Chapter 322: The One Who Lights the Sacred Fire (4)
“I thought it was somewhat strange.”
Arriving near the first intelligence stronghold, Yeon Ho-jeong looked around his surroundings and nodded.
“Ouch, my waist. What are you talking about?”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s Heaven-Sent Moving Flight was in a state where it had peaked as much as it could. The speed of the movement technique exploding with the internal energy of the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir was already not lacking to hear him be called the leader of a sect.
She came almost as if she was carried on his back, but he ran too excessively. It wasn’t strange that Zhuge Ah-yeon’s waist was stiff.
Yeon Ho-jeong pointed to the surroundings with his hand.
“How does it look to you?”
“What do you mean, how?”
“Tell me what you feel looking at this terrain.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon’s eyes sparkled. It was because Yeon Ho-jeong would not ask such a question frivolously.
“Let’s see.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon, who was looking around her surroundings seriously, tilted her head.
“Well? There is nothing particularly strange about it, though? You said the first stronghold is over there in the forest?”
“Yes.”
“They caught a good location, for one. It definitely shows signs of them paying attention. Unless someone suspected and looked from the start, even a master of the world would just pass it by.”
“Other than that?”
“The fact that it’s easy to hide and take cover by utilizing the geographical advantage well? It’s moderately far from the village, but because of the location, it’s also convenient to monitor the village. But…”
Zhuge Ah-yeon’s eyes sank heavily.
“There are really a lot of trees.”
“That’s exactly it.”
It was a situation where the winter cold hadn’t yet faded. It would take two more months for new leaves to grow on the bare trees.
Even so, the Divine Fire Cult’s intelligence stronghold couldn’t be seen. It was because the trees were so dense.
“I don’t think they set up a stronghold in this kind of terrain simply for hiding and cover. If you think about it calmly, you could find as many places more secretive than this.”
“You mean?”
“There is another reason why it absolutely must be this kind of place.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon-yeon’s eyes sparkled. It was similar to the eyes of a curious girl who discovered something interesting.
“Are the other strongholds like this too?”
“Yes. I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but thinking about it, the trees were thick around all the strongholds. To the point where it was hard to find even if you tried.”
“Hmm.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes spewed fire.
Even if he had met the enemy followers of the Divine Fire Cult, he had never fought a master. Most of the people he fought were demonic persons of the Evil Lust Cult side.
However, he knew the special characteristics of the masters on the Divine Fire Cult side.
‘They worship fire.’
Divine Fire, and Sacred Fire.
The leader of the Divine Fire Cult is none other than the proxy of the god who first granted them fire, and receives the absolute trust of the followers. Like Evil Lust or Mad Blood, their trust also reached the realm of fanaticism.
Because of that, the martial arts they used were all based on Fire Qi.
Of course, it was not simple Fire Qi. From what he heard, their Heat Yang Art differed in path from the Heat Yang Art of the Central Plains, and the evaluation that the Fire Qi they possessed was also overwhelming was dominant.
According to the words of a master on the Evil Lust Cult side, the firepower emitted by a person who achieved great completion in the Divine Fire Cult’s martial arts was almost on par with lava.
With that level of firepower, one should see it as ignoring even elemental match-ups.
‘At the same time, it was said that to grow their martial arts based on Fire Qi, they trained in places where Wood Qi was strong to use it as a sacrificial lamb. After establishing a realm above a certain level like that, they instead cultivated their Heat Yang Art in places abundant with Water Qi to suppress their elemental weakness, they said.’
It was the same logic as throwing a few drops of water into a fierce fire making it burn even more fiercely.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked around his surroundings once again.
‘This place is vigorous with Wood Qi. All the strongholds are like that. It is probably not simply because of martial arts cultivation, but for the sake of escape and concealment in case of being discovered. Furthermore, if it is a place like this, they would not be pushed back in strength even if a master several moves above them launched an offensive.’
There is a term called an ironclad fortress. It meant a state where absolute defense was possible.
Looking at it from that meaning, for the people in charge of the strongholds, this kind of place was close to an ironclad fortress. Because if they concentrated their firepower, this entire place would instantly become a sea of fire.
“These enemies have all learned martial arts of extreme Yang. Since they have only dug into the Heat Yang Art for hundreds of years, we must see that their level of the Heat Yang Art is even more outstanding than the martial arts of the Central Plains.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon’s face became serious.
“If that’s the case… the reason why they set up a stronghold in a place like this rich in Wood Qi is explained.”
“Yes.”
Yeon Ho-jeong let out a sigh.
‘I should have noticed it earlier.’
He only now realized the reason why his father told him to take a rest.
If it was his usual self, he would have noticed this level of strangeness right away. However, due to his deep excitement and ever-increasing fatigue, he thought of dealing with the opponent as if he was dealing with the Evil Lust Cult instead of the Divine Fire Cult.
That was why his grasp of the situation was delayed. It was a mistake unlike him.
“Among the formations you found, how many are based on Water Qi?”
“Two out of a total of fifteen.”
“That’s few.”
“In the first place, a formation that pulls and uses the Five Elements Qi is rare in itself. Because it boasts the highest level of difficulty.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides, since a formation that controls and commands qi does not follow natural principles, it naturally has no choice but to break down as time passes.”
“How long does it last?”
“At least two months on the assumption that it’s made properly. The construction itself is not that difficult as long as people stick to it.”
“That’s good.”
“Instead, a water source to complete the formation is needed. If you install the formation without that, the outside of the formation’s territory will become incredibly dry.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked to the north.
There was a narrow river stretching long near the northeast side of the village.
Zhuge Ah-yeon nodded.
“It’s far, but if we connect a formation axis, it’s possible. Instead, it will take half a month to connect the axis. If we want to work stealthily, it will take about five more days from there.”
“Twenty days.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“Anyway, there is forty-five days of time until they send information again. Now there are forty-two days left.”
“Should we begin?”
“Of course.”
“Just this one place?”
“No. This place and Xuchang, the final stronghold, those two places…”
It was then.
Paak!
Yeon Ho-jeong covered Zhuge Ah-yeon’s mouth and retreated to the rear in a single breath.
Flustered, Zhuge Ah-yeon-yeon sent him a telepathic message.
[What’s wrong?!]
[Quiet.]
An immense sense of weight was felt from the replying telepathy. Zhuge Ah-yeon tightly shut her mouth without realizing it.
Yeon Ho-jeong, hiding behind a giant rock, looked far away to the north.
‘A master?!’
Hwa-rr-rr.
A qi wave that felt like it was burning up was transmitted like a hallucination.
The unknown master was also killing their presence to the utmost, but it was not enough to avoid Yeon Ho-jeong’s senses, whose qi perception had become incredibly sharp due to rest, the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir, and the balanced Four Gods Qi.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shook.
‘What is this, all of a sudden?’
They were a tremendous master. The degree of completion of their true qi judged solely by qi perception was surprisingly enough to rival the Clan Heads of the Six Great Clans.
It was difficult to compare them with his father or Murong Jun, but they seemed to have no particular lacking compared to at least the Peng Clan Head or the Namgung Clan Head, Namgung In.
A supreme master who couldn’t be easily seen. Such a master had entered a territory barely a few dozen li away from the Murim Alliance.
The corners of Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes trembled faintly.
‘These guys, they have no fear.’
In terms of the Evil Lust Cult, it was like a martial general class master in charge of the vanguard had appeared.
‘Of all times, at this point? Why on earth? Are they really this careless? Or is it because they have absolute confidence?’
Questions bit the tails of questions. However, when the opponent’s aura reached the front of the stronghold, Yeon Ho-jeong stopped his thoughts.
He stealthily circulated his internal energy and maximized his hearing.
“Have you arrived, Twelfth General.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
It was a familiar voice. It was definitely the middle-aged man he had heard in the thatched cottage two days ago.
A moment later, the voice of the unknown master could be heard.
“I heard that half-wit sent a message.”
It was heavy.
The voice itself was somewhat on the higher side, but it strangely sounded low and resonant.
It was a tremendous dignity. The dignity of a grandmaster was revealed in the transmitted voice. Setting aside the completion or density of his true qi, the sense of intimidation as a strong person itself was amazing.
“That is correct.”
“What kind of information was it?”
“D-did you not hear?”
“…”
“Gasp! I am sorry! This lowly one committed a grave sin…!”
“It is fine. I am not the Eleventh General. I am not a person so heartless as to punish you for not answering immediately.”
“I am only apologetic.”
“So, what kind of information was it?”
“It was information regarding the young talent named Yeon Ho-jeong, the leader of the Murim Alliance’s mobile unit.”
“If it is Yeon Ho-jeong, are you talking about the young talent who has been widely renowned recently?”
“That is correct.”
“Not even an Honored Guest at the very least, but she only sent the information of such a greenhorn?”
“That is correct, but if the sent contents are true, we are viewing it as a sufficiently surprising matter.”
“Give the letter here.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
The one who threw the fake information based on the truth was himself. However, when his three-character name was actually mentioned from the enemies’ mouths, he felt peculiar.
Grip.
Strength entered his fists on its own.
The feeling of wanting to dash out right away and blow off their heads, and a coldness greater than that, dominated his body.
Srrk.
Zhuge Ah–yeon gently grabbed Yeon Ho-jeong’s shoulder.
She probably meant for him to stay calm, although she didn’t know what was going on. Yeon Ho-jeong stealthily evened out his breathing.
A moment later.
“Is this the truth?”
“We dispatched an intelligence agent separately to grasp whether it is the truth. It will take some time, but a sufficient investigation into the figure named Yeon Ho-jeong will be possible.”
“…Whether this is the truth or a lie, it is certain that it is information that must be handled carefully.”
“That is correct.”
“Perhaps, it couldn’t be that they noticed our existence, right? Wouldn’t there be a possibility that they openly leaked this unbelievable information?”
Yeon Ho-jeong felt his chest unnecessarily prickle.
“For now… we consider that possibility to be completely non-existent. However, since there is the one in ten thousand chance, we are being especially careful.”
“I heard Hidden Shadow Number One was attached to the half-wit. Where is that bastard currently?”
“He has not been grasped.”
“What?”
“T-that is! He possessed the Sacred Fire Tablet and the handwritten letter of the Council of Elders! Because he was permitted to communicate directly with the superiors, he does not take orders from our side!”
“The Council of Elders…”
Yeon Ho-jeong could feel a faint hint of laughter in the voice of the master called the Twelfth General.
It was a voice mixed with a sneer.
“Those toothless old men. Humans who are about to go always have that problem. Hanging themselves on useless tradition and bloodline, it seems our Cult was also a world where people live.”
“I am only apologetic.”
“I understand. Anyway, that bastard Hidden Shadow Number One is also just a bastard blinded by power. He is an idiot I don’t even want to share a table with, but he is a bastard who would absolutely never betray us, if only for his own sake.”
“T-that is correct.”
“I understand. I will stop by again later. Make sure to guard it properly.”
“I will keep it in mind!”
Srrk!
The presence of the master called the Twelfth General distanced itself in an instant.
“Phew, I thought I’d die. Why did someone who is even a martial general suddenly come all the way here?”
The owner of the grumbling voice went inside the thatched cottage.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
[Ah-yeon. Return to the Alliance just like this. You must maintain your current aura. You absolutely must not get caught.]
[What about you?]
[I will chase him.]
Zhuge Ah-yeon read a strong will in Yeon Ho-jeong’s telepathy. He was not a guy who wouldn’t go just because she tried to stop him.
[Be careful. Do not overdo it.]
[Got it.]
Sarak!
Yeon Ho-jeong disappeared from her line of sight in an instant.