Chapter 808: Do You Think the Heavens Are on Your Side?

TL: FoodieMonster007

It's not pulling me in.

Hyeok Docheon realized a step too late that the Secret Box was draining the Heavenly Demon Soul residing in his body.

As he endured to prevent it from being taken, the Secret Box pulled with even greater force.

It would have been better if it were sucking him in instead. Forcibly tearing the Heavenly Demon Soul from his body and soul brought terrible pain.

He felt his qi and blood reverse as he forcibly held on.

"Keuaaak!"

Blood spurted from his mouth and spilled all over the Secret Box, but it simply devoured his blood and vibrated even more energetically.

Geom Mugeuk could tell from the reactions of others that the Heavenly Demon Soul overlapping Hyeok Docheon's body was visible only to his eyes. That meant what he saw now was not the Heavenly Demon Soul manifested through martial arts, but the Soul residing within Hyeok Docheon's soul.

As a result, to other people's eyes, it still looked like Hyeok Docheon was being sucked into the Secret Box.

The Divine Sword Martial Emperor shouted to Ju Gasin. "The Demonic Cult Leader must not die!"

At first, he had secretly cheered for the Secret Box.

This is the perfect opportunity to kill the Demonic Cult Leader!

However, that was an emotional and momentary desire he should not harbor right now.

No, he must not die!

If the Demonic Cult Leader died here, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would misunderstand that their Cult Leader died after falling into his trap, and the result would be obvious—the next Great Orthodox-Demonic War.

Could they easily defeat the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult just because the Demonic Cult Leader was gone? Furthermore, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would gain a powerful justification called revenge for the Cult Leader.

A war against demons running wild with vengeance? It was something that absolutely must not happen. Even if they eventually won the war, it would be a hollow victory achieved by sacrificing countless lives.

Too many people had already died in this war. As the Murim Alliance Chairman, the guilt alone was hard to bear. Another war must not occur.

Besides, there was another reason to save the Demonic Cult Leader, and it was the Evil Alliance Chairman Ju Gasin standing next to him. It was impossible to know how he, whose inner thoughts were unreadable, would act in a situation where the Demonic Cult Leader died.

Having made up his mind, the Divine Sword Martial Emperor threw himself forward first. "I'll help," he said, rushing toward Hyeok Docheon.

To think a day would come in his life when he would willingly rescue the Demonic Cult Leader.

"I'll help, so don't refuse!"

He gathered his inner qi and grabbed Hyeok Docheon's body, but just as he tried to pull, he saw Hyeok Docheon's pupils widen.

He's looking… behind me!?

SWISH! BAM BAM!

A palm strike struck his back. Ju Gasin had ambushed him!

"Keuk!"

The blood he spat out splattered onto Hyeok Docheon's back and the Secret Box. Even though he suffered internal injuries, he turned around as fast as lightning and swung his sword, avoiding a fatal wound by raising his defensive enhanced qi at the last moment.

CLANG!

He narrowly deflected the sword flying toward his heart. Fortunately, he also suspected that Ju Gasin might attack him, just in case.

Still, he did not know the bastard would attack so quickly and decisively. How could the man make a decision that would change the fate of countless people, including himself, so instinctively?

BOOM BOOM!

The two swords clashed in the air, creating an explosion.

"You!" Enraged, the Divine Sword Martial Emperor glared at Ju Gasin beyond the crossed swords. Since he saw the clear killing intent in the opponent's eyes, no more words were needed.

Ju Gasin had judged that this moment was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill both the Demonic Cult Leader and the Murim Alliance Chairman. Now that he had drawn his sword, there was no turning back.

The two men's swords moved back and forth as fast as light.

Although he suffered internal injuries from Ju Gasin's surprise attack, the Divine Sword Martial Emperor was not pushed back in the clash. It was a fight where he would die if he was pushed back even a single step. He swallowed the blood surging up.

Their swords were so fast that they left the next afterimage before the previous one disappeared. It looked as if the two were fighting with dozens of swords held by dozens of arms.

The Divine Sword Martial Emperor's unique martial arts was the Shining Sun Sword Technique based on extreme yang inner arts, and Ju Gasin used the Frozen World Sword Technique based on extreme yin inner arts.

It was truly a battle between extreme yang and extreme yin, heat and cold. If one side emitted light, the other side swallowed it.

A cold blizzard raged from Ju Gasin's sword, and heat as hot as the sun spewed from the Divine Sword Martial Emperor's sword. The world repeatedly turned into summer and then winter.

Geom Mugeuk watched the fight, entranced. He could not take his eyes off it.

Truly amazing moves followed one after another. The swordsmanship of three hundred years ago was different from now. There was learning and enlightenment coming from that difference.

While their bloody battle was in full swing, Hyeok Docheon was also fighting a desperate battle against the Secret Box. He tried to protect the Heavenly Demon Soul somehow, but it was a force no human could stop.

Eventually, unable to endure any longer, the Heavenly Demon Soul slipped out of his body.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

The vivid pain of his soul tearing away was agonizing.

Geom Mugeuk watched as the Heavenly Demon Soul was absorbed into the Secret Box. The sight of that powerful Heavenly Demon Soul being sucked in so helplessly was incredibly shocking. Would it have been sucked in even if it had manifested as a giant? It was impossible to know.

Once it absorbed the Heavenly Demon Soul, the Secret Box no longer pulled at Hyeok Docheon.

Watching the chaotic scene, the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord laughed even while vomiting blood from his mouth.

Yes, kill each other!

On the other hand, the Protection Palace Lord was embracing his body, trying to prevent the aftermath of the fight from reaching the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord.

BAM! KABOOOOM!

An attack that went astray from the fierce battle between the two Chairmen struck his body. He endured with extreme defensive enhanced qi, but the pain of bones snapping washed over him.

He was desperately trying to protect the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord until the very last moment. He knew his lord would soon die, but he fulfilled his calling until the end.

Then came a series of explosions.

BOOM! BOOM! KABOOOOM! BAM!

The sound was so loud and intense that even the Divine Sword Martial Emperor and Ju Gasin stopped fighting and retreated from each other.

Hyeok Docheon, having been robbed of the Heavenly Demon Soul, was punching the Secret Box like a madman.

To the eyes of the Divine Sword Martial Emperor, who could not see the Heavenly Demon Soul, it looked like he had escaped from being sucked in.

"The Evil Alliance Chairman has betrayed us. First, this side…"

At that moment, he could not continue speaking. Red blood qi was flowing from Hyeok Docheon's two eyes as he looked this way.

The Demonic Cult Leader has fallen into qi deviation!

Indeed, Hyeok Docheon had half lost his mind as the Heavenly Demon Soul was forcibly torn away. He reached out toward Ju Gasin, about to unleash a technique with all of his inner qi.

Geom Mugeuk shivered. No!

Hyeok Docheon was trying to unleash the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World. If he used that in this insane state, not only himself but everything here would be annihilated.

FLASH!

Light burst out the next moment, but fortunately, that light did not come from Hyeok Docheon's hand.

The Secret Box emitted a light so bright that one could not open their eyes in all directions.

At that moment, everyone's movements stopped as if it were a lie, and that applied to him as well. The aftermath of the light reached even him, who was inside the Spacetime Manipulation Technique.

Geom Mugeuk could not move his body at all. It was as if the light was saying this: 'You just watch.'

He saw the figures of people frozen in the light. Hyeok Docheon with his hand reached out, the Divine Sword Martial Emperor trying to say something to him, Ju Gasin with an unreadable expression, the laughing Heavenly Fate Palace Lord, and even the Protection Palace Lord protecting him with his body.

They were each letting out their own silent screams.

The next moment, something began to slip out of Hyeok Docheon's frozen body.

That was not all. Something also came out of the bodies of the Divine Sword Martial Emperor, Ju Gasin, and the dying Heavenly Fate Palace Lord.

Golden radiance shone along the contours of their bodies, and then another version of them separated from their bodies.

Surprisingly, those were their souls.

The souls waved their hands to avoid leaving the bodies, but they were separated from their bodies as if the dead were leaving their flesh.

It was not just the souls. The innate life qi and inner qi from the qi center separated and came out together, emitting radiance.

Geom Mugeuk was truly astonished. He had experienced all sorts of things until now, but this sight was a first. It was mysterious yet bizarre.

The flowing souls and innate true qi swirled around the Secret Box once.

At that time, he could clearly see their expressions. The appearance of Hyeok Docheon roaring while in qi deviation, the astonished Divine Sword Martial Emperor, Ju Gasin who did not reveal his emotions even in this situation, and even the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord who was smiling brightly as if thinking they were going to hell together.

They showed their final appearances like that.

SWISH SWISH!

In an instant, all their souls were absorbed into the Secret Box as if being sucked into an abyss.

THUD!

The remaining bodies collapsed to the floor, and Geom Mugeuk could tell they were all dead.

No, strictly speaking, they were not dead. The Secret Box had absorbed them all, leaving only empty bodies behind. Their souls, life force, and all the inner qi they possessed were gone.

Now, the only survivors here were himself and the Protection Palace Lord.

The Protection Palace Lord looked with pitiful eyes at Wi Mucheon, whom he was holding with one arm. His lord had already breathed his last.

"…My Lord."

Fortunately, Wi Mucheon's final appearance was a smiling face, but a single tear flowed from his eye regardless.

"I apologize for failing to protect you."

He had hoped to die first even if he died, but the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord had died first.

Geom Mugeuk could feel that the reason the Secret Box did not absorb the Protection Palace Lord was not because his martial arts were inferior compared to the other four.

He thought it was because the Protection Palace Lord was a different person from them. Because he was a person like the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had lived his whole life protecting someone.

The Protection Palace Lord looked back at the corpses of the three leaders of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions lying on the floor.

CLUNK!

When he was standing there in a daze with an expression of disbelief, something rolled across the floor.

The Secret Box had spat out a colorless transparent bead. Because it was transparent, though, the back was clearly visible.

WHOOOOOSH!

The moment the Protection Palace Lord struggled to go pick it up, black energy rising from his legs wrapped around and surrounded his body.

"Ugh!"

The dark energy crushed and bound him with tremendous force. Having already lost an arm and suffered internal injuries while protecting the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord with defensive enhanced qi, he could not withstand this pressure.

CRACK!

With the sound of bones breaking, the Protection Palace Lord vomited blood.

SSSSS!

The person revealing himself in front of him along with black smoke was none other than the Darkness Palace Lord of this era, Hwa Sogang.

SLITHER!

As the Darkness Palace Lord reached out his hand, the transparent bead that had fallen on the floor floated into the air, and his face filled with ecstasy as he looked at it.

"I knew it! The will of the heavens was with me!"

He felt like screaming out of pure joy. Even if he combined all the joy he had experienced since birth, it would not be as joyful as this moment.

The Protection Palace Lord, trapped in darkness and watching that sight, let out a low groan. "…Hwa Sogang."

The Darkness Palace Lord was lost only in the transparent bead despite his call, as mysterious energy flowed from it and an unprecedented power was felt from the bead.

"…You damn traitor." The Protection Palace Lord glared with burning eyes.

The Darkness Palace Lord looked at him. "What does that make you, then? A loser?"

The Protection Palace Lord hardened his expression and tried to escape from the darkness. However, the more he did, the stronger the binding became.

The Darkness Palace Lord's gaze turned to the transparent bead again. "I found out the secret of the Secret Box."

He had been searching for the secret of the Secret Box for a long time and finally found it, but he did not inform the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord of that important fact.

"The Secret Box is a legendary divine artifact that absorbs evil spirits and turns them into natural qi. Not knowing that, we just enshrined it for a long time."

Just looking at what it showed a moment ago, one could tell that his words were true.

The Darkness Palace Lord's gaze turned to Hyeok Docheon collapsed on the floor. "The Heavenly Demon Soul is a great evil spirit among evil spirits, and since Hyeok Docheon, who wields that soul, has a wicked and cruel personality, I knew the Secret Box would definitely absorb him."

He expected exactly that much. When the Demonic Cult Leader, robbed of the Heavenly Demon Soul, went berserk, he intended to steal only the bead containing the Heavenly Demon Soul and escape. That power alone was enough for him.

However, the Secret Box gave a much bigger gift than that. Even the Darkness Palace Lord, who planned this, did not know that the Secret Box would absorb them all.

"With this power, I'll rule the murim forever."

The Darkness Palace Lord stared at the bead as if possessed. He saw the sky and the sea inside this transparent bead. He saw light and darkness. He saw life and death.

The Protection Palace Lord struggled not to lose consciousness even while his whole body was being crushed. "The heavens won't allow such strong power… to someone like you."

The Darkness Palace Lord stared at him incredulously. "Do you really think the heavens are on your side?"

At least in this situation, the words saying so did not come out.

"…The masters of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions won't leave you alone."

The Darkness Palace Lord laughed. "How, when they don't know I killed them? Fighting over the divine artifact of the Heavenly Fate Palace, the three leaders of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions destroyed each other! It's truly a shameful matter. This incident today won't even be known to the world. It'll be an event that doesn't exist in history."

CRUNCH!

The sound of bones being completely crushed was heard from the Protection Palace Lord's body.

Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes, unable to watch. He knew he shouldn't help, but he couldn't avoid wanting to help.

Since seeing the light earlier, he was unable to move. The Secret Box was preventing him from interfering in this matter at all costs.

The Protection Palace Lord spoke with difficulty. "The heavens were not on our side… but they won't be on yours either."

With those words, his head dropped.

Only then did the darkness surrounding him disappear, and the corpse fell to the floor.

"This incident won't remain in history, but…" The Darkness Palace Lord's body began to be covered in black smoke, and he left a final word to the Protection Palace Lord's corpse. "I'll remain as history!"

He disappeared along with the smoke.

A moment later, Geom Mugeuk released the Spacetime Manipulation Technique and revealed himself. He could only move after the Darkness Palace Lord left.

His expression was more series than ever. Finally, he understood where Hwa Mugi's ridiculous strength originated.

The Heavenly Demon, the Murim Alliance Chairman, the Evil Alliance Chairman, plus the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord and the Heavenly Demon Soul. Five souls and their innate life force are mixed within him. Considering the soul of Hwa Mugi, the owner of the body who accepted that energy, a total of six souls reside in him.

He could now clearly understand why the monster could not be controlled without the Six Elements Origin Qi.

He did not know why the Six Elements Origin Qi was scattered and hidden like that, but he could tell that the six energies he had collected were deeply related to those six souls.

Geom Mugeuk walked over to the Protection Palace Lord's corpse, whose eyes had not even closed. "Ultimately, that Darkness Palace Lord didn't achieve the will of the heavens. He didn't put his name on a single line of history."

Because that power was too strong, he likely failed to achieve his goal. It must have been known only in later generations that one needed the Six Elements Origin Qi to handle that power.

"His descendants won't achieve that vain ambition either. So, close your eyes in peace."

Geom Mugeuk closed the Protection Palace Lord's glaring eyes and looked at the small, blood-soaked Secret Box lying next to him. Since it had completely disappeared in his world, this would be the last time he saw it.

Thank you, my friend.

After saying his farewells, Geom Mugeuk walked straight toward the large Secret Box with long strides.

"Send me back."

Until now, he had been sucked into the Secret Box at completely unexpected moments, but for the first time, he made a demand of it with his own will.

"To where my people are."