Chapter 112
Zhuge Long and the martial arts masters of the Nine Prominent Sects took a ship to Jingzhou, then traveled on foot to the Great Zhuge Family’s home base at Mount Longzhong. They picked up the pace upon receiving word at Jingzhou that the elite members of the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin were gathering at Mount Longzhong. They had to return to base before the elite members of the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin could launch an attack.
Using the main road to move as fast as they could, they passed through Jingmen in just two days after getting off the ship at Jingzhou. At their current speed, they would likely reach Mount Longzhong within four days at the latest. However, on the way to Mount Longzhong, around a hundred people blocked their path.
The expressions of Zhuge Long and the other martial artists hardened upon seeing the group. Considering they were well-equipped with weapons and blocked the main road in broad daylight, they were clearly up to no good. What gave them away, however, was the horrendous demonic qi emanating from them. Zhuge Long and the others immediately concluded that they were demonic practitioners from the Nine Celestial Demon Sect.
“You’re too late. I’ve been dying of boredom just waiting for you people to arrive,” Shi Woo-Kang, a member of the group, said as he stretched. He was known as the Demonic Wind Monarch, one of the Seven Monarchs of Myriad Tribulations.
“You all seem to be from the Nine Celestial Demons Sect,” Great Monk Gong Seon commented.
“That’s right.” Woo-Kang shrugged. “Now, if none of you wants to die, hand over the Zhuge Clan member to us.”
“You speak as if you will let the rest of us live if we hand over Elder Zhuge.”
Elder Hyeon Myung had no intention of handing Zhuge Long to them, but he knew that these demonic practitioners would not let the rest of them walk away unscathed even if they did.
“I can’t spare all of you, but I will let at least one person live. Does anyone want to save themselves?” Woo-Kang smiled.
“We will not betray our companions just to beg for our lives.”
“Then you leave me with no choice. Kill everyone except Zhuge Long!” Woo-Kang ordered, his expression suddenly changing.
As instructed, the demonic practitioners behind him rushed toward Zhuge Long and his group. At the same time, Zhuge Long and his allies immediately drew their weapons and charged at their enemies head-on. Two of them were Absolute Realm masters, while the rest were Upper Peak Realm martial artists, so not even the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s ordinary demonic practitioners could threaten them in the slightest.
“Wow, I guess you all aren’t martial arts masters for nothing, huh? Seems like our martial arts masters should step up too.” Woo-Kang gestured to the three middle-aged men standing next to him.
To his right was Seol Gong-Cheon, the Clear Moon Demonic Monarch of the Seven Monarchs of Myriad Tribulations. He was a middle-aged man that gave off a cold aura. Meanwhile, Yeo Gwang stood to his left. Known as the Gigantic Spirit Demonic Monarch of the Six Blood-Crazed Tyrants, Yeo Gwang was a giant two heads taller than the average man. Meng Sah-Do, the chubby man next to Yeo Gwang, was also one of the Six Blood Crazed Tyrants. He was called the Phantom Spirit Demonic Monarch.
“We should, shouldn’t we? Higher Demons, come forward!” Sah-Do ordered the fifteen Upper Peak Realm demonic practitioners standing by behind them. They were followers of the four Demonic Monarchs.
“Yes, sir!” The fifteen Upper Peak Realm demonic practitioners followed the Phantom Spirit Demonic Monarch’s order without a hint of hesitation.
“I think we have to take care of the Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect masters ourselves. Does anyone want to have a go at them?” Woo-Kang asked, pointing to Great Monk Gong Seon and Elder Hyeon-Myung, who were Absolute Realm masters.
“I’ll handle the old fart of the Shaolin Temple,” Yeo Gwang said, wanting to fight Great Monk Gong Seon himself.
Having mastered the Gigantic Black Demon Spirit Fist Art, Yeo Gwang had been wanting to compete against the martial arts masters of the Shaolin Temple, which was renowned for their fists.
“Do as you please.”
“I’ll handle the Wudang Sect elder, then.”
When the Blood-Crazed Clan decided to deal with Great Monk Gong Seon, Gong-Cheon decided to deal with Elder Hyeon Myung himself. As the two Demonic Monarchs stepped forward, Woo-Kang and Sah-Do stayed in the backlines to watch the fight.
As Yeo Gwang and Gong-Cheon approached Great Monk Gong Seon and Elder Hyeon Myung, the fifteen Higher Demons dealt with Zhuge Long and the other masters from the Nine Prominent Sects. Since they were only six strong, they one-sidedly lost ground against the joint attacks of the fifteen Higher Demons.
The Higher Demons were also Upper Peak Realm masters, and although they were slightly weaker compared to the masters of the Nine Prominent Sects, the difference in their strength was as meager as a piece of paper. Considering the Higher Demons also had twice their number, handling their enemies’ joint attacks proved impossible. The Nine Prominent Sects’ martial arts masters fought with all their might, but aside from Zhuge Long, they all ultimately failed to stop the Higher Demons’ joint attacks. Eventually, they began to fall one by one.
Despite being the only one left, Zhuge Long held out and did not easily falter. However, he remained standing not because of his outstanding skills. Rather, the Higher Demons had been going easy on him because they had to capture him alive. After defeating the other masters from the Nine Prominent Sects, the other Higher Demons began targeting Zhuge Long as well. Unable to withstand their series of attacks, Zhuge Long was finally subdued.
He knew the Nine Celestial Demon Sect’s Higher Demons captured him alive to get him to teach them how to destroy the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array. However, it didn’t matter how hard the Nine Celestial Demon Sect’s demonic practitioners interrogated him since even he didn’t know of any methods that could stop the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array from working. The Zhuge Clan could activate it, but they didn’t have the slightest clue on how to deactivate it.
While the Higher Demons of the Myriad Tribulations Clan and the Blood-Crazed Clan subdued Zhuge Long, Yeo Gwang and Gong-Cheon remained engaged in a fierce and thrilling battle against Great Monk Gong Seon and Elder Hyeon Myung. With all combatants equal in skills, they quickly turned the situation around whenever one side gained the upper hand.
However, they couldn’t afford to let this fight go on forever. With the Nine Prominent Sect masters defeated, Woo-Kang gestured at the Higher Demons, who were now just observing the battle, to intervene and help put an end to the two Absolute Realm masters’ resistance.
The Higher Demons immediately attacked Great Monk Gong Seon and Elder Hyeon Myung, forcing the two to divide their attention and go on the defensive.
Considering they were already up against opponents who were fighting them to a standstill, the Higher Demons joining their enemies as well made it impossible for the two to turn the tides of the battle. Eventually, Yeo Gwang and Gong-Cheon struck Great Monk Gong Seon and Elder Hyeong Myung in the chest with their fists and sword respectively.
Zhuge Long shed tears of grief upon witnessing the deaths of the Nine Prominent Sect masters who traveled with him to help the Great Zhuge Family. If he knew this would happen, he would have refused their support and wholeheartedly put his faith in the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array instead. However, there was no use regretting it now.
* * *
After separating from the Great Namgung Family’s group, Mu-Gun’s group managed to return to Wuchang just in time to transport the silver nyangs, which he commissioned the East Lake Merchant Association to do. Despite Hwang Rei’s concerns, the East Lake Vault obediently let Mu-Gun withdraw five hundred thousand silver nyangs, and the East Lake Merchant Association immediately received the money and loaded it on their ship.
Before the East Lake Merchant Association’s ship departed, their transportation officer confirmed the personnel in charge of escorting the ship. Mu-Gun appointed himself, Hwang Rei, and five of the Six White Wolves for the position. Wearing a pigskin mask, Six White Wolves member Baek San-Kyung was disguised as the owner of Mu-Gun’s money.
The transportation officer seemed baffled at first upon learning that they only had seven escorts for the ship, but he didn’t say anything else upon learning of Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei’s identities. The East Lake Merchant Association was well informed about murim-related matters. Hence, they naturally knew about Mu-Gun, Hwang Rei, and, more importantly, their skills.
One Absolute Realm master was already better than a hundred regular guards, yet two would be guarding the cargo ship. Upon confirming the number of escorts and seeing no reason to demand additional guards, the transportation officer finished up the final paperwork and allowed the ship to depart. Not long after, the ship set sail for Nanjing via the Changjiang River.
No matter how fast they sailed, it would take more than ten days at the minimum to reach Nanjing from Wuchang. It normally would’ve been inevitable to encounter the Changjiang Waterway Alliance’s river thieves several times throughout their journey to Nanjing, but due to the huge damages the Changjiang Waterway Alliance sustained at Dongting Lake and the heavy losses they suffered when they joined hands with the Four Seas Gang, they were no longer a threat to Mu-Gun’s group.
The East Lake Merchant Association’s ship passed through the Changjiang River without any problems and reached Nanjing eleven days after leaving Wuchang. As soon as they docked, Mu-Gun’s group transported the five hundred thousand silver nyangs from the East Lake Merchant Association’s ship to the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch. Upon confirming Mu-Gun’s identity, the branch head readily agreed to temporarily stash the five hundred thousand nyangs away.
Aftward, Mu-Gun commissioned the Eun Merchant Group to transport the five hundred thousand silver nyangs to Wenzhou. In response, the Nanjing branch head sent an emergency carrier pigeon to the Eun Merchant Group. Eventually, for the price of five thousand nyangs, they agreed to transport the five hundred thousand nyangs through a ship that will arrive at Nanjing in ten days. After signing a transportation agreement with the Eun Merchant Group, Mu-Gun and his group found a place to stay until the ship arrived.
While in Nanjing, Mu-Gun received shocking news. The Nine Prominent Sects’ martial arts masters who were on their way to help the Great Zhuge Family had been completely wiped out by the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s demonic practitioners. Mu-Gun couldn’t help but feel bad and deeply regretful. If he knew this would happen, he would have accompanied them instead.
However, he was still human in the end. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t be involved in all of murim’s affairs. Along with their deaths came news about the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin’s elite members gathering at Mount Longzhong to attack the Great Zhuge Family. However, they apparently still hadn’t done anything despite being there for over seven days already.
As soon as Mu-Gun got the news, he immediately concluded that the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array—the flawless defensive array that protected the Great Zhuge Family—was preventing the two organizations from attacking the Great Zhuge Family. In his previous life, he had tried to find a path that would lead him through it. However, even with his Thunder God’s Heavenly Eyes, he had still failed to find an entrance or a gap in it. Simply put, it was such a perfect array that a way to destroy it did not exist.
The only way to get rid of it was to erase the very space where the array was installed. However, not even Supreme Realm masters could accomplish such a feat. Mythic Realm masters perhaps could, but no one, not even the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s elites, had been able to reach that unprecedented level in all of murim. Hence, it was basically impossible to destroy the Great Zhuge Family’s Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array.
However, activating it consumed a huge amount of natural energy. Considering Mount Longzhong had a finite source of natural energy, the Great Zhuge Family could likely only maintain the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array for fifteen days at most. Once it was down, it would take at least a month to activate it again. Hence, to survive, the Great Zhuge Family had to receive reinforcements within the fifteen days that the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array was still active.
Mu-Gun thought that the sects near the Great Zhuge Family, including the Wudang Sect, the Shaolin Temple, the Mount Hua Sect, the Zongnan Sect, and their subsidiary families, would send reinforcements and force the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin to retreat. After some time, his prediction proved correct. The Wudang Sect, the Shaolin Temple, the Mount Hua Sect, the Zongnan Sect, and their subsidiary families sent a huge force to Mount Longzhong to help the Great Zhuge Family. As a result, the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin’s elite forces were left with no other choice but to retreat before the Forbidden Soul Destroyer Array went down.
In the midst of it all, three Eun Merchant Group cargo ships, escorted by two other ships, arrived at Nanjing. Aboard the escort ships were a hundred Baek Sword Sect warriors and a hundred Justice Martial Sect warriors.
After dividing and loading the five hundred silver nyangs onto the three merchant ships, their fleet set sail for Wenzhou. Mu-Gun and his group were aboard one of the escort ships that accompanied the merchant ships.
* * *
Approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers away from Qingdao, Shandong Province was an island where fishermen dared not wander around. Known as the Black Spirit Island, the island was surrounded by powerful sea currents and covered in black fog all year round, giving it a dreary atmosphere. Those conditions limited what the world knew about the Black Spirit Island, ultimately turning it into the best place for pirates to hide their headquarters in. The island could also accommodate over ten thousand people, and the waves around it grew calmer past a certain area, making it easy to come ashore.
Refusing to let go of such great advantages, the Four Seas Gang had made the Black Spirit Island their home base and, eventually, turned it into a city. They built the huge palace of Four Seas Divine Dragon Jae Cheon-Kang, the Four Seas Gang’s leader, in the middle of the tall Black Spirit Mountain, which was located west of Black Spirit Island.
Currently, Jae Cheon-Kang was having a meeting inside the palace with Blood Sword Demonic Monarch Yang Hwa-Gun of the Invincible Clan’s Eight Great Demonic Monarchs and Dark Sky Demonic Monarch Jeon Gok of the Heavenly Killer Sect’s Seven Heavenly Killer Monarchs. The two middle-aged people exuded demonic qi so thick that anyone who saw them would immediately assume that they were from the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
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