Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 71. Qingcheng Sect
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Nangong Yurin had transcended her realm, manifesting sword aura for a fleeting moment.
The feat of defeating a Peak Realm expert who had even put Jeongu Taoist in dire straits became a massive topic among the other warriors.
While cleaning up afterward, the Murim Alliance warriors chatted about Nangong Yurin.
"Could it have been innate true qi?"
"You idiot. How would Nangong Yurin still be alive if so?"
"Who knows? Maybe someone at the Medical Pavilion Leader's level could even heal someone who's used innate true qi."
"What...?"
Innate true qi was the vital energy one possessed from birth, far more potent and pure than ordinary internal energy.
It was said that using innate true qi could double the power of one's martial arts.
However, afterward, one would either die or, if extremely lucky, end up a cripple.
It was common knowledge.
Thus, even martial artists hesitated to use it until the very last moment.
The warrior wondered if the Medical Pavilion Leader could truly heal even someone who'd used innate true qi, but he soon dismissed the notion.
"That's ridiculous. And are you confident you could manifest sword aura just by using innate true qi?"
Could someone who couldn't even use sword qi suddenly wield sword aura just by amplifying their martial art's power?
The warrior who'd brought up innate true qi shook his head.
"Well, yeah, that's not it."
"And did you see the lightning cloaking Nangong Yurin's sword earlier? Must be something she learned from the Sword King. I don't know what it was, but the Medical Pavilion Leader was stuck to her side treating her nonstop for a while. Probably some secret Nangong Family technique that puts a huge strain on the body."
The warrior's guess was quite close to the truth.
The other warriors, deeming his words reasonable, simply envied her for being born into the Nangong Family.
***
The Murim Alliance procession, having annihilated the Demonic Cultists, passed through the checkpoint smoothly.
The checkpoint officer flinched at the sight of the blood-soaked procession but turned a blind eye, as was customary so long as they hadn't massacred commoners.
"Hmm, hmm. Pass through."
"Much obliged."
The group picked up speed.
The carriages raced along the official road.
People marveled at Nangong Yurin's divine prowess and harbored some doubts, but upon hearing it was a secret technique from the Sword King that required staking her life, they didn't pry deeper.
Deeply probing another's martial arts when they didn't wish it was taboo even among the orthodox sects.
They merely congratulated her on becoming a Peak Realm expert.
Reaching Peak Realm at nineteen was astonishing even in the entire history of murim, but with Yuseong by her side, people could accept it to some degree.
There had been rumors that Yuseong, despite losing his martial arts, had reached Peak Realm at seventeen.
'It was thanks to that experience of briefly reaching an imperfect Transformation Realm level.'
Nangong Yurin surmised the reason she could become a Peak Realm expert without any special enlightenment.
Having survived unleashing the latter half of the Emperor Sword Form, her gratitude and fondness toward Yuseong deepened.
***
There was a change in personnel in Yuseong's carriage.
The two warriors who'd been riding with him had switched to another carriage, and a new figure lay there instead.
It was a man who'd lost consciousness, his acupoints sealed and his entire body bound.
With his mask removed, he was a middle-aged man of ordinary features. Unlike his plainly exposed face, his body was clad in pitch-black attire.
"As a Peak Realm expert of the Demonic Cult, he must know a great deal. Capturing someone like this is a major accomplishment."
Excluding this Peak Realm expert, all the others had bitten their poison pills and died while Yuseong was treating Nangong Yurin.
As befitting an expert, they confirmed no poison pill was hidden in this man's mouth.
"Indeed. This is all thanks to you all."
Cheongun Elder looked around at the group inside the carriage.
Yuseong and Nangong Yurin wore calm expressions, while Jeongu Taoist bowed his head slightly.
"I'm sorry. If only I hadn't let my guard down..."
"I'm not blaming Jeongu Taoist. In any case, the three of you combined forces to capture him, didn't you? The enemy's stealth was remarkable, so even if you'd focused, it would've been hard to notice him."
It was all in the past, so there was no need to speak ill to the Qingcheng Sect elder.
Cheongun Elder's seniority was higher, but he was still from another sect.
He too must have gained some realization from the recent events.
At that moment, the fallen Demonic Cultist's presence shifted.
Cheongun Elder noticed the man had awakened.
"Awake, are you? Why don't you tell us why you attacked us."
The Black Shadow Division Leader regained his senses and quickly assessed the situation.
He clearly remembered everything that had happened before he passed out.
It was hard to comprehend, but he'd been struck by the sword aura unleashed by that bloodied lump from the Nangong Family.
He recalled even witnessing Jeongu Taoist's swung fist while suffering severe internal injuries.
'I don't know what happened to my subordinates, but I've been captured.'
What a captured man would say was predictable.
If dragged to the Murim Alliance headquarters, he'd be tortured until he spilled all he knew, then killed.
Thus, the Black Shadow Division occasionally undertook a certain mission.
'To mercifully send off our captured cultists!'
They couldn't infiltrate the Murim Alliance headquarters, but when they couldn't rescue those captured outside, they had to ensure they didn't divulge information, killing them somehow.
He'd even personally ended a fellow cultist's life before.
However.
Having mobilized all nearby Black Shadow Division members only to have them annihilated, there was no one left to rescue him or kill him in his stead right now.
He made his judgment.
'Being taken like this will just end the usual way. I have to end it myself.'
The Black Shadow Division Leader felt around with his tongue for the specially crafted fake molar.
'It's still there. They must not have noticed.'
In the past, during a mission, one of his molars had broken.
The Black Shadow Division rule required always carrying a poison pill, so instead of the inconvenience of a loose one, he'd had a fake molar custom-made to fit the broken spot, hiding poison liquid inside.
He clenched his jaw hard, biting down on the fake molar.
Crack—!
The fake molar shattered, and the hidden poison liquid flowed out.
He gulped it down frantically, as if it were some legendary elixir.
As was typical for assassins, that poison would react with the one he'd already ingested, ending his life without much suffering.
Having swallowed the poison liquid, he felt relieved.
'I never imagined this day would come, but at least I can die peacefully.'
Even a famed Divine Physician couldn't detoxify him in such a short time.
At least, that was according to the Black Shadow Division Leader's common sense.
He knew the Divine Physician's skills were extraordinary, but understanding the principle of using divine power for detoxification skills was impossible.
"Heh heh, Medical Pavilion Leader. Looks like this one had a hidden trick. He's gone and drunk the poison after all."
"Understood."
At Cheongun Elder's words, Yuseong leisurely extended his hand.
The Black Shadow Division Leader glared furiously.
"Too late. I'll be waiting for you in hell!"
He shouted defiantly.
What was there left to hold back at the end?
However.
Yuseong pulled out a long silver needle and thrust it deeply near the man's heart.
'He drank poison anyway, so he's just going to kill me outright? Is it mercy because he's a Divine Physician?'
As the stray thought crossed his mind, the Black Shadow Division Leader's eyes widened in shock.
He realized what Yuseong had done.
The burning sensation from his esophagus and the frantic pounding of his heart subsided in an instant.
"No way—you detoxified my poison in that brief moment?!"
"Heh heh, you desperately blocked the path to Yucheon Immortal, yet you didn't even know the Divine Physician's detoxification prowess properly?"
"..."
The Murim Alliance had suddenly tightened security, rooting out their planted spies.
The Black Shadow Division Leader knew Yuseong had detoxified the Dao King, but he hadn't realized he could do it this easily.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Now, all he could do was endure as long as possible.
***
"Cheongun Elder, I'm sorry for realizing your dire situation so late."
The Sichuan Branch Leader of the Murim Alliance approached Cheongun Elder and apologized.
"No need. They moved so covertly that even the Beggars' Sect and House of Revelry failed to detect them, so it couldn't be helped. By the way, he wouldn't talk, so we rushed here—how is Yucheon Immortal's condition? Is it grave?"
"Yucheon Immortal? He's suffering, but not in critical condition. I hear the Tang Clan of Sichuan is attempting to detoxify him again recently, trying various methods."
"Really? That's a relief."
Cheongun Elder sighed in relief and glared at the Demonic Cultist.
His mouth was stubbornly shut.
The schedule was tight, and without a torture specialist, they'd given him simple torture on the way but extracted no information.
He was tough, as befitting a Demonic Cultist.
'I thought he was delaying so desperately because Yucheon Immortal was in peril—was the goal actually killing the Medical Pavilion Leader?'
He said to the branch leader,
"Could you hold onto this Demonic Cultist for a bit? I plan to take him back to headquarters after finishing up. As a Peak Realm expert, he knows plenty, but our circumstances aren't ideal to keep him here."
"Of course. Shall we try extracting information on our end?"
"That would be ideal. I leave it to you."
Leaving the Black Shadow Division Leader at the Murim Alliance Sichuan Branch, the group rested fully for a day.
They'd rushed so much that the warriors' fatigue had built up without recovery.
The next day.
"Everyone rested well? Let's get moving."
No further incidents occurred on the way to the Qingcheng Sect.
The group arrived safely at their destination.
"Welcome to the Qingcheng Sect."
"Good to be here. I'd like to see your sect leader."
"Ah! Would you? I'll guide you to the sect leader right away."
Jeongu Taoist said,
"Only the Medical Pavilion Leader and Cheongun Elder should come."
"Very well."
The Qingcheng Sect member led them to the sect leader's hall, a stately building with a blue-tiled roof.
As the group approached the entrance, someone walked out from inside.
"Huh? Who are you people?"
A young woman emerging from the sect leader's hall with a medicine bowl in hand eyed them with puzzlement in her green eyes.