Endless darkness, and emptiness!
There was nothing there.
Only Jeok Muryong's spirit remained.
He had no idea what had become of his body.
No matter how much he flailed about, nothing was within reach, and he couldn't even touch his own form.
A hellish space devoid of sound or light.
No, compared to this place, hell itself might as well be paradise.
Unable to breathe, swing a fist, or even harm himself, Jeok Muryong simply existed.
'Uaaahhh!'
The Bottomless Abyss that had swallowed Jeok Muryong was a peculiar space.
As Elder Hwang had said, it seemed crafted by some sorcerous power.
He had no clue how they had discovered and established such a spell formation, but that wasn't the point.
'I want to eat!'
It wasn't the pangs of physical hunger.
Without a body to feel, there was no pain, no starvation.
But he could still think, and most of those thoughts inevitably circled back to eating.
Revenge?
He didn't care anymore.
At first, he had burned to tear apart Elder Hwang and the other traitorous bastards.
But after an eternity in this place?
Now, he couldn't even recall their faces.
Likewise, the connections he had forged as the Heavenly Demon faded one by one.
His favorite concubine, whose pretty face came with a jealous streak that had him considering replacing her.
The guardian who obeyed every command without question at first, only to grow bold and overstep later.
The imperial head chef, dismissed for his kleptomania despite his skills.
They all blurred away in the endless time.
But some things he could never forget.
'Dumplings!'
That day, before falling for Elder Hwang's silver tongue and heading to Heavenly Center Mountain.
After devouring a feast that bent the massive table under its weight.
On the way out, the meat dumplings he had grabbed last.
The taste of that broth haunted him.
'I want to eat!'
Jeok Muryong yearned.
This was a hunger of the spirit, transcending the flesh.
Dumplings didn't have to be it.
Right now, he felt he could chew through human flesh.
No—even feces!
If anyone heard, they would be horrified.
He was Jeok Muryong, the Heavenly Demon.
Peerless under heaven, supreme through the ages.
For such a being to say he could eat shit?
But Jeok Muryong didn't care.
It was just a thought—what did it matter?
And honestly, he really felt like he could eat anything now.
'If only I can get out of here!'
A thought repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times in the void of the Bottomless Abyss.
He had no sense of how much time had passed.
Decades? Centuries? Thousands of years?
It didn't matter.
If he could just escape.
If he could break free!
Crack!
'...?'
Jeok Muryong snapped to attention.
Today's Bottomless Abyss felt different.
A faint, tiny but unmistakable sound—a rupture, like popping—had echoed.
'No way, no way? No way!'
Jeok Muryong focused every ounce of his spirit.
It was still just darkness and silence in the void, but he concentrated anyway.
And with all his might, he yearned.
'I, this seat, will escape this place no matter what!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Catch them!"
"They're heading that way! Pursue!"
Rumble!
Chaos engulfed Heavenly Center Mountain.
A group was locked in a desperate chase on horseback.
The fugitives were a ragged bunch.
A mere dozen or so, all battered and barely keeping their mounts going.
The horses looked ready to collapse at any moment.
They maintained a loose formation to protect the horse in the center.
The pursuers were a whirlwind.
At least ten times their number, with superior horses and armament.
They chased with controlled pace, in no real hurry.
"No need to rush! A fork in the road is coming up soon!"
The man at the pursuers' lead shouted.
"Unless they've lost their minds, they won't choose the path to Death Valley over the main road!"
Death Valley.
A ravine long infamous on Heavenly Center Mountain.
It once had another name, but no one who entered ever returned alive, earning it this grim moniker.
The cause was unknown.
From outside, a perpetual gray mist clung ominously, but that was it.
No one bothered investigating; no reason to stir up trouble.
Speculation linked it to the mist, and that was that.
"Once they hit the main road, we'll have spots for a three-pronged assault! Strike hard then and shatter their formation!"
The man's face beamed with smug triumph.
As if victory was already sealed.
Then one of his lackeys piped up untimely.
"Division Leader, what if they head for Death Valley?"
"You idiot!"
The Division Leader bellowed first.
"Didn't I say? Only madmen would head into certain death at Death Valley!"
"But if they're truly resolved to die..."
"Those weaklings? With the Young Palace Lord in tow? They wouldn't pull something that stupid unless they meant to kill her outright!"
"D-Division Leader?"
"Argh! What now, you?!"
"They're heading toward Death Valley!"
The Division Leader whipped around, eyes bulging.
"Th-th-those lunatics!"
Thud thud thud!
At the fork, the fugitives veered left into the gloom.
The eerie ravine yawned before them.
"Pursue! Full gallop! Don't let them enter Death Valley!"
The frantic Division Leader and his men accelerated belatedly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"They're catching up!"
The woman riding in the fugitives' center glanced back.
Ahead of her, a girl a head shorter rode pillion.
"I'm sorry, miss. It looks like we'll have to go deep into Death Valley."
The girl nodded with grim resolve.
"I'm fine, Choyoung."
"Even so, we won't go too far in. That fog... it leads intruders to their deaths."
"Can we shake them without going deep?"
"Worst case, we'll be slaughtered, but you'll escape unharmed."
"Don't say that, Choyoung. Without you all, I..."
"You must stay strong, miss. You are..."
Ping!
An arrow grazed the woman's temple by a hair.
The pursuers had started shooting.
More than the near-miss to her skull, the woman's rage boiled at their recklessness.
"You idiots! What if you hit Young Palace Lord Neung So-hwa by mistake?!"
"If you're scared, surrender now!"
The shout came from afar.
The Gale Division Leader had sharp ears befitting a master.
"Pursue! Faster! Catch them before they reach the depths!"
Thud thud thud!
The pursuers' warhorses finally overtook the fugitives' mounts.
A brutal mounted melee erupted.
Clang clang clang!
Kang! Kang!
Both sides swung blades freely, gripping saddles alone if needed.
Horses tumbled, riders fell to weapons, dust billowed.
Entwined, they plunged into Death Valley.
Whoosh!
Gray mist enveloped them immediately.
Young Palace Lord Neung So-hwa shuddered instinctively.
The fog's touch was chillingly ominous, but the fighters were too engrossed to notice.
In that chaotic fray.
Puk!
A hefty flying dagger embedded in the woman's horse's forehead.
Hiiing!
The beast screamed and pitched forward.
"Tch!"
The woman scooped up Neung So-hwa and leaped clear.
She landed safely, rolling expertly despite holding the girl.
Her face twisted in despair.
"Heh heh heh. Not bad, but that's the end."
Blades ringed the woman.
In that instant, the Gale Division Leader and his men had slaughtered the other fugitives.
"It's over, Jin Choyoung! Hand over the Young Palace Lord quietly!"
"Kuh!"
Jin Choyoung swallowed a groan.
The situation was hopeless.
Neung So-hwa, clutched in her arms, paled at the sight of the corpses.
"Ahh...!"
The Gale Division Leader frowned slightly at her trembling.
"No need to worry, Young Palace Lord. We'll kill this woman, but not you."
"You fools! Do you even know how young she is?!"
"Hah! So? Should we let you flee out of pity for her?"
The Division Leader glared.
Meanwhile, Death Valley's gray mist gathered around them like clouds.
"Tch! Damn fog. Anyway, we need to wrap this up quick. Choose: die cleanly now, or ugly after we make you watch?"
"Spare Choyoung!"
"Can't do that, Young Palace Lord. They're criminals who smuggled you from True Heaven Palace. Only death pays their debt."
"Debt? You're the sinners!"
Jin Choyoung raised her voice.
"We all know—you conspired to poison the Previous Palace Lord!"
"Shut up!"
Irritated and urgent, the Gale Division Leader hurled a dagger.
Jin Choyoung hastily drew her sword to deflect, but failed.
It sank into her right shoulder.
"Kuh!"
"Choyoung!"
A drop of blood from Jin Choyoung splattered Neung So-hwa's face.
The metallic scent of death made her flinch.
Plop.
Something fell at Neung So-hwa's feet.
A half-eaten Wall Grain Pill.
Trampled and kicked amid their retreat, it was soon caked in dirt.
"I'll grant you mercy—a quick end on the next strike."
The Gale Division Leader declared softly, gripping two daggers.
His throws flashed like lightning—hence Lightning Flying Dagger.
Jin Choyoung stood no chance alone.
'This is it!'
She tightened her hold on Neung So-hwa.
Understanding, the girl squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm sorry, miss."
"No. I'm the sorry one. For being so weak and useless..."
Unable to bid farewell, they repeated apologies.
The Gale Division Leader reared back to throw.
Crunch!
Munch munch!
A loud chomping echoed deafeningly.
Amplified by the fog, it boomed.
"Ah!"
Neung So-hwa jolted.
Something squirmed at her feet.
Shhh!
The gray mist parted just then.
The sight beyond left the Gale Division Leader and his men wide-eyed.
"Wh-what...!"
"What the hell is that guy?!"
A man.
Emaciated, hair a wild tangle.
Prostrate at Neung So-hwa's feet, he shoveled something into his mouth voraciously.
Eating.
The dirt- and sand-crusted Wall Grain Pill.
"..."
Neung So-hwa and Jin Choyoung were too stunned for screams.
Gulp.
The man swallowed the last morsel and finally spoke.
"Delicious."
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