“This is the place.”

After running for two full days, the place we arrived at was a temple deep in the mountains.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked at the nameplate, which gave off a somewhat strange feeling.

Mangbeonsa. At a glance, it was a name that seemed to have monks who were cultivating the Dao, but in fact, it was one of the branches of the Blood Cult, which had transformed the Blood of the Blood Cult into a Net and disguised itself.

‘It should be worth it to have left the carriage behind and come up.’

If it weren’t for the four escorts standing behind me in disguise, it was a place I would never have visited.

Thinking so, I knocked on the door.

“Is anyone there?”

“What is it?”

What came out when the main gate opened was a high-ranking monk dressed in a neat monk’s robe. I gave him a Buddhist-style clasped-hands greeting and then brought out the words I had prepared.

“I am a humble traveler. I knocked on the door, wondering if I could stay for one night.”

Before I knew it, the sunset was setting beyond the mountain ridge. Considering that night comes early in the mountains, it was a very natural request.

“We can’t turn away a guest in a rough place. Please come in.”

He opened the main gate with a good-natured smile.

Since it was a remote place, I thought they would treat me in a closed-off manner, but surprisingly, they seemed to accept me readily.

‘On the contrary, they’re too unreserved.’

Although I and my escorts were hiding our internal energy and skills, they were letting an outsider in too easily.

Either their virtue was deep, or…

“But what brings you to this deep place?”

The high-ranking monk asked just as I was about to cross the threshold. At this, I recalled the episode related to the Blood Cult branch in the past and answered.

“I heard that several wild ginseng collectors have gone missing in the vicinity recently. And that a child has also disappeared from a slash-and-burn village. So as a fellow wild ginseng collector, I was tracking their traces. I have to at least find their remains and honor their souls.”

“Ah, I see. This place has such rugged terrain, so such cases are frequent.”

The monk concluded the conversation as if it were nothing.

At a glance, it looked like a transcendent appearance of life and death, but to me, who knew its true nature, I only felt a chilling sensation.

‘They killed them themselves and are now playing innocent.’

As I followed without showing such feelings, the high-ranking monk calmly guided us to a separate building.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest, so there are some empty rooms. We’ve prepared them so that each person can use one.”

“No, don’t bother with such trouble. We can sleep in groups of two or three.”

“There are many guest rooms, so don’t worry and please accept our hospitality.”

He showed his goodwill with a faint smile. But in my eyes, it only looked like he was trying to separate the personnel from the beginning.

“Ah, then I will rest gratefully.”

But I pretended to agree so as not to arouse their suspicion for no reason.

Since the monks who were passing by in the distance were glancing at our surroundings, it was necessary to be careful.

According to my decision, the escorts also pretended to be travelers as they had been instructed in advance and went into each room to unpack their luggage.

It would be fine to secretly gather in one room at night anyway.

After unpacking my luggage in the room, I began to look around the temple under the pretext of taking a walk.

‘So. The Blood Cult’s sorcery is being performed somewhere here, right?’

Since it was a branch of the Blood Cult, a sorcery would be in progress somewhere.

I was planning to gain knowledge related to that sorcery here today.

‘For the sake of magical growth.’

In fact, there was something I had been thinking about since I had grown to the second circle. It was the problem of the diversity of magic.

Although the elemental and mana manipulation-type magic I was using now had a wide range of versatility, it would be helpful to have other magic as well.

But until now, such a wish could not be fulfilled. Because there were no magic or skill books in this world.

‘I was at a point where I had to create other magic from scratch.’

High-level magic was not something you could learn just by raising your circle.

Although I had been able to use the flow of mana more instinctively until now, that was something that had been achieved as an extension of my talent.

I couldn’t know about the other magic that the mages in the magic tower had created, one stitch at a time, dedicating their entire lives.

‘The secret manual library I had believed in was also not that great.’

In the intermediate library, there were surprisingly few books on sorcery or Daoist arts. Perhaps it was a natural thing, since it was a place to discuss martial arts, but even considering this, it was a pity.

To be precise, there were few things that I could use.

Most of them were elemental-type sorcery, such as fire, water, and wind, created using the principles of the five elements, and since they didn’t have the concept of a circle, there were many cases where it was inefficient for me to use.

Why are so many formulas and procedures necessary? If you’re just born with the talent, you can activate it as easily as breathing.

For that reason, just as I was about to give up on new magic inwardly.

Gu Jabeom had brought up the story of the Blood Demon.

The fact that he had thought of the Blood Demon after seeing my magic also meant that the sorcery or Daoist arts used in the Blood Cult branch were similar to magic.

What if I could learn about the forbidden sorcery that was not placed in the secret manual library or the Daoist arts that were secretly passed down?

I could get inspiration for new magic.

‘In that sense, the Blood Cult is worth using as a stepping stone for growth.’

The Blood Cult was also a group that had repeatedly researched and experimented with sorcery for a long time. Their madness alone was enough to easily surpass the magic tower.

Of course, the knowledge and sorcery system they had accumulated would also be considerable. Of course, contact with them could also be an opportunity to learn a new system of magic.

Thinking so, someone blocked my way as I was heading to the back of the temple.

“You can’t go there.”

It was the high-ranking monk who had greeted us at the entrance earlier.

“The training ground is off-limits to outsiders.”

Although the sight of him blocking the way for no reason was suspicious, I obediently turned my feet.

With that, I made a cut on my fingertip with a stone I had picked up nearby.

“I got a cut, but is there a place to wash?”

I showed the high-ranking monk my bleeding fingertip. Then, the high-ranking monk’s eyes changed slightly. But that was for a moment, and his voice was still calm.

“There is, there is.”

A face with a strangely disappeared expression. Perhaps because the surroundings were gradually getting dark, the opponent’s complexion felt pale.

“I will bring you some water. By the way, you must be hungry. It’s about time for a meal. The table has been set.”

“Ah, we’ve already packed our own food. Our diet is different, isn’t it?”

“There’s also meat, so don’t worry. We happen to have a dead beast. In our doctrine, it is said not to kill, but it is not said not to eat meat.”

The opponent’s stuttering was gradually getting worse. At this, I asked naturally with a worried tone.

“Your speech has suddenly become slurred, are you alright?”

“Y-yes, I am.”

“But come to think of it, we ate rice balls earlier, so we’re not hungry. Although you’ve kindly prepared it for us, our bodies are tired, so it would be better to rest.”

“……”

I made that excuse and headed to the dormitory. In the meantime, the constant gaze I felt from behind gave me goosebumps, but I ignored it.

Judging from the reaction when I showed my blood earlier and the movement to lure me to a meal, it was clear that it was the Blood Cult.

‘The problem is that I don’t know exactly what their level is.’

In the original work, since it was a place where he had just brushed past Baek Hasin once, I hadn’t fully grasped it.

‘Still, it’s a relief that there are four escorts…’

I stopped in front of the dormitory at the thought that suddenly came to me.

‘Can the escorts be trusted?’

In fact, this was a point I had considered from the time I was making the plan.

The Zhuge family’s family situation is complicated. In a situation where the first wife, Dang Hujeong, was in control of the real power, Zhuge Cheonwu was the only child of the deceased second wife.

If she had considered me a thorn in her side, this was also an opportunity to get rid of me, using the Blood Cult as an excuse.

‘No, if she had wanted to kill me, she would have killed me long ago.’

If it was the power that Dang Hujeong had, it was certainly possible.

Whether it was when I was going to enter the academy with poor escorts, or when I was mired in entertainment in the past.

Because of the background of the Zhuge family, the aftermath would be difficult, but killing me itself was easy.

‘I’m not a target to be checked that much yet.’

Although it was sad, it was so when I looked at it objectively. At most, I was a brat who had taken the top student position once among the junior students. That was me.

And most of all, even if a blood relative had died despite the escorts that Dang Hujeong had sent, there was nothing good for her either.

‘Still, just in case, let’s use my strength to a minimum unless it’s a crisis situation.’

Since the escorts were not my people, it was necessary to hide my abilities.

And so, as time passed and it became the middle of the night, a monk knocked on my door.

“What is it?”

“I’ve boiled a cup of tea for you to drink in the middle of the night.”

With that, he handed me a teapot.

Of course, the opponent’s real purpose was something else.

“And please don’t wander around in the middle of the night. Because beasts are out and about.”

It was a clear warning. I answered moderately and then put the teapot far away.

‘He probably put a sleeping drug or poison in it.’

I had told the escorts not to eat or sleep recklessly from the moment they entered this place. To be careful, since it was a suspicious group.

‘What’s left is when to go outside.’

I closed my two eyes and gathered my mana. Through a high level of concentration, a mana thread spread out from the room and then reached the central formation that had been installed in the yard beyond the crack of the door.

‘I’ll grasp the surroundings based on this.’

I used the central formation that had been installed in front of the door to interfere with the security formations that I had installed while taking a walk earlier to grasp whether people were coming and going or not.

Although it was a security formation at a level where I could only check whether something was moving in the area or not, in a situation like this where I couldn’t know any information from the outside, it was extremely effective.

‘The number of people surrounding the guest building is a total of four, I see.’

Two behind the tree in front. And two more under the eaves on the left and right sides. It was a perfect match for the number of escorts.

‘At this rate, I can take care of them in one go.’

I immediately pierced the side wall with a sword containing mana and made a hole. Since it was a place that would be abandoned after today anyway, there was no reason to hesitate.

“Third Young Master?”

One of the escorts asked me in a small voice from beyond the hole. Seeing that he had already drawn the sword he had hidden, it seemed he had grasped the movements of the Blood Cult.

‘Since the enemies have come out so openly. I have to use my detection ability to minimize the damage.’

Even the act of hiding my strength should be done within a range where it’s not foolish. I asked for confirmation, just in case, to block any possible variables.

“Where are the watchers?”

“There are two under the eaves.”

“There are also two behind the tree in front. Don’t miss them.”

At the unexpected point, the escort made a surprised look and then nodded his head. Then, he also broke through the wall and informed the other escorts in the next room.

‘The number of people here is about twenty. On the other hand, our personnel is a total of five. We have to take care of the enemy in one go with the first surprise attack.’

I watched the movements outside with the formation and then gave a signal through the hole that had been made in an instant.

“Now!”

At the same time, the escorts who had kicked open the door and had rushed out in all directions cut down the monks who had been surrounding the guest building in an instant.

“……!”

The monks who collapsed without even being able to scream, as it had happened in an instant. The fact that we had decided to take on one person each in advance was a major factor.

‘As expected, they were trying to attack us.’

I looked at the monks whose necks had been cut while holding a sword and looked around.

But as if they had been waiting for a situation like this, before I knew it, madmen dressed in monk’s robes were standing in all directions, surrounding the guest building.

A night with a halo around the moon. The monks who had flocked after smelling the blood looked at us and shone their red eyes.

“…Oh dear, the share to be divided tonight has decreased.”

The high-ranking monk who was standing in the middle of them stared this way and licked his lips.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep