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Around that time, in Chengdu, Sichuan.
Grand Duke Ju-ji could not hide his discomfort. He had sampled all the delicacies of Sichuan, and the Ice Demon had successfully infiltrated the Murim Alliance. Yet one thing still refused to go his way.
"That bitch Flame Demon, has she lost her mind?"
Grand Duke Ju-ji muttered to himself, searching for an answer.
"How long has it been now?"
"At least two months, not just one."
"Right. Including the time before we left, it's been several months."
Bam! Grand Duke Ju-ji slammed his fist on the desk.
"So how is it that she hasn't left her clan's estate even once!"
"Well... perhaps she possesses an iron will?"
"No! She must have found some cock to quell her lust, it's the only explanation!"
Flame Demon Dang Seo-hee's sexual appetite was so monstrous that she could easily be called the next Demon of Lust. There was even a rumor that the Heavenly Demon had brought Seo-hee—whose dark arts were exceptional but who had almost no martial skill—into the Demonic Cult as the Flame Demon purely to have her as a long-term plaything.
"She's the kind of bitch who'd enter a temple just to seduce the monks!"
"But it's not like we can just walk in there and confirm it ourselves."
"Exactly! That just proves my point! She's definitely satisfying her lust with the men of the Tang Clan!"
"Hmm...."
Thunder Demon had been disgusted by the Grand Duke's words, but he began to wonder if there might be some truth to them, given the Flame Demon's sheer force of will in refusing to come out.
The Flame Demon he knew was a slut who wouldn't hesitate to bed some common street thug as long as she could steal his internal energy.
Even if they shared the same bloodline, he could easily imagine the Flame Demon's lust overturning common sense and ethics alike.
"Tch. Forget it. We've rested enough in Sichuan. Let's return to the Heavenly Mountain for now. Thunder Demon, keep a close watch on the Ice Demon's movements."
"The Ice Demon?"
"Yes. We need to figure out what this 'Sky-Soaring Ice Demon' they mentioned means."
Grand Duke Ju-ji fumed over the information on the martial world's public enemy, the Ice-Colored Demon, that he'd obtained from the Murim Alliance.
"That whore, she dares to call herself the 'Sky-Soaring Ice Demon' and not the Earth-Qilin Ice Demon? With a brain that smart, she made a mistake? Ha! Not a chance."
"........"
Thunder Demon knew well what the Ice Demon was like in her normal state, unless she was actively using the Ice White Divine Art. He thought it could actually be a misunderstanding.
"Grand Duke, that..."
"That Ice Demon bitch is definitely in league with the Little Princess! The day the wounded Namgung Yurin entered the Dokgo Clan estate, she deliberately made contact with that wretched girl to establish a link!"
"That makes sense."
If the Ice Demon was using both the Ice White Divine Art and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it was possible. She could be pretending to follow the Grand Duke's orders while pledging loyalty to the Little Princess.
Was she truly so stupid that she misheard the name?
Or had she genuinely decided to become the Sky-Soaring Ice Demon rather than one of the Wild Three Demons?
And who exactly was this Sky-Soaring Ice Demon—a master of both the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and the Ice White Divine Art—who had abducted Dokgo Yeon, a person supposedly indebted to Dokgo Ja-yeong?
"We must confirm it. If the Old Demon of the North Sea Ice Palace, who should be sleeping in the Northern Sea, has come down to aid a descendant, we absolutely must win him over."
"Understood. I will dispatch demons near Xuchang City and instruct them to attack the Ice Demon the moment she emerges."
"Good. The Ice Demon knows the whole truth. I'll capture that bitch, and this time, I will force her to swear a loyalty oath for sure..."
A greasy smile spread across Grand Duke Ju-ji's face.
"The Ice Demon... I'll make sure I'm the one who takes her virginity."
* * *
"Junior Sister Yu, do you really intend to stay at the Murim Alliance?"
After the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle, Yoo Seol-ra had officially become a disciple of the Emei Sect and was now bidding farewell to the other Emei martial artists.
"Yes. To recover from the damage caused by the Ice-Colored Demon's Ice Art, I'm afraid I can't travel for a while."
Yoo Seol-ra pointed to a streak of her hair that had turned shock white—clearly the mark of the Ice White Divine Art. Abbess Jeongjo and her disciple Jeongja looked at her with pity.
"Sigh..."
"It's alright. I was simply unlucky."
Publicly, the story was that Yoo Seol-ra had been attacked by the Ice-Colored Demon and "knocked unconscious."
The official background for her faked performance in the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle was that she had been the first to discover the Ice-Colored Demon, drawn her sword against him, and been knocked out.
Of course, those who knew, knew. They knew what the Ice-Colored Demon had done to her.
She had been violated by the Lust Demon.
"I'll kill that public enemy of the martial world with my own hands."
Despite everything, Yoo Seol-ra composed herself with dignity and sharpened her blade for revenge. The two Emei disciples' eyes grew red at her resolve.
The wounded Ice White Phoenix refused to stop beating her wings, even if they were broken. On the contrary, she seemed ready to flap them harder and soar even higher.
"That's the spirit, Seol-ra."
"Sect Leader."
"Call me Master. Myeolbo's disciple is my own disciple. As someone who suffered the same fate, you are as good as my own disciple."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess held Yoo Seol-ra's hand and gently patted the back of it.
"I have firmly spoken to the Alliance Leader. You will recover your strength here at the Alliance for the time being. I will persuade the elder mothers of Emei and assemble an escort to bring you to Mount Emei."
"Ah, no. You don't have to do that."
Yoo Seol-ra waved both hands, declining. But the Lust-Exorcising Abbess grasped her hand with a benevolent smile.
"It's fine. The elder mothers of Emei will understand you completely. You are already a true disciple of Emei. If you don't come to Mount Emei, where else would you go?"
"W-Well..."
"I know you're uneasy because of what the Ice-Colored Demon did to you. But don't worry. We will be your strength. Emei is your new home from now on."
My home is the North Sea Ice Palace. The Ice Palace Mistress could not utter a word against the absurd turn her life was taking.
At this rate, wasn't the North Sea Ice Palace about to be absorbed into the Emei Sect?
"Master, it is time to depart."
"Yes, yes. We must be on our way."
At the entrance of another disciple who had come in from outside, the Lust-Exorcising Abbess and her two disciples rose to their feet.
They were anxious about leaving Yoo Seol-ra alone inside the Murim Alliance's stronghold. But they could not drag a woman who had her internal energy stolen by the Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang, and was then struck by the Ice White Divine Art that required long-term care, on a journey of a thousand miles.
"We shall see each other again soon, Seol-ra."
"Y-Yes."
Yoo Seol-ra felt a sting in her nose at the Lust-Exorcising Abbess's genuine care. A powerful male aura emanating from the Emei Sect disciples had put her on guard initially, but for that same reason, her wariness naturally faded away.
"By the way... Master?"
"What is it?"
"You seem a little different from before."
"Huh."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess, Ryu Seo-si, pulled lightly at her own cheek with a finger.
"There are still many Lust Demons in the world. On top of that, the disciples of Emei have been abducted twice by Lust Demons. I can't just stand by idly myself, now can I?"
"Huh... no way...?"
"The next time we meet, you might end up calling me 'Unni' instead of Master. Take good care of yourself."
After the Emei martial artists left the room, Yoo Seol-ra's jaw dropped as she sensed Ryu Seo-si's energy.
"Master... you're planning to raise his child...?"
Ryu Seo-si's body, which had grown stronger since the beginning of the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle, still contained the searing essence energy of the Sky-Soaring Lust Demon.
The internal qi of the Zhongli Divine Fire Well, which had taken root in her belly and would never vanish.
* * *
"Hmm...."
The Gamchal-gwan was deep in thought, studying the incident that had occurred in Henan.
"Senior, how is this even possible?"
"I don't know either."
"Don't be so curt with me."
The Divine Spear continued to drill his martial forms without wavering. The Gamchal-gwan listed off key details and kept pestering the Divine Spear with questions.
"Aren't you curious about how this person called the Ice-Colored Demon broke through the Murim Alliance's encirclement?"
"...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. The moment Dokgo Yeon was kidnapped, a net began forming, and yet the Ice-Colored Demon still had the audacity to violate the Matriarch of the Eul Family."
Even for the Divine Spear, breaking through an already established encirclement would be difficult. The Gamchal-gwan mused for a long moment, murmuring quietly.
"He flew away into the sky? But it's strange that there are zero witnesses. He couldn't have run across the clouds."
"Who knows. Maybe he soared through the sky like an immortal."
"But if he did, wouldn't at least one person have seen someone flying in the sky around that time?"
"Then what, did he escape in disguise? Carrying a bundle with a whole person inside?"
"Something like that. If it's a man, they probably checked if he was wearing a human skin mask!"
"So what is the most plausible answer according to you? How did the Ice-Colored Demon break through the Murim Alliance's net?"
"...He escaped in disguise?"
Even after giving his own answer, the Gamchal-gwan couldn't understand it.
Because a net worthy of a Heavenly Trap was spread along every road leading from Xuchang to Hebei.
* * *
"Young lady, what business takes you to Hebei?"
"I'm traveling."
A black-haired woman whose face was veiled answered the coachman with a soft smile. The coachman felt a shiver run down his spine at her alluring voice, but he collected himself and continued driving the horse.
"Ahem. It's not easy for a woman to travel alone."
"I'm a martial artist, you see."
"Is that so? You don't look it..."
The coachman's eyes swept over her form. Her body, cloaked in black garments, had a figure that made him think she might have a little trouble feeding a baby later.
"Well, it's not my place to say. Just be careful. I hear a Lust Demon has come to Henan Province. A truly terrifying Lust Demon."
"Hmm, a Lust Demon?"
Could a beauty truly be afraid of a lust demon? The coachman felt a pointless thrill at the thought that she was listening to him.
"That's right. Not only did he attack the Murim Alliance Leader, but he also assaulted several women of the Orthodox Faction! And prepare yourself to be shocked—he even kidnapped the Murim Alliance Leader's own daughter!"
"Oh my. Such things happen in this world?"
"They do! It all happened just a few days ago. A large man with pure white body hair, the Ice-Colored Demon, not only kidnapped the precious jewel of the Dokgo Clan but also ravished the Matriarch of the Eul Family."
"Wow... he's an incredible Lust Demon."
The woman murmured in a voice that sounded vaguely sickened. Was she really listening? The coachman was about to offer her some proper advice when—
"Halt. Stop."
Up ahead on the main road, warriors wearing green headbands stood with drawn swords, checking travelers. The character 'Paeng' was stitched prominently onto their martial uniforms.
"The Hebei Paeng Clan! What are martial artists doing all the way out here...?"
"Don't be alarmed. We are conducting an inspection at the Murim Alliance's request."
"Your cooperation is appreciated."
The martial artists of the Hebei Paeng Clan pressured the coachman with grim faces. Surrounded by sturdy, mean-looking fighters, the coachman turned fearful. One of the warriors grabbed the coachman's cheek.
Squeeze.
"Agh?!"
"No abnormalities. Not wearing a human skin mask."
"Th-This is what you call an inspection?!"
"Please understand. May we look inside now?"
Flustered, the coachman turned his eyes toward the interior of the carriage.
"Uh... young lady...?"
"I'm fine."
As her beautiful voice spread outward, the Hebei Paeng Clan warriors let out sighs of relief. The menacing air they had projected melted away, and the one warrior with a relatively ordinary face stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"Apologies. Welcome to Hebei."
"No problem. Hmm... are you searching for the Lust Demon by any chance?"
"Yes. Word is the Lust Demon is heading up into Hebei. The Hebei Paeng Clan is on alert, but the government office is in an uproar as well."
"Good heavens... you must be working so hard."
A beautiful woman's consolation is always welcome. The warriors nodded at each other and stepped aside to open the way.
Just then.
"Stop. Who said you could just let them pass?"
A sharp voice made every warrior's hair stand on end. From the opposite side of the road, a beauty wearing the martial uniform of the Paeng Clan was striding toward them.
"Ah... Miss Paeng Sin-hye!"
The moment the woman, who looked rather strong-willed, appeared, the warriors hurriedly bent at the waist. Strapped to her back was a massive saber that even the men would struggle to lift.
"<Slashing Demon Blade>?!"
"Halt. That's right, I am Paeng Sin-hye of the Slashing Demon Blade. There's a single woman riding in there? Ha, how do we know the Ice-Colored Demon isn't holding her hostage?"
"Y-Young Miss."
Paeng Sin-hye reached out with a rough hand and lifted the semi-transparent curtain draped over the carriage. The woman inside greeted her with a gentle smile.
"Hello."
"Hmm... I apologize. But... what is that long white bundle back there? It looks exactly like a person wrapped up inside."
The warriors' faces hardened. The coachman froze in panic, unable to move. The veiled woman simply smiled and took out the item.
"It's a pipa. A keepsake left to me by my parents."
"Ah...."
Paeng Sin-hye's expression could not have been stonier. The woman, who had unwrapped the bundle completely to reveal a pipa with a surface as dark as ebony, nodded with an understanding look in her eyes.
"It's alright. The times are just difficult. I'm fine, truly."
"I-I'm sorry. I never expected a woman to be traveling alone."
"Like I said, I'm a martial artist. I'm late in introducing myself. I am..."
The black-haired woman's pale pink lips sparkled as she offered a soft smile.
"A practitioner of the Musical Martial Art. I am called <Yeon Bung>, Hee Yeon."