Swordless Demonic Path

The martial artists of various sects who appeared in front of the Ghost Mist Valley were orthodox martial artists, mainly from the Murong family and the Zhuge family.

They showed a flustered look when they saw the entrance of the Ghost Mist Valley, which was full of corpses.

"It seems there are those who have already entered."

"It seems so."

"But we can't not go in, can we? Let's go."

The Murong family took the lead, shouting bravely, and behind them, the martial artists of the Zhuge family and other small and medium-sized sects moved.

A short while after they had entered, a dozen or so masked men appeared around them.

"This is the fifth time today."

"There are four who went in ahead, should we report it? It seems they will die soon with that number."

"We have to report it."

"They're coming again."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The masked men quickly hid themselves.

A short while later, a group of people revealed themselves.

They were wearing white martial arts uniforms, and the character 'Alliance' was written on their chests. It was the reconnaissance team of the Martial Alliance.

"It's the Martial Alliance! Attack!"

Papapat!

As the black masked men jumped out from all directions, the warriors of the Martial Alliance were startled and held their weapons.

"They're Demonic Cult bastards!"

Clang!

"Kraak!"

A desperate scream echoed in the mountains.

* * *

Whoosh! Thump!

Jin Sa-wol, who had crossed the mountain and the forest and climbed up a cliff about thirty zhang high, stopped for a moment on the summit.

All he could see around him were deep forests and mountains. Beyond the valley, which was covered in thick fog, he could see the mountain range of Cheonbong Mountain, which was lined up like a folding screen.

Woo Jeong-bong, after climbing the cliff, sat down as if he were tired.

"Hmph! Hmph! Is it right to go this way? There's no road."

"It's a shortcut."

"Really?"

Woo Jeong-bong took the word 'shortcut' at face value and rested, catching his breath.

A short while later, Jo Geom-ok climbed up the cliff.

She sat next to Jin Sa-wol with a sweat-soaked face. Immediately after, Son Ae-hwa came up.

"I'm so tired. Hmph! Hmph!"

Son Ae-hwa naturally leaned against Woo Jeong-bong's back and sat down.

"Is it right to go this way?"

When Son Ae-hwa asked, Jin Sa-wol nodded. Since some time ago, Son Ae-hwa had been speaking politely to Jin Sa-wol, and Jin Sa-wol took it for granted.

Jo Geom-ok recalled the past and asked.

"There used to be a rope here, right? I remember climbing, holding the rope to train my stamina."

"It's next to you."

There was a thick rope tied to a rock at Jin Sa-wol's feet, and the end of the rope went down the cliff.

"What?"

"You bastard!"

Jin Sa-wol, who received the murderous gazes of Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong, shook his head.

"I just saw it now too."

Jin Sa-wol shrugged his shoulders and then spoke again.

"There is a Musalgwan on the way to the esoteric sect. It's also called the Musal-o-gwan because there are five gates. If we cross here, we'll be in front of the O-gwan."

"Just the name sounds terrifying. What kind of place is it?"

When Woo Jeong-bong asked, Jo Geom-ok answered instead of Jin Sa-wol.

"The first and second gates are poison gates in a swamp, and the third and fourth gates are mazes. The fifth gate is a place where corpse ghosts are, but they probably won't be there now."

Although Jo Geom-ok answered as if it were nothing, it was not such a simple problem if they actually entered the Musalgwan and experienced it.

"How do you know so much about the esoteric sect, Jo Sa-mae?"

Woo Jeong-bong stared at Jo Geom-ok and asked.

"I was there when the esoteric sect was annihilated. My master took me and raised me, didn't he? It's already the sixth time."

Woo Jeong-bong, who received Jo Geom-ok's cold gaze, scratched the back of his head.

"I heard. I heard, but I was just wondering if there were people who didn't know."

"I also heard a few days ago."

Son Ae-hwa knew because she had heard the story roughly while leaving Guangzhou City and coming here.

It was then.

Thump! Thump-thump!

In that instant, the earth vibrated, and he saw dust rising from the basin beyond the fog.

Jin Sa-wol's and Jo Geom-ok's expressions hardened.

"The third and fourth gates have been opened."

"That's impossible? They were definitely closed, so how could they be opened?"

"They must have been opened from the inside."

Jin Sa-wol crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

When the esoteric sect was annihilated, the third and fourth gates had not been activated. Since the life gate had been wide open, so many martial artists could come in.

Also, to open the maze of the third and fourth gates, one had to know the mechanism there well.

The people who knew well about the Musalgwan in the esoteric sect were the executives. But was there anyone who had survived among the executives of the esoteric sect?

The possibility was high enough.

Seeing himself and Jo Geom-ok, who were alive like this, it would not be surprising if there was an executive who had survived at that time.

"Is the Wind Blood Pavilion the Demonic Cult?"

At Woo Jeong-bong's question, Son Ae-hwa answered.

"Yes, it's the Demonic Cult. Perhaps they are scouting this area for the main force of the Demonic Cult?"

"They're scouts."

"That's probably it."

Hearing the two's story, Jin Sa-wol thought that the Blood Curtain might also be a scout.

He also thought it would be good if the Blood Curtain Master was there. It was because he could finish the unfinished business.

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

"Do you remember the way?"

"I remember."

"That's a relief. I'll have to go in first and check the situation. To see what happened. To see who has taken over the empty house."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok frowned. Since it was a memory from her childhood, it was not clear.

To go by the shortcut, she had to pass through several mechanism formations, but she did not know the key or the way to solve the secret.

"I'll open all the doors."

"Alright."

Jin Sa-wol, who spoke as if he knew Jo Geom-ok's worries, turned his gaze to Woo Jeong-bong and Son Ae-hwa.

"Geom-ok will guide you. Follow her well. If you do anything strange, there could be a problem."

"I will."

"Okay."

"And if I'm not there when you arrive at the O-gwan, hide. Avoid contact with the enemy as much as possible. Understood?"

Jo Geom-ok, who received Jin Sa-wol's gaze, nodded and then asked.

"What are you going to do if you go first?"

"First, I'm going to gather the people who have come in here in one place. What will happen if all the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic are gathered in one place? It will be interesting."

Jin Sa-wol smiled, then turned his body and flew into the air.

Papapat!

His figure, running down the cliff, was like a flying squirrel.

Woo Jeong-bong whistled and admired Jin Sa-wol's lightness skill. Since it was something he couldn't do, he thought it was amazing.

Woo Jeong-bong came to his senses and asked.

"What is he going to do if he goes first? When did he say we should go together, and now he's going alone, tsk!"

"He's a scout. He's probably going to check for any traps or things that have changed compared to the past. Because we can't get hurt."

"So that's what it was. Well, if it's something like that, hoho! That guy looks cold on the outside, but he's surprisingly considerate."

Woo Jeong-bong was in a good mood at Jin Sa-wol's consideration. It felt as if he were being treated as an older brother by Jin Sa-wol.

But Jo Geom-ok shook her head. There was only one reason Jin Sa-wol had gone first.

'He probably wants to see blood.'

She was the only one who had read the demonic gaze that had briefly appeared and then disappeared in his eyes.

Son Ae-hwa looked at Jo Geom-ok with an interested gaze. It was because her attitude towards Woo Jeong-bong and Jin Sa-wol was so different.

Although she had felt it before, it seemed that Jo Geom-ok had special feelings for Jin Sa-wol.

"Is it okay for the innkeeper to go alone?"

"It's okay. Here..."

Jo Geom-ok was about to say 'his front yard' but stopped.

"Let's go too. Brother Woo, you go down first. I'll let down the rope."

Jo Geom-ok threw the rope to the bottom of the cliff on the other side. As Woo Jeong-bong went down, holding that rope, Son Ae-hwa followed behind. And finally, Jo Geom-ok moved.

* * *

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Jin Sa-wol, who was walking slowly through a dark cave, moved forward, listening to the sound of water and his own footsteps.

The cave, which was wide and high enough for only one person to pass through, repeated ascents and descents.

Jin Sa-wol, who was walking, touching the wall, saw a night-luminescent pearl that was emitting a faint light and was protruding, grabbed it with his hand, and turned it to the left.

Grrr!

A heavy sound was heard for a moment and then stopped.

He moved his steps again and turned the night-luminescent pearl a few more times like that.

The night-luminescent pearls appeared continuously, but only a few of them moved.

He had to turn it so that the mechanism would not work.

This road was a road that only the esoteric sect members used, and Jin Sa-wol had used this road dozens of times when he was young.

A few of those times, he had gone, holding the esoteric sect master's hand.

"If you don't activate the mechanism, the entrance will be blocked, and sulfur and poison mist will flow from above. Besides that, a few hidden weapons will pop out, but if you just stop the mechanism, there will be no problem."

"Who made it?"

"A guy from the Zhuge family and a guy from the Seomun family of the Demonic Cult made it. They were skilled in mechanism formations and proficient in mechanisms, but they died thirty years ago. They died after making it."

The esoteric sect master had explained kindly.

But after coming in here, the esoteric sect master was just a bastard to him.

The reason for that could be found at the end of this passage.

Jin Sa-wol, who had walked through the cave for nearly an hour, arrived at a place with several rooms.

They were all closed with iron doors, and a sour smell tickled his nose.

It was an old corpse poison. If it were ordinary people, they would have collapsed without being able to endure it for even a moment.

Jin Sa-wol's eyes turned to one of the rooms.

Beyond the half-open door, he saw numerous skeletons. It seemed they had been dead for a long time, and they were all young skeletons.

The skeletons were all children who had become test subjects like him and had experienced the Soul-Stealing Great Law.

The children who had died without being able to endure the Soul-Stealing Great Law were all left unattended.

The number was well over a hundred.

When he reached the last room, Jin Sa-wol stopped walking for a moment. It was a room with a wide table.

He recalled himself lying there.

"It hurts! It hurts! Aaaak!"

The memory of shouting and struggling countless times clearly flashed through his mind. His flesh was cut, his head was stabbed, and needles pierced the tips of his fingers and toes.

When the wounds healed, the same thing was repeated. But from a certain day, the pain disappeared.

After passing that place, a bright light was seen a short while later.

The cave was ending.

Jin Sa-wol, who had reached the end of the cave, looked around at the three-story main hall and the several buildings built in a wide basin.

Beyond the buildings, cliffs stretched up to the sky, drawing a circle like a folding screen.

That was the O-gwan of the Musalgwan.

The cave was in the middle of the cliff, and it was about five zhang high from the ground. To the left of the cave, there were stairs carved into the cliff.

Thump! Thump!

Jin Sa-wol, who had gone down the stairs, headed for the main hall when he reached a wide plain.

Just then, the door of the main hall opened, and those wearing gray clothes and holding sharp willow-leaf sabers and spears came out slowly.

Jin Sa-wol's expression hardened when he saw them.

'They have no eyes?'

The ones who appeared all had no eyes. In the place where their eyes should have been, only a large black dot was sitting.

They were those who relied on their hearing, and it seemed they had felt Jin Sa-wol's presence.

"Why are you standing still? Shouldn't you go to the front of the door?"

A middle-aged man in a silk blue robe, who had come out from the very back, opened his eyes wide when he discovered Jin Sa-wol, who was standing at a distance of about ten zhang.

He had eyes.

"What kind of bastard are you? How did you get in here?"

"I came along the road."

"The road? There is no road."

The man in blue rubbed his eyes and looked at Jin Sa-wol again. But it was not an illusion, but a person.

The man in blue shouted with a cold, murderous voice.

"It's an intruder! Kill him!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The warriors without eyes all jumped forward at once.

Jin Sa-wol, who was looking at them, jumped into the air and then appeared in front of the man in blue.

He had narrowed the distance of ten zhang in one breath.

"Hmph!"

The startled man in blue opened his eyes wide.

Thwack!

Jin Sa-wol's Yuseom Sword pierced the man in blue's solar plexus.

Jin Sa-wol, who had subdued the man in blue with one sword, grabbed the man in blue's neck with his left hand.

"Who are you?"

(End of Chapter)