“You bastard!”

At last, a demonic practitioner stood up to Yise. He was at early-stage Foundation Establishment. Seeing that they were in similar realms, he had been unable to rein in his hotheadedness.

The demonic practitioner formed hand seals, lightning beginning to crackle from his hands. Yise immediately gathered primordial energy and closed the distance. His opponent’s defensive ritual implement activated at once.

Yise wrapped the Yellow Grand Parasol in Adamantine Lock and knocked aside the incoming spell, then swung his primordial-energy-laden hand axe at the man’s neck.

SHICK!

Before the demonic practitioner could unleash even a single lightning strike, his head went flying, eyes still wide open.

Over the next several days, demonic practitioners’ heads were put on display throughout Geommuk Market Town. The ordinary townsfolk did not dare remove them, instead anxiously watching Yise, who had stationed himself in the middle of town.

He felt sorry for the ordinary people inevitably caught up in this, but there was no other way to lure in his prey.

How long had he waited?

His divine sense caught the Demonic Energy of Foundation Establishment demonic practitioners creeping toward him.

‘There are a lot of them.’

The people the Iron Sun Thunder Sect had dispatched to deal with the Cultivator slaughtering their members had arrived. A good ten had shown themselves, and his divine sense detected others waiting out of sight.

“Be careful. He’s the one who defended Gwisu Temple. The sect leader warned us to treat him as practically a Core Formation combatant.”

They exchanged words as though they did not care whether Yise heard, then slowly began tightening their encirclement.

At that moment, Yise cast Earth-Travel Art and vanished into the ground.

Just as the demonic practitioners frowned, Yise appeared behind the man on the far right, his Black Phosphor Axe hurtling toward the man’s head. But his opponent quickly twisted aside. Instead of taking his head in one stroke, Yise only cut halfway through his shoulder.

Yise immediately leaped onto the Dream-Saving Cloud and withdrew. Powerful spells rained down on the spot he had just occupied.

Only a few demonic practitioners with flying ritual implements pursued him through the air. The others sprinted at full speed or followed on demonic beasts.

Having successfully split them into two groups, Yise abruptly changed course and lopped off the head of his closest pursuer. With all his divine sense focused on flying, the man could not react in time and plummeted to the ground.

Yise plucked away his storage pouch with Telekinesis Art, then resumed his aerial acrobatics.

After he brought down the third demonic practitioner, the others apparently decided they could not handle him while scattered. They promptly regrouped and resumed the pursuit. Rather than fight in the air, they surrounded him from the ground. They seemed to have abandoned a head-on confrontation in favor of slowly wearing him down.

But driving prey into a trap was also a Daemudo specialty. Yise turned the tables, repeatedly striking at them one at a time and withdrawing.

‘Three of them are dangerous.’

He enlarged the Yellow Grand Parasol with Weapon Enlargement Art to block the barrage of spells. The attacks were so powerful that they sent vibrations through the wrist bearing his shield.

Just as he tried to put some distance between them again, a blood thorn slipped through and pierced his ankle. He healed the wound with Living Wood Art while accelerating the Dream-Saving Cloud.

Demonic practitioners who had reached late-stage Foundation Establishment could react to primordial energy. Perhaps conscious of his peculiar attacks, they began forming ranks around the three late-stage practitioners.

At this point, it became difficult to pick off even one of them. Most of his spells and attack patterns had been exposed.

He was beginning to think he had reached his limit when three Daemudo Cultivators arrived on flying ritual implements. They unleashed spells on the demonic practitioners attempting to circle around his right flank.

A greatsword larger than a person plunged into their midst, and hundreds of pillars of flame crashed down like rain.

Somehow, Winged Dragon Hall had learned of his situation and sent help.

Irang, Gwak Chan, and Huiya.

All three were counted among Winged Dragon Hall’s elite, and all three had come.

Irang formed another set of hand seals, and hundreds of whiplike flames branched from her fingertips. The strands of fire tore through the demonic practitioners in a single sweep, carving their formation apart.

The sheer firepower was enough to make his jaw drop.

While Irang and Gwak Chan drove back the approaching enemies, Huiya, a formation practitioner, laid down a Demon-Detecting Formation, exposing every hidden demonic practitioner.

They exchanged glances, then quietly withdrew. Looking disappointed by the anticlimax, Gwak Chan recalled his greatsword and approached Yise.

“You little fool. Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard, doing this alone?”

“How did you know to come?”

“With you making such a spectacle of yourself, how could the main mountain not know? Be a little more careful, even if you’re blowing off steam.”

“Leave him be. It looks like he was planning to withdraw before he went too far.”

Yise nodded in agreement.

Bihyeong Rang would not show himself anyway. The main mountain was keeping a close watch on Yise’s actions. If Bihyeong Rang, their bitter enemy, appeared, they would immediately unleash their ferocious hunting dogs.

The Iron Sun Thunder Sect had an overwhelming number of Foundation Establishment demonic practitioners, but Bihyeong Rang was its only Core Formation Cultivator. A thick middle tier, but a pitiful force of great Cultivators: that was a defining trait of demonic-path sects.

After all, the inner-demon tribulation during the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment produced the most demonic practitioners, while the heavenly tribulation during the breakthrough to Core Formation killed the most.

Even so, demonic practitioners were like weeds, swelling in number in the blink of an eye. Unless thoroughly trampled down, they would spring up again before anyone knew it.

After gathering the spoils, Yise set off. Huiya called after him.

“That’s the wrong direction. Where are you going now?”

“My next stop is Tiger Ridge Market Town.”

Realizing his intentions, she raised her voice theatrically.

“You weren’t going to call it a day and head back?!”

“I intended to spend some time traveling around Tabaro, hunting demonic practitioners. They ought to stay hidden in the shadows where they belong. I’m going to make sure they never even think of daring to poke their heads into the light.”

Gwak Chan let out an incredulous laugh at his firm response.

“You really are a hopeless case.”

He turned to Yise in disbelief.

“I’ve never seen a Daemudo Daoist as reckless as you. I hear you’ve even put their heads on display in Geommuk Market Town. Like needles stuck all over a pincushion in a sewing room.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Yise answer as though it were nothing, Gwak Chan snickered.

“You’re so ruthless you’d put a demonic practitioner to shame.”

“... That was uncalled for, Senior.”

Gwak Chan was briefly taken aback by Yise’s stern objection. The boy had always been serious, but he usually took a joke well enough. This reaction was unlike him.

“Oh, how frightening. Why the long face? When did you get so sensitive? You used to be a fun junior to have around.”

“...”

Yise paused at his words. He suddenly recognized how much more touchy he had become since the attack on Gwisu Temple.

Gong Wol-ah’s parting advice flashed through his mind.

[“Do not lose your center. Return to your everyday life.”]

She must have anticipated this change in him and feared it.

Yise reined in his inner demon. His anger would not subside easily, but he felt that once he had vented it by cutting down a good number of demonic practitioners, he could regain his composure.

“... I’m sorry.”

Gwak Chan cleared his throat and scratched his head.

“Well, it’s only natural that demonic practitioners would make your blood boil. I took the joke too far.”

“No. The fault was entirely mine.”

Huiya clapped her hands once.

“Come on, let’s not bring the mood down. We’ll go with you.”

“You needn’t go to all that trouble...”

“It’s no trouble. What are seniors for? Just thinking of those bastards clutching their necks and toppling backward after finally crawling out into the light is already cheering me up.”

“I’m really all right.”

Irang stepped between them and spoke firmly.

“No. We’re joining you. The Hall Master ordered us to bring you safely back to the main mountain. There’s no need to feel bad.”

Thinking there had been some misunderstanding, Yise set the facts straight.

“I’m trying to earn spirit stones, so I can’t really split the spoils with you. Would you still be willing?”

Irang stared blankly at him, wondering for a moment whether she had misheard. Gwak Chan gave an incredulous laugh on the spot.

“You crazy bastard. Never in my life did I expect to meet someone who’d think of making a living robbing demonic practitioners.”

Once Gwak Chan finished, Irang added curtly,

“... We don’t need them. We earned plenty of resources in the last war. We’ll treat this as an escort mission and help you.”

Yise bowed deeply. In that case, he could only be grateful.

“Then I gratefully accept.”

From Geommuk Market Town to Tiger Ridge Market Town. From there to Sintap Fortress, and then Gwangwol Fortress.

Wherever Yise and Winged Dragon Hall’s three elite members passed, demonic practitioners’ heads steadily accumulated on display in the city centers.

It was both an outlet for his anger and a warning to others.

In less than a month, the demonic practitioners who had strutted openly through Tabaro were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Returning to his residence after that bloody venting of his anger, Yise unpacked and sorted all his existing equipment and newly acquired spoils.

First, the things he would take with him.

The Twin-Banner Spirit-Domain Sealing Standard, Black Phosphor Axe, Yellow Grand Parasol, Dream-Saving Cloud, Vajra, Ghoststep Boots, Mind-Calming Mirror, Heaven-and-Earth Pouch, Black Teleportation Ruler, and Clear Shadow Sword.

Those, at least, could prove useful at any time.

He set the Needle-Firing Armor aside. During his hunt, he had acquired a new Foundation Establishment defensive ritual implement: Lightning-Reflecting Armor.

He decided to take all his single-use talismans for spells he had not learned, as well as all his elixir pills and other medicinal pills. In particular, he had invested in a generous supply of Regeneration Pills.

There was no knowing what he might need, or how he might need to use it, while traveling through dangerous lands.

He decided to simply sell off the Spirit-Fish Breath Flute. He felt it might come in handy someday, but he had found far less use for it than expected.

‘I should return the Life-Signaling Pearl to Seol Ryeong.’

Finally, he set aside roughly a thousand spirit stones in his belt-shaped storage pouch and put all the rest into the Heaven-and-Earth Pouch.

With his belongings organized, Yise moved to the cultivation room.

He opened the diamond case, revealing a snow-white Qi-Condensing Pill the size of an eyeball. He had been warned that taking too much would make his body burst from the spiritual pressure.

Holding it in his palm, he scraped off a tiny fragment with the tip of his fingernail and placed it in his mouth.

RUMBLE!

An immense surge of spiritual energy poured into his dantian. His body jerked, and he settled back into a proper seated posture.

Fierce spiritual energy surged in every direction, bearing down on his entire body with intense spiritual pressure. It was enough to make him worry that his Dharma-Transformed Dantian might burst.

‘I only took a fingernail-sized piece...’

Where had this absurd quantity of spiritual energy come from?

Barely bringing the rampaging energy under control, he exhaled slowly. Yise felt certain that if he could absorb this entire pill, he would reach middle-stage Foundation Establishment—even though the realm’s minor thresholds required staggering amounts of internal reserves.

Ten days and nights passed after he began circulating his energy.

As Yise carefully regulated the Qi-Condensing Pill’s residual energy, a message talisman tapped against his forehead. He opened his eyes and checked its contents. It was from the Mission Pavilion, asking permission to visit his residence to deliver something.

He granted permission and rose.

A short while later, a Mission Pavilion staff member arrived carrying a bundle that looked a full six chi long.

“Senior. A letter and some items addressed to you.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

Inside the bundle the staff member handed him was a heap of spiritual herbs. Yise read the letter.

- There are spiritual herbs here too. I’ll send them whenever I obtain some.

It was a letter from Gong Wol-ah at the Dokkaebi refuge in Halla. Apparently, she had been told about the promise to send him spiritual herbs.