The raised sword tip trembled.
His supporting legs and body also trembled and wobbled. Nevertheless, Baek Cheon stood firm. He faced the high priest who desired his death.
“…Baek Cheon of Mount Hua…”
The high priest’s mouth twisted.
“Do you comprehend the significance of those words?”
With a murderous gaze, the high priest stared at Baek Cheon. Observing the black flame ablaze around his opponent, Baek Cheon bit his lip, unaware.
“Do you understand the significance of the letters’ Mount Hua’ to those who have dedicated their lives to the sect and worshiped the Heavenly Demon?”
Baek Cheon struggled to form a slight smile and replied,
“I may not know, but there is one thing I am certain of.”
With determination, he seized the sword in his hand.“Our ancestors were the ones who severed the head of your deity.”
“Ah, and now it will be your head that shall fall.”
Anything that could be called an expression had vanished from the high priest’s face. Was it true that when anger reached its peak, there was no more anger?
Instead of anger on his face, a dark demonic aura was directed towards Baek Cheon and the other disciples of Mount Hua.
“The Second Coming of the Heavenly Demon.”
The high priest spoke.
“Answer me, disciple of the despised Mount Hua.”
“…”
“Mount Hua has lost its strength. Your spirit has fallen to the ground, and you no longer possess the mighty strength that even our sect feared.”
Baek Cheon couldn’t help but smile, even in this situation.
Spirit and strength.
What amusing concepts.
The Central Plains didn’t acknowledge Mount Hua.
Even the disciples of Mount Hua had forgotten the pride of saving the world against the Demonic Sect alone. However, the high priest of the Demonic Sect, their greatest enemy, spoke of spirit and strength.
Wouldn’t anyone laugh at this?
“You, who claim to be disciples of Mount Hua, are so weak and feeble that you can’t even call yourselves Mount Hua’s own.”
“And you dare to stop me? With that power?”
Baek Cheon sneered at the gaze that appeared condescending.
“Weak. Yes, I’m weak, just as you said.”
“But that’s exactly why I can’t retreat! If I run away like this, I’ll be weak forever!”
Baek Cheon’s voice grew louder as he pointed his sword.
“Did you mention the spirit of Mount Hua?”
“Look closely! With this sword, I’ll show you that the spirit of Mount Hua remains unbroken!”
The high priest silently gazed at Baek Cheon,
‘Right, those eyes.’
During the war between the Demonic Sect and Central Plains in the past, all the warriors of Mount Hua displayed the same look as they stood on the frontlines, blocking the Demonic Sect.
Unyielding to fear, unwavering even in the face of their shortcomings.
“Perhaps Mount Hua truly is Mount Hua?”
After muttering to himself, the high priest finally spoke,
“But!”
Kwaaaaang!
This previously dormant energy suddenly surged through his body, swirling in a frenzied manner.
“It’s nonsensical. Mount Hua has changed drastically, rendering it impossible for us to tap into its power.”
The demonic qi, known as the Dragon Fist Wind, manifested as a black dragon soaring toward the heavens, exerting an overwhelming force that pressed everything down.
“I will make it clear that nothing is meaningless in the face of overwhelming strength!”
Baek Cheon’s hand that tightly gripped the sword contorted under the pressure, causing it to bend back. The immense pain surged through his entire body, and his soul wailed in agony.
Nevertheless, he refused to yield. Instead, he took a step forward and lowered his stance.
‘I will not retreat.’
He would never retreat.
“Kuak….”
The intense pressure caused the sword to bend as if it would snap, and all the blood vessels in the hand holding it burst, leaving the skin blackened, as if dying.
Despite gritting his teeth, he couldn’t prevent his body from being pushed away.
At that moment.
A warm touch on his back.
Baek Cheon immediately looked back.
“Sasuk!”
“Sahyung!”
Yoon Jong and Yu Yiseol were there, supporting his shoulders. As always, it felt so natural.
Baek Cheon turned around and faced forward.
‘Seems like we’ve entered hell.’
Once again, the situation became crystal clear.
How did his ancestors battle these terrifying adversaries in the past? It was truly an extraordinary accomplishment to overcome them and ultimately behead the Heavenly Demon.
Paaaah!
Baek Cheon brushed off the pressure by swinging his sword and gradually assumed the upper hand.
“I…”
He might have discarded the sword and fled if he had been by himself.
But now he wasn’t alone. Behind him were the people he had to protect. They were pushing him.
Not as the warrior, Baek Cheon. But as Baek Cheon, the great disciple of Mount Hua, he couldn’t step back now.
“I am the successor of Mount Hua!”
The tip of Baek Cheon’s sword started to draw plum blossoms.
Small plum blossoms.
These plum blossoms seemed too small and feeble to handle the fluttering demonic qi.
However, plum blossoms did not bloom alone. So, one after another.
The plum blossoms drawn by Baek Cheon were added to Yu Yiseol’s. Jo Gul and Yoon Jong’s plum blossoms, as well as Tang Soso’s desperate creation, overlapped.
“HUHHHHHHH!”
A massive plum forest emerged, like the springtime bloom on Mount Hua. It seemed as if the entire world was blanketed in plum blossoms alone.
Witnessing this magnificent scene, the high priest bit his lip so hard that blood began to trickle down.
‘That….’
How could he possibly forget?
This detestable, horrific sight.
In a mere moment, as if the entire world became adorned with plum blossoms, flowers burst into bloom… and then…
It seeped in.
The oblivious high priest seized the chest.
It was all because of the indelible memory he couldn’t move on from. It was akin to confronting the most despised individual in the ceaseless battle of blooming flowers as his heart was torn asunder.
‘Plum Blossom Sword Saint…’
The image of Plum Blossom Sword Saint slicing through his chest with cold eyes fascinated him.
“How dare…”
He clenched his teeth.
Anger surged through his body, igniting his white hair.
If he had halted Plum Blossom Sword Saint at that moment, the Heavenly Demon would not have soared to the heavens.
One hundred years of remorse. One hundred years of fury.
All the suppressed and contained rage suddenly erupted.
“Plum Blossom Sword Saint!”
He could say this now. They were the descendants of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, the ones he despised the most.
“I will kill all of you!”
Chaotic demonic qi started to gather, and soon, it began pouring down onto the disciples of Mount Hua.
Asura Heavenly Killing Demonic Strength, Fall of the Demon!
The high priests of the Demonic Sect had mastered this technique, and after 100 years, he was finally using it.
Hundreds of thousands of clumps of black demonic qi rushed at them.
The qi collided with the plum blossom forest that blanketed the world.
Rumble!
The majestic plum blossoms couldn’t withstand the relentless demonic qi and shattered.
“Kuak…”
Baek Cheon tightly clutched his sword, enduring the pain in his hand as he gritted his teeth.
He felt as though he would lose his mind at any moment under the immense pressure.
‘Endure it!’
He bit his tongue, trying to stay conscious. His sajaes stood behind him, unwavering. And beyond them, there was one person he could never afford to lose.
“I don’t care if I die here!”
But he would not back down!
“Amitabha!”
A golden wave of light rushed from behind, as the strength of Hae Yeon moved through the plum blossoms, creating a dazzling golden stream.
The black chaos.
Red plum blossoms.
And the golden light of dawn entwined and swirled around.
“Come and see! This damned bastarddddd!”
Baek Cheon’s loud shouts were overwhelmed by the deafening explosion that ensued.
Kwaaaaang!
The entangled qi erupted, causing a massive shockwave to ripple outward. Anything standing in its path was forcefully propelled away, and the entire ground soared into the sky.
“UHAHAHAHAH!”
Amidst the chaotic sight of the world crumbling, the high priest stood defiantly on his own two feet, succumbing to madness. Blood streamed down from his eyes, which had lost all rationality.
“The Second Coming of the Heavenly Demon!”
Entrusting himself to madness, he started smashing and crashing everything around, shaking the mountains.
“UHAHAHAHAH!”
The demonic qi sought to trample the world as if proclaiming the end of negotiations.
Jiiik!
‘What are you saying?’
Strange noises continued to come, an incomprehensible sound.
But… that was it. He no longer had the strength or desire to move his body and confirm the sound.
His mind was… completely blank.
Brrrr.
It appeared as though he was suspended in a vast abyss. It felt as if his body had been discarded. His strength drained away and continuously carried along.
Perhaps, just maybe, he would find tranquility if that bothersome noise ceased….
And then it happened.
“Ughhh!”
His fingertips tingled as excruciating pain shot through his body.
Without warning, Chung Myung’s eyes snapped open, and they peered into the emptiness before them. Gradually, his blurred vision began to clear.
‘… what is this…’
Was this some peculiar sound used as a form of greeting?
Fragments of broken rocks scattered from all sides, ice falling down like arrows. Chung Myung glanced at his hand, still feeling the pain.
Something white stained his hand, biting until it bled.
‘Baek Ah?’
Chung Myung, eyes blank, then lowered his gaze, the long marks on his body now so clear. Chung Myung looked at Baek Ah again.
“Kik!”
Comprehending an animal’s emotion would be challenging, but he appeared to grasp the beast’s message. The urgency in her voice was unmistakable.
The valley had descended.
The deranged high priest.
And…
The disciples of Mount Hua lay on his sides, wounded and bleeding.
Suddenly, it dawned on him.
“This…”
He gradually regained his senses and tightly gripped the sword he never parted with.
“The demon shall descend from the heavens!”
The high priest’s mad voice resonated.
“None of you unbelievers will survive this! The Heavenly Demon will purify the world and open a new heaven! You insignificant bugs, I will not even let you growl for mercy…”
Flinch.
At that moment, the high priest, consumed by insanity, had lost his temper and ceased his menacing darkness.
“What?”
He froze as if his body had become rigid. But even the high priest couldn’t fathom why he had abruptly halted his words.
Throb!
“Kuak…”
At that moment, the high priest clutched his chest as if trying to alleviate the sharp pain coursing through him. A frigid coldness seeped into his body from the icy surface encasing his chest.
It felt like an old wound had been reopened, akin to the first time the Plum Blossom Sword Saint had cleaved his chest open.
‘Why now, all of a sudden…’
The wound would not close.
It was a wound beyond the reach of any amount of faith. That was why it had been sealed with frost, to stave off further deterioration caused by the chilling cold.
He already knew that if he overdid it, the wound would open up and lead to death. Didn’t the messenger know and beg him to use the ice crystals he had and save his life instead of using them for the Heavenly Demon?
But he had never felt such intense pain before… throb!
“Kuak…”
The high priest, clutching his chest, tried to suppress the pain.
‘Did I overdo it?’
Other than that, he couldn’t find another reason. Biting his lips, the high priest glared at the disciples of Mount Hua in front of him.
‘Before the limit is exceeded, all of them should….’
But he couldn’t conclude his thoughts.
Creep.
He felt a shiver run down his spine. A chilling sensation, distinct from the frigid North Sea and icy crystals. Something that seemed more eerie than mere cold.
The head of the high priest turned to the side, and he noticed someone lying on the ground who was slowly getting up.
Perplexed, the high priest frowned, not understanding why he felt a sense of dread.
If that person was the same individual, why did he experience such horror? What in the world was happening for someone who was supposed to be dead to rise again?
Nevertheless, the high priest’s eyes widened in a way that seemed like they would tear. His pupils, tainted with a red demonic energy, shook.
The illusion of the past Plum Blossom Sword Saint seemed to be superimposed on this man who stood bloodied and wounded. It was reminiscent of the days when he slashed the chest of the high priest.
Incredible as it seemed, Chung Myung’s eyes widened, and he quickly rose to his feet, his gaze fixed and intense.
His eyes were icy and piercing, capable of freezing the heart of the high priest.
“You.”
A gloomy voice came as if returning from hell, escaping from the lips of Chung Myung.
“Do not anticipate a graceful death.”
Sword qi, like blood, gushed out from the tip of his sword.
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