Chapter 216 : Heaven Sea Divine Art (2)

Chapter 216: Heaven Sea Divine Art (2)

"If I die... please don’t stop my younger sister from becoming the Chairman. Just, I hope you can guide her onto the right path."

"That’s something you, Lady Hoi, must do as her sister. So, you must overcome this with will."

When Yong Hwarin held out the jade bottle, she spoke in a fading voice.

"And I wish to thank you, Young Master Yong. It’s all thanks to you that this girl was able to regain hope."

"I’d rather hear such praise once you’ve recovered."

Yong Hwarin tilted the jade bottle toward Hoi Unkyung’s trembling lips, as if her eyelids were growing heavy.

Hoi Unkyung drank about half of the antidote from the jade bottle, then closed her eyes.

As Hoi Unkyung slowly slipped into sleep, Yong Hwarin whispered gently.

"Don’t give up. If you awaken and master the Heaven Sea Divine Art, you may become the unparalleled Queen of Murim. Dream. Dream of becoming the Queen of Murim. That dream will give you strength."

Yong Hwarin felt that Hoi Unkyung, as she drifted into sleep, was smiling quietly.

‘From now on, it’s all up to your will. Whether you live or die.’

As Yong Hwarin left Hoi Unkyung’s room and passed by Winter Gate, he spotted a Demonic Master standing blankly behind the door, staring at something like a man possessed.

The Demonic Master was staring at Seok Unjeong.

Seok Unjeong was chatting brightly with the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect, laughing while serving tea.

Born with Moon Yin Meridian Blockage, she had suffered pains worse than death, had nearly been drained of her qi by Ihwa Fairy Man Inhwa after being abducted, and once again had been taken hostage by Eum Sajeok and suffered every kind of humiliation.

Even so, she never lost her smile. She seemed truly admirable.

She was a woman of strong mental fortitude.

That’s why, even knowing she was the daughter of a Demonic Master, Yong Hwarin cherished her like a younger sister.

The Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect also treated her like a niece and looked after her.

Yong Hwarin liked that sight.

The Demonic Master, watching Seok Unjeong, spoke in a lonely tone.

"In her life, she never once showed me a smile like that, my daughter. She only ever gave me a smile and gaze full of guilt."

Though his tone was calm, the Demonic Master’s voice trembled.

"I never imagined my daughter could have such an expression. Maybe I... tried to take away her happiest moments. I only ever tried to monopolize her because I was her father. I never looked to see what she liked or what kind of life she wanted."

"To us, Jeong Mae is like a younger sibling."

"That must be true. That’s why you all would’ve thrown yourselves into that trap to save her. Even I couldn’t have recklessly jumped in like Young Master Yong. That’s how much you care for my daughter."

Watching Seok Unjeong smile and laugh freely with the Ten Prodigies seemed to break the Demonic Master’s heart. His eyelids trembled.

"If I had taken her away and lived just the two of us, I probably never would’ve heard her laughter, not even seen her smile. I am truly a foolish father."

The Demonic Master turned to Yong Hwarin.

"Young Master Yong, may I entrust my daughter to you?"

He wished to entrust his daughter to Yong Hwarin.

Yong Hwarin, sensing that the Demonic Master might leave his daughter behind, spoke up.

"Elder, if Jeong Mae ends up living apart from her father because of us, would her smile continue? No. She’s smiling now because her father is here with us. Elder, it would be best if you stayed with us. That would be best for Jeong Mae as well."

"I would like that too. But it’s not so simple. I belong to the Four Demonic Heavens. I’m a practitioner of the Demonic Path. Surely, I would bring harm to Young Master Yong. That’s not good for you, my benefactor, nor for my daughter."

The Demonic Master could already imagine what would happen if he relied on someone from the orthodox faction.

Undoubtedly, the sects holding enmity toward the Heavenly Central Sect would use it as a pretext to apply pressure.

There was even a chance such tension could escalate into war. Orthodox factions who sheltered Demonic Path practitioners were often cast out from the righteous Murim.

"Elder, reasons can be made. If you were to cultivate the Seonyuhonghwa Herb for the people’s benefit, who would dare harm you? People may even be moved by a father who willingly turns to the orthodox side for his daughter. Grow the Seonyuhonghwa Herb within our sect. With that justification, others won’t be able to say much."

"You heard that from my daughter?"

"Yes. She told me it helped ease her pain."

"Young Master Yong, did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you’re as composed as some rejuvenated old master. You don’t feel like a young man at all. At times, you even seem like someone my age."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"It means your mind is sharp. That must be why the finest sons of the Heavenly Demon Sect lose to you, no?"

The Demonic Master smiled as he continued.

"I’ll think over what you said, Young Master Yong."

"There’s no need to overthink it. Who would object to a father doing what’s best for his daughter?"

The Demonic Master continued to gaze endlessly at Seok Unjeong as she chatted with the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect, seemingly never tiring of the sight.

This time, Yong Hwarin had achieved more than he expected.

With some luck, he might even bring the Demonic Master Seok Jamyung into the Heavenly Central Sect and have him cultivate the Seonyuhonghwa Herb.

With that herb, the Heavenly Central Sect could develop their own unique spiritual medicine like other grand sects.

If the full medicinal efficacy of the Seonyuhonghwa Herb could be extracted, it was a real possibility.

Like the Demonic Master, Yong Hwarin stood still, quietly watching Seok Unjeong.

Just then, Mu Iso approached from behind.

“Young Master.”

When Yong Hwarin turned around, Mu Iso was standing with a grave expression.

“What is it?”

“Eum Sajeok is asking to see you.”

“Is that so?”

Yong Hwarin spoke as if he had been waiting for this.

“Come, let’s go.”

Expectation briefly showed on Yong Hwarin’s face.

‘It seems the Demonic Master has finally seized control of Eum Sajeok’s consciousness.’

With rising anticipation, Yong Hwarin made his way to the room where Eum Sajeok was.

“I’ll go in alone. Don’t let anyone else approach.”

He left these words with Mu Iso and entered the room.

Once inside, he spoke toward the empty air.

“Please leave for now.”

After a moment of silence, the presence in the ceiling vanished.

Even the assassin assigned by Baekseom withdrew, and Yong Hwarin stepped closer to Eum Sajeok.

Eum Sajeok smirked as he saw Yong Hwarin.

Yong Hwarin stared into Eum Sajeok’s eyes.

“What are you looking at, you brat? Can’t you tell at a glance?”

“Did you succeed?”

“I did. But it’s only half a success.”

“What do you mean?”

Eum Sajeok, in a tone that didn’t suit him, let out a long sigh.

“You don’t know, but the Soul-Separating Spirit Art can’t transfer bodies endlessly. All of the Spirit-Separating Arts are like that. Each transfer significantly diminishes spiritual power. Entering your body was the third time I’ve transferred.”

Hearing this, one question arose.

“That’s strange. Then who is the middle-aged Demonic Master now? Are you saying that in your past life you entered the Demonic Master’s body as the second transfer?”

“That’s not it. That body aged and couldn’t develop further power, so I switched later. It was to maximize my internal power. I selected hosts who had over one gap’s worth of power. That’s why my power reached three gaps.”

Yong Hwarin nodded.

“Then you must’ve felt quite wronged entering my body. It was fat and had no power.”

“Indeed. It was disheartening, but I had no choice if I wanted to survive. Still, it became the body I grew most fond of.”

After that brief tangent, the Demonic Master’s face turned serious.

“For that reason, my spiritual power is weak now, and I couldn’t fully dominate Eum Sajeok’s consciousness. So I chose another method. I can only take over when he’s asleep. That alone is fortunate. If I had made a mistake, my soul might’ve been extinguished.”

“It’s a shame you couldn’t take full control.”

From Yong Hwarin’s point of view, if the Demonic Master had completely dominated Eum Sajeok’s soul, it would’ve been a great advantage moving forward.

But to hear that control only existed while Eum Sajeok was asleep disappointed him greatly.

The Demonic Master noticed and spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep trying to devour his soul. It’ll take time, but conquering the soul of such a green brat isn’t hard. It’s just a matter of time.”

Those words were some comfort.

“Won’t Eum Sajeok realize it? Won’t he notice that he’s being controlled by you when he sleeps?”

“I made sure he wouldn’t. I made my soul feel like a nightmare. Even now, he probably thinks he’s having a bad dream. So now we must consider how to handle this one.”

“If we just let him go, there will be backlash from many.”

“Of course. You’re better at scheming than I am, so you think it over. And only come see me when Eum Sajeok is asleep.”

“Understood. By the way, were you able to learn the whereabouts and background of the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword and the Blue Dragon Three Marbles?”

Eum Sajeok blinked his drowsy eyes.

“I couldn’t reach the deepest part of his consciousness to know exactly, but I did find a few clues. It seems he gave the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword to Lee Yung. And the Blue Dragon Three Marbles... he gave those to his junior sister. Also, while combing through his memory, I found something interesting. I discovered the place handling their information. Woohak Bookstore is Jeongju’s information hub.”

The reason they were able to corner Namgung Yoo and the Division Leader of the East Evil Division so thoroughly was due to such a tightly woven intelligence network.

Even the information Yong Hwarin had obtained at the inn had come from Woohak Bookstore.

“I’ll remember that. These people have a junior sister?”

“Seems that way. Judging by his emotions, he’s particularly fond of her. Probably gave her the Blue Dragon Three Marbles to win her favor.”

“Can you not identify the woman’s status or position?”

“I’ve found a few things, but I can’t say for sure. I couldn’t reach the bottom of his consciousness.”

“That much is enough. I can track her down from there.”

“He’s tracking someone right now, but I don’t know who. Also, their base is East Moon Pavilion.”

“East Moon Pavilion?”

The name East Moon Pavilion didn’t feel unfamiliar to Yong Hwarin.

It was the place where, while chasing Black Kill Sword Wonho, he’d taken the Dream Soul Pill, gotten captured, rescued Reverend Arhat, and obtained the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.

Moreover, that region was where his former lover Mae Yeongyeong lived in his past life — making it all the more unforgettable.

‘So that’s their base.’

But since Imyeong County was close to Mount Tianzhong, it was far from Jeongju, so it wasn’t a place he could move to immediately.

There were already mountains of matters in Jeongju to handle first, so he had no choice but to defer it.

‘It’s a pity, but I’ll have to find the Blue Dragon Three Marbles later. Still, just knowing its location is a relief.’

That’s how Yong Hwarin consoled himself.