The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign – Chapter 745

Regardless of how Bu Eunseol’s expression hardened, Song Ak chattered away excitedly.

“When a child falls into the water, adults rush to save them without hesitation. That proves humans are inherently good.”

Bu Eunseol furrowed his brow deeply.

Suddenly, a conversation from the past with his grandfather resurfaced in his mind.

—Is a newborn baby good or evil?

In the past, Bu Eunseol had once asked Bu Zhanyang the very same question.

—From Grandfather’s perspective, I mean.

Bu Zhanyang had always said that good and evil depended entirely on the viewpoint from which one looked.

That was why Bu Eunseol had added that premise.

—This old man thinks like this.

Bu Zhanyang had replied.

—Humans are not born inherently good or evil… but perhaps they are born divided into those with good natures and those with evil natures?”

When Bu Eunseol blinked in surprise, Bu Zhanyang continued.

—Just as each person’s appearance is different, isn’t it possible that humans are born with entirely different innate natures?

—So you’re saying some people are born good… and some are born evil?

—That’s right.

Bu Zhanyang added,

—That is why education and experience are so important. They possess the great power to change even an innate nature.

Finishing the recollection, Bu Eunseol’s gaze deepened.

He had originally believed humans were evil.

Even setting aside memories from his days as a beggar, while working as a mortician he had been hated and scorned by people for no reason at all.

But thanks to Bu Zhanyang’s teachings and the presence of Bu Zhanyang himself, an endlessly good person right in front of him, he had been able to change that belief.

And because of it, he himself had been able to walk the Middle Path.

“Save someone who’s drowning, and they’ll demand you hand over your bundle.”

Wiping away his reverie, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.

“There’s no need to draw extreme conclusions about good and evil. Humans are inherently endlessly complex beings.”

“Oh ho, listen well. According to our sect’s teachings…”

As Bu Eunseol responded, Song Ak grew even more enthusiastic and began preaching Wudang’s doctrines.

In truth, he had been brought to Wudang wrapped in swaddling clothes. Thus, everything he saw in the world had been shown to him by Wudang.

All the knowledge and values in his head had been instilled by Wudang.

‘Words alone won’t change his mind.’

Reminding himself of that, Bu Eunseol stopped arguing and simply listened in silence to Song Ak’s words.

No matter what he said, persuasion would be impossible.

[Another killer has appeared.]

At that moment, Soyo’s voice transmission reached him.

[A village about forty li to the north.]

‘In broad daylight?’

Those injected with evil qi and afflicted with slaughter madness had always begun their killing at night.

Yet the sun had not even set, and slaughter had already begun?

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing Bu Eunseol’s hardened expression, Song Ak asked.

“A killer has appeared in a village forty li away.” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “Stay here for a moment. I’ll handle everything and bring back any civilians possessed by the evil qi.”

Bang!

As Bu Eunseol unleashed his qinggong, 

“If a killer appeared in daylight, doesn’t that mean a Ghost is nearby?” Muttering lowly, Song Ak quickly followed behind him.

Swoooosh.

Wudang’s qinggong was not particularly fast, but it was as light as floating clouds in the sky and consumed extremely little internal energy.

Thud.

Arriving at the village behind Bu Eunseol, Song Ak looked around and gaped.

“Th-this…”

It was truly a scene from hell.

People lay scattered in pieces and blood flowed like a river.

“Song Ak.”

Bu Eunseol looked at him and shook his head.

“Don’t look any further. Stay right there.”

Then he walked deeper inside.

Trembling, Song Ak ignored the warning and slowly followed Bu Eunseol’s back.

Clench.

Spotting something, Bu Eunseol gripped his fist tightly and walked toward the well in front of him.

There, a pregnant woman carrying a child had been brutally murdered alongside the young child.

The pregnant woman had curled up, clutching the child tightly to protect it.

But the killer had paid no heed and torn both mother and child apart mercilessly.

“Why… is there no fetus in her womb?”

Approaching closer, Song Ak asked in a trembling voice.

The woman’s torn abdomen was completely empty.

Without answering, Bu Eunseol silently closed the woman’s eyes with a grave expression.

“Ugh…”

Sparks flew from Song Ak’s eyes.

Until now he had only treated civilians possessed by evil qi.

He had never imagined that such horrific scenes lay in the wake of the killers.

But witnessing the Ghosts’ atrocities with his own eyes, he could no longer suppress his rage.

“About eighty li to the northeast, the Mercenary Corps has spotted a Ghost injecting evil qi.”

At that moment, Soyo descended from the air and spoke aloud.

“It’s with a killer, so we need to catch it quickly.”

“Ughhh…”

Hearing that, Song Ak let out a low growl, then—

“Uwaaaah!”

With a roar, he unleashed Cloud Ascending Step and soared into the air.

Consumed by fury, he intended to find and execute the Ghost before even Bu Eunseol could.

Rumble rumble!

With ferocious tearing sounds, Song Ak’s eyes blazed red, veins bulging on his forehead as he charged forward.

Finally reaching a wide clearing deep in the forest, Song Ak spotted a bizarre masked man surrounded by Martial Soul Society mercenaries, along with a killer drooling from the mouth.

The masked man was enveloped in a strange energy barrier resembling protective qi; no matter what attacks the mercenaries launched, he blocked them leisurely.

Meanwhile, the drooling killer moved on all fours like a beast, dodging and countering attacks.

“You bastard!”

Seeing the killer’s hands drenched in bright red blood, Song Ak’s eyes literally rolled back in rage.

Clang!

Drawing his longsword, Song Ak let out a thunderous shout.

“Why!”

Paaah!

Hundreds of strands of sword qi spread out, piercing precisely into the killer’s fatal acupoints.

The gentle sword forms of Wudang—famous for their non-lethal style—were now unleashed as lightning-fast killing techniques.

“A Wudang Taoist?”

As Song Ak charged, the masked man seemed to grow excited instead, expanding his energy barrier to shield the killer in front.

“Why!”

Swish swish swish!

Every time Song Ak’s ancient Wudang sword drew endless circles in the air, cracks appeared in the masked man’s energy barrier.

“Why would you brutally murder innocent women and children!”

Slash! Swish!

Song Ak pushed the speed of his swordsmanship to its absolute limit.

The masked man, apparently unprepared for a Wudang Taoist to unleash such ferocious, ultra-fast killing forms, flailed in panic.

Slash!

In that opening, the sword qi pouring from Song Ak’s blade became a single stream of airflow, mercilessly severing the meridians in the masked man’s limbs.

“Why commit such vicious acts!”

Roaring with righteous fury, Song Ak’s longsword aimed straight for the masked man’s throat.

He could no longer quell the surging anger in his heart without killing.

Slash.

In the end, the masked man lost his life to Song Ak’s sword.

Without pausing, Song Ak poured continuous streams of sword qi at the killer still darting around the Ghost.

Slash slash slash!

The killer dodged madly, evading the onslaught.

“Heh heh.”

Just as the killer shrugged its shoulders triumphantly after dodging the storm of sword qi,

“Where are you looking?”

At some point, Song Ak stood towering behind it, eyes blazing like fire.

“Kek!”

Sensing mortal danger, the killer twisted its body instantly to attack, but—

Bang!

With an explosive sound, its head flew into the night sky.

Drip drip drip.

Blood sprayed like rain. Only when the droplets fell on his face did Song Ak regain his senses.

“I…”

Song Ak had always prided himself on having experienced every hardship the martial world could offer.

He had stopped the atrocities of infamous demonic heads, captured perpetrators of cruel love-murders, witnessed righteous and demonic martial artists turning battlefields into seas of blood over factional struggles, and fallen into countless traps and schemes laid by cunning Demonic Path villains.

Yet never before had he seen such utterly motiveless, purposeless, purely sadistic and vicious slaughter.

“Was everything I experienced… nothing at all?”

Song Ak bowed his head.

The forces Bu Eunseol faced were completely different in nature from the usual villains of the martial world or factional massacres.

They were demons wearing human skin, committing merciless slaughter for no reason whatsoever.

“Command Lord.”

Looking at Bu Eunseol, blue killing intent flowed from Song Ak’s eyes.

“From now on, let me join you in hunting Ghosts as well.”

Now that he knew the truth, he could no longer stand idly by.

From this moment, Song Ak intended to hunt Ghosts in earnest alongside Bu Eunseol.

***

Slash! Slash!

Another fierce battle erupted as the Mercenary Corps located yet another hidden Ghost.

Leading the charge was Song Ak.

Slash! Paaaah!

Not only did he continuously infuse Jade Dew True Qi to save civilians invaded by evil qi, he also stood at the forefront of every battle against Ghosts.

“Is he going to be all right?”

Watching Song Ak fight from a distance, Do Cheonlin, leader of the Mercenary Corps, looked at him with worried eyes.

“That Taoist… I’m seeing signs that he might fall into heart demons.”

Something too pure and clean can become easily tainted by filth.

The Bullet King, Bukgung Ryeong—who had spent his entire life helping the weak and punishing evildoers—had his lifelong pride shattered when he saw the ugly true face hidden beneath the title of “great hero,” leading to escalating confusion and ultimately falling into heart demons.

Similarly, Song Ak possessed such a clear and pure nature that there was concern he might suffer a collapse of values from witnessing these events.

“Hmm.”

Letting out a low hum, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.

“On the contrary, he may have been hoping for this change.”

“What?”

“There are many masters in Wudang with deeper internal energy and superior Taoist secret arts. Yet their Sect Leader specifically designated Song Ak for the Ghost investigation.”

Gazing at Song Ak swinging his sword like a madman, he continued. “He is considered a candidate for the next sect leader. They likely do not wish for his pure, water-like nature to remain unchanged forever.”

“So that’s how it was.”

Do Cheonlin nodded as though finally understanding.

A sect leader could not remain aloof and pristine forever.

He had to be willing to dirty his hands without hesitation for the sake of the sect.

It seemed Wudang had used this Ghost investigation as an opportunity to temper Song Ak’s overly innocent temperament.

“But they may be thinking too lightly of it.”

Having witnessed the Ghosts’ atrocities firsthand, Song Ak had shattered not only the teaching that all humans are good, but even Wudang’s core ideal of non-killing.

“Not only his temperament, but it seems he’s completely forgotten he is a disciple of Wudang.”

“It’ll be fine.”

Bu Eunseol said calmly.

“He’s still young.”

Bukgung Ryeong had walked a single path for eighty years, living with pride in the righteous path, making it difficult to uproot his ingrained values.

But Song Ak was still young.

Though he might receive a great shock from the Ghosts’ cruelty, it would not strike his soul deeply enough to cause heart demons.

“Well, if so, that’s fortunate.” Do Cheonlin shook his head and said, “In any case, these bastards are truly endless. They’re easier to deal with than the Ghost Children, but their numbers are incomparable.”

“No helping it.” Bu Eunseol gazed into the distant sky. “We simply didn’t know. The martial world has been in this state for a very long time.”

“But the Three Realms are strange too. Why didn’t they share this information?”

Do Cheonlin snorted.

“If word of this had spread in the martial world, the righteous and demonic sects would have united and crushed the Demon Cult—or whatever—in one blow.”

“It’s simple. First, they wanted to study and monopolize the abilities of the test subjects sent by the Demon Cult.” 

Bu Eunseol recited calmly.

“Second, they made sure the righteous and demonic martial worlds could never unite. If a common enemy like this appeared, the martial world would band together to fight it.”

Manwol had said the Ghost Children and Ghosts were test subjects, and the experiments were nearly complete.

That was how Bu Eunseol could draw this conclusion.

“Well, a common enemy would indeed force that.”

Do Cheonlin stroked his chin.

“Then shouldn’t we inform the martial world now?”

“She said the experiments are almost finished. This wave of Ghosts is probably the last.” Bu Eunseol’s eyes darkened endlessly. “In that case, by borrowing Wudang’s strength, the Martial Soul Society can once again show the martial world that it is doing good.”

“But how on earth do you know all this information?”

Do Cheonlin asked with an incredulous expression.

“Countless intelligence networks in the martial world couldn’t uncover it. Even our own corps had no idea about these things.”

Recalling Manwol’s face, Bu Eunseol shook his head.

He could hardly say he had met a shrine maiden of the Demon Cult.

“I just happened to find out.”

“Corps Leader.”

At that moment, a mercenary with a scar across his face ran up to Do Cheonlin and clasped his hands.

“Another Ghost has been discovered.”

“Is that so?”

Thud thud.

At that moment, Song Ak—covered in blood from the recent battle—approached Bu Eunseol and Do Cheonlin.

“I just overheard—another Ghost has been found?”

His fingernails were stained red from the blood that had flowed during the fierce fight, yet his eyes had grown calm.

‘His killing intent is gradually subsiding.’

Bu Eunseol nodded inwardly.

Song Ak was no longer consumed by rage. 

Because he had accepted it.

Not all humans are born good and the ideal of non-killing must sometimes be set aside appropriately for the sake of saving many more lives.

“Yes. Let’s head there.”

Without hesitation, Bu Eunseol led Song Ak toward the place where the Ghost was hiding.

The more battles he fought, the more perfectly Song Ak would learn to control his rage and killing intent.

***

Five more days passed.

In that time, Bu Eunseol and Song Ak had eliminated eighty Ghosts injecting evil qi into civilians and saved one hundred and thirty-two civilians possessed by the evil qi.

But there was no end.

Ghosts kept appearing endlessly, and civilians injected with evil qi continued turning into killers and committing slaughter without cease.

‘At this scale, there must be a separate root source.’

The Ghosts were little more than tools for injecting evil qi into civilians, and their numbers were abnormally high.

Moreover, considering that they burst into flames when subdued, it was certain there was a root organization behind them—cultivating and controlling them.

Around midday, Bu Eunseol and Song Ak entered an inn shoulder to shoulder.

“Something on your mind?”

Seeing Bu Eunseol order plain noodles and then sit blankly, Song Ak snorted.

“Even if you have no appetite, eat plenty. You’ll need strength to rip those vicious bastards’ heads off, won’t you?”

By now, Song Ak’s speech had grown rougher.

His once-gentle eyes had sharpened like an abandoned blade, and his voice had dropped to an eerily low register, like a reaper.

Having cut down Ghosts again and again in bone-splitting, flesh-rending battles, he had become a blood-soaked warrior whom even killers would fear.

In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, he was in the process of fully maturing into a true martial world warrior who had eaten his fill of the blade’s hardships.

But if Wudang ever learned of this, they would be greatly shocked by the unexpected transformation.

The Song Ak who had once been like calm, clear water had now become a merciless swordsman with no compassion in his strikes.

‘I feel a little guilty.’

Wudang had probably hoped Song Ak would come to moderately understand the heartlessness and cruelty of the martial world.

But he—who had been so utterly pure and untainted—had accepted that heartlessness and cruelty completely as it was.

‘If I hadn’t asked Wudang for help…’ 

Bu Eunseol shook his head.

‘He never would have entered the martial world, and he wouldn’t have changed so extremely.’

“Are you listening to me?”

Snapped out of his thoughts by Song Ak’s voice, Bu Eunseol gave a wry smile.

“I understand.”

Just as he reluctantly picked up his chopsticks,

Ziiing.

A strange resonance came from somewhere.

It was the same ghost qi he had felt when he first captured a Ghost, only now its intensity was several times—no, dozens of times—stronger.

Thud thud.

Turning around, Bu Eunseol saw a large man enter the inn.

He wore tattered Taoist robes.

Hollow eyes peered out from disheveled hair, and he had a flat, broad nose.

‘An Abyss person.’

Bu Eunseol intuited it instantly.

This man was an Abyssal person like Manwol.

And he was the one cultivating the Ghosts.

“What’s the matter?”

Having spent fifteen days constantly at Bu Eunseol’s side, Song Ak could now read his thoughts just by looking at his face.

[I think I’ve found the leader of the Ghosts.]

At Bu Eunseol’s voice transmission, Song Ak’s eyes sharpened.

[You mean that Taoist?]

[Yes.]

At that very moment, the Taoist was passing right beside Bu Eunseol and Song Ak.

But since the two were communicating via transmission and keeping their heads lowered, the Taoist seemed to sense nothing unusual.

After a brief glance at them, he entered one of the inn’s private rooms.

“The end is finally in sight.”

Song Ak’s eyes blazed red and his hands trembled lightly.

Though Bu Eunseol felt something slightly off, he soon attributed it to great joy at the prospect of finally eliminating the root cause of this horrific incident.

He nodded.

As Song Ak said, they could at last uproot the source of all this cruelty.

When the moon rose bright and full, the Taoist—having eaten and drunk heavily in his private room—stepped outside and boarded a carriage.

Waiting outside, Bu Eunseol and Song Ak unleashed qinggong and stealthily followed the carriage.

Do Cheonlin’s Mercenary Corps had already departed to deal with a large group of Ghosts discovered near Seorim.

They could not call in Majeon’s forces either.

If Bu Eunseol once again impersonated a righteous hero, he would lose the support of the Demonic Path entirely.

Whoa.

The carriage stopped at the foot of a deep mountain on the outskirts of a village far beyond Chengdu.

Click.

The Taoist alighted without hesitation and ascended the mountain with qinggong.

After traveling deep into the mountains for a long while, he finally stopped—at none other than a vast cemetery filled with countless bulging burial mounds.

“Huuup.”

When the Taoist exerted his power, the cemetery trembled, and a blue aura began to rise.

Just like the leader of the Corpse Sect, he was absorbing the ghost qi flowing through the graves.

“It’s decreasing more and more.”

The Taoist tilted his head.

“Eighty of them never returned.”

Hidden and listening, Bu Eunseol’s and Song Ak’s eyes flashed.

The number matched exactly with the Ghosts they had eliminated so far.

“They’re not fully ripened yet, but there’s no choice.”

The Taoist slowly set down the large bamboo box he carried on his back and fiddled with it.

In an instant, a table and various ritual implements used by Taoists for sorcery appeared.

“We have no choice but to finish it quickly.”

Tap.

Biting his index finger and drawing blood, the Taoist inscribed a talisman directly onto huaihuang paper, which began absorbing moonlight.

At the same time, the entire cemetery began to tremble faintly.

Swoosh.

Not long after, masked figures suddenly burst up from the ground around the graves.

They were the Ghosts who had been injecting evil qi into civilians until now.

“Why have you awakened us so soon?”

The Ghost standing at the front asked in a polite yet bewildered voice.

“We have not yet absorbed enough corpse qi.”

They were not dead corpses.

Like sorcerers of the Skull Sect, they had buried their bodies in the graves, absorbing corpse qi and corpse poison emanating from the dead.

That suggested the secret behind turning civilians into killers was likely the same: combining corpse poison and corpse qi with sorcery, just like practitioners of heretical cults.

“No choice.”

The Taoist’s eyes glinted as he spoke.

“There is an organization called the Martial Soul Society leading mercenaries in pursuit of you. At this point, we have no choice but to create all the killers at once and end the experiment.”

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Even as they spoke, more Ghosts who had embedded themselves in the graves began erupting from the earth.

In this vast cemetery, the number of Ghosts rising amounted to fully five hundred.

Though they had not absorbed enough corpse qi to be fully satisfied, the aura they emanated was on a completely different level from any Ghost encountered so far.

‘This is troublesome.’

Watching from hiding, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.

Having fought Ghosts until now, he knew well how bizarre their techniques were and how formidable their power could be.

Yet five hundred of them?

In terms of martial artists, that was equivalent to a well-trained army of five thousand.

“As expected, they were the root cause.”

When Bu Eunseol muttered lowly,

“Heh heh heh.”

Song Ak let out a sinister laugh and nodded.

“The end is finally in sight.”

Then he drew his ancient Wudang sword from his waist and slowly licked the blade from hilt to tip.

It was no longer the appearance of a Wudang Taoist, but of a chilling human butcher who carved human flesh like meat.