Chapter 414
Chapter 414
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 414
Chapter Title: Spectacle (3)
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At the sight of Jin Gwa-ryang even offering up Ja Wang and Chuk Wang as sacrifices.
The fighters clashing in the central battlefield froze in place, friend and foe alike.
"Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Just brushing against that aura sends chills down the flesh—truly horrifying. One can't even imagine how many lives were sacrificed to cultivate that demonic art... A devil. A true demon."
Among them, the Wudang disciples spat curses with their mouths, yet their bodies lurched forward as if to charge at Jin Gwa-ryang.
"Which is exactly why we can't let it loose upon the mortal world. Our eldest senior brother said our path led us here for a reason, didn't he?"
"He did."
"It seems the Heavenly Venerable and Grand Marshal Jin Mu sent us here to stop that monster."
"I agree. We cannot allow that selfish ambition to blanket the world."
I hurriedly opened my mouth to stop them from acting.
"You mustn't attack right now."
Then, Myeong Han, the youngest of the Wudang Five Heroes, questioned me.
"Why not? Shouldn't we strike before his Absorbing Star Great Law completes?"
"Can't you sense the energy gathering in Jin Gwa-ryang's body?"
"...I can. A vile, repulsive energy."
"Even the rebound alone could inflict internal injuries on the seniors. In the worst case, you could become targets of the Absorbing Star Great Law yourselves."
"......!"
The simplest and most powerful counter to the Absorbing Star Great Law was to channel one's inner energy to repel the demonic art's suction.
Wudang's heart method was the essence of the orthodox Earth Enveloping Technique, fundamentally clashing with Jin Gwa-ryang's energy.
However, the problem was that the energy amassed in Jin Gwa-ryang was so overwhelming it would instantly overpower them, regardless of the elemental clash.
'...Only with the Wudang disciples here can we drain the primal blood from Jin Gwa-ryang.'
They had to block and endure his attacks from the side for it to be possible, so they couldn't afford internal injuries or becoming his prey.
Thus, as I voiced the precautions.
This time, Myeong Il posed a question.
"I understand your concerns... but doesn't that mean we should step up even more now? If we let the Blood Demon absorb all the protectors' vital energies, the gap between us will widen further. There won't be any way to stop him then..."
But before his words finished, Jeong Hyeon shifted his stance.
He changed from a low, grounded pose ready to shatter the earth into a ready stance with legs shoulder-width apart and sword raised high.
"...Jeong Hyeon, do you believe there's a way?"
Myeong Il glanced between Jeong Hyeon and me, his expression blank for a moment.
"...There is?"
It was then that Myeong Yeong assumed the same ready stance and spoke.
"Those who have fought countless demons like that one will have insights closer to the Way than us, who were merely admiring the mountain scenery at Wudang. I'll trust the Demon Dragon's judgment."
The remaining Wudang Five Heroes nodded and adjusted their stances.
Led by Dokgo Cheol, the True Blood Group's experts followed suit.
I instructed them to change our approach to facing Jin Gwa-ryang.
"First, we'll split from the two-pronged formation into two groups: me, Senior Brother Myeong Yeong, and the remaining twelve."
"If you're caught, combine your energies to shake him off."
"Yes."
At that moment.
A boiling sound escaped Jin Gwa-ryang's mouth, one hard to believe came from a human.
Grrrr—
In response, Jeong Hyeon recalled a past encounter and spoke.
"That sound... it reminds me of the noises those freaks from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult made."
"He's taken in vital energy beyond his limits, just like them... but it'll be entirely different. Jin Gwa-ryang has cultivated the Blood Rain Divine Art."
Having briefed them on the essentials and instilled vigilance.
Only one issue remained.
- But what if that bastard runs? Didn't Ja Wang, that rat, tell him to flee?
Somehow seeing through it, Master voiced the thought in my head first.
'...That would complicate things.'
The Blood Demon had displayed sky-treading lightness skills from our first meeting.
Nan Chang River was wide and swift, but with the massive primal energy absorbed, he could likely dash across its surface.
'Pursuing him would be arduous and dangerous... We must end it here.'
So I spoke up.
"What a spectacle, Jin Gwa-ryang! The self-proclaimed Blood Demon, trying to flee like a dog, using the Absorbing Star Great Law on the cultists who stood by you to the end!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "......"
"......"
"......"
"......"
I'd spoken to pin Jin Gwa-ryang down, but unexpectedly, it made the remaining Blood Cult remnants flinch.
Thinking it a two-birds-one-stone effect, I continued.
"Especially that Ja Wang—he was practically family, wasn't he? He must have fed you from childhood. Devouring one's own is for after the hunt. But you're boiling your family alive from the start to make your escape!"
Starting with Sa Gyeom and Son Cheon-jeong, the Hong Army's True Blood members added their voices.
"That's the true face of the one we called Lord!"
"Cultists, awaken! Following Jin Gwa-ryang leads to neither this world nor the next—only his belly!"
"Rightly said! You have eyes, don't you? Can't you see the fanaticism's price in that wretched end?!"
The Blood Cult remnants visibly wavered.
At that instant.
Jin Gwa-ryang dropped the two shrunken Cult Protector Kings from his hands.
Thud.
Plop.
He lifted his eyelids.
His sclera boundaries gone, blood-red eyes glared at us, fangs sharpening like a sawblade.
"My promise of 'next time' means..."
He bellowed with infused inner energy.
"I'll slaughter you all first, then do it!!!!!!"
Fresh from absorbing immense primal energy, his voice carried a horrific wail of ghosts.
Kiiiiieeeeeek!!!!
As if hundreds or thousands of voices roared in unison, those with shallow inner energy clutched their ears or vomited blood.
Jin Gwa-ryang kicked off the ground.
Shweeeeeek!!!
His movement blurred even to me in the Hua Jing realm.
Among us, only Myeong Yeong could properly react.
Claaang!!!
Using Myeong Yeong's motion as a beacon, I relied on animalistic instincts to counter Jin Gwa-ryang.
Ching ching ching ching cling!!
Of course, not everyone could match my reflexes.
Slash!!
Jin Gwa-ryang's swung energy sliced Blood Cult remnants and some Hong Army members in half instantly.
Even among the Wudang Five Heroes, the weakest Myeong Eun spat a mouthful of blood.
"Cough!"
Jin Gwa-ryang exploited the gap, swinging his blood-aura-clad sword and clawed left hand.
Shwaaaaaak!
Despite the desperate moment, the Wudang Five Heroes and True Blood experts trusted my words, uniting as twelve to charge him.
Ching ching cling!
This created an opening for Myeong Yeong and me.
Myeong Yeong traced the Taiji Radiant Sword forms.
Shwick! Shwick!
Shweeeek!!
Using Myeong Yeong as a shield, I circled behind Jin Gwa-ryang.
He sneered, deflected Myeong Yeong's sword, and thrust his claws at me.
Shwaaaaaak!
But this was the moment I'd waited for.
'I can't fully match Jin Gwa-ryang's level... but at this speed and angle, his limit is right here.'
Drawing from habits I'd seen since the Blood Heaven Asura Palace fight, his recent moves, and Myeong Yeong's position, I preemptively dodged and grabbed his wrist with a hand wrapped in Heaven-Splitting inner energy, Blood Ring open.
Whoosh—
I lightly siphoned the leaking primal energy from his body.
Suuuuk—
Jin Gwa-ryang spasmed, yanking his hand back and retreating.
Furrowing his brows, blood-red eyes flickering, he demanded of me.
"...What the hell are you?"
I melted the absorbed primal energy into my Heaven-Splitting inner energy, purifying it.
"Burp."
Exaggerating a belch, I replied.
"I told you last time, remember? Probably around your grandpa's age."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Absorbing primal energy from Jin Gwa-ryang was akin to sucking out snake venom from a bite and spitting it.
The principle differed slightly in reality, but to him, it felt just like the Absorbing Star Great Law.
Right after I drained his energy.
His movements grew cautious, wary of me.
Shwick!
Shwaaaak!
Thanks to that, he showed more openings.
I exploited them, steadily siphoning his primal energy like draining venom from a bite.
'This much is safe.'
Greed could get me caught and torn apart, and Heaven-Splitting inner energy had limits to purification, risking qi deviation.
Suuuuk—
Still, what I took was a mere fraction to him.
My own power didn't advance immediately.
Kakakakakakaaaang!!!!!!!!!
Jin Gwa-ryang's attacks retained their terrifying power and sharpness.
Even with nerves on edge.
"Dodging like a pest!"
His sword grazed my chest in a near-fatal moment.
Skreeek—
A thin bloodline etched across my chest.
Ching ching cling!!
Amid furiously swinging her sword, Myeong Yeong glanced to check on me.
"Demon Dragon! You alright?!"
"As you see, my head's still attached fine."
"Joking at a time like this—what gall."
I brushed off her concern and swung Regret at Jin Gwa-ryang again when.
Familiar voices rang out joyfully.
"Yong-un!"
"Hoo. Damn fanatic bastards are persistent."
Father and Old Man Sam.
"Eon Young Master! We're joining! Ah, I told Wu So-hyeop and Ha Seong to handle the wounded on my authority!"
Led by Yin Xia Lian, the voices of my called-in siblings echoed from all sides.
The last arrivals were Jeon Yeon-seol and the two fledglings I'd sent with her.
"Young Master Yong-un!"
"Big Bro Yong-un!"
"Senior Yong-un!"
The passage from Nan Chang River's upper to middle reaches.
I'd entrusted her with that area, where demon brains would inevitably appear.
"The demon brain fleet from the delta took a tributary and vanished elsewhere! The Blood Cult must have deemed it hopeless!"
"Senior Sister Jeon is right! The Eastern Capital Alliance Leader pursued them!"
Jeon Yeon-seol delivered the news I'd awaited.
Scheme or truth, it didn't matter.
The Blood Cult's lifespan had ended.
Clang.
The remnants, accepting the four-sided siege as reality, began discarding their weapons.
In truth, the moment Jin Gwa-ryang's envisioned Blood Flame Dominion reached its end.
At that moment, Jin Gwa-ryang's action was to burst into wild laughter.
"Kuhahaha!"
Kiiiiieeeeeek!
Mid-laughter laced with ghostly wails, he abruptly stopped and muttered.
"Killing you all would just please that old demon brain and Hyeok Ryeon-gang, wouldn't it? Damn. Hate that more than death..."
Suddenly serious, he fixed his gaze on me.
"But I hate you too, Eon Yong-un. A mere bean sprout like you, hopping here and there to reach this point."
He kicked off toward me.
"Hyeok Ryeon-gang's too far, so I'll vent on you. Kill you, and these righteous fools might charge to Mount Ten Thousand red-eyed?"
To block him.
Father, Old Man Sam, Myeong Yeong, and the others threw themselves forward.
"Yong-un!"
"That demon scum!"
"Dodge!"
Having conserved energy after realizing his disadvantage, Jin Gwa-ryang now unleashed Blood Rain Divine Art's ultimate techniques with death-defying fury.
Those lacking prowess struggled to protect themselves.
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
Shifting from annihilating all to killing me, his advance grew relentless.
Ignoring Old Man Sam's palm strikes and Father's fists, he pressed on.
Pupupu-puk!!!!
Pupu-puk!!!
Even as Myeong Yeong's sword severed his right arm, he didn't stop.
Splaaash!
"Let's see if you can handle this!"
Finally before me, he thrust his palm strike.
'Blood Rain Myriad Hooks Palm?'
His ultimate technique felt manageable to me.
I gathered all Heaven-Splitting inner energy, wrapped it around my right hand.
"I'll handle it."
Blood Ring open, ready to absorb primal energy, I met his palm with mine.