Chapter 117 : Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden (3)

Chapter 117: Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden (3)

‘Goodness. I almost greeted her too warmly.’

Sewoon thought to himself as he looked at Surin, whose expression froze over like ice upon seeing him.

Although they had spent more time with him beating her half to death in training than actually conversing, it was still something of a reunion.

But he could not reveal it. The Jecheon Unit Captain she knew was not Tang Sewoon.

‘Come to think of it, I should come up with an alias for when I’m acting as Captain. I can’t be called Captain forever.’

After destroying the Blood Cult’s forward base, the Jecheon Unit had imprisoned the subdued Pa-eum Bima in the base’s prison.

Managing him had been entrusted to none other than Old Beggar Jang Sopyeong.

Unlike other members who returned to their families or sects, Jang Sopyeong was the Kaifeng Branch Leader of the Beggars’ Sect, so he could always check on the base.

Sewoon had ordered that the prisoner be fed only just enough rotten scraps and muddy water to keep him barely alive.

No one considered it excessive.

‘For trash who used humans as feed to raise Gu Poison, even that is far more than he deserves.’

Recalling Pa-eum Bima’s pitiful appearance when he had regained consciousness and begged to be killed, Sewoon felt satisfied.

By now, the Blood Cult would have discovered that their forward base had been utterly destroyed.

It would strike them as a bitter loss indeed.

After the hollow death of Baek Yacha Heo So-chang, one of their Ten Elders had now been captured—an unprecedented calamity.

The destruction of a meticulously secretive base by some unknown group was shocking enough, but for an Elder to become a hostage?

Though they had no fear of their information leaking due to the Great Art the Blood Demon had cast,

the fact remained: for the first time, the flawless grand plan of the Blood Cult had suffered a crack.

That was the greatest achievement Sewoon and the Jecheon Unit had attained.

‘This will strike them quite differently than the death of Heo So-chang.’

The death of Baek Yacha had been unexpected, but the Blood Cult’s design—to stir strife between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Alliance—had continued unimpeded.

This time, however, their plan had collapsed before it even began.

‘The Gu breeding there was the key trigger for the Great War of Righteous and Unorthodox in my past life.’

The Blood Cult, wielding control over countless orthodox and unorthodox martial artists infected with Gu Poison, had used them to create endless conflicts.

Those whose lives—or their loved ones’—were held hostage could not help but serve the Blood Cult, even knowing it would plunge the Jianghu into chaos.

But Sewoon had severed that chain.

He had burned every last Gu breeding within that place.

He had checked thoroughly, eradicating them down to the root.

Gu Poison carried immense power, but it had a fatal weakness.

‘It takes an extraordinarily long time to hatch them.’

Indeed, even with the proper breeding grounds, it took at least ten years to hatch Gu.

To the Jecheon Unit members, he had explained it away as just one of the forward bases.

But in truth, the Gu Breeding Ground was one of the Blood Cult’s most vital and painstakingly maintained sites.

Now that he had annihilated it so thoroughly, the Blood Cult would be wracking their brains over how to amend their plans.

Sewoon also revealed their success to the Jecheon Unit members.

Though shaken by the string of shocking events, each of them was a martial artist who carried the spirit of chivalry. They soon steadied themselves and renewed their determination.

Before long, pride in the Jecheon Unit shone in their eyes as they looked at Sewoon.

When it came time to part ways, Sewoon had not given them any individual missions.

To move alone risked exposure, which would make them targets of the Blood Cult.

Instead, he had handed each one a precise record of their martial arts’ weaknesses and improvements. If they did not fix them by the next gathering, they would be expelled—that was the only warning he gave.

After setting the date of their next meeting, Sewoon returned to the Sichuan Tang Clan.

–You have returned.

The first to greet him was none other than his father, Tang Muyeol.

His gaze was calm, his tone grave.

After a long silence, he spoke with effort.

–Sewoon, I intend to step down from the seat of Clan Head.

It was something Sewoon had never once expected.

Did he seem like someone who harbored ambitions to seize the position?

He immediately tried to dissuade him, but Tang Muyeol shook his head slightly and continued.

–I finally understood why you were so desperate all this time.

Having personally witnessed the horrifying aftermath of the Kaifeng Blood Massacre, Tang Muyeol had realized his own shortcomings.

He did not believe the Namgung Clan’s claim that it had been the work of the Demonic Alliance.

Only now did he truly feel the weight of his son’s words—that a terrible darkness lurked beneath the Jianghu.

–But this is not me abandoning everything and foisting it upon you. It is so that I can stand and fight by your side.

–Only heroes can carve a path through the turbulent age that lies ahead.

His voice and bearing were utterly resolute.

–My role now is to stand behind you.

To stand as the shield behind his own child.

And Sewoon could not sway his father’s firm resolve.

So it was decided, that very day, that Tang Sewoon would ascend as the Clan Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

“So, you are the Clan Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan?”

Hmph. Was it truly so shocking?

The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden’s jaw dropped wide enough to almost reveal her throat as she stared at him.

‘Well, I suppose it is quite a shock.’

When Sewoon nodded in confirmation, she let out a deep exhale, her breath shaking.

Indeed, Hwa Wolyung had reason to be astonished.

For someone barely twenty to become the master of a great clan—

no, to ascend to the head of one of the Seven Great Clans, among the few most powerful sects of the Murim—was unprecedented except for a single case in history.

‘……Only the Heavenly Demon of legend managed such a feat.’

She had no wish to compare this youth to that devil, but history itself left her no choice.

As she struggled to recover from the shock, Sewoon smiled faintly and spoke.

“Yes. Strictly speaking, it is not yet a full succession. It would be easier to think of it as a stage of acting as regent.”

“Regent……”

Regency referred to when the crown prince governed in the king’s stead while receiving guidance, due to the king being ill or aged.

“Has the Clan Head—or rather, Master Tang—fallen ill?”

“Not in body……”

Sewoon hesitated, then carefully explained.

“My father was deeply shaken by the tragedy of the Kaifeng Blood Massacre.”

“Ah.”

“Upon returning, he declared that he would relinquish the position of Clan Head and instead devote himself to medicine, to tending the suffering common folk.”

“……I see. That is understandable.”

Yes, this should suffice.

Sewoon had fabricated a suitable explanation.

The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, however, showed no trace of doubt in her expression.

“I apologize for the delay in informing you, Sect Leader. It was planned that the announcement would be made only after the handover and training were fully completed.”

“‘What do you mean by that? It is only natural that one cannot reveal the intimate affairs of one’s clan. Do not worry yourself over it,’ she said.

‘Hearing you say that has put my mind much at ease.’

Sewoon bowed politely.

Her unexpectedly composed and solemn manners — rarer these days — made her smile without meaning to.

‘Yet this is strange…’

At first she had been filled with worry over the other’s terrifyingly transcendent talent.

But the more they talked, the more Hwa Wolyung felt an odd comfort, as if she were meeting a fellow disciple or a martial artist of the same clan.

But that could not be.

‘The Shrine Maiden Sect did not take outside disciples. There was no way our martial arts could have leaked to the Tang Clan.’

And yet why did it feel as if the unmistakable aura of the “Flawless Heavenly Garment” permeated from Sewoon?

It was truly strange.

Just as Hwa Wolyung tilted her head in puzzlement—

“By the way, did the Sect Leader bring you to the main house earlier than planned because of the Heavenly Flame Furnace?”

Sewoon’s words snapped her out of her reverie.

For some reason Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden’s face darkened sharply.

She could not speak for a long while, then drew a deep breath and began.

“Phew. Since you too have been laboring over the furnace’s work, I shall not beat around the bush.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“……I have come to the Tang Clan today to inform you that I do not think I will be able to assist in the making of the Heavenly Flame Furnace.”

That the Heavenly Flame Furnace could not be made was like thunder striking the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Sewoon’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

…But his thoughts were different.

‘Well, this was expected.’

Sewoon had suspected this situation from the moment she visited.

When making the Heavenly Flame Furnace, the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden’s role was to kindle the first spark of the spiritual flame within — a spark that could only be ignited by a ritual pouring in immense sacred power.

“My master’s sacred implement amplified the effect to allow a spiritual flame to be kindled in the Murim Alliance’s Heavenly Flame Furnace.”

“Yes.”

“But that implement used all of its power to lift the horrific curse left by the Kaifeng Blood Massacre, and it fell into a sealed state.”

“Ah…….”

“I am sorry. I was so busy tending to the suffering common folk that I heard of the Alliance’s decision far too late.”

“Then when might the implement’s seal be lifted?”

“Hmm, at least three months of recuperation and focused infusion of qi would be needed before it could function again.”

“Three months……”

Sewoon, who had been pretending to be in deep thought, spoke softly.

“Three months is far too long. We have already prepared many plans assuming the Heavenly Flame Furnace would come online. Is there no other way? We could procure spirit elixirs or pill fragments to supply some of the sacred power.”

Though his face showed anxiousness, Sewoon already knew his suggestion was absurd.

As expected, Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden shook her head.

“I fully understand the Clan Head’s desperate state, but that is impossible. Sacred power is not like money. Only pure sacred power gained through devoted cultivation can restore a sacred implement.”

“Hmm, then is there no amplification means that could substitute for the implement?”

“It is not that none exist, but obtaining them is practically impossible. To match my master’s implement in power, you would need divine relics imbued with extreme yang energy — at minimum the ‘Non-Extinguishing Flame Essence’ of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, or the ‘Myriad Thunder Pearl’ of the Soundless Thunder Temple.”

The Non-Extinguishing Flame Essence, comparable to the Perennial Ice Crystal of the North Sea Ice Palace, was a divine relic bestowed upon the ruler of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, while the Myriad Thunder Pearl likewise symbolized the head of the esoteric Soundless Thunder Temple established in the Western Regions.

Surin’s expression revealed no small embarrassment upon hearing those materials.

Those artifacts — each presiding over a pillar of the outer-martial world — would not heed the names of the Murim Alliance or the Seven Great Clans.

“Then there is nothing to be done.”

“Phew, I truly am sorry……”

“Then Sect Leader, please visit the clan again in fifteen days’ time.”

“Very well, I shall. Fifteen days… hmm?”

Fifteen days?

Not three months?

“……What do you mean by that?”

“You said that if you had the divine relics for amplification it would be possible.”

“Th- that is so.”

That was enough.

Sewoon silently rejoiced.

He had secured her affirmation that the presence of the relics would suffice.

In truth, this had been Sewoon’s purpose in meeting the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden.

He already knew where and how to obtain the extreme-yang relics.

A single place filled his mind.

“Fifteen days from now, I shall bring the divine relic that will enable the activation of your spell into your hands.”

The Southern Lands.

Having crushed the Blood Cult’s conspiracy and in order to obtain the divine relic “Wildfire” that would activate the Heavenly Flame Furnace, Sewoon’s next destination was the Southlands.