Chapter 263 : Let Them Kill Each Other (5)
Chapter 263: Let Them Kill Each Other (5)
The sight of Il-mok spitting up blood sent everyone watching from the sidelines rushing toward him in a panic.
"Big Brother!"
"Young Master!"
"Are you alright!?"
Il-mok waved them off in response to their cries. "Don't worry about it. I just pushed myself a bit too hard during training and ended up with some internal injuries. I'll be fine."
After saying that, Il-mok set down what remained of his sword on the ground and headed toward his quarters.
His companions watched his retreating figure with varied expressions on their faces.
"Big Brother..."
Some, like Seon-ah, wore looks of pure concern. Others, like Dam Bin, gazed at him with awe and reverence.
'He was only at a similar level to me before he left for Sichuan...'
Now, Il-mok had reached a level where Dam Bin couldn't beat him no matter what she tried.
It was truly astonishing.
While she'd been stuck having nightmares after falling victim to the Blood Cult's Formation, Young Master Il-mok hadn't just broken through that formation on his own; he'd gained tremendous enlightenment through the series of bloody battles that followed.
And that wasn't all.
'On top of everything else, he even recovered the remains of the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon. The Eighth Young Master is truly the harbinger of our Divine Cult's revival.'
Dam Bin recalled the letter and the box containing bones they'd sent to headquarters today. Once that letter and box reached headquarters, the Heavenly Demon himself would surely be overjoyed.
While she was busy feeling proud of the master she now served, Jin Hayeon's expression looked somewhat bitter.
And so, the days in Lanzhou passed by peacefully.
Some were lost in their worries, others rejoiced at having avenged the Divine Cult's grudge, and Il-mok devoted himself to training.
Several days went by like this.
"...Who did you say has come to see me?"
Then, some unexpected visitors arrived looking for Il-mok.
***
Deep in the Tianshan Mountain Range of Xinjiang stood the headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
In the massive hall located at the heart of that headquarters, the prominent figures of the Divine Cult gathered at the Heavenly Demon Palace.
From the Left and Right Guardians to the heads of various organizations within the Cult, and even the heads of the Five Great Demonic Families, were now prostrating themselves before the Heavenly Demon in a show of respect.
"Raise your heads."
The Heavenly Demon’s voice filled the entire hall, and the assembled leaders lifted their heads.
He seemed to have an even more powerful aura than usual.
In his hands, he held a box and a letter.
"These were sent by my youngest, who departed on a special mission I assigned him."
"!!!"
The moment he said that, turbulent emotions surged through the eyes of everyone gathered in the hall.
'Oh hell no.'
'What the hell has he done this time!!'
A mix of pure dread and rage surged from them.
Every time they heard that the youngest Young Master had been “up to something,” each and every one of them would be gifted with a mountain of love letters that were paperwork and they’d spent their time running here and there.
But since they couldn’t exactly show how pissed off they were in front of the Heavenly Demon, they all quickly bowed their heads again.
Whether he knew their thoughts or not, the Heavenly Demon sent a meaningful look toward the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord who was waiting at one side of the Heavenly Demon Palace.
The Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord stepped forward with a stack of papers that he must have had ready and started handing them out.
“These are copies of the letter from my youngest. Read it.”
Those who'd been wearing puzzled expressions began reading through the letters at the Heavenly Demon's instruction.
Soon enough, turbulent emotions surged through their eyes once more. But this time, the look in their eyes was a bit different.
Shock. And overwhelming joy.
“D-Does that mean what’s in the box is…” someone stammered, unable to hold it in.
The Heavenly Demon simply nodded.
"That's right. These are the remains of the Ninth Generation Heavenly Demon, the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon."
"Ahhh..."
Some shed tears with moved expressions, while others prostrated themselves completely and began reciting passages from their scriptures.
After giving them time to express their emotions, the Heavenly Demon lightly stomped his foot.
Thud!
Contrary to the light movement, a heavy sound echoed as an overwhelmingly powerful aura spread out in all directions.
Only then did those who'd been lost in religious fervor come back to their senses and look at the Heavenly Demon.
"The reason I've called you all here today is to tell you to prepare for a festival."
"By festival, do you mean a celebration to commemorate the return of the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon?"
"That's correct."
To prepare for a festival.
Normally, getting a new project dumped on them when they were already swamped would have made them groan, but this time, nobody looked the least bit unhappy.
"We will hold the festival in fifteen days. Until then, I want all other projects put on hold. Your only job is to get ready for the celebration.”
"We will follow the Supreme One's command!"
"Furthermore, since this festival marks the day our Divine Cult has resolved a sorrow that plagued us for over a hundred years, all followers in Xinjiang shall take the day as a holiday to rest and share in the joy."
As soon as the Heavenly Demon finished his declaration, the cult members bowed to him in unison.
"Long live the Heavenly Demon! Long May You Reign!!"
"The Heavenly Demon Descent! Ten Thousand Demons Obeys!"
After the storm of joy created by these fanatics had passed...
Thud.
The Heavenly Demon stomped his foot once more, scattering the demonic energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts in all directions as he added in a heavy tone.
Lastly, this festival is purely to commend the hard work of our followers. You must not speak a single word about the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's remains or about my youngest disciple."
"!?"
This warning seemed to come out of nowhere, and the leaders looked at the Heavenly Demon with a confusion you wouldn’t expect from a bunch of fanatics.
“Should this matter leak out, anyone connected to it in even the slightest way will be treated as a spy for the Murim Alliance and executed, regardless of their position or past accomplishments."
But since they all occupied important positions within the Divine Cult, it didn't take them long to understand the reasoning behind this.
'...Finding the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's remains means the Eighth Young Master must have traveled to Sichuan.'
'This is to protect the Eighth Young Master while he's carrying out his mission in the Central Plains.'
As they one by one came to understand his intentions, the Heavenly Demon stroked his beard and spoke. "The sacred ceremony to honor the spirit of the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon will be held here in the Heavenly Demon Palace with only the Divine Cult's key figures in attendance. Head of the An Family, you will prepare the ceremony accordingly."
"I humbly receive the Supreme One's will."
The Head of the An Family, who traditionally handled the religious ceremonies of the Divine Cult, prostrated himself in respect.
After everyone had left to prepare for the festival, only the usual trio remained in the Heavenly Demon Palace to continue their conversation.
"This is just like our youngest, Master. He's accomplished something that no one has managed to do in over a hundred years, and he made it look so simple."
"Hehehe. I think so too. Our youngest has done something even I couldn't do, hasn't he?"
As the Heavenly Demon stroked his beard with a pleased smile, Wi Jin-hak suddenly dropped to his knees and tried to slam his head on the floor.
"Please kill me, Master! I've committed a grave offense!"
He'd realized too late that his words could be interpreted as saying that the current Heavenly Demon was so incompetent that he couldn't accomplish what Il-mok had done.
But before his head could hit the ground, the massive energy emanating from the Heavenly Demon stopped him.
"That's enough. I know you weren't trying to disparage me."
Having reassured Wi Jin-hak, the Heavenly Demon helped his first disciple back to his feet.
“And this old man also thinks as you do. The feat of recovering the remains of the revered Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's remains itself is remarkable, but our youngest accomplished two or three other things at the same time, didn't he?"
"That's right, Master. Our youngest went to the Central Plains to seek revenge, and in this incident he's succeeded. It's truly a joyous occasion."
"Hehehe. On top of that, he even ruined the Blood Cult's attempt to frame us for their crimes. Those hypocrites in the Central Plains are going to have their hands full hunting down the Blood Cult for a while."
“You speak the truth, Master. However, this disciple still can't calm his anger. How dare those vermin from the Blood Cult use the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's secret cave for their schemes?"
As they talked, Wi Jin-hak's anger seemed to flare up again, his eyes burning with fury.
As if to soothe his disciple, the Heavenly Demon let out a soft chuckle. It was a world away from the chilling tone he’d used with the other leaders earlier.
"Hehehe. Our youngest stirred up conflict between them and the hypocrites of the Central Plains. Isn't that revenge in itself?"
"I apologize. This disciple's cultivation is still lacking. I just wish I could have been the one to get revenge with my own two hands.”
"Hehehe. I feel the same way. But for the sake of our greater purpose, we must learn patience, mustn't we?"
Saying this, the Heavenly Demon turned his head to look at the box containing the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's remains.
Understanding his meaning, Wi Jin-hak quickly bowed his head. "This disciple will never forget this lesson, Master.”
They'd set aside revenge against the Blood Cult, and they'd also kept secret the fact that they'd recovered the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's remains. Only the highest-ranking members of the Divine Cult knew about this.
In a cult that revered the Heavenly Demon as a god, keeping something like this hidden was truly a momentous decision.
It showed just how important they considered this matter to be and how much they valued Il-mok.
While Wi Jin-hak tried to gauge his master's thoughts, the Heavenly Demon gazed at the box containing the Blood Tears, his mind turning to other thoughts.
'Please wait just a little longer.'
His words carried two meanings.
It was a request to wait for the day when they'd reveal that the remains had returned to the Divine Cult.
But it was also an acknowledgement that not much time remained before he himself would depart to join the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon in the afterlife.
As the Heavenly Demon contemplated his remaining lifespan, Wi Jin-hak, who'd been looking at the box alongside him, spoke.
"I hope the day comes soon when we can announce the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon's return, Master."
"Hehehe. The Blood Tears Heavenly Demon eagerly awaits our Divine Cult's return to the Central Plains, so he's surely waiting joyfully in heaven."
"!!!"
Wi Jin-hak's eyes widened as he grasped the meaning behind the Heavenly Demon's words.
What his Master meant was that they would announce the recovery of the bones on the same day the Cult began its conquest of the Central Plains.
And judging by his Master's tone, it seemed the Heavenly Demon believed that day wasn't too far off.
In fact, the Heavenly Demon was indeed painting a big picture, a magnificent plan he could draw up thanks to his youngest disciple.
'I'll need to pay even closer attention to the currents in the Central Plains.'
Thanks to the situation his youngest had orchestrated, there was a high likelihood that the Murim Alliance's attention would shift toward the Blood Cult.
If the Murim Alliance's focus turned from Xinjiang to internal Central Plains affairs, certain plans could become feasible. And that’s all thanks to Il-mok.
'What was that saying? A day without work is a day without food.'
The Heavenly Demon of the past had thought his role was simply to assign work to his followers according to doctrine and have them cultivate their Demonic Arts.
But his youngest disciple had sparked a change in his thinking.
At the end of the day, humans being what they are, even faith only grows when people can see a way to make a living.
The same applied to cultivating talent.
People needed to eat well and live well before they could devote themselves to cultivating Demonic Arts or pursuing anything at all.
In that sense, Xinjiang was far too harsh an environment.
Even with various reforms currently improving conditions, they'd inevitably hit a limit eventually.
No matter how devout the followers were, working them for free was fine for a day or two, but if you kept it up for years, problems were bound to arise.
And the Heavenly Demon had already thought of a way to feed all the cult members in Xinjiang.
He'd just been waiting for the right time to attempt that plan as he was held back by the spies being sent from the Central Plains.
But if a war broke out between the Blood Cult and the Murim Alliance in the Central Plains, he could attempt that plan without any obstacles.
'Hehehe. I'm certain that child will produce results even greater than I expect.'
And he already knew exactly who to put in charge of it.
That precious disciple, whom he cherished so dearly and in whom he had unwavering faith.