Chapter 292
Chapter 292
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 292
Chapter Title: Only Trash Remains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"An intriguing martial art."
Cheonhwi whispered as he stared at the parched, mummified corpse of Nongjil lying at his feet.
It was a profoundly alien technique.
The moment she died, the energy that sank into the earth was death qi.
Death qi is something even the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult shunned, yet she tried to harness it.
No living being could withstand the energy of the dead.
Yet now, in death, she had succeeded.
Of course, she had become half-mad in the process, but she had undeniably wielded and unleashed death qi.
Her cultivated art, one of the Four Absolutes of Sichuan, must have suppressed the madness of the death qi.
"Hm, a technique from the Dead Emperor Hall..."
Cheonhwi muttered to himself and drew Hwamwol.
The blade, embedded precisely in Nongjil's heart, slid out smoothly.
No blood flowed from the crumbled, ashen chest of what was once Nongjil.
Only the clear mark left by Hwamwol remained.
The price of containing death qi, no doubt.
Just as Cheonhwi averted his gaze from the withered corpse...
"Thank... you."
A faint voice, as if on the verge of death, tapped at his ear.
Cheonhwi slowly turned his eyes toward the source of the feeble sound.
Abbess Soun leaned against the wall of the half-collapsed hermitage, looking at him.
Her condition was a wreck.
Her pristine monastic robes were caked in dirt and blood, filthy beyond repair, and wounds covered her body, dripping blood steadily.
Critical injuries that looked ready to dissolve her alive were etched across her form.
She was little more than a breathing corpse.
Cheonhwi sheathed Hwamwol as he looked at Abbess Soun and moved his lips.
"You've come to your senses."
"Thanks to you... I clung to... life."
Was it due to her severe internal injuries?
Her words came out irregularly with her labored breaths, breaking off mid-sentence.
"Don't speak. Your injuries look grave."
"There's still... something important... left."
Yet Abbess Soun shook her head and continued to move her lips.
"Forgive my... impertinence... Cough!"
Mid-sentence, she coughed up a gush of blood, likely from her internal wounds.
Her face paled further as the blood spread in spots across her robes.
No matter how one looked at it, her state was dire.
But she forced her bloodied lips open again to continue.
"Will you... help Little Victory?"
Her half-closed eyelids trembled as her eyes fixed on Cheonhwi.
Pupils clouded from vomiting blood.
Yet the resolve within them shone clearly to Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi scratched his head and replied.
"I'll hear it out first and decide."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Fighters clashing across Mount Emei suddenly halted their hands.
It wasn't just one or two.
Any warrior with developed senses stopped fighting and turned toward the sect gate.
Their faces were slightly tense.
The sect gate, which had been emanating earth-shaking waves moments ago, had fallen silent.
And not only that.
The energy that had been encroaching over Mount Emei like a blanket had vanished as if washed away.
It meant only one thing.
"...It's gone quiet."
"Has it ended?"
Swallowing sounds echoed here and there, filling the air with inexplicable tension.
It was only natural.
The victor there could shift the course of the ongoing war.
"Who won?"
"No idea."
"No energy at all."
As they stared silently at the gate, their eyes mixing hope and anxiety...
Ting-a-ling―
Suddenly, the sound of bells rang out.
And at the same time.
Thud.
Abbess Soun appeared.
She was far from unscathed. Her robes were soaked in blood, and wounds riddled her body.
But what did that matter?
Her appearance now was what counted.
"Sect Leader...!"
"Amitabha!"
"Abbess Soun has triumphed."
"Impossible!"
"No way!"
In an instant, the mood among the Emei Sect nuns and the Evil-Black Alliance forces diverged sharply.
The Emei nuns clasped their hands with beaming faces, and the orthodox warriors cheered inwardly.
On the other hand...
"No way Nongjil..."
"Lost?"
The Evil-Black Alliance forces swallowed hard.
The tide of war had fully turned.
Swoosh―
Abbess Soun's half-closed eyelids lifted, revealing eyes that gazed into the distant abyss below.
The Evil-Black Alliance forces, holding their breath to watch, froze.
Overwhelmed by the golden eyes infused with profound dharma power.
Then, she who overlooked them like a mountain spirit slightly raised her Reincarnation Six Ring Staff.
Boom!
And slammed it down with force.
Whoosh!
A fierce circular shockwave erupted from the staff, sweeping all directions.
"Hup!"
The Evil-Black Alliance forces staggered.
The weaker ones were sent tumbling back by the onslaught.
The manifestation of dharma power infused with Great Serenity Divine Art.
Abbess Soun's lips parted as she glared down at them with intense eyes.
"Nongjil has fallen!"
Anti-Demon Waves spread everywhere.
"......"
The Evil-Black Alliance forces began retreating stealthily at the confirmed fact.
"Waaah!"
"As expected...!"
The orthodox warriors finally unleashed their cheers freely.
Meanwhile, Abbess Soun barely swallowed the blood rising in her throat.
Just a little longer...
Unleashing the Anti-Demon Wave with her internal injuries caused excruciating pain and shook her dantian.
Continuing like this would lead to severe damage.
But she endured the agony, drawing on her innate qi.
And unleashed another Anti-Demon Wave.
"By the hand of the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal!"
"...!"
"Plum Blossom Sword Immortal?!"
"W-Who?"
Murmurs rippled everywhere.
Not just the Evil-Black Alliance forces—even the Emei nuns and orthodox warriors jumped in shock at her words.
No one had anticipated it.
As everyone failed to hide their bewilderment...
Step. Step.
Suddenly, quiet footsteps echoed from the empty air.
In an instant, all gazes lifted toward the sound.
A black dot floated far in the distance.
As they stared puzzled at the dot, it closed in rapidly.
And they couldn't close their gaping mouths.
A figure trod the air beneath the sky, approaching at tremendous speed.
"What in the world is..."
"Void Treading Step..."
Someone muttered blankly, unable to believe the sight before them.
Step.
He took another step.
Just one step.
Yet in that single step, he covered over ten zhang in an instant.
A stride that folded space itself.
All who witnessed the mystical, divine scene froze in place.
It was unbelievable even seeing it.
A person was walking the sky.
Or was that even a person?
Some rubbed their eyes and looked again.
But...
"......"
The scene remained unchanged.
Silence descended.
As if their breaths were forcibly held.
Amid it all, the airborne figure stepped indifferently, like a celestial god.
Step. Step.
The sound of each footfall grew louder, pressing down on them.
The manifestation of an aura that enforced silence.
No one dared speak, merely watching the spectacle.
It felt as if the heavens descended with him.
Finally, his once-tiny silhouette landed beside Abbess Soun, allowing people to see his features clearly.
A young Taoist in black-crimson robes.
And the two swords at his waist—one black, one bronze—drew their eyes especially.
In that moment, a single moniker flashed in everyone's minds.
'Plum Blossom Sword Immortal!'
Having made his shocking entrance, Cheonhwi lowered his impassive eyes.
And slowly parted his closed lips.
"Only trash remains."
His aloof voice swept the battlefield.
The power emanating from his voice made goosebumps rise across their bodies the instant it reached them.
No one could utter a word.
The silence deepened.
Amid it, only Cheonhwi's eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
Not just the Evil-Black Alliance—even the orthodox warriors were swallowed by that gaze.
A gaze laden with world-shaking dominance.
Shing―
Soon, Cheonhwi drew Hwamwol.
The moment the faintly crimson blade reflected the sunlight...
Flinch!
The Evil-Black Alliance forces quickly exchanged glances and signaled each other.
The situation was grim.
They had reduced the numbers of Emei nuns and orthodox warriors swiftly, but their own Ghost Shadow Unit and Blood Shadow Unit had suffered heavy losses as well.
And now, with Nongjil dead and Abbess Soun alive, it was quite fatal.
On top of that, Cheonhwi appeared with such overwhelming presence.
Continuing like this means certain defeat.
The same conclusion dawned on them.
Soon, after a brief exchange of glances...
Whoosh!
They all began fleeing simultaneously across the field.
Since their numbers were still superior anyway, they judged it wiser to plot for later rather than surrender now.
"What?!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
Nearby Emei nuns and orthodox warriors moved to pursue desperately.
"Let them go."
Abbess Soun said quietly.
Those about to move flinched at her sudden words.
And in that small gap, the Evil-Black Alliance forces fled hastily.
"Sect Leader...! We can't let them escape... S-Sect Leader!"
Abbess Sojeong, watching the astonishing scene nearby, tried to plead for a reversal of the order but paled in horror.
Black blood was flowing from the upright Abbess Soun's mouth.
Not just her mouth.
Black blood also seeped from her eyes and ears, dripping onto her robes.
She hurriedly unfolded her movement technique and rushed to Abbess Soun.
"A-Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Abbess Soun answered softly to the question and tilted her head to look at Cheonhwi.
"Have they... all fled?"
Abbess Sojeong panicked at the extremely faint voice, but Cheonhwi spoke.
"They're hightailing it right now. Doesn't look like they'll come back here."
"...That's a relief."
Abbess Soun's face showed relief as the strength drained from her forcibly kept-open eyes.
Her eyelids began to droop slowly.
Soon, she struggled to move her lips.
"Now... I can finally... rest..."
Abbess Soun collapsed before finishing her words.
"Sect Leader!"
Startled Abbess Sojeong caught her with one arm as she fell.
And she was horrified.
Scorching heat surged from Abbess Soun's entire body, and her breathing was shallow.
The panicked Abbess Sojeong looked to Cheonhwi.
"W-What's happening?"
"What else?"
Cheonhwi shrugged at Abbess Sojeong, who hadn't yet grasped the sudden change.
"It's all over now."
Cheonhwi sheathed his sword and surveyed the battlefield.
The Evil-Black Alliance forces had vanished like mist, starting from those nearby, leaving only stunned Emei disciples and orthodox warriors staring at them.
Shock, worry, bewilderment.
They hadn't yet realized their victory in this war.
Tsk, a shame. Would've been cleaner to kill them all.
Cheonhwi clicked his tongue.
He wanted to slaughter every Evil-Black Alliance warrior, but that would require sacrifices he couldn't afford.
Their numbers were still substantial.
And Abbess Soun didn't want further casualties.
No helping it.
Just then, the dazed ones began coming to their senses one by one belatedly.
"W-We drove out the Evil-Black Alliance!"
"We won!"
"We've repelled the vile horde that attacked Emei Sect!"
Cheers erupted everywhere, bringing the Battle of Emei Fortress to a close.