Chapter 10: Day 10

“This is….”

The mask, the book.
And the pill.

The moment she looked at them, the girl felt something pierce through her entire body.

She knew these things.

No, more accurately, the moment she looked at them, she knew what they were.

The name of the mask in the shape of a demon was Ninefold Demonic Mask.

Nine and one.

One and nine, a mask modeled after the form of a demon.

The name of the book was Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art.

A body refining technique that devoured souls.
And converted the swallowed souls into explosive power, dwelling in one’s body.

The name of the pill was Hundred Return Pill.

A pill made from the hearts of one hundred ordinary people.

None of them were ordinary items.

The Ninefold Demonic Mask had the power to stimulate the primal fear inherent in humans and break down the mind just by looking at it.

The Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art was a body refining technique and one of the forbidden Demonic Arts among cultivators.

The Hundred Return Pill was not particularly special.
It was just a pill made by condensing the souls of one hundred ordinary people.

Things that should never exist in the White Snake Gate, which advocated for the righteous path.

Why were these things in the White Snake Gate?
And in the basement of the library at that.

No, perhaps they were hidden from the world through this kind of seal because they couldn’t be handled recklessly.

However, all of that was of no importance to the girl.

What was important was.

“Magical power… is accumulating-!”

Heh, with a dry laugh.

The girl shouted, black light streaming from her eyes.

Magical power.

The magical power that had disappeared without a trace no matter how much she tried to accumulate it until now was filling her danjeon.

What the girl did was simple.

She just skimmed through the incantation of the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art and recited it.

That simple action was giving the girl the ‘magical power’ she had so desperately wanted.

But.
That’s why the girl had a question.

The Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art was a Demonic Art that raised one’s realm by extracting and devouring the souls of ordinary people and cultivators alike.

To begin the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art, one inevitably needed human souls.

To begin, at least ten souls were needed.

And to elevate its realm, hundreds or thousands of souls had to be devoured.

Of course, if it were the souls of cultivators, the effect would be maximized.

However, the girl did not meet any of those conditions.

Nevertheless, the girl had not only begun the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art, but her realm was already close to perfection.

Even at this moment, the girl could use the magical power accumulated in her danjeon to unleash the power of the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art without any filtration.

It was an incomprehensible phenomenon.

Could it be that she was dreaming?

Unable to overcome the obsession to somehow accumulate magical power, did she create this situation through a dream?

It was the moment when the girl unknowingly had that thought.

Whoosh-.

A sharp sound coming from not far away.

The moment the girl instinctively took a step forward, she instinctively concentrated magical power throughout her body according to the guidance of the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art.

Kwagagagak!

Six somethings that popped out from somewhere touched the girl’s body, and a huge explosion occurred.

A powerful explosion that seemed to be able to shatter even steel.

However, even in that powerful explosion, the girl was not injured in any way.
There wasn’t even a single scorch mark.

Also, the girl knew what had struck her body.

In the past.
The not-too-distant past.

Just four years ago.

When she was captured by the ‘old man’.

‘Uncle Baek’ who saved her then…….

“Six Flicking Fingers Sword Art?”

Also, one of the metal attribute cultivation methods placed in the library.

As the girl recognized it and turned around, there stood Uncle Baek.
No, Outer Elder Baek Ah, looking at her with blazing eyes.

“What are you doing here.”

“Well.”

At Outer Elder Baek Ah’s question, the girl answered softly.

There was no longer any madness to be found in the girl.

When she found the mask, the Ninefold Demonic Mask.

When she found the Demonic Art, the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art.

When she found the pill, the Hundred Return Pill.

The madness that had filled the girl to the core disappeared without a trace.

No, no.

The point at which the madness disappeared was not then.

It was a little earlier.

Was it when she walked through the passage?

No.

A little before that.
A little more before that.

Was it when she found the wooden door that blocked the passage where these three treasures were sleeping?

No, no.

A little later than that.

Yes.

The black smoke that spewed out when she opened the door.

Every time she took a breath of that smoke, the madness began to disappear.

“Those are treasures.
Come out now.”

Outer Elder Baek Ah, who frowned at the girl’s ever-changing expression, said.

Treasures.

That was true.

The Ninefold Demonic Mask had the power of a demon.

The Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art was a Demonic Art, and the Hundred Return Pill was simple, but it was a pill that helped in the training of Demonic Arts.

If these weren’t called treasures, what could be called treasures?

But.

“Uncle Baek.
Do you know something?”

The girl said with a grin.

Outer Elder Baek Ah frowned at the smile, feeling something twisted in it.

“What is it?”

“Me.
I finally accumulated magical power.”

Accumulated magical power?

Outer Elder Baek Ah’s eyes widened slightly.

She accumulated magical power.

Just how?

For nearly four years… no, to be more precise, for three years, even though he had spared no support, she was a piece of trash that couldn’t accumulate even a single speck of magical power.

Now she said she had accumulated magical power?

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

It didn’t matter.

Whether that piece of trash had accumulated magical power now or not, it didn’t matter at all.

No, it was rather good.

If she had accumulated magical power, the result created when that piece of trash was used as a ‘material’ later would be even better.

So, first, he had to get that piece of trash.
No, that ‘material’ out of here.

“Wait.”

Outer Elder Baek Ah suddenly muttered.

It was strange.

Strange.
Strange.
And strange again.

Come to think of it, how was that material here?

At first, he was so flustered by the fact that ‘the basement’ had been opened that he didn’t think about it.

This place was a place that was strictly managed even within the White Snake Gate.

And when he first brought that material to the library, he had said ‘do not go to the basement’.

However, it was a kind of verbal command.

By first informing all the disciples visiting the library of the existence of the basement.

Everything related to ‘the basement of the library’ was erased from their minds.

But.

How did that material get here?

She said she had accumulated magical power, right?

Was it related to that?

“That can’t be.”

Outer Elder Baek Ah’s expression hardened.

How much magical power could she have accumulated?

The technique engraved in this library was created by eight Golden Core stage cultivators gathered together.

Not one, but eight gathered together to create the basement.

It was not something that a mere Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, that too, one who had just begun to accumulate magical power, could shake off.

“What are you thinking so much about?”

Flinch-.

When did she approach?

Outer Elder Baek Ah unknowingly took a step back from the girl… the material who suddenly appeared and spoke in front of him.

At the same time.

“Kueeuk..”

Outer Elder Baek Ah clutched his face and let out a painful groan.

The material that appeared in front of him.
No, the girl’s face was already covered with the Ninefold Demonic Mask.

And the moment their eyes met, the primal fear that invaded tried to devour his mind.

Fortunately, the opponent was still in a situation where she could not fully utilize the power of the Ninefold Demonic Mask.

Outer Elder Baek Ah, a Golden Core stage cultivator, was able to shake off that fear, taking some damage.

Of course.

“Cough.”

Outer Elder Baek Ah coughed up a mouthful of red blood.

Mixed in the red blood coughed up on the floor were pieces of internal organs, indicating that he had suffered extreme internal injuries just by shaking off the fear transmitted by the mask.

Nevertheless, Outer Elder Baek Ah let out a hollow laugh at the fact that this was ‘some damage’.

The girl continued to speak, looking at Outer Elder Baek Ah.

“And you know what.
I now know what I’m talented in.”

“Yes.
What is the talent you have.”

“It’s Demonic Arts.”

The girl said in an innocent and pure voice.

The moment she put on the mask, the girl realized.

Why she hadn’t been able to accumulate magical power until now.

The truth was surprisingly simple.

The girl hadn’t been unable to accumulate magical power.

Through four years of effort, the girl had already accumulated a vast amount of magical power in her danjeon.

However, the problem was that the accumulated magical power was vastly different from that of ordinary cultivators.

The magical power that the girl had accumulated was similar to that of the so-called Demonic Cultivators.

It was similar to the Demonic Qi possessed by cultivators who practiced Demonic Arts.

No, it was Demonic Qi itself.

That which had been sleeping.
When the girl came into contact with the Ninefold Demonic Mask and the Ninefold Hell Body Explosion Art, it awoke from its deep and long slumber and exerted its presence.

In the first place, the reason why the girl couldn’t accumulate magical power was simple.

The Demonic Qi that had already taken root in her danjeon swallowed everything.

The girl had been unknowingly providing ‘food’ to the Demonic Qi.

The only question was, why was there already magical power, Demonic Qi, in her danjeon?

Meanwhile, Outer Elder Baek Ah trembled at the enormous Demonic Qi flowing from the girl wearing the mask.

And at the form of a demon created by that Demonic Qi gathering behind the girl.

And Baek Ah realized.

A body that was already complete beyond the Qi Condensation stage and in the Foundation Establishment stage from birth?

A one spiritual root user?
Excellent comprehension?

Of course, those in themselves were blessed talents for a cultivator.

However, the real talent that the material in front of him had.
No, the real talent that the girl had.

‘Talent as a Demonic Cultivator!’

Why didn’t he realize it sooner?

If only he had known a little earlier.
Before that girl discovered this place, if he had known that talent.

Then.

‘I wouldn’t have waited four years, I would have just killed her from the beginning!’

Demonic Cultivators were the enemies of all cultivators.

They were beings who defied the natural order and toyed with human ethics.

Their growth rate and strength, cultivated through bizarre and terrifying methods unimaginable to humans, overwhelmed ordinary cultivators.

Of course, because of that, the limits of Demonic Cultivators were very clear.

But.

‘I don’t see that limit in that child.’

A demon’s form behind her back.

The girl approaching him, wearing the Ninefold Demonic Mask on her face.

Baek Ah couldn’t even fathom the talent of the Demonic Cultivator that had come so close to him.

Huh?

Wait.

Come so close?

Just when.

“When…?”

Kwang-!

The moment Outer Elder Baek Ah muttered in a dazed voice, a huge explosion occurred in the girl’s body, which had come so close.

The intense shock and flames created by the explosion originating from the girl’s body spread in all directions, engulfing Outer Elder Baek Ah to begin with.

Beyond the hall.
Through the passage.
Breaking the wooden door.

Finally, it turned the interior of the library into a mess.