Chapter 298 – The Path to Finding Truth Is Always Treacherous (2)

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After Dong Hwa-woon’s death, the village became an ocean of tears. The people who had been locked in the warehouse were released and wailed upon seeing their family members turned into mere handfuls of ash.

Their sorrowful cries tormented Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol. Though it was Dong Hwa-woon who had committed these acts, they felt they bore some responsibility as well.

They could no longer remain in the village. Without proper rest, they had to flee the village as if being chased.

Dam-ho silently led Black Ghost.

The snowy mountains were visible in the distance. The massive snowy mountains boasted tremendous majesty as if they were close by.

The snowy mountains stood tall like ancient giants, looking down at Dam-ho. But Dam-ho was not intimidated by the sight of the snowy mountains.

It was easy enough to figure out that the snowy mountains were Geom Yul-cheon’s destination.

Geom Yul-cheon had such a distinctive large build. That’s why many villagers remembered him.

The villagers told them that Geom Yul-cheon had headed toward the snowy mountains with some old man.

‘An old man.’

At present, they couldn’t know who the old man traveling with Geom Yul-cheon was. It seemed Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol didn’t know the old man’s identity either.

Deep furrows formed between Dam-ho’s brows as he looked at the snowy mountains.

The snowy mountains looked only mystical. They were impressive enough to naturally inspire awe in those who saw them. Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol were also looking at the snowy mountains with eyes filled with reverence. But Dam-ho was different.

The closer they got to the snowy mountains, the more he felt a strange sensation. A tingling feeling as if his hands and feet were going numb was stimulating his nerves.

Dam-ho’s eyes sank deep.

Something in the snowy mountains was touching his senses.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

When Dam-ho raised his head, he could see Eum Yu-kyung’s face as she approached beside him.

She had a much more refreshed expression, as if she had recovered from the shock of Dong Hwa-woon’s death. The same was true for Shin Moo-wol, who was leading his horse ahead.

“It’s nothing.”

“I see.”

“……”

“Thank you. I wanted to say that. Thanks to you, I came to my senses.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“I must have lost my mind for a moment. The moment I saw Hwa-woon, old memories came flooding back. Affection is more frightening than I thought. Even when you know better, it prevents you from moving.”

“……”

“But there won’t be such incidents anymore. I won’t worry you anymore, so don’t worry.”

Eum Yu-kyung deliberately made a bright expression.

Just as Dam-ho was silently nodding, it happened.

“Over here!”

Shin Moo-wol’s voice, who had been going ahead, echoed through the air.

Looking ahead, they saw Shin Moo-wol had dismounted and was examining the ground. Eum Yu-kyung dismounted and approached him.

“What’s the matter?”

“Do you see it? Fourth Sister.”

“What?”

Eum Yu-kyung’s eyes widened greatly as she answered carelessly.

It was because of the traces left on the small rock that Shin Moo-wol was pointing to.

“This is?”

“It’s a marker left by Elder Brother.”

It was a marker that only they in the world could recognize. Only they could decode the meaning contained within it.

Shin Moo-wol decoded the contents contained in the marker.

“Snowy mountains…… northern Death Cliff.”

“Death Cliff?”

“It seems he’s telling us to come to that place.”

Shin Moo-wol’s expression became serious.

From what they had roughly heard from the villagers, the northern slope of the snowy mountains was the most treacherous. Because it was a series of sheer cliffs, even people familiar with the terrain absolutely never approached it.

“Whew! It seems we need to steel our resolve. Death Cliff. Even the name sounds ominous and unsettling.”

“We made our resolve before coming here.”

“That’s true……”

Shin Moo-wol stood up, dusting off his knees with his hands.

There was no hesitation on his face.

“Let’s go.”

Shin Moo-wol and Eum Yu-kyung quickly mounted their horses.

Because their hearts were urgent, they rode their horses at full speed. How far had they gone like this? Bewildered looks appeared on their faces.

A fork in the road appeared before their eyes.

“What’s this?”

Both paths were heading toward the snowy mountains.

The problem was they didn’t know which of the two paths Geom Yul-cheon had taken.

Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol looked at each other’s faces with troubled expressions.

Both were visiting this place for the first time. Naturally, they didn’t know about the geography of this area.

While they were hesitating, Dam-ho stepped forward.

“It would be better if we parted ways here.”

“It seems we’ll have to.”

Eum Yu-kyung agreed with Dam-ho’s opinion.

If they didn’t know which path Geom Yul-cheon had taken, they had no choice but to choose both paths.

Shin Moo-wol asked:

“Which way will you go?”

“Left.”

“Good. Then we’ll choose the right path.”

Shin Moo-wol headed toward the right path with Eum Yu-kyung. Eum Yu-kyung, who had been moving with Shin Moo-wol, suddenly turned back to look at Dam-ho.

“Please be careful.”

With those words, Eum Yu-kyung rode off with Shin Moo-wol. Their hearts were that urgent.

Their figures disappeared from Dam-ho’s sight in an instant.

Only then did Dam-ho move.

He slowly led Black Ghost.

Snort!

Black Ghost exhaled rough breath. It looked strangely excited. Black Ghost was also feeling the roughly surging atmosphere of the battlefield.

Dam-ho lightly patted Black Ghost’s neck. Then Black Ghost quickly regained its composure.

The left path Dam-ho chose was extremely rough. The green trees had disappeared at some point, and only desolate scenery so bleak it was eerie welcomed him. Countless sharp rocks like beast fangs jutted up from the reddish-brown earth.

Dam-ho’s eyes narrowed.

The somehow familiar desolate scenery made him recall memories from over ten years ago.

‘Saewoe.’

This was what the scenery of Qinghai Province, or more precisely, where the Heavenly Gold Demon Palace was located, had looked like. There he had to spend more than ten years.

Thanks to that, he was able to create the Solitary Path and achieve the strength he had now, but that didn’t mean it remained as good memories.

Snort!

That’s when it happened.

Black Ghost suddenly snorted roughly. When Dam-ho raised his head, he could see a man sitting leisurely on top of a large rock visible in the distance.

When Dam-ho looked, the man waved his hand as if meeting a welcome person.

“Hey!”

The man was sparkling his eyes with a bright smile.

Dam-ho stopped Black Ghost in front of the rock. Then the man jumped down from the tall rock.

“Whoosh!”

“……”

“Hello! Nice to meet you. Are you that famous Fist Demon? To think you’d come this way, should I call this lucky?”

The man chattered noisily. With both hands firmly placed on his hips as he talked, he was as noisy as an adolescent girl.

Dam-ho silently looked at him. An ordinary person might have felt embarrassed, but the man continued talking without caring.

“My, you’re as taciturn as I heard. Isn’t life boring living like that? You’ll get spider webs in your mouth. I don’t think I could live like that.”

“……”

“Well, that’s fine. Everyone has their own circumstances. I’m a generous person, so I can understand that much.”

“Are you one of the Ten Soldiers?”

Dam-ho spoke for the first time. Then the man opened his eyes wide as if surprised.

“So you’re not mute after all. I thought you were mute because you were so quiet. That’s right! I’m also a member of the Ten Soldiers. My name is Ga Ui-cheon.”

The man revealed his name. He seemed to have great pride in his name as he puffed out his chest.

“Ga Ui-cheon.”

“That’s right. My name is Ga Ui-cheon. You’d better remember it well.”

“Why?”

“Because my face will be the last face you see in your lifetime. Hahaha!”

Ga Ui-cheon burst into loud laughter. It was quite an exaggerated gesture and voice.

Dam-ho stared at him intently. A frighteningly deep gaze was fixed on Ga Ui-cheon’s body. It was Dam-ho’s gaze that not only ordinary people but even those with high martial arts couldn’t dare to meet. Yet Ga Ui-cheon continued laughing without caring.

Dam-ho’s gaze became even colder.

“Are you confident?”

“Confident? Of course. Do you know why? It’s because I’m Ga Ui-cheon.”

“And because we’re here too.”

The last voice flowed from behind Dam-ho.

When Dam-ho turned around, he saw two men.

One was extremely thin and gaunt, while the other was a giant reminiscent of an iron tower.

At their appearance, Ga Ui-cheon smiled broadly.

“Let me introduce them. The name of the pathetically skinny friend is Yeom Su-gang. Still, he’s evaluated as having a pretty smart head among us. And that big guy’s name is Ma Gok-cheon. As you can see from his huge build, he’s incredibly strong.”

“……”

“Don’t you think the three of us would be enough? What do you think?”

Ga Ui-cheon grinned.

Only then did Dam-ho dismount from Black Ghost’s back. Then a light of greed appeared in Ga Ui-cheon’s eyes.

“Oh! That horse is magnificent. Perfect. I just needed a mount, so after I kill you, I can take that horse for myself.”

“The mouth is the source of all calamities.”

Dam-ho took steps toward him.

Thump!

Even though he hadn’t deployed charging technique, the earth resonated strongly from his ordinary steps.

Even at the vibration coming up through his soles, Ga Ui-cheon wasn’t intimidated at all. Rather, he sneered.

“You’re going to die here today. Do you know why? It’s because I’m your natural enemy.”

“……”

“Oh! You seem angry. But what can you do when it’s the truth? You absolutely can’t do anything to me. From now on, I’ll let you know why.”

A smile spread across Ga Ui-cheon’s entire face.

Whoosh!

Instantly, Dam-ho deployed charging technique.

His body rushed toward Ga Ui-cheon in an instant. Ga Ui-cheon’s smiling face was visible right in front. Dam-ho drove his fist into his face.

It was the Explosive Star Strike.

The Explosive Star Strike exploded on Ga Ui-cheon’s face. But the smile on Ga Ui-cheon’s face didn’t disappear.

“Too slow!”

Along with Ga Ui-cheon’s voice, his figure disappeared like a phantom.

‘An afterimage?’

Dam-ho’s eyes narrowed.

The fist that had exploded on Ga Ui-cheon’s face had no feeling at all. He had attacked an afterimage, not the real body.

“I told you you’re slow.”

Ga Ui-cheon’s voice was heard from behind. He had already moved behind somehow.

He had moved at such tremendous speed that even Dam-ho couldn’t perceive it.

Ga Ui-cheon was smiling with his hands on his companions’ shoulders.

His nickname called by his comrades was Lightning Flash.

One who had transcended the extreme of speed.

Everything about him was attuned to swiftness.

Breathing, body type, muscles, mental techniques and martial arts too.

A man with speed that surpassed sound, so his comrades called him Lightning Flash instead of his name.

Ga Ui-cheon’s gaze turned toward Dam-ho’s legs.

“Though you somehow managed to overcome your disability, the fact that you’re still a cripple hasn’t changed. How about it? Can you catch me with those legs?”

“Stop teasing, Lightning Flash. He might cry.”

Yeom Su-gang chuckled and waved his hand. Then the wooden stick in his hand was deeply embedded in the ground.

Whirrr!

Instantly, thick fog arose and engulfed the surroundings.

It was a phenomenon that would never occur naturally.

One of Yeom Su-gang’s specialties was formation techniques. He had already deployed formation techniques around the area. The wooden branch stimulated the life gate and activated the formation.

The figures of Ga Ui-cheon and Yeom Su-gang disappeared, hidden by the fog, leaving only Ma Gok-cheon.

“Hehe! Dong Hwa-woon might have been pathetically defeated because his head was broken, but we’re different.”

Thump thump thump!

Ma Gok-cheon’s muscles swelled greatly and tendons bulged out prominently.

Diamond Demon Shadow Art.

The pinnacle of demonic external arts, said to make one Diamond Indestructible upon mastery.

Ma Gok-cheon had mastered the Diamond Demon Shadow Art to near perfection.

“You will die. Today! Right here!”