The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Yi-ryong wiped his darkened eyes.

The Emperor’s Longevity Hall was adorned with red silk.

The sunlight partially pierced through the silk, scattering a suffocating crimson hue.

To suit that color perfectly, the interior of the Emperor’s Longevity Hall was filled with the stench of blood.

It was because of the emperor’s blood in the bowl.

Perhaps it was due to the higher grease content compared to ordinary human blood, making the scent verge on foul.

Yi-ryong and the Seven Great Immortals remained silent.

The preparation for the grand spell was complete. Now, all that was left was for Jeok-woong and Chu Yeong-ho to return with the Honorable County Princess, and it would be over.

“…”

Although no one uttered a single word, the interior of the Emperor’s Longevity Hall wasn’t silent.

“Die!”

“Traitor!”

The sounds within the Emperor’s Longevity Hall didn’t escape outside, but the noises from the outside intruded regardless.

It was clear that a battle was raging beyond the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

Yi-ryong approached the window and slightly pulled aside the silk.

The outside came into view.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were entangled in a fierce battle.

Provoking Commander-in-Chief Bu Yeong-hu and the Third Prince’s faction was easy.

All they did was falsify an imperial edict, pretending it conveyed the emperor’s intention regarding succession. Adding a few lies made everything flow as desired.

However, they were not what Yi-ryong was seeking.

“…They’re not coming.”

Chu Yeong-ho and Jeok-woong had not returned.

They had waited long enough. There was no more time to wait.

“We begin the grand spell now.”

They were probably dead.

Sensing this, the faces of Wi Mi-hyeon and Heuk Seok-gye darkened.

But their bodies moved without hesitation.

“Set up the barrier.”

The grand spell must never be interrupted.

A barrier had to be placed around the Emperor’s Longevity Hall to prevent anyone from entering.

If they realized something was wrong, even the Embroidered Uniform Guard would storm into the Emperor’s Longevity Hall to kill the Seven Great Immortals.

Clang—

Wi Mi-hyeon opened the metal box that had been prepared in advance.

Soon, even through the thick stench of blood, a clear fragrance spread.

Inside were the rarest elixirs in the world.

Using the emperor’s authority, they had been stolen from the Imperial Palace’s Medicine Vault.

First, they took out the internal elixir of the legendary Old Nine-Shell Turtle, said to drift deep within Mount Hua.

Wi Mi-hyeon pulled it out and crushed it in his palm without hesitation.

As the fiery yang energy spread, his palm began to peel, and beads of blood started to form.

The white rice scattered on the ground began to burn and blacken.

Wi Mi-hyeon repeated the process.

This time, he shattered the Millennium Ice Essence, retrieved from the deep ice of the Northern Sea.

Next, he crushed the fruit of a cactus, which bloomed once every 1,000 years in the great western desert.

Elixirs, each worth a fortune, enough to purchase an entire castle, vanished in vain.

At the moment when the supreme barrier created by these elixirs was about to form…

“Yi-gang–!”

Someone shouted the name of the Crown Prince’s teacher.

Yi-ryong flinched and approached the window once more.

“We will activate the Heavenly Dark Barrier!”

Yi-ryong nodded in response to Wi Mi-hyeon’s shout.

However, his gaze remained fixed on a single figure visible beyond the silk curtain.

A swordsman in red came charging forward without hesitation.

Yi-gang swung his sword, launching an attack on Commander-in-Chief Bu Yeong-hu, a Supreme Peak master.

Bu Yeong-hu, who was startled and wide-eyed, hurriedly parried the sword, but as if by magic, the sword returned to Yi-gang’s hand.

Jin Mu grinned brightly at Yi-gang’s arrival.

Then, with a shout, he yelled, “Inside there!”

It was obvious he was referring to the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

Yi-gang was running straight toward the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

Bu Yeong-hu gritted his teeth and tried to block Yi-gang, but Jin Mu didn’t stand idly by.

Jin Mu used the refined sword techniques of the Azure Forest without holding back to stall Bu Yeong-hu.

Meanwhile, the Embroidered Uniform Guard commanders blocked Yi-gang’s path.

Someone thrust a spear.

However, instead of deflecting it, Yi-gang leaped into the air.

Astonishingly, he stepped on the shaft of the spear.

He sprang up.

Stunned, he slammed down onto the face of one of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

And then, he leaped once more.

Yi-ryong bared his teeth like a beast sensing danger.

Through the gap in the parted silk, his eyes met Yi-gang’s directly.

Rip—!

The completion of the barrier meant to protect the Emperor’s Longevity Hall and Yi-gang’s tearing through the silk to infiltrate happened almost simultaneously.

“Force the grand spell! Hold your ground!”

Yi-ryong’s shout was as powerful as the roar of a Shaolin lion.

The red silk, slashed apart by Yi-gang’s sword, flew toward Yi-ryong.

Through the fluttering fabric, Yi-gang’s Shooting Star Fang pierced forward.

“Argh!”

Heuk Seok-gye, who had been aiming his sword at the Crown Prince’s carotid artery, had his shoulder impaled by Yi-gang’s blade.

“You wretch!”

Yi-ryong swung his hand like an enraged lion.

The Shaolin fist techniques still ingrained in his body ripped through the red silk with a burst.

His intent was to tear through Yi-gang as well, but Yi-gang was no longer there.

“Eldest Brother! He’s above!”

Wi Mi-hyeon shouted the warning as Yi-gang leaped into the air and hurled a throwing knife.

Yi-ryong clicked his tongue as he tilted his head upward.

Wi Mi-hyeon was the weakest in martial arts. The throwing knife she clumsily threw was easily caught by Yi-gang.

Yi-gang immediately returned it to her.

Whizz—Thud!

Wi Mi-hyeon was fortunate that Yi-gang wasn’t an expert in hidden weapon techniques.

The knife flew past Wi Mi-hyeon’s neck and embedded itself into a pillar.

Instead of recklessly attacking Yi-gang, Yi-ryong made a more calculated decision.

“If you move, the Crown Prince dies!”

He shouted while gripping the Crown Prince by the neck.

Yi-gang’s Shooting Star Fang, which he had retrieved at some point, twitched in his hand.

“Do you think I’m joking?”

As Yi-ryong tightened his grip, the Crown Prince’s face turned a deep red.

His sharpened nails dug into the prince’s neck, drawing droplets of blood.

In the end, Yi-gang lowered his sword.

“…So, you’re resorting to taking a hostage?”

“Exactly. You’ve read me well.”

Despite his inner turmoil, Yi-ryong’s face quickly hardened, showing no emotion.

Yi-gang, standing opposite him, wore an equally cold expression, as if they were staring into a mirror.

“Wi Mi-hyeon, Heuk Seok-gye, begin the other parts of the grand spell.”

Yi-ryong was confident that if the three of them attacked Yi-gang together, they could subdue him.

However, if even one of the three were to die in the process, the loss would be far greater than the gain.

“It would be wise not to try anything foolish,” Yi-gang warned in a voice as cold as ice, “If you so much as touch the Crown Prince…”

He was a man who had already been through hell.

A fierce aura emanated from him—one that no young man in his early twenties should possess.

“All of you will die.”

“…”

Yi-ryong and the Seven Great Immortals did not fear death.

“And your ridiculous plan to resurrect the Heavenly Demon? I will crush that as well.”

That was what they truly feared.

“…You seem to know quite a bit.”

“Someone told me many secrets. I might even know more about the Heavenly Demon than you do.”

Yi-ryong’s brow twitched, but he didn’t believe it.

He couldn’t have imagined that by Yi-gang’s side was none other than Zhang Sanfeng, the sworn enemy of the Heavenly Demon.

「There he is. Over there.」

Zhang Sanfeng’s expression had never been more serious.

His eyes were fixed on the items Heuk Seok-gye was organizing.

Each one was old and worn—a sword, a hair ornament once owned by a necromancer.

「With the emperor’s blood, they now have three pieces.」

‘Is it possible to resurrect him without all the soul fragments?’

「If more than half are gathered, it’s possible. As for the remaining items, he will easily find them himself.」

Yi-gang glanced at Yi-ryong and then at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was trembling uncontrollably, unable to utter a single word.

Looking up, Yi-gang noticed the Guardian silently observing them.

“Guardian!” Yi-gang suddenly shouted, but the guard remained silent.

Yi-ryong sneered at the sight.

“The Guardian is nothing more than a puppet. Didn’t you know that?”

“…I see.”

Yi-gang knew, but he pretended otherwise.

Meanwhile, Wi Mi-hyeon and Heuk Seok-gye continued progressing with the grand spell step by step.

Yi-gang asked as if to confirm, “Are you going to manipulate the emperor like a puppet to aid the Demon Cult’s invasion of the Central Plains?”

“…Hmph.”

At the direct question, Yi-ryong let out a bitter smile.

“To be honest, that was the first plan, but things have changed. Now, we only seek his resurrection.”

It was true. The Seven Great Immortals could no longer control the emperor as they did before in Huangtian Palace.

The scale had grown too large.

“Fine, then I don’t care. Just let the Crown Prince go.”

Yi-ryong looked somewhat surprised at Yi-gang’s words.

“…Very well. There are ways to achieve our goal without killing the Crown Prince. However, you’ll have to wait a bit. We will draw the necessary amount of blood and return him unharmed.”

“Alright, I understand.”

A moment of silence followed.

Yi-gang thought quietly to himself, ‘That’s a lie.’

「Indeed it is.」

There was little chance that Yi-ryong’s words were true.

If they only needed a small amount of blood from the Crown Prince, they could have extracted it in the same manner they had collected the emperor’s blood already.

However, Yi-ryong continued waiting for a certain “moment.”

As if he were aiming to sever the Crown Prince’s life in an instant to achieve something.

There was no need to take any more risks.

Yi-gang cautiously clenched his left hand.

In his left hand was the Flood Dragon’s heart, holding the power to let Zhang Sanfeng take over.

「You’ve done well. From here on, leave it to me.」

Zhang Sanfeng smiled faintly.

Yi-ryong, the Guardian, and the remaining Seven Great Immortals.

What was there to fear, other than the Heavenly Demon who had yet to be resurrected?

「It seems the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon will be delayed for now.」

Borrowing Yi-gang’s body, Zhang Sanfeng would swiftly eliminate the enemies in the hall.

‘Please use my body carefully.’

「I will.」

And then, Zhang Sanfeng possessed Yi-gang’s body.

His mind grew dizzy.

All the sensations in his body began to fade away.

The still not fully healed blood vessels sparked with an electrifying sensation.

That was exactly how it was supposed to feel.

「Ah.」

Zhang Sanfeng passed through Yi-gang without any effect.

‘What are you doing?’

「Wait a moment, let me try again… Ah.」

Once again, the possession failed.

Yi-gang was bewildered.

“…What kind of trickery are you up to?”

Yi-ryong furrowed his brows and pressed Yi-gang for answers.

Even though Yi-gang’s face remained calm, he was internally shaken.

「It seems it’s because of the barrier surrounding this place.」

The Heavenly Dark Barrier was created by consuming rare elixirs.

The barrier, meant to guide the soul fragments of the Heavenly Demon, was designed to prevent any other spirits from possessing the “vessel.”

And it appeared that Zhang Sanfeng was considered one of those other spirits.

“…Hoo.”

This was no ordinary crisis.

Yi-gang, feeling his head grow dizzy, tightly gripped the Shooting Star Fang.

Meanwhile, outside the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

The once intense battle had already calmed down.

It had be.

Commander-in-Chief Bu Yeong-hu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Admiral Grand Eunuch Hu Gyeong, who had joined them here, stared at the Emperor’s Longevity Hall with bewildered expressions.

“What is this… strange…?”

The entire Emperor’s Longevity Hall was covered in something pitch-black.

It glistened like obsidian.

Just moments ago, Bu Yeong-hu had struck it with the force of his sword energy, but it hadn’t left a scratch.

The emperor, the Seven Great Immortals, and Yi-gang, who had infiltrated the place, were completely isolated from the outside.

But that wasn’t the only strange thing.

“The sky… has turned red.”

“It’s still a long time before sunset.”

The sky, centered around the Emperor’s Longevity Hall, had turned a crimson red.

An ominous, blood-red hue that anyone could see as foreboding.

“Commander-in-Chief, what exactly have you done?”

At Hu Gyeong’s remark, Bu Yeong-hu’s face reddened.

“What nonsense! Wasn’t this your doing? My Embroidered Uniform Guards and I were only trying to protect His Imperial Majesty.”

“Oh my. How shameless.”

Hu Gyeong was about to throw a few more biting words, but then closed his mouth.

Soon, the Embroidered Uniform soldiers outside the fortress would arrive, and wasting energy here wouldn’t achieve anything.

What mattered now was what was happening inside.

“…Yi-gang.”

Jin Mu recalled his youngest junior brother, who had just stormed into the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

Though he only caught a glimpse, Yi-gang’s divine presence was unmistakably trustworthy.

It was more fitting to entrust the task to Yi-gang than for Jin Mu to enter himself.

“Will he be alright?”

However, as the eldest senior brother, he couldn’t help but worry about his youngest junior brother. There was no way to know what might unfold inside.

Suddenly, Jin Mu wondered if Dam Hyun had properly delivered the item to Yi-gang.

If it contained the arrangements from the Forest Lord, it would surely be of help.

“This is a bit late, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, it’s late…”

As Jin Mu turned around, Dam Hyun was standing there.

In his hand was the wooden box given to him by the Forest Lord.

“Hey, you idiot!” Jin Mu shouted furiously, “You said you’d deliver it yourself!”

“Well, a bear-like guy suddenly jumped at me out of nowhere. Then I went looking for Yi-gang, but I saw him riding a horse at full speed in the distance. How was I supposed to catch up to that?”

“Kugh…”

Dam Hyun had his own justifiable reasons.

Thanks to Cheongho, they knew where Yi-gang was.

But that was the problem.

Yi-gang had been riding his horse all over the place, making it impossible for Dam Hyun to catch up.

Moreover, he had been fighting Jeok-woong, who had used the Explosive Blood Art, so the box was still in Dam Hyun’s possession.

“Yi-gang is trapped in there, right?”

“Yeah, do you think you could open that?”

“It’s not ordinary. It’s not even like the Eight-Trigrams Formation. Even with the Star Mist Alarm Bell, it would take three days to break it.”

“Tsk… So, what exactly was in that box, anyway?”

Dam Hyun opened the wooden box.

“Come to think of it, there’s no real need to hand this over directly.”

“Huh?”

“This is… what it is.”

As Dam Hyun whispered, Jin Mu’s eyes widened in shock.

“Why… why would the Forest Lord give something like that…?”

“Because it’s necessary, of course. And given what it is, it had to be kept secret.”

“Then…”

“Do you want to try it, Senior Brother? You just have to channel your True Qi into your voice and shout it out loud. Infuse the object with your True Qi as well.”

“N-no, I’ll pass!”

Jin Mu vigorously waved his hand, rejecting Dam Hyun’s suggestion.

Dam Hyun laughed and declared, “Then I’ll do it.”

What he pulled out from the box was a metal plaque, similar in size to an identity tag.

Engraved on it were the characters 天無二日.

The grand phrase meant, “There can be only one sun in the sky.”

It was the Heavenly Demon’s Plaque, the emblem symbolizing the authority of the Heavenly Demon from the Heavenly Demon Cult, one of the sacred relics the Demon Cult had lost, and it possessed mysterious powers akin to a Treasure.

It only worked for the followers of the Demon Cult.

By holding the plaque, infusing it with True Qi, and shouting while channeling spiritual energy, its extraordinary ability would be activated.

“The Divine Demon descends!”

The booming, majestic voice drew everyone’s attention.

Jin Mu felt dizzy hearing those words come from the mouth of a disciple of the Azure Forest.

“The Divine Demon descends!”

The thunderous voice echoed even inside the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.

Yi-gang recognized it as Dam Hyun’s voice.

A strange wave, something he had only experienced once before, swept through his body.

For Yi-gang, it only had a minor effect.

However, for Yi-ryong and the Seven Great Immortals, it had a different impact.

All followers of the Demon Cult were bound by a commandment to obey the authority of the Heavenly Demon.

Their eyes momentarily dulled.

The commandment, etched into their spirits, forced them to utter words of submission.

“To conquer… the world…!”

And Yi-gang didn’t miss that opportunity.

His Shooting Star Fang swept through the Emperor’s Longevity Hall.