Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: After the Shaocheon Peak Bloodbath
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Baek Dong gritted his teeth as he glared at Dang Gon.
‘How dare a mere human…!’
Baek Dong took immense pride in being a jiangshi.
Unlike humans, who lived in constant anxiety over their fixed lifespans and uncertain deaths, he could enjoy a near-eternal existence.
Just look at his master and teacher, the White Bone Nether Sorcerer—he had already lived over a hundred years.
He didn’t need to eat anything in particular, nor did he have to satisfy urges for sleep or lust.
Even if part of his body was damaged, he could simply replace that section.
That was why Baek Dong believed jiangshi were the most superior evolved lifeforms.
Humans were nothing more than spare parts or fodder for them.
Just as livestock couldn’t defy humans, humans existed to serve the jiangshi.
And in truth, all the humans Baek Dong had encountered lived that way.
But Dang Gon seemed different.
He was far too strong.
The indolent demeanor from their first meeting was gone; now, he unleashed nothing but ferocious gales.
Wherever those gales swept through, only ruins remained without exception.
The fact that one of the four elite sword guards he had brought was already dead was proof enough.
‘I can’t close the distance at all.’
Every time the whip spun in a frenzy, it felt like they could turn the tide if they could just pierce into the gale—but no openings appeared.
“What are you doing? Did you boast like that just to flail around like this?”
Dang Gon sneered at him.
Baek Dong felt a surge of rage.
He knew it was a simple taunt, yet it still grated on him.
It wasn’t just being scorned by a human he considered inferior—the mockery in Dang Gon’s laugh had something that provoked the depths of one’s soul.
A thought he couldn’t help but have, not knowing what kind of “training” Dang Gon had received from Unhwi.
Hoo—
Baek Dong took a long breath to regain his composure.
Then, opening his bulging eyes wide, he said,
“I now see that you’re no ordinary human. So from here on, I’ll face you in earnest.”
“Quit yapping and prove it with your skills. What good is a man who talks this much? Tsk tsk.”
Dang Gon crooked a finger toward him.
Snap!
A vein bulged on Baek Dong’s forehead.
“I’ll rip that mouth off and kill you!!”
Unaware that he had uttered the exact same line as the White Bone Nether Sorcerer, Baek Dong bellowed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, the three elite sword guards behind him leaped forward.
Evil Spirit Triad Formation.
Elite sword guards were bioweapons born by summoning the malevolent spirits of masters from life into jiangshi bodies.
The closer they clustered, the more their spiritual waves synchronized, dramatically boosting their power.
The Evil Spirit Triad Formation was a linked assault array where the trio moved as one to battle experts.
Baek Dong planned to exploit the blind spot and close in while the three disrupted Dang Gon’s whip and vision.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Dang Gon read the momentum and reverted to a serious expression.
White Victory Chain Formation
Chaotic Whip Storm
The whip, accompanied by a ferocious gale, swept wildly across the ground and tore through the air.
At this point, the gale had transcended into a tempest.
The old Tempest Squad members could each generate such tempests in their own ways.
Dang Gon favored creating his by weaving sharp hidden weapons through the erratic whip strikes.
‘If I lose to trash like these jiangshi, I’ll just get mocked by our young master!’
What use was a warrior whose authority had hit rock bottom?
He could already picture Unhwi covering his mouth in laughter.
To prevent that, he intended to shred them as quickly as possible.
Whirrr!
Boom!
The three elite sword guards, shooting forward like arrows, clashed with the gale formation.
They desperately tried to break through the tempest.
Deflecting whips, batting away hidden weapons.
Whenever they seemed to draw near, they borrowed the power of spirit arts to split the gale—but they were always repelled.
Still, the Triad Formation was exceptionally proficient, managing to briefly steal Dang Gon’s attention.
Flash!
As two streaks hurtled toward his face, he swiftly retracted the gale formation to deflect them, creating a blind spot in his vision.
‘Damn it!’
He sensed a sharp killing intent.
Dang Gon twisted his body late, but Baek Dong had already shattered the tempest wall and closed to striking range.
It was a blunder from overlooking the small stature.
‘It’s too hard to dodge!’
Dang Gon figured he’d have to endure this attack, injury or not.
Then he’d seize the opening for a counter.
Big moves always left gaps afterward—he could blow a hole through Baek Dong’s skull then.
As he braced for severe wounds, a sword plunged from the sky like an arrow.
Azure Steel Sword.
It was Dang Gyujin’s blade, infused with the Paragons of Heaven and Earth Sword Qi.
Boom!
“Gah…! What the—"
For Baek Dong, who had expected to punch a hole in Dang Gon’s side with this ambush, it was like a bolt from the blue.
The Azure Steel Sword pierced between them and stabbed into the ground.
A small explosion erupted, and the sword qi swirled—striking Baek Dong full force.
His ghostly aura was washed away, his body stiffening.
Baek Dong struggled to regain control and retreat, but he spotted Dang Gon flicking his left index finger toward him first.
Swallowtail Dart.
The Dang Clan’s signature hidden weapon embedded in Baek Dong’s forehead.
Thud!
His skull shattered, body collapsing, and the three elite sword guards faltered at their commander’s death—giving the gale formation an opening to whip up a whirlwind.
The whip sliced through one’s groin.
Dang Gyujin, arriving right after, yanked out the Azure Steel Sword and cleaved the other two at the waist.
Splurt!
The bisected corpses of the three elite sword guards crumpled limply to the ground.
“Thank you for the assistance, Lady Dang.”
“Not at all. All I did was watch.”
Dang Gyujin smiled lightly and flicked the blood from her Azure Steel Sword.
She then glanced subtly behind her.
Namgung San-yeong stood rigidly.
From the shrine’s destruction to eliminating the jiangshi—doubts about whether they could pull it off had been proven wrong one after another, leaving her mind in turmoil.
‘Then the White Bone Nether Sorcerer too…!’
If Unhwi succeeded in taking down the White Bone Nether Sorcerer, the Sichuan martial world would erupt in chaos.
The weight of the Twelve Black Ghosts’ name was immense in Sichuan.
In that case, the Nine Dragons Branch succession would naturally fall to Unhwi.
Squeeze.
The position she’d thought she’d abandoned now dangled tantalizingly before her eyes, stirring regret.
Dang Gyujin read her mother’s thoughts and saw no point in responding further.
At the same time, it left a bitter taste.
Her mother was just as bound by the past.
* * *
I released the Evil Ghost Battle Cloak. My white hair darkened, and the Thousand Silent Robe brightened again.
I plopped down on a nearby rock like it was a chair.
Fortunately, the “lesson” for the White Bone Nether Sorcerer had gone splendidly.
“Meeting you like this in death makes it even nicer, doesn’t it, Teacher?”
“Y-Yo-Young Heavenly Demon—”
Whack!
The club slammed into the back of the trembling White Bone Nether Sorcerer’s head again.
“You worm! Do you think the Young Branch Lord sees you as a friend?! Still haven’t come to your senses!”
“The Young Branch Lord calls you ‘teacher’ out of soft-heartedness—do you think you’re really his teacher?!”
“Spine! Look at the spine!”
“No, no! No, please stop—”
Only after another thorough thrashing did the White Bone Nether Sorcerer snap to his senses and prostrate before me.
“I’ll do anything you command! Just please stop that brutish beating—”
“‘I’ll do’ what?”
The wraiths’ clubs gleamed again.
“Eeeeek! No, my lord! This disciple misspoke!!”
“Little bro! Bust any newbie’s head if they spout nonsense! We’ll handle the rest!”
“Understood! I shall faithfully follow the esteemed seniors’ words!”
Number Fifteen now saluted before raising his club high.
It was clear: among the wraiths, he was the most thrilled.
“Number Sixteen! From now on, answer every question from the Young Branch Lord faithfully, sincerely, and to the best of your ability! Got it!!”
“H-Head Family One, how dare you to me—”
Whack!
“Aaaah! Please, no more beatings—”
“Bonds from life mean nothing in death! I’m not Head Family One or whatever. I’m just the Young Branch Lord’s loyal slave, Number Fifteen! Got it, Number Sixteen!!”
“Y-Yes, I got it!”
“Voice too quiet! Answer properly!”
“Yes!!”
Only after pummeling the White Bone Nether Sorcerer a couple more times did Number Fifteen salute me loyally.
“All preparations are complete! Ask anything, Young Branch Lord!!”
At first, I wondered what the point was of the wraiths playing hierarchy games, but it sure had its conveniences.
“Good work.”
“Command us in anything! We’ll execute the mission with utmost loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
I crouched halfway in front of the White Bone Nether Sorcerer and smiled.
“Feeling sane now, Teacher?”
“…Sob sob.”
Had a demonic overlord who’d lived over a century ever endured such treatment?
The White Bone Nether Sorcerer burst into nonexistent tears.
How much beating does it take to turn a wraith into a dust-covered mess?
“There’s just so much I want to ask.”
“A-Anything! Anything at all! If you wish, I can even tell you the color of my undergarments from today—”
“Not curious about your filthy nonsense.”
Suppressing the urge to just turn him into a soul pellet, I asked.
My eyes sank deeply.
I’d waited so long for this moment.
“Tell me everything that happened in Heavenly Mountain after six years ago.”
“Th-That is—”
I glanced sideways, and Number Fifteen and the wraiths raised their clubs higher.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! I was just pondering where to start!!”
“Any more fancy footwork, and heads get bashed first?”
“Understood!!”
Interrogating the broken White Bone Nether Sorcerer wouldn’t be hard.
“Af-After the Sh-Shaocheon Peak B-Bloodbath—”
Shaocheon Peak Bloodbath.
Right after I took down numerous elders and executives in mutual destruction, the New Cult erupted in civil war, as I knew.
Five of the Nine Great Demon Sects rose up as if waiting.
Blade Demon North Sea Sect.
Fist Demon Beast Sect.
Killing Demon Phantom Sect.
True Demon Nine Yin Sect.
Wind Demon Great Desert Sect.
They formed a coalition and promptly razed the Moon Witch Sun-Moon Sect, which had guarded the Branch Lord’s chambers for generations, then invaded the core stronghold of the Hidden Demon Divine Transformation Sect.
…To secure my master’s person.
As the saying goes: Use the Son of Heaven to command the vassals.
Like Cao Cao of Wei wielding the emperor to control the lords, they sought to seize my master—the Branch Lord—and grip the New Cult’s real power.
A coup attempt.
They’d originally planned to secretly eliminate me and take the Branch Lord’s chambers, but when things went awry, they moved desperately.
Rage boiled up from within.
I’d uncovered the list of traitors colluding with the Orthodox Alliance, but these scum daring to harm my master was unbearable.
Even the criminal wraiths fell silent, trembling at that moment.
They just rolled their eyes, watching me carefully.
But one thing didn’t add up.
If they’d secured my master safely, the Hidden Demon Divine Transformation Sect would resist fiercely, but the other sects would have no choice but to obey, allowing them to continue ruling.
So why the civil war?
“What happened to my master?”
My eyes sank deeply.