Chapter 193: Three Calamities (8)

Time flowed mercilessly onward. The Demon’s Den, which had been all but obliterated, had been rebuilt grander than before, exuding an aura of overwhelming majesty and dignity.

The new Heavenly Demon, Biyeon.

Her demeanor was worlds apart from that of her predecessor. Where the former had frequently shown her face to the Demonic Cultists, Biyeon holed up in the shed and rarely made an appearance.

She lived exclusively in that shed, making a mockery of the term “closed-door training.” Only the elders occasionally visited to divine the Heavenly Demon’s intentions.

Yet despite this, the followers did not abandon her. If anything, more people pledged themselves to the Demonic Cult than ever before.

The Demon’s Den building had clearly expanded beyond its former size, yet it teemed with crowds that surpassed even that capacity. If the previous Cult Leader could see this as a ghost, she would weep in anguish.

Why was that? Because the current Heavenly Demon, Biyeon, had timely satisfied the Demonic Cult’s voracious thirst for expansion.

“…These are the Cult Leader’s orders.”

After visiting the shed, an elder would disseminate the Cult Leader’s decree to the entire Demonic Cult. At such times, the Cultists gazed up with innocent, expectant eyes.

“We advance further east.”

Invasion.

“We obey!”

At the elder’s command, the Cultists scattered with perfect discipline. True to their practice of Demonic Arts, every one of them burned with bloodshot eyes.

Watching their bloodthirsty gazes, the elder clicked his tongue.

“How will we handle this in the future…?”

The elder muttered worriedly. His disciple replied.

“Don’t worry too much, Master. The Cult Leader is not only unparalleled in martial arts but also in matters of the heart and mind. She surely has a plan.”

The elder glanced at his disciple. His expression seemed relaxed. Back when the previous Heavenly Demon had just passed, venom had poured from his eyes.

Now, the disciple acted as if that had never happened, serving as the current Heavenly Demon’s loyal hound. He seemed to have no regard even for his direct superior—himself. It twisted the elder’s guts, but he couldn’t call it out directly.

For a Demonic Cultist, serving the Cult Leader was the way of things. His disciple was merely upholding the doctrine to the letter.

What irked the elder was that most Cultists obeyed the Cult Leader with absolute devotion. There was no defiance, like men entranced by a nine-tailed fox spirit.

The elders were no different. Even they, duty-bound to speak harsh truths, dripped honey from their lips when addressing Biyeon. Flattery and sycophancy.

The current Heavenly Demon… is dangerous in many ways.

She bewitched everyone. Even standing still, she seized hearts.

The elder suppressed his unease with effort. Then he unnecessarily snapped at his disciple, who was smitten with Biyeon.

“Do you think I don’t know that?! What worries me is if the disciples get hooked on these fleeting pleasures, we could turn the entire martial world against us!”

“Eradicating the Orthodox and Evil is only natural…”

“Still haven’t grasped my point?! Think long-term, broadly! Sure, it scratches the itch of these hot-blooded Cultists now, but what if the Orthodox unite because of it? It’s been less than ten years since the Divine Cult faltered due to the previous Cult Leader!”

The elder preached with the bitterness of swallowing fireballs.

“The sudden surge in followers? It’s temporary. They’re immature in ideology and body. No foundation—foundation. Yet the current Cult Leader fixates only on blindly expanding our forces. What sets us apart from those Black Path scum then?!”

“…As expected.”

The disciple nodded emphatically. Only then did the elder smirk in satisfaction.

“Heh, tsk tsk. Better late than never.”

“My apologies. My reaction must have seemed ambiguous.”

The elder’s bushy white eyebrows arched. His lips trembled as he retorted.

“Did I hear that right? Ambiguous reaction?”

“Yes. I wasn’t admiring your insight, Senior Brother. I was simply awestruck that even that falls within the Cult Leader’s grasp.”

The disciple’s address had shifted to “Senior Brother.”

“You… you really…!”

“The martial world is far too cramped to contain our Cult Leader. White Path? Black Path? Do you think they stand a chance against her, Senior? Not in the slightest. Our Supreme has already unified the world in all but name.”

“Get a grip! On reality!”

The elder stumbled backward. He had no time to fret over insubordination. Madness swirled in his disciple’s eyes like waves. The man who once mourned the previous Heavenly Demon’s death was gone. Now he uttered only praises for Biyeon.

“The one who needs to get a grip is you, Senior. The Cult Leader shares the glory of Demonic unity with us, yet you blind yourself with petty impatience and dare slander the Supreme.”

“…This is a crisis, utter crisis. How has the Divine Cult come to this…?”

“You wouldn’t understand, Senior. The Supreme has discarded the name ‘Divine Cult.’ She intends to shed the old structure entirely.”

As the disciple prattled on, presences gathered around them. The elder swept his creaking eyes over them. Masked figures with drawn swords formed ranks, closing in.

The elder recognized them at a glance. Some of those who had chanted the Heavenly Demon’s name in the Demon’s Den courtyard. Assassins come to execute him.

Shring.

In the stagnant darkness, eyes gleamed through the masks, flickering alongside slowly drawn blades.

“Ha, haha.”

At this point, the elder burst into hollow laughter from sheer emptiness. The masked figures encircled him without hesitation. As a murderous atmosphere thickened, night crows scattered in flocks.

“I respected the previous Cult Leader.”

The elder tilted his head back. It was a bright moonlit night.

“Though we stood opposed in her lifetime due to differences in stance and my own narrow-mindedness, she was an excellent leader. At one time, I even saw her as a god.”

“I agree, Senior Brother.”

“Save your empty words for those departing.”

Lowering his head, the elder exhaled deeply. His resolve hardened. Drawing his blade in turn, he continued.

“…But it seems she was human after all. She never knew the monster she birthed…”

“The previous one was heaven to me as well. But Beyond Heavens descended, opening new horizons for fools like us.”

“Beyond Heavens, eh. Do you all know the truth of it?”

“We’ll heed your final words.”

The disciple and masked figures offered fist-palm salutes. The elder scanned them before pressing on.

“Science has advanced these days. Everyone knows roughly about the heavens beyond heaven. Above the blue sky lies darkness. The sages were right: all phenomena share the same essence.”

“……”

“Disciples, the one you revere as Beyond Heavens is darkness, no matter how you dress it up. Whether it’s the cosmos or the abyss, my limited insight can’t yet say.”

“We’ll engrave your words of concern.”

“Empty words to the end.”

The elder slapped his saber against his sheath. A chilling edge sliced the fallen leaves on the ground.

“Come, then.”

The disciples released their salutes.

“Yes.”

How much time passed? Dozens of clashes rang out in an instant, then silence settled over the corpses. The survivors caught their breath on-site before departing.

All traces of life vanished. No sooner had they left than the crows, thought gone, swooped low to the ground. The next day, the crows near the Demon’s Den looked noticeably plumper.

The Cultists voluntarily purged factions opposing Biyeon. The Supreme had presented the goal of “reorganization into a new entity.” Emboldened, they expelled disloyal elements from within.

Bloodwinds raged inside and out without end. Those led by Biyeon razed Orthodox and Evil alike without mercy. In particular, the Kunlun Sect and Evil Sects stationed at the Orthodox-Evil border suffered devastating blows.

The Kunlun Sect was effectively wiped out, and the Evil Sects utterly dismantled. Just three years after Biyeon ascended as Heavenly Demon, one of the three powers dividing the world vanished into history.

“Annihilate them. Leave nothing.”

“The Divine Cult is invincible! Ten Thousand Demons Submit!”

Emboldened, the Cultists even invaded Orthodox territories. At their vanguard stood the elder’s disciple, the man later known as the Illusion Master. Inspired by Biyeon, he created Poison Arts martial techniques that formed the basis of the illusions propelling him to the Ten Wings.

In any case.

The invasions weren’t always smooth sailing.

As the elder had predicted, the new Demonic Cultists—now whispered as “Kergel”—lacked their predecessors’ cohesion. Unexpected powerhouses appeared, and they crumbled in panic.

“I-it’s the Staff Master!”

For example, the Staff Master.

The martial world’s final bastion appeared. Cultists’ heads routinely shattered against her staff. She swept them away effortlessly. Even with their swollen numbers, they were helpless against the Orthodox’s asymmetric force: the Staff Master.

“Heavenly Demon! Come here! Successive Heavenly Demons owe me at least a greeting!”

After days of brutal beatings, defeat loomed. As anxiety spread like breath, the Cultists’ savior arrived.

“……”

“S-Supreme.”

Biyeon descended serenely, her presence utterly transformed. Her hair, eyebrows, and pupils were all white. Her very appearance overflowed with ethereal grace.

“Ho. You’re quite the beauty, successor.”

“……”

The Staff Master tapped her shoulder with the Wish-Fulfilling Staff. In those days, she was boldly magnanimous.

“Unlike your looks, you reek of death. No different from an Asura.”

Biyeon emanated an aura so ominous it furrowed even the affable Staff Master’s brow.

The tide turned. The terrified Cultists prostrated themselves reverently before Biyeon. Their true savior had come. Amid rivers of blood, the scene took on a sacred air.

“How many blood tribulations must you endure to smell like that…?”

As the Staff Master grumbled, the taciturn Biyeon spoke. Her voice was parched and withered.

“No matter how much I wash, this stench won’t fade. I am born of death and return to death. This is my fate.”

“…A peculiar Demonic Cultist, speaking like some enlightened monk. Why not tack on ‘Namo Amitabha’ while you’re at it?”

“Assigning meaning to the Path is the privilege of the weak. Such things hold no value to me.”

The Staff Master stiffened. The White Path warriors behind her flinched. Biyeon was extraordinary. No—extraordinary fell short.

She was different. That single descriptor came to mind.

“What is your goal, girl? There must be reason for spreading death like this.”

The Staff Master demanded.

“Death.”

The Staff Master let out a hollow chuckle.

“Very well. By my Buddha’s teachings, I’ll grant your wish.”

“You cannot kill me.”

The Heavenly Demon declared.

“No human can kill me.”