Chapter 1824 – 1824. Ascending To The Light
As Baekran had said, I followed the trickling water.
The thought of obtaining the Heavenly Demon Divine Art made my body start to tremble with excitement.
‘Come to think of it, the story is quite different from [I Woke Up and Became a Heavenly Demon]. Well, it can’t be helped.’
The original work of the possessed Heavenly Demon was set in a martial arts world. But the setting of this world is Xianxia. That alone was a difference.
‘It seems like Cheon Yu-un’s personality has become more sinister, maybe he got a Xianxia buff.’
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art would be even stronger than in the original work.
Before I knew it, the trickling water stopped. I hadn’t walked for long. About 40 steps, if you counted. I looked closely at the ground.
The flowing water was going into a small hole in the ground.
[Opening the Heavenly Eye.]
I used my Heavenly Eye to see through the ground and look below. As expected, there was a space. The water continued to flow underground.
‘This is an artificially made passage.’
An artificial underground facility. This must be the real Heavenly Demon Tomb. I had found the right place.
‘There’s a cleverly hidden door. It’s okay since I can open the door with force… but there’s too much water.’
It wasn’t just any water. Water with condensed Yin energy was constantly flowing in the underground passage. If I let my guard down for a moment, my whole body could freeze to death.
‘This much danger is nothing to obtain the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
I put my fingers into the recessed floor. I pushed in my Qi to strengthen my fingers and lifted the door, which was over 30cm thick. The underground was dark. I could continue to see through it using my Heavenly Eye, but it constantly consumed my energy.
I took out a flashlight from my inventory and went down. I stepped on the floor, being careful not to touch the flowing water.
Crack! Sizzle! Crack!
The electromagnetic barrier and the Yin energy collided. Because the lightning energy was frozen, I had no choice but to increase the output of the electromagnetic barrier. Then, it became a level that I could withstand.
‘The energy consumption has increased several times. If I hesitate, I’ll freeze to death.’
Wearing more clothes wouldn’t help. This Yin energy would penetrate clothes without any problem. Even the Black Tiger Robe I was wearing couldn’t block this terrible Yin energy.
I walked along the passage, following the flowing water.
Crunch!
The flashlight shattered. The Yin energy had even invaded the flashlight. The flashlight didn’t have a body as tough as mine, so it couldn’t be helped.
[Opening the Heavenly Eye.]
It was clear that if I took out a new flashlight, it would just break again, so I decided to just use my Heavenly Eye. I slightly increased my walking speed.
A stone chamber appeared. It was a fairly large stone chamber. In the center of the chamber was a circular floor, and around it, water was flowing in a circle.
‘Is the water flowing somewhere inside and then flowing back here? Anyway, there’s a lot of water. I think I need to go to the center… but the Yin energy is too severe. Even I’m not confident that I can last more than an hour.’
I decided not to go to the center for now and looked around. There were coffins standing against the walls. The coffins were dark and had old talismans attached to them haphazardly.
There were a total of 13 coffins. Each coffin had a number written on its surface. However, instead of one (一), it was written as “First” (初).
The meaning was obvious. The body of the first Heavenly Demon was enshrined in those coffins.
‘There can’t be only 13 Heavenly Demons in history. The current Heavenly Demon is the 21st. There should be 20 coffins.’
Looking at the numbers, they weren’t in a continuous sequence, and some were missing here and there.
‘There are seven Heavenly Demon corpses that haven’t been recovered. Should I say that’s more than I thought….’
I had arrived at my destination. But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see any books that looked like martial arts manuals.
‘Looking at those coffins, they’re sealed with talismans. The probability of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art being inside the coffins is low.’
In the first place, if they were simply going to put the Heavenly Demon Divine Art inside a coffin, there would be no need to come to a place like this to obtain it.
The round floor in the center was perfect for sitting. The coffins were attached to the wall, surrounding it. If you had any sense, you couldn’t not know what to do.
I walked towards the center of the flowing water.
Sizzle, crackle, sizzle!
As expected, the Yin energy was incredibly strong compared to other places. Just walking to the center was making the electromagnetic barrier shake.
I gritted my teeth.
‘Even I, who am at the peak of the Five Qi Realm, am having a hard time enduring it… Cheon Yu-un came in when he was weaker than me and obtained the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. How?’
The difference between me and Cheon Yu-un.
Cheon Yu-un was the 21st Heavenly Demon, a direct descendant of the current Heavenly Demon. A golden spoon among golden spoons.
‘Cheon Yu-un was a golden spoon in the original work too, so he received all sorts of elixirs.’
The electromagnetic barrier couldn’t withstand the Yin energy and disappeared. The intense Yin energy penetrated my body. Even using my lightning energy to the maximum to resist the Yin energy wasn’t enough. My body trembled from the cold I felt. As soon as I arrived at the center, I sat cross-legged and chanted the Lightning Heaven Art.
‘This is a temporary measure. Cheon Yu-un probably ate an elixir containing Yang energy. Then I should also take an elixir containing Yang energy. It’s not like I don’t have any elixirs.’
That was the only way to be safe from this damn Yin energy.
I took out the elixirs I had collected from my spatial storage.
Most of them were of poor quality, but there were over 200 elixirs. Among them was the Myriad Lightning Divine Pill, but I excluded it from the list. It was too precious to take now.
‘…Should I take a gamble this time?’
To swallow all the elixirs. Instead of resisting this Yin energy, could I use it to reach the Three Essences Realm?
‘If I fail, I’ll die from Qi deviation… but I have complete recovery.’
I first took the Water Spirit Crystal, which I had obtained most recently. This elixir, which had the energy of water, would protect my body from the massive amount of energy, even if only a little.
Munch, munch.
I kept putting the elixirs in my mouth, chewing, and swallowing. There were over 200 elixirs, so it was quite a task. After somehow eating all the elixirs, my energy exploded and became stronger. To the point where I couldn’t even feel the terrible Yin energy.
‘My body was already saturated even before eating the elixirs. This is a temporary phenomenon. The Yin energy is balancing it out, but if I make even a small mistake, my body won’t be able to withstand the energy and will burst like a balloon.’
I calmed my breathing and chanted the Lightning Heaven Art….
‘No, wait a minute. I didn’t come here to train in the Lightning Heaven Style.’
I came to obtain the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Even after coming this far, those coffins weren’t reacting. There was only one way to stimulate them.
‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
I pushed the lightning energy that was flowing through my body deep into my dantian and released the dormant demonic energy. The demonic energy was rougher than the lightning energy. It wasn’t as fast as the lightning energy, but it was stronger.
A dark energy slowly seeped out of my body as I sat cross-legged. The demonic energy pushed away the Yin energy and reached the coffins.
Rattle! Rattle!
The coffins standing against the wall shook all at once. As if responding to the demonic energy, demonic energy also flowed out of the coffins. It was a demonic energy that was similar to but different from the demonic energy I possessed.
-I can feel good quality demonic energy….
-The 22nd hasn’t even visited yet, and the 23rd is already here?
-Has something happened to the Demonic Cult?!
-Could it be that the Emperor is after the Heavenly Demon Cult?!
-Be quiet. Show the dignity of a Heavenly Demon.
The demonic energy that came out of the coffins each took the form of a person. A total of 13 past Heavenly Demons appeared in the air and looked down at me. Among them, the one who caught my eye was the man in the center. A man with neatly combed white hair and a white beard. He was clearly old, but his face had no wrinkles.
I knew it instinctively.
He was the first Heavenly Demon.
-First One, this one is strange.
-This child is not of the Cheon clan….
-There is no law that a Heavenly Demon must be of the Cheon clan. If they have the talent, what does the clan matter! Is there a separate lineage for kings and generals!
-Shut up! The blood of the Cheon family is the most precious! This one is not qualified to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
-Be quiet. What we need to see is whether this person has the talent for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
-Isn’t the talent sufficient? This one is already walking the path of the demon. I don’t know what kind of demonic art he has learned, but it is comparable to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
-Comparable to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Are you crazy?
-I agree. This one is qualified to become a Heavenly Demon. Not only is he walking the path of the demon, but I can also feel the energy of the stars. I don’t know which star it is… but it’s the energy of a star that is definitely not weak. Perhaps like the First One….
-…….
When the word “First One” came out, the Heavenly Demons who had been talking loudly closed their mouths. They all respected the First One. The beginning of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the greatest Heavenly Demon.
-First One. This one may have the talent, but he is not qualified. In the first place, it hasn’t been long since Cheon Yu-un received the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. This one does not have the Heavenly Demon Jade. He might just be a grave robber who has invaded our tomb without permission.
-First One, if we only look at talent, he is the best ever. Look at how he perfectly controls that fierce demonic energy. The mental strength to overcome the demonic nature of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and even the energy of the stars. He has talent comparable to the First One. He might even be able to surpass that arrogant Emperor.
-We must look at talent, not bloodline. The Heavenly Demon must be the best, and this one might be able to rule the whole world.
-No. We must not pass on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to someone whose lineage we don’t know!
Just as their debate was about to escalate again, the First Heavenly Demon raised his left hand. Everyone closed their mouths as if they had been waiting for it.
-I will ask you.
The past Demon Lord asked me a question.
-What is it that you desire?
I, who was circulating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, found it difficult to open my mouth right away. If I forced myself to open my mouth and answer now, I would most likely suffer internal injuries. I might even die.
But I had a feeling that if I kept my mouth shut here, these guys wouldn’t pass on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to me.
I forced my mouth open.
“Heavenly Demon.”
-Ho?
“Only I, am the Heavenly Demon!”
-How insolent!
-Are you daring to deny us now?!
-How arrogant, how arrogant!
-As expected, this one is not qualified….
-Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
While everyone was frowning, only the First Heavenly Demon burst into laughter. He laughed as if he was very pleased, and then reached out his hand towards me.
-I must see your heart. If your ambition is a lie, you will pay the price.
I did not refuse him.
The 13 Heavenly Demons entered me.
