Chapter 80

Ant Nest (1)

The formation changed from moment to moment.

Cheon Muyang had already encountered a similar formation in the back alleys of Hangzhou.

"So this is proof that the Demonic Cult is involved."

Others might not have noticed, but Cheon Muyang could see the core of this formation clearly.

It was definitely not a Tang Clan formation.

The uniquely sinister aura of the Demonic Cult had seeped into every direction.

"Tsk. If only I could prove this, I could put the Tang Clan in a very awkward position."

Clicking his tongue in regret, Cheon Muyang wandered through the interior of the formation.

There was no evidence he could use.

"Still, I guess they were short on time."

Whether it was the boiling lava or the raging blizzard, everything looked somewhat sloppy.

That meant the formation itself was incomplete, even without cutting its flow.

Of course, setting up a formation of this level in such a short time was impressive in its own right.

"At this level, I wouldn't even need to cut it, but…."

Even so, he intended to cut it—if only for the sake of the Wolf King, who was likely trapped in the same formation.

There was also the chance that Namgung Seo-hee was inside this formation as well.

Whoooom, whoooom!

He raised Cheongwang.

Having cut through formations before, the flow of this one was clearly visible to him.

"There it is."

Step. Step.

Cheon Muyang walked toward where the flow converged—the core of the formation known as the Death Gate.

Each time he advanced, the formation writhed and tried to block his path, but to Cheon Muyang, whose eyes were already closed, it was pointless.

"Here."

He reached the end.

Without hesitation, Cheon Muyang sliced straight through the flow of the formation.

Ruuuumble!

With a thunderous roar, the formation collapsed.

And in that instant—

Screeech!

A sharp piercing sound tore through the air and reached Cheon Muyang's ears.

Whoosh!

Instinctively, he swung Cheongwang.

Thud-thud-thud!

Countless hidden weapons fell to the ground.

The moment the formation was dismantled, assassins launched their ambush.

Cheon Muyang's eyes gleamed.

"Oh? So you lot are the real deal?"

There was no sense of presence.

Hidden in the darkness, their existence blended with the air itself.

Grin.

Cheon Muyang smiled and walked toward them.

"...!"

A flicker of confusion rippled through the assassins—creatures not known for showing emotion.

"Why?"

Cheon Muyang pressed them instead.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

"...!"

"You should at least carry out the task you were given."

Screeech!

Cheongwang surged forward.

Despite the distance, the slash felt meaningless to evade.

Slice.

One sinister shadow was cut down.

"...!"

They were all horrified.

There was no time to react.

It was a flawless strike, without even the slightest margin of error.

"If you stay still, you die."

Assassins.

They were a breed that lived on the boundary between life and death.

Either kill, or be killed.

Those closest to death, who could smile and willingly accept it—

Shiver.

The moment they faced Cheon Muyang's smile,

A fear of death they had long forgotten—

So forgotten they could not even remember when they had last felt it—

Slowly crept back in.

"You'd better move."

Rustle—rustle—rustle!

Just as Cheon Muyang warned.

If they did not move, they would die.

As they scattered all at once, an uncharacteristic haste and panic filled their movements.

"Tsk."

Cheon Muyang clicked his tongue.

"And yet you move so openly. You call yourselves assassins?"

They had made one fatal mistake.

They had been ruled by fear.

Assassins were meant to instill fear.

And the moment they were ruled by it—

"From the moment you feared death."

The darkness would no longer embrace them.

In other words, they had been stripped of the right to stand on the boundary between life and death.

"You're finished."

Their failure to maintain the essence of an assassin was plainly visible.

Just because something could not be seen with the naked eye did not mean it could not be seen at all.

Whoooom!

Merciless slashes of Cheongwang poured down upon them.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

Not a single one could block Cheongwang's onslaught.

'Just what…?'

When even the sky itself was collapsing,

Where could one possibly flee?

The nameless assassins were forced to face Pacheon—the shattering of the heavens.

"W-what in the world…."

Assassins who had scattered countless deaths.

Cheon Muyang saw the innumerable deaths clinging to them.

Among them were deaths of villains who deserved it—but just as many were deaths sold for a few coins.

"Humans cannot take the place of heaven, but…."

Cheon Muyang cut down their deaths.

For those who killed with firm conviction and principle, death came as release.

"And for those who reek…."

For those who did not understand the value of life, who were drunk on killing and slaughtered even the innocent, death descended as terror.

"You will never be redeemed."

"Ahh…."

Those closest to death—

At last met it.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

Blood ran down the blade of Cheongwang.

Cheon Muyang merely flicked it away with cold eyes.

"Hoo…."

Letting out a breath, Cheon Muyang scanned his surroundings.

Only after confirming that no one remained did he move on.

"Now then, where to next?"

This space beneath the mountain—likely artificially created—was as complex as an ant nest, even without the formation.

Of course, Cheon Muyang already knew where he needed to go.

"The stench of blood is strong."

A thick, suffocating scent of blood.

That was where he needed to be.

"Don't get in my way."

Perhaps because the formation had collapsed,

Those trying to block Cheon Muyang sprang up one after another like mushrooms after rain.

"Tsk."

Among them were Tang Clan martial artists using poison—

'Demonic Cultists, too.'

Those driven mad by demonic arts could also be seen.

All of them rushed in to stop Cheon Muyang, but—

Whoooom!

Under Cheongwang's cry, they only ended up scattering yet more blood.

Thus, Cheon Muyang advanced toward whatever it was they had hidden beneath this place.

Each step made it clearer that this area had been constructed long ago.

"Was this not a trap prepared for Namgung Seo-hee from the very beginning?"

The answer to that question came quickly.

Before long, Cheon Muyang reached the truth hidden beneath the formation.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

By the time Cheongwang's blade was completely stained red, he arrived at the end of the cavern.

There, beings who had lost their reason moved like machines.

"This place is…?"

They were mechanically producing something.

The result of that process was pills.

What they were was obvious.

So Eungbangju, Cheon Ahaeng, even the Third Elder—

Those very pills that had turned them into demonic beings.

'So this is where they were made. Then what are the ingredients of those pills?'

There had to be materials.

Cheon Muyang consciously scanned the area for them.

"Is that it?"

Unidentified containers lay along the path traced by those mindless beings.

There were so many neatly stacked containers that counting them was impossible.

"Just what…?"

Cheon Muyang walked toward them.

Whether they had been brainwashed or not, they showed no reaction even after noticing him.

"...."

Reaching the containers, Cheon Muyang was struck speechless.

'The stench of blood….'

The source of the thick blood-scent that had led him here lay before him.

Tremble.

With shaking hands, he opened a container.

Inside was blood.

Blood steeped in deep resentment.

Though it was merely blood, an overwhelming demonic aura emanated from it.

"Ah…."

Suppressing the rage boiling inside him, Cheon Muyang rushed toward those still producing pills.

"Speak! Tell me what you were doing here!"

But they did not answer.

Having lost their reason, they would likely show no reaction even if their throats were cut.

Whoooom!

Cheon Muyang moved to strike them down.

Perhaps sensing his fury—

Thud.

Those who had been working stopped all at once and approached him, trying to speak.

Unable to form full sentences, each spoke only a single syllable.

"Expe…."

"Riment."

"What?"

Perhaps even their tongues had been cut—their words were unclear.

But Cheon Muyang had to understand.

"Th…."

"Is."

"Pla…."

"Ce."

"Is."

"Expe…."

"Riment."

"Ground."

"What? What were you experimenting on?!"

That was when they all spoke together.

"Blood."

"Blood?"

"Blood… blood… whether… wheth-er… de-monic… de-monic nature… takes root."

The pronunciation was comparatively clear.

Snap!

Turning his head, Cheon Muyang saw them shedding tears of blood.

As he looked at their expressionless faces crying blood, he felt their fury.

"...."

Slowly.

A hand rose.

In it was a pill.

Cheon Muyang accepted it.

"Kill… kill us."

"...Who are you people?"

"Shadows."

That final word was spoken clearly.

Cheon Muyang nodded slightly and cut them down with a single stroke.

"Th… thank you."

They were freed from their shackles.

Freedom named death.

"...."

After placing the pill into his robes, Cheon Muyang began smashing everything in the area.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

Blood splashed onto Cheon Muyang as well.

'I can feel it….'

Their despair, their rage, their resentment—everything flowed into him.

In that sense, their experiment had succeeded.

"For such a trivial reason…."

How many lives had been lost for this experiment?

Blood carrying such monstrous resentment was processed and used as material for pills.

Elixirs were sometimes absorbed in their natural state, but because efficiency was poor, most underwent refinement.

Taechung Pills, Daehwan Pills—none of them were anything more than refined mixtures extracting only the parts effective for cultivating inner power.

What made Daehwan Pills and Taechung Pills precious was which ingredients were refined, and in what ratios.

So experimental pills produced here could not compare to Daehwan Pills—

'But for those practicing demonic arts, they'd be comparable.'

Every ingredient was paid for with the blood of innocents.

The weight was different.

Crunch.

Cheon Muyang's rage surged.

He gripped his sword so tightly that blood seeped from his hand.

His blood mixed with theirs, running down his clothes.

'This is different from the Third Elder's case.'

To cultivate demonic arts, they had abducted children under the guise of "elixirs" and refined them.

'This wretched group went even beyond that….'

Glance.

Cheon Muyang looked at the pill left behind even as they died.

This experiment must have included refinement as well.

"For such a pitiful amount of power…."

His eyes sank deeply.

Namgung Sang-hyeok no longer mattered to him at all.

Whoever carried out this experiment—

"The Tang Clan or the Demonic Cult."

It did not matter.

They would all pay for their sins.

Screeeech!

Perhaps sensing the abnormality, another group of assassins rushed in.

"Fine. Whoever it is—come."

Cheon Muyang wanted to vent this rage fully.

One could not always remain calm.

Scrape.

The sound of Cheongwang dragging against the ground echoed.

Scrrrape!

The sound was chilling.

"I'll chew you all up."

In Cheon Muyang's blood-soaked eyes lurked an aura so fierce he could be mistaken for a demon himself.

"R-run…!"

Annihilation.

It took only moments to reach that result.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

Blood fell.

Cheon Muyang moved once more, Cheongwang hanging low.

"...."

Those who stood in his way all became cold corpses.