Chapter 78: The Blood Cult
He had been running for his entire life.
Eon I-gyeom remembered his past exactly that way.
From his very first memory, the one that had burned itself into his mind, it was the sharp blades of pursuers slicing through the darkness.
The wandering swordsmen who hunted the Murim bounty had never let up, no matter where he fled.
They would chase him to the end, swinging blades that had claimed dozens of near-death escapes for him.
A hundred injuries, but not a single death.
The only reason he still drew breath was the family sorcery he had forced himself to master in desperation.
Fifty years ago, the Jinju Eon Clan had once been famous for its ghost techniques and mysterious arts.
A great house with roots sunk deep into the jianghu.
Yet in a single dawn, the entire clan was erased from existence.
The cause was the indiscriminate slaughter that had torn across the Central Plains.
The true culprit, however, was not human.
When the murderers were finally caught, they turned out to be undead.
From that moment, the Jinju Eon Clan was marked as the prime suspects.
Because among all the sects and clans in the jianghu, only the Jinju Eon Clan wielded such forbidden arts.
Naturally, the clan protested vehemently, demanding a proper investigation.
But every piece of evidence that surfaced only pointed back at them.
The Murim Alliance branded the entire family with guilt.
Both the righteous and demonic paths hunted them down until the clan was wiped from history.
Eon I-gyeom was the last descendant, the last drop of blood from a fallen house.
Every single day had been a struggle to survive.
When the despair of giving up and dying came crashing down on him, the only thing that had kept him going was one sentence his father had left behind.
-Go. I will buy you time.
-Sorry. I have burdened you with too much…
He had never even been able to stand by his father’s deathbed.
His father had chosen to die so that his son might live.
And on his last breath, he had left one final command.
-Clear the stain on our clan’s name. Rebirth the Jinju Eon Clan.
A will that sounded almost like a curse at times.
Yet without that single plea, Eon I-gyeom might have thrown everything away long ago.
Because life in hell had been that brutal.
There was one small mercy in an existence as wretched as his.
Eon I-gyeom had been born with natural talent.
He was what people usually called a genius.
As he grew older, his ghost arts and martial skills quickly rose to the top.
When he finally gained enough power to stop running and start fighting his pursuers, he understood one crucial truth.
-There is a demon hunting the Eon Clan.
It was not only the wandering swordsmen seeking the bounty.
There were others, faint yet sinister, spreading a foul and treacherous aura.
But these shadows were like mirages of the Demon Sect.
No matter how hard he searched, he could never find even the smallest clue.
So he joined the Eastern Depot.
Because its intelligence network was the best in the world.
That was also when he took the alias Heo I-gyeom.
While working as an Eastern Depot agent, he secretly began gathering the scattered martial manuals and ghost technique scrolls of families across the Central Plains.
The Eon Clan’s surviving relatives had sacrificed everything to hide their clan’s secrets even as they ran for their lives.
Among the countless treasures, the most important one to recover first was, of course, the Black Spirit Bamboo.
Because without it, no descendant of the Jinju Eon Clan could ever use their most powerful arts.
He was searching for both the real villain behind the clan’s fall and the sacred relic, yet neither clue led anywhere.
With no small evidence to cling to, Eon I-gyeom felt as if he were sitting on needles every single day.
He had even changed his name and altered his identity through sorcery.
But perfect, eternal secrecy did not exist in the world.
If his cover were ever blown, Eon I-gyeom knew he would meet the most horrific death imaginable.
He had used the imperial court’s favor and the Eastern Depot’s power for his own ends.
No one would forgive him for that.
So he had walked the path alone, hiding his true identity.
-Who exactly are you.
Eon I-gyeom stared at Jeok-un with a dazed expression.
Jeok-un was reciting the latter half of the Soul-Dispersing Heart Art.
Eon I-gyeom himself had only mastered the first half.
The latter half was a complete mystery.
Yet the most shocking part was this: how did this man know the Jinju Eon Clan’s interpretation method.
The full and complete Soul-Dispersing Heart Art.
Every secret manual of the Jinju Eon Clan required the bloodline method of interpretation.
Even if one obtained the original text, only family members could truly understand it.
Because the clan’s ghost arts were so deeply intertwined with the martial techniques, the principle of “not transmitted to non-family” applied.
Anyone who learned the arts would suffer devastating consequences.
Yet the man in front of him was reciting the latter half perfectly.
He had not only obtained the original text but also the interpretation method.
Eon I-gyeom stared in disbelief as he listened.
-That should be enough.
Then Jeok-un’s recitation stopped.
Eon I-gyeom asked urgently.
-How did you learn the clan’s interpretation method…
?
But Jeok-un did not answer.
Instead, he revealed something completely different.
-It is the Blood Cult.
-What is that.
-The same bastards who wiped out your clan.
-!!
Before his regression, Eon I-gyeom and Jeok-un had investigated the cause.
The Jinju Eon Clan’s fall had been orchestrated by the Blood Cult.
A group that raised the dead through human experiments and all sorts of taboo arts.
One of the branches of the Demonic Cult.
-Have you heard of the Demonic Cult.
-The Demonic Cult…?
It was the first time he had heard the name.
The Eastern Depot kept a close eye on heretical and evil sects that had sprung up across the Central Plains.
Because they often turned into rebel armies once their true intentions were revealed.
Even Eon I-gyeom, a member of the Eastern Depot, had never heard of the Demonic Cult.
-They are the kind of people who operate in the shadows.
It is only natural that you wouldn’t know.
Jeok-un nodded as if it were obvious and continued.
-The Blood Cult is the same.
In the jianghu, they are simply considered another heretical sect.
But in truth, they are one of the forces under the Demonic Cult.
They coveted the Black Spirit Bamboo and the ghost arts of the Jinju Eon Clan, so they started the bloodbath.
-…!
Eon I-gyeom’s face twisted in shock.
-No evidence, just words… I can’t believe you…
?
-Mount Heng.
But once again, Jeok-un cut him off and mentioned Mount Heng out of nowhere.
-There is the Black Spirit Bamboo there.
-!!
He could not dismiss it as a joke.
Not a trivial matter, but one directly tied to the Black Spirit Bamboo.
-If you don’t believe me, come see it for yourself. Then you will.
Jeok-un’s confident tone left Eon I-gyeom speechless once more.
As he had said.
A thousand li south of Changsha lay Mount Heng.
There, in that very place, was the Jinju Eon Clan’s sacred treasure that Eon I-gyeom had dreamed of searching for his entire life.
Whether Jeok-un spoke the truth or lied, once they reached Mount Heng, everything would be laid bare.
-Is it real. Could he be lying…
?
Eon I-gyeom was bewildered.
Jeok-un’s behavior did not seem like that of someone telling lies.
Yet there was a question that refused to resolve.
-If it is the truth, why tell me. Is there any reason he would help me.
No free kindness existed in the world.
There had to be some hidden motive.
Eon I-gyeom had risen to this point through cold, sharp analysis, yet Jeok-un was dealing with far too many complications.
-My head hurts.
He was so confused and shaken that a headache was beginning to form.
At that moment, Jeok-un opened his mouth again.
-After the Battle of Tongseong, why do you think I suddenly went to Poyang Lake.
-…!!
Eon I-gyeom’s eyes widened in shock.
This was a detail he himself had found strange.
The Black Heaven Dragon had slaughtered Dang Maeng of the Murim Alliance and Seo Do-yeom of the Black Hegemony Castle.
The Tongseong Sub-Alliance of the Murim Alliance was annihilated.
The Geuknakdo Branch was wiped out.
In the urgent situation where both sides sent rescue teams, he suddenly appeared from a spatial rift.
-No way.
-Yes, I came to meet you. Eon I-gyeom.
-!!
-As I said, we share a common enemy. The Demonic Cult.
-Blood Cult. If they obtain the Black Spirit Bamboo, the Demonic Cult will become unstoppable.
-So I must stop them.
-…Then if you know the relic’s location, why tell me.
-If you had swallowed it first, I would never have known.
Jeok-un let out a small laugh and answered.
-You will find out once you reach Mount Heng.
-I could have gone to the place where the relic is, but I could not enter it.
-There is a restriction only the blood descendants of the Eon Clan can pass.
-Ah.
-That explains why Jeok-un could not obtain the Black Spirit Bamboo.
-The person who gave me this also came from the Eon Clan.
-He taught me the interpretation method as well…
?
Jeok-un looked at the dark window with eyes full of reminiscence.
In the distance, dawn was breaking and faint light was beginning to spread.
-It was thanks to that person that I became strong so quickly.
-But he passed away a long time ago.
-That is why I came to find you.
-!!
The ‘master’ Jeok-un mentioned was none other than Eon I-gyeom.
More precisely, the Eon I-gyeom from before his regression.
Just like Hae-yeon, Eon I-gyeom had put the clan’s future on hold to help Jeok-un with all his strength.
Jeok-un had repaid that debt and sought a harmonious relationship with him.
-However, you still cannot obtain the Black Spirit Bamboo by going to Mount Heng right now.
-According to the person who gave it to me, you must reach at least the level higher than your current realm.
-The Eon I-gyeom from before his regression had said you needed to reach the Peak of Transcendent Realm to break the restriction.
-So it is impossible for you to obtain it now.
-But there is one thing that is certain.
Jeok-un stressed the word ‘one’ and continued.
-We share a common enemy. To eliminate that bastard…
?
Jeok-un pointed at both of them in turn.
-You need me. And I need you.
-…!!
-It could be called a temporary alliance.
-Once our usefulness is exhausted, we will have no reason to meet again in the future.