Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1758

“Withdraw.”

“Yes.”

Upon the Celestial Demon’s command, the Blood Sect Leader kowtowed, his head touching the ground, as he crawled backward, away from him.

Disgust flashed in the Celestial Demon’s eyes as he watched the scene unfold.

‘Insignificant.’

Yet, perhaps his current situation—having to use even such a wretch as his pawn—was even more insignificant. Bound tightly by the laws of the Order, he possessed the power to shake the world, yet could only influence it from afar.

The disciples of the Order could not directly interfere in the Central Plains, the main region of conflict.

Thus, the Celestial Demon’s idea was simple.

If he could not interfere directly, he would do so indirectly. If someone other than him caused chaos in the Central Plains, it would not violate the law.

He knew it was nothing more than clever wordplay. If the doctrines were strictly applied, the Celestial Demon would not be able to avoid the Order’s greatest sin: ‘Disbelief.’

The disciples might think differently, but the Archbishop would not tolerate his actions. Perhaps the person the Archbishop sent to judge him was already drawing near.

But the Celestial Demon did not care.

He had proven his unwavering faith by personally slaughtering a young bishop who had violated the doctrines, but the event had left a clear scar on the Celestial Demon’s heart.

– Until when…….

The Celestial Demon could not answer that question.

‘Oh, Celestial Demon.’

He believed the Demon would return and lead everyone once more. This lost and wandering faith would surely be rewarded.

But there was only one thing he could not be sure of.

Would that advent truly come before the lives of those who had survived came to an end?

The Celestial Demon’s eyes darkened.

The Order was forgetting the past. Those who had not seen its greatness with their own eyes, but only heard of it, already harbored doubts.

Given the situation, if the advent came only after the lives of those who had survived ended, the Order would never be the same.

He had to find a way.

‘The Demon who descends upon the earth will stain everything in the world with blood.’

An age-old prophecy, an absolute truth that he had never even dared to doubt. One day, as the Celestial Demon pondered this, an idea came to him.

The Demon stains the world with blood… Then, conversely, when the world is stained with blood, must the Demon not have already descended?

It might be clever but false reasoning. But the Celestial Demon believed it was worth trying. No, in fact, it did not matter even if it was useless. It would be better than being trapped in eternal waiting without doing anything.

So, he would use every method he could to stain the land before him red.

It could be said to be a sacrifice prepared for the Demon’s descent. He would offer even his faith and his life there, to prepare a world for the Demon to descend upon.

The Celestial Demon bit his lip and gazed at the vast land.

‘Oh, Celestial Demon. Can you hear me?’

Can you not hear the desperate voice of this wretched one, who yearns for you so earnestly, even to the point of intimidating the insignificant?

The Celestial Demon, who had been looking at the lands of the Central Plains with feverish eyes, turned his body.

‘For now…….’

And it was just as he was about to take a step and move away from this place.

“Cough!”

Suddenly, the Celestial Demon crumpled as if struck by lightning. It was as if a giant hand was forcibly crushing him.

His hunched back heaved violently.

“Ugh, uwaaaaaaaaargh!”

Soon, a bucketful of black blood poured from his mouth. The taste and smell of it were acrid, and he felt a wave of weakness wash over him.

‘What……?’

The Celestial Demon’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

‘What is this?’

The Demon’s encroachment? The Demon’s power overwhelming him?

That could not be.

It was undeniable that demonic arts harmed those who practiced them, just as a sword could injure a person, no matter how one used it.

But the Celestial Demon had long since surpassed that realm. He had reached the pinnacle of demonhood. It was not that the Demon controlled him, but that he could control the Demon.

For such a person to suffer from the side effects of demonic arts was as absurd as a tiger being killed by an ant bite.

But if that was the case… then what on earth was this?

“Ugh!”

The Celestial Demon vomited blood once more.

It was as if his body was betraying him and rebelling.

‘A Heart Demon? A mental or spiritual affliction?’

Another possibility flashed through his mind, but he soon shook his head.

It was different from a Heart Demon. Even the gateway to the demonic, which those who practiced orthodox arts had to endure several times more severely before reaching the pinnacle of demonhood, did not shake the body like this without any prior symptoms.

Then what was the cause of this?

The Celestial Demon slowly turned around. A hand, lost and wandering, trembled in the air, unable to find its way.

‘……Could it be?’

His eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.

‘Am I now?’

Was this feeling that pierced his heart what he thought it was? Was he reviving the sensation that he, who had come to feel that nothing in this world was meaningful, had forgotten decades ago?

If so…….

‘I must confirm it. Right now.’

The Celestial Demon kicked off the ground in an instant. His body shot out like a black meteor.

North, towards the desolate land he had left behind.

“Umm.”

A deep worry clouded Hwang Jongi’s face, a mask of accumulated fatigue.

‘It’s not easy.’

Hwaeom had grown to an unprecedented size compared to the past. Moreover, the number of refugees gathering and living in Hwaeom had increased beyond estimation.

Ensuring that they could take root and live in Hwaeom without problems was not as easy as he had thought. Even with the help of the Heavenly Union, it was not a scale that Hwang Jongi and the Eunha Merchant Guild could handle.

“How long can we endure like this, Guild Leader? We are severely understaffed. At this rate, everyone will…….”

“……I know.”

A sigh escaped from Hwang Jongi’s lips.

“But that doesn’t mean we can request additional manpower now, does it?”

“That’s true, but…….”

The guild members lowered their heads. Hwang Jongi said.

“The Heavenly Union members who went to Mount Hua are literally fighting with their lives on the line. How can we complain?”

“You are right. But…….”

“I know. But let’s try a little harder. The war won’t be that long.”

“……Yes.”

The person who had spoken earlier bitterly smacked his lips and began to roll the abacus again. It was not because he completely agreed with Hwang Jongi’s words, but because he knew that Hwang Jongi had much more to do than he did to voice his complaints.

It was already overwhelming to manage Hwaeom, but he also had to support the Heavenly Union members who had gone to Mount Hua and distribute the supplies they consumed. Even if he had not ten bodies, but a hundred, it would not be enough.

‘If the war ends in victory, we will be highly praised for it…….’

Remaining as a meritorious subject of the Heavenly Union, which would seize control of the Central Plains, was a great opportunity that was overwhelming just to imagine. Perhaps they would really achieve the dreamlike feat of unifying the Upper World.

The one who triumphed at the end of the war was always the merchant.

‘But that’s only if people survive.’

What was the point of gaining honor if people could not live? At this rate, Hwang Jongi was likely to die a violent death before the war even ended.

“……Are you sure the war won’t be prolonged?”

“It won’t be.”

No, to be precise, the war could not be prolonged.

The easiest way to grasp the war situation was to understand the flow of funds and supplies. Neither the Heavenly Union nor the Four Great Evils Alliance had the capacity to continue this confrontation.

Since both sides were continuing the confrontation by squeezing themselves to the limit, if one side ran out of resources, they would inevitably have to engage in an all-out war with no turning back. The two forces confronting each other away from their bases would not have the option of retreating to their strongholds.

“Then…….”

The person who was about to say something else forcibly swallowed the question. Hwang Jongi could tell what the question was without hearing it.

Can we win?

Hwang Jongi felt a small gratitude towards the person who had refrained from asking the question. In the past, he would have answered that it was obvious, but now, even Hwang Jongi secretly harbored doubts about the Heavenly Union.

Why was it so sluggish and frustrating? The Heavenly Union he knew had been much lighter on its feet.

Unable to bear the stifling feeling, Hwang Jongi sighed deeply once more. He could guess the reason to some extent, but there was nothing he could do in Hwaeom now.

“We can only trust them and wait.”

“……Yes.”

Hwang Jongi fixed his gaze back on the documents piled up before him. The sounds of the refugees, the smells of cooking food, and the sight of tents and people everywhere filled the air.

It was difficult, but he had to concentrate. He did not want to pass on even a small burden to those who had to fight for the fate of the Central Plains. He could not.

“Guild Leader.”

“What is it?”

“……We have a visitor.”

Hwang Jongi frowned at the unexpected news.

“A visitor? Tell them that this is not the time to receive guests and have them return.”

“That’s, that’s not possible. To be precise, they are not a guest of the Guild Leader, but a guest of the Heavenly Union…….”

A guest of the Heavenly Union?

Doubt clouded Hwang Jongi’s eyes. The very words felt absurd.

First of all, there were no people in the current Central Plains who could be called ‘guests’ of the Heavenly Union. Even if there were, if they had received even the slightest information about how the Central Plains was turning, they would have headed to Gyunhyeon, not Hwaeom.

In other words, people who were ignorant of the situation in the Central Plains but had a certain standing to be called guests of the Heavenly Union had come to Hwaeom. It was absurd.

“Who are they?”

“That’s…….”

Before an answer could be given, Hwang Jongi rose from his seat.

The person reporting kept looking back. It was clear that the ‘guest’ had already arrived at the door.

“First, bring them inside.”

“C-come in, please.”

No sooner had the words been spoken than two people walked in.

One was ordinary, but the other was rather small.

‘A boy? Or a woman?’

It was difficult to tell easily because they were covering their entire body with a very large cloak. Originally, he should not have allowed someone who did not reveal their face to reach Hwang Jongi. This was the fault of those guarding the door, so Hwang Jongi inwardly resolved to hold them accountable for this issue later.

In any case, he calmly asked the two guests, without lowering his guard.

“Would it be impolite to ask why you have come to visit?”

The person with the ordinary build seemed to have noticed Hwang Jongi’s displeasure and hurriedly replied.

“We have committed an impoliteness.”

Hwang Jongi was startled for a moment. The pronunciation was awkward. They were not familiar with the language of the Central Plains.

At that moment, the man who had answered lightly lifted his cloak.

“Oh…… Oh?”

Hwang Jongi could not hide his bewilderment and widened his eyes.

A red robe and a neatly shaved head. Fluent yet strangely awkward pronunciation. When all of this was combined, it was not difficult to guess the identities of these two people.

“I am a monk from the Potala Palace, a powerful and perhaps distant religious entity. In the palace, they call me the Panchen Lama.”

“P-Panchen……!”

Hwang Jongi widened his eyes even more.

Soon, his gaze left the Panchen Lama, the second-in-command of the Potala Palace and the de facto giant of Xizang, and reached the other person.

Hwang Jongi had clearly seen it: the Panchen Lama treating the small figure with deference as they entered through the door.

Who else in the world would the second-in-command of the Potala Palace serve?

“T-then, that person is…….”

The small figure slowly removed the cloak that had been covering their face.

The still youthful face that was revealed was adorned with an unapproachable sacredness.

Hwang Jongi flinched for a moment without even realizing it. Somehow, it felt so right.

‘That… person is…….’

At that moment, the young man’s mouth opened. A heavy voice, unfitting for his face, flowed out calmly.