Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 596: Gathering the Night Sky (5)

Ming Cult Northern Branch.

Roughly four thousand li north of Guyong Pass, the Great Wall of the Ming. Located in the northern reaches of the Demonic Realm, in the great city of Seokgwon-do—now, in effect, the true headquarters of the Ming Cult.

However, most of the people of Seokgwon-do had no idea that beneath their feet lay a vast underground chamber. And it was even harder to imagine that the Ming Cult resided there.

The fact that the Northern King “Gluttony” had been slain by the Three Sovereigns of the Ming Cult was kept an absolute secret.

As was the fact that the Grand Warrior under Gluttony was defeated in a single breath by the former head of the Hwangbo Clan.

Even the existence of the mechanical pulley systems that connected Seokgwon-do to the underground chamber remained unknown.

Kugugung—

At that moment, one such pulley rose beyond the stone wall of Seokgwon-do’s outer city.

Crafted by the Iron Clan of the Ming Cult, it spanned hundreds of jang in depth, linking the surface to the subterranean.

Its mechanisms were beyond the mimicry of even the Ming nobility, let alone the Han people. It was, without a doubt, a feat of divine engineering.

Leaning against the fence surrounding the wide platform ascending toward the surface was a young-looking man. He was accompanied by five men in black, all guarding him.

“This is taking forever. Damn stifling.”

He wore silk robes of fine jade color, with a bold and cheerful demeanor.

Even though the black-robed men radiated an inhuman aura like icicles in a cave, his face remained relaxed.

This was Hwangbo Gon, the Divine Beast King.

Grandfather of “Forget Grace, Betray Loyalty” Tae Yeom-ryong, he was a legendary figure who had once escaped the formation of the Flood Dragon when Gwangya Ilmyeol—Jeong Yeon-shin in his dark-clad days—still bore his old name.

He had lent a hand in helping the Ming Cult seize control of Seokgwon-do from the shadows. And yet, he was mysterious and formidable enough to warrant being watched even now.

“It felt deep coming in... and now we’re just going up and up. Without this divine pulley, I don’t think even the world’s finest lightness skill masters could escape from the headquarters. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The black-robed men, Magi practitioners of the true Ming martial arts, gave no reply.

Saaaa—

The surrounding cliffs rushed endlessly downward, draped in darkness. Here and there, demonic practitioners clung to the rocky faces like spiders using Wall Gecko Technique.

The ones on the platform weren’t the only guards.

This was why Hwangbo Gon had remarked on how difficult it would be to escape. At the pace of stepping across air, one would surely be caught.

This world-within-a-world was forged by the Ming Cult’s magics and the Iron Clan’s engineering.

The enormous magic formation personally constructed by So Cheonmujuk infused the underground space with air, warmth, and demonic energy.

The space itself was overwhelming.

But Hwangbo Gon was no stranger to surviving in such otherworldly places.

“Finally going to breathe outside air again. A simple outing takes five days to approve. Are all demonic cultivators just slugs?”

He mocked the black-robed men with practiced monologue.

“You lot may barely remember what the sun looks like, but I remember well. There’s no better snack than sunlight in a wine cup.”

Then—

Ggggk—

The pulley that had been lifting the platform suddenly stopped, then began descending again. They hadn’t even made it halfway up.

A furrow appeared between Hwangbo Gon’s brows.

“What is this?”

“Seems someone’s pulling it from below,” one of the black-robed men answered quietly.

“And why?”

“Something must’ve come up. We can’t know from here.”

“Damn scraps of demonic energy...”

Grumbling aside, they began descending again. The steel cables of the pulley, connected to the platform, forcibly dictated the freedom of the former Hwangbo Clan Leader.

“Damn dwarves of the Ming Cult... their craftsmanship is wasted on this nonsense.”

His cursing of the Iron Clan didn’t last long. Soon, Hwangbo Gon was standing face-to-face with a group in the underground chamber.

He addressed the old woman at the front curtly.

“What is it?”

She was one of the Ghost Emperors of the Ming Cult.

The name meant “ghost-like master.”

The four demonic disciples who raised So Cheonmujuk were each titled with the name “Emperor.” This woman had been both the caretaker of the Ming Cult Leader and, for a time, a revered master. Hence, a Ghost Emperor.

She spoke.

“The Clan Leader’s aid is required.”

“I’m the former Clan Leader.”

“The Hwangbo Clan has been annihilated. That makes you the current one, whether you like it or not. Unless that wench from the Ice Palace completes the Moonlit Flower Technique.”

“......”

Hwangbo Gon stared silently at the old woman.

She wore a black wind-robe over a scarf made from white fox fur.

A faint ash-gray lightning flickered and sparked outside her body—residue from her Lead Lightning Demon Technique, which allowed her to manipulate thunder energy.

She was the Thunder Emperor among the Ghost Emperors. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

It was said that if her body held out, she might one day rival Geumbyeokja of the World Tree. But that was a story only told among those who knew the Guardians of the World Tree.

Hwangbo Gon finally spoke.

“My grandson will master the Moonlit Flower Technique before you ever touch Geumbyeokja. He completed the Triple Harmonization Transformation despite that body of his. The boy’s talent is different.”

“That’s only if he doesn’t die young,” the Thunder Emperor replied calmly.

“I’ll offer you advice, senior. If you came to beg the Cult Leader for healing, you should act like a proper beggar.”

He had come to beg for medicine.

That was why the former Hwangbo Clan Leader had entered the Ming Cult as a guest.

A peerless talent from the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline.

He figured that if So Cheonmujuk, who had mastered the studies of the founder of the sect—once said to be omnipotent—had truly unified martial and medical arts, she might be able to create something extraordinary.

Even if, by fortune, his grandson were gifted the fruit of the World Tree, he wouldn’t survive long enough to use it unless he became a peerless master first.

“Watch your tone. Did you chew on poppies for breakfast?”

Hwangbo Gon sneered. But the Thunder Emperor remained unmoved.

“The Cult’s initiation ritual was disrupted. Intruders.”

“Intruders?”

“Acting Commander of the Divine Sword Sect, Beggars’ Sect Leader, and the Imperial Prince’s Protector.”

“All at once?”

“None are at their best. If you lend a hand, we can bury them here. This is the main headquarters of the Cult, after all.”

Hwangbo Gon’s eyes narrowed the moment he heard “Acting Commander of the Divine Sword Sect.”

“...Are you certain of their identities?”

“Yes. The magic formation in this chamber was crafted by the Cult Leader herself. It doesn’t just create a livable environment—it allows us to know the intruders’ locations and appearances.”

“‘Livable environment,’ my ass.”

Despite his grumble, Hwangbo Gon could feel the enormous invisible force. The demonic energy flowing through the underground cavern like a web.

‘A formation...’

A formation that didn’t just support the internal energy of the Ming Cult’s practitioners—it could also be used to activate hidden traps like a Forest of Swords.

So Cheonmujuk, the Ming Cult Leader.

Even in her absence, her presence was monstrous.

A master of countless arts. That, more than anything, was why Hwangbo Gon had stayed in the Cult for a time.

It had been convincing enough. He had once seen a prescription in her hands after a brief visit to the Heavenly Demon’s Secret Vault.

—It might not be entirely impossible without Ice Essence. At least your head’s still intact.

It was a rough draft, of course.

The Solar Divine Veins were a constitution in which the Eight Meridians and all body channels boiled with heat. It couldn’t be cured with a few simple lines of text.

Still, So Cheonmujuk had promised to give it some thought and offered Hwangbo Gon a guest suite. Thus, the former Hwangbo Clan Leader became a guest of the Ming Cult.

As he reminisced about the past, Hwangbo Gon walked with the Thunder Emperor and about twenty demonic practitioners toward a secluded cave.

As a martial artist, Hwangbo Gon might’ve done otherwise. But as a grandfather, he had no choice.

Taking the Ice Palace Lord’s dantian might solve everything, but he couldn’t kill his grandson’s wife to save his grandson.

“Stop here,” said the Thunder Emperor, standing before a large iron door.

Even at a glance, the door radiated a strange spiritual energy.

Saaaa—

It was without a doubt a type of sacred artifact. Look at the way that dusky black mist rippled across the surface.

‘And it’s made of black iron. I can’t even guess at the thickness...’

No human strength could open it. That was the instinct of a top-tier master whose upper dantian was attuned to the sublime.

He could sense that the iron door was connected to the energy flowing from the Ming Cult Leader’s formation. Even the most supreme masters would fail to scratch it.

Unless one intended to collapse the entire cavern, it could not be opened by force.

“They even embedded the Iron Clan’s forging qi techniques?”

For once, the Thunder Emperor nodded without hesitation at his question.

“Yes. Unless you infuse qi along the predetermined sequence, the door won’t open. The secret incantation is the key—handled under the strictest secrecy.”

Even Hwangbo Gon didn’t know the exact location of this place. The Ming Cult’s new headquarters was an enormous underground city.

“What is this place?”

“Heavenly Demon’s Secret Vault.”

“...What?”

“All the demonic martial arts manuals beneath heaven and earth are stored here. A place where even an old man’s lifetime of experience becomes meaningless. If you could step inside, your knowledge would expand infinitely.”

The Thunder Emperor spoke casually.

Demonic.

It was a seductively sweet word. A blatant attempt to fully draw Hwangbo Gon in.

Of course, Hwangbo Gon sensed it right away.

Sss—

But instead of replying, he silently pulled a small gourd flask from his robes. It was the kind of moment that called for a drink.

He muttered briefly.

“Martial arts that defy heaven are buried in the lands of the demonic cult.”

An old saying. A truth that followed natural law.

“...So the Ming Cult Leader grew up with this level of exposure from the start.”

He glanced sideways at the rounded iron door as he spoke. For the first time, the Thunder Emperor’s response held the faintest glimmer of emotion.

It was pride.

“The environment matters more than talent. The Cult Leader experienced the Thirteen Heavens as a child, but eventually, she returned to the Heavenly Demon Vault. Because no place matched it.”

This place held the remnants of the Great Demons of the past.

The Ming Cult Leader’s legacy lived here. Only someone who had helped raise her could speak of it that way.

“The intruders are headed straight here. If you, I, and my disciples can stall them for a bit, they’ll be stopped right here.”

At that, Hwangbo Gon smirked and asked, “Do you even know who they are? Even if the Cult Leader’s formation helps, you think they’ll be stopped here?”

He was an old tiger of the rivers and lakes.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He knew better than anyone how battle-hardened masters /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ like Gwangya Ilmyeol or the Sword Saint could transcend the realm of imagination with their skills. “Outlandish” was the only word for it.

Yet the Thunder Emperor remained calm. Her black-robed disciples did as well.

“Among them are the Bright Demon of the Twin Demons of Silence, the Three Sovereigns of the Underworld, and the other Ghost Emperors. They’ll arrive soon. The passage is too narrow for our martial units to enter, but...”

“This is the Heavenly Demon Vault we’re talking about. Isn’t it protected by layer after layer of formations? I’ve heard about that infamous Soul Severing Divine Demon Formation, for instance...”

“They’ve breached them all.”

“What?”

“According to our Brain Demon Division’s calculations, they’ll arrive shortly. Prepare yourself.”

As she spoke, orange sparks flashed across her body, accompanied by the violent hiss of friction.

Her disciples—two dozen black-robed men—followed suit.

Internal Armor.

Also known as body-protecting qi.

“Heavenly Light Armor...?”

Hwangbo Gon murmured unconsciously.

“No... they’ve merged the Ming Cult’s Rakshasa Protection Qi with the Heavenly Light Armor technique. How is that possible? The Northern Kings of Whirling Wind Hollow wouldn’t hand over that technique...”

“The Cult Leader made it possible.”

That was clearly the source of the Thunder Emperor’s composure. That she had raised the one known as the “Invincible Who Mocks Heaven” was undoubtedly part of it as well.

KWAANG!

Suddenly, the stone wall opposite the iron door exploded wide open.

Dust thickened the air. The sound of scattered stone echoed across the floor. Through the haze emerged a group of figures.

An old beggar spoke first.

“Their armor... doesn’t look like Heavenly Demon God Armor, but it’s absurdly tough. Best to shatter the body-protecting qi first, if you can.”

“Watch your mouth. My hands aren’t free, remember?”

The boy warrior carrying Beggars’ Sect Leader Ju Gwang-shin on his back answered. The sight of a child in armor carrying a scrawny old man was striking enough—but he also had another person on his front.

Two old men leaned on his small frame.

The last figure was a young man of unparalleled beauty—barehanded, but standing perfectly upright.

“Gwangya Ilmyeol.”

The Thunder Emperor muttered lowly, her gaze entirely fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin.

He had charged in with terrifying speed, his advance footwork almost supernatural.

“Yes, that’s how you’re supposed to use your soles! I only taught him once, and—!”

Ju Gwang-shin shouted joyfully from over the boy’s shoulder.

“Move.”

Jeong Yeon-shin—Gwangya Ilmyeol—reached out toward the Thunder Emperor.

Sss—

He grabbed her shoulder. A whirl of thunder rolled in his palm, as if it would melt her body-protecting qi on contact.

[Skybreaker.]

Even the echo that filled the cavern seemed to carry the meaning: remove all that obstructs.

The Thunder Emperor’s eyes widened.

‘Divine power...?!’

PUUUUUM―!

Her entire body shattered like a shell hit by a cannon blast.

It happened in an instant.

Her body fragments scattered, mixing with the crimson bloom of blood and the lingering shockwave of the palm technique, which still had power left to burst in all directions.

Her disciples were swept away in the carnage.

“GAAAHHH!”

“Guh...! GUAHHH!”

Shrieks that seemed to rise from the depths of the underworld.

The black-robed men, armor and all, were crushed beyond recognition.

Their death rattles were drawn from the pit of their stomachs, and smoke began to rise in thick trails, quickly filling the cave.

He had intended to melt their protective qi, but ended up melting the people themselves. It was likely because they were demonic cultivators.

“......”

Hwangbo Gon stared down at the chunks of flesh stuck to the hem of his pants. Then slowly lifted his gaze.

The cave was dark, painted in deep red.

Jeong Yeon-shin stood in the center of the hellscape.

He looked vastly different from when he had fought inside the Flood Dragon’s formation. His face was more refined, his eyes sharpened like a sheathed blade. A quiet, enlightened air hung about him.

How much had the world carved away at him?

He now looked like an old man in a young man’s body. His temperament, at least, certainly had aged.

Step.

He walked slowly toward the iron door. Though he bore no sword, the authority of the Divine Sword Commander radiated from him.

“Senior Hwangbo, have you been well?”

Jeong Yeon-shin bowed slightly as he spoke.

“You look... well, too.”

Hwangbo Gon wasn’t offering empty words. At least as a martial artist, Jeong Yeon-shin now seemed flawless.

“Is that so?”

Jeong Yeon-shin gave a faint smile and approached the door. As if he already guessed the reason the former Hwangbo Clan Leader had come to the Ming Cult.

Hwangbo Gon hurriedly tried to stop him.

“Wait, if you don’t follow the key’s incantation, this whole place might collapse—!”

GUGUGUGUGUNG—!

The sound erupted the moment Jeong Yeon-shin touched the indentation in the center of the iron door.

His innate sense scanned the internal structure and extracted the qi-flow pattern in the blink of an eye. As though he had done this before.

With a massive rumble, the door split open in a perfect line.

The Heavenly Demon’s Secret Vault had opened—just like that.