CLS-Chapter 535

 Chapter 535:

Kwaaaaaaang!

Wei Yan-ho was demonstrating just how far a person could go when they decided to go all out.

The moment Jang-il came to his senses and tried to search the floor again, Wei Yan-ho struck the ground with his sword without warning. The floor shattered into pieces from the sword qi and flew up.

“Ugh!”

Jang-il, who was pushed back as if bounced by the sword qi’s recoil, shook his head while looking at the hole that had been punched through the floor.

‘There’s no answer to this.’

Jang-il realized that the concept of ‘common-sense problem-solving’ he knew was actually based on human limitations. The reason common-sense problem-solving is necessary is because people cannot solve everything with force.

If there’s a mechanism, you dismantle the mechanism. If there’s a trap, you avoid the trap.

This is common sense.

But what if you can destroy the mechanism and collapse the trap?

Would there be any need to cling to that common-sense approach?

There would be no reason to.

Wei Yan-ho was proving that fact right now.

Wei Jeong-han’s efforts to find a path leading underground became futile in an instant. Well, if an underground area existed, breaking the floor would naturally reveal it.

However…

Jang-il turned his head.

His eyes caught sight of Ma-no, who was still convulsing.

‘He has reason to feel wronged.’

When the unconventional meets the conventional, if the conventional side suffers losses, how could they not feel wronged?

‘The world is turning upside down.’

If they had encountered that old man somewhere else instead of here, the result would have been completely different. Just moments ago, the demonic qi that old man displayed was tremendous enough to make Jang-il’s knees tremble.

If they had met an old man who could emit such demonic qi on a battlefield, Jang-il would probably be contemplating right now whether having his throat cut or his belly torn open would be a more comfortable death.

But unfortunately, Wei Yan-ho was here, and that fact was the old man’s misfortune.

It was Jang-il’s misfortune as well.

“As expected!”

When some kind of space was revealed below the punched hole, Wei Jeong-han nodded. There was no way it wouldn’t exist.

Even though the time the Demonic Cult had settled in Xinjiang didn’t occupy a very long portion of their long history, there was no way a place of this scale and history wouldn’t have one or two secret spaces.

Wei Jeong-han looked down with a hardened expression.

What they had done so far wasn’t much. Even that alone was enough to put them on the Demonic Cult’s kill list, but from now on, it was truly the path to becoming irreconcilable enemies with the Demonic Cult.

The Demonic Cult would have convulsions just hearing the character ‘Wei’ from the Wei Family.

‘Is this the right thing to do?’

Wei Jeong-han bit his lips tightly.

He couldn’t live under the same sky as the Demonic Cult. Wei Jeong-han had always lived with that mindset. But Wei Jeong-han becoming enemies with the Demonic Cult and the Guangdong Wei Family becoming enemies with the Demonic Cult were completely different matters.

The family line of the Guangdong Wei Family, which had continued for generations, might be cut off because of his one choice. So how could he not hesitate?

But the one who could be called the victim of this seemed to have no thoughts about it.

“Aren’t we going down?”

Wei Yan-ho asked nonchalantly.

Wei Jeong-han’s eyes trembled.

“Will it be alright?”

“What will?”

“If we go inside and cause problems, the Demonic Cult bastards will really foam at the mouth and come after us to kill us… Can we handle it?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Wei Jeong-han with a blank expression.

“Aren’t they already doing that now?”

“Th-they are now too. But the degree will be different.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek.

Wei Jeong-han seemed to be stating the obvious, but actually, it wasn’t. Hostility born from necessity and hostility born from emotion were completely different matters.

Right now, if there were greater benefits than killing Wei Yan-ho, the Demonic Cult would choose that without hesitation. But if they committed this act, they would foam at the mouth trying to kill Wei Yan-ho, throwing away any consideration of benefits.

“It’s going to end up that way anyway.”

“Will it?”

“It’s not like the Great Demon Lord did something so great that they’re desperately trying to kill him.”

“…That’s true.”

Wei Jeong-han had no choice but to agree.

If the war continued, at some point the Demonic Cult would prioritize killing Wei Yan-ho above all else. Because there would be no greater benefit than killing Wei Yan-ho.

Whether fast or slow, it would lead to the same result. Then what was there to hesitate about?

“However, I…”

That was the moment.

“Great Hero, mission complete!”

“It’s burning fiercely!”

“Amitabha.”

The three people who had gone to set fire to the outer walls returned covered in soot.

“…Is that so?”

Wei Jeong-han smacked his lips.

Right. He had ordered them to set fires…

His worries disappeared. Now, no matter what they did, the Demonic Cult would not stop their vendetta against them.

“Let’s go in! Hey! A man dies only once, not twice!”

Wei Jeong-han shouted boldly and jumped down to the floor.

The others also followed Wei Jeong-han and jumped down to the floor. The Demonic Cult members who had gathered watched the scene and stamped their feet.

“P-put out the fire!”

The sacred sanctuary.

The Demonic Cult members who saw the main hall burning lost their reason. Some rushed into the flames recklessly, while others ran desperately to fetch water.

Their common trait was naturally urgency.

Those who had maintained their faith while protecting the barren land of Xinjiang shed tears streaming down their faces at the sight of their sanctuary burning.

“These wicked bastards!”

And that hatred was directed toward those who had set the fire.

“The enemy has entered the forbidden ground!”

No matter how much they wanted to jump in and drag them out right away, why was forbidden ground called forbidden? It was forbidden because even they couldn’t step foot in it carelessly.

The Demonic Cult members lifted up the convulsing Ma-no.

“Ma-no! Ma-no! Pull yourself together! They’ve entered the forbidden ground!”

“Cough!“

Ma-no spat up blood foam and shook his head. He was trying to grasp his consciousness that kept fading away.

‘Th-these bastards!’

Hearing the words ‘forbidden ground,’ his heart felt like it was burning.

“St-stop… must stop… them.”

“We cannot enter the forbidden ground.”

“Grrrr…”

Ma-no’s eyes became bloodshot.

He didn’t have the authority to let these people enter the forbidden ground. How could he covet an authority that even the Archbishop didn’t possess? But should he just watch as they trampled the forbidden ground with their dirty feet?

He couldn’t allow that!

“Main force! Report to the main force again! Tell them the enemies have entered the forbidden ground!”

“Yes!”

Ma-no’s eyes tore at the corners as he looked at the burning main hall, and bloody tears flowed down.

“These bastards bound for hellfire!”

He would never forgive them even in death. Those bastards had committed the sin of turning away from the Sacred Fire that accepts all things in the world. Even if their entire bodies were torn apart ten thousand times, this anger would not subside.

“Wei Yan-hooooooooo!”

The acrid smoke and flames danced in response to Ma-no’s cry. The entire hall was turning bright red.

“Is this really okay?”

Jang-il tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Well, it’s burning up there right now. Shouldn’t we be escaping then? If this is underground, the flames will soon pour down here too, won’t they?”

Smoke was already seeping into the underground. At this rate, it would become difficult to breathe before long.

“Then get out.”

“What kind of thing to say is this…”

Jang-il glared at the back of Wei Yan-ho’s head with dissatisfied eyes. Telling him to go out alone was nothing more than telling him to get beaten to death.

“If you can’t even handle some flames, you shouldn’t have been rolling around in Jianghu.”

The words were right, though.

“Hmph.”

Jang-il turned his head away.

“Besides, here.”

Wei Yan-ho wet his fingertip with saliva and held it out to the side.

“There’s wind blowing, isn’t there?”

“Huh?”

Jang-il tilted his head.

“So what?”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue at Jang-il, who couldn’t understand.

“I’m telling you as a cave-dwelling expert – wind doesn’t blow in blocked underground areas. It means there’s an opening somewhere.”

“Hmm.”

Jang-il nodded and looked around.

‘To think there would be such a space.’

He had imagined something like the underground chamber in Kaifeng’s Beggar’s Sect headquarters when thinking of an underground space, but this place wasn’t that kind of space.

It was, so to speak, a natural cave.

Whether natural or artificial wasn’t clear, but beneath the Demonic Cult’s main hall lay caves that extended long in various directions. Right now, Wei Yan-ho’s group was investigating these caves here and there.

“It doesn’t seem like there’d be anything great here?”

“Hmm.”

Wei Jeong-han also frowned as if it was unexpected.

“Something great…”

“There will be.”

Wei Yan-ho said decisively.

“How so?”

“Building such a large structure on top of caves like this isn’t ordinary work. Even in the Central Plains, it’s not easy. But they did such a thing on this barren Xinjiang land?”

“…”

“They deliberately built that building on top of this cave. Then there must be a reason. A reason to prevent others from setting foot in this cave.”

Jang-il looked at Wei Yan-ho as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You actually say things that make sense sometimes?”

“I’ll just beat you!”

Wei Yan-ho tried to turn around, but it wasn’t easy in the narrow cave.

“Stop fooling around and hurry up! These guys don’t know time and place!”

When Wei Jeong-han burst out angrily, Wei Yan-ho glared at Jang-il with an aggrieved expression. Then Jang-il stuck out his tongue.

“Let’s see about this.”

“Yeah, keep watching forever.”

“Hmph.”

Wei Yan-ho, who had been outdone by Jang-il for once, walked forward briskly while sulking.

‘Around here, something should come up…’

As his master had said, what isn’t important isn’t hidden, and what is hidden is important. Unless the Demonic Cult bastards had the strange hobby of making ordinary places forbidden to protect them from people’s eyes, there must definitely be something here.

“That area ahead looks somewhat brighter, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. That’s the way.”

Wei Yan-ho quickened his steps with confidence.

The dark cave was getting brighter and brighter. That meant there was something ahead.

‘Luminous pearls?’

The luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling caught his eye.

Luminous pearls were extremely precious and expensive items. There was no way people living by digging in Xinjiang could have used such precious luminous pearls freely. It meant there was something here that they had to decorate even if they themselves went hungry.

“Let’s go!”

As Wei Yan-ho started running, everyone began running after him.

When they reached the end of the cave where luminous pearls were embedded, an open space appeared. Wei Yan-ho opened his eyes wide at the scene unfolding before him.

“…What is this?”

Even Wei Yan-ho, who rarely got surprised, had his jaw drop wide open at the scene spread out there.

Humans.

Sculptures of countless humans.

Hundreds of human sculptures intertwined and tangled, looking like a single disgusting organism. Above these sculptures, pure white flames were burning.

“That thing?”

“Yeah.”

The smile disappeared from Wei Jeong-han’s face.

“It’s the Sacred Fire.”

Wei Jeong-han looked at the pure white flames with trembling eyes.

The flames that burned wickedly as if they would suck in the souls of those who gazed upon them.