Chapter 78: A Bloody Battle - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: A Bloody Battle - 2
"Kwahahahaha!"
The Poison Demon’s laughter echoed through the air.
"Ugh..."
In contrast, the Poison King swallowed a groan.
The Poison Demon was strong. Insanely so.
Even though Tang Jin-cheol had reached the very edge of the Transcendent Realm, nothing he did seemed to work against the Poison Demon.
In the world of poisons, a hierarchy exists; a lower-tier poison cannot affect someone who harbors a superior one. The same usually applied to those with poisons of equal rank.
However, it was different for these two, both of whom stood at the precipice of the Transcendent Realm. They had absorbed countless toxins and could combine them within their bodies to create extreme poisons never seen before.
Yet, no matter what kind of lethal toxin Tang Jin-cheol unleashed, it had no effect on the Poison Demon.
It wasn't that he wasn't being poisoned. He clearly was.
But the moment he was affected, he didn't just neutralize the toxin instantly—he made it his own. He was developing immunity on the fly.
It was an absurdity.
Unlike the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, which unified poisonous qi with internal energy for absorption, the Hunwon Five Poisons Divine Art required a specific process of accumulation to manipulate toxins. Because of this, the process of building immunity was naturally more vulnerable compared to the former. Yet, the Poison Demon before him was accepting the poisonous qi directly, detoxifying it in an instant, and immediately generating immunity.
His body was unbelievable.
Immunity was something that could only be forged through immense periods of suffering and endurance. To create it in a heartbeat... what kind of human was capable of such a thing?
Tang Jin-cheol stared at the Poison Demon as if looking at a monster.
The Poison Demon looked back at him. Unlike the Poison King, his face was twisted with sheer delight.
He was enjoying this. He was enjoying it far too much.
The man before him possessed enough skill to keep him entertained. Having reached the peak of the Transcendent Realm himself, the Poison Demon had enough prowess to boast that no one in the world could match him, save for Lee Jae-won and the Heavenly Demon. Even if the Sword Emperor or the Heavenly Sword Empress appeared, he was confident he wouldn't lose.
He had the right to be that confident.
Poison was an outlier among martial arts. It followed a different path from traditional techniques, making it dangerous and, therefore, alluring. After mastering the Hunwon Five Poisons Divine Art, he had become capable of creating a vast array of toxins by fusing and separating the countless poisons stored in his body.
How many poisons had he created during the twenty years he had vanished from the world? He had absorbed so many toxins that he could proudly claim to have consumed every poison in existence.
And based on those countless poisons, he had been able to perfect it.
A poison capable of affecting even a master of the Transcendent Realm—the stage known as the Absolute Realm.
That was why he was certain. Even Yang Tae-san, known as the second strongest in the Cheonmu Alliance, would not be able to withstand his poison.
And now, he had met an opponent who stood on equal footing with his confident self.
The man who had inherited the title of the World's Greatest Poison User after he had disappeared twenty years ago—the man who arrogantly called himself a 'King.'
The Poison King.
It was true he had underestimated him at first, but it didn't take long to realize that was a mistake.
The man was strong. Insanely strong.
Even the Poison Demon, who had never once felt a sense of crisis in his life, was startled. And that was with the Poison King fighting in such a severely mangled state.
The Poison King’s toxins were incredibly profound. He, too, seemed to have combined countless poisons to create numerous extreme toxins.
A multitude of unfamiliar poisons surrounded the Poison Demon. He felt every single one of them with his entire body.
It was thrilling. It was enough to blow away all the boredom he had felt over the years.
The poisons the Poison King produced were of such concentration that a single moment of carelessness could be fatal, and this fact delighted the Poison Demon. It gave him the opportunity to become even stronger.
The Poison Demon allowed himself to be poisoned by every toxin the Poison King scattered, detoxifying them one by one and gaining immunity in the process. He was growing stronger by the second.
He was happy. The Poison King had poured out toxins for a long time, yet new ones continued to emerge. He felt the joy of a child who had received a new toy.
Moreover, this wasn't just any toy. It was a toy sword with a razor-sharp edge.
Building immunity was an agonizing and dangerous task. The process of detoxification consumed a significant amount of internal energy. If he let his guard down for even a moment, that sharp blade would pierce his throat.
"I am glad to have met an equal, Poison King," the Poison Demon said, his voice brimming with joy.
"Old man, watch your mouth. Can't you see the state I'm in?"
The Poison King gestured toward his missing arm, which dangled uselessly. As he said, his body was far from whole. To call them equals under these circumstances was practically an admission that the Poison Demon was inferior.
"Hahaha, schemes are also a form of ability. Besides, even if your body were whole, you still wouldn't be a match for me."
"As if."
Tang Jin-cheol let out a cold laugh. He found it disgusting to see the man who had turned his body into a wreck now reveling in the thrill of battle.
He began to gather his poisonous qi once more. To defeat this old monster, ordinary combinations of poison wouldn't suffice. The man would just build immunity anyway. Even though it clearly put a strain on his body, the Poison Demon showed no signs of fatigue.
He had to kill him in one blow. He had to poison him and slit his throat before he could develop immunity.
He hadn't fully mastered the realm yet. But because he had reached the very edge, he had gained the chance to take one step further.
Tang Jin-cheol intended to show him that one step.
Whirrrrrrrrr!
Tang Jin-cheol pushed the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art to its absolute limit. Immediately, a massive amount of poisonous qi, incomparable to anything before, began to envelop his body.
Great. Immense. Tremendous. Even these words felt insufficient to describe its scale.
The Poison Demon’s eyes sparkled at the sight. He didn't know what the Poison King was planning, but he was certain of one thing: a wave of poisonous qi, far beyond anything he had faced so far, was about to crash over him.
"Haa... haa..."
His breathing grew heavy. The mere thought of it sent a thrill through him.
The Poison Demon began to circulate the Hunwon Five Poisons Divine Art. The moment the poison hit him, he would recover and build immunity. A smile naturally bloomed on his lips.
'Come! Come to me!'
Tang Jin-cheol watched him with a cold gaze. The man was clearly acting out of the arrogant belief that he could detoxify anything.
'How much are you going to look down on me?'
Anger began to boil within him.
'I'll make sure you pay dearly for your complacency.'
Tang Jin-cheol focused, radiating murderous aura toward the Poison Demon.
What exactly was the Dragon Poison Technique? Usually, it was a broad term for any technique used to poison an enemy.
Then, how does one poison an enemy? There were many ways. One could force them to ingest it, create a poisonous mist to be inhaled, or emit poisonous qi to be absorbed through the skin. One could also throw hidden weapons coated in poison to introduce it directly into the bloodstream.
It was a remarkably tedious process.
Tang Jin-cheol thought it was inefficient and bothersome. So, he wondered: was there a way to poison someone exactly as he wished, just by thinking it?
It was only upon reaching the edge of the Transcendent Realm that he finally found the clue to realize that thought.
Whirrrrrrr—
Snap.
The swirling poisonous qi suddenly cut off, then vanished entirely. It disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Silence filled the area around Tang Jin-cheol.
The Poison Demon was bewildered. Where had all that poisonous qi gone? And so suddenly? It was far too much energy to simply dissipate in an instant.
He looked at Tang Jin-cheol with a puzzled expression.
'What are you thinking, Poison King?'
He couldn't even begin to guess what the man was up to.
"Poison Demon, how do you poison a person?" Tang Jin-cheol asked, breaking the silence.
"I emit poisonous qi to infect them," the Poison Demon replied, not minding the sudden question.
"Don't you find it tedious?"
Tang Jin-cheol smiled at the answer.
"It may be tedious, but it is the most efficient and certain way."
"You're wrong."
The Poison Demon asked back, incredulous. Compared to ingestion, mists, or poisoned weapons, emitting poisonous qi to penetrate the skin was the most efficient method. To call it wrong made no sense.
"How can you call it the most efficient when it involves such a cumbersome process?"
A smile spread across Tang Jin-cheol’s face.
"What?" the Poison Demon asked, momentarily stunned.
And then—
"Cough!"
He hacked up a mouthful of blood.
"You have already been poisoned."
The smile on Tang Jin-cheol’s face deepened.
"Gah... h-how...?"
The Poison Demon groaned, his words faltering. An excruciating pain was surging through him as the poison seeped into his very bones.
"I simply poisoned you as my heart desired."
"...Heart Poison (心毒)."
"It is a skill that is not yet perfected."
Gush.
"Bleargh!"
Tang Jin-cheol’s Heart Poison began to ravage the Poison Demon’s entire body. The toxin started from the tips of his hands and feet, gradually climbing upward until it began to seize his head.
His internal organs were no different. The poison invaded his acupoints and his dantian, and even his organs began to melt. He was hit by a level of agony he had never experienced before.
"AAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!"
A scream tore from his throat. It was the first time he had ever felt such pain. A horrific agony enveloped his entire body. His skin began to liquefy and slough off.
"Guh... aaargh..."
The Poison Demon could do nothing but scream.
Thud.
After some time, the ground shook with a heavy thud as the Poison Demon collapsed.
He had finally defeated him.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
Tang Jin-cheol panted heavily. The Poison Demon had been so strong he was almost impossible to handle. As the man had said, even if Tang Jin-cheol’s body had been whole, it would not have been an easy victory.
A smile touched Tang Jin-cheol’s lips. In the end, he had won. He had successfully executed the Heart Poison, which had been little more than a theory until now. Though it was an incomplete version, it was enough to poison the exhausted old monster.
Tang Jin-cheol felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He was beyond tired. But he couldn't collapse just yet. He had to catch his final enemy.
The murderer who had killed his youngest son, Tang Se-gi, and stolen his skin to impersonate him. Though Se-gi had been a troublemaker since he was young, a wastrel who was a stain on the family's name, he was still Tang Jin-cheol’s son. No matter how irredeemable a scoundrel he was, only the Tang Clan had the right to punish him. Not the government, not some passing hero—only the Sichuan Tang Clan.
But this man had killed his son. It was an insult to the Sichuan Tang Clan, the family known as the greatest in the Central Plains.
He would subdue him. Then, he would peel off his skin to reveal his true identity and let him wither away as slowly as possible. His crime was too great for a quick death. He would make the man scream in agony and regret what he had done. No, he would make him regret it.
Tang Jin-cheol’s eyes turned murderous.
Flop.
He sat down where he was. He closed his eyes and crossed his legs in a meditative posture. He needed to recover his body before he went to kill Sun-woo. His internal energy was completely depleted, and his physical strength had long since run out. He had to recover before confronting him.
Just as he was about to circulate the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art—
Shiver.
A chill ran down his spine, even with his eyes closed.
'N-No way!?'
Tang Jin-cheol hurriedly snapped his eyes open.
And there he saw it. The face of the Poison Demon, hideously transformed with his skin melted away, staring back at him.
"Heh... that was quite fierce, Tang Clan Head."
The Poison Demon smiled broadly, revealing teeth stained black by the poison.
"H-How...!?"
Tang Jin-cheol asked in shock. It was impossible. This couldn't be happening. He had clearly poisoned the man down to the very marrow of his bones with Heart Poison. How could he possibly withstand that?
"It was impressive. Truly. If it hadn't been incomplete, I would have been dead for sure," the Poison Demon continued. "Just as you dreamed of Heart Poison through your Dragon Poison Technique, I, too, had a dream. On the day I first became a disciple of the Five Poison Sect Leader, I tasted poisoning for the first time. For days, I vomited blood and my body was covered in spots. It turned out to be a tradition of the Five Poison Sect. Heh heh."
The Poison Demon chuckled, reminiscing about the past.
"And I realized then how terrifying poison is. That's why it makes such a magnificent weapon. But then I had another thought: if someone else were to use such a terrifying weapon against me, what should I do? How could I avoid being poisoned?"
The Poison Demon swallowed and continued.
"And I found the answer. It was immunity. I decided to consume every poison in the world and forge a body that could never be poisoned. I made that vow, and once I reached the Transcendent Realm, I finally began to find the clue."
"......Poison Immunity."
"That's right. It's still incomplete, so it was too much to fully withstand your Heart Poison, but it allowed me to stay alive like this."
Step. Step.
The Poison Demon began to walk slowly toward Tang Jin-cheol.
"Consider yourself unlucky."
He gathered internal energy into his hand. Tang Jin-cheol’s eyes filled with despair.
Thwack!
With a sound like a bursting watermelon, Tang Jin-cheol’s head exploded. He had been struck by the Poison Demon’s palm.
The great hero who had once annihilated the Black Armored Cavalry that terrified the Murim, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan—the greatest family in the Central Plains—and the Poison King who was hailed as the world's greatest poison user and dared to claim the title of King... Tang Jin-cheol lost his life just like that, at the hands of the Poison Demon.