Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 92
>Chapter Title: Rumor (2)
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“Hmm.”
Chief of the Eight Poisons Gu Yang-su carefully extracted a long silver needle from the head of Ye Song-a, the granddaughter of the Holy Fire Lord, who lay with her eyes closed as if dead.
During the process of removing the needle, Ye Song-a’s head trembled faintly.
Soon after, a black liquid oozed from the tip of the needle, seeping out through the hole in her head where it had been inserted.
Seeing this, Gu Yang-su let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew.”
Mok Kyung-un then asked him,
“Is it done?”
“Yes. Fortunately, I’ve removed all the deadly poison.”
“Impressive.”
“Hahaha. No, no.”
At Mok Kyung-un’s praise, Gu Yang-su proudly shrugged his shoulders.
When it came to poisons, Gu Yang-su was one of the top three experts across the Central Plains and the Western Regions.
Mok Kyung-un had also learned about poisons from his grandfather Hai Young Yak-seon and the Island Poison King Baek Sa-ha, making him proficient, but in the finer details, Gu Yang-su’s vast experience gave him the edge.
“Is she completely detoxified?”
“Yes. No matter what those Tang Clan bastards did, this level of poison is no issue.”
Even though it was done by the Tang Clan head Tang In-hae himself, as long as it wasn’t a formless poison, Gu Yang-su could neutralize any toxin.
However, the brain was one of the most delicate areas, so it had naturally taken some time.
“She’ll wake up soon.”
“So it seems.”
-Hoo.... Hoo.... Hoo....
As the deadly poison was expelled, her breathing changed.
Just from this, it was clear that blood circulation to the brain had returned to normal.
‘Blood circulation......’
Seeing this, Mok Kyung-un suddenly thought of Yu Mu-jin.
In clashing with him, Mok Kyung-un had vaguely come to understand how his power manifested.
Yu Mu-jin’s explosive strength came from naturally condensing ambient natural energy, combined with blood circulation and muscle expansion far beyond that of ordinary people.
‘I wonder if I can do it?’
This was a technique more intricate than simply manipulating energy.
Controlling muscles was
-Tight!
Mok Kyung-un clenched his fist and tried swelling his forearm and biceps.
Even ordinary people could, through training, develop muscles enough to voluntarily flex parts of them.
However,
‘It might be impossible.’
Making muscles expand like Yu Mu-jin’s seemed like an entirely different matter.
It went beyond the limits of normal muscles.
It was clearly not something achieved through training alone, but largely influenced by bloodline.
Trying to swell them only wasted energy pointlessly.
‘Maybe approach it from another angle.’
Infusing natural energy into the blood and circulating it rapidly seemed quite useful.
He had a method for rapidly circulating blood, learned when it turned into poisoned blood, so it seemed feasible.
-Shooo!
Soon, his clenched fist reddened slightly, and his skin grew hot.
‘It might work.’
He tried speeding up the circulation even more.
His right hand grew even redder, and eventually, white steam rose from his skin.
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes gleamed at the sight.
It just might be possible.
But as he accelerated the circulation further, the area rapidly circulating blood began to throb intensely with pain.
It hurt as if the blood vessels and surrounding muscles were rupturing.
Mok Kyung-un stopped it.
-Shooo!
Seeing this bizarre sight, Chief of the Eight Poisons Gu Yang-su asked in astonishment,
“What were you just doing?”
“Trying to circulate my blood faster.”
“Your blood? Not qi, but blood? Is it possible to circulate blood that quickly?”
“Yes. It works. But it’s tough without anything else.”
At those words, Gu Yang-su furrowed his brow.
He said it casually, but freely manipulating the blood flowing through one’s body was nearly impossible, even for peak experts.
“With faster blood circulation, it overloads the meridians and muscles.”
He could see why Yu Mu-jin’s muscles were so developed.
The thick muscles, like armor, protected his body from the rapid blood flow.
That meant he either needed overwhelming muscles to support it, or a way to protect the body from strain during circulation.
‘Oh?’
If he circulated it while protecting the meridians with qi, it might be maintainable to some degree.
Then, it could even allow for more stable explosive power increases than partial Reverse Blood Killing Gong.
For example,
-Shooo!
If he protected his meridians with Heavenly Demon qi and circulated blood even faster,
-Shooooo!
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un’s right hand and wrist turned dark red—no, brownish—and steam rose up.
Gu Yang-su gaped and said,
“Advancing Blood Golden Body?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t that technique you’re using the Advancing Blood Golden Body?”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how I look at it, what Young Master Mok is doing resembles the poison sect martial art Advancing Blood Golden Body of Saryeon Alliance’s Second Alliance Leader Hae Yeok-won.”
“Hae Yeok-won? Ah!”
At those words, Mok Kyung-un recalled his conversation with Yu Mu-jin when they parted at the Tang Clan.
* * *
[Are you heading back?]
[Yes. Since you say there’s nothing to be done about the lingering demonic energy in my heart, I’ll have to return home and ask.]
[I’m sorry.]
The demonic energy in his heart was due to the curse of the Demon Sword Geop-sal.
The wound from Geop-sal wouldn’t heal because of this curse-like demonic energy.
For an ordinary person, damage to the heart from Geop-sal would mean certain death, but his inherited bloodline’s recovery power kept him alive.
‘Demonic energy.....’
In truth, Mok Kyung-un had considered using his soul arts to treat Yu Mu-jin’s demonic energy.
Of course, he couldn’t be absolutely sure it would work, but if it was a curse born from long-held grudge, his soul arts might dispel it.
However, he decided against it.
For now, he had sealed his gates due to their agreement, but it was questionable if the Sichuan Tang Clan would keep honoring it. And if they sought revenge, it was uncertain whether Yu Mu-jin would side with them.
Thus, he judged it better to leave the Geop-sal’s demonic energy intact, preventing him from fully wielding his power.
[Then, farewell. Unless there’s something else...]
[Could I ask one favor?]
As they were about to part, Mok Kyung-un looked at him puzzled by Yu Mu-jin’s words.
[A favor?]
[It’s nothing much. I’m a bit worried seeing you.]
[Worried about what?]
[There are few who could stop a monster like you if you rampage for real. Our clan has to keep watch on ‘that place,’ so we can’t stray far. The closest we can monitor is around the Tang Clan.]
[That place?]
What place was he talking about that needed guarding?
He spoke as if guarding something.
Then Yu Mu-jin said,
[It’s a clan matter, you could say. A kind of duty. Duty.]
[Duty? Now I’m curious.]
[It’s nothing special. Long ago, our clan’s founder took down this huge white cow. But the thing’s insanely strong and just won’t die.]
Mok Kyung-un tilted his head.
Out of nowhere, a giant cow? What was that about?
[White cow?]
[......Yeah. Anyway, that’s not the point. If you roam the martial world for revenge and encounter someone with the Hae surname, please show them mercy at least once.]
[Hae surname?]
[Yes. They’re closer kin to our clan than even the Tang Clan. Though I’ve never met them.]
[......A request?]
[Yes, a request. We have this connection, so you can grant that much, right?]
[I’ll do it, as long as it’s not tied to my grandfather’s death.]
[That’s more than enough.]
[But there must be more than one or two with the Hae surname. How will I know?]
[I hear there aren’t that many. And you’ll know at a glance. They haven’t inherited our blood like us, but they can control their bodies to some extent.]
* * *
Right.
The person Yu Mu-jin mentioned must be this Hae Yeok-won.
“Controlling the body to some extent” meant mastering the method of rapidly circulating blood to explosively boost capacity.
That was apparently called the Advancing Blood Golden Body.
“Who is this Hae Yeok-won?”
“He’s the Second Alliance Leader of the Saryeon Alliance. They say his prowess rivals that of the Eight Great Clans.”
“I see.”
At any rate, now he knew the name and affiliation. Unless tied to the Shadow Assembly, there’d be no reason to tangle with him.
The Saryeon Alliance was formed by survivors of the exterminated Blood Ghost Cult and other unorthodox sects, wasn’t it?
Somehow, connections were subtly linking up.
It was then.
“Mm.”
With a groan, Ye Song-a, who had been asleep, opened her eyes.
She blinked a few times, then jolted upright in surprise and looked around.
“Wh-who are you people?”
At her question, Gu Yang-su snorted and said,
“I go through all the trouble to treat you and wake you up, and that’s the first thing you ask?”
“Huh?”
“More importantly, give thanks to this gentleman.”
Gu Yang-su politely indicated Mok Kyung-un with an open palm.
Her eyes widened.
‘!!!!!!’
Freshly awake and disoriented, she hadn’t recognized anyone.
But after staring intently, she recognized Mok Kyung-un’s face, and her eyes filled with ecstasy.
“Aaah!”
Tears welling up, she prostrated herself flat inside the carriage.
-Thud!
She even slammed her forehead hard against the floor.
Gu Yang-su looked baffled at her sudden action.
“No matter how much I said to be grateful...”
“I’ve waited! Waited only for this moment!”
Mok Kyung-un couldn’t hide his bewilderment at her thrilled voice.
He was sure this was their first meeting. Why this reaction?
As he stared at her, Mok Kyung-un subtly moved his hand.
Her bowed head was lifted by qi.
“Eh?”
As her head rose against her will, her pupils trembled.
Mok Kyung-un asked her,
“What do you mean you’ve waited? Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen me?”
“The pearl showed you to me.”
“The pearl? That... thing said to deliver the Holy Fire’s oracle?”
“Yes. The oracle said you would come to wretched me, save me, and lead the way.”
“.......Lead the way?”
“Yes. You are the one who will purify this corrupt world with sacred flames and guide the foolish mortals into the demonic path!”
< 92화 소문 (2) > End