Chapter 105 – Divine Cult (1)

Divine Cult.

This massive religious group that the Orthodox Faction called the Demonic Cult was almost like a kingdom.

Because of the Divine Cult that dominated the Tibet and Gobi Desert regions, the Emperor’s officials couldn’t actually take office even when appointed.

This was because the Divine Cult’s branch heads were even performing the role of actual officials in each region.

Naturally, the Central Plains’ Emperor couldn’t just overlook such a situation. However, Tibet was too far away and the Emperor had too many enemies around him.

Moreover, there were many difficulties in facing the Divine Cult’s command composed of commoners with desperate faith in the Divine Cult and martial arts masters.

Eventually, the Emperor passed the problem regarding the Divine Cult to the Orthodox Faction and mobilized pressure and persuasion to have Orthodox Faction sects face the Divine Cult.

For these reasons, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say all of Tibet was the Divine Cult’s territory. Therefore, outside the east gate of the Divine Cult’s Outer Court where Sun-woo stood was a position that was both outside and inside the cult.

Thanks to that, though there was no one specifically guarding the Outer Court’s north gate, people constantly entered and exited.

Even now, if Sun-woo hadn’t felt signs of people and quickly hidden his body, he clearly would have been caught.

“I don’t know why those Orthodox Faction bastards are making a fuss again. Haven’t we been too lenient with them?”

“Well, from what I heard, there were guys playing tricks in between.”

“That’s just a rumor. And even if it’s true, anyway we have to collect debts from guys who caused damage to the cult. Just smash them both and be done with it.”

“Makes sense.”

Two fierce-looking martial artists holding spears and sabers were exiting the gate. Both had light bodies and inaudible footsteps, appearing to be at least first-rate martial artists.

“Let’s hurry, we might have to stay up all night today to catch up with squad members who left first.”

“Tsk, but was there always this much shrubbery here?”

One of the martial artists frowned seeing the bushes luxuriantly positioned beside the gate.

That was the moment. Light flashed between the luxuriant bushes.

The martial artist trying to shout in surprise had his vision darken the moment the light flashed. The other martial artist turning his head at the sound of his companion falling behind also lost consciousness before that.

After the two martial artists collapsed, the luxuriant bushes began blurring, and Sun-woo with bush branches stuck in both ears revealed his appearance there.

“Darn, looks like I couldn’t remove the sense of wrongness while hastily spreading illusion technique.”

It was Sun-woo who had hurriedly stuck bush branches rolling around nearby in both ears to disguise himself as bushes.

With luxuriant bushes positioned on both sides of his head, it became quite a funny appearance, but Sun-woo couldn’t know his own appearance.

Fortunately, the ambush worked and he could put the two martial artists to sleep. Though quite nervous since it was his first time pressing acupoints, he unexpectedly succeeded easily.

Originally killing was much easier, but he couldn’t indiscriminately kill Divine Cult martial artists while going to find Yeonhwa.

Sun-woo shouldered the two sleeping martial artists and walked to a place far from the gate. He put down the two martial artists behind a large tree and began undressing one martial artist.

Sun-woo planned to change into his clothes. If it were a normal mission, the Association clothes he was currently wearing would be best, but right now was a situation requiring infiltration inside the cult. Wearing Divine Cult member’s clothes would arouse less suspicion.

“Is it because I’m acquainted with Yeonhwa? For missions like this, seems like it would be better to request from Divine Cult side summoners…”

While changing into the Divine Cult member’s clothes, Sun-woo grumbled in a small voice.

For Sun-woo who didn’t know all Divine Cult summoners had left the headquarters to face the Orthodox Faction, there was no way he could be without complaints about what the Summoners were doing.

More than anything, being summoned when trying to rest after returning home after a long time was the biggest complaint.

But separate from the grumbling coming from his mouth, Sun-woo quickly changed into the Divine Cult member’s worn cloth clothes.

Perhaps because he chose clothes of someone with similar build, the clothes fit Sun-woo’s body well.

Sun-woo placed both hands on the Divine Cult member’s clothes he changed into and closed his eyes. And shortly after, Sun-woo opened his eyes.

“Demonic Cult Outer Court 3rd Vermillion Bird Squad. Member name is Ma Daepung. And Outer Court 3rd mostly departed to hit nearby small and medium sects, and the two people are following them to join later…”

Sun-woo who confirmed what happened in the past from his clothes could obtain the unconscious martial artist’s basic information.

Sun-woo pressed the two unconscious people’s acupoints once more so they couldn’t wake for at least half a day, then used sorcery to dig deep into the ground beside the tree.

And after putting the two people inside the hole, he covered the top with soil.

“Made a breathing hole so they can escape when they wake up.”

When they woke up and learned they were buried in the ground, they would receive considerable shock, but he had no capacity to care that far.

Sun-woo also buried his original clothes on another side, then boldly walked inside through the gate.

The Divine Cult was formed in a way where each squad formed an Outer Court surrounding the central headquarters.

The headquarters’ territory was also larger than ordinary martial arts sects, and if including the Outer Court, it was about the size of a fairly renowned town.

Each squad was a camp taking fortress form. But as time passed, people gathered and now formed quite large villages centered on the camps.

When Sun-woo walked about ten minutes from the north gate, the Vermillion Bird Squad’s camp and the village surrounding it appeared.

The village looked like an ordinary Tibet village except for the large camp positioned centrally. But Sun-woo who approached nearby had no choice but to tense up firmly.

Unlike appearances, surveillance gazes were flashing everywhere in the village.

‘As expected, not an easy place.’

Fortunately, Sun-woo didn’t seem to be caught. The surveillance gazes swept over Sun-woo once then turned attention elsewhere.

Sun-woo walked toward the shrine in the north through the village’s main road that was leisurely thanks to many Vermillion Bird Squad people leaving.

That place was a shrine where the Holy Maiden performed rituals, and one was positioned in large villages within the Divine Cult’s territory.

And unlike ordinary shrines that remained empty just waiting for the Holy Maiden’s visit, the Outer Court villages’ shrines weren’t empty.

Though not Holy Maidens, shrine maidens training to become the next generation Holy Maidens were guarding the shrines.

From the memories of Ma Daepung who was the clothes’ owner, he couldn’t know where Yeonhwa was and couldn’t grasp the shrine inside the headquarters.

The only shrine with acquainted shrine maidens was the shrine in the Vermillion Bird Squad village where he belonged.

The more important reason Sun-woo sought the Vermillion Bird Squad’s shrine was because of the Summoner’s mission.

[Go to a nearby village shrine within the Divine Cult and meet a shrine maiden.]

It was a mission additionally issued after the mission to find Yeonhwa. It was a mission feeling like chain quests frequently seen in games, so Sun-woo ended up letting out an empty laugh.

Shortly after, Sun-woo wiped his feet at the threshold then entered inside the shrine. The shrine interior seemed fairly neatly managed. The wall paintings and various decorations on the front wall were sparkling.

Fortunately, the shrine wasn’t empty. A shrine maiden holding a rag in one hand was looking at Sun-woo with wide eyes.

“Ma Warrior-nim? Why did you come back?”

The shrine maiden was a cute girl appearing to be early to mid-teens, and in her eyes, Sun-woo’s appearance looked like Ma Daepung.

Because Sun-woo wearing Ma Daepung’s clothes entered the village in a state using illusion technique.

Avoiding surveillance gazes when entering the village was also possible because Sun-woo deceived them with illusion technique. Surveillance wouldn’t disappear just because he changed into Divine Cult martial artist’s clothes.

But imitating another person’s appearance didn’t seem perfect yet. The shrine maiden looking at Sun-woo’s expression kept changing.

“Ma Warrior-nim feels somewhat different from usual? No, that’s not it…”

The shrine maiden muttering alone soon raised the rag with a stiff face and took a stance.

“You’re not Ma Warrior-nim! Who are you to be in Warrior-nim’s appearance? What happened to Ma Warrior-nim?”

The shrine maiden shouted loudly toward Sun-woo. It was fairly splendid conduct. Taking a stance was just bluffing, and while pretending to ask questions, she shouted to surrounding people.

But already inside the shrine, a thin water barrier was set up so her words escaping outside was difficult.

Sun-woo who hadn’t yet reached absolute level couldn’t block sound waves with a qi barrier. Instead, he could create similar effects with other skills.

Creating a thin water barrier invisible to the eye with water magic and injecting qi into it to block sound waves was an idea unheard of in both the martial arts world and magic world.

But for Sun-woo with the mindset that any road to Seoul is fine, results being good was everything.

Having aroused suspicion, there was no reason to keep using illusion technique. Sun-woo immediately released the illusion technique, and the girl who had a stiff expression at the opponent’s appearance suddenly changing tilted her head with a puzzled face shortly after.

“Huh? Aren’t you the person who came looking for Yeonhwa Holy Maiden-nim? What’s your name…”

“I’m called Min Sun-woo.”

“That’s right! But Holy Maiden-nim didn’t say you were such a handsome person…”

Yeonhwa seemed to have given some hint to the girl. The girl immediately relaxed her expression upon hearing the name Sun-woo and poured out talk.

“Before Holy Maiden Yeonhwa went down to pray, she gathered us shrine maidens and told us about Sun-woo-nim. She asked us to definitely guide you to where she is if you came.”

The shrine maiden speaking had her face slightly flushed red, seeming to misunderstand something, but it was a difficult situation to make corrections.

According to the shrine maiden’s words, when fighting with the Orthodox Faction intensified, Yeonhwa seemed to have gone down to pray at an old altar deep in the headquarters’ depths.

That place was a historic location where successive Divine Cult leaders’ tombs and old relics slept.

But Sun-woo had no choice but to tilt his head at the shrine maiden’s words. Though the Holy Maiden’s words, it was hard to understand if it was okay to accept an outsider so unsuspiciously.

“The Holy Maiden-nim’s words are the Divine Cult’s commands. Though there is a Cult Leader, originally performing the Holy Maiden-nim’s words is what the Cult Leader and warriors beneath do… From some point, the cult changed strangely…”

At Sun-woo’s question, the shrine maiden vented passionately with an angry face. Well, from the shrine maiden’s position, it might be natural talk. If the Divine Cult as a religion, naturally the Holy Maiden conveying god’s words would clearly be the most important position.

Past Divine Cult had such strong aspects, but in the present where fighting with the Orthodox Faction intensified, the martial arts sect aspects grew larger.

“Well, anyway the old altar is almost an abandoned place. Though inside the headquarters, it’s just a place performing rituals to god so warriors don’t even care. I also go there regularly so if we go together, no one will care.”

The shrine maiden finished speaking then immediately led Sun-woo and exited the shrine. Then she walked west with Sun-woo for quite a while.

Leaving the village and gradually approaching the headquarters, surveillance gazes increased further. But since the shrine maiden walked ahead, no one appearing to suspect was visible.

Continuing to walk like that, tremendous halls and tall towers came into view in the distance.

The Divine Cult’s headquarters, the Demonic Cult’s main stronghold unfolded before Sun-woo’s eyes.