“What do you mean, we are the way to break it?”
At the Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered calmly.
“I mean exactly that. The way to break it is me and the four of you.”
They still wore expressions of incomprehension.
When Hwa Mugi had unleashed the Dark Heaven Soul-Binding Art, that mysterious energy in his dantian had reacted. That was why he had accepted it instead of avoiding it.
When he met Hwa Mugi in the room earlier, as if to say his choice had been right, his body had begun circulating qi on its own according to the formula he had learned from the Divine Maiden Palace Lord.
Then the energy of the Six Paths Primordial Qi, which had merged into one and permeated his internal energy, began to course through the blood vessels of his entire body.
And that was not all. The energy containing that mysterious power was emitted outward.
Saaaaaaa.
The moment the energy emerged into the world, its mystery reached its peak. It shone brilliantly, like light bestowed upon the chosen.
Amazingly, no one there could see or sense that energy. Even Hwa Mugi, the master of this space, did not notice what was happening.
Only Geom Mugeuk saw and felt that energy.
The light pouring from Geom Mugeuk reached out to the four who had come with him. They did not feel the energy of the Six Paths Primordial Qi wrapping around them.
The moment he saw that sight, Geom Mugeuk understood.
‘Ah! This heart method is the way to break it.’
He could tell that the energy of the Six Paths Primordial Qi completely overwhelmed the Dark Heaven Soul-Binding Art.
And instinctively, he felt it. This sacred energy would free them from this place.
He also understood why it had been said that Hwa Mugi could be controlled with the energy of the Six Paths Primordial Qi.
When they were freed from this place, they would probably recover all of their innate true qi, internal energy, and even martial arts that had gone to Hwa Mugi. In other words, they would become his power.
—If you can unite these six energies into one, you will be able to possess the greatest power of all time.
Now he knew for certain why the Secret Coffer had said those words.
Hyeok Docheon asked urgently.
“How do you intend to break it?”
He could not hide his excitement. Just as he had been about to give up on leaving this place, a new situation had unfolded.
“The heart method I learned a short while ago began circulating qi on its own. I believe this heart method is the one that will send all of you out of this place.”
“What kind of heart method is it?”
“It is a heart method I learned from the Divine Maiden Palace Lord.”
At those words, the Palace Lord of Heavenly Will thought of the divine maiden who had tried to stop him until the very end. It was a heart method taught by that divine maiden’s descendant. Had she truly seen this very moment?
“What happens if you circulate that heart method?”
At Hyeok Docheon’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered.
“As I told you before, I don’t know either. Whether your souls will vanish and you will fall into eternal sleep, whether you will be born anew as someone’s child, whether you will return to the past, go to paradise, go to hell. Or whether you will enter someone else’s body. Heaven will decide your fates.”
Geom Mugeuk did not forget to add a joke.
“If, by any chance, you enter someone else’s body later, come find me and give me a little signal. Wouldn’t that be enough of a connection to share a drink?”
He said it so lightly that it made them think such a thing might truly happen.
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected to Hyeok Docheon.
“And please call the Heavenly Demon Soul as well.”
Hyeok Docheon was surprised by the unexpected request.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because he was connected to Hyeok Docheon by the soul, the Heavenly Demon Soul immediately appeared there.
“You spent all those years together too, so I should give you a chance to choose.”
As if he had never imagined he would be included as well, the Heavenly Demon Soul looked somewhat surprised.
“I tried to kill you.”
There was another reason Geom Mugeuk had called him.
“This is courtesy toward the Heavenly Demon Soul. You Heavenly Demon Souls aren’t beings that should be discarded so carelessly, are you?”
The Heavenly Demon Soul’s gaze trembled slightly. When Geom Ujin’s Heavenly Demon Soul had forgiven Hwa Mugi’s Heavenly Demon Soul, he had once again felt what kind of existence he himself was. And now, through that man’s son, he felt the same emotion.
Just as he had spoken to the other souls, Geom Mugeuk spoke to him as well.
“I don’t know what will happen to you.”
Geom Mugeuk looked up at the sky through the window. It was a sky where a mountain floated upside down, and the sun and moon hung together.
“But one thing I do believe is that the sky you go to won’t be as strange as this one. I’ll ask you last, so think it over slowly.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Hyeok Docheon.
“You have the most straightforward personality, so I will ask you first, Cult Leader. Will you trust my method of breaking it?”
What Hyeok Docheon still feared most was this.
“Are you certain I won’t go to hell?”
Geom Mugeuk had said earlier that since spending three hundred years trapped here had been like hell itself, he would not go to hell.
But now, he spoke honestly.
“To be honest, I don’t know either. How could I know?”
Rather, that strengthened Hyeok Docheon’s decision.
“True. How could you know?”
He had always lived according to his own will. And he no longer wanted to remain here.
“I’m going! Before it’s too late, hurry and carry out the method!”
“I should ask the others too.”
Hyeok Docheon shouted at the rest.
“Don’t dawdle and decide quickly! If you don’t want to leave, then get lost!”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword did not hesitate in his decision. It was not because of Hyeok Docheon’s urging, but because he had already made up his mind.
“Yes, let us go. It is time to see the end.”
He had no desire to go to paradise. Whether he ended up in hell or simply fell into an eternal sleep like this, it was time to end this life.
“Thank you.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword cupped his fist politely and expressed his gratitude. Thanks to Geom Mugeuk, the anguish and torment that had plagued him for so many long years had disappeared.
“If it is a place you send me to, I will gladly go anywhere.”
Geom Mugeuk also cupped his fist politely and received his greeting.
“I truly hope to meet you again and properly treat you to a meal.”
Next was Ju Gasin. He found it fascinating that Hyeok Docheon and the Martial Emperor Divine Sword had made the same decision.
“In all those long years, this is the first time those two have become of one mind.”
Ju Gasin conveyed to the two of them the feelings he had never once revealed.
“You considered me a sinister man whose thoughts could not be read. I simply disliked you and found you irritating. So much so that I didn’t even want to exchange words with you.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword was surprised that he would say such a thing to him.
“Then you should have at least shown that irritation sooner.”
Hyeok Docheon also added a word.
“That is exactly why you’re sinister. Saying something like this at a moment like this.”
Ju Gasin accepted the Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s words for the last time.
“You irritating people!”
Finally, Ju Gasin had one request for Geom Mugeuk.
“Tell the leader of the Evil Path Alliance this. He must accomplish what he desires. If you say it like that, he will understand.”
Geom Mugeuk could guess what that meant.
“That desire will threaten us and the martial world, but I will still be sure to tell him.”
What Ju Gasin wanted to see one last time was not a person, but the Red Wolf he had taken around with him.
If he were to be born as a beast, he hoped he would be born as a wolf like the Red Wolf.
This time, Geom Mugeuk looked at the Palace Lord of Heavenly Will. Though the man had mocked and ridiculed him earlier, the look in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes as he looked at him was no different from when he looked at the others.
“Everyone else is going, so you should go as well, Palace Lord.”
From Geom Mugeuk’s attitude toward him, the Palace Lord of Heavenly Will could tell. This was not something that could be feigned.
‘He was a man of a different vessel from the very beginning.’
Why on earth was this man like this?
Having such a thought itself, he realized, was like a small bird watching a great roc flying through the heavens and wondering, Why does it fly so high with such effort?
“Perhaps the Heavenly Will from three hundred years later was with you.”
He was a man enthralled by Heavenly Will until the very end.
“To be honest, I have no interest in Heavenly Will. It is difficult enough to protect even one will of my own as I please, so how could I live while concerning myself with the will of heaven?”
Geom Mugeuk conveyed his honest feelings to the Palace Lord of Heavenly Will.
“Of course, there are times when I too lean on fate. Times when I simply want to think that all of this must be destiny. Looking back, those were always times when I was suffering. Times so painful that I wanted to escape in any way I could.”
The Palace Lord of Heavenly Will’s expression hardened. Geom Mugeuk was saying that perhaps the Heavenly Will he spoke of now had been nothing more than an escape from reality.
Was he saying this to mock him? But for that to be true, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes were far too clear and deep.
“Palace Lord, you regard Heavenly Will as something immensely important, but did they truly feel the same?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“I mean the Guardian Palace Lord who tried to protect you, and the countless people who died in that war. Did they truly give their lives for Heavenly Will?”
“!”
“They likely did not. They simply trusted and followed your will, Palace Lord. Not some prophecy that suddenly dropped out of nowhere one day, but the judgment of the Palace Lord who had cared for them all their lives.”
Looking into his eyes, Geom Mugeuk asked.
“Before you spoke of Heavenly Will to those around you, do you remember what kind of heart you had, Palace Lord?”
The Palace Lord of Heavenly Will could not answer.
Instead, he asked in a sunken voice.
“If I leave this place, will I be able to meet them?”
Geom Mugeuk quietly gazed at him, then said,
“There are no prophecies now, so do not ask. From now on, act according to your own will, Palace Lord.”
Without waiting for his reply, Geom Mugeuk looked at the Heavenly Demon Soul.
“Will you go with us?”
Amazingly, the Heavenly Demon Soul shook his head.
It was a decision he made because he had remembered his own great nature.
Though he had not lived honorably for the past three hundred years, at least at the very end.
“My mind has become too tainted. I have become a being who must not be born again.”
At the very end, he would be not a vulgar Heavenly Demon Soul, but a dignified one.
The last person the Heavenly Demon Soul looked at was Hyeok Docheon. He left no words for him. He gazed at him silently for a moment, then disappeared without a sound.
It was regrettable, but now was not the time to sink into emotion over his disappearance.
“There is not much time left now.”
Geom Mugeuk held out both hands and said,
“Form a circle and hold the hand of the person beside you.”
Hyeok Docheon frowned and shouted,
“You want us to hold hands again?”
* * *
Hwa Mugi was recalling what Geom Mugeuk had said.
—I will listen.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
‘Insolent bastard, pitying me!’
But Hwa Mugi knew. When Geom Mugeuk had said those words, he had been sincere. He had truly wanted to listen to his story.
It was something that enraged him just to think about, something he had tried desperately to forget.
But he could not forget it. The more he tried to forget, the more clearly it remained engraved in him.
‘What could I possibly have to say?’
Hwa Mugi clenched his fist tightly.
Then the Fist Demon’s voice was heard.
“There is one quarter-hour left.”
Tension heightened in that place. Already, two hours had passed, and now only one quarter-hour remained.
Geom Ujin stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.
The Fist Demon knew the Cult Leader better than anyone, but at least in this moment, he dared not even imagine what the man might be thinking.
Then Cult Leader Pungcheon approached Geom Ujin and asked in a whisper,
“You don’t truly intend to kill him, do you?”
Geom Ujin did not answer that question.
Cult Leader Pungcheon felt a slight unease. Even if he did not answer, he should have at least shown a look that said, How could I kill him? But from Geom Ujin’s tightly shut lips, he could sense a certain will.
Cult Leader Pungcheon spoke as if this were nothing serious.
“Even if he is trapped in that body, there will be some way to pull him out. Don’t you know what kind of person your son is? He’ll wake up saying, ‘I’m sorry I’m late. There were many people to chat with inside there too, so I was delayed.’”
Geom Ujin turned his head and looked at him.
The moment their eyes met, Cult Leader Pungcheon knew. He had truly made up his mind to kill him.
“Are you insane?”
It was the first time Cult Leader Pungcheon had ever spoken rudely to Geom Ujin.
But neither Geom Ujin, nor the Fist Demon beside him, nor anyone else said anything.
“Being cold-headed is all well and good, and keeping the words you have spoken is all well and good, but what exactly are you trying to do right now?”
Cult Leader Pungcheon shouted at Geom Ujin, and at everyone.
“Do not even dream of it.”
Cult Leader Pungcheon strode forward and stood in front of Hwa Mugi, revealing his own aura.
“If you mean to kill this man, you’ll have to kill me first.”
Everyone stared at him in silence.
Cult Leader Pungcheon sought help from the Sword King, with whom he had grown rather close.
“You’ll help me, won’t you?”
The Sword King did not immediately answer that he would. If Geom Ujin had made up his mind to kill his son, would he truly have done so lightly? There had to be some plan or thought behind it that he himself did not know.
Of course, if Geom Ujin truly tried to kill Hwa Mugi, he would have stepped in without standing by.
“You call yourself my friend! You accepted my sword and even my shoes! If you act like this, I won’t name your tavern for you!”
For now, he did not step forward. For Cult Leader Pungcheon’s sake.
The Murim Alliance Leader, Jin Paecheon, felt similarly. He believed Geom Ujin would not kill Hwa Mugi.
Then Baek Jagang, the Sado Alliance Leader, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.
“That man must not be protected.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward him. He could clearly sense what thoughts the Heavenly Slaughter Star was harboring.
“That man has laid a plan to kill us all. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
After all, the one deeply versed in the Dark Demonic Art was Cult Leader Pungcheon.
Cult Leader Pungcheon looked back at Hwa Mugi behind him.
“Of course there’s a conspiracy. I’m sure it’s a grand and impressive conspiracy. Otherwise, would this man be in such a state? He’d be trying to beat me to death first, the very one protecting him.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
Cult Leader Pungcheon spoke to everyone.
“Even so, we cannot kill the Young Cult Leader.”
They all stared at Cult Leader Pungcheon in silence. If it had been the Extreme Evil Little Demon, this would have been only natural, but from Cult Leader Pungcheon, it was somewhat unexpected.
Only then did they all realize anew: just as much as he cursed and grumbled about Geom Mugeuk when he was not present, he was also someone who protected him when he was not there.
Then Hwa Mugi’s voice came from behind him.
“What exactly is the Young Cult Leader to you, that you would go this far?”
Cult Leader Pungcheon turned to Hwa Mugi.
“Did you fall for those enticing words of the Young Cult Leader’s too, meant only to curry your favor?”
Looking at him, Cult Leader Pungcheon asked,
“Have you ever said even one such enticing word for someone else’s sake?”
Hwa Mugi could not answer.
It was truly a relationship he could not understand. No, he was irritated because he was beginning to understand it.
‘That damned Young Cult Leader!’
Hwa Mugi looked into his own mind. For a moment, while listening to their conversation, he had failed to pay attention to Geom Mugeuk.
When Hwa Mugi looked inside his mind, he was startled. They were standing in a circle, holding hands.
A sense of foreboding swept over him, and before he knew it, he blurted out,
“No.”
It was a low murmur, but Cult Leader Pungcheon, who was right in front of him, heard it.
“Yes!”
Cult Leader Pungcheon turned back to him and shouted.
“It’s the Young Cult Leader, isn’t it? The Young Cult Leader is finally making his move, isn’t he? Young Cult Leader, come out at once and see!”
Cult Leader Pungcheon looked into Hwa Mugi’s eyes and shouted even louder.
“I’m the only one protecting you!”