A Dark Alliance and a Quiet Harvest
It seemed Docheol had done something to him. A moment later, the colossal mass of flesh that had shrouded half the sky began to shrink rapidly.
"Prepare sacrifices. More sacrifices."
Soon, the flesh vanished entirely, and the altar began to melt. It took only a few blinks of an eye for the massive altar to dissolve into the earth like salt in water.
After Docheol and the altar vanished, Jekyeong spoke up just as Myeong-ha's ragged breathing began to stabilize. "Is it... over?"
"Yes," Myeong-ha replied, blinking as he sat half-collapsed on the ground. The blood that had leaked from his eyes ran down his cheeks and dried, resembling some bizarre, macabre makeup. "Let us leave. We must find a safe place first. We can talk... afterward."
"Indeed."
Talk. If possible, Jekyeong wanted to sever his ties with Myeong-ha right then and there. But that was impossible. Even if he were to wring Myeong-ha's neck right now and flee, Docheol would not let him go. He felt a premonition that was close to absolute certainty.
"We really took a beating this time."
Jekyeong and Myeong-ha had successfully escaped the Secret Realm and returned to Haeyeon Island. Although there were many watchful eyes monitoring the perimeter of the Secret Realm, both of them were masters of stealth. Moving with extreme caution, they slipped past everyone undetected.
In the process, they learned that rumors of the Secret Realm had spread far wider than they had initially anticipated. This was precisely why the Core Formation cultivators had not yet made their move. They were busy suppressing the spread of information while simultaneously guarding against powerful foreign races infiltrating the Human Territory.
"Still, we were lucky."
They truly had been. If they had delayed their departure from the Secret Realm even slightly, they might not have made it back to Haeyeon Island unscathed.
"Will they realize what happened?"
"Unlikely. The work of a god is not so sloppy."
It was Docheol who had reclaimed the altar. Since his residual power within the Secret Realm had vanished along with it, anyone entering afterward might sense something amiss, but they would find absolutely no clues.
"To be honest, I thought I had grown quite accustomed to the cultivation world. I believed nothing could surprise me anymore, not even a bolt from the blue. But this time..." Myeong-ha shook his head with a bitter smile. Taking a sip of his steaming tea, he continued slowly, "A Malevolent God. I always thought those who got involved with such entities were utter fools. I never dreamed I would end up being one of those fools myself."
"At least you had a choice. I was struck by disaster with my eyes wide open."
"Hehe. What can I do? Should I offer an apology?"
"Save your insincere words."
Having survived this ordeal together, their bond had grown tighter, whether they liked it or not. Consequently, their banter had become far more direct. Yet, even in this state, they maintained certain boundaries. For instance, they neither asked nor pried into what the other had gained. Myeong-ha did not ask where Jekyeong had vanished to or what he had done when Docheol first descended, and Jekyeong did not ask about the blessings and rewards Myeong-ha had received from the deity. They merely harbored their own vague conjectures.
"What do you plan to do now? Docheol's patience did not seem particularly great."
"Haha. Be careful. Who knows what calamity might strike if you speak so carelessly of a god?"
Myeong-ha's half-joking warning did not resonate with Jekyeong at all. After his conversations with Yu Gon, Jekyeong had formed his own understanding of these so-called gods. While they were undeniably powerful beyond imagination, he saw no reason to hold them in such awe that he couldn't even utter their names. Besides, in a situation where he had been dragged into this mess against his will, what room was there for reverence?
If Docheol were truly omnipotent, he would have devoured the entire Changram Realm long ago.
Faith did exist in the Changram Realm. Even among human cultivation sects, there were many who burned incense to revere their founding ancestors, and folk religions were widespread. The same went for other races. The Beast Race had their own Beast Gods, after all. Though their wild nature made sincere, pious worship rare compared to humans, they did not deny or reject the existence of their deities.
But Malevolent Gods were different. Regardless of race, they were universally regarded as evil gods in the Changram Realm. The common consensus of the cultivation world was to eradicate any worship of evil gods immediately upon discovery, or at the very least, keep a safe distance. Though forced by circumstance, Jekyeong and Myeong-ha had now crossed over to the wrong side of that consensus.
"Now, as Docheol's believers..."
"Hold on," Jekyeong cut Myeong-ha off firmly. "You are Docheol's believer. Not me."
"Is there really a need to draw such a line?" Myeong-ha scoffed at Jekyeong's attempt to distance himself, but Jekyeong remained unfazed. "We must be clear on this. The moment an opportunity arises, I will abandon this role as Docheol's lackey without a second thought."
"The same goes for me. In fact, I desire that even more than you do, Fellow Daoist." Perhaps emboldened by Jekyeong's unreserved attitude, Myeong-ha shed his final layer of pretense. "But until that opportunity comes, we must work diligently for him. You know as well as I do what will happen if we do not."
Jekyeong silently reached for the gourd at his waist, ignoring the tea placed before him. "Our immediate priority is securing sacrifices. There is no room for negotiation on this. Although no strict deadline was set, he is already growing impatient."
"A god with the patience of a toddler," Jekyeong remarked.
Myeong-ha flinched at his blunt, borderline blasphemous words, but soon let out a faint chuckle.
"He is an insatiable entity. I can feel his hunger. It is likely only a fraction of it, but it is a truly horrific sensation. We must hurry as much as possible."
"Haste makes it easy to leave tracks. Furthermore, if the secrets of the Secret Realm are exposed, we will have to keep our heads down for a while."
Myeong-ha seemed somewhat anxious, but he did not lose his composure. He remained cautious, wishing to formulate a thorough plan before taking action. "Securing sacrifices itself is not difficult. Cultivators are the most abundant resource in this world. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators... are merely a bit troublesome to capture. The real issue is that his hunger is endless."
Offering sacrifices once or twice was manageable, but doing so repeatedly would prove difficult. While the disappearance of cultivators was common in the cultivation world, a continuous string of vanishments would eventually raise suspicion in even the densest of fools. "Therefore, we must establish a long-term plan. Rather than scrambling for immediate sacrifices, our best course of action is to create an environment where we can steadily harvest them."
"Are you saying..." Jekyeong frowned, looking at Myeong-ha with skepticism. "You want to start a war?"
"Precisely," Myeong-ha nodded. "To be exact, we must turn Yang-seo-ho into a conflict zone. We muddy the waters. If endless strife breaks out between races and cultivation factions, who will care how many cultivators go missing in the chaos?"
Jekyeong felt Myeong-ha's aura stir once more. At the same time, his own aura fluctuated violently, nearly slipping past the control of his Presence-Concealing Technique.
"You are painting a massive canvas."
"I do not wish to do this either. If possible, I would prefer a stable path. But since we have already been caught by a giant, we have no choice but to paint on a grand scale, do we not?"
When an overwhelming wave approaches, there are only two choices: hesitate and be swept away, or take the initiative and ride the current. Myeong-ha naturally chose the latter. Even if he could not see where the path led, he knew that adapting was the only way to avoid being consumed. Jekyeong was no different. Unless he wished to test Docheol's wrath, he had no choice but to join Myeong-ha in painting this absurdly massive canvas.
"What is your concrete plan?"
"I have a few concepts in mind. But we must prepare first. I need time to digest what I have gained this time. Surely, you do too, Fellow Daoist?"
Jekyeong remained silent at Myeong-ha's subtle inquiry. Yet, both of them knew that sometimes, silence was the most definitive answer.
Sangyoza's remnant soul had not deceived Jekyeong. There were no schemes, no betrayals. The moment Jekyeong unsealed the restriction binding the Grotto-heaven, Sangyoza's remnant soul offered a brief, relieved blessing and vanished.
Just in case, Jekyeong had kept all his senses sharp for a long time, attempting to detect any trace of Sangyoza, but ultimately felt nothing. He could not tell if the soul had cleanly dissipated or if it had obtained the chance at reincarnation as it had wished.
After Sangyoza departed, Jekyeong gathered everything useful from within the Grotto-heaven before finally claiming the pocket dimension itself. Immediately, he understood the true meaning behind Sangyoza's prior words. The Grotto-heaven was no ordinary treasure. It was a sort of parasite, bound directly to a cultivator's soul.
Jekyeong could feel a heavy weight anchored to his soul. However, though he could sense it, he could not utilize it. He felt that if he forced it, he might be able to draw upon it, but it would likely bring severe repercussions. It is not worth the risk.
The moment the Grotto-heaven bound to his soul, Jekyeong became aware of everything inside it. There were a few minor items he had overlooked, but they were truly trivial. He had already secured all the valuable and important treasures before claiming the Grotto-heaven, strictly following Sangyoza's advice.
Sangyoza had warned him that the Grotto-heaven would become unstable once his soul departed, advising Jekyeong to claim it before it collapsed entirely. He had also noted that once claimed, the Grotto-heaven would be difficult to reopen until Jekyeong reached the Core Formation stage, suggesting he retrieve all its contents beforehand.
Was I being too paranoid? Jekyeong had maintained his cautious stance, refusing to let his guard down even after Sangyoza's departure. Yet, at least so far, every single piece of advice from the ancient cultivator had been entirely accurate. Perhaps Sangyoza had simply wished to accumulate one last bit of good karma before accepting his demise. Perhaps Jekyeong's needless suspicion had insulted his goodwill...
No. There is no such thing as needless suspicion.
Being suspicious was a virtue. It was far better to trample upon a hundred acts of goodwill than to let a single drop of malice slip through. Even though Jekyeong sensed nothing wrong with the Grotto-heaven, he did not relax. Upon returning to Heukgyodo, he sought out Yu Gon once more to verify that his soul remained untainted.
In the process, he had pestered Yu Gon so relentlessly that he received a torrent of abuse, with the ancient Demon King calling him a paranoid coward who lacked even a shred of mettle. Jekyeong, however, did not care in the slightest. Being cautious and suspicious was infinitely better than being recklessly bold and naive. And mettle? Though it was a disrespectful thought to harbor toward a senior who had repeatedly shown him kindness, Jekyeong secretly considered Yu Gon rather naive, if not outright foolish. In his eyes, so-called mettle was merely a luxury reserved for the strong.
If I had been born with such an extraordinary bloodline, I too could have afforded to act with such leisure. But there were no "what-ifs" in this world. Just as Yu Gon could not view the world through the eyes of an ordinary beast, Jekyeong could not view it as Yu Gon did. Though he was now a powerful Great Yo-beast with few rivals in his immediate vicinity, his perspective remained that of a tiny serpent, holding its breath to hide from predators.
Regardless... I should be grateful. Now that he had cleared all his doubts with Yu Gon's assistance, Jekyeong finally felt a genuine sense of gratitude toward the senior from seven thousand years ago who had left him such a generous gift. Should he order the humans in the Heukgyo Water Territory to erect an ancestral tablet for Sangyoza? It was merely a passing thought, of course. An ancestral tablet for a human cultivator? It might be fine for now, but it could invite unwanted trouble down the line.