Swordless Demonic Path

Could there be three geniuses in one era who boasted such tremendous martial prowess as to be called the supreme beings?

What were the chances of that?

In the long history of the martial world, the time when three absolute beings appeared at once was over five hundred years ago.

They were the three emperors of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic, called the Three Emperors of Jeong-sa-ma.

They were the Great Monk Daegak of Shaolin, the third leader of the Demonic Cult, Dokgo Mu, and the first leader of the Sasa Mun, Jeok Yeop-rin.

Although Shaolin and the Demonic Cult have continued to this day, the Sasa Mun scattered after the death of Jeok Yeop-rin.

It was also at this time that numerous unorthodox sects newly appeared. Unfortunately, none of them have continued to this day.

A map was placed on the table. The map was the Sea Peak Spirit Map, a map drawn by Jin Sa-wol.

In front of it, two men and one woman were standing.

Jin Sa-wol said to Woo Jeong-bong and Jo Geom-ok.

"The esoteric sect was in Dok-san, at the end of the Guizhou basin. The place where the Hong River flows from Dok-san is Cheonbong Mountain. It's a huge mountain range and jungle area where a phoenix was said to have lived a long time ago. The place we are going to is here, Cheonbong Mountain."

"There must be a lot of bugs."

Jo Geom-ok crossed her arms and frowned.

There was a lake in the center of the map, and birds were drawn under the lake.

"Where is this?"

"The lake with the birds means Dongting Lake or Poyang Lake, but it's a trap. If not, there must be a lake in Cheonbong Mountain."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Woo Jeong-bong nodded.

Jin Sa-wol folded the paper with the map drawn on it and burned it in the lamp.

"Let's rest for today."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Woo Jeong-bong and Jo Geom-ok returned to their respective rooms.

It was late at night, and it was time for everyone to sleep. Jin Sa-wol turned off the lamp, sat on the bed, and practiced his breathing.

He moved during the day and practiced his breathing at night, organizing various martial arts in his head.

Since he had mastered the True Blood Demonic Art to its extreme, other demonic arts were not difficult. But since there were also quite a few useless things, he only remembered the necessary ones.

The Illusionary Demonic Ghost Step matched well with the Seven Swords of the Ghost Soul, and if he utilized it, he could wield an even more extremely fast sword.

He liked it because it was a footwork with more changes than the Ghost Step.

He didn't think the Mara Palm Art was particularly useful.

He recalled the Six-Layered Demonic Palm that the esoteric sect master had learned and operated the Six-Layered Demonic Art. The power of the dantian, which had been stacked in layers, became one at some point and then scattered again.

Whoosh!

It was then that a gray-white mist filled the room.

Then, at some point, the gray-white mist was instantly absorbed into Jin Sa-wol's nose and mouth.

The Six-Layered Demonic Palm was a useful martial art to use as an internal martial art. The reason the esoteric sect master could reign as an absolute master was also because of the Six-Layered Demonic Palm.

It had many similarities with the internal palm arts of the orthodox sect, and its power was so strong that even a master like Yeon Jeok-sim could not easily withstand it.

Besides that, there were also the Demonic Blood Qi and the Heaven-Defying Demonic Art, but since he had the True Blood Demonic Art, he did not learn them.

There were also the Bone-Shrinking Art and the Soul-Refining Art, as well as the Ghost Death Art. The Ghost Death Art was a martial art that turned one into a dead corpse, and one could lie down like a dead person for about a day.

Another thing, there was a vicious martial art called the Blood Demonic Scattering Claw, which was a unique martial art of one of the four great guardian demonic gods of the Demonic Cult.

The esoteric sect master had that secret manual, and the young Jin Sa-wol had memorized it all. But he thought he would never use it.

It was because of the sword art.

* * *

Three people entered Bok-yang, where the Noksu River of the southern end of Jiangxi Province flowed. Jin Sa-wol and Woo Jeong-bong were there, and Jo Geom-ok was walking at the rear.

The three entered a nearby tavern and ordered food.

They were planning to cross over to Guangdong from here.

The people in the tavern were wary when they saw the three people carrying swords.

"There seem to be a lot of martial artists these days."

"It can't be helped, can it? Didn't the Sea Peak Spirit Map appear in the martial world? The martial world is in an uproar because of that right now."

"That's right. Everyone is saying they'll go to the Sea Peak Spirit Map. But can it be trusted?"

"There's a story that the Sea Peak Spirit Map came out of the Martial Alliance."

"Shh! Don't mention the Sea Peak Spirit Map. You could die."

Jin Sa-wol's expression hardened at the whispering voices of the people. It was the same for Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong.

The three quietly ate and then came outside.

"The Martial Alliance..."

Jin Sa-wol muttered, left Bok-yang, and entered a mountain path.

"Didn't you and the Martial Alliance Leader be the only ones who knew about this?"

When Jo Geom-ok asked, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

"If I were the Martial Alliance Leader, I would have shown the Sea Peak Spirit Map to many people. First, I have to know where the Sea Peak Spirit Map points to. The secret ends there."

"If the secret is gone, the value of that thing will fall. If so, we should let as many people know as possible, right? So that we can get a windfall. Also, we can buy time to completely take control of the Martial Alliance while the attention of the martial world is all on the Sea Peak Spirit Map."

As Jo Geom-ok spoke as if she agreed, Woo Jeong-bong looked at the two alternately.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a story like the art of war or the six strategies and three tactics. If you read the old stories or records of the old masters there, you can easily understand it. At least, if you're a disciple of Wudang, you should have read the Seven Military Classics as a basic."

To define Jo Geom-ok's story in one word, it meant to read a lot of books.

Since Woo Jeong-bong was following the teaching in his heart to stay away from books, he had an expression of no particular interest.

Jo Geom-ok, who had turned her head, looked at Woo Jeong-bong and then asked Jin Sa-wol.

"You expected it, right?"

When Jo Geom-ok asked, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

"It's not an expectation, but I thought about how to use the card called the Sea Peak Spirit Map. Since the attention of the Demonic Cult is also important."

"So what you're saying is that since the martial world is noisy because of the Sea Peak Spirit Map right now, there will be many problems in our future, right?"

"That's right."

As Woo Jeong-bong hit the nail on the head, Jin Sa-wol smiled.

* * *

Songshan Shaolin Temple.

The Shaolin Temple, which was called the Taishan Beidou of the martial world, was also crowded with many pilgrims today.

There were as many martial monks in the Shaolin Temple as there were pilgrims who came every day, and they were all diligently practicing to walk the path of Buddhism every day.

The training of the path of Buddhism, which was repeated every day, had no end.

The abbot of Shaolin, who was called the number one martial artist in the world, was also diligently practicing, walking the path of Buddhism that was repeated every day.

Shim-beop, the abbot of Shaolin, was sitting, stroking his long white beard.

A short while later, a young monk came into the room.

It was Yeon-il, who belonged to the eight great guardians who protected the abbot.

With thick eyebrows and clear eyes, he had broad shoulders and a presence like a tiger. But in front of the abbot, he was just a small cat.

"It's Yeon-il."

A thick and dignified voice echoed in the room. He approached Shim-beop's front and sat down.

"The Cheonghaebongryeongdo has appeared in the martial world. The Martial Alliance says they will send the Jeongui Pavilion. You go too. Go and bring back the Musang Shingong of our temple."

"Am I going alone, disciple?"

"You can join the Jeongui Pavilion. Also, the righteous heroes of the martial world who have 'righteousness' will be with you. Don't worry. I had a good dream."

"Always a dog..."

"Huh?"

"It's nothing."

Yeon-il hurriedly shook his head and half-bowed.

"Amitabha. I will be with the Jeongui Pavilion. But what should I do if the Jeongui Pavilion tries to take the relic of our temple?"

"Don't give in."

At Shim-beop's firm words, Yeon-il half-bowed and lowered his head.

"I will keep that in mind. Amitabha."

"It should never fall into the hands of the Demonic Cult or the unorthodox. If the Musang Shingong falls into the hands of evil people, our temple will leave a great stain, and this will be a great misfortune for the martial world."

"Yes."

Yeon-il answered and then quietly stood up and went outside. As he went out, Shim-beop stroked his beard and closed his eyes.

* * *

In a vast forest near Huazhou, Gansu Province, thousands of li away from Shaolin, ancient pavilions were lined up like a huge castle.

In a wide room of one of those ancient pavilions, a middle-aged man was sitting.

Although the middle-aged man had a thin build, his two eyes were flashing with a spirit full of ambition.

With a short beard and a hot gaze, he was lost in thought, wrapped in a hot heat that seemed about to explode.

Thump!

With the sound of the door opening violently, a young man who exuded a similar atmosphere to the middle-aged man came in.

The young man, who appeared to be in his late twenties, bowed his head at the middle-aged man.

"Your son, Dokgo Hyun, greets his father."

"Sit."

At the words of the middle-aged man, Dokgo Jeong, Dokgo Hyun sat in an empty chair.

"Go to the esoteric sect. The Sea Peak Spirit Map has been opened. Recover the treasure of our family there."

"Understood. But since the esoteric sect is far away, I cannot take many people. On top of that, I heard that this expedition is also being carried out by the Cult."

"We move separately from the Cult. Move with a minimum number of people, and if the Cult interferes, it doesn't matter if you cut them down."

At Dokgo Jeong's words, Dokgo Hyun was startled. It sounded as if he were going to start a war with the Cult.

The current Dokgo family was in a state of having taken a step back from the Demonic Cult.

On the other hand, the current Demonic Cult was united, excluding the Dokgo family. There was nothing to be gained by fighting them now.

But he could not oppose Dokgo Jeong's will.

"Yes."

"Your uncle will also move, so go with him. He is waiting in Akyang. If you feel your life is in danger, withdraw without hesitation."

"Understood."

Dokgo Hyun answered and then went outside.

Dokgo Jeong stroked his beard and thought of Cheon Yu-myeong. He would not just miss this opportunity.

He was a greedy person.

The Demonic Cult would surely dispatch a large number of people.

"A storm of blood will blow."

Dokgo Jeong muttered and showed a cold smile.

As Dokgo Jeong had expected, a large number of people from the Demonic Cult also left the Cult to find the Sea Peak Spirit Map.

Among the hundreds of Demonic Cult members, there was also the master of the Shadowless Pavilion, Cheon Woo-rin.

* * *

The rumor about the Sea Peak Spirit Map spread throughout the entire martial world in an instant. As if someone had deliberately spread it, the entire martial world found out in a short time.

Because of that, numerous martial artists headed for the esoteric sect.

The competition to obtain the martial arts of the Three Emperors and the countless secret manuals and relics they had left behind had begun.

Jin Sa-wol and his party, who had entered Guangdong, entered Namri Village.

Namri Village, which was located on the way to Guangzhou City, was a village with hundreds of households gathered.

Namri Village, which was located along the Nam River that cut through a wide field, was usually a quiet village, but recently, it had become noisy due to the unexpected visit of martial artists.

Thump! Thwack! Thud!

"Ugh!"

On the main road outside the tavern of Namri Village, a dozen or so men were collapsed. The last one to fall was a man in black, holding a saber.

In front of them, five men and women were standing, and they were the disciples of the Hengshan Sect, wearing blue robes.

The young man in his early twenties, who was the only one holding a sword among them, shouted.

"How dare you dirty mole-like bastards tease my junior sister? You should be grateful that I'm not killing you! Get lost!"

As the young man shouted, the dozen or so men staggered and retreated.

As they left the village, the five went back into the tavern and continued their meal.

Jin Sa-wol, who was eating on the second floor, looked at the backs of the men who were moving away.

Judging by their expressions, it didn't seem like they would just let it go. They would surely come back.

Jin Sa-wol turned his gaze to Jo Geom-ok.

"If it's a famous unorthodox sect in Guangdong, it's the Black Dragon Faction and the Sea Dragon Faction, right?"

"The Sea Dragon Faction are pirates, so you can only see them at sea. The Black Dragon Faction are guys who live in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in the south of Guangdong, so they won't appear here. If it's an unorthodox sect around here, it would be the mountain fortress of that Wushan over there."

Jin Sa-wol followed Jo Geom-ok's gaze and looked at Wushan, which looked like a sitting cow, in the distance outside the window.

(End of Chapter)