Chapter 351: Evil Refining Sect (4)
Only she existed in the dark sealed cave.
This place, entirely made of Perpetual Cold Steel, was a secret training chamber located beneath Dagger Peak.
Ka-ga-ga-gak!
This place had been created by successive Cult Leaders to practice powerful demonic arts without causing damage to the surroundings.
Ku-gu-gu-gung!
However, the walls made of Perpetual Cold Steel began to tear apart without hesitation by a woman's sword.
Despite the defensive design, the pressure was strong enough to make the vicinity of Dagger Peak tremble slightly.
After pouring her strength out in all directions for a while, she knelt on one knee, slightly exhausted.
“Haa! Haa!”
After catching her breath for a while, she crossed her legs and began circulating her qi.
Though sweat poured down her entire body, Cheon Yura’s mind stayed unwaveringly focused on a single point.
‘I must bring back that sensation.’
A midsummer night’s dream.
But more vivid than anything was that dream from back then.
The sensation of the true Underworld Net Sword, fully manifested by uniting all her strength and will!
Little by little.
With her eyes closed, her perception began to gradually exceed the boundary of an ordinary human.
‘Just a little more….’
Since that day, she had endlessly reached out for that sensation.
Yet, that state kept slipping past her fingertips, as if brushing against an intangible wall.
Even so, she continued searching for that sensation.
‘I can’t afford to lose to him.’
Though it had rarely shown because of her overwhelming achievements so far…
The truth was, she possessed a fiercely competitive spirit.
She simply could not accept the thought of anyone surpassing her.
Even though her time to train had decreased compared to her days at Lesser Demon Hall because of her duties as the Cult Leader…
She relentlessly reduced even her sleep to push toward the next stage.
“……”
Her mind gradually sank deeper beneath the surface.
Surrounding herself with Sword Intent, she refined her spirit and dove into the deepest part of her subconscious, as if swimming through it.
And then, she faced it.
‘We meet again.’
-……
When entering qi circulation after extreme internal energy depletion, all the senses sharpened several times more than usual.
But at the same time, the probability of sensing ‘that’ also increased.
Was it not said that when a person looks into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back?
Each time Cheon Yura perceived ‘that’, it too reacted to her gaze.
Something pitch black, eerie, obscene, and violent.
Once, long ago, it had been something radiant and warm, but as it mixed with impurities, it lost its original form.
Its other name was the Demonic Nature.
‘This might be better. Come to me.’
She had previously forced herself to ignore that Demonic Nature while focusing on her training.
But this time, she slowly reached her hand toward it, different from before.
Her father, Cheon Taejong, had warned that the Demonic Nature before her eyes was both the source of her talent and the very thing that would eventually bind her the higher her cultivation rose.
She sensed it intuitively.
If she could subdue that thing, she could climb far higher.
‘Father told me to only attempt it when I reached the later stages of the Transcendent Demon Realm if it was too difficult to overcome….’
If she firmly believed in her talent and pushed forward, she would surely one day subdue the Demonic Nature and reach the Supreme Demon Realm.
Cheon Taejong had left those words to her with confidence.
However.
Recently, Cheon Yura had begun to feel impatient.
It was because Jin Yeomyung, who had once been far beneath her, had now surpassed her and reached the Transcendent Demon Realm.
Of course, there were various other contributing factors, but ultimately, that impatience drove her to choose risk over steady progress.
‘I will subdue it.’
Believing in herself, she approached the Demonic Nature.
And so.
Her entire body began to be tainted, not with its usual dark red energy, but with pitch-black and murky demonic energy.
---
Pat! Pat! Pat!
I was sprinting north, not on horseback, but using lightness skill.
‘Underworld King Unit….’
And the two hundred members of the Underworld King Unit, led by the unit master Gu Chil and vice-unit master So Soryu, were following behind me in the distance.
‘It would’ve been great if Myeong-oh could’ve come with us, how unfortunate.’
Unfortunately, Myeong-oh had not fully recovered from the internal injuries caused by her previous rampage.
While she had returned to daily life, she had been declared unable to use martial arts for at least a few more months.
Gu Chil, who was closely following behind me, asked,
“Are you really sure about this?”
“About what?”
“If you act so confidently and the Evil Refining Sect isn’t actually there…”
Just as Cheon Yeongha had expressed his concern, a month was indeed a very tight deadline.
One mistake could ruin everything.
“Well, if it’s not there, it’s not.”
At my response, Gu Chil asked back with a baffled expression,
“Do you realize your life is on the line here?”
“I know. But nothing major will happen to me.”
“Why is that?”
“Once the situation escalates, there won’t be any need for a time limit.”
“The situation?”
Gu Chil tilted his head in confusion.
I replied with certainty,
“I’m sure the Heaven-Defying Society is already involved with the Evil Refining Sect.”
“……!”
“It’d be great if that bastard was there too….”
The bastard I was referring to was none other than Heavenly Researcher, Cheon Juchun.
Of course, considering the location where I had first detected him, the likelihood of him suddenly appearing in the far north was low.
“If the Evil Refining Sect really isn’t there, I’ll tie this to the Heavenly Illusion Clan.”
“……What?!”
I curled up the corner of my lips in a sly grin.
“Slightly heard where the Heavenly Illusion Clan is hiding. If I use that as an excuse, the Cult won’t be able to say anything about how I spend my time.”
In other words, if I succeeded within the timeframe, I would be praised for being capable, and if I failed, I could just blame the Heavenly Illusion Clan.
‘Anyway, even if the Cult knows the location of the Heavenly Illusion Clan, it’s impossible to subjugate them. It’ll just become a slight nuisance for them.’
Unless a monster on the level of the Cult Leader personally stepped forward, breaking through the defense of the Heavenly Illusion Clan, who maintained strict defense, was nearly impossible.
All the more so if they really could use Divine Sorcery.
After hearing all of my explanation, Gu Chil made a disgusted face.
“Such a scoundrel….”
“What did you just say?”
I glared at him, and Gu Chil quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, how on earth did you find out the location of the Heavenly Illusion Clan? No one in the Cult has ever known, have they?”
“The Young Clan Leader of the Heavenly Illusion Clan… or is he the Clan Leader now? Either way, he came to my office himself. I made a deal with that bastard.”
“Ah, I see… What?”
Gu Chil’s eyes filled with deep disbelief.
Who came to see whom?
“What in the world happened while I wasn’t around?!”
Just as Gu Chil was about to shout in shock.
I turned my gaze toward Yoo Cheong, who was performing lightness skill on the other side.
“Cheong.”
“Y-Yes! Brother!”
Yoo Cheong answered with a booming voice.
However, perhaps because he still lacked stamina and wasn’t familiar with the lightness skill, his voice sounded like it was straining.
“I’ll introduce him to you properly one day. If you wish to rebuild the Yoo Clan in the Cult in the future, you’d better keep an eye on that guy.”
Even though the Heavenly Illusion Clan had fallen, it was still likely larger than most orthodox sects.
It was impossible to lead such a force without both guts and ability.
Just observing Hwan Jeong would be a great help to Yoo Cheong’s future growth.
“Well, as long as he truly doesn’t betray us, that is.”
---
A few days later.
At the border of Gansu and Xinjiang.
“The reconnaissance team has returned.”
So Soryu, who faced her first real battle as the Vice-Leader of the Underworld King Unit, surprisingly kept her speech formal toward me, maintaining the distinction between public and private matters.
Although her words were formal, her expression clearly showed irritation, which was a bit unpleasant, to be honest.
“There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.”
“What is it?”
“First, the good news is that we’ve found the group from the Evil Refining Sect.”
“Oh?”
With this, I might not even have to pin the blame on the Heavenly Illusion Clan.
“Then, what’s the bad news?”
“They are digging up somewhere in the plains on a large scale.”
“…What?”
In that moment.
A chill ran down my spine and my pupils began to contract.
“…What did you just say?”
At the sudden shift in atmosphere, So Soryu’s shoulders started to tremble violently.
“…Ugh! Put away your killing intent! I can’t handle yours at all!”
Did I release my killing intent without realizing it?
It was a disqualifying act as a martial artist, but in reverse, it showed just how shocking and infuriating this was.
I withdrew my killing intent and apologized to her.
“Sorry.”
So Soryu wiped her cold sweat and glared at me.
“Huff! Damn it, I was just starting to get used to the Clan Leader’s pressure… you monster…”
Seeing her like that, Gu Chil gently patted her shoulder.
And just like that, the fierce expression on So Soryu’s face instantly relaxed.
‘…That’s exactly why you end up getting pestered by her, Gu Chil.’
Not wanting to get stabbed by my subordinate in my sleep, I held my tongue.
“So? Where exactly are they looti— no, digging?”
“Well… the scale is in the hundreds, and they’ve mobilized a large number of ordinary laborers to dig up the middle of a wide plain.”
“……”
“Fortunately, it seems they haven’t been at it for long.”
I compared the location where the Evil Refining Sect was spotted with the location of the entrance that Sa Gumhui had told me about.
‘Judging by the distance, it doesn’t seem like they’ve found the entrance yet…’
It seemed like they were trying to narrow down the location by digging around the area.
‘They’re certain about the relic and ruins, but they don’t know the exact location.’
In that case, there was still hope.
I couldn’t just hand over the legacy that Senior Brother Sa left me to someone else on my own whim.
That belonged to our Yura!
---
One of the High Priests of the Evil Refining Sect, Golmok, stared at the teacher in front of him with an expression of disbelief.
“Teacher, are you really saying there is a ruin from the era of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect beneath such an empty place?”
At that moment, hundreds of laborers were digging up the middle of the vast plains around him.
“Are you doubting my words?”
“No, it’s just… I didn’t think anything would be buried in such a wide, flat plain….”
At those words, the young man called teacher let out a mocking chuckle.
“Well, you couldn’t even notice a treasure buried under your own house for over a thousand years, so I suppose I can understand your reaction.”
Golmok’s face instantly turned bright red.
“This isn’t the exact entrance. But if we can find traces, it’s more than enough to locate the entrance. So put more laborers to work and dig faster. I’ll make sure they are well rewarded for it.”
‘Tch! Arrogant bastard.’
Golmok grumbled inwardly but didn’t dare to say it out loud.
At the very least, that teacher had never gone back on his own words.
“Move faster! Anyone who slacks off even a little will be dragged to the Ritual Grounds!”
At that command, the laborers, who had been forced to come here, hastily increased their pace.
The so-called Ritual Grounds were no different from a place of execution for them.
Just then, someone asked Golmok.
“What’s in there that you’re pushing the laborers so hard?”
Golmok frowned at the question.
“I don’t know either! I have no idea what’s hidden down there! The teacher keeps talking about something similar beneath Eastern Sea Fortress in Qinghai Province, but I don’t even know what that is….”
For a brief moment, Golmok felt something was off.
“Huh? But who are yo—”
Surely, all his men had already been sent to the site?
Just as Golmok turned his head.
Puk!
His neck flew cleanly into the sky.