Chapter 30

Johwi's heart was heavy as he joined the long procession of the Cult of Demonic Arts, heading towards the Tian Shan mountains.

He had waited with a glimmer of hope, but even as a month approached since the Qingyu had transformed from the Yitian Blood Prison, the voices of his ancestors never came.

‘Is this really the end of my connection with the ancestors?’

He couldn't bring himself to believe it.

He missed the nagging of the Sword Deity.

He missed the pedantic lectures of the respected Mengde, and the gentle voice of the respected Wanxiang, whose profound knowledge and character could be felt.

Who were the others?

He hadn't even identified all the ancestors yet...

"Lord... no, Brother. We have finally arrived!"

Sau Xiang pointed to a place where a massive fortress stood.

The Heavenly Demon Fortress (Tianma Cheng).

Faced with its overwhelming presence, Johwi was at a loss for words.

Was this even a gate? The massive iron gate, blocking the entire gorge, seemed impossible to open or close.

How did they manage to do it?

Looking at the iron gate, Johwi understood why the people of the Central Plains called it the Heavenly Demon Fortress rather than the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Through the open iron gate, thousands upon thousands of Cult of Demonic Arts members were pouring in without cease.

Muttering incantations, their faces filled with excitement, they entered the fortress.

The overwhelming momentum of the massive crowd left Johwi feeling overwhelmed.

A hundred thousand Cult of Demonic Arts members?

No, that was an understatement. The people of the Central Plains had clearly underestimated the number of Cult members.

As they approached, a massive altar came into view through the iron gate.

At the top of the endless stairs, a group of people stood calmly, looking down at the followers.

Even from this distance, their presence was overwhelmingly powerful.

Among them, the one at the center.

Wearing a crown adorned with colorful gems, this person exuded a charm that was hard to resist.

Johwi instinctively knew that this person held the highest rank among all the Cult members.

"…Heavenly Demon?"

Sau Xiang smiled when she saw where Johwi's gaze was directed.

"It's the Divine Maiden (Shennü)."

"Divine Maiden? A woman?"

Was it because of the various patterns painted on her face?

She certainly looked like a man, but a woman?

Johwi carefully observed the figure on the altar again.

From a distance, her presence didn't seem to match her appearance due to the large crown and voluminous ceremonial robes, which made her look more masculine.

But up close, the lines of her face clearly revealed that she was indeed a woman.

‘Divine Maiden (Shennü)...’

Even in the case of the Three Immortals, the people of the martial world never used the title of deity lightly.

For the Cult of Demonic Arts to call her the Divine Maiden must mean she possessed something extraordinary.

There was no sign of martial arts training.

Unless she had transcended the absolute realm and hidden her aura through willpower, it would be impossible for her to go undetected by the senses of the Sword Heaven All-Powerful Body.

What, then, was her ability?

Johwi used the secret sound transmission technique, which he had learned from the third patriarch of the Nangong family, to speak to Sau Xiang.

-Can you hear me?

Sau Xiang looked at Johwi with wide, surprised eyes.

-I can hear you! Lord!

Johwi gestured towards the Divine Maiden.

-What is the Divine Maiden's ability?

Sau Xiang, looking as if she had found her purpose, smiled proudly but then her face turned reverent as she looked at the Divine Maiden.

-She is the one who hears the voice of Angalap Maniu!

-Angalap Maniu (安哥拉曼纽)?

Johwi had heard of this entity from the Sword Deity.

In the doctrine of the Cult of Demonic Arts, Angalap Maniu was the supreme and absolute demon, a mythological figure.

Angalap Maniu was the dark spiritual self of the Light God who created the universe and the malevolent deity of destruction.

To hear the voice of such a malevolent deity directly?

Most importantly, did deities even exist?

For a man who was a thoroughgoing atheist in the modern era, this was nothing short of a shocking revelation.

‘A human who hears the voice of a deity...’

Even in the modern world, there were many who claimed to hear the voice of a deity, but most were eventually exposed as false prophets.

Could these false prophets have ruled over so many Cult members for a thousand years?

If so many people had been deceived for so long, it would be a truly tragic and disheartening affair.

For now, he needed to observe more.

The original purpose was to confirm the appearance of the Heavenly Demon.

If this being, who could gather all the fervent wishes of the massive crowd and use that power to trample the martial world, was indeed a demon god, it had to be stopped.

If such an event were to occur, neither the Zhao Family Trading Company nor the Nangong Family would be able to exist in the martial world.

At that moment, a powerful voice that left Johwi in shock echoed.

-Hear me, followers of the Divine Cult.

It felt as if his soul was being shaken!

It was a voice that seemed to carry all the evil in the world, like the voice of a demon from the depths of hell.

Looking at the altar, Johwi saw that the 'Divine Maiden' was floating in the air.

With her jet-black hair flying in the wind, she stretched out her arms towards the world.

An overwhelming and pure evil, something that could not possibly be emitted by a human, was radiating from her in all directions.

Thump, thump!

His heart began to race.

Just by looking at her, he felt a strong sense of being drawn in, as if his soul was being sucked away!

Only then did Johwi understand why the title of deity was inscribed in the name of the woman on the altar.

She was not a simple shaman.

He could instantly feel that some 'divine will' was controlling her.

The pure and blind wishes of the Cult members, upon hearing the Divine Maiden's voice, surged like a massive wave, covering the altar of the Heavenly Demon Fortress.

For a moment, Johwi realized that his eyes had become similar to theirs, and he shuddered.

The power of the crowd, the magic of the masses, was truly terrifying.

-Now, He has descended here.

Johwi's pupils dilated.

The 'He' the Divine Maiden spoke of must be the Heavenly Demon, the demon god!

‘Where is He?’

If the Heavenly Demon had appeared, he would have certainly revealed an overwhelming presence.

But looking around, there was no one with such a presence.

-He who will punish the world, the noble demon god who rules over the Ten Thousand Demons, the moon's shadow of the five-hundred-year prophecy is now full! Answer the cries of this humble servant!

At that moment, all the Cult members bowed towards the altar.

As hundreds of thousands of Cult members bowed, a massive wave of people surged to the iron gate.

It was a spectacular sight!

Soon, the Divine Maiden, still floating in the air, began to descend towards the altar.

She then pointed to one of the followers.

-You, the one chosen to burn in the sacred fire, rise and lift your head.

All the Cult members raised their heads to look at her finger.

Johwi, hidden within the veil of his will, also followed her gesture with his gaze.

Hundreds of thousands of Cult members, all their fervor, were directed at Sau Xiang.

‘No way!’

Sau Xiang rose with a blissful expression.

To be chosen among so many followers!

The glory of being selected brought tears to her eyes.

The one chosen to burn in the sacred fire.

Thus, Sau Xiang began to slowly ascend the stairs of the altar.

Johwi, who had already heard about the Cult's rituals from the Sword Deity, knew exactly what would happen on the altar.

They would cut open the heart of the offering, squeeze out the blood, and sprinkle it on the sacred fire while chanting.

‘...’

Watching Sau Xiang's back as she slowly moved away, Johwi felt an incomprehensible anger.

Why?

She was just a passing acquaintance, a mere follower of the Cult. There was no need to attach any meaning to her death.

But his body felt as if it was on fire.

When she reached the top of the altar, the high priests of the Cult began to chant.

Sau Xiang, with a blissful expression and a smile, lay down on the altar.

‘Does she really feel nothing about dying?’

Is she insane? Does that even make sense?

She was just a girl, perhaps thirteen years old.

At the age of blooming youth, with dreams to nurture and a passion for life, what could she possibly know about death?

"I will burn with the sacred fire too!"

"Grant me the honor!"

The Cult members, bowing to the Divine Maiden who had descended to the ground, believed that burning with the sacred fire was a promise of eternal life.

The Divine Maiden, looking at the faithful followers with a satisfied smile, began to gesture.

Those chosen by the Divine Maiden's fingers also began to ascend the stairs of the altar.

Finally, the chosen ones gathered on the wide altar and lay down with Sau Xiang.

At that moment, the Divine Maiden's body rose into the air and flew to the top of the altar.

The high priest presented a magnificent ceremonial saber to the Divine Maiden.

The offerings, upon seeing the saber, all had their eyes wide open and their bodies trembling.

Johwi could not bear to watch the scene of madness.

Just as he turned away, unable to bear it any longer,

Squish.

The sound of flesh being cut, like thunder, reached Johwi's ears.

"Kyaahhhh!"

At the sound of Sau Xiang's scream of pain,

Thump!

His heart raced again!

The heated anger turned into an uncontrollable madness, finally enveloping Johwi's body.

The Demon God Technique, the vast and boundless dark purple demonic aura, rose from Johwi's entire body.

Boom!

A violent tremor enveloped the Tian Shan at that moment.

Johwi's figure disappeared in a flash and reappeared at the top of the altar.

Snap!

The hand of the Divine Maiden, who was about to pierce Sau Xiang's chest with the saber, was instantly restrained.

Johwi's eyes, burning with anger, were directed at the Divine Maiden.

"Does a deity covet the life of a mere human?"

The Divine Maiden trembled and collapsed.

"Is a deity so petty that the lives of hundreds of thousands of people gathered here are meaningless?"

A pair of purple flames of anger burned fiercely.

The Divine Maiden, looking into Johwi's eyes, burst into tears and prostrated herself.

-I accept the divine word! Everything in the Divine Cult is according to the will of the Demon God!

A pair of flames of anger shone deeply.

"I am not your Demon God!"

The mysterious eyes of the Divine Maiden were now fixed on the Qingyu, which had emerged from Johwi's clothes.

-If what this humble servant sees is indeed the Sacred Fire Demon Jade, how can you deny your own nobility?

Johwi, startled, asked.

"Is this the Sacred Fire Demon Jade?"

The Sword Deity had clearly stated that the Sacred Fire Demon Jade was the unique treasure of the Demon God, symbolizing the Demon God Sect itself.

Could the legendary treasure of the Cult, which only the Demon God could wield, be the Yitian Blood Prison, or rather, this Qingyu?

-Only the Sacred Fire can be awakened by the Sacred Fire Demon Jade. Hasn't the Demon God already revealed the power of the Demon God Technique?

At that moment, all the Cult members prostrated themselves, weeping and calling out to the Demon God.

-Sob! O Demon God!

-O Lord of the Sacred Fire!

No, this is insane! It can't be!

Johwi, utterly flustered, tried to leave the altar, but his eyes widened in shock.

The high priests, carrying a massive stone tablet on their backs and weeping, placed it in front of Johwi and prostrated themselves.

‘No way?’

The stone tablet was densely inscribed with diagrams!

Along with the diagrams, countless Chinese characters were annotated as footnotes!

The handwriting!

Johwi immediately recognized it.

It was the handwriting of the person who created the sword collection.

-The followers of the Divine Cult present the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon to the prophesied Demon God!

The Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon!

The unique sword techniques of the Demon God, which the Sword Deity had only heard of in legends and never experienced, due to the vast gap in time between them.

The Demon God was a martial artist from three hundred years before the Sword Deity.

But what was this stone tablet?

The meticulous and consistent handwriting, as if printed from a mold, was undoubtedly the modern Chinese handwriting that Johwi had seen in the sword collection.

Johwi activated the Demon God Technique and the abilities of the Sword Heaven All-Powerful Body.

His eyes, now turned white, began to examine the physical diagrams on the stone tablet.

As he examined the stone tablet for a long time, Johwi's face gradually turned to one of shock.

Sword techniques completely different from the Heavenly Sword Style!

‘Can a human body really perform such techniques?’

The Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon, imprinted in Johwi's eyes like a fire seal, were pure madness, focused solely on attack and destruction.

Even after just a brief examination, the intense madness made Johwi feel dizzy.

‘Madness!’

How could a human think of such things?

This transcended the realm of martial arts.

‘Ah!’

Only then did Johwi realize.

The Demon God Technique!

The Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon were sword techniques that could only be performed by someone who had inscribed the eternal sacred fire within their body.

Without the boundless inner strength of the Demon God Technique, the practitioner would die from the internal meridians entangling before they could even begin the technique.

Like the combined surface of a decalcomania, the Demon God Technique and the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon formed a perfect union.

In terms of pure destructive power, the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon surpassed the Heavenly Sword Style of the Sword Deity.

However, this was a sword technique that did not consider the aftermath.

Even with the near-infinite power of the Demon God Technique, Johwi was not confident that he could fully perform the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon.

Just three sword techniques, pouring out everything the Demon God had.

Only then did Johwi realize that the rumor in the martial world, that the strongest deity was the Sword Deity, was flawed.

Of course, the Demon God had no backup.

Even if his three sword techniques could tear the world apart, if the Sword Deity could withstand it, they would be useless.

With the Demon God's power fully expended, there would be no way to block the Sword Deity's power.

But Johwi was not confident that the Sword Deity could withstand the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon.

Having witnessed the Sword Deity's martial arts on Mount Hua, he still had doubts.

The power of the Three Swords of the Heavenly Demon was that overwhelming.

Without actually facing it, all assumptions were meaningless.

‘They are evenly matched.’

If the Sword Deity had seen this stone tablet, how surprised would he have been?

Johwi examined the stone tablet more closely.

The more he examined it, the more confident he became.

‘This is definitely his martial arts after the sword collection.’

That meant the sword collection was much older than he had thought.

These modern artifacts, discovered by the Sword Deity and the Demon God, were from different eras.

So, did the roots of both the Sword Deity's and the Demon God's martial arts come from the ancient modern era?

What had the people of the modern era done to the history of the martial world?

And what about another modern person, who, like him, had learned their martial arts as if they were the protagonist of fate?

Johwi's gaze then turned to the Qingyu, or rather, the Sacred Fire Demon Jade.

‘Is my fate contained here?’

Johwi felt disgusted.

Had he come all the way to the Heavenly Demon Fortress, not by his own will, but by some grand, fateful force?

Was saving a young girl just a predestined path ordained by some divine