Demonic Sect
When Tang Mujin regained consciousness, the first thing that came into view was the jagged ceiling of the Poison Cavern.
'Looks like I survived again. Did Mok Wana bring me here?'
Rising to his feet, Tang Mujin glanced to the side—only to meet eyes with an unfamiliar man.
'...Huh?'
Before Mujin could even ask who he was, the man silently stood up and walked out of the cavern.
'...What's with him?'
Mujin looked around.
Unexpectedly, Mok Wana was nowhere to be seen. She had always said she never went outside the cavern, but apparently she did when something required it.
Moments later, footsteps stirred outside. Mujin thought Mok Wana had returned, but instead, it was someone else—the Great Dharma Protector. His very presence seemed to fill the cavern.
Dragging a chair over, the Great Dharma Protector sat beside Mujin.
"How's your condition?"
Mujin stretched lightly and drew in a deep breath. He felt no issues—neither physically nor in his inner strength.
"I'm fine. What happened?"
"Mok Wana told one of my men that you went outside and didn't return for quite some time. My subordinate searched the area thoroughly and found you."
"So that's how it was."
The Great Dharma Protector pressed further.
"Then, why were you collapsed there?"
Mujin recalled the events and explained step by step.
He had been researching the Venom Toads, checking around the Cult Leader's Hall morning and night. Then, he spotted a suspicious man sneaking inside. The Great Dharma Protector listened intently.
"...That man was strange. He was holding a pitch-black orb in his mouth, and it seemed to neutralize the Venom Toads' poison."
"I see."
"Oh, right—wasn't there a black orb in my hand when I was found?"
The Great Dharma Protector shook his head.
"No. I heard nothing of that."
Mujin bit his lower lip slightly.
So, was the orb still there? He wanted to rush back and confirm.
The Great Dharma Protector asked again.
"Did you see the man's face clearly?"
"His nostrils were unusually large... other than that, nothing distinctive. I'm not good at remembering faces."
"Then, was there any clue about his identity?"
"His martial power seemed to have surpassed the threshold of the Supreme Realm."
"Is that so? You're lucky to have survived. Fortune smiled upon you."
The Great Dharma Protector pressed his palms against his knees and stood.
"Apologies for letting you suffer such an unpleasant incident."
"It's all right."
At first, Mujin thought it was a perfunctory remark, but then the real matter came.
"For now, you should leave this cavern and recuperate elsewhere. There are several empty houses in the village—stay in any of them and rest. With the festival coming soon, you won't be bored."
"What? But I told you I'm perfectly fine."
The Great Dharma Protector's face grew stern.
"There's no guarantee problems won't arise later. Especially after clashing with an unidentified master. What if he comes back for you?"
"That's... true."
"It's safer to blend in with the crowd."
"Understood."
When Mujin agreed, the Great Dharma Protector gave a final warning.
"I'll conduct a thorough investigation myself, so don't go spreading this around. We don't know who might be connected to that man."
"Got it."
Mujin answered obediently, and the Great Dharma Protector left the cavern.
Mujin removed his outer robe.
Though he had survived, it had been a battle with a Supreme master. There was no way he had emerged without injury—especially since it ended so messily.
Running his hand over his ribs and shoulders, he found what he expected.
'Of course.'
Here and there, blood seeped out—wounds left by the graze of a blade.
Some spots stung sharply when touched—probably abrasions from rolling on the ground.
'At least none of them are deep.'
Just then, he sensed a faint presence behind him.
Startled, Mujin turned.
Mok Wana was peeking at him from a corner of the cavern, half-hidden.
Hastily pulling his robe back on, Mujin said,
"What the—where'd you come from? You weren't here a moment ago."
After a pause, Mok Wana pushed aside a desk leaning against the wall.
"Here."
Behind it, a small hidden tunnel was revealed.
It was only waist-high, but seemed to stretch deep inside, its end invisible.
"There's another cave inside this cave?"
"It wasn't made on purpose. It was here when I first came."
So she used it as her private space or hiding place. Just as she had been uncomfortable around the Three-Eyed Buddha, she seemed equally uneasy with the Great Dharma Protector—hence the hiding.
"What's inside that tunnel?"
"Nothing much."
"Can I go see?"
"No."
Her answer was immediate. Mujin didn't insist.
After all, Mok Wana had been the one to alert the Great Dharma Protector's subordinate when Mujin didn't return on time. Strictly speaking, she had saved his life.
Mujin grinned.
"You always said you never went outside. Did you step out because you were worried about me?"
"No."
"But I heard you told the Great Dharma Protector's man?"
"He came here himself. He brings the fasting pills once a month."
Mujin's eyes narrowed.
'So even knowing I hadn't returned, she still didn't want to step outside.'
If the Great Dharma Protector's subordinate hadn't arrived on schedule, Mujin might have been dead by now.
He considered saying something to Mok Wana but changed his mind.
The matter had already passed, and besides, it was thanks to her that he had survived.
Tang Mujin packed his belongings as he spoke.
"I'll head down to the village."
"The village? Why?"
"Didn't you hear what the Great Dharma Protector said? He told me to stay in the village for a while and take it easy."
Mujin didn't suggest Mok Wana come along. She didn't look like she had any intention of leaving the Poison Cavern anyway.
"Mm… I see. You'll come back, right?"
"If necessary."
Mok Wana gazed at him quietly, then sighed softly and nodded.
***
Mujin settled into an empty house on the outskirts of the village and devoted himself to training.
He didn't need a sparring partner. These days, even imagination alone was enough to bring real progress. Mujin had a wealth of battle experience to draw upon.
He had faced opponents of equal or greater strength, even true masters, and survived more than once.
Luck had always played a role, but luck alone was nothing without skill. Mujin was proud of his own abilities.
'Across all of the Central Plains, I doubt there's anyone else who has fought this many masters of the Supreme Realm and lived to tell of it.'
Mujin closed his eyes.
In the darkness, a straw-hatted man lunged at him. He wasn't holding that strange orb in his mouth.
Mujin breathed steadily, unfolded his strength, and clashed with his sword—but was soon defeated.
This time, however, he carried poison-soaked needles in his hand and the Heavenly King's Needle Case in his robe.
Now there was a faint possibility. He swung his sword, hurled daggers, unleashed needles. After repeated failures, Mujin at last achieved a miraculous victory.
But that did not mean he had surpassed the barrier of the Supreme Realm. It was merely a fleeting alignment of slim chances, exploiting a rare opening. Even in his imagination, Mujin had not truly overcome the wall.
'Still, this much is no small thing.'
He opened his eyes, rose, and stretched with satisfaction.
Noise stirred outside.
Leaning against the window, Mujin peered out. The streets bustled with bright-faced people. The festival was beginning.
The celebration would last for four days. Mujin stepped out and mingled with the crowd.
People were drunk from midday, shouting carelessly as if no worries existed. Merchants, caught up in the mood, barely bothered to collect payment, some even leaving their shops unattended. Yet no thieves took advantage.
Even amid the merriment, people often tilted their heads skyward. A habit formed since the appearance of the Venom Birds.
When one of the birds flew low overhead, everyone scattered—ducking indoors or fleeing down alleys.
It wasn't mere fuss. The poisonous miasma carried by those creatures could make elders and children ill. Mujin too could faintly feel the venom in the air.
Then, a man's gaze froze on the heavens. Others followed suit. Mujin raised his eyes with them. A Venom Bird swooped low.
"Damn!"
"Get the kids inside!"
While people scrambled, the bird flapped off toward the direction of the Cult Leader's Hall. The toxin it left in its wake was thin, so within moments the streets would fill again as though nothing happened.
Mujin's eyes fixed on the bird.
But instead of reaching the Cult Leader's Hall, it landed midway—an all-too-familiar spot. Near the Poison Cavern.
And Mok Wana was still inside.
"Damn it."
Without hesitation, Mujin unleashed his movement technique and sprinted toward the cavern.
The distance was barely twenty or thirty zhang.
The bird had only just landed, so the poison hadn't spread far. But if it lingered, the cavern could become another Cult Leader's Hall—a death trap.
Snatching up a fist-sized stone as he ran, Mujin hurled it with all his momentum. The rock struck the bird squarely on its rump.
"Kweeeek!"
He worried it might charge him in fury, but fortunately it didn't.
Startled, the Venom Bird flapped skyward, scattering another cloud of thick miasma with its wings.
'How can such a thing exist in this world?'
Covering his nose with his forearm, Mujin dashed into the cavern. Even from outside, the poison inside was palpable.
For him, it was bearable. For Mok Wana, it was not. Prolonged exposure could be fatal.
'Am I too late? No… not yet. It shouldn't be lethal at this level.'
He burst into the cavern and threw open the door. In the corner, Mok Wana slumped in a chair, limp.
'Already unconscious?'
He had to get her out. Mujin quickly hoisted her onto his back.
But just then, her body stiffened. She inhaled deeply, as if only now waking from sleep.
In a husky voice, she spoke.
"Mujin? What's going on all of a sudden?"
Ignoring her words, Mujin scanned the cavern's air. The poison was heavy here.
'So… she's not unconscious?'
Something was wrong.
Mok Wana might have resistance to poison, but to be this unaffected was strange.
Mujin set her down roughly and spoke in a low voice.
"Stay still. Don't resist."
"What are you doing?"
He pressed her right shoulder with his left hand, grasped her wrist, and sent his internal energy flowing into her.
Her qi coursed smoothly through her meridians. If she had inhaled the venom, it wouldn't circulate so easily.
'So she didn't take in the poison? How?'
Then Mujin noticed something odd. The nature of her qi itself was… unusual.
Only then did he realize. The poison wasn't absent from her body—it coexisted with her qi.
But unlike him or the freakish beings who controlled poison with their energy, Mok Wana wasn't suppressing it. The toxin flowed with her qi through her meridians. Something Mujin had never even heard of.
His right hand clamped down on her nape.
"You… what are you?"
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