The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 408

신마의선 (408)

“I will. I will always remember Kunlun with a proud name.”

Gwangseongja nodded at Dan Ahk-seon’s words.

“You know, and I know, that you are at the forefront of fighting the Demonic Sect more than anyone else. And everyone here knows it. So don’t feel unnecessary guilt. Above all, we were able to survive this much because of you.”

The battle with the Demonic Sect had always been there, and Kunlun had always been prepared for this kind of situation.

“What makes me angry is that my ability is only this much.”

Gwangseongja clenched his fist so hard it seemed it would shatter, feeling a terrible sense of powerlessness at not being able to save his fellow disciples who were dying before his eyes.

Gwangseongja, who had been shedding tears of resentment with his head bowed, raised his eyes and met Dan Ahk-seon’s gaze.

“So never stop. Until you sweep the Demonic Sect bastards out of this land.”

Dan Ahk-seon also nodded in response to Gwangseongja’s words, which sounded as if he were making a vow to himself.

A few days later.

The people of the Shinma Merchant Guild, having received Dan Ahk-seon’s call, arrived one after another.

It was to move the survivors of the Kunlun Sect to the Central Plains.

The Kunlun disciples, who knew better than anyone else that they would not be able to fully fulfill their roles if they remained here, readily accepted Dan Ahk-seon’s proposal.

Among those who arrived here at Dan Ahk-seon’s request were also a large number of unorthodox masters belonging to Muwi [a group of martial artists known for their unconventional methods].

It was to protect the injured.

And in case the patients’ conditions worsened during the journey, the Shinma Medical Center’s physicians accompanied them.

It was Pung Jin-sung who led the physicians himself.

“Please take good care of them.”

Pung Jin-sung cast a pitiful look at Dan Ahk-seon’s request.

“Don’t worry. I’m more worried about you, Master Gok.”

“I’m fine, so don’t worry.”

“I knew it.”

Pung Jin-sung smiled bitterly, as if he knew it would be like this.

“Please take care of yourself.”

Pung Jin-sung turned back several times as he left, as if he couldn’t bear to leave.

Dan Ahk-seon, who had parted ways with Pung Jin-sung, headed towards the rear of the procession.

“Thank you for granting my request.”

A particularly tall, emaciated old man with an indifferent expression nodded at Dan Ahk-seon’s greeting.

It was Kang Wi-ryong.

He was the person in charge of guarding this procession.

In preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, Dan Ahk-seon asked him, the most outstanding master in Muwi, to take charge of the escort, and he surprisingly accepted readily.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world.”

Dan Ahk-seon gave a puzzled look at Kang Wi-ryong’s reply.

“Thanks to the Shinma Merchant Guild, I was able to procure the best ingredients. So I was able to further improve the quality of Dowonhyang [a rare and valuable incense] that I have been making. It would have been impossible if I were alone.”

In comparison, escorting them once was not difficult.

Dan Ahk-seon quietly smiled at the answer that was typical of Jugwangdogwi [Kang Wi-ryong’s title, meaning ‘Mad Demon of the Sword’].

He also trusted his skills without a doubt, as he was one of the Five Great Masters of the World.

Soon, the Shinma Merchant Guild’s procession carrying the injured all descended the mountain, and Kang Wi-ryong also flew away.

However, there was also someone who stayed until the end and waited for Dan Ahk-seon.

It was Gwangseongja and his senior brothers, the Kunlun disciples of the Gwang generation.

“Thank you for your wise decision.”

Dan Ahk-seon bowed to Gwangdoja.

He had suddenly become the highest-ranking member of the Kunlun Sect due to this incident.

“We shouldn’t be a burden.”

With those words, Gwangdoja met the gaze of his youngest junior brother, who was standing behind him.

In fact, he had been trying to form a pursuit squad by gathering the Kunlun disciples who had not been injured.

It was called a pursuit squad, but it had a strong suicide squad character.

However, after a long period of persuasion from Dan Ahk-seon and Gwangseongja, he finally gave up his stubbornness.

“Did you pack everything you need?”

“Yes, Great Senior Brother. We have recovered most of the important items, except for a few lost items.”

His junior brothers immediately answered Gwangdoja’s question.

They were all carrying large bundles.

They were secret manuals containing unique secret techniques and clan’s treasured martial arts that should not be leaked to the outside.

Gwangdoja clasped his hands in front of Dan Ahk-seon.

“Kunlun will not forget your grace.”

Just before turning around, they deeply engraved each and every peak of Kunlun in their eyes.

Vowing to return someday.

As even the Kunlun disciples of the Gwang generation went down the mountain, a monk who had followed the merchant guild clasped his hands towards Dan Ahk-seon.

It was the Lama monk who had brought news of the Potala Palace [a significant Tibetan Buddhist monastery].

“I will now return to where I was.”

Dan Ahk-seon cast a pitiful look.

He wanted to be with them, but he couldn’t readily speak because he had work to do right away.

The Lama monk, understanding Dan Ahk-seon’s feelings, quietly smiled.

“I will leave on a journey to find the Great Teacher as is.”

Dan Ahk-seon suddenly thought of the Buddhist concept of reincarnation that they believed in.

“Please fulfill your wishes.”

“If we can find him, the scattered people will gather again. That way, we will gather our strength first. Our promise to you is always valid, so please call us when you need us.”

As he saw off the Lama monk who was turning away after saying those words, Dan Ahk-seon cast a complicated look for a long time.

How much time had passed?

There was a voice calling Dan Ahk-seon.

“Doctor Dan. This way.”

It was Cho Ahk-ryang.

“There’s something I need to check.”

Dan Ahk-seon, who followed Cho Ahk-ryang to an empty space far away, faced the corpses that were scattered everywhere without even a burial mound.

They were the Demonic Sect warriors who had died in this incident.

Cho Ahk-ryang opened his mouth towards Dan Ahk-seon, who was wondering.

“After checking, there were some faces that I recognized.”

Cho Ahk-ryang pointed to the corpse lying closest to him.

“This man is called Cheongmyeon Sura (Blue-Faced Asura), and his name is Won Hyo-sang. He was quite infamous in the Sichuan area.”

It wasn’t just him.

Cho Ahk-ryang pointed to the corpses one by one and listed their titles and names.

“They were all one-time masters in the Unorthodox Faction. Until the Martial Alliance’s declaration of subjugation.”

“You mean a significant number of them are masters of the Unorthodox Faction who were recruited by the Demonic Sect.”

Some of the corpses had faces that were severely damaged, making it impossible to identify them, but most of them were masters of the Central Plains who had their roots in the Unorthodox Faction.

Dan Ahk-seon frowned.

It was certainly too high a level of martial arts to be called a mere Demonic Sect soldier.

It was clear that their existing martial prowess had been taken to another level by learning Demonic Arts.

“According to Subo, the Demonic Sect is said to have nearly a thousand Hogyo Magun (Defenders of the Demonic Faith) nearing completion. If they are some of them……”

Dan Ahk-seon trailed off.

It was because he couldn’t guarantee which sect could stop them if elites of this level rushed in all at once.

If the Nine Great Sects gathered in one place and fought head-on, there seemed to be some chance of winning, but no one knew if the Demonic Sect would fight that way.

Then, Dan Ahk-seon suddenly noticed something strange.

“These people were not in a state of losing their minds. It means they are carrying out the Demonic Sect’s orders with reason. Why are they loyal to the Demonic Sect?”

“Well, it must be because they were overwhelmed by the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts.”

Cho Ahk-ryang mentioned the conversation he had with Namgung Baek when he visited the Namgung Family in the past.

Namgung Baek had repeatedly researched to find a way to break the Demonic Arts based on the secret manuals of Demonic Arts that he had recovered during the Righteous-Demonic War.

Furthermore, he also worked to create Anti-Demonic Arts, which are the opposite of Demonic Arts.

However, he eventually gave up on this.

Demonic Arts themselves had a strong attraction, and as a result, among those who were studying them, there were those who became obsessed with Demonic Arts and fell into inner demons.

“Above all, Demonic Arts are said to have a binding force that makes them unable to disobey those with higher martial arts.”

That was also what made the Demonic Sect so scary.

There was a reason why they would throw their lives away without hesitation at the orders of their superiors.

Needless to say, if the person giving the order was the Heavenly Demon.

That’s why Namgung Baek eventually gave up and abandoned all plans.

He judged that researching Demonic Arts could rather lead to planting spies of the Demonic Sect within the Martial Alliance.

“But there are also things that are difficult to explain with that alone.”

Dan Ahk-seon continued, looking at Cho Ahk-ryang, who was questioning him with his eyes.

“It’s the sense of resistance.”

Even if they relied on the Demonic Sect to avoid the Martial Alliance’s subjugation, there was no way they wouldn’t have psychological resistance.

Even the Unorthodox Faction were ultimately martial artists of the Central Plains.

Hating and despising the Demonic Sect was not much different from the Righteous Faction.

You could tell just by looking at Cho Ahk-ryang and Beom Gye-wi.

Why else would the only time the Righteous and Unorthodox Factions cooperate be when the Demonic Sect was rampant?

No matter how much they hated each other, they would unite and fight against the Demonic Sect at that time.

If they didn’t know, they wouldn’t have stayed still even after knowing that the place that had lured them was the Demonic Sect.

It was then that a gleam appeared in Dan Ahk-seon’s eyes.

“Why do the scars left on the corpses or the traces of battle left around them look familiar?”

Only then did Cho Ahk-ryang feel something strange and carefully observe the corpses and the surroundings.

After a while.

Cho Ahk-ryang exclaimed quietly.

“This is?”

“It seems similar, doesn’t it?”

Cho Ahk-ryang nodded with surprised eyes.

Namgung Ho, who had attacked the Hwangbo Family and annihilated them a while ago.

No matter how many times he looked at it again, it was very similar to the traces found on the corpses of the Hwangbo Family’s warriors at the time.

“Even though he had taken poppy powder, the Namgung Family Head at the time had his reason intact. But his emotions were very agitated.”

If he was in such a mentally unstable state, mental binding through Demonic Arts could exert sufficient power.

Above all, poppy powder had its own addictiveness and dependence.

“They are using drugs to move these people as they please.”

The fact that Baeksa-hoe [White Sand Society] was the one who distributed poppy powder and drugs that had been refined to increase its power roughly matched the story.

Beom Gye-wi, who had been listening to the conversation quietly, suddenly opened his mouth.

“Even so, isn’t the result the same anyway? The fact that these guys are following the Demonic Sect’s orders doesn’t change.”

“But there is one variable left.”

Beom Gye-wi exclaimed at Dan Ahk-seon’s words that followed.

“I can cure them.”

“Aha!”

“First, we need to capture at least one of them alive. If it becomes known that they can quit drugs and break free from the domination of Demonic Arts, there will definitely be people who will turn to our side.”

Above all, those belonging to the Hogyo Magun [Defenders of the Demonic Faith] were likely to have a lot of information.

It was still just an assumption, but Dan Ahk-seon’s eyes lit up as he discovered a glimmer of hope.

* * *

“Still, the gains from this expedition are not entirely non-existent. I was able to roughly gauge the power of this sect.”

The voice echoed in the inner room, shaking the flickering light.

Sama-jon, led by Jo Eum-seo, bowed deeply towards the owner of the voice.

“However……”

Jong Geuk-jin, who was sitting in the Grand Preceptor’s chair, paused for a moment.

He was regretful that he had retreated without any significant results despite encountering Shinma Uiseon [Divine Doctor of the Demonic Path] and Shinma Samjon [Three Evils of the Demonic Path], who were the biggest obstacles at the moment.

‘I can handle one, but two is too much.’

Mangsan Choja, whom he had exchanged hands with directly, was not as great as he had expected.

The problem was the other two people.

Cho Ahk-ryang and Han Seol-hwa.

The martial prowess of the two people who clashed with Sama-jon was beyond what he had previously recognized.

‘Have they become stronger in the meantime?’

Leaving Cho Ahk-ryang aside, hadn’t he heard that Han Seol-hwa had continued to fight evenly against both Geomma [Demon of Swords] and Yeomma [Demon of Flames]?

Although Geomma died and Yeomma had to turn back with injuries, he heard that Han Seol-hwa had also suffered great injuries.

However, the martial arts of Han Seol-hwa, which he actually saw with his own eyes, far exceeded his previous expectations.

And this was probably not different from Sama-jon’s thoughts.

He could fully guess just by looking at their expressions of being anxious in front of him.

“When will the Cheongeuk Divine Pill be completed?”

Jo Eum-seo hurriedly replied to Jong Geuk-jin’s question.

“I will show you that it will be completed within a month.”

“Give me fifteen days.”

Jo Eum-seo flinched for a moment.

But he immediately bowed and shouted.

“I will carry out your order!”