Yi-gang stared at the severed head of Yi-ryong, which was rolling on the ground.
A severed head speaking—such a thing was beyond common sense.
Yet, somehow, he understood.
This was a man who had dedicated his and his brothers’ lives to the grand task of reviving the Heavenly Demon.
Such obsession. Furthermore, the group of sorcerers didn’t hesitate to use any means or methods.
Perhaps, through some strange dark magic, he had temporarily postponed his death. After all, he was the highest-ranking sorcerer of the Demon Cult, which had been trying to resurrect the Heavenly Demon.
“Who is it? Who spoke those words?”
Yi-ryong’s head, now flustered, rolled its eyes wildly.
The composed demeanor from a moment ago was nowhere to be found.
He had seemingly accepted his fate for the sake of the grand task, but in the end, he had wanted to witness his achievement with his own eyes in this twisted way.
It was likely his warped obsession that drove him to this point...
“Who...”
「Has the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon failed?」
Yi-ryong shut his mouth tightly.
Though he couldn’t see Yi-gang, it seemed he could still hear his voice.
“Heh... Crown Prince’s Teacher. So, you’ve died as well? Have you become a spirit?”
「Yes, much like you. Now speak.」
In fact, Yi-gang hadn’t died but had momentarily left his body under the guidance of Zhang Sanfeng. However, Yi-gang didn’t bother to explain.
That way, Yi-ryong would likely speak more freely.
“It’s true that the resurrection was successful, but... it wasn’t as we expected.”
Yi-gang recalled what had happened earlier.
The Heavenly Demon had been resurrected in the body of Ye-song, the youngest of the Seven Great Immortals.
He had easily shattered the Heavenly Dark Barrier.
Yet, despite this, his full strength had not returned.
The Heavenly Demon had muttered something along those lines.
“Why was I awakened so early?”
Yi-ryong and the Seven Great Immortals had prepared only about half of the fragments of the Heavenly Demon’s soul.
They had judged that with that much, the resurrection would be possible.
Yi-gang and Zhang Sanfeng had thought the same, but it seemed they had been wrong.
“In time, the soul fragments would have naturally gathered.”
There was a sense of regret.
“...The crows have plucked the feathers from the wings of the great phoenix.”
What had Yi-ryong been thinking at that moment?
Was he going to offer an excuse or ask what that meant?
But that was the Heavenly Demon’s final remark.
With a simple step, he shattered the Heavenly Dark Barrier and left Yi-gang in a half-dead state.
「So, that wasn’t even his full strength?」
“Yes... The fusion with the vessel was unstable. Perhaps... he won’t be able to endure much longer in Ye-song’s body. The demonic energy was leaking out so thickly it could be seen with the naked eye... If his resurrection had been perfect, he would have flown straight to Xinjiang using the sky-walking technique.” �
The terrifying majesty of the Heavenly Demon wasn’t even his full strength.
The fact that the surroundings had been dyed black with overflowing demonic energy wasn’t intentional.
Somehow, it had felt as though he was wasting his energy without reason.
「So, you should have gathered all the soul fragments?」
“It seems so.”
「Then why did you rush it before gathering them all?」
‘Why make such a foolish decision?’
Yi-ryong seemed to interpret Yi-gang’s question that way.
His face twisted in self-reproach and pain.
“Because that’s what I was told...!”
Someone had advised the Seven Great Immortals to do so.
「Who told you that?」
“It was none other than the Depraved Heaven Palace Master! They said the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon had to be prioritized as soon as possible.”
「What is the Depraved Heaven Palace?」
“Kuh...!”
Yi-gang found the story a bit difficult to comprehend.
To summarize briefly, the Seven Great Immortals were originally affiliated with the True Demon Palace.
They were strongly in favor of the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon. However, the previously indifferent faction from the Depraved Heaven Palace had suddenly become cooperative with True Demon Palace and the Seven Great Immortals.
They even helped them infiltrate the Imperial Palace by handing over one of the soul fragments of the Heavenly Demon they possessed.
「That sounds suspicious.」
“...”
Yi-ryong couldn’t deny Yi-gang’s words.
If everything had gone smoothly, there wouldn’t have been anything to doubt. But now, with the situation as it was, suspicion was unavoidable.
It was the Depraved Heaven Palace Master who had assured them that even without all of the soul fragments, the resurrection would be successful.
「Now, armies are gathering from all sides.」
They were coming to capture the assassin of the Emperor.
They might soon clash with the Heavenly Demon.
Perhaps, Yi-gang had one less thing to worry about.
Had he fled with Zhang Sanfeng, the Heavenly Demon would have faced the imperial army.
Whether the Heavenly Demon could break through the army or not, his physical body would eventually collapse, leading to his death once more.
Yi-gang fully understood the implications of that.
Possession wasn’t an easy thing.
Even for those naturally gifted as spirit mediums, it was an immense challenge.
For spirits like Yi-gang to possess someone and even use their martial arts was nothing short of a miracle.
How much more difficult would it be to completely integrate a massive spirit like the Heavenly Demon into someone’s body?
If the grand spell had truly failed, the Heavenly Demon’s body would soon collapse on its own.
「So that’s what happened.」
However, Yi-gang didn’t feel that entrusting everything to Zhang Sanfeng had been a mistake.
「What was the Depraved Heaven Palace Master trying to gain by deceiving you?」
“He wanted to sabotage the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon first and foremost...”
Preventing the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon.
“...and throw the nation into chaos.”
The knives embedded themselves in the corpses of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot guards around him.
“It would be better for the official story to be that the Guardian went mad and rampaged, rather than the sorcerers of the Demon Cult being responsible for killing the Emperor and throwing everything into chaos.”
Yi-gang had thrown and used up dozens of willow leaf throwing knives.
If things continued this way, nothing could stop the Ming army from marching to Xinjiang for a punitive expedition.
Seong Yeok-ju and King Gye-yeong would need such a justification if they were to seize control and bring order.
“You... Crown Prince’s Teacher.”
Yi-ryong’s voice sounded panicked.
But it was clear that Yi-gang’s actions were not in favor of the Demon Cult.
Yi-gang pulled out a large curved blade and rushed straight toward where the Heavenly Demon was.
There, the Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng were locked in a contest of strength.
It seemed they had reached the final stages of their duel, their hands pressed against each other.
Even from a glance, it looked similar to an inner energy confrontation.
Up until now, it had been evenly matched.
A true battle between legends that had spanned hundreds of years.
Any martial artist watching would have thought it was a sacred duel.
Yi-gang charged fearlessly toward the site of the duel.
Yi-ryong asked in astonishment, “No way, what... what are you doing?!”
Yi-gang accelerated as he ran.
Though he couldn’t use Sword Aura, the curved blade in his hand flared with blade energy.
“No, no!”
Yi-ryong tried to stop him, but with only his head left, he couldn’t halt Yi-gang.
The Heavenly Demon noticed Yi-gang charging and turned his head.
Yi-gang could tell at a glance that the body Zhang Sanfeng had borrowed wasn’t in good condition.
It was a miracle the limbs were still attached. Returning to his original body would surely result in terrifying aftereffects.
“...How could this body be fixed,” Yi-gang, burning with rage, shouted, “Die! Heavenly Demon!”
He swung the curved blade as if to split the Heavenly Demon’s head in two. Yi-ryong cursed aloud.
The Heavenly Demon, startled, raised his Defensive Aura Qi.
Chweeeeeng!
But in the middle of an internal energy duel, it wasn’t easy for him to pay attention to Yi-gang.
For the first time, a look of confusion appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.
“Priest!”
Zhang Sanfeng seemed to instantly see through Yi-gang’s spirit.
Was he about to scold him for interfering in the duel?
“Keep striking!”
“These crazy Taoist bastards-!”
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
The Heavenly Demon ground his teeth in frustration.
Even amid all this, Yi-gang relentlessly swung his curved blade.
The Defensive Aura Qi flashed with each hit.
Ka-kak!
At last, Yi-gang’s curved blade couldn’t withstand it anymore and broke.
Without stopping, Yi-gang threw a punch.
Boom, boom—
The body, protected by the Treasure, was as tough as iron.
But hitting the Defensive Aura Qi was practically a suicidal move.
Kwajack!
The Guardian’s fist shattered.
The pain must have been immense, as his hand bones were visibly protruding.
But Yi-gang didn’t stop.
If he couldn’t use his hands, then he would use his feet. After that, he unleashed a flurry of kicks.
“You... you annoying little insect!”
The Heavenly Demon couldn’t hold back his anger.
He finally broke off the internal energy confrontation and stomped the ground.
Boom!
Yi-gang, who had been about to strike the Heavenly Demon’s neck, was swept away like a fallen leaf.
The energy unleashed from the Heavenly Demon’s fingers shattered the Treasure protecting the Guardian’s body and pierced through his abdomen.
Then, the Heavenly Demon’s hand gripped his throat.
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened.
Yi-gang was smiling.
“It’s nice to fight without worrying about what comes after.”
“You insolent fool!”
The Guardian’s neck exploded.
Yi-gang’s spirit was flung away, just like before.
Something entered his field of vision as he flew.
Taking advantage of the opening Yi-gang created, Zhang Sanfeng thrust both hands at the Heavenly Demon.
In his joined hands, a bright white light, unlike anything seen before, was gathering.
It was clear at a glance that this was an incredible technique, on par with the Non-Act Daydream.
Yi-gang was inwardly worried whether Zhang Sanfeng’s body could withstand such a technique.
“I’ve won, Heavenly Demon!”
However, wasn’t it too bold to claim victory after using such unscrupulous methods?
The glowing hands pushed against the Heavenly Demon’s chest.
Thoom—!
With the sound of a giant drum being struck, a faint, whitish soul burst out of the Heavenly Demon’s body.
The body collapsed powerlessly.
“Hey, Taoist! Help me seal the Heavenly Demon’s soul!”
At Zhang Sanfeng’s shout, Dam Hyun excitedly rushed over.
“Well done, Yi-gang!”
Though he couldn’t see Yi-gang’s spirit, he said that anyway.
At the waist of the headless Guardian’s body, Yi-ryong, tied up, let out a desperate scream, “No! Heavenly Demooon!”