Chapter 535

**Chapter 535: The Lazy One Errs (5)**

Kwaaaaah!

Wei Yanho was demonstrating just how far a person can go when they decide to act without restraint.

Just as Jangil regained his senses and began to survey the ground again, Wei Yanho unleashed his sword upon the floor without a second thought. The impact of the cutting energy shattered the ground, sending fragments flying into the air.

“Ugh!”

Jangil recoiled as if pushed back by the force of the blow, shaking his head as he gazed at the massive hole in the ground.

‘This makes no sense.’

Jangil understood that the concept of “acting sensibly” as he knew it was based on human limitations. The reason one needs to act sensibly is because humans cannot resolve everything with sheer force.

If there’s a mechanism, dismantle it; if there’s a trap, avoid it.

That is being sensible.

But what if you can destroy the mechanism and collapse the trap?

Do you really need to cling to that “sensibility”?

There’s no reason to.

And Wei Yanho was demonstrating just that at this moment.

Wei Jeonghan’s efforts to find an entrance to the underground became useless in an instant. Of course, if an underground space existed, breaking the floor was the most direct way to reveal it.

However…

Jangil turned his head.

His eyes caught the figure of the Demon Elder, who was still convulsing.

‘It’s understandable that he feels wronged.’

When the senseless clashes with the sensible, it’s natural for the sensible side to lose. How could one not feel wronged?

‘The world has turned upside down.’

If they had encountered that elder elsewhere, the outcome would have been entirely different. The demonic aura that the elder had displayed moments before was so powerful that it made Jangil’s legs tremble.

If they had met that elder on the battlefield, Jangil would probably be debating whether being beheaded or burst from the inside would be a less painful death.

But, unfortunately for the elder, Wei Yanho was here.

And also, unfortunately, for Jangil.

“Just as I thought!”

When an empty space was revealed beneath the hole, Wei Jeonghan nodded. It was impossible for there to be nothing.

Although the time the Demon Cult had spent established in Xinjiang wasn’t that long in their extensive history, a place of this scale and age couldn’t lack secret spaces.

Wei Jeonghan looked down with a serious expression.

Up until now, their actions hadn’t been that severe. Enough to be included on the Demon Cult’s list of extermination, but what came next would turn them into mortal enemies of the cult.

It was obvious that the Demon Cult would fly into a rage at just hearing the Wei surname.

‘Is this the right thing to do?’

Wei Jeonghan pursed his lips.

He had always lived with the conviction that it was impossible to coexist with the Demon Cult. But there was a big difference between him being their enemy and the entire Wei family of Guangdong being so.

Due to a single decision of his, generations of the Wei family of Guangdong could disappear. How could he not hesitate before that?

But the true instigator of all this seemed to have no worries.

“Aren’t we going down?”

Wei Yanho asked with complete naturalness.

Wei Jeonghan’s face twitched slightly.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Sure about what?”

“If we go in there and cause more trouble, those from the Demon Cult will come to kill us with foam in their mouths… Will you be able to handle the consequences?”

Wei Yanho looked at him with a confused expression.

“Isn’t that the case now?”

“W-Well, now too, but the magnitude will be different.”

“Mmm…”

Wei Yanho scratched his cheek.

Although it seemed like Wei Jeonghan was stating the obvious, it wasn’t actually the case. There was a big difference between being enemies for convenience and being so out of hatred.

At this moment, if there was a greater benefit than killing Wei Yanho, the Demon Cult wouldn’t hesitate to choose it. But after this, the benefit wouldn’t matter: they would only want to see him dead.

“That will happen sooner or later anyway.”

“Do you think so?”

“The Great Demon King didn’t do anything so severe as to be pursued with such hatred, did he?”

“…You’re right.”

Wei Jeonghan couldn’t help but agree.

If the war continued, there would come a point when the Demon Cult would prioritize killing Wei Yanho above everything else. Because there would be no greater benefit than eliminating him.

The result would be the same, sooner or later. So why hesitate?

“But I…”

At that moment.

“Great Hero, we’re done!”

“Burn fiercely!”

“Amituofo.”

The three who had gone to set fire to the outer wall returned, covered in soot.

“…Already?”

Wei Jeonghan let out a sigh.

Yes. He had told them to set the place on fire, to burn it down…

His doubts dissipated. No matter what they did now, the Demon Cult wouldn’t stop their hunt.

“Let’s go in! Bah! A man only dies once!”

Wei Jeonghan shouted bravely and jumped into the hole.

The others followed. The members of the Demon Cult, who had gathered en masse, watched the scene with despair.

“P-Put out the fire!”

The sacred sanctuary.

Seeing the flames consuming the main building, the members of the cult lost their minds. Some ran towards the fire without thinking, others rushed to find water.

They all shared the same despair.

Those who had maintained their faith even in the arid lands of Xinjiang wept bitterly as they watched their sanctuary burn.

“Damn villains!”

And their hatred was directed towards those responsible.

“The intruders have entered the Forbidden Zone!”

As much as they wanted to enter and drag them out, there was a reason why it was a Forbidden Zone. Not even they could enter freely.

The members of the cult helped the Demon Elder, who was still convulsing.

“Demon Elder! Demon Elder! Regain your senses! The intruders have entered the Forbidden Zone!”

“Cough!”

The Demon Elder spat out foamy blood and shook his head, trying to cling to his fading consciousness.

‘Those damn bastards!’

The term “Forbidden Zone” made his heart burn.

“S-Stop them… they must be stopped…”

“We cannot enter.”

“Grrr…”

The Demon Elder’s eyes became bloodshot.

He didn’t have the authority to allow them to enter. Not even a Bishop had that power. But how could he stand idly by while those bastards desecrated the place?

That couldn’t be!

“Notify headquarters! Tell them they have entered the Forbidden Zone!”

“Yes!”

The Demon Elder looked at the flames consuming the main building, with tears of blood falling from his eyes.

“May they burn in hell!”

He would never forgive them, not even in death. They had committed the sin of rejecting even the Sacred Flame, which purifies everything. Not even dismembering them a thousand times would calm his fury.

“Wei Yanhooooooo!”

The Demon Elder’s scream was answered by the smoke and flames that danced violently. The entire building was stained red.

“Is this okay?”

Jangil tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Well, everything up there is on fire. Shouldn’t we flee? If this is the underground, the fire will soon reach here too.”

Smoke was already seeping into the underground. If this continued, it would soon be difficult to breathe.

“Then leave.”

“That makes no sense…”

Jangil resentfully glared at the back of Wei Yanho’s head. Telling him to leave was just condemning him to a beating outside.

“If you can’t stand a little fire, you shouldn’t wander the martial world.”

It was a fair statement.

“Grr.”

Jangil turned his head.

“Besides…”

Wei Yanho wet his finger with saliva and raised it.

“Do you feel the breeze?”

“Huh?”

Jangil frowned.

“So what?”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Wei Yanho clicked his tongue, as if Jangil didn’t understand.

“As an expert in cave life, I tell you that in a closed underground space, there is no breeze. It means there’s a way out somewhere.”

“Mmm.”

Jangil nodded and looked around.

‘I never imagined a place like this.’

When he thought of an underground space, he imagined something like the basement of the Beggar Sect headquarters in Kaifeng. But this place was different.

It was a cave.

It wasn’t clear whether it was natural or artificial, but beneath the main building of the Demon Cult stretched a network of tunnels. Wei Yanho and the others were exploring them.

“Is there really something important here?”

“Mmm.”

Wei Jeonghan also frowned, as if he didn’t expect much.

“Something important…”

“There is.”

Wei Yanho spoke firmly.

“How do you know?”

“Building a building like that over these caves isn’t normal. Not even in the Central Plains is it easy. And they did it in the arid lands of Xinjiang?”

“…”

“They built here for a reason. To prevent others from entering. There has to be something.”

Jangil looked at Wei Yanho in disbelief.

“Sometimes you say things that make sense.”

“As if it were difficult!”

Wei Yanho tried to turn around, but in the narrow tunnel, it wasn’t easy.

“Stop fooling around and let’s move forward! You don’t know how to choose the time or the place!”

Wei Jeonghan burst into anger, and Wei Yanho glared at Jangil resentfully. The latter stuck out his tongue.

“You’ll see.”

“Yes, you’ll see.”

“Grr.”

Wei Yanho, rarely mocked by Jangil, advanced with frustration.

‘There must be something around here…’

His master had told him: what isn’t important isn’t hidden, and what is hidden is important. Unless the Demon Cult had the strange habit of protecting worthless things, there had to be something here.

“That light up ahead?”

“Yes. It’s there.”

Wei Yanho quickened his pace with certainty.

The darkness of the cave was gradually illuminated. That meant there was something ahead.

‘Night luminaries?’

He saw the luminous stones embedded in the ceiling.

They were extremely rare and expensive. The inhabitants of Xinjiang couldn’t use them at their discretion. If they had them here, it was because there was something worth adorning, even at the cost of going hungry.

“Let’s go!”

Wei Yanho started running, and the others followed him.

At the end of the illuminated tunnel, they found a wide chamber. Wei Yanho’s eyes widened as he saw what was inside.

“…What is this?”

Even he, difficult to surprise, was left speechless.

Humans.

Countless fragments of humans.

Entangled like a grotesque creature, hundreds of human fragments. And above them, a white flame burned.

“Is that?”

“Yes.”

Wei Jeonghan lost all humor.

“The Sacred Flame.”

He looked at the white flame with trembling eyes.

A sinister flame that seemed to absorb the soul of whoever looked at it.