How the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult Lives Chapter 91 : Return and Companionship

Chapter 91: Return and Companionship

“Khk.”

The Man-Sa Calamity Emperor groaned as he stared blankly into empty space, his upper body swaying. That was not all—blood trickled down from the corners of his eyes.

“G-Ghost Eyes?! How could that bastard possess sothing from the Blood Cult?”

The Man-Sa Calamity Emperor was visibly shaken. It was because he had seen Ghost Eyes, said to be the pinnacle of heretical arts, in Yul Han.

“Don’t tell he…!”

A wave of unease washed over him.

Ghost Eyes were immune to all heretical arts in the world.

Perhaps that ant Yul Han could beco the most dangerous adversary to the being he himself was trying to summon.

“Should I have stayed and killed him?”

Regret surfaced, but he soon shook his head.

Unwilling as he was to admit it, the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor knew—after observing him all this ti—that there was no way to defeat Yul Han through sheer martial prowess.

Then why had he left the Wave Sword Venerable behind?

Because he might have killed him.

Truly so. Those who yearned to know an answer could never bring themselves to kill the one who held it.

Moreover, he had never expected the Wave Sword Venerable, who had reached the Manifestation Realm, to fall so helplessly.

And yet—

Every expectation had been overturned.

With a single sword strike from Yul Han, swung as if to prove a point, the Wave Sword Venerable had been cleaved apart.

And then…

Those final words delivered by Yul Han refused to leave the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor’s mind.

For the first ti since beginning this affair, the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor confronted a sense of unease, and his gaze wavered slightly.

As if to snap his mind awake, a cold wind blew.

Following that wind, he turned his gaze and saw a vast land filled with ice and snow.

That was right.

The place where the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor now sat was the innermost sanctum of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the domain of its ruler—specifically, the Grand Preceptor’s Chair of the Ice Palace Lord.

From where he sat above, the Ice Palace he looked down upon had turned into a land of death.

There was not a single living person left.

Though the Ice Palace had prepared with the Living Zombie in mind, it had collapsed far too easily before the Blood Corpse, a Ghostly Being.

“It’s a sha we let the Palace Lord escape.”

That was right.

When the worst mont ca, as the elders of the Ice Palace blocked the way, a group of martial artists forcibly dragged the Palace Lord away and fled.

In order to spirit their lord outside, the elders and the remaining martial artists of the Ice Palace rushed toward the Blood Corpse like moths to a fla.

As a result, the Palace Lord escaped.

Everyone in the Ice Palace died, save for that handful who fled.

The Man-Sa Calamity Emperor straightened his gaze as he watched Monk Eightfold Confusion greedily sucking blood from the corpses.

He was growing into a being that even the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor himself now feared to face.

“Just a little more. Just a little—only a little more. Kahahahaha.”

As he laughed loudly, the fear in his laughter vanished, replaced by swelling confidence.

If the being from hell arrived using Monk Eightfold Confusion as an offering—if that being manifested—there would be nothing left to fear.

“Yes. There’s no need to fear a wretch like that. Wahahahaha!”

As the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor’s laughter filled the Northern Sea Ice Palace, black hands of death enveloped it completely.

It was just as Yul Han had expected.

With the dium’s death, Gu Tae, Dok Yang, and Dan Yang—the three Stronghold Lords—returned to normal.

Of course, that did not an they had co back to life. The fact that they were dead had not changed.

The problem was that once the link to the one who had cast Latent Death was severed, they should have returned to being properly dead…

“Are we… really dead?”

Yul Han looked at Gu Tae, who asked him that question, with an awkward expression.

That was right. Though dead, they were still moving about, maintaining their souls.

Watching Yul Han’s discomfort, Profound Demon could not hide his shock.

He had realized why those under Latent Death remained alive even after the link to the caster—the creator of the heretical art—had been cut.

‘It’s Ghost Eyes. Ghost Eyes are suppressing the heretical art!’

As the successor of the Blood Cult, Profound Demon understood exactly what that ant.

Ghost Eyes had passed their peak and entered the realm of great completion.

Considering when Yul Han must have obtained Ghost Eyes, this was an outco that should have been impossible.

At that point, Yul Han was no longer rely soone who had acquired the Ghost Eyes of the Blood Shadow Demon Venerable.

Such results could only occur if the soul of the Blood Shadow Demon Venerable had taken residence within Yul Han’s body.

If that were true…

‘The Founding Ancestor’s… manifestation!’

That was why Profound Demon’s eyes widened so dramatically.

Unaware of Profound Demon’s thoughts, Yul Han still could not answer the questions from Gu Tae and the other Stronghold Lords, flustered as he was.

It was a result even he himself did not understand.

Thus, at that mont, three people who were dead yet alive were added to Yul Han’s group.

An unexpected companionship had increased.

And it was not just the three Stronghold Lords—Jade Forest Stronghold had followed along as well.

Even with their numbers swelling dramatically, Yul Han’s investigation made no progress.

After they had slain the Wave Sword Venerable in Jiulong, the bloodshed in the Central Plains ceased as if by a lie.

The massacre that occurred at the Northern Sea Ice Palace never reached the Central Plains. It was simply too far away, and there had been no exchange between them.

The montum of the Ghost Cult, which had once been rampant, was also broken.

With no more bloodshed occurring, people’s fear cooled.

The Ghost Cult had grown by feeding on the fear that arose as a reaction to repeated massacres.

And yet, despite their loss of montum, the core leadership of the Ghost Cult remained undiscovered.

In the depths of the Martial Alliance, the strategist Jegal Giyeon sat facing the head of the Jegal Clan once more.

“The bloodshed ended too early.”

“That’s because the Wave Sword Venerable died far too easily.”

“The Alliance Leader seed disappointed.”

“Because the Vice Cult Leader was too intact?”

“Yes. He thought at least one of his limbs would be gone.”

That was not only the Alliance Leader’s expectation. The head of the Jegal Clan and Jegal Giyeon himself had thought the sa.

“What should we do now?”

“We move to the second plan.”

“You an the Kongtong successor?”

“It’s the only way to cultivate a master who can oppose the Vice Cult Leader right now.”

“But didn’t the Alliance Leader already reject that thod?”

“That was before Shaolin accepted our gift.”

“A gift…?”

“We recovered the Worldly Insight through the Watchers. Fortunately, he didn’t take it with him.”

“Are you referring to the Wave Sword Venerable?”

“Yes. He was still there, in the cave where he had been circulating his energy after taking the Great Reversion Pill.”

“Then that ans you…?”

At Jegal Giyeon’s question, the head of the Jegal Clan nodded.

“I sent it to Shaolin. I said it was a token of friendship from the Jegal Clan.”

“Won’t that cause trouble?”

“It won’t. I said we found it by chance while organizing the Founding Ancestor’s tomb, and that we were returning it to Shaolin the mont it was discovered. I sent a blood oath together with it, containing my vow.”

In the Hundred Paths, an oath written in blood was regarded as more certain proof than anything else.

If it was later revealed to be false, the one who had written the blood oath would beco a public enemy of the Hundred Paths.

Knowing that all too well, Jegal Giyeon’s eyes widened in shock.

“Clan Head!”

“There’s no need to make such a fuss. Unless it’s that much, Shaolin won’t believe us.”

“But…”

“They won’t be able to know. Even if they do find out and I beco a public enemy, it doesn’t matter.”

“How can you say it doesn’t matter?”

“I’ll bear that sin myself. The clan only needs to reap the fruit. That’s why I was able to write the blood oath with a smile.”

“Clan Head…”

“Giyeon. Don’t waver. If you grow weak, you’ll end up like our ancestors—used and discarded like an old rag. You must beco ruthless. Justice? Righteousness? Give that to the dogs. We must survive. Do you understand?”

At the clan head’s harsh gaze and words, Jegal Giyeon steeled himself and nodded.

“Yes. Clan Head!”

Satisfied by Jegal Giyeon’s reply, the head of the Jegal Clan smiled faintly and continued.

“That’s why we must hurry. Once Shaolin steps in, Wudang won’t be able to refuse any longer. When Shaolin and Wudang are dragged in, the Nine Sects will naturally follow along.”

“If that happens, the Nine Sects’ secret techniques will gather at our Jegal Clan.”

“Of course! Because we’re the ones who offered to compile those techniques and turn them into a single martial art.”

Naturally, it couldn’t co without a price.

The masters of the Nine Sects would be grateful to the Jegal Clan’s scholars who researched their secret techniques.

And that wasn’t all. Once the research was complete, every Jegal Clan scholar who had participated would take their own life.

It was the Jegal Clan itself that first proposed this, claiming it would prevent any leakage.

To outsiders, it would look like the Jegal Clan sacrificing itself to overco the crisis of the Hundred Paths.

But…

“Has the Dual-Thought Brain Art really succeeded?”

“We tested ten groups. Three succeeded. We plan to deploy all of them.”

Dual-Thought Brain Art.

Its na resembled Wudang’s Dual-Thought Heart thod, which allowed two internal thods at once, but its actual function was entirely different.

It was a thod of sharing one’s thoughts completely with soone outside oneself.

Despite that function, the Dual-Thought Brain Art was not a martial art. Naturally, it was not driven by internal energy.

That ant that no matter how extraordinary the Nine Sects’ masters were, they would be unable to notice that so of the Jegal Clan scholars they were supervising were leaking information externally.

In other words, every Nine Sects secret technique that the Jegal Clan scholars observed and researched would be leaked to the Jegal Clan.

Imagining the outco, Jegal Giyeon smiled brightly.

“We must ensure that the Kongtong Successor Cultivation Plan is carried out.”

“Yes. The future of our Jegal Clan hangs on that.”

“I’ll shake things up, even at the cost of my life.”

“With Worldly Insight recovered, Shaolin’s heart will change. They’ll think it’s acceptable to trust us. Now you must begin shaking the Alliance Leader in earnest.”

“Leave it to .”

The head of the Jegal Clan looked at the resolute Jegal Giyeon with eyes full of trust.

The Kongtong Successor cultivation plan proposed by the Jegal Clan ultimately succeeded in gaining Shaolin’s support.

After that, the Martial Alliance began full-scale discussions of the plan.

All mbers of the Martial Alliance agreed that the danger posed by the Vice Cult Leader—who had slain the Wave Sword Venerable after he reached the Manifestation Realm—had only increased.

That assessnt was unrelated to the perception held by so sects that the Vice Cult Leader, contrary to rumors, was soone one could reason with.

Being reasonable did not an being harmless.

While the Martial Alliance struggled to devise counterasures against Yul Han, the Bright Cult beca complicated for an entirely different reason.

Iron Demon walked through the Bright Cult, bustling with people.

Perhaps he disliked how crowded it was, because his expression was far from pleasant.

Walking beside him, Ghost Demon asked,

“Why the long face? What, did you get shaken down for money again?”

“Shaken down with what money? Those bastards keep screaming at to pay for their als, and anything worth money has already been stripped clean by the Strategist.”

“Speaking of the Strategist, he’s been on quite the tear lately.”

“Wouldn’t you be the sa? They say hundreds of scholars volunteered to work.”

“True. Still, who would’ve thought the Guardian Division would grow this big?”

Ghost Demon was right.

Though not to the extent of the Ghost Cult, the Bright Cult’s influence had expanded enormously.

From the Cheonghae Region and Xinjiang, to Guizhou, once called the front yard of the Unorthodox Factions, and even Sichuan, territory of the Hundred Paths—the number of Bright Cult believers had surged.

Rumors even spread that the newly gained believers outnumbered the existing ones by several tis.

Many of these new believers ca from Sichuan and Guizhou.

That was partly because those regions had far larger populations than Xinjiang or Cheonghae, but also because the Bright Cult’s popularity there was genuinely imnse.

It couldn’t have been otherwise.

For several years now, the Central Plains had suffered drought and poor harvests, teetering on the brink of a great famine.

In such circumstances, Bright Cult believers—though in small amounts—received food support.

It was grain shared by the Guardian Division’s instructors, who saved from their own portions.

At first, they reduced themselves to one al a day, and eventually to one al every two days.

As a result, the Guardian Division’s instructors grew thin to the bone, but smiles never left their lips.

The more they starved and suffered, the more people survived—and the more people entered the embrace of the Bright Cult.

Thus, Bright Cult rice beca the only lifeline keeping those on the brink of starvation alive.

Scholars, who understood better than anyone that the Bright Cult was the reason they and their families survived, stepped forward, risking their lives to work for the cult.

For them, it was a form of repaynt.

A repaynt made with their lives on the line.

They made this decision fully aware that scholars who entered the Bright Cult often fell ill with an unknown disease called the Curse of the Murong Clan, wasting away before dying.

Thanks to that, the Bright Cult was now overflowing with scholars and literati.

To accommodate them, the Strategist was undertaking a massive overhaul of the Bright Cult’s administrative system.