The two were inside a painting.
It was a painting that looked identical to the real people, and its movements were lifelike.
While the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was looking at So Baek-ta, I saw the Illusion King.
It was the same Illusion King I had seen before my regression.
Illusion King, so this is where you were at this time.
Inside the painting, the Illusion King took So Baek-ta and disappeared through a door.
The Demon Buddha’s and my gazes naturally fell upon the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's eyes deepened as he stared at the painting.
He must have sensed the ominous energy beyond that door.
“Impressive.”
He was acknowledging the Illusion King.
Yes, that was to be expected.
After all, this was a world created by the Illusion King.
He was a greater master than the Illusion Maiden.
That was why, in the end, it was his name that was renowned throughout the world.
“It's dangerous. I will go alone.”
Hearing that, I smiled and said, “I was wondering who his disciple took after.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you truly wanted to go alone, you wouldn't have said it was dangerous, would you?”
It meant the same as when So Baek-ta shouted not to come as he was dragged away.
It was a more burdensome request than 'please save me.' Just as much as saying 'it's dangerous, so I'll go alone.'
“Even if I said I'd leave you behind, you're not the type to listen, are you?”
“We came together, so we should finish this together.”
There was no way I would let the Wind Heaven Sect Leader enter that painting alone.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
The Demon Buddha also nodded.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader chanted a formula in front of the painting.
Whooosh.
With a deep resonance, we were standing before that door.
We had entered the painting in an instant.
The feast of Illusion Arts unfolded by a master who had reached the ultimate state was truly a work of art.
From all sides, large beasts bared their fangs and gathered.
However, they did not dare to attack, perhaps frightened by the aura emanating from the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
On the other hand, they acted as if they would pounce on the Demon Buddha and me at any moment.
The Demon Buddha strode toward them.
They bared their teeth and growled, but they didn't attack him either.
The Demon Buddha reached out and stroked a beast's head.
Surprisingly, the beasts remained still.
It was a moment where I witnessed firsthand just how resistant the Demon Buddha was to Illusion Arts.
In the meantime, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader stood before the door.
After closing his eyes for a moment to calm his mind, he placed his palm on the door.
As the Wind Heaven Sect Leader chanted a formula and pushed slowly, the door began to open with a loud noise.
We entered side by side.
Beyond the door, a long corridor awaited us.
It was a corridor with no visible end, as if once we passed through it, we could never return.
“When I saw his face, he looked so much like that woman from the Flower Garden. They must be twins or siblings.”
As we walked, I informed the two that the Illusion King and the Illusion Maiden were related by blood.
“Then this place must be even more dangerous.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader nodded at the Demon Buddha's words.
He must have sensed it too.
Since he was the one who had killed her, one of them would not be leaving here alive.
“You don't seem nervous at all.”
“With the two of you here, why would I be nervous?”
This time, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader asked the Demon Buddha.
“Why aren't you nervous?”
“With you two here, you’ll handle it.”
This time, it was my turn to ask.
“What about you, Cult Master?”
“Me… because I’m here. Dammit! I feel like I'm the only one at a disadvantage!”
I laughed heartily at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's joke.
But I could feel it.
He was definitely more tense than the last time he faced the Illusion Maiden.
It seemed there was a certain energy that only masters of Illusion Arts could feel.
We continued walking down the long corridor.
“This Illusion Art was also lost from the Blood Sect.”
“I felt it before, but you seem to have a deep knowledge of the Blood Sect's martial arts, Cult Master.”
“Because we are the Blood Sect.”
The predecessor of the Wind Heaven Sect was the Blood Sect.
“A long time ago, we were defeated in a war against the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, and all the leaders of the Blood Sect were killed."
"The Heavenly Demon Divine Sect knew they couldn't completely eradicate the Blood Sect. The sacrifice required to kill all of them scattered throughout the Outlands would have been too great. So, the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect wanted them to become the new Blood Sect.”
“And that's the Wind Heaven Sect.”
“Yes. In the early days, there was a fierce conflict between the faction that wanted to preserve the Blood Sect as it was and the one that wanted to abandon the name. But since the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect supported the side that wanted to establish the Wind Heaven Sect, it was eventually reborn as such."
"For a while, the pro-Demon Sect Wind Heaven Sect continued, but at some point, it broke free from that influence.”
In that long history, the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect had also undergone many changes.
“This man has properly inherited the Blood Sect’s Demonic Arts. There is undoubtedly a faction trying to re-establish the Blood Sect.”
“Are you talking about a secret society?”
“It won't be a secret anymore, I suppose. Not after kidnapping the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and dragging in the Young Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.”
In the meantime, we reached the end of the corridor.
Three doors awaited us.
The three doors, exuding a mysterious aura, seemed to be saying: Your life or death will be decided by which door you choose.
“Which one should we enter?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's eyes deepened as he looked at the three doors.
“It’s a trap. If we go into one together, we’ll be separated. We have to enter separately to meet.”
“Then let's each go separately.”
“I’ll take the middle one.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader chose the middle door, and the Demon Buddha and I each entered the doors on the left and right.
When I opened the door and entered, there was another corridor.
As I walked down the corridor, I looked back to see that the door I had entered through was gone.
There was no going back now.
When I emerged from the door at the end of that corridor, neither the Wind Heaven Sect Leader nor the Demon Buddha was in sight.
In that moment, I realized it.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader had tricked us.
He intended to face the Illusion King alone.
Those three doors were a message left by the Illusion King for the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
Leave those two behind and come alone.
This was because the fight was between the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and the Illusion King.
He must have wanted to protect the Demon Buddha and me.
The place I entered was a banquet hall.
Dancers were dancing, and musicians were playing cheerful tunes.
Young women holding bottles of wine beckoned me to come closer.
The atmosphere of this place alone strengthened my earlier suspicion.
You rest here.
I looked around, searching for an exit.
But the bluish light was not easily visible.
Since this space was also created by Illusion Arts, there had to be a way to break it somewhere.
Just then, a man in the banquet hall walked up to me and said, “Please rest comfortably. If there is anything you desire, just tell me.”
“Where is the way out?”
“The door will only open when the time is right. It will not open before then.”
Swish! Shluk!
I cut the man down with a single stroke.
The fallen man turned into black smoke and vanished with a soft 'thud'.
The music stopped, and everyone froze, staring at me.
Of course, they were not human.
They were evil spirits formed from ghostly energy.
I looked around at them and asked, “Does anyone here know how to get out? Raise your hand!”
Instead of raising their hands, they rushed at me from all directions.
*
Unlike Geom Mugeuk, who had entered a banquet hall, the place the Demon Buddha entered had a murderous atmosphere.
Pitch-black darkness.
A place where you couldn't see an inch in front of you.
Even the usual radiance from his shining body could not illuminate his surroundings.
The Demon Buddha could sense it.
There was something here.
He quickly formed a hand seal with his fingers.
Seal of Radiant Law!
In an instant, a golden radiance burst forth from the Demon Buddha’s body.
In that moment, the place became visible.
Dozens of monstrous beasts were shielding their eyes from the light.
Reacting to the light, they all howled in unison.
It was a loud, piercing cry that felt like it would shatter his eardrums.
A new hand seal formed in the Demon Buddha's hands.
Radiant Killing Seal!
The next moment, a golden force surged and erupted from the Demon Buddha's twin palms.
Swoooosh!
The tremendous force, rushing forward like a wave, swept away all the beasts in its path.
Thud! Thwack! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The beasts turned into black smoke and disappeared.
The Demon Buddha strode forward and opened the door to the next room.
It was a place like a plaza, ten times larger than the previous room.
And the evil spirits that filled the space all turned to look at the Demon Buddha in unison.
Their eyes were bloodshot, their mouths torn.
It was a sight that truly made one want to close the door again.
But the Demon Buddha smirked and entered.
Instead, as if to ensure no one could escape, he slammed the door shut.
The evil spirits shrieked and rushed towards the Demon Buddha from all directions.
There were so many that they trampled over each other.
In the midst of that pandemonium, a new golden hand seal was being formed.
*
The Illusion King and So Baek-ta entered a wide great hall.
Stone statues and murals on all sides, a large Grand Advisor's seat.
The place, filled with unidentifiable patterns, was clearly a place So Baek-ta had never been before.
Yet, it felt familiar.
“Where is this?”
So Baek-ta treated him calmly.
Reacting with curses and hostility was not a wise choice.
He had to calmly find an opportunity.
“Isn't it the place you are in every day?”
“Don’t tell me? The Cult Master’s Hall?”
It was different from the current Cult Master’s Hall, and also different from the one during his master's time.
“The Blood Sect's Cult Master’s Hall.”
“Yes. This is the true Cult Master’s Hall.”
A look of deep emotion crossed the Illusion King's eyes as he looked around the place.
He truly respected and loved this place.
“The place where the true demonic practitioners of the Outlands lived. Not a pathetic brat like you.”
The word 'brat' cut him to the core.
But now was not the time to act like one.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“To use you as a hostage.”
So Baek-ta's heart sank, but he spoke as if it were nothing.
“That's a rather tasteless thing to say.”
“Your master is not someone who can be dealt with by trying to be stylish.”
So Baek-ta could tell.
The Illusion King genuinely acknowledged his master.
He had cursed him so much when they were together, but thinking back now, those curses were ultimately directed at himself.
“My master will not come.”
“He will.”
“He doesn’t care for me that much.”
“If that were the case, he wouldn't have rushed all the way to the Outlands. The Young Cult Master came to kill me, but your master came to save you.”
After a moment of daze, So Baek-ta suddenly said, “Come to think of it, my life seems better than yours.”
The Illusion King silently stared at his sudden change.
“You’re a coward, you have no pride, and you’re even dishonorable, aren't you? You're probably just a faithful dog who follows someone's orders.”
So Baek-ta fearlessly charged forward.
“You always groveled before me. ‘Cult Master, you have arrived? Did something good happen today? You, Cult Master, are the one who will lead the new martial world.’ Cult Master, Cult Master. Licking yesterday, licking today. If I had told you to lick it, you probably would have licked the soles of my feet.”
When the Illusion King extended his hand, So Baek-ta was sent flying.
His inner energy already suppressed, So Baek-ta was helplessly caught in his grasp.
The only thing he could fight with was his mouth.
“What are you so scared of that you suppressed my inner energy? Didn't you say this was your hell? You cowardly bastard! Go lick my asshole!”
Despite the flood of ridicule, the Illusion King, far from getting angry, smiled at him.
“This is unexpected. To care for your master this much.”
The Illusion King saw right through So Baek-ta's intentions.
He had realized that he was trying to provoke him into killing him.
“If you want to die that badly, go smash your head on that statue's horn and kill yourself. I wonder if you have the guts for that.”
The Illusion King threw So Baek-ta in front of a statue.
So Baek-ta stared at the statue with trembling eyes.
The horn on the beast's forehead was as sharp as a spear.
As he stared at the sharp horn, he felt death approaching.
Then, like a panorama, memories of his childhood with his master flashed before his eyes.
Thinking back, his master had been especially fond of him.
He acknowledged his natural talent and even praised him in front of his peers, telling them to learn from Baek-ta.
On the days he was praised by his master, he was too happy to sleep.
On the day of the Blood God Festival, when it was time to strike the Thunder Bell, he would call him over to strike it together.
While doing so, his master would pat his head and say that he would inherit his position.
Just because he failed once after doing well ten times, he resented and denied his master.
You stupid, foolish bastard! If someone treats you well ten times and badly once, you should remember them as someone who treated you well nine times.
Reproaching himself, So Baek-ta squeezed his eyes shut.
‘I can no longer be a burden to my master.’
He threw his face towards the horn without hesitation.
Thwack!
He thought he would die just like that, but the statue's horn crumbled like soft clay.
From a distance, the Illusion King smiled and clapped.
He had changed the horn with his Illusion Arts.
“This is why I can't kill you. How could I kill such a precious hostage who thinks of his master this much?”
So Baek-ta threw himself towards a wall.
But before his head could hit the wall, he flew into the Illusion King's grasp.
Clutching So Baek-ta, he looked down at him.
“If your master dies, it will be because of you.”
It was a terrifying thought.
He tried to bite his tongue, but he couldn't muster any strength in his jaw.
“... Please, kill me.”
It was at that very moment.
Someone entered and said in a sharp voice, “In times like that, instead of saying 'kill me,' you say this.”
The person who strode in was none other than the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“If my master dies, it will be because of you. If my master dies, it is because my master's martial arts are weak."
"My master’s death has nothing to do with me. And to bastards like that who try to play with people's hearts, you say this. Get lost, you bastard!”
To So Baek-ta, who was staring at him with impassioned eyes, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader said calmly, “From now on, I will teach you again, one by one.”