By Zephyria 
“If you follow this path straight in, you will reach the inner palace where the Cult Leader resides. Let us go, Great One. You must finish what you started.”
Seong Mu-geuk gripped the arm of Yak Seon, who was hesitant to step forward, and began to walk. His subordinates surrounded them as if providing an escort.
The resistance grew fiercer the further they went inside. Those who did not follow Seong Mu-geuk threw their entire bodies forward to block their entry. However, among them were many of Seong Mu-geuk’s followers who had been hiding themselves, waiting for the right moment. It was a moment where comrades who had stood shoulder to shoulder until yesterday turned into enemies in an instant.
Held by Seong Mu-geuk, Yak Seon advanced into the chaos where screams and bloodshed ran rampant. Bloody battles broke out everywhere, but there was no obstacle in Seong Mu-geuk’s path. It was a strange experience where wherever he stepped became the path.
After a while, they arrived at a wide plaza paved with expensive blue stone. Several old Masters who appeared to hold high status were standing there in a line.
“O Heavenly Demon. We have been waiting for you.”
They were the elders of the Demonic Cult. Most of them were dressed untidily as if they had undergone a great battle, and some still had blood flowing from their wounds.
There had been internal strife even among the elders. Seeing the defeated elders tied up like criminals in one corner, it seemed that the Divine Demon Sect side following Seong Mu-geuk had ultimately emerged victorious.
Even though the elders bowed their heads so deeply it seemed they might strike the ground, Seong Mu-geuk merely glanced at them and turned away without even responding.
His attitude was as if they were less than insects crawling on the ground.
Despite this, the elders followed behind him as he continued forward, appearing pleased even with such an arrogant attitude.
As Seong Mu-geuk passed the place where the criminals were tied, someone spat blood-tinged saliva at his feet. Unlike the other elderly elders, this person was a remarkably young man.
“……Even after doing such a thing……. Do you think you will be safe? ……Brother.”
It was the Fifth Young Master of the Demonic Cult, Seong Mu-han. Everyone looked battered, but Seong Mu-han’s condition was exceptionally severe. Despite such serious injuries, he had somehow managed to remain conscious.
“No. I will not even call you brother anymore! To have the audacity to step foot in the Main Palace after killing the fourth and sixth brothers—do you not fear the heavens! The first and second brothers will return soon and condemn you!”
Seong Mu-han stopped the footsteps of Seong Mu-geuk, whom it had seemed no one could stop.
“……Right. The fifth, you were here too.”
Yak Seon clicked her tongue at his brazen attitude, acting as if he had only just realized it, despite knowing full well that the first and second Young Masters had left the palace and only the fifth Young Master was guarding it.
Seong Mu-geuk turned back and approached Seong Mu-han. Seong Mu-han, who had called him to a halt, stiffened in fear as he actually approached.
Seong Mu-geuk reached out and placed his hand on Seong Mu-han’s abdomen.
“Urgh, what are you…… Aaaaaagh!”
Seong Mu-han began to scream. His face turned bright red with pain, and he broke into a cold sweat.
Yak Seon, who had been rubbing her tingling arm from a distance, felt her pupils contract.
‘That is the star-gathering great law……!’
It was the very great law used to create the Spirit Pills she had been researching. A vicious martial art devised by Seong Mu-geuk to condense inner force and Essence absorbed from others outside the body and mold them into elixir beads.
Regardless of how cruel the star-gathering great law was, if judged purely by its level, it was a groundbreaking method that could instantly place Seong Mu-geuk in the ranks of a Grandmaster.
Once, Yak Seon had hoped that she could find the answer to treating Severed Meridian Disease from those Spirit Pills. But…….
“Aaaaaagh!”
Seong Mu-han’s scream struck her eardrums. Startled by the scream that made her heart shudder just by hearing it, Yak Seon rushed toward Seong Mu-geuk.
“Stop it! Is he not in pain!”
Yak Seon pulled Seong Mu-geuk’s arm with all her might, but he was so strong that he did not move an inch. While Seong Mu-han continued to scream, a faint cluster of light began to gather on Seong Mu-geuk’s other palm.
The immense inner force condensing on his palm caused the surrounding air to swirl.
Once the Innate True Qi that maintains life is completely absorbed along with the Essence, Seong Mu-han will lose his life.
A wave of nausea surged through her as she realized that all the Spirit Pills Seong Mu-geuk had collected, including the fourth Young Master’s Spirit Pill that Yak Seon had researched, were all made in this manner.
“Stop this instant!”
“Aaaaagh!”
The round sphere on his palm was gradually increasing in size.
Since reuniting with Seong Mu-geuk, Yak Seon had experienced too many such things. She had seen thousands of lives vanish, and she had seen too many people breathe their last while being cut by the swords of trusted comrades, unable to resolve their doubts.
She had ignored those deaths for a single purpose.
What Seong Mu-geuk did was something that could not be stopped whether she was there or not. Yak Seon had endured by using such selfish logic as a shallow self-consolation.
However, Yak Seon was too weak to ignore the wretched screams ringing right beside her.
The pain of Seong Mu-han, watched from such a close distance, felt as vivid as if it were her own.
“If you do not stop right now, I will not forgive you even in death!”
Tears of rage streamed down her cheeks.
Her face distorted fiercely and turned bright red as blood rushed to it. A deep blue madness flickered in her eyes.
Only then did Seong Mu-geuk finally give Yak Seon his attention. After staring at her for a moment as if trying to gauge her mind, he let out a faint sigh.
“You are being bothersome.”
Then, he actually stopped performing the great law and removed his hand.
“Huff……. Huff…….”
Released from the pain, Seong Mu-han slumped over, breathing heavily. Yak Seon hurriedly checked his condition. His pulse was weak, but it seemed there was no immediate threat to his life.
Seong Mu-geuk had already moved far away. Despite its small size, the Spirit Pill on his palm was emitting a brilliant light.
“……Why.”
Yak Seon was bewildered. She had not expected him to listen now, when he had ignored her despite her screaming so much until now.
“The fifth was too noisy, and my ears hurt.”
Seong Mu-geuk glared at the unconscious Seong Mu-han with eyes full of irritation.
Then, he sat down and brought the newly obtained Spirit Pill to his mouth. The subordinates and elders who served him devotedly surrounded him thoroughly from all sides.
He intended to absorb the inner force of the Spirit Pill through circulation.
Did he really want to do that in full view of the owner of the Spirit Pill, who had barely returned after almost crossing the river of the dead?
Feeling sick to her stomach, Yak Seon looked away.
While Seong Mu-geuk performed his circulation, Yak Seon began emergency treatment on Seong Mu-han.
However, before long, a problem occurred with Seong Mu-geuk. During his circulation, his qi and blood began to run wild, and a streak of red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. It was a sign of Qi deviation.
“O Heavenly Demon!”
“Get back! Get far away from him!”
The panicked elders hurriedly created distance. If Seong Mu-geuk were to go berserk due to Qi deviation, there was nothing they could do.
To calm raging qi and blood, a Master with a deep understanding of the martial arts the person had learned and a higher level of martial prowess had to step in.
Since Seong Mu-geuk’s inner force, having absorbed numerous Spirit Pills, was at a level that defied all comparison, there was practically no way to calm him.
While people fled far away, Yak Seon narrowed her eyes and observed Seong Mu-geuk.
‘It is not Qi deviation.’
Yak Seon identified his condition instantly. As expected, before long, Seong Mu-geuk’s Jin-gi began to stabilize.
Eventually, Seong Mu-geuk opened his eyes.
The oblivious elders, thinking he had overcome the crisis, wore smiles of relief and returned to their positions as if nothing had happened.
But unlike them, Yak Seon did not relax her hardened expression.
“How many times is this now?”
“What are you talking about?”
He answered indifferently, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.
“I asked how many Spirit Pills you have absorbed.”
“……I do not see the intention behind your question.”
“You almost died just now because your acupoints burst. Are you aware of that?”
Yak Seon strode toward him and snatched his wrist.
“The massive inner force obtained from the Spirit Pills has exceeded the limit that your vessel can handle. If you do that again, you will certainly die next time.”
As per Seong Hyeok-gwang’s intention, Seong Mu-geuk was born with a good lineage. Thanks to that, his vessel was larger than most people’s. This meant that the amount of Jin-gi his physical body could handle was great.
However, a limit clearly existed.
To continue taking Spirit Pills without considering that was like filling a large leather bag with stones, then pouring in sand, then pouring in water, and not stopping there, but pressing down hard to cram even more inside.
Eventually, it would burst.