Chapter 173: Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 173: Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven (2)
Pae Jin-gwang took on the four black-clad men simultaneously.
He blocked a blade of Sword Astral Qi with his bare forearms and countered with a single punch.
K-boom—!!
The absurd kinetic force sent one of the black-clad men flying backward. However, the remaining three instantly capitalized on Pae Jin-gwang’s openings.
A long spear lunged for his abdomen, a heavy curved blade chopped toward his shoulder, and hooked fingers clawed at his legs.
Pae Jin-gwang contorted his body, narrowly evading the spear and the blade, but the claws found their mark.
Riiiip!
The nails tore a chunk out of his trousers. Pae Jin-gwang scratched at his reddened thigh.
"Annoying bastards."
Surprisingly, all four black-clad men could manifest Astral Qi. This meant they were masters in the Super Peak Realm.
Yet, there was something slightly off about their movements. For Super Peak experts, their actions lacked a natural flow; there were minute, jagged breaks in their motions.
Pae Jin-gwang frowned, assessing the larger battlefield.
Seo-jun and the rest of the group didn't look like they would fall anytime soon. While it was true that the man known as Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven was a formidable master, Lee Seo-jun was no pushover either.
Wasn't he the kind of monster who could just stick his own head back on if it got chopped off? Therefore, the best course of action was for Pae Jin-gwang to finish things here before joining the others to drive Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven away.
As Pae Jin-gwang weighed his options, the black-clad man he had blown away rushed back into the fray.
Pae Jin-gwang’s eyes flashed.
"That’s…"
The impact of the punch had knocked the man’s mask loose. His lifeless, pallid face looked somewhat familiar.
'Isn't that the Swift Annihilating Sword?'
He was a renowned master who had been active a long time ago. Pae Jin-gwang recalled hearing that he had vanished without a trace at some point...
"To think he ended up like this."
Pae Jin-gwang sighed. That thing was neither dead nor alive. Such abominations were usually called Living Corpses.
Normally, a Jiangshi wouldn't pose a threat to someone in the Super Peak Realm. They were nothing more than meat shields used to pad out numbers. That held true even if the Jiangshi was forged from a martial artist who had reached a high realm in life.
However, these Living Corpses were different.
They were closer to living martial artists who had undergone extreme brainwashing and modification. Naturally, they couldn't display the full extent of their original skills, but a significant portion of their martial prowess was preserved.
Of course, even a Living Corpse wouldn't stand a chance against someone in the Transcendent Realm. Pae Jin-gwang wasn't quite in the Transcendent Realm yet, but he had already grasped a clue toward something greater.
"What a pity. I’ll send you off properly."
Pae Jin-gwang clicked his tongue and clenched his fists tight.
He had intended to take his time before attempting this, but the current situation didn't allow for such caution.
"Huuup…!"
Pae Jin-gwang’s eyes momentarily glowed a brilliant blue. He drew upon the profound depths of the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art that Seo-jun had refined for him, wrapping a faint layer of Fist Qi around his knuckles. Through that, he became conscious of a somewhat unfamiliar Qi.
Currently, his Spirit was in a better state than his Qi. Focusing intensely on his half-opened Upper Dantian, Pae Jin-gwang dragged both his Qi and Spirit deep down into his core.
Crack—
An excessively massive amount of Essence awaited him. He planted the seeds of his Qi and Spirit into that vast, fertile earth.
The Essence embraced the Qi and Spirit.
It was still unrefined and temporary. Nevertheless, in this fleeting moment, he had stepped into a brand-new realm.
"Phew…."
Pae Jin-gwang exhaled a scorching breath. The blue energy wrapping his fists vanished without a trace.
The Living Corpses, who had been instinctively wary of the strange sensation, lunged the moment his aura faded.
Tap!
The Living Corpse using claw techniques took the lead. Behind him followed the sword and blade users, with the spearman bringing up the rear.
Pae Jin-gwang stood perfectly still in his starting stance. Then, the exact moment the lead enemy reached his nose—
Whoosh!
His fist cut through the air.
Claws, sword, blade, and spear all struck Pae Jin-gwang’s body simultaneously. Clang! However, though his clothes were shredded to ribbons, his skin didn't bear a single scratch.
Pae Jin-gwang smirked.
"That’s one."
Creeeeeak—!
The kinetic force of the fist that had struck empty air violently expanded outward. It was the absolute mystique of striking through the void, composed entirely of pure, overwhelming physical force.
Thwack!
The body of the spear-wielding Living Corpse shattered into pieces, scattering across the battlefield. Rotten blood sprayed in all directions, and a foul stench filled the air.
Wiping the putrid blood from his face, Pae Jin-gwang bared his teeth in a feral grin.
"Come at me. I’ll send you back where you belong."
The dead belonged in the grave.
* * *
When Seo-jun’s reason briefly returned to him, the battle was already in full swing.
Jang-geuk and Namgung Hyeok were doing their absolute utmost to block Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven, while the martial arts and sorcery unfolding from Seo-jun’s own hands actively suppressed the enemy's Qi.
However, the sheer skill of Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven—who was no longer holding back—was incredible.
Two Super Peak masters teetering on the edge of the Transcendent Realm, plus another Super Peak martial artist. Yet, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven was actually overwhelming all three of them.
"Cough…!"
Jang-geuk hacked up a mouthful of dark blood. His left shoulder dangled uselessly at his side. He glared with bloodshot eyes, desperately circulating his internal energy to expel the virulent poison invading his body.
'Even though the Lord is suppressing his Qi…'
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven was steadily pushing Jang-geuk and Namgung Hyeok back using nothing but palm techniques and poison arts.
His proficiency in these areas was clearly inferior to his Qi arts, but even so, it was more than enough to corner Super Peak martial artists.
Jang-geuk gritted his teeth and raised the broad blade in his right hand.
Beside him, Namgung Hyeok was barely holding on, entirely reliant on the Domain he had wrapped around his sword.
"My Lord…! I will open a path for you…!"
Jang-geuk knew he couldn't sustain this fight much longer. If he dragged this out, he would only become a burden to Seo-jun. That was the absolute last thing he wanted.
He prepared himself for death.
The torrential blood controlled by Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven poured down from above, taking the form of countless crimson needles.
Ignoring the lethal rain, Jang-geuk kicked off the ground.
Boom!
Jang-geuk lunged forward like a ferocious tiger. Above him, the incoming blood needles momentarily froze in midair. It was his Lord’s doing.
As he closed the distance, he infused his broad blade with the power of the stars. The Giant Spirit Divine Art. This new power created by his Lord—truly worthy of the title "Divine Art"—breathed explosive strength into Jang-geuk’s entire body.
Whoosh! The flame ignited within his Dantian burned through his latent potential, swelling with tyrannical power.
From here on out, it was a realm where even his Lord could not intervene. Jang-geuk’s extraordinary intuition sharpened to a razor's edge.
"Get lost…!"
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s palm shot toward him. But Jang-geuk was already twisting his body before the strike could land.
Swish!
The palm merely grazed his temple. Jang-geuk ducked his waist again. This, too, was an evasive maneuver executed before Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven had even twitched.
Whoosh!
A whip of blood snaked out from Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s sleeve, violently cutting through the air where Jang-geuk had just been.
Relying solely on pure instinct, Jang-geuk moved, staking his very life on this advance as he successfully brought Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven into his attack range.
Creeak! He gripped the hilt of his broad blade tight enough to crush it and swung with everything he had.
Craaaaaack—!!
The martial arts he had practiced his entire life, the newly bestowed Giant Spirit Divine Art, and all the martial prowess permanently engraved into his bones merged into a single strike, momentarily forming a massive, overwhelming wall of Astral Qi.
However—
"You fly-like pest. You’re getting quite annoying."
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven spread his hand wide and gripped that massive wall of energy. His hand, now entirely composed of condensed blood, shattered the Astral Qi wall in an instant.
Shatter!
Fragments of Astral Qi scattered like broken glass. Jang-geuk’s eyes widened in horror as Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s hand closed in on him. I’ll land at least one blow before I die! He screamed inwardly, thrusting his fist forward in a final, desperate gambit.
"Ugh…!"
Jang-geuk’s body suddenly flew backward, violently yanked by the scruff of his neck. Zip! Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s lethal hand missed its mark, striking only empty air.
Seo-jun’s arm, unnaturally extended and connected by writhing veins of blood, had snatched Jang-geuk at the last possible second and tossed him out of harm's way.
"That’s enough, now."
Phew… Seo-jun took a long, steadying breath, balancing his staggering body.
Jang-geuk and Namgung Hyeok were already covered in grievous wounds. They had bought enough time. This was sufficient.
"Have you finally given up?"
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven bared his teeth in a savage sneer. In truth, he wasn't feeling entirely relaxed either. More than anything else, he was short on time.
If this battle dragged on, unpredictable variables would arise. If another Transcendent Realm master sensed the shockwaves of their clash, the situation would become incredibly troublesome.
Twitch—
Seo-jun’s own eyes, along with the grotesque eyeballs nestled within the three flowers blooming behind him, locked onto Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven in unison.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven grimaced in disgust.
"You eerie bastard…."
Whoosh! A thick mist of blood forcefully erupted from his entire body. It was a poison of such horrifying potency that those in the Peak Realm would melt and die instantly upon contact, and even those in the Super Peak Realm would suffer severe internal injuries just from breathing it in.
Without so much as blinking, Seo-jun walked straight toward Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven.
He saw the world through his own two eyes and the myriad eyeballs embedded in the flowers; he perceived the flow of energy through the horn growing from his head.
It was a realm similar to a Transcendent of the Blood Arts. He couldn't replicate it perfectly right away, but he felt absolutely certain he could achieve something similar.
Vwooom—!
A massive wave of Qi surged through the area. His Inner Core shattered, and the excessively bloated Qi violently expanded outward, directly influencing the surrounding environment.
He deliberately withdrew the Qi that had been protecting his Essence and Spirit, intentionally breaking his internal balance, and allowed the Qi to fulfill its role purely as Qi.
For Qi was the profound medium that connected Essence and Spirit, and in itself, a fundamental power that communicated with all things in creation.
Seo-jun’s Qi swelled rapidly, tightly binding his Essence and Spirit together.
His existing meridian pathways widened to their absolute limits, and the dense Qi completely enveloped his Essence and Spirit, fusing them into a singular entity.
Seo-jun suddenly felt his vision brighten with blinding clarity.
His body felt incredibly light. No, it hadn't just felt light—it had actually become light.
Parts of his physical body had literally been replaced by pure Qi. If he made even a single mistake in his control, his physical form would scatter into the wind. However, there was no way he would ever make a mistake in handling Qi.
[I see you.]
A voice rang out, not produced by human vocal cords, but echoing directly into the mind like a Voice Transmission. Seo-jun’s throat now vibrated with pure Qi instead of air.
His six hands moved in a blur, each forming three distinct hand seals.
Swoosh—!
The lethal blood poison Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven had spread throughout the area was entirely sucked into Seo-jun’s body like a vortex.
For a brief moment, Seo-jun’s skin turned a dark, sickly crimson, but it returned to its normal pale hue in an instant.
He felt like he finally understood.
He understood everything that composed the being known as Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven. At the same time, his own human reason began to blur.
As Qi completely dominated his Essence and Spirit, his existence drew infinitely closer to the fundamental fabric of the world itself.
"What kind of sorcery is this now…!"
Grimacing fiercely, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven thrust out his palm to strike.
Seo-jun moved.
The fact that his Essence and Spirit had fused meant the connection between his soul and body had reached an absolute pinnacle. When the will moved, the body moved; when the body moved, the will moved.
A body transformed into Qi was blindingly fast. And the Qi that Seo-jun commanded was even faster.
The very microsecond Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven extended his arm, Seo-jun bypassed space entirely, appearing right before his eyes without a shred of warning to meet his gaze.
[You insect.]
The moment Seo-jun’s foot blurred into motion—
K-pow—!!!
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s body was violently launched high into the sky by a devastating kick.
[Since you coveted what you should not have, even death is too light a sentence for your crime.]
The three fully bloomed flowers behind him seemed to grin maliciously. The countless eyeballs attached to the petals turned murky for a fraction of a second before the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art fired directly from their pupils.
Swoosh—!
Hundreds of destructive streaks of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art poured upward, mercilessly bombarding Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven in midair.
His human reason continued to fade away. Qi, originally an element of the natural world, was slowly eroding and pulling at Seo-jun’s mind, attempting to assimilate him.
As he finally let go of his last shred of reason, Seo-jun focused on a single, intense thought.
'Kill.'
It didn't seem like it would be difficult at all.