Chapter 330: There's Just One Thing I Can't Do

TL: FoodieMonster007

Surprisingly, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had requested that Jo Baekta give Geom Mugeuk a sacred object as a gift.

"Do you know why I told you to give the Young Cult Leader a gift?"

"Isn't it because you're grateful for what happened this time?"

"Of course, that's part of it, but there's a bigger reason."

"What is the reason?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader then said something unexpected.

"It's because of you, Cult Leader."

"Because of me?"

The gift was meant to forge a stronger bond between Geom Mugeuk and Jo Baekta. In fact, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's own relationship with him had started with the gift of a sacred object.

There was a big difference between simply parting ways and expressing gratitude with a sacred object.

Even if the other person did not expect a reward, the virtue of refusal was entirely up to them. Even that refusal became a gift.

"Don't lose this bond with the Young Cult Leader. It's for your sake as the Cult Leader, and for the sake of the Heavenly Wind Cult."

Only then did Jo Baekta understand his master's profound intention. He also realized once again just how highly his master thought of Geom Mugeuk.

"To be a good Cult Leader, you must be greedy for people, not things. Even if you use up all the sacred objects over there, make sure you have people around who can protect you, Cult Leader."

"I understand."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stared intently at Jo Baekta and asked, "Really? Do you truly think people are more important than the sacred objects here?"

"Well…"

Jo Baekta could not answer with conviction. Just yesterday, someone else had manipulated him.

"Yes, human relationships are dreadful, aren't they? Forming relationships, trying to maintain them, being disappointed, being betrayed. There's truly nothing so mentally draining. Still, you must prioritize observing and managing people. Do you know why?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was telling his disciple all the things he had not been able to say until now.

"It's because you're the Cult Leader. If you lived an ordinary life, you wouldn't need to place so much importance on human relationships. However, a Cult Leader is ultimately someone who governs people. You must be able to handle not only our Cult, but also allied organizations, and even your enemies. Don't forget that the fate of the Heavenly Wind Cult and everyone living in the Outer Regions will change depending on who you keep by your side and who you use."

He quickly added before Jo Baekta could reply, "This isn't something I, who spent my days only looking at sacred objects, should be saying, is it?"

"Isn't that precisely why you're qualified to say it?"

The two of them faced each other and smiled.

"By the way, what did the Young Cult Leader choose?"

"He chose the Black Orb."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked confused for a moment, but then he nodded. To choose only the best things, and then to choose the most worthless thing. He thought it was just like the Young Cult Leader.

"It's not just anyone, it's the Young Cult Leader, so there's no need to feel it's a waste. A moment ago, you were the one who received a gift. So, if you get the chance later, give him another one."

This meant that forming a bond with Geom Mugeuk with a single sacred object was actually a gain.

He should not have felt this way, but Jo Baekta felt a pang of jealousy toward Geom Mugeuk. At the same time, he resolved to become someone his master could trust like that.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was reading his disciple's inner thoughts.

"Don't be hasty. It wasn't until I was more than twice your age that I began to think deeply about my life. Before that, it feels like I just lived life being mindlessly pushed around."

To think I'd feel like my real life was just beginning at this age.

"So don't be impatient. Your real life may not have even started yet."

Jo Baekta did not want to part with his master.

"Are you going to return with the Young Cult Leader?"

He was afraid his master would say he had to go. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader smiled and said, "I'm going to stay with our Cult Leader for a while. We'll train together, drink together, and talk about old times."

For now, his disciple was his priority over Go Wol and even Geom Mugeuk.

His disciple still had much to learn compared to those two, so he wanted to stay with him a little longer and teach him.

Jo Baekta beamed a bright smile.

"Thank you, Master."

Feeling jealous one moment, then happy the next. Seeing myself swing between joy and sorrow in such a short time. Yes, what Master said is right. I still have a long way to go.

My heart pounded as if it would burst the entire way from the Cult Leader's hall back to my quarters.

The anticipation that I might finally solve the secret of the Secret Box, a secret that even previous Heavenly Demons could not unravel, made my steps quicken.

After ordering the bodyguards not to let anyone disturb me, I entered my room.

I took out the Secret Box and the Black Orb from my robes and placed them side by side on the table.

"Hey, Secret Box, you've got a friend now."

Because I had drawn a smiling face on the Secret Box, it really looked happy to have made a friend.

What could be the relationship between these two?

I picked up the Black Orb and placed it on top of the Secret Box. Nothing happened. To think it vibrated to make me choose the Black Orb.

"If you're going to be so distant, why did you look for this friend?"

I waited for a moment, but the Secret Box showed no reaction.

I turned the Secret Box and placed the Black Orb on another side. Still no reaction. I placed it on another side, and then another.

"Even if a handstand is uncomfortable, just bear with it for a bit."

The moment I flipped the smiling Secret Box upside down and placed the Black Orb on its bottom surface.

SWOOOSH.

The Black Orb began to be sucked into the Secret Box.

I had never imagined the Secret Box would absorb the Black Orb like this, so I could only stare at it in astonishment. The Black Orb slid right into the Secret Box as if a drop of water was being absorbed.

I raised my qi to prepare for any contingency and watched the Secret Box with bated breath.

Even after waiting for a long time, the Secret Box remained as it was.

"You! You ate your friend!"

The moment those words ended.

"……"

The Secret Box vibrated once.

"You… can you understand me?"

The Secret Box shook and vibrated again. The vibration was so strong that the table shook. The fiercely vibrating Secret Box then floated into the air.

The Secret Box began to spin rapidly in mid-air.

WHIRRRRRRRRRR!

It felt like it would explode at any moment, or fly off somewhere.

What should I do?

There was no time to think for long. I followed my instincts. After raising my protective enhanced qi to its limit, I snatched the floating Secret Box out of the air with my hand.

At that very moment!

SHWAAAAAAAAAA!

A sound I had never heard before rang out, and something pitch-black began to emerge from the Secret Box.

That pitch-black thing was not smoke, nor liquid. It was not like inner arts or an aura, nor was it light. This thing, which I could not describe with words, was something I was seeing and feeling for the first time in my life.

The thing that came out of the Secret Box spread from my hand, up my arm, and into my body. It did not spread anywhere else. It spread only through my body, like ink on paper.

PAAAAAAAAAAAH.

I watched as it spread. I could feel it instinctively. This was not an energy that meant to harm me. If it had been, the Heavenly Demon Defense Art would have activated. If it had been, I would have instinctively thrown the Secret Box to the floor.

However, I held the Secret Box tightly and watched as the thing transferred to me. It shimmered like light, it was like a wave, and it gave off a certain feeling like an aura. It was pitch-black in color, but the sensation was as refreshing as drinking clear water.

HWAAAAAAAAAK!

The moment it spread from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

"……"

A brilliant light erupted from my entire body. It was so bright that I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I opened my eyes again, the light was gone. The thing that had spread through my body had already disappeared into me.

I hurriedly checked my body.

The energy from the Secret Box had clearly seeped deep into every part of my body, but there were no particular changes. My inner arts had not increased, nor was there a clump of unresolved energy anywhere in my qi center.

However, I could feel it. It remained in my body. It existed somewhere inside me.

What in the world is this?

It was at that moment.

THUD!

The Secret Box spat out the Black Orb it had swallowed.

The ejected Black Orb rolled across the floor.

I picked up the Black Orb and examined it. It no longer had its initial lustrous, ink-black color. It had now become an ordinary lump of metal.

I knew intuitively. The energy hidden within the Black Orb had been absorbed into me through the Secret Box. This was the moment the secret of the Secret Box was revealed.

The Secret Box was a device for absorbing energy contained in other things.

Without something like the Black Orb from which to absorb energy, the Secret Box was truly worthless. How could anyone have ever uncovered this secret?

The reason I uncovered the secret was, ironically, because I had not tried to solve it. I was able to solve it because I simply carried it in my robes like a friend.

And another premonition came to me.

This did not feel like the end. I had a feeling that if there were other objects containing energy besides the Black Orb, I could absorb it with this Secret Box.

You, what is your true identity? Who made you?

As if nothing had happened, the Secret Box just stayed upside down, smiling brightly at me.

Now that I know which side is up, I'll have to draw a new face on it.

The next day, we parted ways.

While the bodyguards who had woken up early were busy preparing the carriage, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and Jo Baekta came out to see us off.

"Have a safe trip back."

In response to Jo Baekta's farewell, I told him something I had really wanted to say.

"As you've experienced it yourself, you know there are those who plot in the shadows. I hope you'll be careful from now on."

"I will. You too, Young Cult Leader, take care."

Next, I said my goodbyes to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

Even though it was not a long farewell, feeling this sad must mean I have grown quite fond of him.

"Do you know what I felt while dealing with the New Champions Smithy this time?"

"What did you feel?"

"They didn't know where they belonged or what goal they were striving for, and yet, they were well-coordinated and functioning smoothly. Do you know who they reminded me of? It was the Hidden Moon. An organization made up of meticulous cells, but one that operates under a perfect system."

So, what he wanted to tell me was this.

"There must be someone truly brilliant behind it all, like you or Go Wol."

Someone of the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's caliber could tell how large and ferocious this monster was just by touching its tail.

"I will keep that in mind when I face them. Thank you for letting me know."

"I'll send word to Go Wol separately. I won't be staying there for too long."

"Please have a comfortable stay."

"Our Young Cult Leader, who cleaned out the Heavenly Wind Cult, farewell."

He was beaming, thinking he could use this to tease me for a while.

I did not just let it slide either.

"Looking at the sacred objects this time, I saw there were many desirable ones left."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader shouted to Jo Baekta.

"Protect our sacred objects from the Young Cult Leader!"

If my farewell with him ended with such jokes and banter, my parting with the Demonic Buddha was very blunt.

"I'll be going first."

"See you at the cult."

However, the look in their eyes toward each other was different from when they had arrived.

And so, the Demonic Buddha and I left the Heavenly Wind Cult. Three of us came, but two of us were returning. However, in my heart, it felt like four were going back.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and Jo Baekta watched from the main gate until our carriage disappeared from sight.

The journey back was leisurely.

When we saw a high mountain, we would stop the carriage and climb it to dig for poisonous herbs. We camped under the stars in the wasteland.

For meals, we cooked the beasts the bodyguards hunted. I taught the bodyguards everything from how to prepare the animal hides to which parts of the meat were tasty and how to cook them so they would not be tough. Thanks to that, the bodyguards' cooking skills improved day by day.

"Truly, Young Cult Leader, there's nothing you can't do."

I shook my head at the bodyguards' admiration.

"There's just one thing I can't do."

"What is it?"

Without telling them, I sighed and turned away.

And so, after another good meal, we lay down to sleep with the campfire between us.

Lying down and looking up at the night sky, I said to the Demonic Buddha, "Come to think of it, the Demonic Buddha, you're a star too."

From across the campfire, the Demonic Buddha turned to look at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like the stars, you always shine on your own, don't you?"

I could see the Demonic Buddha's face beyond the flickering flames. As if he had gotten used to it now, he stared at me and said, "I don't have things like sacred objects like the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader does."

"But you have poisonous herbs, don't you?"

The Demonic Buddha had dug up seven, but I still had not found a single one. The one thing I could not do, which I had not told the bodyguards, was gathering medicinal herbs.

"Please, just give me one!"

The Demonic Buddha made a face that said 'not a chance' and then turned over to face the other way.

I know what he's thinking. He wants to hear the Poison King say that our Demonic Buddha is the best. He wants to be the special person who can find the poisonous herbs that no one else can.

The more he acted like that, the more I wanted to mess with him.

Just as I silently got up and tried to tiptoe toward the box of herbs the Demonic Buddha had gathered.

The Demonic Buddha, still lying down, reached his hand out toward it.

A golden light shot out from his palm, becoming a golden dragon that coiled around the box protectively. It was the Demonic Buddha's unique demonic art, the Great Golden Mara Art.

"That's too much! I'm the Young Cult Leader! The man who will become the next Heavenly Demon!"

As if to say it would not work, the golden dragon let out a draconic roar and bellowed fiercely.

"Yes, I should sleep. I'm sleeping."

I lay down again. A short distance away, the head bodyguard, Cheokyeon, who had been watching us, could not hold back his laughter. When his eyes met mine, he quickly turned his head the other way.

The Demonic Buddha, who was lying with his back to me, called out to me softly.

"Young Cult Leader."

"Yes, the Demonic Buddha."

After a brief pause, the Demonic Buddha said, "Thank you."

I was looking at the stars in the night sky. The starlight was exceptionally bright tonight.

"Me too."

We did not ask each other what we were thankful for.

And so, cutting through the sandstorms of the Outer Regions, we returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.