Chronicles of the Demonic Cult Conversion Chapter 101
‘You can’t fool my eyes. Huhu.’
In fact, Jin Cheon had known that the Blood Qilin was hiding in the luggage since they left the Divine Land.
The unique demonic qi that the Blood Qilin possessed was not something that could be hidden just by trying.
Of course, for demonic practitioners who trained in demonic arts, they were insensitive to demonic qi, so if he hid his presence well, he might have been able to get away with it, but against Jin Cheon, it was an impossible feat.
It was close to impossible to hide demonic qi from someone with the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.
“No, I heard you were on a mission. What on earth are you doing here?”
“The mission is over.”
The Blood Qilin shrugged his shoulders.
“Did things go well where you went?”
“Well, so-so? Dealing with the Western Regioners is a tiring business. Their martial arts are one thing, but those bastards use strange sorcery. Have you ever heard of magic?”
“What is that?”
“The Western Regioners call their sorcery magic.”
“Ah?”
“Anyway, they’re a troublesome bunch.”
The Blood Qilin shivered as if just imagining it was exhausting.
“But….”
Jin Cheon narrowed his eyes and glared at the Blood Qilin.
“You seem to have gotten much stronger since I last saw you?”
“Hmm?”
“What on earth happened?”
The reason Jin Cheon said that was because the unique blood qi emanating from the Blood Qilin had become even stronger than before.
‘At this point, he seems like a completely different person. Don’t tell me he reached the state of Extreme Demon in just a month or two?’
He looked so different that such a thought even crossed my mind.
“What happened? Nothing special happened.”
“Your demonic qi seems to have grown at least three times stronger.”
“Hey, no way.”
“Don’t lie. You can’t fool my eyes.”
“I have no idea~?”
The Blood Qilin feigned ignorance.
“Pfft.”
Seop So-yeon, who had been listening quietly, laughed as if it were pathetic.
“He probably absorbed some Blood Demon Essence in the Western Regions.”
“Blood Demon Essence? What’s that?”
“Ask him yourself. It seems out of line for me to tell you.”
Jin Cheon turned his head towards the Blood Qilin.
“What is Blood Demon Essence?”
“I don’t know anything like that~?”
“Is it some kind of spiritual medicine?”
“Is there such a spiritual medicine?”
“……”
Since the Blood Qilin was playing dumb and denying it, Jin Cheon decided not to ask any further.
‘It seems to be a spiritual medicine that only grows in the Western Regions.’
Judging by Seop So-yeon’s reaction, it didn’t seem like an ordinary spiritual medicine, but since he didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of telling me, pestering him would only be a waste of breath.
“Well, anyway, since you’ve come along, please just stay quiet. Don’t even think about causing any trouble.”
“When have I ever caused trouble?”
“I have eyes and ears too. As they say, there’s no smoke without fire; the rumors about you, senior brother, can’t be completely baseless, can they?”
“W-well, that’s true.”
“This mission could be a matter of life and death for our Cult.”
“Hmm? Is it that serious?”
“Yes.”
Jin Cheon nodded his head.
“It’s an order I received directly from that person.”
“Hmm.”
“We haven’t gone that far yet, so if you’re not up for it, why don’t you go back now?”
Jin Cheon said this, inwardly hoping the Blood Qilin would return.
Since this mission would be carried out in the heart of the Central Plains, if the Blood Qilin caused any trouble, the aftermath would be very difficult to handle.
If he couldn’t control his killing intent and started a bloodbath…
‘A heavenly net would be spread.’
Just imagining being chased by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance in the Central Plains made my heart pound already.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
“Are you going back?”
“No? Since it’s come to this, I’m going to work hard on the mission too.”
“……”
Jin Cheon’s expression hardened.
It wasn't just Jin Cheon.
‘Damn it.’
‘The Sixth Young Master is coming with us.’
The expressions of the Seventh Divine Demon Squad, including Danmok Cheong, also crumpled mercilessly.
“What’s with those faces? Don’t you like me coming along?”
“Hey, that’s not it.”
“What do you mean it’s not!”
The Blood Qilin threw a fit.
“You guys are looking down on me right now! You bastards, really!”
“I said that’s not it!”
Thanks to that, Jin Cheon had to struggle for a while to calm the Blood Qilin down.
‘Somehow, this journey is tiring from the very beginning. Haa.’
Jin Cheon let out a deep sigh inwardly, feeling like he now knew what it felt like to be old.
* * *
Mount Kunlun, which could be called the spiritual mountain of Taoism, was a place as full of spiritual energy as Sky Mountain.
Furthermore, its mountain range was higher and more rugged than Sky Mountain, to the point where it naturally inspired awe in those who saw it.
The Kunlun Sect, the number one Taoist sect under heaven—or more precisely, the old site of the Kunlun Sect—was located about halfway up Mount Kunlun.
“What a mess.”
That was Jin Cheon’s impression upon seeing the old site of the Kunlun Sect.
The burnt and collapsed pavilions were not just ruins but mere debris, and the buildings that were somewhat intact were no different from haunted houses.
The current state of the Kunlun Sect, which had boasted an enormous scale as the number one Taoist sect under heaven until before the First Righteous-Demonic War, was such that it was difficult to even recall its past glory.
But what was worse were the white bones scattered everywhere.
At the old site of the Kunlun Sect, hundreds of skeletons dressed in Taoist robes were strewn about, allowing one to indirectly feel just how tragic the situation had been at the time.
“Why on earth did we come here? We shouldn’t be loitering in a place like this. You’ll get possessed by a ghost.”
“…Is that something a martial artist should say?”
“What, martial artists don’t get possessed? And all these corpses here, we’re the ones who killed them all.”
“That’s true, but.”
“What are you going to do if vengeful ghosts appear? Ugh!”
“Stop with the nonsense, and if you have nothing to do, go play by yourself over there. We’re busy.”
Jin Cheon said so to the fussing Blood Qilin, then turned to look at the Seventh Divine Demon Squad.
“Everyone, split up. If you find any suspicious objects or books, bring them to me.”
“As you command.”
The reason Jin Cheon stopped by the old site of the Kunlun Sect was his judgment that there might be some kind of precious Dharma treasure.
Of course, most of the Kunlun Sect's treasures had been seized by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult long ago, but wasn't it possible that there was a valuable item that had been missed?
Besides, since the Soul-Splitting and Life-Returning Great Art originated from the Kunlun Sect, it was possible that they might find something related to it.
“I’m going to look around the area, so everyone stay here. Don’t go far.”
“As you command.”
After giving orders to his subordinates, Jin Cheon immediately leaped away.
“Let’s go together!”
“Let’s look around Mount Kunlun for the first time in a while.”
Blood Qilin and Seop So-yeon followed alongside Jin Cheon.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to check out the nearby hermitages.”
“Hermitages? What are those?”
“Seriously, senior brother, you don’t even know what a hermitage is?”
“I know what they are, but why are you looking for hermitages here?”
“There are usually many large and small hermitages around large Taoist temples.”
“Really?”
“There are many cases where people who want to train quietly alone build a hermitage nearby and live there. But do I really have to explain this for you to know?”
“How am I supposed to know how the Taoist bastards of the Central Plains live?”
“Aah.”
Only then did Jin Cheon understand the meaning of the Blood Qilin's words and nodded his head.
Indeed, since the Blood Qilin was a person who was born and raised his entire life in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, it seemed plausible that there were many things he didn't know about the Central Plains.
“There are many Taoists who build hermitages in deep mountains and secluded valleys and quietly end their lives there, so no one knows what might be left behind. Perhaps they left behind precious things like secret manuals of divine arts or divine weapons.”
“So, you’re saying we’re going grave robbing now?”
“……”
“Grave robbing sounds good! Huhuhu!”
“Hey, weren’t you the one complaining a moment ago about getting possessed by a ghost? Aren’t you scared of grave robbing?”
“When did I? Huhuhu!”
“……”
“Let’s go! Let’s find a hermitage!”
The Blood Qilin, seeming excited, shouted as such and ran ahead first.
‘He’s really no different from a brat.’
Jin Cheon shook his head and followed the Blood Qilin up the mountain.
* * *
As a sect with a history of nearly a thousand years, the Kunlun Sect had an enormous number of hermitages around it.
However, most of the hermitages had been destroyed and even looted during the First Righteous-Demonic War, so there was nothing much to find.
But that was only the story for the hermitages located close to the Kunlun Sect.
In the Kunlun Mountains, a mountain range as vast as the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, there must have been countless ownerless hermitages like the stars in the sky.
Of course, since it was impossible to check all those hermitages, Jin Cheon roamed the Kunlun mountain range, searching for the hermitages closest to the old site of the Kunlun Sect.
Ten days passed like that.
“Ugh. I’m so sick and tired of this. Let’s stop now. Huh?”
“Understood.”
Jin Cheon nodded at the Blood Qilin’s whining.
‘Right, it’s about time we stopped looking.’
For a whole ten days, they had rummaged through the nearby hermitages, but all Jin Cheon's party found were things that could be called junk, such as old Taoist scriptures, wooden rice bowls, and the remains of skeletonized ascetics.
‘I guess I should stop here and go to Hunan Province to meet the descendants of the Kunlun Sect.’
With that thought, Jin Cheon looked back at the Blood Qilin.
“Let’s just check that hermitage over there and then go.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
On the plaque of the hermitage they decided to check last, the words Cloud Dragon Hermitage were written in a powerful script.
‘The penmanship is quite….’
Jin Cheon’s face hardened as he scanned the characters engraved on the plaque.
‘Don’t tell me it was carved with a sword?’
Just in case, he took a closer look, and it was clear that the characters engraved on the plaque were written using a sword.
Shudder!
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
‘What an incredible sword qi. In one stroke. Written in a single breath with one sword. Who could possess such sword qi.’
It was a plaque I would have missed without realizing it before reaching the state of Extreme Demon.
But it takes a master to know a master.
Having reached the state of Extreme Demon, Jin Cheon's eye for martial arts had improved as much as his level of skill.
‘With this level of skill... he might have once been the greatest swordsman under heaven.’
Just as Jin Cheon was admiring the plaque.
“Aaaaaaaaaargh!”
Clatter! Crash!
The Blood Qilin's scream echoed from inside the hermitage.
“……!”
“……!”
Jin Cheon and Seop So-yeon quickly rushed into the hermitage.
“Senior brother!”
Jin Cheon shouted at the Blood Qilin, who had fallen on his butt.
“What is it!”
“Th-that!”
The Blood Qilin pointed at the wall and shouted.
“That what…?”
“That thing over there!”
When I turned my gaze to where the Blood Qilin's fingertip was pointing, a single scroll was hanging there.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”
“Look at that scroll!”
“It’s just an ordinary scroll.”
Jin Cheon said with a frown.
There was nothing particularly strange about the scroll the Blood Qilin was pointing at.
“A small hermitage next to a waterfall… and a young Taoist training. What’s the big deal?”
“I made eye contact with that Taoist bastard in the scroll!”
“Yes…?”
“He was staring right at me!”
“……”
Jin Cheon was so dumbfounded that he was at a loss for words.
To think I would live to hear someone say they made eye contact with a young Taoist painted in a scroll…
“Stop joking around.”
Jin Cheon chided the Blood Qilin in a slightly annoyed voice.
“You expect me to believe that right now?”
“It’s true! The Taoist bastard in that scroll glared at me! Our eyes met! I saw it! I told you I saw it?!”
“Stop playing around and start searching. Don’t mess around with some trivial scroll.”
“It’s true… Please, just believe me… I told you I made eye contact with that Taoist bastard………….”
The Blood Qilin looked like he was about to cry, as if he had been wronged.
But Jin Cheon didn't even bat an eye, whether the Blood Qilin felt wronged or not.
‘Cheong-pung, the thirty-seventh disciple of the Kunlun Sect... A thirty-seventh generation disciple isn’t that old. Wait a minute.’
A thought suddenly crossed Jin Cheon's mind, and he tilted his head.
‘Wasn’t the Taoist name of the disciple of the Kunlun Sword Immortal Mysterious Heaven Jin-in, Cheong-pung? The one called the Responsive Dragon Gallant Warrior?’
It turned out that the young Taoist painted in the scroll was a figure well-known to Jin Cheon.