Chapter 330: There Is Exactly One Thing I Cannot Do.
Chapter 330: There Is Exactly One Thing I Cannot Do.
Surprisingly, So Baek-ta’s decision to gift the sacred relic to Geom Mu-geuk had been at the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s request.
“Do you know why I told you to give the Young Cult Leader a gift?”
“Is it not out of gratitude for what happened here?”
“Of course, that is part of it, but there is a greater reason.”
“What is that reason?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s answer was unexpected.
“It is because of the Cult Leader himself.”
“Because of me?”
It was a move to forge a deeper bond between Geom Mu-geuk and So Baek-ta. In fact, their own relationship had truly begun when the elder had first given Mu-geuk a sacred relic.
There was a significant difference between simply parting ways and offering a sacred relic as a token of gratitude. Even if the recipient was not someone who sought a reward, the virtue of declining was entirely up to them. Even that act of refusal becomes a gift in itself.
“Do not let your connection with the Young Cult Leader fray. Do it for your own sake, and for the sake of the Pungcheon Cult.”
Only then did So Baek-ta understand his master’s deep intentions. It was a moment where he realized once again how highly his master regarded Geom Mu-geuk.
“To become a good leader, you must prioritize people over objects. Even if you have to use up every sacred relic in this vault, make sure you have people around you who can protect you.”
“I understand.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader stared intently at So Baek-ta. “Really? Do you truly believe that people are more important than the treasures here?”
“Well, that’s…”
So Baek-ta could not give a confident answer. Only yesterday, he had been toyed with by others.
“Yes, human relationships are exhausting. Forming them, striving to maintain them, being disappointed, being betrayed… Truly, nothing drains one’s mental energy more. Nevertheless, you must make observing and managing people your top priority. Do you know why?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader was telling his disciple everything he hadn't been able to say until now.
“It is because you are the Cult Leader. If you lived an ordinary life, you wouldn't need to value human relationships this much. But a Cult Leader is, ultimately, one who rules over people. You must be able to handle not only our cult but also allied organizations and even your enemies. Never forget that the fate of the Pungcheon Cult and everyone living in the Outer Regions changes depending on who you keep by your side and how you use them.”
Before So Baek-ta could respond, the elder quickly added, “Though, these aren't exactly words coming from someone who spent his whole life staring only at sacred relics, are they?”
“Is that not exactly why you are able to say them?”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
“By the way, what did the Young Cult Leader choose?”
“He chose the Black Essence.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader wore a look of incomprehension for a moment before nodding. Choosing the very best thing, and then choosing the most worthless thing… He thought it was very much like the Young Cult Leader.
“Since it’s him and no one else, there’s no need to feel it’s a waste. In fact, just now, you were the one who received a gift. So, if the opportunity arises again later, give him more.”
He meant that forming a bond with Geom Mu-geuk was worth more than any single sacred relic.
Though he knew he shouldn't feel this way, So Baek-ta felt a twinge of jealousy toward Geom Mu-geuk. At the same time, he resolved to become someone his master could trust just as much.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader read his disciple’s inner thoughts.
“Do not rush. I only began to think deeply about my life after I was more than twice your age. Before that, I felt like I was just being swept along mindlessly.”
He truly hadn't expected to feel like his real life was beginning at this age.
“So, do not be impatient. Your real life may not have even begun yet.”
So Baek-ta did not want to part with his master.
“Will you be returning with the Young Cult Leader?”
He was afraid his master would say he had to go. The Pungcheon Cult Leader smiled.
“I will stay with our Cult Leader for a while before I leave. We’ll train together, drink together… and talk about the old days.”
At least for now, his disciple came before Go Wol or Geom Mu-geuk. Because his disciple still had much to learn compared to those two, he wanted to stay a little longer to guide him.
So Baek-ta gave a bright smile.
“Thank you, Master.”
One moment jealous, the next happy. Seeing himself swayed by joy and sorrow in such a short time… Yes, Master is right. I still have a long way to go.
* * *
My heart hammered against my ribs all the way back to my quarters after leaving the Cult Leader’s palace.
My steps quickened naturally at the expectation that I might finally solve the mystery of the Secret Casket—a secret that even the previous Heavenly Demons had failed to unlock for ages.
After ordering the guards not to let anyone disturb me, I entered the room. I took out both the Secret Casket and the Black Essence from my robe and placed them side by side on the table.
“Hey, Casket. You’ve got a friend now.”
Since I had drawn a smiling face on the Secret Casket, it really looked like it was happy to have company.
What was the relationship between these two?
I picked up the Black Essence and placed it on top of the Secret Casket. But nothing happened, even though it had vibrated and practically begged me to choose the Black Essence earlier.
“If you’re going to be this shy, why did you look for this friend in the first place?”
I waited for a while, but the Secret Casket showed no reaction. I turned the casket over and tried placing the Black Essence on another side. Still nothing. I tried another side, and then another.
“Bear with the handstand for a bit, even if it’s uncomfortable.”
The moment I flipped the smiling casket over and placed the Black Essence on its bottom surface—
Ssssh.
The Black Essence began to be sucked into the Secret Casket.
I had never imagined the casket would absorb the Black Essence, so I just stared in shock. Like a drop of water being absorbed by parched earth, the Black Essence vanished right into the casket.
I raised my internal energy to prepare for any situation and watched the casket with bated breath. Even after waiting a long time, the casket remained still.
“You! You ate your friend!”
The moment I said that—
Vwooom!
The Secret Casket vibrated once.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?”
The casket shook and vibrated again. It was a vibration so strong the table rattled. Then, the violently vibrating casket rose into the air. It began to spin rapidly in the void.
Whirrrrrrrr!
It looked like it might explode at any moment or fly off somewhere.
What should I do?
There was no time for long deliberation. I followed my instincts. After pushing my Body Protection Qi to its limit, I reached out and grabbed the Secret Casket floating in the air.
At that exact moment!
Shoooooooo!
A sound I had never heard before rang out, and something pitch-black began to emerge from the Secret Casket.
That black substance was not smoke, nor was it liquid. It wasn't internal energy or an aura, and it wasn't light. It was something I was seeing and feeling for the first time in my life, something impossible to describe in words.
The substance that came out of the casket spread through my hand and arm into my body. It didn't spread anywhere else. Like ink bleeding into paper, it permeated only my form.
Fwaaaa.
I stayed still and watched it spread. I could feel it instinctively—at the very least, this energy did not intend to harm me. If it had, the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art would have activated. If it had, I would have instinctively hurled the casket to the floor.
Instead, I gripped the casket tightly and watched the substance transfer to me. It shimmered like light, rippled like a wave, and gave off a sensation like an aura. It was pitch-black in color, but the feeling was as refreshing as drinking clear water.
Fwaaaaaack!
The moment it spread from the top of my head to the tips of my toes—
Flash!
A brilliant radiance erupted from my entire body. It was so blinding that I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, the radiance was gone. The substance that had spread through my body had vanished inside me before I knew it.
I hurriedly checked my body.
The energy from the casket had clearly permeated deep into every part of me, but there were no particular changes. My internal energy hadn't increased, nor was there any undigested energy clumped together in my Dantian.
However, I felt it. I felt that it remained in my body. That it existed somewhere inside me.
‘What on earth is this?’
It was then.
Clack!
The Secret Casket spat out the Black Essence it had swallowed. The ejected Black Essence rolled across the floor.
When I picked it up to examine it, it no longer had its original lustrous, ink-like sheen. It had become a plain, ordinary lump of iron.
I knew instinctively: the energy hidden within the Black Essence had been absorbed into me through the Secret Casket. This was the moment the secret of the casket was revealed.
The Secret Casket was a device that absorbed energy contained within something else.
Without something like the Black Essence to absorb, the casket was truly worthless. How could anyone have ever uncovered this secret?
I had uncovered it precisely because I hadn't tried so hard to solve it. I was able to solve it simply because I had carried it in my arms like a friend.
And I had another premonition.
This wouldn't be the end. I felt that if there were other objects besides the Black Essence that contained energy, I could absorb them using this casket.
‘Just what are you? Who made you?’
As if nothing had happened, the Secret Casket just lay there upside down, smiling broadly at me. Now that I knew which way was up, I’d have to draw a new face on it.
* * *
The next day, we said our goodbyes.
While the guards, who had risen early, were busy preparing the carriage, the Pungcheon Cult Leader and So Baek-ta came out to see us off.
“Safe travels back.”
In response to So Baek-ta’s farewell, I told him something I had really wanted to say.
“As you know from personal experience, there are those plotting in the shadows. I hope you will be careful in the future.”
“I will. You take care as well, Young Cult Leader.”
Next, I bid farewell to the Pungcheon Cult Leader. Even though it wasn't a long-term parting, I felt a sense of regret, realizing I had grown quite fond of him.
“Do you know what I felt while dealing with the Sinung Iron Workshop this time?”
“What did you feel?”
“They didn't know where they belonged or what goal they were working toward. And yet, they were operating in perfect sync. Do you know who they reminded me of? Eun-wol. An organization that consists of thorough point-to-point cells but operates under a perfect system.”
This was what he wanted me to know.
“There is no doubt that someone truly brilliant, like you or Go Wol, is behind them.”
Someone of the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s caliber could tell how large and violent a monster was just by touching its tail.
“I will keep that in mind when I face them. Thank you for telling me.”
“I’ll send word to Go Wol separately. I won't be staying there for too long.”
“Please, stay as long as you like.”
“Farewell, Young Cult Leader—the man who stripped my Pungcheon Cult of its treasures.”
He was grinning, already planning to use this to tease me for a while. I didn't let it slide, either.
“When I looked at the sacred relics this time, there were many tempting things left behind.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader shouted to So Baek-ta, “Protect our sacred relics well from the Young Cult Leader!”
While my farewell ended with jokes and banter, the farewell with the Demon Buddha was very blunt.
“I shall go first.”
“I will see you at the Cult.”
However, the look in their eyes toward each other was different from when they had first arrived.
And so, I left the Pungcheon Cult with the Demon Buddha. Three of us had come, but only two were returning. Yet, it felt as if four of us were heading back.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader and So Baek-ta watched from the main gate until our carriage disappeared.
* * *
The journey back was leisurely.
If we saw a high mountain, we stopped the carriage, climbed up to dig for poisonous herbs, and camped under the stars in the wilderness.
For meals, the guards cooked animals they had hunted. I taught them everything from how to skin the animals to which parts of the meat were tasty and how to cook them so they wouldn't be tough. Thanks to that, the guards' cooking skills improved day by day.
“Truly, there is nothing the Young Cult Leader cannot do,” the guards admired.
I shook my head at their praise.
“There is exactly one thing I cannot do.”
“What is it?”
I didn't tell them; I just turned away with a sigh.
And so, after another good meal today, I lay down to sleep by the campfire. Looking up at the night sky, I spoke to the Demon Buddha.
“Come to think of it, you are like a star too, Lord Demon Buddha.”
Across the campfire, the Demon Buddha turned toward me.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re always shining on your own, just like the stars.”
I could see the Demon Buddha’s face through the flickering flames. Having grown accustomed to me, he stared back and said, “I don't have anything like a sacred relic, unlike the Pungcheon Cult Leader.”
“But you have poisonous herbs, don't you?”
The Demon Buddha had dug up seven, but I still hadn't managed to find a single one. The one thing I couldn't do, which I hadn't told the guards, was digging for medicinal herbs.
“Please, just give me one!”
The Demon Buddha wore a look that said 'not a chance' and promptly rolled over to face the other way.
I knew how he felt. He wanted to hear the Poison King say that our Demon Buddha is indeed the best. He wanted to be the special person who could find poisonous herbs that no one else could.
The more he acted that way, the more I wanted to tease him. Just as I stood up silently and tried to creep toward the box of herbs the Demon Buddha had dug up—
The Demon Buddha reached out his hand while still lying down. A golden radiance extending from his palm turned into a golden dragon, coiling around the box as if to protect it. It was the Demon Buddha’s unique demonic art, the Golden Daluo Demon Art.
“You’re too much! I’m the Young Cult Leader! I’m the man who will become the Heavenly Demon!”
As if to say it wouldn't work, the golden dragon roared fiercely and thrashed about.
“Fine, I’ll sleep. I’m sleeping.”
I lay back down. Jeok-yeon, the guard captain who had been watching us from a short distance away, couldn't hold back his laughter, but turned his head the other way when our eyes met.
The Demon Buddha, who was still lying with his back to me, called out softly.
“Young Cult Leader.”
“Yes, Lord Demon Buddha.”
After a brief pause, the Demon Buddha spoke.
“Thank you.”
I was looking at the stars in the night sky. The starlight seemed exceptionally bright tonight.
“Me too.”
We didn't ask each other what we were thankful for.
And so, cutting through the desert winds of the Outer Regions, we returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.