Chapter 792: Just You Dare Open Your Eyes!

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon flew a great distance and landed before Lee Ahn.

"Thank you for saving our lives."

Lee Ahn and all the martial artists behind her bowed their heads respectfully. If the warrior in the Divine Mechanical Armor had unleashed their hidden weapons, many would have died.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon clasped his hands behind his back as if it were nothing. He gazed at the Ship of Fortune floating on the distant river.

The dark energy radiating from the ship grew stronger. The Demonic Buddha and the Drunken Demon had likely broken through the barrier to board it because of that energy.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon wanted to break the barrier and board the ship immediately. He trusted the Young Cult Leader more than anyone, but the Darkness Palace Lord was pouring everything into a final, desperate struggle. After all, an unexpected ambush had been waiting even here.

He spoke to Jang Ho and Lee Ahn. "Leave only those who need to stay. Have the subordinates wait at the safehouse."

"Yes, we will."

This mission had provided the subordinates with enough real-world combat experience.

Lee Ahn kept Cha Yiran and Green Mask with her. She knew Cha Yiran would be a great help in the fight, and she kept Green Mask for the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's sake. She thought Green Mask would want to stay.

"The Second and Fourth Division Leaders are to take the subordinates to the safehouse and wait."

"Yes, understood."

"And make sure to take all the hidden weapons. Secure that Divine Mechanical Armor properly."

Seo Jin and Ji Han collected all the hidden weapons from the corpses with the subordinates. Fortunately, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had killed the user by piercing their eye in a single move, so they obtained the Divine Mechanical Armor intact. These weapons from the Divine Mechanical Engineering Sect would greatly help the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's smithy.

Jang Ho sent the entire Demonic Army back. They reassembled the tactical shields into carriage walls, but the gaping hole from one broken shield seemed to hint at what could have happened if the fight had gone wrong.

After all the subordinates left for the safehouse, only Lee Ahn, Jang Ho, Cha Yiran, and Green Mask remained.

Lee Ahn sensed the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's consideration. He could have sent everyone to the safehouse, or said they had done enough and freed himself from the responsibility of protecting them, but instead, he was giving her another chance to remain on the battlefield and gain more experience.

Needless to say, she could gain much not just from fighting, but even from simply standing here and gazing at the dark energy filling the Ship of Fortune.

It was a consideration only a truly strong person could show, and it revealed the depth of his relationship with Geom Mugeuk.

Thank you, Smiling Demon.

Just then, Green Mask approached the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He hadn't had a chance to speak with him privately during the journey from the cult, and even if he had, he would not have dared to approach. However, after watching him protect the Ghost Shadow Squad martial artists, he could not stay silent.

"Thank you for protecting us," he said.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon continued to stare at the Ship of Fortune, but he asked a single question he had not asked during their entire journey. "Have you been well?"

Green Mask felt a lump in his throat. "Yes, I've been well."

He had left to start a new life, but he could not help but feel a longing for the Valley of Evil. The person he missed most was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

Suddenly, a surprising remark casually slipped from the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's lips.

"You can come back if you want to."

"!" Green Mask's eyes widened behind his mask. He hadn't been this surprised even when the ambusher suddenly appeared and shoved hidden weapons in his face.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon turned to Green Mask with a questioning gaze. "You thought a new life would be all good, but now that it's your reality, it's not so different, is it?"

Unsure how to answer, Green Mask silently lowered his head. As much as he was satisfied with his current life, he also missed his days as one of the Faceless Warriors.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said abruptly, "Come out."

Green Mask looked up in surprise. He thought he was being told to leave the Ghost Shadow Squad, but that was not it.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's gaze was directed far behind Green Mask's shoulder.

SWOOSH!

In the distance, a black circle formed on the ground, and Hoe, the Darkness Palace Lord's henchman, rose from it. No emotion could be felt from him. No hostility, no anger, no killing intent. His indifferent gaze seemed all the more dangerous.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon realized one thing. From their enemies' perspective, they should be concentrating their forces on the Ship of Fortune, where the Young Cult Leader and several Demon Supremes had gone. For Hoe to come here meant something else.

"So, you're aiming for this Commander here."

Hoe did not answer.

Cha Yiran looked at Lee Ahn and spoke instead. "If he's an enemy, it's only natural to aim for the opponent's heart, isn't it?"

Lee Ahn was bewildered. Teasing me about my heart in a situation like this? Cha Yiran is clearly more at ease than I am.

"The Young Cult Leader shouldn't have called me his heart," she joked, but her eyes shone with a sharp light. "Still, thanks to that, my heart has become a little stronger."

After experiencing the fight in a state of selflessness, she had gained a strange sense of confidence. That confidence sparked a desire to fight more.

Hoe looked at Cha Yiran. "Weren't you supposed to be the one aiming for that heart?"

Cha Yiran readily admitted to her betrayal. "Looking for loyalty from an assassin?"

She did not know the Darkness Palace Lord's direct subordinates well. The twelve who would later become the Twelve Zodiac Kings were managed separately.

However, she knew Hoe well. He was the subordinate the Darkness Palace Lord trusted the most, as well as the one who relayed orders between the Darkness Palace Lord and them.

This time, he had come in person.

"It seems the situation is desperate enough for you to come yourself."

Hoe neither confirmed nor denied it. His gaze turned to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. "What you said earlier was wrong. I did not come here for her, but for you."

The moment those words ended, a black circle had already formed at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's feet.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was dragged into the darkness.

It was not a force that could be blocked with movement techniques or inner arts. To others, it looked as if he was falling downward.

To the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, the outside world flipped upside down, and in an instant, he was standing in a pitch-black darkness without a single speck of light. Even his white mask was consumed by the darkness, reflecting nothing.

From within the darkness, Hoe's voice rang out. "You will be trapped here for the rest of your life."

This was the Eternal Prison of Darkness, one of the most powerful signature demonic arts of the Dark Palace, and a demonic art that required sacrifice and risk. In exchange for imprisoning someone, the user also had to be trapped inside with them. They could only escape this demonic art once the person they imprisoned was dead.

Of course, the opponent would try to find and kill him, but it was impossible to find him in this absolute darkness. The darkness was on his side, and it was no ordinary darkness.

"In the end, no one can stand the darkness and solitude, and they die of madness."

Despite those terrifying words, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was completely unfazed. Rather, the eyes behind his mask were smiling.

He had spent his entire life training while staring at nothing but a white wall. He had long reached the state of emptiness and nothingness.

He uttered words that Hoe could never have imagined.

"Really? It's surprisingly comfortable here."

The Drunken Demon and the Demonic Buddha watched the black energy slowly creeping in from the end of the hallway.

"That's the energy unleashed by the Greedy Annihilation Art. If you're exposed to it, you can't use your full power. Let's go back that way," the Demonic Buddha suggested.

The Drunken Demon shook his head. "Let's just push through."

There was a reason he suggested this course of action.

"The Young Cult Leader wouldn't have avoided this energy."

The Demonic Buddha nodded. Yes, Geom Mugeuk would have pushed through this dark energy to find the Darkness Palace Lord. "Alright, let's push through. Though, I can withstand this energy, but will you be alright?"

In truth, his suggestion to turn back had been out of consideration for the Drunken Demon.

"I'll endure it with the power of alcohol."

As the two walked into the black fog, a malevolent energy assailed them. A golden radiance erupted from the Demonic Buddha's body, protecting him. Next to him, a potent alcoholic aura, strong enough to make someone pass out from a mere whiff, enveloped and protected the Drunken Demon.

Still, even though the nature of their martial arts gave them a strong advantage against the Pitch Black Demonic Art, they could not protect their bodies completely.

"This energy is truly vile," the Drunken Demon remarked. The dark energy penetrated his alcohol qi, making his body grow heavy, as if he were suffering from a severe illness.

The Demonic Buddha nodded. "I've never encountered such strong pitch black demonic qi in my life. Without the Cult Leader's the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, it would be impossible to fully withstand this energy."

The golden light from the Demonic Buddha's body grew more intense, and the Drunken Demon's alcoholic aura also thickened.

"With this environmental benefit, the Pitch Black Demonic Art our enemies use will be much more powerful than usual too."

As they walked on, they came to a fork in the path.

"Which way do you think we should go?" the Demonic Buddha asked.

"The Young Cult Leader would have definitely headed in the direction where the energy grows stronger," the Drunken Demon replied confidently. He had not just drunk with Geom Mugeuk. He knew well what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was and what choices he would make.

The Demonic Buddha paused to sense the energy within the fog. "Then, it's this way."

The two of them walked in the direction where the energy was stronger. As they proceeded, they reached a dead end with a large door.

The Drunken Demon and the Demonic Buddha looked at each other and nodded. After exchanging a look that urged caution, they opened the door and stepped inside.

The place was incredibly spacious. After walking through the narrow cabin hallways, such a space was completely unexpected. The ceiling was so high they had to crane their necks to see it.

It looked like a storage hold on the ship, with a few large crates and some nets lying around. There was a door leading out on the opposite side. Fortunately, the fog had not yet invaded this storeroom.

"I can finally breathe. Let's rest for a moment," the Drunken Demon said.

The Demonic Buddha, who had been tense the whole time, also let out a sigh of relief.

While resting and looking around, the Drunken Demon spotted something on one of the walls. "Look over there, there's a painting on the wall."

It was a bizarre painting of a man standing with his eyes closed. Only a single person was drawn on that vast wall.

"Somehow, it's unsettling." The Demonic Buddha felt uncomfortable with the fact that there was a painting in a place like this.

However, the Drunken Demon's unease was more specific. "This bastard, his face itself is unsettling, and closing his eyes like that looks arrogant."

He gathered his qi and walked toward the painting.

From behind, he heard the Demonic Buddha's voice. "I don't know who painted it, but they did a good job."

Yes, it was probably so unsettling because it was painted too well. The figure in the painting was drawn so vividly it looked as if it could move at any moment.

"A sailor couldn't have painted this well."

"Maybe a painter fell into gambling debt."

"Somehow, I feel like this guy is going to open his eyes." The Drunken Demon taunted the painting like a drunkard. "You, just you dare open your eyes. I'll stab you for sure."

The Demonic Buddha might have said something, but he remained silent.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, the Drunken Demon suddenly spun around.

"!" His expression froze. A scene that could sober anyone up instantly was unfolding before him.

The Demonic Buddha had become a painting on the wall and was looking around at his own body and his surroundings in bewilderment.

"I must have had too much to drink. The Demonic Buddha is inside the wall."

The moment those words left his mouth, the Drunken Demon spun around as fast as lightning and hurled a throwing knife at the painting of the man with his eyes closed.

SHIIING! THUD!

His throwing knife embedded itself in the painting, stuck in the chest of the man with closed eyes. Although the knife was embedded, the painting did not move at all. What stained the knife was not blood, but paint.

Is it not this bastard?

At that moment, the man's eyes flew open.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Without a moment's hesitation, the Drunken Demon continuously stabbed with his throwing knives.

However, the man in the painting smiled at the Drunken Demon, as if to say that stabbing him a hundred times would be useless.

"You son of a bitch!"

The man moved within the wall. The part of his chest where the throwing knives had struck had turned white.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!

Then, as if an invisible brush were painting, color filled in the spot.

This man was the Dark Black Painted Spirit, the secret weapon who had been with the Darkness Palace Lord earlier.

"So you can't be killed from the outside, is that it?"

The Dark Black Painted Spirit moved swiftly along the wall toward the Demonic Buddha on the other side.

"Be careful, Demonic Buddha!"

The Demonic Buddha also looked at the Drunken Demon and said something. However, his mouth only moved, and his voice could not be heard.

He threw a palm strike, which was rendered as a painting, at the Dark Black Painted Spirit rushing toward him.

The Dark Black Painted Spirit also unleashed a palm technique.

The two palm techniques, flying as paintings, met in the middle and exploded.

The explosion was also depicted as a painting. From the outside, it looked utterly ridiculous, but the Drunken Demon knew better. If it was an evil arts powerful enough to pull in the Demonic Buddha in an instant, then it was dangerous.

If he dies in there, the Demonic Buddha will die too!

The problem was that the space was absolutely advantageous to that bastard.

He pounded on the wall, trying to enter the painting himself, but he could not get in. The wall was just a wall. He wanted to smash the entire wall, but with the Demonic Buddha inside, he could not break it recklessly.

"Kill that bastard and come out! I'm counting on you, the Demonic Buddha!"

Right now, all he could trust was the Demonic Buddha's skill.

And the Demonic Buddha splendidly lived up to those expectations. While engaged in close combat with the fiend, he seized an opportunity and completed a hand seal.

The Great Golden Mara Art! Slaughter Scripture Regret Stamp!

Golden enhanced qi swirled from the Demonic Buddha's hands and spread forward like a wave, magnificent even as a painting.

"He did it!" The Drunken Demon cheered. Since the hand seal was completed in an instant at close range, there was no way for the fiend to dodge.

However, at that very moment, something unbelievable happened.

The Demonic Buddha's movements came to a dead stop. The golden enhanced qi he had unleashed stopped in mid-air.

The Dark Black Painted Spirit, who had been trying to dodge, also froze.

They had all become a painting.

And then something even more shocking followed.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!

Something began to be drawn between the Demonic Buddha and the Dark Black Painted Spirit.

"This is insane! That's cheating!"

A pitch-black hole was drawn right in front of the flying enhanced qi, like a passage leading somewhere else.

The Drunken Demon's eyes widened in shock. A sense of foreboding surged through him.

The corner of the Dark Black Painted Spirit' mouth, which had been frozen like a painting, curled into a smirk!

"You… don't tell me?"

The next moment, the painting began to move again. The enhanced qi unleashed by the Demonic Buddha entered the dark passage drawn in front of it.

Simultaneously, a pitch-black darkness appeared in front of the Drunken Demon.

SWOOOOOSH!

The Slaughter Scripture Regret Stamp poured down upon the Drunken Demon.