Chapter 98

It was quite the scene.

An old man looking down, cradling the corpse of a young girl, with a woman beside him brandishing a weapon high.

This was the kind of moment that could make anyone jump in to stop it right away.

Moreover, there was the infamous Great Demon Lord and a high-ranking elder from the Dao right there.

With that context, even if countless blades rained down on Qing, she wouldn’t have much to say about it.

But in reality, the elder of the Dao was Qing herself.

This is why one shouldn’t have preconceived notions.

Qing was in a serious bind, holding high a strange weapon shaped like a twisted metal.

Ah, I wonder how much strength I need to use here.

The old man was completely defenseless.

How do I gauge how much power it takes to avoid smashing his head?

Too strong would be bad, right?

For now, gently, just enough to break some bricks, then.

This was a notorious bomb packed with enough black powder to wipe out an entire city.

It was designed for complete destruction, so it had plenty of gunpowder.

With that mindset of a brick destroyer, Qing’s good intentions dropped in a straight line.

Thud!

That was the sound of bones and metal clashing.

The old man’s thinning hair and aged scalp offered no cushioning at all.

The crown of the head is the most important pressure point and vital spot of the body.

Totally unprepared, Master Choi Riyong’s eyes rolled back in shock.

He sat there, dazed, slumping forward and hitting his head on the floor, collapsing in a crumpled heap.

“Ah! Grandpa, my bad! I put in a bit too much power. Mmm. But if you lived this long, isn’t it kind of a fair trade?”

This was a folk remedy that hit hard enough to bring back one’s senses, but instead, it knocked him out.

This was the danger of unauthorized physical therapy.

Just then, the previously deafening sound of rain suddenly stopped.

And the dim scenery of the stone chamber spread out around me.

It was a wide stone chamber, clear of any obstruction.

Dozens of masters from the Demon Sect walked around in circles holding torches, looking utterly dumbfounded.

Staring straight ahead, their expressions were such that you wouldn’t smell a drop of human warmth.

Among them was a tiny figure whose eyes darted back and forth between the inner and outer circles: Ji Seung-ju.

This was the view from outside the formation.

When the master of illusions loses consciousness, the empty space is filled with other illusions, leaving darkness in voids.

But with the great precision of the Grandmaster, false emptiness was pierced through clear understanding.

Respecting the gaze of others was the doctrine of the unapproachable, so while their illusions were faithfully projected, they broke the lies when there was no illusion.

This was a gap the legendary master of formations hadn’t even thought of.

So this is what it’s like to see someone trapped in a formation from the outside. Kind of… well, foolish.

Then Qing spotted something glittering.

In the very center of the tomb, a multicolored pyramid radiated light, clearly screaming out “I’m a treasure!”

A self-illuminating triangle.

Self-luminous, huh?

And what do you call that sense of intimidation?

A striking presence, perhaps?

It instantly screamed of the Heavenly Demon Soul.

Wait, if that’s the case… could this be an opportunity?

As Qing stepped toward the center…

Suddenly, the world shifted.

I found myself in front of an unfamiliar house’s great gate.

A master of the Demon Sect was knocking on the gate with an excited expression, shouting.

“Hey, I’m back! I’m back, you hear?”

-“Is that you, Gaga?”

“Yes, it’s me!”

-“Gaga!”

A light footstep approached, accompanied by a wistful voice.

The master’s mouth agape, his face flushed with happiness and anticipation.

Finally, the sound of unlocking the gate.

And creak, the door began to open—

Pow!

The master collapsed flat on the ground.

“How cliché can you get?”

Qing grumbled as she used the Magic Flute.

The world crumbled again and I was back inside the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Before long, I stood on the outermost circle.

I had just wasted time looking around.

This time, I had to be quick.

Qing stomped the ground.

And the world shifted again.

All around were naked women.

In the midst of them stood the only man, Yu.

Pow!

And just like that, there was no more Yu.

Back to the Heavenly Demon Sect. Back to the outside.

Qing knocked out seven masters of the Demon Sect and after a while, even smashed one’s head in, and finally reached a conclusion.

“Darn it. This won’t work.”

If you kill, you can’t peek outside; only by knocking out can you slip out of the illusion for a bit.

However, the moment you take a step away, you’ll return, so escaping this way was impossible.

But this was enough.

Now I knew where the Heavenly Demon Soul was.

Once the formation disappeared, who could possibly reach the Heavenly Demon Soul faster than me?

After causing a ruckus as a hostage outside, I’ll just break out and flee.

My master also said there wouldn’t be many who could catch up with me outside, so I felt confident about escaping.

Now, as long as I could prepare for the moment the formation was undone.

If I just needed to know when it would break, it was practically a done deal.

To do that, I should stick close to the one who breaks it.

All I had to do was find that little guy and help him!

Qing’s mind was whirring as she reached a conclusion.

She stepped back into the formation once again.

—-

The plan was solid, really.

But now the problem was, where the heck was that little guy?

As she wandered around, she thought surely I’d bump into him somewhere.

Was I in some sunny manor yard?

A familiar voice suddenly accused Qing.

“Is this brat not going to acknowledge her father anymore? There isn’t a daughter in this world who would beat her father. You wretched girl.”

It was Master Choi Riyong, coming back to his senses.

Choi Riyong was a master of the Realm of Transformation.

Even with an attack that felt heavy and lacking any energy behind it, he was too skilled to lose his life easily.

He rubbed his crown of the head, glaring.

He seemed to be in pain.

But did he just call me father?

Had he really come back to his senses?

Qing was confused and responded sarcastically.

“What? You still haven’t come to your senses? Who’s calling whom father? Get a grip! Or do I have to hit you again?”

At this, Master Choi Riyong flinched.

He rubbed his eyes as if he had seen something strange and sighed deeply after seeing Qing’s face.

“What the heck, a kid beating up an old man? I knew you were fierce, but seriously…”

“That’s why dementia is dangerous. Respecting the elderly turned into attacking the elderly and all that. They say there’s no saint in front of a lunatic.”

“…? Did someone actually say that? Which wise sage said that?”

“Seomun Qing.”

Choi Riyong grimaced.

But since it did sound somewhat reasonable, he didn’t push the matter.

“I thought you were just some crippled fool possessed by an illusion, but you’re actually a masterful con artist.”

“I was a bit of a cripple at first, and about the illusion… Ah! So that was the illusion! Anyway, I managed to get through it. Everyone said the illusion was terrifying, but it wasn’t such a big deal after all.”

The one feeling wronged here was the illusion itself.

Originally, it had the power to burn through people’s hearts and turn them into wrecks, but how could it know a legendary formation would suddenly show up to block it?

Yet, Master Choi Riyong understood.

Having been caught in the formation himself, he realized that if there was a way to escape this illusion, it could serve as a catalyst to overcome this longing.

With that, Master Choi Riyong began to think again about the formation.

“It seems there’s a nasty formation set up. How are you still standing strong?”

“I thought it was odd from the very beginning, you see? Those who get trapped in such petty techniques are all weaklings. They’re lacking in perseverance. Perseverance.”

In this light, the formation would feel wronged.

Truth be told, Qing hadn’t done anything remarkable; it was the great Grandmaster’s unwavering, clear vision that had kept pushing through the lies.

Even that was only realized after she had stuffed herself with food from her hometown out of sheer will.

Moreover, the masters from the Demon Sect felt equally aggrieved.

Indeed, Qing’s greatest ability seemed to be making others feel wronged every time she opened her mouth.

“Anyway, I’m glad I ran into you, Grandpa. That little guy wants to lift the formation? Dismiss it? Well, he said he’s cleaning it up. He asked for my help, but I didn’t know enough to help.”

Instantly, Choi Riyong’s expression brightened.

“What delightful news! Alright, where is the little one? I’ll lend a hand.”

“The problem is, I don’t know! I thought I’d bump into him while wandering around.”

“Tch. You always seem to leave things hanging.”

“Excuse me? I was just trying to help the poor soul getting drenched in the rain, waking him up, and here you are throwing a fit for no reason!”

“Ahem.”

It seemed Master Choi Riyong had nothing to retort to.

He coughed awkwardly, pretending not to mind.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Master Choi Riyong replied.

Then he stood there, staring blankly at Qing.

“What are you doing? I said let’s go!”

“Yeah, we should go.”

“But why aren’t we going?”

“Ahem.”

He pretended to cough again.

As Qing stared at the old man wondering why he was acting strange, he quietly made a small sound.

“Uh, have you been wandering around in the formation all this time? Your legs are alright? Even if you’re in pain, you shouldn’t push it too far if your muscles haven’t been used for a while.”

This made Qing snicker.

“If that’s what you were wishing for, let’s do it.”

As Qing opened her arms, Master Choi Riyong cautiously lifted her up in a familiar manner.

Once exposed as the lame Representative Ho, Qing shamelessly became the passenger again as they passed through the great gate of the manor.

Then, a thought suddenly struck her.

But hey, whose illusion is this anyway?

The master of the illusion seems fine, huh?

Well, whoever the owner is, it really doesn’t matter.

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