Novelink Chapter 279 : Manifestation of the Inner Demon (1)
Chapter 279 : Manifestation of the Inner Demon (1)
Chapter 279: Manifestation of the Inner Demon (1)
Sewoon was alone, observing his inner self amid profound silence.
The Inner Demons that had gnawed at his soul had now completely vanished, and their place was filled with unwavering will and new enlightenment.
Amid this flood of realization, a faint question arose within Sewoon.
‘But I already achieved the Natural Body. So why does it feel as though my Dantian is merging once again?’
Even before advancing to a higher realm, everything within him had been in perfect harmony.
Back when he attained enlightenment from the Heavenly Demon and became one with the One.
That is, the wondrous sensation from when the Golden Heaven Harmonization Qi was first completed was manifesting once more.
‘Yes, there must have been something I overlooked.’
Yet the difference was unmistakable, and so Sewoon broke free from the state of self-obliteration and began to probe even deeper.
He closed his eyes and entrusted his consciousness completely to the circulation of the newly born, unknown power.
And then he felt it.
He saw it clearly.
Swaaaaah!
‘……What is that?’
Within the structure of this newly formed circulation, there was something that accepted everything, then expelled it again.
That intense current of circulation was not the flow of the Golden Heaven Harmonization Qi.
The form in which this unknown power manifested was as if—
‘Yes, it’s as if the universe itself is breathing.’
An unknown power embedded in the firmament was creating yet another vast universe that encompassed the Golden Heaven Harmonization Qi.
‘Ah!’
And only then, as he examined it in detail, did Sewoon finally identify the origin of all these changes.
The Heavenly Aperture.
That was right. The curse he had carried since birth had transformed into an entirely new form.
‘Ah… the realm I achieved before was not a truly perfect Natural Body!’
The Heavenly Demon’s words about lingering regret resurfaced belatedly in his mind.
But the nature of the Heavenly Aperture was now completely different from before.
It was no longer an obstacle that hindered his growth.
Swaaaaah!
Rather, it had become a new source of power, taking in all impurities that resided within his body and expelling them after transforming them into pure, renewed strength.
‘Ah…!’
Sewoon let out an involuntary sigh of awe.
He carefully examined his Heavenly Aperture.
The power he once believed to be a defect was now manifesting an ability that had never existed in the history of this world.
Like a passage connecting heaven and earth, the energy flowing into his body through the Heavenly Aperture was an extremely pure and alien force—one that could not even mingle with the Golden Heaven Harmonization Qi.
At that moment, Sewoon realized it instinctively.
‘This power does not belong to my world.’
No one else would be able to understand, but Sewoon felt it with absolute certainty.
The power emanating from the Heavenly Aperture was not of the martial world in which he lived, but rather the energy of an entirely different world.
Swaaaaah!
Kwa-ga-ga!
Even now, this unknown energy circulated in harmony without clashing with his Qi, presenting Sewoon with infinite possibilities.
‘If I could unite the Golden Heaven Harmonization Qi at full completion with the unknown power possessed by this Heavenly Aperture…!’
Would it mean surpassing even the ultimate limit of the Life and Death Realm, which he had once believed to be the end?
Sewoon’s eyes wavered.
Of course, it was still a distant path, one without even the smallest clue or spark in sight.
Yet it was a path he had to walk.
A realm beyond the Blood Demon.
That, without question, was the new goal Sewoon had to pursue.
‘It’s time I go to you now.’
There was no hesitation or doubt left in his resolve.
Only fierce fighting spirit directed toward the Blood Demon filled his heart.
He was no longer a child shackled by vengeance.
And thus, Sewoon truly became the Blue Sky Martial Emperor.
At that same time, in another part of the Central Plains.
Anhui, where the headquarters of the White Path Union was located, had fallen into a state of despair.
The Blood Cult’s unstoppable advance showed no sign of slowing.
From Shanxi, the combined assault of the North Sea Ice Palace and the Blood Cult’s demonic practitioners poured forth endlessly, and after Hebei, even Shandong and Jiangsu fell into enemy hands.
Now, the Blood Cult’s martial artists had reached the very doorstep of Anhui and were charging madly toward the White Path Union.
It was only thanks to Henan’s narrow victory with the aid of the Shaolin Temple that the situation had not already reached total annihilation.
But there was nothing to be done.
Namgung Myeong—the leader of the White Path Union and one of the greatest masters in the martial world—had yet to show himself.
As Namgung Myeong, whom everyone firmly believed would save them in this dire situation, failed to appear, people’s expectations gradually turned into anger and resentment.
“What in the world is the Namgung Clan doing?! If the leader won’t step forward in such a disastrous situation, what are we supposed to do?!”
“Namgung Myeong! Are you truly the vanguard of the White Path? How can you act so cowardly…!”
“You despicable coward who has abandoned the martial world’s code of righteousness!!”
The people’s fury grew beyond control.
Their disappointment and resentment shook the entirety of Anhui City.
Yet there was no time even to vent that anger.
Even as they spoke, countless people were dying under the relentless assaults of the demonic practitioners.
And so, people naturally began to seek another hope.
“The Dark Heaven Death Venerable—no, the one now called the Blue Sky Martial Emperor—personally steps onto the battlefield and fights, shedding blood and sweat!”
“That’s right! The Blue Sky Martial Emperor of the Paetcheon Association never abandoned the weak and saved everyone!”
“We don’t need so-called prestigious sects anymore! Our focal point now is only the Blue Sky Martial Emperor!”
The criticism once aimed at Namgung Myeong transformed into praise directed at the Blue Sky Martial Emperor of the Paetcheon Association.
Everyone in the martial world was now looking to Sewoon—not Namgung Myeong—for hope.
‘Haah… what in the world am I supposed to do about this?’
Namgung Baek let out a deep sigh.
Anxiety was clearly etched across his face.
At the foot of a mountain not far from the White Path Union’s headquarters.
Shrouded in thick clouds and mist, he stood before a secret cave sealed shut by a massive boulder.
This was the hiding place of his father, Namgung Myeong—the man everyone in the White Path Union was desperately searching for.
Since leaving Sewoon and arriving here, Namgung Baek had come to this place dozens of times a day, knocking on the sealed entrance, but all that ever greeted him was cold silence.
Yet once more, refusing to give up, Namgung Baek slowly stepped forward before the boulder.
“Father, please… I beg you to heed my words.”
Namgung Baek raised his voice again, infusing it with Qi. His voice was filled with desperate sincerity.
“The Chairman of the Paetcheon Association said that anyone who personally sees the Blood Demon will unknowingly acquire Inner Demons. I begged him and brought the means to treat it, so please… open the door.”
For Namgung Baek’s sake, Sewoon set aside past matters, if only briefly, and sent along a Treasure Weapon capable of curing Namgung Myeong’s Inner Demons.
However, Namgung Myeong gave no response whatsoever.
‘There’s no time….’
Namgung Baek’s heart grew frantic.
His father, Namgung Myeong, was unmistakably a master of the Manifestation Realm.
If he were to have a change of heart and return to the battlefield, he could play a decisive role in the war against the Blood Cult.
Because of that, Namgung Baek clung to the faint hope that his father could still change and attempted to persuade him once more.
‘Please…!’
Yet regrettably, the tightly sealed boulder still offered no answer.
“You worm-like bastard! You think you can dare deceive me with such pathetic tricks?! Do you really think I’d fall for that!!”
A voice filled with nothing but Frenzied Madness echoed through the cave.
Namgung Baek’s desperate pleas did not reach Namgung Myeong’s ears at all.
That was because Namgung Myeong, having fallen into Inner Demons, was arbitrarily twisting everything he heard.
After directly facing the Blood Demon, Namgung Myeong had been reduced to the state of a complete wreck.
His hair had turned white like that of a rustic peasant, and his eyes had lost all vitality, filled only with anxiety and terror.
“That Yoo Jinhak bastard’s disciple helping me? That’s absurd! He must have hidden poison meant to kill me!!”
His mind was half gone.
After all, he had personally witnessed Sewoon and Yoo Jinhak fighting the Blood Demon in Shaanxi.
The memory of that day dyed his soul in horrific fear.
The sight of Yoo Jinhak charging at the Blood Demon even after losing an arm and an eye.
And in stark contrast to that unbroken figure swinging his sword at the enemy, his own pitiful self, unable to move even a single step.
“Ugh, uaaah!! Get away from me!!”
Suddenly, Namgung Myeong swung his sword wildly at the empty air.
It no longer resembled the Imperial Sword Forms that were the pride of the Namgung Clan—rather, it looked like the flailing blade of a Third Rate Martial Artist.
Within his mind, dreadful visions of the heavens tearing apart and the earth splitting open replayed endlessly.
Amid those visions, he keenly realized just how insignificant he was.
The Martial Might he had built over an entire lifetime was nothing more than a single insect before the transcendent existence known as the Blood Demon.
‘Fighting that monster is suicide! That’s right! Instead of doing something so foolish, I should cling to life, grow stronger somehow, and fight later!’
As long as he stayed alive, he told himself, he might one day reach a higher realm.
Thus, Namgung Myeong comforted himself and tried to avert his eyes from all that fear.
He rationalized his own cowardice.
Yet Namgung Myeong knew.
No matter how much effort he made, no matter what sacrifices he offered—
He would never be able to raise his sword against the Blood Demon.
Deceiving himself in that way, he hid deep within the cave.
Turning away from all the condemnation and despair of the martial world, he thought only of his own survival.
His body was safe, but his soul was already dying.
Swaaaaah!
At that moment, the sound of a chilling wind echoed from the depths of the secret cave.
Namgung Myeong felt a shiver run down his spine.
But he soon shook his head and headed toward the water inside the cave to moisten his throat.
As he bent down—
“Uaaah!!”
Namgung Myeong stumbled backward in sheer panic.
He trembled like an aspen and let out a piercing scream.
Slap! Slap!
He even struck his own cheeks repeatedly, trying to wake himself from a nightmare.
“No. No. This is an illusion! It’s a lie!!”
Sssss—
The water he was about to drink turned blood-red.
It was a delusion.
Such a thing could never happen.
This place was the very heart of the White Path Union. Moreover, it was the safest space imaginable, layered with countless formations.
…Yet contrary to his desperate wish.
—So this is where you fled and hid.
The voice he never wanted to hear.
The voice he had planned to flee from for the rest of his life.
“A… ah.”
A clear voice rang by his ear.
Namgung Myeong was seized by terror.
Tears streamed down his face.
With trembling eyes, he looked at the surface of the water once more.
Reflected there was a horrifying Crimson Moon, dyed completely in blood.
And standing before it—
The figure of the Blood Demon.
“H-how…?!”
Namgung Myeong could not finish his sentence.
He had never imagined that the Blood Demon would come all the way to his hiding place.
At that moment, the Blood Demon fixed him with eyes filled with eerie light.
Swaaaaah!
The overwhelming pressure pouring from him crushed everything that Namgung Myeong was.
Then, he spoke words no one could have anticipated.
—I have come to find my retainer.
Despair settled into Namgung Myeong’s eyes.