Chapter 85: The Flame Knot and the Return (3)
‘Something I want, huh…’
Honestly, I had more than enough of those.
Even if I didn’t go as far as demanding shares of influence within the Jin Clan, things like elixirs, rare weapons, or qi-related items—if I wanted them, Jin Gun-ak would provide them without hesitation.
‘But those aren’t really necessary right now.’
Unless it was a top-tier item, I could obtain pretty much anything under the authority of the Eldest Son.
“There is one thing.”
“What is it?”
“I would like to receive a report through Gu Chil on the full account of how this situation unfolded.”
I said "through Gu Chil," but in truth, I was asking to share access to the Jin Clan's intelligence network.
Jin Gun-ak frowned slightly, seemingly caught off guard by my request.
“Why do you want to know something like that?”
“I’ve already set foot deeply into this matter.”
“So?”
“Once you’ve made a move, you have to see it through to the end. If I step away temporarily and try to sever ties completely, I won’t be able to respond properly if I get tangled in it again.”
“Even with me around?”
“We don’t know how far the enemy’s hands have reached into our cult. I believe at least a minimal level of information sharing is necessary.”
“Hmph. At best, they're just Central Plains spies.”
“……!”
The moment those words came out, I was genuinely shocked.
I had assumed Jin Gun-ak knew at least a decent amount of the truth, but to hear him say something so careless?
‘Is he serious? Or is he trying to test me?’
I bowed my head low, hiding my emotions.
“If I’m to continue contributing to the clan in the future, I believe this much is necessary. I ask for your permission.”
Jin Gun-ak looked at me with clear displeasure.
Despite the merits I had earned externally, he must have realized I was getting too deeply involved in the cult’s politics, even though I wasn’t the successor.
‘Still, there's no other way.’
Since I wasn’t officially withdrawing from the Thousand-Day Pass, it was difficult to gather outside intelligence.
Using the Jin Clan’s information network was essential here.
After a moment’s contemplation, Jin Gun-ak nodded.
“Fine. I’ll have the Shadow Guard deliver information to you every two days. Will that suffice?”
I wasn’t leading the operation, so there was no need for real-time updates.
“That’s more than enough.”
“Anything else?”
Now that I had gotten the most important thing, I could ask for the rest with peace of mind.
“I’ve taken in a few subordinates recently, but training them solely with martial arts isn’t enough. Could I receive some mid-tier or higher elixirs and weapons?”
“Mid-tier… That’s not a problem.”
Jin Gun-ak agreed without hesitation.
Mid-tier might be what he said, but within the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, “mid-tier” was the equivalent of “top-tier” anywhere else.
‘Good, this should take care of the internal energy issue.’
With this, those three underlings could improve dramatically.
And so could San Dojeon.
As I smirked quietly to myself, Jin Gun-ak spoke with a blank expression.
“I’m done with you now.”
‘……Huh?’
Done with me? That sounded suspiciously like someone else had business with me.
“Go to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.”
“……!”
“The Cult Leader is summoning you.”
Damn it.
***
The Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
In essence, the cult’s holy ground and the residence of successive Cult Leaders.
It had the smallest staff among the Five Great Halls, but on the flip side, it was regarded as the most important place—this was the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
‘First time coming here in this life.’
Of course, it wasn’t a place I visited often in my previous life either.
Back then, I had almost never left the Golden Demon Hall I belonged to.
“Jin Yeomyung of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan. I come at the great Heavenly Demon’s summons.”
I respectfully announced myself to the guardian law enforcers of the pavilion.
Unlike the ones from the Lesser Demon Hall, these law enforcers were handpicked elites directly under the Cult Leader, the crème de la crème.
Each one was a monstrous warrior whose name struck fear throughout Murim.
“Wait here.”
One of the law enforcers nodded and opened the massive gate of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion before stepping inside.
I gazed at the slightly ajar door, overcome with emotion.
‘I nearly died trying to open that door back then…’
Even a highly skilled martial artist couldn’t budge that solid iron gate without significant internal energy.
Then, just for a split second, a powerful wave of lethargy swept over me as a memory from my past life surfaced.
It hadn’t even been more than a year since I’d relived my past life.
‘Ah…’
The final day of the cult still hovered before my eyes, like an unhealed scar burned onto my retina.
Flames engulfing everything.
Shouts and screams echoing in all directions.
And the Cult Leader—smiling as she welcomed me, even while poisoned by Absolute Severance.
The moment I recalled all that, I felt my knees give out slightly.
“…Are you alright?”
As I suddenly staggered, another law enforcer frowned and asked.
“Ah, y-yes. I’m fine. I just got dizzy all of a sudden.”
“If you’re going to be the exchange partner for the Young Cult Leader, you should work on strengthening your body.”
I hadn’t been slacking on physical training, so his comment felt a little unfair.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As I gave a wry smile and nodded, the law enforcer who had gone inside returned and called out to me.
“The Heavenly Demon grants you an audience. Enter.”
“Yes.”
I followed him into the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
As expected, dozens of attendants were moving busily here and there, carrying out their duties.
Before the audience, I was led into a small tented room prepared for preliminary inspection.
“Please allow us to inspect your body.”
As I entered the room, several attendants approached and began patting me down.
There was nothing remotely sexual about the body inspection—it was cold, mechanical, and thorough.
They even checked the inside of my mouth to ensure I wasn’t hiding poison or concealed weapons.
“Write your name and proceed inside.”
Apparently finding nothing problematic, they only confiscated the sword at my waist before allowing me entry into the innermost part of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
At the end of the pitch-black, straight corridor—
It wasn’t Cheon Yura, the Heartless Demonic Empress, who greeted me, but her father.
“Ah, welcome, Little Junior. It’s been a while.”
“Heavenly Demon’s return brings boundless prosperity to all! I pay my respects to the great Supreme One of the Cult!”
The Third Heavenly Demon—Cheon Taejong.
Though he greeted me with the same relaxed tone he’d used during the previous exchange ceremony, I couldn't afford to respond as casually as I had back then.
This was the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. In other words, this was an official occasion.
‘Even if I was polite back then, I have to be even more careful now.’
One wrong word in this place could easily cost me my life.
“I heard from Wang Cheongeol. You captured the Seventh Elder?”
‘Damn it!’
A direct fastball thrown at sonic speed from the start. I clenched my teeth internally.
“If not for Lord Wang Cheongeol having suppressed the traitor’s strength, it would have been impossible.”
“Hahaha, such modesty is admirable. Despite being a direct descendant of the Jin Clan, you’re still humble—how could I not like you, Little Junior?”
Just as the tension in me began to ease slightly at Cheon Taejong’s hearty laughter—
“However.”
Flinch!
“Here, it’s better to speak the truth than to be modest, don’t you think?”
Chills.
Even though I had reached the Master Level realm and inherited the legacy of the Mystic Maiden, the pressure bearing down on me now was something on another level entirely.
It wasn’t about using something like formless qi or intentional aura.
He was crushing me with nothing but a single word and his very presence!
‘I-Is this the pressure of a Supreme One?’
Tremble-tremble!
My limbs shook uncontrollably, and I felt a tingling sensation behind my knees.
For a martial artist at my level to lose control of his body—it was utterly humiliating. But still, no one who stood before this being could behave otherwise.
While I stood frozen, unable to utter a single word—
Cheon Taejong smirked oddly and said,
“Hm, you’ve definitely grown stronger.”
“……”
“If you were still at the same level as before, you’d probably be bluffing right now instead.”
“W-What do you mean by that, my Lord?”
“You’ve come to understand the essence of who I am and feel threatened by it. Hahaha, how absurd and impressive at the same time.”
Cheon Taejong let out another deep laugh and snapped his fingers.
‘Huh?’
In that moment—
The trembling stopped, and the heart that had been pounding like mad suddenly calmed.
My breathing became remarkably steady.
“Th-This is…?”
“Incredible. To be this sharp at your age—truly remarkable. I wasn’t even masking my presence, and yet most law enforcers can’t sense my aura. But your instincts are keener than a beast’s.”
Of course they were.
Thanks to the forcibly awakened sensory abilities I gained as a perk of my past life, my perception—at least—could be considered transcendent for now.
But ironically, that didn’t work in my favor in this situation.
‘He’s too overwhelming. I don’t even feel the urge to resist. Now I completely understand why the Heaven-Defying Society didn’t dare confront the Cult despite possessing such power.’
No matter how conditional that power was, when a top-tier existence of the Ten Heavenly Lord-level became awakened, their ability and presence were nothing short of monstrous.
The only reason beings like that didn’t directly harm the Heavenly Demon Cult and instead operated in secret was likely due to one man—the Cult Leader… the Heavenly Demon himself.
“So, can you speak properly now?”
“I have shown an unsightly display. I beg your forgiveness.”
Thud!
I bowed my head deeply to the floor.
“Hahaha, lift your head and relax. This isn’t a trial to question your guilt.”
“Thank you, Lord Heavenly Demon.”
“Now, I’ll ask again. You captured the Seventh Elder?”
Though it wasn’t a formal interrogation, this was clearly a session to verify information.
“It is true I was only able to capture him because Lord Wang Cheongeol suppressed his strength.”
“……”
“However, it was thanks to the power granted by Lady Yoo So of the Mystic Maiden that I was able to break through the awakened form of Jan Hyeol, the Yin-Yang Fist Demon.”
“Is that so?”
Cheon Taejong showed a rather interested reaction.
Of course, the more intrigued he looked, the more it made my chest burn with anxiety.
‘If he tells me to hand over that power or give it up, it’s over.’
After all, Yoo So of the Celestial Saintess was a rebel against the Cult. She had some sort of ambiguous relationship with the previous Heavenly Demon, but from what I could tell, the full story hadn’t been passed down through the Cult.
“I see. So that’s how it happened.”
Surprisingly, Cheon Taejong didn’t press any further after hearing that.
“Little Junior.”
“Yes, Lord Heavenly Demon.”
“The fortuitous encounter that Yura, Biyeon, you, and the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Leader had… It’s called the Demonic Spirit Binding Qi Current Formation.”
I felt a chill run down my spine at the fact that he knew the formation’s name so precisely.
‘Did Cheon Yura tell him? No, from his tone, it feels like he’s known about it from long ago.’
While I was spinning thoughts in my head, Cheon Taejong continued.
“And the formation linked to that one is known as the Great Heavenly Demon Subjugation Formation.”
“…?”
“They say that if you can survive within those two formations for one thousand days, you’ll gain the power to subjugate demons themselves.”
‘Why is he phrasing that as a possibility and not a certainty?’
What exactly was the Cult Leader trying to tell me?
“Still don’t understand what I’m saying?”
Then, finally, Cheon Taejong revealed a shocking truth.
“You, right now… have experienced half of the Origin Flow of the Thousand-Day Pass, which surpasses even the Main Flow.”