Chapter 647: Our Grave

Pitch-black darkness unfurled from the Blood Demon’s body and began to mix with the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.

FWOOOOOSH!

Red and black energy tangled chaotically across the night sky, unleashing pandemonium.

This was the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art, a variant of the Heaven-Defying Divine Art that a demonic artist born with innate genius had achieved through sheer obsession and madness.

Baek Suryong sneered coldly.

“Why don’t you shut up for a bit? It’s my turn now,” the Night Emperor muttered with a crooked smirk, having regained control of his body.

The seething, rebellious heaven-defying energy gradually quieted down.

Baek Suryong studied the madman while taking a moment to tend to his internal injuries. “Luckily, you’re not a complete moron.”

The Night Emperor shot him a menacing glare. His left eye was now so dark that it seemed to swallow even light, and within it writhed a terrifyingly immense malice.

His aura was completely different from when the Blood Demon controlled his body. The Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art pulsed with energy that was far too savage, tyrannical, and wild to be considered a mere offshoot of the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.

“Kukukuku!” the Night Emperor giggled. “Thanks for the warm welcome, but... you didn’t call me out because you thought I’d be easier to defeat, did you?”

Baek Suryong snorted. “Did you only just figure that out?”

FWOOSH!

In an instant, a faint darkness was all that remained where the Night Emperor had been. The energy of the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art engulfed the night sky, and his presence melted into it.

CLAAAAANG!

Baek Suryong immediately crossed the Blood Demon Sword and Crimson Moon in front of him like a shield. Despite anticipating the attack, however, he was sent flying a hundred meters back. The force of his impact even sent ripples through the air.

“Want a little warning?”

The Night Emperor blurred and reappeared behind Baek Suryong. Shrouded in crimson-black darkness, the monster lunged as if to rip out his throat.

“I observed every martial art you used from inside. I’ve seen through all your moves. Kukukuku!” The Night Emperor snickered, his mouth twisting. His laughter, laced with vicious demonic qi and horrifying killing intent, echoed far across the night sky.

“So what if you have?” Baek Suryong twirled around as gracefully as a dancer, swinging the Blood Demon Sword and Crimson Moon. His Blood Demon Eyes, sparkling like jewels, followed his opponent’s every move. A chilling sneer crept across his lips.

KAGAGAGAK!

Fierce gales of blade wind raged in every direction. The air rent with a ghostly wail. Fragments of enhanced qi flew like sparks, dotting the night sky with crimson flower petals.

“KUHAHAHAHAHA!”

The Night Emperor was different from the Blood Demon. He wore the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art like armor and moved like a beast—rough, ferocious, and formless. He was so violent and bloodthirsty that he resembled a rampaging hellspawn.

“Kuh...” Baek Suryong gritted his teeth and endured the Night Emperor’s onslaught. His body was drenched in blood, to the point where it was no exaggeration to call him a walking puddle of blood.

A few of his wounds were especially devastating. Baek Suryong shoved his intestines back inside the gash in his abdomen with telekinesis and seared the wound shut with True Samadhi Fire. He looked unbothered, but his entire body was already covered in similar scars.

“You’re still alive despite looking like that? I guess mindscapes are pretty great, huh?” the Night Emperor jeered.

Baek Suryong grunted, his face pale. “You don’t look so hot yourself, you know?”

The Night Emperor was also bloodied. As the fight dragged on, the armor granted by the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art shattered and regenerated repeatedly. Each time it exposed the flesh beneath, wounds so deep that bone showed through were revealed.

Nevertheless, the Night Emperor seemed to relish the pain, chuckling throughout the fight.

Suddenly, he addressed Baek Suryong seriously. “Hey, when did you figure it out? That we were both pawns in the Blood Demon’s grand scheme?”

“...Does that matter now?”

The Night Emperor jabbed a finger hard into his own chest and growled. “Of course it matters. It means this goddamn bastard was playing me like a fiddle.”

Whether it was himself or Baek Suryong, they were both men blessed with unparalleled martial talent. He perfected his martial arts using the Blood Cult’s demonic arts, which he received from the previous Fifth Elder. Afterwards, he even modified the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.

Baek Suryong, on the other hand, was forced to learn the Heaven-Defying Divine Art just to survive. He needed it to overcome the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians—the heavenly punishment he was born with—and escape his fate of dying young.

However, by the time they realized how the Blood Demon had manipulated them, it was too late to do anything about it.

Baek Suryong suddenly grew curious. “Why did you cooperate with the Blood Demon even after finding out the truth? You could have resisted without handing over your body.”

“Puhahahaha!” The Night Emperor threw his head back and roared with laughter. “You think I cooperated with that bastard?”

He laughed hysterically, until tears streamed down his face.

Suddenly, the Night Emperor turned serious. “I told you, didn’t I? It’s easier to accept things and wait for an opportunity than to retaliate than resist that monster continuously.”

“......” Baek Suryong still could not relate to those words.

But what if I had nothing to lose? If there was no one I cherished? Maybe I would’ve made that decision too.

The Night Emperor’s red right eye blazed like the fires of hell. “I’ll kill you first. This bastard wants you pretty badly. If he jumps ship to you after coming this far, I’m the only one who gets screwed, right?”

Baek Suryong glared at the Blood Demon beyond that eye. “Sounds good to me. Let’s finish this.”

Their vicious killing intent clashed once more. The Night Emperor, clad in the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art, collided head-on with Baek Suryong, who summoned every ounce of his power.

KWAAAANG! CLANG CLANG! KRACK!

Each blow further shattered the mindscape Baek Suryong had created. A typhoon raged in the sky, while an earthquake shook the ground, threatening to turn heaven and earth upside down.

KRAKRAKRAKRAKRA!

Above the transcendent beings unleashing waves of destructive energy, the night sky swirled more violently than ever before. Like an omen of the end of the world, the void expanded steadily.

“You...?”

Finally, the Night Emperor’s eyes, brimming with madness and fixed on a single goal, began to waver. Baek Suryong’s movements as he unleashed his divine arts with an indifferent, detached face felt increasingly alien to him.

Something’s different. My instincts as a martial artist are screaming at me.

“You said you’ve seen through all my moves?” Baek Suryong laughed confidently.

“!” The Night Emperor was struck by a sudden revelation.