Rebirth of the Thunder God

[There's a passage here, but I can't figure out how to get in.]

Namgung Hui glared at Chichi and said.

"You boasted as if you could break through any path, but is this all you've got?"

[No. There's definitely a passage here. But a strange energy is blocking it. Just like when we met the Blood Qilin before.]

There was no trace of a formation.

Rather, should I say it was similar to the feeling of the sorcery I had seen above?

Then, he suddenly remembered the spell Ma Jincheol had drawn when he opened the passage.

'I think he drew a hexagram, and come to think of it, the hexagram is also like the symbol of the Six Demonic Families.'

A hexagram or a six-pointed star.

The picture with six horns extending out felt like it represented the Six Demonic Families.

Since he had nothing to lose anyway, Namgung Hui immediately began to draw the hexagram that Ma Jincheol had drawn on the floor.

Seuk. Seuk. Seueuk.

The order of drawing the lines was still in Namgung Hui's mind, whose upper dantian was open.

There was no problem with Namgung Hui's spell, which he had reproduced exactly like Ma Jincheol's.

But still, there was no reaction from the passage...

-Geugeugeung...

'It's working?'

[It's open! It's right there!]

Chichi ran into the open passage first.

Namgung Hui stared at the iron gate that had appeared in front of him and took a light step.

Although he had succeeded in opening the passage, he didn't know what kind of traps might be lurking inside.

From now on, he had to hide his presence completely and act.

Passing through the iron gate and entering the cave, a reddish light poured out instead of pitch-black darkness.

He didn't know what kind of trickery it was, but light would be an indispensable element to live inside a cave.

Well, they could drill a hole in the ceiling to get sunlight, and it wouldn't be strange to create an artificial light like the Blood Qilin had done.

Moreover, since the Blood Cult was a religion that served fire, it wouldn't be strange at all to create an artificial sun like the Blood Qilin.

Namgung Hui, who had entered the cave, put on the mask he had prepared, performed the shadow-diving technique he had learned from Muchi, and even spread his electric net wide.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no other guard martial artists in front of the passage.

The reason was that as the electric net gradually widened, he realized that this was not even the entrance to the clan village.

He had to go a long way to reach a village that looked like a clan village.

The distance was about a hundred zhang.

Indeed, who would break through the Heavenly Altar Pavilion, even go down to the basement of the Heavenly Altar Cliff, and even perform the sorcery in front of the cave here?

If Namgung Hui hadn't copied Ma Jincheol's spell with his excellent memory, Namgung Hui would not have been able to enter here either.

Namgung Hui, more than anything, couldn't believe it even after seeing with his own eyes how they had created such a space inside a cliff.

Chichi, who had entered, returned to Namgung Hui's robes as if there were no special devices or passages and continued.

[Now you just have to follow this path straight.]

"I know that too. Is there any treasure or anything special inside?"

[But it's really strange. There's something in that village that's blocking my senses. I think you should be careful too.]

"You're not just losing your touch, are you?"

[No! If you keep saying that, I might not find it for you next time.]

"Alright. Alright. Hmm... There seems to be a great sorcerer."

Namgung Hui was ignorant about sorcery.

Since the person he had always faced in the Righteous-Demonic War was Sosu Mahu, and she didn't use sorcery, he was bound to be unfamiliar with it.

Since most of the sorcerers were dealt with by the Jegal family or the Gongson family, ordinary martial artists rarely encountered them.

Still, he had heard about the infamous Demonic Illusion and Demonic Phantom.

The Demonic Phantom was said to have even controlled men by bewitching them with soul-stealing techniques.

Those who were completely mesmerized and fell for the Demonic Phantom turned into spies and passed important information to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Still, the Demonic Phantom was a relief.

Because she didn't directly take the lives of her opponents.

The Demonic Illusion. He had ravaged the orthodox faction by casting a large-scale illusion during the Righteous-Demonic War.

If he had just ravaged them, his infamy would not have been so high.

He made the allies attack each other and turned the orthodox faction camp into a scene of carnage.

They couldn't come to their senses after being struck by the swords of their own senior and junior brothers, and even their masters.

Because the shock of being attacked by a trusted ally was doubled.

'Just in time, they said the Demonic Illusion exists, so the probability that the Demonic Illusion cast that spell is high. I really have to be careful as Chichi said.'

The times when Chichi's senses didn't work could be counted on three fingers.

The first time was when Chichi was young, so he just let it go.

The second time was at the Blood Qilin's hermitage, and since it was the sorcery of the Blood Qilin, a divine beast, it was only natural that the senses of Chichi, who was just a spirit beast, didn't work.

The third time, and the present.

He didn't know which sorcerer had cast it, but Chichi's senses were being blocked around the clan village.

Namgung Hui had not taken the Blood Cult lightly from the beginning, but he had no choice but to tighten the reins of his tension even more.

And so, after walking for about a hundred zhang, a village that looked like a clan village appeared as expected.

There was even a rather high stone wall installed around the village, and two guard martial artists were also standing there.

So that they could ring the bell at any time, one of them even had a rope wrapped around his arm.

So that if he just fell or lost consciousness, the bell would ring on its own.

In that case, the guard martial artist would not be able to doze off.

'And they're all at the Peak Realm.'

Fortunately, a Peak Master was at a level that Namgung Hui could deceive and pass.

If it had been a Transcendent master, it might have been impossible to completely deceive them.

That was not just because the stone wall was high, but because sorcery was cast here and there in the village.

[Sorcery here too! Sorcery there too! It's a world of sorcery.]

Still, since he had Chichi, he thought he could avoid the dangerous spots.

No, rather, if he just eliminated those sorceries by process of elimination, only one place would be left.

And that was a dog hole.

A small hole was drilled in the side of the stone wall, as if someone had been coming and going.

It was a very small hole, just enough for a child to barely come and go.

But there was no law that said Namgung Hui couldn't pass through.

Since Namgung Hui's build was not large, it was at a level where he could squeeze his body through the narrow gap.

'I don't know who it is, but they've drilled a hole in a spot where the sorcery doesn't activate.'

Perhaps someone from the inside had broken the sorcery.

For the purpose of secretly coming and going.

Since there were holes drilled here and there outside the village, it would be perfect for going up to the ground.

Since the eyes of the guards were on the main gate where Namgung Hui had entered, he would not be able to go out carelessly.

And so, he first sent Chichi through the narrow dog hole.

Just in case a sorcery or trap that Namgung Hui didn't know might be activated, Chichi, with his small body and unknown senses, would be able to avoid it.

Chichi, who had slipped through the dog hole, sent a telepathic message to Namgung Hui.

[It's safe inside. Come in quickly.]

-Are you sure?

[Can't you tell by looking at me, I'm fine? And I think my senses have returned to some extent since I came inside the village.]

It seemed to be a sorcery-type that blocked the outside, like the formation cast at the Thunder Sect.

On top of that, it seemed to be a sorcery that would be activated even if the sorcery was artificially dispelled or the stone wall was damaged.

Since Chichi, who had even successfully broken through the Empty Gate Sect's secret repository, was guaranteeing it, it must be certain.

And so, Namgung Hui squeezed his body and entered through the dog hole.

Fortunately, it seemed there was no activation of any sorcery or mechanism.

Namgung Hui, who had let out a sigh of relief, quickly looked around and found a place to hide.

'This place is definitely better off than the ground. There are more tile-roofed houses than thatched-roof houses, and since they've drilled holes in the ceiling, sunlight is also pouring in.'

Perhaps because the surroundings were all made of stone, it would be easier to get materials than for a thatched-roof house.

And with a thatched-roof house, it would be difficult to block things like stones falling from the ceiling.

Namgung Hui hid in an empty house where no presence was felt.

It seemed no one had lived there for a while, as no warmth was felt and it was full of dust.

Namgung Hui brushed off the surrounding dust, sat on the floor, and spread his electric net.

-Jijijik. Jijijik.

The waves of electricity spread in all directions and awakened Namgung Hui's senses.

An electric net that could be considered a third sense.

It lit up all directions like the antennae of an insect and perceived the inside of the clan village.

'The number of households is about fifty, the number of people is about two hundred, and the width of the village is five hundred zhang.'

Besides that, additional information began to pile up in his head.

The majority had learned martial arts.

And they were the elite, to the point where it was difficult to find anyone below the Peak Realm.

There were also some who had not learned martial arts, but those were either children or women.

'As expected, their military power is formidable. I must never reveal my identity here.'

There must be masters that Namgung Hui had not perceived.

Since he still had a lot to do in the Blood Cult, he couldn't be chased out like this.

Namgung Hui withdrew his electric net and this time, he listened carefully.

If he could just overhear the stories of the people passing by, there would be no better source of information.

With his eyes closed, he focused all his nerves on his hearing and listened to the surrounding sounds.

-I think there was a lot of meat at the feast yesterday.

-They say it's because the Guardian Captain went hunting with a bang.

-I heard it's because the noodle shop grandma showed off her skills.

-No! I heard that the Guardian Captain caught wild boars, deer, and all sorts of things!

Starting with trivial stories.

-Did you hear that someone from the Hoicheon Association came a while ago?

-I heard. They say he's one of the successors of the Mad Demon, but I wonder if he's a bait.

-That's probably it. What kind of person is the General to throw away a true successor of the Mad Demon? If the Demonic Illusion interrogates him with determination, he'll spill the beans.

-And they say another outsider came to the Vice Cult Leader's side. Have you heard of the Red-Haired Monster?

-They say he's a strong person who is among the Ten Great Masters in the Central Plains. At best, he'll just be at the Transcendent realm.

-You never know. He might be a master who has reached the realm of the Extreme Demonic.

The realm of the Extreme Demonic referred to the Transformation.

The Ten Great Masters of the past life had all surpassed the Transformation.

At that time, the demonic heads who had been granted the title of Demonic had all surpassed the realm of the Extreme Demonic, so the Ten Great Masters who had not reached the Transformation had all become wandering souls.

'So that's when hidden masters like me started to pop out.'

Recalling the bitter memories, Namgung Hui once again listened to the conversation of the villagers.

-And they say the Guardian Captain found the Saintess.

At their misjudgment, Namgung Hui this time let out a bitter smile.

Hadn't the Demonic Physician come and confirmed that Seong Sohui was not the Saintess?

Well, Muchi would still think of Seong Sohui as the Saintess of the Divine Cult, but unfortunately, her true identity was the Little Saintess of the Central Plains and the next Sect Leader of the Divine Physician Sect.

'Perhaps he's insisting because he covets her medical skills. Since the Demonic Physician is old, the Blood Cult must be desperate for a renowned physician.'

Right now, just Seong Sohui's activities alone were making her famous.

She had even straightened the back of the noodle shop old woman, who was bent like a hunchback.

And he had heard that she had treated countless people for free.

Among them, there were also masters who were the military power of the Blood Cult, so it would be strange if the Blood Cult didn't covet her.

However, if they openly detained Seong Sohui or forcibly held her, the Divine Physician Sect might side with the Martial Alliance, so they would not dare to do such a thing.

Still, since there was a 'what if' case, Namgung Hui resolved to protect Seong Sohui as much as possible.

And so, as Namgung Hui was organizing his thoughts about Seong Sohui, a surprising word came out from a villager.

-Yes. Since the Demonic Physician confirmed it, it must be certain. He's not a person who wouldn't recognize his own great-granddaughter.

(End of Chapter)