Chapter 361: What Does It Matter

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Gazes quietly meeting.

Gun Mu-ak immediately cast Secret Secret Sound Transmission.

When Cheol Ryu-heun shrugged his shoulders along with the Secret Sound Transmission, Gun Mu-ak responded.

Meanwhile, Namgung Sang-rin, Hae Su-yeon and the crowd had devastated expressions.

“My word!”

“Ar-artificially created heart…?”

“To think it’s an object that supplies fresh blood to the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan…”

“Hmm, it’s a shocking story.”

“How on earth does one create such a thing?”

“What astounding talent!”

Shin So-sul briefly closed then opened his eyes before looking around at the crowd and resuming the interrupted story.

“According to that bastard’s words…”

* * *

“Ink Blood… Heart…?”

A light of doubt rose in Shin So-sul’s two eyes.

Seeing that, Snake-Robed Hwa-rang spoke with an arrogant expression.

“It’s a tremendous object that the likes of you couldn’t even think to create.”

“What more schemes… did you plot? Keuhheuk…”

“The Ink Blood Heart is an artifact manufactured by combining the essence of Heretic Cult’s absolute techniques and Hidden Endurance Curtain’s absolute techniques. One that produces blood for the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan to drink freely.”

“What…”

“Let me teach you one more thing… In the manufacturing process, about a hundred cult members were sacrificed like offerings. Precisely those who had sided with you.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“It was a scheduled procedure. Did you think we would leave alive a group that might change their minds at any time?”

“You cra…! Cough!”

Shin So-sul coughed blood due to the deterioration of his internal injuries.

But the rage in his chest was greater than that pain.

That bastard was a monster wearing a human mask.

He was no different from an extremely depraved demon.

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang’s cold sneer became even more vivid.

“Don’t get so agitated. You should hear the rest of this interesting story, right?”

“Keuhheut…! You filthy young bastards… Truly… You… aren’t even… human.”

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang continued speaking without caring.

“It wasn’t using the absolute techniques I learned from you.”

“Th-then…?”

“The books hidden in the secret location; I retrieved those.”

Shin So-sul’s two eyes wavered, rippling like water.

The books in the secret location that Snake-Robed Hwa-rang mentioned signified the various absolute techniques sealed by the first generation Cult Leader.

Precisely, the essence of extremely evil sorceries.

The first generation Cult Leader had personally created them yet designated them as absolute taboos.

Just how wicked were those studies with their mystical applications that he did so?

Yet Snake-Robed Hwa-rang and Snake-Robed Hwa-nong had opened the absolute taboos.

And they said they used that to create the Ink Blood Heart.

“If not for our talent, completion would have been difficult. Though the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan brought the core material.”

“Core… material…?”

“It was the blood of the legendary extremely evil divine beast, the Ink Child Dragon. Even though it was just blood, power was felt that other sorcerers besides us couldn’t easily withstand.”

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang withdrew the hand that had been lifting the other’s chin and gazed at empty air.

“Our dream is to become the heavens. To become as high as that sky and look down upon this land…”

Following that was Snake-Robed Hwa-nong’s cold voice.

“We shall write a new history of domination. With the power of darkness rather than light.”

Shin So-sul suddenly recalled Heuk Ma-yung’s words.

-I said earlier, didn’t I? You asked if I know what’s beyond that.

-…

-I know. It’s where a great demon god resides. One who has never before existed in this mortal world…

-De… mon god…?

-The moment the gate opens, this world will greet a new history. I will accomplish it together with those two children. No matter how many years it takes.

“Keut… The demon god beyond the gate… Did you hear… about that?”

At Shin So-sul’s strained question, Snake-Robed Hwa-rang lowered his head.

“I heard. But you don’t need to know. Be satisfied with having learned our hidden history.”

“Kuk… Why… did you… bother… to tell me… that story…?”

“It’s meant as mockery. Because you now have a body that can never escape this place.”

“Don’t be so… confident.”

“Foolish, do you still not understand?”

“What… are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if you thought we would just leave you alive and abandon you.”

At those words, Shin So-sul’s heart sank.

“…!”

“So you finally get a sense. Yes, we’ve created an incantation restriction that powerfully binds you.”

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang smiled while taking out a black talisman.

The same went for Snake-Robed Hwa-nong beside him.

The two soon affixed talismans to Shin So-sul’s middle dantian area.

Immediately after, they quietly muttered some unknown incantation.

Suddenly.

CHICHIK… CHICHIK…!

The two talismans emitted strange sounds as they discharged black light.

Simultaneously.

SYUSYUSYUSYUSYUSYUSYU…!

The wave of heat-haze-like currents within the Heavenly Stem Formless Prison violently surged.

They soon clumped together like a mass then melted into and entered Shin So-sul’s body.

Immediately after, terrible pain assaulted him.

“Euuagh… EUUAAAGH!”

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang and Snake-Robed Hwa-nong had satisfied expressions.

“Successful.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Shin So-sul screamed for a while.

Then at some point when the pain disappeared, he barely regulated his breathing.

“Huk… huk… What on earth is this…?”

He suddenly realized.

The fact that a different type of evil energy had taken residence in his body.

It had settled centered on the Chong Meridian inside his chest.

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang, who had put his hands behind his back, raised the corners of his mouth.

“It’s a wicked sorcery that triggers Severed Meridian Disease. You now cannot leave not only this place but the Shiwan Mountains. The moment you do, your entire body will compress then explode.”

Snake-Robed Hwa-nong to the side also added words.

“It’s an incantation restriction we put great effort into over a long time. So just stay quietly imprisoned here.”

When she then withdrew the Illusion Chain Capturing Binding Secret Technique, Shin So-sul’s frame collapsed powerlessly.

“Kuk…”

After coughing blood, he soon shot out fierce eye light.

“Just wait. Things… won’t go as you wish.”

Snake-Robed Hwa-rang, having snorted, answered in a low voice.

“Yes, let’s wait and see. In any case, you’ll die when the time comes. No, it would be more accurate to say you’ll live a new life according to our will. While reading the books, I discovered something interesting. The sorcery for creating Forbidden Soul Ghost Thing Bodies, that is. It’s perfect for cultivating forces that unconditionally obey our words.”

“Th-that… I heard was incomplete…!”

“That’s right. Hoo, the first generation Cult Leader was foolish too. To bury such a good thing while it was still incomplete. But we can complete it.”

“Kuk… You bastard, are you determined to… see depravity through to the end!”

In that instant, Shin So-sul recalled his previous conversation with Heuk Ma-yung.

-Rather… kill me!

-I cannot do that. Because you’re material in case of emergency.

-…

-You seem puzzled as to what it means. Hoohoot. There is such a thing.

He finally realized with a flash.

Why they had imprisoned and kept him alive here…

‘So that’s it! Ultimately, they intend to turn me into a Forbidden Soul Ghost Thing Body too…!’

Sure enough, Snake-Robed Hwa-rang smiled smugly as he spoke.

“We plan to conduct experiments going forward. And when we feel we’ve reached a perfect level…”

His eyes sank deeply as he trailed off.

“I’ll turn you into the final powerful Forbidden Soul Ghost Thing Body.”

“Kuk…!”

Upon hearing those words, Shin So-sul’s emotions became agitated and he spewed blood before losing consciousness.

* * *

“Huuu…”

Shin So-sul, having briefly sighed, opened his mouth again.

“When three years had passed since being imprisoned like that… I unexpectedly grasped a miraculous opportunity.”

“Miraculous opportunity? What was it?”

Someone’s surprised question, followed by his answer.

“It was the Worshipping Flower Secret Transmission of the second generation Cult Leader. In our cult’s historical records, he was recorded as having gone missing, but it turned out he had entered there and conducted a kind of secluded cultivation. I was lucky enough to discover it… It was truly heaven-sent fortune.”

At that, Hae Su-yeon quietly marveled as she spoke.

“Ah! You used that to learn a new cultivation technique and finally escaped the Heavenly Stem Formless Prison.”

Shin So-sul, having nodded, soon gazed at Cheol Ryu-heun’s face.

“The Forbidden Soul Ghost Thing Body has been confirmed to be at a near-complete stage. It’s certain they received help from the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan. And what worries me most is…”

“Their goal achievement is imminent. Is that right?”

At Cheol Ryu-heun’s words, Shin So-sul’s expression hardened.

“Yes, the changes in the formations are different from before. It’s probably evidence that a gate is being created.”

At that, the crowd was seized by a peculiar tension.

Then, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke.

“Now you speak.”

The subject was none other than Gun Mu-ak.

Having nodded his head, he stroked the Demon God Sword as he spoke.

“This sword was actually made from black dragon blood. As you know, when an Ink Child Dragon grows, it becomes a black dragon.”

At that, the crowd’s pupils created ripples.

“Ah!”

“Then…!”

One mystery was solved.

Gun Mu-ak immediately confirmed it.

“Our cult discovered a black dragon in the remote regions of Mount Tian in the past. And after a hard fight, we barely managed to kill and eliminate it. We also killed its offspring, the Ink Child Dragon. The black dragon’s blood was used to temper the sword. And the Ink Child Dragon’s blood was sealed and stored separately. He stole that and fled. What’s in our cult must be a cleverly manufactured fake.”

At that, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke expressionlessly.

“He drank a sip of that.”

“My thinking is the same. That blood affects souls. In other words, he made spiritual contact by consuming a certain amount of blood. With an unknown being… I speculate he experienced such a strange phenomenon because of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan’s unique special ability. Also, since the Heretic Cult is a force well-versed in strange and unpredictable sorcery, they would have been the first he contacted.”

“Good, it roughly fits together. Similar to my thinking.”

“But there’s a question.”

“What is it?”

“The purpose of the mysterious group approaching the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan. Whether they have the same goals they’re aiming for.”

“Ah, you mean him.”

“Yes, the person you said was stronger than you. You said even if you and I joined forces, it would be difficult to bring him down. If that person is perhaps the leader of the secret organization, I wonder if a demon god from another world is even necessary. Just that power alone would be tremendous. Moreover, there also exists the risk of having his position stolen by an unknown demon god if things go wrong.”

“Right, he’s not the type to stay under someone with such power. Well, what does it matter.”

“…”

“Did you forget what I said?”

At that moment, the conversation at the inn flashed through Gun Mu-ak’s mind.

-Even if my predictions are wrong, it doesn’t matter, does it?

-What do you mean?

-I plan to kill everything considered an enemy. Whether it’s the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan, the Heretic Cult, or the mysterious group.

‘Hoo, is that so.’

At the moment Gun Mu-ak laughed inwardly, Cheol Ryu-heun’s voice was heard.

“Tomorrow I become stronger. And I’ll repay blood with blood. The stupid Darkness-Craving Blood Clan doesn’t know. That I’m trying to revive techniques that only the Blood God could perform.”

Simultaneously, Namgung Sang-rin, Hae Su-yeon and all the guests brightened with joy.

“Pardon?”

“Oh my, does that mean…?”

At that, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke in an unconcerned tone.

“Starting tomorrow, I become the natural enemy of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan. I’ll show you. Overwhelming power where trickery is unnecessary.”