Chapter 122

“What?”

“Good heavens!”

Jin Geum-woo and his companions let out cries of alarm.

They had been climbing Mount Qingcheng to visit the Qingcheng Sect. Just as they were about to reach the mountain gate, the sudden stench of blood assailed them.

Sensing that something had happened, they rushed over. Before them, a gruesome sight, too horrible to behold, was unfolding.

Daoist Master Muryeong lay on the ground in Daoist Master Muhwa’s arms, while the martial artists of the Qingcheng Sect fought desperately to protect them.

The martial artists of the Thunder Clan, High Sky Martial Hall, and True Star Clan were launching an all-out offensive. It was already a struggle just to block their combined attack, but to make matters worse, they also had to deal with enemies from within.

The disciples of the Qingcheng Sect didn’t know how to react when their comrades, with whom they had laughed and cried just yesterday, suddenly turned on them. They couldn’t respond properly, and as a result, they suffered immense damage.

Only after many had fallen at the hands of their comrades did they manage to band together and barely hold on. But it was a precarious situation, and they could collapse at any moment.

Jin Geum-woo’s eyes widened.

“The Qingcheng Sect is under attack?”

“We have to help them.”

“Let’s go, quickly.”

Won Gayoung and Neung Sowoon urged Jin Geum-woo on.

There was no time to hesitate.

If left alone, the martial artists of the Qingcheng Sect would suffer even greater losses. They had to stop it before that happened.

Jin Geum-woo, Won Gayoung, and Neung Sowoon ran like the wind and leaped into the battlefield.

“Everyone, stop.”

With a lion’s roar, Jin Geum-woo threw a lightning-fast punch between the Qingcheng Sect and the Thunder Clan members.

Kwwaaaang!

With a deafening roar, a huge crater was gouged into the ground.

Shattered rock fragments and dirt flew in all directions, striking the martial artists who had been in the middle of a fierce fight.

“Keuk!”

“Gack!”

Struck by the unimaginable thunderbolt, the martial artists screamed and were thrown backward.

In the meantime, Won Gayoung and Neung Sowoon each took on the martial artists of the High Sky Martial Hall and the True Star Clan.

Though only three people had joined, their reinforcement was enough to turn the tide of the battle, which had been tilting.

As the attackers faltered, Jin Geum-woo quickly spoke to Daoist Master Muhwa.

“I am Jin Geum-woo of the Golden Sky Society. What is going on here?”

“Oh! It’s Young Hero Jin. They suddenly launched a combined attack, and we were caught completely off guard. It seems they have fallen victim to evil arts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before they attacked us, I felt a deathly qi in their eyes. The sudden betrayal of our disciples… it cannot be explained without evil arts.”

“Hmm!”

Jin Geum-woo let out a low groan.

These were the words of an Elder of the Qingcheng Sect, no less. He wouldn’t have spoken carelessly.

Jin Geum-woo looked at the Qingcheng Sect disciples who had betrayed their own.

Just by their appearance, he couldn’t find anything strange. But as Daoist Master Muhwa said, it didn’t seem like a normal situation.

Above all, they showed no hint of guilt while attacking their own martial brothers. It was something that could never happen if they were thinking normally.

“Evil arts…”

His gaze suddenly turned to the body of Cheonggyeong, who had fallen nearby.

His appearance, bleeding from all seven orifices, was utterly gruesome. But what Jin Geum-woo focused on was not the corpse, but the blood he had spilled on the ground.

Something minuscule was wriggling in the blood.

It was a movement so faint that he would never have noticed it if he hadn’t focused his internal power into his eyes.

The Transcendent Mind Art he had learned was one of the purest arts in all under heaven. No matter how minute, it would never miss anything foreign.

“Something in the blood… Could it be Gu Poison?”

Jin Geum-woo recalled that there were types of Gu Poison that affected the mind and spirit.

If Gu Poison was truly used, then the sudden betrayal of the Qingcheng Sect disciples made sense.

Jin Geum-woo shouted loudly.

“It’s Gu Poison. They have all been poisoned by Gu Poison.”

Neung Sowoon was the first to react to his voice.

“If it’s really Gu Poison, the one controlling it must be nearby. We need to find and eliminate him. We’ll handle things here, so you go find and get rid of the caster.”

“I understand.”

Jin Geum-woo emitted a net-like Qi wave, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

One of the effects of the Transcendent Mind Art was to emit a Qi wave like a net in all directions to detect foreign presences.

The net of Qi was as sensitive as a spider’s web, and if a foreign presence was within the range of his senses, he could surely find it.

Jin Geum-woo had mastered the Transcendent Mind Art to the state of complete mastery.

Tsssss!

The formless Qi wave spread out in all directions.

Five zhang, ten zhang… Beads of sweat formed on Jin Geum-woo’s forehead. This was his limit. But Jin Geum-woo pushed himself, sending the Qi wave even farther.

When the Qi wave had spread to fifteen zhang, Jin Geum-woo’s eyes flashed.

“Found you.”

He felt a stealthy presence from a particularly large tree.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jin Geum-woo launched himself toward the tree, drawing his sword.

“Haaat!”

With a kiai, an intense Qi gathered on his blade.

The sword, imbued with Sword Qi, cut through the tree like a flash of lightning.

“Tch!”

At that moment, a black shadow shot out with a flustered sound.

It was Darkness.

His side had been deeply slashed by Jin Geum-woo’s unexpected attack.

“Reveal your identity.”

Jin Geum-woo roared and attacked Darkness.

‘Where did a guy like that come from…’

Darkness’s face contorted.

To have a perfectly laid plan ruined, and then to be yelled at on top of it. Darkness felt a great rage toward Jin Geum-woo.

Jin Geum-woo’s sword strikes rushed toward him like a storm.

‘Just you wait!’

Darkness vowed revenge and fled.

“Stop!”

Jin Geum-woo pursued him with terrifying momentum. But Darkness’s movements were too fast for Jin Geum-woo to follow.

Shwaak!

In an instant, Darkness vanished from Jin Geum-woo’s sight.

It was impossible to find Darkness, who had already disappeared into the forest.

“I let him get away. The consequences will be endless.”

Jin Geum-woo’s face twisted.

Darkness’s martial arts were by no means weak. Yet, the moment he realized the situation was turning against him, he fled without a second glance. He was the type to value his life more than his pride.

This type of person cherished their life to an extreme, so at the slightest hint of danger, they would hide deep where no one could see them. This made them difficult to find and even harder to deal with.

He was truly the worst kind of opponent.

Jin Geum-woo suppressed his uneasy feelings and turned back.

He deeply regretted not catching Darkness, but there were matters to resolve now.

Jin Geum-woo launched himself toward the martial artists attacking the Qingcheng Sect.

Even though Darkness had disappeared, the martial artists were still attacking the Qingcheng Sect. It was proof that the command was maintained even without the caster.

Jin Geum-woo’s gaze fell upon Oh Kyunghwa of the Thunder Clan.

The only man who couldn’t hide his flustered expression when Darkness revealed his identity was Oh Kyunghwa.

Jin Geum-woo was certain that he knew something about Darkness.

If he could subdue him, he would surely be able to uncover the truth hidden behind today’s incident.

“Chaaat!”

Jin Geum-woo charged at Oh Kyunghwa with all his might.

Kwaang!

＊＊＊

At the news Go Chonggwan brought, Pyo Wol’s eyes glinted sharply.

“The Qingcheng Sect…”

The final destination of the Thunder Clan was Mount Qingcheng.

Go Chonggwan had confirmed that the Thunder Clan members entered Mount Qingcheng. However, he could not go inside the mountain himself.

Mount Qingcheng itself was the territory of the Qingcheng Sect, and they strictly forbade outsiders from approaching. If he had secretly entered Mount Qingcheng and been caught by the Qingcheng Sect, it could have brought trouble to Pyo Wol. For that reason, he only confirmed the Thunder Clan’s final destination and reported back to Pyo Wol.

Go Chonggwan continued his report in writing.

[But there was something strange.]

“What is it?”

[The martial artists of the High Sky Martial Hall and the True Star Clan were with them.]

“You mean they were traveling with the Thunder Clan?”

[That is correct.]

Pyo Wol rested his chin on his right hand and tapped it with his fingers. Recognizing this as a habit Pyo Wol had when deep in thought, Go Chonggwan quietly exited the room.

‘The Thunder Clan holds a grudge against the Qingcheng Sect. I killed the young sect leader, Nam Hosan, but they believe it was at the behest of the Qingcheng Sect.’

That was what Pyo Wol had intended.

He had deliberately used a special technique of the Qingcheng Sect to kill Nam Hosan so they would think just that.

‘Furthermore, their Sect Leader, Tae Yeonho, was also killed by Daoist Master Mujeong’s hand, so their grudge is more than justified. The problem is their ability.’

Having killed Nam Hosan himself, he knew the Thunder Clan’s strength better than anyone.

They were by no means strong enough to take revenge on the Qingcheng Sect. If they had that kind of power, their members wouldn’t have scattered so much after their Sect Leader’s death.

‘Scattered? What if they didn’t scatter? If they had truly scattered, they wouldn’t have been able to gather again, would they?’

One thought led to another in a chain.

‘No matter how great the High Sky Martial Hall and the True Star Clan claim to be, they are merely the head of a snake. They wouldn’t plan something like this relying only on them. There must be another accomplice. Someone the Thunder Clan truly trusts and relies on. A place that does not fear Qingcheng. The Small Thunder Sound Temple.’

Pyo Wol reached a conclusion in an instant.

The sects in the Jianghu were reluctant to antagonize the Qingcheng Sect, a prestigious clan of the Orthodox Faction. No matter how much the Qingcheng Sect was going through a period of shame because of Daoist Master Mujeong, it was a prestigious clan with a history spanning hundreds of years.

Not only was antagonizing such a prestigious clan burdensome, but there was also little to gain even if they won. This was because there wasn’t much to be gained by braving the backlash from the people of Sichuan Province.

In that case, the sects of the Jianghu had to be excluded from the list of suspects.

Pyo Wol recalled the records in the Capital Martial Artists Registry.

The Capital Martial Artists Registry stated that the origin of the Thunder Clan was the Small Thunder Sound Temple. Although it had been a long time since the Thunder Clan became independent and established itself in Chengdu, the fact that its roots were in the Small Thunder Sound Temple had not changed.

Just as a child who gets beaten up by a friend runs to their parents, the members of the Thunder Clan, having lost their Sect Leader, must have sought out the Small Thunder Sound Temple for revenge.

‘Without the support of the Small Thunder Sound Temple, they would not have dared to dream of revenge against the Qingcheng Sect.’

Supporting the Thunder Clan was not a bad thing for the Small Thunder Sound Temple either.

It was a way for them to expand their influence in Chengdu, and further, in Sichuan Province, so it could be said to be an even better outcome for the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

The question was how much support the Small Thunder Sound Temple had given the Thunder Clan.

‘They wouldn’t have dispatched a large force. They have to be mindful of the eyes of other sects.’

The Small Thunder Sound Temple was clearly a power from the Outer Regions.

No matter how much the sects of the Jianghu fought amongst themselves in their dog-eat-dog world, if an outside force tried to interfere in their squabbles, they would band together to resist.

The two Great Wars of the Jianghu had proven this fact.

The Small Thunder Sound Temple must have known this as well.

In that case, they were left with only one choice.

‘A small number of elites will support the Thunder Clan.’

Still, a question remained.

No matter how small an elite force they dispatched, if traces of the Small Thunder Sound Temple were left behind, it would inevitably provoke the public outrage of the Jianghu sects.

If they got involved, the Small Thunder Sound Temple would also be in a difficult position. In particular, it would surely deal a significant blow to their ambition of expanding their influence in Sichuan Province.

The Small Thunder Sound Temple must have known this. In that case, they were left with only one choice.

‘Either they sent people who wouldn’t matter if they were discovered, or people who would never be discovered.’

The scope was narrowing further.

Pyo Wol did not stop thinking.

‘It’s not easy to change a situation with just a few people. They must either possess overwhelming martial power or have other abilities equivalent to it.’

Pyo Wol thought it was the latter.

No matter how overwhelming their martial power, if they used the martial arts of the Small Thunder Sound Temple, traces would inevitably be left behind.

The whole point of dispatching a small elite force would be lost.

Pyo Wol focused on the fact that the martial artists of the High Sky Martial Hall and the True Star Clan were traveling with the Thunder Clan.

The two sects had no particular connection with the Thunder Clan. The fact that they moved together meant there was a high probability of some kind of agreement, or that there was a great benefit to be gained.

But no matter how he thought about it, there seemed to be no benefit for the High Sky Martial Hall and the True Star Clan in this matter. It was also hard to believe they were bound by a strong bond unknown to others.

‘How did they move the two sects? Persuasion, or threats?’

Pyo Wol frowned.

Neither premise was particularly convincing.

After settling in Chengdu, Pyo Wol had gathered general information about the Jianghu sects through Go Chonggwan.

Among them was the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

There was a particularly memorable passage in Go Chonggwan’s report on the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

—Skilled in various evil arts that have long since disappeared from the Jianghu.

‘Evil arts? What if there exists an evil art that controls the mind?’

All the assumptions he had made so far would make sense.

Finally, the scattered beads of truth were strung together on a single thread and completed.