Chapter 273
Chapter 273
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Breaking Through the Pass (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"It's truly an iron fortress."
"Indeed. I didn't realize it back when I came and went without a care."
As Sima Yul and Dan Ya said, the Blood Cult's defenses resembled a massive iron wall stacked up like a towering spire.
The path winding between peaks numbering over a hundred thousand was exceedingly narrow, and evading the Blood Cult's watchful eyes, with observation posts on every peak, was no simple task.
'It's not just the rugged terrain.'
What had Gu Il-so been so afraid of?
Why station observation posts in every valley and plant elite guards tirelessly?
Maintaining such a force at all times was a grueling endeavor in itself.
'It's like a frightened turtle hiding in its shell.'
But the shell's sturdiness was beyond comparing to any turtle's.
Beyond the winding trail, what flickered into view was no ordinary blade.
"Purple Lightning White Demon Squad."
Purple Lightning White Demon Squad.
Composed of a hundred peak-level experts in white, they were once beasts who shattered an entire hall of the Murim Alliance like lightning.
"Using the likes of the Purple Lightning White Demon Squad as mere guard dogs to protect the home."
"This is just the beginning. We'll break through right away."
Evading the eyes of a hundred peak experts glaring across the vast valley was no easy feat.
"My lord. Let's move at once."
Swoosh...
Dokgo Yul's form turned misty and transparent, swiftly advancing along the trail.
"Brother Sima's Waning Moon Shadow Swimming Technique is always a masterpiece."
"Brother Wiji. Let's go."
Wiji Geuk and Jin Se-hyeon also clung to the trail walls with swallow-like lightness skills, racing forward as if sprinting across flat ground.
Tat.
With hair fluttering, Chu Un-hwi leaped ahead and landed lightly far in front of the other four.
***
After briefly evading the observation posts' gazes.
Sima Yul, who had been moving like the wind with supreme lightness skill, came to a halt.
"Wiji Geuk. Stop. I sense poison."
"Poison?"
Jin Se-hyeon, folding her fan into one hand, unfolded a map.
"That's strange. We're still some distance from the next trap."
Dan Ya passed by the tilting Jin Se-hyeon and grabbed the back of her neck.
"Wait."
Channeling her inner energy, her bangs began to flutter as her power extended like threads, seeping into the ground ahead.
"Hmm."
Chu Un-hwi withdrew his senses and snorted.
"Jiangshi."
"Hm. Heavenly Spirit Jiangshi, it seems. They must change the trap locations periodically."
"What are the traits of Heavenly Spirit Jiangshi?"
"They're extremely sensitive to sound and vibrations."
"Sound and vibrations? Any particular reason?"
"Probably to detect intruders more easily."
"Let's test it."
Chu Un-hwi's eyes, scanning the surroundings, caught sight of a hawk soaring in the sky.
Swish.
As he reached out, the hawk suddenly flapped wildly and plummeted.
He had ensnared the bird leisurely flying a hundred zhang away with his energy in an instant, bringing it down.
Thud.
The moment the bird hit the ground.
Kwak!
Two arms burst from the earth in a flash.
Kwaa!
Flutter! Flutter!
The startled bird tried to flee from the emerging monstrosity, but the pallid, almost bluish hands gripped it tenaciously. The head that followed snatched its head clean off.
Kwaduk. Kwaduk.
The half-rotted corpse, now a ghastly blue, chewed and swallowed the writhing, feathered bird.
The sight of its decayed face and sightless eyes greedily lapping hot blood was horrific in itself.
"...Little Light of the White Wolf Sword Squad."
"You know him?"
"I've crossed paths a few times. A straightforward man with sharp swordsmanship. Never thought we'd meet again like this."
Complication flickered in Sima Yul's eyes. Wiji Geuk continued.
"Even when I left, the purges were raging. The upright ones were the first targets."
"I see."
As he grumbled, the gluttonous thing swallowed the last morsel of flesh and lay back into the earth.
It would lie there again, waiting for the living to intrude, ready to obstruct.
A pitiful end for one who had once charged across battlefields for demonic unification.
"What happened?"
As if checking the Jiangshi's reaction, a figure appeared atop a barren sand dune.
One hand held a bell, the other a talisman; his attire marked him as a spellcaster.
"Looks like a Jiangshi sorcerer."
Those who created and controlled Jiangshi using bizarre left-path spells.
"Jin Se-hyeon. You said we must cross without touching the ground even once?"
"Yes. Even a slight touch will send vibrations waking the Jiangshi. Who knows how many are buried there."
"Exactly one hundred thirty-one. They've buried quite a few."
Chu Un-hwi, having sensed once and pinpointed them precisely, spoke.
"Wait. I'll go make you a foothold."
Whiik!
The instant his toe seemed to tap the ground, Chu Un-hwi's form flickered dozens of zhang away, still grounded.
Tat. Tat.
Kicking off the air like stairs, he advanced twenty zhang (sixty meters), thirty zhang (ninety meters).
"Air Treading."
"So casually..."
Before their awe at the legendary lightness skill faded, Chu Un-hwi landed silently behind the spellcaster.
"Gasp!"
As the late-discovered intruder moved to ring the bell.
"No need for a fuss."
Thud!
A light palm strike sent the spellcaster tumbling down the dune with a choked scream.
As if he'd merely slipped.
"N-No!"
What followed was the response from the dead slumbering underground.
"Kraaak!"
"Keeeek!"
A dozen hands erupted in an instant, dragging the spellcaster mercilessly.
Riiip—.
His robes tore under the fierce grasps of the undead.
Crack.
Limbs ripped off while still alive.
Crunch. Snap.
Before he could scream, rotting jaws descended.
In seconds, the spellcaster was torn apart by the ravenous Heavenly Spirit Jiangshi and devoured without trace.
"All I can offer now is a fresh meal."
Forgive me, Little Light.
Tat!
Seizing the chaos, the four leaped across thirty zhang, stepping on Jiangshi to land lightly beside him.
"Where to next?"
He advanced another step toward the Blood Cult, impassive.
***
Superior demonic arts devour inferior ones.
It was established truth known to all who walked the demonic path.
All demonic arts stemmed from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art; the rest were mere derivatives.
Thus, the profoundly deep Heavenly Demon Divine Art could suppress derivative techniques—a valid claim.
Chu Un-hwi himself proved it directly.
- Demonic Eye.
Golden eyes flashed, and the illusionists lost their minds, drooling at the mouth.
Overwhelming sorcery with potent demonic energy.
Thanks to this, the Nine Shades Illusion Squad.
Feared as nightmare-weavers for their hypnosis and illusions, they stood dazed and parted the way.
"Flowing Infinity Sword. First Form."
As the dark sword moved, the complex trap mechanisms collapsed silently.
They appeared intact, but the demon energy-powered traps would no longer function.
Thanks to swiftly bypassing traps and gazes, they crossed half of the Hundred Thousand Peaks leading to the Blood Cult in less than a day.
***
"Now the real trouble begins."
"What's next?"
"Where three trails converge, there's a checkpoint. Not just sentries, but a proper armed force garrisoned at a fortified barrier."
"Way through?"
"None. Some fighting seems inevitable."
Jin Se-hyeon's answer, as she checked the map, was pessimistic.
"Who guards the checkpoint?"
"Silent Shadow Death Squad."
"I've heard of them. One of the cult's Ten Sword Squads, right?"
"Things have changed since then. But they're still formidable."
Assigning a Ten Sword Squad to mere gate duty.
Gu Il-so's intentions were inscrutable.
But what mattered now was not why they were there, but how to break through.
"Force our way?"
"Pretty much."
"No helping it. If it gets bad, we'll tear them apart."
He wished to minimize sacrifices, but avoiding combat entirely was impossible.
This was an invasion of the Asura Blood Cult's headquarters, dividing the demonic world.
But unexpectedly, upon arrival, the silent Sima Yul stepped forward.
***
The checkpoint differed from expectations.
A stone-hewn wall encased in glossy black iron plating.
"Ha. Unreal. Never thought I'd see an iron fortress here."
The guards were indeed the Silent Shadow Death Squad of old.
True to their Ink Shadow Life-Escaping Art, their skin was dark, eyes leaking domineering auras.
"The Silent Shadow Death Squad's power seems unchanged."
"Glad they're as sturdy as ever, but pity to face them as foes."
At Wiji Geuk's words, Dan Ya's red eyes gleamed.
"Sneak up and kill them?"
"No. If noise is inevitable, better crush and break through together."
The alarm would spread here, but unavoidable.
Reaching this far without commotion was miraculous.
Clang.
Yet Jin Se-hyeon raised her iron chain to block.
"Brother Sima. Look closely."
Sima Yul, peering where the chain pointed, swallowed a groan.
"I know that one."
"You do?"
Jin Se-hyeon tilted her head.
"The new squad leader is from the Black Bear Clan, a demonic noble house fiercely loyal to the cult leader."
"Not the leader. Over there."
Dokgo Yul pointed not to a regular in splendid black robes, but a shabby-clad man.
Denied proper gear, he wore tattered clothes, leaning on a rusty spear, yawning.
Despite the apathy, Chu Un-hwi instantly recognized the latent power.
"Who is he?"
"Desert Wind Wave Saber. Nam Hyo, former vice squad leader of the Silent Shadow Death Squad."
"Demoting a vice squad leader to a mere gate grunt?"
"To humiliate the stiff-necked, probably."
Humiliation or not, it was excessive.
Better death than dishonor for the sword ghosts of the Silent Shadow Death Squad.
Yet they couldn't defy the leader's command due to its supreme authority and...
'Fear of unknown punishment for refusal.'
He recalled Little Light of the White Wolf Sword Squad, once proud warrior, now a monster lurking underground as a Jiangshi.
"Be careful. He's a cult warrior. Past ties won't sway him."
"Understood."
Dokgo Yul replied gravely.
"...Regrettably, if he refuses, I'll handle it myself."
His resolve on old bonds set.
Tat.
Dokgo Yul sprang into the air, swiftly heading for the iron fortress.