Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Butterfly Effect (3)
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Only after sacrificing one arm was Elder Kyung able to shake me off. He wore the expression of a cat bitten by a rat, sticking out his tongue in disbelief.
"...Hah. Hahaha."
He tore off a large strip from Woo-su's sleeve with a rip! and began wrapping the wound on his left arm.
In the meantime, I carefully regulated my breathing.
Seizing the opening, my master, residing in Woo-su, spoke up.
"To think a fledgling who hasn't broken through the barrier of Sword Aura Solidification could coat his blade in sword gang... So you've pulled off an Iron Tree Blossoming." Iron Tree Blossoming referred to flowers blooming on a tree made of iron.
In common folk sayings, it meant something utterly impossible.
But in the jianghu, it described manifesting a realm one shouldn't be able to reach, just like I had done.
"Out of an old woman's worry, I must ask: you didn't draw on innate true energy, did you?" Well, I could understand my master's question.
For an ordinary martial artist to achieve Iron Tree Blossoming, it was possible only through a last burst of strength before death—like a final flash of light—or by expending their innate true energy, the root of life present from birth.
Since neither applied to me, I immediately dismissed his concern.
'No way. It's an application of the Blood Summoning Technique I showed you earlier, the Blood Spirit Summoning. Didn't I tell you it could be used in other ways?'
"I suspected as much when you wounded your perfectly fine left palm. What bizarre methods... How long can you maintain this state?" Time, huh. Having used it so freely just now, with the output of the newly inscribed blood ring, I could probably sustain it for another fifteen minutes at most.
'About one incense stick's worth at maximum?'
"Maximum meaning that's if you're conserving it?" 'Yes. Swinging it around like before makes it hard to gauge by time. Twice more would be the limit.'
"He's no pushover. Severing that old monster's head with that seems unlikely." 'But that old man doesn't know that. Since he doesn't, he won't come at me as aggressively as before.'
"True enough." How long had it been since I exchanged thoughts with my master?
Elder Kyung finished bandaging his left arm and kicked off the ground with a whoosh!, charging toward us again.
"You brat!"
As I predicted, caution laced Elder Kyung's movements, unlike before.
Cautious offense inherently lacked sharpness.
Swaaaah!!!
Of course, even a blunt club could kill, and an attack from a transcendent realm master was no different.
But I still had twelve corpse puppets.
Bam!!!!
Leading with one, I easily dodged Elder Kyung's palm strike.
Elder Kyung halted for a moment and spat out a line.
"...The more I learn, the more freakish you seem."
At first glance, it sounded like mere gamer trash talk.
"That sword technique vaguely resembling our cult's sword basics, the corpse manipulation... And now, your reputation in the cult's intel is completely backwards?"
"Guess the guy who made the report was blind."
"I must bring you back to the cult."
The conclusion took a weird turn.
"Will you come quietly with this old man?"
"Why would I? You go follow that Sa-hong bastard."
"If that's how you want it, I'll have to break your limbs and drag you along."
And that conclusion shifted the fight into a new phase.
Elder Kyung began attacking recklessly, ignoring his own body.
Kraaah!!!
One corpse puppet successfully clawed his chest.
Bam!
But that one exploded immediately, followed by...
Bam! Bam! Booom!!!
Three more bursting in sequence.
A gap opened, and a palm strike shaped like a crimson-black imugi serpent shot forth.
Kwaaaaah-boom!!!!
It was too late to summon another puppet, no angle to dodge.
'Can't avoid this.'
I had no choice but to swing Regret, wrapped in blood sword gang, horizontally, cleaving the condensed energy imugi with a thud!
'!'
The immediate crisis passed, but there was no next move.
I'd thought I could swing a pseudo sword gang twice more with the Blood Summoning Technique.
Maintaining even this was down to mere moments.
'The energy drained faster than expected.'
I quickly reorganized the remaining puppets and coldly assessed the situation.
'Can't cry death here.'
That would really kill me.
If I headed to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, I wouldn't die immediately, but I'd have to pay for Gwak Sa-hong's life there eventually.
'That monstrous old man must be nearing his limit too.'
Fatigue accumulated from the fight at Yi Manor.
Severed arm.
Skin scraped by puppets.
He wasn't pressing the next assault, just regulating his breath—that said it all.
'He never intended to shatter his jade tablet since he returned here.'
Demonic cultists often heroically detonated their lives when plans failed.
Believing they'd be praised by the Heavenly Demon in the afterlife and reincarnate together upon his return.
Coming back meant he planned to report the failure to the cult.
'His original goal was saving Gwak Sa-hong, but even after confirming his death, he demanded I go to the mountains.'
He followed Gwak Sa-hong not out of loyalty, but because he saw potential as the Heavenly Demon's vessel.
He valued the Heavenly Demon's reincarnation over personal revenge.
Realizing that, I bluffed boldly.
"Old man, you're clearly stronger than me. But if you give even a moment's opening, forget me—you won't make it back to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains alone."
I subtly implied even he couldn't return solo.
"......"
Did my words hit home?
Though he'd finished regulating his breath, Elder Kyung didn't strike. He gnawed his lip, hesitating.
That bought us a brief window, and footsteps echoed from below the ancestral graves.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At the footsteps from below the graves...
Elder Kyung ground his teeth and pivoted instantly.
"!"
He dashed into the shrine like lightning.
His actions raised two questions in my mind.
'He flees without even gauging if it's friend or foe? And why into the shrine?'
First, bolting without assessing the enemy.
Second, why the shrine?
'Looking for the blood corpse puppets?'
Pondering the second as the footsteps neared, the first resolved itself.
"Hm? Isn't that man charging ahead your father? The rest are So-rung, Jeong-hyeon, Yong-myeong, and little Seol-ji." '...Yeah. It is.' The kids made sense.
But why was my brother... no, my father here?
Aside from the relief and reassurance, Eon Jeong-ung wasn't supposed to climb the mountain at this point.
I vividly remembered him in the original story, berating himself for not noticing when his in-laws were in danger, even as he sent Chief Steward Geum to aid the North Hebei Pengs.
That thought slipped out of my mouth.
"...How did Father...?"
"Are you alright? Any injuries? On the way, Yong-myeong gave me the rough story! You foolish boy!"
What story? How?
"Uwaaaang!"
"Prime Celestial Venerable, Moral Celestial Venerable, Spirit Treasure Celestial Venerable. The Three Pure Ones have blessed us!"
They didn't!
"Brother! Hng-hng-hng! Do you know how worried I was?! The ancestors helped!"
They didn't either!
As everyone hugged me without answering my questions...
Zhuge Seol-ji, standing half a step back, scratched her cheek and explained.
"The North Hebei Peng Family Head came with him. We rushed here hearing only about you, so that's all we know."
Ah. Fair enough.
With Eon Jeong-ung and Peng Mu-hyeok together, the Yi Manor fight must've been completely locked down.
I didn't know why those two came to Yi Manor.
But now I understood why that old demonic fiend fled for his life.
Anyway, stories could wait.
Elder Kyung had entered the shrine voluntarily. We couldn't just let him be.
I first silenced young and old alike.
"Enough!"
Then got to the point.
"Elder Kyung, that old demon—he's still alive. He went into that shrine."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I couldn't pursue since I was outmatched, but that's where he headed."
"Good work. I clashed with him myself; he's no easy old man."
That was when it happened.
As Eon Jeong-ung led the group into stance toward the shrine...
Bam!!!!
The shrine's roof exploded, and Elder Kyung burst out.
In his hand was a bell with a handle.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
I first thought he was trying to reclaim control of the Diamond Corpse Puppets.
But the sound waves differed completely from the blood bell Gwak Sa-hong had rung. Just as I sensed something off...
Spurt!
Spurt! Spuuurt!!
Pale hands protruded like bamboo shoots from the shrine's earthen ground nearby.
Evidently, puppets buried without coffins.
"With so many puppets, why didn't he use them and just leave?" I thought the same—this is bad.
'Too many.'
I might've been called the Necromancer King in my past life, but this body was Eon Yong-un's. Without enough inner power, I couldn't use black magic.
Having operated the Diamond Puppets and pseudo sword gang earlier, my inner power was depleted.
Kraaah!!!!
But it was worth trying.
Judging by their bug-eaten skin and talismans on foreheads as they burst from the earth...
These were ordinary puppets, no threat to true experts—barely different from plain corpses.
"Jeong-hyeon, Zhuge Seol-ji, Yong-myeong. These are completely different from the ones we fought earlier. Those had bodies like iron; these are like wet clay. No need to fear."
Thus began the puppet battle.
Not being impressive, swords cleaved their limbs with each swing.
Thud! Thud!!
Eon Family Fists infused with essence mastery exploded them on impact.
Bam! Bam!!!
But there were just too many.
Enough to cover everyone who'd passed in recent years from Tae-won.
Their purpose flashed in my mind.
'Buying time.'
And sure enough.
"Eon Yong-un! You will pay dearly for ruining the Divine Cult's grand plan!!"
Elder Kyung ground his teeth, shouted, and whooshed! through the puppets.
I'd avoided direct black magic, but no choice now.
'I can't chase Elder Kyung anyway.'
So, squeeze out remaining inner power to neutralize as many as possible, leave the rest and pursuit to Father and the others.
Decision made, I called out.
"I'll neutralize half. Jeong-hyeon, Zhuge Seol-ji, Eon Yong-myeong, Woo So-rung—clear a path."
Then to Eon Jeong-ung.
"Father, chase Elder Kyung in the meantime."
The three who'd witnessed the Diamond Puppets' power looked convinced I had a plan.
So-rung and Father widened their eyes.
No time for explanations.
Wuuung—
I pushed nearly all inner power except innate true energy to my upper dantian, drawing a massive black magic circle.
Then activated it with a spirit command.
"Perish." ⟨ Necrotic Command ⟩
A dark flash erupted, and over half the puppets collapsed like marionettes with cut strings.
Overwhelming fatigue hit me; I leaned on So-rung's shoulder.
In that moment, I pointed at Zhuge Seol-ji.
Meaning: snap out of it and speak up.
'!'
Regaining composure, she called out.
"Uh, Family Head! Everyone! I know you're stunned, but follow Yong-un's lead!"
"R-Right. Got it."
"I'll clear the path."
"I'll help too. Jeong-hyeon Taoist Brother."
"I-I'll watch Eon brother and cover the rear!"
Hm.
Worth the training.
Maybe time for a quick nap.