Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1358

Kuururung!

Thunder rumbled incessantly in the sky.

On the ground, tremors like earthquakes rose without pause, and the beasts that had made their homes in the mountains had long since fled far away, leaving not even a single bird to be found.

At the summit of such Mount Tai, Sa Mun-hyang stood.

Dressed in a golden dragon robe that had been prepared, he looked sacred and mystical, unlike one who had gathered the power of defying the heavens.

‘This is it.’

Sa Mun-hyang closed his eyes and touched his chest.

He could feel a round bead nestled where his heart used to be.

‘Demonic energy… Demonic power surges.’

The heart is an organ that prevents the human body from decaying.

The blood that flows from the heart circulates throughout the body. If the heart does not pump blood, a person dies.

Since ancient times, people have believed that the heart is the source of the soul and symbolizes life itself.

Of course, that is not true. It is an organ so important that one dies immediately if it stops, but the idea that the heart houses the mind is just a vague belief.

However, that old belief had become a reality for Sa Mun-hyang.

‘Everything has gathered here.’

Life force, mind, soul, will, martial arts, life, past, and future.

Everything that defined Sa Mun-hyang’s existence was contained within his heart. No, it was contained within the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl.

And Sa Mun-hyang realized that he and the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl were no longer separate.

‘I merely intended to use the divine pearl, but the divine pearl chose me.’

Sa Mun-hyang smiled.

It was a smile that anyone would praise as beautiful, a smile for which it was difficult to find any other descriptor than sacred.

“So, you have acknowledged me as your parent.”

From Sa Mun-hyang’s perspective, a parent is a master. Therefore, he felt immense satisfaction that the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl had become his servant.

He had always been like that.

All the children he had produced from countless women were his servants. Among the servants, he raised those who were useful and threw those without talent to the wild dogs as food.

And now, Sa Mun-hyang had obtained the most beautiful and useful child in his not-so-short life.

“Hahahaha!”

As Sa Mun-hyang burst into laughter, the clouds above his head swirled madly.

“The Yin is the Yin. The Yin is the foundation of the Blood Cult. How can there be a Blood Cult member without spreading my seed throughout the world?”

Even if the Blood Cult were to dominate the world, it would collapse in less than a generation if it could not produce useful servants.

The Yin was tasked with spreading the seeds of the gods throughout the world. But that was a natural limitation and the best ability of a living being before it was a task.

“I have finally become a god.”

With the power of the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl, he would be able to command countless servants. There were no limits to the power of the divine pearl.

Sa Mun-hyang slowly looked around.

The Four Demonic Sorcerers and Jo Hol were prostrating themselves, bowing. Their faces were not visible, but he could tell that their expressions were filled with joy.

That was not all.

From the vicinity of Mount Tai, far below, countless cultists were kneeling and praising the existence of a god. Even though the demonic energy had not yet fully spread, they were still praying for their god.

Sa Mun-hyang’s smile deepened.

‘Now it begins.’

The Divine Clan had betrayed him, the Mad Blood Clan had suffered near annihilation, and the Yin had also taken a heavy blow.

It no longer mattered.

The Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl possessed the power to defy the heavens. In the demonic realm, true defiance of the heavens meant immortality, but Sa Mun-hyang, who had become one with the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl, realized that there was a higher level.

Resurrection.

A miracle that could revive the dying, even the dead.

It was natural for a severed life to have its soul and spirit separated and return as part of nature. The Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl was the embodiment of a will that directly denied such a principle, another truth that belonged to the absolute opposite of the heavenly order.

“I shall live forever. As a god who governs life and death, I will manipulate the world according to my will.”

Sa Mun-hyang looked up at the sky.

A somewhat rusty atmosphere lingered over his joyful expression.

“It has been a long time indeed.”

It was then.

-Is that so?

Startled, Sa Mun-hyang looked around.

‘What is it?’

He could not have misheard. Having become one with the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl, he had become a heretical god who had transcended the common sense of nature.

There was no way he, who was emitting unimaginable demonic energy at this very moment, could have misseen, misheard, or misfelt anything.

‘Who is it? Who is speaking to me?’

-If you possess the natural limitations and the best power of a living being, does that not mean that you are still breathing under the net of the heavenly way?

Sa Mun-hyang’s face hardened.

“The heavens?”

He raised his head and looked at the sky.

The clouds, rotating and growing thicker, looked like a giant eye.

Sa Mun-hyang, who had been glaring at the sky with clear eyes, soon relaxed his expression.

“That can’t be.”

He could not have misseen or misheard. It was impossible to even misfeel.

However, Sa Mun-hyang admitted that even though he had become one with the Heaven-Defying Divine Pearl, he had not yet truly become one. That was why he could be experiencing auditory hallucinations.

Even if it was not a hallucination, the heavens could not speak.

‘I am now standing on the boundary between this world and the next.’

Uuuuuung.

The demonic energy emanating from his heart covered his eyes with a transparent film.

Then, he saw translucent beings flying all over the place.

They were things that did not possess life. The identities of the ghosts that those with excessively developed upper dantian [an energy center in the body] and spiritual energy often saw were these things.

Things that had died but had not been able to ascend to the heavens. Those who had regrets in this world and could not go to the next, now foolishly forgetting even the reason why.

“Good. To think I would see them so clearly.”

The Mad Blood Clan used the Great Summoning of Souls technique to bring the souls of dead masters into the bodies of the living.

Now, Sa Mun-hyang did not even need such a technique. The technique was just one of many paths to reach defiance of the heavens. For Sa Mun-hyang, who had become defiance of the heavens itself, bringing souls was not a difficult task.

And because summoning souls was not difficult, other things were even easier.

Uuuuuuung!

The ominous demonic energy emanating from Sa Mun-hyang’s heart seeped into the bodies of the Four Demonic Sorcerers.

“Heok!”

The Four Demonic Sorcerers, raising their heads, foamed at the mouth.

Their faces turned pale, and their eyes rolled back. Anyone could see that they were on the verge of death.

Sa Mun-hyang spoke calmly.

“Overcome it.”

It was a single word, like a command.

At those words, the trembling of the Four Demonic Sorcerers stopped. At the same time, an extremely sinister sorcery emanated from their bodies.

They had begun to accept the Heaven-Defying Demonic Energy.

Kuururung! Kuururung!

Thunder also struck from the bodies of the Four Demonic Sorcerers.

At the same time, their sorcery intensified. They were forcibly raising their cultivation by converting demonic energy into sorcery.

Chiiiiik!

In an instant, their sorcery developed, and the skin of their entire bodies darkened.

Only then did the Four Demonic Sorcerers open their eyes and bow their heads toward Sa Mun-hyang.

“Thank you for your divine mercy.”

It was a calm voice.

There was not a hint of emotional resonance. It was as if they had become different people in an instant.

Fuuuuuung.

The demonic energy flowing from Sa Mun-hyang’s fingertips seeped into Jo Hol’s body.

Jo Hol’s transformation was not as dramatic as that of the Four Demonic Sorcerers. He simply trembled and quickly accepted the demonic energy while maintaining his posture.

Hook!

Sa Mun-hyang’s eyes curved.

The demonic energy emanating from Jo Hol’s body was truly powerful. The Military Governor, who had been on the verge of reaching the Twelve Great Achievements, had reached the Great Achievement in an instant. Moreover, the density of his internal energy had increased, and his internal and external injuries had healed in an instant.

He had easily made the high-dimensional demonic energy, unparalleled in ancient and modern times, his own. Sa Mun-hyang had only transmitted a tiny amount of demonic energy, but the fact that Jo Hol had accepted such energy without question showed how great his loyalty and talent were.

“Thank you for your divine mercy.”

However, Jo Hol’s voice was the same as that of the Four Demonic Sorcerers.

A voice devoid of any emotion. The expression that had been filled with joy just a moment ago had become as hard as if it had been carved from ice.

Sa Mun-hyang did not care about the changes in his subordinates’ expressions.

The important thing was that he had forcibly raised the cultivation of his subordinates, who had achieved amazing levels with his near-infinite power.

If he could change such masters with a power that was less than a tear, then taking over the entire world would not be difficult.

“Hahaha!”

Sa Mun-hyang, who had burst into laughter once again, looked at the western sky.

“By now, that bastard from the Mad Blood Clan must have noticed it.”

Cheon Hwa-ryong had always been more interested in demonic studies than demonic arts. He was deeply interested in the study of the truth of this world and reversing it, as well as techniques such as summoning souls and creating zombies.

He was a guy who was more reasonable than his father. Moreover, since he had also broken through to the level of a Demonic Saint with demonic arts, he would soon sense his existence and bring sacrifices on his own.

Sa Mun-hyang pointed his hand toward the foot of Mount Tai.

“Let’s go. I want to have a strong drink today.”

With that, Sa Mun-hyang descended Mount Tai.

Two men with indifferent faces, like dolls, followed behind him.

* * *

“…….”

Yeon Wi, who had entered Shandong and finally arrived near Mount Tai after more than half a day, silently surveyed the area.

“……It’s terrible.”

Numerous deaths were everywhere.

The war had not been going on for long. Yet, the corpses were decaying as if it had been at least five days.

That was not all.

The entire land near Mount Tai had become dead land. The land itself was filled with death energy. The land, which had turned blacker than the decaying corpses, looked even more gruesome.

Yeon Wi calmly stepped on the dead land.

Hook.

Each time he stepped, black dust rose.

For decades to come, not a single blade of grass would grow on this land. Even Mount Tai, which had not yet lost many trees, would soon have to send its children to the afterlife.

“It’s truly cruel.”

An expression of anger appeared on Yeon Wi’s face.

“This is like a plague. A plague that cannot be driven away by fire or wind and rain.”

The figure of the fiend appeared like a phantom.

The figure of a demonic god, laughing heartily and leading numerous followers.

‘I cannot face him. But I must face him. I must stop him as soon as possible, or the world…’

It was then.

“……?!”

Yeon Wi turned around.

“Keueung…….”

A groan was heard.

He immediately ran to the place where the groan had come from. Because of the situation, his movement speed was much faster than before.

After a while.

“Hey, are you awake?”

“Who are you……?”

The one who had regained consciousness was a middle-aged beggar wearing five knots [a symbol of rank in the Beggar Clan]. He had not suffered any internal or external injuries, but he had been unable to regain consciousness.

“I am Yeon Wi, the head of the Yeon family.”

“Y-Yeon Family Head, it is you.”

His eyes were also blurry. It seemed like he could not see well.

“Why did I lose consciousness… I only came to check the situation…”

Yeon Wi’s eyes trembled.

This beggar had only come to see what was happening at Mount Tai. Yet, he had lost consciousness.

‘Demonic energy!’

Yeon Wi calmly helped him up.

“Where is Ga Deuk-sang?”

At that moment, the beggar’s eyes flashed open.

“Chief! The Chief is in danger!”