Chapter 185 : Hall of Subduing Demons
Hall of Subduing Demons
The man did not scream, as he had the first time his arm was cut off.
On the contrary, he gazed at Jeong-un with a somewhat composed expression.
In his eyes, there flashed a mysterious gleam, as if glistening.
'The flow of the formation has changed.'
Jeong-un murmured softly as he let his sword hang down. The flow of natural energy in the surroundings had shifted.
Previously, unless one's ki sense was extremely keen like Jeong-un's, it would have been difficult to even recognize that the natural energy followed a certain pattern.
But now, that was no longer the case.
Any ordinary martial artist present would have noticed that the energy was swirling and rotating like a vortex.
'Almost as if it senses danger itself.'
Could a formation perceive danger? It sounded absurd.
After all, a formation was ultimately no more than a structure set up by people.
No matter how strange its effects, it could not truly possess self-awareness like a living being.
'If that's the case, then...'
Jeong-un met the man's gaze.
He stared back at him expressionlessly, as if deep in thought.
Yet it was obvious that the abrupt shift in the flow originated from him.
It seemed to mirror an inner turmoil beneath the man's calm exterior.
Wuuuuung.
The man's body slowly rose into the air.
It was the fabled Walking Through the Void.
This was unlike Jeong-un climbing the cliff by stepping on falling rocks.
It was a level attained purely through mastery of the body-strengthening art.
'Indeed.'
The man himself was already at a masterful level.
Especially his mastery over bodily movement through the body-strengthening art was superb—no, it had reached the very apex.
It was said that he had even devised this strange formation, which enabled such uncanny movements.
Perhaps it was all intended to further develop his specialty.
At that moment, the man spoke.
"I underestimated you. I gave you far too much time. I should have just taken you from those Shaolin bastards' cliff and used you as the sacrifice for the formation."
"It's not too late now—do your best with everything you have."
Jeong-un answered briefly.
As he gripped the sword guard in his hand, enhanced energy flared like fire in response.
His body was in peak condition.
He'd gone through countless battles to reach this point, yet not a single weapon had so much as grazed his body.
He had even blocked all of the man's fist-and-palm techniques.
Above all, right now, he was even suppressing the core of this place's formation.
This was not an opportunity that came easily. Now was the time to settle things once and for all.
With that thought, he slowly spoke.
"I don't care what you've prepared. Even if I'm necessary for your plans, it doesn't matter. Even if that weren't the case, I would still have had to kill you."
"......"
The Demonic Cult Leader silently looked down at Jeong-un. He found himself recalling their first encounter in the Immortal Spirit Pill cave.
'Before I knew it...'
He vividly remembered the face that had declared he would surely regret not killing him.
It had seemed laughable then—just the words of a fledgling who had barely taken his first steps.
But now, how things had changed.
Among all the orthodox faction members he'd ever encountered, this one was the hardest to deal with.
Lee Shin, the Demonic Cult Leader, had lived quite a long time.
Ever since the previous cult leader failed at his grand ambition and died, Lee Shin had carried on his legacy, preparing the formation for no short period.
Through that time, he'd fought countless battles with orthodox experts under various identities.
That was why he understood just how extraordinary this young man was—not because he was the first to inflict a wound, cutting his very arm, but because of the pure internal energy within his body.
It was something Lee Shin needed, but at the same time, it was an entirely opposing energy.
Objectively, he was an even thornier opponent than Mu Jung of Shaolin, the Sword Saint who led the Heavenly Martial Hall, or the clan head Namgung who led the Murim Alliance.
What's more, even the formation—the greatest weapon at his disposal—had just had its core seized by this man.
For now, he was only disrupting the flow, but any slip could lead to the complete destruction of the formation.
Lee Shin had to admit it. His plans had been completely derailed.
"......"
The Demonic Cult Leader slowly parted his lips.
"I suppose this will be the end for today."
"What?"
Jeong-un furrowed his brow and asked again.
The end for today?
Was he saying he was going to retreat?
Absurd.
"Don't tell me you're thinking of running away?"
"I simply wish to be prudent, for the sake of the grand scheme."
"Prudent? Tucking your tail and running away with your arm cut off is prudence?"
Slowly raising his sword, Jeong-un continued.
"Don't be mistaken—I have no intention of letting you go easily."
"You're the one who's mistaken."
The Demonic Cult Leader spoke flatly, his face impassive.
Even the violent waves of energy that had spread around had now calmed.
It perfectly mirrored his emotions.
"Even without the deception wrought by the formation, I am faster than you. Your body's form moves far too slowly. You should know this well yourself. Or perhaps that clumsy taunt of yours is just an attempt to slow me down, even for a moment?"
"......"
He wasn't wrong.
At this moment, Moonlight Swift Steps was a level lower than the man's masterful body-strengthening art.
There was no need to compare with Walking Through the Void.
Even in the realm of peerless experts, not everyone employed the same martial arts.
It had been the same when he beheaded the leader of the Blood Cult.
If this man decided to flee, it wouldn't be easy to chase him down.
Jeong-un spoke.
"Didn't you say I'm essential as a sacrifice for your plan? And yet you plan to run with me right in front of you? So that formation you spent years preparing wasn't as much as you claimed?"
"Say whatever you want. In the grand scheme of things, you're just a small creature resisting the current. Eventually, you'll exhaust yourself and be swept away. All I need do is wait to catch you then."
"......"
Jeong-un stared at the man, trying to provoke him into staying with just a few words.
But it seemed the man's resolve to leave was already firm.
That didn't mean he could recklessly charge at the man either.
If he lost his position now, things could easily worsen.
'Destroying the core is the best option.'
But it wasn't something that could be broken by ordinary force.
Even as he stood with his foot upon it, he could feel it.
Shattering a formation core of this magnitude would require pouring out considerable cultivated power.
Simply stamping his foot to cause vibrations would not be enough—he'd have to channel a full measure of true ki into the sword blade and strike down with all his might.
'He won't give me the time for that.'
They were now in a perfectly tense standoff.
The man couldn't approach him, and Jeong-un found it just as difficult to close the distance.
'Maybe I should try a little more provocation.'
Thinking that, he spoke again.
"Next time, our positions may well be reversed. Now that I know I'm essential for your plans, if I flee from you, you'll be the one growing anxious."
"Suit yourself."
"......?"
The Demonic Cult Leader let out a sneer and continued.
"Hiding and moving in the shadows—that's our specialty. If you run, I'll make sure everyone connected to you suffers for it. I'll make it so you'll have no choice but to find me yourself. Don't expect any more mercy, especially not like the one you showed that woman earlier today."
"......"
Those words carried no small threat.
Jeong-un was no longer the youth who had once walked out his front door alone.
He now had several he could call comrades, and he had formed greater and lesser bonds throughout the martial world.
Who knew how much this man had uncovered about him?
'He's a man who must die, no matter what.'
Jeong-un muttered this under his breath as he looked at the man.
It was what one might call a life-and-death nemesis. One of them had to die.
It wasn't a relationship that would end just because one side ran away. Both of them knew this keenly.
The Demonic Cult Leader looked steadily at Jeong-un and spoke.
"You'll regret not accepting my offer."
"You're the one who will regret it—even at this very moment."
"......?"
The Demonic Cult Leader narrowed his brow in puzzlement as Jeong-un said,
"Your greatest mistake was not killing me the first time you saw me. Remember my words. You will die by my hand."
"......"
After gazing silently at Jeong-un for a moment, the man laughed and answered,
"You're overcomplicating things. To me, you're just a vessel. A very sturdy vessel, at that. You're merely a container holding the crop that I will someday harvest."
"For a man about to run away, you certainly talk a lot."
"Xinjiang."
"What?"
Frowning at the unexpected phrase, Jeong-un questioned him, but the man continued nonchalantly.
"There's a place in Xinjiang called the Tian Mountains. Soon, it will be known as the Ten-thousand Mountains. That's where the grand plan will be realized."
"......?"
"Finish whatever preparations you feel necessary before coming. I'll be waiting."
"You...."
Kwaang!
At the end of his words, the man's body's form exploded with a ki wave.
The man, already suspended in midair, shot straight upward, blasting through the cave ceiling and out of sight.
Saaaak!
At the same time, Jeong-un poured true ki into Dragon Sky.
Cultivated power surged through his central channel, powering his entire body as his muscles moved with all their might.
He struck downward at the floor.
Kwaaaang─!
He felt the formation's energy unraveling around him, the flow of air once bound by the formation breaking free.
It was as if the forcibly contained natural energy had been freed at last.
Paaaah─!
"......"
Soon, silence returned.
The man was gone without a trace. Astonishingly, even the hole he had blasted into the ceiling had sealed itself.
It was probably a last trick, to block pursuit before the core of the formation was destroyed.
Dududududu─
Soon, faint sounds could be heard from afar—specifically, from above. Human footsteps.
With the formation broken, the external sounds that had been sealed out were now coming through.
Within them, familiar voices could be distinguished: Baek Il-gang, Zhao Gang, and other companions.
No doubt they were trying to lead the others back into the formation.
It seemed returning through the original entrance was not possible now.
If it had been, the man wouldn't have let them leave so easily in the first place.
'... Let's go.'
Jeong-un murmured to himself and turned away.
* * *
"Hey, over there! No way...!"
"Young Hero Yu!"
Baek Il-gang and Zhao Gang spotted him from afar and hurried over.
He understood why they'd been unable to re-enter the formation and had been waiting atop the cliff.
The entrance through which they'd entered had completely disappeared.
The cave, after the formation was fully dismantled, had become a completely different space.
The palace-like pavilion and the densely packed tombs surrounding it had vanished without a trace.
All that was left was a single, enormous, empty cavern.
Getting outside now was easy enough. He simply had to walk toward the faint breeze.
The cave's structure was originally very simple.
"You, young hero Yu! Are you all right?"
"What happened?"
He was met by Baek Il-gang and Zhao Gang.
Behind them were several members of the Zhao clan of Changshan, including their clan head, Zhao Pyeong.
No wonder—his own daughter had disappeared while pursuing the Demonic Cult, so personally coming was only natural.
He didn't seem cold-hearted enough to ignore his own blood.
Jeong-un spoke.
"The man got away."
"He got away?"
"That Demonic Cult Leader?"
"You mean you fought and won against him?"
"No way, what do you...!"
There were many voices behind him: not just Baek Il-gang, Zhao Gang, and Zhao Pyeong standing near the front, but also a host of martial artists in the rear.
Apparently, Zhao Gang had informed them that the Demonic Cult Leader had appeared.
Hearing this, they must have hurriedly gathered as many experts as they could.
Jeong-un waited quietly until the murmuring died down, then spoke slowly.
"He had prepared many things. It wasn't easy to respond."
"We've already heard as much. But where did he go? How did you manage to escape? Give us the details."
Zhao Pyeong replied, his face stern. His voice was calm, as if he'd suppressed his agitation.
Even the look in his eyes was sharp—no surprise, as he was the clan head of the Zhao clan of Changshan.
He, too, must be a tremendous expert.
Jeong-un nodded and answered,
"I couldn't even fight properly. I was tied up, afraid the situation might turn against me, and I couldn't give chase. All I managed was to cut off one of his arms."
"......!"