Kunlun Ruins
I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
Dogon had let his guard down, and I had simply seized that opening at the perfect moment.
Even so, claiming I had completely defeated him would be laughable. My skill still fell far, far short of his.
“Huff… huff. We’ve arrived, Young Master.”
Muyoung carried my exhausted body up the mountain without pause.
Yu Ha-rin had suffered a fairly severe internal injury as well, so we couldn’t increase our pace. Still, Dogon had yet to catch up to us.
The Gwang-yeom Honcheon Sword Technique I had unleashed on Dogon.
There were several reasons I chose to reveal this sword art, but the primary one was its natural counter to Dogon’s own Heaven-Splitting Martial Emperor Sword Art.
How many times had I fought him in my previous life?
Dozens? Hundreds?
Like a man toying with his prey, he would release me only to capture me again, over and over.
Had it not been for the Blood Hand Poison Emperor’s poison, I would have slit his throat long ago…
Well, in the end, that very arrogance cost him his head.
“So this is… Kunlun.”
I lifted my head and gazed at the ancient signboard of the old Kunlun sect. The characters had faded so badly they were barely legible anymore.
A place no one sought out.
A place that had fallen into complete ruin and was slowly being erased even from people’s memories.
“Young Master, if we linger here, they’ll catch up to us soon.”
“…Wouldn’t it have been better to head straight into Sichuan?”
I shook my head at Muyoung and Yu Ha-rin’s questions.
With our current conditions, reaching Sichuan was impossible.
It was obvious that the enraged Dogon would grind his teeth and chase us relentlessly.
“This place is safer. Follow me.”
I slid down from Muyoung’s back and strode straight into the ruins.
The interior of the ruined Kunlun sect had long since lost any distinction between its outer and inner halls.
Relying on my memories, I walked deeper inside for a long time.
A massive hall that had once served as a grand audience chamber.
The thick scent of dust that had settled over centuries, mixed with the faint, acrid smell of rotting wood.
It looked exactly as I remembered from my past life.
Of course, back then I hadn’t obtained the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence.
But now, things would be different.
Found it.
Right in the center of this vast hall.
Who could have imagined a heavenly opportunity would be hidden in a place like this?
Creak!
I located the section of the floor at the center of the hall where the sound originated.
Without hesitation, I slipped my hand between the wooden planks and applied a light force.
The floorboards, weakened by age, were on the verge of collapse. They lifted easily with almost no effort.
“Hah.”
“What is this…?”
Surprised gasps escaped Muyoung and Yu Ha-rin.
Beneath the opened floor, a staircase descended into darkness.
“Let’s go.”
There was no room for hesitation.
I descended the long staircase at once, and soon a vast underground corridor came into view.
After walking the length of the deep underground passage, another entrance appeared.
“Here it is.”
At my words, Yu Ha-rin and Muyoung looked up at the entrance.
It was enormous—large enough that taking it all in at once was difficult.
“A… cave?”
Yu Ha-rin recognized its nature immediately.
A space that swallowed all light into its depths.
It was unmistakably the mouth of a cave.
“Wait, there was a cave beneath the Kunlun sect? And how did you even know about it, Young Master?”
A cave whose destination was unknown.
Moreover, it lay hidden beneath the grounds of what had once been one of the greatest orthodox sects—and right under their main complex, no less.
The fact that no record of its existence could be found anywhere was telling.
“Who knows? Maybe even Kunlun had something they wanted to hide.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. How did you know about it?”
Yu Ha-rin narrowed her eyes sharply, pressing for an answer.
There were probably countless questions swirling in her mind.
“I’ll tell you later. For now, focus on what’s in front of us.”
I cut her off and stepped inside without another word.
The moment I crossed the cave’s threshold, a heavy, profound energy pressed against the soles of my feet.
It’s here.
A thrill ran through me at the sensation that differed from my previous life.
It felt like the roar of a ferocious beast that had slumbered for a very long time.
In my past life, I had failed to claim the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence hidden here.
I could only confirm that the cave was empty before turning back. The Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence had already been taken by the Heavenly Demon.
Either way, even if I couldn’t take it, I had to make sure it was destroyed.
If I couldn’t have it, it was only natural to ensure the Heavenly Demon couldn’t have it either.
After walking for some time, I finally spotted a massive stone stele and came to a stop.
“Young Master, what is this?”
“It looks like an epitaph is carved on it?”
Muyoung and Yu Ha-rin examined the stele, which towered well above their height.
“I don’t know its history or origins. I never had time to read it before, and I don’t have time now.”
That wasn’t what mattered.
“From this moment on, the formation guarding this place will activate in full. The instant it does, you won’t be able to see or sense anything.”
“A formation?”
“Yes. Once the formation activates, do not move under any circumstances. Stay exactly where you are. No matter how many days pass, endure it and remain still. You must not move.”
It was an unprecedented formation whose structure shifted constantly.
Even after reaching a high realm and coming here in my previous life, I had struggled considerably.
If one moved carelessly, they would wander lost inside the formation forever and eventually die.
“Then what about that insane demonic bastard?”
Yu Ha-rin asked through gritted teeth.
She was clearly furious that we had been forced to flee like this.
“It’s frustrating, I know. But endure it. We can’t handle him right now.”
As regrettable as it was, the three of us alone could not defeat Dogon.
At minimum, we would need someone on the level of my eldest brother or the Seungryongdae leader to even stand a chance.
After giving them both strict warnings, I placed my hand on the stele.
Mechanism.
I closed my eyes and raised my senses to their peak, searching for the hidden mechanism carved into the stele.
This stele was the trigger that would activate the grand formation concealing the entire cave.
At the same time, it served as another gateway leading to the dragon vein that held the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence.
Rumble!
A light tremor spread throughout the cave, followed by thunderous roars erupting from every direction.
This was a formation that had slept for hundreds of years.
It was undoubtedly extremely dangerous, yet it was also the only thing that could protect us now.
Honse Cheonmu Pallyeokjin.
The legacy of Kunlun, which had both revived and destroyed the sect, was slowly revealing itself once more after hundreds of years—at my hand.
“Ugh, those damn bastards.”
Sal-je Do-gon gripped his saber tightly and forced himself to his feet.
He recalled the moment just before he had collapsed.
The scattering fragments of sword blades.
Every single one had been aimed at his lower body.
“Damn it.”
Dogon grimaced as he pulled the broken blade fragments embedded in his legs out with his bare hands.
His own sword style focused primarily on upper-body attacks.
The problem was that his opponent had seen through it instantly.
That little brat…
Because he had let his guard down, he had allowed injury to his legs. As a result, he had been unable to respond properly and had even suffered a minor internal wound.
It was a serious blow to the pride of Sal-je Do-gon, one of the Twelve Demon Emperors.
The only reason he had survived relatively intact was because he had instinctively raised a defensive curtain of saber energy at the last second, deflecting some of the opponent’s momentum.
“As expected of the Ju Family.”
Dogon nodded, acknowledging his foe.
There would be no more carelessness.
The Ju Family was said to be inferior to the Five Great Families.
Yet even a child who had barely come of age had managed to knock him down in a single moment.
Perhaps they would one day surpass the Five Great Families and become one of the Six Great Families.
“So that’s why the Cult Leader put so much effort into dealing with the Ju Family.”
He had never liked the plan to slowly poison the Ju Family’s matriarch and collapse the clan from within.
But now he understood.
It had to be done.
“So, where did they run off to?”
Dogon asked one of his subordinates standing nearby.
The subordinate bowed deeply and answered.
“It appears they’ve hidden themselves in the old Kunlun ruins. We have already deployed a large number of demonic warriors to completely surround the area, Sal-je.”
“Heh heh heh. The place they chose to flee to is Kunlun? They must be insane—practically begging to die.”
Dogon rose to his feet at once.
“Let’s go. I’ll finish this properly.”
Grinding his teeth, Dogon drew his saber and leaped toward the Kunlun ruins without hesitation.
It was a silent space.
A place so dark that nothing could be seen.
When I slowly opened my eyes, the face before me was my father—Ju Tae-sung.
“F… Father?”
But something felt off.
His expression was one of utter contempt.
A cold, emotionless face that revealed nothing.
And… condemnation.
“It would have been better if you had died. Because of a worthless piece of trash like you, the matriarch of the Ju Family… my wife… is dead.”
“……”
It was a wound.
I had thought it had healed long ago.
Father, clutching Mother’s cold corpse, pouring out nothing but miserable despair.
That despair had soon turned into resentment and regret directed at me.
“Get out of my sight. Never show yourself before me again. If I ever see you… I might just kill you.”
Was this man truly my biological father?
The thought crossed my mind as Ju Tae-sung shouted with merciless cruelty.
Even when the elders tried to stop him, he refused to bend his will.
I fell even further into ruin.
After Mother’s death, the servants and warriors who looked at me now regarded me as nothing more than an insect.
It was only natural. Father had openly treated me that way in front of everyone.
So I came to hate Father.
Fine, if you want to kill me, then try. With that twisted mindset, I became even more depraved.
There was a kind of rebellious spirit in it as well.
I squandered the family’s wealth with reckless abandon, as if daring the clan to collapse completely.
I rented out dozens of entire brothels at once and summoned every famous courtesan from across the country to Jiangxi.
Even that wasn’t enough.
I associated with the unorthodox factions, swore brotherhood with their leaders, and even led attacks on the Ju Family’s own warriors.
Yes. I was a good-for-nothing.
No, even that word wasn’t enough. I was utter garbage.
Still, because I was a direct descendant of the Ju Family, the family warriors couldn’t raise their hands against me.
I exploited that fact even more viciously and worked hard to bring the Ju Family to ruin.
That’s right.
I was the one who destroyed it.
They say the family was filled with traitors, that the Heavenly Demon appeared and the Demonic Cult rose up, and that the Ju Family fought back but could not escape total annihilation.
But…
I could not deny that I had played a part in the clan’s destruction.
Even now, the guilt remained inside me.
I should have begged for forgiveness from Father, who must have suffered more than anyone, and tried to change.
Instead, I only committed even greater madness.
Ha…
I really was complete trash.
I quietly nodded.
“I want to save everyone. I want to protect them. I don’t want to lose anyone again. That’s all.”
A brief silence followed my answer.
Then, a faint light flickered in the darkness beyond.
It slowly began to approach me.
I would die.
“Haha.”
Laughter escaped me.
I had already experienced death once.
So it didn’t matter.
I didn’t know why I had returned to this world, but my purpose was clear.
The light finally stopped before me.
I slowly reached out toward it.
“To save everyone… I will kill everyone. That is all.”
Mother. Father.
To save the Ju Family… and slaughter every last demonic practitioner of the Cult.
I had returned to this life with only that single obsession, and even if I died, I would protect them without fail.
That was… the one and only conviction I held after returning to this world. My unshakable will.