“What you said was true.”
Those were the first words the Valley Master of Villains’ Valley spoke to Yang Cheogi as he entered the main hall.
The Valley Master had sent men out to gather information about what had happened at the time, and had learned that, on that day, a young man and a masked figure had met at the Yellow River Inn. Yang Cheogi’s words had been true.
“Why would I lie to the Valley Master? I told you the truth.”
“Then that really means Geom Mugeuk’s martial arts were enough to contend with the Goe-ma.”
“They were.”
“Even if he is the Heavenly Demon’s own blood, it is hard to believe.”
“It was the same for me. I truly never imagined Geom Mugeuk would be such an expert.”
As if recalling what had happened that day, Yang Cheogi’s expression hardened. He did not seem to be lying, but the Valley Master still suspected him.
There was certainly the possibility that he had helped Geom Mugeuk and killed all of the Valley Master’s subordinates. No, that was more plausible than the fact that Geom Mugeuk had killed the Goe-ma.
What if it had been a plot by the Demon Cult to seize Villains’ Valley?
What if they had used Yang Cheogi to cut off all his hands and feet? What if even the Cheonmyeong Society had been created by the Demon Cult?
Having lost so many men as strong as himself in one place, it was only natural that he would harbor such suspicions.
Of course, there were parts of that theory that did not quite make sense.
‘The Demon Cult has never shown any interest in Villains’ Valley until now, so why are they suddenly targeting this valley?’
Villains’ Valley was, in the end, a headache for the Murim Alliance. Therefore, the Demon Cult had no reason to attack it. Moreover, if the Demon Cult directly operated Villains’ Valley, they would face fierce protests and backlash from the Murim Alliance and the Evil Path Alliance. And yet they would deliberately create trouble? When the villains here would not even offer them loyalty. Why on earth?
Lacking trust in Yang Cheogi, the Valley Master imagined every possible hypothesis. In any case, one thing was certain. Merely looking at Yang Cheogi irritated him.
‘If you have some other sinister scheme in mind, you will never leave Villains’ Valley alive.’
It was then. A subordinate entered and hurriedly reported.
“There are intruders. Gwapyo’s gang at the village entrance has been wiped out.”
The Valley Master felt that what was finally bound to come had arrived.
Yang Cheogi, who was beside him, quickly asked,
“How many intruders are there?”
“They say there are five.”
Yang Cheogi tilted his head.
“If it were Geom Mugeuk’s party, there should be three at most.”
“Why are you so certain there are three? Geom Mugeuk may have brought more demonic practitioners with him.”
“That may be so, but…”
At Yang Cheogi’s reaction, the Valley Master felt inwardly puzzled.
‘Is he truly not on their side? Or is he pretending not to know?’
Judging from his reaction now, it did not feel as though they had plotted this together.
At that moment, another subordinate rushed in.
“The Cheon family gang has also fallen to the intruders.”
“Already?”
The Cheon family gang possessed fairly strong martial arts and excelled at coordinated attacks. Yet they had already been defeated?
Soon after, another subordinate ran in.
“The insects have all been killed.”
This time, he was even more shocked. The “insects” he spoke of referred to Yangsu’s group who lived in the forest. Hiding in the woods and firing hidden weapons, they were truly difficult opponents to deal with.
Yang Cheogi and the Valley Master’s gazes met. Yang Cheogi nodded and said,
“It is definitely them.”
Considering whom Geom Mugeuk and the Extreme Evil Young Demon had killed as a pair, what on earth would happen if five of them had come?
Before the shock could even fade, another subordinate came running in, and this time the Valley Master asked first.
“Who fell this time?”
“At the Bridge of Good and Evil, the Yellow River Water Ghosts were defeated.”
“What? The Water Ghosts?”
The Valley Master was startled. One could not say they were stronger than anyone else, but in the water, the Water Ghosts were stronger than anyone.
Yes, they could die. But the problem was that the defenses were being pierced far too quickly. Their current speed was like someone striding forward and plucking flowers growing along the path.
At that moment, the Valley Master saw it. Yang Cheogi’s eyes were trembling. He was afraid.
“If you want to run, run even now.”
If Yang Cheogi was gone, he intended to pin all the blame on him and somehow search for a way to survive.
“What does the Valley Master intend to do?”
“I cannot leave this place anyway. The moment I flee, I will be giving those who covet my seat a pretext to kill me.”
As it was, all of his trustworthy subordinates were already dead.
Yang Cheogi was conflicted. He truly had never imagined that Geom Mugeuk would storm all the way here. Nor had he known that Villains’ Valley would be breached so easily. This was a place where anyone who did not know the way would wander near the entrance for days.
But if he ran from here now, the Valley Master would never accept him again. His feelings toward Yang Cheogi were already at their worst.
‘If I am to rise to the position of Valley Master, I must stop Geom Mugeuk’s party today. Only then will the villains here acknowledge me as the Valley Master.’
And if the Valley Master died in the process, that would be all the better.
While the two of them were in the midst of dreaming different dreams in the same bed, yet another subordinate entered.
“The Five Evils of Chongqing are all dead.”
Now the Valley Master was not even surprised. If all this was not a prank his subordinates had devised to startle him, then it was a calamity flying toward him at a terrifying speed.
Hatred toward Yang Cheogi surged up in his heart.
‘This is all because of you.’
If Yang Cheogi had not provoked the Extreme Evil Young Demon in the first place, claiming he would take revenge, none of this would have happened.
‘No matter what it takes, I will kill you.’
The Valley Master knew well that harboring such deep resentment toward someone would ultimately do him no good.
But he simply could not endure Yang Cheogi. Even if he came to regret this decision later, he vowed that he would absolutely kill Yang Cheogi.
The Valley Master said to his subordinate,
“Tell Elder Shi to exhaust their internal energy as much as possible.”
“Yes!”
The subordinate ran out.
“Elder Shi is the last line of defense. If he is broken through, only you and I remain.”
“Let us hope he drains as much of their strength as he can.”
If Elder Shi played his role properly, perhaps a way might open.
* * *
The courtyard was empty.
Looking around, I said,
“This feels rather eerie.”
As expected, my feeling was accurate.
The moment we crossed the courtyard and walked toward the building where the main hall was located.
Ssssss.
Our surroundings changed.
Before we knew it, we were standing in a new space, and hundreds of stone statues stood on all sides. They were statues in the shape of martial artists holding swords, sabers, and spears.
“It’s an illusion art!”
At my shout, the Demon Venerables grew tense. If one did not know how to break it, there was nothing more troublesome than this. This was also why the Murim Alliance had feared the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable the most.
“Everyone, be careful.”
At the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s warning, we stood in a circle with our backs against one another.
The stone statues began to move. Since they were stone statues, one would expect them to be extremely sluggish, but they were faster than expected. Things that ought to have been slow came charging in quickly, making them feel utterly grotesque and terrifying.
Boom!
The battle began with the Extreme Evil Young Demon’s Demonic Extreme Rampage Palm smashing a stone statue that had rushed toward us.
Stone statues were sliced apart by the One Flower Sword Venerable’s sword energy. To conserve internal energy, she could not strike stone blocks directly with her sword. Since it was a famed sword, she could handle a few statues that way, but if she faced this many, the sword would be damaged. So the One Flower Sword Venerable had no choice but to use sword energy.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was in a similar situation. Since he used a great saber, it was better than a sword, but even so, he could not batter stone statues apart with the precious Heaven-Destroying Great Saber. In the end, he also stirred up saber energy and saber wind to shatter the statues.
The Extreme Evil Young Demon was the same. With the Blood Devouring Finger, the stone statues continued moving even with holes pierced through them, so he had to use the Demonic Extreme Rampage Palm, which consumed more internal energy, to smash them apart.
The Drunken Demon also could not strike them with Blood Tears, so he used palm techniques to face them.
They were opponents that consumed an enormous amount of internal energy, and they surged in endlessly.
Since we could not simply waste our energy like this, I dodged the stone statues’ attacks while examining my surroundings. With the Blood-Eye Essence implanted in my eyes and the Divine Eye Art bestowed upon me, I would surely be able to see the method of breaking it.
But nowhere in this space could I see the bluish light that marked the method of breaking the technique.
‘It’s there. It definitely exists.’
Because an illusion art without a method to break it absolutely did not exist.
Using Shadow Step and Flash Step, I swiftly wove between the stone statues and began searching for the method to break it.
Then, at some point while wandering among the statues.
‘I found it!’
On the back of a stone statue farther behind, a bluish light was glowing.
It had been among the hundreds of attacking stone statues, so this was truly an illusion art that had hidden its method of breaking extremely well.
Riiiiiip!
Without hesitation, I tore through the bluish light with the Black Demon Sword and split it in half.
Beyond that light, an old man was staring in astonishment.
Puk!
The moment my sword drove into the old man’s heart, the illusion art he had cast shattered.
Freed from the illusion, we were standing in the courtyard we had entered earlier. Seeing the old man impaled by my sword collapse, the Demon Venerables realized that I had found the method to break the illusion.
The Drunken Demon made a fuss, saying, “Little Brother, you’re the best,” and the One Flower Sword Venerable looked greatly surprised.
On the other hand, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, knowing that I had killed the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable, was not particularly surprised.
Lastly, the Extreme Evil Young Demon looked at me, smiled meaningfully, and said,
“Second Young Master has reached the realm of being invulnerable to all four arts.”
Since the other Demon Venerables were present, he did not mention the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable, but if it had been just the two of us, he would have said this: Shameless Second Young Master, will you still claim you did not kill the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable?
I strode toward the building.
“Now then, let us go in.”
Smashing the door of the main hall, I entered with the Demon Venerables.
* * *
Boooom!
Seeing those who entered by smashing the door of the main hall, the Valley Master thought the Heavenly Demon himself had invaded.
Otherwise, how could Elder Shi’s illusion art have been broken through so quickly? Even he himself, if caught in Elder Shi’s illusion art, would have to endure until Elder Shi’s internal energy ran dry before escaping.
But the one who had invaded was not the Heavenly Demon. As if proving Yang Cheogi’s words true, the young man Geom Mugeuk walked in at the front.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Yang Cheogi and said,
“In the current situation, the only place where you could safely hide would probably be the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Ah, that will not do either. You laid hands on us, after all.”
Yang Cheogi made no answer.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned to the Valley Master.
“Are you the Valley Master of Villains’ Valley?”
“That is right. I am the Valley Master.”
“I am Geom Mugeuk, Second Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“I have heard much of your reputation.”
The Valley Master tried hard to appear calm, but the pressure of the god of death walking toward him one step at a time was burning him up inside.
The Valley Master’s gaze shifted to the four Demon Venerables standing behind Geom Mugeuk.
“Honored figures of the Divine Cult have come. Welcome.”
As if treating invited guests, the Valley Master brazenly cupped his fists and greeted them.
But the four Demon Venerables merely stared at him coldly.
The Valley Master spoke gently to Geom Mugeuk again.
“I heard the madmen of this valley were greatly discourteous to the Second Young Master.”
“They tried to suck away my internal energy and crush my skull with iron chains. If you describe that as mere discourtesy, then I, too, shall be a bit discourteous today.”
“You are one who will become the supreme ruler of murim in the future. Please do not behave the same way as the pathetic scum of this valley.”
The Valley Master did everything he could to curry favor with Geom Mugeuk.
With Geom Mugeuk and the Demon Venerables standing in a line right before his eyes, he could not even summon the will to fight. If the dead Goe-ma, the Iron Chain Master, the Three Lords of the Bloody Road, the Blood Wolf Saber, the Paradise Enchantress, and the Yama Divine Lord were all here, then perhaps. But for him and Yang Cheogi alone to face the five before them was impossible.
Geom Mugeuk stared at the Valley Master and asked,
“Why did you do it?”
Then the Valley Master looked at Yang Cheogi, as if to say it had never been his intention, and asked the same thing.
“Why did you do it?”
Yang Cheogi looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
“What are you trying to pull?”
“You caused this, so you explain it.”
The Valley Master’s struggle to survive began first with distancing himself from Yang Cheogi.
When Geom Mugeuk’s party had entered, Yang Cheogi’s reaction had clearly shown that he was not one of them. In that case, there was only one choice for the Valley Master. He had to abandon Yang Cheogi. They had come to kill Yang Cheogi.
Yang Cheogi snorted.
“Do you think they will spare you just because you play such tricks?”
Geom Mugeuk answered Yang Cheogi’s words.
“I will spare you. I know full well that this entire affair was the doing of Yang Cheogi over there. If the Valley Master will only cooperate in capturing the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society, no harm will come to you.”
The Valley Master of Villains’ Valley felt his heart pound at the hope that he might live.
‘So these people really weren’t on the same side!’
Seeing the Valley Master waver, Yang Cheogi shouted.
“Do not believe him! It is a trick to divide us!”
Unlike the frantic Yang Cheogi, Geom Mugeuk remained calm.
“We can kill both of you, so why would we bother dividing you? Four of our cult’s Eight Demon Venerables have come in person. Does this look like a game to you?”
The Valley Master did not hesitate.
“I will help. I know a clue that can lead you to the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society!”
If cooperation meant his life would be spared, what was there to think about?
Yang Cheogi, realizing that the man’s mind had already turned, felt his heart sink coldly.
The moment the Valley Master turned against him, he knew that he would never leave this place alive.
“You pathetic, foolish bastard! This is why you’ll never escape this filthy hole!”
“Shut your mouth! This all happened because of you. I don’t even want to hear your excuses, so just go quietly to hell!”
“Crippled fool,” Yang Cheogi spat coldly, then let out a sigh. Even if he offered up information about the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society, after trying to kill Geom Mugeuk and the Extreme Evil Little Demon, he would have little chance of surviving anyway.
‘So in the end, I’m using this.’
Yang Cheogi drew up his internal energy for the final secret technique he had never once used—no, had never been able to use.
When the Extreme Evil Little Demon saw a red aura gathering in his eyes, he issued a warning.
“Everyone, be careful! That is the forbidden secret technique of our sect’s martial arts—the Mutual Destruction Art!”
Just as the Extreme Evil Little Demon said, the martial art Yang Cheogi was about to use was the Heavenly Light Instant-Kill Art (天光卽殺術), a Mutual Destruction Art that took the user’s life along with his opponent’s. It was a final secret technique that would, without fail, kill one person and die with them.
“If your internal energy is inferior to his, you absolutely cannot block it!”
Yang Cheogi, whose internal energy was second to none, swept his gaze over each and every person there.
Whom would he kill and take with him? The Extreme Evil Little Demon, the source of this entire disaster? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had appeared late that day and ruined everything? Geom Mugeuk, who had made his revenge fail in the first place? Or that crippled fool, the Valley Master of Villains’ Valley?
Truly, if he could, he wanted to take all four of them with him. But the Heavenly Light Instant-Kill Art could be used on only one person.
Yang Cheogi’s eyes reddened as if they might burst at any moment, and he shouted in a ringing voice.
“Who will go with me!”
At that moment, as a heavy silence fell—
Geom Mugeuk shot his hand into the air.
“Me!”