Chapter 509: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (16)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 509: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (16)
Drip….
A hollow, dark space, so humid you could taste it in the air.
Drip… Drip….
The silence was absolute, broken only by the thunderous echo of a single, tiny drop of water. The floor was a canvas of ancient bloodstains, their origins impossible to date. When the wind stirred, the iron chains bolted to the walls shifted with a grating screech.
A thick, unknown smoke hung heavy in the air. Anyone who entered would soon realize the truth: it was pure poison. How deep did this place go? How long had it been here? There was no way to tell.
In this inscrutable abyss, an old man stood facing another.
The vibrant blue silk of his robes bore the clear character for 'Namgung' on his back. His posture was ramrod straight, his shoulders broad and unyielding. His hair was tied back severely, without a strand out of place, and the sword at his waist seemed an extension of his own formidable spirit.
This old man’s title was Heavenly Venerable.
He was the representative martial artist of the Namgung Clan.
And one of the Heaven Beyond Heaven, known throughout the Central Plains as one of the Three Venerables.
“Hmm.”
The Heavenly Venerable tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed ahead—toward the source of the grating chain sounds.
It was a form, shackled and pierced by iron and nails. The one restrained was, surprisingly, a person. Or at least, it had once been human. Now, it was difficult to say.
As the Heavenly Venerable observed the figure with his characteristically cool gaze…
Kek… kek….
The chains rattled. A laugh, dry and broken, echoed in the silence.
The being he had assumed long dead was, astonishingly, still breathing. Each gasp was a struggle, a promise of imminent death that never quite came. The laugh was so grating that the Heavenly Venerable’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, a hint of irritation coloring his voice.
“…How… could it not be funny….”
A head lifted. Matted hair was plastered with dried blood. Blurry eyes, barely open, held a gaze of absolute nothingness—as distant and empty as the space itself. A chill crept up the Heavenly Venerable’s spine, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue in distaste.
“…The one who struggled so desperately to reach the heavens… now reduced to a mere watchdog…. How could it not be funny….”
Drip.
Blood trickled from his mouth as if even speaking was a monumental effort.
Kek… kekeke….
A fresh pool of crimson began to form on the floor.
The Heavenly Venerable paid it no mind and stepped forward. He slowly bent down, bringing his face level with the prisoner’s. His own blue eyes, sharp and clear, fixed on the other’s hollow ones. He grabbed the man’s chin and lifted it.
“Black Dragon Sword…. That’s what you were called, wasn’t it?”
…Kek kek…! For the great Heavenly Venerable to remember me…. What an honor….
“No,” the Heavenly Venerable denied immediately. “You are not the Black Dragon Sword.”
He had no choice but to reject the claim.
“The body from that time was most certainly recovered and burned to ashes.”
Back when the Sword Venerable, then known as the Wind Sword, had annihilated the Black Dragon Army, the Murim Alliance had handled the cleanup. The Heavenly Venerable himself had confirmed the Black Dragon Sword’s corpse.
“There is no way you could be alive and well like this.”
With such a memory, how could he believe this sudden apparition?
Kek… kek….
Even faced with this denial, the Black Dragon Sword only laughed again.
“…With such a pathetic gaze, that’s all you would be able to see…. How truly pitiful….”
“What is your identity?”
“I… am the Black Dragon Sword…. And also….”
Cough.
Black blood frothed from his lips.
…Ugh….
The pain was clearly immense, wracking his body with every word.
“…This body, burned by that kid…. It refuses to heal…. I wonder why….”
“A kid?” the Heavenly Venerable echoed.
Kek kek kek….
Burned? The word triggered a memory. He recalled hearing that the one who had subdued the Black Dragon Sword was, surprisingly, a young prodigy.
A child of the Gu Clan.
A martial artist who had been causing quite a stir lately. The prospective young master of the Gu Clan, said to have far surpassed the level of a mere prodigy and was now treated as a power in his own right.
Lesser King of Hell… was it?
It was impossible not to know. The Beggar’s Sect had used the boy to divert public fury from the Alliance.
I heard he’s here right now.
In Sichuan, at the Tang Clan no less. The news was that the Poison King himself had brought him there. He had thought there was no need for a personal meeting, but now…
It might be fine to pay a visit.
Since the boy was also engaged to someone from the Namgung Clan, he had more than enough reason. Besides.
I need to see that child, too.
It was time to see his great-granddaughter. The Sword King himself had sent a letter.
The Heavenly Venerable slowly straightened up. Any further conversation was pointless. The Poison King and others from the Tang Clan had already tortured this prisoner for a long time, yet the Black Dragon Sword had not uttered a single word. How he had survived, why he attacked the Heavenly Dragon Academy, what he had been doing all this time… even under the Tang Clan’s infamous methods, his lips had remained sealed, as if bound by an unseen force.
It was useless.
Having made his judgment, the Heavenly Venerable turned his gaze away from the dying man. He looked at a section of the wall that appeared blank. Reaching his hand into a nearly invisible crack…
Clank-!
With the sound of hidden mechanisms grinding…
Grind—!
A section of the wall slid away, revealing a dark staircase leading downward. The Heavenly Venerable glanced at it for a moment before stepping toward the passage. He had to pass the Black Dragon Sword to do so, but he did not spare the prisoner another glance. With a cold and detached expression, as if he had never been interested in the first place, he descended.
Immediately after he disappeared…
Grind-!
The hidden door closed seamlessly, returning the wall to its original state.
Silence reclaimed the space.
Within it, the Black Dragon Sword lifted his creaking head and stared into the utter darkness.
“Taecheon… my lord. I beseech you….”
He offered a quiet prayer.
* * *
Step.
The Heavenly Venerable walked down the long staircase for some time, eventually entering a narrow corridor.
Woooong.
The further down he went, the thicker the poison in the air became. He raised his qi to form a protective barrier. The potency was concerning, even for him; this was far from a mere nuisance.
Splash.
He felt moisture underfoot. Was he nearing the end? Feeling an inexplicable revulsion, he quickened his pace and soon reached his destination.
The space that opened before him was unlike the darkness above. Lamps hung on the walls, casting a dim light. And…
Tsk.
The piercing stench of blood filled the air. The moisture on the stairs had been blood. Human blood? He looked down. The blood, giving off a foul odor, was a sickly blue. The blood of a monster, then. Even so, the sheer quantity was nauseating. The Heavenly Venerable waved a hand in distaste.
Whoooosh-!
A gust of wind swept through, scouring the blood from the floor, leaving it relatively clean.
He stood and observed the source of the filth: a massive pile of something in the corner. Blood seeped from a jumbled mound of forms, now unrecognizable. The Heavenly Venerable identified them as the corpses of monsters. The smell of rot was overwhelming, a sight that soured the mood instantly.
“Did you call me here just to show me this?” he asked bluntly, his voice echoing in the chamber.
Only then did a figure emerge from the shadows.
“Of course not…. Why would I summon someone so esteemed for such a trivial reason?”
The one who appeared was the First Elder of the Tang Clan, a smile plastered on his face.
“Ordinarily, I would have wished to meet you in a much better place. I regret that I was unable to do so. My apologies, Heavenly Venerable.”
“…I’ll dispense with the tedious pleasantries. I’ve come from upstairs in a rather foul mood.”
At the cold words, the First Elder gave an awkward smile and began to walk. He passed the pile of monster corpses, heading toward a small table situated in an area drenched with a particularly large pool of blood. The Heavenly Venerable followed, his expression questioning.
There was an object on the table.
What was it?
The Heavenly Venerable moved closer. The moment he saw it clearly…
…!
He unconsciously took a step back.
It was a small jewel. A round gem that glowed with a brilliant, light-green radiance. Its beauty was undeniable, but the reason for his retreat was the overwhelmingly potent aura of poison and raw energy emanating from it.
The First Elder seemed pleased by the reaction. “What do you think?”
“…Is this the finished product?”
“That’s right. It is the culmination of the conviction that I… no, that the Poison Emperor sought to create for the Tang Clan.”
The Poison Emperor—the title of the current Tang Clan Lord’s grandfather, long deceased. The Heavenly Venerable felt an urge to touch the gem but restrained himself. Even with his qi barrier, it was not an object for the unprepared. What monstrous combination of energies could produce such an aura?
“To think they finally created such a thing.”
The process behind its creation must have been fierce and cruel beyond imagination. The pile of monster corpses was likely just a fraction of the materials consumed.
As he calmly studied the gem, the First Elder continued. “As per our agreement with the Alliance…. I will send you the manufacturing method and materials separately.”
“The method of use as well?”
“There is no particular method of use.” The First Elder reached out and picked up the gem. “You simply swallow it, and that’s it. If you do that….”
“One can attain a Celestial Martial Body…?”
“That is the expectation, but it is not yet confirmed.”
“Why?”
At the question, the First Elder smiled. “We have not yet been able to confirm if it functions properly after ingestion.”
“Then it’s not a finished product, is it?” the Heavenly Venerable said, his eyes narrowing. An untested product violated their agreement.
The First Elder hastily continued. “The proportions are perfectly matched. As long as the conditions are met, it is certain to succeed.”
“Conditions?”
There were specific requirements for use.
“…First, the subject must be a woman who has not yet passed the age of thirty.”
“The reason?”
“All other test subjects suffered side effects and died in an explosion.”
The grim statement hinted at countless failed experiments. The Heavenly Venerable didn’t press further. “If there’s a first, there must be a second, right?”
“Correct. Second…. one must possess a vessel capable of withstanding the energy that transforms the body.”
“A vague statement.” It meant the user needed the innate talent and physique to endure the gem’s power. An ambiguous requirement.
“It’s a statement made with certainty. As it happens, we have a suitable subject for a proper experiment. It’s just that the situation has become a bit troublesome.”
The Heavenly Venerable glanced between the gem and the elder, then gave a slight nod. “In that case, let’s fulfill the agreement once the results are properly confirmed.”
He would not rely on mere words. They could talk again after the product was proven.
But the First Elder spoke cautiously. “…So, about that. Would it be alright if I asked a favor?”
“Of me?” The Heavenly Venerable’s face tightened.
“It’s nothing else, but we’re at the point of finishing the last step, and an unnecessary interruption has occurred.”
“What do you mean?” Annoyance flickered, then was replaced by interest.
Seeing this, the First Elder felt a measure of relief. “I don’t know how they found out, but that scum from the Gu Clan is interfering….”
“…Wait.”
The Heavenly Venerable suddenly cut him off.
The First Elder flinched. “What is it…? Is something not to your liking….”
“Quiet.”
The Heavenly Venerable fell silent, his senses scanning the area intently. After a long moment of concentration, he spoke, his brow deeply furrowed. “…Something is coming.”
“What…?” The First Elder’s eyes widened in disbelief, then he let out a hollow laugh. “That’s impossible. Do you know how many formations and mechanisms are laid out here…? I’ve even prepared to be alerted if anyone tries to approach.”
He had placed treasured artifacts and layered defenses to make discovery impossible.
“It’s not the entrance,” the Heavenly Venerable stated firmly.
“Not the entrance?” the First Elder asked, confused.
The Heavenly Venerable said nothing more, his gaze fixed on a single spot.
The ceiling.
The First Elder looked at him strangely, then followed his gaze upward to the sturdily built stone ceiling.
The moment his eyes landed there…
BOOOM-! CRASH!
…!
A deafening roar shattered the silence. From high above, far away, came the sound of successive explosions, shattering rock and shattering peace.
“Wh-What?” the First Elder cried out, flustered.
The roar was rapidly getting closer, impossibly fast.
BOOOOM-! CRASH! CRASH-!
The air around them began to grow hot. Unbearably hot. Suffocating.
What in the world was happening? Before he could even grasp the situation…
The roar was upon them.
And a moment later.
KABOOOOOM-!
The ceiling directly above them exploded inward, collapsing in a rain of stone and dust.
The First Elder leaped back to evade the devastation.
Rumble….
Debris scattered everywhere. And amidst the falling rubble, something else was flowing down. The First Elder frowned as he saw it.
“What is that…?”
Something was dripping from the edges of the hole in the ceiling. He realized it belatedly: the stone itself was melting.
Fwoosh…!
The air grew blisteringly hot.
Then.
Tremble, tremble.
…What is this….
The First Elder found his hands trembling uncontrollably. His whole body was shaking. Why? As he tensed, trying to understand…
Thud.
From within the swirling dust, the sound of a single footstep echoed.
The First Elder turned his gaze toward the sound.
And he saw it.
He saw it clearly.
Through the thick cloud of dust, a pair of eyes was staring directly at him.
Scarlet red eyes that seemed capable of burning the world to ashes.
His body, which had been trembling, froze solid the instant he met that gaze.
Why is it doing this…!
He poured all his strength into trying to move his paralyzed body…
WHOOOOSH-!
A sudden, violent gust of wind blew the obscuring smoke and dust away.
With his view cleared, the First Elder saw the owner of those eyes clearly.
Red hair, dyed the same crimson as the burning eyes.
A man wearing a martial robe adorned with intricate gold patterns.
He appeared expressionless, but the First Elder could feel an immense, palpable fury radiating from him.
Who was this?
As the First Elder’s mind raced, the man looked at him and spoke, his voice cold and final.
“Found you.”
At the same time.
CRUNCH.
The First Elder’s leg was torn from his body.