Chapter 427: Let the Scent of Blood and Alcohol Be Ours Alone
Chapter 427: Let the Scent of Blood and Alcohol Be Ours Alone
The two energies clashed in a suffocating standoff.
Had anyone stood between them, even a master would have struggled to endure the pressure. It wasn't merely because the auras the two men exuded were powerful; it was the very nature of their power. Simply being in their presence induced dizziness, nausea, and a thick mental fog. Overpowering it all was the pungent, metallic scent of blood and the heavy, cloying aroma of alcohol.
"This is too much work."
The Drunken Demon was the first to withdraw his Liquor Qi. He had already exhausted a significant portion of his internal energy dealing with the North Blood Sect’s lackeys, and he was currently nursing injuries—though shallow—sustained from their Self-Destruction Art. In many ways, he was at a disadvantage.
He decided there was no point in wasting further energy on a battle of wills.
With an expression that suggested he had utterly lost interest in the posturing, the Drunken Demon took a swig from his flask—his 'Wine of Defeat.'
"Kaaah, it’s bitter. So bitter."
In contrast, the Blood King did not withdraw his Blood Energy, leaving the surroundings saturated in a crimson haze.
The aura was thick enough to choke a man with the stench of gore, but the Drunken Demon took a deep breath, seemingly savoring the scent.
"Does your blood taste like this, too?"
The Blood King glared at him, his eyes demanding an explanation for the nonsensical question.
"My blood probably tastes like top-shelf booze, but is yours really this foul?"
Perhaps because the question concerned blood, the Blood King actually deigned to answer.
"The day will never come when you learn the taste of my blood. Not you, nor anyone else."
At that, the Drunken Demon provoked him.
He clenched and unclenched his fist in front of his chest, mimicking the rhythmic pop of the Self-Destruction Art. He was signaling that he would taste the Blood King's blood then—when the man was forced to blow himself up. It wasn't just a provocation; it was a blatant, stinging insult.
The Blood King felt his blood run cold with fury.
He’s mocking me by mimicking the Self-Destruction Art? A strange sensation rose within him, matching his surging rage. No one had ever dared to be this insolent to him.
He knew it was a taunt, but it was one he couldn't ignore. After all, who was the reason he’d had to abandon his ritual and come out here in the first place?
The Drunken Demon’s provocation didn't end there. He pulled open his robe, revealing the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Thread wrapped around his chest, now stained with crimson.
"Your blood will end up on this too, won't it? I'll have to wash it clean before I return it."
The Blood King recognized the artifact. It was a gift from the Young Cult Leader.
"Did you become the Young Cult Leader’s dog for a measly trinket like that?"
It was a sharp counter-provocation. However, when it came to Geom Mu-geuk, insults regarding his loyalty never landed.
"The dog is the Young Cult Leader."
Ignoring the Blood King’s bewildered stare, the Drunken Demon continued with his cryptic words.
"You won't believe it, but the Young Cult Leader becomes a dog for our sake."
The story of how the Young Cult Leader had barked alongside the Poison King in the training grounds was legendary within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Drunken Demon didn't bother explaining further. He didn't have the patience to make the Blood King understand, nor would the man believe him if he spent all day trying. One could never truly understand a person like Geom Mu-geuk without experiencing him firsthand.
"But can you really afford to be this relaxed? Do you truly believe your subordinates will arrive first?"
Red smoke was still billowing from various points in the distance.
"Our Young Cult Leader is coming, too."
"Are you anxious? Afraid your Young Cult Leader will come here only to die?"
"He won't die. Not him."
The Drunken Demon was certain of that. Yet, the reason he hoped the boy wouldn't arrive was simple:
"I just don't want him to have to fight people like us."
"People like us?"
"Yeah. Monsters like us."
Without elaborating, the Drunken Demon took a long, deep swig of wine. Liquor Qi began to flicker around his body like ethereal violet flames.
"So, let the foul scent of blood and alcohol be ours alone to smell."
Sssssss.
A thick mist rose around the two men, and the Drunken Demon vanished into the Liquor Qi.
The Blood King raised his hand, trying to touch the vapor obscuring his vision. It looked like mere mist, but it was a potent Liquor Qi that already made his head swim with a hint of intoxication.
While the North Blood Sect warriors had been fighting, the Blood King had been contemplating only one thing: How will I fight within this Liquor Qi? How do I break it?
He had found his solution.
Focusing all his senses to prepare for an ambush, the Blood King thrust his hand forward. Intense heat began to radiate from his fingertips.
This was his answer: To burn away the Liquor Qi with Extreme Yang Energy.
By its nature, Liquor Qi was highly flammable. The Qi the Drunken Demon was emitting now was so concentrated it should have ignited instantly.
Flames erupted from the Blood King’s fingertips.
Whoosh!
As the mist began to incinerate, a satisfied glint flashed in the Blood King’s eyes. But it was short-lived; the flames died out almost instantly.
He had expected the fire to roar through the mist, but it only burned where his Extreme Yang Energy was directly applied before flickering out.
He unleashed his energy even more powerfully.
Fwoooosh!
Again, it burned a small pocket of air before dying. The Liquor Qi rushed back to fill the void immediately.
Then, the Drunken Demon’s slurred voice drifted through the mist.
"Play with fire and you'll piss the bed tonight."
The Blood King ignored the jab and reached out to grab the flowing vapor. It felt as though it should burn, so why didn't it?
"You can try all day, but it won't catch. My Liquor Qi is just like its master—it's too passionate to be consumed by mere flames."
Swish!
The Blood King irritably threw a palm strike toward the source of the voice.
Boom!
The sound of a distant wall shattering echoed, but there was no cry of pain.
Whiz!
The Blood King spun around and caught an object flying at him from behind. It was a stone, traveling at a terrifying velocity.
Crush.
The stone crumbled into powder in his grip. Both the internal power behind the throw and the force used to stop it were so immense that the object simply disintegrated.
"Do you think you can kill me with a pebble?"
"That's why I prepared something bigger."
Whoosh!
A massive stone lantern from the yard came hurtling through the air.
Crash!
The moment the lantern was smashed to pieces by the Blood King’s palm...
The Drunken Demon lunged from behind the debris, thrusting a dagger.
Shing!
The stone lantern had been a mere distraction.
The Blood King twisted, the dagger grazing his chest as it aimed for his heart, and countered with a devastating palm strike.
Boom!
Palm met palm. The resulting shockwave blasted the Drunken Demon back, allowing him to vanish into the mist once more.
The Blood King’s expression darkened. The Drunken Demon’s ambush had been incredibly sharp. If he had succumbed to the arrogance of thinking a stone lantern was beneath him, he would have been impaled.
The fight, which had started with a tense standoff, was now descending into a violent, high-speed struggle.
This time, the Blood King sensed the Drunken Demon first. He lunged forward, erupting with Blood Energy.
Bang!
Fist collided with fist.
Slide. Both men were pushed back, retreating the exact same number of steps. They were perfectly matched in raw strength.
Next, palm met palm as they traded complex techniques. Again, they were pushed back an equal distance.
It was then that the Blood King unleashed his unique martial art.
As he was sliding backward, beads of blood suddenly hovered over his palm. In the brief moment of the clash and retreat, he had activated Flying Dagger Blood Rain from the Ten Thousand Evils Blood Art.
In an instant, the blood beads elongated into lethal daggers.
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
They tore through the space where the Drunken Demon had been standing. The power was incomparable to the version his disciple, Ha Gyeol, had used.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Dozens of holes were punched into the wall behind them. The spread was so dense that anyone in that area would have been turned into a sieve.
However, there was no blood on the wall.
Whoosh.
The Liquor Qi cleared for a moment, revealing the Drunken Demon.
"Wait! Let me catch my breath."
The Drunken Demon took a drink, looking as though he had barely escaped death.
"Take it easy, will you? I thought I'd never get to taste this good stuff again."
The Blood King also took a moment to steady his breathing. Neither had the luxury of meditation to recover energy. Even in this brief pause, their eyes remained locked.
"I feel bad drinking alone."
The Drunken Demon held out his wine bottle toward the Blood King.
"How about a cup?"
The moment those words left his lips...
Cr-crack!
A bolt of Gang Qi, like a stroke of white lightning, fell toward the crown of the Blood King’s head.
The Blood King twisted his body at the last possible second. A deep hole was gouged into the earth where he had stood, smoke rising from the pit. His skull would have been pierced through if he'd been a fraction slower.
The Drunken Demon’s ambush was no ordinary attack. It was the second form of the Wine God Divine Art:
Wine God's Solitary Drink.
The name came from the image of a single bolt of Gang Qi falling from the heavens, resembling a man drinking alone under the stars.
"Is accepting a drink from me really that offensive?"
With a smirk, the Drunken Demon vanished back into the rising Liquor Qi.
The Blood Energy radiating from the Blood King’s body grew even denser, and a crimson light began to glow in his eyes. Fury surged within him; he had come within a hair's breadth of death.
Whether he noticed that anger or not, the Drunken Demon appeared behind him again.
Slash! Slash!
The Drunken Demon’s dagger cut through the air, and the Blood King, spinning rapidly, detonated a palm strike in the void.
"This is going to hurt, you drunkard."
The Drunken Demon looked down at his trembling arm. A red energy was swirling around it like a parasite. He circulated his internal power to shake off the crimson mist. The Blood King’s attacks were incredibly heavy.
"Wipe your own blood before you talk."
The Blood King looked down at his arm. Blood was trickling from a shallow cut.
The Blood King pressed his lips to the wound. The moment he tasted his own blood, the veins on his face bulged. His eyes tore open like a demon's, and Blood Energy erupted from them. His current appearance was enough to strike terror into the heart of any warrior.
Of course, it didn't work on the Drunken Demon. Instead, he pushed harder.
"Why are you looking for the Extreme Cold Body so desperately anyway?"
The corners of the Blood King’s eyes twitched violently. His opponent was focusing his verbal attacks precisely on his most sensitive spots.
"What are you going to do once you extract it? Do you want to become resistant to the cold so you can settle down here in the North Sea?"
Because the voice sounded drunken and casual, it made the Blood King even angrier. The Extreme Cold Body was not a topic to be babbled about by a common drunk.
"As you know, I took the Extreme Cold Body with me. Should I buy you a padded coat as an apology?"
The Drunken Demon seemed to be rambling, but every word was a calculated strike.
"You should have come to us from the start. Ah, or is it because your skills are the worst among your lot? Is that why you were pushed all the way out here to the frozen edge of the world?"
Finally, a curse exploded from the Blood King’s mouth.
"Shut up! You drunken bastard!"
He could endure many things, but he could not stand the suggestion that he was inferior within his organization. He prided himself on being the most capable. That was why he had defied the order to return.
The Liquor Qi also played a part in his agitation. Fighting within the mist, the Blood King had become intoxicated without even realizing it.
Thrust!
Not missing this moment of instability, the Drunken Demon launched another ambush. His dagger pierced the Blood King’s side.
Thwack!
As the Drunken Demon tried to vanish again, the Blood King’s counterattack slammed into his shoulder. In that moment, the Drunken Demon saw it—the Blood King’s eyes were incredibly cold.
The Blood King had been heated when he shouted, but he was ice-cold when he struck. He had been acting agitated to bait the attack.
Daggers flew, and fists swung. Blood Energy and Liquor Qi collided once more. Striking, blocking, rolling—the two were locked in a fierce battle between a dragon and a tiger. Every move was infused with lethal intent. It was a first for both of them—to engage in a life-and-death struggle with such a perfectly matched opponent.
After a bout of close-quarters combat, the Drunken Demon vanished into the mist again. He had expected it, but the Blood King was even more difficult to handle than he'd anticipated.
Moving through the Liquor Qi while taking a drink, the Drunken Demon suddenly stopped.
A single red line was drawn in the air in front of him. He looked to the side. There was a line there, too. Blood Threads were beginning to manifest, one by one. Those lines began to paint a lethal picture, using the mist-like Liquor Qi as their canvas.
The Drunken Demon picked up a stone and threw it at a line.
Slice.
The stone was cut in half as cleanly as if a master’s blade had struck it.
More and more Blood Threads appeared, surrounding him like a spiderweb. It was the Split-Body Blood Net.
The Drunken Demon withdrew his Liquor Qi. As the mist vanished, the dozens of Blood Threads surrounding him became clearly visible. There were already too many; moving was impossible. The only way out was to break through with Body Protection Qi, but that would mean risking severe, perhaps fatal, injury.
Beyond the red lines, the Blood King appeared. His internal energy consumption was extreme, but he was smiling. He was confident this move would end it.
I have him trapped.
As if they were alive, the Blood Threads began to tighten around the Drunken Demon.
The Drunken Demon drew his unique weapon, Blood Tear, from his waist.
"You don't know, do you?"
As he infused his internal energy into Blood Tear, the flask-like weapon vibrated and emitted a brilliant, blinding white light.
The final form of the Wine God Divine Art:
Wine God's Total Intoxication.
The Drunken Demon uncorked Blood Tear and gulped down the liquor inside. The purple Liquor Qi shimmering around his body turned a deep, abyssal black, and a pure white, crazed intoxication began to flow from his eyes.
That madness translated into action. The Drunken Demon reached out and grabbed a razor-sharp Blood Thread with his bare hand.
"When we're drunk, we lose all sense of restraint."