Chapter 179 : Hall of Subduing Demons
Hall of Subduing Demons
After passing through the massive main gate, the interior they entered was an utterly bizarre sight.
A wide stone path stretched out long ahead, with densely packed earthen mounds crowding both sides yet again.
It looked like the ruins of an imperial palace after a war, as if this was what it would be if the emperor's residence was turned to desolation.
"To think they not only dug out such a vast cave by carving out the inside of a cliff, but also built such a huge structure here? This goes beyond absurdity and reaches the level of outrageousness."
Next to him, Baek Il-gang looked around with a skeptical face as he spoke.
His words rang true.
No matter how skilled the Demonic Cult bastards were at moving in secret and utilizing their uniquely superhuman martial strength, it seemed impossible to construct such a palace-like building right under everyone's noses.
'It could be an illusion conjured by a formation.'
Jeong-un recalled the third trial of the Heavenly Martial Hall.
He remembered how the top of a great city's pavilion had been transformed to look like a mountainside.
Even the breeze blowing between the trees had been so vivid it felt real.
If so, then this scene unfolding before them wasn't necessarily impossible.
'The problem is, there's no way to tell the difference.'
It was the same now as it had been back then.
There was no way to know if the things he saw around him were actually real, or if they were just illusions conjured by spell formations.
Some even said that, in the moment, the wonders created by a formation were as real as reality itself.
Right now, all they could do was press forward.
"By the way..."
Baek Il-gang looked at Jeong-un and continued.
"When I heard what Young Hero Yu said earlier, something struck me as odd."
"What do you mean?"
"That you said you'd see the Zhao siblings out to safety with certainty, but naturally left me out of it. Thinking about it now, it makes me feel a little left out, you know."
Jeong-un, on the other hand, widened his eyes slightly in response.
"Were you planning to leave me behind?"
"Hmm?"
Jeong-un continued as he gazed at him.
"Young hero Baek, aren't you a fellow entrusted with the same mission? Now that you mention it, I think I should be the one feeling a bit left out."
"What did you say?"
Baek Il-gang blinked, then broke into loud laughter as if he'd just heard the most amusing story.
He opened his mouth wide, thoroughly entertained.
"You're right, I made a mistake."
He laughed, while next to him, Zhao Gang and Zhao Yeong-ryeong watched with rather baffled expressions—as if to say, "You're exchanging witty banter even in a situation like this?"
Then Baek Il-gang spoke.
"No need to worry. We'll make sure you two get out safely."
At those words, Zhao Yeong-ryeong's eyes narrowed, and she responded in a faintly sulky voice.
"Didn't you hear what my elder brother just said? We're not leaving until we've completely wiped them out here."
"Weren't you the one being chased by them just a moment ago?"
"That was only when I was alone. Now I have all three of you here—and most importantly, young hero Yu is with us—so things are different now, aren't they? Of course, I'll do my part to help as well."
"Looks like you've got quite a thick skin."
"It's better to build up real achievements and make a name for oneself than to just care about appearances without substance."
Baek Il-gang chuckled dryly at Zhao Yeong-ryeong, who didn't let him off easily.
Next to them, Zhao Gang shook his head knowingly, as if he was used to this.
While listening to his companions' exchanges, Jeong-un was observing ahead.
They were now in the heart of enemy territory, the deepest part of a trap laid out by their foes.
Even so, he let them converse as they liked.
After all, there was no reason for them to deliberately hush their voices or creep about.
'They're watching us anyway.'
If they could relieve some tension with idle chatter, all the better.
Besides, he could sense that, despite talking, everyone was sharpening their ki senses and carefully watching their surroundings.
'It's quite refreshing too.'
It was the first time Jeong-un had seen this side of Baek Il-gang.
Even after spending time together, he'd hardly spoken of his own past, let alone his internal power.
All this time, Jeong-un could only guess what sort of life Baek Il-gang had lived from his words and actions.
At last, he was learning a bit more about him—enough that seeing him talk with Zhao Yeong-ryeong seemed a little different now.
As Jeong-un walked between the mounds, he found his gaze drifting down to the stone path beneath his feet.
Nine intricately engraved dragons twisted along the road as if about to ascend to the heavens.
Looking closely, it was fashioned exactly after the imperial avenue that only the emperor was allowed to tread in the palace.
'They must be out of their minds.'
He slowed his gait unconsciously, so shocked he could barely keep walking.
There were certain lines no one who set foot on this earth should cross.
Even martial artists blessed with supernatural strength were the same.
Under the sky of the Great Ming, martial artists and commoners alike were equal subjects.
To dare to lay a road fashioned after the imperial avenue?
That was the sort of grave crime for which every clan member's life would be forfeit.
Baek Il-gang appeared to have similar thoughts and spoke with a look of distaste.
"This feels like I'm committing a crime for no reason."
"So even Young hero Baek gets a little cautious at times."
"It's not like I have several lives to play with, after all."
Then Zhao Gang shook his head and spoke up.
"This isn't the imperial palace, nor is this path truly the emperor's avenue. So it should not be a problem."
Zhao Gang's clan had sent several people to the royal court.
As the young lord of such a house, his words could be trusted.
Baek Il-gang laughed.
"In that case, I should leave plenty of footprints behind."
"... Purposely doing so is a separate matter, though."
Just then.
Jeong-un narrowed his brow and glared straight ahead, spreading his ki sense widely around them.
Until just moments ago, he'd sensed nothing, but suddenly, a whoosh of ki waves swept in.
'What now...'
It felt as if a person had materialized from thin air.
Now, even with the naked eye, he could see the fluttering edges of a man's robe.
The man was dressed as a scholar in black, standing with his back to the palace-like pavilion nearby.
Rustle.
The man, who had his hands behind his back, brought his right hand forward, holding a black fan.
They were already walking between countless grave mounds.
The sudden appearance of such a figure only heightened the oddness of the scene.
The man looked at Jeong-un and spoke.
"I've been waiting for you."
He could sense his companions tensing beside him, true ki surging through their bodies and preparing to attack at a moment's notice.
If Jeong-un gave the order, they would leap at the enemy instantly.
"Let's not make this any more troublesome than it already is."
The man seemed to pick up on this atmosphere as he swept his gaze around Jeong-un, then spoke.
"I don't know why killing an unorthodox villain would be considered something troublesome."
Jeong-un replied composedly, his hand lightly resting on his sword handle.
Even so, the man's expression did not change.
He merely cast a glance at the sword hanging at Jeong-un's hip, then spoke again.
"It's meaningless."
"Meaningless? Do you think I won't be able to cut you down?"
"You have more than enough skill, since your martial arts are so strong."
Surprised by the unexpectedly straightforward reply, Jeong-un narrowed his eyes.
"I'm telling you that even if you cut me down right now, it won't matter. Someone like me will come out again and say the same things."
"Then I'll just cut them down again."
"And the cycle will repeat. You will wander here forever. I'm sure you've noticed. You will never reach the center."
"......"
This place was a domain created by the enemy leader's formation. His words couldn't be dismissed lightly.
Jeong-un spoke.
"What's your role?"
"Guide."
"To where?"
"The cult leader is waiting for you."
"Lead the way."
The man turned and walked off, and Jeong-un followed.
Then, something truly strange happened.
The building, which had seemed to be some distance away and gradually drawing closer, suddenly whooshed right up to the front of their vision.
It felt as if they had suddenly traversed a distance using incredible lightness skill.
Yet all they had done was slowly keep pace behind the man.
"... I feel like we've entered an even more troublesome place than I expected,"
Baek Il-gang murmured next to him, seeming a bit unsettled by the bizarre phenomena.
Jeong-un spoke.
"Do not worry. It's just tricks to deceive the eye and distract our attention."
Baek Il-gang glanced quickly at the man walking ahead and asked quietly.
"Do you think there's a way out?"
"The flow of ki around us is subtly gathering in this direction. There should be an exit here."
He replied simply.
Of course, he wasn't an expert on gate formation.
In fact, if anything, Zhao Gang, who had widely studied various fields since childhood, probably knew more.
However, Jeong-un had started to notice something a while ago: the energy within the cave was circulating with this central area as its focus.
While it was true that formations could create seemingly impossible wonders, ultimately, they worked by manipulating the world's surrounding energies.
If that was the case, seeing through it should also rely on sensing the flow of true ki.
'In that sense, it's both different from and similar to martial arts.'
If martial arts focused on cycling true ki within the body to unleash overwhelming power through the physical form, then gate formation was an art that artificially triggered specific cycles of true ki in nature.
The logic that breaking the formation's core would disrupt everything stemmed from this: if you disturbed the flow of true ki, the formation's harmony would fall apart.
"This way."
At last, they stood before the vast palace.
As the man spoke, the main door swung open, as if urging them inside, as if they'd been kept waiting for too long.
"......"
They silently walked up several stone steps and entered the building, Jeong-un lightly swinging his right hand.
Splurt!
A few steps behind, a spray of blood erupted.
The guide who had led the party was split diagonally and collapsed to the ground.
In an instant, he'd tried to defend himself with his fan, but even the fan was cut in two and fell to the floor.
Clink.
The sound of Jeong-un sheathing his sword rang faintly from his waist.
The suddenness of it drew a dry chuckle from Baek Il-gang, who had followed behind.
Zhao Gang and Zhao Yeong-ryeong just blinked in shock.
Bang.
As they entered, the door closed by itself. No one even looked back, as if they had anticipated it.
More importantly, another sight lay immediately ahead.
"You've arrived."
The interior resembled a royal court so closely it immediately called the imperial palace to mind.
Jet-black columns in neat rows supported the ceiling, and a red velvet carpet stretched perfectly straight from the entrance up to the platform.
And at the end of that platform, on a glistening black throne, sat a man.
His pale face was creased with just the right amount of wrinkles, his gentle eyes radiating benevolence.
He looked for all the world like a young sovereign revered for virtuous rule.
He was even dressed in a red dragon robe.
He had committed himself fully to the role.
"......"
Jeong-un lifted his head and gazed silently at the man.
He realized immediately: it was the cult leader of the Demonic Cult.
As ever, it was a new face he'd never seen before.
Every time they met, the cult leader's appearance was different.
Even so, the unique demonic energy pouring from his body was unmistakable.
By now, it was utterly familiar.
Jeong-un spoke.
"Are you really thinking of staging another rebellion?"
The cult leader, whose cold face had been looking down from above, let out a laugh.
Though his face was kind, the sinister sound of his laughter reverberated through the hall.
"For an uprising, there's not much to show. I thought you'd have your subordinates fill this place, but don't you have too few to start a rebellion?"
Next to him, Baek Il-gang turned to look around as he spoke.
Even in front of the cult leader, he displayed boldness, his face unperturbed.
Truly, he was a man with a distinct disposition.
Even though Zhao Gang and Zhao Yeong-ryeong beside him were bristling with tension and ready to raise their energy at any moment.
"Too few? A reasonable question. I can see why you'd think so."
The cult leader nodded as he spoke.
It was true: except for himself, there wasn't another soul present in the entire hall.
Soon, the cult leader slowly raised his right hand and spoke languidly.
"You must be curious about why I called you here. First, let's make some time to talk alone."
Whuuuuuum—
As soon as he finished speaking, a strange vibration began to rumble up from the ground below.