Chapter 495

Chapter 495 – Heavenly Evil's Wind Blows Fiercely (2)

He was Cheok Gwan-hyeol who'd learned the World's Greatest Demon Art. At his lion's roar containing his full power, all life forms living on Mount Zhongnan vomited blood and collapsed. Whether human or animal, their brains turned to mush and lost their lives.

Those unaffected by Cheok Gwan-hyeol's lion's roar were only the soul technique masters and Ho Cheon-myeong.

Pat!

At that moment, Cheok Gwan-hyeol kicked off a tree branch and raised his body into the air. Instantly the demonic energy radiating from his body spread wide like bat wings.

Flapping wings made of demonic energy, Cheok Gwan-hyeol flew toward Ho Cheon-myeong. Watching that sight, Ho Cheon-myeong smiled.

"Your entrance is quite noisy."

"Ho Cheon-myeong!"

In midair, Cheok Gwan-hyeol called Ho Cheon-myeong and swung his hand. Then cloud-like energy arose and surged toward Ho Cheon-myeong.

Kwaaa!

Before the tidal wave of demonic energy, everything dyed black.

Trees and grass turned black then soon scattered as fine dust with 'fwish fwish' sounds. The already black sky dyed even blacker.

When the demonic energy Cheok Gwan-hyeol released reached right before his nose, Ho Cheon-myeong lightly waved his hand as if shooing a fly. Then the demonic energy that had been surging so fearfully veered around Ho Cheon-myeong and directly struck a large boulder behind.

Kwaaa!

With a roar, the house-sized boulder melted like lava. Even at that horrific sight, Ho Cheon-myeong looked at Cheok Gwan-hyeol without blinking an eye.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol slowly descended before him.

Ho Cheon-myeong looked at such Cheok Gwan-hyeol with warm eyes, like a father viewing a son returned after long.

"It's been a while, Cheok Gwan-hyeol."

"You dare smile? Looking at me."

Cheok Gwan-hyeol ground his teeth. His face was horrific like an evil spirit. Thick blood vessels bulged out on his forehead, and demon fire rippled in his eyes.

An ordinary person would fall into heart demons or have their eyeballs melt just meeting his gaze. But Ho Cheon-myeong was calmly receiving such Cheok Gwan-hyeol's fearsome gaze.

"You've grown well. Beyond expectations…"

"Shut that mouth!"

"I'm sincere. From the moment I first saw you, I knew. That you would grow into this form."

"You dare! To use such evil techniques on me."

"You've finally noticed."

"Why did you do it? Why did you plant heart demon seeds in me?"

"All because it was necessary."

"Quickly tell me the reason. Before I break that neck."

"Oh dear!"

Ho Cheon-myeong smiled emptily. At that, Cheok Gwan-hyeol showed even more hostility.

In his gaze at Ho Cheon-myeong, no reason existed. Only rage and hostility filled it.

Thud!

Cheok Gwan-hyeol stepped toward Ho Cheon-myeong.

"After killing my father so miserably, why did you leave me alive? Planting such heart demon seeds."

"Why does that reason matter? Thanks to that, didn't you live decades longer? Isn't that enough?"

"Don't spout such nonsense. Before I tear open that mouth."

"Tsk tsk! Your mouth is foul. A sect leader should know to maintain dignity in any circumstance."

"Old man!"

At Ho Cheon-myeong's continued preaching, Cheok Gwan-hyeol finally couldn't contain his anger anymore and exploded.

Kwaaa!

Heaven Encompassing Demon Art unfolded at close range.

It was Heaven Encompassing Demon Art that had never found a match. Tremendous demonic energy instantly covered Ho Cheon-myeong.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol clenched his hand. Then the demonic energy covering Ho Cheon-myeong tightened like a snare.

"I changed my mind. I won't ask reasons. Just die! Old man."

Whiiing!

Instantly the demonic energy spun like a cogwheel and crushed Ho Cheon-myeong. It was grinding him up.

There hadn't been anyone Cheok Gwan-hyeol couldn't kill using this method until now. Because of that, Cheok Gwan-hyeol was confident he could at least inflict serious injury on Ho Cheon-myeong even if he couldn't kill him.

That's when it happened.

Chwahwak!

The demonic energy spinning at fearsome speed while wrapped around Ho Cheon-myeong tore apart as if cut by scissors. And from within, Ho Cheon-myeong walked out calmly.

Ho Cheon-myeong brushed off his hands and said.

"My, what an impatient personality."

"Be quiet, old man."

Cheok Gwan-hyeol grew even more enraged and consecutively deployed techniques boasting the strongest destructive power among Heaven Encompassing Demon Art.

Kwakwakwang!

At Cheok Gwan-hyeol's attack, Mount Zhongnan was devastated.

He was strong to the point of trembling. Each time he reached out his hand, the earth flipped over and savage storms swept through. But not one of Cheok Gwan-hyeol's attacks properly struck Ho Cheon-myeong.

Ho Cheon-myeong was like a ghost.

He floated about three feet in the air and moved along the grain of air. When Cheok Gwan-hyeol's attack was fierce, he retreated back, and when Cheok Gwan-hyeol's attack stopped, he approached like a ghost without sound.

Such appearance of Ho Cheon-myeong made Cheok Gwan-hyeol's madness and rage explode even more.

"Kraaaa!"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol let out a scream and pressed Ho Cheon-myeong even more fiercely.

Hoowoong!

Instantly, change occurred at the altar where the soul technique masters gathered. The resonance sound amplified further and space began rippling.

Ho Cheon-myeong's eyes began to glisten. His eyes dyed red as if bloodshot and white teeth showed. His appearance looked strangely eerie. But Cheok Gwan-hyeol drunk on madness failed to notice that fact.

Even at that moment, Ho Cheon-myeong's voice continued.

"Heaven is truly perverse. It can never stand by and watch one individual dominate. When your father tried to dominate the martial world, it sent the Four Divine Emperors into the world, and when I try to achieve what I want, it sends Fist Demon again to interfere. At first I hated Heaven a lot. But as time passed and I aged, my thinking changed. Because I would have done the same in reversed positions. So I could understand."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Old man!"

"It's called Heaven's Net. Heaven's net is sparse but reaches everywhere. So if you commit sin, you're surely caught."

Kwang!

Ho Cheon-myeong's voice was briefly buried in the explosion. But soon Ho Cheon-myeong appeared intact and continued speaking.

"That's not just applicable to cause and effect. It applies to everything in this world."

"Shut up!"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol spat out angry shouts and deployed Heaven Encompassing Demon Art's ultimate technique.

Kukwakwakwang!

The earth flipped over. But this time too, Ho Cheon-myeong appeared intact.

Instantly Cheok Gwan-hyeol's pupils shook.

For the first time, a bewildered light rose in pupils dyed in madness. Such pupils were fixed on Ho Cheon-myeong's hand.

Perhaps feeling Cheok Gwan-hyeol's gaze, Ho Cheon-myeong raised his hand.

It was a fine hand like a woman's jade hand, without a speck of dust or a single wrinkle. It was a hand unsuited to Ho Cheon-myeong's age.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol focused on Ho Cheon-myeong's hand not just because of outer appearance. Because Ho Cheon-myeong's occasionally swung hand was cutting all his attacks strand by strand.

Even ultimate hand arts like Demon Path's Bare Hand Demon Art or Western Regions' Great Hand Seal couldn't cut his attacks so helplessly.

Though he didn't seem to be deploying special ultimate techniques or operating power, Cheok Gwan-hyeol felt intense crisis at Ho Cheon-myeong's hand that cut all his attacks.

"That is?"

"When I faced your father previously, I suddenly gained one enlightenment. This is the result of the enlightenment gained then."

"…"

"That's why I say Heaven is truly perverse. Why give me enlightenment in the fight with your father."

A slight smile curved at Ho Cheon-myeong's lips.

Instantly Cheok Gwan-hyeol felt an eerie feeling. He gritted his teeth and shouted.

"At best it's formless sword or mind sword level, right?"

"How nice if that were so. A sword transcending time and space."

"What?"

"That is, Time-Space Sword. My child! That's the insight I gained."

Ho Cheon-myeong lightly drew his hand.

Seureok!

Instantly Cheok Gwan-hyeol's eyes widened.

Everything before his eyes was splitting.

Sky, earth, even invisible time.

"…"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's thoughts stopped briefly.

In that place where time and space were cut away, Cheok Gwan-hyeol was floating. It felt like being trapped in the vast ocean's depths.

He couldn't breathe.

Because breathing was cutting off strand by strand deep in his chest.

'What is this?'

Instantly Cheok Gwan-hyeol's eyes tore wide open.

Because he felt pain.

Amazingly, not a single wound appeared on his body. It wasn't pain felt from his body.

A more fundamental place.

His soul was wounded and crying out in pain.

"Kraaak!"

Cheok Gwan-hyeol spat out a desperate scream.

He was Cheok Gwan-hyeol who'd reached Demon God Realm. Such him wouldn't scream at mere physical pain. But the pain of his soul being cut away was different.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's mad wail echoed chillingly atop Mount Zhongnan. Ho Cheon-myeong watched such Cheok Gwan-hyeol with a smile.

The place where Cheok Gwan-hyeol screamed was precisely atop the altar made in Zhongnan Sect's ruins. While attacking Ho Cheon-myeong, he'd unknowingly stepped onto the altar.

It wasn't his will.

Ho Cheon-myeong had guided him that way.

"Now all conditions are met."

Fwahwak!

Instantly, blood fountains shot up from Cheok Gwan-hyeol's entire body's pores. The blood escaping through pores instantly oxidized and became mist.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol's pupils shook as if an earthquake hit. He tried to close his pores by operating internal energy. But regardless of his will, blood continued escaping.

Hooowoong!

Instantly, the air above the altar shook with resonance sound. As if waves rippled, the transparent space began distorting.

Emotion showed for the first time in Ho Cheon-myeong's eyes that had been only calm. The madness he'd firmly suppressed until now slightly manifested.

"Finally…"

The more blood mist emanated from Cheok Gwan-hyeol's body, the more intense the resonance sound occurring above the altar became. But Cheok Gwan-hyeol didn't just bleed either. He drew up internal energy to the maximum and endured.

Cheok Gwan-hyeol struggled trying to escape from the altar, but like a butterfly caught in a spider web, he couldn't budge.

The smile on Ho Cheon-myeong's lips deepened. Because he'd already expected this level of resistance. But he didn't think Cheok Gwan-hyeol could endure that long.

The tide had already taken an irreversible flow. Everything would flow according to his will.

That's when it happened.

"What is this…"

"Ugh!"

From Mount Zhongnan's entrance, people's shocked voices were heard.

"Uninvited spectators have come. Well, no matter. Originally the more spectators, the better."

Ho Cheon-myeong wasn't surprised and turned to look at them.

There were faces he saw for the first time, and faces he'd already met once. And faces he'd really wanted to meet once.

They were precisely Cho Yeon-woon and Geom Yul-cheon, and Taoist Hyeon-so. Having tracked Cheok Gwan-hyeol sprinting without reason, they'd come here.

Cho Yeon-woon was receiving Bang Jin-bo's support, and Geom Yul-cheon too was standing with difficulty with Eum Yu-gyeong's help. Behind them appeared Taoist Hyeon-so carried on Myeong-gyeong's back, and Jong Ri-yeon who'd followed with Mount Hua Sect martial artists' help was also there.

They were shocked at Cheok Gwan-hyeol's appearance scattering blood mist atop the altar.

The martial prowess Cheok Gwan-hyeol showed at Sunyang Plains was truly close to heaven-shattering. He'd shown fearsome might unfazed even by the joint attack of Cho Yeon-woon and Geom Yul-cheon, martial artists representing Orthodox and Demon. Such Cheok Gwan-hyeol bleeding blood mist in such defenseless state was so unrealistic it felt rather like a dream.

The one who reacted first was Taoist Hyeon-so.

"Evil technique?"

Disbelief's light rose in his eyes that had been filled with mystique.

To his eyes possessing exceptional spiritual power, heavenly energy screaming and roiling was visible. Like a full-term woman giving birth after arduous pain, Heaven too was suffering difficult labor.

"This can't be!"

Heaven's energy is very thick and solid, so never shakes easily. But Mount Zhongnan's heavenly energy was tangled, twisted, and creaking.

"The great battle at Xunyang Plains weakened heavenly energy. Because of that, heavenly energy is roiling."

"You must be Hyeon-so. I heard you possess Taoism's foremost spiritual power, and indeed your reputation isn't false."

"Blood Light Death God… Ho Cheon-san, no, is it Senior Ho Cheon-myeong?"

"That's right. I am Ho Cheon-myeong. Once I was called by the alias Blood Light Death God, and also worked as Nameless One. And now as you know, I serve as Heavenly Evil Cult's Cult Leader."

"Ugh!"

"Clear and deep eyes. You're the spitting image of your master Cheon Gung-ja."

"Do you know my master?"

"How could I not? We experienced the First Orthodox-Demon War together. I'll say it now, but the one who watched his final moment was also me. So I still remember clearly."

"Is that true?"

"It is. What would I gain by lying to you? I was with him at his final moment."

At Ho Cheon-myeong's words, Taoist Hyeon-so's pupils shook wildly.

Though he'd cultivated for decades and took pride in building mental power unshaken in any circumstance, at Ho Cheon-myeong's words mentioning his long-dead master, his mental power was crumbling down.

Then Cho Yeon-woon approached and supported Taoist Hyeon-so while saying.

"It's a lie. You mustn't be shaken by his words, Hyeon-so Jin-in."

"Right! I'm fine, Yeon-woon."

"That one is Heavenly Evil Cult's Cult Leader. Who knows what honeyed words he'll use to shake you, so you must firmly guard."

"I understand."

Taoist Hyeon-so barely nodded. But his complexion was still flushed red. Because his heart had shaken that much.

Then Ho Cheon-myeong smiled and said.

"Hehe! Even telling the truth, you don't believe. That I watched Cheon Gung-ja's end is a fact that never changes. Do you know why?"

"…"

"Because the one who killed Cheon Gung-ja was precisely me."

This time, not only Taoist Hyeon-so but even Cho Yeon-woon comforting him couldn't hide his shaken expression. Because it was such shocking truth.

"Is, is it really true?"

"What would I gain by lying to you? My words are true. I killed Cheon Gung-ja."

"Why?"

Instantly Taoist Hyeon-so spat out a rage-filled cry.

Red blood vessels already lined Taoist Hyeon-so's eyes. Even decades of cultivating meditation were useless. At this moment, only rage filled Taoist Hyeon-so's heart.

Ho Cheon-myeong looked at such Taoist Hyeon-so and sneered.

"Because only he noticed the truth."

"Truth?"

"Right! Only he noticed that I secretly let Cheok Gwan-hyeol live. So I had no choice but to kill him. It doesn't matter now, but then it absolutely couldn't be known."

"Uaaaa!"

Taoist Hyeon-so wailed.