Chapter 62: Blood Demon War (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: Blood Demon War (4)
The Third Venerable, Blood King Gu Je-yang, stood with a frozen expression.
After a moment, his face relaxed, and he began to fiddle with the skull head of his staff as if he had no idea what was going on.
"I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about, Young Master. Blood Lord? What on earth does that mean?"
As expected, he was playing innocent.
It made sense. I had just called him the Blood Lord in front of everyone; there was no way he would simply admit to it.
Gu Je-yang’s eyes remained fixed on me, his fingers continuing to twitch against the skull of his staff.
I leveled the tip of the Namcheon Iron Sword at him.
"Take your hand off that staff."
At my warning, the Blood King let out a short, mocking laugh.
Then, his face turned deathly serious.
"I don't know why you're showing such hostility toward me, Young Master, but this old man has not yet recognized you as the Blood Demon. If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to express my regrets."
Ssssss!
A purple haze began to shimmer and rise from the hollow eye sockets of the skull staff.
A foul stench wafted through the air—it was undoubtedly poison.
Just then, Haeakcheon’s voice reached my ears via Sound Transmission.
[What are you doing? That man, Gu Je-yang, is more dangerous than even the First Venerable.]
He was worried about me.
Come to think of it, Haeakcheon had mentioned the Four Venerables and Seven Blood Stars before.
Among them, he had picked Blood King Gu Je-yang as the most troublesome opponent to face.
He was a master of the Poison Hand, ranked among the top three in the Central Plains, and a dangerous man capable of killing dozens or even hundreds with a single gesture.
In a sense, masters of poison arts were monsters who existed in a realm beyond even the Eight Great Masters.
"Young Master. Lower your sword," Gu Je-yang said, his killing intent beginning to leak out.
In response, I gestured with my eyes toward Baek Ryeonha, who was standing there with her sword lowered.
"What did you do to her?"
"What did I do? What nonsense are you spouting? Ah... perhaps you are showing this hostility because I support the Young Lady of the direct lineage?"
Gu Je-yang responded slickly.
He didn't show the slightest hint of agitation. Instead, he tried to use his silver tongue to paint me as a narrow-minded person.
"I understand how you feel. As someone not of the direct line, the only way you could surpass Lady Baek Ryeonha was to be the sole person recognized by the Blood Demon Sword. Since that didn't happen, you've resorted to this... but to act in such a manner..."
"Hahahaha!"
I cut him off with a burst of laughter.
Gu Je-yang frowned, seemingly unable to comprehend my reaction.
Stopping my laughter, I turned my head toward Baek Hye-hyang.
"Do you remember that fake from back then?"
At my question, Baek Hye-hyang’s fine brows furrowed before she spoke.
"Why are you bringing him up?"
It seemed her anger hadn't subsided, considering she had been tricked by him.
Ignoring her irritation, I continued.
"Because that man, the Blood King, is in league with that fake."
"What?"
Baek Hye-hyang’s eyes sharpened as she glared at Blood King Gu Je-yang.
Gu Je-yang raised his skull staff as if the accusation was absurd.
"Young Master. You are crossing the line."
"I don't suppose you'll claim you don't know Mu Ak?"
At those words, Gu Je-yang’s hand, which had been raising the staff, momentarily stiffened.
He probably hadn't expected Mu Ak’s name to come out of my mouth.
Though his pupils trembled slightly, he deliberately kept his voice steady.
"...Who exactly is this Mu Ak you speak of?"
I spoke as if I found his act pathetic.
"To claim you don't know Mu Ak, one of the former Five Great Villains... if you're going to play dumb, you should at least make it believable."
The surrounding crowd began to murmur.
There was no way the Revered Stars wouldn't know of the White-Faced Ghost, Mu Ak, who was once called one of the Five Great Villains.
It seemed I had finally rattled him.
If it were me, I would have asked, 'Are you talking about Mu Ak of the Five Great Villains?' to deflect.
Aware of the eyes focusing on him, Gu Je-yang raised his voice.
"Do you think I'm asking because I don't know the name? There must be many people named Mu Ak. Do you expect me to assume you're talking about a man who died long ago?"
"Tsk, tsk. To be so cold to a fellow member of the Golden Eye Organization."
As I spoke sarcastically, his expression grew increasingly grim.
The more I provoked him, the better.
Then, the First Venerable, Blood Breaking Sword Emperor Dan Wi-gang, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke up.
"Did you just say 'Golden Eye'?"
What was this?
I had said it to shake Gu Je-yang, but several of the Revered Stars reacted strangely to the mention of the Golden Eye.
Even the First Blood Star, Thunder Blood Sword Jang Ryong, who was busy staunching the blood from his severed arm, showed interest.
"The Golden Eye Organization? What is that?"
Though I didn't know the reason for their reaction, I pressed on.
This time, I raised my voice so that all the Revered Stars could hear.
"Not long ago, Mu Ak—who was reported dead in Peerless Fortress—disguised himself as a fake Tian Wuxing, one of the Four Great Martial Sects, to sow chaos. Unfortunately for him, his plan failed when he crossed paths with Lady Baek Hye-hyang and me."
At that, the Blood Stars, including Dan Wi-gang, turned to look at Baek Hye-hyang.
It seemed she hadn't told them about the events at Peerless Fortress.
Then again, a woman of her pride wouldn't go around blabbing about how she had been imprisoned and nearly lost her life.
"That's right. That happened at Peerless Fortress," Baek Hye-hyang confirmed, since I had already brought it up.
Thanks to her confirmation, my words gained credibility.
When I looked at Blood King Gu Je-yang, I saw his fingers twitching incessantly against the head of his staff. He was trying to hide it, but his anxiety was showing.
Perhaps because of this unease, Gu Je-yang decided he couldn't let me keep talking and spoke in a voice thick with displeasure.
"What does the fact that you two were at Peerless Fortress have to do with me! If you continue like this, I will..."
I cut him off again and spoke for everyone to hear.
"The captured Mu Ak confessed one thing."
"You dare!"
Gu Je-yang tried to take a step forward, but—
Boom!
Haeakcheon stomped heavily on the ground and spoke.
"If you have nothing to hide, what harm is there in listening to what the Blood Demon has to say, Gu Je-yang?"
"Bizarre! Aren't you and that boy on the same side to begin with? He is trying to tarnish my honor, and you expect me to just stand by!"
Gu Je-yang roared, attempting to raise his skull staff.
At that moment, a razor-sharp killing intent enveloped the entire assembly.
The aura was so terrifying that everyone present was forced to look toward its source.
'The First Venerable.'
The one emitting the killing intent was none other than the Blood Breaking Sword Emperor, Dan Wi-gang.
The intense pressure he radiated was enough to make everyone feel overwhelmed.
'......He has broken through the wall.'
I had already suspected as much.
Through my closed Golden Eye, his energy appeared as a brilliant, radiant light.
The only people I had ever seen with light so intense that their energy circulation paths were invisible were my father, Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek, and my father-in-law, Moon Evil Sword Sama Chak.
".......First Venerable."
Even Gu Je-yang couldn't take Dan Wi-gang's martial prowess lightly and spoke cautiously.
Dan Wi-gang spoke to him in a blunt tone.
"I, too, wish to hear the rest of the Young Master's story. Must I face your Poison Hand to do so?"
"........"
Gu Je-yang’s eyes darted back and forth.
Realizing the situation was unfavorable, he eventually lowered his staff.
Then, he gave me a low, menacing warning.
"If my innocence is proven after these slanders, you had better be prepared for the consequences."
"You're the one who needs to be prepared."
"What!"
"Why? Do you want to shut me up that badly?"
Grit!
Gu Je-yang looked ready to explode with rage, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent, conscious of the eyes around him.
He might be one of the top three masters of the Poison Hand, but he’d need a lot more practice if he wanted to beat me in a war of words.
I raised my voice again.
"Mu Ak said that their failure to seize the Blood Demon Sword was because the Blood Lord they sent to the Blood Cult didn't just move Lady Baek Hye-hyang, but manipulated both candidates."
'!!!'
My revelation caused a variety of expressions to ripple through the crowd.
Both Baek Ryeonha’s and Baek Hye-hyang’s factions had put immense effort into retrieving the Blood Demon Sword.
This was because the sword provided the legitimacy needed to unify the divided Blood Cult.
The starting point for this had been Blood King Gu Je-yang and Sura Blade Yu Baek.
[According to the law, whoever retrieves the Blood Demon Sword shall be recognized as the Blood Demon.]
Because of that decree, both factions had moved simultaneously.
Following my revelation, the gazes of the Revered Stars split, turning toward both Gu Je-yang and Yu Baek.
"What are you saying?"
Sura Blade Yu Baek looked bewildered as the arrows of suspicion suddenly pointed toward him as well.
I shook my head and said, "It's not the Second Blood Star."
At that, Dan Wi-gang asked, "How can you be so sure, Young Master?"
"It's a suspicion based on intuition."
"Intuition? Do you think it's right to accuse two Revered Stars based on mere intuition?"
"No. But intuition is important. Because when Lady Baek Hye-hyang ultimately failed to lift the Blood Demon Sword, the Second Blood Star showed disappointment, but he also showed signs of resignation and acceptance."
That was the first reason I believed it wasn't Yu Baek.
When Baek Hye-hyang failed to gain the sword's recognition, he had only looked regretful.
At my words, Gu Je-yang shouted as if it were preposterous.
"This is beyond flimsy! You're claiming I'm this 'Blood Lord' and that I'm connected to this Golden Eye Organization based on nothing but that?"
He raised his voice as if in anger, but his eyes told a different story.
In fact, he was smiling.
He seemed to think that this statement alone could never pin him down.
"I, too, would have been disappointed if Lady Baek Ryeonha hadn't been recognized by the sword. The same goes for Brother Seo here, as well as the Third and Sixth Blood Stars. And yet, you suspect and slander me based on the Second Blood Star's reaction!"
Ignoring him, I addressed everyone.
"The man named Mu Ak wore the mask of a fake Tian Wuxing to eliminate the Merciless Wind God and take Peerless Fortress for himself. So I thought: if I were them, how would I choose to control the Blood Cult?"
Dan Wi-gang asked in a heavy voice, "What method?"
"Since both candidates for the position of Cult Leader are women, it would be difficult to use a double like they did at Peerless Fortress. So, there's only one way: turn one of the two into a puppet to move as they wish."
"A puppet!"
"And the easier the piece is to move, the better."
At my words, the expressions of the Revered Stars under Baek Ryeonha’s command twisted hideously.
They likely felt I had insulted the woman they supported.
In particular, the Blood Hand Witch Han Baek-ha glared at me as if she wanted to tear me apart before speaking.
"You've been blinded by greed, Young Master! Just because your position is threatened now that the Young Lady has been chosen by the Blood Demon Sword, you dare to say such—"
Before she could finish, I barked at her.
"Han Baek-ha! Do you not realize that your excessive loyalty has become a poison to her?"
'!!!'
Because it was a shout infused with internal power, she was momentarily speechless.
Ignoring Han Baek-ha, I spoke to Seo Gal-ma and the other Revered Stars under Baek Ryeonha.
"Did none of you think it was strange that Lady Baek Ryeonha, who had already failed to be recognized by the Blood Demon Sword and couldn't even touch it, suddenly decided she would try to hold it again?"
"That is..."
Raging Demon Lord Seo Gal-ma started to speak but then closed his mouth.
It seemed he, too, had found it strange.
She had already failed to be chosen, and she had personally sworn loyalty to me as the Blood Demon.
Yet, even though I had returned alive, she had pushed herself to grab the sword by force.
Despite the objections of some.
Then, Gu Je-yang spoke.
"You're lost in your own delusions, Young Master. You truly have no right to be the Blood Demon. The Blood Demon Sword is a demon sword. What kind of trick could I possibly use to make the Young Lady hold such a blade? Isn't that right, My Lady?"
At Gu Je-yang’s call, Baek Ryeonha spoke.
".....Young Master. Was my recognition by the Blood Demon Sword really that hard to believe?"
Her voice sounded disappointed.
Gu Je-yang looked at me with a triumphant glint in his eyes.
As if he had already won.
I gave him a mocking smile and said, "You, and everyone else, are making one mistake."
"What?"
"Do you think being recognized by the Blood Demon Sword simply means being able to hold it?"
"What are you talking about?"
I gestured toward the Blood Demon Sword in Baek Ryeonha’s hand.
"Blood Demon Sword. You don't have to hold back anymore."
As soon as I finished speaking, something unexpected happened.
"Ah...!"
A groan escaped Baek Ryeonha’s lips, and black veins began to bulge and ripple across the back of her hand.
It was a phenomenon of blood vessel eruption.
"Her blood vessels?"
"My Lady!"
Everyone was thrown into a panic as Baek Ryeonha, who had been holding the Blood Demon Sword without issue just moments ago, suddenly suffered a blood vessel rupture.
Gu Je-yang was particularly shocked.
"Th-this... what is..."
What do you mean, 'what is this'?
Along with those words from the Blood Demon Sword, the veins on the back of Baek Ryeonha’s hand burst.
As they burst, her blood dripped onto the floor. Surprisingly, the spots where the blood landed began to sizzle and emit small wisps of smoke, as if the ground were being corroded.
"Poison?"
A foul odor wafted from the dripping blood.
It was undoubtedly poisonous blood.
This was the reason she had been able to endure the Blood Demon Sword, if only for a short while.
"Did you think you could stop the blood vessels from exploding with the Poison Hand? Gu Je-yang—no, Blood Lord!"
Gu Je-yang’s face twisted.
He probably hadn't predicted this would happen.
The Blood Demon Sword, offended by the attempt to manipulate it with such foul poison, had intended to make Baek Ryeonha’s blood vessels explode even more violently.
I had thought of this countermeasure and told the Blood Demon Sword to wait for a moment.
As a result, his trickery was exposed in front of everyone.
Who else in this place but Gu Je-yang was skilled enough in poison to create such toxic blood?
"You bastard, how dare you!"
Slash!
Suddenly, Baek Hye-hyang swung her imitation Blood Demon Sword at him.
The flustered Gu Je-yang hurriedly threw himself backward to dodge her blade.
"A piece of filth like you dared to touch that girl!"
I was secretly surprised.
I thought she only viewed Baek Ryeonha as a political rival, but seeing her manipulated by an enemy had ignited a genuine fury.
As Baek Hye-hyang prepared to attack again, Gu Je-yang shouted desperately.
"Do you want that girl, Baek Ryeonha, to die?"
"What?"
"Do you think someone poisoned with Illusion Demon Poison can survive without my antidote?"
At those words, Baek Hye-hyang hesitated for a moment.
Then, she flashed her characteristic cruel smile.
"I suppose we'll find out if an antidote pops out of that mouth once I've cut off all your limbs."
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
Sama Yeong, who had stealthily moved to the side, aimed for Gu Je-yang’s vital points.
I had noticed her presence shifting; she had been targeting him all along.
"You wretches!"
Gu Je-yang used a bizarre body lightening method to dodge their attacks and attempted to flee.
However, they weren't the only ones here.
"You rotten bastard! I'll crush your skull!"
Haeakcheon, who had already activated his True Blood Golden Body, threw a massive fist at Gu Je-yang’s head.
"Urgh!"
Gu Je-yang hurriedly spun his body in mid-air to avoid it.
When Haeakcheon’s fist struck the floor, it created a massive crater.
Boom!
The power was incredible.
Haeakcheon had truly reached the pinnacle of external martial arts.
One wrong hit from that fist and it would be over.
"Don't even think about running!"
When he tried to escape in another direction, Raging Demon Lord Seo Gal-ma and I blocked his path.
He was completely cornered, with all exits sealed.
Gu Je-yang bit his lip hard, pulled something from his robe, and shook it violently.
A strange sound, like a bell, rang out.
Ding! Ding!
"Aaaaaagh!"
Baek Ryeonha clutched her head with one hand and fell to her knees.
The veins on her forehead bulged with a purple hue, and her condition looked dire.
I didn't know what trick he had used, but it seemed he was forcing the poison to erupt.
Gu Je-yang held the bell threateningly and shouted.
"If you block my path, you'll watch this girl die right now—"
"Do you think I'll let that happen?"
"What?"
Before anyone realized it, the First Venerable, Blood Breaking Sword Emperor Dan Wi-gang, was standing behind Baek Ryeonha.
I wondered what he was doing, but then Dan Wi-gang grabbed Baek Ryeonha’s head with both hands.
He then began to pour his profound internal energy into her.
"Aaaargh!"
"Endure it."
Dan Wi-gang’s internal power was so immense that purple liquid began to seep out of her nose, mouth, and ears.
As he drove out the poison that had invaded her head, the First Venerable shouted.
"Subdue him, quickly!"
"Kwahahat! Your little trick failed too!"
Haeakcheon let out a mad laugh and lunged at him.
The others did the same.
Baek Hye-hyang, Sama Yeong, Raging Demon Lord Seo Gal-ma, and I.
With so many top-tier masters surrounding him, there seemed to be no way for him to escape.
At that moment, Gu Je-yang suddenly struck his own pressure points.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
"You all take me far too lightly. I will show you the essence of poison!"
The moment he finished striking his pressure points, his face turned a dark, bruised purple.
Then, his clothes began to melt away, revealing a body entirely stained in dark purple.
The phenomenon was so eerie it sent shivers down my spine.
Seeing this, Baek Hye-hyang and Haeakcheon shouted simultaneously.
"He's a Poison Human!"
"Get back!"
A Poison Human.
It was the ultimate form sought by those who reached the pinnacle of poison arts.
It was a secret technique where one combined hundreds or thousands of poisons and adapted their body to them, allowing lethal toxins to flow both inside and outside the body. Touching such a person was suicide.
Knowing this, the two had shouted for everyone to retreat.
"Too late! I'll make you regret pushing me this far!"
Shoooooo!
A thick, murky smoke erupted from Gu Je-yang’s body, accompanied by a pungent, acrid smell.
Judging by how the floor discolored wherever the smoke touched, it was undoubtedly a Poison Mist.
In an instant, the mist filled the area around him and began to spread in all directions.
"You bastard! Are you planning to take us all down with you?"
At Haeakcheon’s roar, Gu Je-yang, hidden within the mist, let out a maniacal laugh.
"If you're so confident, come inside! Kwahahaha!"
Meanwhile, the Poison Mist continued to spread.
Entering that mist would mean fighting the toxins as well, putting anyone at a severe disadvantage.
However, if we left it alone, he might escape while we were busy avoiding the mist.
"Hmph!"
Haeakcheon’s muscles were gradually turning a deep red.
It looked like he was going to use the secret technique of the True Blood Golden Body, the Red Blood Golden Body, to protect himself and charge into the mist.
But I threw myself in before he could.
"Young Master!"
"Stop!"
Sama Yeong and Baek Hye-hyang both shouted to stop me, but I had already entered the Poison Mist.
Once inside the murky fog, I couldn't see a thing.
Sizzle.
As expected, my skin began to sting.
The toxicity was so potent that I could feel it the moment it touched my skin.
Gu Je-yang’s voice drifted through the air.
"Foolish boy. After all that interference, you walk into your own grave. I'll enjoy watching your body rot away from the poison!"
He moved quickly within the mist, trying to confuse my Qi Sense.
Since my vision was obscured, dragging out the time like this would naturally lead to worsening poisoning and eventual death.
But there was one thing he didn't know.
Swish!
"What?"
Using the Wind Shadow Step, I instantly intercepted him as he tried to maneuver.
No matter how much the Poison Mist obscured the view, facing him face-to-face made his form clear as day.
"How did you...?"
Sorry to disappoint you, but you can't hide from my Golden Eye.
Did you really think you could hide the movement of your shimmering energy, even if you blocked my sight with mist?
Cornered, Gu Je-yang hurriedly thrust a Poison Hand toward my face.
I parried his hand with the Namcheon Iron Sword.
Clang!
It wasn't just the poison.
His skin was as hard as iron.
"You underestimate a Poison Human. My skin is nearly as tough as the Indestructible Diamond Body. By the time you manage to leave even a scratch on me, you'll be so consumed by poison that—"
Gu Je-yang couldn't finish his sentence.
Sensing something was wrong, he frowned, his face a deep shade of blackish-purple.
“How are you still fine?”
He was bewildered by my unscathed appearance.
“Why? Were you expecting me to be writhing on the ground in agony?”
Ever since undergoing Bone Forging and Marrow Cleansing within the mechanism traps, my body's recovery ability had become incomparable to that of ordinary people. Furthermore, most poisons couldn't even penetrate my skin. If he wanted to poison me, he'd have to cut me open and shove his hand inside.
Perhaps he had the same thought, as he thrust his Poison Hand toward my heart like a spear. I swung my sword at him.
“I told you it’s usele—”
Slash!
“Gah!”
Unfortunately for him, despite his confident attitude, his wrist was severed clean off.
“Oh, it’s severed?”
He couldn’t hide his shock as he stared at the Namcheon Iron Sword, which was emitting a faint glow.
“Ugh... what on earth is that...”
It was Divine Sword Unity. The realm where the sword and the self become one. Unless you are a master who has broken the wall, you cannot block my blade.
“Damn you! In that case!”
Swish!
He unleashed a body lightening method, scattering the blood spraying from his severed arm toward me. Sensing an even more virulent poison in the blood, I dodged and used Wind Shadow Step to catch up, but a thicker cloud of poison mist erupted from his body. Just as Haeakcheon had warned, he seemed intent on harming as many people as possible.
If that’s how you want to play it...
Flash!
I lunged toward him.
‘Chasing Return Grand Revolving Sword!’
The sixth form of the New Path Life-Drawing Sword Technique: Chasing Return Grand Revolving Sword. Excluding the secret technique, Twelve Heavenly Realm Sword, it possessed the widest range of power among the New Path Life-Drawing Sword Techniques. The sword spun rapidly, creating a whirlwind that targeted him.
“Urgh!”
Gu Je-yang twisted his body with all his might to evade it. But what now? The Chasing Return Grand Revolving Sword is only just beginning.
BOOM!
‘!?’
The moment the sword stance struck the ground, the whirlwind that had only surrounded the blade generated intense wind pressure, transforming into a massive typhoon centered around me. It looked like ordinary wind, but it was a vortex of sharp killing intent.
Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash!
“Aaaaaagh!”
Dark purple blood splattered from his body as he was swept up in the sharp killing intent. As I shifted the sword’s trajectory upward, the vortex surged toward the sky.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Along with it, the thick poison mist surrounding us was caught in the whirlwind and sucked upward. While it was impossible to eliminate the mist entirely, the sheer wind pressure of the vortex forced most of it to be drawn up into the air.
Swoooosh!
“No... this is...”
I could see Haeakcheon, who had entered the mist at some point. He had rushed in to help me, but now he stared upward in shock as the poison mist was swept into the heavens by the force of the sword technique.
“The mist...”
Baek Hye-hyang, Sama Yeong, and the others nearby were equally stunned.
Thud!
Just then, Gu Je-yang, who had been tossed high by the vortex of sharp killing intent, crashed to the ground. Everyone was left speechless at the sight of him, his body covered in wounds, writhing in agony.