Chapter 326

—SWISH!

A white sword-shape appeared in midair, cleaved through the darkness of the cavern, and vanished.

A low voice immediately reverberated through the cavern.

“Enough! This old man concedes defeat.”

—CLICK!

Kwak Yeon sheathed the Blue-Steel Sword, then clasped his hands toward the cave niche.

“I, Kwak Yeon, offer my deepest thanks for the instruction of the Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, Supreme Division Lord of the Gathering Demons Division.”

“There is no need to dress it up as instruction.”

The cold voice boomed from within the niche.

“Who would dare add a single word to someone who has reached the realm of the Formless Sword? That would be no different from drawing legs on an already finished snake and ruining the whole picture.”

“Drawing legs on a snake! Hahaha!”

From a nearby niche, a gaunt but large-framed old man strode out with a booming laugh.

“Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, you could not have put it better. Though calling the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm a mere drawing of a snake seems a little much.”

An angry roar erupted from the niche before Kwak Yeon.

“Myriad-Calamity Demon Venerable! Why must you meddle in another man’s family rites? I kept my eyes shut even through that noisy shamanistic spectacle in your own house just now!”

The Gathering Demons Division and the Myriad-Calamity Demon Palace were the bitterest of enemies among the Demonic Eight Divisions. Even after spending more than ten years imprisoned together in the Great Demon Prison, the resentment between their two Venerables had never faded.

So when the Myriad-Calamity Demon Venerable, No Yu-gak, suddenly stepped in and seized on his words, the Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, Jo So-hong, finally lost his temper.

“Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, your eyes may have been shut, but your ears were open, were they not? You must have heard enough to know whether what happened in my house was a shamanistic rite or a funeral.”

“......”

“In any case, now that you are among the living again, come out of that gloomy tomb already. You were already hard of hearing to begin with. If you insist on staying buried in there too, I will wear my throat out trying to make myself understood.”

The Myriad-Calamity Demon Venerable, No Yu-gak, had long treated Jo So-hong like a decrepit old man on the sole grounds that Jo was a few years older than him.

“Myriad-Calamity Demon Venerable, who are you calling hard of hearing? After that spectacle in your house ended, I even heard every word you muttered to yourself like some lonely ghost.”

“Hahaha! It seems dying and coming back to life sharpened your ears. Then come out already. I am terribly curious how red the Blood-Haired Demon Venerable’s hair has become.”

The Blood-Heaven Demon Heart Technique practiced by Jo So-hong had the distinctive effect of turning his hair red. The depth of the color revealed how much of his cultivation he had recovered, which was why No Yu-gak had brought it up.

Having successfully provoked Jo So-hong into leaving his niche, No Yu-gak turned toward the others.

“The neighborhood festivities are over now, so the rest of you Venerables should come out as well. You could sit buried in those niches pondering for another hundred days and still never discover what secret Taoist Kwak used. We may as well come out and ask the man himself.”

“That would be best.”

“A sensible suggestion.”

Voices of agreement sounded, and the Demonic Venerables began emerging from their niches one after another.

“To think this old man would ever have another day when he stepped back into the world.”

There was deep emotion in the voice of Yu Seon-gang, the Asura Demon Venerable and Supreme Sect Leader of the Asura Gate, and the other Venerables wore similarly moved expressions.

When they had entered meditative passing, they had thought the next bright day they saw would be in the underworld.

Yet here they were, alive, walking out of their cave niches.

Perhaps this was how a man felt after ripping the lid from his own coffin and climbing back out.

—STEP. STEP.

When Jo So-hong, the Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, finally emerged, all Eight Demonic Venerables were gathered in the cavern.

“Blood-Haired Demon Venerable, what took you so long?”

No Yu-gak needled him for no reason, and Jo So-hong frowned.

“My turn came last. Did you expect me not to need a little time to collect myself?”

Kwak Yeon had visited the Blood-Haired Demon Venerable’s niche last of all, so his delay was understandable.

He had readily admitted defeat, but accepting that defeat in his heart still required time.

Even so, No Yu-gak replied dismissively.

“What is there to collect? Once everything you had has been stripped bare, you simply admit defeat cleanly and move on...”

“Myriad-Calamity Demon Venerable, when did I ever say I would not admit defeat? I merely said I needed enough time to review the duel.”

Jin Gwanho, the Ghost-Hand Demon Venerable, quickly stepped in between the bickering pair.

“Venerables, let us put the past behind us and try to get along. After setting foot on the threshold of the underworld, did you not feel how hollow the affairs of this world truly are? Besides... Taoist Kwak has only barely given us room to breathe. The situation outside remains far from easy.”

The atmosphere in the cavern settled at Jin Gwanho’s words.

He was right.

Reality remained grim.

The traitors who had turned their backs on them had seized control of the Demonic Eight Divisions and were dragging those names through the mud.

And beyond that, there was the immediate question of what the eight of them should do now.

Every gaze turned toward Kwak Yeon.

A young master who had subdued all of them through the extraordinary method of a sword duel in the mind.

Worse still, he had displayed the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm at such a startlingly young age.

Most astonishing of all, he had comprehended the unique martial arts of all eight Demonic Divisions in only two days.

The Eight Demonic Venerables had so many questions for Kwak Yeon that they did not even know where to begin.

No Yu-gak broke the heavy silence.

“Ghost-Hand Demon Venerable, you have deeper ties to Taoist Kwak than the rest of us. Why not preside over the discussion?”

If all eight Venerables began firing off questions at once, the conversation would quickly lose focus. That was why No Yu-gak made the suggestion.

Jo So-hong nodded readily.

“This old man agrees.”

All the Venerables knew what Jin Cheongha, the Ghost-Hand Demon Venerable’s granddaughter, had done for them. One after another, they nodded their approval.

With all eyes upon him, Jin Gwanho said,

“Then I shall question Taoist Kwak on behalf of the Venerables. If anything remains unclear afterward, each of you may ask him separately.”

The other seven nodded as one.

Jin Gwanho turned to Kwak Yeon.

“Taoist Kwak, would that be acceptable?”

For one of the Eight Demonic Venerables to ask his permission in such a fashion was itself a subtle admission that they had acknowledged him.

“Of course.”

At Kwak Yeon’s ready answer, Jin Gwanho finally voiced the question that had been troubling him all this time.

“I would like to ask how you managed to comprehend the unique martial arts of the Demonic Eight Divisions. I do not ask because I underestimate the heaven-gifted talent of a once-in-a-millennium genius such as yourself. I simply cannot believe that you mastered the unique arts of all eight divisions in a mere two days.”

The Eight Demonic Venerables held their breath and stared at Kwak Yeon.

They all wanted the answer.

But there was something even more important at stake.

To the Eight Demonic Venerables, even the affairs of all under heaven seemed almost trivial compared with the significance of that question.

Embarrassed by Jin Gwanho’s lavish praise of his natural talent, Kwak Yeon replied,

“Supreme Castle Lord, I am most certainly not a once-in-a-millennium genius. If anything, I am rather slow.”

“Then how were you able to accomplish such a thing?”

Kwak Yeon suddenly realized that remaining silent might wound the pride of the Eight Demonic Venerables.

He also realized that telling them the truth might be the best way to win their complete acknowledgement.

I cannot speak of the Honwonmusang Technique, the true realm of Wudang. But there should be no particular harm in telling them about the authentic traces left by that master from the Western Regions.

Having made his decision, Kwak Yeon began calmly.

“Several years ago, I happened upon authentic traces left behind by an ancient master. They contained three martial arts. Their demonic qi was extremely strong, so as a disciple of the Taoist-immortal line, I hesitated to practice them. But one of my Patriarchs permitted me to do so, invoking the principle that ten thousand streams ultimately return to the same source. I therefore reconstructed and practiced those three arts.”

Kwak Yeon could not possibly reveal Patriarch Jang Sam-bong’s words of the heart, so he deliberately left the identity vague and referred only to “one of my Patriarchs.”

“Those three martial arts are what allowed me to comprehend the unique arts of the Venerables.”

The Eight Demonic Venerables stared at him in astonishment.

It was surprising enough that chance had led a Taoist of Mount Wudang to practice three demonic arts.

Far more astonishing was the claim that those three arts had made it easier for him to comprehend their own unique martial arts.

“Taoist Kwak, could you tell us something about those three arts? There is no need to demonstrate them or recite their martial formulas. Merely explain their underlying principles. If they allowed you to comprehend the unique arts of the Demonic Eight Divisions in so little time, they cannot be ordinary martial arts.”

The underlying principle of a martial art did not reveal the actual contents of the art itself.

It amounted to little more than a broad introduction.

Even so, asking someone to speak about the martial arts they personally practiced was normally improper.

And naturally, the person being questioned had every right to refuse.

“Taoist Kwak, I know the question is discourteous, but this matter is truly important to us. I ask this favor of you.”

Kwak Yeon simply assumed the Demonic Venerables were curious because they were grandmasters of their generation.

“There is no need to ask it as a favor. I can tell you.”

“Thank you.”

“What I discovered was no proper manual, only the authentic traces left behind. I was never taught complete martial formulas. I also gave the three arts their names myself, so please keep that in mind.”

Jin Gwanho flinched.

“You mean you reconstructed the martial arts from those traces?”

“Yes. Which means I cannot claim to have recovered them in their entirety. Fortunately, I did grasp their underlying principles, so I can explain those.”

“The principles are all we wish to hear. Pay it no mind and continue.”

Kwak Yeon gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking again.

“The first art I named Demon-Repelling Infinite Force. Its principle was to add acceleration to an opponent’s released force and drive it back against them. Broadly speaking, it resembles the principle of using four taels to move a thousand catties, but with one crucial difference: it invariably injures the opponent.”

The Eight Demonic Venerables’ eyes widened in shock.

“The second art I named Demon-Cleansing Pure Yang Technique. Its principle was to absorb an opponent’s inner-sphere true qi while moving through an active cultivation exercise. Viewed through orthodox martial arts, it resembles borrowing another’s qi to nourish one’s own, but differs in that it consists entirely of inner force designed to draw out the opponent’s inner power and true qi.”

The Venerables’ expressions stiffened further.

“The third art I named Yin-Yang Divine Technique. Its principle was to circulate Yin qi and Yang qi simultaneously. It could be called a demonic art because of the extreme killing intent it produced.”

After hearing the principles behind all three martial arts Kwak Yeon had reconstructed, the Eight Demonic Venerables could no longer hide their shock.

At last, they understood how he had managed to unravel their unique martial arts so quickly.