Chapter 214: Kongtong (5)

Mount Kongtong was close enough to Pingliang County that you could practically see it from there. Then again, "close" means something different when you can travel as fast as martial artists of the Central Plains.

Il-mok and his group used their lightness skill for about two hours before finally reaching the foot of Mount Kongtong.

They took turns standing guard at the mountain's entrance while recovering their internal energy through meditation, then headed into Mount Kongtong proper.

Following the well-worn path left by countless travelers, they began their ascent. It wasn't long before they started feeling a powerful spiritual energy coming from the mountain itself.

Once they were about halfway up the mountain path.

"I'll scout ahead."

Dam Bin announced her departure before using her stealth techniques to melt into the shadows.

About fifteen minutes later, she returned.

With her leading the way, they started climbing again. Before long, they spotted a grand gate with a sign that read [Kongtong Sect].

Just as the scammers claimed, they had brazenly established themselves on the mountainside of Kongtong.

And right in front of that gate lay a Taoist sprawled on the ground, apparently sleeping.

Dam Bin walked past the sleeping priest without a care, heading straight for the Kongtong Sect compound. The rest of the group followed her lead.

Only when they passed by the sleeping Taoist did they notice the small hole pierced through his body and the blood that had trickled out.

This was Dam Bin’s handiwork from her little scouting trip.

"How many were there?"

At Il-mok's question, Dam Bin flashed a bewitching smile.

"Three more inside, Young Master."

He figured those three had probably been sent to the afterlife before they even knew what hit them.

But something was off. The Kongtong Sect was a huge place, with more than ten different buildings. It was way too big for just four people. Even counting the guys from Pingliang County, it was an awful lot of space for only eight of them.

But Il-mok and his group didn't find it particularly suspicious.

After all, it matched what they'd heard from torturing those Taoist bastards back in Pingliang County.

They moved without hesitation, walking past the sect's buildings and heading straight into the dense woods behind them.

After pushing through dense underbrush thick with sacred energy, they hit a dead end.

It was a cliff.

Wheeeeeee!

The cliff echoed with a ghastly wind that sounded like screaming demons.

Then, Dam Bin launched herself off the edge without hesitation; her falling body plummeted out of sight.

Despite the horrifying sight, the rest of the group followed one after another without a moment's hesitation.

Whoosh.

After Il-mok jumped last, something incredible happened.

The cliff that had filled his entire field of vision vanished without a trace. The ominous atmosphere, the demon-like screaming, and the wind all disappeared.

The cliff, the dense woods, and the howling wind had all been one big illusion created by the Formation set up by these bastards disguised as the Kongtong Sect.

Those bastards had used the Formation to hide the place where they performed their human sacrifices while acting like perfectly normal Taoists to the outside world.

"This is where it gets dangerous. Stay sharp."

Il-mok surveyed the dense thicket now spread before them.

‘These crazy fuckers... just how many people have they killed?’

Despite Mount Kongtong's reputation as a sacred peak, it was overflowing with sinister energy and ghostly qi.

Everyone Seon-ah had completed their training at the Hall of the Demonic Way, which meant they'd all learned how to deal with Formations.

More precisely, they'd learned how to counter them.

And through the temporary instructor dispatched from the Eight Trigrams Hall, they knew one thing very well:

Walking into a trap set by Shamans or Taoists was practically suicide.

The one saving grace was that Il-mok and his group had come somewhat prepared.

After torturing the four priests they'd captured, they'd obtained information about the Formation set up here.

Since those Taoist bastards had to bring their civilian victims here as sacrifices, there had to be a Life Gate inside.

Il-mok and his group followed that very path.

Wheeeeeee.

The veteran of the group, Dam Bin, led from the front, while Il-mok brought up the rear in case of emergencies.

It wasn't that he was trying to stick the others with the dangerous job. It was because he had the sharpest qi perception of them all. From the back, he could keep an eye on everyone and be ready for anything.

"Miss Jeong, be careful."

Walking right in front of Il-mok, Jeong Hyeon jumped at the sound of his voice and bowed her head.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No need to be so tense. There's plenty of sinister energy and ghostly qi, but as long as we don't stray from the Life Gate, we'll be fine."

Il-mok meant to comfort her, but it wasn't the creepy vibe that was making her so stiff.

The Formation made this place dangerous, so everyone had to stick close together, and that's what had her all stiff.

‘At least... at least that last mission helped a little.’

The mission she was thinking of was 'Operation Jade-Faced Young Master.'

It had involved her dressing up as a man and getting mobbed by women. Over and over again.

After surviving a few brushes with Qi Deviation and her own Heart Demon, she'd gotten a tiny bit more used to having people in her personal space.

Which meant her face was deathly pale and she was sweating buckets, but at least she wasn't passing out anymore.

Even after that, Il-mok kept watch from the rear to make sure no one strayed from the Life Gate or took a wrong step.

"Miss Ju, focus."

"Seon-ah, be careful."

While Il-mok looked after everyone from the back, Dam Bin at the front used the information from those Taoist bastards to find the safe path forward.

Even under the crushing pressure akin to walking on thin ice, she calmly led the group.

The moment she took the final step, she heard from the Taoists, the dense thicket that had filled their surroundings until a moment ago, along with the ghostly qi and the spectral wails, vanished without a trace.

"Hm? You're back earlier than I expected."

Just then, someone spoke to her.

It was one of the Ghost Valley Master's disciples.

He'd mistaken Dam Bin for an ally.

Part of it was that she'd walked right through the Formation's unharmed, but the bigger reason was her clothes.

To be safe, Dam Bin and three others in the group had stolen the Taoists' robes.

Of course, Il-mok was too much of a clean freak to wear someone's hand-me-downs, especially if they were stained with blood.

Since it was late at night, the Taoist had momentarily mistaken Dam Bin for a fellow disciple, but soon his brow furrowed.

He'd belatedly noticed her qi was different from his fellow disciples.

"Who the hell—"

He tried to shout, probably to call for his fellow disciples, but—

"Kugh..."

—He never got the chance. Before he could finish, a black thread shot out from Dam Bin and ran him through the throat and heart.

After quickly taking care of the Taoist, a refreshed smile spread across Dam Bin's face.

"Fufufu. This is far more comfortable."

No matter how seasoned she was, leading the party inside a deadly Formation had been seriously stressful.

Assassinating people like this was much more her style.

After taking care of the guard, she quickly moved aside to let the rest of the group trickle out from the Formation one by one.

Il-mok came out last, took one look at the threaded-up Taoist on the ground, and knew exactly what had happened.

"Any more delays and they'll know we're here. We're going in now."

They stepped past the body and were immediately confronted by a strange sight.

A ritual altar carved with grotesque patterns stood at the center, surrounded by about fifteen Taoists.

While the Pingliang County Taoists had gone out to find sacrifices, this bunch was getting ready for the ritual.

Among them, Il-mok's eyes turned ice-cold when he spotted the old priest at the altar's center, holding a sharp sword.

‘So that's the Ghost Valley Master.’

The master and leader of these fake Taoists.

The Ghost Valley Master also noticed Il-mok and his group and frowned.

"Tch. What a shame. Annoying little flies are already buzzing around."

With that, the old Taoist pointed his sacrificial sword at Il-mok's crew and gave the order.

"Get rid of them."

The second he gave the command, his disciples started weaving hand signs or pulling talismans and other magical trinkets from their sleeves.

Whoosh!

At the same instant, Il-mok and his group launched themselves at the Taoists with their lightness skills.

When Il-mok swung his sword at the air, the Sword Qi gathered on his blade shot forward, cutting through space toward the nearest priest.

The startled Taoist hurriedly shoved a talisman forward while chanting an incantation. The paper went rigid, and a shimmering energy shield appeared in front of him.

BOOM!

The Sword Qi and barrier collided, the two forces canceling each other out.

WHOOSH!

But right behind it, an arrow from Jeong Hyeon zipped past her friends, heading for the same guy.

Thunk!

The arrow embedded itself right in the forehead of the Taoist who'd created the barrier.

"Kugh..."

Just like that, the front-line Taoist died a pathetic death.

"Die!"

With the enraged shouts of the other Taoists, storms of spells were heading toward Il-mok's group.

A bundle of talismans covered in blood-red writing transformed into flaming birds and flew at them, while lightning burst forth when someone swung a staff stained blood-red.

Faced with their bizarre sorcery, Il-mok flared his Sword Qi and swung his sword wide, forming a sword barrier.

Jin Hayeon beside him channeled her yin qi into both palms and swept them in a wide circle to create an ice wall.

"Hah!"

As for Ouyang Mun, he unleashed his refreshingly straightforward saber techniques, slicing through the fire birds coming at him one after another.

Though the three at the front blocked most of the sorcery, a few spells slipped past them toward the rear.

They were targeting Jeong Hyeon, who'd just killed a priest with her arrow.

"Hah!"

But Hyeokryeon Seon-ah and Ju Seo-yeon quickly swung their claw and spear to block the attacks.

WHOOSH!

Meanwhile, another arrow from Jeong Hyeon pierced straight through another Taoist's heart.

And that wasn't all.

Crack.

Black threads shot by Dam Bin had already pierced through yet another priest's vital points.

Thanks to Jeong Hyeon and Dam Bin's covering fire, Il-mok, Jin Hayeon, and Ouyang Mun could push forward much more easily.

Crack!

Watching his disciples die one after another right before his eyes, the Ghost Valley Master frowned again.

But he wasn't sad to see them die.

'Tch. What a waste of good minions.'

He just felt annoyed that he'd have to train new slaves to handle the menial work.

"Useless vermin. But you'll have one last use before you die."

While his disciples were dying around him, the Ghost Valley Master muttered something incomprehensible and thrusted the sacrificial sword he was holding right into the heart of the disciple standing next to him.

Shunk.

Hit by an unexpected strike, the disciple collapsed with a face full of questions.

The blood spurting from his pierced heart began soaking the center of the altar.

The Ghost Valley Master then plunged the blood-stained sacrificial sword into the altar's center and chanted an incantation.

"By the command of the law!"

At that moment, the altar began absorbing the blood on the sword and the blood spurting from his disciple's heart.

The Ghost Valley Master's true plan. He had been secretly building a backup formation this whole time, hiding it even from his own disciples.

Since it wasn't complete yet, the blood of a single man wasn't nearly enough to power it up. But he didn't care.

After all, the bleeding disciple he'd stabbed wasn't the only one.

Blood from the disciples killed by Il-mok's group also got sucked into the grooves carved into the altar.

It wasn't just flowing; the altar greedily devoured the blood like a living creature.

"That crazy bastard..."

The curse slipped out of Il-mok's mouth as he watched the grotesque scene unfold.

BOOOOOOM!!

And in that instant, a colossal, malevolent crimson energy erupted, consuming everything and everyone in its path.