Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand
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The clash of the two peerless experts enveloped the entire world in golden radiance and murky darkness.
And then.
Kugugugu―
The entirety of Mount Emei shook violently.
It was an intense tremor, as if the heavens and earth were being rent asunder, with a landslide imminent at any moment.
Thus, with every collision of the two supreme masters, Mount Emei let out a scream.
Meanwhile.
Cheonhwi, who had appeared near the entrance of Bokho Mountain, took in the spectacle unfolding before his eyes. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the martial feast displayed by the transcendent realm experts.
He was intrigued.
The techniques Nongjil was unleashing were ones he had never seen before, neither in his previous life nor in this one.
And what of So Unsatae's display?
The martial art she wielded, spearheading with the Emei Sect's divine art, the Great Purity Divine Art, while swinging the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff, was more than enough to capture Cheonhwi's attention.
The manifestation of dharma power infused with golden radiance.
It was truly worthy of being called a divine art.
"It's been a long time since I've witnessed the Emei Sect's divine arts firsthand. And that staff art as well..."
The corner of Cheonhwi's mouth curled up slightly.
He was excited.
Peerless divine arts had appeared before his eyes.
Two of them, no less.
The Emei Sect's divine art and the martial art of the Four Sovereigns Fortress, a great unorthodox sect from before the rise of the Evil-Black Alliance.
It was enough to make his mouth water.
Cheonhwi's eyes emitted a red gleam.
His Baihui acupoint wide open, his three fields unified.
In this state of accelerated cognition, the energy blooming from Cheonhwi's eyes sharpened his inner sight.
Within his expanded senses, Cheonhwi captured the two figures in the vortex of fierce winds—Nongjil and So Unsatae—down to the finest detail.
The nature and operation of their internal energy, their forms, even the subtle movements of their muscles.
Not a single thing escaped him.
"I'll dissect every one of those martial arts properly."
Cheonhwi's pearly white teeth were revealed.
It was a smile laced with sharpness.
Creeeeak!
Meanwhile, Nongjil and So Unsatae glared at each other, locked in collision midway.
In the midst of their internal energy clash, both sensed it.
That their opponent was no pushover.
With the thick staff bearing profound sword energy and the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff between them, their gazes intertwined.
"Hahaha!"
Suddenly, Nongjil burst into laughter.
Her ash-gray hair shot skyward as her eyes curved into crescents.
The arched gaze exuded a bewitching allure.
"You still haven't let it go."
So Unsatae's eyebrows twitched.
It was an out-of-left-field remark.
And in that instant, Nongjil abruptly released her thick staff and twisted her body sideways.
"......!"
So Unsatae's eyes widened.
She hadn't anticipated that Nongjil would let go of her weapon, the thick staff.
A weapon was a warrior's life.
There was even a saying that one should die before letting it go.
Yet she had released it.
As if it were nothing at all.
And that precisely struck So Unsatae's opening, inducing carelessness.
In a state where their skills were evenly matched.
The lapse in vigilance born from that was more devastating than anything else.
Whoosh!
Watching So Unsatae's expression change, Nongjil took a large step forward and dove into her embrace.
It was a masterful movement.
She then swung her left hand to seize So Unsatae's right hand with all her might.
A slender wrist was felt.
Nongjil poured strength into her left hand.
Through the torn sleeve, the tendons bulging on her forearm stood out vividly.
Whoosh!
Under that force, So Unsatae was helplessly dragged forward.
Their faces drew abruptly close.
At a distance where their breaths nearly mingled, Nongjil took in So Unsatae with her eyes.
The moment So Unsatae's flustered expression reflected in her vertically slit pupils.
Fwaaah!
Nongjil spread her right hand wide.
Suddenly, sparks flew from all directions.
Soon, from Nongjil's outstretched hand, pitch-black lightning arose, extending like tendrils.
The materialization of inky thunder itself.
The branching ink thunder carried vicious demonic energy in every strand.
The Sichuan Absolute Art: Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand.
One of the Four Sovereigns' ultimate techniques, said to shatter the heavens, had manifested.
'To think such vicious demonic energy exists!'
So Unsatae's eyes wavered.
The profound malice contained in a single strike was chilling to the bone.
She urgently drew upon the Great Purity Divine Art's energy to envelop herself in protective sword energy.
The moment radiant dharma power wrapped around her body.
Nongjil thrust her right palm, loaded with the Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand, toward So Unsatae's abdomen.
It was the span of an instant.
Wuuuuung!
The ink thunder infused with the Sichuan Absolute Art flashed, and the air wailed.
As if in terror.
Soon, the ink thunder transformed into a ferocious palm strike and pierced through So Unsatae's abdomen.
Craaaaaack!
The dharma power enveloping So Unsatae's body clashed with the ink thunder and distorted.
And then.
The shockwave exploding from So Unsatae's abdomen warped the surrounding space itself.
Baaaang!
A belated circular shockwave erupted.
The trees near Bokho Temple were uprooted by the fierce storm accompanying it, and dust clouds rose thickly in the vicinity.
And within that dust.
"......Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand?"
Cheonhwi, who had been spectating their life-or-death duel, narrowed his eyes.
Dust billowed, but his unwavering gaze pierced through.
The ink thunder and the sinister shockwave it contained.
It perfectly matched one of the Two Great Ultimate Unorthodox Arts listed in the martial manual left by the Flying Demon in the Secret Cave: the Rogue Path's Two Great Ultimate Techniques.
"Sichuan's Four Absolutes......"
He was thrilled.
The Heaven-Earth Formula he knew was also called one of the Rogue Path's Two Great Ultimate Techniques, but the Sichuan Four Absolutes ranked even higher.
"I thought it would be impossible to witness the Four Sovereigns Fortress's arts after its fall......"
Cheonhwi's lips twisted.
The Sichuan Four Absolutes were supreme arts created by the Four Blood Sovereigns, compiling the unorthodox techniques they had seized.
The pinnacle of myriad unorthodox arts and methods.
Thus, it was one of the techniques he had paid close attention to upon reading the martial rankings.
Yet he had assumed it vanished entirely with the fall of the Four Sovereigns Fortress......
Here it stood, plain as day.
Right before his eyes.
"What an unexpected windfall."
As Cheonhwi's smile deepened.
Drip drip―
Blood trickled from So Unsatae's mouth.
The energy from the palm strike to her abdomen was roiling her internals.
She urgently circulated the Great Purity Divine Art to suppress her internal injuries.
But.
"Cough!"
It was futile.
The demonic energy of the Sichuan Four Absolutes, already deeply infiltrated into her body, was disrupting the Great Purity Divine Art.
"Pointless struggling."
Nongjil sneered at So Unsatae.
Her attitude was as if victory was already hers.
The Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand, embodying the supreme essence of the Inner Demon Heavy Hand Method, had precisely shattered So Unsatae's lower dantian and qi-blood.
And now, the demonic energy of the Sichuan Four Absolutes was steadily seeping in.
Even for a transcendent realm expert, recovery in a short time was impossible—a grievous wound.
Her confidence was warranted.
At that moment.
So Unsatae, who had staggered as if losing balance while spitting blood, kicked off the ground.
'My final gambit......!'
Bloodshot veins filled her eyes.
She seemed on the verge of vomiting blood from her churning internals.
An unleashing of energy with no regard for the aftermath.
Her body couldn't endure the repercussions.
Yet So Unsatae could not stop.
Upon her shoulders rested the lives of countless Emei Sect disciples and the orthodox factions of Sichuan.
How could she retreat?
'I cannot lose!'
She even drew forth her innate qi.
The dharma power of the Great Purity Divine Art she summoned bloomed behind her back.
Radiant golden radiance.
The grand and compassionate dharma power materialized.
At the same time, So Unsatae's form blurred.
Unleashing the Nine Transformations Phantom Step, she thrust the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff forward.
There was no hesitation in her movement.
And soon, the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff, infused with golden radiance, rang with a chime and blurred.
A single strike loaded with all her energy.
Nirvana Serenity Total Essence.
The Reincarnation Six Ring Staff, encompassing every stance of Nirvana Serenity, summoned illusions.
Dozens of afterimages split apart.
But they soon converged into one, targeting Nongjil's face precisely.
Myriad Transformations Converging to Unity.
A single strike embodying myriad changes scattered golden light, tracing a brilliant trajectory as it surged forth.
Nongjil's eyes widened slightly.
She must have suffered severe internal injuries.
Yet such a fierce strike.
Astonishing willpower and internal energy control.
And then.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed in all directions.
It was Nongjil's blood.
But amid the blood scattering into the air, despair hung thick on So Unsatae's revealed face.
It was shallow.
Merely a faint blood trace on her cheek.
Nongjil had executed an uncanny footwork to narrowly evade the all-out strike.
The moment she bit her lip.
Thud!
Another impact struck her abdomen.
Nongjil's Ink Thunder Heaven-Mixing Hand had whipped out once more, striking So Unsatae's solar plexus.
"Gah!"
As her body crumpled to the ground soon after.
Swish―
Nongjil wiped her cheek with her hand.
Having smeared the long blood trace on her hand's back, she licked it off with her tongue.
A fishy taste filled her mouth.
"Hehehe."
She laughed with madness-glazed eyes as she looked down at So Unsatae.
Her monastic robes torn to shreds, So Unsatae dribbled thick, blackish dead blood from her slightly parted lips.
She clung to life, but it was precarious.
A severe internal injury requiring years of recuperation at minimum.
Even in her wounded state, Nongjil eyed the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff still gripped in So Unsatae's hand.
"So this is the treasured relic, huh?"
She lifted her foot.
And thoroughly crushed the hand holding the Reincarnation Six Ring Staff.
Her eyes swirled with excitement.
The thought of slaying the Emei Sect Leader herself and shattering their historical treasure sent her mind into ecstasy.
Just as she prepared to put more force into her foot to finish it.
"Ending it already?"
A voice suddenly interjected.
Nongjil whipped her head around.
In that instant, something flying toward her caught her eye.
Thud.
Nongjil reached out and caught it.
"This is......"
Her brows furrowed.
What had flown to her was the thick staff she had thrown aside earlier while facing So Unsatae.
She then looked toward where the staff had been thrown from.
"I haven't even finished spectating yet."
Along with the voice, a young man approached.
His gait toward her seemed leisurely, as if out for a stroll.
Yet Nongjil instinctively tensed up.
An inexplicable aura was spreading around the approaching man.
An unbelievable presence.
At that moment, the walking youth stopped.
Ten zhang apart.
A distance just within her domain.
"You......"
Nongjil half-closed her eyes.
Only then did she confirm the daoist robes and plum blossom emblem he wore.
"Hahaha!"
Nongjil burst into mad laughter.
Killing intent blazed like flames.
At the same time, her eyes darkened murkily, revealing glimpses of insanity.
"So you're the famed Plum Blossom Divine Sword of the current era. Just as the rumors say, you're awfully young? Barely past thirty, right?"
Questions poured out.
But.
"You talk too much."
Cheonhwi ignored her, picking at his ear.
His attitude showed utter disinterest in conversing with Nongjil.
"A prickly one, aren't you."
Nongjil bit down on the thick staff in her hand.
"Hoo, fine. Your presence here means you're here to save this old nun, I suppose?"
Exhaling white smoke, her gaze flicked downward briefly.
So Unsatae had already fainted.
She could end her life anytime.
Right now, even.
Just as Nongjil tensed her toes to do so.
"That's just a side benefit."
"A side benefit......?"
Nongjil's eyebrows twitched at Cheonhwi's unexpected reply.
'Not here to help?'
Seeing her bewilderment, Cheonhwi smiled.
"More than that, right now I want to watch your martial arts in detail. Every little bit, one by one."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Cheonhwi's sleeve billowed dramatically.
Fwaaah―
In an instant, the air rippled like waves.
The qi wave originating from Cheonhwi's sleeve soon reached Nongjil.
"......!"
Startled by the energy wave extending from the sleeve, Nongjil retracted her foot from crushing So Unsatae and hurriedly moved.
Whoosh!
In that moment, Nongjil's form blurred.
Having executed Phantom Shift to evade the energy wave's aftermath, as she urgently twisted her body.
"So show it properly."
A low voice came from behind.
At the same time, a fierce energy surged, and a ruthless shockwave struck like lightning, slamming into the crown of her head.