Chapter 26: Preparing the Operation (1)

I have mentioned before that the Healing Sage was a person difficult to understand from an ordinary person's perspective.

Meaning, he was a strange person.

I know it is not right to describe the Healing Sage, who was like a master and a benefactor, in such a way, but what can I do when it is the truth?

-There are many spiritual medicines that have embraced ten thousand years of age. Wouldn’t even a common plant gain spirituality if it contains ten thousand years of age?

Therefore, this statement of the Healing Sage should not be taken at face value.

Since I have personally verified the efficacy of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, I cannot treat the Healing Sage as a madman, but it is also not right to believe all his words.

The story that there are many ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicines is simply not in the realm of common sense.

Anyway.

If I were to pick a spiritual medicine that is occasionally found among the extremely rare ten-thousand-year-old ones, nine out of ten people would think of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root.

This is because the thing called Fleeceflower Root grows wild everywhere in the Central Plains based on its tenacious life force.

Wouldn't the possibility of one out of ten thousand surviving for ten thousand years be higher than one out of ten surviving for ten thousand years?

There is a point where the story of the eccentric Healing Sage is correct.

The story that a spiritual medicine that has contained a long period of time becomes precious, whatever it may be.

This is because the long years contained in the spiritual medicine transform into true energy and spirituality, bestowing great power upon a martial artist.

Fleeceflower Root is an ordinary medicinal herb, but if it is a hundred years old, it is treated as a spiritual medicine, and if it is a thousand years old, it reaches the level of a high-grade spiritual medicine.

For that reason, it would not be an exaggeration to consider a ten-thousand-year-old Fleeceflower Root as a priceless treasure.

However, do you know this?

The fact that priceless treasures have historically been the cause of bloodbaths or ruin.

-Myeong-gae nim, have you heard the news?

-What is it this time?

-The Jeong Stronghold of Jiangxi was wiped out overnight.

-The Jeong Stronghold? Why would those fellows, who were quite something in Jiangxi, be?

-It seems they accidentally got their hands on a Golden Spirit Fruit. However, the news leaked. Evil bandits broke in during the night.

-Tsk. The fate of those who obtain a treasure they cannot handle.

Although the Golden Spirit Fruit is also a high-grade spiritual medicine, it does not reach the level of a ten-thousand-year-old one, yet it can still wipe out a prestigious martial family.

There would be about three ways to prevent such mishaps.

First, one must possess great strength.

However, one seeks spiritual medicine to gain great strength, but to protect spiritual medicine, one must possess great strength; this contradiction cannot be avoided.

Second is not to handle it clumsily like the Jeong Stronghold, but to keep the fact that one possesses spiritual medicine a complete secret.

However, the inconvenient truth I learned after becoming a Beggar’s Gang member is that a complete secret is a really difficult task.

The last method is to quickly eat the spiritual medicine as soon as one obtains it.

This is because, with the exception of the Star-Sucking Great Art, there is no way to take out a spiritual medicine that has dissolved into a martial artist’s body.

However, this method is not easy either.

This is because if one hastily swallows a supreme spiritual medicine, the probability of falling into Qi Deviation without being able to overcome the spiritual medicine's energy is higher than breaking through a realm and becoming a master of the superior level.

There is no way that one's martial arts would improve every time one eats a spiritual medicine by simply gulping it down.

Of course, the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art is worthy of being called a divine art because it makes that possible.

Anyway.

I wanted to say that possessing a spiritual medicine like the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root is a more troublesome problem than one might think.

Especially for those who have neither the strength to protect it, nor the ability to keep it a secret, nor the capacity to consume it.

There is also the method of selling it for money, but finding a wealthy person who would readily buy a spiritual medicine of the level of a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root is not such an easy task.

The situation of my current targets is exactly like this.

“So, what you are saying now, Myeong, is that we should steal the spiritual medicine?”

Lee Chun-baek, with a dumbfounded face, asked me back.

The reason he maintained his composure despite my words, which could have shattered our trust, was because he still had not given up on his trust in me.

“That’s right. That’s exactly it.”

“What do you lack that you would do such a thing?”

There are many things I lack, but there is no need to complain about them.

Before that, I need to clear up the misunderstanding.

“There will be no repercussions.”

“Are you planning to kill them and destroy the evidence?”

“Hey, there’s no way I would do that.”

As a descendant of the prestigious Dancheon Clan, I did not want to be mistaken for a ruffian who would think of killing and destroying evidence to obtain a precious item.

If he knew the accurate information about the opponent, the misunderstanding would be cleared.

“Those guys are spies for the Demonic Cult.”

“……!”

Demonic Cult, and spy.

At those names, Lee Chun-baek’s breathing stopped and his eyes widened.

Ah, I should correct one thing.

I will have to kill them out of necessity.

However, it will not be a killing to destroy the evidence.

.

.

.

Even if it does not have the name ‘ten-thousand-year-old’ or ‘supreme’ attached, spiritual medicines are usually priceless.

This is because the most important thing in the Jianghu Murim is martial arts, and there are not many people who sell precious items that can raise its achievement for money.

Isn't it inevitable that price formation is difficult when demand overwhelmingly exceeds supply?

Nevertheless, there are some people who sell spiritual medicines for money due to various circumstances.

This is because there are cases where a herb gatherer with no connection to martial arts digs up a spiritual medicine, or a person needs quick cash more than immediate martial arts.

If I were to pick one group among them, I could pick the followers of the Demonic Cult.

“Brother Chun-baek. Do you know this?”

“Know what?”

“Followers of the Demonic Cult cannot consume spiritual medicines.”

“Hmm?”

“No, to be precise, they can consume them, but it should be seen as having no effect.”

Now that the Great War of Righteousness and Evil has not occurred, it is a fact that most people do not know because there is not much information about the Demonic Cult and demonic arts.

“Myeong. It is common sense that when a person eats a spiritual medicine, they absorb at least a small amount of its energy.”

“But aren't they going against the heavens?”

“Hoo……”

As if he thought my words were right, Lee Chun-baek did not refute.

My words are the truth.

Followers of the Demonic Cult use a mind art that goes against the heavens and develops quickly.

Most people think that the biggest side effect they experience is something like madness, but that is not the truth.

The biggest side effect that makes it difficult for them is that the efficacy of spiritual medicines is drastically reduced.

Since there is no effect even if they eat spiritual medicines, they eventually hit a limit.

Although they can accumulate internal energy quickly with the mind art that goes against the heavens, they find it difficult to reach the Three Flowers Realm because their means of awakening spirituality are reduced.

“Not all who sell spiritual medicines can be called spies of the Demonic Cult, but it is also true that there are followers of the Demonic Cult among those who try to exchange spiritual medicines for money.”

Anyway.

Since spiritual medicines are useless to followers of the Demonic Cult, most of the spiritual medicines found in the Tianshan Mountains are distributed in the Central Plains through the spies of the Demonic Cult.

The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root I am looking for this time can be said to be one of them.

“Are you sure?”

“This time, the guys are definitely spies of the Demonic Cult.”

“Where are those guys? Lead the way.”

Lee Chun-baek’s interest was not in spiritual medicine but in the spies of the Demonic Cult.

I could faintly see the remnants of the King of Wanderers that I had accidentally seen during my Myeong-gae days on his face.

As expected, it seems I did a good job coming to him.

It goes without saying, but it is not easy to find spies of the Demonic Cult.

The reason is that the ones who went around saying, ‘I’m a spy,’ were all stabbed to death long ago, and only those who can thoroughly hide themselves remain in the Central Plains Murim and continue their activities.

To give one method, one can try injecting internal energy through the pulse gate.

This is because it is not difficult to recognize the one who goes against the heavens just by looking at a fragment of the energy circulation path.

However, in the culture of the Jianghu Murim, which is based on not teaching outsiders, how could it be easy to grab the opponent’s pulse gate?

-I suspect you are a follower of the Demonic Cult, so I will check your pulse gate.

-What?

-Give me your hand.

-I challenge you to a life-and-death duel for insulting me!

Isn't it a scene that can be imagined without seeing it directly?

Unless one is a martial arts maniac who enjoys unlimited life-and-death duels, it is a method that can never be recommended.

Therefore, it is really not easy to identify spies of the Demonic Cult.

In fact, wasn’t the Murim Alliance staggering in the early days of the future Great War of Righteousness and Evil due to the great performance of these spies?

It is better if a mid-sized sect is a whole den of spies of the Demonic Cult.

This is because it can be wiped out at once.

The real problem should be said to be the high-ranking spies of the Demonic Cult who have infiltrated each sect.

How could one guess that a person who entered the sect together in childhood, studied together, and reached the position of an elder in old age was actually a follower of the Demonic Cult?

I heard that the unique fanaticism for the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult makes that possible.

“Can’t we just kill them all?”

Lee Chun-baek said plainly.

I am not unaware that killing intent is mixed in that plainness.

During the Great War of Righteousness and Evil, the corpses of the followers of the Demonic Cult who fell to the sword of the King of Wanderers, Lee Chun-baek, numbered in the thousands.

He must still possess that temperament now.

In fact, I know that the mysterious sect whose lineage he succeeded has existed to prevent the stirrings of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, so it can be described as poetic justice.

It is also the background of the wanderer Lee Chun-baek, who did not reveal himself, rising as the King of Wanderers when the Great War of Righteousness and Evil broke out.

But now, I cannot follow his words as they are.

“What if they are not followers of the Demonic Cult?”

“You said they were spies of the Demonic Cult.”

“That’s right.”

“Then they must be spies of the Demonic Cult.”

I do not know why he sends me such firm trust.

No.

I know a little.

Because I also trust him sincerely.

“We can’t just do it. We need proof. There are procedures, aren't there?”

“……You might be right about that.”

Lee Chun-baek is a wanderer.

If one were to classify the status of a wanderer, it would be between the righteous and the unorthodox, but I know that Lee Chun-baek is a martial artist who leans towards the righteous among them.

Isn't that why he dedicated himself to the Murim Alliance during the Great War of Righteousness and Evil?

Since he is such a person, Lee Chun-baek did not refute my words to check carefully before opening the gate of killing.

Of course, in my case, it was a story based on a slightly different reason since I was completely convinced that they were followers of the Demonic Cult.

After wiping out the spies of the Demonic Cult with Lee Chun-baek, this matter will reach the ears of the Murim Alliance.

-How did you catch them?

-I thought they were spies of the Demonic Cult, so I killed them all.

-How did you know that?

-I just had a feeling.

-…….

Looking ahead with my shrewd brain, it would absolutely not be an excellent method.

If I were to carry out the great task without securing clear physical evidence, it would surely have the potential to cause disadvantages to my future actions.

But let’s think about it differently.

If I can catch them after revealing that they are spies of the Demonic Cult, this will work in a very positive direction for my future actions.

It will be a stepping stone to get one step closer to the leader of the Murim Alliance.

I will get the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root and also gain fame.

It can truly be called killing two birds with one stone.

“Is there a way to get proof that they are spies of the Demonic Cult? As far as I know, they are truly cunning and do not reveal their true identity.”

Lee Chun-baek asked.

I could see his desire to punish the spies of the Demonic Cult as soon as possible.

“I have a method in mind.”

Of course, I have a method.

Hadn’t I already made a plan during my Myeong-gae days?

The easiest way to confirm if the other party is a follower of the Demonic Cult is actually not by checking their pulse gate.

This is because there is a way to easily confirm it with the naked eye.

“However, I think we’ll need some acting.”

That is to capture the scene where those guys are using demonic arts.