Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 163

Chapter 163 – Secret (1)

***

“Hmmm.” 

The one wearing the Emperor’s shell hummed.

The Leader of the Inverted Sky breathed in slowly. The air around him was filled with smoke and fog, making it hard to see even one inch in front of him. 

The smoke slowly seeped into his body as he inhaled.

Opiates.

A cursed scent that was a mixture of flowers, perfume, and the scent of flesh permeated deep into his lungs. 

His eyes were dull and glazed. 

It seemed like his body was heavier. 

In the meantime, the Leader of the Inverted Sky felt immense pleasure. 

“Not bad.”

It seemed that the effect of narcotics was better than the sexual exploitation of beautiful women. 

Was it just ‘not bad’?

The man corrected his words with an indifferent expression. 

“Pretty good. No, I really like it.”

The pain that had consumed his whole body disappeared. It seemed like the pressure of the body imprisoning the soul had disappeared, like the clothing he wore suddenly fit perfectly. 

The Emperor’s body was one that did not suit the Inverted Sky Lord’s soul. 

Among the techniques of the Cult of the Inverted Sky, there were those that built up the strength in the soul. 

The soul of the Leader of the Inverted Sky, who had practiced all of these arts, was truly enormous. 

However, he had forced himself to take over the body of the Emperor, so he had no choice but to bear with it. 

The dissonance between the soul and body eventually led to the rapid collapse of the physical body, and the Leader of the Inverted Sky continued to suffer. 

At first, he overcame the pain through sexual pleasure. 

And then it was alcohol. 

And now?

As the pain became worse and he needed more and more to stop it, the body he inhabited was reaching its limits — it was a body that could no longer last without drugs. 

Thinking up to here, the Leader of the Inverted Sky frowned. 

“Hmm.”

He soon changed his words again.

“I feel bad. That’s not good. ”

At that point, someone swiftly appeared behind him. “The pain seems to be getting worse. ”

Like the emperor, or the Cult Leader of the Inverted Sky, a cloak of smoke covered his body. 

When Grand Chancellor Heo appeared, the Inverted Sky Lord frowned and said, “The collapse of the body is accelerating. That’s a bad sign…”

“Most of our preparations are complete. There are some failures like the Sword Emperor puppet, but the number of successes is not small, so the new body will soon be ready for the Lord.”

“As soon as possible.”

The Grand Chancellor lowered his head slightly. “Understood.”

After the conversation was over, there was a moment of silence. 

Then, it was the Inverted Sky Lord who opened his mouth. 

“But did Hwan Dok succeed? Did he? Tell me, Chancellor. You must know.”

He titled his head, like a child asking for answers. 

At the question, the chancellor nodded. 

As the lord said, he knew the answer. 

“Yes, haha. I know.”

Red light flashed through the eyes of the man. 

The chancellor had a technique where he could take a piece of someone else’s soul. 

It was called the Thousand Mile Eye. [1]

The Thousand Mile Eye was slightly different from physically taking over someone’s soul.

If he took a tiny piece of another person’s soul, he would be able to see what was happening with the other person through a connection of the spirit. 

It was quite useful. 

Before leaving, Hwan Dok had left a fragment of his soul with Heo Hon-su. Thanks to that, the chancellor could watch everything from his seat.

That was why he was able to easily answer the Inverted Sky Lord’s question. 

“It was a success.”

“Success… Did he succeed in slitting the Heavenly Demon’s throat?” giggled the Inverted Sky Lord. 

Heo Hon-su sighed for a moment. He had a rough idea of what happened, but had a hard time reporting it. 

Moreover, he felt like he was dealing with several people at once, since the emperor’s tone had changed. 

It was because the history of the Inverted Sky was accumulated inside the Leader’s soul. In order to build more strength, the soul would increase in size by absorbing other souls. 

In other words, the Inverted Sky Lord’s soul contained thousands or tens of thousands of other souls. In that process, several personalities had been born. 

They were all the Inverted Sky Lord. So of course it would feel like several people. 

But Heo Hon-su had no choice but to answer to all of the personalities. 

“We failed to slit the Heavenly Demon’s throat, but we succeeded in getting the poison into his body.”

“Hmm, I see. It’s not a big success, but a small success. Definitely not bad.”

The Inverted Sky Lord’s attitude and personality changed again. This time, it was that of a proud lord. 

“What will you do?”

At the question, the Inverted Sky Lord closed his eyes. His nostrils flared and he tapped on the armrest with his fingers. 

It looked as if several personalities were having a heated debate in the emperor’s head. 

Heo Hon-su waited in silence. 

The Inverted Sky Lord was holding a personality debate so that he could draw conclusions.

The emperor did not stay silent for long. The time in the mind and the time in the real world are clearly different, so it was useless to think about how deeply the man had thought about what to do. 

“Maybe I should stab him first?”

Heo Hon-su, understanding, bowed his head. “I will instruct my men in the bureau to proceed.”

When he heard about the bureau, the Inverted Sky Lord twitched. “Bureau… Have you completely taken over the Eastern Depot?” [2] 

“A couple of years ago, we got rid of the old Easter Depot Chief and placed our own man in his place.”

“The push back inside the bureau must have been terrible.”

“Of course, if they knew it wasn’t the Chief sitting there.”

The emperor giggled. Perhaps the man sitting in the position of chief looked the same as before. 

The emperor smiled and added, “Good job.”

“I will contact the bureau and arrange for my best men to take care of it.”

Even the same poison would have slightly different effects on different people. Depending on the situation, the impact would change slightly. 

In the case of the Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon, the man had forcibly pressed down on the poison and even Hwan Dok had been dispatched. Chun Hwi had lived longer than expected.

The current Heavenly Demon?

The current Heavenly Demon was now embroiled in war. So unlike his predecessor, the World Ending Heavenly Demon could not afford to stamp down on the poison with all his strength. 

Curious, the Inverted Sky Lord curled his lips. What will you look like?

Assassins sent from the Eastern Depot would be a good sacrifice to determine the poison’s effects. 

“Okay, let’s do it. Assassinate him.”

When the emperor’s orders were issued, the Eastern Depot moved about. 

The Eastern Depot was a secret institution under the emperor’s command. It was made up of eunuchs, but their power was unimaginable. Ordinary citizens, as well as martial artists, were afraid of this hidden organization. 

Their movements were silent. 

Almost immediately, the best assassins were ready. 

Ones who could hide themselves in the darkness and could assimilate to their surroundings energy. If they went to Murim, they would be able to receive the title of lords.

The process of preparing was very secretive. 

But no matter how silently you moved, you couldn’t cover up all rumors. 

What happened inside the Eastern Depot was secretly reported elsewhere, as were the overall movements of the government. 

“Hmm.”

An old man hummed as he looked at the two letters in front of him. 

The one on the left was in a white envelope, stamped with King Jinseong’s seal of authenticity. 

What was in it?

The contents were no longer in the envelope. After all, they had already been burnt. 

The Cult of the Heavenly Demon is the force that Jinseong brought in. 

He raised a hand, slowly stroking his chin. He then picked up the other envelope. 

It was a black envelope, contrasting the white one. 

Despite the black envelope not having a signature on it, he tore it open.

The elderly man’s eyes trembled as he took out the letter inside and began to read it. 

His eyes shook as if he had read something unbelievable. He put the letter down with difficulty. 

“Ugh, there are so many idiots who can’t tell if it’s my command or not because I’m gone.”

He reached for the letter, which floated into the air and immediately flew into the hearth. 

Crackle—

The flame swallowed the letter in an instant. 

The old man muttered, “All because I made a mistake with the Emperor. If you do this, I have no choice but to raise my head.” 

He watched the flames for a few moments. 

Soon, he took out some ink and paper and began writing a letter. 

Finishing the letter, he folded it gently, then wrote another letter about what he was thinking about. 

“Who’s outside?”

Finishing the letter, he called someone from outside. 

At his call, two men entered the room. 

“You summoned me, my lord.”

“You summoned me, my lord.”

In the light, the faces of the men were black. It was not just their face, their whole body remained dark in the flames. This was not usually seen in Zhongyuan. 

Members of the Brocade Guard. [3]

“Excellent, there’s two of you.”

The man turned to them, handing one letter to each of the attendants. 

“Take this letter to the Heavenly Demon.”

“Are you referring to the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult?”

The old man nodded, seriously adding, “Whatever it takes, you must deliver this letter to him. You must move as quickly as possible, since we’re fighting against an emergency. Be careful not to be seen by anyone.”

“I will move in the darkness of the night and amongst the shadows of the day.”

The old man nodded, then turned to the other attendant. “Take your letter to Nanchang.”

“Do you want me to go and say something?”

“Secretly seek out the Sage and ask to meet the King. If you tell him you were sent by Cho, he will speak to you.”

“I hear the master’s command.”

Cho for Cho Dong-sang. 

It was the name of the eliminated Chief of the Eastern Depot. 

[1] Thousand Mile Eye would usually be translated as ‘clairvoyance’

[2] The Eastern Depot/Bureau, was a secret spy and police agency run by eunuchs

[3] The Brocade Guard were imperial secret police that served the emperor