Enshrinement as a God

Thump... Thump...

Water droplets falling from the ceiling periodically shattered on the stone floor.

Agong, lying on the cold stone floor, stared blankly at the black ceiling and then turned his gaze away as if annoyed.

He had already tried knocking on the stone wall and checking for other passages.

This place, where not even a common mouse hole could be seen, was a completely sealed space where not even a small breeze or light from the outside could enter.

Other than Agong, the only things moving in this place were Agong's shadow, created by the flickering of the luminous pearls and the torches.

It was a place that could truly be called a perfect sealed room.

Escape was truly impossible.

Unless Tongtian changed his mind and opened the door, there was no way for Agong to get out of this place with his own strength.

"This means I'm supposed to die here."

It was a situation that made him feel so futile that he had brought enough food and clothes to last for a few days so that he would not be caught off guard like last time.

Moreover, what was the reason for imprisoning him here?

No, Tongtian's reason was too simple.

What he had wanted from Agong until now, and what had not satisfied Tongtian.

The Manifest Demon True Art.

To be precise, it should be called the Heavenly Demon Hand of the Manifest Demon True Art, but in any case, Tongtian had shown his dissatisfaction to Agong through his actions.

As the cold of the stone floor made his cheeks feel cold, Agong felt his mind, which had left home, return to some extent.

Whether he achieved the sixth stage of the Manifest Demon True Art and Tongtian opened the door from the outside, or whether Agong got out of this place on his own, in the end, the key to getting out of this place would be the Heavenly Demon Hand.

Agong, who had managed to get up, moved his heavy feet to get a better grasp of this place.

The Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Tongtian had said that he had made this place by imitating a place he knew called the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

No, to be precise, this place should have been called the Heavenly Demon Cave.

The inside of the cave consisted of three places, including the central space in the north where Agong had been lying until now.

Perhaps the place where Agong had been was the training ground, and the east seemed to be a place for sleeping, with an uncomfortable-looking bed, a few books, and a desk and chairs.

When he went to the west, there were jars full of grain pills and a small amount of water flowing along the cracks in the stone wall.

Agong took out a grain pill, licked it, and chewed it carefully.

"Ugh."

He was once again fed up with the terrible taste and the amount.

For someone like Agong, it was an amount that he could eat and survive for a year.

That also meant that if Tongtian was determined, Agong could be trapped here for a year, eating these dry and tasteless grain pills.

Agong finally entered the cave in the south.

There were a roughly shaped wooden tub and a toilet.

In the place where he was supposed to do his business, there was a hole the size of a fist in the floor. When he brought his face close, it seemed that he could hear the sound of water flowing far away. Agong wondered if he could get out of here through this hole, but when he looked into the dark hole, he did not feel like trying.

Agong walked back to the entrance.

Looking at the luminous pearls that were illuminating the cave, the thought of how much they would cost and the question of how on earth Tongtian had made such a place sprang up.

The luminous pearls were stones with a blue light, like the jade wall and the stone door that were blocking the entrance. When he looked at them carefully, although they were round, they were dented here and there, as if they had been kneaded by hand.

"No... no way."

Agong, for a moment, imagined Tongtian grabbing a luminous pearl in his hand and applying force, and then soon shook his head.

It was clear that just by applying force to an ordinary stone, it would not emit light like this.

Agong blew away his useless thoughts and stood at the stone door, taking a deep breath.

What on earth was the identity of this stone door? Ominously, it was emitting an even more bewitching blue radiance, receiving the light of the luminous pearls.

"It's just a stone at best."

Although his instinct was telling him that it was absolutely not, Agong tightly gripped Tonglin in his right hand and raised the internal energy of the Nine Gates True Scripture.

As the internal energy was injected, the runic characters engraved on Tonglin emitted a bright light.

As a clear power flowed through his hand, Agong put strength into his legs and held his center.

Swoosh!

Agong, in one go, threw Tonglin back and then swung Tonglin with all his might.

In an instant, the heavenly silkworm silk at the end of Tonglin emitted a sharp edge and flew in a straight line towards the jade wall.

Kigigik!

Although Agong's Tonglin could cut even a huge rock like tofu, the stone door did not budge, as if it were a thick lump of iron.

"My goodness..."

Seeing the jade wall, which had not even a single scratch on the spot where the heavenly silkworm silk had been swung, Agong let out a fed-up sigh.

"Then..."

This time, he was going to try pushing the stone door as Tongtian had done.

"Ugh!"

Agong gathered all his strength in one go and began to push the stone door with his palm.

Although he put so much strength that a vein stood out on his neck, the stone door still did not budge.

Agong, who had not had high expectations, this time changed his method and slowly began to display the Heavenly Demon Hand.

If he couldn't cut it or push it, he was going to try breaking it.

Thump! Thump!

Although the one blow, one blow that Agong had unleashed contained the power to crush rocks and bones and flesh, the stone door did not seem to have any intention of budging.

Moreover, a repulsive force arose from the stone door, to the extent that Agong's body, which had displayed the Heavenly Demon Hand, was thrown back.

"It's not an ordinary stone!"

Looking closely, a deep blue light appeared on the spot where the Heavenly Demon Hand had hit.

Agong dropped his hand in despair.

He had thought of trying to use the sorcery he had learned from Master Gongsun, but it seemed that it would be a futile act.

Agong lowered his head and picked up the Tonglin that had fallen on the floor.

If he were to be trapped here like this, would they even look for him in the tavern?

Agong let out a hollow laugh.

Since they knew that he had followed Tongtian, it was unlikely that they would look for him.

Come to think of it, there was no one who would miss him even if he disappeared from the Hermit's Valley right away.

At best, Master Gongsun, who treated him kindly, or Cook Li, who seemed to have opened his heart a little now, and Daji, who appeared once in a while and pestered him, would they even remember him?

"Damn it."

Agong, in rebellion against Tongtian's such reckless behavior, had even thought of not doing anything at all, but in the life of the Heavenly Demon Cave, which he did not know how long it would take, that was no different from impossible.

Agong, who had returned to the central training ground, slowly read and examined the moves and incantations drawn on the central jade wall.

As Agong had thought, this was a release of the moves and incantations of the Manifest Demon True Art, and the Heavenly Demon Hand that Agong had learned, as well as the Heavenly Demon Reigning Steps and the Heavenly Demon Heart Art, were recorded.

Although it was the number one divine art in the world that those who knew its value and coveted it would want to practice even at the risk of their lives, Agong did not even glance at the other Manifest Demon True Arts other than the Heavenly Demon Hand.

"I've already learned all of them anyway..."

The movements and incantations of the Heavenly Demon Hand that filled the wall were things that Agong already knew through Tongtian's guidance.

Even if he washed his eyes and looked again, there was nothing special other than that.

In the first place, as long as the supreme martial arts prioritized 'understanding', now that there was no teaching from Tongtian, it was no different from a situation where it was even more difficult to learn martial arts than before.

Agong, without strength, lowered his head again and stared blankly at the large characters engraved in the center.

The Number One Divine Art in the World.

The Heavenly Demon Supreme.

The Manifest Demon True Art.

"Why on earth are you all doing this to me..."

Now, although he was not by his side, the Taoist Lingbao, who was tormenting him even if he was not visible, and the Tongtian Cult Master, who was by his side and tormented him every time he appeared in front of him.

"Aaaah!"

Agong, with frustration and annoyance, shouted so loudly that the cave echoed.

* * *

The main hall, which was the very center of the inner fortress of the Black Contemplation Fortress.

Numerous masters, who could be said to be the pinnacle of the evil path martial world, were gathered in one place, waiting for the words of a single person.

"Sword Immortal?"

Although it was just one short word, the voice of the evil path supreme, the Black Contemplation Fortress, Mo Guangdi, made the frozen arena even more suffocating.

"That's right, my lord. It is said that the Sword Immortal appeared at the meeting gathered in the Qingcheng Sect."

Although the fact that the Sword Immortal had broken his seclusion was surprising, the fact that the place he had headed to was not the Martial Arts Alliance but the Qingcheng Sect, and moreover, a meeting place where the righteous people of Sichuan had gathered, was an act that showed his intention too clearly.

"If you attach a tiger's head to a dog's body, is that a threat?"

Jeul rested his chin on his hand and spat out a word as if annoyed.

"It is said that after the ceremony of resolution, they made the Sword Immortal the leader and announced the launch of the Sichuan Alliance."

The information that Shiyue, who was prostrated before him, had brought was not good news for the Black Contemplation Fortress, which was aiming for the Sichuan martial world.

"The Sichuan Alliance... so, they made an alliance to stand against us?"

The fact that a force that could stand against the Black Contemplation Fortress had risen in Sichuan was no different from a great burden for the Black Contemplation Fortress, which had been acting relatively freely until now.

Since the Martial Arts Alliance located in Henan had not moved to check the demonic cult, for Mo Guangdi, who had thought that he could easily carry out the great undertaking towards the Sichuan martial world, it was a very annoying matter.

"As the Black Qilin broke his seclusion, the Sword Immortal has come out into the martial world. Isn't it a coincidence?"

Wenzhong, who was also present in the arena, kept his silence at Mo Guangdi's words.

Wenzhong, who had not uttered a single word about what had happened in the Hermit's Valley until now, had not separately revealed that the Taoist Lingbao had also been in the Hermit's Valley.

But apart from that, he was also wondering why the Taoist Lingbao had left the Hermit's Valley and had taken on the role of the leader of the Sichuan Alliance.

Although there had been no interaction in the Hermit's Valley, the Taoist Lingbao, who had no connection to the Sichuan martial world, did not seem to be overflowing with a sense of justice to the extent of paying the price for leaving the Hermit's Valley.

It was also unlikely that he, who had turned his back on the secular world, would suddenly covet glory or wealth, so there must be some other reason.

"Although they are a motley crew, if we give them time, their power will become solid and will surely block our path in the future."

The first young master of the Black Contemplation Fortress, Jejeong, stepped forward.

As the first young master of the Black Contemplation Fortress and a promising rising star, his face was overflowing with confidence.

According to rumors, he had practiced Mo Guangdi's Ten Variations True Art to a considerable level, and he was also a promising talent who competed for the top spot among the rising stars of the current martial world.

"Don't act rashly. Although they are not great people, the talent of the Sword Immortal is a gift from heaven. He is a person who once competed with the Tongtian Cult Master, who was praised as the second coming of the Heavenly Demon."

"No matter how great his sword art is, don't we have the Black Qilin, who is the number one sword of the evil path?"

At Jejeong's words, the gazes of the people in the arena gathered on Wenzhong.

Jeshin, who was next to Wenzhong, gave Jejeong a sharp glare.

To make such a statement in a place like this was no different from creating a situation that Wenzhong could not refuse.

"Are you confident?"

At Mo Guangdi's one word, Wenzhong quietly stroked the hilt of his golden whip.

The Four Unrivaled Swords of the World, who handled swords among the Twelve Honored Ones, and the Sword Immortal were always objects of comparison, whether they wanted it or not.

Since the Sword Immortal was a master who was the best in name and reality, most people placed the Sword Immortal above the Four Swords, but for the supreme masters, such a comparison was meaningless.

"If the Black Contemplation Fortress needs it, I will gladly."

"Come to think of it... a new master has recently joined, right? King Wucheng... was that it?"

"I, Huang Feihu, greet you, my lord."

Huang Feihu, who had been sitting in the last seat, stepped forward and knelt down.

"So you are the one who was called the Escort King. You will have to be of great help to the Black Contemplation Fortress in the future."

"Yes."

As Huang Feihu lowered his head and answered, Mo Guangdi lightly flicked his finger.

Thump!

As Mo Guangdi flicked his finger, a hole the size of a thumbnail was pierced in the pillar right next to Huang Feihu.

It was the Ten Variations Finger Sword of Mo Guangdi's Ten Variations True Art, a technique of the bullet finger divine art that made qi into a bullet and shot it out.

Huang Feihu felt a chill run down his spine.

If he had been aimed at with that technique with determination, a hole would have surely been pierced in his forehead before he could even react.

"...I will not question the killing of the leader of the Red Moon Squad, Wu Qian, but if you commit any rudeness to the Black Contemplation Fortress in the future, I will take your life."

"As you command."

Huang Feihu, realizing that Mo Guangdi had shown him an example, returned to his seat with heavy steps.

Although he was still resting his chin on his hand and had not moved, the masters of the Black Contemplation Fortress, seeing the divine authority of Mo Guangdi, who showed a martial prowess that could subdue Huang Feihu in one go, swallowed their dry saliva.

But only one person.

Wenzhong's eyes narrowed.

The unnaturalness he had felt in the Black Contemplation Fortress so far.

This was because he had finally noticed the cause of that anomaly.

(End of Chapter)