CH 204

“Heeheeheeheeheeheehee.”

The Inverted Sky Lord laughed with his arms spread wide. At that moment, there was a repulsive force and his body hovered about an inch off the ground. 

While in that state, the Inverted Sky Lord laughed wild and free. He titled his head down, making eye contact with Woon-seong. 

The man made an imposing figure, but Woon-seong did not turn away. Instead, he returned the look with his own smile. 

Huiying-

The Inverted Sky Lord’s laughter contained a strange power, so it could not be resisted without the use of internal qi.  

“Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee.”

Whether he realized the effect of his laughter or not, the Inverted Sky Lord laughed ceaselessly. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he pointed at Woon-seong. 

“By the way, what were you going to say earlier?”

“Earlier…?”

Woon-seong immediately thought back to what he was saying before Peng Ga-hyuk’s shouting cut him off. Then, he looked at the Inverted Sky Lord, who stood as a white-haired man amongst an achromatic world. 

“Just that you look a lot different from what I’ve heard.”

To this point, the Inverted Sky Lord smiled brightly, like a child who had just been praised for his new clothes. “Hehehe. Do you think so? I like this body quite a lot too.”

“I heard you were wearing the skin of the Emperor.”

“It was like that, but it was just a tool. I used it and threw it away once it got old.”

King Jinseong, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the imperial guards, cried out, “Inverted Sky Lorddddddd!” 

It was a voice filled with anger.

That was natural. The Emperor, the body the Inverted Sky Lord had discarded, was King Jinseong’s brother. 

He had to be angry. 

In response to King Jinseong’s fury, the Inverted Sky Lord waved his hand lightly. 

“Oh, shut up.”

At that moment, a powerful white aura shot from the Inverted Sky Lord’s hands and struck King Jinseong in the shoulder. 

“Ahhh!”

King Jinseong screamed, grabbing his shoulder. The area where the white light hit burned brightly, then seemed to disintegrate. 

“Huagh-huah-hagh-huagh.”

And soon, his left arm was completely gone. The one-armed King Jinseong fell to his knees and vomited. 

“That wouldn’t have happened if you’d just been quiet. I am still the elder.” The Inverted Sky Lord smiled, like an innocent child who had just ripped off the wings of a dragonfly. “Isn’t that right, little brother?”

An evil spirit that erased a man’s arm with a smile. One who could laugh and kill a man in jest. 

Swallowing his brooding, Woon-seong asked, “Where did you get that body?”

“Ah, you mean this body?”

The man glanced down at his body, which was basically glowing white. His pupils spun. 

It was a nauseating scene, but the man didn’t care at all. 

“Made it.”

“Made it?”

The word ‘made’ caught in Woon-seong’s throat like a thorn. He did not understand what ‘making a body’ meant. 

That was why Woon-seong titled his head in confusion. 

The Inverted Sky Lord explained as if he no longer had anything to hide: “You already know about the puppets right? You probably know very well. I’m sure you would’ve fought with them a few times. Then, why did I name them ‘Divine Gu‘?” 

The man flew up into the air as he asked. He seemed like a pure child, roaming the air. 

Each time he spun, the world around him would gradually grow colorless. 

It seemed like a gray light of despair flowed from the man’s body, drenching the world. 

Perhaps the glow of the man’s body was possible because he breathed despair and absorbed all hope into his own body. 

“Think about it. Divine corpse puppets are obviously strong, but I raised them like Gu. Why is that?” 

The Inverted Sky Lord suddenly spoke about a poison called Gu.

Gu was produced by placing dozens of toxic beings — spiders, scorpions, snakes, etc — into a jar. Inside the jar, these toxins would devour each other, kill each other, and nurture the toxicity level until there was only one poison left: the one that took on all the energy of the other poisons, killing them all and rebirthing into a powerful Gu. 

And did the man know about Woon-seong’s sudden thoughts about these Gu? 

Probably. 

The Inverted Sky Lord’s eyes turned into crescents as he chuckled, “So you understand. That’s right.” The man stopped flitting about in the air. Instead, he turned to look in the direction of the tomb and said, “I made over ten corpse puppets and made them fight each other.”

His voice changed into one of seriousness, unlike when he had been playing around. 

If it had been that of a playful child’s until now, the voice was now a heavy bass. It was like the person itself had changed. 

“The body I am using right now is the sole survivor of that fight.”

The man gently patted his body with his fingertips. “Should I name them Divine Corpse Puppet Gu?” 

Divine Corpse Puppet Gu.

Woon-seong shuddered at the name, since it meant that the Inverted Sky Lord had created Gu using the corpses of deities. 

Woon-seong had fought with the corpse puppets himself, and even then, just one was terrifyingly strong. 

But Gu had been made with these corpse puppets?

He had no idea how powerful the evil born from it could be. 

“The Divine Corpse Puppets were just a byproduct of my plan to build my body, hahaha. My soul is strong and I needed a new body to withstand it. The Emperor’s skin was only used for a short time, since I needed a body to sit in for a while. Besides, the body of the Emperor seemed to be more comfortable than I first thought.”

“Huh-huh-huh-huh.”

To his words, King Jinseong held his severed arm and wept bitterly. 

The emperor of this land, this massive stretch of land, had been used by this man like a tool. King Jinseong couldn’t bear to stand this thought without wanting to cry or vomit. 

Woon-seong did not lose his temper, but he understood King Jinseong’s feelings. It was as if his two masters had simply disappeared, byproducts of this plan. 

The Inverted Sky Lord observed Woon-seong. For just a short moment, a red glow came into his eyes. Soon, the Inverted Sky Lord titled his head and asked, “And why are you different in body and soul?”

At that moment, Woon-seong jolted as if he had been struck by lightning. It was as if the Inverted Sky Lord had seen right through him. 

The truth that no one — other than Woon-seong himself — had ever known was just revealed!

“What do you mean?”

Woon-seong pretended not to understand. 

This time, the Inverted Sky Lord’s voice sounded like a woman swooning. “Yes, I see. You, as well as being of the Sky Demon, were also a descendant of the Spear Sky. You did something that no human could do!”

The man chuckled.

Almost just as quickly, his giggling stopped, lips curling to reveal creepy teeth. The teeth were sharp and cutting, like a beast’s.

He clenched his teeth and whispered to Woon-seong from a great distance:

“You’ve lived twice.”

Woon-seong trembled. 

He had met many enemies so far and faced many life or death crises, but he had never been more terrified. 

No, had he ever felt the fear of death since he rose to Semi-Divinity? Even though he had approached it before, he would press it away somehow with his transcendent will. 

But…

Now that transcendent will did not listen to its master.

His legs were trembling. 

Subconsciously, the Inverted Sky Lord continued to mumble: “Well, how did you live twice? A man can’t do that, so how did you do that?”

He narrowed his eyes. A red glare swept Woon-seong’s body once more. 

And soon, the Inverted Sky Lord smiled brightly. His voice turned back into one of a child. 

“Wow, you’ve got something good.”

His gaze was on Woon-seong’s chest. 

To be precise, it was on the necklace hanging at Woon-seong’s chest.

He was looking at the artifact of the Spear Master Sect. 

“I am sick of this sect!”

At that moment, Woon-seong recalled a story told by the Buddhist and Sword Stars. 

Before the Soul Sky walked the path of the Inverted Sky, before he walked the evil and unorthodox path, the Soul Sky had given one of his belongings to the Spear Sky. 

An item said to belong to a deity — a necklace. 

And so the necklace Woon-seong was wearing had once belonged to the Soul Sky!

That made sense. 

It was creepy, appalling. 

The Soul Sky was an existence in pursuit of Nirvana. Wasn’t it odd that his belonging exerted a power that allowed someone to live once again?

The Inverted Sky Lord could barely stand still, his legs and hands twitching. He then turned towards Woon-seong and positively drooled. 

It was like a child with delicious ice cream in front of him. 

Like a child deciding whether or not to eat the ice cream, whether or not the ice cream would be delicious. 

No, it seemed like he was deciding whether to save the ice cream for later or to devour it now. Either way, he wanted to extend his arms and latch onto Woon-seong. 

This feeling was clearly conveyed. 

Soon, the Inverted Sky Lord laughed brightly, reaching a decision. 

“Since I’m sick of this sect having this relic, I should retrieve it. Right?”

He reached out. His hand swept towards Woon-seong like a huge net. 

The moment he faced this hand, alarm bells blared in Woon-seong’s mind. 

As the Inverted Sky Lord said, this necklace may have once been a sacred relic belonging to the Soul Sky. 

But at the same time, it was the last inheritance left to Woon-seong by the Spear Sky, ancestor of the Spear Master Sect. 

He did not want that legacy to be taken away. 

No, it should not be taken away!

Woon-seong conveyed this will through his whole body. 

The qi swirling through his body, along with the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body, represented his will. A manifestation of the transcendent will that had freed Woon-seong from countless death threats so far!

Fear receded when it touched this will. At the same time, Woon-seong was filled with the Tempered True Blossom. Along with the Divine Flame, Intimidation Qi seeped out. 

A gray stream spread over the flames.

Every texture of the Heavenly Demon’s practice, including the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body, the Tempered Orthodox Qi, and the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon all wrapped around Woon-seong’s body. 

Huiying-

Meanwhile, the Inverted Sky Lord’s palm became enormous, covering the sky as he came to grab at Woon-seong. 

Woon-seong’s feet slammed into the floor. 

Pak-

Hyuk Woon-seong was pushed back. 

At the same time, the Inverted Sky Lord’s hand was also pushed back. 

“Huh?” The Inverted Sky Lord widened his eyes, as if surprised. But he soon smiled, “How annoying. It seems that one hand is not enough.”

Both of the Inverted Sky Lord’s hands came at Woon-seong. 

Kuakuakua-!