Chapter 284
Chapter 284
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 284
Chapter Title: Kunlun Mountains (6)
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Seeing the face I'd so longed to see, it felt as if a blocked-off corner of my heart had been cleared wide open.
“Kilkilkil, I knew you’d find your way here, Hall Master Jin.”
I was so relieved that even that creepy, cackling laugh sounded welcome.
“Brother!”
*Fling.*
Jeok Hwa-ran rushed past me to Jeok Yi, who caught her in a surprised embrace.
“You foolish girl! What do you think you’re doing, following us to a place like this?!”
“I’m so, so glad. *Sob*, I thought something had happened to you, brother… Waaaah!”
“There, there. You were so worried. Your brother is sorry.”
“Waaaaah!”
“It’s alright. It’s alright.”
“……”
He acts like such a madman outside…
It seems he puts on the act of a normal person for his family.
Leaving the two to their tearful, snotty reunion, I looked around the dark cave.
‘So this is the hidden grotto of the Flying Heavenly Fox.’
Spreading my Seven Senses Diagram, I felt a large space beyond the wall, filled with something piled high.
It had to be the legacy the Flying Heavenly Fox had amassed over a lifetime.
I felt the urge to smash the wall and see what was inside right away, but now wasn't the time.
No matter how tempting the treasure, my life was more important.
Claiming the legacy would have to wait until after I rendezvoused with the forces from the War King Arts Sect who were rushing here.
Oblivious to my thoughts, Jeok Yi approached me with a wide grin.
“So, are the others waiting outside?”
“What others? What are you suddenly….”
He asked as if I’d said something completely out of the blue.
“Didn’t you come to rescue me? There’s no way you could have broken through the enemy with just this many people…”
“After all the trouble you caused, what kind of nonsense are you spouting now? It’s just us here.”
“...But I even sent a distress signal?”
“How was I supposed to figure everything out from a single line? Did you take a knife to the head? I’m stressed enough as it is, so stop talking nonsense and get ready to run. Before the bad guys get here.”
“R-Right. But I feel like your speech has gotten a bit more informal all of a sudden…”
“Brother Jeok, I just ran over two thousand li to save your life. Can’t I drop the formalities?”
“N-No, that’s not it.”
“If you get it, then run!”
When we reached the spot where we’d made the hole, the Red Dragon Hall members, displaying excellent survival skills, had already climbed up and lowered a long rope.
After everyone was out of the grotto.
“Move out!”
At Bukgung Baek’s cry, the Black Dragon Squad began to run.
* * *
The journey back was much faster than the one coming.
Not only were we familiar with the path, but every single person was skilled enough to be called a master.
Besides, since we didn't care about leaving tracks and just had to run, there was no reason to slow down.
Along the way, I exchanged telepathic messages with Jeok Yi to grasp the full story of this incident.
[Is that true? The Blood Sect. It’s been ages since they were wiped out…]
[I didn’t believe it at first either. But when you hear the words ‘Gu poison,’ you have no choice but to accept it, do you?]
[…Gu poison?]
The mention of Gu poison reminded me of a recent event, and I told Jeok Yi about it.
After a moment of thought, he nodded and replied.
[The traitor on our side was dealt with in a similar way. Except they used it on his family, not him.]
The thought that it was definitely the Blood Sect brought to mind the final moments of the Blood Sect's Lord.
The Blood Sect Lord who had lost an arm to my master on the slopes of Mount Diancang before fleeing.
It was certain that one of his arms had been completely incinerated by the searing yang energy of the Black Dragon Hand, leaving him with a critical internal injury.
However, he was still a martial artist counted among the ten strongest in the world.
With good medicine and proper treatment, there was no way he couldn't recover.
That was why my master and I believed he couldn't possibly be dead.
But contrary to our thoughts, a rumor soon spread throughout the central plains that he had died from his internal injuries.
It was as if someone had deliberately spread the rumor.
‘What in the world is going on? Could it be…?’
Assuming the Blood Sect Lord was alive, I re-examined the incident from the beginning.
After a moment of contemplation.
‘…What if this was all by design?’
I came to the conclusion that he might have orchestrated this whole affair to devour the demonic path in its entirety.
The CPU in my head began spinning furiously, reassembling the pieces of the incident.
First, he must have instigated internal conflict within the Ten Demon Alliance. And he must have done it secretly, meticulously, and over a long period.
Otherwise, there’s no way the Ten Demon Alliance Lord's iron-fisted rule would have ever cracked.
Next, he probably incited them to wage war.
Because the Ten Demon Alliance’s power had to be weakened for his own ambitions to succeed.
Finally, he would have created a situation where it wouldn't be strange for him to disappear.
The choice for that must have been the Mount Diancang assault team, led by Hyeon San-wol, the Vice Lord of the Killing Sect.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have placed himself under the command of someone inferior in status, fame, and even martial skill.
Of course, losing an arm was likely outside his plans… but everything else went exactly as he’d intended.
Not long after, the Ten Demon Alliance waged an all-out war against the Nine Dragons Fortress, and the result, thanks to the Ten Demon Alliance Lord's trolling, was a complete victory for the Nine Dragons Fortress.
Thanks to that, the demonic path became unclaimed territory that anyone could swallow up.
A situation where, if the Blood Sect Lord were alive, he could devour it in an instant.
And there was evidence to support all these assumptions.
‘The Blood Cult.’
The Blood Sect, unlike the other sects, was not a descendant of the Demonic Cult. They were descendants of the Western Tibetan Blood Cult, just like the Southern Heaven Palace.
The reason they had lent their strength to the Ten Demon Alliance, despite not being descendants of the Demonic Cult, was to secure the Blood Cult’s territory when the world fell under demonic rule.
However, the Ten Demon Alliance’s dream of a demonic world was thwarted by the Nine Dragons Fortress, making it a distant prospect.
That left only one option.
To devour the demonic path and re-establish the Blood Cult.
But one question remained unanswered.
Why hadn't he shown himself all this time, even after achieving his goal, and why reveal himself now of all times?
‘What is it?’
When I told Jeok Yi my deductions so far, he gave me the answer before long.
[Isn’t it obvious? Money.]
[Ah…]
That was it.
To build a faction, strength alone isn't enough. A massive amount of funds is needed to feed martial artists who have zero productivity.
But they had no source of income.
With the Ten Demon Alliance’s defeat, they couldn't collect taxes, and if they tried to act as bandits on the Silk Road, the warriors of the War King Arts Sect were guarding it like a fortress.
And that’s when we showed up.
[They were probably looking for the hidden grotto with the Flying Heavenly Fox’s legacy.]
[How did they know, without a treasure map?]
[It’s a known fact that his last refuge was in the Kunlun Mountains.]
[…When it rains, it pours.]
[Kukuku, we just got really unlucky.]
I nodded at Jeok Yi’s telepathic message when a new hypothesis suddenly occurred to me.
‘Wait.’
If they were that desperate for money, they would never let this opportunity slip by.
“Everyone, halt!”
Over forty people stopped in an instant.
Jeok Yi and the others looked at me with questioning eyes, but I ignored them and spread my Seven Senses Diagram.
*Shaaa…*
As soon as I had confirmed the surrounding terrain, I shot a Ground Shrink Step toward the highest peak.
After fifty War King Steps, I reached the summit.
Enhancing my vision, I scanned the surroundings, and a breathtaking view unfolded before my eyes.
“Damn it.”
Along with the sight of a force of over two thousand men rushing toward us from the distance.
* * *
“You should have been more careful. Look at this mess, all because of you, Brother Jeok.”
“That’s right! This is all your fault, brother!”
“Ahem, I happen to think the same as the Hall Master.”
As I, Jeok Hwa-ran, and Bukgung Baek criticized him in turn, Jeok Yi flinched slightly.
Why the sudden outburst?
Because when faced with an unsolvable crisis, you need someone to blame.
After venting my frustration, I shouted to everyone.
“What are you doing? Run!”
*Rumble.*
And so, we turned and began to run.
At full speed.
We now had two options left.
One was to keep running away, and the other was to defend the hidden grotto and buy time.
Choosing the former would certainly reduce our direct confrontations with the enemy.
However, this was the Kunlun Mountain range, a vast expanse of 2,500 kilometers boasting a harsh, cold environment. The chances of finding enough food for over forty people were slim to none.
Moreover, my people weren't trained for survival like the Red Dragon Hall.
That left us with the option of returning to the grotto and holding out…
‘Is it possible?’
This was no easy task either.
The enemy numbered at least two thousand.
No matter how narrow the passage to the grotto was, and no matter how skilled I was, I had no chance of winning against such numbers.
But.
“We’re returning to the grotto!”
I chose the latter.
‘I believe in them.’
Because I trusted the mobility of Bukgung Ri and the Iron-Blooded Six.
What if they couldn't find us?
That was impossible.
Not when so many people were stampeding toward us, hell-bent on killing us.
All they had to do was follow the enemy’s footprints, and they would arrive at the grotto’s location.
As we ran, a telepathic message from Jeok Hwa-ran came through.
[We need to get there as fast as possible!]
I turned my head, and she explained why.
[If I have enough time, I can set up traps to stop the enemy!]
[How much time do you need?]
[The more, the better. I brought plenty of materials, just in case something like this happened.]
[Got it.]
I immediately turned around.
“I’ll hold off the pursuers! You all go on ahead!”
“Go!”
“Hall Master Jin!”
“Your Grace!”
Ignoring the cries of the three, I used a Ground Shrink Step toward a spot I had noticed earlier.
*Kwoong!*
A narrow path.
Convinced that blocking this place would slow down their advance, I gathered all the War King Ki in my body.
*Crackle. Sizzle.*
The boiling energy created sparks around my body.
I gathered the maximized energy into my hands, and in my mind, I visualized the image of an impossibly sharp blade.
A blade of highly compressed energy.
I honed it, and honed it again.
And finally, the form I desired was complete.
Slender Moon.
It was the final evolution of the Ultimate Death Force.
As soon as Slender Moon was complete, I shot it toward the mountain peak beside the narrow path.
The blade, which had been tiny in my hand, instantly grew large enough to slice across the mountain peak.
*Booooom!*
With a sound like the air itself was exploding.
*Slice.*
Slender Moon cut through the peak.
And a moment later.
*Kwwaaaaang!*
A chunk of the mountain the size of three or four houses combined fell onto the path.
“……”
I was dumbfounded, not having expected to block the path in a single blow.
But my objective was perfectly achieved.
The enemy’s path of entry was completely cut off.
*Tremble.*
My hand trembled from the exertion, but there was no time to rest.
If the Blood Sect Lord was among that horde, he would shatter a peak of this size in an instant.
*Kwoong.*
I immediately ran toward the next location.
Blocking the enemy’s advance was no easy task.
It wasn't something that could be solved by just moving a few rocks to block the path.
At the very least, I had to cut off a mountain peak like I just did for it to have any effect.
The problem was.
“*Heok, heok.*”
My health, mana, and stamina were all running on fumes.
I had run day and night to reach the grotto, broken through the traps, and then run for another half a day.
All of it at full speed.
Naturally, my stamina and internal energy were depleted, and I had already consumed the restorative pills.
If not for the effects of the elixir I’d taken, I would have collapsed by now.
I was exhausted to the point of death, but to live, I had to do something.
I slammed an Explosive Death Force into the ground.
Five times in a row.
And.
*Kwaaaang! Rumble.*
The only path along the mountainside completely collapsed.
‘I destroyed a good thirty meters of it, so it should take them some time to get through.’
Just as I was about to head to the next spot.
“So you’re the one. The one who’s been obstructing us.”
“……!”
A vicious killing intent washed over me.