Qimen Dunjia Sorcery (1)
In front of Wang Yi Sam's eyes, the floor where Seo Baek had fallen sealed itself shut automatically.
Thud.
The iron bars that had blocked the path of the man in blue robes and Wang Yi Sam then rose upward, vanishing into the ceiling.
Rumble. Clank.
The underground passage returned to its ordinary state, as if nothing had ever happened.
Anyone who had looked away for just a moment would have doubted their own eyes upon seeing Seo Baek vanish in the blink of an eye.
This was the Jegal Clan's mechanism formation!
Wang Yi Sam gaped in shock as Seo Baek fell into the trap right before him.
He had witnessed peak experts from prestigious orthodox sects unleashing their martial arts a few times before. But he'd never even heard rumors of someone being subdued by a mechanism formation like this.
It was truly ghostly sorcery.
As Wang Yi Sam floundered in panic, the man in blue robes spoke in his usual impassive tone.
"Calm yourself. Worrying won't change a thing."
"A man's fallen into a trap—in a place crawling with revenants—and you want me to calm down?"
"That boy is staying calm."
"……!"
He was right.
Wasn't Seo Baek the type who wouldn't flinch even if a blade pressed against his throat?
But Wang Yi Sam couldn't shake his unease.
"For now, let's follow the passage and find an exit back to the surface."
"And then? You're not saying we should just run off alone, are you?"
"Of course not. While we search for the exit, the boy will escape from below."
"……."
Wang Yi Sam had no choice but to agree.
Worrying wouldn't help, just as the man in blue robes said.
He knew Seo Baek's capabilities well. The boy would surely slip out undetected by the revenants.
So their task now was to hurry through the passage and find a way to help him escape!
"Then let's move."
"Very well."
Wang Yi Sam nodded and stepped forward.
Then a sudden thought struck him.
"By the way, why'd Seo Baek say 'Second Young Master' when he fell?"
"The boy will understand."
"So I won't?"
Wang Yi Sam bristled, but the man in blue robes explained calmly, without reaction.
"Do you remember wandering the privy corridor?"
"Of course. Think a few hours would make me forget?"
"Then you remember what trick the Jegal Clan's Second Young Master set in that corridor?"
"Don't tell me… Qimen Dunjia?"
Wang Yi Sam's voice trembled as he asked, and the man in blue robes nodded.
"Exactly. The underground where the boy fell must also have the Second Young Master's sorcery at work."
In pitch-black darkness without a single point of light, Seo Baek moved swiftly.
Swish.
His footsteps were so faint that only a peak internal energy master straining their ears might detect them.
Revenants didn't react to light or sound.
But in this unknown danger, Seo Baek glided across the floor in a sliding footwork technique.
He gripped his sword in his right hand, blade slung diagonally over his shoulder.
An ordinary martial artist would have gone numb long ago under the sword's weight.
Yet Seo Baek's hand didn't tremble.
If a revenant ahead sensed him, he'd swing without hesitation.
The revenant den where he'd fallen was far wider than the passage above.
He could swing freely without hitting walls.
Even if the blade grazed a wall or ceiling, he'd cleave through and continue.
This was the Jegal Clan's building, exploiting the revenant outbreak.
No need to worry if it collapsed.
He could rampage freely.
'Handy, in its way.'
He seemed composed, but his situation was a deadly gamble.
Revenants lurked all around—front, back, left, right—staggering about.
With Shika Heart Method active, Seo Baek saw their forms clearly.
The man in blue robes had said these were all renowned Central Plains martial artists.
Wind and Cloud Single Sword Tak Sang-do roamed aimlessly, a massive broad dao as big as Seo Baek's sword strapped to his back.
There was also Guo Qi, the evil faction peak expert Wang Yi Sam had guessed.
Seo Baek recognized him instantly by the bald head and eagle tattoo.
Other revenants of once-famous martial artists wandered the depths.
'Which way now?'
Seo Baek sharpened his gaze, scanning the dark.
Far off, a passage entrance faintly appeared.
This open space was a vast clearing.
The passage across its center must lead out of the underground.
Any passage connected somewhere—surface or another hell.
Seo Baek chose without hesitation.
'That way.'
With a plan, he moved without delay.
Swish.
Surprisingly, he headed toward Wind and Cloud Single Sword Tak Sang-do.
Wang Yi Sam would have freaked out if beside him—charging a revenant?
But Seo Baek pressed even closer, right behind him.
Three more steps, and his nose would bump Tak Sang-do's back.
To Seo Baek, who knew revenants well, it was maximally efficient.
'Safest way across the clearing.'
Tak Sang-do's massive broad dao made his body sway side to side as he walked.
Revenants lacked souls, but no need to provoke. Especially these Jegal-captured ones—unknown traits.
Following behind avoided collision.
And Tak Sang-do cleared the path, naturally distancing other revenants.
Two birds with one stone!
Seo Baek just matched Tak Sang-do's pace to maintain distance.
Child's play for his footwork.
Swish swish.
Wang Yi Sam would be floored watching.
Dodging revenants was tough enough—yet tailing one let him stroll through the horde!
Lucky bastards get the breaks.
Tak Sang-do headed straight for the opposite passage.
Follow him, and he'd cross naturally.
The air reeked of rotting revenant flesh.
Some long-trapped ones had empty sockets swarming with maggots.
Living hell.
Yet Seo Baek moved with mirror-like calm.
Soon, he and Tak Sang-do had crossed a third of the clearing.
Just a bit farther to the passage.
Luck ran out there.
Tak Sang-do halted abruptly mid-stagger.
Thud.
Seo Baek, glued behind, sensed it instantly and stopped—no nose-to-back collision.
Tak Sang-do twisted, veering left.
Straight to the end would have been jackpot. But luck doesn't always hold.
'End of the line.'
Seo Baek felt no regret.
Clinging to delusions was foolish.
As Tak Sang-do turned left, Seo Baek slipped behind and corrected course.
Toward the opposite passage, of course.
If another revenant headed straight there, tail it.
But the horde's erratic paths made it tricky.
Seo Baek didn't quit.
People thought soulless revenants moved randomly—but no.
They only lunged irregularly at living auras.
Otherwise, like beasts.
Beasts herd. Even insects do.
Revenants too.
Unknown why, but they moved in packs—hence "revenant horde."
Seo Baek watched the nearby ones closely.
Their paths mapped in his mind like a painting.
'There.'
He darted to where one passed.
Tailed it five steps, then sidestepped left two back.
Advanced, retreated, turned with their flow.
One step back for every forward.
Thus, he navigated the pack freely without disrupting.
Revenants brushed past without scent or sense. The depths teemed, oblivious to him.
Seo Baek wove through gaps nimbly.
But soon, something off.
His position drifted away from the passage?
'What?'
Unexpected. He paused to check—but horde converged. He merged back in.
Then he realized the issue.
Straight line is fastest to goal.
But dodging meant zigzagging left-right.
Problem: revenants kept swarming from right.
Zigzag needs left then right for direction. But right brought hordes, forcing left again.
Left bias snowballed.
He circled the clearing!
Treading water, not advancing.
'Missing something.'
Soulless blood ghosts had no thoughts. Yet their chaos masked regimented herding—toward one side.
'Then….'
Something controlled them.
What?
A flash: the man in blue's shout as he fell.
-Second Young Master!
Jegal Clan's Second Young Master Jegal Hyeok.
Not just "beware"—a warning of sorcery here too!
Unknown method, but revenants danced to Jegal Hyeok's tune.
'Controlling revenants possible?'
Master's words surfaced.
-A book holds revenant secrets: the Black Wolf Secret Book from Black Wolf Castle.
Master said it couldn't fully exorcise revenants.
It recorded control, not expulsion.
Controlling soulless revenants—like a form of Qimen Dunjia.
And this was Jegal Clan manor in Yongzhong, famed for Qimen Dunjia.
'Of course.'
Unravel Jegal Hyeok's formation—priority one.
Seo Baek flowed with the horde like driftwood.
Spotting the pattern.
'Just as I thought.'
He pierced the secret of Jegal Hyeok's revenant-herding Qimen Dunjia.