The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 409

The End Realm Sovereign nodded and rose to his feet.

“Prepare for secluded training. As soon as the Sacred Altar is complete, I will enter seclusion.”

Sama Jon’s face lit up at those words.

“I will entrust the operation of the Order to you in the meantime.”

Sama Jon shouted and bowed simultaneously.

“May your grace cover the world! May all demons serve you!”

Only when the End Realm Sovereign’s figure completely disappeared did Sama Jon rise and exchange glances with the others.

“We don’t have much time.”

At Sound Revered, Jo Eum-seo’s words, Flame Revered, Ma Young-gi, let out a groan.

“That’s why the Order Leader is urging us to complete the Celestial Extremity Sacred Altar sooner.”

The remaining two of Sama Jon.

Cheok Dae-gwang and Hyeok Ryeon-ho, known as Blade Revered and Fist Revered respectively, sighed in unison.

“We must buy time until the remaining Guardian Demon Lords are ready.”

“But even now, those bastards are desperately searching for the Divine Land. They are already narrowing the scope.”

“To lose Soo Bo at a time like this…”

The saying goes, you don’t miss what you have until it’s gone, and Yoon Bong’s death was indeed a painful loss.

He was the one who practically conceived and executed most of the plans related to the Order’s movements.

“We must find a way. No matter how much the Order Leader completes his training, if the Divine Land collapses first, there’s no hope.”

No matter how great one’s martial arts, to reign over the world, one must have an elite force to back them up.

“So, how!”

Hyeok Ryeon-ho roared, frustrated by the constantly circling conversation.

The other three Demon Revereds exchanged troubled glances.

They were just as frustrated with the current situation.

However, no matter how much they put their heads together, they couldn’t come up with a solution.

They were willing to give their lives for the Order Leader, Jong Geuk-jin, and the Order, but devising ingenious plans was a different matter.

From the start, will and talent were separate issues.

“At this rate, we’re just wasting time.”

“But we can’t just sit idly by, can we?”

Jo Eum-seo paused at Cheok Dae-kyung’s question.

“Come to think of it…”

The other three Demon Revereds stared intently at him, hoping for a solution.

Jo Eum-seo cleared his throat, feeling burdened by their gazes.

After much deliberation, he mentioned the existence of one person.

“There is someone with a remarkably sharp mind.”

“Who is it?”

Jo Eum-seo gave an awkward smile at Hyeok Ryeon-ho’s question.

“Actually, it’s someone we all know.”

“Could it be…?”

The Demon Revereds frowned as they belatedly realized who Jo Eum-seo was referring to.

“Can we trust him?”

Jo Eum-seo smiled bitterly at Ma Young-gi’s question.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear his opinion before deciding…”

More than anything, there was no other way for now.

But he didn’t voice that thought.

Aside from the issue of pride, he feared the Heavenly Demon’s interrogation when this fact was reported.

They pondered in silence for a moment.

Starting with Ma Young-gi, they eventually all nodded.

Thus, they headed to an underground prison located deep within the main base.

A place filled with darkness, where not a single ray of light penetrated.

It was the most infamous place within the Order, the Forbidden Darkness Prison.

Originally, it was a place to imprison martial artists from the Central Plains who were captured during the Righteous-Demonic War, but now it was virtually unused as there were no survivors from that time.

There was only one person imprisoned there.

Soon, Sama Jon arrived at the Forbidden Darkness Prison and immediately boarded a cart leading underground.

It was the only means of transportation, using pulleys and ropes to go up and down.

After a while, the cart reached the bottom, and they lit torches and entered a cave that opened in front of them.

However…

As soon as he entered the prison, Sama Jon couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Originally, the Forbidden Darkness Prison was a place filled with the bitter resentment and eerie energy of lives that had faded away without seeing the light.

But for some reason, it was quite clean and well-organized.

Night-shining pearls emitting a bluish light were embedded in the dark ceiling where not a single ray of light used to penetrate, and piles of books were neatly stacked everywhere.

It was a world of difference from the prison they remembered.

The torches they brought to illuminate the darkness seemed almost unnecessary.

But the most bewildering sight was something else entirely.

It was the figure of a young man sitting leisurely against the wall in the center of the prison, calmly turning the pages of a book.

He was engrossed in his book, even though he clearly sensed their presence.

It was a very unfamiliar attitude for Sama Jon.

How long had it been?

“There’s no need to be so surprised. Your Soo Bo [likely a title or honorific] has shown some kindness,” the young man suddenly said.

However, his gaze remained fixed on the book.

“They say that those who are imprisoned here soon go blind or go insane.”

A space without light or sound first deprives a person of their senses and eventually collapses their mind.

“I must be a valuable hostage to you.”

Thud.

The young man closed the book and looked up at Sama Jon.

“So? What brings you here?”

Sama Jon’s eyebrows twitched.

He was very uncomfortable with the young man’s arrogant attitude.

On the other hand, he was also displeased with the current situation, where he had to seek advice from someone like him.

As Sama Jon remained silent, the young man chuckled.

Then, he began to draw something on a piece of paper spread out on the floor.

Judging from the discolored and crumbling state of the paper, it seemed to be a long-standing task.

Sama Jon inwardly gritted his teeth at the young man’s extremely natural behavior, as if they were not even in his eyes.

However, as the saying goes, the thirsty dig the well [meaning those in need will take initiative].

Urged by the other Demon Revereds, who were pressing him with their eyes, Jo Eum-seo reluctantly opened his mouth.

“It seems you like this place.”

“Then why don’t you try being locked up here?”

“What?”

The young man smirked at Jo Eum-seo, who was taken aback.

“There’s no way I’d like a place like this, is there?”

The young man put down the charcoal in his hand and met Jo Eum-seo’s gaze.

“It doesn’t look like you’ve come down here to send me back to my clan…”

“…”

“Besides, the fact that four of the Six Demon Revereds have come here means that the matter is of great importance.”

The young man smiled slyly.

“Let’s see what kind of interesting story you’ve brought.”

“You! How dare you spout such nonsense!”

The young man’s eyes did not waver at Jo Eum-seo’s outburst.

Even with all his martial arts crippled, Sama Jon couldn’t help but acknowledge his courage in calmly accepting his killing intent.

A gloomy smile appeared on the young man’s pale face, which had not seen the sun.

It was a strange smile that had a mysterious power to captivate people’s hearts.

“Isn’t it basic etiquette in a negotiation for the one who is desperate to show their hand first?”

“Negotiation?”

The young man nodded at Jo Eum-seo’s question.

“As it has always been.”

The young man raised his hand and pointed to the drawing on the floor.

“I’ve supplemented the weaknesses of the Annihilation Chaos Dark Formation installed in the Divine Land. If you supplement only the parts marked here, the gate of life will disappear. It will be reborn as a perfect formation without any shortcomings, just like its name.”

Jo Eum-seo and the other Sama Jon were shocked by those words.

“The Annihilation Chaos Dark Formation…”

“Could it be the Ghost Hand’s [referring to the creator]?”

“Nonsense! Would Tak Yo-shin be called the Incomprehensible for nothing!”

The Sama Jon couldn’t believe it.

Tak Yo-shin, the legendary eccentric of the Jianghu [the martial arts world], known as the Omnipotent.

There was no way that the perfect Illusionary Formation, known as his last masterpiece, which, along with the Chaos Heavenly Maze Formation that supposedly existed somewhere in the Jianghu, could have any weaknesses.

But the young man frowned at their reaction.

“You guys… weren’t sent by Soo Bo?”

“…!”

The Sama Jon, feeling guilty, remained silent.

The young man suddenly clapped his hands on the floor and burst into laughter, stunned by the young man’s extraordinary ability to accurately grasp the situation despite being cut off from external information while imprisoned here.

“Haha! I see, I see!”

Hyeok Ryeon-ho, unable to bear the sight of the young man laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes, shouted.

“Shut up! Before I rip that tongue out!”

“Has something happened to Soo Bo?”

Sama Jon felt a chill in his heart.

He was stunned by the young man’s extraordinary ability to accurately grasp the situation despite being cut off from external information while imprisoned here.

The young man sighed softly, as if disappointed by the Sama Jon’s inability to speak.

“Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve talked to him.”

Jo Eum-seo was inwardly flustered by the young man’s expression, which quickly turned gloomy as if he had never laughed.

But there was no point in just looking at each other any longer.

‘I have no choice.’

In the end, the one who was desperate had no choice but to yield first.

Knowing that it would only backfire to yell at him, Jo Eum-seo opened his mouth in a much gentler voice.

“It’s amazing that there are weaknesses in Tak Yo-shin’s masterpiece. And your ability to discover and supplement them is even more amazing.”

The young man replied as if it were nothing.

“It would have been perfect when it was created. But the saying ‘the student surpasses the teacher’ didn’t come about for nothing. Even things that seem perfect can’t escape the passage of time. The same goes for learning and martial arts.”

“Indeed… If that’s true, then the title of Divine Calculation Genius is well-deserved. You’re worthy of being the next head of the Zhuge Clan.”

It was then that a glint flashed in the young man’s eyes.

“The next head? Me?”

Jo Eum-seo belatedly realized his mistake and felt a pang of regret.

But there was more to lose than gain by lying now.

“Your father announced the decree to determine the next head. It’s already been several years.”

“So… it has come to this.”

Jo Eum-seo mentioned the fact that Namgung Baek had been ousted by Zhuge Yeon and that a new Martial Alliance had been re-established, centered around prestigious martial arts clans, excluding the Nine Great Sects, to Zhuge San, who was muttering to himself as if he had an idea of what was going on.

It was as if he was doing him a favor by telling him news from the outside world, which he had been cut off from.

However, Zhuge San stared intently at Jo Eum-seo.

“In the end, the Martial Alliance must have collapsed, right?”

Jo Eum-seo was surprised once again.

“How did you know?”

“Dan Neung-dan Je, Namgung Baek. Unfortunately, Sister Yeon is far short of his capabilities. The Nine Great Sects were reluctantly involved in the Martial Alliance only because they still owed him a debt of gratitude.”

Zhuge San sighed and asked again.

“So? What happened to my sister?”

“I’ve given you this much, now it’s your turn.”

“Just this much and you’re already acting like you’ve done me a favor… Well, I can guess to some extent, but…”

Zhuge San, who had been wearing a dry smile, stopped smiling and stared at Jo Eum-seo.

“Haven’t I proven my abilities several times already? The weaknesses of the demonic arts and the formations that I’ve supplemented should be more than enough, right?”

Jo Eum-seo was silent.

It was the first time he had heard of this.

Zhuge San gave him an absurd look.

“Is that so? Yoon Bong, that old eunuch, must have stolen it as if it were his own achievement. For such a meager price.”

At this point, Jo Eum-seo decided that there was no point in dragging things out any longer.

“I need your brain.”

“Then will you release me?”

“To be honest, that’s beyond my authority.”

“Hmph. At least you’re not trying to deceive me with sweet words like the old Yoon guy. That’s better.”

Zhuge San straightened his posture.

“Then what will you pay? The price for borrowing my brain is not cheap. Besides, the price has just gone up.”

“Why?”