Chapter 209: The Cult Leader Has No Intention of Losing That Bet
Chapter 209: The Cult Leader Has No Intention of Losing That Bet
The man my father wanted was the Poison King.
At the mention of that name, the expressions of the Demon Lords stiffened. They exchanged wary glances, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon let out a sigh audible only to me. It was a clear sign of just how daunting this task would be.
Indeed, my father seemed certain that the Poison King would never step forward, a sentiment echoed by the Demon Lords’ reactions.
“Can you do it?”
“I will try, Father.”
The look in my father’s eyes as he watched me was provocative.
Can you really accomplish even this? If you truly pull this off, then I will acknowledge you.
My father’s gaze shifted toward the other Demon Lords.
It was a look devoid of emotion, yet I sensed subtle differences within that stoic stare. The way he looked at the Fist Demon was different from how he looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and different again from his gaze toward the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
If only he knew how much they respected him. How wonderful would it be if he gave even a slightly warmer look to the One Flower Sword Venerable?
His gaze finally came to rest on the Drunken Demon. With a look calmer than ever before, the Drunken Demon met my father’s eyes.
After communicating with the Demon Lords through that silent exchange, my father turned and walked back toward the Heavenly Demon Hall.
The Demon Lords and I bowed our heads in respect.
What was my father thinking right now? Would the day ever come when I could sit across from him and hear him speak candidly about the emotions and thoughts he had at moments like this?
Once my father had departed, I bowed to the Demon Lords.
“Thank you all, truly.”
The One Flower Sword Venerable spoke with an embarrassed expression.
“There is no need to thank me. I was dragged here against my will by the Drunken Demon.”
“Even that was a great help.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If all five of you had pushed him at once, my father is only human; he might have become truly enraged. But because the Drunken Demon and you, Sword Venerable, acted as buffers, his heart likely softened.”
The Drunken Demon chimed in with his usual playfulness.
“I’m finished! Playing the drunkard right in front of the Cult Leader!”
At that, the One Flower Sword Venerable snatched the wine bottle hanging from the Drunken Demon’s waist and took a long swig.
“I’m the one who talked too much nonsense in front of him.”
The Drunken Demon took the bottle back and drank.
“It’s all because of this pathetic friend of mine.”
“As long as you know.”
I cut into their conversation.
“No, you all gathered because of me, so it is my responsibility.”
I bowed deeply to the Demon Lords once more.
“I will repay this debt for a long time to come. You have no idea how much strength your presence gives me. Thank you so much. Since we’re all gathered like this, if I could just say one thing… Ah, wait! I’ll keep it short. I’m not that talkative of a person. Let’s all get together and devise a strategy to recruit the Poison King—”
Without a single backward glance, the five Demon Lords had already begun departing in five different directions.
“You’re all too much!”
Since I couldn't split myself into five, I threw myself into the air to follow one of them.
*
The person I chose to chase among the five was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Even though he was secretly pleased that I had followed him, he acted cranky for the sake of it.
“Why aren’t you chasing after the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon?”
“To me, you are always the best, Elder.”
“I thought the Smiling Demon was your favorite?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon recounted what had happened earlier.
“Earlier, the Smiling Demon put everything on the line. The Cult Leader, myself, the Fist Demon—none of us expected him to go that far.”
I hadn't realized the Smiling Demon had taken such a strong stance. Lord Smiling Demon, I have received your answer loud and clear.
“I should have been there.”
“That’s why it was more impressive. That he did it even when you weren't there. One cannot act like that unless they truly care.”
At this moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was also impressive. He could have been inwardly jealous of my relationship with the Smiling Demon, yet he was telling me everything exactly as it happened. He kept saying how "impressive" it was. How could I not like this man?
“Just when did you two become so close?”
“I’m not quite sure myself. We just happened to become friends.”
“Friends? With that age gap, you’re friends?”
Tell me about it. I’m actually much older. I’ve lived a longer life than even you, Elder.
“Isn't there such a thing as friendship that transcends age?”
“That 'great friendship' is making my throat dry. Go fetch some tea.”
I brought the teapot from the table next to the bed and poured a cup for him. Seeing his still-gaunt arms made my heart ache.
“Have you been eating well lately?”
“What’s with this sudden talk about meals?”
“Your health is the most important thing to me, Elder. What does the Poison King matter, and what does that permission matter compared to you?”
“Stop with the empty words.”
Despite his grumbling, he seemed to be in a good mood as he sipped the tea with a faint smile.
“You went to see my father first today, didn't you?”
“I’m just impatient. Don’t read too much into it.”
“I will read into it. The Elder who ran to me first for my sake!”
“Fine. Honestly, I was going to brag about being first, but today was a total defeat against that mask-wearer.”
It seemed the Smiling Demon had moved the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s heart today.
“Though it seems everyone’s efforts were in vain anyway.”
He sighed when the topic of the Poison King came up. The other Demon Lords seemed to feel the same way.
“Is it really that hard to bring that person in?”
“It would have been easier if he’d told us to bring all the Eight Demon Lords. We could have held a meeting and pressured them politically to cooperate. But by specifically naming the Poison King, he blocked that path in advance. The Cult Leader is quite clever, I must say.”
“Do you know anything about the Poison King?”
“I have no personal friendship with him. From what I’ve seen, he’s a man firmly entrenched in his own world, very prideful, and obsessed with poison. That’s the extent of what I know.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s concern wasn't just about personality; it was about survival.
“Can you remain yourself in the face of the Poison King’s toxins?”
Can I remain myself before the Poison King’s poison?
I understood what he was worried about. There is a primal fear that poison instills—the fear that one might die without even getting a chance to fight properly. That was why the Poison King, along with the late Soul-Seizing Demon Lord, was the Demon Lord that martial artists most dreaded facing.
“I know you have a silver tongue and are good at flattery, but I’m asking if you can remain undaunted before a man who uses poison. He’s the kind of person who could poison you without you even noticing, leaving you to wither and die years later.”
Actually, I could be at my most undaunted. As long as poison didn't work on me, he was, at least to me, the weakest among the Eight Demon Lords.
In fact, that was the real concern.
The moment I accidentally bruised his pride, bringing him before my father would become an eternal impossibility.
Before my regression, when I returned to the Main Cult to gather materials for the Great Regression Art, the Poison King was already dead, and his successor held the seat of the Demon Lord.
I knew how he died. And I knew how many people he took with him when he went.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me as I fell into thought.
“Do you have a method in mind?”
“I do. I’ll have to learn the secret of making the Poison King my ally from you, Elder.”
“If you use my methods, you’ll end up alienating even those close to you.”
With that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon gazed intently at me.
“If I were to give you one piece of advice, do what you do best.”
“And what is that?”
“The Cult Leader called it 'cheap sentimentality—the kind that's perfect for getting oneself killed.'”
I burst out laughing at those words. It was surprising that my father and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had shared such a conversation. The fact that my father had used that expression with someone else was proof that the relationship between him and me had moved one step closer.
“Exercise that quality, just as you did with me and the other Demon Lords.”
Look the opponent straight in the eye, and if there is something to be said, say it without delay.
I had treated people with these two convictions. Whether they would work on the Poison King remained to be seen.
“I understand, Elder.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon reached into his robe and pulled something out to hand to me. It was the top-grade Poison-Repelling Pearl I had given him as a birthday present.
“Take this with you. I’ve washed it clean, so don’t call it dirty.”
I looked down at the Poison-Repelling Pearl in silence for a moment. This was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s heart. Lately, that heart of his kept tugging at mine.
I pulled two more Poison-Repelling Pearls from my own robe and stuffed them into my cheeks.
“I’ll go with my cheeks full like a squirrel! Keep that one, and if I get caught by the Poison King, bring it and save me.”
“Forget it! I have no intention of ever going to that filthy pit of poison.”
Because I knew he would be the first to come running, I would make sure such a thing never happened.
“Please rest. I’ll be going now.”
“Don’t overdo it. Right now, it might feel like a grand task that your destiny depends on… but looking back, it’s all nothing much.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
By the time I left the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s residence, night had already fallen.
When everyone is watching me, waiting to see which path I take, the pressure to succeed sometimes weighs me down.
At times like that, there is always one person who comes to mind. Forgetting the Poison King and forgetting my father’s permission, I slowly moved my feet, following the instinctive pull toward sanctuary.
*
Lee An was burying her efforts in time again today.
In the Nine-Star stage of the Flying Heaven Sword Technique she was performing, I could feel the maturity born of blood-soaked effort.
Chwarak!
The Sword Qi split into two in front of her chest. She couldn't divide it further yet due to a lack of internal energy, but she had successfully executed the Flowing Heaven Form with precision.
Swish. Swish!
Two streaks of Sword Qi shot through the air like arrows and embedded themselves on either side of my face. Her actual sword was on the left, and the sword-shaped Qi was on the right.
She used to be so absorbed in her daily training that she wouldn't even notice my arrival, but now she was launching the Flowing Heaven Form at me.
“I suppose I can send you out into the Central Plains with a peaceful mind now. You may descend the mountain, Lee An. Just try not to kill too many people.”
“I don’t want to, Young Master. I’m going to stick right by your side and live comfortably like this for the rest of my life. Ah! Though I suppose that comfort has come to an end now.”
“Congratulations.”
“You heard, right? Senior Blue Face has finally joined the Ghost Shadow Squad as the 1st Team Leader.”
Her voice trembled. Excluding matters related to me, this was likely the greatest event of her life. The successor who would become the next Extreme Evil Smiling Demon had become a team leader in the organization she headed.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m nervous.”
“The most important thing is to believe in yourself. People can sense it instantly. 'Ah, that person has no confidence in leading us. We’re screwed. We’re going to end up dying for nothing.'”
Lee An let out a sigh.
“I believe in myself. It’s whether my abilities can keep up that worries me.”
“If you can’t trust yourself, trust your tail.”
At that, Lee An looked up and gave a wide grin.
“That, I can trust a bit.”
“Consult with Blue Face and start building the organization in earnest. There is only one principle: create the Main Cult’s finest elite unit. Look at their skill, and look at their character. Don’t just make a pack of butchers who are good at fighting; make an elite organization that can be trusted. Fill it with people like Jang Ho or Investigator Seo. You understand?”
“Yes!”
“From now on, your eye for people is more important than your sword forms. That is what will keep you alive.”
As the head of an organization, Lee An’s life was just beginning.
We talked about this and that. Being with her put my mind at ease. The moon, which had looked sorrowful when I arrived, was now shining warmly across the world outside the window.
I didn't forget one last joke as we parted. She had endured all those side effects and worked so hard to become beautiful, yet she did nothing but train all day; someone had to say something.
“I thought you were the World’s Greatest Beauty, but I guess I was wrong.”
Lee An tensed up, wondering what I meant.
“You’ve become even prettier than before you left the Cult. If you’re already the World’s Greatest Beauty, you shouldn't be able to get any prettier, right?”
I left her there with her face turning bright red. Lee An wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.
*
The next day, on my way to see the Poison King, I stopped by the Demon Doctor’s clinic.
As it happened, there were no patients, and the Demon Doctor, who was idle, looked surprised to see me.
“Second Young Master, I’ve been seeing a lot of you lately.”
“Seeing the Divine Healer saving lives somehow makes me feel better.”
How could the Demon Doctor not know I had come with a purpose?
“I don’t know when a patient might come bursting in, so state your business quickly.”
“There is something I wish to ask you, Divine Healer.”
“Speak.”
“Do you happen to have any interaction with the Poison King?”
I asked as if I didn't know, but I was aware that the Demon Doctor was the only person the Poison King interacted with. It was one of the few pieces of information I had regarding him.
“One of you saves lives, and the other kills with poison. I thought that since extremes often meet, perhaps the two of you might share some connection.”
“Why the Poison King?”
“There is something I want from my father, and he set a condition: I must persuade the Poison King to come to him.”
The Demon Doctor shook his head.
“Then it seems the Cult Leader has no intention of losing that bet.”
The Demon Doctor also didn't believe the Poison King could be persuaded by me.
“I know you are a remarkable person, Second Young Master. But the Poison King will not be easy.”
“Is there anything you can tell me?”
The Demon Doctor hesitated for a moment. He was likely weighing how much to tell me, caught between his friendship with the Poison King and his relationship with me.
“In all my life, I have met many poison users, but I have never seen anyone as sincere about poison as the Poison King. His pride is just as strong. He is a man who believes that the only person he cannot kill with his poison is the Cult Leader.”
This was also why I must not carelessly reveal that I was immune to all poisons. The moment I bruised his pride or ego, the mission would be ruined.
“Wait a moment.”
The Demon Doctor stepped away for a bit and returned with a small medicine bottle.
“This is the best antidote I possess. I cannot guarantee it can neutralize all of the Poison King’s toxins, but it will be of help.”
I handed the antidote back to him.
“Please use this medicine where it is truly needed.”
“Why?”
“The Poison King administering poison to me is something that would only happen if he were risking his life to plot a rebellion. In that case, he would use a poison that no antidote could cure.”
“You are right.”
The Demon Doctor nodded.
“Then I shall see you again.”
I had visited the Demon Doctor because he was the person who could be of the greatest help in persuading the Poison King in the future.
You will have a chance to help me later. And that task won't just be for me; it will be for your sake as well, Divine Healer.
As I stood up to leave, the Demon Doctor spoke one last time.
“Do you know what the Poison King’s dream is? It is to codify all the poisons in the world and leave them in a book. Even at this very moment, he is silently researching poison alone. The key will be getting him to come out of his laboratory. He is a man with no interest in the world.”
The Poison King had lied even to the only person he interacted with. His dream was not to codify the world’s poisons.
He was a man who dreamed of becoming the World’s Greatest Poison Venerable, bringing the Murim to its knees beneath his toxins.
Leaving the infirmary, I walked toward the southwest of the Cult. There lay the Thousand Poison Forest, where the Poison King resided.