CHAPTER 391: INFILTRATING THE DEMON CULT (3)

Yi-gang closed his eyes for a moment.

During the journey to Sky Shattering Island, he sought to acquire his own Supreme Ultimate Technique.

He was determined to manifest the true power of the Thunder God’s lightning through his human body.

So, did he ultimately obtain the Supreme Ultimate Technique?

The answer was, “I failed.”

But it was only that he had not yet reached it; Yi-gang believed he would someday grasp that power.

He had not gained nothing.

Yi-gang acquired a new sense.

With his Upper Dantian far more open than others, Yi-gang’s sixth sense was abnormally developed.

Having an open Upper Dantian meant his energy perception was also keen.

Using these advantages, Yi-gang demonstrated a unique ability.

First, he concentrated his mind to generate Formless Energy.

Formless Energy literally means intangible energy.

As a martial artist, the higher the mastery of internal energy, the more diverse the uses of Formless Energy.

A Transcendent master could kill a weak person with sheer energy alone.

This was possible by focusing Formless Energy on a single target.

Yi-gang used it differently.

He spread the Formless Energy widely.

No matter how abundant a person’s energy is, there are limits.

The spread energy dissolved into the atmosphere.

At first, it scattered like mist, eventually becoming so faint that its presence nearly vanished.

Nonetheless, Yi-gang continued to spread his energy.

Spreading it within a radius of about ten meters was easy. Ordinary martial artists would struggle to breathe under Yi-gang’s dense energy.

From about thirty meters radius, it became a bit faint.

A martial artist would feel discomfort.

When spread to a radius of one hundred meters, most felt nothing.

When spread to a radius of three hundred meters.

Even Go Yo-ja, a Transcendent master, found it difficult to sense Yi-gang’s energy.

But Yi-gang was different.

He could vividly sense everything within three hundred meters.

And Yi-gang spread his Formless Energy to a radius of one thousand meters.

Now, no one could distinguish between the ambient energy and Yi-gang’s energy.

Except perhaps an Absolute master.

While spreading his energy, Yi-gang also exercised his sixth sense.

There was no Absolute master within the radius.

But he could sense something.

“…This is ominous.”

What he felt was something chillingly ominous.

Yi-gang now knew what it was.

“Is it demonic energy?”

He sensed a strong demonic energy.

「Did you expect no demonic energy at the main base of our cult?」

The Heavenly Demon scolded him.

It was true, but this demonic energy was different from others.

Unlike the impure aura emitted by demons, this felt fundamentally pure.

The direction was clearly the top of High Spirit Palace, the place visible below.

「That must be the place.」

The Heavenly Demon agreed.

He wanted to find a fragment of his soul here.

Though trapped in the Heavenly Demon Plaque and limited in observing the surroundings, he could still feel the soul fragment’s pull.

“Senior brother, you should go that way.”

Yi-gang said so and tossed the Heavenly Demon Plaque to Dam Hyun.

Dam Hyun grinned and caught it.

“I’ll use it cleanly and return it.”

To find the Heavenly Demon’s soul fragment, the Heavenly Demon Plaque would be necessary.

“To communicate with this…”

Yi-gang could communicate with the two spirits just by keeping the plaque close.

This became possible by fusing one more soul fragment with Dam Hyun’s help.

But not everyone could do this.

Dam Hyun held the plaque to his ear and spoke.

“Are you there?”

「You sorcerer bastard, move your face.」

“I can hear you well.”

Dam Hyun put the talisman away, satisfied.

The group would split into two.

Yi-gang and Go Yo-ja would enter the underground prison of High Spirit Palace to rescue Ha-jun and his group.

And Dam Hyun would be the search team to find the Heavenly Demon’s soul fragment.

At the appointed time, they would regroup and escape through a secret passage; this was the first plan.

They had also prepared a second and third plan, but following the first plan was best.

“Are you really okay going alone?”

“Why would I be alone?”

Cheongho poked his head out from Dam Hyun’s bosom.

Cheongho had also suffered greatly on this journey.

Because of his unique appearance, he had to stay hidden in the luggage.

Dam Hyun took out a rare peanut from somewhere and fed it to Cheongho.

“Cheongho and I will manage ourselves, so you go ahead first.”

He said this while cracking a peanut himself.

Yi-gang nodded and moved with Go Yo-ja.

-From now on, let’s communicate via telepathy.

Yi-gang said this and headed toward the North Gate of Manmajeon.

The stairs leading down to High Spirit Palace were there.

Neither Yi-gang nor Go Yo-ja lacked skill in lightness techniques.

Azure Forest’s Cloud Treading and Kunlun’s Cloud Dragon Great Eight Form were peak lightness martial arts.

They ran through the Ten Thousand Demon Hall without even making a sound.

But avoiding people entirely was impossible.

While descending the stairs, Yi-gang warned.

-Two up ahead.

Their actions were immediate.

Yi-gang and Go Yo-ja jumped down the stair railing.

At the same time, they hung beneath the stairs, completely hidden in the shadows.

Their speed and fluidity made it look like shadows flowing down.

Ta-dak tadak-

They heard warriors walking above on the stairs.

Yi-gang hid firmly in the shadows and looked down.

There were patrollers roaming.

It seems that infiltration would not be easy.

But killing everyone they met would make cleanup impossible.

They need to at least make sure that they’re not discovered until they find Ha-jun and the kidnapped.

-How about that place?“

-Hmm, looks fine.“

When interrogating the martial artists of the Retribution Gang, they learned the general layout of High Spirit Palace.

Yi-gang pointed to the palace wall adjoining a cliff.

There was a window leading inside.

Surprisingly, the Demon Cult’s main base inside Sky Shattering Island was not heavily secured.

Who would dare infiltrate High Spirit Palace, teeming with strong fighters, all the way here in Sky Shattering Island?

-Better to climb down the wall than the stairs.

-I’ll go down first.

Go Yo-ja moved proactively.

He let go, grabbed the rock, and lightly dropped down like a mountain goat.

It took only a few breaths until Go Yo-ja hid in a crevice near the ground.

Next was Yi-gang’s turn.

Yi-gang moved even more effortlessly.

The grateful technique he learned from the Immortal Divine Sword had always been his weapon.

After fully applying the mysterious principles of lightness, he let go.

Yi-gang fell abruptly like a ripe fruit dropping.

The wind roared in his ears as he landed with the sound of a single chestnut dropping.

-What an amazing lightness technique…

Go Yo-ja admired.

Without time to express thanks, Yi-gang pointed in one direction.

-Let’s go in there.

Yi-gang pointed to the window before him.

They could not break through the main gate head-on.

-It’s probably locked. Shall we break it?

The window was closed.

They would know only by opening it, but it was likely latched from inside.

Dust had thickly settled, suggesting it had been long since the window was last opened.

Yi-gang repeated what he had just done.

He spread Formless Energy toward the window.

Since the distance was short, the Formless Energy was dense.

This meant he could visually perceive the range the Formless Energy reached.

-The latch is hooked. Breaking it would make too much noise.

-Then let’s find another window.

-No, wait a moment.

Yi-gang closed his eyes and concentrated fully.

Go Yo-ja did not know what Yi-gang was doing but waited.

Yi-gang clearly sensed the window’s structure.

Even seeing it with his eyes would not be this clear.

He perceived the window’s material, the small latch beyond, and the accumulated dust.

And for what he could sense, he could apply psychokinesis.

With extreme focus, Yi-gang released the latch.

Click.

With a small noise, the window creaked open.

Go Yo-ja’s mouth dropped open.

It meant that with enough time to spread energy, psychokinesis could be applied even to unseen or distant objects.

However, Yi-gang’s expression was not bright.

“Still too slow.”

This method had its limits.

It was too slow for practical use.

But that was not important now; Yi-gang gestured to Go Yo-ja.

“Let’s go in.”

The window was at least ten meters high, but it was no problem for Yi-gang and Go Yo-ja.

Go Yo-ja used the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Form to leap into the air as if he was striking the air.

Yi-gang followed behind.

Tak—

As soon as they entered, they surveyed the surroundings.

Yi-gang’s eyes met someone else’s.

They had come upon hearing the window creak open.

The warrior drew his sword and tried to blow a whistle hanging from his neck.

“Heup!”

Go Yo-ja threw his sword.

The flying sword cut the warrior’s wrist holding the whistle and pierced his throat simultaneously.

Yi-gang caught the falling warrior’s body at lightning speed.

In the urgent situation, they had no choice but to handle the aftermath quickly.

They hid the corpse under a carpet in a corner.

Go Yo-ja wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

-Inside the palace, the martial artists are skilled. If we were a moment later, he would have blown the whistle.

The warrior came upon hearing the slight sound of the window opening and reacted immediately.

If Go Yo-ja or Yi-gang had been even slightly late, disaster would have occurred.

“We must hurry from now on. If the corpse is found, there will be chaos.”

“…I’m worried about Senior Brother Dam Hyun.”

Go Yo-ja looked serious.

Yi-gang was in the Absolute realm, and Go Yo-ja was also a Transcendent master.

But as far as he knew, Dam Hyun was only at the Peak master level.

Infiltrating the heart of the Demon Cult was too dangerous, even for him.

Moreover, Dam Hyun was alone.

-You don’t need to worry about Senior Brother Dam Hyun.“

But Yi-gang showed no concern for Dam Hyun.

-Aren’t you overestimating senior brother?

-No.

Yi-gang said firmly.

-At least when it comes to stealth techniques and infiltration, senior brother is much better than me.

Meanwhile, Dam Hyun, alone.

He only began moving after Cheongho finished eating all the peanuts.

Dam Hyun held peanut shells in his hand.

He rubbed them between his fingers.

The shells crumbled into powder and scattered.

The powder flew on the wind, exactly toward High Spirit Palace.

Previously, inspired by Mang-hon’s subordinates, Dam Hyun developed his silver stealth technique.

Dam Hyun’s presence faded instantly as he used his unique stealth technique.

Regardless of skill, few could detect Dam Hyun’s movements.

“Though that brat Yi-gang would notice.”

He had tested this several times.

He tried to strike Yi-gang from behind after activating his stealth technique.

He planned to excuse it as training, but Yi-gang always sensed the hostile intent the moment he tried.

It was easy to deceive Go Yo-ja or Gal Dong-tak.

Dam Hyun, having erased his presence completely, chanted a long spell.

He was preparing a technique similar to Go Yo-ja’s specialty.

A wind-calling spell only skilled sorcerers could perform.

‘By the Heavenly Decree, obey’

An unexpected strong wind swept through the Ten Thousand Demon Hall.

This spell could not change wind direction but intensified the blowing wind.

At the same time, Dam Hyun used a lightness technique inspired by Yi-gang.

Incorporating the secrets of earth contraction, Dam Hyun’s body was swept up by the strong wind.

He soared high with the wind.

Twisting his body to adjust direction as much as possible…

Whoosh.

He successfully landed on the rooftop of High Spirit Palace’s top floor in one go.

“Ugh!”

He barely caught a falling roof tile.

In that posture, Dam Hyun stayed still for a while.

No sign of movement was heard below.

It seemed no one had noticed.

“Success.”

Dam Hyun gently descended below the railing.

Beyond this long gate, he felt the presence of the Heavenly Demon’s soul fragment.

The Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng, watching Dam Hyun, conversed.

「This rascal is even more ruthless than that Baek Family Taoist. He seems very skilled at thievery.」

「Heh heh heh.」

Even Zhang Sanfeng could not defend Dam Hyun.

Dam Hyun flung open the long gate.