novelraw Chapter 160 : Chapter 160
Chapter 160 : Chapter 160
Chapter 160. Who would I trust if not you?
Jin Cheon immediately began to prepare.
“Grand Master Dan, please prepare to leave with your squad members.”
“As you command.”
As soon as Jin Cheon's order fell, Danmok Cheong began to prepare for deployment with the members of the Seventh Divine Demon Squad.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“It seems that Senior Sister Cheol has been kidnapped.”
“Whaaat?!”
The Blood Qilin, who had been lazing around in Jin Cheon's house without knowing anything, jumped to his feet upon hearing the news.
The same was true for Yeom Bi.
“Who was kidnapped?”
The news of Cheol Yu-ra's kidnapping was top secret even within the Cult, so it was only natural that the Blood Qilin and Yeom Bi did not know.
“The Iron-Armored Ghostly Demon Squad was attacked by unidentified enemies, and my senior sister has gone missing. The higher-ups seem to be judging it as a kidnapping based on the circumstances.”
Jin Cheon explained the whole story to the Blood Qilin and Yeom Bi.
“What kind of bastards dare to kidnap Senior Sister?”
“They must be crazy to want to die.”
The Blood Qilin and Yeom Bi growled.
Swoooosh!
Seeing the demonic qi subtly emanating from them, it was evident that they, like Jin Cheon, were greatly angered.
“We have to go save her right now.”
“Yes, let’s go right now.”
The Blood Qilin and Yeom Bi were on the verge of kicking their seats and running out at any moment.
“Let’s wait for now. An order will come down from the higher-ups soon.”
Jin Cheon also wanted to go rescue Cheol Yu-ra right away if it were up to him, but he would have to wait for at least a few shichen.
Since the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's order had been given, Jin Cheon would be the main player in Cheol Yu-ra's rescue, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would also have to mobilize its warriors, so some waiting would be necessary.
“Senior Brother, I will go too.”
“Why you?”
Jin Cheon tilted his head at Dang Cheon-wi's words.
“This is our Cult's business, it’s not for you to get involved. And it will be very dangerous. More than you can even imagine.”
“I will still go.”
Dang Cheon-wi showed his determination.
“If she is your senior sister, then she is also an important person to me. Although I may not be of much help, I want to lend a hand. Who knows, I might be of some help.”
“Hmm.”
“It will surely be helpful in establishing friendly relations between the Dem… no, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and my family.”
Certainly, it was not for nothing that Jin Cheon acknowledged Dang Cheon-wi's affability and friendliness.
Seeing him volunteer like this even though it was not his business…….
“Alright, then you come with us too. But I can't guarantee your safety. A situation might arise where you have to survive on your own if things go south.”
“I am also a martial artist.”
Dang Cheon-wi said with force.
“Don’t worry about me, just do your work, Senior Brother. I will help from the side.”
“Alright.”
Jin Cheon showed a small smile as if he was proud of Dang Cheon-wi.
‘He’s a good guy, anyway.’
Jin Cheon thought he knew why Dang Cheon-wi couldn't mix with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and felt disillusioned.
It didn't make sense for such a good person to get along with such vile and disgusting people.
* * *
The next morning.
Jin Cheon was summoned by the Iron-Blooded Demonic God and headed to the Cult Leader's Hall.
“This is the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box. I entrust it to you.”
Jin Cheon carefully received the palm-sized treasured object that the Iron-Blooded Demonic God handed him.
The Heaven and Earth Treasure Box.
A treasure created by combining the Heavenly Principle Trigram, the Earthly Center Trigram, and the Wind and Cloud Trigram.
A mysterious object that could find anyone in the world, as long as they were not dead.
“Find your senior sister and bring her back. If the situation is not favorable, request support from the Cult at any time. We will commit all available warriors.”
“As you command.”
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God's command was truly appropriate.
If a large number of warriors were to move in groups and poke around here and there, the enemies would notice in advance and hide in deeper underground, so the intention was for Jin Cheon, with the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box, to act as a scout and pinpoint Cheol Yu-ra's location.
“I will surely find my senior sister and bring her back to the Cult.”
“I believe you will.”
“……!”
“Who would I trust if not you.”
“C-Cult Leader……”
“Sometimes, I just feel sorry for placing such a heavy burden on you.”
“Not at all, truly not at all.”
Jin Cheon, thinking he understood the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's inner thoughts, shook his head.
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God was a being who had already surpassed humanity and reached the ranks of the gods, so she could not intervene in the human world.
As such, she was bound to have many restrictions in carrying out any task.
If she were to carelessly exercise that power or intervene too much in the human world, her physical body would collapse and she would ascend to immortality.
Therefore, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had no choice but to appoint a proxy every time she carried out a task, and Jin Cheon taking on the main missions was also in that context.
Moreover, weren't Jin Cheon and the Iron-Blooded Demonic God a pair who shared each other's most secret and dangerous secrets?
The reason why Jin Cheon was particularly special compared to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's other disciples must also be for that reason.
“I am the Seventh Young Master of the great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the disciple of the Cult Leader, and I am merely devoting myself to the revival and prosperity of our Cult. How could it be a heavy burden. It is just a mission, and also a duty.”
“Is that so.”
“Also, the Second Young Lady, Cheol Yu-ra, is my senior sister. As a junior brother, how could I consider the task of saving my senior sister a heavy burden. It is something I must naturally do.”
“That heart is pleasing.”
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God could not hide her satisfaction.
Although she was perceived within the Cult as an incarnation of a demon who had long lost her humanity, in reality, it was not so.
At least in front of Jin Cheon, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God sometimes showed human emotions.
It was proof that even though she had reached the ranks of the gods that the first Heavenly Demon, Dokgo Seong, had so desired, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was also, in the end, a human being.
“Be sure to rescue your senior sister and return to the Cult. This is a request I make to my disciple, not as the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but as a master.”
“Your disciple, Jin Cheon, receives my master’s command.”
Jin Cheon knelt on one knee before his master and paid his respects.
* * *
Jin Cheon immediately prepared to leave the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult with his party.
And there was someone who came to see Jin Cheon…….
“I greet the Seventh Young Master.”
“Ah.”
Jin Cheon could recognize at once who had come to see him.
‘It’s Senior Sister’s mother.’
There was no way he couldn't know.
Because the middle-aged woman who had come to see Jin Cheon had an appearance that was almost a spitting image of Cheol Yu-ra.
“My name is Bukgung Seol.”
She was the mistress of the Frigid Iron Clan, the wife of the family head Cheol Ja-ryang, and the mother of Cheol Yu-ra.
“I greet Madam Bukgung.”
Jin Cheon clasped his hands in a greeting to Bukgung Seol.
“In the past, I was greatly indebted to the Young Master’s master.”
“Ah, yes. I have heard from my senior sister.”
“Before I could even repay that debt… I feel sorry to have come to you so shamelessly like this.”
“Not at all.”
Jin Cheon shook his head.
“It is only natural for a junior brother to go to save his senior sister, so for you to say you are shameless, Madam, does not seem to make sense.”
“The Seventh Young Master is as humble as I have heard.”
“You are too kind……”
“I earnestly ask that you bring Yu-ra back safely.”
Bukgung Seol pleaded with Jin Cheon in an earnest tone.
“If by any chance things go wrong, I hope you will at least bring back her body.”
“Her body, please do not say such things.”
Jin Cheon shook his head as if it were out of the question.
“I will surely rescue my senior sister and bring her back to the Cult. So, I hope that you, Madam Bukgung, will rest assured and wait.”
“I will trust only you, Seventh Young Master.”
“Yes, even if things don’t go well, please rest your heart and expect only good news.”
“Is it alright to do so?”
“Of course.”
Jin Cheon showed a smile towards Bukgung Seol.
In fact, Jin Cheon's heart was not entirely at ease either.
He didn't know where she had been taken, but it was a self-evident fact that Cheol Yu-ra would suffer hardships.
Also, since her life and death were uncertain, there was a possibility that she might die before being rescued.
Nevertheless, the reason Jin Cheon smiled confidently was to reassure Bukgung Seol.
If the rescuer himself was anxious, the waiting person would be even more worried.
“Then I will trust you, Seventh Young Master, and wait.”
“Yes, I will bring you good news soon.”
After reassuring Bukgung Seol, Jin Cheon immediately left the Divine Land.
‘Where could she be.’
Immediately after leaving the entrance of the Divine Land, Jin Cheon took out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box from his robes and tried to track Cheol Yu-ra's whereabouts.
The method of using the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box was extremely simple; one would think of the person they were looking for and infuse it with internal energy, and the needle inside would point in a direction.
Swoooosh!
When Jin Cheon infused it with internal energy, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box emitted a faint light, and the needle spun around before pointing to a specific direction.
‘East.’
Now that he had a direction, there was no reason to delay.
“Let’s go!”
“Heeeeeeigh!”
When Jin Cheon kicked its side, Macheon galloped at a fearsome speed as if it had been waiting.
Macheon ran powerfully, as if to prove that it had inherited the bloodline of a famed horse.
It was so fast that the horses the other party members were riding could not possibly keep up.
After traveling by horse, Jin Cheon's party arrived at the Dragon Gate Inn located at the Jade Gate Pass and unpacked their belongings.
The area around the Jade Gate Pass was a kind of border where the influence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult reached.
A little further east was Dunhuang, ruled by the Central Plains Imperial Family, so from here on, it was necessary to travel in disguise.
Dunhuang was a place teeming with not only the army of the Central Plains Imperial Family but also martial artists belonging to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, and the influence of the Kongtong Sect, one of the Nine Sects One Gang, was mighty, so loitering around carelessly would be enough to make them a target for their enemies.
Jin Cheon unpacked his belongings at the inn and, while resting from his travels, took out a map and placed the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box on it.
The Heaven and Earth Treasure Box also worked in conjunction with a map to show where the person being sought was, so it was necessary to check it like this once in a while.
‘Seeing the needle move, it’s certain that she’s still alive.’
Jin Cheon was relieved to see the needle of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box spinning.
If Cheol Yu-ra had died, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box would not have reacted, so there was no doubt that it was a positive sign.
Swish, swoosh.
Jin Cheon moved the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box here and there on the map and watched where the needle pointed.
And after a while.
‘Qilian Mountains?’
Confirming that the place the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box was pointing to was the Qilian Mountains located in Gansu Province, Jin Cheon frowned.
‘There shouldn’t be anything here.’
The Qilian Mountains were known to have such rugged and barren terrain that no sect was located there.
‘Why is Senior Sister here?’
The reason was unknown, but one thing was certain.
‘The picture is becoming clearer.’
Jin Cheon judged that the ones who had kidnapped Cheol Yu-ra were not the Imperial Family or the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
And for good reason, if the ones who had kidnapped Cheol Yu-ra were the Righteous Heavenly Alliance or the Imperial Family, there would be no reason to take Cheol Yu-ra all the way to the rugged and barren Qilian Mountains.
They could just go to the nearest Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch or government office.
‘It’s the Demonic Devil Cult.’
Jin Cheon sensed that the culprits were the Demonic Devil Cult, that is, the followers of the first Heavenly Demon, Dokgo Seong.
He had thought so from the beginning, but now that he had found out Cheol Yu-ra's location through the Heaven and Earth Treasure Box, he was certain.
Of course, he would only know for sure after going to the Qilian Mountains…….
‘Let’s go.’
After resting for a while, Jin Cheon immediately headed to the Qilian Mountains with his party.
And when he arrived at the Qilian Mountains, Jin Cheon was able to confirm that his judgment was correct.
‘Tremendous demonic qi!’
Jin Cheon was startled to sense the demonic qi coming from the distant Qilian Mountains.
For such an intense demonic qi to be felt even from such a distance, the meaning was clear.
‘The Qilian Mountains might be the headquarters of the Demonic Devil Cult.’
Jin Cheon thought that it might be so.