Chapter 272 – The More Wicked the Karma, the More Persistent It Is (1)

As always, Dam Ho's gaze was truly terrifying. Just meeting his eyes made one feel like their soul might fly away.

Yun-jeong gritted her teeth. Only then could she barely maintain her sanity.

"What's in Sichuan Province?"

"Are you curious?"

"Honestly, yes."

"If you're curious, tell Gi Ye-hwa to come find me herself."

"But the Sect Master is…"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"…"

Yun-jeong pressed her lips tightly together. Her eyes were filled with fear. She reminded herself once again that Dam Ho was the Fist Demon, a man without blood or tears.

He was too overwhelming for her to handle. Only someone like Gi Ye-hwa might be able to get some answers from Dam Ho's mouth.

After gathering her thoughts, Yun-jeong barely managed to answer.

"I'll send a message to the Sect Master."

"Before that…"

"Yes?"

"We need to catch the rat first."

"Rat?"

Just as a look of confusion appeared on Yun-jeong's face, Dam Ho raised his fist and struck the wall.

BOOM!

"Kuhk!"

The wall exploded with a thunderous sound. Simultaneously, someone's stifled groan could be heard.

Only then did Yun-jeong realize that someone had been hiding behind the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"How dare they!"

Yun-jeong rose in anger. But by then, the presence of the person hiding behind the wall had already disappeared.

"What happened?"

"Are you alright?"

The manager and guards of Heaven Cloud Pavilion rushed into the room after hearing the loud noise. They had been standing by in case Dam Ho might harm Yun-jeong.

Yun-jeong told them:

"What's going on? A spy has infiltrated."

"What?"

"A spy?"

Bewildered expressions appeared on the faces of the manager and guards.

Heaven Cloud Pavilion, as a branch of the Hao Sect, had established an impenetrable security network. It was understandably shocking that such a network had been breached.

The manager and guards looked at the collapsed wall. There was no one there. Neither the spy who had been eavesdropping nor Dam Ho, who had been conversing with Yun-jeong just moments ago.

"What in the world?"

***

"Huff, huff!"

A middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes was running through the night streets of Hanzhong.

His name was Ro Gwak, a member of the Dark Cloud Team Two.

Dark Cloud Team Two consisted of twenty members. Each individual was not only skilled in stealth and tracking but also had mastered martial arts to a considerable level, allowing them to perform special missions such as assassinations when needed.

Namgung Chang had realized the importance of information early on. So, after becoming a general of the Martial Alliance, he focused on developing the Dark Cloud. His persistent attempts to merge with the Hao Sect were also to make his information network more comprehensive.

The Dark Cloud could transform into any person. They could become a woman passing by on the street or an ordinary market merchant. Their disguise skills were that exceptional.

Ro Gwak specialized in disguise. He could become anyone in the world. When he saw Dam Ho entering Heaven Cloud Pavilion, he disguised himself as a regular customer. He had naturally entered the pavilion, intending to eavesdrop. But his attempt was immediately discovered by Dam Ho.

He thought as he exerted all his internal energy to perform his lightness technique:

'He's a cripple. If I give it my all, he absolutely can't catch up.'

Fortunately, he couldn't sense Dam Ho's presence. So Ro Gwak could feel somewhat relieved.

That's when it happened.

"What's the matter?"

A shabbily dressed woodcutter passing by suddenly spoke to him. He too was a warrior belonging to Dark Cloud Team Two.

Ro Gwak hurriedly said:

"I've been discovered by Fist Demon."

"That's…"

"There's no time. Erase the traces and tell the others to withdraw."

"Understood."

The woodcutter quickly replied.

Having worked in the information world for a long time, he immediately grasped the overall situation from Ro Gwak's few words.

'Fist Demon never gives up.'

He never let anyone who defied his eyes live. By now, he was probably tracking Ro Gwak's traces.

Ro Gwak knew this fact as well.

"You go first. I'll erase my traces and join you later."

"Please be careful."

"Then…"

The two passed each other.

Their conversation took place in an instant, and to an unknowing observer, they would have appeared to be just strangers passing by.

Though it was night, many people were still moving about the streets of Hanzhong. The woodcutter blended in among these people. But he remained vigilant.

He circled the marketplace several times to ensure he wasn't being followed. Only after confirming that no one was on his tail did he finally open the door of a small mansion on one side of the marketplace.

Creeeeak!

The wooden door opened with the scream of old hinges.

"Kuhb!"

At that moment, an intense smell of blood assaulted his nose.

The woodcutter unconsciously covered his nose and widened his eyes.

A horrific scene unfolded in the courtyard of the mansion. Five men lay in pools of blood.

Heads burst open, chests caved in—it was truly a scene too gruesome to behold.

"What?"

The woodcutter's pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

That's when it happened.

THUD!

A large object flew from somewhere and rolled at his feet.

"Ro… Gwak?"

The woodcutter's voice trembled involuntarily.

The blood-soaked object was none other than Ro Gwak, whom he had parted with just moments ago. Ro Gwak's life had been extinguished, his tongue hanging out.

Though his breath had ceased, his face was filled with terror. His unseeing eyes revealed the fear and dread he had felt in his final moments.

It had been just a brief moment since the woodcutter and Ro Gwak had parted.

In that short time, Ro Gwak had lost his life, and the Dark Cloud warriors waiting at the mansion had been killed. It was unbelievable. But he had to believe it. It was the reality unfolding before his eyes.

"Who's there?"

He raised his head convulsively. Then, from the shadowed area under the long eaves of the mansion, someone revealed themselves.

The moment he confirmed the person's identity, the woodcutter's eyes widened in shock.

"F-Fi, Fist Demon?"

The one who walked out from the shadows was none other than Dam Ho. The moment he confirmed his appearance, the woodcutter sensed that the worst situation had befallen them.

'Damn it!'

A question suddenly arose.

The Ro Gwak he knew was a master of lightness technique. He was someone who could escape with his life from any danger. Yet, he had been caught and killed by Dam Ho, who was merely a cripple. It was incomprehensible by his common sense.

'I can't match him in martial arts.'… As soon as he made this judgment, the woodcutter leaped backward.

Dam Ho stood in place, indifferently watching the woodcutter flee.

Drip, drip!

Blood trickled down the back of his hand.

It was the blood of Ro Gwak and those hiding in the mansion.

Catching the fleeing Ro Gwak wasn't that difficult. Making him confess the location of the mansion where the watchers were hiding wasn't that difficult either.

Dam Ho didn't understand them.

They had a preconception that Dam Ho couldn't properly perform the lightness technique just by looking at his outward appearance. But Dam Ho's lightness technique was by no means weak. For short distances, he possessed a lightness technique second to none. Yet, they blindly judged that they could shake off Dam Ho by simply fleeing with the lightness technique.

Ro Gwak paid for that misjudgment with his life. And he spilled everything he knew. This happened while the woodcutter was circling the same spot, thinking he was evading Dam Ho's pursuit.

Dam Ho moved forward.

The night was long, and there was still much time left. Dam Ho intended to make full use of that long time.

"H-how?"

Moon Su-gyeol's pupils trembled.

Last night was a nightmare for him. The communication with Dark Cloud Team Two, which he had deployed in Hanzhong, began to be cut off in the early evening.

Before he could respond, the communication with Dark Cloud Team Two rapidly ceased.

Someone was killing the members of Dark Cloud Team Two. Like a salmon swimming upstream, they were killing the lower-ranking individuals and tracking backward.

"It's Fist Demon. He's tracking us in reverse."

"W-what should we do?"

Jo Won-myeong asked with a terrified face.

The usual confidence and self-assurance had long disappeared from his face.

Though his nephew's appearance was pathetic, there was no time to blame him.

"You should leave this place quickly. The Martial Alliance must be informed that Fist Demon is trying to enter Sichuan Province."

"What about you, Uncle?"

"I will buy time."

Moon Su-gyeol answered resolutely.

"But…"

"There's no time. If you die too, the chance to convey this information to the Martial Alliance will be lost forever."

"I… understand."

Jo Won-myeong replied with difficulty. But a strange sense of relief appeared on his face.

Though it was regrettable to Moon Su-gyeol, he truly wanted to live. Even if it meant using his uncle's life as collateral.

'It's not wrong, is it? I'm still young. It's not wrong to want to live more.'

He consoled himself as he leaped.

He felt Moon Su-gyeol's gaze on his back, but he deliberately ignored it. He knew that his uncle was risking his life for him. That fact weighed on his mind, but the fear that consumed his heart at this moment was too great.

'We're not even blood-related anyway.'

Jo Won-myeong hardened his heart.

He planned to leave Hanzhong immediately after jumping over the wall in front of him.

That's when it happened.

THUD!

Jo Won-myeong's body, which was jumping over the wall, stopped in mid-air as if caught in a net. Seeing this, Moon Su-gyeol shouted:

"Won-myeong!"

"Nngh!"

Jo Won-myeong couldn't answer. No, he couldn't. A hand as large as a pot lid was pressing against his entire face.

It was Dam Ho. He had intercepted Jo Won-myeong as he was fleeing with the lightness technique. Caught in Dam Ho's hand, Jo Won-myeong was flailing like a fish caught on a hook.

"You! Release him this instant!"

An enraged Moon Su-gyeol charged towards Dam Ho. At that moment, Dam Ho threw Jo Won-myeong's body at him.

CRASH!

"Kuk!"

"Kheuk!"

The two collided in mid-air and fell entangled. They rolled on the ground with their limbs intertwined. But Moon Su-gyeol was also a master. He quickly pushed Jo Won-myeong's body away and rose to his feet. However, Dam Ho's reaction was even faster.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's fist, which had already approached within arm's reach, struck Jo Won-myeong's chest. Right before Moon Su-gyeol's eyes, Jo Won-myeong's chest burst open.

Jo Won-myeong looked at his own burst-open chest with an expression of disbelief.

"U-Uncle?"

"No!"

"I…"

Jo Won-myeong's body trembled, and then he collapsed. That was his pathetic end.

Moon Su-gyeol convulsively shouted at Dam Ho:

"You demon! How could you kill someone so mercilessly… Kuhk!"

GRIP!

But his voice didn't continue to the end. Dam Ho had already grabbed his throat.

"Nngh!"

As Moon Su-gyeol struggled, Dam Ho raised the hand holding his neck high and then slammed him to the ground.

BOOM!

With a thunderous sound, Moon Su-gyeol was embedded into the ground. A hole in the shape of his body was deeply carved into the ground, and his limbs were bent abnormally. Blood flowing from his body was filling the hole with red.

"Nngh!"

Even in that state, Moon Su-gyeol's breath didn't cease. His strong internal energy was barely keeping him alive.

Dam Ho bent down to look into his eyes.

"Who sent you?"

"Nngh!"

"Was it Namgung Chang?"

Moon Su-gyeol widened his eyes. Dam Ho's face filled his clouded retinas, making it hard to breathe.

"Tell Namgung Chang. It's not far off."

"W-what?"

"The day I'll come for him."

Westward, westward.

The Evil Sect members could continue advancing without much interference.

There wasn’t no damage at all, but they were fighting much more easily than expected.

Clang! Clang clang!

The Sichuan warriors blocking their path couldn’t withstand the Evil Sect members’ attacks and retreated while rubbing their eyes. Once again, a path opened.

Several shouted excitedly.

“The Zhuge family’s Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation isn’t much either?”

However, Jin Ja-gang somehow felt uneasy.

Because of the Evil Sect members, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t use his most powerful poison. So he had used poison parsley flower leaves. Poison parsley flower was a poison with no particular symptoms that one wouldn’t know they were poisoned until sunrise. When the sun rises, it can give sufficient advantage in battle, but it’s not powerful enough to collapse the formation itself.

Yet the current situation felt almost like the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation was being smashed to pieces like straw!

Jin Ja-gang looked at Bian Bu. Bian Bu was also tilting his head as if something was strange. When Jin Ja-gang approached, Bian Bu said.

“If you completely ignore the deployment method of the Eight Gates of Solar Divination, the side operating the formation suffers great harm. Even setting aside us, it’s strange for the Zhuge family, masters of formations, to operate a formation this way. The order of Yang Shield and Yin Shield is completely messed up.”

The Sichuan warriors kept retreating and blocking repeatedly, and each time, warriors continued to die one by one.

An Evil Sect member who had killed a charging warrior from the side wiped the blood from his sword while scolding Bian Bu.

“It’s just unnecessary worry. Don’t you see those bastards are desperate to hide their tails and run? Whether it’s Yang Shield or whatever, they’re fleeing because the formation is getting wrecked.”

“But then there should be a feeling that something’s going wrong, yet I don’t feel that at all.”

Bian Bu practiced divination with the I Ching. The Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation also basically follows the I Ching. Even if he didn’t know formations in detail, basic reasoning was possible.

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Then are you saying we’re going the wrong way?”

“We have no choice but to go west since we used poison. But… the Zhuge family knowing the direction we’re going and not blocking us but obviously leaving us alone…”

Bian Bu said as if something had suddenly occurred to him.

“Could it be… the entire formation is moving following us? Adjusting to us?”

“You’re saying the entire formation is moving?”

If it were a small formation it wouldn’t matter, but in a large formation like now, that wasn’t easy. They would have to readjust and turn the formation that operates like precise gears according to the Evil Sect members’ movements each time.

“It’s the Zhuge family after all. Well, it might just be my old woman’s worries.”

Hearing this, Jin Ja-gang quietly fell back. He retreated from the front ranks to the rear ranks and went to the very back. He moved so stealthily that even the Evil Sect members didn’t notice Jin Ja-gang’s movement.

Jin Ja-gang waited until the Evil Sect members had gone far enough away, then shook his sleeve.

Poison powder settled hazily around the area. Jin Ja-gang then hid in the bushes and waited.

An Evil Sect member leading the way looked around and pointed southwest.

“This way!”

An escape route was visible diagonally southwest. Warriors were swarming from other places, but only that direction seemed to have fewer numbers.

“Wait, what about over there?”

Northwest had many flags and several archers visible. Battle cries also rang out loudly.

“Wahhhhh!”

But the actual personnel didn’t seem that numerous. The siege seemed unexpectedly thin compared to what was visible, looking easy to break through.

“Which way?”

They could just continue straight west, but then they’d be caught in a pincer attack from both sides. In that case, it might be better to twist a bit and choose one of the two sides.

Bian Bu shouted.

“Rest Gate is the auspicious gate and other gates are inauspicious gates. We can’t enter rashly!”

“Which one is the auspicious gate?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Geez. That’s not helpful.”

The Evil Sect members grumbled while waiting for Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s decision.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong carefully examined both sides. One seemed to have an ambush and the other looked dangerous but seemed to have few actual personnel, making it look easy to break through.

However, both could be traps.

After pondering, Dan Ryeong-gyeong decided.

“Let’s go straight.”

She judged it was better to go between them.

The Evil Sect members immediately went straight. The warriors guarding both gates fought for a while then retreated. The pincer attack from both sides wasn’t as strong as expected.

“Rest Gate and Scene Gate. Both were just noisy with no substance.”

However, the Evil Sect members remembered Jin Ja-gang’s words.

“He said the life gate is in the death gate and the death gate is within the scene gate, right? Then since we just passed through Scene Gate…”

Entering Scene Gate leads to Death Gate. Continuing in the direction ahead would lead directly to Death Gate. But to exit through the life gate, they had no choice but to go to Death Gate.

The only consolation was that since Death Gate was right ahead, the life gate was also almost close.

“Let’s give it a try!”

“Good, now it’s Death Gate!”

“Let’s taste what Death Gate is like!”

The Evil Sect members prepared fully and immediately rushed in. But the moment they rushed in, the Evil Sect members stopped abruptly.

Before them were nuns from Mount Emei.

If ordinary warriors were messengers of death, Mount Emei’s nuns were King Yama themselves.

“Damn.”

The Evil Sect members looked around to the sides and back, when suddenly flags began frantically moving between bushes and trees.

Tweeeeet!

Countless warriors scattered throughout the mountain were circling around them as the center.

Escape routes disappeared and all gates became distorted, making it difficult to find direction. Moreover, tremendous numbers of heavily armed warriors were holding their ground at every gate.

The formation itself was moving centered on the Evil Sect members.

“Dodge for now!”

They couldn’t fight Mount Emei’s nuns head-on. The Evil Sect members turned left, heading south to dodge.

But the formation moved again. Flags moved in circles from all directions, and Mount Emei’s nuns appeared once more. Though the people were different from before, they were still Mount Emei nuns.

No matter how many times they dodged, it was the same.

Eventually, all four sides became surrounded by Mount Emei nuns.

“Hey now.”

“This is too much.”

The Evil Sect members realized they couldn’t escape without overcoming the Mount Emei nuns.

Gam Chung stepped forward.

“I’ll break through! Follow me!”

However, the Mount Emei nuns didn’t retreat even an inch. They only defended against the attacks from Gam Chung and the Evil Sect members from their positions. They were in a completely different class from ordinary small and medium sect warriors.

Clang! Clang clang!

While fighting, Mount Emei nuns from the other three sides approached one step closer.

Bian Bu held the frightened Soso and said.

“It’s Kun Palace. The gatekeeper of Kun Palace that maintains Death Gate is Mount Emei. Does this mean we can’t find the life gate within Death Gate unless we defeat Mount Emei?”

Gam Chung gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Let’s try breaking through once more!”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong, thinking the atmosphere was strange, stopped the Evil Sect members.

“Wait!”

Before Mang Ryo left, he had said Mount Emei wouldn’t interfere with the Evil Sect. And that they only needed to avoid one direction. Coming down to the middle of the mountain, she understood. That one direction was none other than where the command post was located.

When she pulled the Evil Sect members back to think about the meaning, the Mount Emei nuns also stopped attacking.

‘They’re not making the first move?’

Literally a wall.

If they didn’t attack first, they wouldn’t attack first either, but there was no escape route either.

‘Where is Poison Dragon?’

But then.

Suddenly screams began to be heard from above.

“Ahhhhh!”

Not only the Mount Emei nuns but also the Evil Sect members were startled by the ominous screams.

“What is that!”

Warriors’ screams echoed continuously from the eastern path the Evil Sect members had passed through.

Tweet! Tweet!

Urgent whistle sounds rang out and chaos erupted.

“It’s Poison Dragon!”

The Evil Sect members’ eyes widened. They had wondered where Jin Ja-gang was, but when had he gone behind to attack the formation?

In less than a moment, dozens of screams rang out.

The Mount Emei nuns blocking the east suddenly opened the path.

Jin Ja-gang was walking in covered in blood. Of course, it wasn’t his own blood.

“Elder Bian Bu was right. The formation was moving.”

Jin Ja-gang had thrown himself between the gears and smashed them! Since there would be no need to go back up the eastern mountain anyway, and morning had come so the wind direction was starting to change, he used poison freely. Because the formation was moving, warriors ended up charging into where Jin Ja-gang had scattered poison.

Jin Ja-gang looked around at the Mount Emei nuns surrounding all four sides.

The Mount Emei nuns were impassive. They seemed to be waiting for something.

No, they weren’t just seeming to wait but actually waiting. They were waiting for Jin Ja-gang’s answer!

Jin Ja-gang steadied his breathing and closed his eyes.

He recalled meeting Mount Emei’s sect leader at the Tang family.

Holding a sword to King of Hell’s neck, In Divine Nun had asked:

First, if the Tang family falls, who will stop the Western Tibet Demon Cult?

Second, who will check the Northern Heaven Evil Sect?

Third, if you cut off King of Hell’s neck, who will check the Martial Alliance?

In Divine Nun desires dramatic change in the current system for the greater good. However, overthrowing the system is In Divine Nun’s intention, not necessarily Jin Ja-gang’s answer to those three questions.

Jin Ja-gang said to the Mount Emei nuns.

“I will give you an answer to the questions.”

Both the Evil Sect members and Mount Emei nuns all looked at Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang spoke resolutely but without hesitation.

“I will do it.”

While the Evil Sect members were bewildered, not understanding the meaning of those words, the Mount Emei nuns suddenly sheathed their swords and put their palms together.

“Namo Amitabha.”

A nun in her fifties stepped forward, put her palms together and said.

“This poor nun is Nang Yo. Those words, may we understand them as having set your intention?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then there must be something that needs to be done beforehand for that?”

That answer had already been shown by In Divine Nun. The reason In Divine Nun had immediately withdrawn upon learning Tang Ha-ran was pregnant was precisely because of this.

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“I will kill King of Hell.”

The Evil Sect members got goosebumps at Jin Ja-gang’s words. King of Hell out of nowhere!

However, Nang Yo stepped back as if she had heard a sufficiently satisfactory answer.

“I will convey Patron Poison Dragon’s words exactly. Though we withdraw today, Mount Emei will be Patron Poison Dragon’s strength in the future.”

Mount Emei had relationships with other Sichuan sects, so they couldn’t attack them. However, just withdrawing from their guarding positions could deal a major blow to the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

Nang Yo continued.

“The principles of the martial world come from justification, and those who wish to claim justification must know the complete truth.”

Nang Yo looked at Jin Ja-gang and put her palms together again.

“These are words left by Sect Leader.”

“Justification and complete truth…”

Jin Ja-gang had not known the complete story until now. If he wanted to remain at personal revenge, it didn’t matter. However, if Jin Ja-gang wanted to go one step further and act beyond revenge, he should understand the complete truth of matters he hadn’t known. Only then could he receive support.

Jin Ja-gang bowed with cupped fists instead of thanks.

“I fully understand your words.”

The Mount Emei nuns simply stepped back and left the formation.

At that moment, the Death Gates on all four sides disappeared and became ordinary paths.

An escape route was completely opened before their eyes. Bian Bu marveled.

“So this is what it means that there’s a life gate within Death Gate.”

Since Mount Emei, who was in charge of Kun Palace, had been acting as the bolt of Death Gate, when Kun Palace disappeared, the bolt opened.

The Evil Sect members were still bewildered. However, since Mount Emei had disappeared and part of the formation had collapsed, they couldn’t miss such an opportunity.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Dan Ryeong-gyeong and nodded. Now wasn’t the time to explain that matter. With Mount Emei’s withdrawal and the collapse of the rear formation, the gears of the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation had stopped.

“Let’s go.”

Jin Ja-gang took the lead and began leading the Evil Sect members down the mountain.