Chapter 278: Leader of the Black Lotus Union (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 278: Leader of the Black Lotus Union (3)
Two Transcendent Realm martial artists, directly affiliated with the Black Lotus Union, paid a visit to the Black Dragon Sect.
For Cheok-yo, the Black Dragon Sect Leader, their arrival put him in an awkward position. He couldn't decide whether to welcome them with open arms or feel burdened by their sudden presence.
In the ongoing war, the Righteous Faction currently held the upper hand. Given the recent rampage of the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord across the Black Lotus Union’s territory, any reinforcement in military strength should have been a cause for celebration.
However, having two other Transcendent Realm experts set foot in the Black Dragon Sect’s domain was another matter entirely. To Cheok-yo, who treated the sect as his absolute, personal territory, this intrusion was inherently unpleasant. It felt like a slight—as if the Union believed the Black Dragon Sect’s power alone was insufficient to handle the coming storm.
"The Union Leader permitted this."
"The Union Leader did?"
"Indeed. It seems he may have read some sort of Heavenly Will..."
Since the Union Leader had given his explicit approval, Cheok-yo could not openly display his displeasure. Swallowing his pride as a Transcendent Realm master, he provided the two experts with temporary lodgings.
Fortunately, both the Profound Bow Emperor, Ho Hwi-jong, and Sin-pung, Ha Hu-ryang, were relatively reserved martial artists, so their stay didn't cause any immediate friction.
Instead, the problem erupted from elsewhere.
"This is..."
The corners of Cheok-yo’s eyes twitched. At that exact moment, the door burst open as the Profound Bow Emperor and Sin-pung rushed inside.
"Sect Leader."
"Yes. It seems he has arrived."
A suffocating, murderous aura washed over them. Judging by the sensation, it was radiating from the southern reaches of Black Dragon River Province. Though the physical distance was considerable, the sheer intensity of the energy wave rendered that distance entirely meaningless.
Cheok-yo immediately sent word to the Great Black Mountain Sect as previously agreed, then departed from the Black Dragon Sect at once. The Profound Bow Emperor and Sin-pung followed closely behind.
"Sect Leader, I sense only one person," the Profound Bow Emperor noted.
"I feel the same. It must be him."
Sin-pung furrowed his brows. "The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord. Arrogant bastard."
Suddenly, a strange, alien sensation washed over them. It was as if they had just passed through an invisible veil.
"A Domain...!"
The Profound Bow Emperor shouted, simultaneously un-slinging the bow from his back and drawing the string taut. Among the three Transcendent Realm masters present, his Qi Sensing was by far the most developed. Knowing this, Sin-pung immediately moved to support him.
"Location?"
"Not yet."
"What?"
They had already stepped into the enemy's Domain. Yet, the Profound Bow Emperor’s Qi Sensing couldn't catch a single trace of him?
That meant one of two things: either the enemy's Domain was absurdly vast, or he possessed an extraordinary talent for concealing his presence.
The Profound Bow Emperor scanned their surroundings for a moment, his arrow still notched, before finally shaking his head. "Let’s move forward for now. Keep a sharp lookout."
"Understood."
Nodding, Sin-pung slowly waved his hand. A faint breeze began to swirl around them.
"Wind Flow Realm."
Sin-pung’s Domain unfolded. Every ripple in the wind became an extension of his senses. While its overall range was narrower than what the Profound Bow Emperor could detect, Sin-pung’s wind captured everything within its reach with meticulous, absolute detail. Even if the enemy’s stealth techniques had reached the absolute pinnacle, he would be noticed the instant he stepped into range.
He was supremely confident in this fact, but it didn't take long for him to realize that his confidence was a delusion.
"Profound Bow Emperor!"
Sensing a disturbance, Cheok-yo immediately drew his sword. Slash! A bluish, humanoid figure was abruptly cleaved in half.
The Profound Bow Emperor, noticing the threat a split second later, performed a sudden backflip and kicked upward.
Thwack!
His foot slammed brutally into the chin of another bluish figure. Its head snapped cleanly off its neck and soared high into the sky.
Sin-pung’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Qi? It completely ignored the influence of my wind?
Despite his shock, his gaze darted rapidly across the battlefield. His eyes, now glowing with a pale green light, quickly assessed the dire situation.
"Fall back!"
At Sin-pung’s urgent shout, the Profound Bow Emperor threw himself aside. Cheok-yo, though hesitating for a brief moment at the commanding tone, also retreated, albeit a step late.
Simultaneously, a flash of pitch-black light erupted from the ruined bluish humanoid figures—both the one sliced at the waist and the headless one.
Ssssssssh—
Cheok-yo’s face hardened as the volatile energy grazed his toes.
"This is..."
Had he been hit while defenseless, even a master like him wouldn't have escaped unscathed.
Clink—
Growing far more tense, Cheok-yo summoned his weapons. The iron chains that had been wrapped tightly around his body now uncoiled, slithering through the air around him like living snakes.
At the same time, the Profound Bow Emperor’s eyes flashed with fierce realization.
"Found you!"
Creeeeeak! Four arrows were suddenly gripped in his right hand as he hauled the bowstring back.
"Piercing Arrow."
The Profound Bow Emperor’s Domain was actively layered onto the projectiles.
Twang!
The arrows were released almost the instant the string reached full draw. These were no ordinary shafts; they were forged from solid Black Iron.
Black Iron was incomparably harder and heavier than normal steel. If a martial artist possessed the sheer strength to actually fire it as an arrow, its destructive power would be beyond imagination. While the material alone might not be enough to defeat a Transcendent Realm master, the Profound Bow Emperor was a peerless master of that very same realm.
The Black Iron Arrows he fired could pierce even Mount Tai.
Whiz!
The Profound Bow Emperor’s signature dark Astral Qi left long, tearing trails in the air. Tracing complex trajectories, the arrows reached their target in an instant.
BOOM—!!
An ear-piercing explosion erupted across the landscape. The Profound Bow Emperor shouted a warning.
"He’s coming! He’s fast, be careful!"
Swish! A flash of light materialized in the blink of an eye. Cheok-yo reacted immediately.
Clang!
His sword parried the incoming blade with a heavy spark. His eyes tracked the weapon as it was violently deflected away.
Sword Control Art?
Sin-pung’s eyes glowed faintly. He could barely make out a faint humanoid shape darting through the chaos. Even though the figure was clearly moving against the wind Sin-pung had created, he felt absolutely nothing through his breeze.
What trick is he using?
Sin-pung crumpled his brow. Clenching both hands, he forced the wind flowing through the area to gather into a single, highly compressed point.
"Profound Bow Emperor!"
"Right!"
The Profound Bow Emperor and Sin-pung were close, lifelong friends. Their bond had only formed after they both reached the Transcendent Realm, but that period already spanned well over a hundred years. They now knew each other's next move just by looking into each other's eyes—no, they didn't even need to make eye contact.
Their Joint Attack Formation had long since reached the absolute pinnacle. When fighting together, the Profound Bow Emperor and Sin-pung were more than twice as formidable as they were alone.
Whiz!
Using Arrow Control by Qi, the Profound Bow Emperor forcefully recalled the four arrows he had just fired.
Creeak! Simultaneously, he notched four brand-new arrows onto the string.
Sin-pung thrust his wind-wrapped hands forward.
Whoooooosh—!!
The gale forcibly cleared a path through the air. The Profound Bow Emperor released the string. Twang! The fired arrows glided perfectly along the slipstream of the wind.
A total of eight arrows now traced complex, deadly trajectories.
Standing at the very end of those converging paths was a man with an eerily expressionless face. Sin-pung’s gaze darkened. The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord. This man was undoubtedly the owner of that arrogant title.
"Hup...!"
Sin-pung slammed both hands together in front of his chest. The wind, hyper-concentrated around the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, began to swirl with violent intensity.
Whirrrr! Space itself seemed to distort under the crushing flow of air as the eight arrows flew toward him, their paths shifting through countless unpredictable variations.
"Wind added to arrows, I see."
The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord responded with simple indifference. Whoosh! As he spread his hands wide, the violent tempest surrounding him was effortlessly swept away.
"What?"
Sin-pung’s eyes flew wide open in shock. But the Profound Bow Emperor remained entirely focused. Even without the wind's guidance, his arrows would not miss.
Swish!
The Black Iron Arrows homed in flawlessly on his vital points. The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord simply flicked his fingers.
Snap!
A crisp, clear sound rang out as a visible ripple spread through the air. The projectiles, guided by Arrow Control by Qi, stopped dead in their tracks.
It was an advanced application of the Sword Destruction technique he had conceptualized when facing the former Sect Leader of the Sword Sect.
In that split-second opening, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord closed the distance, appearing right in front of the Profound Bow Emperor’s nose.
"Kh...!"
The Profound Bow Emperor hastily swung his massive bow upward with tremendous force. The physical strength of an archer who had reached the Transcendent Realm was beyond mortal imagination. Boom! The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord’s eyebrows twitched slightly as his arms were forced upward by the heavy blow.
Seizing the opportunity, Cheok-yo moved rapidly through the air and took his blind spot.
"Turbid Principle Containing River."
The Domain, deployed as a ruthless surprise attack, instantly ensnared the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord.
Rumble! Illusory river water, heavy with turbid principles, entangled him like constricting snakes, severely restricting his movements. Simultaneously, a sharp blade shrouded in dark blue Astral Qi thrust directly toward the Heavenly Lord’s exposed back.
Clang! The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord’s previously deflected sword whipped back via the Sword Control Art, perfectly blocking Cheok-yo’s lethal strike.
However, the Black Dragon Sect Leader did not rely solely on his sword. Following the initial strike, the iron chains hovering around his body shot forward like vipers.
At the exact same time, Sin-pung hurled a spear forged from hyper-condensed wind, while the Profound Bow Emperor used the lingering momentum from his upward bow swing to deliver a vicious rising kick.
"My, my."
The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord leaned back fluidly to evade the kick, immediately twisting his torso in mid-air.
Flutter!
His long robes billowed outward, miraculously parrying Cheok-yo’s heavy chains.
Sin-pung’s wind spear slammed directly into the Heavenly Lord’s chest, but whoosh! The very moment it made contact with his body, it harmlessly scattered into a gentle breeze.
Tap.
Kicking off the empty air to retreat a safe distance, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord clicked his tongue.
A gaping, semi-circular hole had been violently punched through his body, running all the way from his left chest down to his pelvis. It was the price paid for failing to perfectly parry Cheok-yo’s chains.
"It seems possible, yet maybe not."
Despite the massive, gruesome hole in his torso, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord remained entirely composed. The only reason his internal organs and blood weren't spilling out onto the ground was due entirely to his mastery of Void Object Grasping.
Even for a Transcendent Realm master, this was by no means a light injury. Yet, the Heavenly Lord didn't so much as bat an eye as he casually brushed his hand over the horrific wound.
"What...?"
Cheok-yo’s eyes bulged in absolute disbelief. The spot the man had just brushed—the massive, fatal hole in his torso—had completely vanished.
It had been a wound deep enough to expose his internal structure to the open air. Furthermore, the strike had been heavily infused with Cheok-yo's own Astral Qi, making it incredibly difficult to regenerate even with the highest tier of healing spells or martial arts.
Yet, the wound was simply gone. No, it wasn't just the flesh—even his torn clothes had seamlessly returned to their original, pristine state.
It was an incomprehensible miracle.
An illusion? No, it’s too hard to judge right now.
As Cheok-yo observed the Heavenly Lord with narrowed, calculating eyes, a fierce wind began to howl around the man.
Whirrrr!
The transparently distorting space swirled violently, fully enveloping the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord.
Cheok-yo shot a glance at Sin-pung. "Why such a waste of energy...?"
"...It’s not me."
"What?"
"I’m not the one doing it."
Within the roaring storm surrounding the Heavenly Lord, brilliant blue lights, etched into the air like falling stars, stretched outward and took the distinct form of arrows. The breathtaking sight resembled a vortex holding captured lightning, or a school of glowing fish swimming rapidly through a whirlpool.
Standing calmly at the very center of the maelstrom, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord looked down at the three Transcendent Realm masters of the Black Lotus Union.
"Two for now. No, just one?"
He slowly reached out his hand. At his simple gesture, the storm surged with apocalyptic fury.
"Anyway, let’s keep going a bit longer."