Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

The advance of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was unstoppable. Less than two months after starting the war, they had swallowed the Gansu and Qingcheng provinces. 

Nevertheless, they did not stop, greedily advancing towards the Ningxia and Sichuan provinces. 

And now?

About a third of Sichuan had fallen into their hands.

Rumor had it that Ningxia Province, which was much smaller than Sichuan Province, had already fallen into the Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s hands. 

Hearing this rumor, an elder of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Jin-ryong, clicked his tongue. “Tch, stupid bastards.” 

In front of him were many of the masters of Sichuan who hoped to join the Sichuan Tang. They were, but said nothing. 

It wasn’t just because the man before them was the Grand Elder of the Tang Clan. 

The Immortal Poison.

The Gu poison never dies, its toxicity only strengthenin over time.

That phrase, which symbolized the Sichuan Tang, were originally words that described this old man. 

A legendary man who had mastered all of the tricks of the Sichuan Tang since childhood, then developed them to the next level.

When it came to poison, there was no one for him to follow, nor anyone for him to chase.

Because of this man, the people did not dare speak.

Tang Jin-ryong asked, “Is that why you abandoned your sects and fled? Because you were scared of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon?”

It was almost like a grandfather speaking to his granddaughter. But there was a sinister undertone.

The sect leaders trembled.

“Hah, I have nothing to say. ”

“Of course not. Don’t you think it would be too humiliating to say anything here? ”

Tang Jin-ryong slowly got up from his seat. He walked towards a bonsai to the side. 

Raising his hand, he touched one of the branches.

And then something amazing happened.

Pashhun-

One branch of the bonsai disappeared into ashes. Even though it had been teeming with vitality, it had only taken one breath for it to wither and crumble. 

Watching this, the eyes of several sect leaders widened. 

If they had made a mistake, they too would be turned into dust, just like the branches of the bonsai. 

“Since you have come to join us, I won’t say anything else. It is a little late, but please work hard to protect the Sichuan Murim.” 

“Oh, understood.”

“Detailed instructions will be handled by the main house and the Qingcheng Sect. Since the Martial Alliance is still preparing, they have decided to send a good master, so he will arrive soon.”

“A master…”

An absolute master in the eyes of some random person and an absolute master in the eyes of Tang Jin-ryong were two different things.

That was why the sect leaders were curious. 

Tang Jin-ryong clicked his tongue, as if annoyed. “Tsk, I don’t know who was sent. But he is apparently a master comparable to the Buddhist Star and the Sword Star.”

“The Twin Stars!”

The sect leaders were amazed. It seemed that the world was greater than they thought, with more Semi-Divine Beings than previously believed. 

They did not know where the Martial Alliance had gotten the help of such a master, but with this man’s help, they would be able to fight against the Heavenly Demon.

Everyone had the same thoughts, their faces lighting up with joy. 

Then Tang Jin-ryong clicked his tongue again. “Tch. The plan will be finalized soon. If you follow the instructions, you will be able to give the demonic a taste of heat. So please do as you are told,” he instructed, sweeping a hand across the bonsai. 

This time, it wasn’t just one branch, but the whole tree. 

Fouszek-

The finely pruned bonsai disappeared into a pile of black ash. 

That was a threat, showing them their ending if they didn’t listen. Thus, the sect leaders had no choice but to agree. 

After the crowd left, Tang Jin-ryong was left alone in the room and stared at the ashes. 

“Hmm.”

How long had he been staring at the ash?

He sighed and waved his hand, dispersing the powder into the air. 

Tang Jin-ryong said, “Come out now.”

What did he see and who was he talking to?

Once he spoke, darkness in the corner of the room rose. It shivered, like rippling waves, and a man slowly walked out.

“Hwan Dok.”

It was Hwan Dok, the Demonic Emperor of Oblivion. 

It was the man who deceived even his allies into oblivion and belonged to the Cult of the Inverted Sky. It was the man who had entered the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and inflicted great damage to the Cult. 

Such a man appeared in the Sichuan Tang. 

“It’s been a while,” chuckled Hwan Dok.

The Demonic Emperor of Oblivion seemed to be quite familiar with the Sichuan Tang’s Grand Elder.

That was surprising.

Tang Jin-ryong’s attitude was also quite surprising. .

“Don’t pretend we are close.”

Tang Jin-ryong, who should have been attacked and become a pile of blood, received a bold response instead: 

“You and I are in a cooperative relationship, are we not very close?” 

Hwan Dok shrugged and continued, “That’s sad. I thought there was a connection there, but you—”

“You didn’t come to me to talk nonsense, did you? ”

Hwan Dok grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. “They’ll be here soon.”

Tang Jin-ryong’s eyebrows twitched. His expression seemed to be asking, ‘Who?’

“Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m talking about the best hidden card.”

Tang Jin-ryong nodded slowly. “A master comparable to the Buddhist Star and Sword Star… I said it as I heard it, but I still can’t believe it.” 

As he said, masters at the Semi-Divine Realm were not beings you could just run around and find on any given day. It was rare for even one to appear each generation. 

Although there were only three Semi-Divine Beings at the moment, that was still a lot. On average, there might only be one or two who existed in a generation. 

However, it was not surprising that the Cult of the Inverted Sky had a hidden Semi-Divine Being. 

“Hehe, this is the power of our Cult. Don’t you think you made the right choice by working with our Cult?”

The question made Tang Jin-ryong think. Neither positive nor negative. He shrugged, not saying anything. 

There was an awkward silence. 

After a while, Tang Jin-ryong could not hide the awkwardness. “The Tang Clan has been working with you for the glory and future of our House, so I have no interest in the deceit of yours. You must keep your promise.” 

“Of course. We are loyal to our partners. I don’t know if the Qingcheng are doing so well though.”

As he said so, there was a sullen expression on Hwan Dok’s face. 

Ta-da!

About 300 martial artists had come from Qingcheng. They were gathered together, warming themselves around a campfire on the other side of the Tang House. 

Although the House had prepared an annex for them, they deliberately chose this inconvenient place. 

The reason why soon came to light. 

“We will not rest in a comfortable place until we have avenged our elders.”

To sleep on brushwood and taste gall. 

To maintain one’s resolve for revenge. 

To prepare oneself for difficulties and intentionally lead an uncomfortable life. It was the leader of the Qingcheng people who said that. 

With the successors of the First Apprentice all deceased, this man was temporariluy the leader of the Qingcheng Sect. 

“First Apprentice, the Swords of Qingcheng, all died in the hands of the Demonic Cult. This has caused us to lose even the Sword of Blue Clouds and Red Sunset, along with the major forces of our sect.”

To his words, the swordsmen of Qingcheng gripped their swords tightly. 

“With such loss, how can we rest comfortably?”

The swordsmen of Qingchen shouted: 

“We must get rid of the Demonic Cult.”

“We must behead the Heavenly Demon as tribute to our ancestors!”

“The demonic will die, as long as they are human. I will put my blade through their hearts!”

These were words that did not follow the Tao.

This was because although the Qingcheng Sect was considered to be Taoist, they had a tendency to be harsh. 

Even then, their words were a little excessive. 

Han Chong, one of the Qingcheng Sect elders, nodded as if he liked the idea. “When there is a battle, this one will stand as the vanguard. Never fall until we can put a sword through their hearts.”

The others bowed, “We receive the words of the elder.”

Han Chong nodded in satisfaction. He then patted his pocket. A pill that will increase my qi by several times. 

It was something that Hwan Dok had given him. If the effects were true, it would be good to use it during the battle with the Heavenly Demon. 

But he couldn’t trust Hwan Dok’s words so easily, so he moved his hand from the pocket. I don’t have to use it. 

Even if it was the Heavenly Demon, the man would not be able to take the force of 300 Qingcheng swordsmen. 

Han Chong believed in the power of Qingcheng. 

That was only a few days before the Sichuan War. 

***

“The Sichuan Union is waiting in Chengdu.”

The city of Chengdu was a region of plains. 

You could walk for seven days across Chengdu, only on flat land. 

The meaning of preparing to fight the Cult there was simple: 

“They want to fight straight from the beginning.”

“Maybe they’re just trying to use the best landscape for their beast army.”

Woon-seong nodded. In order for the rhinoceroses and elephants to run properly, open plains were much better compared to narrow canyons or rugged mountains. 

“Since we never faced a proper struggle, perhaps they thought we might be weak.”

After all, the all-out in Qaidam Basin had been short. 

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded in agreement. 

Woon-seong asked, “What is it like?” 

“Qingcheng is at the front, then the wild beasts, and the Sichuan sects at the back.”

Woon-seong furrowed his brow. “The Sichuan Tang are missing.”

“They are at the rear, but they are camped a few hours away. It seems to be because some poisons need to be supplied by the Sichuan Tang…”

As soon as Sang Gwan-chuk said that, Woon-seong laughed. “The Sichuan Tang Clan have always had a nasty side.” 

“Perhaps they intend to join the fight later and minimize damage.”

Woon-seong nodded. They were Orthodox, but they had always been insidious. This was true of many factions, but especially so for the Sichuan Tang Clan. 

Nok Yu-on had disliked the Sichuan Tang. Therefore, it was only natural for his disciple, Woon-seong, to also dislike the Sichuan Tang. 

On top of that, the Sichuan Tang had clearly been involved in the death of Nok Yu-on. 

“Strategist, do not forget to check the formation.”

“Understood,” Sang Gwan-chuk bowed his head. He then asked, “What should we do about the rest?”

Woon-seong turned to look at Sichuan Province and the clouds above. 

“If they want an all out war, then we will match them in stride.”