Chapter 146

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Everything around was a sea of red.

Dang Ran-yeong felt a throbbing pulse at his fingertips. As he applied pressure, it beat faster, and when he tore the hand off, blood gushed out, severing it completely. The blood soaking his entire body felt very fragrant and sweet. He trembled at the sensation of controlling not only the outcome of the battle but also the life of his opponent with his own strength.

"Huu..."

His red lips exhaled hot breath. While it might have appeared lustful at a glance, the cruel act of trampling on the corpse that had just breathed its last continued beneath his feet. The corners of his mouth, raised in pleasure from the slaughter, showed no sign of lowering throughout the taking of hundreds of Blood Cult members' lives.

Broken Cloud Valley, where countless livestock had been slaughtered over the years, was teeming with all kinds of insects. This was because the Blood Cult had deliberately left decaying corpses everywhere. The yin energy was so intense that ordinary people couldn't bear it, which was bound to cause strange rumors to circulate.

However, even flying insects or crawling bugs didn't dare approach Dang Ran-yeong, or they died within a certain distance. Such was the intensity of the killing intent emanating from his body.

"Huk, huk, keu, ch-, Heavenly Demon Horse..."

One surviving Blood Cult member muttered, calling out to their god with a face crazed with fear. There had been an unpleasant smell of urine for a while, and indeed, the area between his legs was soaked wet. As Dang Ran-yeong approached, the Blood Cult member convulsed and began to crawl away. But the escape didn't last long.

Crack! With a shattering sound, the Blood Cult member screamed, clutching his broken leg. Dang Ran-yeong broke the other leg as well and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't run away. Aren't I treating you well, befitting your status?"

"Heok, uah, aaak! Aaaak!"

"But why are there so few of you? If you wanted to entertain me, you should have prepared more. I have to ration, and it doesn't even taste good. What should I do, hm?"

Tears, pleas, screams, and blood. The more his opponent suffered, the more invigorated Dang Ran-yeong became, a red glow appearing in his eyes. His vision became even more intoxicated with a brilliant red hue. Splat! With a long spray of blood, the tortured Blood Cult member finally breathed his last.

Dang Ran-yeong's whip, thoroughly soaked in blood, was already lying far away. A martial artist always cherishes their weapon and never thinks of dropping it from their body. This would be even more true during combat. But it was different for Dang Ran-yeong. For him, this wasn't combat.

As he turned his head, searching for the presence of living Blood Cult members, someone blocked his path. It was a woman with a scar on her face, Hwan-hong. Although intense killing intent rose from Dang Ran-yeong's body, Hwan-hong stood firm despite her frightened expression.

"Lord Owner. We need to leave a few for interrogation."

"...Move aside."

"We've already wasted enough time. We should finish up and return now."

The smile on Dang Ran-yeong's face faded. His eyes flickered darkly, and he directed his killing intent towards his clear ally.

Hwan-hong's body tensed as she faced him. Behind her, the giant venomous horned serpent, Yong-rin, slowly raised its head, wrapped its tail around Hwan-hong, and pulled her towards itself. Its head was poised to strike at Dang Ran-yeong at any moment.

"Hey, Ran-yeong. Haven't you played enough?"

Dang Ran-yeong's head turned to the side at the voice calling him. Wi Je-ho was smiling playfully, but his eyes were hard. Somehow, he was already holding his weapon. Both of them faced off against Dang Ran-yeong, ready to attack and defend at any moment. The atmosphere was tense, like an arrow about to be released from a fully drawn bow.

After glaring at them for a long while, Dang Ran-yeong raised his head. He looked up at the sky where a blood-red sunset was falling, then exhaled a long, hot breath. When he opened his eyes after closing them briefly, the killing intent disappeared, and they returned to their usual green hue. Dang Ran-yeong nodded.

"Leave that one out. He can't be allowed to live. There's no point in interrogating him."

The one he pointed to was the executive Tian Quan. He was unconscious due to severe injuries, with blood continuously flowing from his mouth.

The stars that make up the Big Dipper are: Tian Shu, Kai Yang, Yuheng, Tian Quan, Yao Guang, Tian Ji, and Tian Xuan. Perhaps because their names contained the word "Tian" meaning “Heaven,” his martial arts were much more powerful compared to the three faced earlier, making him quite enjoyable to fight. So much so that Dang Ran-yeong had thrown away his whip and enjoyed mercilessly beating the body with his bare hands.

Seeing Dang Ran-yeong's eyes glisten at the memory, Wi Je-ho quickly stepped forward.

"I'll take care of it."

He swiftly swung his sword and cut off Tian Quan's head. Dang Ran-yeong clicked his tongue in displeasure, but that was all. Hwan-hong and Wi Je-ho relaxed as they saw him bend down to pick up his whip. Dang Ran-yeong swung the whip once to shake off the blood and thought,

'Does fate really exist?'

The hand gripping the whip was trembling slightly. It wasn't from exhaustion. His body, still immersed in the pleasure of slaughter, was convulsing. The ecstasy he had felt while torturing and killing the Blood Cult members hadn't faded yet, and the heat between his legs remained.

Quickly kill the rest of them, tear apart those who dare to block your path... The desire for blood and pain raged fiercely within him. It was an intense impulse that would have overwhelmed ordinary people long ago. However, Dang Ran-yeong suppressed the urge with just one long, deep breath. It was truly terrifying self-control.

At times like this, he felt a familiar irritation rising. This body was his own. He didn't know whether the intense murderous impulse that made him lose his reason was because he was born under the Star of Heavenly Killing, or because of the Blood Cult's machinations. However, his pride would never allow such base impulses to take control of his body.

As his mind cooled, the heat that had gathered in his lower body gradually subsided. Ignoring the strongly rising desire, he counted the number of Blood Cult members lying behind Hwan-hong. There were seven, but one had already died from severe injuries.

"Six should be enough. Have them loaded into the carriage."

At his command, masked figures who had appeared out of nowhere bound the fallen Blood Cult members and hoisted them onto their shoulders. Breathing slowly and sharpening his energy sense, Dang Ran-yeong's gaze turned to one side. There were several pavilions emanating an evil energy. He opened the door to one of them.

As soon as the door opened, an unbearably foul odor wafted out. It was the smell of blood and flesh that had not only rotted but had begun to decompose. As this wasn't the first time he had smelled such an odor or seen such a sight, Dang Ran-yeong merely frowned once.

Surprisingly, the interior of the pavilion was a deep pit, where dozens of livestock carcasses and human corpses were rotting together. All kinds of crawling insects were swarming and teeming inside the pit. Surprisingly, there were none of the flying insects that had been so numerous outside. This was due to the formation set up in the pavilion that blocked everything.

Hwan-hong, who had followed right behind, looked into the pit and said, noticing flesh that was still recognizable,

"This seems to have been made not too long ago."

"Then the disposal should be simple."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Dang Ran-yeong smirked and muttered,

"This is why I didn't bring Beauty. He would have fainted at the sight of this. No, he would have gone into a panic as soon as we entered Broken Cloud Valley."

In fact, it would be fortunate if it ended with just fainting. Since learning about the mind-controlling insects in his body and after fighting the Ink-scaled Centipede, Baek Ri Cheong-ra's fear of insects had become much more severe. Even an ordinary person would have trouble sleeping for days after seeing this bizarre sight, let alone someone who turned pale at the mere mention of insects.

He had seen many martial artists die or become cripples due to heart demons. The most common case was when they suffered a miserable defeat. Other times, it was when they lost a loved one like a lover or family member, were betrayed by a close friend, or suffered a severe shock like the downfall of their family. Even such strong martial artists would collapse helplessly, unable to endure.

Even without such reasons, Dang Ran-yeong knew well that for some people, even insignificant insects could be enough to cause a heart demon.

That wasn't the only problem.

Observing Baek Ri Cheong-ra, he showed typical reactions of someone who had been severely brainwashed for a long time. In this case, "insects" were clearly the forbidden subject.

That's why Dang Ran-yeong was inwardly surprised that Baek Ri Cheong-ra had faced and fought the Ink-scaled Centipede without running away, even if it meant coughing up blood. It was something impossible with ordinary mental strength. However, there was one point that was difficult to understand.

According to his investigation, the reason Baek Ri Cheong-ra became so afraid of insects was because of his mother, Baek Ri Yeong-hye. When he saw testimonies that she had severely abused him using insects from a very young age, he couldn't help but question:

Why did Baek Ri Yeong-hye choose insects, of all things, as the forbidden subject?