Chapter 603
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 603
Chapter Title: The World is Vast
“Kuh... ugh...”
Bang Sa-uk, who had fled mindlessly, collapsed in some deep mountain depths he didn’t recognize and let out a groan.
After answering “yes” to the question of whether he desired power.
Thanks to the power that exploded like a lie, he had managed to escape unharmed.
But.
That explosive power from then was not temporary.
No, explosions kept occurring nonstop inside him.
He couldn’t fathom what sort of sorcery this was.
The voice kept echoing in his head.
Do you desire power?
Do you desire power?
Do you desire power?
Child of darkness, return to the darkness.
Child of darkness, return to the darkness.
Do you desire power?
Kekekekekekeke...
The same voice.
Different tones.
His mind was a complete mess.
Bang Sa-uk couldn’t even think of a response.
He simply.
Let out groans amid the storm of power raging inside him.
“Keurghhh...”
His groans were turning into screams.
His entire body twisted.
His skin cracked open.
The energy within him kept bursting out explosively.
Where on earth was this power coming from?
Not even such thoughts surfaced.
Bang Sa-uk knew nothing.
Of the pitch-black darkness energy seeping from deep underground where he writhed in agony, flowing into his body.
Hunan Province, Hyeongsan.
Sa Hae-ryeon headquarters.
“What is it?”
Gong Ya Jang-cheon looked at Mun In Baek-song and asked.
His expression was far from normal.
“Can you set up a barrier around where I am?”
“Hm?”
Gong Ya Jang-cheon’s eyebrow twitched.
This was the second time.
The first had been not long ago. How startled he’d been then.
In this grand hall, which also served as the alliance leader’s office, only Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Mun In Baek-song were present.
But it wasn’t just the two of them.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon’s elite guards were hidden everywhere.
If the Righteous Heaven Alliance had the Hocheon Corps, Sa Hae-ryeon had the Blood Thunder Army.
The Hocheon Corps was nominally the alliance leader’s personal guard but handled all sorts of tasks as an all-purpose martial force.
The Blood Thunder Army was different.
Despite the “army” name suggesting a similar role to the Hocheon Corps, it wasn’t.
They were solely Gong Ya Jang-cheon’s personal guard, focused only on protecting him.
Mun In Baek-song’s request for a barrier meant it was a secret he didn’t want even the Blood Thunder Army to know.
A secret only Gong Ya Jang-cheon needed to know.
Since becoming Sa Hae-ryeon leader, Mun In Baek-song had made such a request only once before, and now this was the second time.
That’s why his eyebrow twitched.
He had guessed what news Mun In Baek-song brought.
Energy spread from Gong Ya Jang-cheon’s body, instantly enveloping the room in a barrier.
Now, only Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Mun In Baek-song could converse.
No one outside the barrier could hear them.
The only way would be to infuse internal energy into the barrier to eavesdrop secretly, but no one in the current martial world had reached such a level.
Not even Gong Ya Jang-cheon could do it.
Or perhaps there was one person who could accomplish what he couldn’t.
“Two places.”
Gong Ya Jang-cheon immediately scowled.
“Which bastard is it?”
A murderous question slipped out.
“I don’t know.”
Mun In Baek-song answered calmly.
“I investigated the Ten Thousand Demons Soul-Devouring Transformation Divine Law based on the information from Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong, but we still don’t know how to detect its blood sacrifice agents.”
Gong Ya Jang-cheon frowned.
There simply hadn’t been enough time.
They hadn’t known anything before the Righteous Heaven Alliance shared the information.
Rather, it was surprising that Gong Son Dan-gyeong knew of the Demonic Cult’s sorcery called the Ten Thousand Demons Soul-Devouring Law.
Mun In Baek-song had felt his pride deeply wounded upon learning that information.
Because he hadn’t known what his sole rival in the world did.
He’d considered Gong Son Dan-gyeong his only worthy adversary, which made it worse.
It felt like he was one step below.
So he’d delved into every sorcery manual held by Sa Hae-ryeon.
In hopes of finding clues about the Ten Thousand Demons Soul-Devouring Transformation Divine Law.
He’d found texts on the law itself, but methods to identify blood sacrifice agents remained elusive.
“Then how did you find those two places?”
“We located the Eternal Ghost Forest Ten Thousand Demon Array.”
Gong Son Dan-gyeong had sent the diagram.
That allowed them to find where the formation was deployed.
The Black Mist Unit had scoured Sa Hae-ryeon territory exhaustively, sweating buckets.
Not even knowing what they sought, they’d searched every inch.
Mun In Baek-song hadn’t even told them what the diagram was, just to find where the formation matching it was active.
“We haven’t searched everywhere yet, so there might be more, or this could be it.”
“Progress?”
“Not even half complete.”
“That’s a blessing amid misfortune.”
The Huashan Sect’s had been completed and activated.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong hadn’t mentioned it, but the Black Mist Unit monitored all Jianghu news, so they knew of Huashan’s incident.
A strategist like Mun In Baek-song could easily deduce the Huashan disturbance was due to the Eternal Ghost Forest Ten Thousand Demon Array.
“Soul-Devouring Law? Find a way to detect that damned law quickly.”
“Understood.”
“Monitor those two places closely.”
“Yes.”
Mun In Baek-song quietly withdrew.
He headed straight for the Four Seas Myriad Forest Repository.
Sa Hae-ryeon’s library pavilion.
There was no place there he couldn’t enter, so he rummaged through the sorcery manuals again.
It was the bookshelves in the deepest secret chamber of the Four Seas Myriad Forest Repository.
Though the repository was filled with countless shelves, this chamber’s were sparse.
Not many manuals.
Sa Hae-ryeon was an unorthodox faction.
Different from the Demonic Cult, but they shared domains in sorcery.
He believed he’d surely find something.
‘Soul-devouring. Anyone can see it’s not sorcery but evil arts territory.’
If evil arts, the unorthodox had their own expertise.
‘Surely the Ghost Spirit Palace’s sorcery manuals...’
He’d checked all of Mosan Sect’s. That’s how he learned of the Ten Thousand Demons Soul-Devouring Transformation Divine Law.
Mosan Sect had secretly researched it.
The two unorthodox sects that stood as twin pillars in sorcery.
Mosan Sect and Ghost Spirit Palace.
Now it was time to check Ghost Spirit Palace’s manuals.
Their true ultimate secrets weren’t here.
Only Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Mun In Baek-song could enter this deepest part of the library pavilion.
And those with both their permissions, but no such person existed yet.
The reason was simple.
All the manuals gathered here had been secretly collected without their owners’ knowledge.
Some taken by force, others stolen by spies.
If subordinate sects learned of it, Sa Hae-ryeon’s existence could be jeopardized.
The purpose of bearing such risk to collect them was singular.
To uncover weaknesses in subordinate sects and crush them with overwhelming power.
The Black Mist Unit monitored not just the Righteous Heaven Alliance but Sa Hae-ryeon ceaselessly.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Mun In Baek-song knew the unorthodox nature all too well.
“Ghost Spirit... Just the name suggests there might be a clue.”
Muttering thus, Mun In Baek-song reached for a manual on the shelf.
Ha Mu-baek, sprinting at full speed, was truly fast.
His Nyeong Gwang Man-ri Haeng at its peak surpassed light itself, living up to its Nyeong Gwang name.
He passed Luoyang in an instant, even crossing Zhengzhou, Henan Province’s capital.
Kaifeng was now close.
He streaked straight through Henan toward Kaifeng.
“Hm.”
As he neared Kaifeng, he extended his energy sense to its limit.
No presence similar to the Dark Blood Jiangshi was felt.
Continuing on, as Kaifeng loomed near, figures registered in his sense.
Dam Mu-hyeon and the Hocheon Corps.
‘Hoo?’
Ha Mu-baek let out a small exclamation at Dam Mu-hyeon’s presence.
First meeting since Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, and he’d grown considerably stronger in the interim.
He’d broken through the wall.
At that level, he could easily take over as Hocheon Corps Leader.
Ha Mu-baek sped up further, leaping over Kaifeng’s walls.
It was deep into the night, past midnight.
Ignoring everything, he headed for the Beggar Clan’s massive northern headquarters hovel.
“Huh? How?”
Dam Mu-hyeon, lingering near the headquarters, rushed out in surprise.
He’d meant to stay at the clan HQ, but the beggar dens’ stench was unbearable.
Three Hocheon members who could tolerate it stayed at HQ, while the other seven had makeshift lodgings nearby.
Among them, Dam Mu-hyeon sensed Ha Mu-baek’s approach first.
Dam Mu-hyeon immediately kicked off toward Ha Mu-baek’s direction.
Thus, the two met on a Kaifeng street some distance from the Beggar Clan HQ.
“What brings you?”
Dam Mu-hyeon spoke first.
“Iron Cane Beggar asked for help.”
Ha Mu-baek answered flatly.
“Ah.”
Dam Mu-hyeon nodded in understanding with a low exclamation.
Now he knew why Iron Cane Beggar was absent.
Deputy Leader Hu-gae, delegated full authority, had only announced the leader left on important business.
“No, what kind of huge secret is visiting the corps leader that they wouldn’t even tell me?”
Dam Mu-hyeon grumbled, recalling Hu-gae.
“Who?”
“Who else? The one who takes authority when the vice leader’s away.”
“Hu-gae?”
Dam Mu-hyeon nodded at Ha Mu-baek’s question.
“Well, that guy would do that. Let’s find a proper spot first.”
They couldn’t chat in the middle of the street.
“Sure.”
Dam Mu-hyeon led the way.
Only two days in Kaifeng.
How did he know a tavern open at this hour?
‘That’s just how he is.’
Ha Mu-baek didn’t dwell on the question.
He just sat, thinking it was typical of Dam Mu-hyeon.
Despite the late hour, two or three other patrons were there.
Ha Mu-baek and Dam Mu-hyeon took a secluded corner.
They ordered baijiu and snacks, then Ha Mu-baek looked straight at Dam Mu-hyeon.
“Why?”
“You set the barrier.”
“Why?”
“Too bothersome. You can do it.”
At Ha Mu-baek’s words, Dam Mu-hyeon narrowed his eyes.
“That takes a lot of focus and effort, you know?”
Dam Mu-hyeon’s protest.
Ha Mu-baek dismissed it lightly.
“That’s training. It’s not just circulating energy or swinging a sword. Manipulating qi and internal energy like that is training too.”
Dam Mu-hyeon nodded at Ha Mu-baek’s words.
“Truly annoying.”
With that, he emanated energy.
Energy flowed from Dam Mu-hyeon’s body, forming a barrier around Ha Mu-baek and them.
Now no one could hear their conversation.
“Not bad.”
Ha Mu-baek said, glancing around the unchanged surroundings.
To Ha Mu-baek’s senses and eyes, Dam Mu-hyeon’s barrier was both felt and visible.
“By the way. Even with a barrier like this, are there ways to eavesdrop?”
Dam Mu-hyeon asked as if it just occurred to him.
He’d only recently become able to deploy a barrier this size.
Usually, one needed transcendent realm to use barriers.
That corps leader monster had wielded them flawlessly from their first meeting.
“There are ways. Jam your internal energy into the barrier and listen to the sounds inside.”
Seeing Ha Mu-baek say it casually,
Dam Mu-hyeon posed one question.
“Can the alliance leader do it?”
“At least last I saw, no.”
“Damn. So only you can.”
Dam Mu-hyeon grumbled irritably,
“The world is vast.”
“Full of geniuses like grains of sand? What sand—diamond? I didn’t see any shining.”
“You didn’t come out just to chat like this, right?”
As Ha Mu-baek downed his cup and asked, Dam Mu-hyeon shifted posture.
They’d caught up on old times; now to the main topic.