Chapter 231: Treasure Map (1)
‘Did I go berserk?’
After breaking free from his frenzy, Sewoon looked down at his own hands.
They were sared with the blood and flesh of Pa-eum Bima, whose head had been crushed, and the lingering sensation of Seol-irang’s neck—one he had been gripping just monts ago—still remained.
Ssss—!
Yet what flared most intensely was, as expected, the Reverse Heaven Qi, still burning like raging flas.
‘They said it had been quiet for a while.’
A hollow breath escaped him without realizing it.
The Reverse Heaven Qi, which had lain dormant under the pressure of other energies that had evolved the mont he ascended to the extre of the Manifestation Realm, was quietly building its strength once more, baring its furious fangs again.
And then, the instant he encountered Blood Demon, the true master, within Pa-eum Bima’s mories.
It had erupted wildly, glowing madly as if it were a living organism.
The mont he beca aware of that fact, Sewoon’s expression hardened coldly.
‘What I saw was clearly Pa-eum Bima’s mory. A mory from long before he even ca to the Gu Farm. So how…?’
Had Blood Demon conversed with his present self?
A chill ran straight down his spine.
There was only one way this could be possible.
‘—He’s already completed the sorcery.’
It seed he was not the only one who had returned and accelerated his growth.
Past, present, and future.
A horrifying grand art that housed within one’s body all curses and sorceries that would exist across all ti.
Before the regression, Blood Demon had only completed that sorcery years later—but astonishingly, this ti, he had already perfected it.
‘Otherwise, there’s no way sothing like conversing across the future could happen.’
Ti.
A law and power that lay beyond the domain of humans, belonging to the realm of gods—yet he was toying with it.
‘Just like how he threw
into this past…’
…Could he truly defeat such an inhuman monster?
Sewoon’s head felt as if it were about to burst, but—
‘I must win. No, I have to win.’
He clenched his teeth, repeating it again and again.
This ti, he had to protect everyone—no matter what.
It was then.
That Seol-irang, who had been slumped on the ground, spoke sharply.
“How are you using Blood Demon’s power?”
“…!”
At that mont, Sewoon’s wandering consciousness snapped back to reality.
A secret he had hidden even from his own blood relatives had been exposed—to none other than Seol-irang—and it was only natural that he was shaken.
‘If that’s how it is…’
Sewoon’s razor-sharp gaze turned toward her.
Seol-irang flinched at the chilling aura, but only for a mont before continuing.
“Don’t give
so trite excuse like ‘you saw it wrong.’ I saw that monster’s power with my own eyes. There’s no way I could be mistaken.”
Yet her eyes were strange.
Despite the fact that he was using the power of the enemy who had seized control of the Ice Palace.
Rather than hostility or caution, she almost looked… slightly excited.
But none of that mattered to Sewoon.
“Whatever secret my power’s origin and source may hold—”
He spoke coldly.
“Why should I explain any of it to you?”
“…!”
Crunch.
He clenched down on the Gu Poison paired with the Male–Female Gu Poison embedded within Seol-irang’s body.
“Ghk!!”
Seol-irang grabbed at her chest as agony spread through her entire body, dropping to one knee.
‘Even if interpreting the Treasure Map takes a bit of ti, I can just eliminate the risk.’
Of course, Seol-irang was a considerable asset in terms of raw power—but if she was going to expose his secret and stir up needless trouble—
He could simply cut off her breath right here and now.
Just as he was about to completely detonate the Gu Poison—
Seol-irang, her face deathly pale, squeezed out her words.
“I-I don’t know what kind of vicious thoughts our Husband is having, but… th-that’s far enough.”
“What?”
“The reason I brought it up isn’t because I caught your weakness and wanted to threaten you.”
She had no intention of using his secret against him.
That was what Seol-irang was saying—astonishingly enough.
What was she plotting?
After a brief mont of consideration, Sewoon withdrew the Gu Poison he had been about to crush, drawing it back into his sleeve.
“Huff… huff…”
Still gasping in pain, Seol-irang barely lifted her head and spoke.
“I don’t know how this happened, but… I ant it when I said it was fortunate.”
“…?”
“When I saw that bastard, I realized sothing.”
She looked at the puzzled Sewoon and continued.
“To capture evil, you have no choice but to beco a greater evil.”
“!!”
Both of Sewoon’s pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.
“That thing’s power is evil and malicious intent itself. And the source of your power that I just experienced—it was clearly the sa.”
“…!”
He wanted to dismiss her words as nonsense—but Sewoon couldn’t say anything.
In truth, he knew it himself, yet had been deliberately ignoring it.
Using Golden Purity Eyes Qi and Divine Poison Qi, he had been suppressing and restraining the Reverse Heaven Qi as best he could—but as things stood, it knew no limits and continued to grow stronger without end.
And the more it surpassed its limits and grew, the more his mind and body were coming to resemble those of the very Blood Demon he so deeply hated.
Then Seol-irang, wearing a look of relief, spoke.
“Seeing that you’re walking the Demonic Path, it looks like you’ve clearly abandoned the hollow ideals of the Orthodox Sects and the White Path. I think I can trust you and follow you.”
“……”
“If you even gain the Heavenly Demon’s power on top of that, wouldn’t you be able to rise to the absolute peak?”
At those words, a strange light flickered in Sewoon’s eyes.
Right. There was nothing to worry about.
If he obtained the Heavenly Demon’s legacy through the Treasure Map, he would surely walk a path different from before—and grow strong enough to rival Blood Demon himself.
“But I’m really just curious. How exactly did you obtain that bastard’s power—”
“Silence. Say one more word, and I will truly kill you.”
When Sewoon warned her in a cold voice, Seol-irang puckered her lips and replied.
“Alright, alright. I get it. You’ll burst my heart along with the bug, won’t you? n of the Central Plains are truly terrifying—and ruthless.”
Her words were light, yet there was no trace of wavering in her eyes.
“……”
Ignoring Seol-irang, Sewoon soon turned his back.
Step. Step.
He slowly began to leave the prison.
His footsteps looked unbearably heavy.
Following behind him, Seol-irang asked,
“Are you returning to your clan?”
“No.”
Sewoon answered curtly.
“Then where?”
As Seol-irang tilted her head in confusion, Sewoon slowly turned around and opened his mouth.
“We’ve exchanged greetings. Now it’s ti to grip the blade.”
“……A blade? Ah.”
Seol-irang realized that the one he was referring to was not her—but Blood Demon.
He was saying that he intended to move in order to obtain a blade to swing at Blood Demon.
“Then?”
“Yes. We’ll move straight to Shaanxi, the place indicated by the Treasure Map.”
“!!”
Seol-irang’s surprise lasted only a mont before madness bled into her gaze.
“Well thought. The faster you go, the faster you obtain the treasure.”
Ignoring Seol-irang as she scampered along behind him, Sewoon was thinking inwardly of a certain existence.
—I will be waiting at Mount Hua.
He kept replaying Blood Demon’s final words over and over.
Even though it was nothing more than a fleeting encounter within Pa-eum Bima’s mories—without ever facing him directly.
Blood Demon’s overwhelming power did not feel inferior in the slightest, even compared to before the regression.
No—perhaps because he had risen to the extre of the Manifestation Realm and elevated his very rank, that boundless power felt even more terrifying.
‘To face him, I must beco stronger.’
Sewoon clenched his fist so tightly it felt as if it might burst.
To confront him, he absolutely had to break through the wall of the extre Manifestation Realm and step into the Life and Death Realm.
And to do that—
‘I will obtain the Heavenly Demon’s legacy, no matter what.’
Clatter. Clatter.
A carriage rolled along a quiet forest path, crossing gentle hills.
Even as fierce winds stirred clouds of dust, the three people inside the carriage maintained a heavy silence.
Among them, Sewoon sat on the driver’s bench, gripping the reins, while behind him sat none other than Naless and Seol-irang.
Still disguised as an elderly man, Sewoon stared straight ahead.
Sss—.
At opposite ends of the carriage, Naless and Seol-irang sat with furrowed brows, glaring at one another, a subtle tension flowing between them.
“Hmph.”
“Hngh.”
Naless glared with his arms crossed, while Seol-irang shot him an ice-cold stare as if she were looking at an insect.
At that mont, Naless turned his head toward the driver’s bench and slowly addressed Sewoon.
“But why just the three of us?”
Without even turning his head, Sewoon continued speaking while holding the reins.
“The more people there are, the greater the risk. That place holds the Heavenly Demon’s legacy. There’s no telling what chanisms and traps were set up to weed out the unworthy.”
That was right.
The mont Sewoon finalized the plan to move to Shaanxi, he imdiately summoned Naless from the clan and departed without delay.
Those still recovering were entrusted to Tang Serin and Ha-yeong, and he had left behind a letter detailing the next phase of the plan.
“I know that, but still…”
Naless continued, glaring once more at Seol-irang.
To bring along the Ice Palace’s notorious villainess—whose infamy was well known even within the Gate of Assassins—
“…Even so, did you really have to bring that witch?”
At the words, half vigilance and half killing intent, Seol-irang did not shrink back in the slightest.
“A witch? In the Central Plains, do they call peerless beauties witches?”
“Tch. I’d like to kick you right out of this carriage.”
“Go ahead and try. I’ll turn you into an ice statue on the spot.”
“That’d be refreshing.”
Sewoon shook his head from side to side.
Three days had already passed since their departure, yet the clash between the two showed no sign of ending.
‘Just like before the regression—they’re sworn enemies. Given the chance, they’d kill each other without hesitation.’
The image of the two of them from before the regression, back in the Blood Cult, overlapped in Sewoon’s mind.
Naless had loathed Seol-irang, who had persistently followed him as if she had joined the Blood Cult solely to tornt Sewoon.
Every ti they t, he would swing his daggers with lethal intent, while Seol-irang would respond by hurling frost-laden bare-handed strikes at him.
“It can’t be helped. She’s the only one who can decipher the map.”
At Sewoon’s words, Naless shrugged and uttered sothing completely unexpected.
“Tch, what a sha. I would’ve preferred coming with a disciple of the Shrine Maiden Sect instead of a witch.”
“…….”
By a disciple of the Shrine Maiden Sect, he was referring to none other than Seo Surin.
Knowing the deep, tangled bond between the two, Sewoon’s face stiffened unconsciously.
Seo Surin, who had hated Naless as the enemy who killed her master, and Naless, who carried guilt—over ti, a bitter affection had ford between them.
And eventually, before Naless t his death…
“Hmph. As expected, his taste is as low as his skill.”
“You’ve never even seen her. Don’t spout nonsense, witch.”
“I don’t need to see her. Obviously, she couldn’t possibly be prettier than .”
“Hey, Sewoon. Can I really not kill this one?”
But their clash of wills did not last long.
Clatter.
As the carriage descended a gentle slope, the surrounding scenery began to change little by little.
‘I see it.’
A strange light surfaced in Sewoon’s eyes.
Beyond his field of vision, the outline of a town was finally coming into view.
‘Shaanxi.’
At last, they had crossed beyond the borders of Sichuan and entered the territory of Shaanxi.
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