The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life - Chapter 76
Chapter 76: These Guys Are Really Something
The interrogation of the Mad Blood Trio Demons yielded no significant results. They were just like the Four Monsters of the Great East.
They didn’t even retain memories of their deaths, and decades of memories had been erased. They only followed someone’s orders blindly.
This time, they claimed they had come here to fulfill a request by Budu Cheol.
As for the commands they had received before or what they had done, they had no memory of those at all.
As the interrogation of the Mad Blood Trio Demons was nearing its conclusion, Byeok Taesan opened his eyes.
He had been organizing his enlightenment and internal energy, but he had heard everything while Hwaryeong conducted the questioning.
There was no need to disrupt his concentration; he could easily divide his consciousness slightly to multitask.
Byeok Taesan rose from his seat and approached the Mad Blood Trio Demons.
He scrutinized them closely.
The Mad Blood Trio Demons trembled with fear as they looked at Byeok Taesan.
Even considering that they had been defeated by him, their reaction was excessively exaggerated.
When interrogating the Four Monsters of the Great East, Byeok Taesan had left everything to the Hao Clan and hadn’t personally seen the ones captured.
This was the first time he had witnessed such a reaction.
Byeok Taesan shifted his gaze toward Budu Cheol this time.
Budu Cheol, however, was somewhat different.
He clearly feared Byeok Taesan, but not to the extreme degree of the Mad Blood Trio Demons.
“Interesting.”
Byeok Taesan alternated his gaze between the Mad Blood Trio Demons and Budu Cheol before speaking to Hwaryeong.
“I’ll take these three with me. You handle the remaining ones and interrogate them thoroughly. You remember what I mentioned earlier, right?”
“Yes. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Byeok Taesan gathered the Mad Blood Trio Demons and, lifting them effortlessly, disappeared somewhere.
Hwaryeong quietly watched Byeok Taesan’s retreating figure, then turned her cold gaze toward Budu Cheol.
So far, all they had managed was to identify his name.
Budu Cheol was an enigmatic figure; despite his considerable skill, little was known about him. It was as if he had emerged from obscurity after years of seclusion.
Additionally, they knew almost nothing about the forces behind him.
Hwaryeong, undeterred, continued the interrogation calmly. After all, the most important matter was the location of the semi-reanimated corpses.
Whether Budu Cheol had hidden the semi-reanimated corpses somewhere or had never possessed it in the first place remained unknown.
Still, it felt likely that he did have it.
‘But this guy’s atmosphere is different from the Mad Blood Trio Demons.’
Hwaryeong continued her questioning, aiming to uncover the location of the semi-reanimated corpses.
The reason Byeok Taesan had taken the Mad Blood Trio Demons away separately was because of a peculiar feeling.
That odd sensation had been present from the very first moment he encountered the Mad Blood Trio Demons.
However, it had intensified just a moment ago—when the Mad Blood Trio Demons trembled with fear as Byeok Taesan approached them.
Budu Cheol seemed normal, almost like an ordinary person.
But the Mad Blood Trio Demons were different.
Byeok Taesan observed the Mad Blood Trio Demons, who were trembling and curling up their entire bodies, even more closely.
At the same time, he activated the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art.
It seemed likely that their reaction was connected to the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art.
As expected, the moment the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art was activated, their fear visibly deepened.
They instinctively recoiled from the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art.
Byeok Taesan continued to observe the Mad Blood Trio Demons for a long while, focusing not just on their external behavior but also on their spirits.
The fact that they responded to the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art suggested there was likely a problem with their spirits.
After concentrating for nearly half an hour, he finally identified the issue.
“What’s wrong with their spirits?”
The spirits of the Mad Blood Trio Demons were subtly twisted.
In other words, their bodies and spirits didn’t perfectly align. There was a gap between them.
“Wait, weren’t these guys supposed to be martial artists who were active over fifty years ago?”
Yet, they appeared far too young.
It wasn’t a case of reversing aging, either. Their skills weren’t at the level necessary to achieve such a feat.
Moreover, those who reached the realm necessary for reversing aging wouldn’t have spirits this distorted.
Besides, hadn’t these individuals been beheaded and killed?
“What is this? Did they transplant their spirits into younger bodies or something?”
Byeok Taesan tilted his head, puzzled.
“That should be nearly impossible, though.”
When Byeok Taesan had first entered this body, he had struggled immensely in the beginning.
Even though the body he currently used was exceptionally compatible with the spirit of the Heavenly Demon—as though it belonged to a direct family member—it had still taken a great deal of time to perfectly harmonize the spirit with the body.
Without the residual energy of the Heavenly Demon remaining in the body, he might not have survived the process.
Yet, they supposedly inserted spirits from fifty years ago into random bodies? Such a feat seemed almost impossible.
“Then, what exactly are these guys?”
As this was his first time encountering spirits so distorted, Byeok Taesan grew increasingly intrigued.
“Let’s pull one out and see.”
Byeok Taesan extracted the spirit of one of the Mad Blood Trio Demons.
At that moment, he felt something snap as if breaking apart.
It wasn’t a sensation in his hand but rather something conveyed through the spirit.
Thud.
The body of the man whose spirit had been extracted collapsed lifelessly.
Byeok Taesan looked at this with slight surprise.
“Did it die just from this?”
Even when Byeok Taesan extracted soul essence, the connection with the body wasn’t typically severed.
This was why, even with their soul essence pulled out, individuals could groan or scream in agony under the effects of the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art.
But this man had died the moment his spirit was extracted.
“What an incredibly filthy spirit.”
Byeok Taesan activated the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art and began to carefully burn the spirit in his hand.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, a surge of pitch-black energy burst forth from the spirit. Byeok Taesan immediately let go of it.
The spirit began to disintegrate, turning into black energy that scattered into the air.
It had completely vanished.
Byeok Taesan looked down at his own hand.
A burn mark remained as if his hand had been scorched. However, the mark wasn’t on his physical body—it was on his spirit.
It wasn’t a severe injury, though. The burn on his spirit healed in an instant, and his hand returned to normal.
Byeok Taesan then turned his gaze toward the remaining two.
Without hesitation, he extracted their spirits one by one.
He carefully observed what exactly snapped during the extraction.
Then, as before, he burned the spirits with the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art before releasing them.
For some reason, he felt it was necessary to completely obliterate them.
Byeok Taesan quietly observed the spirits as they burned, black energy pouring out as they were consumed.
It felt as though he was on the verge of understanding something, a faint tickling sensation at the back of his mind.
Byeok Taesan, who had burned away the spirits of the Mad Blood Trio Demons, returned to where Hwaryeong was waiting.
In the end, he had failed to obtain anything substantial.
However, something continued to tickle the corners of his mind. At this rate, if he encountered the right opportunity, he would leap into a realm of enlightenment in an instant.
This wasn’t something that could be forced. On the contrary, taking a leisurely and patient approach would prove more effective.
Determined to completely forget about the incident with the Mad Blood Trio Demons, Byeok Taesan cleared his mind.
Before he realized it, he arrived at the place where Hwaryeong and Budu Cheol were waiting.
Budu Cheol was on the verge of death.
His injuries were severe.
His spine had been crushed, and the shock had caused him to suffer extreme internal damage. His dantian was almost completely shattered, which only exacerbated the harm.
To save Budu Cheol, either the Heavenly Divine Healer or the Needle Master would need to intervene.
As Byeok Taesan arrived, Hwaryeong, who seemed to have been waiting, immediately reported to him.
“I’ve located where the semi-reanimated corpse is.”
“Really?” Byeok Taesan responded, his tone brightening.
Not long ago, all the energy he had stored in his qi pathways had been fully absorbed, leaving him unable to rely on stored power. Now, he needed energy to store in his pathways once more.
He could replenish his energy by visiting a brothel or other similar places, but that couldn’t compare to the effects of this spiritual medicine.
Moreover, only semi-reanimated corpses could provide healing benefits when attached to the qi pathways.
“It’s hidden in a fairly large water reservoir a short distance away,”
“A reservoir? Now that you mention it, I heard that the bandits around this area have completely disappeared, right?”
“Yes. There are likely a significant number of bandits there as well.”
“There too?”
Hwaryeong quickly added an explanation.
“All the people here are bandits as well.”
Byeok Taesan glanced around.
People were sprawled across the ground, trembling and writhing, scattered all around them.
All of these were bandits?
“It seems the bandits these days have raised their standards. These guys were quite skilled,” Byeok Taesan remarked.
Hwaryeong’s expression stiffened.
“It appears they triggered latent energy to enhance their strength.”
“Triggered latent energy? Like that guy we saw a while back? Don’t tell me the ones here were also materials for the semi-reanimated corpse?”
“No, they don’t seem to be materials for the semi-reanimated corpse. It appears they were merely disposable tools used after completely draining their innate qi.”
“These people are truly remarkable,” Byeok Taesan said with a hint of sarcasm.
Without using any of their own power, they had dragged in the surrounding people, forced them to trigger latent energy, and then discarded them after use.
“Is there anything else you found out?” he asked.
“Nothing further. This one was also just a pawn,”
“And a material for the semi-reanimated corpse?”
“That would need to be determined by the Heavenly Divine Healer or the Needle Master examining their bodies.”
Byeok Taesan nodded.
Then, he sat on a nearby rock, waiting for the party that had gone to capture the remaining enemies to return.
About half an hour later, people began to trickle back.
No one seemed injured.
The enemy had been skilled enough that Dan Yeong, Chae Wol, and Soso likely gained solid combat experience through the encounter.
Meanwhile, the two physicians from the Heavenly Medicine Pagoda, who had insisted on tagging along, looked as if they were about to collapse from exhaustion.
It seemed the Heavenly Divine Healer had worked them hard.
After addressing and giving instructions for a few matters, Byeok Taesan led the group toward the reservoir where the semi-reanimated corpse was said to be.
Byeok Taesan’s group marched toward the reservoir.
The cleanup of the numerous bodies lying in the previous location had been entrusted to the Hao Clan in the vicinity.
By now, the Hao Clan must have arrived en masse, extracting whatever information they could from the survivors, while disposing of the dead.
As they traveled quietly, two individuals stood out, appearing visibly excited.
They were none other than the two physicians from the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion.
‘Are we finally going to see the semi-reanimated corpse?’
The reason these two had come this far was entirely because of the semi-reanimated corpse.
They wanted to learn how to deal with it and perhaps, through it, discover the whereabouts of the Poison Demon.
From what had been confirmed through the recent events in the Corps of the Black Lotus, an unidentified fiend seemed to be plotting something.
The Heavenly Medicine Pavilion believed that the Poison Demon might be one of those fiends.
Moreover, they were certain that the Poison Demon’s schemes were aimed directly at the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion.
The Poison Demon’s hatred for the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion ran deeper than the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion’s dislike for the Poison Demon.
As they pressed on with such thoughts in mind, a massive reservoir gradually came into view.
“The reservoir is larger than expected,” the Heavenly Divine Healer remarked, leading the group.
The Needle Master nodded in agreement.
“With a scale like that, the leader and vice-leader of the bandits there are usually quite skilled.”
The Heavenly Divine Healer turned to the Needle Master, his eyes wide with curiosity.
“Brother, how do you know such things?”
“Am I not allowed to know these things?” the Needle Master retorted.
“No, it’s just that you speak as if you’ve experienced life as a bandit yourself.”
The Needle Master’s eyebrow twitched. Seeing this, the Heavenly Divine Healer feigned surprise and continued.
“Wait, don’t tell me you really were a bandit? Brother, were you a bandit in the past?”
“No! It’s just…”
“Just?”
“I only happened to come across them a few times during hard times.”
“Coming across them a few times helps you gauge the skill of a leader and vice-leader just by looking at the size of a reservoir? Wow, Brother, I’m starting to see your insight in a new light.”
The Needle Master clenched his fist tightly.
“Should I help you gain some insight too?”
“My insight?”
The Heavenly Divine Healer’s gaze shifted to the Needle Master’s fist.
Raising his fist slowly, the Needle Master said, “One hit with this, and your insight will open up completely.”
“You’re joking in such a violent way again. That’s why people suspect you were a bandit.”
As the Needle Master’s fist trembled with anger, the Heavenly Divine Healer quickly turned to Byeok Taesan.
“Young Master, shall we get going now? Should we charge in head-on while we cover the rear again?”
Byeok Taesan smirked and replied, “Cover the rear? For something like that? Let’s go.”
With that, Byeok Taesan strode confidently toward the reservoir.
The flow of energy emanating from the reservoir brushed against his entire body.
His senses sharpened.
The previous battle had slightly revived his old senses.
However, the fight had been too easy to fully regain his past instincts.
He needed a more intense battle.
Not against weaklings, but against a formidable foe who would force him to shed blood if he wanted to win.
Such an enemy didn’t exist in that reservoir.
But there was someone who could somewhat quench Byeok Taesan’s thirst.
A faint smirk appeared on Byeok Taesan’s lips.
His blood was boiling.