Chapter 273 – The More Wicked the Karma, the More Persistent It Is (2)

Darkness comes early in deep mountains. Few spaces instill as much fear in people as mountains shrouded in darkness. Especially when even insect sounds and animal cries have ceased.

In such deep mountains, a single bonfire was burning. Sitting before the bonfire was a young man with a pale complexion.

The young man stirred the embers of the bonfire with a long branch. This caused the bonfire to burn more fiercely. Sparks flew to his head, but the young man paid no attention and continued stirring the coals. Then, the blade of a dagger covered by the coals revealed itself.

Having been covered by coals for a long time, the dagger's blade was glowing red-hot.

"Damn it!"

The young man muttered as he grasped the dagger's handle with a hand tightly wrapped in cloth. The heat of the red-hot dagger was vividly transmitted to his palm through the cloth.

Though his hand felt hot enough to be burned, the young man did not discard the dagger. Instead, with his free hand, he lifted his clothes. This revealed a wound on his side that was split open like the gills of a fish.

It was a severe wound that would have torn his internal organs if it had been just a bit deeper. The wound was so deep that it wouldn't even stop bleeding.

The young man muttered as he looked at the wound.

"I really don't want to do this…"

Taking a deep breath, the young man placed the red-hot dagger against the wound on his side.

Sizzle!

As the wound melted under the heat of the dagger, white smoke rose.

"Arrrgh!"

The young man's waist bent like a shrimp as he let out a beast-like groan. The pain was so severe that his eyes lost focus and foam formed at his mouth.

Thud!

Finally, after cauterizing the entire wound, the young man dropped the dagger and collapsed to the ground, his body trembling. The pain that resonated to his very soul made him unable to breathe properly, only gasping.

How much time passed like this? After lying sprawled for quite some time, the young man finally managed to raise his body.

"Ugh!"

A scream involuntarily escaped as he moved his body.

The bleeding from the wound had stopped, but the pain from the burn had not yet subsided.

As the young man carefully lowered his clothes that he had lifted with effort while enduring the pain, it happened.

"Shin Moo-wol!"

Suddenly, a loud shout reverberated through the night sky.

Swoosh!

Following that, a crimson sword energy cut through the darkness and flew toward him.

"Damn it!"

The young man quickly grabbed the scabbard he had set aside by the bonfire and dodged.

Boom!

Immediately after he leaped, the sword energy fell onto the bonfire. Burning branches scattered in all directions, and sparks flew.

Having narrowly avoided the attack, the young man hurriedly slung the scabbard on his back. This revealed a peacock-shaped scabbard. Five swords were visible on the scabbard.

In the world, only one person possessed such a scabbard.

He was none other than Shin Moo-wol, the Peacock Ghost Sword. His crisis was not yet over.

Swoosh!

Crimson sword energy continued to fly from the darkness.

Shin Moo-wol deployed his footwork to avoid the sword energy and quickly drew his sword.

"Blood Mist Squad. To think they'd chase me this far."

Shin Moo-wol gritted his teeth.

The sword ghosts attacking while hiding in the darkness were the Blood Mist Squad, among the elite of the Demon Cult.

They were mainly tasked with purging traitors within the Demon Cult. As such, their martial arts were excellent, especially in stealth, tracking, and poison techniques.

They ambushed Shin Moo-wol at all hours, tormenting him. The first few times were bearable, but with the continuous ambushes, Shin Moo-wol was in a state of mental and physical exhaustion.

The wound on his side was also inflicted by the Blood Mist Squad. How desperate must he have been to cauterize the wound with fire to stop the bleeding?

"Do you think you can escape from our hands? Traitor."

"Who's the traitor? Rather, it's you who are the traitors, committing sins by exploiting the Divine Cult."

Shin Moo-wol shouted angrily as he swung his sword.

Clang!

They clashed in the darkness.

Sparks flew in all directions, and sword energies chaotically intersected.

"Ugh!"

"Gurk!"

Someone's scream echoed, and blood splattered in all directions.

In the meantime, Shin Moo-wol drew another sword.

"Cross Heaven Opening. Haaaa!"

Two swords crossed in an X-shape and released sword energy.

With the intense cross-shaped sword energy, the darkness momentarily receded, and the area became as bright as day. Along with this, the sword ghosts of the Blood Mist Squad, who had been hiding in the darkness to ambush, were momentarily revealed.

"Ugh!"

"Scatter!"

As the Blood Mist Squad panicked and scattered, Shin Moo-wol swung his hand widely.

Swoosh!

The two swords left his hand and rotated. With his exquisite flying sword technique, more than ten members of the Blood Mist Squad lost their lives in an instant.

The Blood Mist Squad members who barely avoided the attack scattered in all directions like grasshoppers, and the swords, after spraying a shower of blood, made a large arc in the air and returned to Shin Moo-wol's hand.

Swish!

Shin Moo-wol sheathed the two recovered swords in the peacock scabbard and leaped into the darkness. His figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

"He's escaping."

"Track him!"

Belatedly, the Blood Mist Squad pursued him.

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in red martial attire walked out from the darkness. With a triangular face reminiscent of a viper and long, slit eyes that were particularly venomous, he was none other than Cho Moo-yang, the leader of the Blood Mist Squad.

Cho Moo-yang bent down and examined the ground. Though the bonfire had gone out and the surroundings were dark, his excellent internal energy allowed him to see clearly in the darkness.

Droplets of blood were scattered on the ground.

Cho Moo-yang dipped his finger in a blood droplet and brought it to his nose.

"Severely wounded, Shin Moo-wol."

A sinister smile spread across his face.

***

The poet Li Bai of the era once said that climbing the Shu Road was more difficult than ascending to the heavens. The Shu Road was that treacherous and dangerous. Narrow paths precariously crossing the middle of cliffs were common, and some places even passed through mountain peaks that pierced the sky.

"Phew!"

Eum Yu-kyung suddenly looked back and let out a soft sigh.

The numerous mountains overlapping in layers looked just like waves rippling. Despite having crossed so many mountains, they had not yet traversed even half of the Shu Road… Her heart was urgent, but the fact that there was still a long way to go made her weary.

She had abandoned her horse long ago. Crossing the treacherous Shu Road on horseback was by no means an easy task.

Unlike Eum Yu-kyung, Dam Ho had not abandoned Black Ghost. For Black Ghost, even the treacherous Shu Road was not a problem. Black Ghost's muscles had stronger elasticity than mountain goats that lived in deep mountains. Thanks to this, it could run on rough terrain as if it were flat ground.

Seeing Black Ghost like this, Eum Yu-kyung was simply amazed.

'Like master, like horse. It has transcended the limits of its species.'

It seemed as if the horse was growing as much as its master was growing.

Eum Yu-kyung suddenly stopped walking. It was because of the fantastic scenery that unfolded before her eyes.

"Ah!"

An exclamation naturally burst from her lips.

A scenery that seemed like it could only be seen in paintings was spread out before her eyes. An endless sea of pure white clouds stretched out. The sea of clouds, undulating like a living organism, gave Eum Yu-kyung a strange sense of inspiration.

Eum Yu-kyung stared blankly at the sea of clouds for a long time.

'The world is so beautiful, yet I cannot escape from the shackles of blood. When will I be able to escape from such shackles? This is surely not what the Founder intended when creating our sect.'

Eum Yu-kyung shook her head and broke free from her contemplation.

Looking to the side, she saw Dam Ho standing still. When Eum Yu-kyung stopped, he too had halted his steps.

Firmly closed lips and deeply sunken eyes.

From his face alone, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Sigh!"

Eum Yu-kyung sighed and moved on. Dam Ho also moved. Black Ghost followed behind.

One man, one woman, one horse walked the Shu Road like this.

They walked during the day and slept outdoors at night. After walking like this for five days, they finally reached the end of the Shu Road, which had seemed like it would never end.

Eum Yu-kyung suddenly looked back at the path they had traversed. A scenery as beautiful as a painting was spread out. However, the treachery hidden within was indescribable.

'Just like our lives. It might look splendid on the outside, but inside, bloody battles occur every day.'

The journey on the Shu Road made Eum Yu-kyung think about many things. Perhaps because of this, Eum Yu-kyung felt that she had matured a lot.

Eum Yu-kyung suddenly looked at Dam Ho.

During the journey to this place, Dam Ho had been mostly silent. He only answered with a word or two when Eum Yu-kyung spoke to him, otherwise, he never opened his mouth. So, she couldn't know what Dam Ho was thinking.

With a complex state of mind, Eum Yu-kyung moved on. After passing through Sword Gate Pass, which could be considered the end of the Shu Road, and walking for quite some time, they were finally able to reach their destination, Guangyuan.

Guangyuan was centered around the confluence of the Jialing River flowing from the north and the South River flowing from the east, with the city area formed around it.

Thanks to abundant water and fertile land, agriculture thrived, and minerals were also abundant, making Guangyuan a very wealthy city.

The streets were cleanly decorated, and the attire of people walking the streets was quite neat. The level of the city of Guangyuan could be inferred through their appearance.

Eum Yu-kyung said to Dam Ho:

"Today, we can sleep in a comfortable place."

Her face showed clear signs of fatigue.

No matter how strong her internal energy or how extreme her martial arts, she was still a woman. The long outdoor sleeping was enough to make her mentally tired.

She wanted to sleep on a soft bed in a clean inn, at least for today, and take a bath in a hot tub.

Eum Yu-kyung's eyes caught a fairly large inn. Located in a bustling area where the main roads intersected, the inn looked very clean at a glance.

"Let's stay at that inn."

"Hmm!"

Dam Ho nodded.

As they approached the inn, a servant boy rushed over.

"Welcome."

The servant boy, who looked to be only about twelve years old, had very bright eyes.

Dam Ho handed the reins of Black Ghost to the servant boy.

"Put this one in a separate stable, and give it plenty of beans and hay."

"Yes! Don't worry. Our inn always takes care of our guests' horses with sincerity."

The servant boy answered energetically and looked at Black Ghost.

The appearance of Black Ghost, with its black glossy coat, was enough to evoke admiration.

"Wow! What a magnificent horse. I've never seen a horse like this before."

The servant boy stared at Black Ghost, entranced.

Working at the inn, he naturally met many people and had to see the horses they rode. Among them were horses called famous steeds, but none of them could compare to Black Ghost, whose reins he was now holding.

'Truly the king of horses, a horse among horses.'

The servant boy's shoulders unconsciously straightened with pride.

Watching the servant boy lead Black Ghost to the stable, the two entered the inn. As they entered, the innkeeper rushed over.

"Welcome."

"Do you have rooms available?"

"Of course."

"Then please give us two. And also prepare a meal."

"Well…"

"Is there a problem?"

"I can give you rooms, but if you want to dine, you'll have to share a table with others."

"What?"

Eum Yu-kyung frowned and looked around. The first-floor dining area was so packed with guests that no empty seats were visible.

"I'm sorry."

The innkeeper didn't know what to do.

That's when it happened.

"Please join us."

A strange voice came from one corner of the dining area. Turning their heads, they saw two men and one woman looking at them.

A young martial artist in fancy attire, a girl with an impressive smile, and a middle-aged martial artist with a cold impression. Among them, the young martial artist in fancy attire was staring intently at Eum Yu-kyung.

Baek Li-jung stood on the mountain peak looking down below with both hands stained with blood. Though he couldn’t know the detailed situation, he could see the formation collapsing and Mount Emei’s nuns departing.

“Those Mount Emei bastards…”

Baek Li-jung also confirmed that Jin Ja-gang and the group of Evil Sect members were continuing to descend westward.

After pondering briefly, Baek Li-jung wiped his hands on torn cloth and muttered.

“I’ll just have to kill them all.”

Baek Li-jung spoke in a voice filled with murderous intent and then leaped down toward the foot of the mountain.

Where Baek Li-jung had been standing, there was one corpse so mangled that its original appearance was unrecognizable. Shattered shield pieces were scattered in all directions, allowing only a guess at his identity.

* * *

Mang Ryo giggled while watching the mountain situation, embedded in the cart.

It was clear that the flags indicating the formation’s bearings were in disarray and not working properly.

“Looks like Mount Emei has withdrawn.”

This meant Mount Emei had gotten what they wanted.

Then it was time for Mang Ryo to move as well.

Mang Ryo spoke to the warrior monitoring him.

“Hey. I need to pee.”

The warrior looked at Mang Ryo as if asking what he wanted him to do about it.

“As you can see, my prosthetic legs are broken and my arms are dislocated, so I can’t do anything. Should I just wet myself like this? You just need to hold my shoulders and help me up, then hold it for me.”

“You want me to help an old man pee?”

“Then just hold my hand. I’ll take care of the rest myself.”

The warrior irritatedly grabbed Mang Ryo’s limp hand.

“Hold tight.”

“Got it. But what are you planning to do with this…”

At that moment, Mang Ryo forcefully pulled his shoulder.

Pop!

His dislocated arm snapped back into place. The warrior was startled. Mang Ryo grabbed the warrior who was trying to let go and step back, climbed on top of his head. He wrapped both thighs around his neck and twisted.

Crack.

The neck bones turned and the warrior’s body convulsed.

“Thanks. You’re a really good friend. It’s hard to find such kind friends in today’s world.”

Mang Ryo pulled his other arm to snap it back into place. Then he stood up, supporting himself with his broken prosthetic leg on the ground.

“Come on, I’m busy.”

He had told Dan Ryeong-gyeong not to come this way to avoid encountering Jin Ja-gang. He couldn’t meet Jin Ja-gang yet. Every meeting has its timing, even if it’s within the same day.

* * *

Zhuge Ming was flustered.

“Damn it!”

The formation’s operation had become a mess. Jin Ja-gang had scattered poison on one side, causing considerable damage to the personnel there, and most severely, Mount Emei’s withdrawal had caused the greatest damage.

“I never thought they’d openly raise a rebellion…!”

This was probably one of the few times in Zhuge family history that the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation had faced such an unfavorable situation.

However, no matter how much damage they had suffered, the actual number of members hadn’t decreased significantly, so they still had reserves. Zhuge Ming dismantled the formation and concentrated westward as much as possible.

He intended to reconstruct the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation once more.

And this time, he would personally take charge of Kun Palace.

But before Zhuge Ming could even leave the command post, someone short blocked his path. No, it wasn’t that he was short, but Mang Ryo was walking on his knees because his prosthetic legs were broken.

“Thanks to you, I got to watch well. I came because it seems to be over now… What? Is there still more left to do? If so, let me watch a bit more.”

Zhuge Ming’s lips twisted.

“I spared a worthless life and now you don’t know your place.”

“Hey, how can you say worthless? I’m someone who almost killed the Martial Alliance Leader.”

Zhuge Ming’s face hardened as he asked.

“What’s the reason for doing this?”

“To isolate Sichuan’s martial world?”

“What?”

“I thought I’d lend a hand in reorganizing the Nine Provinces and Six Heavens.”

“You think you can do that?”

Mang Ryo gave a hollow laugh.

“Huh. How disappointing. If you think the world revolves around a few people like you, you’re mistaken. Without people moving underneath, would your desires be fulfilled? People like me need to gather and cultivate the fields one by one for anything to happen.”

“Even dog shit has its uses?”

“You still don’t understand. What happens if you don’t have people to cook for you and serve you? You’d have to hunt, cook, and prepare meals yourself. You’d spend all day hunting, tending crops, and cooking, with no time to devise strategies or schemes. When you take a dump, does the chamber pot walk away and clean itself? You’d have to mix it all into fertilizer and bury it yourself. Without subordinates, even taking a dump becomes work.”

“Comparing me to the work those lowly people do. This is getting increasingly unpleasant.”

“You don’t understand what I’m saying. Without those lowly people doing that lowly work, you’d have to do it all yourself.”

Mang Ryo clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Tsk tsk tsk. This is the problem with those who grew up pampered. They think the world runs for free.”

“Your tongue is long. So you think you can do something to me?”

“Oh dear. Such a stupid fellow commanding the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation, no wonder the formation failed. Do you think I appeared to fight you in this condition?”

At that moment, Zhuge Ming felt tremendous killing intent and turned around.

Mount Emei’s Demon Monk Myowol was tearing through the barracks and entering. She was emanating streams of killing intent and his blade was already dripping with blood, leaving no doubt about her intentions.

“Demon Monk! What the hell is Mount Emei thinking!”

When Zhuge Ming showed his back, Mang Ryo immediately rushed forward and thrust with both palms. Zhuge Ming turned his waist to counter with a palm strike. Myowol also rushed from the opposite side.

“Amitabha. Patron Zhuge, please achieve peaceful nirvana. I have someone to kill, so please die as quickly as possible.”

Zhuge Ming’s hands became frantic.

“How dare you bastards!”

Zhuge Ming staggered after taking a blow to his back from Mang Ryo. After landing one hit, Mang Ryo stopped his hands as if feeling refreshed. Then he gathered up the flags that Zhuge Ming had dropped.

“Now, are these the famous Zhuge family’s Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation command flags?”

“You bastard!”

Zhuge Ming shouted, but couldn’t stop Mang Ryo. Myowol’s sword was fierce and sharp with no openings. Zhuge Ming barely drew his folding fan to face her.

Meanwhile, Mang Ryo went outside with the command flags and began waving them.

“Is this how you do it? Oh my, I can see things moving. This is interesting.”

“Stop that immediately!”

“You mind your own business. Don’t worry about others’ affairs.”

Mang Ryo chuckled while randomly picking up flags and waving them. Having watched what Zhuge Ming did from behind, he didn’t know the operation method but his actions looked roughly similar.

“You bastard!”

Zhuge Ming showed extreme anger but couldn’t shake off Myo Wol.

“Kekeke!”

Mang Ryo excitedly waved whatever command flags he pleased.

* * *

The formation became a mess.

Warriors bumped into each other while moving and sometimes broke off in completely wrong directions. Everything became tangled and mixed up in chaos.

Tremendous confusion came to the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

“Something’s wrong!”

“What’s happening!”

Zhuge Son-gi realized something had happened to Zhuge Ming. Because all forces had been committed to the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation, there were no significant troops at the command barracks.

The sect leaders were also bewildered by the lack of proper command.

But they couldn’t immediately return to the command post either. That would accelerate the collapse of the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation that was already disintegrating.

“If we can’t stop their escape in broad daylight, we’ll become the laughingstock of the martial world!”

The Sichuan sect leaders shouted.

Thirteen sects with over five hundred people had gathered, plus the Zhuge family’s Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation. If they couldn’t catch about twenty Evil Sect members, Sichuan’s martial world’s pride would fall to the ground.

“We must find a way!”

Zhuge Son-gi gritted his teeth.

“If it comes to this…”

There was only one method left.

“Sect leaders, please follow me!”

Zhuge Son-gi ran westward with the remaining ten sect leaders. He intended to buy time for the formation to be reorganized even if it meant engaging the Evil Sect members in frontal combat.

Zhuge Son-gi quickly moved with the sect leaders and blocked the Evil Sect members’ path.

Even if they were small and medium sects, as sect leaders they possessed skills that couldn’t be ignored. When they blocked the Evil Sect members, their escape speed slowed.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong, Gam Chung, and several Evil Sect members stepped forward to break through. But in the meantime, Zhuge Son-gi took new command.

“Ignore the formation commands and everyone gather here!”

Warriors who heard Zhuge Son-gi’s voice began swarming.

If they mixed together in chaotic battle, naturally the Sichuan sects’ side would suffer greater casualties. But it was better than missing them while the formation was a mess. Sichuan warriors and sect leaders rushed forward in frustration.

“Wahhhhh!”

Clang! Clang clang!

“Ahhhh!”

Swords and spears flew everywhere as everyone mixed together in chaos. For the Evil Sect members too, their goal was to escape safely, not to bury their bones here. It became a murky fight that neither side wanted.

In such a mix, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t use poison carelessly either. Soul Seizing Thread was also sealed as it could injure allies.

But then.

Suddenly, a group of masked bare-handed fighters appeared from somewhere and intervened in the battle.

Though they numbered only five or six, each one’s skill was very outstanding.

The masked figures subdued Sichuan warriors with exquisite Golden Thread Hand techniques and incapacitated them by pressing vital points. Even so, they weren’t using lethal techniques.

They didn’t even fall behind when fighting sect leaders one-on-one or two-on-one.

“Who are you people!”

“We are…”

The masked figures scolded each other.

“Hey, didn’t the elders repeatedly warn you to watch your mouth?”

“Sorry, Immeasurable Longevity…”

“You stupid fellow! How could the Heavenly Venerable send someone like you…”

“Oh no, Four Hundred.”

“Huh?”

Hearing the masked figures’ speech patterns, the sect leaders were horrified.

“Qingcheng Sect!”

The masked figures looked troubled.

“Huh. Is lying really this difficult?”

The Sichuan sect leaders and warriors were also in a bind. Though Qingcheng Sect had been branded as disloyal forces for opposing the Martial Alliance, they were comrades who had been together in Sichuan for a long time.

Sichuan’s martial world, isolated in basin-like terrain, had their own independent sense of belonging. Moreover, Qingcheng Sect was a respected Taoist sect. If Sichuan’s martial world had any feelings toward Qingcheng Sect, it was favorable, not hostile at all.

The sect leaders, flustered, withdrew their warriors.

“How can the Qingcheng Sect’s Taoists protect such Evil Sect rabble!”

One of the masked figures stepped forward and said.

“Since the situation has come to this, please understand. We have no intention of using lethal techniques, so if you could step back, we’d be grateful.”

“Those people killed our brothers and made fools of Sichuan’s martial world. What would we look like if we withdrew here!”

“But if it weren’t for the Martial Alliance in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to fight each other. They just needed to go their way, and we just needed to watch.”

When the sect leaders hesitated, Zhuge Son-gi stepped forward.

“We are all members of the Martial Alliance with the duty to capture rebel elements! Since all three powers of Sichuan have refused the Martial Alliance’s will, they will pay the appropriate price! However, those of you who cooperate with us now will receive appropriate rewards…”

His words had the opposite effect.

The weight that the Three Powers of Sichuan (Tang family, Mount Emei, Qingcheng Sect) carried in Sichuan was different from how outsiders saw it. If all Three Powers of Sichuan had withdrawn, the remaining small and medium sects felt the same way.

The sect leaders gradually withdrew. Zhuge Son-gi panicked.

“Hey there!”