Chapter 348: Evil Refining Sect (1)
When had the Six Great Demonic Clans changed so much?
They might as well have become the Five Great Demonic Clans instead.
Were they the kind of people who would ever allow a clan other than the Hwan Clan to stand by their side?
“These… traitors?!”
Ilro trembled all over as he glared at the clan leaders of the Six Great Demonic Clans.
“Traitors? Since when did we ever stand with the likes of you?”
“I suggest you not speak words that could be so easily misunderstood.”
Sword Demon and Saber Demon immediately shot back at Ilro.
“Kh… damn it!”
Of course, even someone like Ilro, feared across the land, could not possibly withstand the overwhelming pressure from two masters at the Transcendent Demon Realm.
“You’ll regret this… I swear you will!”
In the end, Ilro could only spit out a line no different from that of a petty villain and sat back down with a furious huff.
Cheon Yura, watching Ilro’s pathetic little display, raised the corner of her lips.
“Is that all? Then let’s continue the meeting.”
By the time the meeting of the Five Great Halls concluded, it was already late afternoon.
But that night, all across Ten Thousand Mountain, strange movements driven by burning ambitions began to stir.
And then the next day.
An official proclamation bearing the future policies of the cult began appearing all over Ten Thousand Mountain.
Naturally, wherever those proclamations were posted, cult members gathered in droves.
“What does it say?”
“Hold on, let me see…”
Someone squinted, reading through the proclamation, and then shouted in shock.
“This… this is madness…!”
“What? What’s written there?”
A young man, unable to read, pressed his friend for an answer.
“They’re holding another Demonic and Orthodox Grand Tournament in three years!”
“W-what?!”
“And it says the clan that makes the greatest contribution in that tournament will be newly inducted into the Six Great Demonic Clans!”
It was a shocking announcement, stacked on top of another shock, declared by the current Cult Leader.
Naturally, this decision sent massive ripples through the entire cult.
So unbelievable was the announcement that, even though it bore the official seal of the Cult Leader, many refused to believe it.
“Would the other clans even allow this?”
“Well… history does support it…”
“It’s not complete nonsense.”
“E-elder?!”
A middle-aged man, who appeared to hold some rank, stroked his beard as he spoke smugly.
“The clan head of the Blood Saber Clan Clan, who attended yesterday’s grand conference, summoned all his clan members late last night. They’re making a fuss, saying they must become part of the new Six Great Demonic Clans.”
“Then… that means…”
“It’s been decided. The new Cult Leader really intends to fill the empty seat of the Hwan Clan with another clan!”
“Ooooh!”
The cult members around them couldn’t hide their excitement.
This wasn’t just about who would claim a spot in the Six Great Demonic Clans.
It was also about the upcoming Demonic and Orthodox Grand Tournament to be held in three years.
The new Cult Leader had practically declared that they would spare no rewards in that tournament.
The middle-aged man, who had been showing off, once again fixed his eyes on the proclamation.
His gaze gradually sharpened.
‘Whether it’s the Cult Leader’s idea or someone else’s… it’s a masterstroke.’
They had turned everyone’s attention toward an external enemy.
They had shattered a thousand-year-old, unwritten rule—a transparent ceiling that no one had dared break.
Of course, it was easy to imagine just how much suffering the Cult Leader must have endured behind the scenes to make this declaration…
But with this move, the new Cult Leader had at least secured three years to solidify their foundation.
‘Hmm… but ascending to the Heavenly Demon…’
Though he held the rank of a Master Level martial artist, the man didn’t know the exact conditions required for that ascension.
However.
‘Is that… even possible? They’ll be too busy fortifying the cult to even have time to train in martial arts, won’t they?’
For it to somehow be possible without any major setbacks…
The man smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.
“Well, maybe they’ve got someone like Zhuge Liang advising them.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that, elder?”
One cult member tilted his head at the muttered words.
“A-ah, nothing at all.”
The man waved it off and quietly slipped away.
‘Still, this’ll make for one hell of a report. I hope that person will be satisfied…’
***
Under the shade of a tree planted behind the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, I asked Cheon Yura.
“Are you sure about this?”
“About what?”
At her question, I scratched my head a little before answering.
“I mean… aren’t you making an enemy of the Cheon Clan a little too openly?”
The Central Plains conquest, the induction of a new clan into the Six Great Demonic Clans.
I had come up with the strategy, but it was Cheon Yura who had given it her approval.
“It’s fine.”
She, resting her head on my thigh with her eyes closed, replied calmly.
“You already know. From the very beginning, they were never people who could stand with me.”
Although the Grand Elder and Ilro were still supporting her for now…
If either of them disappeared, the Cheon Clan would turn into her outright enemy.
“Besides… for the future of the cult, it’s better if the Cheon Clan disappears.”
“……”
It was true that the military strength and influence of the Cheon Clan occupied a significant portion of the cult.
But on the flip side, most of the cult’s darkest aspects originated from the Cheon Clan.
Vast slush funds that never passed through the Golden Demon Treasury, countless taboos ignored in blatant disregard of the cult’s laws.
All of it took place openly within the tightly sealed inner circles of the Cheon Clan.
“Most importantly…”
Swoosh.
Cheon Yura gently caressed my cheek with her hand.
“For me… as long as I have you, that’s all that matters.”
At her words, filled with boundless affection, I chuckled and leaned my cheek into her palm.
“Well now, how could I possibly deserve such an honor?”
After savoring the feel of my cheek for a moment, she looked up with a slightly worried expression and asked—
“I should be the one asking that. Are you really okay?”
“Hmm….”
“If another clan actually takes that spot, the backlash won’t be small, you know?”
While the other clan leaders had followed my lead in turning against the Cheon Clan, I knew full well that if it truly came to another clan standing shoulder to shoulder with them, they wouldn’t tolerate it.
“That can’t be helped.”
I let out a small scoff.
“I have to keep my word, after all.”
Of course, if that really happened, it would become the worst self-inflicted disaster imaginable.
“So all I can do is hope the Hwan Clan pulls it off.”
The Hwan Clan, who had made that absurd boast about bringing back the head of the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“Can you really trust Hwan Jeong…?”
“Of course not.”
I clicked my tongue with a loud ‘Tsk!’
“More than anything, I’ll be looking at their sincerity. Whether they’re truly remorseful and want to return to the cult, or if they’re plotting to become a poison within our ranks by siding with the Heaven-Defying Society.”
“And if you find them trustworthy?”
“Then we’ll have to give them our full support. But right now, what I’m planning isn’t about bringing back the Hwan Clan.”
“…Then what is it?”
“It’s him.”
A little ways away from us, under the sun, a boy was sweating as he wielded the Ten Heavenly Record Sword.
That boy’s name was Yoo Cheong.
He was the son of my Master, Han Muyeon Yoo Seunggwak, a member of the Heaven-Defying Society’s Second Heavenly Lord, and the current head of the Yoo Family of Suncheon.
“The Yoo Family… huh.”
Cheon Yura had been visibly surprised when she first learned about Yoo Cheong’s existence.
After more than a thousand years since they had been exiled from the cult, she hadn’t expected that descendants of the so-called Anti-Clan would still exist.
With a somewhat bitter tone, she muttered.
“Considering who your Master is, I never imagined he’d have such a decent son.”
“Honestly, neither did I.”
When I had returned to Ten Thousand Mountain, I had brought Yoo Cheong with me at my Master’s request.
It was obvious that if we had left him in Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain, he would eventually be targeted by the Heaven-Defying Society.
But following my Master had been too harsh a path for a boy like him.
After much thought, I accepted my Master’s request and hid Yoo Cheong inside the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.
And when I ascended to the position of Demonic Faction Lord, I brought him to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
“In truth, the moment his identity is exposed, this cult will become the most dangerous place in the world for him… but I’ll have to do whatever it takes to protect him.”
I closed my eyes slightly and continued.
“I want to turn the cult… back into a place where eight clans coexist.”
“……”
Not just because I had inherited someone else’s dream.
After meeting the Heavenly Demon Founder and my Senior Brothers, and seeing their future with my own eyes…
I genuinely hoped that, unlike their tragic end, their descendants would find a new path in this world.
“Eight Clans, huh?”
She repeated the phrase for a moment, then suddenly let out a quiet laugh.
“Hmph, not a bad idea.”
“Hmm….”
“Well then, this Cult Leader fully supports the plan of you, the Demonic Faction Lord.”
The moment I saw her playful smile, I could barely resist stealing her lips.
“But you know…”
“Hm?”
“Watching that boy Yoo Cheong over there…”
She suddenly averted her gaze and mumbled in a small voice.
“…I wouldn’t mind having a son.”
“……”
“You seem to want a daughter, but if it’s someone like him, I wouldn’t mind a son ei—Mmph!”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence.
And seeing that scene, Yoo Cheong quietly slipped away, giving us some space.
***
Somewhere in the Qinghai desert, there was a hidden nomadic settlement.
Once home to nearly a hundred nomads, now there were barely any of them left alive.
Instead, others had taken over the place.
“Kuahaha!”
“We’ve had quite the haul today! Eat, drink, and defile to your heart’s content!”
“Gahahaha!”
Laughter, stained with blood, echoed from all directions.
They wore saggy, black robes and referred to themselves as Sajes—high priests.
These people had slaughtered every man, woman, and child of the nomadic settlement.
The few young women who survived had been taken as playthings.
“Come, brothers! Let’s raise a toast!”
“To the High Priest!”
The ones who had turned the settlement into hell were feared across Qinghai and Xinjiang as living nightmares.
The Death Gods of the Desert, the Evil Refining Sect.
Among the many bandit groups of the region, they were the strongest and most vicious.
Even the supposed rulers of Qinghai, the Kunlun Sect or the Evil Overlords of Heaven, didn’t dare to provoke them carelessly.
“Kehkeh! Looks like we can offer another bountiful tribute to the Great Evil Spirit today.”
The man called the High Priest, his head cleanly shaven, turned his gaze toward someone.
“Since Teacher joined us, our bags have never run dry.”
“That’s fortunate.”
The person, covered head to toe in white cloth, grinned.
“But don’t plunder too recklessly. You must let the vermin rebuild their nests so we can harvest them again.”
“Gahaha! Of course!”
Despite his words, the High Priest had no intention of stopping.
This Teacher of theirs possessed some strange, supernatural ability.
They could instantly locate villages and hidden settlements from dozens of miles away.
Compared to the old days when they could scour the desert for an entire day without results, it was as if heaven and earth had been turned upside down.
“Come! Let’s drink!”
“Woooooo!”
The cultists raised their cups and roared.
As the festivities continued…
“Do not ever forget.”
The Teacher glared at the High Priest.
“…There is only one reason I am helping you.”
The man’s lone eye gleamed, emitting a chilling blood-red light.
“Drench the western lands of the Heavenly Demon Cult in blood.”
And not just the west.
The entire land—north, south, east, and west—needed to be turned into mountains of corpses.
“The Heavenly Timing is drawing near. Prepare as many sacrifices as you can before that moment arrives.”