Chapter 570

There was an ancient tree within the Holy Cult.

It was a spiritual ancient tree called the Divine Tree, and whatever it contained rivaled a higher god.

Rivaled?

Even as I thought it, I immediately rejected the idea.

“It doesn’t merely rival one... It’s already at that level.”

What the hell was that? And why was a tree like that there?

Those were the questions that had surfaced as I made my way out through the passage.

“Just what is that Divine Tree?”

Fortunately, the person who could answer was right beside me, so I asked first.

[It has existed since the birth of the Holy Cult.]

“Since its birth?”

I had heard something similar when the comparatively small Divine Tree within the Demonic Cult had been explained to me.

“Then that one was there from the beginning too?”

[That is correct.]

“...Something like that has been there since the Holy Cult was founded... And so has the Dancer?”

[Yes.]

“Do you know anything about the Dancer as well?”

[If you mean that particular Dancer, I do not. But I know of Dancers.]

That meant he had never seen Ye Ran before, but that Dancers had existed before her.

“Then what is a Dancer?”

That was what I wanted to hear first.

What exactly was a Dancer?

The explanation I had heard earlier had been nowhere near enough.

[The Holy Cult speaks of a soul covenant. It is also called a covenant of fate, though the name itself is unimportant. What matters is how they are bound.]

I focused.

I filed away every word that reached my ears.

[Here, a Dancer is a priestess who appears in the same era as the birth of a Heavenly Demon and possesses eyes that can see the future.]

“...The future?”

So my guess had been right.

Foresight.

It seemed that woman possessed it.

That was not particularly shocking.

It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t impossible to find either.

There had been a few people like that in my past life. In a world crawling with frauds pretending to be spirit-mediums, there were also people who truly possessed foresight.

Of course, their predictions were not always accurate. The future changed from moment to moment, and some had even gouged out their own eyes because of it.

Was that what people called the curse of foresight?

Knowing the future was not necessarily a blessing.

Maybe that was why the Dancer had covered her eyes.

[She sees many things. That is what a Dancer exists to do.]

“...Then what connection does someone with foresight have to the Heavenly Demon?”

[I already told you. A Dancer exists in the same era as the birth of a Heavenly Demon. That means the birth of a Dancer is also the birth of the one destined to become the Heavenly Demon.]

“So.”

Considering the Dancer’s age—

“The Heavenly Demon would be around her age?”

[The Holy Cult likely believes so.]

“Then you see it differently?”

[I do. I do not believe it must happen precisely in accordance with a Dancer’s birth.]

“...Why? Isn’t that covenant supposed to mean they are always born together?”

[No. I had no Dancer.]

“...What?”

That was completely different from what I had just heard.

“What do you mean, you had no Dancer?”

[More precisely, one existed. But she was my father’s Dancer, not one born in my era.]

“Then you had no Dancer? How did you become the Heavenly Demon?”

Wasn’t this place obsessive as hell about symbolism?

And yet he had still taken the Heavenly Demon’s seat?

How was that possible?

[It was simple. I crushed those who questioned me and cut off my father’s head.]

“...”

That was a terrifying answer.

Wow. Right.

Just kill everyone who has a problem with it.

The strong were the law.

That meant he had risen to become the Heavenly Demon by suppressing even those doubts through sheer force.

If that was the case—

Was the Dancer really not that important?

Maybe.

Gye Mun did not seem to think so, but if the Heavenly Demon was right, then something else was probably more important.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Arts. The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword. Things like that.

At the very least, the Heaven-Slaying Star and the spiritual energy the Heavenly Demon kept emphasizing were probably part of it too.

[Correct.]

Sharp bastard.

He had apparently read my mind.

[The Dancer is not that important. Neither is that ancient Divine Tree beneath us.]

“Isn’t that just what you think?”

[Then is something else important? If I think so, that is the correct answer. I proved as much.]

“...”

If he decided something was right, then it was right?

It was hard to imagine a more arrogant statement.

Still, setting that aside—

“Anyway, in a world where you are gone, that woman called the Dancer clearly exists. And they are searching among people born in her era, aren’t they?”

Whatever the former Heavenly Demon had done was not important.

The symbolism they believed in mattered more.

The reason there were so many people being called candidates was probably because of the Dancer.

Or—

Because the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword is gone.

It might also be because the Divine Sword that was supposed to prove the identity of the Heavenly Demon was absent.

Then again...

Becoming the Heavenly Demon sure was a pain.

How many visible conditions are there already?

You needed Heavenly Demon blood to hold the Divine Sword.

You had to master the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts, the signature martial art.

You had to be born in the same era as the Dancer and possess spiritual energy too?

No thanks.

I’d rather not.

Why did they need so many qualifications?

Those were only the ones I could think of. There were probably more if I looked into it.

The funny part was—

I fit them again.

At a glance, those conditions resembled my current situation.

That was probably why Gye Mun had reacted the way he did, and why Freak Demon had reacted the way he had.

It could work in my favor if I chose to use it.

But what should I do from here?

Now that I had shown even Freak Demon’s existence to Gye Mun, I had to set the board.

The question is what goal I should set.

It was not about becoming the Heavenly Demon.

If I had to name it—

I need to find out how deeply the Sky-Crushing Palace has reached into the Demonic Cult.

At the same time, I needed to throw one complication at that irritating bastard, the Young Cult Leader.

That needed to be my purpose.

It’s not like I’m actually going to become the Heavenly Demon.

I only needed to muddy the waters.

What Heavenly Demon?

Being known as Yoo Cheongil’s inheritor is already enough of a burden.

And I was supposed to aim for the Heavenly Demon’s seat too?

Ridiculous.

Right.

It has to be ridiculous...

It truly did.

*****

Once I stepped outside, I found that the place beyond the exit was, surprisingly, not inside the Holy Cult at all.

No wonder that route was so damn long.

It was just an ordinary stretch of thickets.

I had a rough idea of where I was, so I did not think I would get lost.

“...”

Yu Yeon had probably already returned and was waiting.

I should head back immediately.

With that thought, I started walking.

It did not take long to reach the county town.

Like I said, it was not particularly far away. I arrived quickly and moved through the streets.

I bought something to cover my face in case I attracted attention.

I could have used the one Gye Mun had given me as it was, but—

That would draw even more attention.

Anyone who saw it would immediately think, That person absolutely cannot let anyone discover his identity.

I could not walk around looking like that.

So I bought a simple gauze veil and put it on.

There was another place I wanted to inspect while I was here.

This may be the first time I’ve actually looked around the county town properly.

I had been here for almost seven days, but this was the first time I had truly taken in the place.

My impression was not exactly new or refreshing.

It’s just a place where people live.

That was all it was.

There was nothing special about it.

Though maybe that is what makes it special.

Considering this was Demonic Cult territory, I could tell that most of what I had imagined had been wrong.

Was I narrow-minded?

Or had I simply clung to a needless, one-sided prejudice?

Maybe it was both.

It did not matter.

What I saw with my own eyes was reality.

“Try some before you go!”

“Mr. Ju, I heard you got something good this time?”

“Oh, aren’t you quick to notice...”

The conversations and voices drifting through the streets were no different from those in a county town in Henan or anywhere else I knew.

A place where people lived.

That vague thought was beginning to settle in my mind when—

Where is it?

I searched through the town for the place I was looking for.

Unless I had been mistaken, I had seen it before.

At the time, I had deliberately pretended not to notice.

But there’s no reason to do that now.

After walking around a few more times, I found it.

Right.

There it is.

A large building standing quietly amid the town.

The presence inside was remarkably faint, but I could still tell people were there.

And beyond that—

Sky-Crushing Palace.

The place was thick with Sky-Crushing Palace energy.

“...”

I approached.

The moment I did—

“Who goes there?”

A man waiting outside spotted me and spoke.

I looked toward him.

He carried Sky-Crushing Palace energy as well.

“Ah, I thought this was an inn, so I came over out of curiosity.”

“Then you came at the wrong time. We are closed today.”

“Is that so? What a shame. Then when will you be open again?”

“The proprietor is ill, so I expect we will be closed for about half a month. Perhaps we will reopen after that.”

“Half a month. Understood.”

I answered, then withdrew the hand that had been reaching for the door handle.

I turned away.

Only then did the strange presences I had felt inside seem to settle down somewhat.

Half a month.

That was an awfully specific number.

The place called itself an inn, but the people inside were remnants of the Sky-Crushing Palace.

The fact that people like them could exist within the Demonic Cult was strange enough.

Which meant—

They have another backer.

Someone was allowing them to stay here and covering for them.

There was an example right in front of me: that younger-generation prodigy I had seen within the Demonic Cult.

So there’s definitely something going on.

I would have to come back at night.

For now, confirming it was enough.

That decided one of the things I needed to do later.

As I made my way through the county town to return to the residence—

Should I buy something?

Yu Yeon came to mind.

I felt a little bad for sending her away so casually.

Maybe I should buy something to eat and apologize.

I looked over the nearby street stalls.

...I guess I’ll just buy a few skewers.

That was about all I could see.

I was about to grab some and take them back when—

“...?”

I stopped walking.

Then I turned around.

A dense crowd had gathered nearby.

And within it—

What is this energy?

It was not unfamiliar.

It was extraordinarily familiar.

Before I knew it, I was moving.

I pushed my way into the crowd, driven by instinct.

Then, in the distance, I saw someone.

...That person.

A figure walking with a cloak pulled low over their head.

I could not see their features, but my heart began to pound as I looked at them.

This is...

It had to be.

Azure Moon Heart Art.

The heart art of the Azure Moon Sect.

Its distinctive energy was resonating inside my middle dantian.

My surprise at the sudden resonance lasted only a moment.

“...”

“...!”

The cloaked figure turned around.

Only then did I see it.

...Blue eyes.

Blue eye-light gleamed from beneath the cloak.

Proof that they had properly mastered the Azure Moon Sect’s heart art.

Moon Eye.

That person possessed Moon Eye.