Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109

A tavern vibrating with the acrid scent of blood.

Over twenty corpses were tangled among the fragments of broken tables and chairs.

Some lay face-down on tables, others leaned against walls, and still others had died in the very position they’d been crawling across the floor.

It wasn’t just blood that soaked the floor.

Bamboo leaf liquor spilled from broken bottles mixed with the abundant fresh blood, creating a fishy yet sickly sweet stench.

In the center of that hellish scene.

Namgung Cheon looked down at his clothes with indifferent eyes.

Red droplets of blood were scattered across his black martial robes.

Despite being careful to avoid blood splatter, cutting down twenty men in such a confined space had left inevitable traces.

“…I’ll need new robes.”

Namgung Cheon picked up a bottle from a nearby table and wet his throat.

Then he slowly began walking.

Toward the one person still alive.

At the kitchen entrance, in a corner among fallen tables and broken bottle debris, one person trembled violently—the innkeeper.

“Urgh, huff… Please spare me! I didn’t see anything!”

He lay flat on the floor with his head covered, trembling like an aspen leaf.

His appearance—retching from terror while begging for his life—was unmistakably that of an ordinary commoner.

But Namgung Cheon set down the bottle in his hand and gazed down at him quietly.

“An innkeeper whose martial prowess is higher than those so-called Heukwoong leaders and such.”

At Namgung Cheon’s dry voice, the innkeeper’s trembling stopped for an instant.

“…”

A moment that an ordinary person would never have noticed.

But it couldn’t fool Namgung Cheon’s senses.

“You’re also prepared to leap through the window at any time, and your breathing is steady too.”

“…”

Namgung Cheon crouched in front of the innkeeper and continued.

“You know what?”

“…What do you mean?”

“That you’ve stopped trembling now.”

As soon as Namgung Cheon finished speaking, the innkeeper’s shoulders twitched once more like a spasm.

The man who had been keeping his head down slowly raised his upper body.

And.

“…Your perception is quite extraordinary.”

The innkeeper spoke in a completely different tone than before.

Then the innkeeper lightly brushed off the dust and blood on his clothes as he stood up.

As his back, which had been humbly bent just moments ago, straightened, an extraordinary aura flowed from his entire body.

Namgung Cheon rummaged through a bundle in the corner and pulled out a jade token.

It was the jade token that Cheonmein, the master of Haowen Clan, had given him previously.

“Is this valid in Gwiju as well?”

Namgung Cheon lightly tossed the jade token.

Thud.

The innkeeper caught the flying jade token with one hand, then carefully examined its surface under the light of the broken oil lamp.

He checked several times both the Haowen seal carved on the front of the jade token and the hidden markings on its reverse.

The innkeeper’s eyes trembled slightly.

Soon he immediately bowed deeply and held up the jade token with both hands.

“…So you were the honored guest the clan master mentioned. I apologize for not recognizing you.”

He carefully returned the jade token while adding:

“Yes, it’s valid. Wherever Haowen’s shadow reaches in Junghwon, the bearer of this token is an honored guest of Haowen. Especially here in Gwiju.”

The innkeeper pointed to the back door of the tavern and lowered his voice.

“This Seonghwajin is a place watched by all eyes and ears in Gwiju. So let’s move locations. I’ll provide you with all the information you desire, young master.”

Namgung Cheon silently pocketed the jade token and stood up.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes.”

The innkeeper took the lead and went outside through the back door.

Namgung Cheon followed behind him, pulling his bamboo hat down low.

* * *

The place the innkeeper led him to was a small cave hidden in a cliff crevice, reached through a secret passage beneath the tavern.

It was structured to be absolutely invisible from outside.

Whoosh—.

As they entered the cave interior, damp humidity along with the smell of old paper hit them.

On the cave walls, detailed maps showing all of Gwiju were precisely drawn on leather, and dozens of coded messages and cipher texts were neatly stacked on shelves.

The innkeeper lit a brazier in the corner and began brewing tea as he spoke.

“I’m Amseoh, the person in charge of Seonghwajin Branch. I didn’t expect the honored guest the clan master mentioned to appear here.”

Namgung Cheon sat in a chair placed in the corner and immediately got to the point.

“Manmangok. Who entered that place?”

Amseoh’s expression instantly became serious.

He pointed with his finger to a spot on the map hanging on the wall.

It was a treacherous valley half a day’s journey south of Seonghwajin, where bizarre rocks formed a forest.

“A week ago, a group passed through Seonghwajin. There were easily over thirty masters who had reached the peak level, and three others estimated to be even higher. The direction they headed was toward Manmangok.”

“Direction? So you couldn’t find out precisely.”

“Yes, all our tails were cut off, so we barely managed to learn their direction, but we couldn’t confirm if they definitely headed to Manmangok.”

Namgung Cheon’s brow furrowed.

‘Thirty peak-level masters and three above that.’

It was formidable strength.

It seemed the failure at Kunlun had made them even more desperate.

“Did they happen to bring any special equipment?”

At Namgung Cheon’s question, Amseoh thought for a moment then nodded.

“Yes. There was a report that they threatened craftsmen on the outskirts of Seonghwajin to procure specially made ropes and pulleys.”

“I see.”

Namgung Cheon stood up.

There was no more information to hear.

If they had even prepared ropes and pulleys, it was certain.

Cheongang of Manmangok where Eumwolbigo was located.

That place was their target.

‘If they moved a week ahead, by now they would have already reached the bottom of Cheongang and be in front of Bigo.’

Namgung Cheon looked at Amseoh and spoke quietly.

“Bill the compensation through Haowen Anhui Branch.”

“I cannot accept compensation from someone bearing a secret token. I don’t want to lose my head to the clan master.”

Amseoh raised the corners of his mouth and cupped his fists.

“However, if you finish your business and return safely… please stop by once.”

Namgung Cheon nodded lightly and pulled his bamboo hat down low.

“I will.”

With those words, Namgung Cheon left the cave.

Amseoh watched Namgung Cheon’s retreating figure as he exited the cave.

He muttered quietly.

“May you stay safe.”

Amseoh swallowed dryly and continued speaking.

“The young master’s life is worth more than this entire land of Gwiju combined.”

* * *

As soon as he left the cave, cold night air swept across Namgung Cheon’s entire body.

At the same time, he clearly felt gazes upon him.

‘…As expected, they’re following me.’

Namgung Cheon’s eyes narrowed beneath his deeply pulled bamboo hat.

Near the tavern filled with corpses and on the rooftop of the building across from it.

Though they were secretly concealing their presence, Namgung Cheon’s keen senses didn’t miss the murky aura they emanated.

Whether they were Sangdocheon’s tails or just common black path members of Gwiju didn’t matter.

Either way, they wouldn’t be able to follow him much longer.

‘One step without self, all things become shadows.’

As he recited the incantation of the Shadowless Stealth Technique, Namgung Cheon’s form became blurred as if melting into the air.

“Gasp!”

One of the black-robed assailants watching him panicked and sucked in empty air.

By the time the watchers panicked and rushed from their positions, Namgung Cheon was already crossing the precarious pier of Seonghwajin.

After leaving Seonghwajin and running south for about an hour, a bizarre landscape greeted Namgung Cheon.

Manmangok.

True to its name that made one forget even ten thousand memories, Manmangok had an appearance beyond human comprehension.

Sheer limestone pillars rose densely like a forest, and between them flowed mysterious gray mist.

A dark valley where even moonlight couldn’t reach.

Namgung Cheon pushed through that strange rocky forest.

‘Almost there.’

Wooong―.

Meorhon, seated deep in his dantian, vibrated slightly.

Another fragment of Cheonma-hon, Chimhon (Soul Invasion).

The power to paralyze reason and draw out the heart demons hidden in the depths, making one destroy oneself.

Furthermore, the power to forcibly subjugate people through brainwashing.

That was the true power of Chimhon.

Finally, at the deepest part of Manmangok.

Namgung Cheon’s footsteps stopped.

Below his feet spread an endless cliff.

More precisely, centered on where Namgung Cheon stood, an area spanning a full hundred zhang was completely sunken into the ground.

It was a Cheongang (Heavenly Pit).

From inside the endlessly dark hole that swallowed all light, bone-chilling cold air spiraled upward.

Namgung Cheon quietly looked down below.

Around the entrance, massive pulleys and dozens of ropes were tangled like hideous spider webs.

‘They threw themselves down believing there was a Bigo at the bottom of this Cheongang.’

A sneer crossed Namgung Cheon’s lips.

‘However, the Cheonma Seven Vaults can only be properly opened by Cheonma Sinkong.’

If one tried to artificially open them by other means, the Cheonma-hon inside would annihilate both the Bigo and the intruders, just like at Seollyeong Bigo.

‘To attempt this again after experiencing Seollyeong Bigo.’

This naturally raised a question.

‘What exactly are they trusting to crawl down there?’

No matter how greedy Sangdocheon’s group was, they wouldn’t pour such massive forces including transcendent masters into such a meaningless endeavor.

Then there was only one answer.

‘…Is there something that can substitute for Cheonma Sinkong?’

No, that was impossible.

The Cheonma Seven Vaults required Cheonma Sinkong as both qualification and key from the beginning.

‘Still, I should confirm it.’

The method of confirmation was simple.

Go down directly and eliminate them one by one, making them open their tightly sealed mouths.

Even broad daylight couldn’t reach the deep bottom of that Cheongang.

Pitch-black darkness where one couldn’t see an inch ahead.

That eternal darkness would be.

‘The most perfect disguise and weapon for me.’

A cold smile spread across Namgung Cheon’s lips.

Assassination.

This was the method Namgung Cheon had chosen.

It was a technique that the young master of the orthodox Namgung Clan would never choose.

‘However, here and now, the gaze of the orthodox faction doesn’t exist.’

Namgung Cheon drew the poison dagger from his waist.

Tak.

As he stepped closer, the aura of Chimhon (Soul Invasion) rising from the bottom of the hole grew stronger.

‘Yes, let’s go meet them.’

Swoosh!

Namgung Cheon leaped from the edge of the cliff.

His form was instantly sucked into the pitch-black darkness.

‘And I’ll show them clearly.’

To those foolish ones who dare covet the Bigo.

‘That this Cheongang will never see light again.’

That it will become the deepest and most silent tomb.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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