Chapter 86
Chapter 86
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Ancient Clan's Martial Genius (86)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Hm?’
Yuk Jin-yang blinked.
Suddenly, a dizzy spell clouded his mind. It came with a profound weakness that made his entire body feel limp. It was a symptom from prolonged qi circulation—common in his previous life, but a first in this second one.
He was flustered.
Was it from the successive battles? Or had the exhaustion from Shandong not fully recovered?
‘Could be both.’
Yuk Jin-yang felt his own limitations acutely. One could call it complacency. He had overly trusted the aptitudes of his new body in this life.
Fortunately, the symptoms didn’t last long. Yuk Jin-yang steadied himself and joined his allies.
The Geunryeong Squadron rampaged like a tiger charging into a wolf pack. They stabbed and slashed relentlessly, driving the enemies back without mercy.
But few sought to flee for their lives. Unlike in Shandong, these foes felt far more elite.
Roughly an hour passed. All the White Lotus cultists lay as corpses on the ground.
The Five Harmony Alliance members brushed back their hair or roughly wiped the blood from their faces with their sleeves. They all panted heavily, without exception.
“Tough bastards.”
Yoo Baek spat in disgust. His appearance was especially wretched—his white martial robes completely soaked red.
Yoo Baek grumbled at Won Yeong.
“What the hell are these guys? With such a clear skill gap, they charge in smiling instead.”
“Seems like handpicked elites among the White Lotus cultists. That sort doesn’t cling to life. They believe death for the cult guarantees bliss in the afterlife.”
“Crazy bastards?”
“The truly deranged ones charge even with limbs severed. You’ll have to get used to it.”
Won Yeong replied nonchalantly, then slowly inspected the corpses. She particularly rummaged through the nun whose head Yuk Jin-yang had crushed. Her eyes sparkled as she found something.
“Youngest, that nun you crushed seems to have played a pretty important role here.”
In her hand was a small keyring. She grinned triumphantly, but her eyes widened upon seeing Yuk Jin-yang.
“You... nosebleed...”
Yuk Jin-yang wiped under his nose. Red blood stained his hand.
“More taxing than expected. Haven’t opened your middle dantian yet?”
Won Yeong, instantly grasping his condition, asked carefully. Yuk Jin-yang nodded honestly.
“Took longer than anticipated.”
“Quite surprising. With your talent, I figured you’d have it open by now.”
“...”
“You’ll be traversing the land, handling consecutive battles ahead. Hurry to open it once we’re back.”
The middle dantian wasn’t merely extra space for accumulating internal energy. Its true power lay in replenishing mental strength. A fortified sense of self to withstand the world’s tempests.
This made a world of difference.
Executing superior martial arts demanded utmost concentration. It constantly eroded mind and body. That was why overuse often led to crippled meridians or heart demons.
But with the middle dantian open, such worries vanished. It was akin to fully unleashing a warrior’s latent power.
“Don’t worry too much. What’s a senior for? I’ll help if needed.”
“Thanks just for the thought.”
Yuk Jin-yang smiled wryly in response. Yoo Baek, overhearing, feigned offense and tossed a joke.
“You always said self-enlightenment is key. Aren’t you too lenient on the new kid?”
“If you weren’t so slippery, you could’ve gotten cute junior treatment too. When was it? Seniors gave you golden advice, and you scurried off to your grandma...”
“My bad.”
Yoo Baek clammed up, looking sullen.
No more enemies blocked their path. Instead, all sorts of traps revealed themselves—from primitive pits to arrow mechanisms hidden in tree branches.
Struggling through the White Lotus cult’s traces like this, Yoo Baek tilted his head and muttered to himself.
“Something’s off...”
“What?”
Won Yeong didn’t miss it and pressed. Yoo Baek sheepishly shared his thoughts.
“Nothing big. Not a strategic chokepoint, yet they’ve got such solid defenses. What’s their angle?”
“Fair point. Martial world’s center has always been the Central Plains and the North. Even after the Ming founding, the East gained notice, and huge sects in Huguang? Only Wudang.”
“What about the Namgung Clan?”
“Half-declined ones are exceptions.”
Won Yeong shot him a glare and returned to the main topic.
“But from a mundane worldly view, it’s different. Huguang has long been the logistics hub linking south and north of the Yangtze.”
“White Lotus isn’t running caravans or merchant groups, though?”
“Why not? They need funding too. And goods circulated despite government or orthodox surveillance yield massive profits.”
Yuk Jin-yang agreed with that view.
Be they unorthodox sects or cults, sustaining a group required money. But black path groups or unlicensed cults had severely limited earning methods.
Extort the common folk, scam them, or sell items banned by imperial law.
“The missions against White Lotus were tied to that. Intel came in about them posing as merchants against black path groups. We ended up getting hit instead of cracking down.”
“Merchants? Selling what, exactly...”
That was when it happened. Yuk Jin-yang’s eyes caught a suspicious spot.
“Senior, doesn’t that look fishy?”
Yuk Jin-yang pointed to a cave on the ridge.
Hidden by towering trees and underbrush—if not paying close attention, it was easy to miss. Perfect for hiding something.
“Good eye.”
Won Yeong drew her compact sword with brief praise. The other two did the same. The closer they got, the stronger the ominous aura. Proof it was the cultists’ lair.
The group cautiously probed the cave’s interior. It widened the deeper they went. No telling how far it stretched.
The inside reeked of musty earth and damp mildew, laced with a base, vile energy.
Won Yeong lit a fire starter from her bosom with her free hand. The soft flame pierced the darkness. Human footprints marked the floor.
Their gazes shifted—from floor to walls and ceiling. Everyone recoiled in shock.
Screaming human figures were carved into the cave walls and ceiling like relief sculptures. Horrific visages filled every direction.
That was the true nature of the rough surfaces they’d mistaken. Not natural wear of time, nor mere art to intimidate visitors.
“Youngest hit the mark.”
Won Yeong murmured.
Hell. The word flashed through Yuk Jin-yang’s mind. The cave evoked scenes from Buddhist hell murals depicting the Ten Kings.
Yuk Jin-yang slowly examined the surfaces. Faint pulses of life stirred. Minds dead, yet flesh somehow kept alive by some means. Utterly revolting.
“These carvings aren’t mere imitations. I feel faint vitality. Even heartbeats.”
“Yeah, I sense it too. Like half-finished clay Buddha statues.”
“Th-they... no way the cultists made these from living humans?”
Yoo Baek whispered hoarsely. Won Yeong nodded.
Despite his agitation, Yuk Jin-yang murmured calmly.
“Deeply worried if the captives are still alive.”
“These are just failures. No internal energy, right? They wouldn’t waste precious sacrifices before the winter ritual.”
Won Yeong stated coldly. She too burned with anger at the cult’s deeds.
“Likely test pieces made as practice before the rite. Lingering grudges sometimes make fine curse ingredients.”
“Scum with no respect for the dead...!”
Yoo Baek raised his voice unwittingly, then clamped his mouth shut.
The other two paid it no mind.
They’d grasped no real threats remained. Half-convinced from the lack of reaction even deep inside. The defenses had utterly collapsed.
The group quickened their pace. At the long passage’s end loomed a massive iron door. They’d found the use for the nun’s keys.
Inserting and turning one produced grinding clicks as mechanisms engaged. With a scrape along the floor, the door swung open on its own. Beyond the thick darkness, faint human presences stirred.
Several men and women lay weakly sprawled in the cavernous prison. Won Yeong rushed forward and swung her compact sword.
Ching!
Despite her fierce momentum, the blade didn’t even scratch the iron bars. Clearly no ordinary material.
As Won Yeong snorted and prepared to infuse her sword with qi—
“Wouldn’t one of the keys fit?”
Yuk Jin-yang, watching from behind, suggested mildly. Realizing her haste, Won Yeong flushed.
“Showed a poor showing before my junior.”
“So senior, that habit of striking first...”
“Ow!”
Yoo Baek clutched his shin, groaning. Ignoring the inept junior, Won Yeong’s face brightened as she searched the keyring.
“Found it.”
Clank! Thud!
The bars lifted automatically upon turning the key.
An ingenious mechanism beyond what a mere cult should possess—but the group spared it no glance, prioritizing the captives’ welfare.
Among them were Five Harmony Alliance warriors bearing badges.
“Thank goodness. They’re alive.”
Won Yeong checked their pulses, sighing in relief as she patted her chest.
But the prisoners’ conditions were dire. All hovered near death from severe wounds, with only crude bandages as “treatment.” Likely to curb resistance.
Yuk Jin-yang checked the others. Mostly low-level martial artists. He could tell from the faint qi in their dantians. Probably officials pursuing the White Lotus.
“Wh-who are you?”
A Five Harmony Alliance warrior Yuk Jin-yang supported barely lifted his eyelids.
His fear-constricted pupils quickly scanned Yuk Jin-yang’s attire. Upon spotting the blackwood badge at his waist, the man’s face transformed with surging joy.
In a trembling voice, he asked—
“Five Harmony Alliance?”
“Geunryeong Squadron’s Yuk Jin-yang. We’ve come to rescue you.”
“The Alliance truly didn’t abandon us!”
Overcome with emotion, the man gripped Yuk Jin-yang’s arm firmly.
“There’s something you all must know.”