Chapter 118: The Smile of a Demon
The place we arrived at was Falling Death Valley.
Falling Death Valley.
A valley where lives fell away.
The name was no exaggeration.
Cliffs rose on both sides, so high they seemed to block out the sky, while violent currents twisted through the depths below.
The farther one went inside, the more the rocks, waterways, and cliffs tangled together, confusing the senses.
One wrong step...
and a person could plunge straight down into the abyss.
And I knew this place.
Before my regression...
during the time when the Righteous Alliance had declared all-out war against the Demonic Cult and marched toward its main headquarters...
I had once passed through Falling Death Valley.
This place had become one of the fiercest battlefields between the Righteous Alliance and the Demonic Cult.
Countless corpses had littered the area.
The nauseating stench of blood had mixed with the mist, stinging the nose and eyes.
As those horrific memories resurfaced...
my stomach churned.
Then—
“Looks like we've reached the location marked on the map.”
Jin Gwangung turned toward Moyong Seong.
“Now I'd like a proper explanation.”
His expression sharpened.
“What exactly are these suspicious movements of the Demonic Cult you mentioned?”
Moyong Seong leisurely looked deeper into the valley.
“Over the past month, we've repeatedly received reports of people believed to be members of the Demonic Cult appearing in Falling Death Valley.”
Jin Gwangung immediately responded.
“Falling Death Valley is already close to the Demonic Cult's territory.”
“Surely you didn't make such a fuss just because they occasionally sent scouts to inspect the area.”
Instead of answering...
Moyong Seong raised a hand and pointed beneath the shadow of a nearby boulder.
Everyone naturally looked in that direction.
We walked over.
And then—
What's this?
There were traces on the ground where a fire had been hastily covered with dirt.
Someone had made camp here.
Judging by the condition...
it had been used only a day or two ago.
Jin Gwangung's expression hardened immediately.
Of course it did.
This wasn't the kind of trace left by a scouting party that had merely passed through.
Scouts who only swept the area and withdrew would never leave behind a site like this.
The remnants of the fire meant someone had stayed here for at least a day or two...
possibly even longer...
using the area as a temporary base.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Then Moyong Seong continued.
“As you can see...”
“it's difficult to dismiss this as simple reconnaissance.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“And signs like these have been found repeatedly throughout Falling Death Valley.”
“Especially over the past month.”
His voice grew colder.
“The Demonic Cult has been moving continuously around this area.”
“Almost as though they're searching for something.”
The atmosphere grew even heavier.
Jin Gwangung folded his arms and looked over the traces once again.
The Kunlun Taoists with us had equally grim expressions.
Members of the Demonic Cult generally disliked staying away from their main territory for long periods.
If they had established bases in the middle of the border region and were conducting long-term searches...
...then this wasn't something we could take lightly.
After a moment, Jin Gwangung looked toward Moyong Seong.
“If what you say is true...”
“then there is a real possibility the Demonic Cult is plotting something in Falling Death Valley.”
Moyong Seong nodded.
“That's why we requested Kunlun's help.”
“We wanted to verify our information directly with people from Kunlun who are familiar with the terrain around this region.”
Jin Gwangung gave a short nod.
“Then what we need to do is obvious.”
Moyong Seong's lips curved upward.
“Yes.”
“We conduct our own search.”
His smile sharpened.
“And once we find where those damned Demonic Cult bastards are hiding...”
“we wipe them all out.”
We decided to begin searching Falling Death Valley immediately.
But the valley was far too large to search efficiently while staying together as one group.
So we split into three teams.
Five people per team.
Each group included someone from Kunlun with experience in Falling Death Valley.
Jin Gwangung formed one team with four members of the Righteous Alliance.
Two Kunlun Taoists joined three Righteous Alliance martial artists to form another.
And I...
was placed in the final team.
One other Kunlun Taoist.
Three Righteous Alliance martial artists, including Moyong Seong.
The moment the decision was made...
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Of all people, I had to end up in the same group as that irritating bastard.
My mood had already been bad since arriving in Falling Death Valley.
Part of that was because of the terrible memories from my previous life.
But what bothered me most...
was simply having to move together with Moyong Seong.
Perhaps he felt my gaze.
He briefly turned toward me.
Then...
gave me a strange smile.
I didn't like that smile one bit.
I ignored him and focused on the mission.
My mood was one thing.
The task came first.
Our group was assigned to search the waterways in the lower part of Falling Death Valley.
Because the terrain was so rough, the five of us couldn't move closely together.
I examined the left rock ledges with one of the Righteous Alliance martial artists.
The other Kunlun Taoist searched the right side.
Moyong Seong and the remaining Alliance martial artist covered the rear.
The terrain was so vast and broken that the five of us inevitably spread far apart.
How much time passed?
Then suddenly—
“Kugh!”
A sharp scream tore through the air of the gorge.
What?!
I turned instinctively.
Then exploded forward with my movement technique toward the direction of the scream.
Wet rocks and vegetation flashed past my eyes.
Before long...
I spotted figures in the distance.
The members of our group.
Including Moyong Seong.
“Over here!”
One of the Righteous Alliance martial artists shouted toward me with a grim expression.
I accelerated further.
Soon...
I reached them.
Moyong Seong and the other Alliance martial artists were staring down at the ground with stiff expressions.
A person lay there.
It was the Kunlun Taoist who had been searching the right side.
I immediately approached him.
"..."
