NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 27 - Episode 7: Demonic Cultivator (1)
Chapter 27 – Episode 7: Demonic Cultivator (1)
“What do you mean? Out of the blue…”
Zhuge Hyeonmong looked at Sima Lin for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s depart now since we’re short on time. If we delay any longer, your subordinate could be in danger.”
“What?!”
Sima Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
How did he know I sent someone ahead? More importantly, how does he know they’re in danger?’
Zhuge Hyeonmong scratched his head with his magic wand.
‘How should I explain this.’
In truth, discovering their location had been pure coincidence.
When he released the medicinal energy of the Clear Spirit Pill to calm the bandits, something unexpected had been swept up in the process.
They were none other than small creatures like insects and snakes.
The strange thing was that these creatures had demonic qi dwelling within them.
And through the eyes and ears of these creatures, someone had been watching them.
The moment Zhuge Hyeonmong realized this, he immediately reverse-traced the source.
He hadn’t known it was possible, nor that such a thing existed.
But somehow he felt it might work, and it actually did.
The result led him to the Ghost Well Valley.
“Wait a minute, how did you know that?”
Sima Lin immediately became suspicious.
Someone who had been whining about feeling weak suddenly seemed to grasp the entire situation after observing the scene—it would be strange not to feel something was off.
‘Is this a trap? Could he be working with the Demonic Cultivator?’
Zhuge Hyeonmong thought for a moment.
Using the excuse of family secrets was starting to wear thin.
‘I suppose sharing a little information wouldn’t hurt.’
Since he had already acted suspiciously a few times, it wouldn’t hurt to explain a bit.
“When I dispersed the demonic qi earlier, I noticed that small insects and animals were tainted with it. As I pushed the demonic qi away, I traced its flow and found that it led to the Ghost Well Valley.”
“How did you know it was a valley?”
‘I just saw it.’
But saying that outright would only make him seem more suspicious.
Zhuge Hyeonmong looked at Sima Lin for a moment, then slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
It was an enigmatic smile.
“Have you forgotten we’re still in the middle of a wager?”
“…!”
“Let’s go. If nothing happens when we get there, I’ll acknowledge my defeat.”
The martial experts nodded as if entranced by Zhuge Hyeonmong’s words.
“By the way, you mentioned the Ghost Well Valley. What kind of place is it?”
“It’s a place you would absolutely never choose for an escort route.”
Surprisingly, it was Im Jun-gyu who answered.
As a member of the Great Dragon Escort Agency, he was intimately familiar with the local geography.
“About twenty years ago, it was just an ordinary valley. But at some point, a thick fog started to settle, and it became a place from which people never returned. The reason is unknown, but it has become a dangerous place now.”
“Hmm.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong felt a slight sense of déjà vu as he heard those words.
‘The Bewildering Maze Formation? No, it couldn’t be.’
This happened twenty years ago.
“That happened? But why…”
“I don’t know. At some point, a sign was placed at the entrance of the valley, calling it the Ghost Well Valley, along with a warning that one’s life couldn’t be guaranteed upon entering. People started calling the person who put up the sign the Ghost Valley Master.”
“I see.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded and asked no further questions.
He was starting to feel like his entire body was a soaked sponge, weighed down by fatigue.
For a while, an inexplicable silence hung in the air until Sima Lin began to cough.
“Cough, cough.”
“Lady Sima, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Sima Lin waved her hand dismissively.
But her complexion had grown paler, and her brow was furrowed.
“Let’s rest a bit. We’re all getting tired. It wouldn’t be wise to face a Demonic Cultivator in this condition.”
Everyone nodded at Peng Ak’s words, the most senior among them.
But even as they sat down to rest, Sima Lin’s complexion didn’t improve.
Seeing this, Zhuge Hyeonmong got up and approached her.
“…What is it?”
“Please take this.”
What Zhuge Hyeonmong offered was a Clear Spirit Pill.
A refreshing energy flowed from the box containing it.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because I’m worried about you.”
“Ha!”
Sima Lin scoffed.
‘Trying to gain my favor with such a clumsy move?’
“We can’t afford any hindrances when fighting Demon Cultivator. Since I can’t fight, you must do it in my stead.”
“…”
Sima Lin stared at Zhuge Hyeonmong with strange eyes.
She had never imagined someone would say something like that to her.
“Wait, you…”
“If you’re going to refuse and tell me to fight instead, I won’t listen. And I’m just lending it to you, so return it later. I need it for research.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong forced the Clear Spirit Pill into her hands, and Sima Lin alternated her gaze between the pill and him.
“W-wait!”
“I think I need to rest now too.”
His body felt as heavy as a soaked sponge.
He had already suffered quite a bit on the way to the Green Forest Road Alliance, and as soon as they arrived, they had immediately set out to track the Demonic Cultivator.
But Sima Lin wouldn’t let Zhuge Hyeonmong rest so easily.
“How did you know we sent our subordinate ahead? And why did you say they’re in danger?”
“Ah, that.”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t provided an explanation.
“Well, people of your high status wouldn’t move without preparation. You brought a subordinate, didn’t you? I assumed you’d sent them ahead to scout..”
“…!”
“I became certain when you proposed the wager. If you didn’t have a plan, you wouldn’t have suggested it, so I thought you must have some degree of certainty. Taking the initiative would give you an advantage, so I thought that was it.”
“Y-you confidently stated such flimsy excuses without a single piece of evidence?”
Tang Hwa-ryeong, who had been listening nearby, blurted out in disbelief, but Zhuge Hyeonmong merely shrugged.
“What does it matter? If I was wrong, you would’ve said something, right?”
“…Are you a con artist?”
He had made a wild guess, and since no one refuted it, he just assumed he was right.
Sima Lin made a face like she was fed up.
“Fine, I admit it. We did send our subordinates ahead to scout for the Demon Cultivator as soon as we decided to join. But how did you know they were in danger?”
“Because they’ll think the Demon Cultivator is alone or few in number.”
“Of course. Isn’t that the case? Judging by the scale of the incident and the level of martial prowess, there can’t be many of them.”
“Yes. But the Demonic Cultivator was controlling small creatures through Demonic Arts. What if some of those creatures are poisonous?”
“That’s absurd!”
Tang Hua-ryeong frowned as she spoke.
“There were no such traces at the murder scene we just saw. If they had been poisoned, I would have been able to see the signs.”
“In a body torn to shreds?”
“…”
“And with the internal organs—where poison would have accumulated—missing, I think it would be difficult to determine immediately without an autopsy, even for a poison expert like yourself, Young Lady Tang.”
“Hmm.”
Tang Hwa-ryeong’s face turned red, but she couldn’t refute him.
It was exactly as he said.
“As expected! Our Zhuge… Ugh!?”
Jo Gwol quickly jabbed Hang Gon in the side before giving Zhuge Hyeonmong a light salute.
Though he said nothing, it was clear he was pleased that Zhuge Hyeonmong had outsmarted these arrogant prodigies.
“Then we should hurry. Let’s get moving. I’ll carry you from now on, Master Zhuge.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.
Since they had left their horses behind for the pursuit, the offer was especially welcome.
And shortly after…
Sima Lin’s expression hardened.
“Wait a moment.”
Thanks to the Clear Spirit Pill, Sima Lin’s coughing had subsided, but upon seeing a certain mark, her complexion worsened even more than when she had been coughing severely.
“What’s wrong, Lady Sima?”
“…He was right.”
The Sima Noble Family uses various markers that only family members can recognize.
For instance, in the mountains, they would break tree branches in a certain direction to convey a message.
And now, the marker Sima Lin had discovered meant that an unexpected danger had struck.
“R-right now! Our subordinates are in danger!”
“What!? Let’s find the other traces quickly!”
The young prodigies hurriedly began searching for clues.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Hyeonmong calmly constructed a magic formula.
He had already improvised a formula to detect demonic qi.
It wasn’t exactly created from nothing.
It was one of the basic formulas Allen had learned at the Magic Tower.
‘Detection Magic.’
Mana could detect even the faintest traces of demonic qi.
After activating the spell, Zhuge Hyeonmong connected the spell into his vision and the flow of demonic qi materialized before his eyes.
The residual demonic qi appeared like black smoke.
And it extended continuously in one direction.
“That way.”
“What…?”
The young martial artists, who had been using tracking techniques to find the trail, were puzzled by the sudden instruction.
But Jo Gwol moved immediately.
Having witnessed Zhuge Hyeonmong’s mysterious arts several times, he didn’t want to waste time doubting.
As Jo Gwol followed, the martial experts also began to move, and soon they could see.
‘Clouds?’
For a moment, that’s what they thought, but they soon realized it wasn’t. What they had mistaken for clouds was actually a swarm of mosquitoes.
The sight made everyone shiver.
It wasn’t just mosquitoes.
Scorpions, snakes, and other venomous creatures filled the area.
They saw a woman holding a torch at the cave entrance, preventing any further entry.
“Ryeonhwa! Are you okay?”
“Miss?! It’s dangerous. Step back! Each of those mosquitoes is venomous! Kuk!”
Her complexion wasn’t good. Tang Hwa-ryong, seeing that pallor, coldly remarked.
“She’s poisoned. It looks like she’s been bitten several times already. And…”
The venomous creatures, undeterred by the flames, tried to enter the cave, only to burn and release toxic smoke.
That poisonous smoke was being drawn into the cave.
She had lit the fire to keep the creatures at bay, but it had backfired.
‘What should I do?’
Sima Lin bit her lip.
If it were a large beast, it might have been manageable, but there was no easy way to deal with such small creatures.
If they weren’t careful, they could also be poisoned, which would only worsen the situation.
‘What should I…’
“Lady Sima.”
At that moment, Zhuge Hyeonmong called out to Sima Lin.
He had already gotten off Jo Gwol’s back and was holding out his hand.
“The Clear Spirit Pull I gave you earlier, please return it.”
“Why suddenly…”
“Now!”
At Zhuge Hyeonmong’s shout, Sima Lin unconsciously handed over the Clear Spirit Pill.
Taking it, Zhuge Hyeonmong frowned.
‘I haven’t fully researched yet. What a shame.’
But this was a matter of life and death, so it wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
He placed the Clear Spirit Pill between his index and middle fingers and pressed his thumb against it.
He coated the Clear Spirit Pill with mana and recalled what he had seen earlier.
He recalled the movement Tang Hwa-ryeong used as she threw the piece of tael to him.
The gesture, the trajectory.
It was still vivid in his memory.
‘Can I do it?’
Honestly, he wasn’t confident. Understanding something in theory and executing it were two different things.
But he felt an inexplicable confidence.
‘Somehow, I think I can.’
Without hesitation, Zhuge Hyeonmong flicked the Clear Spirit Pill.
Woong—!
“Wait, you…!”
Tang Hwa-ryeong exclaimed in shock as she saw the Clear Spirit Pill flying through the air.
That’s my hidden weapon technique! But you can’t throw it that far without internal energy!’
Contrary to Tang Hwa-ryeong’s expectation, the Clear Spirit Pill flew straight through the swarm of these venomous creatures.
It wasn’t just a simple flick—it was wrapped in mana, making it possible.
And coating the pill with mana wasn’t just to send it far.
As the Clear Spirit Pill reached a certain distance, Zhuge Hyeonmong’s eyes glowed as he activated the formula he had previously inscribed on the projectile.
‘Now!’
The pill exploded, and the small creatures caught in the blast were instantly obliterated.