121 – Heavenly Fortune

The Demon-Taming Cave had remained closed until now by Cheon Mu-gyeong’s order. It was an area swarming with all sorts of poisonous insects and demonic beasts.

Most of the poisonous insects raised by the Hall of Ten Thousand Poisons were creatures that lived on the mountain where the Demon-Taming Cave was located. For that place to have been cleared meant that someone had painstakingly tidied up the area, or…

“Is this the work of the Blood Cult again?”

Mu Seong-pyeong let out a sigh.

“Why the Demon-Taming Cave of all places?”

Chief Han’s question was perfectly natural. Attacking the main headquarters was one thing, but it was utterly baffling what benefit they would gain from clearing out the Demon-Taming Cave.

“Since when did the poisonous insects and demonic beasts disappear?”

Do-gyeon asked the Poison King from a distance.

“I confirmed it about half a day ago. The poison collectors climb Yohwan Mountain, where the Demon-Taming Cave is, once every three or four days, and they reported that the poison centipedes, which should be there from the very entrance, were nowhere to be seen today.”

The entrance to Yohwan Mountain was a field of poison centipedes. They possessed a toxicity that would lead a normal person to death immediately upon being bitten.

“Was the Demon-Taming Cave open?”

“Yes. They said the rock blocking the entrance had been shattered into pieces.”

That was why the Poison King had asked if the Demon-Taming Cave had been reopened.

“Chief Han, for now, do not bring the Demonic Beast Seed to the Cult Leader.”

“Senior!”

“I’ll take responsibility for the aftermath, so both of you stop looking so miserable. [visit our site]visit our site -->I’ll visit the Demon-Taming Cave first. And Poison King.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Go wash yourself, you brat.”

Do-gyeon, who looked far younger than the Poison King, wrinkled his nose in disgust, claiming it smelled like something was rotting. The Poison King scratched his greasy hair, arguing that washing would diminish his communion with the poisonous insects.

“Ack!”

Mu Seong-pyeong let out a short scream and jumped back. It was because several centipedes had tumbled out from between the Poison King’s hairs.

“Tsk, tsk. To think the number one ranked person is afraid of a mere centipede.”

“I’m not afraid, it’s just disgusting!”

As Mu Seong-pyeong flared up and tried to step on the centipedes, [[unauthorized copy]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]the Poison King quickly gathered the baby centipedes with his own hands. Meanwhile, Chief Han was looking in the direction of the Shadowless Pavilion with a face that suggested something was weighing on her mind.

The areas damaged by the blood-flame jiangshi had entered the restoration phase, and Il Gang-gun, who was tidying up the sect, had recalled Ji Hyeok-gyeong, who had gone out to repair the magic arrays, back to the Divine Cult. Now that the Cult Leader had returned, the Blood Cult was unlikely to run rampant openly, but Chief Han had a greater concern.

It was Wi Ho-yeon.

The members of the Demonic Shadow Martial House would all keep silent about the Cult Leader’s actions, but no matter how much they revered the Heavenly Demon as a god, it was a shocking scene. No, perhaps because they viewed him as a god, it was even more so.

Unlike his predecessors, the current Cult Leader had no wife, nor even a lover. Even if not a concubine, it was customary to have a Demonic Empress to ensure a legitimate successor, yet Mu-gyeong had long passed the age of marriage. Of course, if that was the will of the Heavenly Demon, it was the duty of the cultists to follow it.

However, in the history of the Demon Sect, only two people had ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon before the age of thirty: the First Heavenly Demon and Cheon Mu-gyeong. According to records, the First Heavenly Demon had twelve children. And that was the number of children he had before reaching thirty.

Thus, all the elders of the Divine Cult, including Chief Han, desired Mu-gyeong’s marriage more than anyone. It was only that they could not bring it up directly since the Cult Leader had dismissed the matter.

The fact that the Cult Leader was a sodomite was not a great flaw. Everything on this earth belonged to the Cult Leader, so what was the problem? However, focusing solely on one man without a successor was a different story.

“My lady, is there someone you suspect?”

As they made their way back to the Demonic Shadow Martial House, Mu Seong-pyeong asked worriedly, seeing that Chief Han was lost in deep thought.

“Suspect?”

“Since Il Gang-gun said there is someone within our Divine Cult colluding with the Blood Cult.”

Chief Han simply nodded to Mu Seong-pyeong, who had interpreted her concern in a different light.

“If they are familiar enough to know the changed magic arrays of the Divine Cult, there is a high possibility they are elders or hall masters. Or perhaps their closest aides.”

Currently, the Demon Sect consisted of five elders and six halls.

Half of the five elders spent most of their time appearing and disappearing mysteriously, and the six halls were managed by different hall masters. Among them, the most influential was undoubtedly the Guardian Hall. And among the elders, Mu Seong-pyeong of the Demonic Shadow Martial House was the most prominent.

“To think a spy remains even after expelling all the remnants of Eum Yohwa unauthorized copyclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]END: unauthorized copy -->and the Sword Demon…”

“Now that the Cult Leader has returned, we must accelerate the search for the spy.”

Chief Han agreed with her husband, Mu Seong-pyeong. According to intelligence, fewer than five fingers’ worth of the Blood Demon Valley remained. And the Divine Cult was still strictly controlling access to the main headquarters. Birds near the walls were shot down as soon as they were spotted, but so far, no specimen with a letter tied to its leg had been found.

However, flying beasts were not the only animals capable of transporting letters. Chief Han only realized it after seeing a mouse quickly hiding itself to avoid human footsteps.

“Among the dark arts of the Blood Cult, there were spells for controlling beasts, weren’t there?”

“I believe so.”

“Those little rats…”

Mu Seong-pyeong nodded vigorously.

“My lady is a hundred percent correct. Those bastards are undoubtedly rats.”

“No. It seems they are leaking information from the Divine Cult through the ground rather than the sky. I should speak with the guardians as well.”

“As expected of my brilliant wife!” Mu Seong-pyeong couldn’t hide the twitch of his lips.

“Then I shall visit the Shadowless Pavilion.”

As he spoke, Mu Seong-pyeong pulled a small jar from inside his sleeve. The jar containing the Demonic Beast Seed, which Chief Han thought had been handed to the Poison King, was in Mu Seong-pyeong’s hand.

“I’m sure Senior Do-gyeon…”

“Our master is not Do-gyeon, but the Cult Leader. And what does that eccentric person mean by ‘taking responsibility’? I do not trust Do-gyeon.”

In truth, Chief Han shared the same thought as Do-gyeon regarding this matter. If the Cult Leader were to plant the Demonic Beast Seed in Young Master Wi… it might be irreversible.

Young Master Wi, who possessed a gentle nature, had let things slide unauthorized copymany times until now, unauthorized unauthorized copycopybut there was no way he would understand the Demonic Beast Seed. This was a Poison Art that manipulated the opponent by holding their life hostage.

But as Mu Seong-pyeong said, their master was Cheon Mu-gyeong, not Do-gyeon. Chief Han did not stop her husband as he headed toward the Shadowless Pavilion and instead turned her steps toward the Guardian Hall. Before that, she gave instructions to Abok, who had been diligently following her.

“Become Young Master Wi’s hands and feet once again. And you must inform me in detail of everything that happens.”

“Yes, I shall certainly do so.”

As soon as the order was given, Abok dashed off along the path Mu Seong-pyeong had taken.

* * *

Had it been two shichen since he fell asleep? Cheon Mu-gyeong opened his eyes. Wi Ho-yeon was asleep, leaning his face against Mu-gyeong’s forearm. Though he had been busy pretending to sleep, it was Wi Ho-yeon who had truly fallen into a deep slumber.

Starting from the hair adorning his forearm, he scanned Ho-yeon’s face one by one. Then, he gently brushed away a single strand of white hair crossing the face.

It was something he could have done sufficiently [unauthorized [visit our site]our site -->copy]without touching, but instinct drove his body to move directly. However, not a single fingertip touched the tender skin.

“I am the Incarnation of the Ice Dragon.”

Wi Ho-yeon did not have an extreme yin constitution or a Great Yin Divine Body. Furthermore, despite having no great proficiency in ice arts, he possessed a dantian containing an immense amount of yin energy.

He had guessed there was a connection to the Ice Dragon, but to be the Ice Dragon itself. Since it was impossible for Wi Ho-yeon to have defeated a beast that was practically a divine beast, it meant that for some reason, the Ice Dragon had sacrificed itself for Wi Ho-yeon.

Cheon Mu-gyeong had the absurd thought that perhaps he had misheard in his sleep. In his sleep? That was impossible. He had reached the stage where he could separate mind and body around his thirtieth regression.

“Promise me that no matter what happens, you will not kill me.”

“I promise.”

He was truly bold, proposing a deal even before a confession.

The hand that had been hovering over Ho-yeon’s face slid slowly down from the nape of the [Read on Read BL Novels]neck to the collarbone. The hand, slipping inside the inner garment, passed over the soft but lean skin and reached the heart.

As he gripped it as if to seize it in one breath, Ho-yeon let out a small moan. As he shook his head slightly as if telling him not to wake him, the thin hair tickled his forearm.

There was less than a year left until the next regression. If he killed Wi Ho-yeon now and took the inner core, the curse of the fire dragon might disappear. The curse that had tormented him throughout ninety-nine lives.

If he escaped the curse, Wi Ho-yeon would be dead, and even if he regressed again, there was no guarantee that Wi Ho-yeon would exist. Also, it was possible that the reason Wi Ho-yeon had not existed in his lives until now was intertwined with the Ice Dragon.

But was there any reason to hesitate when he might achieve what he had longed for for ninety-nine lives? Moreover, due to the side effects of the heaven-defying demonic art, Cheon Mu-gyeong craved Wi Ho-yeon’s energy every hour, every second. He was simply blocking the impulse himself, just as he suppressed the fire energy.

Cheon Mu-gyeong applied more strength to his hand. This time, Ho-yeon was beginning to wake up, frowning.

Even so, since he did not release the pressure, Ho-yeon struggled to lift his eyelids. He closed and opened his long eyelashes repeatedly, trying to regain consciousness. Then, seeing Mu-gyeong before him, he soon smiled faintly.

“Did you sleep well?”

Suddenly sensing something strange, his blue gaze gradually moved downward.

Back when Cheon Mu-gyeong was pretending to be the Young Master of the Demonic Shadow Martial House, there was a time he went to the valley to find the Sleeping Flower Herb. That day, there had been a red stain on Wi Ho-yeon’s chest reflected in the valley.

It looked like someone’s handprint, but since that seemed impossible, he had simply thought he had bumped into something. In reality, it wasn’t that…

“Back then too… it was you.”

The light in Ho-yeon’s blue eyes, which had always been so vivid, seemed to fade.