Chapter 487

Chapter 487 – The Era of Heroes Arrives (3)

White Whale Swordsman Oh Gun-ui was an elder of Hainan Sect. He was a fellow disciple of sect leader Neung Cheon-wol and Hae So-wol's grand master uncle, a supremely noble status.

Like his nickname White Whale Swordsman, his sword techniques were dignified like a whale. Because of that, many of Hainan Sect's young masters trained their swords with him as their goal.

He stood at Hainan Sect's forefront slaughtering the Demon Cult's martial artists. The number of Demon Cult martial artists who lost their lives to his sword was beyond count. His sword was dyed with blood and gleaming red.

"Kraak!"

Another Demon Cult martial artist lost his life to his sword.

It was when Oh Gun-ui was blinking about looking for the next target without time to catch his breath.

Kwaaa!

Suddenly he felt energy so intense it gave him goosebumps from the front.

"What?"

It was when Oh Gun-ui was startled by the unimaginable energy and hurriedly drew up his power.

Massive energy covered him like a tidal wave.

"Kuurk!"

Oh Gun-ui deployed Hainan Sect's secret sword technique trying to cut down the energy that covered him.

Zzzzzt!

But before the sword could even swing halfway, cracks appeared and it exploded like a firecracker. Following that, massive impact and black energy covered Oh Gun-ui.

Kwaang!

"Kruk!"

At the impact like being directly hit by a massive boulder rolling from a mountain, Oh Gun-ui's mouth gaped open.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move even a finger. His whole body felt stuck between massive boulders. Pressure as if his body would burst crushed his entire body.

Puwhak!

At that moment, Oh Gun-ui's entire body burst apart. The sight of him bursting into fine dust from head to toe was beyond horrific and terrifying.

"Grand Master Uncle!"

"Gun-ui!"

Hae So-wol and Neung Cheon-wol shouted simultaneously. But by then, the human called Oh Gun-ui had already disappeared from this world without a trace.

The sight of a master at Oh Gun-ui's level crumbling to dust without even counterattacking properly was enough to freeze not only Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists but even the Demon Cult's masters.

The owner of the black energy that turned Oh Gun-ui to powder in an instant was precisely Cheok Gwan-hyeol, the Demon Cult's Cult Leader.

"How dare insects like you…"

His entire body was not even visible, covered by black energy.

Heaven Encompassing Demonic Art.

The ancient demonic art said to be able to wrap even Heaven was deployed. In reality, Cheok Gwan-hyeol's demonic energy was spreading in all directions as if to cover the sky.

"Kraak!"

"Huuk!"

Those who touched his demonic energy burst apart with desperate screams. His demonic energy turned to powder not only Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists but also the Demon Cult's martial artists.

Kuukwakak!

The violent demonic energy covering the sky whirled, devastating the area. At its overwhelming majesty, not only Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists but even the Demon Cult's martial artists shuddered in fear.

"Stop!"

"Chaaaat!"

Unable to watch, Zhongnan Sect's sect leader Go Il-won and one of Wudang Sect's elders launched a coordinated attack.

'Kill the Demon Cult's Cult Leader and end this war.'

'If I kill him, I'll become the hero who ended this chaotic age.'

Their swords wrapped in sword energy flew toward Cheok Gwan-hyeol, cutting through space. Since they used all their might, their sword energy was exerting more intense power than ever.

But the next moment, they learned how futile a dream they'd dreamed.

Zzzzzt!

Before the swords covered with sword energy could even touch Cheok Gwan-hyeol's body, they shattered, and the arms and shoulders holding the swords scattered as bloody sand.

'What?'

That was the last thought they had while alive. No further thoughts continued.

Puwhak!

Because their entire bodies turned to bloody sand in an instant.

"Ahh!"

"This can't be!"

It was the incarnation of a demon god.

At Cheok Gwan-hyeol's overwhelming majesty and presence, silence came to the entire battlefield. Both Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists who'd been swinging weapons vigorously and the Demon Cult's martial artists who'd been fleeing stopped moving and looked at Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

At that moment, Cheok Gwan-hyeol's voice was heard.

"Who told you to flee as you please? When I, the owner of your bodies and souls, haven't issued orders, yet you retreat on your own."

It wasn't sound from his mouth. Cheok Gwan-hyeol was directly transmitting his intent to people's minds with demon spirit sound like Buddha's wisdom light mind speech. And to all the martial artists filling the plain at that.

It was internal energy at a level no one on the plain had even dared imagine.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's voice continued inside their heads.

"Kill them all! Through your deaths, our Cult will stand proudly under Heaven. From that pinnacle, I will govern your life and death for all eternity."

Woooong!

It was mind speech and also equivalent to a kind of prohibition.

The Demon Cult's martial artists couldn't dare disobey Cheok Gwan-hyeol's order. They were all Cheok Gwan-hyeol's puppets.

There was no distinction between those with weak or strong martial arts. Even the Seven Great Demon Persons couldn't escape Cheok Gwan-hyeol's mind speech. At best only the Three Great Army Commanders or Cult Protection Division's circle lord Wi Gang-hwi were slightly off from the prohibition. But they too were affected to some degree.

"Insane!"

"What is the Cult Leader…"

At this point, even the Three Great Army Commanders felt fear of Cheok Gwan-hyeol and trembled. Cheok Gwan-hyeol didn't seem like the same human at all.

If even the Three Great Army Commanders and the Demon Cult's masters were like that, needless to say Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists.

Cho Yeon-woon's complexion turned deathly pale.

Every hair on his body stood on end, and his entire body trembled as if with chills.

The fear and pressure he felt couldn't be compared to ordinary martial artists. Having ascended to the absolute realm, his senses and intuition had improved dramatically, so he could feel Cheok Gwan-hyeol's terror even more vividly.

It wasn't only Cho Yeon-woon. The martial artists who prided themselves on ascending to the absolute realm rather felt greater fear from Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

"What is this?"

"Kuurk!"

Their entire bodies shrank like beasts before a butcher.

Hae So-wol and So-cheon's expressions hardened stiffly.

"Is this the Demon Cult Leader's presence?"

"Amitabha! Amitabha!"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol was crushing the souls of everyone on the plain with his presence alone.

Even ten thousand men couldn't stop the enemy.

It was truly the momentum of being unstoppable by ten thousand men.

The problem was that not only Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists but even the Demon Cult's martial artists couldn't even breathe properly, crushed by Cheok Gwan-hyeol's momentum.

Kuukwakak!

Cheok Gwan-hyeol didn't tolerate those who fled.

The moment they stepped back even one step, black energy rising from his body flew over and took their lives.

"Uuu!"

"How…"

In front were Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists, behind stood Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

Stuck between both sides, they had nowhere to retreat. Not knowing what to do, they only glanced at both sides. That appearance made Cheok Gwan-hyeol's fury explode.

"Do you dare disobey my order?"

Puwhak!

Instantly the demonic energy that had been dyeing the sky black spread in all directions like fireworks. The demonic energy that spread like dozens, hundreds of tentacles pierced through both Blue Sky Alliance's martial artists and the Demon Cult's martial artists all at once.

"Kuuu!"

"Save…"

The martial artists pierced by the demonic energy screamed desperately.

Seeing that, Cho Yeon-woon, Hae So-wol, So-cheon and others couldn't hold back anymore and flew forth.

"Stop!"

"Chaaaat!"

"Amitabha!"

They deployed their martial arts with all their might.

Instantly madness appeared in Cheok Gwan-hyeol's eyes.

Seeing that, urgent color appeared on Sang Han-cheon's face.

"N-no!"

When Cheok Gwan-hyeol's madness exploded, no one could stop it. What they needed now was a cold yet dignified leader, not a madman consumed by madness.

After being ambushed by Moon Wind Emperor Dan Gong-wol, Cheok Gwan-hyeol's madness had exploded frequently. Each time, countless people died.

That's why Sang Han-cheon had stood at the Demon Cult's forefront leading instead of Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol had to be a perfect and flawless god. A perfect being that all Demon Cult followers looked up to. Only then could the hard-won Demon Cult supremacy continue eternally.

Fortunately, with Demon Hag Dan Un-hyang present, they'd been able to barely suppress Cheok Gwan-hyeol's madness until now. Thanks to that, Cheok Gwan-hyeol's dignity and majesty hadn't been damaged, and countless followers had looked up to him.

If Cheok Gwan-hyeol's dignity collapsed, respect toward him would also disappear. Then countless followers would definitely leave the Demon Cult. That worst situation had to be prevented.

Sang Han-cheon's gaze turned toward Dan Un-hyang.

"Demon Hag, you must quickly calm the Cult Leader's madness."

"That…"

Dan Un-hyang hesitated. Her head was still hazy. Because of that, even hearing Sang Han-cheon's words, she couldn't judge properly.

Sang Han-cheon's gaze turned toward White Wing Annihilation King No Gun-sang.

"Take her to the Cult Leader. We must calm the Cult Leader's madness even a little."

"Understood!"

No Gun-sang nodded. He too was instinctively feeling something was wrong. The Cult Leader he knew, though sometimes becoming violent due to madness, was still a person who knew how to control himself to some degree.

Having watched for a long time, Cheok Gwan-hyeol had never exploded with madness to this degree.

'Something went wrong.'

He grabbed Dan Un-hyang's arm. And flew toward Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

Kwakakang!

"Kuurk!"

"Huk!"

At Cheok Gwan-hyeol's Heaven Encompassing Demonic Art, Cho Yeon-woon, Hae So-wol and others were flung over ten yards away. At their lips appeared black bloodstains. Without even exchanging many moves, they'd suffered serious internal injuries.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol wrapped in demonic energy was a wall of despair.

Tremble! Tremble!

They barely stood up, but their legs shook mercilessly.

It was when Cheok Gwan-hyeol was approaching them with large strides.

"Cult Leader!"

No Gun-sang blocked Cheok Gwan-hyeol's path with Dan Un-hyang.

Seeing Dan Un-hyang, Cheok Gwan-hyeol paused momentarily. The madness that had been swirling instantly seemed to weaken a little.

Dan Un-hyang approached Cheok Gwan-hyeol, pushed by No Gun-sang. Then reason gradually returned to Cheok Gwan-hyeol's eyes.

"Un-hyang!"

"Cult Leader!"

It was when Dan Un-hyang's red lips opened.

Far on the walls watching that scene, urgent color appeared on Taoist Hyeon-so's face.

"N-no! We must stop her from approaching."

"Great Master Uncle, what?"

"It's sorcery."

"What?"

Though invisible to others' eyes, Taoist Hyeon-so saw the faint evil energy enveloping Dan Un-hyang's body. The evil energy enveloping her body was intensifying more as she approached Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

Something was going wrong.

That's when it happened.

Puwook!

An unbelievable thing happened. Dan Un-hyang took out a red dagger from her sleeve and stabbed Cheok Gwan-hyeol's lower abdomen. It was a strike no one anticipated. Not even Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

"Un-hyang?"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's eyes wavered.

Dan Un-hyang was his lover. Though he had to punish her for being used by Blood Elder, he hadn't thought to kill her. She was that precious a person to him.

That Dan Un-hyang stabbed him? Cheok Gwan-hyeol trembled at the sense of betrayal more painful than death.

His flesh was harder than indestructible vajra. The red dagger that dug into such flesh like tofu was definitely not an ordinary object.

"Un-hyang, how dare you!"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's reason flew away.

"Ah! Why did I?"

Conversely, Dan Un-hyang regained reason.

She looked alternately at the red dagger held in her hand and Cheok Gwan-hyeol's wound. Her face turned deathly pale.

"Cult Leader, no, Gwan-hyeol. I… why did I?"

At that moment, Cheok Gwan-hyeol looked into Dan Un-hyang's eyes. Through Dan Un-hyang's eyes, Cheok Gwan-hyeol felt someone watching him.

The owner of eyes cold and cunning as a snake was mocking him while watching through Dan Un-hyang. Instantly memories sealed for long years were released. And madness exploded dominating him.

"Old man!"

Puwhak!

Madness and Heaven Encompassing Demonic Art exploded.

The demonic energy smashed Dan Un-hyang's head and seriously wounded No Gun-sang, a most loyal confidant.

"I'll kill. I'll kill everyone."

Kwakakak!

Cheok Gwan-hyeol went mad and rampaged. Every living thing caught by his hands and demonic energy lost their lives. He was massacring without distinguishing friend from foe.

"Uwaaak! The Cult Leader's gone mad."

"Save me!"

Demon Cult followers fled from Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

"N-no!"

Seeing that scene, Sang Han-cheon despaired.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol, who should have remained a perfect and flawless being, was running wild mad. The focal point that should bind the Demon Cult together had disappeared.

Everything he'd devoted his entire life to building was collapsing. At this rate, the Demon Cult's very survival was precarious.

"We must stop the Cult Leader!"

"How do we stop him?"

The Demon Cult leadership showed skeptical reactions.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol deploying Heaven Encompassing Demonic Art had martial prowess approaching earth-shattering. No one here could dare think of stopping Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

Sang Han-cheon muttered vaguely.

"Is the thousand-year Divine Cult… collapsing so futilely? Is there truly no salvation?"

"Military Strategist!"

Then one weighty voice was heard behind Sang Han-cheon.

Turning around weakly, Sang Han-cheon's view took in a massive man and a blindingly beautiful woman. He didn't know the man's identity, but knew the woman's identity well.

"Holy Maiden?"

The woman was precisely Eum Yu-kyung, who'd been the Holy Maiden. The man beside Eum Yu-kyung was precisely Geom Yul-cheon.

Geom Yul-cheon had finally appeared on the battlefield.

He rebuked Sang Han-cheon.

"Though the Cult Leader fell to the wrong path, you failed to correct it and allowed the situation to reach this point. You are the Divine Cult's great traitor."

"Who are you? Who are you to say such things to me?"

Instantly Geom Yul-cheon raised his hand high. In his hand was held the Demon Cult's sacred object.

When Geom Yul-cheon concentrated his power, the sacred object resonated, emitting dazzling light.

Wooong!

At the sacred object's appearance, the Demon Cult's martial artists flinched.

Geom Yul-cheon shouted.

"My name is Geom Yul-cheon. I am the master of Thunder Palace Style, one of the Thirteen Branches, and guardian of the sacred object."

Crack!

Instantly lightning struck from his body. Thunder flashed and shimmered.

"Ahh!"

The Demon Cult's leadership saw the black form enveloping Geom Yul-cheon's back. The shadow rising massively like a demon god's halo. It was the shadow of Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

"Through your and the Cult Leader's wrong judgment, countless Divine Cult members died. Pay for that sin with death."

"N-no!"

Geom Yul-cheon extended his hand toward Sang Han-cheon. Then lightning struck toward Sang Han-cheon.

"Krheuk!"

Sang Han-cheon collapsed turning to charcoal with a desperate scream.

From the charcoal that became Sang Han-cheon's entire body, acrid smoke rose along with the smell of cooking flesh.

It was a wound not even Great Divine Physician Jong-ri Yeon could heal. Sang Han-cheon's consciousness was fading.

Then Eum Yu-kyung shouted with internal energy.

"Since the Cult Leader was invaded by demonic energy and cannot judge for himself, by the Holy Maiden's authority I strip his position and confirm a new Cult Leader. Geom Yul-cheon, successor of Thunder Palace Style who learned Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the Cult Protecting Divine Art, will now become our Cult's supreme leader and guide us."