Book 28 Chapter 16

Raise the flag

- White List

"Hurry! Hurry! How far have they come?"

"They are three hundred paces away. I don't see General Crimson Sword!"

"He won't be here for another two or three days! Anyway, what's the pace?"

"They are walking at a normal pace."

"They will arrive soon! Gather the warriors at once!"

"Did you eat slugs? Move it!"

"They are two hundred paces away."

"Open the gate! Open the main gate wide! Black Heaven warriors, line up on both sides!"

"One hundred paces away!"

"Attention, everyone! Stand at attention."

"Thirty paces away."

"Shut your mouths."

"Ten paces away!"

"Don't even breathe!"

Upon receiving the news of the arrival of Madam Nine Heavens, along with the Three Great Ladies and the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons, from the South Gate, the Black Heaven Alliance was thrown into a state of emergency.

What was all this commotion about?

The young warriors of the Black Heaven Alliance could not understand why the elders were so pale, sweating profusely, and so tense. However, they dared not utter a word, intimidated by the palpable killing intent that suggested they would be cut down if they dared to make a move.

"Stay alert! Keep your wits about you! Or you will die!"

And finally, Madam Nine Heavens, along with the Three Great Ladies and the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons, appeared.

'What? It's just women?'

A few young warriors grumbled internally. The young Black Heaven warriors were very proud, and they couldn't understand why the elders and executives were trembling before mere women.

'Tsk, making such a fuss over just women… Cough!'

At that moment, Madam Nine Heavens, standing at the very front, stepped onto the main gate of the Black Heaven Alliance.

*Thump!*

At that instant, an incredibly potent, formless killing intent spread out like a spiderweb in all directions.

"Khhhk!"

Several young Black Heaven warriors, unable to withstand the pressure, rolled their eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed. With each step they took, the pressure crushing the warriors' shoulders seemed to increase by a thousand pounds. It was impossible to believe that these were the same women who had cheerfully parted ways with the Zhongyang Escort Agency entourage moments before.

"Pathetic creatures!"

Hong Lian Xian Zi Dan Hye spat disdainfully, not even sparing a glance at the warriors collapsing on the ground like rotten logs. "You have no training at all! We don't need such pathetic beings! Expel them!"

*Thump!*

Once again, Madam Nine Heavens stamped her foot and moved forward.

At that moment, the young warriors trembled in fear, their faces pale, as they were overwhelmed by the immense presence, pressure, and killing intent.

'If I collapse here, I'll die!'

Some had fainted while standing, but no one could blame them.

*Divine Demon Reigning Step (神魔君臨步).*

The elders who had spent their lives in the Black Heaven Alliance recognized that the foot stomp just now contained the profound essence of one of the Divine Demon's ultimate skills, the Divine Demon Reigning Step. The power of the Reigning Step to suppress the mind and body of a person.

Several individuals, referred to as elders, became visibly tense. They had to clench their molars so hard that their gums bled to prevent their teeth from chattering.

They had a sin.

The sin of not protecting their leader.

The sin of not having apprehended the culprit yet.

As if reading their minds, Madam Nine Heavens Wu Hua opened her mouth in a stern voice.

"I will deal with your sins later."

Then, in a voice steeped in deep sorrow and profound anger, she asked, "Where is my son…?"

Everyone in the hall held their breath.

Gal Jung Cheon's coffin was placed in the Grand Hall.

In front of the western stairs of the Grand Hall, a flag hung from bamboo swayed violently. Madam Nine Heavens Wu Hua stopped there and gazed at the flag. Infinite darkness filled her eyes.

This was the *Ming Jing* (銘旌), a flag indicating that Gal Jung Cheon's coffin was enshrined here.

The entire Grand Hall served as a colossal shrine.

Upon entering, the coffin was placed under the south window, with a wooden plaque carved from a giant tree erected in front of it. Wu Hua's eyes, reading the vertical characters inscribed on it, trembled with intense emotion and sorrow.

*Tablet of Gal Jung Cheon, Alliance Leader of the Black Heaven Alliance.*

The memorial tablet of her son, whom she thought she would never see alive, stood there.

A white-haired ritual officiant, recognizing Madam Nine Heavens and her party, hurried over. He was Ha Seong, the overseer of 'Star Fortune Hall' (星運館) within the Black Heaven Alliance, which read the celestial energies. Star Fortune Hall was where they read celestial energies and advised the Alliance Leader. He had been there since the era of the previous Alliance Leader, the Divine Demon Gal Jung Hyeok. Therefore, he was well acquainted with Madam Nine Heavens.

Star Reader Old Lord Ha Seong bowed deeply.

"O-oh, you have arrived, Great Madam! Ha Seong pays his respects to Great Madam!"

Although he was an elder of the martial arts world, indicated by the title 'Old Lord' (老君), he was considerably junior to Madam Nine Heavens.

"……"

Silence returned.

There was no speech for a long time. Ha Seong, who had prostrated himself with his entire body, cautiously raised his gaze, flinched, and froze.

The three mothers stood motionless, gazing at the coffin placed beyond the memorial tablet.

"Open the coffin."

Madam Nine Heavens said, in an unnervingly monotone and low voice.

Unable to defy the command, Ha Seong, with trembling legs, rose from his spot. He then approached the coffin and carefully lifted the lid.

The Three Great Ladies and the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons approached the coffin in heavy silence.

Inside the coffin lay Gal Jung Cheon, as if sleeping.

Upon seeing him, the eyes of the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons became bloodshot and turned scarlet. They seemed to be biting their lips until they bled to suppress their overwhelming urge to wail.

*Shiver.*

Star Reader Old Lord Ha Seong shivered involuntarily from a sudden chill.

'This is…'

Ha Seong shivered again as he saw his own white breath escaping his trembling lips. It wasn't mid-winter, yet it felt as if a north wind had blown from somewhere, freezing him to the bone.

He was not the only one experiencing this phenomenon.

The other warriors lined up in the Grand Hall also exhaled white breath and shivered uncontrollably. Ha Seong suffered the most severely, with a layer of frost forming on his clothes and face.

Sensing something, Ha Seong subtly glanced at Sa Ran, the third wife among the Three Great Ladies. Her expression was utterly impassive as she looked at the coffin, yet this cold blizzard, as if blowing from the depths of the North Sea, emanated from her.

Suddenly, Ha Seong's vision turned white, and he felt as if he were being tossed into a fierce winter blizzard.

'Aaaargh! W-what is this?'

He stood on a snow-covered land stretching endlessly in all directions. A land of snow that extended as far as the eye could see. He was stranded on this land.

He was not the only one stranded on this land of snow and ice. Most of the warriors in the Grand Hall were stranded with him. Ha Seong could tell this from the shock and terror on their faces.

'This is an illusion…'

But what was this cold that froze flesh and bone?!

*Crack!*

At that moment, the ice beneath Ha Seong and the Black Heaven warriors began to crack. As the space split apart like a massive fissure, they fell. Below them was a scorching inferno filled with bubbling lava. Flames flickered, ready to incinerate their flesh and bones into black ash.

The surroundings were a hell of flames.

'Water…'

His throat was parched. His lungs felt scorched. His throat felt as if it were being seared by fire. He seemed to hear the screams of those suffering in the flames.

'H-help me… Water… It's… hot…'

Aaaaarrrrgh!

An unbearable scream erupted.

At that moment, the flames blazing all around were extinguished simultaneously.

Ha Seong stumbled back several steps and rolled onto the floor.

'W-where is this…'

After landing ungracefully on his rear, Ha Seong looked around and realized he was still in the Grand Hall, and breathed a sigh of relief. However, his face looked ten years older than before.

The warriors lined up around the Grand Hall also had pale faces and were drenched in cold sweat. Some had already fainted, and it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.

'Could this be…'

Star Reader Old Lord Ha Seong, his eyes full of dread, looked back and forth between Hong Lian Xian Zi Dan Hye and Bing Lian Xian Zi Sa Ran.

He and all the warriors in the Grand Hall had narrowly escaped death, having been consumed by the illusion just moments ago.

'Illusory Slaughter (幻殺)…'

A supreme master, having reached the pinnacle of cultivation, could harm others by projecting intangible energy, a phenomenon known in the martial world as 'Intent Injury to Man' (意氣傷人).

Those who had fainted at the main gate of the Black Heaven Alliance earlier could be said to have been victims of this intangible energy. However, the illusion that Ha Seong and the warriors in the Grand Hall had just experienced could not be explained by mere intangible energy. This was something far beyond that.

'Illusory Reflection Killing (幻映殺人)!'

It was a state where the intangible energy's power was so overwhelming that it enveloped the intangible energy itself in a kind of illusion. Although it appeared to be an illusion, it was reality. Rather, the brain, faced with a harsh reality, conjured a corresponding illusion. It could be likened to the retrospective vision seen just before death.

Thus, it was named Illusory Slaughter (幻殺)!

It meant killing through illusion.

*Clack, clack!*

What was so noisy at this tense moment?! Ha Seong, about to get angry, realized it was the sound of his upper and lower teeth chattering and swallowed.

However, there was no need to be ashamed.

*Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!*

He wasn't the only one with a pale face, sweating as if it were raining, and chattering his teeth. Almost all the warriors of the Black Heaven Alliance were trembling, chattering their teeth as if performing a collective ensemble.

It was then.

Wu Hua, who had been gazing at the coffin, extended her pale jade-like hand and slowly stroked Gal Jung Cheon's face.

There was no life in her at all. It was more accurate to say that she, rather than Gal Jung Cheon in the coffin, was dead. Ha Seong's spine shivered at the sight.

A voice like a sigh escaped Wu Hua's lips.

"Wake up… Wake up…"

Was she trying to wake the sleeping Gal Jung Cheon?

Her fingers moved downwards and stopped near his heart.

It was the very spot pierced by the cherished sword 'White Thunder' (백뢰) of Na Baek Cheon.

*Swish.*

Madam Nine Heavens' trembling finger brushed over the area of his chest where the hole was. Although his body was wrapped in burial clothes, she could feel through her finger the irreversible mark left by White Thunder in her son's chest.

"This… Was it because of this…?"

Her voice began to tremble minutely.

"Because of this wretched hole… you can never wake up…?"

As her voice cracked, her heart was once again torn to shreds. The sorrow she had forcibly suppressed was reawakening, along with the aura of death.

The air froze.

The plants placed throughout the Grand Hall suddenly began to wither and die.

"Cough!"

"Khhhk!"

"Gasp!"

Not only the young warriors who had been holding their breath in tension, but even the mid-ranking executives with some experience, coughed up blood and knelt down.

They collapsed, spitting blood, overwhelmed by the shock as if their bodies were being torn into a thousand pieces. Life was draining from their fallen bodies.

The reason they had not ridden horses to this urgent destination was that they knew the horses would collapse, unable to withstand Wu Hua's uncontrolled intangible energy.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

The elders who had managed to stay standing now knelt and bowed their foreheads to the ground, crying out, "Great Madam! Please kill us."

As one person spoke, the rest echoed in unison.

"Please kill us!"

*Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!*

The elders cried out, striking their foreheads against the floor of the Grand Hall until they bled. The elders, with white hair and beards, wailed, striking their foreheads against the floor of the Grand Hall. And they begged for punishment.

They begged for punishment for the sin of not protecting their master.

"Kill us, but please, take away your wrath! Great Madam!"

It was clear that the younger ones would not be able to hold on any longer.

"Please, take away your wrath!"

All the warriors in the Grand Hall prostrated themselves in unison and shouted. However, the surging killing intent showed no signs of abating.

"Mother, please calm your wrath for a moment. If this continues, all the young ones will die."

Gal Hyo Hye stepped forward and spoke. However, even Gal Hyo Hye herself was finding it difficult to control her emotions at that moment.

*Patter, patter, patter.*

Just then, hurried footsteps were heard from outside the gate of the Grand Hall, and a young woman in white attire rushed in. She was so urgent that she was gasping for breath.

It was none other than Eun Seol Ran.

Eun Seol Ran's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and the tear streaks remained clearly visible on her pale cheeks.

Upon seeing Madam Nine Heavens, Eun Seol Ran exclaimed with relief, "Great Madam!"

Eun Seol Ran rushed forward and embraced Madam Nine Heavens.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Madam Nine Heavens, who had almost fallen back into despair, hugged Eun Seol Ran wordlessly.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

In Madam Nine Heavens' embrace, Eun Seol Ran could no longer suppress her sobs and burst into tears. Madam Nine Heavens patted Eun Seol Ran's back.

"Yes, cry, cry. You are crying for me. No. No, don't cry, child. A child who was once destined to become the ninth among the Divine Demons should not show tears so easily, should she?"

As she said, the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons could have become the Nine Immortals of Gods and Demons. If Eun Seol Ran had married her fiancé, Gal Hyo Bong, that would have happened.

But she lost her lover.

The wound was deep, and she was only just beginning to forget that painful past.

Someone was starting to enter her heart, someone she thought no one would ever accept.

Yet, this tragic catastrophe had occurred once again.

Another father-like figure, Gal Jung Cheon, had been murdered! And by the hands of Jeongcheon Alliance Leader Na Baek Cheon, no less!

She didn't want to believe it.

But she couldn't afford not to.

How could she express disbelief in his words, when one of the two witnesses was Geom Mae Cho Wol, one of the Black Heaven Ten Evils, and the other was the Pavilion Master of Matcheon Pavilion?

From now on, the demonic and righteous paths would never coexist again.

The entire Black Heaven Alliance seethed with rage and hatred. They cried out for bloody revenge.

Now she had become an enemy of Mo Yong Hwi.

Unbeknownst to her, at this very moment, Mo Yong Hwi had come here as a rescue team to save Na Baek Cheon, whom she considered her sworn enemy.

Would she have made a different decision if she had known?

She could not forgive Na Baek Cheon. No matter how much he was the leader of the Jeongcheon Alliance, he had crossed a line that should not be crossed. How dare he assassinate the leader of the demonic path with such dirty methods? It was unforgivable. If he hadn't done such a thing…

"You have lost the man who would have been your husband and your father, and I have lost my son and grandson. But we still have work to do. We must offer incense! I will never shed tears until that task is complete."

Eun Seol Ran's wails subsided.

Madam Nine Heavens herself wanted to cry more than anyone. But she did not cry. Instead, tears of blood flowed within her heart. She intended to collect the price for making her heart bleed tears of blood.

"I will surely collect the price for this blood with my own hands! I will surely do so…"

Madam Nine Heavens' words were low, but they were imbued with terrifying killing intent. Eun Seol Ran shivered at the will, as hard and sharp as a steel blade.

Eun Seol Ran knew.

This person would always keep her word.

She possessed the innate power to turn those words into reality.

'What should I do?'

That night, after the nightmarish night when Gal Hyo Bong suddenly went mad and rampaged, she broke off their engagement. Nevertheless, Gal Jung Cheon treated her like his own daughter. He also made sure she didn't grieve too much. If he hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have been able to endure the grief and shock. To her, Gal Jung Cheon was like another father. Such a person…

Eun Seol Ran made up her mind.

"Great Madam, please let me accompany you!"

Eun Seol Ran cried out earnestly, looking up at Madam Nine Heavens.

"I also want to avenge the Alliance Leader, who treated me like a daughter! As his daughter!"

Madam Nine Heavens gazed at Eun Seol Ran's determined eyes for a while, then nodded.

"Yes, you were once a woman of the Divine Demon family… You are certainly qualified to avenge your enemy."

She looked at her younger sisters and daughters, and they all nodded in agreement, as if they shared the same thought. That was enough.

"Are you prepared?"

At that moment, the face of one person flashed through Eun Seol Ran's mind.

"I will not forgive anything. I may kill someone you know, someone you liked. All the ties you have built with the righteous path may be severed. Is that still acceptable?"

The face of one person became clearer in Eun Seol Ran's mind. The face of someone who always looked good in pure white robes. However, Eun Seol Ran quickly shook her head.

There was no reason for him to be here. He was not a member of the Jeongcheon Alliance, and he was still a student at the Cheon Mu Academy. He had no reason to get involved in this matter. Still, if they met…

"It's acceptable, Great Madam. I am already prepared."

Shaking her head as if to cast away the image of that person, Eun Seol Ran replied in a firm tone. Madam Nine Heavens gazed at the coffin, where incense was burning away. Then, she said quietly,

"That child will not be able to rest peacefully without seeing the blood of the enemy, without smelling the scent of burning flesh and bone. Alright, follow me."

"Thank you, Great Madam!"

Eun Seol Ran bowed deeply and said.

"Is what I mentioned prepared?"

Dan Hye, standing beside her, replied as if waiting for the question.

"Yes, Eldest Sister. I have prepared it as you instructed."

Wu Hua nodded, and Dan Hye commanded,

"Raise the flag!"

"Yes, Mother."

Hearing Dan Hye's voice, her second daughter, Hyo Hong, lifted a vertically long flag. At the top of the flag, which was as long as a white scroll, were written three characters in sharp calligraphy, as if wielding a sword:

*Book of Killing (殺生簿).*

Below it was written 'Grudge of a Murdered Child' (殺子之怨), meaning the grudge of a murdered son.

And then, names were listed one after another. Most of the names on the list began with the surname Na. Of course, Na Baek Cheon's name was clearly written at the very top.

"We will not leave a single person connected to the murderers listed on this roster alive in this world! We will exterminate the Na clan, leaving no trace!"

Even without Dan Hye's declaration in place of Wu Hua, the meaning of the flag was clear.

Their journey would not stop until all the names written here were erased.

"Let's go."

Madam Nine Heavens addressed her daughters.

"Yes, Mother."

Behind Madam Nine Heavens, who stepped out of the Grand Hall with unwavering steps, followed ten women dressed in black mourning attire and one woman in white mourning clothes made of raw white silk.

The crowd gathered in front of the Grand Hall parted like the sea, creating a path.

"Black Heaven Immortal!"

"Divine Demons Descend Blessings!"

"Nine Heavens Madam Ascends!"

The warriors, who had regained their senses and lined up on either side, all performed a deep bow towards them, sending them off with the utmost respect.

No one dared to obstruct the path of the Three Great Ladies and the Eight Immortals of Gods and Demons.

"Open the gates!"

At someone's shout, the main gate of the Black Heaven Alliance was flung wide open.

Finally, carrying within them a profound resentment, the most fearsome women in the martial world set out.