Beyond the Heavens’.”

“The Five Skies Beyond the Heavens?”

Woon-seong closed his eyes slowly.

The five legendary martial artists who led Murim in the Ancient Era.

But why were they being mentioned now?

Actually, the First Heavenly Demon — the immortal Sky Demon — was one of the Five Skies Beyond the Heavens. But what does that have to do with anything?

Woon-seong frowned. 

“This one also came to visit the Leader not only because of the Justice Alliance, but also for the problems of the Five Skies Beyond the Heavens.” 

The Buddhist Star echoed the sentiment. 

Woon-seong, who did not understand, fiercely told them, “Explain it to me so I can understand.”

The Sword and Buddha began to explain the connection between the Five Skies Beyond the Heavens and the current situation, from what happened all those years ago to their relationship. 

Woon-seong listened quietly to these stories. 

In fact, it was quite a strange story. It was a story like a myth of legendary figures who had seized the Murim of an era. 

In some ways, the story of the Five Skies Beyond the Heavens might be a myth. 

Of course, myths would not continue until the present. 

But… 

“Why are you talking about that? Does me being a descendant of the First Heavenly Demon have something to do with this situation?”

“Of course. Just as you are the descendant of the Sky Demon and we are descendants of the Sword and Buddhist Skies, the Cult of the Inverted Sky is descended from the Soul Sky.”

And the Buddhist Star said that the myth continued to this day. 

Then he glanced at Woon-seong’s chest. 

Right where the necklace, artifact of the Spear Master Sect, hung. 

“And is the Leader not a descendant of the Spear Master Sect?”

At that moment, the energy surrounding Woon-seong shifted. A frost-like aura pointed towards the Buddhist Star like hundreds of blades. 

And…

Shua!

The White Night Spear hovered around the neck of the Buddhist Star. It was in the position where a slight swing would completely cut off the man’s head. 

However, it was difficult to say that Woon-seong’s power overwhelmed the Buddhist Star’s.

This was only possible because the Buddhist Star and Sword Star had been surprised and thus had not avoided it. 

Woon-seong moved the White Night Spear even closer and asked, “What are you talking about?” 

Woon-seong was struck by the urge to slit the man’s throat and shut him up for good. It could not be known to anyone that he had gained another life because of the artifact of the Spear Master Sect. 

But the Buddhist Star’s reaction was natural, speaking as if he understood. 

“Haha, Leader, I felt the unique energy of the Spear Master Sect. It is mixed with the ‘Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon’, but its uniqueness remains.”

Woon-seong glanced towards Sang Gwan-chuk. 

What did the Strategist think of this situation? What were these two men thinking?

Surprisingly, Sang Gwan-chuk looked calm. He titled his head, “Is it not because of the ‘Divine Art of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon’? That is also based on the Spear Master Sect.”

Sang Gwan-chuk’s words struck Woon-seong like a lightning bolt. It was because he had suddenly realized that this was also possible, that people could think like that. 

Thank goodness. 

That greatly reduced the misunderstandings to be solved. 

No, there would be no misunderstanding at all. 

It was never revealed that Hyuk Woon-seong had been reborn for revenge. 

Woon-seong nodded at Sang Gwan-chuk and turned back to the Buddhist Star. 

“Does the fact that I am related to the Spear Master Sect also matter?”

The Sword and Buddhist Stars nodded. 

“Of course, my lord. The descendants of the Spear Sky are the Spear Master Sect.”

Woon-seong squeezed the artifact hanging on the necklace; it was a story he had not been aware of. Then, was this necklace somehow related to the Soul Sky? 

Did the descendants of the Soul Sky, who now presented the banner of the Inverted Sky, have something to do with his rebirth against the will of Heaven?

Woon-seong was filled with doubts. 

The Sword Star said, “That is why we wish to join forces with you, why we want to help you.”

Woon-seong, who had stood up earlier, settled back down. 

The thoughts that had come to mind still did not show a sense of clearing up. 

However, there were two things that were certain. 

First of all… 

“You are willing to help us fight the Martial Alliance?”

“We will not attack the Martial Alliance, but the descendants of the Soul Sky in Zhongyuan.”

Secondly…

“I will have the head of Jwa Do-gyul. I cannot yield that.”

That man was definitely the prey he had to kill himself.

***

“As discussed, I will have the neck of Jwa Do-gyul.”

The Buddhist Star and Sword Star nodded their heads. 

The Buddhist Star glanced back and muttered, worrying, “We must save the living after we return these souls to the Buddha.”

That said, Woon-seong’s expression had hardened too. He had tried to use the Cult of the Heavenly Demon for revenge, but the Woon-seong who had climbed to the position of Heavenly Demon understood his position. 

The fact that someone understood their position was no different from saying that he or she acknowledged the required behavior and responsibilities. 

The believers were suffering. Many of them were still wrapped in flames and illusions. 

Although Jwa Do-gyul was escaping, Woon-seong was not wicked enough to abandon his own people. 

“Hmph.”

After an exhale, Woon-seong sighed and stepped into the air. He soared into the sky. 

“My lord!”

“Hail the Heavenly Demon, release us from our suffering!”

“Leader!”

Seeing Woon-seong rising into the air, the demonic practitioners screamed in agony. 

Woon-seong glanced to look at the traces Jwa Do-gyul had left while running, but focused on the people in pain. 

“Listen to me, Demons!”

There were several responses to Woon-seong’s call across the battlefield. 

“Brain of the Heavenly Demon, I heed the orders of the Leader!”

“Wind Demon Fist King, I await the Lord’s command!”

“Eight Bolt Blade King, I listen to the Leader’s command!”

“Lotus Demon Ballad Sovereign, I follow the order of the Lord!”

Four Demonic Masters knelt as one. 

Woon-seong commanded them, “There are many water sources from Wuhan nearby. Use them to assist the Cult in our efforts to extinguish the flames.”

The situation on the battlefield could no longer be maintained. 

The Martial Alliance had also been caught in the fire and few soldiers were intact. 

The Demonic soldiers shouted: “Understood!” 

They flew in different directions and ran towards those still alive. Soon, they led people towards sources of water. 

When the Buddhist Star saw this, he pushed the corpse he was dealing with to the Sword Star. 

“You take over for a minute. ”

“What?”

The swordsman was surprised, but the Buddhist Star had already disappeared. 

Alone, the Sword Star muttered to himself as he looked at the two corpse puppets, “Haha, I can’t believe I have to move around and sweat from the soles of my feet even when I’m this old…”

“Stop the battle and make every effort to extinguish the fire for those not involved in Murim. Not only may the flames harm you, they will cause great loss of life and may even damage the civilians…”

At the appearance of the old man standing in the sky, there was a great disturbance in the Orthodox factions. 

“That’s him! ”

“Woah!”

Devout robes, a shaved head, old age, and a warm halo of light. There was no one who did not recognize the old man. 

“Buddhist Star!”

The Buddhist Star was a legendary figure in Orthodox Murim. 

At his appearance, many of the soldiers faltered. 

They were worried about whether or not they should move. 

At that time, there were several who jumped forward and shouted at the Buddhist Star. 

“How can you cooperate with the wicked demons and do that? Nonsense!”

“That’s right! Did you live too long and develop dementia? Or are you a demon yourself?!”

These were men whose consciousness had been blurred by the hibiscus incense Jwa Do-gyul used. Their voices were clear, but their eyes were vacant. 

The Buddhist Star stood in the air. He looked at them and sighed, slowly raising both hands.