Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1365. Northbound (5)

What a bizarre sight that was.

The poorly maintained road with no streetlights was illuminated by a speeding jeep. And its faint rear lamps cast weak light on pitch-black something chasing after it.

What the hell is that?!

Chang Piljae reflexively stomped on the jeep’s accelerator.

He wasn’t sure what that thing was, other than it creeped him out in all sorts of indescribable ways. His instincts screamed at him to get as far away from that black thing as possible.

But that tide of darkness easily exceeded the speed of the aging jeep. Like an unstoppable tsunami wave, the darkness loomed closer and closer until it was right over the fleeing vehicle.

“Hmm!”

Kang Jin-Ho harrumphed quietly while extending his hands to his left and right.

Shwwwiiiing!

The Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne revealed themselves from subspace as the sharp noises of blades leaving their confines rang out in the air.

SLASH!

Kang Jin-Ho cross-slashed his favorite swords and split the darkness apart in a cross shape.

A small fissure split open within the black wave, before the darkness was completely torn apart along with the noise of silk ripping apart. It was as if the Red Sea was splitting open once more.

That was when a pitch-black silhouette jumped out from the wave. It swung its sharp claws at Kang Jin-Ho’s head.

Claaang!

The Crimson Destiny blocked the claws while the Azuremourne stabbed into the defenseless silhouette itself.

Shuffle...

Kang Jin-Ho watched his weapon cut into the figure, yet...

What?

He didn’t perceive the distinct sensation of cutting through flesh. Kang Jin-Ho’s brows rose slightly higher just then. However, that was when...!

KWA-BOOOOOOM!

Something exploded underneath the jeep, flinging the surprisingly heavy vehicle up in the air.

“Uwaaaaaahk?!”

Chang Piljae screamed when his view was dominated by the empty night sky first before it abruptly swapped with the road below. He screamed even more desperately after realizing that the jeep was spinning in the air!

“Hold on tight!” Lee Hyeon-Su roared loudly while reaching out. He shoved Chang Piljae’s body back into the driver’s seat.

“Huph!”

Just before the airborne jeep was about to crash-land on its open roof, Kang Jin-Ho slapped the ground with the Crimson Destiny.

Whoosh!

The jeep carrying three adult males spun around like a toy before landing on its tires. Of course, physics meant the jeep bounced up again and precariously teetered on its sides. However, it eventually stopped rocking about and regained its stability.

“Hu-waaaah...”

Just as Chang Piljae let out a relieved gasp, Lee Hyeon-Su yelled at him again.

“The wheel! The steering wheel! Don’t let it go!”

“O-oh, crap!”

Chang Piljae freaked out and grabbed the steering wheel again before stomping hard on the accelerator to the point of nearly breaking his foot.

Kang Jin-Ho stood in the jeep’s load bay and scanned the scenery behind him. The corners of his lips gradually curled up.

As for Lee Hyeon-Su, he was being pummeled by this powerful confusion. That thing, it seemed so... familiar, but how?

Its pitch-black demonic qi, that phantom-like figure, the inhumanly bizarre movements and the body shape...

Although not as high class as Kang Jin-Ho, that darkness seemed to resemble him in some ways. No, to be more precise...

Is that a demonic cultivator?

That was the image of a demonic cultivator... No, the demonic arts practitioner Lee Hyeon-Su held in his mind before running into Kang Jin-Ho. But what did that even mean?

“The Blood Cult, is it?”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes.

Anyone mastering demonic cultivation arts was a demonic cultivator. And the demon cult ruled over the demonic cultivators. However, that didn’t mean every demonic cultivator under the sun was affiliated with the cult.

As a matter of fact, the way of the demon cult was simply one branch of demonic arts. Since it happened to be the strongest and exerted the greatest influence, most people thought of the demon cult as the sole path in demonic cultivation, but that wasn’t true. Back when Kang Jin-Ho was a denizen of Zhongyuan, other demonic paths also existed.

One of those was called the Blood Mara Cult.[1]

While the demon cult used its influence and destructive power to rule over Zhongyuan, the Blood Mara Cult was the home to all sorts of evil sorcery and inhuman spells. Things like human sacrifices and other evil demonic practices that brought much infamy to the name of demonic cultivation all originated from this Blood Cult.

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a ferocious smirk. Even his eyes began glowing blood-red. It was not because he found this situation humorous, however.

The Blood Cult’s martial arts consisted of all things evil and vile. To properly master its techniques, one had to sacrifice countless fellow human beings. That was why even the other demonic cultivators belittled and shunned the members of the Blood Cult.

But now, the martial arts of the Blood Cult were being unleashed by someone from the People’s Liberation Army? If that wasn’t it, maybe the hidden descendants of the Blood Cult had joined hands with the Chinese military in order to ensure their continued survival.

Whatever the truth was, it still didn’t change the fact that this situation was quite bizarre.

“Kyah-aaaaah!”

The blood cultist, its body cloaked in a thick veil of pitch-black demonic qi, charged toward Kang Jin-Ho while its figure stretched like a string. Claws dyed in the color of blood rapidly extended from its hands.

Kang Jin-Ho glared coldly at the incoming claws before suddenly lashing out with his sword.

Claaaang!

As the noise of metal viciously clashing against another metal rocked the air, all the claws of the blood cultist got chopped off and flew away.

“Kiiigigigigik!”

However, new crimson claws rapidly extended from the same spots before snaking their way toward Kang Jin-Ho’s torso.

Lee Hyeon-Su, who had been looking behind him while holding on to the back of his seat, could hardly believe his wide-open eyes.

What the f*ck is that?

What was he even seeing here?

The Blood Cult’s martial arts easily surpassed the “common sense” associated with average martial arts. As such, Lee Hyeon-Su just couldn’t understand what he was witnessing here.

“Keuh...”

However, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to know what to expect, judging from how he took aim with his Crimson Destiny!

KWA-AHHHH!

Pitch-black demonic qi fired out from the blade like cannon shells and tore apart the blood cultist’s figure into pieces.

“Kyaaaaaaaahgh!”

It seemed his attack worked this time. The blood cultist screeched and howled like a monster. That was when Lee Hyeon-Su saw something quite terrifying.

The torn body pieces of the blood cultist landed on the road, only to wiggle around before rapidly gathering in one place. And then... those bits and pieces became a whole person once more! Not stopping there, the creature resumed charging at the jeep on all fours next!

Lee Hyeon-Su reflexively cried out, “What the f*ck is that?!”

Wasn’t that far too outrageous to be real?

Chang Piljae cried out in alarm. “Mister Lee! Mister Lee!”

“Just focus on driving!”

“No, Mister Lee! Look!”

“Argh! Don’t pay attention and just keep driving, okay?!”

“Dammit, man! Look at the front! The front!”

“Huh?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly turned his head to stare at the road ahead.

“...! Heol?!”

There were... two of them?!

Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes clapped on the figure of a pitch-black shadow blocking the road far ahead. This creature, seemingly under a flapping cloak of darkness, suddenly raised its arm high up above its head before chopping down viciously.

Split!

That was when the sharp noise of something splitting apart registered in Lee Hyeon-Su’s hearing.

What? What’s splitting apart?

Before Lee Hyeon-Su could figure out what happened...!

Crack, creak...!

Noises of metal twisting and cracking hit his hearing next. Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly turned his head to look at Chang Piljae, but for some reason... That man was seemingly drifting further away?

“...?! What the f*ck! He IS drifting away!”

The jeep was split precisely in the middle. The two separated sides began drifting apart next.

Lee Hyeon-Su swore loudly while holding on to the overturning jeep for his dear life.

“Uwaaaaah?! You son of a b*tch!”

Bang! Boom! Tumble, booooom!

The sliced-apart jeep crashed and tumbled horribly against the road. As it had been driving as fast as its crude engine could push it, Lee Hyeon-Su had to suffer from horrifying pain akin to bones breaking every time the vehicle tumbled around on the ground. But he gritted his teeth and held on to his seat.

Screeeeh, creaaaak! Bang!

The jeep slid down the road while leaving behind bright sparks. Eventually, though, the friction slowed it down until it finally came to a noisy stop.

“Urgh...!”

The seat belt buckle didn’t want to let go, so Lee Hyeon-Su cut the belt off with his bare hands, then crawled out of the wrecked jeep. After getting some distance away, he somehow pushed himself back up. Judging from the stinging pain coming from his eyes, blood must be trickling down from somewhere in his head.

He turned his head and spotted Kang Jin-Ho standing tall not too far away.

“Assembly Master!”

“Mm!”

After confirming that Kang Jin-Ho was unhurt, Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly scanned the vicinity and discovered the other half of the jeep in the far off distance. Without a moment’s delay, he rushed over there and pulled Chang Pilhae out from the wreckage.

“A-aaaahk! Be careful! Take it easy!”

Since Chang Piljae could shout in pain like that, it seemed he was mostly okay, too. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Ouch?! Wait! F*ck! Don’t pull, okay! Wait! Ouchouchouch?! Stop pulling on my leg! I think it’s broken! Stop! Pulling! You moron!”

Actually, maybe it was only his head that was okay?

Lee Hyeon-Su somehow managed to drag the irate Chang Piljae away from the wreckage to where Kang Jin-Ho was, then helped the injured man up to his feet.

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the two. “Are you okay?”

“More or less, sir. However, just what are we dealing with here? Why didn’t that dude die after you sliced him apart?”

“Because that’s not a living person,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su blinked his eyes. “I’m sorry?”

If that wasn’t a living person... Could it be a zombie?

“In magic, you could say it’s a summoned creature.”

“Sir... I thought we’re in China?”

“China also has various bizarre spells and techniques too, you know?”

...And the Blood Mara Cult was basically the progenitor of bizarre and evil sorcery techniques, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho looked away from his companions and stared at a point in the distant road ahead. A person was strolling between the two limply swaying dark figures.

“That’s a... person?”

Lee Hyeon-Su asked curiously, prompting Kang Jin-Ho to nod in silence.

Clomp, clomp, clomp...!

This person, a man, leisurely closed the distance, which made it easier to notice his People’s Liberation Army uniform. The two ‘creatures’ began swimming around this man as if to provide protection.

His face was eerily pale; the vibe his looks gave off was someone stuck in the gap between boyhood and manhood. This man eventually stopped approaching after reaching a certain distance away from Kang Jin-Ho’s group.

“It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Kang Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho calmly asked, “And who are you?”

“Your enemy, of course.”

“...”

The man casually shrugged. “I told you the truth, so what’s up with your expression?”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. Many people tried to block his path over the years, but this man must be the first to do so with such brazenness.

“You must be a descendant of the Blood Cult, then.”

“I knew you’d recognize it right away. I heard all about how the demon cult bastards started drooling like dogs after a bone when they were informed of your appearance. In that case, you must be this era’s demon cult leader?”

The man smiled strangely. It was difficult to judge whether he was smiling or crying from his distorted expression.

Kang Jin-Ho’s head cocked to the side. “What about you, then?”

“Who, me? Well, I’m the People’s Liberation Army’s... No, hang on. That’s not quite right, is it? How about this, then? I’m this era’s Blood Cult leader.”

“Are you saying you’re the Blood Demon?”

“I have to say, I’m not a fan of that nickname you people have given us. It’s childish, right? Still... I won’t deny it. We’ve been called that for most of our existence, anyway.”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up. “So, are you going to stop me?”

“Eiii~, of course not.” The man hurriedly waved both of his hands in denial. “I might be a fearless idiot, but not to the extent of willingly fighting the infamous Crimson Demon.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Are you also...?”

“Nope, please don’t misunderstand me. The legend of ‘Heavenly Beginning, Crimson End’ didn’t just get passed down in the demon cult, after all. Every single stupid demon cult bastard kept yapping on and on about this Heavenly Beginning, Crimson End nonsense... With how often I’ve heard about it, I'd be an idiot if I didn’t know about the one and only Crimson Demon.”

A twisted smirk formed on the Blood Demon’s face.

“I’ll be honest, that was some scary sh*t, right there. Do you have any idea how hard it was to create these Dark Jiangshis? But you’ve utterly wrecked one of them so easily. Our losses will be pretty substantial this time...”[2]

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. “It sounds like... You’ve underestimated me a lot.”

In the past, the mere likes of the Blood Demon would never dare stand before Kang Jin-Ho like this.

During the era when Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor ruled the world, the Blood Cultists had to abandon their home turf to go into hiding like scared rats. But now, a mere brat dared to run his mouth off before Kang Jin-Ho?

The Blood Demon chuckled weirdly. “I can see that you’re furious. But... Please don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that I’m not scared of you, but this is how I usually talk, you see? The truth is, I’m about to wet my pants, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho coldly asked, “Are you done yapping now?”

“Nope. There’s one more thing,” the Blood Demon casually flicked his finger. “Honestly, I didn’t want to do this, but what choice do I have when my boss isn’t interested in listening to me? Do you know how you can catch your prey with a slow-ass arrow?”

“...”

“The correct answer... is to tie down the prey so that the arrows can land on target.”

That was when pitch-black something urgently shot up from the ground below Kang Jin-Ho’s feet. And then...!

KAAAA-BOOOOOOOM!!!

Eardrum-rupturing explosion noises rocked the surroundings as dozens of rockets slammed into Kang Jin-Ho’s position.

BOOOOOM!!!

KA-BOOOOOM!!!

The darkness of the night was rocked by a series of powerful world-shaking explosions.

1. Mara is a malignant celestial Asura king in Buddhism who tried to stop Siddhartha Gautama from his spiritual awakening. ☜

2. A jiangshi is a type of undead creature or reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklores. ☜