The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 402

Dan Akseon posed another question.

“Those who came here having learned incomplete Demonic Arts, where did you take them?”

After a moment of silence, Kwak Sa-woon spoke in a faint voice.

“…Hongsan, located in Jeokdanryeong.”

With those words, Kwak Sa-woon shuddered and slumped down, defeated.

Dan Akseon, who had been looking down at him blankly, turned to Ga Du-dal.

“You know where Hongsan is, right?”

Ga Du-dal was startled.

“Please guide us. We have to go there.”

At Dan Akseon’s words, Ga Du-dal began to hiccup.

“We need to make them realize that we are a knife pointed at their chin. Only then can we delay their rise, even a little.”

Beom Gye-wi put his arm around Ga Du-dal’s shoulder, who was still hesitating.

“You know where it is, right?”

“Hic. Th, that’s……”

“Didn’t you say you’ve been everywhere in the Central Plains?”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled and added, “Why are you acting like this? You’re the one who even went in and out of the Demonic Cult’s main base.”

At that moment, Ga Du-dal wanted to beat his past self for proudly listing his achievements.

But only for a moment.

“Haa……”

Ga Du-dal looked around and sighed deeply.

Facing the terrible sight filled with death, he couldn’t help but cringe.

In the end, there was only one decision Ga Du-dal could make.

“I will guide you.”

As he let go of all his lingering attachments and regrets, his hiccups stopped as if by magic.

* * *

Late at night.

Under the faint moonlight, people moved through the foothills on the border between Henan and Shanxi.

The rickety cart was full of haphazardly piled luggage, and the faces of the men pulling the cart were etched with anxiety.

The only reason they were abandoning their long-established base and hurrying along the road overnight was the unsettling atmosphere in the Murim [martial arts world] recently.

So, they had no choice but to take advantage of the night when surveillance was lax and hastily escape.

But even this didn’t last long.

In the distance, a group occupying the center of the main road came into view.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

The figure approached, removing the burlap covering to avoid the night dew.

The men recognized him as none other than Hong Jeok-mun, the Beggars’ Union Leader, and their faces clouded over.

As despair washed over the group, Hong Jeok-mun’s sharp voice rang out.

“To think that the reputation and popularity you built up in the Central Plains was just hypocrisy to help the Demonic Cult… This Hong is truly heartbroken. Now is the time to pay the price for your sins.”

“Sl, slander!”

“You can’t cover the sky with the palm of your hand. Yoon Heum, who was working in the shadows on behalf of the Subo [a high-ranking position in the Demonic Cult], and Heukjeom have all confessed that you are their collaborators.”

“……!”

“If you are really wronged, cooperate with our Union’s investigation.”

Eventually, the middle-aged man who had been arguing with Hong Jeok-mun collapsed on the spot.

He led a reputable merchant group in the Central Plains and had gained some fame, but with the decisive testimony pointing him out, there was no way to escape the crisis.

“Please, just spare my family. They are innocent.”

Hong Jeok-mun sighed and nodded at the sight of the man begging with tears.

He noticed the women and young children in the back of the cart.

“A thorough investigation will reveal all the truth. Depending on the results, we will take measures to ensure that no one is unfairly harmed if they are innocent.”

“I will cooperate.”

As the other party readily agreed, Hong Jeok-mun gestured to his subordinates.

The Beggars’ Union disciples rushed forward and tied up the man and his party with ropes.

And this wasn’t just happening there.

Throughout the Central Plains, the suppression and arrest of those who colluded or cooperated with the Demonic Cult were taking place simultaneously.

Although Subo Yoon Bong had died, the information known by Yoon Heum, who had been working in his place, was considerable.

He confessed everything he knew under the Dongchang’s [Eastern Depot, a Ming dynasty secret police] terrible interrogation.

In addition, the branch leaders of Heukjeom also fully cooperated in order to clear themselves of the suspicion of being the Demonic Cult’s henchmen.

In this way, the work of rooting out the Demonic Cult’s henchmen who were operating secretly within the Central Plains gained momentum.

However, when the results of the investigation were released, many righteous Murim people were shocked.

The scale was much larger than expected, and the shadows cast in each field were deeply rooted.

Even among the Demonic Cult’s spies, there were those belonging to the Nine Great Sects.

Unlike before, when they would cover up and hush things up as their own affairs, everything began to be made public.

It was a tearful struggle to get rid of their blemishes, let alone self-purification.

Everyone was on fire to look around again to find the Demonic Cult’s collaborators.

And this wasn’t limited to Murim.

The agents of Dongchang and Geumuiwi [Royal Guards] also stepped forward in earnest.

Although they did not coordinate with the Nine Great Sects according to the principle of non-interference in official affairs, they strengthened the watertight security around the main roads.

Some of those who belatedly sensed the crisis tried to escape, but there was almost no way to escape the double-layered net of heaven and earth constructed by the government and Murim.

It was truly a root and branch extraction.

Through thorough investigation and judgment, the traces of the Demonic Cult were quickly being erased from the Central Plains.

* * *

Somewhere in Xinjiang, unknown to the people of the Central Plains.

In the inner sanctum of the Demonic Cult, located deep within a naturally strategic point, a serious report was being made.

“The Sinma Samjon [Three Evil Gods] attacked Gangmyeong Inn?”

One person asked back with a serious expression at the report of the subordinate kneeling down.

He was one of the four remaining Smajons [Demon Gods], Kwonjon Hyeokryeon-gang.

“Any survivors?”

“N, no survivors… Everyone, including Branch Manager Kwak, died heroically…”

“What is their route? Have you identified their next destination?”

“That is……”

The subordinate, who was continuing the report, hesitated and trailed off.

In the current situation where there was no way to gather information, they couldn’t even find out the enemy’s next destination, let alone their route.

Hyeokryeon-gang was silent with a heavy expression.

“We were caught off guard properly because we were careless.”

At a voice echoing through the inner sanctum, the Demonic Cult follower making the report turned pale and prostrated himself on the floor.

“Ma, Manma Bonggong! Angse Cheonha! [Ten Thousand Blessings to the Great Devil! May His Might Shake the Heavens!]”

He had been faltering even while reporting to the Majons earlier.

Not to mention that the owner of the voice that had just echoed was the current Cheonma [Heavenly Demon], the true master of the cult.

The Majons were no exception.

They all bowed their heads towards the place where the voice came from, paying their respects.

Perhaps in his mid-twenties.

Wild eyebrows and deep eyes beneath them.

A young man with a strong impression as much as his firm jawline.

However, the dignified gaze that overwhelmed the surroundings and the presence that was difficult to fathom had the power to make even that age pale.

It was then that one of the Smajons stepped forward.

Joumseo, Eumma (音魔) [Sound Demon], Myeonghwanhyeoljeok (冥換血笛) [Netherworld Blood Flute], who took on the role of establishing and reviewing the cult’s plans in place of the now-disappeared Subo.

“The real problem is different. The collaborators and organizational system of our cult that we had planted inside the Central Plains are collapsing all at once.”

“So? What’s the countermeasure?”

“For now… it is not to move rashly at their feint.”

Even after answering, Joumseo glanced at Cheonma with anxious eyes.

As expected.

“Disappointing.”

“……”

“I’m starting to get tired of your complacency in just watching when the situation has become like this.”

A suffocating aura spread out silently.

Even the Majons trembled, holding their breath at the Cheonma’s anger.

It was then that Joumseo hurriedly opened his mouth.

“But now is the time to wait.”

“When exactly is that time coming?”

The Cheonma twisted his lips slightly.

“Are you saying that we should just waste time waiting for a time that may never come?”

Joumseo shuddered at the terrible pressure pouring down on him.

But now he had to wait unconditionally.

Even if Jong Geuk-jin, the cult leader in front of him, possessed martial arts that surpassed Jong Yeoui, the previous Cheonma.

It was clear that moving rashly now would do more harm than good.

“This old servant dares to say……”

Joumseo, who had exchanged glances with the other Majons, carefully continued his words.

“Currently, no one in the world can dare to follow the Cult Leader in martial arts. Among the Sinma Samjon, the Cult Leader alone will be able to face two of them. But this old servant thinks that even the Cult Leader cannot guarantee victory against all three.”

A look of interest appeared on Jong Geuk-jin’s eyes.

“Can’t handle three?”

It was then that one person, who had been bowing his head silently, stepped forward.

An middle-aged man with a large physique and hair like a lion’s mane.

It was Yeomma [Nightmare Demon], Ma Yeong-gi.

“I am sorry, but I think so.”

He had already fought Han Seol-hwa along with Geomma Mo Gyu-gwang.

The result was a crushing defeat.

Although he managed to injure Han Seol-hwa, Mo Gyu-gwang lost his life on the spot.

And he had to swallow his tears and retreat, promising a future day.

Assuming that the martial arts level of Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi was similar to hers, Jong Geuk-jin, the cult leader, had to be able to defeat at least six of their level to face them all.

But now, with even Amjon having died in the grasslands, there were only four of the Yukmajon [Six Demon Gods] left.

“The completion of Cheongeuk Sindan (天極神丹) [Heavenly Pinnacle Divine Pill] is near. The Cult Leader’s martial arts are already on the verge of perfect completion, so if Cheongeuk Sindan is added here, those three will no longer be able to stop the Cult Leader’s progress. So, please be patient a little more for the great cause.”

“Hmm……”

Jong Geuk-jin stared at the Smajons with a reluctant expression.

However, their appeals, bowing their heads and calling themselves old servants, contained a firm belief that did not waver.

“Cheongeuk Sindan.”

Another name for Cheonin Hyeoljeong (千人血精) [Thousand Men Blood Essence], which righteous people would have shuddered at if they had heard it.

It was literally a forbidden technique that extracted the essence of blood from a thousand martial artists and condensed it into one pill.

It was a forbidden art that could not be attempted rashly even within the Demonic Cult and had been passed down as a secret for a long time, but he had restored it after much effort only for himself.

The Smajons, who confirmed the conflict rippling over Jong Geuk-jin’s eyes, all prostrated themselves and shouted.

“Please consider the pleas of your old servants!”

It was when Jong Geuk-jin, who had been silently looking down at them, finally nodded.

“I will.”

It was when the Smajons, who were finally relieved, bowed their heads even deeper.

Jong Geuk-jin suddenly opened his mouth.

“But are you sure that crouching down like this is the best way?”

At Jong Geuk-jin’s words, the four people’s expressions became complicated.

“Their purpose is clearly to find the cult’s holy ground.”

Joumseo answered.

“Among the Hogyo Mageun (護敎魔軍) [Demon Guard Army] composed of a thousand elites, a hundred have already completed their martial arts and left the holy ground. In addition, the four of us will move together to intercept them without fail.”

At that moment, a flash of lightning flickered in Jong Geuk-jin’s eyes.

“Rather, let’s do this.”

Joumseo, who was wondering, couldn’t hide his embarrassment at Jong Geuk-jin’s words.

“If they are plotting the Joriisan scheme, then we can just counter with Seongdong Gyeokseo (聲東擊西) [Feint to the East, Attack in the West].”

Jong Geuk-jin raised a satisfied smile.

“Since some of the Hogyo Mageun have been completed, it would be nice to test their power on this occasion.”

“However……”

Joumseo, who was about to give a dissenting opinion, hurriedly closed his mouth.

The eyes of the Cheonma staring silently.

It is because he read the will contained within it, which cannot be broken by anything.

“Then please promise me just one thing.”

Jong Geuk-jin smiled slightly at Joumseo’s words.