“Hey, brat! Leave your storage pouch behind!”

“Damn, the little bastard’s fast!”

“Come back again and we’ll blow your head off!”

Mocking laughter chased after Yise, but he paid it no mind.

The Ninth Principle of the Demon-Exorcizing Arts. Never be ashamed of attacking together or retreating.

When retreating, he had been taught to abandon everything and flee.

Right now, all he had to abandon was his pride. That was hardly difficult.

Only after escaping the gatekeepers’ sight did Yise toss a Healing Pill into his mouth and circulate his energy, slowly restoring his ravaged body and organs.

He steadied his breathing. As spirit bone filled out his ribs and his innards and flesh slowly knit together, he honed his Dokkaebi Senses.

Right now, he was wounded prey. The nearby Cultivators would never leave someone this badly injured alone.

He would be in danger unless he recovered quickly. He intended to heal only enough to move, then find somewhere safe immediately.

Sure enough, a current of spiritual energy wavering in the distance approached against the wind.

Yise gripped his hand axe. In his other hand, in place of the perforated Yellow Grand Parasol, he held a protective talisman between his index and middle fingers, ready to unleash a defensive spell.

The approaching Cultivator’s face came into view, and spiritual energy transformed into spell power and hurtled toward Yise.

Just as he was about to activate his defensive talisman, a swirling jet of water shot toward the assailant from the opposite direction.

Caught by the unexpected attack, the Cultivator was sent flying into the distance.

“... So you had a companion.”

The assailant clicked his tongue and sauntered away.

A man landed, spinning his airborne sword once before putting it away. Yise looked at his rescuer’s face.

“Yise, are you all right?”

“...”

Handsome features and sun-bronzed skin. He was a handspan taller than when Yise had last seen him, and looked somewhat more grown-up.

It was Hae Unchan.

“Thank you.”

Yise thanked him before anything else. That moment could easily have turned dangerous.

“Circulate your energy first. I’ll keep watch.”

Yise glanced at his friend standing protectively before him, then sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

He swallowed his greeting. This was no place to catch up.

‘The eighth star.’

Unchan, too, was forging ahead with all his might, faced with a gap that seemed close to narrowing yet never did.

But this secret realm was teeming with those who had reached Great Attainment of Qi Refining. Yise thought entering it at Unchan’s realm was rather dangerous, but chose not to say so.

He knew now that Unchan felt both rivalry and pressure because of him.

Once he had recovered sufficiently, Yise rose and thanked Unchan again.

“Thank you. You saved my life.”

“Of course I would. Don’t mention it.”

Only then did Yise notice the state he was in.

His robes were torn in places, and layers of dried blood stained his sleeves. There was a slash along his flank, and an oily-looking poison stain on his knee.

He, too, had already fought countless battles in this secret realm. Fierce battles with his life hanging in the balance.

Yise took out the punctured Yellow Grand Parasol and examined it from every angle.

‘This is a problem.’

There was still a long way to go before his time in the secret realm ended, and his only shield had been pierced.

Of course, without it, that last blow might have killed him.

“The implement-crafting workshop on the main mountain can repair it. Don’t be too upset.”

“Well, I suppose so?”

“Yes. It’ll be cheaper than buying a new one.”

It was a supernatural treasure built solely for extreme durability, without any special spell mechanisms. Repairing it should not be too difficult.

With a resigned look, Yise returned the Yellow Grand Parasol to his storage pouch.

“Anyway, aren’t those demonic practitioners strange? They’re definitely at Qi Refining, but they’re using a Foundation Establishment ritual implement. It doesn’t look like a divine relic. Judging by the finish and such, it’s clearly an ordinary ritual implement. Did the Iron Sun Thunder Sect make a Foundation Establishment implement that Qi Refining demonic practitioners can use?”

“We’ll have our answer if we capture it and hand it over on the main mountain.”

“So you’re not giving up?”

Without answering, Yise looked toward the demonic practitioners.

He had to make them pay for his broken, beloved shield, at the very least.

“Didn’t any other fellow disciples enter with you?”

“About fifteen of us entered together, but I only met up with three. One was killed by those bastards, and another fellow Daoist gave up and went to search the outer region.”

From his words, Yise realized that Unchan had not given up on entering the inner depths either.

“Of course, I have no intention of giving up. After coming this far, I have to see the inner depths.”

That was good news. Yise could trust Unchan to watch his back.

Three demonic practitioners at Great Attainment of Qi Refining, and one ritual implement with Foundation Establishment power. He did not know whether the two of them could handle that, but it would be far more manageable than fighting alone.

As though reading his thoughts, Unchan gave him another piece of good news.

“I’ve gathered some allies to help break through the entrance. Three of them. With you joining us, we should have enough. You’re at Qi Refining... Great Attainment now, and you’ve always been strong. Oh, and this is late, but congratulations on reaching Great Attainment.”

“Enough flattery.”

“Hahaha! I mean it, though.”

Yise shook his head at Unchan’s easy smile.

How could anyone suspect the inner demon in his heart when he acted like this?

Rather than offer outright comfort, Yise simply grumbled.

“You’re putting me under so much pressure. Do you have any idea what it’s like knowing you could catch up to me at any moment?”

“What? You feel that way too?”

“Of course. I’m only human. Especially with someone as talented as you from my own intake right on my heels. So slow down a little, will you?”

It was encouragement and comfort disguised as a complaint.

I feel just as impatient, just as pressured, and I’m fighting just as hard.

So don’t succumb to an inner demon.

Yise encouraged him, hoping that the seed of an inner-demon tribulation rooted within him might blow away on a warm breeze.

“Shall we deal with those lawless demonic practitioners first? Wait here a moment. I’ll bring the others.”

With that, Unchan disappeared, then returned with three Cultivators who had been waiting nearby.

Two were at the ninth star of Qi Refining, and one was at the eighth.

Including the two of them, that made five. Their average realm was lower, but numbers should compensate to some extent.

After a brief exchange of names, someone abruptly asked a question.

“Let’s settle this first. How do we divide the spoils?”

He looked at Yise as he spoke, apparently worried that the one with the highest realm would monopolize the gains.

The three voiced their respective opinions, but Yise cut them short.

“Whoever cuts off an enemy’s head gets his storage pouch. If there’s any dispute, the people involved can settle it among themselves.”

They each seemed to have their own complaints, but none objected.

They would have no time to leisurely divide their shares at the entrance to the inner depths. The moment they spread out the resources from the storage pouches, they would find themselves fighting the other Cultivators pouring in.

“Just to be clear, once we break through the entrance, let’s split up immediately without attacking one another.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Agreed.”

The three Cultivators reached an agreement and steeled themselves. Yise merely listened in silence.

It was always the one talking about peace who stabbed you in the back first. He kept that thought to himself.

“The question is how we break through...”

Since none would share details about their cultivation methods or the quality of their ritual implements, they could hardly devise a strategy.

In the end, the plan was simple: someone would go first and take the implement’s lightning blast, while the others closed in during the time it took to reload and forced a melee.

“So, who’s taking the lead?”

No one answered. Their faces made it clear that they wanted to foist the task onto the one with the highest realm. After a long stretch of gauging one another’s reactions and stealing glances at Yise, he answered.

“I will.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Unchan cut in, as though unwilling to let him go alone. Yise studied his face for a moment before answering.

“All right.”

* * *

“Hey, brat! Come to hand over your storage pouch this time?”

“You think rounding up a few vermin will change anything?”

The street thugs masquerading as demonic practitioners snickered at Yise and the approaching Cultivators.

With a clatter, the cannon-shaped ritual implement they had set out in advance raised its barrel toward Yise and Unchan.

Yise glanced at the Cultivators standing tensely far behind them, then accelerated. Unchan immediately followed, keeping some distance.

Yise channeled his internal reserves into his Ghoststep Boots, tore a Flying Body Talisman, and activated Dokkaebi Steps as well.

In an instant, he accelerated as though carried by the wind. With a single kick off the ground, he was already dozens of zhang ahead.

“Wait, let me—”

Unchan could not possibly keep up.

The gatekeepers were startled by Yise’s sudden burst of speed, but immediately activated their ritual implement.

At that same moment, Yise changed direction and leaped left.

Waiting to see the attack before dodging would be too late.

CRACK!

A beat later, lightning erupted from the muzzle. It narrowly streaked through the path he had just crossed.

Closing in behind him, Unchan cast a spell to cover Yise.

Gale and Illusory Water Art.

Sea-Striking Art.

The vortex extending from his sword tip spread like a wave, engulfing the demonic practitioners and their cannon-shaped ritual implement where they stood.

As the implement went underwater, the lightning fire gathering at its muzzle went out, and the crackle of electricity inside the barrel sputtered and faded.

This alone would hardly break it, but it would at least buy them a little time.

Yise changed direction once more and plunged between the three demonic practitioners.

In their midst, the Needle-Firing Armor shone as it activated.

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!

Hundreds of large needles burst outward, threatening to shred the demonic practitioners’ bodies.

But threatened by the force of Yise’s charge into their midst, each avoided a fatal wound in his own way.

Blood spattered in every direction. At the same time, the demonic practitioners’ blood arts and lightning arts hurtled toward Yise.

He immediately twisted away and slipped out as Unchan joined the fray.

Spells of all kinds mingled in a bewildering clash.

Belatedly, the other three Cultivators began joining the fight.

Individually, their attainments were certainly inferior to those of the demonic practitioners. But ordinarily, a Qi Refining Cultivator could wield only one spell at a time.

While Yise dealt with one demonic practitioner, the others could pair off against the remaining two and win.

That was how it should have gone.

WHOOSH.

One of the independent Cultivators charging in from the rear abruptly veered aside the moment the battle took shape.

He shot past both the demonic practitioners and his allies, vanishing into the rainbow arch at the entrance to the inner depths.

The eighth-star Cultivator had chosen to enter the inner depths alone instead of fighting.

“That treacherous bastard!”