The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life

Chapter 117: < Right Here >

Seung Doheung glanced around nervously, his expression slightly subdued.

Byeok Taesan, who had disappeared after telling him to "think about it," never returned.

Instead, other people entered in droves, escorting Seung Doheung and his companions out of the dungeon.

From there, they traveled non-stop from

Dangyang to Yichang, eventually arriving at the Black Iron Workshop.

The moment they entered the workshop, Seung Doheung was shocked. The formation he had set up was still operational.

Instinctively, he checked on his companions. All of them were struggling under the oppressive pressure that weighed heavily on their bodies.

The only one unaffected here was Seung Doheung himself.

Seung Doheung was brought to this place, while his companions were taken elsewhere. Most likely, they had been separated and scattered.

It was a small room.

There was a single table and two chairs. Seung Doheung sat on one of them.

After a brief wait, the door opened, and someone walked in.

The person appeared to be quite elderly.

"So, you're the traitor, huh?"

The blunt remark immediately sparked anger in Seung Doheung’s eyes.

"Traitor? Who are you calling a traitor?"

Seung Doheung snapped but quickly closed his mouth again. Then, cautiously, he asked, "Are you from the Cult?"

"Hmm... Who knows?"

Seung Doheung's expression twisted in frustration. However, the words that followed left him wide-eyed.

"Have you heard of the Heavenly Divine Healer?"

"Then... are you saying you're the Heavenly Divine Healer?"

The Heavenly Divine Healer smirked.

"That's right. So, what do you think? Feeling a bit more respect now?"

Seung Doheung wore a troubled expression. Something felt off from the stories he had heard.

"I heard you were... a very solemn individual..."

The Heavenly Divine Healer nodded enthusiastically.

"That's correct. There's hardly a word that fits me better than solemn."

Seung Doheung had many things to say but held back. Here, he was still the weaker party.

"Anyway, about the Heavenly Reversal Society—why did you engage in such madness?"

Seung Doheung's face stiffened at the word "madness." How could he say such a thing?

"Our Heavenly Demon Cult must change."

"And how, exactly?"

"The pervasive unfair treatment is too much."

"Unfair treatment?"

The corners of the Heavenly Divine Healer's lips twitched.

"Yes. Especially the disdain towards us formation experts is excessive."

"Well... it's true that warriors are given more recognition."

"That's not all. Do you know how many among the Heaven Guard Corps face discrimination?"

"Really? That's news to me."

"It's true. My role in the Heavenly Reversal Society was to seek out those Heaven Guard members who suffered such unjust treatment and convince them."

Hearing this, the Heavenly Divine Healer's lips curled upward.

"Really? It couldn't have been easy to find scattered Heaven Guard members. Seems like the Heavenly Reversal Society is more impressive than I thought."

"Indeed. With the power of formations, many things are possible. The problem lies with those ignorant fools who only know brute force."

"Ignorant fools who only know brute force... You're not referring to our Cult Leader, are you?"

Seung Doheung flinched and waved his hands furiously.

"No, no! How could I? We only sought to provide the Supreme Leader with an opportunity to understand the utility of formations. We were certain that his unparalleled wisdom would grasp our intentions."

The Heavenly Divine Healer smirked and waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright. No need to get so heated."

Seung Doheung, embarrassed, closed his mouth and avoided the Heavenly Divine Healer's gaze.

"By the way, you still have information on the Heaven Guard Corps, don’t you?"

Seung Doheung looked at the Heavenly Divine Healer with a startled expression.

The Heavenly Divine Healer smirked and extended his hand.

"As it happens, I’ve been desperately looking for that information. So, hand it over. It’s killing me to keep our Young Master waiting."

"Th-that’s impossible."

"Impossible? Oh, right. Are all your companions formation experts too?"

"No. There are also recruited Heaven Guard members among them."

The Heavenly Divine Healer looked at Seung Doheung in disbelief.

"There are people who actually fell for that?"

"They are individuals who understand the greater cause."

"Greater cause, my foot. At least you’re not trying to place the Phantom Demon on the throne; that’s slightly better..."

To the Heavenly Divine Healer, this was clearly a power struggle.

While the treatment of formation experts wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t as bad as Seung Doheung claimed. Some of it was self-inflicted too.

Seung Doheung asked the Heavenly Divine Healer nervously, "So... what’s going to happen to me now?"

The Heavenly Divine Healer replied calmly.

"If you reveal everything you know, you'll end up working under the Young Master, won't you? Though he’s not someone to trust, so he'd likely impose some restrictions. If you're caught lying, well, I'll just deal with you then. By the way, if you fall into the Young Master's hands, you'll end up messing yourself in your sleep. Trust me on this—I’ve seen it myself."

Seung Doheung stared blankly at the Heavenly Divine Healer.

Mess himself in his sleep? What kind of torment would one endure to reach such a state? His face turned pale, and he instinctively clenched his muscles.

"W-What... What exactly is the Young Master?"

The Heavenly Divine Healer hesitated, wearing an awkward expression.

"I’m not entirely sure myself, but... I think he’s the hidden son of the Cult Leader."

"What?!"

Seung Doheung's eyes widened in shock, nearly tearing at the corners.

The Heavenly Divine Healer grinned and lightly patted Seung Doheung on the shoulder.

"How about now? Doesn’t it feel like you’ve picked the right side? So, don’t screw this up. Don’t lie and mess yourself up. Spill everything you know honestly, grovel if you have to, and swear your loyalty as if you’d stab your own heart on his command. If you keep that up, you’ll probably see better days ahead. At least, I think so. What about you?"

The Heavenly Divine Healer felt refreshed, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from him after speaking so much.

When he looked at Seung Doheung’s already half-dazed expression, he chuckled and stood up.

"Alright, I’ve cooled off enough. Time to pay my elder brother a visit."

Byeok Taesan was in his room, listening to Hwaryeong’s report.

"I’ve requested cooperation from the Hao Clan. We’ll begin surveillance of the identified locations immediately."

Using the information extracted from the captured members of the Heavenly Reversal Society, they had compiled lists of the remaining members and the Heaven Guard Corps they hadn’t yet identified.

"They seem to have cooperated well."

Hwaryeong responded with admiration in her eyes.

"They were surprisingly cooperative."

She was curious about what Byeok Taesan had done to them to make them so compliant.

"However, the information they possessed was somewhat limited. Most of it was confined to the Hubei region."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. When we asked about other regions, they mentioned that the Heavenly Reversal Society operates separately by region. The overall coordinator of these activities was someone called the Phantom Demon."

Byeok Taesan’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"They’ve been very deliberate."

Unable to maneuver freely within the Demonic Cult, they had evidently sought to establish their own power base externally.

The information about the Heaven Guard Corps had likely been leaked to the Heavenly Reversal Society by the Phantom Demon, who was still within the cult.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Moon Spirit Corps Leader was also complicit.

This wasn’t rebellion against the Heavenly Demon but rather an attempt to secure their positions within the Demonic Cult. It wouldn’t have been strange for anyone to get involved.

In fact, the situation might be far messier than he initially thought.

Even so, there was little they could do now.

Trapped within the Heaven-Sealing Array, they were rendered powerless.

"Well... with those filthy schemers gone, the cult might actually function better."

Byeok Taesan’s smile widened slightly.

Whatever the process, it was ultimately his efforts that had created this situation.

"Perhaps I should have killed a few more?"

At his murmured words, Hwaryeong flinched, looking at him nervously.

"It wasn’t directed at you, so don’t tense up."

Byeok Taesan said this while staring directly at Hwaryeong.

Telling someone not to be tense rarely works, especially when you stare at them. Hwaryeong, already on edge, found herself even more tense.

"You’ve been working hard, haven’t you?"

Only then did Hwaryeong realize that Byeok Taesan was assessing her martial growth.

"I’ve only been following your orders, Young Master."

Indeed, she had been rigorously training using the formation techniques of the Black Iron Workshop. Her skills had improved significantly—though the process had been excruciating.

"First, let’s start taking over one by one. We’ll need to increase our numbers."

"Understood."

Byeok Taesan decided to deal with the so-called Nameless Sect first and postpone addressing the internal affairs of the Demonic Cult.

After all, the Heaven-Sealing Array would keep the cult’s troubles in check for a while.

"Have you reviewed the things seized from that man named Go Jun-kwang?"

"Yes. Most of it consisted of records of their past activities, which helped us identify several subordinate organizations in Wuhan and the Hao Branch."

"Places like the Fragrant Flower House?"

"They’re slightly different from the Fragrant Flower House."

Go Jun-kwang and Seo Daegun had established their own subordinate organizations, ones that were entirely under their control.

"They only act on encrypted commands, so it seems we can put them to use."

Byeok Taesan nodded slightly.

"Do as you wish."

"We’ve also identified several organizations similar to the Fragrant Flower House. We plan to dismantle them one by one."

"If you find it too much to handle, let me know in advance."

"We’ve already investigated. We can handle it."

With the help of the wanderers led by Yuk Taegu and the unorthodox warriors under Jang Gakwoo, they could efficiently take over smaller organizations with minimal damage.

"I… while investigating the circumstances under which Go Jun-kwang brought Seung Doheung in, I discovered something strange."

At the mention of something strange, Byeok Taesan glanced at Hwaryeong.

"Go Jun-kwang was merely following orders from above to locate Seung Doheung. However, the instructions regarding Seung Doheung were oddly detailed."

"Detailed instructions?"

"Yes. From the fact that Seung Doheung’s abilities were far greater than what was publicly known, to his current location, future schedule, and even specific steps to recruit him. The level of detail was unusual."

Byeok Taesan stroked his chin, falling into thought, before turning his gaze back to Hwaryeong.

After all, Hwaryeong had already learned the Moon Spirit Martial Arts. Knowing full well it was demonic martial arts, she had still practiced it, which indicated she was aware of some kind of connection between the Heavenly Demon Cult and Byeok Taesan.

Of course, she didn’t know the exact nature of that connection.

This report had likely been included for that reason.

"So, you think there’s a traitor within the Heavenly Demon Cult?"

"It’s just speculation."

Byeok Taesan nodded. While it was speculation, it was highly plausible.

However, for the time being, the Heavenly Demon Cult remained isolated.

Thus, any information leaked would have occurred before the Heaven-Sealing Array was activated.

‘If that’s the case… it’s possible there are others like Seung Doheung who’ve been captured.’

What troubled him slightly was the fact that the Heavenly Reversal Society's influence seemed to be more concentrated outside the Heavenly Demon Cult than within.

Things were about to get more complicated.

Seung Doheung wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead with his sleeve and collapsed to the ground.

There was still a fair amount of time left before sunset. He could rest for a moment and still finish everything on time.

As he sat and looked around, he saw the other formation experts diligently dismantling the formations.

Among those captured by Byeok Taesan this time, there were eight formation experts, including Seung Doheung.

They were currently dismantling the formations installed in the Black Iron Workshop and gathering the materials used for them.

The formations in the Black Iron Workshop had incorporated rare materials, some of which were difficult to acquire even with money and required significant time to obtain.

Byeok Taesan had instructed Seung Doheung to dismantle the formations in the Black Iron Workshop and set up similar ones elsewhere.

They obeyed the instructions without complaint.

Seung Doheung and the other members of the Heavenly Reversal Society were shrouded in fear.

That fear stemmed from Go Jun-kwang—or more specifically, from Go Jun-kwang’s screams.

When they happened to be near Go Jun-kwang, Byeok Taesan had visited him.

What followed was an hour-long series of excruciating screams.

These weren’t just screams; it was as if Go Jun-kwang was trying to scream his very soul out of his body.

Hearing those screams was terrifying. A primal fear took hold of their hearts, leaving them trembling uncontrollably without realizing it.

From that moment on, whenever Seung Doheung saw Byeok Taesan, he instinctively bowed his head. The thought of accidentally meeting Byeok Taesan’s eyes and ending up like Go Jun-kwang weighed heavily on his mind.

While Seung Doheung was resting, he spotted Byeok Taesan passing by in the distance.

Startled, he jumped to his feet.

He quickly resumed his work.

Byeok Taesan paused for a moment and looked at Seung Doheung.

Feeling Byeok Taesan’s gaze, Seung Doheung broke out in a cold sweat.

It seemed he couldn’t afford to rest until the work was completed.

When Byeok Taesan saw Seung Doheung working diligently, he resumed walking.

He left the Black Iron Workshop.

Byeok Taesan had gleaned some interesting information while burning Go Jun-kwang’s soul.

Now, he was on his way to the location mentioned in that information.

The very place where the person controlling Go Jun-kwang was.