Guerrilla Warfare (2)

When it comes to sweeping a wide area clean in one go, Won Pil-so's fire-attribute arts are the most efficient choice.

Emerging through the flames, Cheon Woo-jin swept his gaze around the room. In the subterranean space, where the damp air still hung heavy, wooden logs for cultivating mushrooms stood arranged in orderly rows. The recent blaze had consumed about half of them, but the other half remained—and every mushroom on those logs sported garish, vivid colors that announced their toxicity at a glance.

These poison mushrooms alone would be enough to wipe out Geumsijong.

This was the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect's mushroom cultivation facility, hidden beneath ruins in the northern reaches of the fourth layer—a place utterly impossible to approach without prior intelligence.

Yet Cheon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Woo-jin had entered without the slightest difficulty. In the game, there had been an event that revealed this location's coordinates through a traitor within the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect. The event was designed to activate the entrance, but here, all I had to do was walk to the spot itself.

Jang Ryang had dispelled the security formation at the entrance. Auxiliary arts of this kind were his specialty, after all. Rather than smashing through with brute force the way Cheon Woo-jin would have, he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quietly simply opened the door. Then the three of them had infiltrated under concealment arts, muffling their presence, and Won Pil-so's fire-attribute arts had delivered the opening strike—setting half the cultivation facility ablaze in the process.

But the remaining half will be the harder part.

Cheon Woo-jin stared straight ahead. A man who appeared to be the master of this facility was raising his eyes, hands weaving a hand seal.

Like Dan Mok-gil before him, he was at the early stage of Core Formation. Cheon Woo-jin had seen this man in the game, so he could predict exactly which arts he would use.

KA-BOOM!

Awls erupted from the ground. They were spikes of compressed, hardened earth—a technique that harmonized earth and metal attributes. Left alone, the number of awls would keep multiplying until there wasn't a single spot to plant a foot. A swift, decisive battle was required.

"That bastard—!"

"Kill him!"

Bok Si-wan's underlings charged from every direction. But dealing with the grunts could wait; subduing Bok Si-wan came first.

Cheon Woo-jin flicked his sleeve and deployed the Cheongap Flying Spirits. While the autonomous flying spirits harried the small fry, he focused on Bok Si-wan himself. His opponent was a Core Formation early-stage cultivator—half-measures wouldn't cut it. Even the venom of the Dark Road Great King Five Void would struggle to kill a man of that caliber outright. He needed something far more powerful.

He recalled the insights he had gained facing Jeok Ya-wol of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect. Within the spiritual domain that had grown another stage upon reaching Foundation Establishment, he re-examined those principles once more and refined black lightning.

Black lightning honed smooth and solid, like a single blade. He forged hundreds of them and unleashed them all at once.

HWOOOOO!

The black lightning blades tore through the underground space like a tempest. Lightning charged with the principle of death scattered black radiance as it laid waste to everything in its path. Cheon Woo-jin, matured beyond what he had been since reaching Foundation Establishment, could now deploy arts far more precise and devastating than when he had brought down Jeok Ya-wol.

"……!"

Bok Si-wan's eyes flew wide open. He gathered every awl that had sprouted from the ground and threw up a defense against the lightning storm. But it wasn't enough. He could have blocked it if he'd had time to raise more awls—but time was exactly what he lacked. The need to slowly expand his art's scale was Bok Si-wan's greatest weakness, and his opponent had struck that weakness with surgical precision. Without even a probing exchange, the man had committed everything to a single full-power strike from the very first blow.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

The wall of awls—hardened to the toughness of stone, no, of metal—came crumbling down. The power of death and annihilation bored in without resistance, painting over Bok Si-wan's domain in absolute black.

And when the storm of black lightning finally subsided, the only thing left was the wreckage of Bok Si-wan, half of his upper body and most of his lower body gone.

"Ughhh……"

Even in that state, Bok Si-wan was not yet dead. He was a Core Formation cultivator—as long as his Golden Core remained intact, he could endure. Squeezing out the last of his strength, he deployed one final art.

The instant he did, every remaining poison mushroom in the cultivation facility burst forth in a simultaneous eruption of spores. Each and every spore carried a lethal toxicity; inhale the cloud now dispersing through the air, and one would be poisoned and left teetering on the edge of death.

This way, the poison mushrooms would have to be cultivated from scratch all over again, and Bok Si-wan's underlings would be annihilated as well. Even so, it was the best move available to him. But at that very moment—

"HAAP!"

With a battle cry, another storm of flame came roaring down. No matter how potent the poison mushroom, a spore was still just a spore. Microscopic dust too small for the naked eye to see had no hope of standing against raging fire.

"Ah……"

Bok Si-wan's mouth hung open. A pitch-black sword qi came flying straight at his abdomen. It punched clean through and crushed the Golden Core hidden within.

"Whew. That was close."

Won Pil-so, who had released his flames just before the spores could spread through the underground space, let out a sigh of relief. "You all right, Taoist Cheon? You look a bit singed."

"Better than inhaling poison mushroom spores."

Cheon Woo-jin replied as he peeled off his burned robe. If Won Pil-so hadn't leapt out in time and burned the spores away with his fire arts, Cheon Woo-jin would have been in serious danger as well. Once microscopic spores spread throughout the entire underground space, there was no good way to deal with them.

"Taoist Cheon, that art of yours was truly something else."

Jang Ryang approached just then. The stragglers still lingering nearby had already been cleaned up by his hand. "When I saw you overwhelm a Core Formation cultivator outright, I doubted my own eyes."

"It only worked because it was a surprise attack," Cheon Woo-jin answered in an even voice. "If he'd been fully prepared, it wouldn't have been easy."

"Haha, even so—a Foundation Establishment cultivator subduing a Core Formation one is impressive enough. It's something the likes of us couldn't manage even if we died and came back to life."

Won Pil-so nodded along beside him. "Taoist Cheon's talent truly stands alone. With you at our side, I don't think we'd have to fear even facing several Core Formation cultivators at once."

"Several would be a stretch. I'd rather avoid situations like that."

Cheon Woo-jin had no strength to spare at the moment. Even fighting a single early-stage Core Formation cultivator had forced him to squeeze out every last drop of power just to win. Fighting multiple Core Formation cultivators was a scenario to avoid at all costs. With the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye, two might be manageable—but at three or more, there was truly no answer. And the Dark Road Great King Five Void's venom wouldn't work well against Core Formation cultivators either.

"Then let's burn down the rest of the facility and head out."

"Hold on."

Cheon Woo-jin gathered up several books from a corner—reference volumes on cultivating poisonous materials, it seemed. He intended to stash them in the east building and leaf through them whenever the mood struck.

"Grabbing books even at a time like this. Quite the diligent student, aren't you?"

Jang Ryang looked at him with an expression of grudging admiration. "Now then, on to the next cultivation facility."

The three set the place alight so it could never be used again, then emerged outside. There were still plenty of facilities left to raid today.

"I simply don't understand it."

In the main hall of the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect, an old man with a face full of wrinkles sat deep in troubled thought before his assembled disciples. He was Gi Shin-ryeo, Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect. Since his predecessor had stepped back from the front lines, he had led the sect for a century, and in recent years he had prosecuted a war against Geumsijong with promising results.

But over the past few days, something dire had been unfolding.

"Our poison-material cultivation sites are being raided one after another. Every one of them was well hidden—I can't fathom how their locations were exposed."

If this continued, the supply of poison materials would suffer a crippling disruption. Unable to use poison freely, the sect's fighting strength would inevitably plummet. In the worst case, Geumsijong might even be handed the chance to turn the tide.

"Have you identified the raiders yet?"

"No, Sect Master. But it doesn't appear Geumsijong acted directly. During every raid, all of Geumsijong's Core Formation cultivators were verifiably elsewhere."

Some of the facilities had been managed by Core Formation cultivators. Since even those had been wiped out to the last man, they had no choice but to conclude that the raiders had Core Formation strength of their own.

"An investigation of the traces shows they struck with a small elite force."

"So Geumsijong must have hired a few Core Formation loose cultivators……"

No other sect would come to Geumsijong's aid—he had already made threats to every sect that might consider it. Which meant Geumsijong must have recruited capable Core Formation hands from among the unaffiliated loose cultivators.

"Sect Master, why don't we simply strike Geumsijong directly?" one of the disciples proposed at that point. "Concentrate every ounce of our current strength and assault their main hall. At this point, surely our odds are more than favorable?"

"Don't spout nonsense. Do that, and we'll take heavy losses ourselves."

Gi Shin-ryeo's strategy was to corner Geumsijong as thoroughly as possible and extract their surrender. Absorbing them outright was the ideal outcome. Swallow Geumsijong whole, and the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect could grow into a colossus dominating the middle layers of Ghost Head City. But if a pitched battle with Geumsijong spilled enough blood, the sect would need a long recovery period afterward—and if rival sects exploited that window to attack, they'd be serving up a cooked meal to the wolves.

"Sect Master, surely that's still better than losing the war? If this trend continues, our poison materials will run dry, and Geumsijong will be waiting for exactly that moment to counterattack."

"Hmm……"

"And besides…… if it comes to that, the Old Ancestor won't stay idle either."

The Old Ancestor. At those words, the color drained from Gi Shin-ryeo's face.

Within the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect, "the Old Ancestor" meant Sama Mun, the previous Sect Master. A Taoist who had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm a hundred years ago, he remained in the upper layers of Ghost Head City together with Gal Roe, the poison dragon that served as the sect's guardian beast. Though Gi Shin-ryeo held the title of Sect Master, he merely handled the sect's administration; the supreme authority still rested with his predecessor, Sama Mun.

This was, in fact, common practice throughout the cultivation world: elders handed the day-to-day burdens to their juniors and withdrew to devote themselves to personal cultivation. For such figures to emerge in person and take action meant the sect faced a catastrophe of the highest order. That was precisely why those below strove to prevent such a situation from ever arising. Gi Shin-ryeo was no exception.

"Indeed. That must never come to pass……"

Fear threaded through Gi Shin-ryeo's voice. A scenario in which Sama Mun personally entered this war had to be avoided at all costs—depending on how badly things went, it could cost Gi Shin-ryeo his head.

"Very well. I will consider a decisive battle with Geumsijong."

"Ooooh!"

His more belligerent disciples cried out in approval at his resolve.

"However, a direct assault on their main hall is out of the question. Considering Geumsijong's wealth, their defensive formation will be formidable indeed. I want all of you to put your heads together on how we can force a decisive battle somewhere other than their hall."

They had to bring Geumsijong to its knees while minimizing their losses however they could. Thinking of nothing else, Gi Shin-ryeo began his strategy council.

"You're saying the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect may force a decisive battle before long?"

Gwak Gyeong-in of Geumsijong wore a look of astonishment. Cheon Woo-jin, who had brought nothing but good news lately, had come out with this without warning.

"Taoist Cheon, the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect showed no such movement even when they held the advantage. But now, having lost so many poison-garden facilities and finding themselves in a bind, would they really attempt such a thing?"

"It's precisely because of their predicament that they'll rush the decisive battle."

After taking a sip of the tea Gwak Gyeong-in had prepared, Cheon Woo-jin continued in a level voice. "The sect has lost many of its cultivation facilities, yes, but they'll still have substantial reserves of poison materials stockpiled. Yet if they keep fighting without rebuilding those gardens, those reserves will run dry sooner or later."

"That may be, but……"

"And if we launch a full counteroffensive targeting that moment, the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect will be driven into a corner. That is the scenario they fear above all others."

"So you believe they'll attempt a decisive battle before it comes to that?"

Gwak Gyeong-in crossed his arms and sank into thought. "Taoist Cheon, even so…… I can't see the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect launching an all-out assault against us here. To fight a decisive battle, they'd have to attack this main hall, and they know as well as we do that a powerful defensive formation stands over it. It would obviously become a war of attrition—I doubt they'd willingly……"

"They won't attack the main hall directly."

"What did you say?"

"Instead, they'll try to lure us somewhere else."

"Lure us?"

Gwak Gyeong-in's face said he found the notion absurd. But Cheon Woo-jin considered it entirely plausible—for the simple reason that every time the game pitted players against the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect, events unfolded in exactly that manner. This time, too, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sect's leadership would arrive at the same conclusion.

"Taoist Cheon, isn't that a rather premature assumption? It's not as though you can see the future……"

Just as Gwak Gyeong-in was voicing his open disbelief, a disciple of Geumsijong came sprinting into the room.

"Elder Gwak!"

"What is it?"

"Classified ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intelligence, just received!"

The disciple delivered his report in an urgent voice. "The Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect is secretly conducting a ritual on a spirit mountain in the fifth layer to create a supreme poison! If it is completed, they claim it will be capable of poisoning every single cultivator in Geumsijong!"

"What?!"

Ordinarily, Gwak Gyeong-in would have trusted the intelligence at once and committed every ounce of the sect's strength to stopping it. Instead, he swallowed hard and looked at Cheon Woo-jin.

They'll lure us somewhere else. That was exactly what Cheon Woo-jin had just said.

"Taoist Cheon… can you truly see the future?"

Before Gwak Gyeong-in's trembling question, Cheon Woo-jin gave no answer—only lifted his teacup and drank.