Chapter 184 Mount Hua (4)
[Do you recognize those letters?]
Yeah.
I couldn't not recognize them.
It's not the character for fire as in flames.
It's the word for fire.
It was clear Hangul, the script only I could read in this world.
Yet the shape of the tree soaked in blood wood was forming the word fire.
It couldn't be a coincidence.
There's no way random consonants and vowels like 'b, u, l' could align so perfectly by chance.
...Though it's a bit twisted.
It looked like the scrawled handwriting of a child just learning Hangul—poor penmanship, but legible enough.
It's certain. The Blood Cult knows more about the First Heavenly Demon than even the Divine Cult.
Maybe because they control far more of the Muhonjibyeok, what they call the Blood God's legacy.
Or perhaps it's a matter of their fundamental attitude toward the First Heavenly Demon.
In the Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon is the most revered and exalted being, but not a god. If anything, a demigod.
But to the Blood Cult, the Blood Demon is God incarnate. For zealots scouring every trace left by the divine, it was only natural to absorb everything the First Heavenly Demon bequeathed.
Their vibes were different too.
In the Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon's throne was one of challenge, so cultivating one's own power was paramount.
In the Blood Cult, the Blood Demon's seat was reserved for the Blood God's eventual return, making preservation of its lineage the priority.
Of course, the First Heavenly Demon wasn't some blood-maddened lunatic, which just proved the Blood Cult were the weird ones.
[A character imbued with the meaning of fire. Why would the Blood Cult put that on Mount Hua?]
Mount Hua means fire?
[...Mount Hua uses the character for flower.]
I know. Homophone pun, got it.
Pa Cheon grumbled something like What the hell's a drip? in response.
For now, I had Mugyeok-i descend.
By the time I could see below, Sa Wol's transmission reached me. Jin So-cheong had arrived.
I dismounted Mugyeok-i, told everyone else to stand down, and let her in.
"Greetings, Lord."
"Skip the formalities. Do you know why she's here?"
"Well..."
Jin So-cheong dropped to her knees without warning.
"Forgive me. I couldn't secure cooperation."
Then—
Kwachak!
I had no idea when she'd drawn it, but she slammed a dagger into the back of her left hand.
—Right into the exact spot I'd stabbed before.
Already deep in my Blood Cult Leader persona, I didn't blink. If anything, I felt a surge of irritation. Ever since meeting Jin So-cheong, blood had a funny way of spilling around me.
She bowed her head, awaiting my judgment.
It was exactly that vibe.
Competent yet incompetent.
She'd spoken so confidently, and then this.
"Couldn't secure cooperation?"
"I left the mark for the Blood Cult members in Hwasan, but got no response."
"...So there are Blood Cultists in Hwasan. Who?"
"Hwasan falls under Ilmajon's jurisdiction across generations, so I don't know specifics."
Classic compartmentalized cells.
Makes sense for a persecuted cult even more hounded than the Divine Cult. Cut off one branch if caught, and the rest survive.
The surprise was their infiltration of the Nine Great Sects.
Yeah, something felt off.
Secret societies lurking in the shadows of the jianghu always plant spies in major sects—that's straight wuxia cliché.
But in Murim Returner, there'd been no mention of Blood Cult spies.
After Yi Se-ryeong wiped out the Cult Leader, the head vanished, and the cells scattered.
"Who covers Ilmajon's other territories?"
"One in the Kongdong Sect, and a few mid-to-small sects, as far as I know."
I asked about spies planted by Ilmajon and Sammajon too, but the answers were underwhelming.
Not as many as I'd hoped.
Sure, a couple names from Murim Returner popped up and shocked me, but one or two wouldn't change much.
[Martial arts are best learned from childhood, before the body stiffens. Time-wise, it's tricky.]
True. If Blood Cultists infested every major sect, they'd have conquered by now.
Disappointing.
Getting recognized as Cult Leader meant access to all those human resources.
But one thing nagged at me.
"Is there a special way to hide Blood Cult energy?"
"Yes. Receive a special 'baptism,' and it conceals the cult's unique aura. But using our martial arts fully reveals it."
"Fully meaning?"
"Ten breaths or more reverts you."
Pa Cheon was stunned.
[Blood Cult arts stem from the First Heavenly Demon... so they can even mask Heavenly Demon Divine Art qi?]
That's the problem if I can't use it—no, wait. Means the Heavenly Demon won't detect me?
Ten breaths.
Not long—just ten inhales and exhales.
But Yi Se-ryeong could sense the qi lurking in me even in a blink, despite my sealed meridians. She even smelled something sweet.
Cuts the pressure from Yi Se-ryeong.
Eye contact alone rattled my soul; staying sane was tough. This was solid defense.
If recognized as Cult Leader, I'd get baptized first thing.
Best defense? Spin the jianghu endlessly and never return.
Avoiding her entirely was ideal.
But that wasn't the issue.
"Blood Law Emissary Jin So-cheong. How to force a response from Ilmajon?"
"Forgive me. There's a way to compel the mark, but it would..."
"Expose you."
"Kill me, Lord."
"Don't just say it—stab your right hand too."
Sounded insane, but that's Blood Cult cosplay for you.
Her expression said it all: terrified, yet accepting it as natural.
Meanwhile, my mind raced.
Blood wood. Fire.
Sudden epiphany.
"Ilmajon developed the blood wood, right?"
"Yes, Lord."
"Then he's versed not just in blood arts, but formations and shamanic spells too."
"Correct."
Problem solved.
[Solved how?]
Solved. We've got an all-purpose formation detector.
[Who?]
I glanced at Pa Cheon without answering.
[...Me?]
Yeah, you.
Midnight.
I took off on Mugyeok-i with Jin So-cheong.
Blood Cult business—no one else could come. Not even Sa Wol.
Sa Wol's face screamed dissatisfaction, though she hid it well. My Sa Wol TOEIC score of 900 picked it up instantly.
Her strong sense of duty probably gnawed at her for failing to protect me.
Risky, sure, but with a Blood Law Emissary along, worst-case scenarios wouldn't—
I cut the thought short. That word killed too many characters.
[Will it really work?]
Don't trust me. Trust the cliché.
In stories, massive structures or terrain changes always mean formations or magic circles.
This'd be no different.
[Hwasan Taoists aren't idiots. They'd notice a formation in their own backyard.]
I dismissed formations at first too. But Jin So-cheong said there's a spy. One in the know could blind them.
[Pulling that off needs an insider... elder-level in Hwasan terms, at least.]
Hwasan holds traces of the First Heavenly Demon. Weird if Blood Cult didn't invest heavily.
[Sect Leader a Blood Cultist?]
...That's a stretch.
[Hong Su-ja, maybe. Blocked our probe claiming to relay elders' will.]
Her a bit, yeah.
Begged for help one minute, drew a line citing "internal affairs" the next.
If so, the baptism fools even Paeng Yu-gun's animal instincts—bonus.
Anyway, sense anything?
[Not yet. Expanding senses. Quiet down.]
How're you—
Then, a sharp tingle like static from my waist—Pa Cheon vibrated with a low woong.
Mugyeok-i and Jin So-cheong startled too.
Curious how, but he'd said quiet, so I waited.
Minutes later—
[That way. Turn.]
...Found something?
[Affirmative.]
How?
[Noe Yeong-do—er, Noe Yeong Geom variant. Simply put, detected lightning qi.]
I gave up understanding.
Not some electric eel, but borderline superpower—and hey, Pa Cheon, so whatever.
Veered Mugyeok-i as directed.
A stretch without blood wood.
Ordinary forest.
[It's there. Beyond.]
Like the spirit beast den. Invisible to us, detectable by Pa Cheon.
Mid-flight—
Kwang!
Mugyeok-i, soaring strong, bounced like hitting a wall. High speed amplified the shock—vision flashed white, like a conk to the skull.
[Yao!]
Snapping to, I assessed.
Mugyeok-i and I plummeting.
Oddity: Jin So-cheong gone.
"Mugyeok-i."
Shaking off the daze, it caught me and descended slowly.
"Always wanted to say this in a moment like this."
[No clue what, but don't.]
"Tch, a barrier, huh."
[...Head scrambled from impact?]
"Thanks to your tough hide, no. Anyway, real-deal barrier."
I reached out.
Invisible wall. Could see beyond, but no passage.
[Your guess checks out. Formation-veiled scheme.]
Hm.
I unleashed a palm strike. Better Heavenly Demon Divine Art control meant less prep than before, but still some wind-up.
Ku-woong!
Heavy quake echoed, but barrier held. Ripples raced along it.
Stretched to the heavens.
...Familiar barrier.
To Pa Cheon:
"Pa Cheon. Can you breach it?"
[Let's see.]
Pa Cheon unleashed Noe Yeong Geom, formed a vortex.
Charged the wall—
Kigigigik!
Pierced clean through.
[People ahead. Not super dangerous, but...]
But?
[See for yourself.]
I surged Heavenly Demon Divine Art qi, donned peak expert mode.
Through the Pa Cheon-gouged hole: alien vista.
Not another realm like the spirit beasts, but hellish.
Ground carpeted in red, slimy goo—like some Starcraft creep.
Over it, blackish-red tendrils or roots writhed, pulsing something along. Blood, probably.
Entering the barrier—
"...Lord!"
Jin So-cheong, ragged as a beggar, hair gripped by someone.
"Lord? Him?"
Gwang-yeon.
Hwasan Taoist.