NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 212. Flashback
“Are you from the Madokyang family…?”
“Has the old man lost his hearing?”
“Oh, no. I just can’t believe it… … Why would someone from the Madokyang family come to this shabby place… … Of course, it’s not something I, a lowly person, should be asking about.”
“If you know, don’t ask any more. I’m just going to take a few days to recover from the stress and then leave quietly.”
“Yes, yes. Please let us know if you need anything during your stay and we will do our best to provide it.”
Dangmyeong had entered Goiteuk’s house under the guidance of the village chief. As they moved, Goiteuk was a small village, so there were hardly any buildings that could be called pavilions or manors. Of course, if you think about what Heung-gyeong said, it might be natural. In the first place, villages located on the border of the Tapgeukrapma Desert, like Goiteuk, would take refuge in the desert whenever bandits invaded. Since they had a habit of abandoning their villages when necessary, they probably didn’t bother to build large and wide buildings.
Anyway, the village chief’s house seemed to have a reception room or something. We ended up talking in a simple but neatly decorated room. Perhaps it was because he had heard from the guards that Dang-myung was a master that Dang-myung could not handle. The village chief’s tone was very cautious. However, his attitude was like dealing with a madman who might commit murder at any moment, so Dang-myung felt a little uncomfortable.
So, he immediately revealed that he was from the Madokyang family, as Jang Chun-il, a native of Sacheon, had told him. The reason why the village chief kept talking about this and that while taking risks was obvious. It was probably to properly confirm the identity of the outsider who was brought into the village. He wouldn’t be so naive as to give away his liver and gallbladder just because he was a member of the Cheonmasingyo.
After revealing that he was from a noble family, the village chief’s attitude changed significantly. He seemed to be trying to win his favor in some way, as if he had something to wish for.
“First, I will prepare a meal. It may not be very good for your majesty, but it will not be inedible.”
“Rather than filling my hunger, I want to wash away the dust.”
“I will order the bath water to be heated right away. I will also have the girls who will serve me come and take care of me… .”
“There is no need for the market.”
“I will prepare children with half-and-half beauty. Of course, they may not be worthy of the eyes of the great man, but even in this special place, if you dress them up properly, they will be children with appearances that are quite acceptable… … .”
“The woman doesn’t feel like it.”
“So you don’t need a woman to look after you at night… …?”
“I will tell you if I feel like it. The aftereffects are severe. If you ignore my words and do something like sneak a woman into the bedroom, you will be punished. I will not tell you twice.”
“……All right.”
Looking at the village chief, it seemed as if he was trying to send the woman away in the middle of the night, as he had a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.
‘This treatment is excessive.’
I couldn’t help but think that way. No matter how high the status of the Tianma Sect in Xinjiang is, why would they do this to a mere guest who just happened to stop by? …? I thought that they couldn’t do this unless they wanted something.
‘It seems like it has something to do with the Madokyang family.’
Madokyangga (魔毒楊家) – Judging from the name, it seemed like a family that dealt with poison like Sacheondangga. Come to think of it, I heard from Ja-woon that there was a major family within the Cheonmasingyo that had long served the bloodline of the cult leader. Could it be similar to the Madosamga, a force under Ma Gwang-cheon?
As I thought about Magwangcheon and Madosamga, I suddenly became worried about Jungwon. To be exact, as the head of the Sacheondangga clan, I was worried about my mother, the head of the clan, and other family members, the Jeongcheonmaeng followers, and the common people who had settled in Sacheon.
Just before heading to Xinjiang, Dingming heard the news that the Nanggong family, which had reigned as the rulers of Anhui for a long time, had been destroyed. Now that Ma Guangcheon had begun to rise up in earnest, it would not be strange if the power structure changed drastically. Who knew how many more of the remaining six factions might disappear. Even though the eldest Ma Xian was saved, Kunlun had already suffered a near-destructive blow, let alone Gongdong, which had suffered considerable losses in military power while helping Kunlun; Huashan and Zongnan, who were at odds with each other in Shaanxi; Qingcheng, which was located in the same Hubei region as Ma Guangcheon; Shaolin, which was geographically isolated with the destruction of the Nanggong family…
‘… … The ambassador said that Shaolin would never fall.’
Dang-myeong recalled what Ja-woon had said with confidence. He said that there were still great monks in Shaolin who had finished washing their faces with gold powder and stopped their activities in the martial arts world. They were like guardian spirits who continued to train until they died in places like Myeonbyeok-dong and only showed up when Shaolin was in danger. Furthermore, he said that Shaolin had built friendly relations with the Beijing imperial family, so they could receive support from the military if necessary. If Ja-woon’s words were true, Shaolin was the strongest among the six factions, and it seemed that Shaolin would not fall even if Ma Guang-cheon ran wild.
However, the name of the sect did not feel good for some reason. If it was that strong, wouldn’t the Magwangcheonju want to eradicate it as quickly as possible? Furthermore, the Shaolin Buddhist scriptures possess the ability to destroy demons, so they are like natural enemies to those who have mastered the magic arts, so they would feel it as a threat more than the other six sects and would most likely try to eliminate it as a top priority.
Of course, with that possibility in mind, the reason that Dingming had set foot on Xinjiang was because if not now, he might not have the chance to strike at the Heavenly Demon Sect. Fortunately, Dingming’s base, Sichuan, was located relatively far west of the Central Plains. Even if something were to happen right now because of Ma Guangcheon, Sichuan would have time to respond. However, if the Heavenly Demon Sect were to invade the Central Plains when Jeongcheonmyeong and Ma Guangcheon were to engage in a full-scale battle, Sichuan would become a battlefield. Dingming had come to Xinjiang not only to avenge his mother, but also to eliminate any potential danger that might befall Sichuan.
In fact, since this was an action that risked a threat to the eastern part of the Central Plains – Hubei, Shaanxi, and Henan – Dang-myeong felt a bit of hesitation. That may be why he was anxious.
‘I’m going to fight and return as quickly as possible.’
Having come this far, that was the only thing Deungmyung could do.
As soon as I can prepare myself, I quickly join the main force of the Jeongcheon Alliance, which is facing off against Magwangcheon after cutting off the breath of the Demon Lord Yeonmuyeol.
however.
Although I didn’t know the exact name, by this time the news of Shaolin’s destruction had already spread like wildfire throughout the Central Plains.
* * *
‘It brings back old memories.’
After learning the magic of summoning a martial artist that was only taught to cult leaders who had mastered the art, Yeonmuyeol fell into deep thought in front of the thick iron door.
This desert of Tapgeukrapmagan is a land where dragons once slept.
When people talk about dragons, they are usually considered auspicious beings. Many people think of them as fiction or superstition, but dragons are real and are closer to evil than good. The blue dragon is considered auspicious, flying in the sky and controlling thunderclouds. The shamans usually call it a good dragon.
Among the radiants, the dragons that control the Azure Dragon are called evil dragons. Although they are of a lower rank than the Azure Dragon, they are still dragons, so they completely control one of the five elements: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth.
What separates a good dragon from an evil dragon depends on what kind of play the dragon goes through when it is in human form – a child dragon. A dragon is not a spirit, much less a phantom. It is a being formed by the gathering of energy between heaven and earth, and is the incarnation of cause and effect. In the end, the ending of the cause and effect when experiencing play is what determines whether it is a good dragon or an evil dragon.
It’s an old story, but the one who was sleeping in the top of the tower was the Earth Dragon, who was in charge of the energy of the earth. He was the one who endlessly sucked the energy of the originally fertile land of Xinjiang and devastated it.
In order to capture the Earth Dragon, many skilled magicians gathered together and spread out a magic formation on this land. The magic formation, which was spread out in dozens of layers over a vast area, was not dismantled even after the Earth Dragon was subdued for ‘some reason’.
The leader of the Cheonmasingyo religion has been learning the magic of reversing the flow of the sky for generations.
Originally, the being called Bangsa learned magic to eliminate the evil spirits that were causing harm to the world. Of course, it was not entirely out of altruism that they became Bangsa. As their mastery of magic deepened, they gradually became proficient in the way of heaven and earth, and their status increased. Most people tried to achieve this ascension. As their status increased, their lifespan was extended, and they believed that they could eventually ascend to the immortal realm.
And the best way to raise your level of magic was to subdue or defeat the likes of Yi Maemangryang, so it was a kind of practical training.
However, the methods of those who learned and used the magic of reversing the flow were completely different.
Apart from their achievements in magic, they created and hired Imaemangryang with their own unique energy. Rather than refining their magic through the process of subduing, exorcising, or destroying them, they sought to ascend the ranks by naturally elevating the ranks of the Imaemangryangs they hired as followers.
In ancient times, the demons who ascended the throne in this manner were called cheonma (heavenly demons).
In any case, the shaman of Yeokcheon who helped subdue the dragon at that time was the ancestor of Yeonmuyeol. He knew many methods of entangling Yi Mae-mangryang. Although dragons are different from Yi Mae-mangryang, they are both half-spiritual beings, so among the techniques used against Yi Mae-mangryang, there were some that worked, and he spread them throughout the Tapgeukrapmagan desert.
Immediately after the expedition, he discovered one fact.
Even after the dragon died, the enormous energy that made up the dragon did not disperse into nature. It was ideal for learning martial arts through breathing techniques, and as time passed, there was a high possibility that a dragon would appear here again. This was because the energy that made up the dragon did not disperse and stayed there.
Since the magic circles spread by various shamans overlapped and the land was devastated by the earth dragon, people did not approach it, and it was good for confining the evil spirits. In the current world, it was hard to find the evil spirits, and it was not only because the shamans had mostly defeated them hundreds of years ago, but also because the leaders of the Cheonmasingyo – the shamans of the reverse sky – had confined the evil spirits in the top-height magwan.
Yeonmuyeol also had a considerable number of Yi Maemangryang as his followers. Magi (魔氣) is the source of the martial arts of reversing the heavens, but it is also the power that can create Yi Maemangryang. When strong evil intentions are combined with Magi, Yi Maemangryang is created.
Hundreds of years had passed since the subjugation of the Earth Dragon, but since the dragon had not appeared again, Yeonmuyeol, like the previous cult leaders, was only focused on creating Yeongong and Yi Maemangryang and making them his followers.
Then one day.
I met a boy who was living alone in the desert of Topgeukrapma.
Yeonmuyeol, who was able to discern the rank of a person, knew at a glance that he was a dragon.
That was the encounter with Yeonjunghyuk.