Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1230

The Cheonwu Alliance group ran very fast, like the wind. Time was against them, so they couldn’t rest. They ran day and night on empty back roads.

Suddenly,

“Hold up!” Im So-byeong shouted, raising his hand.

The others stopped running.

Im So-byeong wiped sweat from his face and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. We need to be more careful from here,” he said calmly.

“From here?” Yoon Jong asked, looking ahead. The road looked the same.

Im So-byeong answered his question quickly: “From here, I don’t know the road.”

“Yes?” Jo Gul’s face fell.

“No, you said you knew all the mountains!”

Im So-byeong said, “What I said is mostly true. But I’m not sure if this place is ‘under the heavens’ anymore.”

“What’s that mean?”

Baek Cheon turned to Im So-byeong. “Does it start here?” he asked.

“Yes,” Im So-byeong said.

“Sasuk, what are you talking about?” Yoon Jong asked, confused.

Im So-byeong took a breath. “Daesan,” he said, quieter now. “The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”

Jo Gul felt scared. ‘This is it?’ he thought.

He looked around and noticed something new. Instead of gentle hills, there were jagged mountain peaks everywhere.

‘The Ten Thousand Great Mountains…’ Now he saw them as hundreds of swords stuck into the sky.

Im So-byeong explained, “From here, it’s unknown. The Green Forest gangs stay in the mountains to rob travelers. But people don’t go into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. And no smart sect would go there either.”

Everyone nodded. It was obvious. Anyone smart would avoid this place. It used to be the Demonic Sect’s base, which brought terrible times to the Central Plains.

Even though the Demonic Sect is mostly forgotten, people still fear its name.

So, the martial artists in the Central Plains treat the Ten Thousand Great Mountains as a place to avoid.

“That… Green Forest King,” Yoon Jong said.

“Yes,” Im So-byeong replied.

“We, the Righteous Sect, don’t go into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains… is it the same for the Unorthodox Faction?”

Im So-byeong shrugged. “The Unorthodox Faction people know what’s scary too. The Righteous Sect doesn’t come here because it’s unpleasant. The Unorthodox Faction has no reason to be here. Why would they live where there are no people? They’re not going to become monks in the mountains.”

“I guess so,” Yoon Jong said.

The Righteous Sect doesn’t need to be near towns. Taoist and Buddhist sects like quiet places. If a sect is famous, people will find them.

But the Unorthodox Faction is different. People avoid them. They make money by taking it from people. So, they usually live near big cities.

Im So-byeong chuckled. “Jang Il-so built the Myriad Man Manor because it was in Guizhou and Guangdong. The other big sects didn’t go there because of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. So, small sects fought each other, and Jang Il-so took over.”

“So, Jang Il-so got strong because of the Demonic Sect?” Yoon Jong asked.

Im So-byeong said, “It’s not exactly the reason, but you could say it’s related.”

Baek Cheon frowned. “The Demonic Sect is no help.”

He was joking, but the others still looked worried.

Yoon Jong swallowed hard, looking at the dark mountains. “Do we *have* to go this way?” he mumbled.

Im So-byeong sighed. “Yes, we do. I don’t know much about this place, but… it’s also where the Four Evil Sects are least likely to look for us.”

“But…” Namgoong Dowi started, his voice trailing off. He stared at the jagged peaks, a shiver running down his spine. He couldn’t shake the memory of that strange bishop in Hangzhou. *Could there still be people like that here? Demonic Sect people?*

He glanced around. He wasn’t the only one feeling uneasy. The others had the same worried looks on their faces. Even Baek Cheon seemed a little pale.

Im So-byeong chuckled. “I suggest going this way, but we could go around. It will take time… but we have time.”

The others nodded.

“Then…” Yoon Jong said.

“Let’s go around…” Namgoong Dowi added.

A voice from behind interrupted, “You’re all worked up. You’re all worked up.”

“What the… go around?” Chung Myung asked.

“Are you crazy? Even when the Demonic Sect was strong, we fought them. Now you’re scared to go in? Are you scared of the Demonic Sect?”

“We would have fought them! But there are only ten of us now!” Yoon Jong said.

“So you’re scared?” Chung Myung asked.

“Who’s scared of the Demonic Sect?” Namgoong Dowi retorted.

“Then?” Chung Myung asked.

Jo Gul trembled and shouted, “There might be ghosts! Demonic Sect gho… Ack!”

Chung Myung kicked Jo Gul, sending him flying. “Look at this crazy guy! You’re a Taoist! A Taoist who catches ghosts!”

“That’s right,” Yoon Jong said.

“We’re supposed to do that,” Namgoong Dowi added.

“I’ve never caught one, though…” Jo Gul mumbled.

Even Buddhist monks ask Taoist temples for help with ghosts. Hwasan doesn’t do much of that, but in Wudang, exorcism is a big part of their income.

Chung Myung continued, “If there are ghosts, there will be Righteous Sect ghosts too! The good ghosts are on our side!”

“Chung Myung! Ancestors!” Baek Cheon exclaimed.

“Don’t say that to them!” Yoon Jong scolded.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue. ‘Why hasn’t anything changed?’ he thought.

Chung Myung sighed, shook his head, and took the lead. “Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

“N-No…” Jo Gul protested.

“Just follow me,” Chung Myung said.

Everyone bit their lips and watched Chung Myung go ahead.

“S-Shall we go?” Yoon Jong asked.

“We have to go,” Baek Cheon replied.

One by one, they reluctantly followed him, still feeling uneasy.

Soon after entering the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, they started running again. They didn’t see anyone, only wild animals.

The others began to feel calmer.

“It’s very quiet,” Yoon Jong said.

“It is,” Baek Cheon agreed.

They weren’t trying to hide, but they hadn’t met anyone.

‘It makes sense,’ Baek Cheon thought, looking around.

Even if this wasn’t the Demonic Sect’s base, it wasn’t a good place to live.

The mountains were too jagged for farming, and too steep for hunting. No one, martial artist or commoner, would want to live here.

But one thing was clear.

“It’s scary,” Yoon Jong said.

“Yes, it’s really scary,” Baek Cheon replied.

Yoon Jong nodded. He had seen the Ten Thousand Great Mountains before, when he went to collect his ancestors’ remains. But being inside them was different.

Now he understood why this place was the Demonic Sect’s base, and why there was such a terrible war here. The land itself was frightening.

The endless peaks made it impossible to see what was behind you. Even distances that are easy to see in other places were hard to see here. The mountains blocked everything.

Even if you tried to look around, another peak blocked your view. You had to go there yourself to see what was happening.

‘I don’t know where the Demonic Sect is…’ Cold sweat ran down his back.

Thinking about leading an army here was scary. You couldn’t be careless because you didn’t know where the ambush was.

If he had to defend this place, he would have trouble deciding where to set up ambushes.

‘They led the elite into this place?’ He used to think it was amazing.

He only thought about the heroes who sacrificed themselves to kill the Heavenly Demon. But now he saw that it wasn’t so simple.

If someone told Baek Cheon to gather the best warriors and go into that place, he would think they were crazy. It was a place where one mistake could cost you everything.

What were the feelings of those who had to lead their people here? It was a gamble where you could lose everything.

‘And Hwasan was there, at the front…’

Baek Cheon looked back. The others looked worried. They were feeling the same way he was.

Especially the Hwasan disciples, their faces were even darker.

Suddenly,

“S-Sasuk! There!” Jo Gul shouted.

Baek Cheon turned his head.