Chapter 1039: The Divine Tree and the Master.

“The Heavenly Demon?”

The scenery changed in an instant, and I returned to where I originally was.

I slumped down near the lakeside and stared blankly.

No matter how I thought about it, that was indeed the Heavenly Demon.

The smile he wore was different from the Heavenly Demon I met in my current life.

That was definitely the Heavenly Demon I saw in my past life.

‘Is it a mistake?’

It could be a mistake. But.

‘No.’

I immediately denied it. Even if others might be mistaken, there was no way I could be.

It was the Heavenly Demon. The way he looked at me, the subtle smile he wore. And.

‘The atmosphere from back then.’

That feeling that wafted over for a moment. You’re saying I’d mistake that? Impossible.

That’s the Heavenly Demon I knew.

If so.

‘……Why?’

Why did he suddenly appear? And also.

‘While strangling my neck.’

What was the reason for strangling my neck as if telling me not to, and reacting like that? And.

‘Was he always there?’

Was the Heavenly Demon always there, pretending not to be? Or perhaps.

‘……Is there some reason?’

What if the Heavenly Demon was contained within my body like with Wi Seol-ah?

‘That’s a possibility.’

All possibilities come to mind. The problem is.

‘If it becomes like this.’

The part where I started thinking the Heavenly Demon of this life was a different being from the past life gets twisted.

I clutched my heart with my hand.

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

My heart was pounding like crazy. It was a mixture of all sorts of emotions. Fear based on anxiety. Dread. Everything came flooding in.

At the same time.

“Hoo…… hoo……”

I couldn’t breathe properly. Just the fact that I encountered the Heavenly Demon in my past life caused this.

The eyes that looked at me. The sneer that seemed to mock me.

In all those cases, I felt myself getting sucked in.

There was nothing left in my head but the Heavenly Demon.

“Hoo……”

I barely caught my breath. If it were before, I would have even gagged. But with my level having increased, I quickly calmed myself down.

It was something that required using my energy, but nonetheless, I regained my composure.

“Gu-in…?”

Seeing me reappear, Yeongnyeong approached.

Seeing her, I raised my hand. It meant ‘don’t come closer’.

Right now, I shouldn’t let anyone near.

Woowooong.

My energy was fluctuating. I couldn’t control it well. It meant I was in a state where I couldn’t control my strength or anything else.

‘Calm down.’

I gritted my teeth and tried to calm myself, but I wavered moment by moment.

Just as I was about to close my eyes and try harder to control it.

Seuueueu!

Something stirred inside me.

I wondered what it was, but it was the energy obtained from the Sacred Tree. It suddenly started moving on its own, beginning to seep into my unsettled energy.

And then.

Woong-!!

Before long, the energy was perfectly calmed.

I observed the process, seemingly surprised.

‘What the?’

Not only did the energy calm down suddenly, but my wavering mind was also corrected.

The anxiety subsided, and although not quite sharp-witted, my mind cleared up.

“Hoo.”

The sigh I let out softly scattered all the remaining emotions.

I opened my closed eyes.

I got up right away.

“Gwi-in……”

“That was close.”

Despite being in this state, I almost fell into demonic cultivation deviation.

Of course, I wouldn’t actually fall into it, but it was a situation close to it.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.

Then I looked around. I was under the tree by the lakeside where I originally was.

Confirming this, I rolled my eyes. It was to find the Heavenly Demon, but.

‘He’s not here.’

The Heavenly Demon wasn’t visible.

Has he not come yet?

I didn’t know when he would come, but for now, I had to wait for the Heavenly Demon.

‘I have to ask.’

I would ask her directly.

What exactly is it.

Who are you? And what is that space?

And.

‘What am I to you.’

To ask about that, I ultimately had to wait for the Heavenly Demon, but.

The Heavenly Demon did not appear that day.

Not just that day.

Even when several days had passed.

In the end, the Heavenly Demon never reappeared.

---

A total of three days passed.

During that time, the Heavenly Demon did not appear. Where had he gone? It was baffling why he suddenly wouldn’t appear, but.

If I had to pinpoint the cause, it would surely be the last incident.

The situation back then became a problem, preventing him from appearing.

Or rather, I suspected he wasn’t appearing intentionally.

‘What on earth is it.’

I couldn’t understand. I had a mountain of questions, yet he ultimately didn’t show up.

I had been waiting idly like this for days already.

‘Tsk.’

Enduring my frustration, I moved my body.

Kkigig-!

Kwang-!!

An axe was slammed forcefully into the ground. The surroundings shook from the impact. Dodging the debris, I twisted my body.

“Hooook!”

I felt ragged breaths. My Mind’s Eye tracked the trajectory. I grasped all the incoming lines and reached out to twist them.

My hand plunged into the raging storm of energy.

I grabbed and shook it.

“Kuk!?”

The massive body was swept up and slammed into the ground.

Kuung-!!!

A bigger vibration than before erupted. I leaned my body’s weight towards the fallen foe’s head and slammed down with my elbow.

Just before my energy-infused elbow could hit his head directly. The foe dodged.

Kuuaaaaaa-!!!

The impact exploded.

Broken rock fragments floated in the air, and I kicked them, firing them at the foe.

“Hup!”

With a battle cry, the guy swung his axe.

Hwarureureuk-!!! The flames gathered on the axe split the air. The incoming rocks were engulfed by the flames and extinguished.

Just as the foe tried to regain his stance. I broke through the flames and charged first.

My palm touched the foe’s abdomen.

Tung-!

I sent out the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art from my palm.

The chaos originating from the friction.

That rough and menacing energy became vibrations, churning the foe’s insides.

“Kkeureuk!!!”

Thump! The foe knelt down, screaming.

“Keoheok……”

The large body collapsed onto the ground.

He barely supported himself with his arms on the ground, but his condition looked quite bad.

“Hmm.”

Looking at the fallen foe, the leader, I nodded.

“You’re weaker than I imagined?”

“Kuk.”

At my casual assessment, the foe’s shoulders trembled.

“Damn it……”

His voice was full of resentment. It was natural.

‘He probably knows it himself.’

More than anyone, he would know how much weaker he had become.

Normally, he wouldn’t even be hit by attacks like these, let alone suffer them.

But.

‘He can’t properly control his body.’

The leader, significantly weaker than the strength he originally possessed, couldn’t properly control his movements.

Should I say he’s buried under the memory of his strong past body?

This is like…

‘It feels somewhat similar to the reactions I experienced after regressing.’

It was a situation arising from the mismatch with his suddenly weakened body. Because of that, the leader couldn’t adapt to his changed body and couldn’t display his original skills due to the memory of his past strength.

Of course, it was strange to compare since I had returned to a completely useless, trash body.

Anyway.

“If it’s like this……”

How should I use this guy? I had been pondering this for the past few days.

Although I had questions about the disappeared Heavenly Demon, I couldn’t easily find him even if I tried.

‘If he’s beyond that dimension. There’s no way to enter.’

The purple demonic mirror inscription.

If he hid somewhere in the myriad realms, I could find him, but if he’s there, it’s a different story.

‘……How am I supposed to get there.’

As long as the Heavenly Demon didn’t appear, I couldn’t find him. Thus, it was right to deal with the current situation first.

So, during that time, I was contemplating how to make use of this guy using the leader, but.

‘It’s become ambiguous.’

The usefulness of the leader became a bit tricky.

‘He’s definitely not weak.’

But he’s not strong either. At best, mid-to-high tier among the top ten experts.

‘This isn’t exactly weak either, though.’

Compared to me now, it could be considered ambiguous.

‘Hmm.’

I told him to attack with all his might, but he collapsed without even brushing my collar.

Of course, it’s also because I’ve become unreasonably strong since coming to the myriad realms, but.

‘Should I just discard him?’

It also meant it was a bit awkward to use the leader as a full-power asset.

‘Hmm.’

To go through the trouble of making him a demon, only for him to be weakened and awkward to use.

Could there be anything funnier than this?

‘If I think about it, there might be some way to use him.’

I pondered for a moment.

“Keeu……”

The guy tried to get up. Seeing that, I spoke.

“Sit down.”

“Keok!”

At my command, the guy knelt down. The demonic energy worked well.

“Damn it…!!”

There was still no sign of loyalty, just him being restrained by the suppression, but he still listened.

‘I don’t know if he has to remain weakened like this, but.’

At least in his current state, that was the case.

Compared to the Rank-100 monsters I summon…….

‘Maybe similar.’

It’s hard to say they’re exactly the same, but perhaps.

For now, it’s certain that using him at full power is awkward.

‘Tsk.’

Deep in thought, I clicked my tongue.

Then, looking at the guy, I asked.

“That’s enough. Hey.”

“……Keu.”

“Answer me.”

“……What is it.”

“You. Tell me everything you know about the guy who was around you.”

“Around…?”

“You know. What did you call him? The one you called a crow.”

“……”

When he shouted about why someone was interfering with the fight. The leader had called the unseen guy a crow.

‘Normally, I would have asked the Heavenly Demon about this.’

Since that guy disappeared. I had to get the information from the guy in front of me.

“Speak. You heard me.”

Woowooong-!!

“Kuk!”

As he tried to shut his mouth, I applied my demonic energy. Black energy spewed out and rushed towards him.

“Keeu……”

Thanks to that, the guy who was trying to resist finally opened his mouth.