Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Resolute
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Gong Yatak had unleashed a blood mist, formed by mixing poisoned blood with internal energy and expelling it through the fine pores across his entire body.
The blood mist, saturated with internal energy, didn't merely rise into the air. It generated shockwaves, spreading in an instant.
The ultimate technique of the Poison Control Division's poison arts—the Blood Poison Heart Technique.
No-Life Forbidden Realm.
In this forbidden zone that permitted no life, not even the caster himself was an exception.
Poisoned blood coursing through his meridians.
A poison core formed in his dantian.
A poison spirit etched into his soul.
By dismantling all of it, he allowed poison to infiltrate the world.
This was the realm's ultimate killing move, achieved by one who had filled his body, energy, and spirit with poison, only to empty it all.
Naturally, Kun Wan-geuk of the same Paeguk Sect knew it well.
'So it comes to this.'
This was why he had tried to capture him alive if possible.
But he hadn't failed to anticipate this possibility.
Kun Wan-geuk was prepared.
He had accounted for the worst-case scenario: Gong Yatak deploying the No-Life Forbidden Realm to the bitter end.
The realm's power was terrifying, it was true—but ultimately rooted in qi.
Moreover, the moment it was activated, the caster's dantian shattered, leaving him unable to control the poison anymore.
Kun Wan-geuk was a Paeguk Sect warrior who had set his sights on the Three Paeguk Origins.
Not only had he mastered the Central Dark Hall's Dark Chaos True Formula, but also the Dark Flame Pavilion's arts and the Poison Control Division's techniques.
The energies of these three arts dwelling within Kun Wan-geuk surged forth all at once.
Using the Dark Chaos True Formula's internal energy to protect his body, he simultaneously spread the internal energy of the Dark Flame Pavilion's Black Heaven Scripture heart method to block the No-Life Forbidden Realm's poison.
And with the internal energy of the Blood Poison Heart Technique he had also cultivated, he tamed the now-uncontrolled poison.
It was flawless internal energy manipulation befitting a supreme master.
But soon, Kun Wan-geuk found himself in dire straits.
'...The poison is too dense.'
Paeguk Sect arts were often likened to stone steles.
Part of it stemmed from the belief that one's martial arts were the firmest proof of their life.
But more fittingly, a stele's structure—base stone, body, and cap stone—mirrored the Paeguk Sect warriors' path of mastering all three arts to form the Three Paeguk Origins.
Kun Wan-geuk had made the Dark Chaos True Formula his base, topped it with the Black Heaven Scripture as the body, and capped it with the Blood Poison Heart Technique.
Naturally, his attainment deepened from top to bottom.
His Blood Poison Heart Technique hadn't even reached five stars.
'I'd have to commit to at least a decade in secluded cultivation.'
No—even a lifetime, if necessary.
Unable to fully control the poison like this, he sealed it within his body.
A decade of closed-door training might push it out somehow.
If he fully assimilated it, it would be a stroke of fortune; if he failed and died from the poison, so be it.
The moment Kun Wan-geuk steeled himself to absorb the No-Life Forbidden Realm's poison into his body—
'What's this?'
The poison's flow shifted anew.
Kun Wan-geuk wondered if other Poison Control Division disciples or Paeguk Brigade warriors were lending aid.
But when he glanced around, he beheld an utterly unexpected ally.
"Who... are you?"
Even amid such intricate internal energy control, he could open his mouth and speak—proof of Kun Wan-geuk's profound realm.
Wi Sowol, the one addressed, simply stated what needed saying with calm composure.
"Focus."
Kun Wan-geuk was dumbfounded to receive a sharp rebuke from a girl young enough to be his daughter.
But that astonishment was short-lived.
Something even more absurd unfolded before his eyes.
'Pure Yin Qi?'
The poison was being purified.
It was like witnessing the miraculous power of a virtuous monk with vast merits or the Taoist prowess of a sage of great virtue.
Pure white energy, imbued with the ability to dispel worldly evils like a lion's roar, cleansed the poison.
'Slightly different.'
Unlike the sacred energy that shattered and eradicated malign qi, this pure yin qi merely contained it.
Just as Kun Wan-geuk himself had intended.
Except it used energy itself as the vessel to collect the poison, rather than the body.
"Little one. It's too much alone. We'll split it three ways."
"Where to with one?"
No detailed explanation needed—such harmony spoke volumes of their partnership.
Kun Wan-geuk found the young girl who perfectly grasped his intent both wondrous and reassuring.
"Heaven and earth. Which suits you? I'll match it."
"Earth."
"That'll be the poison grounds, then. Good for the main body."
"Manage it well."
"One mistake is enough."
With their decision made, Kun Wan-geuk and Wi Sowol began dismantling the No-Life Forbidden Realm in earnest.
Kun Wan-geuk held the poison steady while Wi Sowol separated it.
Poison qi naturally carried yin-yang properties, so the yin-leaning portion was drawn out by Wi Sowol's Nine Yin Absolute Meridian's pull and guided by her Great White Light True Qi.
Yet more than half remained—mostly yang poison.
Next, it was Kun Wan-geuk's turn.
His internal energy sheared off more than half of what was left, drawing it back into his body.
With no time to bolster his resistance, the massive influx of poison made it feel like his meridians were burning and melting—a torment of extreme agony.
Yet he showed no sign of pain.
The girl was enduring far greater suffering than he.
Thus cleaved twice, the poison mist greatly weakened.
As Kun Wan-geuk and Wi Sowol pressed it down with intent-infused internal energy, the mist lost its initial explosive force and slowly seeped into the ground.
Chiiik-!
Hissing sharply, the poison melted the earth.
The training ground's soil, rammed down rock-hard for construction, softened into a swampy mire before the virulent poison.
When the No-Life Forbidden Realm's poison mist finally vanished—
Kun Wan-geuk withdrew the qi barrier that had enveloped the area.
He immediately issued orders to the gathered Paeguk Sect warriors.
"Those whose Blood Poison Heart Technique exceeds seven stars, recover the Poison Control Division Chief's body. Those at five stars or below, cover this poison ground with antidotal cloth and fetch the Blood Poison Pearls to set up the Captive Venom Formation. From now on, the Paeguk Brigade and Poison Control Division will follow the Disciplinary Squad's commands. I take full responsibility for the aftermath."
His meridians felt on the verge of reversal, blood threatening to spew forth, but Kun Wan-geuk clenched his endurance.
"And all Poison Control Division physicians—tend to the little one at once..."
"No need."
Was it because her complexion was already pale?
Wi Sowol's face showed no change despite absorbing that virulent poison.
"Worry about yourself first."
Wi Sowol had only taken what she could handle.
She hadn't touched the yang poison at all.
Her vast innate yin qi suppressed the poison, preventing it from rampaging properly.
Refining it would likely take considerable time.
Her Nine Yin Absolute Meridian, once disciplined, would again tighten its grip, tugging at her lifespan.
But that was nothing new.
To Wi Sowol, Kun Wan-geuk's condition seemed far more urgent.
He had taken more poison than she had.
Impressive that he was still standing.
Thanks to his poison arts, no doubt—but his mental fortitude played the greater role.
That was the nature of a supreme master's indomitable will, transcending human limits.
But even that required a physical foundation.
"Sit."
Wi Sowol pulled Kun Wan-geuk down to sit.
Needlessly huge.
How high did she have to crane her neck just to meet his eyes?
Only once seated did their eye levels roughly align.
Wi Sowol's gaze scanned Kun Wan-geuk's chest—his solar plexus.
Fortunately, his well-developed pectorals had minimized meridian damage.
Seal the meridians, transplant healthy skin to cover; that should do it.
"Wrist."
At Wi Sowol's command, Kun Wan-geuk reluctantly extended his wrist.
To the watching Paeguk Sect members from afar, it looked like a circus bear obeying a girl's orders.
The Disciplinary Squad Chief, no less.
The man even the sect lord feared during formal executions.
Reduced to helpless compliance before that tiny girl.
No one in Hanyang County or Hangoojin would believe it.
More shocking than Wi Sowol's appearance was the scene itself, stunning the onlookers.
But the two ignored the stares, focused solely on their tasks.
Wi Sowol's pure yin qi swept over Kun Wan-geuk's solar plexus once.
Feeling the creeping fever from the poison subside, his expression eased somewhat.
Calming one's energy while poisoned to accept true qi.
Or taking a pulse while poisoned, squeezing out true qi.
Neither was normal.
"Like this, you'll die."
"Eight or nine chances out of ten, yeah. Far more potent than imagined. If I'd taken it all, it'd have been fatal."
This was why poison arts terrified.
Once poisoned, even death meant taking others down too.
"Planning secluded cultivation?"
"Exactly."
If Kun Wan-geuk died now, the poison would break free again—that much was obvious.
So he couldn't die peacefully.
Knowing that, he had gauged the poison's volume against what they could handle and made the optimal call.
Had they taken less, they couldn't have fully suppressed it; some would leak, causing more casualties.
Or failed suppression might have wounded his internals.
"Why?"
"What?"
"All of it. You didn't have to get involved."
Without Wi Sowol's intervention, Kun Wan-geuk would have had to embrace the poison and choose mutual destruction.
Allies from Poison Control or the Brigade were risky—who knew how many were Gong Yatak loyalists? Incomplete attainment might even backfire, drawing poison inward.
Yet Wi Sowol had helped dismantle the realm.
And despite her own strain, she tended to his body.
Incomprehensible behavior.
Kun Wan-geuk couldn't fathom her reasons.
Especially since she wasn't even Paeguk Sect.
But Wi Sowol's answer was simple.
"I'm a physician."
Kun Wan-geuk was the patient; Wi Sowol, the doctor.
Wasn't that enough?
His eyes lost focus, glazing over at her words.
He had heard something similar once.
A long-forgotten memory resurfaced, overlaying her face.
"You resemble her."
"Who?"
"The one the Sect Lord loved."
Wi Sowol's mind blanked for an instant.
Who?
Hwagum-bi?
That venomous woman and me?
"Urk."
Understanding, Wi Sowol made a retching face.
"Gross."
She truly despised it.
Seeing her utter revulsion, Kun Wan-geuk smiled faintly and added,
"Even that expression."
"Stop. Say more, and I'm done."
"Sorry. My apologies."
About time.
First time since regressing she'd felt this disgusted.
The beggar kids or Jang Rok's deaths brought more anger and sorrow than revulsion.
"You mentioned antidotal cloth? I'll gather the poison in one spot and cut it out. Handle the rest yourselves."
"Where?"
"Best would be the liver. Hard to do abdominal surgery here, so an arm?"
"An arm..."
"What? Hate it? I won't force treatment."
"No."
Life versus an arm.
No contest.
"Feels too cheap."
Kun Wan-geuk raised his right arm.
He was right-handed.
He strove for balance, but his right arm's meridians and muscles were stronger inevitably.
Using the right would hold the poison more stably.
Easing Wi Sowol's burden too.
"This one."
Poison Control Division Chief Gong Yatak: deceased.
Disciplinary Squad Chief Kun Wan-geuk: right arm amputated.
The purge of the Poison Control Division Chief left a massive scar on the Paeguk Sect.
Even as the paramount evil sect boasting five supreme masters, this loss cut to the bone.
Effectively two supreme masters gone—a vast power vacuum.
They might even cede the title of greatest evil sect to the Sword Inspection Society or Sun-Moon Star.
Naturally, the Paeguk Sect threw everything into damage control, fire at their feet.
Yet some stood a step aside from the frenzy.
"Reckless."
Wi Sowol and Hwang Bo-yoon.
The pair lounged comfortably in quarters meant for the sect's honored guests.
"Just lent a hand."
"Sure seems that way."
"What?"
Unlike armless Kun Wan-geuk, Wi Sowol had slept and eaten fine.
"Then why'd you throw me in?"
"Obvious it'd burst if Kun Wan-geuk took it alone late. Fail that, and even if I survived, you'd be wheezing. Tough body—you wouldn't die."
All in all, Wi Sowol was quite satisfied with this affair.
A man who distinguished deviant from evil wasn't pure wicked; saving a patient was good karma.
Preventing innocent deaths: more good karma.
Treating slums folk under Paeguk Sect auspices: yet more.
Triple good karma.
Plus, though taxing now, fully melting this poison's yin qi into her Great White Light True Qi would be its own fortune.
She wouldn't fight expending internal energy like this for a while.
But as Paeguk Sect's honored guest anyway...
"Ah."
Wi Sowol let out a dazed exclamation, struck by realization.
"What?"
"Paeguk Sect guest... means enemy territory in Namchang County?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah... probably?"
Brief silence.
Hwang Bo-yoon felt a familiar chill from Wi Sowol's blank stare.
"Why, again, what."
"Bo-yoonie."
"Don't call me that."
"Let's head back. As Hwang Bo-yoon."
Wouldn't being Hwang Bo-sega's young master, former Paeguk guest, beat being the Weird Physician's disciple, now Paeguk guest?