Chapter 205: Investigating the Power Behind (2)

“We had a reason for luring you here—no, for luring Young Master Yong to this place.”

At those words, Yong Hwarin furrowed his brows.

His mind began spinning rapidly, and then he arrived at a certain possibility.

“Don’t tell me… Namgung Yoo?”

“As expected of Young Master Yong, how clever.”

Eum Sajeok grinned servilely as he praised Yong Hwarin.

“To be precise, it’s not that Namgung girl, but the East Evil Division Leader. We thought it would be difficult to abduct you if you were with them, so we used the Seok girl—no, Miss Seok—and the Demonic Master to draw you in.”

At the revelation that Seok Unjeong had been kidnapped to prevent his meeting with the East Evil Division Leader, rage flared within Yong Hwarin.

‘These bastards are clearly preparing for war. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have a reason to abduct the East Evil Division Leader. They must be planning to manufacture jiangshi on a massive scale to conquer the Murim.’

The more he thought about it, the more all the pieces started falling into place, and that terrified him.

“In my state, they must have been attacked too, right?”

“They went with that Senior Brother’s trusted aides and subordinates, so they must be in a tough fight.”

Yong Hwarin looked down at Eum Sajeok and asked,

“Where can I get information? About their situation.”

Since these guys had good intel, he figured they must have informants everywhere.

“If you head about two hours north from here, you’ll come across an inn. You can get information there. But it has to be me who goes. If you go, not only will you not get information, the informants might go into hiding.”

“Fine. One more thing—where are the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword and the Blue Dragon Three Marbles?”

At those words, Eum Sajeok lowered his gaze.

“I handed those over to that Senior Brother a long time ago.”

To verify the truth of that statement, Yong Hwarin stepped closer and placed his hand over Eum Sajeok’s celestial opening.

“Things like the Soul Reaping Art or Human Possession Art don’t work on me.”

Yong Hwarin summoned the Demonic Master.

‘Elder.’

After a short moment, the Demonic Master replied.

‘What is it?’

‘I intend to find out if this guy is telling the truth.’

‘Understood.’

As the cold, sinister energy flowed into Eum Sajeok’s head, he jolted in fright.

He knew instantly this wasn’t just any ordinary energy.

He shook his head violently. Though his blood channels were sealed and he couldn’t move his body, he struggled so much that his upper garment slid off his shoulder.

‘This bastard! He has a forbidden restriction placed on his head. In such a case, after taking over his upper dantian, we can slowly consume his consciousness. It takes time, but it’s possible.’

The Demonic Master within his body was clearly one level more advanced in sorcery than the middle-aged one.

‘We don’t have that much time. We’ll need to torture him if we have to.’

Just as Yong Hwarin was about to step back after saying that, the Demonic Master suddenly shouted in his head.

‘Wait!’

The loud voice rang inside his skull, leaving his mind buzzing like a beehive.

‘What is it?’

He asked in an irritated tone, a headache forming.

‘Look closely at that bastard’s shoulder.’

The Demonic Master was startled upon seeing the tattoo engraved on Eum Sajeok’s shoulder.

“What’s this?”

Yong Hwarin asked, and Eum Sajeok replied nonchalantly.

“A tattoo I got with childhood friends.”

The tattoo on his shoulder depicted a coiled black snake and scorpion.

‘Do you know what this tattoo means?’

Suddenly, the Demonic Master let out a murderous intent, and Eum Sajeok flinched and trembled.

‘How could I ever forget that pattern! The ones with that tattoo are the ones who tried to kill me.’

‘Didn’t you say you were chased by experts from the Three Demonic Heavens?’

‘Yes. But the real experts had that tattoo on their shoulders. While I was briefly staying in the Blood Demon Castle, I came to know—but the Blood Demon Castle's emblem is not some snake and scorpion.’

‘Then, these bastards are part of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s forces?’

‘Heavenly Demon Sect, you say?’

‘Just relaying what the middle-aged Demonic Master deduced based on what he saw and heard. That Third Young Master fellow appeared to be a descendant of the Heavenly Demon Sect. That would mean the ones who attacked you in your past life were also descendants of the Heavenly Demon Sect.’

Yong Hwarin explained what the middle-aged Demonic Master had told him.

The Demonic Master remained silent until Yong Hwarin finished.

‘Now I understand. Blood Demon Castle, claiming to negotiate peace with the orthodox sects, pushed me forward as the one to make contact since I had ties with the orthodox side. But all of it was deception. While pretending to pursue peace, the Blood Demon Castle was planning a full-scale assault on the orthodox factions. When I opposed it, they attacked me without hesitation. Those damn bastards. I stood for the Blood Demon Castle and fought against the orthodox sects, yet they tried to kill me for that.’

Even now, just thinking about it made the Demonic Master’s blood boil.

The ones orchestrating that deceit behind the Blood Demon Castle were precisely those marked with the black snake and scorpion.

Unforgivable. Those were the same bastards who had pursued him relentlessly and tried to kill him.

The Blood Demon Castle members, at least, had some old bonds and only half-heartedly tracked him. But these others pursued him like mad dogs, even leaving a palm print on his chest.

Even now, the face of that damned bastard clearly floated in his mind.

Due to the Demonic Master’s fury, his qi surged wildly.

Then, all at once, it settled into calm.

Yong Hwarin quietly called out to the Demonic Master.

‘Elder, are you all right?’

‘Boy.’

‘Yes, Demonic Master Elder.’

‘I’ve made up my mind.’

‘About what?’

‘I intend to make this one my host.’

‘Eum Sajeok?’

Yong Hwarin shouted in surprise at the completely unexpected declaration.

‘That’s right. Even as I was being hunted in my past life, I was curious. Just who were these bastards who drove me to this point?’

‘Didn’t you say they were descendants of the Heavenly Demon Sect?’

‘Yes, but it feels like there’s more to it. These people—something about their roots and influence was so vast, it gave me a sense of dread.’

What the Demonic Master said aligned exactly with what the middle-aged Demonic Master had said before.

‘I will take on this man’s identity and uncover the truth. And besides, you have something you want from him too, don’t you?’

‘Yes. I want to know the inner history or current location of the Blue Dragon Three Marbles and the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword.’

‘To find that out, I have no choice but to make him my host.’

‘Then… are we parting ways, Elder?’

The Demonic Master paused for a moment before speaking.

‘What? Are you feeling sentimental? The one who used to want me gone?’

‘Now that we’re about to part ways, I do feel a bit lonely.’

‘Hah, a man feeling sentimental. And I’m practically a ghost, so don’t get too emotional.’

Even the Demonic Master’s tone wasn’t very bright.

After sharing a body with Yong Hwarin for so long, there was undeniable attachment. Facing the moment of separation did stir something within him.

But he couldn’t remain in Yong Hwarin’s upper dantian forever.

What Yong Hwarin would miss most after the Demonic Master’s departure was someone who could guide him whenever he hit a wall in his martial arts.

More than half of Yong Hwarin’s rapid martial advancement up to now was owed to the Demonic Master.

Whenever he hit a bottleneck, the Demonic Master would step in and resolve it with perfect timing.

It was like having an exceptional teacher instructing a martial prodigy.

Realizing he would no longer receive that guidance left him with a deep sense of loss.

Once he had made peace with their separation, Yong Hwarin asked the Demonic Master,

‘How long will it take to seize this man’s consciousness?’

‘This man has a special forbidden restriction. Even I can’t say for sure how long it will take. At the fastest, a day. At the slowest, it might take ten.’

‘Then I have no choice but to keep him with me for a while.’

‘While you’re keeping him close, don’t harm him. If outside pressure is applied while I’m taking control of his consciousness, it’ll weaken the process.’

‘Understood.’

‘Then, from this point on, I’ll begin transferring myself into this man’s body.’

‘Uh, what about your cultivation?’

The Demonic Master laughed with a raspy chuckle.

‘Consider yourself lucky. Had I transferred into someone with no martial arts, I’d have taken all the cultivation from your body. But if I bring my own power into this one, anyone who knows him would get suspicious. I must only use his qi, so my own cultivation stays with you.’

‘Thank you, Elder.’

‘First, channel your qi into this man’s upper dantian so I can enter.’

When Yong Hwarin channeled his qi into Eum Sajeok’s upper dantian, Eum Sajeok’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing?!”

And with that, the Demonic Master’s soul followed the qi stream and flowed in.

As he couldn’t pierce Eum Sajeok’s mind directly, the Demonic Master decided to dominate him starting with his upper dantian.

Eum Sajeok’s body shivered like a patient stricken with a severe chill.

When resistance surged from Eum Sajeok’s dantian, Yong Hwarin’s qi suppressed it.

Then, at a certain moment, Yong Hwarin felt something silently and smoothly slip out of his own head.

“Ah!”

It felt as though decades of pent-up desire had been released in an instant.

On the other hand, Eum Sajeok’s body slumped limply.

A moment later, Eum Sajeok lifted his head with a strange expression.

His pupils widened and narrowed repeatedly in a bizarre pattern.

‘So the tug-of-war between Eum Sajeok’s consciousness and the Demonic Master’s soul is causing random nerve reactions in his eyes.’

The middle-aged Demonic Master had been silently observing Yong Hwarin’s actions this entire time.

Though similar to his own methods, the energy emanating from it was utterly malevolent.

Originally, a soul’s energy was yin-based and would naturally feel eerie.

‘Has a child of the orthodox sects learned demonic arts? His sorcery is rather unorthodox.’

Yet, seeing Yong Hwarin apply the Soul Reaping Art to someone like Eum Sajeok—someone even he couldn’t control—he couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Elder, I’ve cast the Soul Reaping Art on him, but it’ll take some time to fully seize his consciousness. Until then, I’ll keep him with me. After that, I’ll extract from him the method to break Jeong Mae’s Soul Reaping Art and also learn the whereabouts of Deung Hwaun.”

The Demonic Master nodded. Right now, using Eum Sajeok like this was far better than simply killing him.

Yong Hwarin turned to Eum Sajeok and asked,

“Where is it? The inn with the informant.”

Eum Sajeok pursed his lips, trying to say something, but no sound came out.

It was a symptom caused by the fact that the Demonic Master was trying to make him speak, while he himself didn’t want to. It was proof that their two consciousnesses were still fiercely battling.

Instead, Eum Sajeok raised his hand and pointed in a direction.

It meant the Demonic Master’s will had taken control of his body enough to direct action.

“If we go there, it should appear. I entrust these two to Baekseom-nim.”

He left Gam Heum and Go Ram in Baekseom’s care.

“Understood. Don’t worry.”

As Yong Hwarin slung Eum Sajeok over his shoulder and ran off, Seok Jamyung also tucked Seok Unjeong under his arm and followed behind.

Then, the Blood Green Unit that had been stationed around the manor began to move.

Before leaving the manor, Baekseom gave an order.

“Burn everything in the manor!”

With so many corpses to dispose of, there was no other way.

As flames engulfed the manor, Baekseom leapt in the direction Yong Hwarin had gone.

Two assassins followed, each carrying Go Ram and Gam Heum over their shoulders.

The pillar of fire burning the manor and the dozens of corpses was sucked violently into the morning sky as the sun began to rise.

While heading toward the inn, Yong Hwarin posed a question to the Demonic Master.

“Didn’t Eum Sajeok assist in stealing Shaolin Temple’s White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword and the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm? Just what are those things, that they’re so desperate to obtain them?”

Though Yong Hwarin already knew that all four objects were related to the Four Great Divine Items, he pretended ignorance and asked the question.

It was to draw out everything the middle-aged Demonic Master knew.

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