Chapter 62: Evil Man Slain : Cutting Down the Wicked
After receiving the summoning order and rushing over, the Poison Demon treated the critically injured patient. Once the judgnt was made that movent was possible, a decision was reached to escort both the wounded and the severely injured.
Since those who had refined the sa internal energy could greatly hasten the process by assisting with energy circulation and recuperation, they decided to escort them to the Bright Cult.
The Poison Demon, along with the experts from the Fifth Elder’s Chamber who had co with him, and the wounded who could still move, carried the severely injured on their backs and departed Golden Flower Manor using lightness skill.
It was three days after the escort unit commanded by Gilju had been attacked—on an unnad field in Gansu—that a letter from the Guardian of the Faith arrived for Yul Han, who had been watching that departure with deep concern.
After reading the letter, Yul Han was so enraged that it was frightening to even approach him. His response was imdiate.
Leaving behind the Thirteen Bloods and squad-leader–level martial artists to guard against a possible raid, he departed Golden Flower Manor with only Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower.
The graveyard Yul Han arrived at was covered entirely in blossoms.
As he wondered how so many flowers could be in full bloom on graves that had not even been there for many days, the Guardian of the Faith approached him.
“The villagers nearby brought the flowers themselves and planted them. They said these were people who fell while protecting children….”
Yul Han silently gazed at the gravestones, engraved with crooked, misspelled characters. Seeing this, the Guardian of the Faith continued.
“The farr who inford of the incident carved those gravestones himself. He said he wasn’t good with letters… He asked to replace them, but I thought this might be the finest gravestone possible for them, so I left them as they were.”
At those words, Yul Han nodded and turned to look at the Guardian of the Faith.
“I heard you’ve been working hard.”
“Just as you said before, Vice Cult Leader, I am now doing the work that is mine to do.”
“As you can see, it will be dangerous.”
“It is the fate of all missionaries. Please don’t worry. The Guardian Division will not waver.”
He had not been without concern, but the Guardian of the Faith he saw again had changed quite a lot.
With gratitude in his heart, Yul Han clasped his fists in salute and turned his body.
“Let’s go.”
Before the echo of his words even faded, Yul Han vanished from the grounds.
Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower—who had co with him—also disappeared without a trace.
After witnessing that scene, rumors began to spread among the nearby villagers that divine beings lived within the Bright Cult.
The Kongtong Sect imprisoned the Bright Cult’s captured martial artists and the children separately. Even the children were divided and confined in three different places.
The locations themselves were scattered across the entirety of Mount Kongtong.
All of this was in preparation for a Bright Cult rescue operation. No matter how fast the Bright Cult’s experts were, they would not be able to assault four locations simultaneously and succeed in rescuing everyone.
Or rather, they could—but it would require many people.
No matter how many flaws the Kongtong Sect might have, they calculated that the Hundred Paths would not stand by idly if matters escalated that far.
If only a small force ca, then even striking four places at once would make complete success difficult. Though the sect’s strength was no longer what it once had, the Kongtong Sect was still a traditional mber of the Nine Sects.
Moreover, this was not the outer grounds but Mount Kongtong itself—their inner domain.
The conditions were perfect for drawing out every last ounce of the Kongtong Sect’s power.
There was also another expectation: once it beca known that the enemy was the Demonic Cult, a considerable number of reclusive experts residing on Mount Kongtong, Daoists in the midst of cultivation, and martial artists would lend their aid.
In such a situation, they believed they could hold at least one or two locations—and with that, threaten the Bright Cult.
Thus, the Kongtong Sect’s grounds were filled with tension on the eve of war.
Only the captured Bright Cult martial artists were confined within the main grounds; the children were dispersed among small Daoist temples under the Kongtong Sect scattered throughout Mount Kongtong.
To guard those dispersed children, the Kongtong Sect had dispatched a significant number of martial artists.
Already short on manpower, the sect had spread its forces so thin that the main grounds appeared almost deserted.
Amid that tension and silence, Yul Han was observing the Kongtong Sect’s domain.
Behind him, Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower appeared.
“We’ve identified all the locations.”
At Iron Demon’s words, Yul Han turned.
“How many?”
“Four in total. Our wounded martial artists are in one place, and the children are in three.”
“Are you certain?”
“We ambushed a patrol unit to confirm. There are no others beyond those four.”
It was easy to guess why Iron Demon’s hand was stained with blood.
“I’ll handle the Kongtong Sect’s main grounds.”
“Our people will be among the captives.”
At Iron Demon’s reply, Yul Han nodded. Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower bowed respectfully and scattered.
After waiting briefly until each of them reached their assigned locations, Yul Han’s figure dispersed like mist into the black night beneath the white moonlight.
Ordinarily, a rescue began by first securing the safety of those being rescued.
That was exactly what Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower—each split into three directions—did.
They infiltrated the places where the children were confined, gathered them up, and then attempted to escape by smashing through one side gate.
A fight with the guards was inevitable.
Just as they had done when attacking Gilju’s escort unit, the Kongtong Sect’s martial artists did not hesitate to directly attack the children.
They had learned from experience that doing so disrupted the defenders’ movents and scattered their attention.
But the problem was that the ones they faced were the Five Demons.
Every single one of them had reached the Transformation Realm—beings who had already stepped beyond the category of human.
If soone extended a blade toward a child, the arm holding that blade was severed. If a spear was thrown, the flying spear and the one who threw it were split apart together by sword energy.
Only when they saw the vivid sword energy rising and dancing did the Kongtong Sect martial artists finally recognize their opponents—and were seized by terror.
As thunderous explosions and screams rang out, those who had been training throughout Mount Kongtong began rushing in from all directions.
But they hesitated, their eyes filled with conflict, unsure of what to do.
What was clearly visible from those fighting the Kongtong Sect was unmistakable demonic energy. They were certainly demonic beings who should be beaten to death.
And yet, they were desperately fighting to protect children.
In contrast, the Kongtong Sect’s martial artists swung their blades at the children without the slightest hesitation.
It was no longer clear who was a demonic being and who was righteous.
So reclusive experts even witnessed mbers of the Five Demons throwing their own bodies in front of the children to block the Kongtong Sect’s blades—and went so far as to join the fight, aiding them against the Kongtong Sect’s martial artists.
All of Mount Kongtong was filled with chaos, screams, and the clashing sounds of weapons.
Of course, the most horrific carnage was unfolding within the Kongtong Sect’s main grounds.
Yul Han chose a different thod of rescue. He judged that the more importance placed on the kidnapped, the more likely similar incidents would occur again.
Thus, starting from the places where the kidnapped were being held, he began slaughtering everyone in the surrounding area.
The first victims were the Kongtong Sect martial artists guarding the warehouse where the Bright Cult’s wounded were confined.
Before their heads even hit the ground, the bodies of patrol martial artists passing nearby were cleaved cleanly in half.
So fast and so indifferent was it that while more than thirty Kongtong Sect martial artists died, not a single scream was heard.
So did not even realize they were dying—there were those whose heads were severed while they laughed and chatted with comrades beside them.
A sight too grueso to behold continued without pause.
Dozens of Kongtong Sect martial artists sleeping side by side in barracks-like dormitories were killed as their heads slid off under the casual sweep of Yul Han’s sword energy.
Yul Han moved without obstruction.
Anything that crossed his path had its neck severed. Right and wrong, degree of involvent, repentance—none of it was considered.
The first scream rang out only after more than a hundred heads had already fallen.
A Kongtong Sect martial artist, unable to sleep due to unease, had stepped out to relieve himself and discovered Yul Han severing his comrade’s head—he scread.
The tense Kongtong Sect was jolted awake by that single scream.
After beheading the screaming martial artist, Yul Han plunged deeper into the awakening Kongtong Sect.
Soon, screams erupted wherever Yul Han advanced.
The reclusive experts and cultivators who rushed in differed from others in one respect—their judgnt was quick.
The problem was that even so, they could not muster the courage to charge.
The length of the crimson-rising sword energy alone exceeded a foot. Seeing that sword energy blazing as if afla, and Yul Han wildly swinging the sword wrapped within it, everyone realized who he was.
While many froze in place, a few reclusive experts rushed forward, but they achieved nothing beyond increasing the number of corpses littering the Kongtong Sect’s grounds.
Not a single exchange.
No one could receive Yul Han’s sword. They could not even block it.
Block with a sword, and the sword was cut along with them. Block with a spear, and the spear was split along with them. Block with a fist, and the arm was severed with it.
Because Yul Han’s sword, shimring with sword energy, cleanly split his opponents in two.
With each step Yul Han took—like a leisurely stroll across flat land—blood sprayed and corpses piled up.
Only after cutting down the elders whose eyes trembled with fear, and finally severing the neck of the sect master who hurled curses at him, did Yul Han’s movent co to a stop.
Yul Han’s eyes, as he looked over the scattered reclusive experts around him, boiled with chilling killing intent.
No one dared raise a blade against him.
Sensing that Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and Demon Flower were approaching with the children, Yul Han sent a ntal voice transmission to halt their advance.
It was a scene far too horrific for children to witness.
Only then did Yul Han believe the Kongtong matter concluded, and he opened the warehouse where the Bright Cult’s wounded were confined.
Gilju and the wounded, who had been on edge with their senses sharpened by the constant screams, saw the Vice Cult Leader enter through the opening doors and hurriedly crawled forward on their knees.
“Vice Cult Leader. The children….”
Yul Han patted Gilju’s back as he clung to his trouser leg.
“They’re saved. Don’t worry.”
At Yul Han’s words, tears of relief stread down from Gilju’s lifted eyes.
That day, as Yul Han departed, the Kongtong Sect—covered entirely in corpses—was left behind in desolation.
Not a single living, breathing soul remained.
In the eyes of the reclusive experts gazing upon that Kongtong Sect, they saw a signboard shattered into several pieces.
And on the place where that signboard had once hung, three characters were written.
Those three characters pierced coldly into the eyes of the watching reclusive experts.
Cut Down the Wicked.
Even before the horrific annihilation of an entire Hundred Paths sect in a single night, no one could object to those words.
In such a tragic situation, sighs escaped from the mouths of the reclusive experts.
Countless reclusive experts and cultivators had witnessed it. The rumors spread in an instant.
At once, the Hundred Paths martial world boiled over—but the turmoil quickly subsided due to the rumor that followed.
Witnesses were abundant.
There were many who had seen how the Kongtong Sect kidnapped the children, and how the Bright Cult’s martial artists tried to protect them.
Moreover, they were ordinary commoners with no affiliation to either the Demonic Path or the Hundred Paths.
As the rumors spread from mouth to mouth, public sentint rapidly drifted away from the Hundred Paths.
Even the hardline Hundred Paths sects, which under normal circumstances would have cried for revenge regardless of cause or fault, kept their mouths shut this ti.
They had no card to stop Emperor Salyejin.
Rather, they were anxious that a careless word might cause the Vice Cult Leader’s blade to turn upon their own sects.
With the situation as it was, the atmosphere in Kunlun—the starting point of the entire tragedy—sank even deeper.
It felt as though everything had happened because of their own mistakes.
Because of that, Shin Jijinren rose from his bed with a heavy heart, stepped outside to wash his face—and froze on the spot.
The person he had desperately hoped never to encounter was standing before his residence, hands clasped behind his back, posture crooked and relaxed.
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