ATPnovel Chapter 263 : Secret Story, Reveals
Chapter 263 : Secret Story, Reveals
Cheon Myeongin's eyes were black, even to the whites.Lee Jaseung knew when a person showed such an appearance. It was precisely when their spirit was being dominated by something.
The Heavenly Demon Soul!
While having a conversation with Dan Woobin in the past, he had speculated about something entering Cheon Myeongin's body. He had wondered if it might be the case, and it was indeed the Heavenly Demon Soul without a doubt.
If it were not the Heavenly Demon Soul, he would not have been able to enter this space created by the Cult Leader.
In the life of a person of the Jianghu, a nemesis is bound to exist.
At first, he thought that enemy was the man who had defeated him. Later, there were times he thought it was Yeo Su-in, and he also considered that it might be Yao Hong.
But none of them were correct.
Lee Jaseung could feel that his true nemesis was that Heavenly Demon Soul.
Meanwhile, Yao Hong, who did not know that the opponent was the Heavenly Demon Soul, was swept by pure shock.
Furthermore, the opponent was a face Yao Hong also knew.
Cheon Myeongin.
He was the very person who had visited the Demonic Cult with Mountain in the past. The one whom Yao Hong thought was nothing special when he saw him back then.
That man had lost his spirit to something and entered the demonic art he had manifested.
Cheon Myeongin approached Yao Hong. As he walked, he reached out his hand toward a sword tree.
Clatter.
The swords bent like blades of grass and then regained their original form.
That which had become a sharp blade to both Lee Jaseung and Yao Hong because Lee Jaseung's dark art was added to Yao Hong's demonic art became soft grass to Cheon Myeongin. As if this space were his own.
Yao Hong shouted as he involuntarily stepped back.
“Who are you? Just how did you get in here?”
Then Cheon Myeongin called Yao Hong's name.
“Yao Hong.”
A low voice echoed through the space. The resonance was too deep and intense to be called that of a human.
“Traitor of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
And an immediately following heavy command.
“Kneel.”
Yao Hong's expression distorted.
“This is funny isn’t it.”
Yao Hong pulled his inner Qi to the limit. In his heart, he wanted to smash the opponent with a single fist, but the opponent's momentum was extraordinary.
Furthermore, there was another thing that bothered him.
He glanced at Lee Jaseung. He was worried that Lee Jaseung might take the opportunity to launch a combined attack, but Lee Jaseung was merely watching the situation from a distance.
'The best move in this situation is to make that bastard fight Lee Jaseung.'
That was the thought in Yao Hong's head.
'But how?'
The thought that immediately came to mind emerged from Yao Hong's mouth.
“How about we deal with that bastard first before talking?”
Cheon Myeongin's gaze followed Yao Hong and turned toward Lee Jaseung. His pitch-black pupils were utterly eerie.
Because Lee Jaseung knew that what dominated Cheon Myeongin was the Heavenly Demon Soul, the strongest existence of the Demonic Cult, he tried hard not to provoke it.
Fortunately, Cheon Myeongin's gaze turned back to Yao Hong.
At that moment, Yao Hong launched a surprise palm strike toward Cheon Myeongin.
Puaaaaaaaaang!
Because it was a blow with the Asura Demonic Cult Leader's entire soul, its power was immense.
With a dull thud, the palm strike hit Cheon Myeongin.
The next moment, Yao Hong was horrified. Even Lee Jaseung, who was watching, was startled.
The palm strike that flew straight in was absorbed by Cheon Myeongin.
Like the Great Art of Absorbing Stars that absorbs inner Qi, Lee Jaseung was also seeing such a bizarre protective Qi that absorbed an opponent's attack for the first time.
Cheon Myeongin moved his steps. It was only a couple of steps, but to Yao Hong, it felt as threatening as a million-man army pressing in.
Swaaaaaak! Swaaaaaak!
Yao Hong emitted successive palm strikes again.
But Cheon Myeongin only shook slightly, and all the flying palm strikes were absorbed into his body.
“What?”
Yao Hong was flustered and surprised, but he did not only lose heart. As he reached his hand out into the air, a sword appeared.
This time, he intended to use swordsmanship from within the Northern Sea Demonic Art.
Shing!
Yao Hong lunged with his sword with a momentum of a single lethal blow.
Cheon Myeongin lightly dodged the flying sword. Yao Hong swung the sword again.
But he could not keep up with Cheon Myeongin's movements.
Swaaaaak!
Retreating backward, Yao Hong emitted Sword Qi.
But the Sword Qi that flew into Cheon Myeongin's chest vanished in an instant like the previous palm strikes. He could not be caught by speed, nor could he be caught by Sword Qi.
Cheon Myeongin, who was resolving the attacks while dodging lightly, initiated an attack.
An attack that looked ordinary at a glance.
But it was by no means an ordinary attack. If it were, there was no way Yao Hong would have failed to endure even a dozen moves.
Thud!
Yao Hong, who was struck hard in the abdomen, rolled on the ground.
The protective Qi that operated reflexively in any situation did not activate.
The reason the protective Qi did not activate was because he was a Demonic Human. The fact that his Northern Sea Demonic Art did not work at all was for the same reason.
The Heavenly Demon Soul, manifested from the limit of the Nine Divine Demonic Arts, possessed the ability to neutralize any demonic art. That was also the reason why the Nine Divine Demonic Arts had continued for a long time as the unrivaled demonic art of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Looking at the despondent Yao Hong, Cheon Myeongin shouted coldly.
“Do you still not know who I am?”
An existence that came to mind in an instant. Yao Hong snapped his eyes wide.
“Wait, could it be?”
A single sentence from Cheon Myeongin showed that the guess was correct.
“How dare you raise a rebellion just because I am not here!”
The moment he heard those words, Yao Hong's mind went blank.
He instinctively realized that the existence dominating the Cheon Myeongin before his eyes was the Heavenly Demon Soul.
The Heavenly Demon Soul was the existence Yao Hong feared most. No, more accurately, he had been fearing that an opponent who could manifest the Heavenly Demon Soul would appear.
Yet the opponent before his eyes was the Heavenly Demon Soul itself.
'Was the Heavenly Demon Soul originally an existence that thought and acted like a person?'
Yao Hong was confused.
In any case, Yao Hong's entire body froze at the fact that the Heavenly Demon Soul had appeared. It was difficult even to breathe.
On the other hand, a suspicion also arose. He knew Cheon Myeongin was someone who had never even learned the Nine Divine Demonic Arts.
“Just how?”
It was the next moment.
The space where the three people stood began to twist. That place created by Yao Hong's demonic art soon became another place. Yao Hong could be certain from the appearance of Cheon Myeongin, who controlled his demonic art at will, that the existence dominating him was the Heavenly Demon Soul.
'It really is the Heavenly Demon Soul!'
His two legs trembled in fear.
“Look straight!”
Looking up at the shout of the Heavenly Demon Soul, that place was a point in the past. It was also the day that became the starting point of all these events.
Lee Jaseung, Yao Hong, and Cheon Myeongin stood in the position of watching the past.
A woman in mourning clothes and a young boy were climbing a mountain path.
Those two did not notice the presence of the three people watching them.
It was like watching a play.
Because Lee Jaseung recognized Yim Sayeon, he immediately realized that the young boy whose hand she was holding was Cheon Myeongin. The place they were climbing was Great Heaven Mountain, the place where the main base of the Demonic Cult was located.
“Mother, where are we going?”
“It is the place where your father was born.”
“Dad's hometown?”
“Yes, his hometown.”
Cheon Myeongin gripped Yim Sayeon's hand tightly. Yim Sayeon stroked Cheon Myeongin's head once and then began to move her steps again.
On both sides of the massive castle gate where the two arrived stood statues of demons boasting an immense majesty.
A young man had come out in front of the gate, and he was none other than Ho Yeonshin's grandfather, Ho Yeonbaek. He was the very person who had left behind the thirty Demon Restoration Pills.
Ho Yeonbaek greeted Yim Sayeon respectfully.
“It is my first time meeting you, sister-in-law.”
Ho Yeonbaek's affectionate gaze turned to the child.
“This child is Myeongin I see.”
The scene changed again.
An old man was standing in the Cult Leader's hall reporting something. The old man with a bent waist was the Grand Sage Demon, the person in charge of researching and developing great arts in the Heavenly Demon Sect.
“The intermediary for this great art must absolutely be a person who has inherited the Cult Leader's blood.”
The person sitting on the grand chair receiving the report was Ho Yeonbaek's father, Ho Yeonjong.
“Myeongin, that child will do.”
He was uttering the words that he would use his own grandson for the great art with indifference.
The Grand Sage Demon also seemed not to care about that part at all.
“Yes, he is very suitable. However, the survival probability of the intermediary after the great art is very low.”
Ho Yeonjong showed no reaction to those words. He was obsessed only with the success of the great art and was going against the laws of nature.
“What is the possibility of the great art's success?”
The Grand Sage Demon replied confidently.
“It is over ninety percent. There is almost no possibility of failure.”
Yao Hong did not know the details of this scene.
But Lee Jaseung had previously read the writing Ho Yeonbaek left for his son in the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave he entered with Ho Yeonshin. The fact that he could not master the Nine Divine Demonic Arts to the limit because of his constitution.
Ho Yeonbaek's father, Ho Yeonjong, had known that fact early on, and he was ultimately trying to attempt to transplant the Heavenly Demon Soul through a great art.
And using the life of his own grandson, the flesh and blood of his second son, as a medium.
It was truly a cold-blooded choice.
“And the child?”
“They say he will descend the mountain shortly.”
Ho Yeonjong did not hesitate any longer.
“Perform the great art.”
Only now could Lee Jaseung know.
Why the Heavenly Demon Soul was lodged in Cheon Myeongin's body. If Yim Sayeon were to find out this fact, she would never be able to hold back her rage.
The scene changed again.
This time, it was the place where the great art was being performed.
In that place lined with all sorts of bizarre devices, three people were lying on beds. The Grand Sage Demon, who presided over the great art, was sweating profusely while moving between the three people.
He was flustered, and as time passed, the fluster was changing into despair.
At that moment, among the three people, Ho Yeonjong regained consciousness first.
“How did it go?”
The result could be known from the face of the Grand Sage Demon, who had already turned pale.
“T-The great art... has failed.”
“Failure? Did you not say there was no probability of failure?”
“That is... the Heavenly Demon Soul that entered that child's body will not budge.”
The gazes of the two people turned toward the young Myeongin. Cheon Myeongin was asleep, not moving at all as if he were dead.
“This cannot be.”
In the completely unexpected situation, the Grand Sage Demon was flustered while clutching his head.
“Devise a method by any means!”
“It is impossible.”
“Then it cannot be helped. Return it to the original state.”
“I am sorry, but... that too is impossible. The Heavenly Demon Soul does not intend to return even to its original state.”
“What?”
Ho Yeonjong, who was abruptly raising his body, vomited blood as his Qi and blood were twisted.
“I am sorry, Cult Leader!”
Seeing Ho Yeonjong's eyes burning with rage, the Grand Sage Demon struck his own head before he could be stopped.
Crack.
The Grand Sage Demon's head was crushed, and he died. He knew well that he would ultimately die due to the failure of this great art. He chose suicide before dying more painfully and miserably.
“Damn it!”
Ho Yeonjong, whose expression was heavily hardened, rose from the bed.
Ho Yeonjong walked toward the young Cheon Myeongin lying to one side.
He raised his hand high. He intended to eliminate him if he could not return things to normal.
It was just as he was about to strike down with a palm.
Cheon Myeongin snapped his eyes open. Both eyes were black without a single trace of white.
The vision of the past disappeared with the sight of a startled Ho Yeonjong.
The surrounding scene changed and returned to the original place.
As the existing mystery was solved, a new mystery arose.
Why did the great art fail when there was a success probability of over ninety percent?
“Has it been answered?”
Since he had personally seen those scenes, it was more certain and accurate than any answer.
Lee Jaseung could feel it. That the Heavenly Demon Soul showing the past was not because of Yao Hong.
He could tell from the gaze of the Heavenly Demon Soul glancing at him.
The reason he had so kindly explained even by recalling scenes of the past was for his sake.
Why?
Lee Jaseung stared at Cheon Myeongin.
Those pitch-black eyes.
He was not Cheon Myeongin, but the Heavenly Demon Soul.
He had not intended to go to Ho Yeonshin, nor had he intended to return to his original master, Ho Yeonjong.
Was that act indeed the will of the Heavenly Demon Soul? If not, did the great art fail by chance? If it were the will of the Heavenly Demon Soul, why had he not moved?
The questions continued to increase.
And a decisive question that arose.
Why had the Heavenly Demon Soul, which entered Cheon Myeongin's body as a child, come out into the world now?
Why now of all times?