Several hours earlier
Steel wheels rolled fiercely through the pouring rain.
If not for the well-maintained main roads within the Sword House and proper maintenance, it was a speed that could have caused accidents several times over.
“Hya! Hya!”
Even knowing they had clearly exceeded their limits, the maid holding the reins urged the spirit beasts on again and again.
“——!”
The two spirit beasts, which would have been irritated under normal circumstances, snorted fiercely and ran without resting their four legs even for a moment.
“M-Move aside!”
“Ouch!”
Sword House servants maintaining the drainage suddenly encountered the huge steel carriage and threw themselves out of the way.
“…We’re at the entrance to the Round Pavilion!”
No sooner had she reported to Head Maid Jung-ah inside the carriage than the maid not holding the reins threw herself from the still-running carriage.
She lost her balance due to the momentum and rain, rolling forward on the ground.
But as if unaware of the pain, she sprang up and immediately deployed her movement technique towards the entrance.
Her body shot forward like an arrow.
“Open the main gate! Open the main gate!”
The urgent cry of the maid.
The special duty members at the main gate, already sensing that the situation was not normal, hurriedly opened the closed main gate.
How urgent it must have been.
The carriage passing through the entrance didn’t even think of slowing down.
Its massive body, tilting to the right, brushed past and shattered the right gate of the Round Pavilion.
Crash!
As soon as the iron fortress passed through the main gate and entered the Round Pavilion, frantic voice transmissions were exchanged among the special duty members.
[Level One security posture in effect!]
[This is not a drill! All personnel, move immediately! Strengthen the guard!]
As the carriage reached the front yard of the Round Pavilion, the maid holding the reins pulled the brake mechanism to its limit and shouted.
“Stop!”
The spirit beasts planted their four legs into the ground as if rooting themselves.
The massive body of the iron fortress slid sideways, shattering the paving stones with its wheels.
At the last moment, the iron fortress tilted greatly outwards and nearly overturned.
But a middle-aged man appeared like a ghost and pressed down on the opposite roof, causing the wheel that had been in the air to fall to the ground.
It was a technique close to artistry, the Thousand-Jin Falling technique.
But no one had the leisure to express admiration for the middle-aged man’s technique.
“Nameless Ghost Sword!”
Jung-ah called out the middle-aged man’s title from the window.
“Quickly, the Elder…!”
At that urgent cry, the face of the middle-aged man, the Nameless Ghost Sword, hardened even further.
“What’s the situation?!”
Jung-ah’s answer came immediately to his question.
“Black! Black situation!”
As soon as the word “Black” was heard, the Nameless Ghost Sword’s body was moving towards the VIP quarters of the Round Pavilion with explosive elasticity.
But even before he could reach the VIP quarters, he could already see an old man running at a terrifying speed.
That old man, running barefoot, was the one he had been going to call, the greatest physician in the Central Plains.
A living legend.
The Medicine King, said to be the manifestation of the Medicine Buddha, and the master of the Medicine Fairy Lady, Yak So-yu.
The Medicine King’s face contorted when he saw inside the carriage.
“Damn it, so this is why the demonic energy was piercing the heavens…!”
Yeon So-hyeon’s body, laid out lengthwise on the carriage seat, was deathly pale without a trace of blood, and was continuously undergoing small seizures.
One maid was attached to his side, removing the bloody foam flowing from Yeon So-hyeon’s mouth to prevent his airway from becoming blocked.
“How long has it been?!”
At the Medicine King’s shout, Jung-ah, who had been frantically giving instructions to the maids, answered.
“It’s been almost four quarters since the master himself announced the black situation and entered the Great Turtle Breathing Technique!”
Black situation.
The expression indicating when Yeon So-hyeon could no longer handle the demonic energy of Dark Heavens Scripture.
The Great Turtle Breathing Technique, personally modified by Yeon So-hyeon, was a special measure prepared for situations like this.
When unable to control the suddenly increased demonic energy, like now.
It’s a specially designed breathing technique that lowers the body’s metabolism to the extreme.
“You! You should be following the training! What are you doing?!”
The Medicine King shouted, kicking the shin of the Nameless Ghost Sword who had turned pale looking at the unconscious Yeon So-hyeon.
“If you don’t want to lose this one like your previous master, move now!”
Snapping to his senses at those words, the Nameless Ghost Sword carried Yeon So-hyeon on his back and ran.
His direction was towards the shrine where the memorial tablet of Yeon So-hyeon’s mother, Yak So-yu, was enshrined.
Crash!
The movements of the maids, who had repeatedly trained according to the instructions Yeon So-hyeon had prepared, were smooth.
They cleared away the Buddha statues that filled the shrine floor, even using their inner energy, securing space for the Nameless Ghost Sword to lay Yeon So-hyeon down.
“Elder! The master’s consciousness is gradually drifting away!”
Jung-ah, holding Yeon So-hyeon’s hand, cried out like a scream, her golden eyes shining.
“I know! That’s the correct order! So keep talking to the boy like you have been until now! You can do it!”
At the Medicine King’s voice, shouting while checking the tools brought by the maids, Jung-ah grasped both of Yeon So-hyeon’s hands and continued to call out.
“Master! Jung-ah is here! Master!”
After acting according to the instructions, the maids were frozen in place, pale and not knowing what to do.
Side effects of brainwashing.
There were no separate dead.
“The preparations are complete, so all of you get out!”
As the Medicine King’s unusually clear voice stimulated their spirits, they and the Nameless Ghost Sword hurriedly vacated the place.
The shrine door closed.
“Hold on, you brat!”
The Medicine King, sitting cross-legged beside the laid-out Yeon So-hyeon, waved his hand, causing his true silver long needles to float in the air.
The rainwater on his body, which had been soaked through, began to evaporate with a terrifying momentum.
“I’ll pull you out of there soon!”
Jung-ah, who had raised her golden eyes to the extreme to detect Yeon So-hyeon’s fading consciousness, was astonished at that sight.
“……!”
It was different from any kind of medical technique she had seen so far.
What the Medicine King was unfolding now,
The unknown energy rapidly gathering in her eyes,
Wasn’t even medical technique to begin with.
“I won’t lose you, at least…!”
Following the Medicine Fairy Lady who was like a daughter to him, he couldn’t lose Yeon So-hyeon in vain as well.
***
In the pitch-black darkness.
‘Is it that way….’
Yeon So-hyeon raised what he held in his hand towards the void.
What was trembling faintly and emitting light in his hand was
A fragment of the ‘Sealing Great Technique’ that his mother had cast in exchange for her life, which had been destroyed.
[…Mother truly loves our So-hyeon]
Though the faint light only illuminated Yeon So-hyeon’s surroundings, the familiar voice coming from within it was
In this freezing cold place.
As if soothing his soul, it was only warm.
‘…The old man and Jung-ah.’
Black situation.
They had practiced and improved dozens and hundreds of times with them to prepare for such a situation.
The signs had been there since he cleaned up the Valley of Sin in the form of the Sovereign of Dark Heavens.
All possible preparations had been made.
‘…They’ll be doing well on their own.’
This was not the time to worry about them.
They would fulfill their roles, and now what remained was
His own will.
“…….”
Yeon So-hyeon moved his steps with a calm expression.
The river of blood, which had risen up to his waist, flowed roughly and pushed his body mercilessly, but if he retreated one step, he took two steps forward.
If pushed back two steps, he took three steps forward.
Like that, he
Moved forward little by little.
Endlessly.
The appearance of the voice was sudden.
[What an unusual turtle breathing technique. To suppress the rampage of demonic energy.]
It was the voice from when he first contracted with Dark Heavens Scripture.
[I must give credit where it’s due for your many talents.]
The voice, with its resonance alone, seemed like it would tear Yeon So-hyeon’s mind to shreds.
“I tend to always make thorough preparations.”
Yeon So-hyeon gritted his teeth and answered.
If he didn’t answer, it felt like his current mental body would explode from within.
[But how much longer do you think you can resist?]
Blood vessels bulged incessantly all over his face.
“As long as it takes.”
His teeth broke due to clenching so hard.
[The struggle of a weak being is always amusing. Amusing.]
“Yes. I find you amusing too.”
At Yeon So-hyeon’s words, who forcibly raised the corners of his mouth to show a sneer while trembling, the voice asked.
[You find me amusing?]
Another tooth shattered.
The blood vessels in his eyes burst, causing bloody tears to flow.
“Yes.”
Yet Yeon So-hyeon did not stop answering.
The moment he stopped resisting would be the end.
Silence was an act of acquiescence, an acknowledgment of defeat.
“Losing yourself, aligning your consciousness with a mere demonic beast, riding on the might of a demonic beast to rampage about. How could it not be amusing?”
Yeon So-hyeon finished his words, ignoring the blood flowing from his nose.
“A mere reborn who has submitted to and been defeated by a demonic beast.”
[—-!!]
The voice’s anger was vividly felt as if crushing all the bones in his body.
A gale swept through.
The river of blood became even more turbulent.
A smile hung on the lips of Yeon So-hyeon, who covered his face with both hands.
‘As I thought, it was like that.’
In the past, the fallen immortal had told Yeon So-hyeon that the voice was absolutely not that of Dark Heavens Scripture.
‘The fallen immortal and the flame giant.’
The two reborn Yeon So-hyeon had met so far were kind and acted friendly.
They worried about his future path.
‘But there’s no law saying only such people exist.’
The current voice.
The voice that had urged the contract with Dark Heavens Scripture was the words of a reborn who had been completely defeated, even in consciousness, by Dark Heavens Scripture.
“Losers.”
Yeon So-hyeon was not pushed back even by that torrent and gale.
Rather, he mocked ‘them’ once more.
[You green boy whose blood hasn’t even dried on your head-!]
[I’ll tear you to shreds right here-!]
[You will wander an eternal, unending hell-!]
What had sounded like one voice now echoed as hundreds of voices, striking Yeon So-hyeon’s entire body.
[You made a soul-staking contract with Dark Heavens Scripture, with us! Your soul is ours!]
Yeon So-hyeon spat out the blood that welled up and answered.
“That may be so someday.”
The madness lurking deep in his eyes exploded outwards.
“But not now.”
[You-!]
And almost simultaneously, a thin beam of light descended from the sky, sweeping away the voices.
It was immortal energy.
Feeling the fragrance of immortal energy filling the surroundings, Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue.
“…You should have moved faster, old man.”
[Don’t forget! The more you struggle-!]
[The more terrible an end awaits you-!]
[We’ll be waiting for you in this hell-!]
Hearing the receding voices, Yeon So-hyeon snickered.
Thanks to the shining immortal energy, his mental body felt much lighter.
“Yeah, yeah. See you later.”
He continued to move his steps, which had not stopped for even a moment.
In the deepest part of Yeon So-hyeon’s consciousness world.
There was a massive cliff in a place that even Dark Heavens Scripture had not yet reached.
The Thousand-Ren Cliff.
Below the cliff made of skulls.
Someone who looked exactly like Yeon So-hyeon was bound.
As soon as he saw Yeon So-hyeon who had waded through the river of blood, he made a displeased expression.
“You should have moved faster.”
“This was as fast as I could come.”
Even that arrogant tone was exactly the same.
He, pierced by massive ink-iron chains, raised his hand.
In that hand was a fragment of light, the same as what Yeon So-hyeon who had waded through the river of blood was holding.
“It was almost too late.”
It was another fragment left from the destruction of the great technique his mother had performed.
This fragment would resonate with the fragment held by Yeon So-hyeon who had waded through the river of blood, revealing its location when it became ‘his turn’ next.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Yeon So-hyeon, roughly shaking off the blood on his mental body, approached ‘another self’.
“You’ve had a hard time.”
Yeon So-hyeon, pierced by the ink-iron chains, showed a smile.
“Yes. It’s been hard.”
That smile was terribly arrogant and also full of confidence.
Though his body was gradually being eroded by pitch-black energy and corroding, he did not abandon that arrogant smile.
“Don’t make this hardship in vain. Second.”
Yeon So-hyeon, divided by the Dual Mind-Intention Technique, spoke while dripping demonic energy that was dissolving his entire body.
“Right. First.”
Yeon So-hyeon approached the ‘first self’ who was now being uncontrollably eroded, and raised the fragment of his mother’s seal.
Squelch-.
“Leave the rest to me.”
The first Yeon So-hyeon, who had been bearing the price of spirit and flesh erosion that the original Yeon So-hyeon should have received, smiled faintly.
“De, definitely… Escape this fate…”
The second Yeon So-hyeon quietly clasped his hands as he watched the sight of him disintegrating and scattering.
That was Yeon So-hyeon’s method devised to avoid the unavoidable erosion no matter how he resisted.
“…….”
As the one who had been pierced disappeared, the thick ink-iron chains fell to the ground with a loud noise.
“Alright. Then…”
The second Yeon So-hyeon leaned his back against the skull cliff.
“It’s my turn now.”
What appeared on his face was resolve beyond imagination.
“Come.”
Squelch-.
Crack-.
The ink-iron chains moved as if alive and pierced through Yeon So-hyeon’s entire body.
“…….”
Yeon So-hyeon swallowed a scream as he vomited blood from the extreme pain running through his entire body.
Regardless, the mental reinforcement system he had devised in the form of ink-iron chains continuously pierced and fixed his body.
After a while.
The fixing was complete.
“…D-Damn, it hurts.”
He couldn’t remember how many times he had coughed up blood or screamed.
“Damn it…”
The preparation to receive the new price by fixing his consciousness at the very bottom was complete.
“…….”
Yeon So-hyeon concentrated his mind through the ink-iron chain reinforcement system.
The reinforcement system connected to the acupoints of his physical body conveyed his will.
Feeling the turtle breathing technique of his physical body being undone, he began to circulate the Dual Mind-Intention Technique.
How much time had passed?
“That’s enough now.”
What stopped the circulation was Yeon So-hyeon’s voice.
“…….”
The mental body of the second Yeon So-hyeon, pierced by chains, raised his head and looked at the owner of that voice.
“So, it was successful.”
In front of his eyes was another perfectly fine Yeon So-hyeon.
He was the mental body of a new self, replicated through the Dual Mind-Intention Technique that had been improved over and over.
“Yes, it was successful. Who do you think I am, to fail?”
At the words of the ‘third’ Yeon So-hyeon, the second Yeon So-hyeon, who had become the new sacrifice, snickered.
“…Go.”
At those words, the third Yeon So-hyeon picked up the fragment of his mother’s seal that had fallen to the ground.
It was the seal fragment that the first Yeon So-hyeon had dropped as he disintegrated.
This fragment would help find the second Yeon So-hyeon through resonance when it became ‘his turn’ next.
“Right.”
The third Yeon So-hyeon bowed his head in greeting, seeing the second Yeon So-hyeon pierced to the cliff tightly gripping his mother’s seal fragment.
“Leave the next part to me.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
That was all the greeting there was.
Since they were all himself, no further conversation was necessary.
[…Master! Master… It’s here! This way! This way…!]
Hearing Jung-ah’s voice that had been audible for a while, the third Yeon So-hyeon grasped the thin strand of immortal energy descending from the sky like a rope.
The immortal energy slowly pulled his mental body upwards, and his consciousness began to awaken.
“…….”
Watching the third self moving away, the second Yeon So-hyeon left on the cliff gritted his teeth.
“Urgh-!”
It felt like excruciating pain was piercing his head.
As the turtle breathing technique undid, the rampaging demonic energy began to mercilessly violate his mind.
Even so….
“Big brother!”
He had met that Yeon-bi rascal.
“So-hyeon!”
He had met his second older sister too.
“Brother!”
He had even met his cute third and fourth twin younger sisters.
‘Yes. I can endure…’
He tightly grasped his mother’s seal fragment.
[…Mother truly loves our So-hyeon.]
That beloved voice was…
In this cold and lonely space…
So very warm.
***
“…ster! Master!”
“You brat! Are you coming to your senses?!”
Awakening, Yeon So-hyeon looked at Jung-ah and the Medicine King, their faces a mess of tears and snot, and smiled calmly.
“…You two should go wash your faces.”