Chapter 270: Before Riding the Storm (2)

Beneath the cramped inn, demonic qi surged in an instant. Gwan Seo-ye hadn’t been lying. Turpan in Xinjiang really was the Demonic Cult’s stronghold.

But they had severely underestimated me. They’d sent just three first-rate experts to try and subdue me.

I didn’t use a shred of internal energy and didn’t lift a single foot. I swayed only my upper body to dodge the blades flying at me from three directions, then drew Myeong and drove the hilt into one man’s solar plexus.

“Urgh!”

“Damn—he’s a master!”

The cult members who’d been about to charge at me again immediately adjusted their strategy. Their movements were well-drilled and coordinated.

“Why are you doing this? I bear no ill will toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

I made clear that I had no intention of hostility. But the cult members didn’t even bother listening to my words.

Thud-thud-thud!

Suddenly, dark shapes with gleaming tips rained down from the ceiling. I shot backward in an instant.

But the rear was a trap as well. As I leapt back, I glanced down—the floor had collapsed, and beneath it, spears coated with something at their tips were embedded in a dense grid.

‘The trap design is well crafted, but…’

It was certainly a trap capable of catching most experts. The problem was that I was no longer most experts.

“Hah!”

I swung Myeong, slicing through every spear planted in the floor, then landed.

But that wasn’t the end. Looking up, a massive iron ball was hurtling toward me.

“This is getting tiresome.”

In my mind, I silently recited the incantation of the Hunyuan Wuhui Sword.

The slash flew out, splitting the iron ball in half as it crashed to either side of me.

When I looked around again, the cult members had vanished. The one I’d knocked to the ground was gone too. They must have retrieved him and fled.

Once they realized I was someone they couldn’t handle, they withdrew quickly.

“Well.”

At that moment, the ground trembled. I could feel it instantly—this wasn’t the floor vibrating. The earth itself was shaking.

I stepped outside. On the ground, faint red lines were glowing, and the clear daytime sky had turned purple.

‘The entire village is a formation.’

I’d heard the Imperial Palace itself was a formation. Of course, I’d never seen it firsthand.

Red mist began rising from the ground. The moment it touched my body, the internal energy I’d cultivated through the Heavenly Demon Heart Art reacted from within.

“Oh.”

Surprisingly, power surged upward. It seemed the formation had the function of amplifying demonic qi.

They surely hadn’t expected it, but I possessed the Heavenly Demon’s energy—the pinnacle and supreme authority of all demonic qi.

“Wait a minute.”

My internal energy had been a concern lately. But if I could amplify its power even temporarily like this, it would be incredibly useful.

It felt like I’d stumbled upon an unexpected solution to a problem that had been gnawing at me.

But good feelings aside, I still needed to deal with the Demonic Cult experts gradually surrounding me.

They hadn’t even attempted to identify who I was. That was how critical the main stronghold’s location was—its vulnerability was absolute.

“Now, now. Everyone, calm down.”

I raised my voice.

Though invisible to the eye, at least twenty cult members were surrounding me.

Naturally, they made no attempt to heed me. I must have done something wrong—they had already classified me as an enemy.

And then the red mist intensified. At the same time, every hidden cult member burst from concealment and leapt toward me.

“I told you to calm down!”

I finally infused my voice with internal energy. From that point on, it was chaos.

Those who knew the Thousand-Pound Drop dropped to their knees immediately, while those who didn’t couldn’t resist the momentum and tumbled past me across the ground.

“…?”

The cult members, even those who had prostrated themselves, seemed bewildered about what had just happened.

“Where is Gwan Seo-ye?”

When I lowered my voice and spoke, they finally seemed to accept the situation. They likely knew that I had been in contact with Gwan Seo-ye.

“We—we greet the Heavenly Lord!”

“Oh, Heavenly Lord…”

Some spoke in stiff, tense voices, while others were so overwhelmed they sounded completely loosened. In any case, the demonic qi’s effect was unmistakable.

“I am already in your presence, Heavenly Lord.”

From behind a building, Gwan Seo-ye emerged holding a parasol. She set the parasol on the ground and prostrated herself. Come to think of it, the ground here was indeed scorching.

“Everyone, get up. The ground is hot.”

“How could we stand tall before the sun?”

“Are you defying me?”

“No.”

The people rose abruptly. They were certainly obedient.

“Why did you come without sending word?”

“Must I always send word?”

“No. Why would the Heavenly Lord need to send word to find us? I misspoke.”

Gwan Seo-ye bowed her head again. I nodded with satisfaction.

Soon, the red energy on the ground subsided, and the sky began to clear once more.

“Lead the way. To the main stronghold.”

“Yes.”

Gwan Seo-ye bowed deeply and approached my side. She stood one pace behind me. Even while guiding me, she apparently couldn’t walk ahead.

The people who’d tried to attack me followed silently in a line behind me. I wanted to dismiss them, but I could feel their eager, blazing gazes from behind, so I let them be.

“This is the main stronghold.”

“It’s run-down.”

The walls surrounding the building had crumbled after who knew how many sandstorms. The building itself was small and shabby-looking.

“The inside is quite different.”

“But when are those people behind us going to stop following?”

“They’ve received a god—of course they’ll follow to the very end.”

I supposed that was true. It suddenly occurred to me that I’d come too casually. As a god, shouldn’t I have brought gifts for them?

News that the Heavenly Lord had descended upon Turpan must have already spread, because as I followed Gwan Seo-ye, the crowd behind me kept growing. They didn’t dare whisper about me. They simply followed in silence.

“You needn’t feel burdened. It’s only natural for a god to be worshipped.”

Gwan Seo-ye, perceptive as ever, saw through my thoughts.

“Don’t read the god’s mind. How presumptuous.”

“Ah, forgive me.”

I was joking. But Gwan Seo-ye took it seriously. It was a slightly bittersweet moment.

Naturally, Gwan Seo-ye and I had spent more time as friends than as god and follower. But that was limited to me, who had my past life’s memories.

We could no longer sit together over drinks and share our troubles as equals. Now that the relationship had been established, it would remain so going forward. Sending off a dear friend left a bitter taste.

Come to think of it, Cho Hae-rang had also been someone who barely qualified as my friend. I didn’t meet him as often as Gwan Seo-ye, but we’d occasionally share a drink and talk.

Yet I had cut his neck without hesitation. What was frightening was that I hadn’t felt much of an emotional tremor doing so.

He wasn’t as close as Gwan Seo-ye, but it shouldn’t have been something I could do so easily.

Since when had I become so numb to killing? I seemed to have become a very different person from the Muk Hui-yeong of my previous life.

“But can all these people fit inside this small building?”

When I’d glanced back, there were roughly three hundred people following me.

But Gwan Seo-ye nodded confidently.

“Yes. Easily.”

Remarkably, the interior of the building opened into a vast space. Three hundred people was nothing—this could hold at least two thousand.

“The exterior was the formation.”

“That’s correct.”

The building’s outward shabbiness was itself a formation. In a place like Turpan, having a grand, imposing building would naturally invite suspicion, so it was perhaps the logical precaution.

The interior walls and ceiling were covered with strange patterns and paintings, and at the far end stood an altar.

Before the altar, two men in identical attire stood symmetrically on either side.

“I behold the exalted being. The servant of the left—Guwu-won of the Radiant Light Left Attendant.”

“I behold the exalted being. The servant of the right—Geum Han-seon of the Radiant Light Right Attendant.”

The Radiant Light Left Attendant and Right Attendant. They knelt on one knee and bowed their heads as they greeted me.

“Rise.”

If I used formal speech, they’d surely make a fuss out of excessive humility, so I spoke casually.

But their response told me I had underestimated their faith.

“How could we stand at the same eye level as a god!”

“Please take back those words!”

“…?”

Gwan Seo-ye covered her mouth lightly and smiled.

“The Left and Right Attendants are devout followers who pray to the Heavenly Lord every day.”

They’d only ever prayed to a god who’d never appeared, and now the real thing had descended—it was perhaps understandable that they reacted this way.

I let a trace of the Heavenly Demon’s energy flow out. I had nothing else to offer them, so it was a token of acknowledgment.

“Oh! Heavenly Lord!”

“Heavenly Lord!”

When I released the energy, they all felt the Heavenly Demon’s presence and prostrated themselves. Looking back, the crowd had grown to perhaps five hundred, all bowing to me at once.

So this was how an Emperor felt? Though the Emperor probably wasn’t this uncomfortable about it.

“Everyone, rise.”

I hesitated briefly, then added:

“I command it.”

The people hesitated, then rose. I turned back to face the Left and Right Attendants.

They were still kneeling with heads bowed.

“I have questions. Please stand.”

“We humbly obey.”

The Left and Right Attendants rose, but still kept their heads lowered, avoiding my gaze. It was as if they were facing the sun itself.

“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”

“Yes. There is a prayer room.”

“Then let’s go there.”

I brought only Gwan Seo-ye and the Left and Right Attendants into the prayer room. The room was low-ceilinged and dim.

In the darkness, the Left Attendant’s quiet voice emerged.

“Heavenly Lord. What would you like to know?”

“Your thoughts. I’ve only received the Heavenly Demon’s energy—I’m not the Heavenly Demon, and I can’t read your minds.”

I distanced myself slightly from the Heavenly Demon, but it didn’t register with them at all.

“If you’ve received the Heavenly Demon’s energy, you are nothing less than the Heavenly Demon reborn. Being trapped in a human body is but a flicker in the eyes of the gods.”

“…Right.”

I gave up trying to convince them. Let them worship.

“Our thoughts? We are filled with loyalty for the Heavenly Lord.”

“Not that kind of thought.”

“Then what would you have of us?”

Truly exasperating. I rephrased.

“Your total numbers, the number of other Demonic Cult factions, your strength and influence, your strategic orientation, your perception of the Empire and its people, your annual budget, your military forces, and the number of peak-level experts in your possession.”

I had to spell it out this bluntly for them to understand. The Left Attendant bowed his head.

“Ah. So that’s what you were asking. I can give rough answers for most, but the annual budget is difficult to say.”

“Why? Is that particularly secret?”

“No. We live by the Heavenly Lord’s grace, so it varies depending on how much grace arrives each year.”

What was that supposed to mean? My patience was beginning to wear thin.

“Please, come this way. I’ll show you our treasury. It is the space where the Heavenly Lord’s grace descends.”

The Right Attendant, who had been silent until now, spoke. Fine—seeing was better than hearing.

I followed them. The treasury was covered with talismans, various locks, and formations, so it took some time to open.

“Here.”

Finally, the treasury door swung open.

The moment I peered inside, my blood ran cold.

There, neatly arranged, were every treasure I had sent to the Martial Talent Shop.