Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: 화산천마 (200)화
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Warning to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult
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Janchil's pupils shook violently.
It was a strike with his all.
A sword technique perfectly thrust toward the opening, yet it was blocked so easily.
'How...?'
Janchil felt bewildered.
Assassins were those who walked on the edge of a blade.
And rightly so, for they took lives on commission.
Success meant higher pay, but failure came at the cost of their own lives.
Thus, they never acted rashly.
Failure meant death.
They moved only when absolutely certain.
Especially in Janchil's case.
He was a heaven-rank assassin, one of the elite even in the Blood Net, the largest assassin organization.
Over decades, he had completed every mission without a single failure.
His caution had reached its peak.
This time too, he had suppressed his presence and aura, biding his time patiently before striking.
Yet it was futilely blocked, leaving him in unspeakable shock.
At that moment.
"Not a bad sword art."
Cheonhwi praised Janchil's sword.
It was crude and lacked follow-up, but it poured everything into that one strike.
His spirit, his will.
"But that's all the more disappointing. How can an assassin lose his composure just because his sword was blocked? You should follow up with the next attack. Or are you just going to offer your neck right here? Tsk tsk. Who trained you assassins anyway?"
"...!"
At the sudden advice, Janchil hastily regained his senses. Gritting his teeth at Cheonhwi's pitiful gaze, he gripped his sword tighter.
Kwak!
But the sword in his hand wouldn't budge, as if lodged in rock.
"You think that'll free i... Huh?"
Just as Cheonhwi was about to continue.
Kaang!
A sharp clang rang out.
Gong Sonseung, readjusting his grip, had struck upward at the sword embedded in his shoulder.
Blood sprayed skyward from the forceful deflection of the blade half-buried in his left shoulder.
"Kuhk!"
Yet Gong Sonseung let out only a short groan before leaping back.
"Oh, you endured that? Tough one."
Cheonhwi turned to him, as if chunks of flesh being sliced off meant nothing, just as.
Tat!
Janchil leaped upward, thrusting both feet forward toward Cheonhwi's face.
"Well, well?"
Cheonhwi tilted his head aside, dodging the kick.
The moment he evaded.
Hwik!
Seizing the moment Cheonhwi's grip loosened, Janchil finally yanked his sword free.
"Huh?"
Cheonhwi wiggled his now-empty hand and looked ahead.
"Kuk!"
Janchil retreated hastily, landing beside Gong Sonseung, who clutched his wound.
"Heok, heok."
"Huk, huk."
Both panted heavily.
But only for a moment.
"Damn it!"
Gong Sonseung pulled a golden sore remedy from his robes and smeared it on his shoulder without looking.
"Kuk!"
Wincing in agony, he gritted his teeth and tore his robes.
Then he wrapped his shoulder tightly.
"You're more skilled at first aid than martial arts."
Muttering at the makeshift treatment, Cheonhwi lowered his sword.
Blood dripped steadily, staining the dirt.
"Looks like there's nothing more to see."
Cheonhwi's lips curled into a long grin.
"Let's end this."
With those words, Cheonhwi moved.
Pat!
Janchil, who had been watching Cheonhwi intently, clenched his teeth harder as his presence vanished in an instant.
"...Kkaduk."
Muscles twitched in his clenched jaw, cold killing intent flowing in his eyes.
Janchil channeled all his internal energy into his sword.
Normally, he'd reserve some for escape, but no time now.
Gong Sonseung was the same.
He raised his sword with his good right arm, unleashing all his qi.
Wuuuu—
Light emanated from his sword.
Just as Haenam Sect's Primordial Yang Divine Art merged with the sword to unleash its might.
Swaeak!
Gong Sonseung swung first, lightning-fast.
His ultimate technique, Heaven Defying Sword, swept out with unprecedented ferocity.
Though off-balance from losing one hand, its momentum surpassed his prior strikes.
"Good eyes. Chasing my Divine Shadow Hundred Transformations."
Cheonhwi half-closed his eyes at the Heaven Defying Sword tracking his presence.
Feeling mortal peril perhaps.
Until moments ago, Gong Sonseung couldn't even sense him, yet now he stared straight ahead, swinging wide.
Cheonhwi stepped forward.
Toward the raging Heaven Defying Sword, his own sword soared skyward.
Kaaaang!
Striking from below upward, Cheonhwi closed in on Gong Sonseung, smirking at his shocked face.
"You first."
"M-monster..."
Seogeuk!
A gruesome sound spread.
Gong Sonseung's head flew skyward, spraying blood everywhere.
At the same instant.
Taat!
The hidden assassins attacked.
Cheonhwi's sword rose high.
In that moment, crimson plum blossoms scattered amid Gong Sonseung's blood, blooming.
A bizarre sight that took one's breath away.
But Cheonhwi, who created it, impassively swung his sword downward.
A simple stroke from above to below.
Yet those watching paled and stiffened.
For they recognized the technique.
The one just used moments ago!
Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword, Fifth Form.
Falling Petals Fill the Heavens.
Crimson plum blossoms soaked in blood poured down like rain, engulfing the assassins.
Terror on their faces, yet the death-defying assassins ignored the blossoms and charged.
Flesh-Slicing Bone-Cleaving Technique!
Too late to block the downpour, they gripped their swords and hidden weapons tighter.
They tried to break through the blossoms.
Tuk.
The plum blossoms blocked their advance.
Some swung hands and swords to bat them away.
Seogeuk!
Blossoms burst, petals slicing flesh on contact.
Yet the assassins pressed on toward Cheonhwi, pain familiar to them.
And that was their mistake.
Shwaaa—
The scattering petals intensified, hurtling faster at them.
Impossibly dense.
Soon, the petals overwhelmed them.
"Kwaaak!"
"Keheok!"
"S-save..."
Agonized screams and rending flesh echoed relentlessly.
As the petals, now iridescent with their blood, glistened.
Swaeaeak!
A sword thrust from beside Cheonhwi.
Janchil, focused solely on slashing, charged like a single blade.
All-in on this strike, his sword blazed with intense qi, piercing Cheonhwi's side.
"That again?"
Cheonhwi gazed at it indifferently, as if he knew.
Shifting his left foot back slightly, he twisted his sword toward the incoming Janchil.
Puk!
Cheonhwi's sword pierced his abdomen.
But Janchil didn't stop.
As if resolved to mutual destruction, he grabbed the embedded sword with his left hand and thrust with his right.
"You'll die here!"
Janchil's eyes blazed with desperate killing intent.
His sharply aimed sword neared Cheonhwi's throat.
"No, that's impossible."
Cheonhwi sneered.
Then thrust his left palm forward.
"...!"
As the palm flew toward his chest, Janchil's eyes widened.
Peoeok!
Falling Flower Chasing Shadow Palm shattered his ribs, hurling him backward.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
Bouncing several times, he flew over ten zhang before sprawling limp.
"Uh, ughak!"
"Heok, heuk!"
The Soul Captivation Sect and Golden Whip Division warriors gasped at Janchil collapsed before them.
His state was gruesome.
A hole in his abdomen spilled blood and entrails; his chest bore a clear handprint, deeply caved in.
"Kuh, keheok."
Barely clinging to life, foaming blood.
Jeobeok— Jeobeok—
Cheonhwi approached, looking down impassively.
"You shouldn't have come to Shaanxi, at least."
"Kuh, kkuruk—"
Cheonhwi plunged his sword.
It pierced his throat precisely, embedding in the ground.
"Heop!"
At the gasp nearby, Cheonhwi turned to the Soul Captivation Sect and Golden Whip Division warriors.
"Ah, you guys were here too?"
His words sent their souls fleeing in shock.
Overwhelming prowess aside.
Dominating their minds was the sword without hesitation.
"P-please spare me."
One knelt, groveling tearfully, rubbing hands.
But.
"No, you all must die."
Cheonhwi stated firmly.
"It's cleaner that way."
Moments later, surveying the field littered with countless corpses, Cheonhwi shook blood from his sword and muttered.
"Now, only those guys left."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Euk."
Choryeon awoke from unconsciousness.
Regaining senses, she quickly scanned around.
"Where is this...?"
Spotting the stoic man, she frowned and spoke.
"What happened?"
"The Division Leader was defeated..."
"Enough. No need for more."
Choryeon bit her lip and stood.
"You still need rest."
"In this state?"
Choryeon gnawed her lip anxiously.
"We must report to the Cult immediately."
Her eyes froze cold.
"The mission failed, but we gained something."
"I'll investigate him thoroughly."
"You alone? Impossible."
Choryeon said firmly.
The Daoist Cheonhwi she'd faced wasn't ordinary.
"First to the safehouse. Hide and report to the Cult."
"Understood."
They unleashed extreme movement arts, vanishing into a remote valley.
Near a waterfall, they scanned, then reached out.
The air rippled like waves, swallowing them.
Inside the illusion array, they approached the hut slowly.
"You report to the Cult first. I..."
As Choryeon opened the door.
"...!"
"Division Leader!"
They froze.
"Munch munch, ah, you're here?"
The safehouse should have been empty.
Yet a man in crimson robes sat with back turned, tearing into meat.
Choryeon sent a transmission hastily.
Did the Cult send someone?
No such notice.
Then who...
Their faces hardened.
This was a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult safehouse.
Only high-ranking members knew entry.
Seu—
Choryeon gathered qi.
Cold yin energy at her fingertips began infiltrating the hut.
"Wait a sec. One bottle left."
The man, words unfit for the tension, tilted his head back and chugged the bottle.
Gulp, gulp.
A familiar scent tickled her nose.
'...Liquor?'
As Choryeon glared at the swigging man's back.
Tak.
He set the bottle down.
Casually wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he stood and turned.
"Kuh. Now, let's talk."
Seeing his face at last, Choryeon and the man recoiled in horror.
"Y-you?"
"You know my Dao title."
The man, Cheonhwi, grinned.
"How did you find this place...?"
"Doesn't matter."
Cheonhwi tilted his head lightly.
"Relay exactly what I say to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
"What nonsense..."
"Whether you conquer the Central Plains or dye the world in blood, I don't care."
Cheonhwi's eyes darkened endlessly.
Black-and-white divided pupils.
Choryeon was trapped in their abyssal depths.
"But one thing."
As Cheonhwi spoke, he circulated the Absolute Dominion Art.
Hwaaak!
Its energy flooded the hut, utterly suppressing them.
"Kuk!"
"Heop!"
Their heads bowed involuntarily.
Absolute aura, overwhelming presence.
The man beside Choryeon buckled to his knees.
Choryeon held, barely.
'B-breathing's hard.'
Sweat poured; heart pounded to burst.
'What aura is this? Even compared to the Cult Leader's Heavenly Demon Divine Art...'
Choryeon halted the thought.
Any further was blasphemy.
Then Cheonhwi's lips parted.
"Do not touch Mount Hua."
With that, he slowly stepped toward the open door.
Jeobeok— Jeobeok—
One step, one step.
Their hearts raced at the approaching footfalls.
Finally, looking down, they saw his feet pass.
Yet they couldn't move.
After an eternity, the steps faded away.
"Haa, haa."
"Heok, heok."
Color returned; they gasped.
About an incense stick later.
"Who? Who could..."
Choryeon stared at the open door.
No, recalling the departed Cheonhwi, she bit her nails.
"...Mount Hua, Mount Hua. Mount Hua..."
Muttering it repeatedly, she scowled and turned sharply.
Low voice to the man.
"Hurry, relay to the Cult. Everything that happened today!"
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi outside dispersed the Absolute Dominion Art and glanced back.
He could have killed them anytime.
But didn't.
"Spare them once. Thanks to her, I saw the Minor Demonic Art."
Muttering casually, Cheonhwi turned toward Mount Hua Sect.
"Time to head back." ```