Chapter 322

“I will listen with cleansed ears.”

At Kwak Yeon’s immediate answer, Jin Gwanho, the Ghost-Hand Demon Venerable, gave a slight nod.

“Taoist Kwak, you know that the law of the demonic path is the rule of the strong.”

“Of course.”

“Gratitude, grudges, even the laws of the world—all are meaningless before that overriding principle. But that does not mean practitioners of the demonic path simply prostrate themselves before anyone stronger than they are.”

“......!”

“They may be forced to submit for a time when overwhelmed by superior martial prowess, but in their hearts they will always rebel. And if the stronger party realizes this and tries to force true submission from them, a genuine practitioner of the demonic path would sooner throw away their life than bow their head.”

Kwak was well aware that those of the demonic path did not submit easily.

That was precisely why, after their defeat in the Eight Desolations Upheaval, they had refused the orthodox martial world’s attempts to win them over and chosen imprisonment in the Great Demon Prison instead.

“Then you should now be able to guess what the gate of the Eight Demonic Venerables is.”

“You mean they must be made to acknowledge their defeat sincerely.”

Jin Gwanho nodded.

“Exactly. Under the rule of the strong, subduing the body is not enough. Only when one makes a demonic-path practitioner acknowledge the other party in their heart will they truly accept defeat and follow. And the reverse holds equally true.”

The darkness kept him from seeing clearly, but Jin Gwanho could tell that Kwak’s expression was growing grim.

“You should also understand now why I said that gate was closed long ago. From the moment the other Venerables and I chose meditative passing, our bodies became incapable of contesting martial arts.”

The stark truth left Kwak despondent.

If the Eight Demonic Venerables could not be defeated in martial combat according to the rule of the strong, then no amount of reasoned pleading would accomplish anything.

“The antidote to the Heaven-Unbinding Life-Saving Pill that you brought released the restrictions on our dantians, but our cultivation cannot be restored in a mere day or two.”

“......!”

“And yet, if you continue asking the Venerables to sign the Righteous Heaven Banner, it can only be regarded as an attempt to force us into submission.”

With that, Jin Gwanho turned toward the inner cavern.

STEP. STEP.

After taking several steps, he suddenly spoke again.

“Ah. That does not mean the other Venerables and I fail to understand your sincerity. That is precisely why all of them remained silent and listened to everything you had to say.”

STEP. STEP.

He walked several more paces before continuing.

“You came thousands of li to this desolate desert beyond the northern frontier, broke through every obstacle in your path, and even dragged a group of old men with one foot already across the threshold of the underworld back into this world. How could we doubt a man who went so far?”

“......!”

“If we did, we would truly be shameless.”

Hearing Jin Gwanho’s voice from deeper inside the cavern, Kwak suddenly realized something.

The Eight Demonic Venerables do want to grant my request.

The problem was that their bodies were no longer in any condition to hold the martial contest demanded by the rule of the strong.

A gate that had closed long ago.

The description fit their situation perfectly.

If he continued pressing them to sign the Righteous Heaven Banner under these circumstances, the Eight Demonic Venerables would only retreat further into themselves.

“A true practitioner of the demonic path would sooner throw away their life than submit.”

Jin Gwanho’s words remained vivid in Kwak’s ears.

Kwak found himself at a complete loss.

After coming all this way, am I supposed to give up on getting their signatures on the Righteous Heaven Banner?

Countless lives could be saved.

It would also help punish the traitors among the Demonic Eight Divisions and rebuild what remained afterward.

That was why Kwak had believed that if he acted with genuine sincerity, the Eight Demonic Venerables would eventually understand his intentions.

And they had.

He had simply never imagined another problem would emerge afterward.

Worse, this problem was physical in nature, leaving no obvious solution.

Do we have no choice but to leave?

Kwak flinched.

“......!”

He had realized that he was already asking himself the question with the possibility of leaving the Great Demon Prison in mind.

Countless lives are hanging in the balance, and I was about to give up this easily.

No matter what happened, he had always refused to surrender and done everything he could until the very end.

But now that he thought about it, every one of those times had been for himself or for someone he knew.

I treated it too lightly because the lives at stake belong to strangers I’ve never met.

Yet were the lives of complete strangers any less precious?

Kwak’s face grew hot with guilt and shame.

Nothing has ended in complete disaster yet. If I do everything I can, there may still be time to stop the campaign against the Demonic Eight Divisions before it truly begins.

His heart began beating faster.

Then, without conscious command, Honwonmusang qi surged up and raced through every major point in his body.

......?

This was entirely different from Qi Arises from the Heart, in which his own will stirred his energy.

The will that had called forth his Honwonmusang qi had not originated within him at all.

It had come from outside.

From the unknown people he wished to save.

In that instant, Kwak grasped the deeper meaning of one of the heart formulas within the Honwonmusang Technique.

All things in heaven and earth are shaped by the mind alone.

It was such an abstruse formula that he had only vaguely understood it as an instruction to embrace all under heaven.

They are faceless strangers, so they possess no concrete existence to me. Yet I still resonated with them. So simply holding them in my heart is enough to embrace all under heaven.

The meaning of the Ultimate Void as the state of becoming one with all under heaven also became clear.

As Kwak silently contemplated the realization, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind—a way to solve the problem directly before him.

Why must a martial duel be restricted to a contest between physical bodies?

There were occasions in the martial world when fighters compared their martial forms through sword discourse rather than physically exchanging blows.

But that can only determine the superiority of individual martial forms. It cannot truly be called a martial duel.

There was also no guarantee that the Eight Demonic Venerables would accept such a contest.

Then......

His thoughts turned to the sword duel in the mind through which he had once matched heart methods against the White-Haired Demon Queen.

Such a duel took place entirely within the mind, making the physical condition of the body irrelevant.

That thought reminded him of the martial formulas inscribed on the walls of the cave niches.

The very essence of the Eight Demonic Venerables’ unique demonic arts.

When the two ideas—the sword duel in the mind and the Eight Venerables’ unique demonic arts—came together, a plan took shape.

In fact, it was a plan possible only because his opponents were absolute masters who had reached the pinnacle of the demonic path.

Yes. If I do it that way, even the Eight Demonic Venerables will have no choice but to acknowledge it.

Kwak’s gaze slowly settled into calm determination.

*****

At the edge of the Qinling Mountains, several campfires burned across a flat stretch of ground in a valley.

In their glow, dozens of low tents resembled a cluster of mushrooms.

Taoists in white robes and martial artists in ordinary martial attire moved between them on patrol.

This was the encampment of the campaign force sent against the Gathering Demons Division, with the Wudang Sect, Hebei Peng Family, and Shandong Yue Family forming its core.

In a thicket a little over ten zhang from the camp, dozens of black-clad figures lay hidden and silent.

They were demonic-path fighters of the Roaming Demon Unit under the Gathering Demons Division. They had descended along the mountain ridges throughout the night to launch a surprise attack.

By spreading out and moving stealthily over a long period of time, they had managed to evade the eyes and ears of the Martial Alliance sentries stationed throughout the area.

Among the black-clad figures, Roaming Demon Unit Leader Hyo Jiryeong, the Supreme-Heaven Demon, raised one hand.

Every member of the unit drew a weapon at once.

To warriors of their level, a distance of slightly more than ten zhang was virtually nothing. They could burst into the camp in an instant.

Then all they had to do was slaughter the Martial Alliance warriors as they stumbled out of their tents, roused from deep sleep.

At last, Hyo Jiryeong thrust his raised hand forward.

The Roaming Demon Unit sprang from their positions as one.

RUSTLE-RUSTLE-RUSTLE!

Dozens of black-clad figures seemed to fly over the shrubs beneath the cover of night, reaching the camp in moments.

“Night raid! Demonic-path fighters!”

One of the Martial Alliance warriors standing watch shouted as he thrust his sword toward an approaching black-clad attacker.

CLANG! CLASH!

Sparks flew as fighting erupted throughout the camp.

Hyo Jiryeong, who had started a step behind his men, was already inside as well.

He strode straight toward the center of the encampment until a Martial Alliance warrior blocked his path.

“Stop!”

SWISH!

“Urgh!”

Even as the Martial Alliance warrior recoiled after being cut by his sword, Hyo Jiryeong did not pursue him.

Killing a handful of rank-and-file men would never equal the achievement of taking down one of the enemy commanders.

The leaders would be stationed near the center of the camp.

Ignoring the fighting around him, Hyo Jiryeong raced onward.

Then something struck him as odd.

Not a single Martial Alliance warrior was rushing out of the tents.

“......!”

Hyo Jiryeong stopped dead and ripped aside the nearest tent.

FLAP!

There was no one inside.

His brow furrowed.

At that moment, torches flared to life throughout the nearby forest and mountain slopes, illuminating the surroundings one after another. Countless Martial Alliance warriors surged forward and encircled the camp.

Even the Martial Alliance guards who had been fighting the Roaming Demon Unit inside the camp had vanished.

They had merely pretended to fight before withdrawing.

“Well, now. Looks like we walked straight into your little trick.”

Even after realizing that they were the ones who had fallen into a trap, Hyo Jiryeong’s expression barely changed.

Once the Martial Alliance campaign force had completely surrounded the camp, Taoist Hyeonam stepped out from among them.

Hyo Jiryeong likewise walked forward to stand before his men.

“I am Hyeonam of Wudang.”

“I am Hyo Jiryeong, the Supreme-Heaven Demon, Unit Leader of the Gathering Demons Division’s Roaming Demon Unit.”

After introducing himself, Hyo Jiryeong asked,

“Was this trap your doing, you mule-headed Taoist?”

“I would call it preparation rather than a trap.”

“Hmph. It seems you scattered quite a few spies around Sword Demon Valley. I suppose you could hardly afford to lose sleep every night worrying about a raid.”

“A few days ago, I heard a rumor that one unit had left Sword Demon Valley.”

Taoist Hyeonam readily nodded before continuing.

“If that unit had been sent out to break the morale of the campaign force attacking the Gathering Demons Division, a night raid seemed the most likely move, so we prepared accordingly. Still, I never imagined you would come charging straight in with no plan whatsoever.”

Hyo Jiryeong frowned.

“Mule-headed Taoist, I don’t think you’re in any position to accuse me of coming here without a plan.”

“......?”

“You are the ones who came here without a plan. Every last one of you will end up buried here in the Qinling Mountains.”

A chilling smile spread across Hyo Jiryeong’s lips, but Taoist Hyeonam thought little of it.

He assumed the renowned demonic-path master was merely putting on a show of bravado so as not to appear intimidated.

“Mule-headed Taoist, I hear the Sword of Wudang is leading you all down this road to the underworld. Where is he now?”

“.......”

Hyo Jiryeong’s smile turned mocking.

“We’ll never have another chance to meet, so since I’ve come all this way, I thought I might as well get a good look at him before I go.”