Chapter 367

The warning signs had already been there.

And there was more than enough cause.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The ground split apart, and the ceiling shook. The underground prison that had symbolized the darkness of the Sichuan Tang Clan for hundreds of years could no longer withstand the aftermath of one battle after another. It was collapsing.

Along with the countless vengeful spirits of prisoners who had died in the prison—and the three people who were still alive and well.

“…What the fucking hell is this?”

Jeok Cheongang looked around in disbelief.

He had definitely been in a forest before closing his eyes. Then he had opened them to find himself in a cave that might or might not be a prison.

And that wasn’t all. He had dragged his still-ailing old body into a fight to the death with some unknown son of a bitch.

Fine. He could understand things up to that point. Jin Taekyung passing out the moment the battle ended? That was entirely possible too.

But…

“Isn’t this taking things too damn far? Fuck.”

It was the kind of situation that made profanity spill out on its own.

Where was this place? Who was I? Why was the ground splitting apart, and why were boulders the size of people raining down from overhead?

Overcome by a sudden wave of profound regret, Jeok Cheongang nearly ascended to immortality on the spot.

“Goddamn it.”

He had no idea what was going on, but first he had to get out of there.

Once he reached that conclusion, he moved with lightning speed.

First, I need to get Taekyung… But who the hell is this old man?

Ah, hell. Whatever.

Jeok Cheongang slung the unconscious Jin Taekyung and the Divine Physician over his shoulders, then shot forward.

Sssshhhk! Boom!

A massive rock that fell from the ceiling grazed Jeok Cheongang by a hair and smashed into the ground. But that was only the beginning.

Boom! Boom! Rumble!

With every step he took, bizarre rocks came pouring down like a rain shower. The spectacle made Jeok Cheongang’s flesh crawl.

One wrong move, and I could end up buried here.

This was no small cave.

If a cliff weighing tens of millions of geun¹ came crashing down on their heads, even Jeok Cheongang could not guarantee his survival.

Especially with the lingering aftereffects of his injuries.

“Cough.”

He staggered as he raced across the fractured ground. Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, Jeok Cheongang smiled bitterly.

I’m in a sorry state.

His limbs were stiff as stone after so long without moving. He was ravenously hungry and utterly drained.

In that condition, he had fought some monstrous bastard who had crawled out of who-knew-where. Of course his body had deteriorated even further. If not for his internal energy, he would have collapsed long ago.

Rumble!

The vibrations suddenly grew even stronger. Jeok Cheongang gritted his teeth.

All right, I get it. Stop rushing me. I’ll find a way out.

There was someone he had to save. His one and only Disciple, who had become light and warmth when Jeok Cheongang wandered through cold, dark memories.

Yes. My one and only Disciple. My Disciple, without a doubt.

His grip tightened on the two men. An unknown strength seemed to surge from somewhere deep within him.

Flamefire Path.

Jeok Cheongang, who had faltered for a moment, became a streak of flame.

Whooosh!

The clash between Jin Taekyung and the Western Heaven Demon Lord had caused the underground prison to collapse, but that destruction actually helped Jeok Cheongang.

The interior had been devastated by their battle. All the walls that had once divided the underground prison into a maze had crumbled, leaving behind one vast cavern.

There!

Jeok Cheongang’s eyes flashed as he raced forward with his movement technique.

Every enclosed space had an entrance.

At the place where he felt a faint breeze blowing from somewhere, Jeok Cheongang saw the entrance to the underground prison—barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Hurry. Hurry…!

Jeok Cheongang hurled himself forward with every ounce of strength he had.

He bounded across the heaving ground and dodged the rocks falling from overhead.

He passed the corpse of the Heavenly Power Demon, the old man lying dead as though asleep with a peaceful smile on his face, and shot farther and faster.

The time was brief, yet felt like an eternity. At last, Jeok Cheongang was about to take his final step toward the prison entrance.

“Made…!”

Rrrrumble! Krrrrrumble!

A tremor and roar equal to every deafening crash thus far combined—no, greater than all of them—erupted at once.

The ceiling collapsed.

Massive rocks that had accumulated over hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years crashed down over the entrance to the underground prison.

Then—

“Get the hell out of my way!”

An azure dragon’s roar shook the underground prison as Jeok Cheongang drove his blue-white-flame-wreathed fist into the center of the falling rock.

KWAAAANG!

The superheated energy contained in the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist smashed and melted the rocks.

A roar like the sky splitting apart thundered through the cavern, followed by a sudden blast of scorching wind that swept across the underground prison.

“What in the world…?”

The middle-aged man in black who had hurried over after hearing the roar swallowed a groan at the sight before him.

Rrrrrumble!

Nature itself was collapsing. The cliff hundreds of zhang² tall that loomed behind the Sichuan Tang Clan was slowly sinking into the earth.

The sight was staggering even from more than a hundred zhang² away, but there was a far greater problem.

“D-Deputy Captain. That’s where the Demon Lord is…”

The underground prison!

The middle-aged black-clad man, the deputy captain of Dark Heaven, felt a chill run down his spine at his subordinate’s words.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord. If anything had happened to him…

We’re all finished.

Cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He had not been this nervous even when the Sichuan Tang Clan used Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

He barked an urgent order.

“Gather every brother scattered across the grounds immediately!”

“E-Everyone? But there are still Tang Clan bastards—”

“Those bastards aren’t the problem. Hurry!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The subordinate, frozen stiff, pulled a firework from inside his clothes and lit it. With a pop, a red streak of light burst in the air.

At the emergency signal, the black-clad men scattered throughout the Sichuan Tang Clan began converging on the area.

Within moments, well over a hundred had assembled.

“Deputy Captain. Please give us your orders.”

The deputy captain wanted to smash in the skull of the man who had just spoken. The same went for their captain, First Fiend, who had yet to show so much as a hair despite the emergency signal.

Damn it.

The deputy captain’s throat bobbed as he stared at the still-collapsing cliff.

The order he was about to give was tantamount to suicide. He was going to send them beneath a collapsing cliff to search for the Western Heaven Demon Lord.

But there was no other choice. He had to give the order.

“The Demon Lord is in there. As deputy captain, I will lead the way, and every last one of you will—”

Just as the deputy captain struggled to continue his command—

KABOOM!

An unidentifiable roar erupted, and the pile of rocks forming a small hill exploded outward.

The deputy captain and everyone around him saw a large figure burst up through the rubble.

“Demon Lord! The Demon Lord has emerged—!”

The shout cut off unfinished.

Crash! Thud-thud-thud!

The figure bounced a considerable distance from the cliff like a cannonball before rolling across muddy water and sludge and finally coming to a stop.

It was an old man, clutching two people larger than himself beneath his arms. Jeok Cheongang stared up at the dark, cloud-filled sky and drew a deep breath.

“Phaaah!”

Fresh air and rainwater seeped in through his nose and mouth.

The refreshing sensation felt as if it were washing even his soul clean. His internal energy was already exhausted, and his body felt as though it had been smashed to pieces, but Jeok Cheongang smiled with relief at having rescued Jin Taekyung.

Then, in the next instant, he staggeringly raised his upper body—and froze.

“…!”

A group stood a little over twenty zhang² away, staring at him.

Well over a hundred men dressed in black, all holding bloodstained weapons.

Jeok Cheongang groaned under his breath.

“…Goddamn it. No matter how I look at them, they don’t seem like good people.”

A voice behind him confirmed his suspicion.

“They call themselves Dark Heaven.”

Jeok Cheongang was not startled by the unexpected voice.

He had been through every manner of hardship and had just escaped being crushed to death. He had already noticed from the change in his breathing that the unknown old man he had rescued was awake.

“I see. Dark Heaven. I knew it had to be those sons of bitches.”

After muttering a curse, Jeok Cheongang continued without turning around.

“Do you know where we are?”

“The Sichuan Tang Clan. Regrettably, it appears the battle has already been decided.”

“…This is driving me insane.”

That brief remark summed up Jeok Cheongang’s feelings.

He did not have enough time to wonder how any of this had happened.

“What’s your name?”

“Dong Feng. My name is Dong Feng.”

“Your sobriquet?”

“I am not a martial artist, so naturally I have none.”

“Your dantian was damaged. You’re not a martial artist?”

“I only learned a little because my Master would not stop pestering me. Medicine was always where my heart lay.”

Jeok Cheongang’s eyebrow twitched.

Despite his severe injuries, the old man’s calm bearing and manner of speech carried an unmistakable air of wisdom. Why did they remind Jeok Cheongang of a physician whose medical arts were said to have reached the divine realm?

“The Divine Physician?”

“I am merely an old medical apprentice of no consequence.”

Jeok Cheongang let out a hollow laugh at the Divine Physician’s answer. At last, he thought he understood what had happened.

“Thank you for waking an old man who was at death’s door.”

“You awakened on your own. Your will was simply that strong, Sir Jeok.”

“I had no choice. Some reckless fool woke me up.”

“That very reckless fool crossed the Central Plains to find me and begged for my help. He said he would do anything if it meant saving you, Sir Jeok.”

Jeok Cheongang turned his head. Jin Taekyung lay collapsed beside him, covered in blood and mud.

“…What a foolish boy.”

If he could wake the boy now, he would.

Perhaps then they could have one final conversation.

But Jin Taekyung had exhausted every last ounce of strength. He would not awaken. Jeok Cheongang knew that even without the Divine Physician telling him.

Yes. Perhaps… perhaps this is for the best.

Jeok Cheongang slowly rose to his feet. Ignoring the pain stabbing through his entire body, he addressed the Divine Physician behind him.

“Still have any strength left?”

“I did in my younger days. Before meeting my Master, I worked as a carpenter.”

“That’s an unusual past for the Divine Physician. What about now?”

“I am seventy years old.”

“Your dantian is damaged, so it won’t be easy, but squeeze out every last bit of strength you have. Run as far away as you can.”

“With Young Master Jin?”

“I’m glad you understand.”

After a brief silence, the Divine Physician spoke.

“Sir Jeok… You intend to throw your life away.”

“Throw it away?”

A faint smile touched the corner of Jeok Cheongang’s mouth. His gaze settled on the approaching men in black.

“Do you know why a flame dies out?”

Jeok Cheongang did not wait for the Divine Physician’s answer.

Muddy water splashed beneath his advancing feet. At some point, the rain that had seemed as if it would never end had stopped.

His voice rang out, clear and unburdened.

“Because there is nothing left to burn. That is why it slowly dies out atop the ashes.”

Jeok Cheongang was ready to kindle his final flame.

He felt neither fear nor anger at the death striding toward him.

Only regret.

He would no longer be able to remain by his Disciple’s side.

“Take care of Taekyung for me.”

Just as Jeok Cheongang stepped forward after making that heartfelt request, the Divine Physician spoke.

“After witnessing countless births, aging, sickness, and deaths, I began to wonder. Does the underworld truly exist? If so, who is this fellow called Yama?³ And if I go there, will I meet the patients I failed to save?”

“…?”

“Whenever such questions troubled me, my Master would say, ‘The underworld must be full from all the people you sent ahead of you. You should ascend to the celestial realm instead and keep the immortals company.’”

The Divine Physician looked at Jeok Cheongang and continued quietly.

“Sir Jeok. The underworld is full. Please wait a little longer.”

“…!”

At that moment, Jeok Cheongang felt as if every hair on his body had stood on end, and he raised his head.

High above, bathed in sunlight streaming between the retreating dark clouds, stood a boy.

No. Not a boy. That man is…!

Those eyes were clear and bright like a boy’s, yet the gaze itself was ancient and seasoned, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

Jeok Cheongang had seen those eyes only once, a very long time ago.

That was precisely why he could never forget the feeling they evoked.

The boy’s appearance brought someone to mind, and Jeok Cheongang cried out in shock.

“The Slaughter Saint…!”