Two days later.

Yo Yeon-bi’s room.

Yo Yeon-bi disliked when servants or others touched his belongings.

Therefore, Yo Yeon-bi managed his room himself, and contrary to appearances, it was quite tidy.

But now, the once tidy room was a complete mess.

Ropes, wooden sticks, and grass were scattered messily as if something was being made.

Not only that, a brazier was lying around in the room.

On top of the brazier was a pot with various medicinal herbs boiling, leaving a foul-smelling residue stuck inside.

Yo Yeon-bi sighed as he looked around his room.

Normally, he would have tidied up meticulously, but he had no motivation at all.

What was the point of cleaning?

He was going to leave anyway.

Once things started, he had no choice but to leave; otherwise, he would die.

“Ugh, uh.”

Yo Yeon-bi, sitting on the bed, heard someone’s voice.

It was a sound from someone whose mouth was gagged.

The sound came from under the bed.

Yo Yeon-bi squatted briefly in front of the bed and lifted the blanket.

Under the bed was a person with their limbs tied.

The gagged person struggled as if startled.

“Looks like his pressure points have been released.”

Yo Yeon-bi gestured for silence, signaling to keep the mouth shut.

That gesture seemed frightening to the middle-aged physician who was tied up.

“Stay quiet.”

The physician rolled his eyes around.

This physician, called Tae Pyeong-sa, was quite well-known.

He had been summoned here for a while and was probably waiting to examine the condition of the Sun Moon Divine Demon.

However, he was now kidnapped, had his beard shaved, clothes taken, and was imprisoned.

Yi-gang had messily cut some of this old man’s hair to brew a medicinal decoction and drink it.

Yo Yeon-bi had gone back and forth to the marketplace several times to get the ingredients for that decoction.

Yo Yeon-bi was shocked to see Yi-gang’s appearance perfectly transformed into that of Tae Pyeong-sa.

“Don’t be too afraid.”

Yo Yeon-bi said while looking at the miserable appearance of the physician.

“Your situation is still better than mine. At least you won’t die.”

The physician gave a look as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Seeing that made Yo Yeon-bi even more depressed.

“Let’s just say you were kidnapped and passed out.”

Yo Yeon-bi picked up a heavy paperweight from a corner of the room.

Then he struck the physician’s head with it.

“Ugh!”

Though he got a wound on his forehead, the physician did not faint immediately.

Yo Yeon-bi, looking flustered, hit the physician again.

Still, the physician did not pass out.

It is not easy to make someone faint precisely.

Yo Yeon-bi lacked cultivation training and couldn’t even perform proper pressure point sealing.

“Why won’t he faint…?”

As Yo Yeon-bi raised the paperweight again.

The physician pretended to faint and banged his head as if to say “I don’t care anymore.”

Only then did Yo Yeon-bi put down the paperweight.

It was no lie that he envied the physician’s situation.

For him, all that was left was to hope Yi-gang would return safely.

Outside the window, Sky Shattering Island could be seen at a glance.

Except for the Cult Leader’s Hall, this True Demon Palace was the tallest.

If they went far across the river, would they really reach the Central Plains?

Thinking about whether they could escape there made him feel even more depressed.

“Sigh.”

Yo Yeon-bi let out a deep sigh.

It was an amazing achievement combining the ancient spells of Kunlun, Dam Hyun’s pharmacology, and demonic knowledge.

Of course, it couldn’t be done all the time.

Perfectly imitating one person required the skill of both the caster and the subject.

Those without knowledge of the arts couldn’t change their body even if they took the decoction.

Just as Gal Dong-tak couldn’t change his appearance, Ha-jun couldn’t either.

Since gathering herbs and ingredients was very difficult, only Yi-gang changed his appearance.

Yi-gang perfectly transformed into Tae Pyeong-sa’s appearance.

His slightly stooped walk was also exactly like Tae Pyeong-sa’s.

And Ha-jun followed Yi-gang up the stairs.

Ha-jun’s status was Tae Pyeong-sa’s disciple, assisting the physician.

The stairs leading to the Cult Leader’s Hall were narrow and steep.

“Stop.”

A warrior guarding the door stopped Yi-gang.

Yi-gang showed signs of heavy breathing.

“Huff, phew, it’s that physician.”

The act was very natural.

“Are you physician Tae Pyeong-sa?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You’re a bit late.”

“The stairs are steep, so…”

“If you don’t want to die, you’d better be punctual.”

The warrior guarding the door said so.

His expression was calm despite the harsh words.

It wasn’t anger at Yi-gang’s lateness.

He was just stating a fact.

“The Cult Leader dislikes waiting.”

“I-I will keep that in mind.”

In the past, when rescuing physicians was easier, those who disturbed the Sun Moon Divine Demon’s mood died easily.

“I will check your belongings briefly. Bring the luggage here.”

The warrior pointed at Ha-jun with a stern expression.

The most feared by those in power are physicians.

No matter how strong a martial artist is, it’s the same.

Because when entrusting one’s body to a physician, one inevitably becomes defenseless.

Ha-jun unpacked the luggage he was carrying.

It contained bedding, medicinal herbs, and tools for brewing decoctions.

Naturally, they couldn’t bring weapons.

The warriors searched the herbs to check for poison.

The warriors sniffed the herbs with disciplined posture.

Someone scolded them for that behavior.

“What nonsense are you doing? Can you even tell if it’s poison or medicine just by smelling?”

The gruff voice came from a short old man who had appeared.

“Let them in quickly before the Cult Leader scolds you.”

The warriors bowed their heads to the grumbling old man.

The identity of the very old man was soon known.

“Understood, Elder.”

This was why the Cult Leader’s Hall was not to be taken lightly.

Former top masters from large, old sects existed even in the Demon Sect.

Former masters who lost in the competition for the Cult Leader or Palace Lord positions stayed in the Cult Leader’s Hall.

The elder before them was unknown by name but seemed to be at the Supreme Demon realm.

Yi-gang excellently acted as the frightened physician.

“Hmm, I sense strange demonic energy from somewhere…”

When the elder frowned and said that, Yi-gang’s heart sank, but fortunately, he did not detain Yi-gang and Ha-jun.

They passed through the door and entered the Cult Leader’s Hall.

They quickly found the path to the Cult Leader’s residence.

They just had to walk straight through the splendid corridor.

「It’s been a while.」

As Yi-gang walked quietly, he heard the Heavenly Demon’s voice in his ear.

「This is a residence I built myself.」

The Heavenly Demon said he personally built the Cult Leader’s Hall.

Though he wasn’t a carpenter, so he probably didn’t do the detailed work himself.

「I broke stones and made the path, and placed my belongings here. Three hundred years have passed, but it’s almost the same.」

From the Heavenly Demon’s story, it seemed this space was decorated according to his taste.

Zhang Sanfeng evaluated the space.

「Your taste is strange.」

「I have no interest in the taste of someone who cultivated Tao in the mountains.」

The Heavenly Demon was officially a member of the Song Royal Family.

One might expect royal tastes, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Red carpets covered the floor, and various sculptures and paintings hung on the walls.

The unique point was that these were not from the Central Plains.

‘You seems to have liked the cultures of the Western Regions and the Westerners.’

「Indeed.」

Perhaps due to resentment against the Central Plains and Song.

As felt at One Grab Thousand Gold Manor, many Western cultural items had entered Sky Shattering Island.

Geographically, being west of the Central Plains, it was natural.

Yi-gang unknowingly stopped walking.

The large painting on the wall was extremely splendid.

Rare in the Central Plains, it was probably brought from Europe via the Silk Road.

It was a painting of knights in exotic armor fighting on a battlefield.

It reminded Yi-gang of his past life after a long time.

「Isn’t it magnificent?」

The Heavenly Demon probably thought Yi-gang stopped for a different reason.

Yi-gang roughly nodded.

There were not only paintings here.

There were beautiful plaster sculptures and various Western weapons.

Among them were also matchlock guns.

The handle was made of ivory and decorated with gold, suggesting use by a noble or commander.

Though old, it was splendid.

「I personally acquired that.」

「Someone aimed and fired at me, so I caught it and threw it back to kill them.」

Even Shaolin masters could kill with prayer beads, so it was believable that the Heavenly Demon did that.

Yi-gang, about to nod, suddenly froze.

‘You say you personally acquired it?’

「Yes, it’s a captured item of mine.」

‘…Isn’t that a delusion?’

Or a boast.

But the Heavenly Demon was not the type to boast.

Instead of anger, the Heavenly Demon was incredulous at Yi-gang’s question.

「It’s true. I have no reason to boast to you.」

The Heavenly Demon said firmly.

Yi-gang frowned in confusion.

“That can’t be…”

It was extremely strange.

When Yi-gang turned his head and looked around, he felt an unfamiliar atmosphere he hadn’t noticed before.

‘These matchlock guns… no, even the paintings.’

Yi-gang was not well-versed in history.

Nor was he knowledgeable about art history including paintings and sculptures.

He couldn’t explain the style or era of the artworks.

“Did you personally acquire all these in your lifetime?”

「Most of them, yes.」

But there was one certainty.

‘These matchlock guns and paintings are not from the Song era.’

There was a discrepancy with what Yi-gang knew.

A temporal gap, perhaps.

Such precise matchlock guns could not have existed 300 years ago.

The Heavenly Demon looked at Yi-gang with a strange expression.

Perhaps because Yi-gang had such a serious expression.

Ha-jun, following behind, transmitted a message.

-What’s wrong?

Yi-gang flinched and shook his head.

-No, let’s go.

Now was not the time to be worrying.

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have felt the discrepancy.

After all, people mastering martial arts to fly and the existence of monsters were already unrealistic.

Except for a few, the emperors’ names didn’t even exist in history.

In fact, the history Yi-gang knew and the world he reincarnated into were probably different worlds.

His focus wavered briefly.

Solving the current situation was more important.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun resumed walking.

Soon, the end of the corridor appeared.

The Sun Moon Divine Demon seemed to pay considerable attention to his guards.

Two elders, appearing to be at the extreme demonic realm, guarded the door.

“Cult Leader, I will let the physician in.”

A hoarse voice said, “Do so.”

Yi-gang steadied his momentum further; Ha-jun did the same.

They couldn’t afford suspicion before the crucial moment.

Yi-gang perfectly returned to the nervous physician’s expression.

Soon, the door creaked open.

At that moment, Yi-gang’s carefully maintained expression collapsed.

Because a dizzying smell of blood wafted out from inside.

The obese old man, who appeared to be the Sun Moon Divine Demon, was soaking in a bathtub.

But the liquid in the tub was not water.

The tub was filled to the brim with bright red blood.

The elder who opened the door sneered at Yi-gang.

He seemed to mistake Yi-gang’s stiff face for one terrified.

“The previous physician advised bathing in the blood of young men and women to restore vitality. I don’t know what use it is, but come in.”

He pushed Yi-gang’s back lightly.

As Yi-gang and Ha-jun entered, the door slammed shut.