Chapter 174: Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven (3)
Having reached an unknown realm through his Qi, Seo-jun was impossibly fast.
The moment he willed it, his body moved. Every sensation his physical form perceived was instantly recognized by his soul. It wasn't just his physical speed that had increased; his reflexes themselves had become peerless.
In short, the gap between thought and action had completely vanished.
"Youuu…!"
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven roared, his body riddled with holes. Sssst! Composed entirely of blood, his form healed its wounds in an instant.
Simultaneously, he released all the blood he had kept stored within his body.
Rumble!
A sea of blood filled the sky. Seo-jun looked up at it with indifferent eyes. Then, he took a single step.
Swish—
Seo-jun appeared right in front of him. Startled, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven unleashed his Qi art even as he struck out.
Swaaaaaa—!
The crimson sea came crashing down.
Seo-jun’s response was simple. Two of his hands parried Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s palms, while his remaining four struck the man's body.
Thud, thud, thud!
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s shoulders dislocated, and his cheekbones shattered.
"Urgh…!"
Seo-jun kicked him away and focused his mind intensely on the sky above.
Crrraaaack—!
The moment the thought occurred, Heaven Piercing erupted, tearing a massive hole through the sea of blood in the sky.
Sent flying, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven hurriedly steadied himself. He didn't know what trick the boy had used, but Seo-jun had suddenly become exponentially stronger. This was no longer the time to hold back.
"Blood Heaven Poison Sea…!"
Gurgle. Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s body rippled like liquid and began to spread.
If martial artists of the Transcendent Realm possessed a Domain, then those of the equivalent Blood-Person Realm possessed True Blood.
A possessor of True Blood did not die easily from any wound and could dominate all blood within reach of their Mental Intent.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s case was unique. He was originally a master of poison arts, meaning deadly toxins were mixed directly into his blood.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s physical form and the sea in the sky transformed into thousands of harpoons, raining down upon Seo-jun.
Seo-jun watched them fall calmly, his lips parting slightly.
[Rise.]
As the master of Qi commanded, all the surrounding Qi obeyed his will.
Rumble!
A sorcery manifested without process, pulling the earth upward to firmly intercept the falling sea of blood.
However, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s own direct attack remained. Seo-jun’s Qi moved, flowing into the sword at his waist.
Clang—
The sword unsheathed itself. It was the Sword Control Art.
With a mere thought from Seo-jun, the blade shot forward.
Whish!
Everything in the flying sword's path was erased. Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven gritted his teeth as he filled the gaping hole in his form.
"You fool…!"
Those attacks were merely a distraction anyway. The idiot had dug his own grave. To wear clothes made of blood in front of a master of the Blood-Person Realm? It was an act of suicide.
"Hup…!"
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s Mental Intent surged outward. It touched the blood covering Seo-jun’s body, and—
Boom!
"Gah…!"
His intent was violently repelled. Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"What on earth…!"
He couldn't understand it. Nothing was working. Why wasn't the boy poisoned in the first place? He had already landed several hits.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s poison was no ordinary toxin. Like all poison arts that reached a certain realm, his was Qi Poison—Qi that had been transmuted.
While a Super Peak martial artist could easily expel ordinary poison from their body, Qi Poison was different. It mixed with their own Qi and gnawed away at them throughout the battle.
This was why everyone in the Murim was reluctant to clash with poison users. Even if they won, the damage sustained was immense.
"Then why…!"
Seo-jun appeared before the screaming Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven. His six fists unleashed the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art.
BOOOOOM—!!!
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s limbs were torn away, and a massive hole was punched through his solar plexus.
Even so, he did not die.
"Aggghhh…!!"
He exerted every ounce of his strength to reconstruct his body and fired off a terrifying amount of pre-collected blood.
Blood Wheel Divine Palm.
Massive rings of blood overlapped one after another, emitting a strange, shrill vibration. Seo-jun’s hand reached out toward them.
Flash!
Patter, patter. The dismantled blood fell like rain.
The technique had been instantly countered.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven didn't even have time to be shocked.
Slash—
Seo-jun’s sword, which had silently returned, severed his neck.
"Aaaaah!"
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven shrieked and swiped at the blade. Clang! Instead, his own hand violently bounced back.
Sizzle. His severed neck reattached, but the damage was severe. His vision blurred for a moment.
"What kind of… Sword Control Art is this…!"
He had to admit it. In this state, the boy was stronger than him. Grind! He gnashed his teeth. His pride was utterly crushed. Escaping was the only option left.
But Seo-jun wouldn't even allow that.
Snap. Thirty fingers detached from Seo-jun’s six hands.
The fingers, connected by threads of blood, swam through the air using the principles of the Sword Control Art, constructing a formation.
Heaven-Defying, Reverse Taiji, Convergence.
Qi, taking the form of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art, completely sealed the space around Seo-jun and Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven.
However, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven couldn't help but focus on something else entirely.
"I knew it…! It is a Blood Art! You…! Why are you doing this when you are one of us…! Do you not know the danger of the Divine Blood?!"
Divine Blood. A brief spark of clarity returned to Seo-jun’s eyes.
[As I thought, you are….]
He couldn't leave even a single trace behind.
* * *
Pae Jin-gwang finished off all four Living Corpses and immediately rejoined the rest of the group.
"So, what is that?"
He stared blankly at the sight of Seo-jun fighting. Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s entire body was being brutally torn apart.
"Aaaaah…!"
Blood-curdling screams echoed. Because the barrier trapping the two fighters had sparse gaps like a woven net of threads, the group could see everything clearly.
Seo-jun was using his six hands to manually dismantle Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s body, piece by piece.
"Heh…."
Pae Jin-gwang’s expression turned complicated. He thought he had pioneered a new realm, but looking at that boy, it felt like his own achievement wasn't particularly grand.
"Well, is it anything new for the Lord to act like that?"
"Even so, I’ve never seen him do that before."
"No, I mean he’s like a monster. I’m not saying he rips people apart often."
Jang-geuk grumbled as he checked inside the carriage. He was in pain from his injuries, but he was also drenched in a cold sweat for an entirely different reason.
"So, is this child going to be okay?" Jang-geuk asked Namgung Su-ah.
She shook her head.
"…I don’t know. She’s been like this for a while…."
Chun-bong was frozen, staring blankly into the air. She was looking at the exact spot where Seo-jun’s body had previously burst apart. Her two eyes, glowing brilliantly with a golden light, didn't flicker or close.
Yet, touching her felt dangerous.
In the end, they had no choice but to leave her be, but for Jang-geuk, it was incredibly nerve-wracking.
She was the child the Lord cherished so much. What if something went wrong?
A series of disastrous futures flashed through Jang-geuk’s mind.
"Dammit…."
He let out a deep sigh, but nothing changed. Jang-geuk first began tending to their surroundings.
"The injured… are all dead. Don't touch the bodies for now."
All the warriors of the Namgung Clan who had been injured were dead. It was because of Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven’s poison.
After gathering the survivors, Jang-geuk asked Namgung Hyeok, "So, what have you been staring at so intently?"
"The Sichuan Tang Clan."
"What?"
"That guy. He’s from the Tang Clan."
Namgung Hyeok stared fixedly at Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven, who was currently being torn to shreds.
Namgung Hyeok was also exhausted and heavily injured. However, he couldn't bring himself to care about his own wounds.
He had been suspicious since the man first used poison arts, but now he was certain. Though the characteristics had faded significantly, those were the martial arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"What on earth are they thinking? I’ve never heard of such a master existing in the Tang Clan…."
There was no grudge between the Namgung Clan and the Tang Clan. There was no reason for the Tang Clan to target the Namgung.
Furthermore, what that man wanted wasn't the Namgung Clan, but the daughter of the Geum family.
The Tang Clan may walk the line between the Righteous and Evil Factions, but they wouldn't commit such madness.
Namgung Hyeok’s brow furrowed deeply.
Pae Jin-gwang was relatively nonchalant. He assumed the Geum girl was just in shock and would recover once she saw Seo-jun was fine.
He scratched his head and asked, "By the way, doesn't it bother you?"
"Doesn't what bother me?" Namgung Hyeok replied distractedly.
"Him. Lee Seo-jun. Can't you see him using Demonic Qi?"
"So what? Whether he uses Demonic Qi or Blood Qi, as long as he doesn't use it for evil, isn't that enough?"
"I see."
As expected of the Namgung. They certainly aren't normal.
Pae Jin-gwang chuckled and checked on the Rising Stars.
"You lot should rest. The battle seems to be over. Especially you two—if you don't calm your minds, you'll fall into an Inner Demon soon."
Just as he said, Namgung Su-ah and Namgung Myeong were deathly pale; they were far from fine.
Namgung Su-ah, in particular, seemed so shocked that her internal energy was visibly fluctuating.
"Yes…."
Namgung Su-ah replied, but her eyes never left Chun-bong.
Soon, the battle ended.
It was a fight that could have ended at any time, but because Seo-jun had repeatedly torn apart and allowed Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven to reattach as if venting his rage, it had dragged on.
"Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven… he certainly lived up to his title."
Pae Jin-gwang chuckled. Just like his name, hadn't he filled the sky with his own body and blood?
The sight of shredded body parts flying everywhere wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was certainly cathartic.
Finally, Seo-jun threw the corpse of Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven—whose internal energy had been completely drained by the Star-Absorbing Great Art—to the ground.
Crunch.
The body, which had turned to brittle dust, scattered in the wind.
"Oh, you’re back? How’s your state…"
Pae Jin-gwang’s laughter died down.
"We’re fucked."
To anyone’s eyes, Seo-jun looked like he had completely lost his reason. It wouldn't have been strange if he attacked his own allies right then and there.
Moreover, Seo-jun’s body was beginning to dissipate slightly; he was clearly not in a normal state.
Jang-geuk quickly used his wits.
"L-Lord…! Your sister’s condition is strange!"
At those words, Seo-jun’s head turned slowly. He saw Chun-bong staring blankly into the air. Just as a spark of light was about to return to Seo-jun’s eyes—
Creak.
Chun-bong’s neck moved stiffly.
Seo-jun and Chun-bong’s eyes met.
"Ho…. What kind of situation is this?"
It was Chun-bong’s voice, but not her tone. A thick murderous intent swirled in Seo-jun’s eyes.
[Who are you?]
Twitch. The three fully bloomed flowers looked at Chun-bong. Facing those hundreds of gazes, Chun-bong let out a hollow laugh.
"So, the sprout of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons was here."