Chapter 130: Something is different here (2)

The Blood Cult. Chief Eunuch Wi took a deep breath once those words were mentioned.

Cale stopped leaning toward the Sage Demon and leaned back against the chair at that moment.

"There are a few things I am curious about."

He didn't wait for the Sage Demon's response and asked anyway.

"How did you know about the Blood Cult?"

The rumors about the Blood Cult that had started spreading lately from Cale…

The Blood Cult has been existing under the surface, they killed a member of the Namgung Clan, and the Sword Demon is a member of the Blood Cult.

These rumors were spreading like wildfire in the Martial Arts world, but the Sage Demon sounded as if he had known about the Blood Cult prior to that.

"The Heavenly Demon figured out about the Blood Cult. No."

The Sage Demon shook his head.

"To be more accurate, he recalled it."

Chief Eunuch Wi looked confused. The Sage Demon noticed and continued to speak.

"It looks like more explanation is needed."

He touched the teacup and continued to speak.

"The dantian usually mentioned in the Martial Arts world is the lower dantian. It is the one around the belly button. However, there are three total dantians. I'm sure you are all aware of it, but the middle dantian is the heart and the upper dantian is the brain. The Heavenly Demon said that he was able to connect to his upper dantian on his way to reaching the Profound Realm."

From the Peak Realm to the Transcendent Realm, and then the Unrestrained Realm and the Profound Realm…

Not everybody gained access to their upper dantian or middle dantian by reaching that realm.

The Heavenly Demon was one of the few who connected to his upper dantian.

"The Brain. Once his aura was connected to his upper dantian, he said that he was able to observe his entire body. It is not just internally looking at his body. He is able to be a separate figure observing his external body. That is when he found something."

The Sage Demon made eye contact with Cale.

"Originally, the Heavenly Demon called this polluted internal ki.

Cale remained quiet.

He noticed this polluted internal ki in his lower dantian and his middle dantian with the heart. He noticed that this aura that was not his started from his heart and was controlling his body."

"Ah."

Chief Eunuch Wi let out a short gasp.

He remembered the process of purifying Namgung Tae Wi, the Namgung Clan's living jiangshi.

'During the purification of Namgung Tae Wi, I'm certain that his heart was grotesque and had turned black.'

It returned to its original appearance thanks to young master Kim's purification and he resembled a person once again once young master Kim's red cover was placed over his heart.

"…The Heavenly Demon's judgment is quite accurate.'

The analysis the Heavenly Demon had made about his body was identical to what Chief Eunuch Wi had seen until now.

"That is why the Heavenly Demon first tried to recall where he got this polluted internal ki. He then realized that a memory of a period of time in his youth was unclear. He continuously stimulated his upper dantian to recall the memories of that time, and as a result, he was able to get a glimpse of something."

Cale's mouth opened.

"What did he see?"

"The sight of a black liquid being pushed into his heart."

"Mm."

Chief Eunuch Wi groaned.

"Furthermore, he also remembered hearing the term, Blood Demon."

The Blood Demon was the leader of the Blood Cult.

"He gave me an order with these two things as the background. He told me to look into the Blood Demon and the Blood Cult.

"Pfft."

The Sage Demon chuckled.

"Of course, the real Heavenly Demon asked me to do that."

"Is there a fake Heavenly Demon?"

"Yes, young master-nim. There is. The fake Heavenly Demon continues to tell me to figure out a plan to attack the Central Plains."

The real Heavenly Demon and the fake Heavenly Demon.

They were the same person but the Sage Demon was able to clearly distinguish between the two.

"That was why I did two things. I created a plan to attack the Central Plains. I also looked into the Blood Cult."

The Sage Demon was still not drinking the tea and just touching the teacup.

"After about two weeks of doing that, I suddenly started hearing rumors about the Blood Cult coming from the Central Plains."

His gaze turned toward Cale.

"It was not long after a certain young master Kim-nim appeared."

The corners of Cale's lips slowly went up.

The Sage Demon continued to speak.

"And the Martial Arts Alliance hurried their negotiation with us and young master Kim-nim joined them on their journey. Oh, the people of the Divergent Coalition just happened to be there as well."

"And you got your answer?"

The Sage Demon smiled happily at Cale's calm question.

"Yes, young master-nim. I did get my answer. To be more accurate, I became certain after personally coming here to Kunlun."

Chief Eunuch Wi figured out why the Imperial family was wary of the Demon Cult.

The Sage Demon continued in a calm voice.

"The person who started informing people about the Blood Cult is young master Kim-nim. The Imperial family as well. I also learned that the true center of this meeting with the Demon Cult is young master Kim-nim and not the Chief Advisor. These are the two things I realized."

The Demon Cult.

Although their numbers were quite low compared to the Orthodox faction and the Unorthodox faction…

This major force that was tightly gathered with the Heavenly Demon at their center did not lack in information of strength compared to the other two forces despite being in the outskirts of the Martial Arts world. In some cases, they were scarier and more meticulous.

Chief Eunuch Wi was truly feeling that right now.

He looked toward Cale, who seemed even more relaxed than the Sage Demon. Cale was now seated extremely relaxed on the chair as he nonchalantly asked.

"Is that why you are inviting me?"

"Yes, young master-nim."

The Sage Demon gave a short answer but he was certain.

The person the Heavenly Demon was looking for…

This was the person who could give him information about the Blood Cult and create a path to destroy the Blood Cult.

Tap. Tap.

The Sage Demon watched as young master Kim's fingers tapped on the armrest.

He seemed lost in his thoughts while looking up at the ceiling but he did not seem to be struggling.

Cale opened his mouth after a moment of silence.

"Sage Demon-nim. There is one thing I am curious about."

"Yes, please ask."

"You said that the Heavenly Demon is currently fighting against himself?"

"Yes, young master-nim."

Cale stopped looking up and looked at the Sage Demon.

"In that case, has the Heavenly Demon found a way to get rid of that polluted internal ki?"

Of the many things Cale had been curious about earlier… This was the thing Cale was most curious about.

"He has not gotten a clear method yet and is looking into it."

Cale's eyes clouded over.

"When you say a clear method, is it okay for me to understand it has he has found some level of answer to it?"

The Sage Demon smiled instead of responding before slightly nodding his head.

"Young master-nim, that is one of the reasons I am inviting you."

"There are more reasons you are inviting me?"

"Yes, young master-nim. There are."

The Sage Demon picked up the teacup.

"At first, he thought that it was polluted internal ki. However, the Heavenly Demon told me something before I came here."

He finally took a sip of tea before continuing.

"This is not polluted internal ki but the polluted aura of death from nature."

'Wow!'

Cale couldn't hold back his admiration.

'He got it pretty accurate.'

The first world that Cale had visited… Xiaolen…

The jiangshis created there had used dead mana.

As for the living jiangshi he faced after coming here to the Central Plains, they did not just use dead mana. He had been thinking that something else was mixed with it.

'The Heavenly Demon is expressing dead mana as an aura of death from nature and the thing that was mixed with it as the polluted part.

Wow.'

He was in awe once again.

'The Heavenly Demon, this guy is no joke.'

Although he had never seen the Heavenly Demon, he knew what people said about him.

'His body is average but his knowledge of martial arts is a gift bestowed by the heavens.'

The Heavenly Demon's mind was extraordinary when it came to martial arts.

Just hearing what the Sage Demon said until now was enough for Cale to know that this evaluation was accurate.

"As a result, I determined that I must escort you to the Demon Cult because you have reached the Nature Realm and can control the aura of nature."

The Nature Realm.

Cale flinched after hearing that.

'But I'm not in the Nature Realm.'

Forget the Nature Realm, Cale was a person who didn't even know how to use martial arts.

However, Cale just brushed it aside.

That wasn't important anyway.

"It looks like I should speak now that you have told us quite a lot of things, Sage Demon-nim."

Cale started speaking to the Sage Demon who looked as if he was expecting something.

"I will agree to your invitation."

"Thank you very much."

The smile on the Sage Demon's face truly looked happy.

'I can see a path now.'

The Sage Demon had spent day after day extremely tense while imagining how lonely and painful it would be to take on the Blood Cult with the real Heavenly Demon.

He could relax after seeing young master Kim appear and everything changing with him at the center.

The Sage Demon took another sip of tea.

He could finally taste it unlike earlier.

'It's a bit bitter.

Is this young master Kim's preference?'

As he had that thought…

"And if I was to tell you just one thing… That polluted aura… I am able to get rid of it."

Click.

The Sage Demon put his teacup down.

His pupils were shaking. He then suddenly stood up.

"The Chief Advisor. This was the reason that she trusts you, young master Kim-nim!"

The Sage Demon smiled brightly as if his last question was finally answered.

"The Triumvirate… All have martial artists in similar conditions to the Heavenly Demon-nim and since young master Kim-nim knows how to take care of it, they have no choice but to follow you even without considering your martial arts level and your identity as a member of the Imperial family! The reason that the Chief Advisor hid her true intentions in the name of negotiation must have been to hide young master Kim's ability! The reason the Divergent Coalition's leader shows no reaction is because they do not know this yet! Furthermore, the reason that the Imperial family has provided the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Depot is because young master Kim-nim is the secret weapon that can stop all of the Blood Cult's plans!"

Cale heard Raon's voice in his mind.

– Wow. Human, this Sage Demon is amazing.

'I know, right?'

Cale agreed.

He was rattling on by himself but everything was right.

'This is convenient but something feels iffy?'

It was great that he didn't have to speak as much and this guy looked like he would prepare everything for Cale, but… The way he was so polite to Cale… Despite it being much more relaxing than when he met the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance who tried to test him…

It was weirdly iffy.

"Haha."

IT was because the warmly smiling Sage Demon's eyes resembled Clopeh.

'Mm… But what can really happen to me?'

It wasn't an ominous feeling for something bad happening.

It was just a guy who made him as unsettled as whenever he chatted with Clopeh.

'I'm sure it is just my imagination.'

Cale brushed it off and organized a few things with the Sage Demon.

The Sage Demon made one last comment.

"I will try to be a little stubborn."

That stubbornness started in the evening.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?"

The Cleave Saint spoke with disbelief.

"You have no intention of negotiating if you do not invite young master Kim to the Demon Cult first? Ho! How preposterous!"

He sighed multiple times with a look of disbelief on his face.

The Sect leader started speaking with a stiff look on his face.

"It seems as if the Demon Cult wants to invite young master Kim, who is a member of the Imperial family and has reached the Nature Realm, to sway him to favor them. They probably want to use that to gain some benefits during the negotiation."

"Mm."

Peng Yu groaned and started to speak.

"But it would be difficult for young master Kim to sway the negotiation between the two sides."

"That is right! He is an outsider!"

The Cleave Saint raised his voice but shut up as Peng Yu continued to speak.

"However, if a member of the Imperial family and someone who has reached the Nature Realm and may be the strongest expert in the world right now sides with the Demon Cult, it would be difficult for the Orthodox faction to completely ignore him."

"Ugh. I don't know what that shrewd bastard the Sage Demon would do."

The Cleave Saint just groaned without being able to say anything.

"Chief Advisor."

The Sect leader started speaking at that moment.

"What does young master Kim-nim want to do?"

Chief Advisor Zhuge Mi Ryeo, who had brought the news to them, responded.

"He has received an invitation and has no reason to reject it, so he said that he will go and come back."

"Ho_ in the end the Imperial family does not care whether it is the Orthodox faction or the Demon Cult as long as it is someone they can easily control? Ha! I knew we shouldn't trust the government!"

As the Cleave Saint started raising his voice with an angry gaze… The Sect leader spoke with a much brighter look on his face.

"He said that he will go and come back?"

"Yes, Sect leader-nim."

The Chief Advisor had a gentle smile on her face.

"The young master-nim said that he will go to the Demon Cult and come back to Kunlun."

She then added on.

"He said that he needs to check to make sure that the gate and signboard were repaired properly."

The Sect leader took a deep breath in and then out.

A smile slowly formed on his face.

"It looks like we will need to be there to send him off."

The Cleave Saint immediately scowled.

"Sect leader, what do you mean by that?! How can you be all jolly and talk about sending him off?"

The Cleave Saint flinched at that moment.

It was because the Sect leader's cold gaze was directed at him.

"Senior Cleave Saint. The one to destroy the Kunlun's gate and sign board has always been the Demon Cult."

Except this time.

"Young master Kim has said that he would replace the gate and signboard with new ones and will check to make sure they were properly replaced. He also said that he would go and come back. That means that in the end, he will return to our Kunlun."

Of course, Cale had said that because although it was the Imperial family's money, he needed to check on it because he personally said that he would be responsible for it.

As for saying he will be back, what he meant was that he needed to come back to Kunlun to talk to the people of the Martial Arts Alliance.

But the Chief Advisor and the Sect leader did not understand it that way.

They added meaning to his words.

This was especially true for the Chief Advisor.

"Young master Kim-nim will definitely return with good news."

"…Do you know something we don't, Chief Advisor?"

Zhuge Mi Ryeo just smiled gently at the Sect leader's question.

"Young master Kim moves for virtue and justice. I am at least certain about that."

The others could not say anything after she said that.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo looked around.

Including the Cleave Saint who was quiet and seemed deep in thought after the Sect leader's comment… She looked at the Orthodox faction people's silent acceptance and thought to herself.

'He's trying to go to the Demon Cult alone first to deal with the Blood Cult related stuff.'

No matter how big young master Kim's heart was… No matter how amazing his martial arts may be…

Zhuge Mi Ryeo thought that his way of leading by example for justice was the most amazing.

The next day.

Cale headed toward the Demon Cult in Xinjiang with the Sage Demon.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]