Chapter 112 : Chapter 112
Chapter 112 : Teacup
Bizarre blue veins were bulging on the clasped knuckles of the monk who called himself Ji Myeong.
Although he was wearing a benevolent smile on the outside, in my eyes, the fishy killing intent hidden behind that smile was clearly visible.
“Monk Ji Myeong… It is an honor that the Abbot called us personally. But Monk, does the temple normally smell fishy like this?”
At my fastball-like question, Ji Myeong’s eyelids trembled slightly.
There was a moment of agitation among the monks he brought along, but Ji Myeong soon regained his composure and answered.
“Ho ho, it might be unfamiliar to outsiders as we are burning rare incense from the high mountain areas. Since you are coming from the Central Plains, the Abbot paid special attention.”
“Incense… It seems like exactly this scent would be produced if the smell of burning bones and rotting blood were mixed.”
At my casually thrown remark, Ji Myeong’s eyes momentarily burned red and disappeared.
Seol Ye-rin, standing beside me, tightened her grip on my sleeve and was wary of the surroundings.
Beneath Seol Ye-rin’s feet, invisible cold air was spreading out, thinly freezing the ground.
-Heh heh, Third Young Master, these people… their breathing sounds are not consistent. As if they are possessed by something.
I nodded at Seol Ye-rin’s telepathy.
The monks’ complexions were all pale, and the flow of their qi and blood was twisted.
“…I am starving to death! Can’t you give us food first?”
When Tae Un-seo, who failed to grasp the atmosphere, brought up the topic.
Ji Myeong smiled benevolently.
“Of course. We have prepared an offering with all our sincerity, so please go inside.”
Moyong Geum sweated cold sweat and looked at me for a cue.
Even with his merchant’s sense, he felt that this place was unusual.
However, we couldn’t just turn back after coming all this way.
“Big Brother, let’s go inside for now. Wouldn’t the misunderstanding be resolved once we meet the Abbot in person?”
I looked back at Cheon Deung-jin.
Cheon Deung-jin was still staring inside the Great Thunder Temple with fearful eyes.
I lightly tapped her shoulder.
“Let’s go inside first.”
I strode through the Mountain Gate first.
Seol Ye-rin and the Small Snow Squad members followed behind, and finally, Ji Myeong smiled benevolently and closed the door.
Bang—!
The sound of the door closing echoed in the mountain foot like the sound of a giant trap’s cover closing.
Inside the Great Thunder Temple, on the way to the guest hall for VIPs.
I deliberately slowed down and examined the surroundings.
Befitting a thousand-year-old temple, magnificent stone pagodas and pavilions were lined up, but in every shadow, unpleasant evil qi was coiled up.
-Heh heh, do you see those stone statues standing in the corner?
‘Yes?’
-Those are not stone statues. They are Jiangshis hardened by the Blood Cult’s secret art, disguised as stone statues.
At the Sword Venerable and Demon Queen’s explanation, my eyes narrowed.
Why is a story about the Blood Cult’s secret art coming out in the Great Thunder Temple?
If that’s the case, it seemed that more than half of the Great Thunder Temple had already fallen into the hands of the Blood Cult.
Ji Myeong guided the party to a guest hall located next to a huge nine-story pagoda.
“The Abbot has entered deep Samadhi now, so let’s meet after the sun sets. Please rest comfortably here until then.”
When Ji Myeong withdrew, I immediately unfolded a qi membrane around the room to block sound.
“Squad Leader Baek, Vice Captain. From now on, one guy watches the roof, and one guy watches the end of the courtyard. Ji-yeong, you verify again with Moyong Geum if anything got mixed into the merchant guild’s luggage.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The Small Snow Squad members began to move agilely.
I sat at the table and looked at Seol Ye-rin and Cheon Deung-jin.
“Miss Cheon, that evil qi you felt earlier… where is it being felt?”
“…I feel a vibration as if a huge pool of blood is sloshing deep underground. It is a disgusting energy.”
I took out the Blood Bone Token I had collected from the Seventh Blood Lord, Yeon Jeok-ha, from my bosom.
The Blood Bone Token resonated with the air of the Great Thunder Temple and was emitting a faint red light.
***
Deep underground in the Great Thunder Temple, a secret room hidden beneath the Scripture Pavilion.
This place, which should normally be full of Dharma power suppressing demonic energy and the essence of Buddhism, was currently filled with a thick blood-colored mist.
At the end of the underground passage connected behind the huge Buddha statue, the Abbot of Great Thunder Temple, Beop Jeong, was gasping for breath while sitting in the lotus position.
“……Cough.”
Dark red fresh blood gushed out from between Beop Jeong’s lips.
His white Buddhist robe had long been stained with hideous bloodstains.
Beop Jeong clutched his chest with a trembling hand.
Right next to his heart, the Blood Cult’s forbidden evil art, the Blood Snake Worm, was wriggling and gnawing at his qi and blood.
It seems what he drank through the tea wasn’t just poison.
‘Ji Myeong…… Why did you choose this path?’
Beop Jeong’s gaze headed beyond the iron bars of the secret room.
There, his disciple Ji Myeong, whom he had raised like a son all his life, was looking down at him with a cold glint in his eyes.
“Amitabha……. Abbot, you still do not break your stubbornness.”
Ji Myeong’s voice coming from outside the iron bars had none of his former gentleness, filled only with damp energy like a crawling snake.
“When the Blood Pond is completed, this sanctuary will become a true Buddhist Pure Land. A land of eternal immortality, purified by blood.”
“Foolish…… guy. Blood is life, but the moment you covet that blood…… it is merely the path of a hungry ghost.”
Beop Jeong barely raised his inner qi to answer.
However, the poison qi of the Blood Snake Worm had already spread throughout his body, and Beop Jeong’s body was now in a state where it was difficult to even move a finger.
Ji Myeong smiled fishily and looked back.
There, a Blood Pond filled with human blood was sloshing inside a huge pit.
The vengeful spirits of the monks who died unjustly rose up as bubbles.
“The guests from the North Sea have arrived. The Extreme Yin Body and Extreme Yang Body……. If their blood is added to this Blood Pond, how will it change?”
“You…… Dare to bring devils into the sanctuary……!”
At Beop Jeong’s shout, Ji Myeong sneered coldly.
“Abbot, you just watch. How powerlessly the Buddhism you believed in burns. Ah, and the ‘hope’ you are waiting for will probably cool down coldly in the dining hall tonight.”
As Ji Myeong moved his steps to head to the guest hall, only heavy silence and a fishy blood scent remained in the secret room again.
Beop Jeong did not stop clasping his hands even in his fading consciousness.
He felt a faint but intense energy, hot like the sun, felt from the direction of the guest hall.
‘This flame is… the flame of the Demonic Cult.’
The flame emitted by the Heavenly Demon he had met just once in his life.
That flame was being felt.
Beop Jeong began to send a request for rescue towards the outside with his last remaining inner qi.
***
Inside the guest hall, I looked down at the Blood Bone Token vibrating in my bosom.
This item taken from the Seventh Blood Lord was resonating with the blood qi flowing underground in the Great Thunder Temple and emitting an unpleasant pulse.
It was then.
‘……Save me.’
What was heard from the empty air was not a voice.
A thin thread of thought, as if squeezed out forcibly, directly struck my eardrum.
It was a minute telepathy that an ordinary martial artist wouldn’t have noticed, but to me, who led spiritual helpers, it was clear like the sound of thunder.
-Heh heh, for an Abbot of Great Thunder Temple, he is quite good. To not lose his mind even in this state.
-This is definitely the energy of the Great Thunder Temple’s Chief Monk. It is felt from very deep underground.
My eyes flashed purple.
“Miss Cheon, Miss Seol. I heard it from my father. There is a passage underground in the Great Thunder Temple where demonic qi sealed during the war with the Demonic Cult in the past flows. It seems the bastards dug that up and are using it as a Blood Pond.”
“Young Master, then isn’t the Abbot in danger?”
Seol Ye-rin asked.
I nodded and stared outside the door.
“It is not just dangerous. He might have already been done in by that guy earlier. That guy named Ji Myeong, the sound of his footsteps hasn’t been that of a human since earlier.”
At that moment, a polite voice was heard from outside the guest hall door.
“The meal preparation is finished. Young Palace Head. Please come out.”
It was Ji Myeong.
I sent a signal with my eyes to Seol Ye-rin and Cheon Deung-jin, then nonchalantly withdrew the qi membrane and opened the door.
Outside the door, Ji Myeong was wearing a benevolent smile with his two hands clasped.
But the eyes of the monks lined up behind him had no focus, and their skin was pale like paper.
“I am starving to death, so this is great. Monk, what are we eating for dinner? You surely aren’t giving us only greens, right?”
Ji Myeong’s eyelids trembled slightly.
“Buddhism forbids killing, but for the precious guests, we have specially prepared tea full of spiritual energy and mushroom dishes. We will escort you to the dining hall next to the Scripture Pavilion.”
Our party headed to the dining hall under Ji Myeong’s guidance.
Food neatly arranged was placed on the table, but in my eyes, purple Blood Snake Worms rising above the food were clearly visible.
“Wow, it looks really delicious. Ji-yeong, do you want to try eating first?”
“Yes? No, no! I will eat after watching Young Master eat. For some reason, my stomach doesn’t feel good today!”
Quick-witted Wi Ji-yeong waved her hand and backed away.
I smiled fishily, sat down, and lifted the teacup.
Inside the tea water, terrible poison qi was swirling.
Ji Myeong stared at me with expectant eyes.
With this one cup of tea, he could imprison even the Abbot of Great Thunder Temple.
“Monk, the tea seems a bit cooled. May I heat it up myself and drink it?”
“……Do as you please.”
Black-purple flames soared from my palm.
As the water in the teacup boiled up in an instant, a bizarre scream was heard only by me.
The Blood Snake Worms hiding inside the tea burned to death by my Extreme Yang Qi and turned into black smoke.
I drank that tea water in one go.
“Mmm, it is good. Monk, would you like a cup too?”
Ji Myeong’s expression was distorted in an instant.