As the necromancer’s consciousness began to fade, Jeok Wigang murmured a mantra.
It was the Revival Mantra, capable of restoring all things.
The necromancer had been slowly slipping into unconsciousness when his mind abruptly cleared. Feeling energy surge through him, he realized something had gone terribly wrong.
“What?”
His qi vessels healed, and his blood vessels and vital points returned to normal.
He stared at Jeok Wigang with trembling pupils.
“I told you, didn’t I? You don’t get to die that easily. Now, shall we have a serious discussion about how to dismantle this formation?”
“Ah...”
The necromancer could only let out a despairing groan as Jeok Wigang grinned and curled his hand into a fist.
*****
The necromancer’s eyes and entire face were swollen beyond recognition as he pleaded.
“I’m telling you the truth... Once this formation is activated, it can’t be withdrawn... Even I take every possible precaution before setting it up...”
“The formation cores are inside the Emei Sect?”
“Yes. They’re installed in Emei’s three sacred grounds. Heh. You’ll have quite a headache trying to remove them.”
“Why?”
“You know nothing about the Emei Sect. Men are forbidden there. The Emei nuns despise men. Do you honestly think they’ll let you inside? And those are the three holiest places in the entire sect. They would rather die than allow you to enter.”
“That doesn’t matter. If they try to stop me, I’ll blow them all away and keep going.”
“What?”
“As long as I don’t kill them, it should be fine.”
“You could become an enemy of the entire martial world.”
Jeok Wigang gave a faint laugh.
“That doesn’t matter either. If the Central Plains chooses to make an enemy of me, I’ll simply force everyone to their knees.”
The Necromantic Divine Demon gave up trying to reason with him.
“In any case, you told me how to deal with it, so I’ll keep my promise and kill you without pain.”
The Necromantic Divine Demon’s pupils trembled.
“You’re not letting me live?”
“I never said I would. I said I’d kill you without pain.”
“You truly meant that?”
“Yes.”
Unlike when he had tried to take his own life, the thought of dying by Jeok Wigang’s hand suddenly filled him with a desperate desire to live.
“There may come a time when you need someone like—”
KWOOOOOO—
The Necromantic Divine Demon vanished in a single strike before he could finish his plea.
Jeok Wigang looked at the spot where not even a trace of him remained and murmured,
“You’re far too wicked to leave alive. I hope you’re born as a good person in your next life.”
After offering a prayer for the dead, Jeok Wigang turned a grave gaze toward Mount Emei.
“It’s begun.”
At that moment, Jin Muryang and Ye Yahyeon descended beside him.
“You take the east. You take the west. Stop the dead spirits crawling out of the ground. I’ll dismantle the formation as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
*****
At the Mount Emei mountain gate.
With the Emei Sect already in a precarious situation, security was far tighter than usual.
The moment the nuns spotted Jeok Wigang, their vigilance soared.
“Stop.”
Despite the warning, Jeok Wigang continued walking without the slightest intention of slowing down.
“This is forbidden ground to men! Take another step, and we will regard you as an enemy and attack!”
Cheong Hye, the nun responsible for guarding the mountain gate, raised her voice.
Her eyes shone with restrained brilliance, and her voice was clear and firm.
Jeok Wigang stopped.
“My name is Jeok Wigang. I wish to speak with your Abbess about an urgent matter concerning Mount Emei.”
“I just told you! Men are forbidden here!”
“I’m aware. But the situation is rather urgent.”
“Leave.”
She was not listening to a word he said.
Jeok Wigang sighed.
He did not have time to waste here.
In the end, he decided to force his way inside and started moving again.
“I told you to stop!”
“Sorry, but I don’t have time.”
When it became clear that he had no intention of obeying, Cheong Hye shouted,
“An enemy! Strike him down!”
At her command, three nuns rushed at Jeok Wigang.
WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP—
THUD— THUD— THUD—
With three heavy impacts, all three collapsed unconscious.
Cheong Hye stared at Jeok Wigang in horror.
I didn’t see him move at all.
He was an expert.
She had to warn the parent sect immediately—
WHUMP—
A powerful blow struck the back of her neck, and her consciousness went dark.
Leaving the four unconscious nuns where they had fallen, Jeok Wigang passed through the mountain gate and muttered,
“It seems settling this quietly is no longer an option.”
He still had to go.
Even if it meant subduing every last person in the Emei Sect.
*****
Every nun Jeok Wigang encountered on the way up reacted with extreme hostility and attacked him.
Every one of them was knocked aside.
The Emei Sect soon went on full alert, and every nun on the sect’s main mountain mobilized to capture him.
Word quickly reached the Abbess of the Emei Sect, Unjeong.
“What are you talking about? An unknown man has invaded the parent sect?”
“A man we have never seen before is demanding to meet you, Abbess, and causing a disturbance.”
“Me? Why?”
“He says he must speak with you about a matter concerning Mount Emei, but he has been attacking the nuns.”
None of it made any sense.
If he wished to meet her, he should have requested an audience politely. Why would he cause such a commotion?
“What in the world is going on? Take me to him at once.”
“Yes!”
As Abbess Unjeong stepped outside, she saw armed nuns racing in every direction.
“Goodness. What chaos is this?”
She hurried onward.
“AAAH!”
“UAAAGH!”
CRASH, THUD, RATTLE—
KWAANG!
Explosions and screams rang out ahead.
“You lecherous fiend! Die!”
CRAAACK—
The situation appeared far more serious than she had expected.
She quickened her pace.
By the time she arrived, dozens of nuns lay unconscious on the ground, twitching faintly, while hundreds more surrounded a single man.
“Stop!”
At Abbess Unjeong’s command, the wary nuns all withdrew at once.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The nuns began speaking over one another.
“That lecherous fiend intends to defile the Emei Sect!”
“Defile the Emei Sect?”
“He says he intends to enter our three sacred grounds.”
“What?”
Abbess Unjeong looked at the man—Jeok Wigang.
“I am Unjeong, Abbess of the Emei Sect. Who are you?”
Jeok Wigang offered a martial salute.
“My name is Jeok Wigang. I requested an audience with you regarding an urgent matter concerning Mount Emei, but no one seemed willing to deliver my message. I was left with no choice but to commit this discourtesy.”
“Does that excuse forcing your way in like a madman? There are procedures and rules for everything! Did you think so little of the Emei Sect?”
“I did not look down on you. A disaster has befallen Mount Emei, and I merely wished to discuss it with you and resolve the matter.”
“Then that was all the more reason to follow proper procedure.”
“I would have preferred to, but we do not have that kind of time. To summarize the urgent matter, a wicked necromancer has laid a sinister formation across all of Mount Emei. The formation is intensifying the mountain’s yin energy in an attempt to turn it into a place where only death remains. To dismantle it, the cores hidden within the three sacred grounds must be destroyed.”
Abbess Unjeong swallowed a troubled groan.
Judging from Jeok Wigang’s words alone, the situation was grave indeed.
But she could not make such a decision based solely on his claims.
The three sacred grounds were the most important places in the Emei Sect.
Allowing a man to enter them was unthinkable.
“Do not listen to that lecherous fiend! He is trying to deceive us!”
“Give the order, Abbess! We will execute him at once!”
Looking around, Jeok Wigang realized that the matter had already gone beyond anything words alone could resolve.
Abbess Unjeong addressed him.
“Look at the situation around you. Even were I inclined to hear you out, I cannot do so under these circumstances. Calm yourself and submit to being bound. Then I will listen carefully to everything you have to say.”
“I appreciate the offer, but there truly is no time. At this rate, the vital energy of Mount Emei will collapse. I must destroy the formation cores within the three sacred grounds.”
“I am sorry. Please try to understand my position.”
Jeok Wigang shook his head.
“I don’t have time to understand it. There is no other choice. From this point forward, I will be committing a discourtesy. Please forgive me.”
As Jeok Wigang moved, the nuns looked toward Abbess Unjeong.
“There is no helping it. Stop him.”
The instant the order fell, the nuns charged Jeok Wigang.
“You lecherous fiend! Die!”
Jeok Wigang sighed at the vicious-looking nun rushing toward him.
“For women devoted to spiritual cultivation, your language is remarkably crude...”
CRACK—
BANG—
A single punch drove her headfirst into the ground, knocking her unconscious.
At the same moment, nuns rushed him from every direction.
WHUMP— CRAAACK— KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—
Jeok Wigang did not hold back merely because they were women or because they were nuns devoted to cultivation.
Anyone who attacked him was dealt with mercilessly.
Still, this was only a misunderstanding, so he did not kill them.
It did not take long to subdue every nun who charged him.
Faced with his overwhelming strength, Abbess Unjeong and the senior nuns grew visibly tense.
“Don’t worry. None of them are dead.”
Jeok Wigang crooked a finger at them.
“I’m in a hurry, so anyone else who wants to come at me should do it now.”
“You insolent—!”
One of the senior nuns finally lost her temper, drew her sword, and launched herself at Jeok Wigang.
“First Manifestation Sword!”
The Emei Sect’s proud Tiger-Subduing Great Arhat Sword unfolded from her hand.
SWIIIIISH—!
But the sword cut through empty air.
CRAAACK—
“URK!”
Jeok Wigang’s fist buried itself in the elderly nun’s abdomen.
Abbess Unjeong quickly caught her as she flew backward.
“Junior Sister!”
Relief washed over her when she saw that the nun was merely unconscious, froth bubbling at her lips.
At the same time, she was astonished.
That man was strong.
Yet despite possessing such strength, he had explained why he had come and asked for their understanding.
Even when the disciples of the parent sect attacked him with open hostility, he subdued them without killing anyone.
That alone showed how much mercy Jeok Wigang was extending to them.
Would he have behaved this way if he had come [N O V E L I G H T] to the Emei Sect with some profane intention?
No.
With power like his, he could simply have done whatever he wished and left.
Yet he had not.
Seeing the change in Abbess Unjeong’s expression, Jeok Wigang asked once more.
“I do not wish to fight any further. So please, tell me where the Emei Sect’s three sacred grounds are.”
The other senior nuns were about to protest again when—
“Enough!”
Abbess Unjeong’s thunderous shout silenced them.
They stared at her in shock.
“Everyone, be quiet. This is an order from your Abbess.”
At the word order, they pressed their lips shut and looked at her.
Abbess Unjeong turned to Jeok Wigang.
“Follow me. I will take you to the three sacred grounds.”
“Abbess!”
“I said be silent.”
The senior nuns fell quiet again at her icy expression.
*****
Abbess Unjeong led Jeok Wigang toward the three sacred grounds.
As they walked, she apologized.
“I am sorry. Many among us have suffered at the hands of men. They are not bad children.”
“I know.”
“Thank you for subduing them without killing anyone.”
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