Chapter 131
Chapter 131
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Whirlwind
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Myo Hwa-bin was undoubtedly strong.
Even though she had a disadvantage against Daoists, she held out against the combined assault of Yi Cheolsan and Dang Gyujin for over dozens of exchanges.
She even used her Heavenly Silkworm Thread to seize Dang Gyujin's throat, nearly slicing it open.
But before Yi Cheolsan's pure qi and Dang Gyujin's Heaven-Earth Funeral Rites, all her evil twisted back into righteousness, and in the end, she bowed her head.
"It's a pity to return to the dirt like this, but you'll soon be in the same state as me, so it won't feel so unjust—"
Slash!
Myo Hwa-bin's venomous eyes were severed along with Dang Gyujin's blade and rolled across the ground.
"Ehehehe. This big sister, really. You gotta go out with style when it's time to go. Lingering like this just ruins whatever dignity you had left."
Dang Gyujin sneered coldly as she recited the incantation of the Heaven-Earth Funeral Rites.
A funerary verse mainly chanted during Daoist funerals.
The soul bound forcibly to Myo Hwa-bin's flesh unraveled, and at the same time, the corpse burst into flames, turning to ash.
It was such a vicious dark art that even after death, it could revive, so unless dealt with like this, it seemed it would rise again.
Yi Cheolsan watched the scene silently.
'We've taken out one, but the road ahead is still long.'
The revived demons weren't just Myo Hwa-bin.
She was merely a pawn.
Just looking at the Ghost Sword Squad pressuring Jeong Pung-kak or the elites, they were all exuding such foul demonic qi and murderous aura that it choked the breath.
With the North Sea Sect's ghost blades rampaging too, seizing victory wasn't easy.
Of course, the Nine Dragons Branch Family's resistance was no pushover.
Especially the exploits of the Eight Sages of Hidden Darkness, whom the Dark Lord had marked, shone the brightest.
Dang Yeowon, alongside the Green Banner Corps, pressed the zombies to keep them from spreading wide.
Sama Seon-ui put up an even match against the Guangxi Three Demons, who had once reigned as absolute masters of Guangxi's martial world, without yielding an inch.
Bi Cheon Ho-ri, who had clashed with Yi Cheolsan earlier, also displayed prowess beyond his reputation. His hundred strikes, employing lightning-fast lightness skills hard to follow with the naked eye, boasted tremendous destructive power, naturally evoking words of "heroic."
Hong Ryeo unleashed the Thunder Sound Temple's Thunder Punishment True Qi wildly, like witnessing the descent of Indra.
The archery of Yong Geom-guk of the Later Demon Bow was at a divine archer level.
And Hyun Ijin, the Dragon-Crying Hero, swept the battlefield with his hundred weapons mastery, leaving it filled with dismembered demon corpses as if a storm had raged through.
"The Eight Sages of Hidden Darkness...!!"
"The Dark Lord didn't call them the next leaders of Sichuan's martial world for nothing!"
The people watching them were greatly inspired.
The morale crushed by the North Sea Sect Master's appearance was rising again.
"We can't let the juniors push us back like this."
"It's always been our role to face the Demonic Cult bastards. We can't fall behind!"
The elites fought with all their might, either refusing to yield or seizing the chance to spread their sects' fame.
Yi Cheolsan thought the atmosphere wasn't bad.
After all, they hadn't lost hope and were giving their all against the enemy.
It showed Sichuan's martial spirit to them.
But the foes were monsters who rose again with swords in hand no matter how many times they were killed.
The Nine Dragons Branch Family compound was filled with the stench of death, and if time dragged on like this, it would undoubtedly turn disastrous for their side.
'I need to find the sorcerer controlling the dead.'
Yi Cheolsan fully unleashed the pure qi of his Sun-Moon Star Spirit Root.
His blue and red eyes blazed brighter.
His upper dantian overheated, bringing a stabbing headache, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
Great Luo Direct Eye.
Direct Insight.
A Qingcheng Sect technique said to even read the secrets of heaven once reaching that realm.
Normally, opening the spirit root and gazing like this would reveal the flow of the sorcerers' dark spells—
'Nothing.'
For some reason, it was all foggy like mist.
No, he could see something, at least.
Curse threads clearly started from the crowns of the zombies' heads and extended somewhere.
The problem was they cut off midway.
This usually meant one of two things.
Either a truly skilled sorcerer had completely concealed their traces, or—
'They've cleverly hidden the dark spell using another formation.'
He had to locate and resolve the Demonic Cult's formation anchors first.
"Junior Sister, mind helping me?"
"Eep! Of course! Just say the word! My heart is open enough to follow you to the ends of hell where Eldest Senior Brother is... Ow!"
Suddenly, as Dang Gyujin chattered excitedly, she slapped her own cheek hard.
Yi Cheolsan was startled.
"J-Junior Sister?"
"Don't worry. This one suddenly started spouting nonsense."
Dang Gyujin reverted to her usual demure self from moments ago, smiled awkwardly, then turned her back to Yi Cheolsan and whispered.
"Hey, are you crazy? No, you're not. Why spout useless crap all of a sudden... Ehehe! Because you've been so frustrating. Even so, that's... Fine! Might as well spill everything... Kyaa! Don't you dare mess around! I won't let you! Remember what the Demon King said? We gotta do this quick! Ehehehe! No! If I say don't, then don't!"
"???"
Yi Cheolsan tilted his head, wondering what was up with his junior sister.
He knew she shared a similar spirit root but had a different temperament, sometimes showing dual personality traits.
Still, he'd thought mastering the Heaven-Earth Funeral Rites had harmonized them well, so seeing the two personas fight like this was a first.
Worried something might be wrong, he cautiously tried to speak—
"If I say don't, it just makes me want to do it more! Hey, Eldest Senior Brother! She really likes y... Kyaaaa! Wanna die for real!? Shut up!!"
She'd speak demurely at first, then midway shriek like a madwoman, like watching a one-man Peking opera.
"Keep it up, and no tanghulu later like we agreed! Tch! Threatening with food is the cheapest trick... Anyway! Are we doing it or not? I won't! I won't, so give me three tanghulu later! Fine! Deal done! Ehehehehe!"
Fortunately, Dang Gyujin seemed to have negotiated successfully with her other self and returned to normal with a deep sigh.
"Is your body... alright?"
"Yes. It's fine. This one acts up every now and then. More importantly, you asked for help, right? What do I do?"
Yi Cheolsan was inwardly worried about Dang Gyujin but nodded gravely at her resolute eyes.
"At this rate, the battle has no end. Even if it does, it'll end with massive casualties."
"I agree."
"It seems there are ghost anchors hidden here and there in the enemy lines, serving as formation hubs. We pick those off quickly first."
"You're saying to actively use the spirit root."
"Yes. Overworking the upper dantian will have big aftereffects... but right now, it's our only option."
"Got it. Leave it to me."
Using the spirit root's power meant straining the upper dantian that much.
Especially since the ghost anchors were likely deep in enemy territory, it was extremely dangerous.
But Dang Gyujin nodded brightly.
Here, they needed to take the initiative more aggressively.
"Then I'll start."
Flash!
From that moment, Yi Cheolsan and Dang Gyujin's fierce exploits began.
Up until now, they'd helped those in peril and targeted elites, but now they broke through hordes of ghost blades and zombies to eliminate the ghost anchors they'd spotted.
Most ghost anchors were flutes or bells, constantly shaken by chanting sorcerers.
"One!"
"Two!!"
"Three...! It's working!!"
Dang Gyujin realized the zombies pressuring the elites were slowing down bit by bit.
As Yi Cheolsan had guessed, all these zombies moved based on special curses and formations.
"Take out the Qingcheng Sect's nose-pickers first! Block them from rampaging!!"
The North Sea Sect experts, belatedly grasping their intent, tried to intercept, but couldn't get close easily.
The quick-witted Dang Yeowon had already moved the Green Banner Corps to escort them.
"Green Banner Corps, guard them with your lives—! Don't let the ghost bastards expose them!!"
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
Dozens of green whirlwind banners unfurling like flags across the compound was a spectacular sight.
From ancient times in Sichuan's martial world, the color deep green symbolized death.
That was because of the Green Banner Corps. They stayed quiet normally, but once their deep green banners fluttered, everything vanished into a handful of dirt.
Thus, Sichuan martial artists called the Green Banner Corps differently.
Green-Clad Reapers.
From the sky rained countless hidden weapons.
From the ground spread vicious poisons.
The Ghost Sword Squad gathering to capture Yi Cheolsan and Dang Gyujin all returned to rotten dirt.
Zombie durability?
Who cares. Just melt them.
Terrifying bush poisons?
No need to mind.
The Tang Clan had far more vicious poisons stockpiled.
At first, they were shocked plenty by the absurdity of the dead reviving, but the Green Banner Corps soon ignored it.
Just kill them again.
To the Tang Clan, who always carried poison, hidden weapons, and explosives, death was a constant threat they lived with.
Such bizarre sorcery from the North Sea Sect might terrify commoners, but it posed no threat to the Tang Clan.
No, to them, it was merely something to covet.
The pragmatic Tang Clan never hesitated to adopt demonic arts' secrets if they bolstered their forces.
Boom boom boom boom—
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!
In the end, the North Sea Sect's lines began to yield bit by bit.
At this rate, they'd be cornered and collapse.
"Clan Lord! Where the hell is the Clan Lord!!"
The Twelve Black Ghosts' Green Bone Fire Ghost berated his subordinates with a desperate face.
Moments ago, the other Black Ghosts had all been slain by Yi Cheolsan and Dang Gyujin.
He was the last one left.
Among the Twelve Black Ghosts, he had the duty to directly control the zombies of the Soul Freezing Possession Great Law.
If even he died now, it was over.
The problem, separate from Yi Cheolsan and Dang Gyujin's feats, was that the zombie sorcery's power had been draining rapidly since earlier.
Like a leaky jar.
Thus, the forced soul bindings kept slipping, greatly slowing the zombies' movements.
At this rate, every zombie would collapse like puppets with cut strings.
'Something's wrong with the Soul Freezing Possession Great Law! Someone's tampering with the great law directly! Who the hell...!!'
The Soul Freezing Possession Great Law was a dark art perfected by the Council.
Even seasoned sorcerers couldn't touch it, yet this impossible event was happening.
Unless the Ghost King Little Heavenly Demon had returned alive!!
But the Black Bone Death King, responsible for this absurdity, had gone to capture the Nine Dragons Branch Family heir and vanished without a trace.
Something had clearly happened.
"......"
Green Bone Fire Ghost squeezed his eyes shut.
The dream of dominating Sichuan's martial world and then the entire world's seemed to end as a fleeting spring dream.
Boom!
A sword qi flew in at that moment, striking between Green Bone Fire Ghost's eyes.
It was Dang Gyujin's Heaven-Earth Sword Qi.
And...
"You're here."
Noble Zhuge, overlooking the battlefield, stood tall and raised his banner high.
—Tang.
—Nine Dragons.
Before the full battle erupted, Un Hui had sought out Noble Zhuge separately and earnestly instructed him.
'There will come a moment when the zombies suddenly slow like they're broken. Strike then.'
The core of the great Demonic Cult battle tactic, Jeong Pung-kak, had moved minimally, showing no notable exploits.
All to conserve strength.
In one breath.
In one go, to whirlwind and swallow the enemy whole.
'Like a gale.'
As Un Hui had said last, Noble Zhuge raised the final banner.
It had been over a decade since he last used it.
The worn fabric made the characters hard to read.
—Whirlwind.
Noble Zhuge raised that banner higher than the other two.
In this moment, Whirlwind was the lead.
Jeong Pung-kak agents scattered throughout the compound all looked up at Noble Zhuge.
They stared at the banner.
Among them were Dang Gon, Dang Tae, Dang Jin, and... Dang Ho-san too.
"You winds that had to stay still all these years—!"
Noble Zhuge shook the high banner vigorously and shouted until his throat burst.
No, he roared.
"Whirlwind!!!"