Chapter 152 - This Is All Your Fault

“What you told me was true.”

Those were the master of Villains' Valley's first words as Yang Cheogi entered the main hall.

The valley master had sent men to gather information about the incident and learned that a young man and a masked figure had met at the Yellow River Inn that day. Yang Cheogi had told the truth.

“Why would I lie to you, Valley Master? I told you the facts.”

“Then Geom Mugeuk's martial arts really were strong enough to contend with the Grotesque Demon.”

“They were.”

“Even if he is the Heavenly Demon's flesh and blood, that is hard to believe.”

“I felt the same way. I truly never imagined Geom Mugeuk would be such an expert.”

Yang Cheogi's expression hardened as though he were recalling that day. He did not seem to be lying, but the valley master still suspected him.

There was certainly a possibility that he had helped Geom Mugeuk kill all his subordinates. In fact, that sounded more plausible than Geom Mugeuk killing the Grotesque Demon.

What if this was a Demonic Cult plot to seize Villains' Valley?

What if they had used Yang Cheogi to cut off all his trusted hands? What if even the Heavenly Mandate Society was a creation of the Demonic Cult?

Having lost men as powerful as himself in a single encounter, it was only natural for him to harbor such suspicions.

Of course, there were things that did not make sense about that explanation either.

'The Demonic Cult has never shown any interest in Villains' Valley. Why would it suddenly target us?'

Villains' Valley was, above all, a thorn in the Orthodox Martial Alliance's side. The Demonic Cult therefore had no reason to attack it. Moreover, if the Cult ran the valley directly, it would face fierce protests and resistance from both the Orthodox Martial Alliance and the Unorthodox Alliance. Why deliberately create trouble? The villains would not even pledge loyalty to them. Why on earth would they do it?

His lack of trust in Yang Cheogi led the valley master to entertain every conceivable theory. Whatever the truth, one thing was certain: merely looking at Yang Cheogi irritated him.

'If you have some other sinister scheme, you will never leave Villains' Valley alive.'

Just then, a subordinate entered and made a hurried report.

“There are intruders. Gwa Pyo's entire gang has been defeated at the village entrance.”

The valley master felt that what he had been waiting for had finally come.

Yang Cheogi, standing beside him, quickly asked, “How many intruders are there?”

“They say there are five.”

Yang Cheogi tilted his head.

“If it's Geom Mugeuk's group, there should be three at most.”

“Why are you so certain there would be three? Couldn't Geom Mugeuk have brought more demonic practitioners?”

“Well, yes, but...”

Yang Cheogi's reaction puzzled the valley master.

'Are they really not on the same side? Or is he pretending not to know?'

Judging solely by that reaction, it did not seem they had plotted this together.

Another subordinate hurried in.

“Cheon's gang has also been defeated by the intruders.”

“Already?”

Cheon's gang possessed considerable martial skill and excellent coordinated fighting techniques. And they had already fallen?

A moment later, yet another subordinate ran in.

“The bugs are all dead.”

This surprised him even more. By “bugs,” the man meant Yang Su's gang, who lived in the forest. They hid among the trees and launched hidden weapons, making them extremely troublesome opponents.

Yang Cheogi and the valley master exchanged looks. Yang Cheogi nodded.

“It's definitely them.”

Considering whom Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon had killed with just the two of them, what would happen now that five had come?

Before his surprise had faded, another subordinate came running in. This time, the valley master asked first.

“Who has fallen now?”

“The Yellow River Water Fiends have been defeated at the Good and Evil Crossing.”

“What? The Water Fiends?”

The valley master was startled. They might not have been the strongest fighters overall, but in the water, no one surpassed them.

Yes, they could die. The problem was how quickly the defenses were being breached. At this pace, it was as though the intruders were simply striding along and plucking flowers beside the road.

Then the valley master saw it: the wavering in Yang Cheogi's eyes. He was afraid.

“If you want to flee, you can still run.”

With Yang Cheogi gone, he intended to pin all the blame on him and find some way to survive.

“What will you do, Valley Master?”

“I cannot leave this place anyway. The moment I run, I will give those eyeing my position a justification to kill me.”

All his trustworthy subordinates were already dead as it was.

Yang Cheogi was torn. He had truly never imagined Geom Mugeuk would invade this place. Nor had he expected Villains' Valley to be breached so easily. Without knowing the route, one could wander near the entrance for days.

But if he fled now, the valley master would never accept him again. The man's opinion of him was already at rock bottom.

'If I am to become the master of Villains' Valley, I have to stop Geom Mugeuk's group today. Only then will the villains here acknowledge me as their master.'

And if the current valley master died in the process, all the better.

While the two men stood together pursuing different schemes, another subordinate entered.

“All Five Fiends of Chongqing are dead.”

The valley master was no longer even surprised. Unless all of this was a prank his subordinates had concocted to startle him, a catastrophe was hurtling toward him at terrifying speed.

Hatred for Yang Cheogi surged within him.

'This is all your fault.'

None of this would have happened if Yang Cheogi had not provoked the Wicked Laughing Demon in the name of revenge.

'Whatever it takes, I will kill you myself.'

The valley master knew very well that bearing such a deep grudge would ultimately do him no good either.

But Yang Cheogi was the one man he simply could not tolerate. Even if he came to regret this decision, he vowed to kill him.

He addressed his subordinate.

“Tell Stone Elder to drain as much of their internal energy as possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinate ran out.

“Stone Elder is our last line of defense. If they get past him, only you and I remain.”

“Let us hope he wears them down as much as possible.”

If Stone Elder did his part, perhaps an opportunity would present itself.

* * *

The courtyard was deserted.

I looked around and said, “Something feels eerie.”

As it turned out, my instincts were right.

Just as we were crossing the courtyard toward the building housing the main hall...

SWISH.

Our surroundings changed.

Suddenly, we were standing in a different space, surrounded by hundreds of stone statues. They depicted warriors holding swords, sabers, and spears.

“It's an illusion!”

The Demon Supremes tensed at my shout. Few things were more troublesome if you did not know how to break them. This was why the Orthodox Martial Alliance had feared the Soul-Seizing Demon most of all.

“Everyone, be careful.”

At the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's warning, we formed a circle, standing back-to-back.

The statues began to move. Being made of stone, one would have expected them to be sluggish, but they were faster than I had anticipated. The sight of things that ought to move slowly charging at us so quickly was grotesque and terrifying.

BOOM!

The battle began when the Wicked Laughing Demon's Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm shattered a charging statue.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme's sword qi sliced through the statues. She could not simply strike lumps of stone with her sword to conserve internal energy. Her famed sword could handle a few that way, but facing so many would damage the blade. She had no choice but to use sword qi.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was in a similar position. His great saber fared better than a sword would, but he still could not use his precious Heaven-Destroying Great Saber to batter the statues apart. He, too, resorted to saber qi and saber-generated winds to destroy them.

The same held true for the Wicked Laughing Demon. The statues kept moving even after his Blood Calamity Finger pierced holes through them, so he had to smash them with Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm, which consumed more internal energy.

The Drunken Demon could not batter them with Blood Tears either, and used palm techniques to fight them.

These opponents devoured tremendous amounts of internal energy, and they kept coming without end.

We could not keep wasting internal energy like this, so I surveyed our surroundings while dodging the statues' attacks. With Blood-Eye Purifying Water in my eyes and the New Eye Procedure performed on them, I would surely see a way to break the illusion.

Yet nowhere in this space could I see the bluish glow that marked the solution.

'It's here. It has to be.'

No illusion existed without a way to break it.

I began weaving swiftly among the statues with Dark Shadow Step and Flicker Step, searching for the answer.

Then, as I roamed among the statues...

'Found it!'

A bluish glow shone on the back of a statue toward the rear.

It was among the hundreds of attacking statues. This illusion had hidden its weakness exceptionally well.

RIIIIP!

Without hesitation, I tore through the bluish light with the Black Demon Sword, splitting it in two.

Beyond the light stood an old man, aghast.

SHUNK!

The instant my sword pierced the old man's heart, his illusion broke.

Freed from it, we stood in the courtyard we had entered earlier. When the Demon Supremes saw the old man collapse with my sword through him, they realized I had found the way to break the illusion.

The Drunken Demon made a great fuss, declaring his little brother the best, while the Single Flower Sword Supreme looked astonished.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, however, was not particularly surprised, since he knew I had killed the Soul-Seizing Demon.

Lastly, the Wicked Laughing Demon gave me a meaningful smile.

“Second Young Master, you have reached the realm where sinister arts cannot touch you.”

With the other Demon Supremes present, he did not mention the Soul-Seizing Demon. But had we been alone, he would have said: You shameless Second Young Master, are you still going to claim you didn't kill the Soul-Seizing Demon?

I strode toward the building.

“Come on. Let's go in.”

We smashed through the main hall's doors and entered together.

* * *

CRASH!

Watching the intruders burst through the main hall's doors, the valley master thought the Heavenly Demon himself had come.

How else could Stone Elder's illusion have been broken so quickly? Even he had to hold out until Stone Elder exhausted his internal energy to escape that illusion.

But the intruder was not the Heavenly Demon. As if to prove Yang Cheogi's words true, the young Geom Mugeuk strode in at the head of the group.

Geom Mugeuk looked at Yang Cheogi.

“In your situation, the only place you could hide safely would be the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Ah, no, that won't work. You picked a fight with us.”

Yang Cheogi made no reply.

Geom Mugeuk turned his gaze to the valley master.

“Are you the master of Villains' Valley?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I am Geom Mugeuk, Second Young Master of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”

“I have heard much of your reputation.”

The valley master tried to appear composed, but inwardly he was burning with anxiety under the pressure of a death god approaching him one step at a time.

His gaze shifted to the four Demon Supremes standing behind Geom Mugeuk.

“Such distinguished members of the Divine Cult have come. Welcome.”

With brazen ease, he cupped his fist in greeting as though receiving invited guests.

The four Demon Supremes merely stared at him coldly.

The valley master spoke gently to Geom Mugeuk again.

“I understand the lunatics of our valley were terribly rude to you, Second Young Master?”

“They tried to suck out my internal energy and smash my skull with a chain. If you call that mere rudeness, I suppose I'll have to be a little rude today myself.”

“You are destined to become the supreme ruler of Murim. Please do not stoop to the level of the pathetic wretches here.”

The valley master did everything he could to ingratiate himself with Geom Mugeuk.

With Geom Mugeuk and the Demon Supremes standing in a line before him, he could not even summon the will to fight. Things might have been different if the dead Grotesque Demon, Iron Chain Wielder, Three Warriors of the Bloody Path, Blood Wolf Saber, Seductress of Supreme Bliss, and Divine Lord of Yama were all here. As things stood, it was impossible for him and Yang Cheogi alone to face these five.

Geom Mugeuk stared at the valley master and asked, “Why did you do it?”

As though none of it had ever been his intention, the valley master looked at Yang Cheogi and repeated the question.

“Why did you do it?”

Yang Cheogi stared at him incredulously.

“What are you playing at?”

“You did it. You explain yourself.”

The valley master's struggle to survive began with distancing himself from Yang Cheogi.

When Geom Mugeuk's group entered, Yang Cheogi's reaction had clearly shown he was not one of them. That left the valley master with only one option: abandon Yang Cheogi. They had come to kill him, after all.

Yang Cheogi snorted.

“Do you think these people will spare you just because you pull a stunt like this?”

Geom Mugeuk answered him.

“I will spare him. I know Yang Cheogi here is entirely responsible for this affair. If the valley master cooperates in capturing the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society, we will not harm him.”

The valley master's heart pounded with the hope of survival.

'They really weren't on the same side!'

Seeing him waver, Yang Cheogi shouted, “Don't believe him! It's a trick to divide us!”

In contrast to Yang Cheogi's desperation, Geom Mugeuk remained calm.

“Why would I need to divide you when I can kill you both? Four of the Cult's Eight Demon Supremes have come in person. Does this look like a joke to you?”

The valley master did not hesitate.

“I will help. I know a clue that can lead you to the Heavenly Mandate Society's leader!”

If cooperation meant survival, what was there to consider?

Knowing the man's loyalties had already shifted, Yang Cheogi's heart sank into cold stillness.

He realized that the moment the valley master turned against him, he had lost all chance of leaving this place alive.

“You pathetic, foolish bastard! This is why you'll never escape this filthy place!”

“Shut up! All of this happened because of you. I don't want to hear your excuses. Just fuck off to hell without a fuss!”

“Fucking idiot,” Yang Cheogi spat coldly, then sighed. Even if he offered information about the Heavenly Mandate Society's leader, his attempt to kill Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon meant he was unlikely to survive anyway.

'So I have to use it after all.'

Yang Cheogi drew up his internal energy for his ultimate secret technique, one he had never used—not once. No, one he could never have used.

Seeing a red haze gather in his eyes, the Wicked Laughing Demon warned them.

“Everyone, be careful! It's our sect's forbidden secret technique for mutual destruction!”

Just as the Wicked Laughing Demon said, Yang Cheogi was preparing Heavenly Light Instant-Kill Art, a technique that killed its user along with the opponent. It was an ultimate secret technique that guaranteed the death of one person alone, at the cost of the user's life.

“If your internal energy is lower than his, you cannot block it!”

Yang Cheogi, whose internal energy could rival anyone's, looked at each person present in turn.

Whom would he take with him? The Wicked Laughing Demon, the root of this entire affair? The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, who had arrived late that day and ruined everything? Geom Mugeuk, who had thwarted his revenge in the first place? Or that fucking idiot of a valley master?

If he could, he truly wanted to take all four. But Heavenly Light Instant-Kill Art could be used on only one person.

Yang Cheogi's eyes turned so red they looked ready to burst, and his shout rang through the hall.

“Who will come with me?”

In the midst of the heavy silence that followed, Geom Mugeuk shot his hand up.

“Me!”