Chapter 291 – Convergence (1)

Heum-won (also known as Qinyuan, 欽原).

It is one of the Demonic Beasts (妖獸) of Mount Kunlun, with the upper body of a giant bird and the lower body of a hornet.

As with most Imae Mangryang, monsters’ powers weaken during the day, but Heum-won’s flying speed was incomparable to a galloping horse.

The pursuit team tried their best to chase Heum-won as it soared high into the sky, but in the end, they could only watch its gradually disappearing back.

“Damn it…”

“How are we supposed to chase that?”

In the first place, it was nearly impossible to catch something flying into the sky.

Stunned, they eventually had to turn back.

-Flap flap!

“It seems they can’t catch up.”

Mok Gyeong-un, who was watching the pursuit team receding into the distance with his excellent eyesight, said with a smile.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Seop Chun clicked his tongue and asked.

“My lord. When did you tame such a bizarre creature?”

“Ah, this? I had a lucky opportunity at the association.”

“You mean the Heaven and Earth Society?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s answer, Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak’s eyes widened.

As members of the Heaven and Earth Society, they had lived there for a long time but had never seen anything like this before.

Meanwhile, Six Offices Commander So Yerin took off the black mask she was wearing and spoke.

“Sir Mok is truly skilled in sorcery as well. Seeing that you even tamed such a monster.”

“It was just luck.”

“Can anyone tame something like this with just luck? Anyway, you, young master…”

Speaking, she flinched and grabbed the cart.

Heum-won had slightly banked to the side while increasing its altitude, causing her to lose balance.

Her gaze wavered as she looked down.

Although she seemed like someone who wouldn’t fear anything, she unexpectedly appeared afraid of looking down from high up in the sky.

At this, the masked Embroidered Uniform Guard Ma Ra-hyeon asked with a worried expression.

“Six Offices Commander. Are you alri…”

“I’m fine! It’s nothing.”

Before Ma Ra-hyeon could finish his words, So Yerin hurriedly shook her head in denial.

Judging by the slight flush on her face, she seemed embarrassed to have shown fear while looking down.

As if reading his subordinate’s mind, Ma Ra-hyeon turned his head away.

Then, he soon looked at the food waste container where the Holy Fire Priestess was.

Ma Ra-hyeon’s gaze looking at it became strange.

At that moment,

-Click!

Mok Gyeong-un opened the lid of the food waste container.

As the lid opened, the Holy Fire Priestess, who had to infer the outside situation based on sound alone, asked Mok Gyeong-un with a puzzled expression.

“What happened?”

“As you can see, we succeeded in escaping.”

“Succeeded?”

“Yes.”

“Aaah!”

At those words, her face lit up.

The situation seemed to be progressing urgently, and she was curious about what had happened.

But hearing that they had successfully escaped, her emotions were beyond compare.

So, she, who had been crouching with only her head sticking out of the food waste, tried to stand up.

To her, Mok Gyeong-un said.

“I’d like to advise you to just stay still.”

“Didn’t you say we escaped? I’ve been inside since earlier, and my ears are ringing, and my stomach is churning uncomfortably, so here…”

At that moment, the Holy Fire Priestess’s expression stiffened.

Looking up, she couldn’t hide her astonishment at the sight of the huge talons gripping the cart and Heum-won’s back.

“W-what in the world is this?”

“It’s nothing much, should I say we’re in a rather high place right now?”

“High place?”

“Yes. So it would be more comfortable for you to stay inside, right?”

“…Ah, I understand.”

“Shall I close the lid for you?”

At those words, the Holy Fire Priestess, whose stomach was churning, soon nodded her head.

It seemed better to see nothing inside the food waste container rather than continue looking at this.

Mok Gyeong-un, who closed the lid with a smile, turned his gaze.

Ma Ra-hyeon, who made eye contact with Mok Gyeong-un, soon avoided his gaze as if flustered.

-Mortal, did you sense it too?

At Cheong-ryeong’s words beside him, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged his shoulders.

He couldn’t help but sense it.

Although he was sensitive to other things, Mok Gyeong-un could always detect killing intent like a ghost, no matter how much it was concealed.

He had long noticed that the faint killing intent emanating from Ma Ra-hyeon was directed towards the Holy Fire Priestess.

He didn’t know the reason, but there seemed to be some emotional factor.

-It seems we shouldn’t leave them together.

-That’s right.

-By the way, to think of utilizing the Demonic Beast Heum-won like this, you’re really something else.

-Should I say it was improvisation?

-Thanks to that improvisation, you finally managed to escape the Imperial Palace. To the point of even using the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox, your audacity is truly commendable, Mortal.

Mok Gyeong-un chuckled at her words as she clicked her tongue.

Heum-won was a contingency plan prepared for the worst-case scenario, but the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox could be considered a stroke of luck.

It was fortunate that the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox helped them out of her usual whim; otherwise, they might have really been caught by the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek, known as one of the Six Heavens.

-Grip!

Mok Gyeong-un clenched his trembling left fist.

Although his regenerative ability wasn’t as great as Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint, who had consumed the blood of a spiritual creature, his recovery was fast, so strength gradually returned to his hand.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un let out a faint sigh.

Even after absorbing the immense demonic power of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox and gaining some enlightenment, the wall called the Six Heavens, known as the pinnacle of the martial arts world, was indeed vast.

‘There’s still a long way to go.’

There was a high probability that those who killed his grandfather were part of a huge organization.

To investigate them, he either needed to build a force or possess overwhelming martial power, but judging from this fight, Mok Gyeong-un concluded that he was still lacking.

However, there was no need for disappointment.

Through this fight, he learned the extent of the Six Heavens’ martial prowess and gained various insights and lessons from it.

‘The ways to manipulate Qi are endless.’

He closely observed how someone who had completely crossed the wall of walls utilized Qi.

As a result, he vaguely grasped his method of manipulation.

If he utilized this, it seemed he could manipulate Qi more effectively than now.

-Ssk!

As Mok Gyeong-un slightly moved his finger, the hilt of the Evil Commandment Sword sheathed in the scabbard faintly trembled.

At this, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth rose.

It was at that moment.

-Mortal.

-…

-Mortal.

-Yes?

-You… are you going to abandon that baldhead and leave?

-!?

The baldhead Cheong-ryeong was referring to was none other than the Shaolin’s expelled monk, Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior Ja Geum-jeong.

Amidst the complications and the need to mobilize Heum-won, he had momentarily forgotten about him.

Originally, the overall plan was to pull the food waste cart outside the outer palace and then use the carriage prepared by Ja Geum-jeong to escape Kaifeng.

However, as they unintentionally escaped using Heum-won, they ended up leaving Ja Geum-jeong behind.

-Ah… I forgot.

-It seems so.

-Well, it can’t be helped.

-Huh?

-It’s not like we can go back now…

Mok Gyeong-un glanced at So Yerin.

Because of the sudden appearance of the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek, she also ended up leaving the Imperial Palace, but she ultimately had to return.

Therefore, it seemed he had to ask her to tell Ja Geum-jeong to come separately.

At that moment, Cheong-ryeong suddenly spoke with an exasperated expression.

-You don’t need to do that.

-What do you mean by that?

-Look below.

At Cheong-ryeong’s words, Mok Gyeong-un looked down at the ground in puzzlement.

With Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, which were far superior to ordinary people’s vision, he could see a dot-like figure moving on the underbrush that looked as small as a tuft of hair, and he could also hear a faint sound.

The sound of Heum-won flying and the wind made it difficult to hear, but when he focused on his hearing, he could hear that faint sound.

-Yaaaaa! Can’t you hear meeeee!

A voice shouting with inner energy reverberated upward.

The owner of that voice, shouting at the top of his lungs, was none other than Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior Ja Geum-jeong.

***

In a secluded forest nearby.

“Huff… huff…”

The expelled monk Ja Geum-jeong, his face drenched in sweat, stuck out his tongue and exhaled roughly.

Although he had drawn the surrounding energy to endure, he had exhausted all his stamina trying to catch up with the flying Heum-won.

This was the first time since mastering martial arts that he felt like he would die from using lightness skills.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un said with a smile.

“You followed well.”

“Huff… huff… damn… My lord… you told me to prepare a carriage and wait… huff huff… what kind of act is it to abandon this baldhead?”

“Ah. I didn’t abandon you. It turned out that way due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“Unavoidable circumstances? What could possibly…”

-Pak!

At that moment, Seop Chun elbowed his side and whispered in his ear.

“You’ll be surprised if you know what we went through.”

“Surprised?”

“Just listen quietly. Actually…”

Seop Chun briefly explained what had happened during the escape from the outer palace.

Listening to this, the expelled monk Ja Geum-jeong’s eyes widened as he retorted.

“What? You fought against the Northern Blade King Gu Seong-baek?”

“No. I told you to just listen quietly, so why are you asking again?”

Seop Chun shrugged his shoulders as if in a predicament.

However, despite that, he seemed quite proud.

That was understandable because the person he had chosen as his master, Mok Gyeong-un, had confronted the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek, known as one of the Six Heavens (六天), the pinnacle of the current martial arts world, and even inflicted injuries on him, albeit in a joint attack.

This couldn’t be dismissed as mere luck.

It was a tremendous feat against a supreme master at the level of a great sage who had crossed the wall of walls and reached the realm of the Profound Realm.

If this spread to others, no, to the martial arts world, Mok Gyeong-un’s reputation would also rise.

Who knows, he might even become renowned as a rising master.

‘Ah…’

For a moment, Seop Chun licked his lips.

Come to think of it, Mok Gyeong-un was considered dead in the Imperial Palace.

Therefore, regrettably, it seemed unlikely that his reputation would spread due to this incident.

It was an opportunity to gain a reputation comparable to the Eight Stars, surpassing the promising later-generation masters, but it was a pity that it had to be thoroughly concealed since it was a mission related to the Imperial Palace.

Meanwhile, Ja Geum-jeong asked Mok Gyeong-un in an excited voice.

“No, My lord. Did you really confront one of the Six Heavens?”

“Hey, baldhead.”

“What?”

Suddenly hearing someone calling him, the expelled monk Ja Geum-jeong turned his head with a fierce expression.

The person who called him was Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint.

“Did you just call me baldhead?”

“Are you displeased when others call you that even though you refer to yourself as baldhead?”

“What?”

“Judging by the way you address Sir Mok as your lord, it seems you are his subordinate, so what kind of way of speaking is that, you brat?”

“No, does this nun have a death wish to go to paradise so soon? With that beggar-like appearance, who are you calling a brat…”

-Pak!

Before he could finish his words, Dam Baek-ha revealed her energy.

-Gooooo!

“If I can’t call you a young brat, then what should I call you?”

Sensing this, Ja Geum-jeong flinched for a moment.

That was understandable because just from the revealed energy alone, he could tell that her inner energy was far superior to his own.

‘What the? This nun?’

Just looking at her revealed energy, it reminded him of his master, the Shaolin’s Sutra Pavilion Grand Monk Gong-jeon, to the extent that her inner energy was very profound.

Who the hell was this woman?

While he was puzzled,

At that moment, someone knelt down in front of Six Offices Commander So Yerin with a thud.

It was none other than the masked Embroidered Uniform Guard Ma Ra-hyeon.

At Ma Ra-hyeon’s attitude, So Yerin’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.

“What… are you saying right now?”

“…It’s exactly as I said. I don’t think I can return to the Imperial Palace with the Six Offices Commander.”