Heavenly Demon Cultivation Simulation-Chapter 537: Demon Lord (2)

Scrape. Scrape.

The Demon Lord’s group stepped into a cave thick with darkness.

Each step made the damp floor emit an unpleasant sound.

‘Is this really the place…?’

The torchlight’s red glow barely licked the walls.

Though inside a cave, the ceiling stretched dizzyingly high, and in the shadows beyond the light something felt like it was holding its breath.

Only the fact that Heuk-gyeong at the front was a Supreme Demon Warrior comforted them.

But even his expression was hardening.

“Wait.”

Tuuuk.

When Heukg-yeong suddenly stopped, those behind nearly collided and halted.

Where his gaze fell, a massive stone wall completely blocked the path.

“Look at those.”

One troops leader’s voice trembled slightly. She pointed not at the stone gate but at the ceiling.

Flare—

When they raised the torch, a chilling sight was revealed.

Marks as if cut by blades marred the ceiling in places.

No, they were not merely marks.

‘Traces of slaughter.’

Chwarak.

Weo-seom pulled talisman-like papers from his robe, set them alight, and tossed them.

Small flames fluttered up and lit the ceiling, making the horror even clearer.

“They put a wager in the blade… no, this isn’t a simple attack.”

Yeo-rin, a troops leader, continued her analysis. Her pupils trembled with unease.

“It’s the marks of executions. Very… brutal ones.”

“Those called the Three Hidden, I suppose.”

The Demon Lord muttered under his breath. The air grew heavy at the word alone.

“Those said to be the guardians of this place. Those marks are the end of intruders.”

Yeo-rin stepped back unconsciously. Something rolled at her feet.

It was bleached white bone powder.

“Unlucky souls.”

“Not necessarily.”

The Demon Lord’s response was unexpected. A strange longing flickered in his eyes.

“The right to behold the compendium of our cult’s martial arts knowledge kept within here.”

The Demon Lord muttered as if to himself. Complex emotions passed through his gaze.

“If you could become stronger, how many would give up their lives for it?”

‘Still, it’s not an easy thing.’

Heuk-gyeong thought inwardly.

To be trapped a lifetime in such fetid air, where not a single shaft of sunlight reaches, could that truly be called life?

Kwoong.

Suddenly, something moved deep in the cave. A chill ran down everyone’s spines.

“It’s a gate forged of refined iron.”

Heuk-gyeong’s voice, after examining the stone gate, was tense and clipped.

“If we try to smash it… it’ll take considerable time. And the noise…”

Huuuk.

The Demon Lord sighed and looked at the palace heads. His gaze lingered on Yeo-rin.

“Is that one a formation specialist?”

“Yes.”

While Yeo-rin answered, Wei-seom slowly approached the stone gate.

He ran his fingertips over the door’s surface as if checking something.

“It’s a formation used by our cult. It seems… possible to unravel it—”

Gugugugung!

At that moment, the whole cave trembled.

Drreureuk- drreureuk-

Pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling in a cascade.

In that instant they felt a clear hostility.

“They’re coming.”

Sreureung—

Heuk-gyeong’s sword slid from its scabbard. The killing intent pouring from the blade lowered the surrounding temperature.

‘Three Hidden… have they detected us?’

It seemed they realized the ones who entered were intruders, not the Cult Leader.

Or perhaps they’d known since the entrance was breached.

“I’ll hold them off.”

Heuk-gyeong stepped forward.

The presence of a Supreme Demon rose slowly from his body.

“Quickly open the gate and go in!”

Ssss— srrr—

The sound of something crawling above drew nearer.

They were fast.

Sliding along walls, crawling across the ceiling, they closed in from all sides as if to encircle them.

Perhaps to intimidate, they made their presence loudly known.

‘Where on earth should we start…’

Wei-seom’s hands trembled slightly, slowing the rate at which he unraveled the formation.

“Open it now!”

The Demon Lord shouted sharply, urging them on.

“They’re coming!”

Shim.

The beginning wasn’t an exchange of blows but the palace heads’ torches being extinguished.

Pitch-black darkness swallowed them in an instant.

Only a faint light seeping through ceiling cracks barely outlined shapes.

‘Damn, where are they coming from?’

The Demon Lord’s eyes darted. The sounds came from all around, yet their forms were unseen.

Sreureuk.

An uneasy silence. At that moment Heuk-gyeong moved first.

Goooo—

Supreme Demon qi surged from his dantian like an explosion. Red aura shimmered like heat haze, enveloping him.

Kwaaaang!

As he exhaled, the force he launched at the ceiling traced an unusual shape.

It didn’t fly straight; it writhed like a living serpent, burrowing into crevices in the rock.

Kururuk- kwaang!

Huge boulders exploded in sequence. Shards of stone rained down like a storm.

‘So they were hiding up there—’

In the instant the Demon Lord glanced upward.

Whiik.

“Gah!”

A black shadow leapt out from the side.

Cheng!

He raised his sword and blocked with a hair’s breadth to spare. The impact made his arm tingle.

And what he saw was…

‘My god…’

Grotesque eyes all white, a face twisted beyond human; it split its mouth into a grin and laughed.

Sak.

The figure vanished in an instant.

‘It’s behind me!’

Instinct warned him, but it was already too late.

Puh-uck!

A violent blow struck his back. The Demon Lord’s body was hurled forward.

His knee slammed into the ground, a ripping pain rising.

“Ugh…”

When he slowly lifted his head, the monster had its blade poised.

‘I’m going to die.’

The Demon Lord intuited it. Though he possessed near Supreme Demon skill, in this darkness those things were entirely different beings.

They were clearly far superior to him.

“Damn it…”

He gritted his teeth, trying to struggle when suddenly—

Chwa-aak!

A black line sliced through the air.

Tuk.

Then the creature’s head fell to the ground. Black blood spurted like a fountain.

“Don’t be foolish.”

Heuk-gyeong spat coldly. Red aura still shimmered along his blade.

‘As expected, Supreme Demon.’

Those called Three Hidden ones were said to be close to Supreme Demon level, but there was a clear gap between them and a true Supreme Demon Warrior.

Drip. drip.

“You… alright?”

Blood dripped from Heuk-gyeong’s shoulder. It was the price of his earlier strenuous strike.

“My lord! It’s open!”

Kiiiiik—

At that moment the stone gate creaked open. With Wei-seom’s shout, Yeo-rin rekindled the torch.

“Go! Quickly!”

Ssss— srrr—

The sounds from the ceiling resumed. More were gathering.

The Demon Lord staggered to his feet. He met Heuk-gyeong’s eyes.

“I’ll clear them all and follow.”

At that, the Demon Lord nodded.

Then they plunged into an even more gloomy, darker place.

Tuuuk. Tuuuk.

Each time they passed a narrowing corridor, the Demon Lord felt his chest tighten.

The passage grew so narrow his shoulders brushed the walls; the pressure felt suffocating.

‘Will we be trapped like this?’

When they finally reached a wider chamber, he exhaled in relief.

But it lasted only a moment—

“This place is…”

The humid air suddenly turned dry.

No, excessively dry, like a tomb sealed for centuries.

Sreureuk.

They all held their breath at what the torchlight revealed.

Densely rising shafts of bamboo-like pieces.

No, they were bamboo slips.

Stacks of records rose like a maze, reaching toward the ceiling.

They had been deliberately moved here by someone.

Records accumulated over hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

“All the secrets of the Demon Cult…”

Yeo-rin carefully touched one slip. A faint tremor ran through her fingertips.

“How do we find it?”

Anxiety colored the Demon Lord’s voice. To find what they sought among such vast records—

“I’ll try.”

Sseussek—

Yeo-rin pulled a bundle of papers from her robe: thin, yellow sheets with red script.

She began to chant softly.

Parurreureuk—

The papers writhed as if alive and slithered like snakes between the slips.

A short while passed.

‘We don’t have time…’

When the Demon Lord glanced back uneasily, faint tremors came from the entrance where Heuk-gyeong stood.

If Heuk-gyeong fell? Then the grand law or whatever else would mean nothing; they’d be slaughtered.

A little more time passed.

Kugugung.

At the sounds from the entrance, the Demon Lord asked again.

“Not yet?”

“Just a bit… a little longer…”

Sweat beaded on Yeo-rin’s brow. The papers ransacked the slips like mad.

And then—

Pa-at!

“Found it!”

One sheet trembled, glowing red. The palace heads hurried to it.

Deep within, coated in dust yet emanating a peculiar aura, one slip stood out.

“This is…”

Thud.

When the Demon Lord touched the slip, a subtle vibration traveled up his fingertips.

“Yes. It’s the Law of Equal Exchange.”

Wei-seom’s voice cracked. His hand trembled with barely contained excitement.

“Truly… can this grant absolute power?”

A flash of desire lit the Demon Lord’s eyes. Yet he also harbored caution.

“You can use the power of the summoned being, but…”

Yeo-rin hesitated.

“It may not necessarily be the same as the Demon Cult’s ancestral Heavenly Demon. Sometimes… a spirit or an unknown entity may be summoned.”

“I don’t care.”

The Demon Lord cut her off decisively.

“My consciousness… will it remain intact?”

His voice carried a sharp note of mistrust.

“That is guaranteed.”

‘All this for this…’

Risking their lives to break in, the standoff with the Three Hidden; all of it for this grand one.

Sreureuk.

Yeo-rin couldn’t take her eyes off the slip. Something was off.

‘Why are there still…’

Thousands of paper eyes inscribed with ancient techniques hung in the air; about ten of them still floated, drawn as if by some force, drifting upward—

Parut.

They halted, glowing red.

‘No way.’

Tap. tap. tap.

Yeo-rin used the slips as a foothold and leapt up. High above, in the darkness, one paper trembled faintly.

Whik—

She snatched it and came back down to the ground. As she unfolded the slip—

“What is it?”

The Demon Lord stepped closer. But Yeo-rin couldn’t speak; her mouth was dry.

Sseuk.

Wei-seom peered as well, and he too froze instantly.

“I asked, what is it?”

Kugung—

As the Demon Lord asked a second time, the cave resonated again, like a warning.

“Current… Manifestation… Great Technique …”

Yeo-rin’s voice barely escaped. Her face had gone pale.

“What’s that? Is it better?”

“…”

Drreureuk—

Dust trickled from the ceiling. An ominous omen.

“Why won’t you speak!”

The Demon Lord snapped irritably.

“It’s not a matter of good or bad. This is…”

Yeo-rin swallowed. Her pupils shook violently.

“More dangerous than anything that exists in this world.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yes. What it summons… is not a soul. It’s something from another dimension.”

Yeo-rin stared the Demon Lord straight in the face. Her lips quivered.

“It’s a great technique that summons a god.”