Around the Crouching Dragon Basin.

This place, always quiet, was now noisy.

Shouts, screams, and the metallic clash of spears and swords.

The sound of horse hooves and drums, swords clashing against swords.

Above all, the fighting spirit and murderous intent radiating from the people.

Beasts are more sensitive to such things than humans.

Mountain birds took flight, and field mice fled in groups away from the Crouching Dragon Basin.

The grasshoppers and insects were the same.

However, in this place where all creatures hurried to escape, unique insects rarely seen even in the Kunlun Mountains crawled about.

Ssssss—

The insects tore through the bushes.

The sound of their hard shells clashing was chilling.

Among the noises made by the insects, an alien metallic sound also rang out.

Clink-clink—

It was the sound of silver rings pierced through human skin clinking against each other.

There are many peculiar people in the world, but few who wear ring decorations pierced through their noses, ears, and skin all over.

Moreover, if someone appeared near the Crouching Dragon Basin where an unprecedented great battle was unfolding…

“Damn it.”

It could only be the Evil Cult’s Cardinal Mang-hon.

He raised his left arm and let his sleeve hang down, and the nearby insects swarmed around.

They crawled into Mang-hon’s pant cuffs, sleeves, and collar, hiding their bodies.

Though there were an enormous number of insects hiding inside the human clothes, Mang-hon’s movements showed no awkwardness.

“Damn brat. I will definitely catch and kill him.”

Mang–hon muttered the curse.

The target was definitely Yi-gang.

His new body was that of a younger youth than before.

He had fully reincarnated with a prepared body, but the wounds to his soul had not disappeared.

Yi-gang had cut off his soul.

Specifically, the soul fragment of his right arm.

His body was fine, but his right arm had turned pitch black and could not move.

It would surely be restored someday, but it would take at least a decade.

Having gathered the insects, Mang-hon dragged something with his healthy left arm.

The rope in his hand was connected to several coffins.

Chillingly, Mang-hon was dragging coffins around.

Whether they contained old corpses or not, the worn coffins had many ominous talismans attached.

There were more than ten such coffins.

Dragging those heavy coffins with one arm would understandably be irritating.

Something caught Mang-hon’s eye.

Ahead, a large man dressed in black was perched on a rock.

Mang-hon frowned but called out to the man.

“Heuk-am.”

Heuk-am glanced back at Mang-hon.

“Don’t just stand there, come and help.”

Mang-hon said that, but Heuk-am snorted and turned his head away.

Mang-hon imagined tearing Heuk-am into a thousand pieces in his mind.

But since he couldn’t actually do it, Mang-hon ended up dragging the coffins over to where Heuk-am was.

Upon arriving beside Heuk-am, a strong smell of blood wafted.

Mang-hon noticed Heuk-am’s clothes were soaked with blood.

Looking around, there were corpses everywhere.

About a hundred bodies that seemed to have been killed by Heuk-am himself lay scattered on the ground.

They were neither members of the Demon Cult nor warriors of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance.

“108 sacrifices. Did you kill them all?”

“Yes, with bare hands.”

Heuk-am said.

Mang-hon nodded.

A brief silence passed. They were not the type to joke with each other.

“Everything is ready.”

Mang-hon spoke first.

In the Crouching Dragon Basin, the war they had started was raging.

Over one hundred thousand had joined the battle.

Wars between nations could be larger, but what was happening there was on a different level.

Hundreds of martial artists striving to transcend human limits.

By that measure, there had never been such a bloody battle in Central Plains history.

Heuk-am spoke quietly.

“We waited three hundred years.”

The Evil Cult disappeared about 300 years ago.

The brief resurgence 200 years ago that struck Murim and was suppressed was not truly the Evil Cult’s power.

It was just Gwi-ryeong acting alone without Mang-hon and Heuk-am’s aid at that time.

The Evil Cult’s true legacy was never used.

Mang-hon corrected Heuk-am’s words.

“No, not three hundred years, but three thousand years.”

Only the preparation for this ritual took three hundred years.

But Heuk-am and Mang-hon endured three thousand years for one goal.

What could have made them endure such a long time?

Heuk-am glanced at Mang-hon and asked.

“…Is it enjoyable?”

Mang-hon was smiling.

“Yes, damn enjoyable.”

Drawing a ritual dagger, Mang-hon answered so.

A martial artist trained in external skills charging with full force had power comparable to a mounted charge.

The charging muscular demon had his shirt off.

Veins bulged all over his body, and only the whites of his eyes remained.

“Isn’t that… qi deviation?”

As someone shouted, it was definitely so.

The demon had lost control of his demonic arts and fallen into qi deviation.

It was clear from the black blood dripping from his nostrils.

But falling into qi deviation did not stop the demonic martial artist.

He charged like a wild boar and collided with the warriors of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance.

Naturally, they did not stand still and thrust their blades forward.

Crash!

The demon did not care about the blades piercing his body.

The first who rammed into those large shoulders died with a sunken sternum.

A shocked orthodox warrior swung his sword in anger, intending to behead him.

But the demon raised his right arm to block.

The blade pierced about halfway into the demon’s thick forearm and stopped.

In fact, cutting through human bone in one strike was not something just anyone could do.

The one who stabbed the blade and the demon locked eyes.

Only the whites of the demon’s eyes were visible, so it was questionable if that counted as eye contact…

“Huh, hrrgh.”

When the demon raised his hand, a shadow fell over the man’s face.

The man shuddered, sensing death.

The demon’s nape was deeply cut.

Slash!

The demon’s head was severed and flew spinning.

Covered in blood spurting from the severed neck, the man wondered what had killed the demon.

But he could not see it.

The Heavenly Silkworm Thread coated with powdered glass was hard to identify with the naked eye.

Moreover, Dam Hyun, who had cut the demon’s neck with it, was already far ahead.

Dam Hyun did not even look back.

-Dam Hyun!

Do Won-myeong’s voice echoed in his ear.

Turning his gaze, he saw Do Won-myeong and Do Meng crushing through people far away.

The right wing of this army had no particularly strong fighters.

Only the Unorthodox Union’s Gangnam Gang and the Four Heaven Palace’s Rakshasi Pavilion warriors of the Demon Cult were engaged in fierce fighting.

“Don’t mess around and push forward as far as possible!”

Nevertheless, Do Meng and Do Won-myeong’s advance was remarkably swift.

Even without using Power Borrowing, they were throwing people and smashing heads brutally.

Screeech—

A hawk flew overhead, letting out a long cry.

In Dam Hyun’s sight, the hawk held a cloth pouch.

It was senior brother Cha Mu-reu’s hawk.

The hawk dropped the pouch it held with its claws at a certain point.

Here, Dam Hyun had a task to perform.

He took the bow from his back and drew the string.

Dam Hyun’s eyes glowed blue.

The arrow nocked on the string flew sharply.

Thwack!

The arrow pierced the falling pouch.

It was a skill worthy of being called a divine bow.

The pouch exploded in midair, scattering blue powder.

The warriors who saw it shouted.

“Po-poison!”

Those below held their breath or covered their mouths with cloth.

It would be best to scatter away from the area, but this was a battlefield. The powder slowly settled to the ground.

In fact, it was not poison.

Dong-ye, who had infiltrated earlier, threw the pouch upward.

Dam Hyun shot another arrow to burst that pouch.

Red powder burst out and reacted in chain with the scattered blue powder.

Whoooosh!

Actually, the two powders were not poison. If anything, they were seeds of clouds.

A thick, damp cloud spread out, too dense to call fog.

Within moments, an area over three hundred meters in radius was covered by the cloud.

Dam Hyun saw the palanquin carrying Demon Brain swallowed by the cloud.

“Charge!”

The Honor Flower Disciples all rushed into the cloud.

Dam Hyun also used his lightness skill.

His lightness skill was not outstanding by martial artist standards.

But he preserved it with various techniques and defensive arts.

Even in open places, his stealth was ghost-like.

No one could trace him inside the thick cloud.

Of course, Dam Hyun could not see an inch ahead either.

The damp cloud felt dense.

Hair got wet and breathing was difficult.

Dam Hyun pressed Cheongho in his bosom with one hand and moved forward.

A blade slid close.

It was not aimed at Dam Hyun.

Whether it was from a demon or an Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance warrior, it brushed past Dam Hyun’s cheek.

Blood dripped, but Dam Hyun did not utter a sound.

He had no time for that.

After walking some distance in an unknown place.

Dam Hyun instinctively bent his waist.

And a spear passed just over his head.

He heard someone running inside the cloud.

The sound was faint. Maybe still far away.

But Dam Hyun immediately threw the weight connected to the Heavenly Silkworm Thread.

Whirl!

At that moment, a demon pierced through the cloud and appeared.

He had seen through Dam Hyun’s stealth.

Dam Hyun realized his stealth technique had been broken.

“Die!”

A demon he had never seen before struck down at Dam Hyun with a short dagger.

It was a sword technique dripping with malice.

But Dam Hyun swiftly pulled the thread he held in one hand.

The weight spun through the air and wrapped tightly around the demon’s body.

Thanks to that, the short dagger only brushed past Dam Hyun’s nose.

Dam Hyun plunged a hidden dagger into the immobilized warrior’s neck.

The disruption of his stealth technique was unusual.

Dam Hyun soon understood why.

The palanquin carrying Demon Brain appeared before his eyes.

The Honor Flower Disciples and the demons guarding it were already in a fierce fight.

Dong-ye, who spread the cloud, was wielding a mysterious flame sword.

It was the flame sword called Rainbow Swallow, one of the forbidden treasures.

Every time it was swung, a five-colored radiance spread out.

The spiritual power emitted by the treasure disrupted the stealth techniques.

At the moment Dam Hyun appeared, the two palanquin bearers set down the palanquin.

Then, they each drew weapons and tried to attack Dong-ye.

At that moment, Dam Hyun took out the Star Mist Alarm Bell from his bosom.

With his stealth broken, there was no hesitation.

He rang the Star Mist Alarm Bell with all his might.

Ding-!

The demons all stiffened simultaneously.

Some clutched their heads in pain.

Even the extremely skilled palanquin bearers staggered.

Behind them, Do Meng, wearing a helmet, suddenly sprang out.

It was a perfect surprise attack.

Thrust-thrust-thrust!

Do Meng killed the two palanquin bearers with four stabs.

“Done!”

Those guarding the palanquin were quickly dealt with.

But the most threatening was the target inside the palanquin.

The opponent was a master estimated to be at the Unrestricted Demon Realm.

To capture him, the Honor Flower Disciples had prepared powerfully.

A solid steel spear from the sky plunged into the palanquin.

It was the iron spear directly held by Cha Mu-reu.

The moment Cha Mu-reu leapt off the spear.

Cheongho, which had been waiting, sprang from Dam Hyun’s bosom and acted.

With the air feeling heavy.

Lightning struck down from the sky.

The iron spear absorbed the blue lightning.

The palanquin caught fire.

“Capture and subdue him with the Star Mist Alarm Bell!”

Then the Honor Flower Disciples, including Dam Hyun, rushed the palanquin.

So Mu-tae struck the palanquin with a hammer.

The burning palanquin’s outer wall was torn off.

And inside…

“…Is this guy Demon Brain?”

Do Won-myeong muttered dumbly.

There was no Brain Demon.

A Demon Cult member, who was neither Brain Demon nor Gwi-ryeong, was unconscious with his eyes rolled back.

“A decoy. Then…”

Do Meng was flustered.

At that moment, Dam Hyun saw something.

“Damn it, everyone dodge!”

It was a thunderous shout, but…

It was a bit too late.