Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Showdown at the Cliff's Edge
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Kwaaaaang!
A deafening roar erupted from beneath the Heavenly Layer Cliff.
An ear-shattering explosion unleashed a barrage of piercing hidden weapons, followed by plumes of poisonous smoke billowing upward.
From ten張 away, hidden weapons rained down like a storm.
All sorts of bizarre concealed arms sprang forth as the Tang Clan of Sichuan attacked the Five Poisons Sect disciples like fish in water.
For the Tang Clan, masters of mass-destruction hidden weapons, this narrow space was the perfect venue to maximize their efficiency.
Pupu-pupu-pupu-pung!
As the Thunder Orbs detonated once more, the Five Poisons Sect disciples collapsed like sieves riddled with holes.
"Kuaaaak!"
"Tang Clan, you damned bastards!"
"Shut your mouths, you southern venom vermin!"
"I'll kill you all!"
Hidden weapons and curses flew back and forth, turning the battlefield into a scene from hell.
Centuries of accumulated grudges fueled the killing intent, driving the fight into even greater savagery.
Purple, green, and black poisonous mists shot up like pillars of fire in every direction.
The poison experts of the Tang Clan and Five Poisons Sect unleashed their lightness skills, hurling hidden weapons at each other.
Amid this fierce exchange, Nangong Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad charged in.
Kwarurung!
Flash!
The sword momentum of the Imperial Sword Form crushed the poisonous substances and cleaved the Blood Shadow Bands apart.
Pang Jung-hyuk's Mixed Origin Divine Path and So Geol-gae's Striking Dog Staff Method flanked and protected Nangong Ryong from both sides, while So Hye-yeon and Pang Yeon-hwa pressed close behind them, driving back the enemies.
In the meantime, the Thunder Dragon Squad carved open a path with their exquisite Ghost Valley Chain Formation.
Cheop Cheong-won gritted his teeth.
The moment the Tang Clan and Nangong family warriors intervened, he could feel the tide turning.
With an anxious expression, he glanced toward the cliff.
Nangong Hyuk had already reached the cliff's edge.
'Damn it!'
Ma Young's chilling voice echoed in his mind.
The warning to let no one approach the cliff under any circumstances.
But Nangong Hyuk had already scaled it.
Having failed to carry out Ma Young's order, Cheop Cheong-won now had to bear the consequences himself.
Crunch.
Cheop Cheong-won's killing intent and fury turned back toward the battlefield.
"You filthy Central Plains insects!"
As he channeled the Dark King Poison Mist Art to its peak and prepared to spew it at the oncoming Nangong Ryong—
"Where do you think you're looking? Your opponent is me!"
Shwaaaa!
Swaaaaak!
Tang Ui-cheon's poison blades whipped like knives toward Cheop Cheong-won.
Cheop Cheong-won shook off his poison palm to parry the poison blades.
Kwaaaang!
The poison blades exploded, and in the gap as Cheop Cheong-won was pushed back, Tang Ui-cheon unleashed a torrent of hidden weapons and leaped in.
The battle intensified to a fever pitch.
Ma Young glanced down at the hellish abyss below the cliff, then turned his head.
His gaze shifted to the end of the Heavenly Layer Cliff.
Step by step.
A young man in black robes, with a sword radiating a faint red glow slung over his shoulder, approached steadily.
His slightly twisted lips and deeply sunken eyes created an eerie aura.
Nangong Hyuk's eyes passed over Ma Young and fixed on the massive crane perched at the cliff's edge.
"Blackie?"
It was a crane the size of a house, with glossy black feathers and a white pattern on its face.
A striking red crest protruded from its disproportionately small head, drawing the eye despite its enormous bulk.
With its eyes peacefully closed, it resembled an ascetic on the verge of enlightenment.
An auspicious glow suffused its body, subtly emanating an energy that repelled the surrounding darkness.
Nangong Hyuk quietly admired the sight.
"You haven't tamed it yet, huh?"
From the crane's serene, slumbering posture, Nangong Hyuk felt certain.
The corner of his mouth lifted a bit higher.
His gaze locked on the crane, immersed in a strange ecstasy.
Ma Young regarded Nangong Hyuk with impassive eyes, then spoke quietly.
"So you've climbed up after all."
He turned his body slightly away from the Millennium Red Crane.
"Of course. Gotta claim what's mine."
"Your possession, is it."
As he watched Nangong Hyuk smirk, Ma Young's voice grew colder.
He murmured softly.
"If you'd stayed down there, you might have lived. I wouldn't have chased a fleeing rat."
"I don't run off and leave my stuff behind."
"You'll regret it. Regret not fleeing then... and not fleeing now."
As Ma Young exerted his power, a sinister energy rippled over his hands.
Thick killing intent gleamed in his eyes through the mask.
Nangong Hyuk chuckled.
"Man, putting on such airs. You weren't like this back in the day."
He stood at a distance of three張 from Ma Young, in a slouched stance.
"So when's the Millennium Red Crane gonna spew its poison?"
"Worry about your own neck."
"You should be the one worrying."
Nangong Hyuk let his demon sword hang low as he eyed Ma Young.
His light, carefree demeanor shifted in an instant.
Nangong Hyuk grinned.
"Now that I'm here, you've got reason to worry."
"Arrogant fool."
"That's what all the losers say."
Ma Young let out a hollow laugh at Nangong Hyuk's sharp tongue.
But he quickly hardened his expression and fully turned to face him.
In that moment, an explosive burst of chilling energy erupted from his body, sweeping toward Nangong Hyuk like a gale.
'Hm?'
It was an overwhelming pressure that choked off his breath.
Nangong Hyuk's eyes grew solemn.
But that was all.
As he circulated the Creation Heaven Sage King Art, a majestic energy flowed from his dantian into the demon sword.
A wave of aura burst from his body, clashing against Ma Young's.
Tszzzzzz!
Strange sounds like the ground being dragged echoed through the air repeatedly.
When the noise reached its peak—
Nangong Hyuk's eyes flashed with blue light.
Boom!
With a heavy footfall, his form shot toward Ma Young.
Leaving a trail of azure shadow, Nangong Hyuk charged straight ahead.
The energy of the Creation Heaven Sage King Art surged, channeling into the demon sword.
Shwaaaaa-kaaaang!
Nangong Hyuk brought the demon sword down on Ma Young's crown with the full momentum of his charge.
Ma Young's blackened hand blocked the demon sword, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Ma Young's brows furrowed.
Gritting his teeth as he gripped the demon sword—
"How do you have this?"
"Oh, you recognize it?"
"......"
"Picked it up on the way."
Nangong Hyuk sneered and swung the demon sword again.
Three Thunders Sword Technique.
Heavier and more destructive than Lightning Thirteen Thunders, the sword art carried killing intent toward Ma Young.
It was a ferocious sword momentum unimaginable for orthodox swordsmanship.
Strikes aimed unhesitatingly at vital and deadly points, with ironclad intent to kill.
Thunderbolts plummeting from all directions engulfed Ma Young.
Kwaaaang! Kwarurung!
Ma Young blocked them with his hands, narrowing his brows.
Nangong Hyuk pressed the assault relentlessly.
Thunder extended a張, scorching the ground as it flickered.
Kwarururung!
Kwajijijik!
Writhing lightning scorched the cliff, generating shockwaves.
Ma Young calmly parried Nangong Hyuk's attacks.
Dodging, deflecting, severing.
'This bastard?'
The Three Thunders Sword Technique was being blocked.
It felt muffled, like striking the surface of water.
Nangong Hyuk shifted his steps.
Following the Infinite Steps, the flow of the Three Thunders Sword Technique changed.
Within the endless continuum, variations emerged.
Three changes became six, six became nine, nine became twelve...
The branching ends of the thunder flickered, converging toward a single point.
One sword stroke unleashed thirty-six variations, a hundred eight thunderbolts rained down, and lightning strikes poured toward three points.
Kwarurung! Kwakwakwang!
The cliff's surface cratered deeply.
Even amid that tremendous roar and thunderous bombardment, Ma Young stood firm.
A張 of palm force extended from his hand.
A black shadow bloomed from his palm heart, growing into a thirty-chi-long palm shadow.
Black Flame Demon Hand.
Pitch-black flames devoured the red and blue thunderbolts.
Its domineering trajectory, unlike any Central Plains palm art, repelled Nangong Hyuk five張 back.
He wiped the blood trickling from his mouth and bared his fangs.
Far from frustrated, he eyed Ma Young with keen interest.
Ma Young did not charge at Nangong Hyuk but stood squarely before the Millennium Red Crane.
"You bastard. I knew it when you recognized this demon sword scrap."
"So you know the value of that blade."
"Value my ass. It's just an expensive knife."
Ziiing!
The demon sword wailed plaintively, but Nangong Hyuk ignored it.
He straightened his hunched posture.
"Black Flame Demon Hand, huh?"
"......!"
"Fuck. I was on the fence about Blood Sound Dragon Claw, but this? Even finding it had me doubting."
Tap tap. Nangong Hyuk prodded the demon sword and laughed.
"No wonder it brought back old memories."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Another demon cultist?"
"......"
Ma Young's brows twitched.
The energy emanating from his body intensified further.
Like releasing a pent-up latch, Ma Young's presence grew steadily over time.
Nangong Hyuk furrowed his brow.
"I thought you were some new guy since you kept your distance from Him. Why's it always you lot?"
"......"
"Nice to see you again, fucker."
What he thought was a fond memory turned out to be a nightmare.
Nangong Hyuk grinned as he regarded Ma Young.
More precisely, he eyed the hands rippling with Black Flame Demon Hand.
The Black Flame Demon Hand was a technique rooted in demonic martial arts.
A method embodying the hellish karmic flames, said to produce inextinguishable fire upon mastery.
Nangong Hyuk lowered his demon sword.
"But why do you need the Millennium Red Crane?"
"A dying man talks too much."
"Everyone says that to me. 'You're gonna die.' But you know..."
Nangong Hyuk dragged out his words, then exploded into motion. His form burst forward explosively.
Killing intent thickened further, murderous will coalescing into the demon sword.
The sword descended on Ma Young like a beast's savage claws.
Nangong Hyuk roared.
"I've lived the longest, you fucker!"
Ma Young blocked Nangong Hyuk's sword with the Black Flame Demon Hand.
Tyrant Soul Heaven Slaughter clashed against Black Flame Demon Hand.
Kwaaaang!
A power utterly unlike before made Ma Young's pupils quiver faintly.
The ground cratered, shockwaves rippling outward in concentric circles.
Ziiing!
Next came the Tyrant Soul Heaven Hand from his left palm!
Petal-like palm shadows scattered, unleashing a hundred eight variations.
Papatapatapang!
The Black Flame Demon Hand seized and tore the palm shadows.
Nangong Hyuk's sword twisted.
Tyrant Soul Single Stroke.
The path begun as one diverged into dozens, ultimately converging back to one.
A single stroke that split mountains cleaved through Ma Young's Black Flame Demon Hand.
As Nangong Hyuk's sword aimed to sever the bastard's throat, Ma Young's palm art twisted.
Shwaaaa!
Kwaaang!
Amid the fierce clash, Nangong Hyuk staggered, and Ma Young unleashed Black Flame Demon Hands in succession.
Nangong Hyuk's complexion paled.
The Creation Heaven Sage King Art shattered and dispersed the Black Flame Demon Hand's energy, but it had limits.
His arms went numb.
Ma Young's gaze turned icy.
Fwoosh!
Pitch-black flames erupted from his palm heart, engulfing Nangong Hyuk.
Kwaaaang!
Nangong Hyuk twisted his demon sword upward, splitting the flames.
"Cough!"
Layered Black Flame Demon Hands repelled him.
Nangong Hyuk spat a gush of blood and swung his demon sword.
He defended with Tyrant Soul Single Stroke and Heaven Slaughter, but Ma Young's Black Flame Demon Hand proved more solid than expected.
Kwaaang!
"Krgh!"
It felt like pounding an iron wall; Nangong Hyuk groaned in frustration.
Fwoosh!
Black flames spread up his arm, and he clenched his teeth hard.
'Damn it! Back then, I'd have crushed this guy in one punch!'
Frustrating.
His chest felt like it would burst.
To be struggling against vermin like this!
It was a different kind of frustration from his fight with the Black Dragon King Je Cheon-gang.
Even using his signature ultimate, he was being pushed—this reality made him bite his lip.
'Goddamn it!'
The human heart is like that.
The deeper the corner you're backed into, the greater the regrets swell.
Shortcomings gnaw harder, demanding attention.
And then remorse sets in.
'Damn it, if only I'd opened one more meridian!'
For a martial artist, blocked odd meridians were like missing limbs.
No—fatally, even worse.
He had masked that weakness with the peerless Creation Heaven Sage King Art, but facing a master like Ma Young exposed it starkly.
As Nangong Hyuk gnashed his teeth, a mass of black fire hurtled toward him like hellfire.
His eyes bulged wide.
Scalding heat that seemed to melt his skin enveloped him in an instant as the fireball closed in.
The fireball collided with Nangong Hyuk like a meteor.
Kwa-aaaang!
Swept into the explosion, Nangong Hyuk's body flew back like a kicked ball.