Chapter 436
Chapter 436
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 113
>Chapter Title: Ruins of the Old Fortress (3)
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[Ruins of the old fortress... You know as well as I where that place is, Ryu Somwol.]
-A place where those who revere martial prowess gathered to form lofty walls. The sacred ground where the legends of the old martial world lived and breathed.
[Cough, cough... As expected, you know it even better than I.]
-So where is that bastard? Abandon any thoughts of deception. If you do, you'll be accompanying this lord all the way to the depths of hell.
At Cheongryeong's threat, the Heaven-Earth Society Leader spat out blood with a cough and gave a bitter smile as he spoke.
[Hell... If that's what you desire, I, a member of the Heavenly Vein Clan, have no grounds to refuse. Cough, cough. But have you ever considered that the world we live in now feels even more like hell?]
-......
[I seem to have said something unnecessary. The Ghost Sword... Ha... The Ghost Sword is waiting in a bamboo grove not far from the ruins of the old fortress... or so I've been informed.]
-Bamboo grove? You mean a bamboo forest?
[Indeed. This... this on my belt... Take it with you... He'll know I sent you...]
Unable to move, gripped by Cheongryeong's spectral power, he indicated his waist belt with his eyes.
A society leader's plaque hung from the belt.
Seeing it, Cheongryeong suddenly recalled what Venom King Baek Saha had told Mok Kyung-un when she was trapped in the wooden doll.
He had said that after clashing with him, he had asked to deliver that plaque to the society leader.
Was that plaque the medium that allowed the society leader to control the Ghost Sword?
Having reached a realm where her spirit body could directly influence the material world, Cheongryeong casually took the plaque from him.
Having claimed it, she asked,
-There's something I don't understand, however.
[Cough, cough... What might that be?]
-The Ghost Sword.
-[......]
-Why does he remain there instead of sending the forbidden technique to you after obtaining it?
At her question piercing to the heart of the matter, the Heaven-Earth Society Leader fell silent with a strange expression before finally opening his mouth.
[That is...]
* * *
Seven days later.
'Found it.'
As a spirit body, she could roam the skies freely and required no food or sleep, allowing her to reach the northern reaches of Shaanxi Province in a mere seven days.
Had she been able to fully exert her spectral power even during the day, she would have arrived even sooner.
Even at her pinnacle realm, prolonged exposure to the sun—the zenith of yang energy—would weaken her spirit body, composed solely of yin energy.
'What are those?'
Unexpectedly, the bamboo-hatted man she presumed to be the Ghost Sword was locked in combat with dozens of warriors.
Yet upon seeing him, Cheongryeong was inwardly astonished.
She knew he was one of the eight paramount experts of the current martial world and a member of the council's first cadre, but this exceeded her expectations.
-Slash! Slash!
With minimal movements, he targeted only vital points, slaying foes in a single stroke.
Not a single unnecessary motion was wasted.
As long as no variables arose from their combined assaults, he dispatched most enemies with that efficient method—one sword per kill.
What impressed Cheongryeong, however, was that this swordsmanship contained not a shred of defense.
It consisted purely of offense.
A sword art that risked his own life, enduring all peril to ensure the enemy's certain death—no, utter annihilation.
'A swordsmanship that disregards one's own safety...'
In a sense, it was truly perilous swordplay.
Yet he overcame this flaw with a single quality.
-'...A monster.'
He deflected the enemies' lethal strikes with his sword.
Never before had she witnessed such flawless, pinnacle-level Plum Blossom Grafting Technique.
Now she understood why he was called the Ghost Sword.
But that was not the important matter.
-Swish!
As the bamboo-hatted man presumed to be the Ghost Sword slew the last foe, Cheongryeong unfurled her Ghost Intent Domain, the Blood Realm.
The conditions were perfect.
The towering bamboo forest darkened the surroundings, and with dozens dead, the area brimmed with deathly qi.
Thus, by exploiting these conditions,
-Slither, slither!
She could construct an even mightier Ghost Intent Domain.
Her spectral power intertwined with the ambient deathly qi, staining everything blood-red in all directions. Soon, the surroundings were filled solely with crimson.
Even with the society leader's plaque that could control the Ghost Sword in hand, she bound him thus for one reason.
It stemmed from the society leader's words.
[...Ha... Ha... It seems something went wrong with him during his approach to the forbidden technique.]
-Something went wrong?
[I don't know the cause... but identical messages have come from him periodically via secret carrier pigeon.]
-Identical messages?
[Yes.]
-What did they say?
[I've drawn closer to the origin of the forbidden technique. That's all.]
-What?
[Exactly as stated. Reports of nearing the forbidden technique's origin repeated.]
-How many times?
[Twelve.]
-!?
The Heaven-Earth Society Leader said the Ghost Sword had sent secret carrier pigeons with the exact same content every five days, a full twelve times.
Due to watchful eyes in the council, retrieval of secret pigeons normally occurred once a month, but with the elders' hall moving in earnest, it had been unavoidably delayed to every two months.
Yet when the two months' worth of retrieved pigeons all contained the same report every five days, the society leader could only find it bizarre.
[...I had planned to go there myself once internal society matters were settled, but now it seems you, Ryu Somwol, must uncover the secret of those repeating messages.]
Recalling those words, Cheongryeong reached one conclusion.
Whatever the secret, if the Ghost Sword had betrayed the society leader or met some personal mishap, losing him would mean learning nothing—so she resolved to subdue him first.
Thus, she activated the Blood Realm and commanded the blood.
-Slither, slither!
Countless blood thorns soon sprouted from the blood pool.
The emergent blood thorns surged toward the presumed Ghost Sword in unison.
-Splatter, splatter, splatter!
As the thorns flew, the bamboo-hatted man drew his half-sheathed sword.
A flash of sword light erupted like lightning, and in an instant, the crimson blood thorns enveloping him split apart, melting into blood.
'Good, show me that much at least.'
Her realm was incomparable to before.
Her blazing fury had somewhat calmed during the nonstop journey here, so while not at the maximized spectral power from the Heaven-Earth Society, it was potent enough in normal conditions to rival at least seven thousand warriors.
-Splatter!
In a flash, two hands emerged from the blood pool, seizing the bamboo-hatted man's ankles and yanking.
His balance shattered, and he began toppling backward.
In that moment, blood spears shot forth toward his hands and thighs.
However,
-Thud!
-Pop!
As he fell, the bamboo-hatted man arched his back, thrusting his sword into the ground as a pivot. He flipped his body, simultaneously thrusting his sword hand to launch himself upward.
As his airborne form swung the sword art,
-Slash, slash, slash!
A sharp sword intent flowed out, cleaving the spears she had formed from blood.
Mimicking a pulling motion with his hand, his sword leaped from the ground into his grasp.
-Clack!
Gripping the sword, the bamboo-hatted man unleashed sword aura in all directions, firing弹劍罡.
-Slash, slash, slash!
The incoming blue sword auras rent the blood-soaked domain as if to shatter it.
For a moment, a glimpse of the actual bamboo forest beyond the Blood Realm emerged, but blood soon overwhelmed it again.
'Is that not enough?'
Confirming that her spectral power-formed world could be torn by potent true qi, the bamboo-hatted man propelled himself toward one blood-drenched spot.
-Roarrrrr!
The sword aura on his blade surged nearly five paces high.
But it did not end there—the soaring aura condensed, shrinking as the blue hue deepened.
'Can't let that happen.'
Realizing he intended to concentrate his energy maximally and forcibly cleave through the Blood Realm to escape, Cheongryeong promptly,
-Slash!
Emerged from the blood pool in manifested form.
Blood clung to the pipe in her hand, shaping into a sword.
She gathered grievance-infused spectral power into the blood sword, its energy rivaling his condensed sword aura.
Just as the spectral sword and condensed sword aura were about to clash,
"Hup."
Suddenly, the bamboo-hatted man did not merely halt his swing—he forced it to a complete stop.
Forcibly stopping a vigorous motion would rebound the exerted force upon oneself, overloading the body.
Especially in this state, with energy roused to condense sword aura,
-Crack! Crack!
Twisting muscle sounds emanated from the bamboo-hatted man's body, and his sword-gripping hand trembled violently.
His palm split open, blood trickling down.
Cheongryeong could not comprehend his actions.
What was his intent?
Thus,
-Slash!
She likewise halted her swing of the blood sword.
Unlike him with a physical body, her spirit form suffered no overload from stopping the force.
Halting the blood sword right before his throat, Cheongryeong asked in bewilderment,
-Why did you stop your sword?
To her question, the bamboo-hatted man, who had kept silent, finally spoke.
"You've truly been freed."
-What?
"For a mere hundred years, yet your spirit soul's realm is this exalted—not through contact with an avatar, but by your own will?"
-'!?'
At his words, Cheongryeong's expression hardened.
The Ghost Sword she knew was merely a first cadre council executive who, for some reason, shared goals with the Heaven-Earth Society Leader.
Yet his tone suggested he knew something.
-Who the hell are you? What do you know about this lord?
"...To think that you, freed from your seal and burning with grudge, came all this way means you know that one remains intact, and the society leader's plans have hit a snag."
Her eyes sharpened at his words.
She had thought him linked at most to the death of Haeyoung Elixir Sage, Mok Kyung-un's grandfather and sect leader, but it seemed otherwise.
Such insight to grasp the situation from mere information required vast knowledge.
Soon, the corner of Cheongryeong's mouth lifted.
-It seems prying open your mouth will reveal much."
-......"
-Whether I force it open or you open it yourself, choose now.
-Swish!
Cheongryeong showed him the plaque from the society leader.
The presumed Ghost Sword fell silent upon seeing it.
Then, with a faint sigh, he said,
"Having that means you either received it willingly from him or seized it by force—one or the other."
-Had it been the latter, how do you think I found your location?
"Even he has drawn near traces of the forbidden technique, so pinpointing this place is no longer difficult."
The bamboo-hatted man nodded toward the strewn corpses on the ground.
Their presence here meant the council had finally uncovered traces of the forbidden technique.
-Hmph. Knowing you sent repeating identical pigeon messages—would that make you assume the former?
"Repeating... identical pigeon messages? What are you talking about?"
The bamboo-hatted man furrowed his brow, genuinely baffled.
To this, Cheongryeong said,
-You've only sent messages saying you've drawn nearer to traces of the forbidden technique, over and over—surely that's... you... Why would you do that?
-'!?'
As the bamboo-hatted man showed clear bewilderment, Cheongryeong couldn't hide her puzzlement.
He was muttering something softly under his breath—"No way."
What was going on?
It was in that instant.
-Hummmm!
Cheongryeong looked around in shock.
She was still maintaining the Ghost Intent Domain, the Blood Realm, yet the surrounding space suddenly warped.
What phenomenon was this? And then,
-Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Incredibly, the space did not merely twist—her Blood Realm shattered forcibly.
She had prided herself on its resilience due to her heightened spectral power, so what was happening?
As the Blood Realm collapsed, even the revealed bamboo forest warped.
'What in the world?'
Puzzled, the presumed Ghost Sword spoke.
"It may look like a simple bamboo grove, but this entire forest is one grand formation."
-......This is a formation?
"Not a simple one. Observe the bamboo placements—it's composed of advanced formation patterns, not one but hundreds layered together. Without meeting specific conditions, one cannot enter or exit."
-Could this be that......
"Indeed. This bamboo forest formation is the gateway to the traces of the forbidden technique."
It was right then.
-Tzzt, tzzt, tzzt!
The warping bamboo forest space fully twisted into a vortex, sucking in Cheongryeong and the bamboo-hatted man alike.
-Swoosh!
As the vortex's twist ended and space restored,
The bamboo-hatted man now stood alone in the heart of the bamboo forest.
A gentle breeze rustled the bamboo, scattering leaves. Brushing them off, he swept his gaze over the bamboo arrangement and murmured softly.
"Finally found it. Time to send a pigeon message."
[Chapter 113: Ruins of the Old Fortress (3)] End