A dark forest. A woman with captivating looks, wearing a bamboo hat, was perched atop a tree, gazing in a certain direction. A faint glimmer of light could be seen in the distance.
The place, about a hundred paces away, was the encampment of the Heaven and Earth Society.
‘Damn it. What am I even doing?’
The woman grumbling to herself was Ha Chae-rin, a candidate for the master of the Flying Kill Sect. No, it was the Guard, Go Chan, who was possessing Ha Chae-rin's body. He had been tracking them ever since Mok Gyeong-un was captured by the Underworld Blade King, his vital points struck.
Normally, a pursuit would involve closing the distance more than this, but due to the monstrous master known as the Underworld Blade King, he maintained this distance for fear of being discovered if he got too close.
‘I can at least follow them since I have a rough idea of their location.’
The problem lay elsewhere. As a Spirit Guardian, his connection to Mok Gyeong-un allowed him to instinctively know his whereabouts. But there was no way to get close.
In fact, if he weren't a Spirit Guardian, this would have been a golden opportunity to get away from Mok Gyeong-un, but the farther the distance grew, the more strangely anxious he became, making it impossible to flee. No, it was impossible from the start. If Mok Gyeong-un died, he too would perish.
‘Huu. How did it come to this?’
Even he had to admit his situation was quite absurd. Lacking talent, his goal had been to retire and live quietly, but not only did he die a senseless death, he was now trapped in this woman’s body, playing the part of a slave.
‘Truly an ill-fated life.’
It would be hard to find a fate as wretched as this. In any case, to remain in the mortal realm even a little longer, he had no choice but to serve Mok Gyeong-un well.
‘I need to find a way to infiltrate, somehow.’
For now, he was keeping his distance, wary of the Underworld Blade King, but he couldn't just keep following them from afar indefinitely. He needed a way to naturally infiltrate the Heaven and Earth Society.
‘Right. Instead of just continuing like this, I need to find that way first.’
He was, after all, a former assassin. He was an old hand at infiltration. And searching through Ha Chae-rin’s memories, there was an infiltration method he had never tried before.
‘A seduction ploy?… Hell no.’ A chill ran down his spine as he needlessly searched her memories.
No matter what, he wanted to protect his last shred of pride.
Rattle, rattle!
And so, half a month passed. The method of travel was repetitive. Every other day, they would pass through a location, and each time, masked men would bring boys between the ages of fifteen and eighteen.
This continued until their numbers had swelled to over a hundred. Curious as to why, he asked Occultist Jo Ui-gong a couple of times, but the only response he got was that it was not his concern.
“Why are they doing this?”
At Mok Gyeong-un's question, a voice echoed from the wooden doll on his shoulder.
“I do not know.”
“You said you were with the Heaven and Earth Society.”
“A full hundred years have passed since it left this master’s hands. How would this master know how the society operates now?”
She also found it difficult to understand why. She had one guess, but the method was quite strange. She wondered if there was really a need to gather manpower in this way.
“I feel this every time, but the way you speak sometimes makes it sound as if the Heaven and Earth Society once belonged to Blue Spirit.”
“…”
“You’re not denying it?”
“Nonsense.”
Blue Spirit was strangely reluctant to talk about the past. Was it because even recalling the memories made her angry? Or was there something she wanted to hide?
Mok Gyeong-un found it odd, but it was only for a fleeting moment before he dismissed the question from his mind. What mattered more was what came next.
“We should be arriving soon.”
“Are you nervous?”
“I wonder.”
“You should be. Even if you learned the sword path of the Moon Vein from this master, at your level, you are barely at the cusp of the first-rate realm, mortal.”
Initial first-rate realm. That was Mok Gyeong-un’s current state of martial arts. Just half a month ago, he was barely on the cusp of transitioning from third-rate to second-rate.
However, by absorbing and assimilating the substantial amount of death energy gained from the battle at the Lotuswood Sword Manor, he had formed a dantian equivalent to half a cycle of internal energy. With internal energy alone, he had reached the first-rate realm. If others knew of this, they would be astonished.
In fact, though she spoke of it casually, Blue Spirit was also quite surprised internally.
‘This cannot be attributed to luck alone.’
Even considering that he had encountered the Eight Arts of Shattering Thought, hailed as an ultimate secret manual, and a series of other fortuitous events, it was hard to deny his progress was remarkable. To reach the initial first-rate realm in less than a month of learning martial arts was truly astonishing.
Perhaps his martial fortune was strong to make up for his late start.
‘But it’s still not enough.’
Even with his astonishing growth, the situation remained dire. Considering that during her lifetime, there were a significant number of masters at the first-rate realm or above within the Heaven and Earth Society, there might be even more now.
With Mok Gyeong-un's current skill, not only was revenge for his grandfather impossible, but even continuing the karma of the Moon was out of the question.
‘He must become stronger, faster.’
To achieve that, he needed to be pushed harder. From the first-rate realm onwards, it was a realm of enlightenment. Without enlightenment, the journey to the next level could take ten years instead of one, and if one was unlucky, they could stagnate there for the rest of their lives.
Countless mountain peaks filled the view, and a river, like a single bloodline, flowed between them. The sight under the setting sun was quite a spectacle. With the river as a base, the mountain peaks formed a natural fortress, creating a large city.
This was the base of the Heaven and Earth Society, one of the three powers currently dividing the Central Plains martial world. An inner city situated in the center of the city.
Screeeech!
As the city gates opened, the sight of a tall man riding in like a triumphant general prompted cheers from the guards who had formed two lines along the road in the inner city.
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!!”
The man at the front was the Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, one of the Five Kings of the Heaven and Earth Society. A procession of over three hundred people followed him. The men in black attire were the guards of the Heaven and Earth Society, and about a hundred were the boys they had brought with them this time.
Startled by the cheers, the boys flinched and took a step forward. The procession continued through the main road of the inner city and into a wide plaza.
‘Hoh.’
A strange light flashed in the eyes of the Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, who had arrived first at the head of the procession. It was because an unexpected person was waiting for him.
Thud!
Son Yun lightly dismounted from his horse. He then performed a cupped fist salute to the person waiting.
“Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, pays his respects to Vice-Chairman Mong.”
In response to the greeting, a man in his early forties with snake-like eyes, white hair, and not a single strand of beard, returned the cupped fist salute and spoke.
“You have worked hard, Underworld Blade King.”
The man responding was none other than the second-in-command of the Heaven and Earth Society, Vice-Chairman Mong Seo-cheon. For the Vice-Chairman to come out and greet him personally was quite a rare occurrence, even for Son Yun, one of the Five Kings. Son Yun laughed heartily and replied.
“Hahahahat. What hardship is there to speak of? I merely went out for a breath of fresh air after a long time.”
“It was a mission that could have been dangerous, having to cross the territory of the Righteous Alliance, yet only the Underworld Blade King would call it a breath of fresh air.”
“Anyone would think I returned triumphant from a war. Let us end the pleasantries here. Where is the Chairman?”
Having been given a special mission, he had to report. At that question, Vice-Chairman Mong let out a soft breath and finally spoke.
“Underworld Blade King, I came out myself precisely for that reason, to urgently convey the Chairman’s order.”
“Urgently convey an order? What do you mean?”
The Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, asked with a puzzled expression. He had even sent a carrier pigeon to report the general situation, so he didn't understand what was happening. Vice-Chairman Mong spoke to him in a whisper.
“The Chairman has ordered that all the ones you brought be sent to the Corpse Blood Valley immediately, without exception.”
“So quick upon arrival. Well, that’s what I brought them here for, so it’s natural…”
“It’s not just them.”
“What?”
“The boy from the Lotuswood Sword Manor who was said to have learned that technique mentioned in the carrier pigeon, and the boy brought as a hostage, are to be sent to the Corpse Blood Valley as well.”
‘!?’
At these words, the Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, furrowed his brow and said.
“…What does that mean? Did he truly give such an order?”
“Indeed.”
The firm answer left Son Yun momentarily speechless. Although the secret manual itself was not recovered, a person who could read the cursed manual after a hundred years and learn the sword seal of the Moon Vein, whose line had been severed, had appeared. Yet, he was to be sent to the Corpse Blood Valley without even confirming it?
“That cannot be. I will go and seek an audience with the Chairman at once.”
“You cannot meet the Chairman now.”
“What are you talking about? This was an order directly from the Chairman. If so, they should at least extract the incantations from the boy’s head before sending him. This is…”
“Underworld Blade King, he said it is an order given with the Chairman’s authority.”
“……Ha!”
The Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, was genuinely dumbfounded. But the Chairman's order was absolute.
Thud!
Someone violently opened the door of the carriage and entered. It was none other than Occultist Jo Ui-gong. Mok Gyeong-un spoke.
“Have we arrived…?”
“Things have gone wrong.”
“What?”
At Jo Ui-gong's sudden words, Mok Gyeong-un asked back, puzzled.
“What do you mean, things have gone wrong?”
To that question, Jo Ui-gong replied in a somewhat dumbfounded tone.
“The Chairman has ordered you to be sent to the Corpse Blood Valley.”
“Corpse Blood Valley?”
“Ha… for such an absurd thing to happen.”
“……I can’t make any sense of what you’re saying.”
“There’s no time. Take this first.”
What Jo Ui-gong took from his bosom and handed over was a ring engraved with tiny characters. A strange light flashed in Mok Gyeong-un's eyes as he saw the characters engraved on the ring. They were incantations used for specific talismans.
“Some of the things engraved here will allow you to perform magic arts with hand seals, even without a talisman.”
“How did you…”
“Listen carefully. The chance of surviving in the Corpse Blood Valley is less than ten percent.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Survive, no matter what. I will speak to the pavilion master and find a way to get you out of there, so you must endure at all costs.”
“Endure…”
It was at that very moment.
“That’s far enough.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble! Before Mok Gyeong-un could finish his sentence, guards wearing red leather belts and red headbands stormed into the carriage.
“You!”
Mok Yu-cheon, having regained consciousness, glared at Mok Gyeong-un. He had been unconscious for half a month, his fainting points struck, except for two meals a day and one chance to relieve himself. Naturally, he couldn't help but be furious with Mok Gyeong-un for doing such a thing.
“What on earth did you do to me…”
Whack!
“Keuk!”
However, he couldn't say another word as a guard struck him from behind with a staff. Although his fainting, mute, and paralysis points were released, he couldn't even resist as needles called Forbidden Gate Locks were embedded in six of his Qi gates, sealing his internal energy.
“Hey. Shut your mouth and walk.”
“……”
His lips twitching with displeasure, Mok Yu-cheon eventually shut his mouth and complied with the order. For now, he had no choice but to obey their commands.
‘Damn it.’
He had no idea what kind of misfortune this was, right after waking up. Was this how the Heaven and Earth Society treated hostages? Walking in a single file down a dark, narrow slope, following the person in front, he felt as if he had been captured as a prisoner of war and was being led to do hard labor.
‘What on earth are they planning to do?’
Unlike the confused Mok Yu-cheon, Mok Gyeong-un was perfectly calm. This was because Occultist Jo Ui-gong's warning had already told him that something was wrong.
‘What is the Corpse Blood Valley?’
That was the immediate question. What on earth did they do there that required them to even use something like the Forbidden Gate Locks before sending people? Even Blue Spirit did not know what the Corpse Blood Valley was.
With this question in mind, they walked for about three hours without rest, and finally, a wide, shallow valley, illuminated by torches on all sides, came into view.
‘Were there this many?’
Countless boys were waiting there, lined up in rows. When the hundred or so boys including Mok Gyeong-un and Mok Yu-cheon joined them, there seemed to be about eight hundred in total. As they arrived, a thunderous voice echoed.
“Welcome to the Corpse Blood Valley.”
Everyone's gaze turned toward the source. There stood a large incense burner and a massive boulder. On top of that boulder stood a figure wearing a gray demon mask, his hands clasped behind his back, looking down arrogantly.
As everyone watched, the demon mask spoke.
"From now on, there is something you all must do."
With those words, he took something out from his bosom. It was an iron bead, about the size of a fingertip.
‘What is that?’
‘What are they trying to do?’
As everyone wondered, the demon mask spoke.
“The time limit is two quarters of an hour. Inside the valley’s water, there are iron beads that look similar to this. Find one and come before this great incense burner. Those who fail to find one will die.”
‘!!!!!!’