Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Chapter 9: Main Enemy (7)
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Han Sangja charged even more fiercely.
He swung the flute in his mouth like a short staff.
The gap in martial prowess was still overwhelming. The flute swept toward his head. Cheonwi raised his arm to block it.
Boom! Thud!
It rattled his bones. The muscles in his arm were completely shredded.
Any ordinary martial artist would have been incapacitated by that single blow.
Using the rebound force, he launched his body away. He plunged straight into the midst of the encircling masks.
"What!?"
Thud! Thump!
He knocked down two Child Masks.
Han Sangja roared in fury and pursued Cheonwi.
Boom!
"Get out of the way!!"
Han Sangja had completely lost his composure.
He swung his hand wildly, hurling aside the dense cluster of masked warriors. Cheonwi weaved slyly through the masks. Cheonwi was different now. Earlier, he had struggled against just three or four of them.
It wasn't real. It was all for show. By drawing out a bit more of the blood's power, he gained some leeway. The Child Masks' green wooden staffs and the White Masks' short swords flew at him from all directions. Cheonwi dodged and rolled, skillfully deflecting the enemies' weapons.
Cheonwi's direction had now shifted to the opposite side of the altar. He was trying to break out of the encirclement. It was the complete opposite of his earlier attempt to breach toward the altar where the ritual was taking place, but Han Sangja didn't even notice.
Slash! Whoosh!
As he threw himself between two White Masks, the shrill sound of jade pierced his ears from behind. He charged blindly forward. The White Mask directly in front thrust its short sword.
Stab!
The short sword pierced his chest.
He grimaced instinctively, but it was better than having his head fly off. Feeling a burning pain like being scorched, he grabbed the White Mask. Cheonwi and the White Mask tumbled to the ground entangled.
Whoosh! Boom!
Han Sangja's jade flute grazed over Cheonwi's head and struck the Child Mask's body. The Child Mask collapsed limply. It didn't get back up.
It was nothing short of a rampage.
The backlash from losing his immortal aura due to his disturbed mind was fierce. Even as he swung the jade flute, he didn't care if allied masks were hit. He didn't even attempt to hold back.
"Is this how an immortal should act?"
Cheonwi poured oil on the fire.
He stoked the rage with words. An enraged immortal would grow even more violent. He had to evade that much faster. Without thinking, Cheonwi launched his body.
Boom!
An explosion erupted from the spot where Cheonwi had just rolled.
It was a life-risking provocation. The jade flute created a crater in the hard ground. At that level, blocked meridians wouldn't even be the issue. A hit anywhere would be fatal.
"This immortal has completely lost it! Won't some other immortal restrain him?"
Cheonwi shouted loudly.
Whoosh! Whiz!
The jade flute narrowly grazed his waist. The energy at the flute's tip was as sharp as sword qi. A gash opened on his side.
In that instant, astonishingly, a voice responded to Cheonwi's words.
"How did you know of my existence?"
Just as Han Sangja had appeared from behind the altar, a shadow gracefully emerged from the front of the altar.
'How did I know.'
He hadn't known at first.
Not even his superhuman senses had detected the presence.
Still, he knew there would be one. He confirmed it while clashing with Han Sangja.
Han Sangja was incomplete and immature. His current berserk state proved it.
Would they send someone so chatty, spilling secrets left and right, as the representative of the Eight Sages? No way. This group had deliberately left traces of masks in the martial world to lure in Peng Clan warriors. They were that bold.
The Peng Clan was one of the Six Great Families.
If they intended to face the full might of the Peng Clan, they wouldn't have sent only an imperfect young mask. There had to be a higher commander.
It was calculation, not sensation.
And Cheonwi's calculation proved spot on.
The emerging shadow also wore a mask. The new mask continued in a low voice. The voice was low and clear. His profound inner energy made it ring in Cheonwi's ears as clearly as if spoken right beside him, despite the distance.
"With that level of inner energy, you couldn't have sensed me."
Whiiing!
Han Sangja's flute sound grazed his ears. He hurriedly ducked his head.
This strike was dangerous too.
He urgently flung himself into the midst of the Child Masks and quickly raised his voice.
"If you want to hear my story, calm this savage immortal first!"
The newly appeared mask replied.
"Why should I? Immortals feel joy and sorrow, and sometimes anger. One must cast it off oneself to gain greater enlightenment. If I must listen to your cunning tongue, I can capture you and make you kneel."
This mask was definitely different from Han Sangja.
He spoke like a Daoist, but his words were those of a battle-hardened martial world veteran.
He wore a bearded official's mask.
He was dressed neatly in silk official robes, holding a jade tablet in hand.
Called one of the Eight Sages, his identity was clear.
Sage Jo Gukgu—that was his name. It was exactly as depicted in the portraits Cheonwi had seen countless times. Even without enhancing his eyesight with inner energy, even as he glanced while leaping, Cheonwi could clearly recognize Jo Gukgu from afar.
"I heard Immortal Jo Gukgu is the incarnation of integrity and justice!"
Cheonwi shouted again.
"Am I?"
Jo Gukgu countered.
He sensed it wouldn't be easy. Cheonwi pressed on.
"I've come all this way on a father's plea to find his daughter! Is it right to persecute me like this?"
"Would we try to harm you without reason? Think who disrupted the descent ritual first."
"Wasn't that out of worry for her safety too?"
"You clever one. You showed no concern for the girl's well-being."
Verbal attacks weren't Cheonwi's exclusive weapon.
Like all Eight Sages, Jo Gukgu had many legends told about him. People called him the incarnation of insight. He possessed the wisdom to grasp human nature and was famous for not tolerating evil, even from blood brothers.
"I wouldn't risk my life without caring!"
Even to words that struck at the core, Cheonwi replied calmly.
He wouldn't waver that easily.
Jo Gukgu retorted.
"There's no sincerity in your claim of risking your life. Han Immortal's jade flute carries bone-shattering power. His immortal aura penetration is top-tier among the Eight Sages. I saw you take a direct hit and still run and leap unscathed."
He finally launched his body.
Muttering as if to himself, his voice remained steady even as he leaped through the masks. It demonstrated the profundity of his inner energy.
His movement art was as light as flying through the sky. He closed the distance in an instant.
"Your body is abnormal."
Jo Gukgu said this as he raised his jade tablet.
His jade tablet was long and curved, shaped like a baton.
Originally called a hu ban or court tablet, it was an essential item officials carried when entering the palace for court.
It suited the silk official robes perfectly.
The tablet signified status and rank, with origins tracing back to the Shang Dynasty. Made of jade, ivory, bamboo, etc., depending on the official's grade, only the highest ranks carried jade ones.
Though just under two feet long, it was plenty for use as a weapon. Historical records even mentioned it being used to strike people.
Whoosh!
The jade tablet fell toward Cheonwi's head.
It produced a completely different sound from Han Sangja's jade flute.
A thousand jin of immortal aura crushed down on Cheonwi's entire body.
He drew out the blood's power to its limit. Dust rose from beneath Cheonwi's feet. The energy emanating from the jade tablet dominated the surroundings.
Crack!
The bamboo hat on his head crumpled like it burst.
Boom!
The compressed air caused a crisp explosion.
Cheonwi entangled with one Child Mask and rolled across the ground.
Whoosh!
This time, Han Sangja's jade flute targeted Cheonwi's nape.
Crack!
Half his jaw nearly flew off. Instead, half the bamboo hat did. Half his bare face was revealed.
Cheonwi launched his body again.
"Wait."
As Han Sangja's enraged face pursued, Jo Gukgu gestured to stop him.
Jo Gukgu said to Cheonwi.
"You're moving with physical potential, not inner energy. Normally, your meridians couldn't endure it. Yet no internal injuries! I've seen something similar before. You deviant! What relation do you have to the Black Forest yokai, the Bright Wheel One?"
"Who knows."
Cheonwi didn't say he didn't know, even though he didn't.
'Black Forest. Bright Wheel One.'
He had heard the two words "Black Forest" from Oho.
He didn't know exactly what group it was. Cheonwi still couldn't access the Songgang Branch's intelligence archives. But "Black Forest" brought to mind the Black Thicket that Soyul mentioned. Given the real emergence of a giant monster bird that cried like ghosts, it wasn't far-fetched that these Eight Sages spoke of yokai.
"Han Sangja, compose yourself! Don't kill him—capture him alive!"
Whiiing!
Jo Gukgu admonished Han Sangja. Han Sangja swung his jade flute as if he hadn't heard. The whoosh was incredibly sharp.
Cheonwi barely evaded Han Sangja's attacks.
Clang!
He drew on the blood's power to its utmost.
His movements grew even more agile.
Cheonwi swiftly slipped through the masks. The White Masks and Child Masks became obstacles to the two immortal masks instead. One Child Mask was flung away by Han Sangja's jade flute. Jo Gukgu didn't swing his jade tablet but crossed over the masks' heads like a flying immortal. Cheonwi ducked and veered sideways.
Boom!
Like an eagle diving for prey, Jo Gukgu's form plunged to the ground.
An explosion rang out. The shockwave sent five masks tumbling backward.
The two immortals were incredibly strong.
"You sly one! So you were hiding your skills!"
Cheonwi somehow held on.
Victory in a fight was impossible, but Cheonwi possessed superhuman senses beyond martial logic.
The night was deep, and yin energy permeated the mountains and fields.
The world's energy showed him the path to survival.
In a trance, Cheonwi evaded the jade flute and jade tablet, launching his body again and again.
Boom!
Leaving the explosion behind, he leaped onto the slope.
He had slipped out of the masks' encirclement. Han Sangja's flute commands to halt attacks and maintain defense were still in effect. The White and Child Masks didn't pursue Cheonwi.
Just the two chased the one.
A waterfall in the background sprayed cool water vapor.
Cheonwi backed away.
As he retreated, he yanked the dagger from his chest and tossed it aside.
The half-split bamboo hat somehow remained perched on his head. It was cumbersome, but he didn't remove it. Even half-destroyed, it felt like wearing a mask.
In the pitch darkness, one of Cheonwi's eyes gleamed eerily.
His pale jawline contrasted sharply with the bamboo hat's shadow. His gaze flickered red, and his skin was ghostly pale like plastered lime. He didn't seem human at all.