Chapter 307 |
Business
After nearly half a day of harassing the Demon Cultists, Mu-jin and his group noticed a change.
“It’s already been half a shichen, yet we haven’t seen any Demon Cultists.”
“We don’t even sense any presence.”
Since the Demon Cultists were scattered, it wasn’t unusual to not encounter them frequently.
However, even so, they would usually run into them at least once each angle while wandering through the underbrush.
“It seems they’ve started devising countermeasures.”
“Perhaps they’re gathering in one place to hold a strategy meeting?”
When the Shaolin and Wudang disciples who had fought alongside them chimed in, Hyun-hyeon organized his thoughts and spoke.
“That’s right, Elder of the External Affairs Department.”
Mu-jin also agreed with Hyun-hyeon’s words, and Hyun-hyeon responded with satisfaction.
“Since everyone has worked hard moving and fighting without rest for half a day, why don’t we take a short break?”
By now, Hyun-hyeon naturally asked Mu-jin this question.
Although Muja Trio had the lowest rank, he recognized that Mu-jin was effectively leading them.
After a brief contemplation, Mu-jin looked at his comrades.
“As the Elder of the External Affairs Department suggested, it would be good to take a break.”
Though no one said it out loud, it was clear that everyone was exhausted.
So, they took turns standing watch while resting.
Having caused chaos for half a day, they rested as the sun set.
After taking turns resting until late at night, Mu-jin, who had somewhat recovered from fatigue, spoke.
“First, we’ll move cautiously and observe the Demon Cultists’ movements. They must have devised some countermeasures, so it’s dangerous to act recklessly.”
“Let’s do that.”
Instead of openly leaving traces and attacking the Demon Cultists like yesterday, Mu-jin planned to move like scouts.
Since it was still before dawn, it was also an appropriate time to move stealthily.
Using Mu-gyeong’s keen sense, they cautiously moved through the southern forest.
“Mu-jin.”
At Mu-gyeong’s call, Mu-jin nodded as if understanding what he was about to say.
“Elder of the External Affairs Department, we sense movement from afar. Mu-gyeong and I will sneak closer to investigate.”
“Be careful.”
With trust in Mu-jin, Hyun-hyeon responded. Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong used their stealth techniques to quietly approach the source of the movement.
Arriving at the location, they saw about forty people cautiously moving through the underbrush.
Most were dressed in plain black clothes, but three wore slightly different attire.
Among them were a middle-aged man and an elderly man, but one stood out as being in his mid-thirties.
Mu-jin easily recognized who he was.
‘…I thought he was someone who didn’t move, but I never expected him to act directly.’
Though he had only seen his description in the novel, it would be strange not to recognize him.
He had a face similar to the one Mu-jin had seen before: Ou-yang Pae.
Of course, he didn’t look exactly like the absurdly handsome Ou-yang Pae.
He looked more like an unfortunate resemblance to Ou-yang Pae, with more wrinkles on his forehead than his age would suggest and a generally angry expression, indicating he was Ilgongja (First Young Master) rather than Igongja (Second Young Master).
‘The other two must be Daoist elders.’
After deducing this, Mu-jin signaled Mu-gyeong with a hand gesture and immediately retreated.
If they were dealing with regular Demon Cultists, it might have been different, but approaching Ilgongja or the elders closely was dangerous.
Mu-gyeong could sneak closer alone, but Mu-jin was likely to get caught.
After carefully retreating and rejoining their group, Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong pointed in the opposite direction.
They needed to avoid an encounter with the group they had just seen.
Moving in the direction Mu-jin indicated for a while,
Mu-jin stopped, prompting Hyun-hyeon to ask,
“What did you see that made you leave so hastily?”
“We saw about forty Demon Cultists moving together. Among them were two elders and Ilgongja.”
Everyone was shocked by Mu-jin’s explanation.
“You mean the Young Master and the elders of the Demon Cult were with them?”
“We narrowly avoided danger. Sneaking up on such high-level fighters is risky.”
While some expressed concern for Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong, others showed regret.
“Do you intend to retreat like this?”
“This could be a chance to deal with the Young Master and the elders of the Demon Cult.”
Having killed a hundred Demon Cultists with hit-and-run tactics the previous day, their confidence was soaring.
Mu-jin responded to their remarks.
“That would be dangerous. Attacking a group of forty is likely to result in casualties. Our goal is to buy time. There’s no need to choose a risky option.”
Those who had expressed regret nodded reluctantly.
“Then, let’s leave them and search for others.”
After Hyun-hyeon redirected the conversation, they resumed moving through the southern forest, looking for Demon Cultists.
During the next shichen, they sensed movement twice more.
Each time, Mu-gyeong and Mu-jin used their stealth techniques to approach carefully, discovering that the enemies were now moving differently.
“Seeing groups of at least thirty, it seems they’re trying to avoid being picked off individually.”
There were no longer groups of around ten wandering. Now, each group they encountered had over thirty members, often accompanied by elder-level figures.
“Hmm. This complicates things. Although the Tianluo Network has weakened, reducing the likelihood of those hiding being discovered, the continuous movement means some are bound to be caught.”
As Hyun-hyeon pointed out,
‘It seems Igongja has come up with a strategy.’
Mu-jin clicked his tongue in disappointment at the enemy’s countermeasures.
‘Perhaps we should be satisfied with having forced them to group up.’
As Mu-jin pondered these thoughts, Mu-gyeong, sensing movement in the distance, called out to him once more.
“Mu-jin.”
Although he felt a bit disappointed, Mu-jin decided to check out the situation one last time, considering that dawn was approaching.
“I’ll go check it out one more time.”
Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong used their stealth techniques, Dark Shadow Technique and Ghost Steps, to cautiously approach the direction of the sensed presence.
As they drew near, Mu-jin peered through the underbrush at the source of the presence and wore a puzzled expression.
‘…Why are there so few of them?’
Unlike the usual groups of at least thirty, there were only nine of them.
For a moment, Mu-jin thought it might be a trap, but that didn’t make sense either.
‘There are no elder-level figures or the Young Masters here. And I don’t sense anyone lying in ambush around.’
Mu-gyeong’s lack of reaction indicated it wasn’t just Mu-jin’s imagination.
To evade Mu-gyeong’s keen senses at such close range, the hidden individuals would need to be assassins near the level of the Killing King .
‘…Not all of them are moving in large groups?’
A hopeful thought crossed Mu-jin’s mind that some were still moving in smaller groups of ten.
‘But why would they do that?’
Mu-jin’s rational mind argued that it didn’t make sense.
As he hesitated whether to attack them, one of the nine Demon Cultists slowly turned his head.
“!!!”
Precisely in the direction where Mu-jin was hiding.
Still utilizing the Dark Shadow Technique to conceal himself, Mu-jin momentarily thought it might be a coincidence.
But then, the man, locking eyes with Mu-jin, smiled.
‘He saw through my Dark Shadow Technique?’
As Mu-jin pondered this, the man who had made eye contact with him suddenly thrust his left palm forward.
Whoosh!
At the same time, a fierce blaze, reminiscent of Mu-gung’s Tathagata Palm , surged towards Mu-jin.
“Damn!”
Unprepared for the attack, Mu-jin quickly used the Golden Turtle Technique , crossing his arms to block the strike.
Boom!
After the deafening explosion subsided.
“Damn it.”
Mu-jin frowned, examining his singed sleeves. Although the Golden Turtle Technique had prevented severe damage, the scorching heat and the acrid smell filled his nostrils.
It seemed some of his hair had been burned.
The man, who had greeted Mu-jin with the fiery attack, spoke.
“Did you like my greeting?”
“For a greeting, it was a bit excessive.”
“Think of it as the frustration of a fisherman.”
Confused by the man’s cryptic response, Mu-jin frowned.
“A fisherman? What nonsense is that?”
“Though your words are insolent, I’ll forgive you. After all, you’re destined to die by my hand.”
As the man rambled on, Mu-jin thought, ‘Is he insane?’
“Since you made me wait a whole shichen, entertain me now!”
The man then used his lightness technique, rushing towards Mu-jin with his left palm extended.
Seeing the man charging at him head-on, Mu-jin openly smirked.
“Crazy fool. If you want to die, do it alone.”
If it was a direct contest of strength, even Wi Ji-hak, the former leader of the Murim Alliance, was no match for Mu-jin.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Mu-jin swung his fist to meet the man’s outstretched palm.
But as Mu-jin’s fist met the man’s palm, something unexpected happened.
Crack!
‘Ice Technique!?’
A sharp chill began to freeze Mu-jin’s fist, emanating from the man’s palm.
Crack!
Despite being caught off guard, Mu-jin managed to shatter the icy energy trying to envelop his fist.
“Impressive physique you have!”
The man exclaimed, drawing a sword in his right hand and engulfing it in flames as he slashed at Mu-jin’s side.
“Who are you?”
Mu-jin barely dodged the slash and shouted.
It made no sense that someone could wield both extreme heat and cold techniques simultaneously.
“A dying man has no need for my name!”
The man, unwilling to reveal his identity, responded and swung his sword again.
“If you won’t speak, I’ll force it out of you.”
Mu-jin took the Invincible Divine Fist stance in response to the man’s attack.
Though surprised by the man’s ability to wield opposing energies, Mu-jin decided to simply crush him with brute force.
As soon as Mu-jin finished his preparations and threw his right fist, a swarm of golden stars shot towards the man.
“Hahaha! Magnificent!”
Instead of dodging or blocking, the man laughed joyfully, withdrawing his sword and thrusting his left palm again.
This time, as the extreme heat and cold energies converged around the man’s palm, they formed a Taiji symbol, briefly mixing before a crack appeared at the center, causing a massive burst of energy.
“!!!”
But this was no mistake on the man’s part.
The massive wave of energy didn’t scatter but precisely targeted Mu-jin’s Invincible Divine Fist .
As the man’s purple energy clashed with Mu-jin’s Invincible Divine Fist , a deafening explosion occurred.
Boom!
After the explosive clash, the swarm of stars from Mu-jin’s Invincible Divine Fist was pierced by the man’s purple energy, which then hurtled towards Mu-jin.