Chapter 172: Running Rampant (6)

Right Luminary Guardian Jak Gwangyeol was a master who wielded a curved sword.

It resembled the sabers of the eastern islands, except that it was a double-edged sword bent into an exquisitely curved shape.

The moment Ak Jupae saw him, he instinctively registered him as something other than human.

That was how bizarre the man looked.

He was even taller than Seon Byeok-il, putting him roughly on par with Ak Jupae.

Yet his torso and limbs were far more slender than Seon Byeok-il’s.

Emaciated to an unnatural degree would have been more accurate.

His long hair hung loose and disheveled.

And in that state, he repeatedly bowed toward the throne upon which only the Heavenly Demon was permitted to sit.

“...The Heavenly Demon descends... all demons bow in submission....”

He’s insane.

The words nearly escaped Ak Jupae’s lips.

Then he remembered Seon Byeok-il’s warning.

Hadn’t he said the Right Luminary Guardian was not as gentle as he was?

The lunatic wore the same clothes as Left Luminary Guardian Seon Byeok-il.

Which meant this man could only be the Right Luminary Guardian.

Ak Jupae did not make the mistake of saying anything.

Of course, neither did he bow to the throne as the other man had.

...Apparently, that displeased the Right Luminary Guardian.

“...Why... aren’t you... bowing?”

“Now, now. He’s still... let’s call him a guest for the moment. That seems fair enough, doesn’t it?”

The Right Luminary Guardian glanced from Seon Byeok-il to Ak Jupae, then slowly rose.

He started past them, only to stop beside Ak Jupae.

His voice dropped low.

“...There won’t be... a next time....”

This was the only time he intended to let it pass.

Ak Jupae froze for an instant.

Seon Byeok-il was smiling as though nothing had happened, but...

Ak Jupae understood immediately.

That Right Luminary Guardian was even more insane than Seon Byeok-il.

Whether he was stronger remained to be seen...

But he was unquestionably more insane.

“Pay him no mind. Jak Gwangyeol has always been like that.”

“...I see.”

“He probably disliked the fact that you don’t speak respectfully to me. This place follows the rule of the strong, after all.”

In other words, if he had a problem with it, he was free to fight Ak Jupae and beat him into submission.

Ak Jupae quietly closed his mouth.

Then he followed Seon Byeok-il.

The top of the enormous throne was difficult to make out.

A black curtain concealed it.

Ak Jupae could not even tell whether someone was seated behind it or whether it stood empty.

He nearly said something, then stopped.

Jak Gwangyeol was not the only person continuously bowing toward the throne.

Naturally, none of them possessed an aura comparable to Ak Jupae’s.

Not one had even reached the Transformation Realm.

But fanatics were not frightening because of their individual ability.

They were frightening because they placed no value on their own bodies or lives.

Ak Jupae decided against provoking them any further.

Their vicious gazes were already fixed on him...

And he had noticed that Seon Byeok-il was actively keeping them in check.

“The clue I mentioned is this way.”

Seon Byeok-il guided him onward as though nothing had happened.

They turned right and passed through a seemingly endless hallway until they reached a staircase descending at its far end.

A passage underground.

“...Down there?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be going in with you.”

Seon Byeok-il gave a faint smile.

Then, as if deliberately demonstrating there was nothing to fear, he stepped first into the pitch-black darkness below the stairs.

With every step, the darkness rose around his ankles like water.

Only after Ak Jupae followed him down did he realize...

It was not ordinary darkness.

It was stagnant Demonic Energy.

And it was extraordinarily dense.

*****

A man arrived at the foot of Kunlun Mountain.

Kunlun bordered the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains of the western regions, and its people normally had little welcome for outsiders.

Even so, they readily opened their gates to the staggering man in a worn Daoist robe.

They had already heard who he was.

A first-generation disciple of the Great Mount Hua Sect.

An eccentric of the Myeong generation and inheritor of the Falling Blossom Meteor Fist.

Myeonggwang, a master who had reached the middle stage of Transcendent Apex.

The man who came to receive him was none other than Kunlun’s Sect Leader.

Great Master Dohyeon, the Great Void Sword.

He had mastered Kunlun’s supreme martial art and peerless divine technique, the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword, to its ultimate extreme and brought it to completion.

Past and present alike, Kunlun had always served as the first barrier preventing the Demonic Cult of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains from invading the Central Plains.

Thus, though its disciples spoke of emptiness and contemplated the Dao, they never laid down the sword.

“What is the Demonic Cult’s current situation?”

“You’d be better off seeing it yourself. Come. Let us go up.”

Great Master Dohyeon used his Dragon-Slaying Sword like a walking stick as he began climbing Kunlun Mountain.

Kunlun was beautiful.

And just as beautiful as it was, it was equally treacherous.

If they had not been martial artists, if they had not cultivated internal energy and martial arts...

They would never even have considered attempting the climb.

Myeonggwang followed Great Master Dohyeon, who was deliberately matching his pace.

His gaze passed over the large yet surprisingly austere Daoist buildings.

“...The whole place feels rather plain. Just as I would expect from Kunlun.”

“Grand and ostentatious buildings would only clash with a mountain like this.”

In a sense, Kunlun belonged to a tradition similar to Wudang.

Yet even where their roots were alike, the direction they took differed slightly.

Plum blossoms were always in bloom on Mount Hua, so its buildings naturally tended toward elegance, splendor, and grandeur.

“Does Kunlun seem bland after Mount Hua?”

“Not at all. Is this not simply another path toward attaining the Dao?”

“Mount Hua has the Dao of Mount Hua, and Kunlun has the Dao of Kunlun.”

A massive plaque bearing the words Great Kunlun Sect stood ahead.

Before it rose one hundred and eight steps.

Great Master Dohyeon came to a light stop at their base.

Then, without using Lightness Arts, he began climbing them one by one.

Myeonggwang watched him with some puzzlement before following behind.

******

“...You came sooner than I expected.”

The front courtyard of the Zhuge Household.

Zhuge Yeon stood there to receive Eunsong and Namgung Byeok.

Jang Yul stood behind her.

Both Eunsong and Namgung Byeok had heard about him.

They had been told that he had suffered grievous injuries while protecting Soyak during the battle against the Dark Emperor.

Now, however, he seemed to have recovered remarkably well.

“Wasn’t your letter urgent?”

“It was. Very urgent.”

“The contents certainly made that clear.”

Eunsong °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° appeared composed.

Namgung Byeok did not.

He knew all too well what horrific consequences followed when the Demonic Cult began running rampant.

And on the way here, Eunsong had explained the contents of the coded letter to him.

“Is it true?”

“What I wrote was true.”

“The Demonic Cult will make its move soon?”

“...Yes. The problem is that the method they intend to use... will be the same one they used against the Shandong Ak Family.”

Everyone knew how the Shandong Ak Family had fallen.

It was rebuilding now, slowly rising again, but...

It would probably take at least half a century to regain the power it once possessed.

And everyone feared the same thing.

A blade thrust from within.

The Shandong Ak Family had not fallen because an overwhelming Demonic Cult force invaded and defeated them.

Rats that had hidden among them for decades had finally risen up and set the house ablaze from the inside.

And there was no reliable defense against betrayal from within.

What were they supposed to do?

Gather everyone whose history could not be traced back more than a few years and slaughter them all?

The Demonic Cult or the unorthodox factions might resort to such a thing.

The righteous factions could not.

“Then there’s no way to respond....”

Namgung Byeok spoke almost in despair.

He knew perfectly well what the Shandong Ak Family had suffered.

Eunsong, too, pressed his fingers to his brow in thought.

“What do you suggest, Lady Yeon?”

“To be frank, I don’t have an answer either. How am I supposed to root out people who went into hiding before I was even born?”

She was right.

Searching records and verifying origins could only take them so far.

Paper registries were not updated in real time.

They could not perfectly investigate villages and towns that no longer even existed.

“...When do you think it will happen?”

“...I have no idea. For now, I called everyone together, but as for what we can actually do....”

“There is one way.”

Eunsong spoke quietly.

Yet there was no confidence in his voice.

Only unease.

“Let us hear it, then.”

“We need a source capable of accessing information from inside the Demonic Cult.”

“Inside the Demonic Cult? And who exactly could do that? Surely you aren’t about to suggest something as tedious as planting a spy.”

Eunsong let out a long sigh.

“...There is one person who might be willing to do it for us.”

“Who?”

“Lady Yeon. Your uncle.”

Zhuge Yeon’s eyes widened.

Within both the Zhuge Household and the Shandong Ak Family, the subject of Flame-Saber Lord Ak Jupae was practically taboo.

But the truth was, they had no other option.

“...Uncle Ak has already abandoned us.”

Zhuge Yeon spoke bitterly.

Eunsong, however, did not seem to agree.