## Chapter 2118 – 2118. The Ascent To The Light
“The final participants have arrived.”
The first thing I heard upon crossing the rippling space was the voice of a bald old man. He wore a worn-out monk’s robe and was wrapped in prayer beads, as if sealed by them.
“And who are you?”
I felt an instinctive revulsion towards the old monk.
“Heh heh. Mara. Surely you recognize my identity? I am one of the three who initiated this ritual, the lingering thought of the Great Master Myunghon.”
“Is that so? I feel like killing you.”
I used the light of the Heavenly Star.
What I needed was the power of the Killing Star.
The power to kill anything.
The expression on Great Master Myunghon’s face hardened like stone as he felt the power of the Killing Star. Even Sima Ryung stared at me with wide eyes.
“Mara has obtained the power of the Killing Star… No, the Killing Star does not exist in the heavens. Is the Heavenly Star shining upon the fate of a demon? It is the end of days.”
“Is that all your last words?”
“Mara, calm yourself. I cannot harm you. If you were to truly kill me, the ritual might end here. Did you not come to Domyungsan for something you desire?”
“Seeing you makes me feel like Domyungsan itself is a trap. Why are you, mere remnants of the dead, even appearing? To steal the rewards of Domyungsan?”
“To oversee the ritual. There were three of us at the beginning, and we lacked much to carry out the ritual of Domyungsan. So, we decided to pay a price. Domyungsan leaves behind a part of its laws and thoughts every thousand years to help the ritual proceed smoothly!”
“You’re spouting incomprehensible nonsense.”
Just as I was about to punch the bald monk to death, Sima Ryung grabbed my shoulder.
“Great Hero. Great Master Myunghon’s words are not wrong. If Great Master Myunghon disappears here, the ritual might fail. The ritual of Domyungsan, which opens every thousand years, is probably for cause and effect.”
“Indeed, you are a skilled sorcerer. To complete Domyungsan, we had to draw upon the cause and effect and karma of the future.”
I suppressed my killing intent. I still didn’t like it, but… if Sima Ryung was right, killing him now could ruin everything.
“Hey, bald monk. What do we have to do in this space?”
“Mara, look around you. This is right below the summit of Domyungsan. Do you see the path in the center? It is the path to the summit. It is not an illusion or a trick.”
I looked around. The mountain’s altitude was indeed high. When I looked around, I saw something like fog… but it was clouds.
The entrance to the path leading to the summit was blocked by five-colored clouds.
“There are some bastards guarding the path.”
“Those five-colored clouds will dissipate in two hours. Only the three who reach the summit first can enjoy the miracle of Domyungsan. The end of the ritual is near.”
“So, it’s a first-come, first-served basis.”
“Originally, you would have to fight until only three remained… but this time, Domyungsan has gathered its sacrifices well.”
I opened my Heavenly Eye and identified the three guarding the entrance. One of them was a familiar face.
A huge middle-aged man. He had an unusually large amount of body hair. He wore clothes made of hides that looked like they belonged to a leopard or a tiger.
‘Mountain King Baek Oh-cheol. The two next to him must be his brothers.’
The brothers were nothing special. They hadn’t reached the Upper Stage of the Three Essences.
However, the Mountain King was an absolute master of the Upper Stage of the Three Essences. He was not someone to be ignored.
‘Mountain King Baek Oh-cheol is said to have grown stronger by devouring the previous Mountain King. Is he really that strong?’
I was only at the First Stage of the Three Essences, while Baek Oh-cheol was at the Upper Stage. The difference in level was overwhelming.
‘But I don’t feel like I’ll lose.’
Great Master Myunghon’s presence disappeared. He literally evaporated, and I couldn’t tell where he had gone. It wasn’t particularly important.
I spread my senses. My senses expanded, detecting familiar and unfamiliar auras.
‘Most of the auras I feel are just riffraff.’
A familiar aura approached. It was Sung Ji-gon.
“Yujin!”
I turned to Sung Ji-gon, who was approaching, and was shocked. He was holding the nape of the neck of the armless and legless Ghostly Black Water. The Ghostly Black Water was staring blankly into the air. There was no focus in her eyes.
Sima Ryung, who was next to me, was also shocked.
“The Ghostly Black Water’s upper dantian is damaged. What on earth happened?”
Sung Ji-gon placed the Ghostly Black Water on the ground and gave a bitter smile.
“I didn’t want to do this either. It would have been nice if we could have talked it out… but she wouldn’t reflect at all. So, I did as my heart led me. Honestly, she’s at the Three Essences level, right? So, I thought she could handle it… but she couldn’t.”
The higher the level, the stronger the mental fortitude. That was true. But it didn’t mean that one would have a transcendent mental fortitude that transcended humanity. Even if one’s level was high, they were still human. There was bound to be a limit to their mental fortitude.
“…You violated the Ghostly Black Water?”
Sima Ryung looked back and forth between Sung Ji-gon and the Ghostly Black Water with disbelief.
Sung Ji-gon nodded with an innocent face.
“Yes. At first, I didn’t intend to. Since she betrayed us, I was just going to punish her a little and then appease her. If she sincerely reflected, I could have forgiven her once. But the Ghostly Black Water didn’t reflect at all. So, I violated her as a form of punishment.”
“……What?”
“After violating her once, I cut off her arms and legs. I had to because she was trying to use her sorcery. If she had sincerely reflected and apologized there, I could have treated her well… but the Ghostly Black Water treated me like a madman until the end. So, I had no choice. Since she treated me like a madman until the end, I had no choice but to become a madman. I kept violating the Ghostly Black Water… and she broke down. Now she can’t even control her bowel movements.”
Was the reason she couldn’t control her bowel movements due to mental shock? Or was it due to physical shock? I somehow felt it was the latter.
“My goodness. That Ghostly Black Water….”
“My heart aches. I wonder if it’s because I got too excited in the middle that the Ghostly Black Water ended up like this….”
Sima Ryung looked at Sung Ji-gon with eyes that saw something bizarre, then composed himself and said,
“Great Hero Sung Ji-gon did nothing wrong. The Ghostly Black Water is a criminal who has destroyed an innocent city before. Even if she dies, no one will pity her. I am not in a position to say anything about this matter. So… I will keep this matter to myself.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Sima Clan Head.”
I asked Sung Ji-gon,
“What are you going to do with the Ghostly Black Water?”
“Since I made her like this, I have to take responsibility until the end. The Ghostly Black Water will never run wild as a corpse sorcerer again.”
The Ghostly Black Water had become Sung Ji-gon’s onahole. In Sung Ji-gon’s eyes as he looked at the Ghostly Black Water, there was both pity and lust.
‘I see what happened. Sung Ji-gon failed at breaking her.’
The Ghostly Black Water was a woman who was different from the old women Sung Ji-gon had dealt with so far. She was fundamentally hostile. Sung Ji-gon couldn’t break the Ghostly Black Water’s tremendous stubbornness. Since she didn’t have the same pleasure enhancement as me, pleasure training would have been difficult. When you get old, your libido disappears.
Anyway, what was important now was the path that would open in two hours.
Sung Ji-gon and Sima Ryung were looking at me, waiting for my decision.
“Let’s use the stragglers.”
“Ah, about that. It might be difficult. Three days ago, Ban Oh appeared and threatened people to gather into one group. It seems he judged that it would be difficult to break through that entrance alone. The others decided to cooperate with Ban Oh, even if it was just for a sliver of hope. Well, they’re probably not cooperating sincerely.”
Thump thump thump!
A giant ox made of bones charged towards the Mountain King with dozens of people.
“It looks like it’s starting.”
“Even though they must have noticed our presence, they’re still charging… They must be quite confident. Great Hero. We can just wait for the opportune moment.”
Sima Ryung was right. We could just stay quiet and wait for the opportune moment. According to Great Master Myunghon, there were still two hours left until the path to the summit opened.
‘Something feels off.’
What felt off? Was it Ban Oh, who was running wild over there? Or the Mountain King’s side, who was holding up well using barriers?
‘No. That’s not it. Great Master Myunghon. That bald monk feels off.’
The bald monk said that the path would open in two hours. Was it really two hours later?
That bald monk might have told nine truths and one lie.
“I’m too uneasy. I’m going to join in. Ryung, support me with your sorcery. Ji-gon, you protect Ryung.”
“Understood.”
“If it’s your gut feeling, it must be right. Okay. I’ll protect the Sima Clan Head even if it costs me my life.”
I kicked off the ground and ran towards the battlefield. The uneasiness disappeared as I thought about killing all the obstacles in front of me.
The battlefield was chaotic. The guys who were fighting the Mountain King’s group were betraying their comrades and fighting each other. Ban Oh was too busy fighting the Mountain King one-on-one. When I appeared, everyone turned their attention to me. My presence overwhelmed the battlefield.
Thump!
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Overlord Step (天魔君臨步).
One step with all my might.
Demonic energy spread in all directions.
Thump!
The weaklings who couldn’t overcome the will to fight vomited blood.
I mocked the stragglers and took a second step.
Then, I took a third step, confirming the deaths of the weak.
Most of the competitors couldn’t withstand the pressure of the Heavenly Demon Overlord Step and their bodies exploded. The stench of blood covered the battlefield. I held the Fire Lotus Flying Dagger in my right hand and ran towards Ban Oh.
“Ban Oh!! This is revenge from that time! I’ve been counting the moments until I could kill you!!”
“You, you ignorant human!”
“Kuhahaha! You monster! Your time to die has come!”
Ban Oh roared, and the Mountain King burst into hearty laughter.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Sword (天魔劍).
My blade was aimed not at Ban Oh, but at the Mountain King. The Mountain King, who was dealing with Ban Oh while wearing protective energy around his body, was surprised but didn’t back down. He trusted the protective energy around his body.
The Heavenly Demon Sword cut through the Mountain King’s protective energy and sliced through his torso. Only then did the Mountain King retreat.
“A brat who just reached the Three Essences…!”
“I couldn’t cut deep enough into his organs? He’s a guy who has mastered external martial arts to the extreme.”
“You bastard!”
Bang!
Ban Oh rammed into the Mountain King. The guy I was about to curse flew backward and crashed.
Ban Oh, who had returned from his ox form to his human form, holding a bone sword, proposed to me.
“Little Heavenly Demon. How about we kill that guy first?”
“Good.”
At the same time as my reply, I swung my sword at Ban Oh. Ban Oh raised his bone sword and blocked my attack.
“Ha. Humans who have mastered demonic arts are all the same.”
The Mountain King, who had been blown backward, rushed towards us with explosive force.
“You turtle-like bastards! I’ll chew you both alive!!”
A dog-like three-way battle had begun just before the finish line.