Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Radiant Ascension Furnace
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Sung Do-chun's Blood Poison Pill had absorbed the poison.
However, the poison I used was so potent that the Blood Poison Pill couldn't absorb it all.
Sung Do-chun had apparently activated the Turtle Breathing Great Method to hold out as long as possible while the pill did its work, eventually passing out.
The Turtle Breathing Great Method was a technique that stopped breathing and the heart for a set period of time.
With the heart stopped, the blood in the body effectively ceased flowing as well, allowing one to endure poison for a few extra hours. Of course, without help, death was inevitable.
'Damn it. I got played!'
With no breathing and the heart inactive due to the Turtle Breathing Great Method, I had naturally assumed Sung Do-chun was dead at the time.
'No pulse either—you'd have to think he's dead. Shit.'
Curses swirled in my mouth.
The silver lining was that Sung Do-chun had been unconscious and hadn't seen me. If he had, I'd probably be dragged before Sung Go-dan right now, limbs hacked off.
'Sung Do-chun surviving is unexpected... but he can't pin it on me.'
I wasn't even a suspect.
I was still under thirty, and acquiring poison lethal enough to kill Sung Do-chun wasn't something just anyone could do. They'd assume it was impossible for me.
'Plus, Sung Go-dan's direct subordinates searched the sect grounds multiple times.'
They'd burst into my room unannounced, rummage through it, and leave. What they were after were spirit herbs and elixirs.
'Heh. Thinking about it, I have no reason to worry. How could they find stuff in my inventory?'
This world had no modern forensics. Fingerprinting wasn't even a concept. And given the sect's situation, they shied away from outside help. This was a humiliating scandal that would stain Meteor Sword Sect's history forever.
'Sung Do-chun surviving is a surprise, but they can't catch me. Heh heh heh. You idiots.'
I inwardly sneered at them as they desperately hunted for the culprit.
???
"Huuu."
I sat cross-legged, circulated my energy using the Meteor Heart Method I'd recently learned, and exhaled deeply. I'd only mastered the basics of the Meteor Heart Method. Unlike basic heart methods, fully cultivating it imposed restrictions on learning others.
'Scrap this low-grade heart method on the surface level—that's plenty.'
In the original story, the protagonist cultivated the Meteor Heart Method before switching, and it wasn't a smooth process.
'Now at Entry Form 6th stage.'
After consuming two enhanced Subordinate Pills and fully absorbing their energy, I'd reached the Entry Form 6th stage.
The downside was that elixirs built tolerance over time, reducing their effects.
'Without that limit, I'd have swallowed all my elixirs and aimed for Exit Will stage.'
I quickly shook off the regret. I had better news to celebrate.
Special mission completed. Reward: 3x Strong Body Pills granted.
Strong Body Pill
Strengthens the body. Enhances physical abilities upon consumption.
Three Strong Body Pills appeared before me. They looked like red pills.
I placed the Strong Body Pills into the Radiant Ascension Furnace. My rule—no, my creed—was to always enhance elixirs in the Radiant Ascension Furnace before consuming them.
'Elixirs overflowing! Great, just great!'
I felt like dancing a jig.
So I did a little.
???
"Yu-jin. Heard the news? Tomorrow, the Pill Pavilion Master is bringing in spirit hounds from outside."
Sung Ji-gon said to me during breakfast.
"Spirit hounds? What's that?"
I'd never heard of them. They didn't appear in the original story either.
"Dogs that track the scent of herbs and elixirs. The Pill Pavilion Master plans to use them to find the culprit."
"...Oh. Really?"
From what he said, spirit hounds could track scents of herbs or elixirs they'd smelled once.
The range was about 10 li max. They weren't ordinary dogs but spirit beasts. For reference, 10 li was roughly 4 km.
'Damn. Gotta head back and bathe first.'
I hadn't taken out elixirs recently, but if the scent lingered on my body, that spirit hound bastard might sniff me out.
'Time to disinfect my room too.'
Just in case.
Then I got pissed. Why was Sung Do-chun making my life so annoying?
'Sung Do-chun, you bastard. After getting hit once, just forget it and start a new herb garden!'
Letting this slide felt like it'd give me a fit of rage.
I was brainstorming ways to screw over Sung Do-chun when a great idea hit me.
'Dump a herb. Use a drone to sneak it into Sung Go-dan's room without anyone knowing.'
The sect couldn't produce its own elixirs anymore, which meant no future. Sect Leader Sung Go-dan was frantically busy. Plenty of gaps to exploit.
'Heh heh. Now fight among yourselves.'
My plan worked perfectly.
The next afternoon, Sung Go-dan and Sung Do-chun were yelling at each other.
Rumors spread that stolen herbs had been found in Sung Go-dan's quarters. The upper echelons were in chaos.
The elders and Sung Do-chun knew Sung Go-dan was a greedy man.
With only 40 years left to live, Sung Go-dan was desperate enough that they'd inwardly suspected him of stealing the herbs and elixirs.
Sung Go-dan was no fool. He was the founder of Meteor Sword Sect, after all. He'd notice the elders doubting him.
A few days later, Sung Go-dan and the elders argued loudly in the meeting hall. His furious voice echoed through the sect. Everyone hid in their rooms.
The atmosphere in Meteor Sword Sect grew increasingly tense by the day.
???
A month later.
The tension in Meteor Sword Sect eased.
Sung Go-dan concluded the elixir thief wasn't in the sect and lowered the alert level several notches.
The elders objected, but he pushed through. Buying herbs required money, and money required sect activity.
Besides, prolonged lockdown diminished their external influence.
Sung Ji-gon and I finally went down to Hunan City after ages. But we couldn't relax. The sect was just resuming active operations when a rape case popped up? Perfect setup for suspicion. Best to lay low.
"Can't we just do it? I miss Hu Ja-min."
Sung Ji-gon said. Hu Ja-min, the Chief Steward's wife.
"No."
I shook my head firmly. I wanted to see the Chief Steward's daughter too. Her pussy was surprisingly good. And lately, unlike before, she welcomed my visits. She'd tasted the pleasure of sex.
"Haa... haa... It feels so good... I want to see your face... Is that okay?"
That's what she panted while riding me last time. Of course, I refused.
At night, I snuck out of Meteor Sword Sect unnoticed. Not to Hunan City, but to a cave deep in the mountains, far from the sect.
'This is where the event I've been waiting for happens.'
I'd even installed cameras and monitored it daily.
'Perfect spot to consume elixirs away from the spirit hounds.'
Returning after consumption was no issue. I'd confirmed before that modern cleaning products erased scents even spirit hounds couldn't detect.
'In the original, this was the protagonist's secret training ground.'
Ideal for cultivation. A bear used to live here but got one-shot by my Lightning Fist.
I consumed enhanced elixirs in the cave, trained, then returned to Meteor Sword Sect.
'When will the event trigger?'
Three months later, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.
???
Before bed, I was checking the cave's live camera feed on my laptop when I bolted upright.
A beauty in red robes staggered into the cave and collapsed on the floor.
'She's here!'
I slipped out of Meteor Sword Sect and raced to the cave, even using mana to fly like an arrow.
Entering the cave, I swallowed hard at the sight of her sprawled face-down.
Only her profile was visible, but she was so stunning she made Sung So-jeong, the sect's top beauty, look plain.
'Shit. Got hard just from her side profile.'
I approached slowly and spoke.
"No! What happened?! Miss! Are you alright?!"
I turned her body properly. She was drenched in sweat, breathing raggedly. Her red robes weren't too conspicuous, but up close, her side was soaked in blood.
"This is bad! A serious wound! And sweating like this... You must be poisoned, Miss!"
Having read the original, I knew she was genuinely poisoned. The protagonist, who collected herbs obsessively, had an antidote herb by coincidence, but I'd prepared one in advance.
'The poison's too strong for full detox with herbs... but in the original, she handled it herself.'
The herb only helped a bit.
"Miss. Let me help you. But... I need to see the wound properly. I'll have to remove your clothes... Is that okay?"
"......"
No response, naturally. She was unconscious.
"Silence means consent. I'll take that as permission."
I reached out, then paused.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Jet-black hair with a faint red sheen contrasted her snow-white skin. Sexy red lips parted, exhaling hot breaths, and eyebrows like a masterpiece.
Mesmerized by her face, I moved to her top. Opening it revealed full breasts tightly bound in undergarments.
'At least E-cup! Probably F when unbound. Tightened to prevent jiggle in battle.'
My hand headed for her chest.
"Miss. This is to check if your heart's beating properly."
My hand touched her breast. Firm and taut from the binding rather than soft. I slipped fingers into her cleavage. The exquisite pressure from all sides made my dick ache.
"Hmm. From my examination, you're definitely afflicted with an aphrodisiac poison."
I kneaded her breasts a few times before pulling away.
"Don't worry, Miss. Lucky for you, I'm a man. I'll gladly shake my hips to help."
I wanted to fuck her right then, but I couldn't. I fixed her top, positioned her face-down as before, and stood.
She was Ryu Yang-mi, Blood Flower, daughter of the Blood Emperor, lord of Dominion Blood City.
'Her pursuers will arrive soon.'
I hid in a corner of the cave. When they came, I'd activate Illusioner to conceal myself.
'Hiding's my specialty, at least.'
Eternal Heaven Style: Hidden Grove.
Twenty minutes later.
Two men entered the cave.
Both wore black sedge hats and black clothes, but neither was in good shape.
One was missing an arm; the other had a massive sword wound on his back. Sharp swords gleamed in their hands.
"Blood Flower! You fled all the way here?!"
The sword-wounded man raised his blade, but the one-armed interrupted.
"Boss! Hold on! Killing Blood Flower outright would be a waste, no?"
"...What do you mean, Arm Eight?"
"That bitch took out twelve of our brothers! Killing her cleanly won't avenge them! We have to rape her first!"
"Blood Flower inherited everything from the Blood Goddess and reached the Three Peaks realm. She's a monster. Kill her before she wakes."
"She's fully poisoned by Thousand Evils Toxin. Unconscious and defenseless! If you won't, I will!"
"...For our fallen brothers' souls. No choice."
The men strode toward Ryu Yang-mi. I smirked inwardly at them.
'Fallen brothers? Bullshit. You got hard the second you saw Yang-mi.'
They didn't know I was there. I'd leap out and kill them instantly when they dropped trou to pounce, just like the protagonist in the original.
'Yang-mi's mine, assholes.'
Then—
Woof woof!
A dog's bark echoed as someone entered.
"A cave here, huh..."
It was Pill Pavilion Master Sung Do-chun with a white dog.
Sung Do-chun's face twisted in rage at the sedge-hatted men. He drew his sword from his waist with a fierce rasp.
"So it was you bastards! The ones who poisoned the well and stole the herbs and elixirs!"
An unexpected variable.