Fist Demon of Mount Hua ( Novel ) - Chapter 229
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Chapter 229 – Even a carefully built tower can collapse in an instant (1)
“Keuk! How on earth did the defense perimeter get breached?”
“We don’t have time for such idle talk now. Move quickly.”
“Yes, Master.”
Cho Yeon-woon and Jang Il-san rushed outside at the sudden commotion.
“Lord!”
“Senior!”
Outside, the warriors of Hundred Battles Sect had already gathered.
Jang Il-san shouted at them.
“There’s no time. Yeon-woon, lead the disciples to check the internal defenses, and the rest will come with me to fend off the external attack.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Understood!”
Cho Yeon-woon and the disciples of Hundred Battles Sect answered in unison.
As Jang Il-san and his disciples ran outside, Cho Yeon-woon and his juniors rushed towards the inner sanctum of the Shouzhou branch.
Cho Yeon-woon gritted his teeth. In his hand was the Hundred Battles Victory Banner.
This was the first battle under the Hundred Battles Victory Banner. He couldn’t afford to look unsightly.
Just then.
“Cho Yeon-woon.”
Shuaang!
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out along with an intense sword energy. Cho Yeon-woon, unflustered, unleashed the Eight Desolate Divine Fist towards the sword energy.
Pueong!
The sword energy dissipated as it collided with the fist energy.
Cho Yeon-woon’s gaze turned towards the one who had launched the sword energy.
“You are?”
“It’s been a while.”
The man who had launched the sword energy answered coldly.
The man with an icy expression was none other than Jo Ja-gyeong, the leader of the Heaven-Turning Squad.
The Heaven-Turning Squad was positioned around Jo Ja-gyeong. Having clashed with them once before, Cho Yeon-woon’s disciples couldn’t help but be tense.
“Jo Ja-gyeong, was it?”
“You still remember.”
A look of tension appeared on Cho Yeon-woon’s face.
Jo Ja-gyeong was the strongest opponent he had ever fought.
“How did you…?”
“I came looking for you.”
“For me?”
“You’re the only opponent I couldn’t settle things with.”
“For such a foolish reason?”
Cho Yeon-woon briefly wore an expression of disbelief.
An important battle that would determine the fate of the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult was taking place. The Demonic Cult sought to establish a demonic world by overthrowing the Murim Alliance, while the Murim Alliance aimed to defeat the Demonic Cult and establish justice in the martial world.
To bring up personal grudges in such a crucial battle?
“Are you insane?”
“Hmph!”
Jo Ja-gyeong snorted at Cho Yeon-woon’s incredulous words. His eyes brimmed with killing intent.
Jo Ja-gyeong pointed his sword at Cho Yeon-woon.
“Only one of us will survive here today, Cho Yeon-woon.”
“Damn it!”
Cho Yeon-woon clenched his teeth.
Even at this moment, fierce battles were raging throughout the Shouzhou branch. It was frustrating to be held back by Jo Ja-gyeong at such a critical time.
However, Cho Yeon-woon soon changed his mind. After all, Jo Ja-gyeong was also a warrior of the Demonic Cult. And one holding a very important position at that. Perhaps facing Jo Ja-gyeong wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Very well.”
With that answer, Cho Yeon-woon thrust the Hundred Battles Victory Banner into the ground with all his might.
Kwang!
With a thunderous sound, the Hundred Battles Victory Banner was deeply embedded in the ground.
As the wind blew, the massive flag fluttered, displaying its tremendous majesty.
The moment he confirmed the reality of the flag, Jo Ja-gyeong’s face hardened like a stone statue.
To the warriors of the Demonic Cult, the Hundred Battles Victory Banner was a symbol of humiliation. This was no different for Jo Ja-gyeong.
“How fortunate. That flag… I’ll tear it to shreds.”
“Try if you can.”
Cho Yeon-woon wiggled his fingers.
His figure, standing tall under the Hundred Battles Victory Banner, was reminiscent of a war god.
“Chaat!”
Jo Ja-gyeong kicked off the ground and charged. The sword in his hand emitted a dazzling light.
The Battle Sword Flow.
Among the numerous branches of the Demonic Cult, this sword technique was said to shine particularly bright in actual combat, and it was now unleashed towards Cho Yeon-woon.
Jjeoeong!
With the clash of the two as a signal, the warriors of Hundred Battles Sect and the Heaven-Turning Squad collided.
***
While the Shouzhou branch was in extreme chaos due to the Demonic Cult’s invasion, Eum Yu-gyeong raised her head to look at the sky.
She saw a kite that had achieved its purpose flying away freely.
“Demonic Heaven Practitioner has moved.”
Sang Han-cheon possessed several highly secretive military units within the Demonic Cult. Unlike ordinary warriors, they specialized in only one or two fields.
Infiltrating through the air using kites, or digging tunnels to create secret passages, were not difficult tasks for them.
The basic plan of Sang Han-cheon was to have these units secretly infiltrate enemy territory to cause internal chaos, and then attack from the outside in response.
The issue was the timing of the raid. Eum Yu-gyeong thought the raid would take place a few days later. In fact, Sang Han-cheon had told Eum Yu-gyeong the same thing.
“Yet they moved this quickly, does this mean they still don’t trust me?”
A dark shadow fell over Eum Yu-gyeong’s face.
She had expected it to some extent, but when the suspicion actually manifested, her heart felt unbearably heavy. Even for Eum Yu-gyeong, the Holy Maiden, Sang Han-cheon was a formidable existence. Especially the fact that she couldn’t read his true intentions at all weighed heavily on her mind.
“In this situation, I must secure the sacred object without fail.”
She had already discovered the whereabouts of Sage Taeul and the Xuandao Sect. It was just that the security was too tight to approach.
Eum Yu-gyeong unleashed the Ethereal Mist Technique. This was a secret divine technique of the Demonic Cult that concealed one’s true body and presence in the atmosphere.
As Eum Yu-gyeong moved with her lightness technique while hiding her appearance with the Empty Spirit Cloud Mist Technique, her eyes took in the sight of numerous corpses and people fighting.
Corpses formed mountains, and the blood they shed formed streams. The Shouzhou branch, which had been full of vitality just a few hours ago, was now deeply shrouded in the aura of death.
Far more warriors of the Murim Alliance had died compared to those of the Demonic Cult. Eum Yu-gyeong’s heart was not at ease as she observed this scene.
Although they fought due to different ideologies and affiliations, the warriors of the Murim Alliance were still people.
‘How long can a divine cult’s holy war, built upon the corpses of so many, be sustained?’
Human grudges are not easily forgotten even after decades or centuries. Moreover, grudges built on blood do not disappear even after several generations. This tendency was especially strong among martial artists who had cultivated their skills.
They couldn’t continue a fight that would never end. To prevent such a worst-case scenario, the sacred object was necessary.
Eum Yu-gyeong increased her speed and arrived at the place where Sage Taeul and the warriors of the Xuandao Sect were staying.
“Stop them!”
“Yaaah!”
An intense battle was already taking place there.
Black shadows who had infiltrated the Shouzhou branch riding kites were attacking the Xuandao disciples and Sage Taeul.
Eum Yu-gyeong immediately recognized their identity.
‘The Phantom Demon Squad.’
It was a secret military organization under Sang Han-cheon.
Everything about the Phantom Demon Squad was shrouded in absolute secrecy. Only Sang Han-cheon knew how many there were and what their backgrounds were.
For a warrior with combat prowess like Eum Yu-gyeong, dealing with one or two members of the Phantom Demon Squad wasn’t too difficult. But when five or more of them gathered, it was a different story.
The Phantom Demon Squad was a group whose collective power increased dramatically when they worked together, more so than their individual strengths. Above all, the warriors of the Phantom Demon Squad did not fear death.
Every human feared standing at the crossroads of life and death. That was the instinct of living beings. But such a thing did not exist in the Phantom Demon Squad.
If Sang Han-cheon ordered them to cut off their arms, they would do so without hesitation, and if ordered to die, they would jump into a fire pit without hesitation.
That was the Phantom Demon Squad.
The Phantom Demon Squad charged towards the Xuandao disciples like moths unafraid of death.
Kwaddeuk!
The eerie sound of flesh being torn and bones breaking echoed.
If swords didn’t work, they would throw their bodies into the fight – that was the way of the Phantom Demon Squad. As a result, only horribly mutilated corpses remained where they had passed.
At that moment, there was a warrior emitting an intense aura.
“How dare the heretics of the demonic path come here. You must be crazy to want to die.”
With an angry voice, the old warrior wielding a famous sword inlaid with seven-colored jewels was none other than Sage Taeul, the leader of the Xuandao Gate.
Shwaaak!
Every time he swung his sword, sharp sword energy extended out.
Even in the face of the terrifying sword energy that cleanly cut through pillars and shattered walls like thin paper, the Phantom Demon Squad was not intimidated at all.
Kakakakakang!
Five swords simultaneously blocked Sage Taeul’s sword energy. A single sword would have been cut by Sage Taeul’s sword energy, but when five swords and internal energy combined, they blocked it without much difficulty.
Sage Taeul’s eyebrows twitched.
“How dare you!”
Filled with rage, he lifted his body into the air.
The Southern Sky Sword in his hand spewed out fan-like sword energy.
Kiiaaaa!
A ghostly wail rang out as the seven-colored sword energy, seemingly mixed with seven different lights, cut through the air.
In that instant, the bodies of over ten Phantom Demon Squad members exposed to the seven-colored sword energy froze like stone statues. The sharp ghostly wail had stimulated their eardrums, momentarily robbing them of their sense of balance.
Seongdung!
The seven-colored sword energy cut through their bodies and passed.
For a moment, the Phantom Demon Squad members stood dazed, then red lines appeared on their bodies as if drawn by a brush. Blood flowed along the red lines, and then their bodies split in two and collapsed.
It was the technique of Returning to Heaven Demonic Shadow.
As the ultimate technique of the Cold Light Demon-Subduing Sword, the highest martial art of the Xuandao Sect, it had the effect of subduing all evil spirits.
Sage Taeul continuously unleashed the Returning to Heaven Demonic Shadow technique. Every time the fan-like seven-colored sword energy extended out, a Phantom Demon Squad member inevitably lost their life. Yet, the Phantom Demon Squad members charged towards SageTaeul without hesitation.
Sage Taeul’s eyes flashed ominously at their disregard for their own lives.
“They’re just like those guys.”
Suddenly, the memory of that day came to mind.
That time thirty years ago when he had invaded the holy land of the Demonic Cult.
Back then, similar beings had blocked him. Those who did not fear death at all, like lifeless puppets.
The only difference from those he was facing now was that these current opponents seemed a bit more complete.
They were more vicious and stronger. And smarter too. The ones he had faced thirty years ago had charged in recklessly as if unaware of the concept of joint attacks, but the ones he was facing now skillfully coordinated their attacks.
“Wicked Demonic Cult members. It doesn’t matter how many of you come at me. Today, I will kill you all and establish justice in the martial world.”
He raised the Southern Sky Sword high. The seven-colored jewels embedded in the sword emitted light.
At that moment, Eum Yu-gyeong’s eyes flickered.
‘Could it be?’
She launched her body towards Sage Taeul.
Tak! Tak!
With just two leaps, Eum Yu-gyeong reached right in front of Sage Taeul, and her sword was fiercely drawn.
Shwaaak!
Her sword aimed for Sage Taeul’s wrist. Greatly angered by this,Sage Taeul shouted and created a sword barrier.
“You wretched woman! How dare you ambush me.”
Jjeoeong!
Eum Yu-gyeong’s sword was deflected. But she skillfully moved her wrist and swung her sword again.
Her sword aimed for Sage Taeul’s vital points.
Shuuuu!
The Falling Moon Divine Sword, passed down only to the Holy Maiden, was unleashed.
Sage Taeul momentarily felt a dizzying sense of isolation, as if heaven and earth were trapped in the sword shadow, and his body trembled.
In that moment, a sword energy resembling a falling moon descended towards Sage Taeul.
Kwaaang!
Dust rose, and Sage Taeul was flung back with a stifled groan. His complexion was deathly pale, suggesting he had suffered no small internal injury.
Eum Yu-gyeong followed up, striking his chest with a palm strike and twisting his wrist.
“Kuhek!”
Sage Taeul coughed up blood and lost his grip on the Southern Sky Sword.
Eum Yu-gyeong snatched the Southern Sky Sword with her golden thread technique and disappeared from Sage Taeul’s sight in an instant.
“No, it can’t be!”
Sage Taeul’s desperate cry at suddenly losing his sect’s treasure echoed throughout the hall. But his cry was soon drowned out by the Phantom Demon Squad.
Shortly after Eum Yu-gyeong disappeared, someone walked out of the darkness.
It was a man in his early forties wearing a blue robe. The man with a particularly striking pale complexion, as if he had never been exposed to sunlight in his life, was none other than Sang Han-cheon of the Demon Sky Water Division.
“Hmm!”
He gazed meaningfully in the direction where Eum Yu-gyeong had disappeared.