Chapter 166
Chapter 166
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 49
>Chapter Title: Variable (1)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not far from the Baek Clan along a main road.
Over twenty Baek Clan warriors were cleaning up the area.
Leading them was Baek So-gang, the Baek Clan's Outer Hall Leader and second son of the Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha.
"Hoo."
Baek So-gang clicked his tongue as he surveyed the aftermath around him.
It looked as if a full-scale war had broken out—everything was a mess.
Though his fame was overshadowed by his father Baek Sa-ha and his eldest brother, he too was an expert at the early stage of the transcendent realm.
That was why he could roughly gauge what kind of battle had taken place just from the traces left behind.
'I heard about it from Father, but...'
The sword marks littering the ground were shocking.
It was a clash worthy of peerless experts who had surpassed mortal limits.
In truth, after hearing about this incident, the second son Baek So-gang couldn't hide his concerns.
Even if his father, the Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha, had broken through the wall to reach the Transformation Realm, his opponent was the most promising successor candidate of the Heavenly Earth Society.
The Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang had countless supporting factions under him.
Clashing with them would put the Baek Clan in a precarious position.
However,
[Eh? He, he broke through the wall?]
[Shh. Keep it quiet. We'll keep this from leaking out for a while.]
[How could this...]
The second son Baek So-gang doubted his own ears.
He had heard that Mok Kyung-un, his father's newly accepted disciple, had gained enlightenment mid-battle with Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang and shattered the wall.
It was utterly unbelievable.
Yet the remnants of the fight here showed no signs of a one-sided defeat.
'...Is this really possible?'
The speed of his growth defied imagination.
Even those hailed as grandmasters or legends of the martial world probably hadn't progressed this fast.
Was he truly a once-in-a-millennium genius, as his father claimed?
From the current situation, it didn't sound exaggerated at all.
Still, he had his worries.
'Is Father's choice the right one?'
He possessed astonishing talent, but committing the clan's fate to one person without consulting the family members or retainers felt too risky.
The clan head's command was absolute, but this time, he couldn't shake the unease.
"Whew."
In any case, they needed to hurry and clean this up.
Fortunately, it was within the inner castle area managed by the Baek Clan, so if they moved quickly, they could erase the traces within half a shichen.
"Um... Outer Hall Leader."
At that moment, one of the Baek Clan warriors approached him.
"What's wrong?"
"About the Great Young Master over there..."
They had bandaged him, applied medicine for temporary treatment, and loaded him onto a stretcher.
But moving the severely injured Great Young Master to his residence like this worried the Baek Clan warriors about potential repercussions.
Understanding their feelings, Baek So-gang said,
"I'll accompany him, so you all carry the stretcher and follo—"
-Brum!
In an instant, the surroundings were shrouded in dark shadow.
Baek So-gang's mouth hung open as he froze in place, and the Baek Clan warriors cleaning the area also halted in whatever pose they had been in.
It was as if time itself had stopped for everyone—a bizarre phenomenon.
Yet there was one person here who could still move.
-Step, step!
A man in a gray robe emblazoned with yin-yang symbols approached slowly with his hands behind his back.
He was Jo Tae-cheong, the great disciple of In Seo-ok, former Pavilion Master of the Ghost Kill Pavilion.
As everyone else remained frozen, Jo Tae-cheong casually walked around, inspecting the area. His eyes gleamed with an odd light.
"Hmm. This must be the place."
Jo Tae-cheong stroked his chin and murmured.
He had definitely sensed tremendous ghostly energy here, if only for a moment.
It was no exaggeration to call it a vengeful spirit unlike any he had encountered recently.
'At least Blue Spirit grade.'
Blue Spirit.
A vengeful spirit that had existed for over a hundred years.
One that had reached this level was no different from monstrous entities like Yi Mae-mang-ryang; left alone, it would turn the surroundings into a wasteland or cause great harm.
Yet Jo Tae-cheong's lips twitched sideways, and his expression shifted entirely from moments before as he spoke.
"No. More than that."
A darker, raspier voice leaked from his mouth.
Then, his facial muscles twitched again, returning to normal.
"More than that?"
Jo Tae-cheong furrowed his brow.
He then formed a hand seal with his fingers and closed his eyes.
He was probing the lingering traces of ghostly energy.
However,
'A slippery one.'
Not a shred of ghostly energy remained in the surroundings.
Impossible to track like this.
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Jo Tae-cheong turned to leave.
But midway, he stopped.
Jo Tae-cheong looked down at the figure lying on the stretcher.
It was none other than Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
As he gazed at him, Jo Tae-cheong's lip muscles twitched once more, altering his expression.
Leaning down, he reached toward Na Yul-ryang's face.
-Swish!
Touching the bandaged area over his right eye, Jo Tae-cheong frowned.
His furrowed brow twisted and bulged.
Soon, he muttered in a displeased, low voice.
"You lost what I so generously gave you like this?"
* * *
At the same time,
"Haa."
In that instant, her slender waist arched backward.
Wi So-yeon's pupils trembled.
It was because the rampaging energy of her Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians was being sucked into Mok Kyung-un's palm.
'Wh-what is this?'
The Middle Cinnabar Acupoint on the Conception Vessel was no exaggeration to call the core of the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians.
The pure yin energy spreading from there blocked all meridians, causing the severed meridian symptoms.
How had Mok Kyung-un figured this out?
But that wasn't the important part.
-Shoooo!
As the pure yin energy was rapidly sucked away, the immense chilling aura emanating from her began to subside.
'This...'
Her master had once told her this.
[The yin energy of the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians is colder than a North Sea storm, so ordinary methods can't control it.]
[Then must I live in peril forever?]
[Yes.]
[Even with Master's profound inner arts?]
[If I tried to forcibly suppress your energy with my yang-dominant true energy, nine times out of ten it would endanger your life even more. Are you prepared for that?]
[Is there no other way?]
[Another way... there is one, but it's practically impossible.]
[What is it?]
[The Middle Cinnabar Acupoint, the center of your Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians, is like an inexhaustible spring for you. That's why the pure yin energy never stops. But if you could dry it up temporarily...]
[Then it could be cured?]
[If all the blocked meridians open at that moment, there's a slim chance.]
[Can't Master do it?]
At her question, the Pavilion Master shook his head.
[Why not?]
[As I said, using opposing energy to suppress it forcibly could kill you on the spot.]
[Then? How do you dry up the energy?]
The pure yin energy of the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians was inexhaustible.
How could anyone make that possible?
[Didn't I say this is impossible too?]
[......]
[Even if someone mastered the Soul-Draining Great Law, thought lost, and absorbed your pure yin energy to cut it off momentarily, who would dare? The moment they absorbed that massive amount of pure yin energy, their body would freeze solid and they'd die.]
That's why her master said there was no perfect cure for the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians.
Yet an unbelievable event was unfolding.
This man was absorbing her pure yin energy.
Even her master had said its chill was too vicious to handle.
-Shoooo!
Was this man really okay?
Puzzled, she lifted her head and looked at Mok Kyung-un.
He must be enduring agony as if his insides were freezing from absorbing the extreme cold, yet Mok Kyung-un silently exhaled white breath and steadfastly absorbed the energy.
Seeing him like this, Wi So-yeon felt a strange emotion stir within her.
'This man...'
Why was he going this far?
He must have realized immediately how overwhelming that energy was the moment he started absorbing it.
'Why... risk your life like this?'
Wi So-yeon genuinely couldn't understand.
Risking one's life for another wasn't easy.
Why else would they say "one lifetime"?
Sacrificing your only life for someone was akin to true sacrifice.
'Mok Kyung-un...'
Do you want me enough to stake your life?
Is that really it?
The way Wi So-yeon looked at Mok Kyung-un was markedly different from before.
It had clearly shifted toward affection.
Of course, oblivious to her changing feelings, Mok Kyung-un focused solely on assimilating this novel energy, fundamentally different from what he knew.
'As expected.'
The core of Mok Kyung-un's current energy was demonic energy.
But its origin stemmed from deathly energy, the aura of the dead.
Though different in nature from the yin chill of death, the pure yin energy was incomparably denser.
-Shoooo!
Unlike yang energy, the pure yin energy didn't dissipate within the body.
That meant he could make this new pure yin energy his own.
Fully absorbing it would double the power he gained upon entering the early Transformation Realm.
Mok Kyung-un accelerated the absorption using the Grasping Form.
And as it neared its peak,
'Now!'
Wi So-yeon felt the pure yin energy from her Middle Cinnabar Acupoint temporarily dry up.
She didn't miss that moment.
With Mok Kyung-un continuously absorbing from the Middle Cinnabar Acupoint, she had her chance to push.
"Hoo."
Wi So-yeon circulated her dantian energy via the energy circulation method.
Then she directed all remaining energy toward her blocked meridians simultaneously.
-Papapapapapapa!
Her true energy clashed with the blocked meridians.
Agonizing pain surged, as if every vein in her body would rupture.
"Haaah!"
A groan escaped Wi So-yeon's lips.
It hurt terribly.
But seeing Mok Kyung-un unflinchingly before her, she steeled her resolve.
'I can do this too.'
-Crack! Crack!
Her major acupoints bulged with sounds.
The blocked meridians were reacting.
Steam rose from her body, once overflowing with cold, and sweat beaded on her now-naked skin.
-Kuduk!
And in an instant, all blocked meridians,
-Papapapapak!
Broke open.
With that, the dried-up energy from the Grasping Form transformed.
The rampaging energy came under control.
'The energy?'
Sensing this, Mok Kyung-un halted the Grasping Form, stopping the pure yin absorption.
He then began integrating the absorbed energy using the Reverse Blood Circulation Method.
As both entered crucial moments,
'Chance!'
The Blue Spirit emerged from the wooden doll, manifesting.
She had waited for the perfect possession state.
If Wi So-yeon fully opened her meridians and overcame the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians, she would reach a whole new realm.
She had to seize the body first.
-Slither!
Thus, the Blue Spirit seeped into Wi So-yeon's body.
But when half-overlapped,
'!!!!!!!'
The Blue Spirit's expression twisted.
She thrashed to escape Wi So-yeon's body.
Strangely, Wi So-yeon's body seemed to pull at her spirit, trying to adsorb it.
-Khuk!
Forced, the Blue Spirit momentarily boosted her ghostly power.
-Paaang!
As a Blue Spirit bordering Indigo Spirit, immense ghostly power erupted, allowing her to evade adsorption and escape.
Barely avoiding possession, the Blue Spirit stared rigidly at Wi So-yeon.
'What the hell is this?'
That body... something's off.
This was different from normal possession.
It was as if her spirit wanted to take root in that body.
Normally, it should clash with the original soul, but instead, it was being drawn in—utterly bizarre.
Shocked, the Blue Spirit had no choice but to withdraw.
'This mortal woman...'
-Flinch!
In that moment, the Blue Spirit looked somewhere.
She bit her lip hard.
'Troublesome bastard.'
Vast curse power spread again, detecting her presence.
To sense her briefly surged ghostly power from afar meant no ordinary exorcist.
He'd probably rush here soon.
'Mortal... ah!'
She tried urging him to reseal her in the doll quickly, but Mok Kyung-un was absorbed in digesting the pure yin energy.
Thus, in the end,
'I need to evade first.'
If that guy came here, things would get messy.
Lure him elsewhere and hide.
-Slither!
Soon, she flew into the air toward the northeast.
Not long after the Blue Spirit vanished, Mok Kyung-un fully digested the absorbed pure yin energy.
Demonic energy, poison energy, pure yin energy—the three energies balanced within him.
His whole body brimmed with power, feeling refreshed.
'Not bad.'
With this much, he could fully contend with Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
Mok Kyung-un undid his cross-legged position and looked at Wi So-yeon lying naked before him.
"Haa... haa..."
Coincidentally, she had just broken through all her meridians and fully controlled the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians energy.
With the waste expelled, her body gleamed with luster.
Exhausted, however, her hair, face, and body were drenched in sweat, her breathing still ragged.
'Severed meridians... I broke them.'
Wi So-yeon's eyes reddened.
She had lived in terror, knowing the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians could run rampant beyond even the Golden Gate Secret Arts, potentially killing her anytime.
She couldn't contain her joy.
No more rampages meant she now had the finest physique.
A smile spread across Wi So-yeon's face.
Then, someone suddenly thrust their face before her eyes.
"How's your body? Feeling okay?"
It was Mok Kyung-un.
"Heop!"
Instantly registering her naked state as Mok Kyung-un asked if she was alright, Wi So-yeon realized her own nudity.
Her face flushed beet red.
Wi So-yeon hurriedly covered her chest with both arms.
'Hm?'
At her reaction, Mok Kyung-un raised one eyebrow.
What?
Hadn't the Blue Spirit taken the body?
The response felt distinctly different from the Blue Spirit.
Puzzled, Wi So-yeon stammered with her flushed, embarrassed face.
"You... are you okay?"
"Yes?"
"I mean, after absorbing the pure yin energy."
From her question, Mok Kyung-un realized.
The one before him was Wi So-yeon.
Not possessed by the Blue Spirit.
-Blue Spirit?
Mok Kyung-un scanned around, expanding his energy sense to search for her.
What had happened?
Wi So-yeon asked in a trembling voice.
"What's wrong? Did something go wrong?"
Mok Kyung-un shook his head in response.
"I'm fine. No need to worry about me."
More importantly, the plan had gone awry.
The Blue Spirit should have possessed Wi So-yeon's body, but her energy had suddenly moved far away.
He had no idea what occurred.
Wi So-yeon asked again.
"You're really okay?"
"Yes. I told you, I'm fine."
Relieved yet still embarrassed, her face red, Wi So-yeon said,
"Good."
She had hoped her benefactor-equivalent Mok Kyung-un would be safe.
Surviving that extreme chill after absorbing it was truly a relief.
For some reason, her heart pounded oddly.
-Thump! Thump! Thump!
Why was her heart acting up?