CHAPTER 403: TO THE CULT LEADER'S HALL (1)

The place Yi-gang and Ha-jun chose as their hideout was inside a pond.

Since they were not fish, they had no gills. Naturally, Yi-gang and Ha-jun were not living underwater.

Some called this pond a lake, but in truth, aside from its depth, it was just a mountain pond that could never be called a lake.

If you dive in, you can see an underwater cave carved deep within the pond.

It was an artificial space, not a natural underground water passage like the lake in front of Potala Palace.

The underwater cave bent upwards, and following the path led to a livable space.

Though old and rotten, furniture and household items remained.

In other words, it was a safe house to hide in dangerous situations.

Yi-gang asked why the Demon Cult, being so powerful, had hidden such safe houses.

Though the question was sharp, the Heavenly Demon answered casually.

「It wasn’t me who made them, but the White Lotus Cult members.」

Yi-gang immediately understood from that one sentence.

The White Lotus Cult members were those who were ostracized from the Central Plains and driven all the way to here in Xinjiang.

Having been weak once, they had created secret passages and safe houses in their dwellings.

「It must be lucky for you two.」

Yi-gang and Ha-jun needed time.

Time to recover their bodies and master martial arts.

Though they felt like running to the Central Plains immediately…

There are things in the world that can be rushed and things that cannot.

Defeating the Sun Moon Divine Demon and escaping the Demon Cult belonged to the latter.

Though they heard the Sun Moon Divine Demon was old and in poor health, he was still a master at the Unrestrained Realm.

In other words, an Absolute master.

They would not duel head-on, but assassinating an Absolute master required equivalent skill.

“I’ll go too.”

Ha-jun said so with a determined expression.

Yi-gang wanted to order him to wait and not say unnecessary things, but he was not in a position to do so.

Because they had to escape immediately after dealing with the Sun Moon Divine Demon.

Moreover, Ha-jun’s assistance was needed now.

“Show me results.”

“…Understood.”

Yi-gang thought Ha-jun’s growth was more necessary than his own.

「Arrogant one. You’d better think about honing yourself.」

Of course, the Heavenly Demon thought differently.

「Indeed. Though your growth is remarkable, there is still a long way to go.」

Though Zhang Sanfeng often opposed the Heavenly Demon, they agreed when discussing Yi-gang’s martial arts.

The Heavenly Demon spoke about the shadow of the Heavenly Realm.

But Yi-gang had not yet told Zhang Sanfeng about it.

Because there was nothing to gain by telling it now.

Someday, there will be a chance for the full story.

Yi-gang decided to wait for that time.

「Now, Priest. It’s time to spar again today.」

Zhang Sanfeng said so and took a Taijiquan stance.

In his spirit form, he could not exert physical force.

One might wonder how to spar with such a spirit.

“Very well.”

Yi-gang silently drew his sword.

The sparring rules were simple.

Yi-gang had to strike Zhang Sanfeng’s body or head with his sword.

If the sword touched his hands or feet, it was considered Yi-gang’s attack was blocked.

Though the rule might sound odd, the results would be similar even in real combat.

Zhang Sanfeng’s Soft Fist was still hard to break through at Yi-gang’s level.

However, Yi-gang still had the advantage.

Because Zhang Sanfeng had to touch Yi-gang’s body with bare hands.

Yi-gang charged at Zhang Sanfeng.

Holding his sword, he fiercely swung Shooting Star Fang.

Zhang Sanfeng bent his body backward with a strange movement.

Yi-gang’s sword brushed past him.

Zhang Sanfeng lay flat on the ground, then slapped the ground with his palm and jumped up.

It was a nimble response, but repeated sparring made Yi-gang accustomed to it.

White Fang, which rose behind Yi-gang, flew around the narrow chamber.

That was the difference from previous sparring sessions.

Kang! Kakak!

White Fang flurried inside the cramped chamber.

It was not the first time Yi-gang used the telekinetic sword technique against Zhang Sanfeng.

But that surprise attack had never succeeded.

Because Zhang Sanfeng dodged or deflected the sword as if he had eyes on his back.

「Oh ho, a sealing of the six sense using randomness.」

But this time was different.

White Fang was not being controlled as Yi-gang intended.

He was simply unleashing powerful propulsion, making the sword rebound by striking it against the wall.

Even Yi-gang did not know where White Fang would strike.

Amidst the silver streaks fluttering everywhere, Yi-gang charged.

A triumphant smile appeared on his face, finally sensing victory.

But Zhang Sanfeng…

Just smiled faintly.

Soon, heaven and earth turned upside down.

Yi-gang lay down, rubbing his aching back of the head.

The sparring result was defeat.

The attempt was good. Even Zhang Sanfeng, who dodged the flying White Crow like a ghost, could not use his six senses.

Moreover, the sparring limited both their internal power usage.

Yi-gang almost pierced through Zhang Sanfeng’s body.

But at that moment, he tripped and fell.

An unforgivable mistake.

Zhang Sanfeng timely restrained Yi-gang and disturbed his footwork.

Zhang Sanfeng’s hand hit Yi-gang’s forehead faster than White Fang could pierce him.

Yi-gang tried to avoid it but hit the back of his head on the ground.

「What a ridiculous disgrace. Tsk tsk.」

The Heavenly Demon, who had stayed aside unrelated to the commotion, clicked his tongue.

Beyond the Heavenly Demon, Ha-jun sat cross-legged.

The breathing technique he practiced was not from the Immortal Divine Art.

With every inhale, red energy flowed from the Baihui point on his crown.

And on exhale, red energy streamed out through all his body pores.

「This guy is floating in midair.」

The Heavenly Demon laughed.

Ha-jun’s cross-legged body floated about an inch above the ground.

That was the realm shown by those whose energy circulation reached the Creation Realm.

It had only been seven days and nights since Ha-jun started to learn the Heavenly Demon’s True Divine Martial Art.

But his cultivation had already reached near the Supreme Demon Realm.

His growth speed was unbelievable even considering his foundation as a Transcendent master.

「This guy should have walked the demonic path.」

「My, my… there’s nothing you won’t say, even to a proud and stalwart prodigy of the Orthodox Path.」

「What about the demonic path?」

「Isn’t it clear that practicing demonic skill makes one’s nature violent and murderous energy rise?」

「You have it backwards. Such brutal ones fall to the bottom and become demons.」

Regardless of Zhang Sanfeng’s agreement, the Heavenly Demon asserted.

「Also, the demonic energy hole on his back supplies purer demonic energy than any demonic art.」

The black hole formed near Ha-jun’s Mingmen point.

The Heavenly Demon also had it.

Ha-jun suddenly had the same conditions as the Heavenly Demon.

The optimal state to draw nearly infinite pure demonic energy…

「Originally, my martial arts can only be properly used by me who has the demonic energy hole. I did not hide the martial arts I created. It was just that ordinary people cannot use them even if they try to learn them.」

The lost martial arts of the Heavenly Demon including the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step.

The Demon Cult thought the Heavenly Demon did not pass on his supreme skills, but the truth was different.

The Heavenly Demon had revealed his martial arts to his trusted subordinates while alive.

They just could not master them properly.

Yi-gang cautiously raised his arm.

His fingertips traced a gentle arc as they fell.

Tsu-tsu-tsu—

For a moment, his hand seemed to multiply into three.

The Heavenly Demon did not lie.

He had casually revealed all his martial arts to Yi-gang and Ha-jun.

What Yi-gang just demonstrated was a clumsy imitation of the Asura Sky-Shattering Dance.

「The reason you can imitate my martial arts even clumsily is because you once carried my demonic energy in your body.」

Yi-gang’s body had been contaminated by demonic energy before.

Through his time at Shaolin he healed it, even undergoing a complete rebirth to cast it off entirely—yet traces still remained.

But Ha-jun was on another level.

He circulated energy and spread his hands folded between his knees left and right.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu—

His arms seemed to multiply into seven pairs at once.

It was also the Asura Sky-Shattering Dance.

Bright red light burst from Ha-jun’s wide-open eyes.

A dense demonic energy was felt.

Yi-gang muttered.

“…I wonder how we should explain this to Father.”

Ha-jun had now undoubtedly become a demon.

The prodigy of the orthodox sect called Iron-Blood Sword Dragon using the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts.

Yi-gang gave a bitter smile.

Of course, it was a luxurious worry.

Since they were not even sure if they could return to the Central Plains from here.

“How is your body?”

Yi-gang asked Ha-jun.

Ha-jun smiled and replied.

“It’s better than before.”

It was no empty praise. Ha-jun had definitely grown stronger.

To an extent incomparable to before.

“Now the problem is how to find the Sun Moon Divine Demon.”

The Sun Moon Divine Demon was in the Cult Leader’s Hall.

It was the highest place in Sky Shattering Island, the core of the Demon Cult.

They had recently learned that masters including the True Demon Palace Lord and High Spirit Palace Lord had all left Sky Shattering Island.

But secretly sneaking into the Cult Leader’s Hall would not be easy.

Ha-jun cautiously asked.

“There won’t be another secret passage like last time, right?”

“There was only one such convenient passage. There are others, but they are too far from the Cult Leader’s Hall…”

They could not infiltrate using secret passages like before.

But a frontal assault to kill the Sun Moon Divine Demon was absurd, so Yi-gang pondered.

Zhang Sanfeng cautiously advised Yi-gang.

「Infiltration does not necessarily mean stealthy penetration, does it?」

Yi-gang pondered those words for a moment.

“I see… indeed.”

Only Ha-jun, who could not hear Zhang Sanfeng’s voice, looked puzzled.

Yo Yeon-bi was walking along a path.

He felt empty.

It had been like that since that day.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult suffered humiliation it had not experienced in centuries.

Martial artists from the Central Plains had infiltrated Sky Shattering Island, the heart of the Demon Cult.

If they had just infiltrated and left, it wouldn’t be called humiliation.

They burned the Demon Brain’s High Spirit Palace and stole the Heavenly Demon’s sacred relic.

Moreover, rumors spread quickly that the True Demon Palace Master Yo Dae-soon was pushed into a river by one of them.

Yo Yeon-bi was the one who helped those terrible Central Plains martial artists infiltrate.

Though he was the son of the True Demon Palace Lord, it was a grave crime punishable by death, but the fact was thoroughly hidden.

Yo Dae-soon, who should have raged the most, instead praised Yo Yeon-bi.

Thanks to that, he survived… but Yo Yeon-bi was not entirely happy.

“No matter how I think about it, Father… seems senile”

He had a disrespectful thought that would make Yo Dae-soon furious if heard.

“That the Heavenly Demon has been resurrected. And moreover…”

Yo Yeon-bi grimaced.

“That Dam Yi-baek is like the Heavenly Demon?”

Yo Dae-soon said so with conviction.

It was said that the Heavenly Demon’s soul had resurrected by borrowing the body of an orthodox martial artist.

Yo Yeon-bi could only nod, overwhelmed by his father’s spirit.

But inwardly, he was full of doubt.

“The Heavenly Demon wouldn’t do that.”

The Dam Yi-baek he met, that is Yi-gang, did not look like the world’s most terrifying demon.

“If we meet again, I’ll definitely land a hit.”

Yo Yeon-bi, muttering so, stopped walking.

Walking absentmindedly, he found himself on a familiar path.

“Ahem.”

Before Yo Yeon-bi’s eyes was One Grab Thousand Gold Manor.

It was a place with more bad memories than good, but habits are scary.

Yo Yeon-bi swallowed hard.

One Grab Thousand Gold Manor survived despite such turmoil.

They also benefited from the measures protecting Yo Yeon-bi.

It was probably still quietly operating now.

With his father having left Sky Shattering Island and no one to scold him, wasn’t this a chance given by heaven?

After a moment’s hesitation, Yo Yeon-bi resisted the temptation.

“Endure it, endure.”

He had sworn just days ago before his father.

Never to go to a gambling den again.

He knew he was hopeless, but this time he truly wanted to quit.

Yo Yeon-bi fled past One Grab Thousand Gold Manor.

The gambling tiles still flickered in his mind.

Someone approached closely and put an arm on his shoulder.

“Good posture.”

It was a somewhat familiar voice.

Yo Yeon-bi’s mouth dropped open upon seeing the face.

“You should quit gambling.”

Yo Yeon-bi’s only friend, who he thought had escaped Sky Shattering Island.

Dam Yi-baek was beside him.