Chapter 591 – The Fortress of the Northern Emperor (6)

The inner courtyard of Yeoktru Castle’s inner citadel, which Jin Myeong-jo was sensing through his energy perception. The place where Shame Extreme Son-in-law had posed a strange question to Zhuge Qing-ya, and where several Northern Kings were confronting the black ranks.

Zhuge Qing-ya’s mouth slowly opened.

“Lightning Genius Young Master Jeong.”

The focus of her two eyes was scattered like a dream, and small sparks rubbed darkly within her pupils. It was eye-light.

Her consciousness had split into two branches and collided. Her own will that those precious to Jeong Yeon-shin should know about him, and the external compulsion from Shame Extreme Son-in-law’s divine martial arts.

In the end.

“I thought he was pitiful.”

Zhuge Qing-ya said.

She was someone who held the position of acting family head of one of the Eight Families. Her studies in mental defense could not be shallow.

But even though she had sufficiently fortified her upper energy center, she could not completely block the attack of the Dream Demon Body Great Warrior.

Or perhaps some hesitation had created a gap for Shame Extreme Son-in-law’s question. Even she herself could not know at this moment.

“Pitiful?”

Beigong Ya asked back.

If she had been active in the southern jianghu rather than the north, she would have been counted among the Five Marvels of Resplendent Brilliance anywhere.

As the person with the most developed upper energy center among the squad leaders, she felt something strange in Zhuge Qing-ya’s tone.

“What kind of behavior is this? The status of a Northern King’s Great Warrior won’t protect you.”

“Stop it.”

The other squad leaders also reacted to Shame Extreme Son-in-law’s move. But there was no retreat from the Northern King side either. Their subordinate warriors had stepped forward.

“You should refrain from such violent words to the ‘high kings.'”

“Send word to the Northern Emperor.”

Since Jeong Yeon-shin had first arrived in the demon realm as a Northern King, visits from various Northern Kings like today were inevitable. He had entered the center of an overwhelming power struggle.

It was an atmosphere where a fight could have broken out long ago.

If not for a woman who had naturally mixed among the various squad leaders, it really would have happened.

Because the three Northern Kings, close to natural disasters, were greatly wary of her above all.

The king’s inner chambers.

On that wide roof.

The True Blood Cult Leader with ruby-red eyes clearly open.

She wore a black robe with only the left sleeve removed, revealing her snow-white left arm, an appearance that anyone would mistake for another black rank.

It was a long robe that Jeong Yeon-shin had once worn. Clothing imbued with the history of the youngest black rank who had fought fierce battles, like a dharma treasure.

At this moment it clung to her body as if it would seep into her. The sight of faded black silk tightly bound by the supreme Absorption Technique. She was a black robe thief.

“What’s all this about?”

She spat out casually while watching the confrontation that had appeared at some point.

‘What are you supposed to be?’

Jin Myeong-jo, who had approached near the inner citadel at some point, was startled in advance. Because he still habitually lowered himself before her.

A mere mixed blood and a noble pure blood body. There was an innate gap in status.

He knew she revered Jeong Yeon-shin for some narrative reason. But that was as far as it went. Jin Myeong-jo didn’t want to fathom the madness born to pure blood bodies.

“Keep your voice down. If you interfere with meridian energy circulation, you might die.”

She spoke in a whisper.

Her eyes flashed with chillingly red light in an entirely black appearance.

The black hair and black robe flowing long down her back were as natural as if they had originally been one. Even though she wasn’t mimicking Jeong Yeon-shin’s bone structure now.

“Ah.”

Shame Extreme Son-in-law smiled brightly among the supreme Northern Kings. And he really did lower his voice.

[What did you think when you just looked at that poppy addict? When the Ice Palace’s poppy addict talked about Northern Emperor Jeong Yeon-shin.]

A question that came pressing into Zhuge Qing-ya again with a small rumbling.

For a moment, multiple black ranks seemed about to rush at Shame Extreme Son-in-law, then hesitated. Because Lazy Flame Dragon’s opinion was of no particular use.

Moreover, the southern martial people still didn’t know Jeong Yeon-shin’s condition. Because the only outsider who could enter the inner chambers where he slept like flowing water was Divine Sword Prisoner.

“What a frivolous fellow.”

Even Lazy Flame Dragon, who had been beside Zhuge Qing-ya, shrugged his shoulders. Soon after, when he turned his steps to head toward his wife the Ice Palace Master after surveying not only the squad leaders and True Blood Cult Leader but even Jin Myeong-jo with energy perception.

“Nothing.”

She moved her lips slightly.

“I don’t know.”

“…?”

Some sensitive upper energy centers occasionally let the scent of information they hadn’t acquired flow through their minds. That was precisely the sensation called spirit among essence, energy, and spirit.

Suddenly Lazy Flame Dragon’s movement stopped.

At the same time, there were squad leaders below the roof who showed similar signs.

Not only Wish-fulfilling Spring Leader Beigong Ya, Annihilation Squad Leader Shin Hwang, and Immortal Tree Spirit Leader Cheon So-so, but also Azure Sky Squad Leader Han Cheol-mok and Obeying Heaven Wing Leader Namgung Hwa-shin.

Those who had each deeply cultivated the abilities of their upper energy centers or were born with such qualities.

Naturally, Jin Myeong-jo also felt a strange scent. But he immediately set it aside as a lower priority.

‘I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s a damn problem.’

The bluffing of some squad leaders was disappearing.

Originally, they should be feigning perfect condition with the techniques of Half-Step Return to Origin, but even some of the more reliable black ranks had their Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown state disturbed.

They began making creaking sounds from their joints or gurgling dead blood in their mouths. Because their attention was drawn elsewhere.

How could the practical strong ones who had reached the peerless realm on the northern front not feel it?

‘Damn…!’

This was truly a big problem. At least that’s how Jin Myeong-jo felt. Because if it was about the dharma power monster Jeong Yeon-shin, it wouldn’t be anything special anyway.

Among them, the only person who was strangely calm was Radiant Demon Wing Leader, who had been with Jeong Yeon-shin for a long time.

“What should we do about this?”

Cheong Myeong, who had muttered briefly, slowly moved his feet. As if trying to bypass the dozen or so Northern King party members. Absurdly boldly, he had the momentum to block the gate they had entered through alone.

As if some secret that shouldn’t leak was about to flow out.

Around that time, Jin Myeong-jo was soaring over the wall, having given up on everything. With ominously rumbling vibrations from his entire body.

[Silent Night, Prison.]

Preemptive victory. He had deployed Transcendent Martial Art.

“…!”

All the strong ones in the venue sharply turned their heads like lightning, and blood-colored mist rose murkily in the courtyard where they confronted each other.

Hiss— Seven formless swords naturally formed and rose before the eyes of the squad leaders who needed bluffing.

They were forms rippling with dark red energy from their sword bodies, roughly made Dark Night Blood-Gleaming Demon Swords in one breath.

‘This much for now…!’

He could make more, but he didn’t know how many his internal energy control could encompass. So seven it was.

Flap!

At the same time, the Divine Sword Squad Leader’s sleeve edges spread wide like bat wings on both sides. It was Void Manipulation.

He had embedded his body in the air in case the Northern Kings might rush in, naturally becoming a figure looking down from above.

Only after that did Jin Myeong-jo hope he didn’t look arrogant, but suddenly his spine grew cold.

The attention of the many strong ones was drawn to the formless swords only briefly. Because the Northern King forces had looked up at him.

“……”

Silence spread. The dirt floor of the courtyard without a single leaf became lush with tension.

Jin Myeong-jo anxiously hoped. Even if something like seizing the initiative wasn’t achieved, that the other squad leaders’ bluffing would continue to work.

‘This side is mostly a ragtag group. How can we fight while protecting the Acting Group Leader?’

Dragon Sound Sasa King.

Shame Extreme King.

A Northern King without a Great Warrior.

The woman carrying a giant war horse on her shoulder, the transparent-bodied veiled woman, and the short-haired Yao woman whose claw technique studies seemed embedded in her teeth like long molars had been consistently quiet from some point.

But they were definitely staring intently at Jin Myeong-jo.

He felt his liver and gall shrivel.

His mind was the same.

Was this the north? Was this what the demon realm where Jeong Yeon-shin had lit a fire looked like? How many more such beings were there?

‘Is northern expedition… possible…?’

When Jin Myeong-jo fell into great doubt.

Suddenly Dragon Sound Sasa King slowly stroked the war horse’s head.

“…I’ll come again in a month. If the Northern Emperor doesn’t show his face then either, I think I’ll probably side with the Southern Emperor.”

“Right words. Legitimacy lies with the northern strongest.”

Shame Extreme King muttered lowly.

At the same time, the unnamed Northern King looked at the top of the inner citadel where Jeong Yeon-shin would be sleeping, then flashed her prominently protruding molars.

“I’ll wait for Bright Wind Spirit.”

She said.

Meanwhile, Shame Extreme Son-in-law, who had been mixed among the absolute masters, shrugged his shoulders like Lazy Flame Dragon. While smiling with his eyes.

“I committed a breach of etiquette. Though I did damage the Zhuge family’s reputation, please know that I didn’t harm the Divine Sword Group’s prestige.”

The gaze of Shame Extreme Son-in-law, the most influential Great Warrior in the north, brushed one side.

The cheerful man sitting with a dark red formless sword on his knee. Dragon Treading Squad Leader Wei Zhi-ji received his gaze. With his eyes completely closed, as if it was utterly trivial.

Shame Extreme Son-in-law’s eye-smile deepened like long fingernails.

“…If timing aligns, let’s meet again.”

It wasn’t just Wei Zhi-ji.

Whether standing on walls or sitting roughly on the ground, the squad leaders who had received formless swords were all gripping handles that flashed with dark red light nobly.

That was as far as it went.

Step—

At some point, the Northern King group had returned toward the horizon where dusk had fallen.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong had ultimately stepped aside with a subtle expression, and Jin Myeong-jo’s stomach turned at that piercingly belligerent appearance, but he couldn’t say anything.

Because among the squad leaders of the Wish for Peace Single Sword Hall, the person closest to Jeong Yeon-shin was Blue-Eyed Demon Sword.

‘As expected, washing hands of this is the answer.’

He inwardly confirmed while leading the squad leaders to the king’s inner chambers.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but request. His voice cracked coldly from his throat stiffened with tension.

“No matter how close it is, I’ve been away from the Acting Leader’s side too long. Even if the northern strongest comes, two or three should guard the position.”

Surprisingly, many squad leaders silently nodded. It was unprecedented.

Whoosh!

Among them, several who could move intact became pale in place.

Not only Cheong Myeong, Hak So-seon, and Namgung Hwa-shin, but even Immortal Tree Spirit Leader, whose consciousness flickered on and off because she had directly received Literary Star’s transcendent fist techniques. Other squad leaders followed slowly afterward.

True Blood Cult Leader Seventh Apostle had already disappeared. The Blood Flame Cult’s body technique. She had literally flown in.

Jin Myeong-jo quickly followed her.

“…!”

He was shocked to see Seventh Apostle bouncing back out through the inner chamber window. The appearance of being suddenly hit by an unavoidable technique. Soon after, a roar that erupted a beat late shook the inner citadel.

Kwaaaaaang—!

It was the aftermath of terrifying explosive force.

An earthquake that seemed like it would collapse even the fortress walls raced in all directions. Hazy dust burst out along spider web-like cracks.

The next moment, Jin Myeong-jo was inside the inner chamber.

By the time he exhaled with internal energy breathing, dozens of black ranks also appeared, smashing through windows opened in all directions.

Those like Xiahou Wei-jin and Wei Zhi-ji completely collapsed walls and became part of the encirclement.

Crack! Bang! Kwabang!

“Oh my.”

Some woman’s voice flowed from within the dust.

“I’ve been discovered. The preparations were already finished though.”

It was a playful voice.

She was reflected in the eyes of Jin Myeong-jo and all the black ranks.

Below a silver mask that covered her mysteriously beautiful facial features only to the bridge of her nose, there were pale lips.

Her attire covered her nape with a snow-white scarf. She even carried the unconscious Sword Star on one shoulder.

Ming Cult Leader Young Heavenly Demon Invincible.

Her gorgeous pure white cloak fluttered like an emperor’s dragon robe. At the bedside of the sleeping Jeong Yeon-shin.

Meanwhile, above their heads, Shin So-bin was floating with some book. As if she had rushed at the world’s Ming Cult Leader.

Young Heavenly Demon Invincible slowly surveyed them.

“Looking now, you’re quite a formidable force. It’s fortunate I deployed ‘Solitude’ first. There wasn’t any sign, was there?”

There was no one to mix idle words. It was immediately battle.

Kwakwakwakwakwang—!

The squad leaders’ attacks burst from various parts of the inner chamber.

[Form-Shifting Void.]

Young Heavenly Demon Invincible disappeared, leaving behind low laughter. Not just her alone, but Jeong Yeon-shin and even the Sword Star together.

They literally vanished without a trace in an instant. Futilely instantaneous.

Crack! Kwaaang!

The hazy explosive forces overlapped while thoroughly avoiding the bed where Jeong Yeon-shin had been… Because they had all concentrated their power, no great vibrations rang out. Such was the precision of the squad leaders.

But it was meaningless. They had been too late.

Thus.

On the solitary intact bed.

Some flame flickered from the ceiling and dropped ash, playfully drawing strokes on the blanket in the form of dark letters. As if it were the Ming Cult Leader’s amusement.

[Complacent ones.

I thought the black swords of the Ming Dynasty would naturally know, but hearing it, it’s laughable.

Jeong Yeon-shin of Henan was born with the unfortunate Extremely Open Baihui Accupoint.

A heavenly punishment where the spirit of the upper energy center endlessly absorbs natural energy, and he will die soon.

His life will not exceed twenty years.

This seat takes him away.

As this friend’s only understanding companion.]

It was writing made of burnt ash powder.

Thud.

The book that had been floating in the dark currents with Shin So-bin fell.

On the cover, the words “Divine Sword Group Jeong Family Dynamic Technique” were written in neat regular script, with a thick ink fragrance. It seemed to have been written during a mission.

Yeoktru Castle froze in silence.

* * *

The revelation that had shattered the inner chamber of Yeoktru Castle was devastating beyond measure. Young Heavenly Demon Invincible had not only taken Jeong Yeon-shin but had revealed the terrible truth of his condition—the Extremely Open Baihui Accupoint that would claim his life before his twentieth year.

The squad leaders stood in stunned silence, their formless swords still crackling with dark energy, but their hearts heavy with the weight of what they had just learned. The book containing the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique lay on the empty bed like a final mockery, its pages filled with techniques that might have saved their young leader if only they had known sooner.

Jin Myeong-jo felt the world spinning around him. Everything they had fought for, everything they had built in this northern expedition, now hung by the thinnest of threads. The Northern Emperor they had followed into the demon realm was dying, and now he was in the hands of the Ming Cult Leader whose motives remained as mysterious as her power.

The True Blood Cult Leader materialized beside the window she had been thrown from, her red eyes blazing with fury that matched the blood trickling from her lips. “That witch,” she spat, her voice carrying the venom of someone who had been outmaneuvered by a superior opponent.

“We have to get him back,” Beigong Ya said, her voice steady despite the chaos around them. “Whatever it takes.”

But even as the words left her lips, they all knew the truth. Young Heavenly Demon Invincible had vanished with Form-Shifting Void, a technique that could transport its users across vast distances in an instant. They could be anywhere in the demon realm by now, or even beyond it.

The fortress of the Northern Emperor had fallen not to siege or battle, but to a single woman’s cunning and power. And with Jeong Yeon-shin gone, the carefully constructed alliance of the Divine Sword Group in the north began to crumble like sand in the wind.

Outside, the Northern Kings who had departed would soon learn of what had transpired. Some would see opportunity in the chaos, others would view it as confirmation of their suspicions about the southern interlopers. But all would recognize that the balance of power in the demon realm had shifted once again.

The black ranks of the Desolate Fortress found themselves alone in a hostile land, their leader taken, their purpose uncertain. Yet in their eyes burned the same determination that had carried them through countless battles. They would not abandon Jeong Yeon-shin to whatever fate the Ming Cult Leader had planned.

The hunt for the Lightning Genius was about to begin, and it would take them to the very edges of the known world and beyond.