Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Tareu's Ambition
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Desert rumors don't spread slowly just because it's the wasteland.
In fact, they circulate faster than in the Central Plains. The Great Desert Winds carry the gossip, and most Border Wasteland folk cluster around the oases. News of the Absolute Six Heavens' ruins discovered in Heavenly Mountain spread across the entire wasteland in an instant.
Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven's Heavenly Lord Parap heard the report in his bedroom.
Even in broad daylight, he was embracing a woman in his chambers. The one moaning beneath him was none other than Tareu, wife of Crimson Flame Heaven.
Tareu had rushed to Parap's bedroom upon hearing that her husband Crimson Flame Heaven had fallen, along with Geo Bu Chi and his crew.
Her husband was the sole pillar upholding Feng Sha Jeok Clan. Without him, the clan couldn't maintain its status as the kingdom's premier house, and Parap would surely absorb it. The former lord's family would be the first to be purged—that much was obvious.
Tareu didn't wait around. She went straight to him and offered herself along with her clan. She resolved to give her body because she knew Parap's ambitions.
Parap hadn't originally been part of Black Dragon House.
His exceptional talent had caught the eye of the previous lord, Invincible Yeo, making him his son-in-law.
Invincible Yeo died ten years after Parap became his son-in-law. The absolute powerhouse met a sudden end. Many believed it was grief over his daughter's death.
One year before Invincible Yeo perished, his daughter Mumu had died. Upon his death, the sole heir Parap took over Black Dragon House and eventually ascended as Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven's Heavenly Lord. Most accepted the house lord and his daughter's deaths as natural, but rival Feng Sha Jeok Clan couldn't. Years of investigation revealed Parap's involvement in both deaths.
But there was no proof.
The matter had no choice but to be buried.
Tareu knew Parap had eliminated his father-in-law and wife for his ambitions.
She also calculated he couldn't refuse her. To merge Feng Sha Jeok Clan, he needed her.
As expected, Parap didn't refuse.
"It's me, Heavenly Lord."
"Speak."
"Ruins of the Absolute Six Heavens have been found in Heavenly Mountain."
"Absolute Six Heavens' ruins?"
Parap's forceful movements halted abruptly.
"Darling, why...?"
Tareu called Parap "darling."
"Important news came in."
Parap sat up.
"Come in."
He called out toward the door.
"Gasp!"
Tareu hastily covered herself with the blanket. The door soon opened, and the reporter entered. The dark-skinned man was Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven's Chief Steward, Black Brain Cha Pa Ha.
Cha Pa Ha glanced at Tareu hiding behind Parap. She curled up as tightly as possible.
"Speak."
Parap pulled the blanket covering Tareu toward himself to shield his front. This exposed her entire naked body.
Tareu's figure was fantastically alluring, enough to make one unable to look away. She could pass for her late twenties or early thirties. Hardly any excess fat, her whole body brimmed with elasticity.
She tried to cover her chest with her arms, but it wasn't enough. Tareu looked at Parap. She knew he did it deliberately to humiliate her. Her gaze toward him chilled. Nothing like the passionate moans from moments ago.
"West of Heavenly Mountain's northern foothills in Chacha Kingdom lies Western Pure Land Plain— that's the site of the Absolute Six Heavens' ruins."
"Chacha Kingdom's north, you say?"
"Yes."
"Reliable intel?"
"With Central Plains martial artists already there, it seems accurate."
"Central Plains martial artists are present?"
Parap's eyes widened slightly.
"Ten Thousand Heavens, Yellow Dragon Heaven, Dream Horse Heaven, Boundless Heaven, Silver Crow Heaven folk are all there, plus hundreds more as individuals."
"If even they're there, it's solid. Tell Black Dragon Squad's commander to prepare for deployment immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Cha Pa Ha bowed and withdrew.
An hour later.
One thousand Black Dragon Squad elites of Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven's strongest force assembled in the grand training grounds. They all rode camels. Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven's Heavenly Lord Parap appeared a quarter-hour later, Chief Steward Cha Pa Ha at his side.
"Cha Pa Ha!"
Parap called.
"Yes."
"Deal with Tareu."
"Deal with her how...?"
"The woman's unpredictable. Eliminate her."
"Understood."
"See to it."
"Safe travels."
Cha Pa Ha bowed.
"Depart!"
A man of gigantic build rivaling Parap bellowed. Perched on his camel with a spear in hand, he was Black Dragon Squad's Vice Commander, Death Wind Battle Demon Naul Mok.
"Yah!"
"Tah!"
"Chah!"
A thousand camels charged across the desert in unison.
"Now then, shall we dispose of that witch?"
Cha Pa Ha knew Tareu hadn't come with good intentions. He headed to the main hall. Moments later, he reached Parap's bedroom.
Splash!
'Hm?'
His eyes widened slightly. Water sounds came from the bathroom.
'Heh.'
He soon chuckled.
Fiddling with his dagger, Cha Pa Ha approached the bathroom. Truth be told, he was debating: kill her outright, or enjoy her a bit first?
"First, some fun..."
The bathroom door burst open.
"Ack!"
Cha Pa Ha startled. Tareu had opened it. But she was naked. Water streamed down her undried body. So provocative that it froze Cha Pa Ha's every thought.
He stared blankly at her.
"Oh, may I put on some clothes? I didn't bring any since I was alone."
Tareu pointed to the bedroom.
Cha Pa Ha nodded.
"Thank you."
Tareu flashed a subtle smile.
"Huh!"
A groan escaped Cha Pa Ha's lips.
Her smile was devastatingly bewitching. Coupled with water dripping from her nude form, it seared into his mind indelibly.
"I'll head to the bed."
Whispering, Tareu brushed past him. Cha Pa Ha watched her back with a dazed face. Suddenly, blood surged to one place in his body.
"Urgh!"
He let out a scream-like groan and pounced on her. Tareu moaned sweetly.
It didn't make sense as a defenseless victim. Cha Pa Ha didn't realize it was highly calculated. The technique Tareu wielded was the infamous seduction art, Nine Heavens Soul-Dissolving Enchantment. She acquired it at Demon Temple.
In her youth, offering prayers at Demon Temple, she joined a 'sexual ritual.' Over half a year of rituals, at the abbot's urging, she learned Nine Heavens Soul-Dissolving Enchantment. At first, she didn't know it was a seduction art. Told it was a youth-preserving longevity technique, she trained diligently.
Then she learned the truth. The abbot taught it to heighten sexual ecstasy. Of course, the youth effect was remarkable.
Tareu's thirties-like figure stemmed from Nine Heavens Soul-Dissolving Enchantment.
A seduction art, it was also an energy absorption technique that drained essence and internal energy.
Cha Pa Ha mounted her from behind.
Lost in frenzy, he didn't notice his internal energy and essence draining away.
Tareu moaned to egg him on further, and Cha Pa Ha emptied himself completely.
He realized too late, after his dantian went dry. Not just his thirty years of cultivation, but his very essence was gone.
Thud!
He collapsed limply.
Tareu rose and looked down at him. Drained utterly, Cha Pa Ha had withered to a mummy, life force fled.
In contrast, radiance emanated from Tareu's body.
"Energy Absorption Demon Art..."
"You're not the only one who's given me your energy. My ex-husband, and even that bastard Parap."
Tareu smiled as she spoke.
"You weren't found out?"
"The terror of Nine Heavens Soul-Dissolving Enchantment is that I control how much I drain. Take five to ten years per romp, and men never notice. They blame fatigue from excess."
"H-how much did you take from me?"
Cha Pa Ha couldn't fathom why he asked that now.
"My husband gave me thirty years, Parap thirty and a half."
"Then already a hundred and a half..."
"That's just from you three."
Tareu smiled faintly and placed her palm on his head. Raising her energy, terrifying heat poured from her hand. Soon, Cha Pa Ha's body crumbled to dust.
"This is just the beginning."
Tareu murmured coldly.
Over the next two days, Black Wind Squad and Black Vanguard Squad's commanders answered secret summons to meet Tareu and never returned. They too offered all their energy and essence to her.
"Family Mother summons you."
The elderly man's chopsticks halted mid-meal.
A hulking white-haired man with deep eyes, he was Black Vanguard Squad's Vice Commander, Black Demon Guest Nuru Ha Jin. Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven had three organizations: Black Dragon Squad, Black Wind Squad, and Black Vanguard Squad. Upon becoming house lord, Parap reorganized them. He filled Black Dragon Squad with the strongest and most loyal, Black Wind Squad with slightly weaker ones.
The lowest, Black Vanguard Squad, consisted of previous lord Invincible Yeo's followers—mostly older men. Yet he placed his own aides as commanders.
"Why does Family Mother call for me...?"
Nuru Ha Jin eyed the messenger.
"I wouldn't know."
"When?"
"She wishes to see you now."
"...Understood."
Nuru Ha Jin rose.
Moments later, he entered the Heavenly Lord's residence. Tareu had summoned him to Parap's bedroom.
"Gasp!"
His eyes bulged upon entry. Two mummified corpses lay on the floor. Though desiccated, he recognized them: Black Wind and Black Vanguard Squad commanders.
Tareu sat deeper inside.
Nuru Ha Jin looked at her.
"Those two tried to rape me. The chief steward came first, then these two."
"The chief steward..."
"He came right after Parap left."
"By the Heavenly Lord's order?"
"Do you think the chief steward would dare touch the Lord's consort without permission?"
"..."
"Shall we discuss Black Dragon House now?"
"What do you—"
"Does the vice commander truly believe Invincible Yeo died suddenly for no reason?"
"..."
"Our Feng Sha Jeok Clan investigated deeply, as it concerned our rival house. We found outsiders involved in Lady Mumu and Lord Invincible Yeo's deaths."
"Not just the lord, but the eldest lady too?"
Nuru Ha Jin knew Invincible Yeo's death was suspicious. But with no proof and Parap in full control, he stayed silent.
"Yes."
"Why stay silent?"
"Circumstantial evidence only, no proof. Sending my son Ri Ha as Parap's disciple was to find that proof."
Of course, it was a lie. But to draw Nuru Ha Jin in, she lied smoothly.
"What now?"
"We must find Lady Mumu."
"Surely she's not alive?"
Nuru Ha Jin trembled as he asked.
"I don't know. But our investigations found no body."
This part was true. Mumu's corpse was never found.
"Then she might be alive."
"Yes. Without confirmed death, it's possible."
Tareu nodded.
Just words to reel him in; she didn't believe Mumu lived.
"If Parap returns?"
"Like this."
Tareu extended her hand toward the corpses.
Boom!
Whoosh!
No sign of palm force, yet the two commanders powdered.
"Ah, Demon Formless Palm!"
Nuru Ha Jin cried in shock. Demon Formless Palm ranked supreme among Border Wastelands' palm techniques. Immense power, but required at least fifty years of internal energy. Yet Tareu unleashed it effortlessly.
"Will you join hands with me?"
"...Yes."
Nuru Ha Jin bowed.