Until now, the orb had never once moved on its own.
But the Secret Vessel was reacting to the orb.
Woooong.
‘This is the real energy.’
It was clearly the same energy the Secret Vessel had been absorbing until now.
But there was no way the orb they brought contained any goodwill.
“We must put it back.”
The moment Geom Mugeuk carefully lifted the box to put the orb back in.
The orb suddenly shot out and flew toward Cha Iran.
With no time to think, Cha Iran caught it.
The thoughts that she shouldn't catch it and that it mustn't break struck her at once, but she followed her instincts and caught it.
Since it was the orb she had carried for so long, and the one she had to return, her instincts told her not to dodge it.
Geom Mugeuk was startled and about to draw his sword, but Cha Iran raised her hand, signaling that she was alright.
The orb rested on her palm.
She had only ever seen it inside the box; this was the first time she had made contact with it.
She had expected a chilling sensation, but that wasn't it.
An indescribable, mysterious feeling flowed into her palm.
She didn't know it, but this was the energy of the Red Essence.
Geom Mugeuk held the box out again.
As she tried to quickly put the orb back in the box, the orb reacted first again.
Shhhhhk.
A thread-like strand of red energy flowed out of the orb and wrapped around her wrist.
“I’m fine.”
For now, the energy was friendly.
It didn't seem like it would harm her at all.
The red thread wrapped around her wrist began to slowly ascend her arm, as if exploring her.
Cha Iran raised her inner energy and slowly drew her dagger.
Geom Mugeuk was also ready to draw his sword at any moment, while his other hand prepared to snatch the orb from her hand.
If anything happened, he intended to sever the energy connecting her and the orb in an instant.
As the energy traveled up her arm, passed her shoulder, and was about to wrap around her neck, she gently pushed it away with her other hand.
It was fine for it to wrap around her arm, but she did not feel comfortable with it around her neck.
At that very moment.
The thread-like energy that flowed from the orb swelled up as if angered.
Swoooosh!
The energy that had been wrapping around her arm extended further, coiling around her waist and thighs like a snake.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
And it was still connected to the orb.
As if it had to keep its roots in the orb.
Even then, it was fine.
The energy was still friendly.
The problem was that there was something inside that energy.
Whoosh.
Geom Mugeuk and Cha Iran saw it.
Something swimming swiftly through the red energy.
Swish.
This time, as it circled the red energy once more, they could see it clearly.
To their surprise, it was a snake.
A real snake was moving through the red energy that coiled around her body like a serpent.
It was a tiny snake, the length of a finger, and its color was blood-red.
The snake swam through the red energy as if it were water.
As the red snake appeared, the nature of the red energy coiling around her began to change.
The incredibly soft red energy seemed to stir violently for a moment, and then.
Squeeeeze.
It began to squeeze her.
Cha Iran slashed at the energy with her dagger.
Slice.
But the energy could not be cut.
The blade simply passed through it as if through smoke.
‘I have to get that snake!’
She aimed for the swiftly moving snake.
It wasn't easy to cut, as it was too fast.
‘I’ll cut it on the next pass!’
Swish! Slice!
The dagger precisely cut the snake as it passed through the energy wrapped around the front of her waist.
But the severed snake instantly re-formed into its original shape and swam through the red energy.
Geom Mugeuk spoke to her with a grave expression.
“It's no use. That snake is both real and fake.”
Geom Mugeuk knew what this was.
When he learned his opponent was the Darkness Palace, he had studied and researched them, and this martial art was among his findings.
“That snake is a Flying Blood Snake.”
It was both the name for that snake and for a secret technique.
The Flying Blood Snake of the Darkness Palace.
It was their unique secret technique that infiltrated a person's body to control their mind.
There were two main ways to control a person's mind: Soul-Devouring Art and Gu Poison arts.
But the Flying Blood Snake was a secret art that combined the two.
In a word, a living secret technique.
If Gu Poison infiltrated a person's brain to control them, the Flying Blood Snake entered the heart to control them.
Gu Poison was ineffective against a Body Invulnerable to All Poisons, and it could be eliminated if one knew what kind of Gu it was.
But the Flying Blood Snake was different.
Even a Body Invulnerable to All Poisons couldn't block it, and no antidote existed.
Furthermore, since it wasn't merely an evil art, it was powerfully effective even against opponents who were strong against such arts.
In essence, a secret technique with the greatest effect on Geom Mugeuk had been unleashed.
Of course, creating a Flying Blood Snake was an impossibly difficult task.
It was known to be difficult to create even one Flying Blood Snake in a lifetime of effort.
The process was too difficult and cost a fortune, and even if one succeeded, it was said to be even harder to keep it alive and preserve it.
It was said to be a secret art that only a genius of dark arts could create.
Surprisingly, that martial art had appeared.
Cha Iran didn't know exactly what a Flying Blood Snake was, but she could be certain of at least one thing.
“Don't come near me! It's a trap!”
There was no way they would try to kill her.
She knew instinctively.
It was to lure Geom Mugeuk in.
They must have predicted this situation from the moment they entrusted the orb to her.
All the while, the red energy wrapped itself tighter and tighter around her body.
“I'm going to kill you. Hurry and run!”
She thought that if this unknown energy was absorbed into her, she would kill Geom Mugeuk.
She would be overcome with madness and unleash tremendous inner energy.
Since it was a dark plot to deal with the Young Cult Master, its power would be immense.
Squeeze.
Her expression contorted further.
The red energy was pressing down on her with enough force to shatter her body.
Then, Geom Mugeuk said something completely unexpected.
“You are the one who must flee.”
Cha Iran couldn't understand what Geom Mugeuk meant.
The moment Geom Mugeuk approached her again, she remembered what Hwa Do-myeong had said to her earlier.
-You will be persuaded by the Young Cult Master.
Just like Ak Gun-hak was.
He knew she would join hands with the Young Cult Master.
-This plan has all been calculated.
Yes, he had definitely said that.
And he had calculated this far.
‘That the Young Cult Master would try to save me!’
Hwa Do-myeong must have entrusted her with the orb knowing that Geom Mugeuk would try to save her.
Knowing that Geom Mugeuk wouldn't willingly absorb this orb.
To force him to absorb it.
The words she had said to Geom Mugeuk, half-joking and half-serious, had become reality.
‘I really was their tool.’
Her face was contorted not just from the pain.
The gradually increasing pressure was reaching its limit.
She couldn't block it with her protective energy.
It felt as if her entire body would burst at any moment.
Cha Iran repeated the words Geom Mugeuk had said to her.
“I'll go to hell first and wait for you.”
At the same time, she plunged her dagger into her own neck without a moment's hesitation.
Sshhhk.
She had broken her principle of never taking her own life.
In the moment she chose to die, she was grateful that she was not a person who feared death.
It was the same when she had sensed her death at the hands of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, and it was the same with this death now.
Yes, she thought, a death like this wasn't so bad.
Of course, Geom Mugeuk was not one to stand by and watch.
The dagger stopped in front of her neck.
Geom Mugeuk had stopped her dagger from a distance.
“... Let me die for your sake.”
Of course, it was a plea that wouldn't work on Geom Mugeuk.
“Have you forgotten what would happen? 'Hey, you call yourself the Young Cult Master of the Demonic Sect, and you couldn't even save one woman who likes you? What the hell were you doing?' I'm talking to you, half-woman.”
Geom Mugeuk looked into her eyes and said.
“Trust me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Geom Mugeuk snatched the red orb from her hand.
At that, the red energy emanating from the orb vibrated more intensely, tightening its grip on her.
Geom Mugeuk placed the orb inside his robes.
To Cha Iran, it looked as if he was bringing the orb to his own heart.
As if he were saying he would make the sacrifice, she cried out desperately.
“No! Please... no.”
But the orb touched not his heart, but the Secret Vessel he had tucked into his robes.
At that very moment.
The orb, which had extended a long tendril of energy, vibrated once, powerfully.
Ssssssssssk.
The energy that had been wrapped around Cha Iran loosened and began to return to the orb.
The orb began to retract all the energy it had sent out.
Along with the retracting energy was the red snake.
The Secret Vessel in his robes vibrated once and floated into the air.
Geom Mugeuk's body rose with it.
As always, the Secret Vessel began to melt down the orb's energy.
It was energy that had already been flowing in and out of the orb, but it began to melt it down without leaving a single trace, as if refining it anew.
The energy that flowed out from the Secret Vessel began to seep into Geom Mugeuk's body.
Geom Mugeuk did not avoid the energy, but accepted it.
The energy that passed through the Secret Vessel was completely absorbed into Geom Mugeuk's body.
The Flying Blood Snake, which had been dissolved in the energy, reformed into the shape of a snake and was absorbed into Geom Mugeuk's body along with it.
Once all the energy was absorbed, he felt the orb pop out from the Secret Vessel.
Geom Mugeuk could tell.
They had used the Red Essence to implant the Flying Blood Snake in him.
Perhaps if they managed to control his mind, they would try to retrieve all the energy in his body by any means necessary.
There was no way they would give up this energy.
In any case, thanks to them, Geom Mugeuk succeeded in obtaining the energy of the Red Essence.
There was just one problem.
The Flying Blood Snake that had entered his body!
The energy inside his body awoke all at once and began to run wild.
He knew it was a rejection of the newly entered Flying Blood Snake.
Now, among the five streams of energy circulating through his meridians, the Flying Blood Snake was also present.
The Flying Blood Snake, like a living creature, watched for any opportunity to burrow into Geom Mugeuk's heart.
Geom Mugeuk circulated his inner energy, trying his best to block it.
Though she should have been in enough pain to lose consciousness, Cha Iran did not pass out.
She managed to pull herself up and was about to help Geom Mugeuk when she stopped.
“Young Cult Master!”
She could feel it.
Geom Mugeuk was fighting that red snake inside his body.
It was not a situation where an outsider could interfere.
“You have to overcome it!”
It was at that moment.
Thud.
Someone struck a paralyzing point from behind her.
Then, they whispered in her ear.
“The Young Cult Master will never win.”
The person who had appeared behind her like a ghost was none other than Hwa Do-myeong.
Having just been freed from the constricting energy and with her attention focused on Geom Mugeuk, she was unable to block Hwa Do-myeong's surprise attack.
“So the Young Cult Master really knows how to absorb energy.”
He wore an expression as if he couldn't believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes.
Hwa Do-myeong's gaze turned back to Cha Iran.
“You worked hard, friend.”
Cha Iran glared at him without a word.
Hwa Do-myeong, as if frightened, opened his fan and hid his face behind it.
His words flowed from behind the fan.
“Because of the Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art, there was no ordinary way to implant the Flying Blood Snake into the Young Cult Master's body. So we decided to throw a big bait.”
That bait was both Cha Iran and the orb containing the Red Essence.
“Even the Young Cult Master can't stop the Flying Blood Snake.”
Hwa Do-myeong peeked out from behind his fan.
Various emotions were mixed in Hwa Do-myeong's eyes as he looked at her.
On the other hand, Cha Iran's emotions as she looked at him were clear.
Contempt and rage.
“You brought up Ak Gun-hak on purpose too, didn't you?”
It was Hwa Do-myeong who had first told her about Ak Gun-hak.
To naturally bring her closer to the Young Cult Master through Ak Gun-hak.
A satisfied smile spread across Hwa Do-myeong's lips.
It was a smile of affirmation.
“The Young Cult Master is not the type to stand by and watch someone who gave up a contract, abandoning everything they had, die right in front of him.”
Cha Iran was furious and despaired.
But now was not the time for self-reproach.
“Hey, friend.”
“I’m sorry, but do you still call me a friend?”
“Others may not, but you of all people shouldn't be like this to me, right?”
“Didn't I tell you not to meet the Young Cult Master earlier?”
Is that the best excuse you could think of? Cha Iran barely managed to hold back the words she wanted to spit out.
“Why couldn't you trust me? I was going to pretend to refuse the contract and kill them all. You should have given me a chance.”
Hwa Do-myeong looked at her and laughed.
It was clearly a sneer.
“This Young Cult Master is quite something. To think he could make you tell such a lie.”
Was this the reason you were fanning me so charmingly by my side all this time, calling me a friend?
She held back the words she wanted to say once more.
“If it ends like this, I won't be able to close my eyes in death. Let me handle my last contract with my own hands.”
She was determined to save Geom Mugeuk somehow.
Even if it meant sacrificing herself.
But it didn't work on Hwa Do-myeong.
“Don't look at me, look over there. It's the moment the history of the Martial World changes.”
Geom Mugeuk stood with his eyes closed.
Beneath his eyelids, his pupils moved violently.
It was clear he was engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the Flying Blood Snake inside his body.
“Once the Flying Blood Snake completely dominates the Young Cult Master...”
Words that should never have been spoken came out.
“The Young Cult Master will kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
Swhaa.
Hwa Do-myeong opened his fan and began to gently fan her.
“Your contract is a success.”
Cha Iran looked at Geom Mugeuk, who was fighting for his life with his eyes closed.
She remembered his last words.
Trust me.
I gave up my contract for you, so I have to believe you.
Yes, I may have given up the contract, but I won't give up on you.
“The contract is a success?”
Cha Iran asked with an alluring smile.
“I don't have to return the money, right?”