Chapter 460
Chapter 461 – Transformation
Rumble!
A massive lightning bolt struck down from the blackened dark clouds.
Boom! Boom!
The lightning crackled, sending shivers down my spine, as it rained down in multiple strikes, not just once.
Every time the lightning hit the ground, trees and rocks shattered, leaving the surroundings in ruins.
The dry, twisted trees of Sichuan were ablaze from the recoil of the lightning.
In the midst of that chaos, the Elder continuously swung his sword.
Swish swish!
The sword sliced through the air repeatedly.
The speed was such that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to perceive the movements.
Countless strikes were unleashed in mere seconds, while lightning simultaneously rained down endlessly.
Crash! Rumble!
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, thick and acrid.
Even feeling that, the Elder did not stop.
The flashes of light continued to pour forth without pause.
By the time the Elder finally halted his swordplay, only charred debris remained.
“…”
Lightning’s master, the last of the Nangong clan, the Heavenly Lord, swallowed his fatigue and sheathed his sword.
With lightning concentrated in one spot for so long, it felt as if the overwhelming number of bets had somewhat diminished.
He took a breath and glanced toward a particular spot.
Amidst the blackened world, there was a location that stood out starkly.
The ground was melting and bubbling, still alive with the residual effects of the thunderous energy.
Frowning, the Heavenly Lord squinted through the smoke that enveloped the area.
As he focused intently, he sensed movement within the haze.
“Tch.”
Confirming his suspicions, the Heavenly Lord clicked his tongue and swung his sword swiftly.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind followed the swing, aiming to clear the smoke.
As the wind he generated swept away the smoke, the obscured ground was revealed.
Something sat sulkily on the blackened, boiling ground.
It had a body stained dark, with flames dancing upon it.
‘Still.’
That blue flame hadn’t gone out yet.
Watching ‘that’ sluggishly inhaling, overflowing with life, the Heavenly Lord frowned deeply.
Moreover, he felt disgusted.
What on earth was that thing?
‘Monstrous.’
No matter how much he looked, he couldn’t comprehend it.
Its arms and legs had been severed, and it had been scorched by lightning—yet its form remained miraculously intact.
It regenerated without a care.
Countless cuts had been made, but its body returned to its original state.
How could that be?
‘What is its identity?’
It was too ambiguous to be called a demon beast, yet it was impossible to regard it as human.
He strained to unravel its true nature, but even that attempt failed.
Bizarre and grotesque.
That was how the Heavenly Lord gazed at it.
To withstand so much lightning and still be intact—it was unbelievably resilient.
But—
Swish.
The Heavenly Lord vibrated the sword tip in thought.
Despite the endless regeneration making it seem futile, he realized that the creature held a weakness.
Even while it defended against every other attack, there was one area it particularly shielded.
‘The neck.’
It aimed to protect its neck during battle.
Seeing that, the Heavenly Lord concluded that it must be a vital point.
Furthermore—
Its left chest bore a gaping hole.
That must’ve been the mark left from when the Heavenly Lord had pierced its heart.
How it retained such a form afterward was unclear.
Grrrr…
A low growl of a beast pierced his ears, compelling the Heavenly Lord to move.
Here it comes.
Roar!
Having caught its breath, the creature charged at the Heavenly Lord with a fierce roar.
It was still fast.
Blue flames erupted from its back, dividing into countless directions, bearing down on the Heavenly Lord.
He winced at the sight.
Just the view made one shoulder ache.
‘That flame is the problem.’
The injury from just moments ago still throbbed.
Not only that.
Right after the attack on his shoulder, his arm froze, unable to move.
Even if he tried to use his energy to shift or even mitigate the effects, his arm remained stiff as if turned to stone.
It wouldn’t budge.
What on earth was happening?
Whoosh!
The flames grazed the Heavenly Lord’s side.
Though it barely touched him, he immediately felt a heaviness weighing him down.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘This is troublesome.’
The very fact he was touched by such an attack was unacceptable.
There was definitely something off about that flame.
Twing!
He felt pain radiating from his shoulder, grimacing at the sensation.
It seemed to be the primary issue.
Drip…
Blood dripped from his shoulder, falling to the ground.
He tried to staunch the bleeding using his energy, but to no avail.
“This beast.”
Twirling!
Raising his sword with elegance, he ramped up his energy.
It was indeed pitiful to find himself unable to handle such a creature.
What would Wi Hyogun have said upon witnessing this? He undoubtedly would have scoffed.
What would Pejon have thought?
Would he have looked down on him?
Clang clang!
The name of the sword rang out continuously from the Heavenly Lord’s blade.
“Roar…!”
Alongside the growling, the offensive continued unabated.
The creature showed no signs of tiring, its movements relentless.
Clang!
The sound was too rough to merely be described as a clash of sword and skin.
The Heavenly Lord pushed back against the creature, which staggered back slightly. Without missing a beat, he swung his sword again.
Slash!
“Aaaah!”
With the cut, the creature screamed as its arm was severed.
He adjusted his grip on the hilt, ready to pierce its chest right then.
Flame Burst!
“…!”
He sensed flames gathering in the creature’s gaping maw.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Lord hurriedly moved, pivoting to escape as it unleashed—
Boom!
The flames spewed forth, engulfing where the Heavenly Lord previously stood.
The heat was immense.
‘This is something.’
Gazing at the flames filling the air, the Heavenly Lord’s lips curled into a smirk.
He was certain.
That thing was a demon beast. It couldn’t be anything else.
‘Could it be a demon beast cloaked in human guise?’
When he first confronted the Red Demon Beast, it hadn’t been nearly this challenging.
He had merely needed to unleash his energy to defeat it. This one was another level entirely.
Judging by its constant regeneration and overwhelming firepower, it was hard to classify it as human.
Perhaps it should be viewed as a new type or grade of demon beast.
A creature from the legends, a White Grade demon beast.
If it truly appeared, this would probably be the feeling—the Heavenly Lord thought to himself.
It shouldn’t have been possible for him to struggle so much.
It absolutely had to be that way.
“Roar!”
The deafening roar echoed as the Heavenly Lord drew his sword diagonally.
Crash!
Lightning struck down from the sky, binding the creature’s feet.
“Roaaar!”
Hit by the lightning, its body seared as it screamed.
In tandem, the Heavenly Lord observed it and nodded curtly.
This was sufficient.
Swish.
With the adjustment of his grip, the Heavenly Lord’s focus sharpened.
Then—
In his mind, a single blade surged vividly.
No, it wasn’t sharp. It was dulled and worn from the touch of the Evil Spirit.
But now, it was more than sufficient.
Even if his movements were sluggish and the energy slightly diminished.
The Heavenly Lord had no thoughts of defeat swirling in his mind.
He merely sought to gather information on the creature he didn’t yet understand.
“Roaaar!”
While the creature thrashed about from the lightning, it roared with all its might.
In that moment, the Heavenly Lord aligned his sword directly with its body. This strike transcended mere energy and realms.
It was an expression of pure sword mastery.
The culmination of a lifetime’s work honing his skills as a sword master gathered in this blade.
The beast disguised as a human would be utterly unable to withstand it.
‘This ends here.’
Though it stung to admit he had been struck once, the Heavenly Lord momentarily sought to forget that.
Now was not the time to confront that beast.
He had unfinished business with the last bloodline of the Nangong clan.
He needed to check on the Elder lying beneath the tree and close his eyes for the last time.
Roar!
The beast continuously howled as the Heavenly Lord closed his eyes.
As darkness enveloped him, he sought for the light within.
He could see it clearly. Although dimmed by the Evil Spirit, a beam of light was shining through.
A sight visible only with closed eyes.
The Heavenly Lord slowly lowered his sword toward there.
His arm quivered slightly.
It was due to the immense force emanating purely from his heart’s mirror.
Boom!
In that moment, the clouds above split apart, and light burst forth.
The sky opened up.
The light descending from above appeared like a transparent blade.
It looked like a sword weathered by time, with a bit of rust.
Yet just gazing at it invoked a sense of awe.
The light gradually began to fall toward the monster.
Should it crash to the ground, it wouldn’t just obliterate its neck but the surrounding area as well.
The Heavenly Lord intended just that.
He considered the possibility that the neck might not be its weakness and pondered a method to erase that regeneration all at once.
After casting his martial arts, the Heavenly Lord slowly opened his eyes.
Then he took a breath while observing the beam of light falling from the sky.
“This is the end.”
He felt confident.
He had invoked the essence of the heart sword, born from extreme enlightenment.
In his entire life, he had seen only two who could endure this blow.
One was the Sword Sovereign.
The other was the Heavenly Demon.
Unless it were one of those two, no one could possibly withstand this power. The Heavenly Lord was sure of it.
And so—
Boom!
The light that gradually fell from the heavens struck precisely where the Heavenly Lord had aimed.
KA-BOOM!
An immense explosion roared, sending clouds of smoke soaring into the sky.
Shattered fragments turned the surroundings upside down, and the force swept through, tilting dry trees as if they would snap in half.
The shock was tremendous.
Seeing the energy released, the Heavenly Lord turned away.
It was over. If he had taken a blow of that caliber, he surely wouldn’t have endured.
He needed to find a trace of it, so he would have to head that way later.
But the Heavenly Lord prioritized killing the Demon Sword Queen.
He would kill that child swiftly and gain his peace.
That was the permission granted to him.
Yes, permission.
The Heavenly Lord had received approval.
He was allowed to enter Sichuan and slay the young man and the Demon Sword Queen…
Suddenly, he halted in his tracks.
He felt a dizziness wash over him.
‘… From whom?’
From whom had he received such permission? Who on earth had granted him that?
Though he sensed the knowledge was close, it remained elusive.
“Ugh…!”
Wrapping his forehead, the Heavenly Lord let out a groan. It felt as though he had forgotten something, yet he couldn’t recall what it was.
As if someone had deliberately taken away part of his memory.
“… What on earth…”
As the Heavenly Lord lamented over the perplexity within him.
Rustle.
“…!”
The distinct energy he sensed caused the Heavenly Lord to turn around, his face filled with disbelief.
‘What…?’
Why was there energy emanating?
That area had been where the light of the heart sword fell. A living being’s energy shouldn’t linger there.
Whoosh—
The Heavenly Lord gripped his sword tightly once more.
This wasn’t a mere illusion.
He could feel it continuously.
‘You endured that?’
It was impossible. There was no way it could have survived such a force.
If it had withstood that, it could arguably be termed immortal.
The Heavenly Lord scowled, peering at what lay beyond.
Flame Burst!
He felt the flames from earlier rise again.
Flame Burst!
The blue flames flared up once more from afar.
The Heavenly Lord braced himself for what was about to unfold.
It appeared that his attacks had indeed been ineffective.
‘This truly is a nuisance.’
In that case, it was necessary to go all out to incinerate it. While preparing to gather his energy—
“… Life truly is.”
“…?”
“A total fucking joke.”
An unexpected curse erupted from within the flames.
“Damn it. I even provided a place to take a dump, and now it’s asking me to wipe as well. This is why one shouldn’t take in wild beasts…”
“…”
With that rather crude tone, the Heavenly Lord scowled.
What was happening now? What kind of situation was this?
He gazed towards the source of the voice, bewildered.
Thud.
Something, coming step by step, approached him.
It was the figure from before.
So it was still alive. Did that mean this voice belonged to that creature?
Its appearance was largely unchanged from before.
It was still draped in something dark, resembling a shadow.
If there was any difference, it was that the hole in its chest was now sealed.
Moreover, the flames did not engulf its entire body any longer.
Watching the creature, the Heavenly Lord asked.
“… What in the world are you?”
What kind of being could exhibit such grotesque features?
Curiosity filled his voice as he inquired, and upon hearing, the creature glanced at him.
“You’re just like that punk who has no manners.”
“…?”
It began spouting incomprehensible words.
Regardless of whether the Heavenly Lord understood, the being continued speaking with a hint of amusement in its tone.
“I bet this is going to taste bad.”
