Can't Leave Empty-Handed
On the way to Jang Hyeon-nam, Seo Joo-cheon spotted the silver grass spreading near the dock and was somewhat delayed buying strong liquor from a nearby tavern.
Ham Cheon-yeong found it odd that Big Brother had suddenly told him to fetch alcohol, but he figured there had to be a reason and hurried to bring it. Then, as they arrived, came the order to secretly sprinkle the liquor around the Undying Demon. Ham Cheon-yeong punched a hole in the leather pouch and let the spirits trickle onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Seo Joo-cheon drew the Undying Demon's gaze.
Fwoosh!
Flame raced along the trail of liquor, and the bone-dry silver grass caught fire. The grass stretched out like a river, so the blaze swelled into a flood of fire pouring down a valley. A river of flame rippled this way and that with the wind, and the bodyguards charging at Ham Cheon-yeong could not break through it. They fell back to the Undying Demon.
"Let's run!"
Even as he spoke, Seo Joo-cheon gazed toward the Undying Demon with a look of regret.
If I could just get the Jangdokhwe-go he has, I might even be able to regenerate Ho-in's arm. But this isn't the time. We have no choice but to leave.
Jang Hyeon-nam had been struck by the Undying Demon's poison palm, and his life hung by a thread. Seo Joo-cheon could not delay and let the protagonist die just to seize the Jangdokhwe-go the Undying Demon possessed. Besides, even touching a single fold of the man's robes would not be easy right now. The fire had only bound him for a moment.
At Seo Joo-cheon's word, they cut through the silver grass and swiftly left the battlefield.
But the Undying Demon had no intention of letting these mayflies go.
"Bring them back!"
At his command, two bodyguards found a weak point in the flames, circled around, and pursued Seo Joo-cheon. As they closed in fast, Seo Joo-cheon looked at Sang Ryo. Sang Ryo was already looking back at him, as if he had made up his mind.
If they kept going like this, Jang Hyeon-nam — who could not use lightness skill — would get them caught from behind by two masters. That much was obvious.
"Second Brother! You take Young Hero Jang and get him to the inn!"
"Big Brother, I'll fight too."
Ham Cheon-yeong's eyes were full of frustration. Why are you doing this? If it were for their sworn brothers, that would be one thing. But Big Brother staking his life for outsiders did not sit right with him. He could not leave him behind.
"Everyone else is injured. You're the only one who can support Young Hero Jang."
Jang Hyeon-nam answered before Ham Cheon-yeong could.
"There's no need for that. I'll stay here. I can at least pin those two down. Use that time to get away, all of you."
Seo Joo-cheon stepped toward him. Jang Hyeon-nam's eyes went round.
"Forgive me."
Then he pressed Jang Hyeon-nam's pressure points. Jang Hyeon-nam had never expected Po Un to seal his meridians, and he was caught completely off guard. His head lolled. Seo Joo-cheon handed him over to Ham Cheon-yeong.
Ham Cheon-yeong's face twisted.
"If you get so much as a scratch, I won't let it go."
"Hahaha. Before that happens, the youngest might kill me first."
Seeing Big Brother laugh so brightly instead, Ham Cheon-yeong sighed, tucked Jang Hyeon-nam under his arm, and ran.
Seo Joo-cheon waited for the two bodyguards and asked Sang Ryo,
"Can we handle those two?"
"They're masters. I can handle one on my own, but two would be too much."
The Undying Demon would not keep incompetent martial artists as bodyguards. That much went without saying.
So they're masters approaching First-Rate, then.
Sang Ryo looked into the distance, a hint of unease in his voice.
"But what if the Undying Demon comes?"
Seo Joo-cheon answered with confidence.
"He won't be able to. Fire is what he fears most. A blaze this size will keep him completely pinned."
Sang Ryo still gazed toward the Undying Demon with uneasy eyes.
"I've heard the rumors that the Undying Demon is weak to fire, but is it really true?"
"You can trust me."
Sang Ryo stared at Seo Joo-cheon, who spoke with such conviction.
The Undying Demon was a character Seo Joo-cheon had designed around the theme of immortality, and the secret of that immortality lay in a Gu parasite he himself had created.
A long, earthworm-like Gu of extraordinary regenerative power. It parasitizes the host's body and, when a wound appears, swarms the injury by the hundreds, substituting for muscle and nerve until the flesh seems to knit itself back together in an instant.
Its venom is not potent enough to kill on the spot — but there is no antidote. Anyone poisoned is doomed to die.
He had written that weakness in deliberately, so that it would later help Jang Hyeon-nam — once he figured it out — defeat the Undying Demon. The reason Seo Joo-cheon believed he could regenerate Dokgo Ho-in's arm once he obtained the Layer was because he had been thinking of this very parasite all along.
While the two of them talked, the bodyguards closed to striking distance.
"Their swords are exceedingly sharp. Take care."
Sang Ryo warned Seo Joo-cheon and charged one of the warriors. Blue saber qi rippled along his blade — Sang Ryo was unmistakably a First-Rate master.
I don't need to worry about Sang Ryo.
Every time Seo Joo-cheon met a character he had created, his affection for them grew stronger. Perhaps that was why he felt a pang of fondness for Sang Ryo as well.
"You be careful too, Hero Sang."
Seo Joo-cheon drew his sword toward the remaining bodyguard and immediately invoked his authority.
Time Dilation Authority
The world crawls. A single breath stretches into an eternity.
There was no time to fight with the White Snake Sword Art. Jang Hyeon-nam was already poisoned by the Jangdokhwe-go and dying by the moment. He needed to end this fast.
Please, let Time Dilation Authority work on these two.
Seo Joo-cheon knew that with his low inner energy, the authority did not work well against First-Rate masters. The Harmonious Three Swords was a relative ability, not an absolute one. Even if it activated against a master, its effective duration was short.
Against Mi-u, Vice Commander of the Blood Sky Troop, it lasted about one breath. This one will be even shorter.
He could not assume the Undying Demon's bodyguard was weaker than Mi-u.
The bodyguard's movements stuttered, then began to slow.
Now.
The sword thrust in a straight line toward Seo Joo-cheon's chest. He slipped past the blade and brought his own sword down toward the bodyguard's arm.
Then Time Dilation Authority deactivated.
Damn! Not even one breath.
The bodyguard's eyes widened. From his perspective, the tables had turned in the blink of an eye — this man had dodged his thrust and was already trying to take his arm. Of course he was stunned. Before Seo Joo-cheon's sword could reach him, he yanked the arm back.
Shhk!
But the blade had been so close that he could not fully evade it. A long gash opened across his entire forearm. Seo Joo-cheon did not miss the opening.
Using it twice in a row brought on a wave of dizziness. His mind went blank for a moment. True qi drained out in an instant — a vacuum of inner energy, as though all his blood had been emptied at once. The Harmonious Three Swords was a formidable ability, and its side effects were just as severe. He had already used Time Dilation Authority several times against Mi-u, draining his inner energy to the dregs. That played a large part as well.
Stay focused! If I miss this, I'm the one who dies!
He shouted inwardly, barely clinging to his fading consciousness, and thrust with the form White Snake Emerging from the Cave. By the time the authority wore off, the sword tip would already be at the bodyguard's chest. Even if it did not pierce the heart, it would carve a deep gash across the torso. That was the plan.
The fight unfolded exactly as he had predicted. Just as the sword tip reached the chest, Time Dilation Authority deactivated. As expected, the bodyguard startled at the incomprehensible situation, twisting his body and blocking with his left palm.
But Seo Joo-cheon's blade had already sunk an inch into his chest and slashed across between both nipples.
Shhk!
With the sound of cutting, something pattered to the ground. The bodyguard's ring finger and little finger, falling away. A left hand would not hinder his fighting at all.
Damn it. I used Time Dilation Authority twice and all I got was a chest wound and some fingers.
The problem was how strong the opponent was. Only after the enemy had retreated did the man's condition come into view.
What? He's not bleeding?
Blood flowed from the deep gash across his chest, but not a single drop came from the severed fingers. He could have sealed pressure points to stop the bleeding, but even then, the blood would not have stopped completely.
There's no blood at all.
The severed left fingers showed not even a hint of red. Sensing that Seo Joo-cheon was spent, the bodyguard charged without hesitation.
If I use Time Dilation Authority one more time, I might actually die.
With that thought, he raised his sword.
Whiiish!
A flying dagger shot like a bolt of light toward the charging bodyguard. He did not dare take it lightly. He jerked backward, dodging it, and thanks to that Seo Joo-cheon avoided the collision and retreated.
"How did you two get here?"
Ham Cheon-yeong and Kang Chu-mi stepped up on either side of him.
"How else? We came to save you, Big Brother."
"Didn't you hear the Undying Demon was here? Why come to a place this dangerous?"
Kang Chu-mi bristled at the scolding.
"That's exactly why we came. Can you even handle the Undying Demon?"
"You two being here doesn't change that."
"Then we'll die together."
"But I don't see the Undying Demon?"
Kang Chu-mi asked, glancing around. Seo Joo-cheon did not answer her. He asked instead,
"Where's Young Hero Jang?"
"We ran into Daoists from the Mount Hua Sect on the way and handed him over."
When the bodyguard showed signs of moving, Seo Joo-cheon spoke to Ham Cheon-yeong.
"Second Brother, help Hero Sang! We can't stall. We have to overwhelm them together and finish this fast. If the fire dies down, the Undying Demon might come."
Silver grass burned easily, but it also turned to ash just as fast. The flames would die down soon, and when that happened they would not be able to hold the Undying Demon back any longer. On top of that, Sang Ryo was starting to lose ground. He would be in real danger soon.
Ham Cheon-yeong had plenty of complaints, but for now he decided to follow Big Brother's orders. He charged toward the warrior who was fiercely exchanging blows with Sang Ryo, swinging his great saber. The Phoenix Controlling Dragon Saber, honed even further through the last battle, joined the fray, and the momentum of the assault swung to Sang Ryo in an instant.
"Chu-mi, go for his neck. Take his head off."
"Yes, Big Brother."
They had fought together for over a decade. The combined formation of the Shaanxi Four Evils was formidable. Kang Chu-mi attacked with her whip, and the bodyguard kept his eyes on Seo Joo-cheon even as he dealt with her, wary of when and how he might strike.
Seo Joo-cheon circled behind the bodyguard and attacked. Striking from behind was considered cowardly in the martial world, but Seo Joo-cheon was of the Unorthodox path — he did not give a damn about cowardice. He drove in with the spirit of the White Snake arts, and the bodyguard spun rapidly, blocking with his sword.
His movement arts really are exceptional. That's why Time Dilation Authority doesn't work properly on him. Then I need to attack even faster.
The thought had barely formed before he shouted.
"Chu-mi. Four Flying Daggers Explosive Flash!"
Four daggers flung into the air, then struck by a whip — accelerated to a speed the eye cannot follow.
The instant the words left his mouth, Kang Chu-mi drew the daggers from her waist and flung them into the air. In that opening, Seo Joo-cheon switched to the form White Snake Divine Flash, a sword shooting up from below to pierce the man from behind. Conscious of the attack, the bodyguard met it with his own blade. He had judged the sword about to split his back more dangerous than the daggers hanging in the air.
Clang!
The moment the bodyguard's sword blocked Seo Joo-cheon's, the four daggers were struck by the whip and became flashes of light.
Viiip-viip-viip-viip!
Sensing something ominous, the bodyguard immediately bent his knees — a stance as if he were about to launch himself with a bow-body catapult leap. It was an evasion Seo Joo-cheon had not anticipated, and he was briefly thrown. If the man shot upward, he could easily nullify both attacks.
With his movement arts, he could dodge Four Flying Daggers Explosive Flash with room to spare.
The opening they had worked so hard to create could come to nothing.
No choice. Time Dilation Authority one more time.
He had no choice but to take the risk. The instant the man's knees bent, Seo Joo-cheon changed forms.
The blade occupies the air the enemy will leap into — a serpent striking where the head must pass.
Activating Time Dilation Authority with no inner energy left, it released in the blink of an eye. But the bodyguard, sensing that leaping up would put his neck right in Seo Joo-cheon's blade, instinctively crouched instead.
The situation Seo Joo-cheon wanted was complete.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The four daggers buried themselves precisely in the bodyguard's body — chest, abdomen, forehead, thigh. His movements slowed dramatically even without Time Dilation Authority.
Whoosh!
Kang Chu-mi's whip snared the bodyguard's ankle, and Seo Joo-cheon's sword swept across his neck. A short scrape of blade against cervical bone.
Thud.
The bodyguard's head fell in the opposite direction from his torso. Seo Joo-cheon stared blankly at the gushing neck for a moment, then snapped back at a scream.
"Aaagh!"
The other bodyguard, his arm severed by Sang Ryo's saber, immediately fled. With his comrade dead, he had judged he could not hold out against four people.
"You bastards!"
In the distance, the Undying Demon could be seen flying toward them at a terrifying speed. Seo Joo-cheon quickly pulled out a tinderbox and set the surroundings ablaze once more. After lighting the fire, he hurriedly scooped the bodyguard's severed fingers into his pocket.
"Let's go!"