Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Exposed (2)
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The deputy head's face was filled with joy.
It was only natural.
His takeover of the Wudang Sect was nearly complete.
'Forty years. Forty long years.'
It had truly been an eternity.
He had seduced one foolish Wudang Taoist, blinded by power.
Using him, he had infiltrated the sect.
Everything after that had been a grueling ordeal.
'Blood God, it's almost done...!!'
The elder council was now almost entirely under his control.
The Wudang Sect, one of the two pillars of the thousand-year murim world.
On the day of their great undertaking, it would become the deadly venom that ripped out the hearts of the murim folk.
'All this for the Blood God...!!'
The deputy head smiled in satisfaction and opened his mouth.
"I never imagined the noble one would send someone to aid our Wudang Sect like this."
Flashing a friendly smile, he lightly raised his hand.
'Three Kings of the Night...'
The face of one of the figures the Blood Cult wary of flashed in his mind.
'If he intends to use Wudang as a blade, he'll surely pass through here.'
That would be his chance.
Capture him on the spot and eliminate him immediately.
'No... if I brainwash him, I could even use the imperial court.'
And if that happened?
Upon returning to the Blood Cult, his merits would be recognized.
He might even aim for the vice cult leader position.
"The noble one has agreed to visit the Wudang Sect soon."
"Oh... is that so?! We of Wudang have always been loyal to the Great Empire!"
The deputy head's expression brightened.
Wasn't this a chance to capture a big fish?
"There could be nothing better than the noble one's visit!"
"Does that mean you're pledging your loyalty to the Three Kings of the Night?"
"Of course not."
'Damn this picky bitch...!'
Despite Seol Ryu-a's sharp words, the deputy head smiled amiably.
As he always did.
"Our Wudang has always been loyal to the Great Empire's imperial family and His Majesty the Emperor."
"That's interesting. Isn't Wudang a sect of murim warriors?"
'This guy's a friend of Hye-gak, was it? Hmph. Beggars' Sect. Those pesky beggars...'
He scorned them inwardly.
But the deputy head didn't show it in the slightest.
"Even murim warriors are subjects of the Great Empire, aren't they?"
"True enough."
"We all carry in our hearts the desire to serve our nation."
"How admirable."
The deputy head smiled warmly at the woman known as the general of the Black Armor Division.
"Isn't Jeomchang the same?"
"Of course. Jeomchang has long been devoted to the Great Empire."
"Splendid. Truly splendid."
He clapped lightly.
His demeanor showed nothing but goodwill.
"To share the same heart as fellow Daoist sects, despite the distance."
A tone of deep emotion.
His acting skills were remarkable.
"How could this not be a joyous occasion?"
"Amitabha. Indeed."
"Perhaps we should send our disciples to Jeomchang sometime."
"That would be a delight."
'There must be Blood Cult brothers in Jeomchang as well.'
He could lend them strength if things went well.
A brilliant future unfolded in the deputy head's mind.
"In any case, the noble one wishes to taste the food our Wudang Taoists always eat, correct?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then why don't you all try some as well?"
"Very well."
"Bring the food at once!!"
At the deputy head's shout, the Taoists brought out the dishes.
The food was placed before the elder council members and Seol Ryu-a's group.
"It's just the simple fare of Taoists, so I hope it meets your satisfaction."
As he said, it was plain.
Taoist meals held no extravagance.
"Still, please enjoy."
'This tasteless slop still doesn't suit my palate after forty years.'
Side dishes of nothing but grass, dishes with barely any spices.
Regrettable, but what could be done?
This too was asceticism for the Blood God.
"Then let us eat."
The deputy head, the eldest, picked up his chopsticks first.
Following his lead, everyone began to eat.
That's when it happened.
"Ugh?!"
The deputy head's face stiffened.
'Why?!'
The Blood Cloud Radiance Sphere nestled in his dantian began to react.
'What's happening? The blood technique I had perfectly under control... why?'
Blood energy surged from his dantian, overwhelming his body.
He had to suppress it somehow.
'If this continues, the Blood Cloud Radiance Sphere will break free...!!'
No.
Not here.
Absolutely not here.
"Deputy Elder?"
"What's wrong?"
The deputy head suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
The Wudang elders panicked and moved to approach him.
"S-suddenly my body feels... argh!!"
He desperately tried to suppress it.
But the blood energy rampaged like a mad horse.
'This... what the hell...!!'
"Gaaah!!"
With a roar filled with agony, the deputy head shot to his feet.
Hwan-gyu and Seol Ryu-a stepped forward toward him.
"Ugh!!"
"Amitabha?! D-disciples! What is the meaning of this!!"
Seol Ryu-a and Hwan-gyu.
Both were transcendent masters.
Even without weapons, they were not to be underestimated.
"Are you trying to harm the deputy elder!!"
"Wudang disciples!! Hurry..."
"W-wait!! Look at that!!"
As the two moved to attack the deputy head, the panicked elders tried to block them when one elder shouted.
The deputy head's face was melting away.
"Th-this...?!"
One elder's face hardened.
A new face emerged from beneath the melting one.
The shock didn't end there.
"Amitabha!! Blood energy!!"
Some among the Wudang elders had once fought the Blood Cult.
Thus, they knew.
This sticky, sinister aura.
It could only be the Blood Cult's energy.
"Why?! The deputy elder is...?"
"He's not the deputy head!!"
"What?!"
"Gaaaaah!!"
The rampaging blood energy went berserk.
A chilling energy gathered in the deputy head's hand—no, the Blood Cultist's hand.
"Damn it all!!"
Covering his face with one hand, he swung the other widely.
"Gah!"
"Kuh!!"
The blood energy bursting from his hand struck the elders.
Several, caught off guard, fainted from the blow.
"What... what have you... done...!!"
"You've revealed your true face!! Blood Cult scum!!"
"Gaaah!! You fucking bastards!!!"
In an instant, everything crumbled.
The tower he had painstakingly built over forty years.
To see it collapse like this.
"I'll kill you!! All of you!!"
It was only natural for his reason to shatter.
"Ugh!"
"Kuh!!"
Sinister energy surged forth.
Sensing it, Wudang Taoists began rushing in.
"Sect Leader!?"
"Didn't you say you were too busy to come today?!"
"I received word from them. About the deputy head being a Blood Cultist."
The Wudang sect leader responded calmly.
Meteor True Man slowly raised his sword.
"Hear me, Wudang disciples!!"
The elders who had been close to the deputy head were horrified.
Terror that they themselves might be branded Blood Cult spies.
"Elders, form the Nine Palaces Sword Formation!!"
"Y-yes!!"
"Other disciples, suppress the enemy with the Five Elements Sword Formation!!"
At Meteor True Man's command, the elders' faces brightened.
For now, it meant he trusted them.
"To dare send Blood Cult filth into mighty Wudang!!"
"We shall never forgive this!!"
To earn that trust, they had to fight.
Prove they had no ties to the Blood Cult.
The elders unleashed their full martial prowess.
"You arrogant fucks!!"
The sight only fueled the Blood Cultist's rage further.
"Do you filthy Wudang think you can withstand the Blood God's power!!"
'It's already over.'
The plan had failed.
The tower of decades of effort had collapsed.
'Then all that's left is to slaughter as many Wudang Taoists as possible right here...!!'
He let the already rampaging blood energy run wild.
Using it to display the Blood Cult's might.
"Children of the Blood God!! Reveal yourselves!!"
"What?!"
"More Blood Cultists in Wudang...?!"
At his shout, the disciples who had been his confidants stepped forward.
Weapons in their hands.
'This can't be...!!'
Meteor's face hardened.
He had thought it was just the one.
But so many had infiltrated Wudang.
'The disciples are in danger.'
They were in the midst of forming formations.
If the deputy head's disciples attacked the formations from outside, they would collapse.
Staying like this, they might be the ones defeated.
"Cough!"
"Ugh?!"
"Kuh!!"
That was when it happened.
The revealed Blood Cultists spewed blood and collapsed.
"Young Master Dang!!"
"Leave this to me."
A youth who looked nothing more than a palace eunuch stepped forward.
One elder who recognized him was startled.
"Eh?! The young clan head of Sacheon Tang Clan?! Why?!"
His appearance was completely different from before.
What in the world was going on?
"That's not important right now."
"W-well, true, but...!"
Meteor recalled the rumors he had heard before.
The wastrel heir of Sacheon Tang Clan who became the clan's savior.
And now aimed to become Sacheon's overlord once more.
Rumors he had dismissed as exaggerated proved true.
"Sect Leader!!"
"I understand!!"
At Seol Ryu-a's shout, the sect leader turned his head.
Dang Yu-wol wasn't the priority now.
That's when a young boy and girl appeared.
"Brother Yu-wol!!"
"Master! Sister! Elder! We brought weapons!!"
Perfect timing.
As the two Taoists tossed weapons, they caught them.
"Well done!"
"There are more Blood Cultists moving inside Wudang!"
"The Wudang disciples are fighting them too...!!"
He had seen it on the way back from the sword mound.
Blood Cultists disguised as visitors were rampaging.
"We need to suppress them as quickly as possible."
Dang Yu-wol gripped the Black Demon Sword.
His target: the rampaging Blood Cultist.
The one disguised as the deputy head.
-Can you do it?
'What do you take me for?'
He infused inner energy into the Black Demon Sword.
The poison qi of the Three Yang Return to Origin Art flowed into it.
Ye-ui lent his power as well.
-Strengthened the poison.
'Thanks.'
All that remained was to throw it.
Dang Yu-wol's hand moved.
"This is...?"
Meteor was shocked once more.
The dagger Dang Yu-wol threw began flying like a butterfly.
'It carries intent!! In the world!! And he's only at the peak realm...!!'
To infuse intent into martial arts at the peak level.
The rumors weren't false—they were understated.
But against such empowered blood energy, it wouldn't hold.
"Kuhahaha!! Pathetic! Utterly pa—huh?"
'What the...?!'
Like a butterfly riding the wind, the dagger traced a bizarre trajectory.
He tried to block it somehow.
But the dagger slipped through the blood energy's gaps with uncanny precision.
As if it knew every flow.
"This crap!!"
'No need to waste blood energy on that spot.'
He had to judge quickly.
The dagger wasn't his only foe right now.
'With my blood technique rampaging, my body is like steel.'
He felt the blood energy raging around him.
'That little dagger. I'll just take it head-on...!!'
Compared to the other enemies' auras here, it was nothing.
Thus, he decided to let his body's defenses handle the dagger.
Unaware it was the worst choice possible.