Chapter 143
Chapter 143
The Auction (1)
Half an incense stick's time after the three factions—Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic—had concluded their secret meeting to conspire against Se-woon...
"Just as you guessed, all three of them gathered together. The third faction that joined was indeed the Heaven-Piercing Gang."
In a deserted back alley, Mu-myeong was whispering covertly to someone.
Having hidden in the shadows and witnessed the entire meeting between Juk Seong-ja and his allies, Mu-myeong relayed everything—from the Qingcheng Faction's schemes to the fact that the Heaven-Piercing Gang had newly joined their ranks.
"Naturally, they'd have no choice but to summon the Heaven-Piercing Gang leader to stop the Nine-Heaven Fairy."
"That ghostly bastard's spiritual power has grown even stronger since I last saw him. We absolutely can't afford to underestimate him."
Having infiltrated the Heaven-Piercing Gang in the past, Mu-myeong knew firsthand just how vile they were and issued a warning.
But the other party shook their head and uttered something entirely unexpected.
"No, this is actually perfect."
"...Perfect?"
Surprisingly, the person Mu-myeong was speaking to was none other than the elderly woman who had addressed Juk Seong-ja before he entered the building.
"Master, what do you mean?"
Mu-myeong tilted his head as he spoke to the old woman—no, to Se-woon.
That's right. The one disguised as an elderly woman was none other than Se-woon himself.
The moment he finished his work with Guyongyeon, Se-woon had dragged Mu-myeong—who had been fast asleep—straight to the Black Market Auction Hall in Sichuan.
Mu-myeong, who had been pulled along in a daze, was bewildered since he hadn't even known such a place existed. But Se-woon immediately assigned him a mission.
[Within the next few days, the Qingcheng Faction will definitely come here. Infiltrate them covertly and gather all their intel.]
Though it had seemed like an absurd demand at the time, Juk Seong-ja of the Qingcheng Faction appeared within less than a day.
And so, Mu-myeong infiltrated their ranks as Se-woon had wished and gathered all the necessary information.
Now, Se-woon answered Mu-myeong's question in a hushed voice.
"I told you before. I'm going to take control of the Unorthodox factions."
"...!"
"And now, one of the Five Evils of the Unorthodox Alliance has volunteered to be the first sacrifice. How could that not be perfect?"
"!!"
This guy—just what was he thinking?
Mu-myeong was genuinely stunned.
In what was likely a first in martial history, Se-woon was treating the alliance of Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions—all united in their desire to kill him—not as a crisis, but as an opportunity.
The Heaven-Piercing Gang was a coalition of deranged sorcerers who wouldn't hesitate to perform human sacrifices to enhance their dark arts.
But in Mu-myeong's eyes, they were the fakes.
'The real madman is standing right in front of me...'
As Mu-myeong marveled at the thought, Se-woon was rapidly calculating his next move.
Naturally, he was considering how to punish the Heaven-Piercing Gang.
There was one simple reason they had become his primary target.
His plan to annihilate the Qingcheng Faction was already fully prepared.
He had already obtained all the information about the poison they had purchased at the Black Market and their future plans.
Now, it was only a matter of time.
He would set a trap, deliberately let them move, and then devour them whole—bones and all.
That was why he had left his current prey alone and made the Heaven-Piercing Gang his first target.
Even in his past life, the Heaven-Piercing Gang had been the first to kneel before the Blood Demon and become a tool of the Blood Cult.
Not that it was surprising.
If it meant they could learn the Blood Demon's heaven-shaking sorceries, they wouldn't hesitate to carry out his orders—even if half the world had to die.
'The only one worth cautioning against is the Heaven-Piercing Gang leader.'
The Ghostly Strange Underworld King, An Cheongmyeong, was a sorcerer from the Eastern Seas who practiced bizarre arts entirely different from those of the Central Plains.
But what made him even more dangerous was his inherently suspicious and cunning nature.
'But no matter how high a jumper is, there's always someone who can fly higher.'
And that someone was him.
Wasn't Se-woon practically the personification of cunning itself?
Good. That settled it.
In an instant, Se-woon completed his plan to annihilate his enemies.
'While poisoning the Heaven-Piercing Gang, I should also use this chance to extract all the information I can about the Unorthodox Alliance.'
As a strange light flickered in Se-woon's eyes, Mu-myeong cautiously asked,
"So, what's the plan now? Should we head back to the family and prepare countermeasures?"
"No."
Se-woon shook his head.
"We'll fasten the first button right away."
"!!"
And with that, Se-woon immediately put his plan into action.
Whoosh—!
His elderly appearance began transforming completely.
His hunched back straightened, and his wrinkled skin smoothed into that of a young man.
From an old woman, he shifted into the guise of another, unknown figure.
Watching this, Mu-myeong let out a hollow laugh.
"Hahaha. Master, you just keep gaining more tricks, don't you? Did you pick up the Bone Shrinking Art from the Beast Palace too?"
The Bone Shrinking Art was a martial technique that allowed one to freely manipulate their bones and muscles.
But strictly speaking, what Se-woon had used wasn't the Bone Shrinking Art.
'So the Black Blood has auxiliary abilities like this too.'
It was one of the Black Blood's inherent powers.
The essence of the Black Blood was the ability to perfectly control every aspect of one's physical form.
In other words, it already contained the higher realization of what the Bone Shrinking Art sought to achieve.
And when combined with the Sound Art of the Soul-Stealing Lullaby...
A completely different body paired with a completely different voice...
Se-woon had attained the ultimate disguise—one that even Tang Mu-yeol or Tang Se-rin would never see through.
"But what do you mean by 'fastening the first button'? Are you planning to strike one of them right away?"
"No. First, we're going shopping."
"Eh?"
Shopping?
At Se-woon's absurd statement, Mu-myeong blinked in confusion.
Just moments ago, it had seemed like he was about to do something insane.
And now he was talking about something as mundane as shopping?
As Mu-myeong tilted his head in bewilderment, Se-woon was already walking away.
"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
"Hmm, you can handle shopping alone, right? I think I'll go catch up on some much-needed sleep..."
Mu-myeong, who looked like he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment, began to say—
"If you help me diligently, I'll use the things we buy to upgrade your weapons."
"Sleep is for the dead! How dare those bastards target our Master?! Come on, let's go!"
At Se-woon's words, Mu-myeong immediately puffed out his chest and strode ahead with newfound vigor—despite having no idea where they were going.
Watching this, Se-woon let out a quiet chuckle.
Soon after, the two arrived at the Dark Market Auction Hall—
The very place where the most expensive and forbidden goods in the Black Market were bought and sold.
Upon entering the auction hall, a masked attendant offered them masks to conceal their identities.
But Se-woon deliberately refused to cover his face.
Instead, he made it clear that he wanted to be seen.
Such brazenness was rare, drawing the attention of everyone present—but Se-woon paid them no mind.
[Wow, why are there so many people here? And why is this place so ridiculously extravagant? It's like they just plastered gold and jewels everywhere.]
Mu-myeong, acting like a country bumpkin visiting the capital for the first time, kept glancing around before sending Se-woon a Sound Transmission.
As he said, the interior of the auction hall was excessively lavish.
But that was only natural.
This place was the Black Market in its entirety.
The items sold at auction here were all procured and managed by the Black Market itself.
It was often said that if something wasn't available here, it either didn't exist or hadn't been revealed to the world yet.
[Enough nonsense. Get ready—the auction is about to start.]
The two took their seats in a suitable spot.
The hall was uniquely shaped in a semicircle, with a raised platform at the center.
'Where is he?'
Whoosh—
Though no one else noticed, a new power flickered in Se-woon's eyes.
Most of the attendees had concealed their identities with masks, but that didn't matter.
Swoosh—
With his Insight Eye activated, Se-woon could clearly see the energy emanating from every person present.
As he scanned the surroundings like a hawk—
'There he is.'
His lips curled slightly as he spotted a man leaning against the wall on the opposite side.
Though the man had used high-level sorcery to suppress his spiritual energy to its limits, Se-woon could still detect the faint, unique demonic aura flowing through him.
The right-hand man of the Heaven-Piercing Gang leader and the faction's deputy leader—
'The Nine-Tailed Fox Illusionist, Gong Sun-beon.'
He had come to the auction hall.
Juk Seong-ja had already left the Black Market and returned to the Qingcheng Faction.
But unlike them, Se-woon had predicted that the Heaven-Piercing Gang would participate in the auction.
The Buyao Jade obtained by Ghost Shadow alone wasn't enough to create a Cursed Poison that could evade the detection of the Divine Doctor.
To refine it into Cursed Poison, they needed a special ingredient.
'And that ingredient can only be obtained here.'
Completely unaware that someone was targeting him, Gong Sun-beon yawned repeatedly behind his mask.
"Now, the first item is a treasure obtained from Hainan Island..."
Just then, the Black Market representative on the platform announced the start of the auction.
The many attendees each held a bidding paddle in their hands.
Whenever an item they desired appeared, they would raise their paddle to signal their participation.
[Wow, the twin daggers used by Jing Ke?!]
[Hey, Master. Can't you buy those for me??]
[I'll—I'll really make good use of them!]
All sorts of rare Divine Artifacts and treasures were presented—
But Se-woon remained as still as a stone statue, letting them all pass.
Because none of those were what he was after.
And then, finally—
"Next, we have a rare Ritual Artifact—the eyeball of the Great Demon Beast, the Lushu. Starting at one hundred gold taels."
It appeared.
A glint flashed simultaneously in Se-woon's and Gong Sun-beon's eyes.
Gong Sun-beon was the first to raise his paddle.
"Yes, we have one hundred gold taels. Are there any other bids?"
No one else raised their paddle.
No one was willing to spend such a fortune on a mere Ritual Artifact.
Whoosh—!
But then, Se-woon raised his paddle vertically.
"Yes! A double bid has been placed!"
This meant he was doubling the current price.
Gong Sun-beon frowned and glared at Se-woon.
Tsk.
Then, he raised his paddle horizontally.
This signaled that he was raising the bid by thirty percent.
Whoosh—!
"Gasp! A—another double bid has been placed!"
But Se-woon immediately doubled the price again.
Gong Sun-beon and everyone else could only stare in disbelief.
'Is this bastard insane?!'
Ignoring the stares, Se-woon remained unfazed.
This was the first step of his plan.
And that was—
'Crush them with money.'
He had no intention of letting them obtain even one of the ingredients needed to create the Cursed Poison.