Chapter 176
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: The Best Solution (1)
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“……”
“……”
Dang Jeon’s eyes, which had been staring at the letter for some time, were stained with a vicious killing intent.
After a while…
Dang Jeon lifted his head and saw the man in black prostrating before him.
“Why are you giving us this information?”
“I am merely a messenger, ignorant of the affairs of my superiors.”
His tone was stiff, yet his voice carried a strange sense of reliability.
But not to Dang Jeon.
*Ping!*
It was the sound of a taut zither string snapping.
At the same time, the masked man’s body shuddered.
“Uweegh!”
Blood spewed from his mouth, soaking the mask he wore.
“If you don’t know, then you die.”
“Cough! Keuk!”
As if suffocating, the man tore off his mask and gasped for breath. Red spots had already begun to pepper his face.
“I’ll ask one last time. What are the Lower Five Gates’ intentions in giving us this information?”
“Gack! I… I don’t know.”
“You bastard.”
*Grip!*
Dang Jeon seized the man by the throat and lifted him into the air.
The agony of the poison was driving him mad, and now he couldn’t even breathe. The man flailed desperately.
But only for a moment.
*Slump.*
The man’s body went limp. He had fainted.
Dang Jeon gazed at him with cold eyes before tossing him aside carelessly.
“How far is it to Aenoe Mountain?”
Dang Pyo, Lord of the Dark Cloud Pavilion, answered in his characteristically stiff voice.
“If we travel without rest, we can arrive within three days.”
“We leave at once. Tell the men to prepare.”
“Understood.”
*Woooong.*
A faint, light-green mist rose from Dang Jeon’s body. Without realizing it, his poison arts had been unleashed.
“How dare those bastards from the Demonic Cult look down on our family?”
As the patriarch of the great Dang Family of Sichuan, it was an unbearable insult.
They had come to conquer Aenoe Mountain in the first place, but now there was no need for any behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
“For the crime of touching the blood of our main family, I will repay you ten thousandfold.”
***
“We’re here.”
Seo Ryang let out a low whistle.
“Incredible. So this is Aenoe Mountain.”
Filled with sharp peaks and deep valleys, Aenoe Mountain felt more eerie than mystical. The thick fog blanketing the area probably made it seem even more dangerous.
“Anyone unfamiliar with the terrain would easily get lost here.”
“Looks that way.”
Yeo Ganghwi clicked his tongue.
Unlike the Northern Sea, which was surrounded by white glaciers, the lands of the Central Plains were incredibly diverse. Among them, Aenoe Mountain was a masterpiece.
The dense forest looked dangerous even in broad daylight; it would be even more sinister at night. The gloomy weather was one thing, but the mountain itself was teeming with unknown dangers.
Seo Ryang spoke to Ma Dongpil.
“You’re saying the cult’s members are here?”
“Yes. In a place called the Valley of a Thousand Beasts, deep within Aenoe Mountain. I have never been there myself.”
“I’d imagine not.”
The mountain itself was so vast and large that sensing demonic energy was impossible.
“Still, I’m glad we have this.”
Seo Ryang took out a map from his robes and unfolded it—the map of Aenoe Mountain he had received from the Grand Marshal.
The map, which detailed the terrain quite meticulously, was a testament to the Divine Cult’s power. There was likely no other faction in the entire Central Plains that possessed a map this detailed.
“Let’s see, the Valley of a Thousand Beasts is… here. It’s a bit to the west, even for Aenoe Mountain.”
Seo Ryang frowned.
“Why is there so much stuff around it?”
The entire mountain was already riddled with valleys, but the area around the Valley of a Thousand Beasts had an exceptional number of them. Looking at the map, it was no exaggeration to call it a natural fortress and a den of ghosts.
Ma Dongpil asked.
“Are you planning to go to the Valley of a Thousand Beasts?”
“Hmm? I don’t particularly plan to, but is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“Yes, there is.”
“Why?”
“I understand that no one is allowed to enter the Valley of a Thousand Beasts without the Cult Leader’s direct permission.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Since it’s where they manage the spirit herbs sent to the Divine Cult, they seem to strictly prohibit outsiders from entering.”
“That makes sense.”
He had heard that more than half of the medicinal and spirit herbs that flowed into the Divine Cult were cultivated in the Valley of a Thousand Beasts. Naturally, its importance would be comparable to the Solitary Bamboo Forest.
The only difference was that the Solitary Bamboo Forest was within the Divine Cult, while the Valley of a Thousand Beasts was outside it.
“Still, since we’ve come all this way, I was hoping we might see them if we got the chance.”
“Then where are you planning to go?”
“Ah, did I not say?”
Seo Ryang pointed to a part of the map.
“This is where we’re going.”
“The Forest of Ten Thousand Fiends…”
A name was just a name, but this one was particularly brutal. A forest where ten thousand fiends, or ten thousand kinds of wickedness, ran rampant?
“According to the Lower Five Gates, the Beast Palace and those sons of bitches from the Dang clan have met here several times.”
A look of confusion appeared on Yeo Ganghwi’s face.
“With the Dang Family?”
“Yup.”
Seo Ryang grinned.
Within his triumphant smile, a chilling killing intent began to stir.
“They’ve worked so hard racking their brains, now it’s time to beat them to a pulp.”
The time for the festival had finally arrived.
Seo Ryang dragged the six men and women, still unconscious, from the carriage and handed a small pouch of gold to the driver.
“Thank you for your hard work. Buy yourself something tasty on your way back to the cult. Now, let’s get on our way.”
After sending the carriage and driver off, the group unleashed their movement techniques.
*Thud!*
The three of them descended as if gliding down a high hill.
Having entered the entrance of Aenoe Mountain in an instant, they picked up their pace.
*Fwoosh!*
Although they had moved a few times in between, they had been living in a carriage for over twenty days. The three of them, unleashing their movement techniques so freely, looked incredibly refreshed, a stark contrast to the damp air of Aenoe Mountain.
Yeo Ganghwi watched Seo Ryang and Ma Dongpil with eyes filled with subtle amazement.
‘In… incredible.’
Even while carrying three people each and using their movement techniques, there wasn't a hint of strain on their faces.
It was normal for even a master to struggle when running with three people on their back. It wasn’t a matter of stamina, but because the posture becomes awkward.
However, it seemed to be no problem for them at all. They looked not just accustomed to it, as if they had done it dozens of times, but genuinely thrilled.
‘They are strange people in many ways.’
After some time had passed…
*Halt.*
Seo Ryang, who was running at the front, stopped.
Yeo Ganghwi asked.
“What is it?”
“Killing intent.”
“Pardon?”
“I can feel killing intent. It’s aimed precisely at us.”
Yeo Ganghwi amplified his senses and soon nodded.
“You’re right. But…”
“Right. They’re not martial artists.”
Seo Ryang frowned.
“They’re beasts.”
Indeed.
Aenoe Mountain was a natural fortress, a place where human footsteps rarely tread. It was a deep mountain where countless rare and wondrous flowers and herbs grew, as well as all sorts of poisonous creatures and nameless beasts.
In other words, it was one of the wildest places in the Central Plains.
Yeo Ganghwi’s face hardened.
“They are definitely beasts, but they possess an unusual killing intent.”
The killing intent of a beast is completely different from that of a human.
A beast's thoughts are heavily influenced by instinct. Therefore, their killing intent also has a clear purpose, and in some ways, can even give the impression of purity.
But the killing intent of the beasts here was different. It was far more secretive and incredibly venomous, even showing glimpses of the unique fighting spirit of a martial artist.
Seo Ryang sighed.
“Can’t be helped.”
He had no intention of wasting time brawling with nameless beasts.
He unleashed his Nine Hells Demonic Art.
*Tsssss.*
The faintly rising demonic energy instantly spread throughout the area.
Ma Dongpil’s eyes flickered repeatedly, stimulated by Seo Ryang’s demonic energy.
“Let’s go.”
*Thud!*
They started moving again.
Yeo Ganghwi couldn't hide his inner astonishment. He could feel the beasts that had been emitting a wicked killing intent hastily retreating.
‘Unbelievably delicate. He’s not provoking them more than necessary, just making them retreat. And over a radius of dozens of yards.’
Moreover, the targets were beasts he had never even seen before. This meant he had instantly grasped the level of the beasts that showed killing intent and was adjusting his inner energy accordingly.
And all while running at this speed.
‘The more I learn, the more he is…’
Terrifying.
Now, beyond amazement, he felt a sense of otherness. He had thought Seo Ryang's wisdom that shattered common sense was more frightening than his martial prowess, but the way he wielded his martial arts was also on a different plane from the ordinary.
‘This is not the realm of humans.’
Yeo Ganghwi’s eyes deepened.
It felt not just that the person was different, but that his very existence was different.
‘I’ve joined hands with someone like this… Will it be alright?’
He had never once regretted his choices in his life. Once a choice was made, he simply worked tirelessly to make that choice the right answer.
For the first time in his life, he was reconsidering his choice.
A shadow fell over his pale face.
‘No. I made the best choice I could.’
If he could save his sister, he would join hands not just with the Third Young Master of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, but with someone even greater.
‘Just hold on a little longer. I’ll save you soon…’
It was then.
“We’re here.”
Startled, Yeo Ganghwi looked around. They had already reached a spot near the summit of a towering mountain.
“The perfect place for a secret meeting. The clouds and mist are thick, and the trees are dense. And most importantly…”
Seo Ryang’s sharp gaze flashed towards a gloomy valley far in the distance.
“I can also see the path into the Valley of a Thousand Beasts.”
Ma Dongpil’s eyebrow twitched.
“Are you saying the Beast Palace is targeting the Valley of a Thousand Beasts?”
“The Three Palaces have joined hands with the Righteous Heaven Alliance. The Sword Palace used the Dang Family’s poison when they crushed the Red Snake House. There’s no reason they wouldn’t be in secret talks with the Beast Palace.”
“The Dang Family?”
Seo Ryang’s expression had turned serious.
“The Lower Five Gates said that the Beast Palace and the Dang Family have held several secret talks. Right here.”
“……!”
“Aenoe Mountain is dangerous, but it’s also a place where all sorts of poisonous herbs grow. For the Dang Family, there’s no place more alluring. Besides, the Beast Palace lost Aenoe Mountain to our cult.”
Ma Dongpil nodded.
“Their objectives align.”
“That’s what I think. The Beast Palace takes over Aenoe Mountain, and the Dang Family, who helped them, gets a supply of the medicinal and poisonous herbs that grow here. It’s also a chance to land a blow on our cult, their deep-rooted enemy.”
Yeo Ganghwi’s face hardened.
“Third Young Master.”
“I know what you want to say. But don’t worry. I plan to prioritize rescuing your sister. I’m the type to always keep my promises.”
“……”
“If you find it hard to trust me, then trust your own eyes and your choice.”
Seo Ryang rolled his shoulders.
“Now, let’s get ourselves sorted out until the tiger and the venomous snake arrive.”
“Ah, Young Master.”
“What is it?”
“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”
“Speak.”
“Where is Geumho?”
Seo Ryang smiled.
“Near us.”
Three days later.
When Cheonho approached the Forest of Ten Thousand Fiends, leading the Tiger King and the Hundred Beast Kings.
“Halt.”
Cheonho raised his head. Atop a sheer cliff, a tall young man stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
A deep killing intent formed in Cheonho’s eyes.
“Are you the one who sent the letter?”
“That’s right.”
“……How dare this little brat!”
“They say you’re an absolute master from beyond the borders, and your energy is something else. This won’t be easy.”
Still, I finally get to see your face.
Seo Ryang smiled coldly.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Meow.”