Chapter 438
Chapter 438
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 114
>Chapter Title: Ghost Sword (1)
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Evil Heart Granny.
It was a moniker completely forgotten by the people of the current martial world.
To those who knew even a little about the old martial world, it was closer to a name of terror than renown, and more accurately, one of infamy.
‘The villain among villains...’
Even to Cheong-ryeong, who had lived through the time when the Heavenly Alliance was founded, the era before the Great Cataclysm was shrouded in mystery.
Just about everything related to that time had been lost.
And yet, being from an older generation than now, she had heard some tales of the old martial world through oral traditions.
One of them was the Evil Heart Granny.
She was known as the villain among villains, said to have lived for hundreds of years even back in the old martial world and committed countless evils.
‘Impossible.’
At first, she had denied it.
Could that young woman really be the Evil Heart Granny?
The fact that she didn’t seem old and crafty could be explained by cases like the Blood Saint Nim Baek-ha of the Blood Cult, but she had heard that the ancient monster, the Evil Heart Granny who had lived for hundreds of years according to oral tales, was dead.
...Nonsense. The Evil Heart Granny is dead.
[Oh ho. I had my suspicions, but you really do know me?]
-What the hell are you?
[I told you. I’m the Evil Heart Granny.]
-Then the oral tales must be wrong...
[Oral tales? Didn’t you live through that time?]
-...If you mean the old martial world, then no. But one thing I’m certain of.
[What’s that?]
-The Evil Heart Granny died at the hands of the supreme under heaven.
[...Is that how it’s known?]
-Yes.
[Not entirely wrong, then.]
-What?
[Heh heh heh. Perfect. You seem to know quite a bit, so it won’t be boring to keep you around for various experiments.]
‘!?’
And with that, she lost consciousness at the touch of the Evil Heart Granny’s hand.
When she came to again, she was trapped in a prison cell made of silverwood.
Cheong-ryeong bit her lip hard.
She had to obtain the alchemy that could fuse soul and魄 to lure and finish her revenge on that bastard Bi Yong-heon, but what a mess this was.
‘...Is she really the Evil Heart Granny?’
If that woman who captured her was truly the Evil Heart Granny, then contrary to the tales, she had survived all this time.
That would mean she had lived through ages surpassing even the Blood Saint Nim Baek-ha of the Blood Cult.
-Tsss!
Even amid the agonizing pain of her spirit body burning away within the formation of silverwood and talismans, she couldn’t help but feel incredulous.
What kind of coincidence was this?
To be entangled like this again, as if she had some connection to the old martial world.
-Grip!
Cheong-ryeong clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.
She didn’t have time to waste like this.
Time would keep passing, and if she stayed here, that bastard Bi Yong-heon would eventually get what he wanted.
Before that, she had to persuade the woman calling herself the Evil Heart Granny or somehow escape this place.
No matter how much they used silverwood and talismans to create a spell formation, like all formations, it couldn’t be flawless.
She had to find the life gate.
Rising to her feet, she scanned her surroundings.
First, she needed to memorize the talismans, shatter the silverwood, and then pass straight through the spell formation’s life gate.
As she stood, she couldn’t hide her puzzlement at the bizarre structure inside the thatched hut.
In the center of the hut stood a thick pillar-like object, covered in numerous joints engraved with countless inscriptions.
Staring at it intently, her eyes suddenly sparkled.
‘Could that be the center of this place?’
It might be the conduit linking this space hidden within the bamboo grove.
Come to think of it, ever since entering this place, it had been hard to properly wield her spiritual power.
This formation seemed to hold many secrets.
Examining it closely, she suddenly noticed something on one wall.
A scroll with a painting hung there.
The scroll depicted what looked like a Peach Blossom Paradise, the only thing in the hut that didn’t fit with the rest.
Soon, she ignored it and looked around for other clues.
But then,
-Thud!
The hut’s door opened, and the Evil Heart Granny entered.
In her hands were what appeared to be herbs.
Placing them on the table, she said with gleaming eyes.
“Oh ho. Already awake?”
-...What do you plan to do with me?
“Hmm. What do you think? Use you for experimenting with new spells, or since I’ve got a rare魄, maybe infuse you into an object like my demon swords?”
She seemed excited, like a child who’d gotten a new toy.
Seeing her like that, Cheong-ryeong, her wariness heightened, pondered before speaking.
-...You’ll regret keeping me imprisoned here.
“Regret?”
-Yes. If you don’t release me right now, troublesome things will happen.
At these words, the Evil Heart Granny sneered.
“Troublesome? What could be so troublesome? Heh heh heh.”
-Those like the one with the bamboo hat earlier will keep coming. Can you handle that?
“Ones like that guy from before will come?”
-Yes. Even after you erased his memory, he kept forcing his way in here. What if someone even more persistent shows up?
Cheong-ryeong tried desperately to persuade her.
For some reason, she didn’t seem to kill living people.
She erased their memories and sent them out instead.
But someone who had secluded herself here for hundreds of years alone, cutting ties with the outside, wouldn’t welcome visitors or nuisances.
However,
“Heh heh heh. It’s a first seeing a grudge-filled怨魂 racking its brains like this. High realm does make the ego stronger, indeed.”
-What?
“But you see. Whether they come or not doesn’t matter. The term of the vow is nearly up.”
-Term of the vow?
“This endless loneliness is finally coming to an end.”
Cheong-ryeong furrowed her brow.
What was she talking about?
She had assumed the Evil Heart Granny was here because she had severed her own ties to the outside.
That’s why she erased the memories of those who entered and sent them away—or so she thought. Was that not the whole story?
Puzzled, the Evil Heart Granny leaned in close with a sly grin.
“Everything didn’t go according to his arrangements, which is a pity, but I kept the vow and paid my karma sufficiently, so soon I’ll go there. As for you,怨魂, you just need to alleviate the boredom of this body until then.”
‘!?’
* * *
Meanwhile, outside the bamboo grove.
The bamboo hat man, presumed to be the Ghost Sword who emerged from the bamboo forest, stared at his palm with an incomprehensible gaze.
His palm was torn.
What was this mark?
It was something not in his memories, yet he couldn’t understand why the wound was there.
‘For a wound like this to appear...’
It would only happen if he gripped his sword hilt and forcibly endured power beyond what he could handle.
Yet he had no memory of anyone pushing him this far recently.
No, he hadn’t even fought anyone on the way here.
‘What?’
Come to think of it, when he thought about sending a messenger pigeon to the Alliance Leader, he had felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
As if this wasn’t unfamiliar.
The bamboo hat man could only sink into contemplation while looking at his palm.
His instincts told him:
When he entered the bamboo forest made of advanced formations, something happened that he couldn’t remember.
For some reason, that memory had vanished.
‘The effect of the formation?’
Whatever the cause, he shouldn’t rashly enter the bamboo grove again until he figured it out.
First, send the messenger pigeon.
As the bamboo hat man was about to step forward,
-Flinch!
Sensing an overwhelming pressure crushing the surroundings, he slowly turned his head.
There, despite a youthful face without a single wrinkle, stood a beautiful young man with white hair and white brows, hands clasped behind his back, walking toward him.
Even walking slowly, the moment he saw him, the bamboo hat man’s eyes changed.
‘Worst case scenario.’
He had found this place after all.
The instant he saw the white-haired, white-browed beautiful young man, the bamboo hat man recognized him immediately.
Even in the council, there were those who had served at the Alliance Leader’s side the longest.
Among them, the top cadre in the First Tier, renowned as the supreme in destruction, was none other than Emperor Breaker.
-Step! Step!
With each step he took, the ground cracked and split.
The aura emanating from him was extraordinary, like the majestic presence of an emperor encompassing all things.
“Emperor Breaker.”
As he spoke, the white-haired, white-browed young man—no, Emperor Breaker—parted his lips.
“How strange. I received this order, so why are you here?”
“......I can’t say.”
“Can’t say?”
“Yes.”
At the bamboo hat man’s words, Emperor Breaker stopped ten paces away, his expressionless face unchanging.
Then he spoke again.
“As a colleague who has long served him together, out of leniency. I ask once more. Why are you here?”
“I said I can’t...”
Before he could finish,
Emperor Breaker had already thrust his index finger toward him.
With it, a fierce finger force flew at the bamboo hat man’s face in the blink of an eye.
The bamboo hat man hurriedly jerked his head back.
-Swish!
The finger force pierced past the front of his bamboo hat.
But that wasn’t the end.
-Shing!
Drawing his sword, the bamboo hat man launched his body backward, swiftly infusing sword gang and swinging.
-Clang clang clang clang!
Blue flames sparked from the qi, splitting or deflecting the finger forces that touched the blade.
Having blocked them all, the bamboo hat man hurriedly tried to launch a弹劍罡 toward Emperor Breaker.
But,
-Clang!
Emperor Breaker, who had closed in, blocked the sword mid-swing with his hand blade and thrust qi-infused fingers at his face.
Sensing he couldn’t dodge, the bamboo hat man aimed a kick at Emperor Breaker’s jaw in response.
At that moment, just before the bamboo hat man’s toe could reach,
-Paak!
Emperor Breaker retreated two paces.
The bamboo hat man did the same.
However, unable to fully evade the finger strike laced with qi, his bamboo hat began to split.
Looking at him, Emperor Breaker said.
“Lord Mok no longer desires the Alliance Leader’s body. No longer act against his will...!?”
-Crack!
Before he could finish, the split bamboo hat fell to the ground.
Seeing the revealed face of the bamboo hat man, ripples formed on Emperor Breaker’s previously expressionless face.
Staring at the bamboo hat man—no, the Ghost Sword—Emperor Breaker said.
“You... What is that?”
What Emperor Breaker pointed to with his hand was the Ghost Sword’s forehead.
It was deeply caved in, as if something had been there and then healed.
Emperor Breaker’s tone rose slightly.
“You... What happened to your eye?”
“Who knows.”
No sooner had the Ghost Sword’s indifferent reply fallen than each of Emperor Breaker’s fingers gathered with blue qi.
-Roooar!
“I sensed your demonic power faintly and wondered why you weren’t faithful to orders... So that was the reason...”
Before he could finish,
Thinking to strike first, the Ghost Sword thrust his sword at Emperor Breaker’s throat in a surprise attack.
Despite the lightning-fast strike, Emperor Breaker casually tilted his head aside to dodge, then instantly closed the distance, driving his five qi-laced fingers straight into the Ghost Sword’s abdomen.
It was right then.
-Cclang!
Emperor Breaker’s qi-infused fingers were blocked by something.
It was the form of a sword, transparent to the extreme.
‘This is?’
-Flinch!
Emperor Breaker hurriedly launched his body backward.
And with that,
-Boom!
Something fell from the sky onto where he had stood, shattering the ground and sending dust billowing in the shockwave.
Emperor Breaker, having widened the distance, lightly waved his hand.
The dust cleared instantly with the wind pressure, revealing the being that had nearly crushed him in an instant.
It was a man with two swords at his waist.
‘Who the hell is this?’
Emperor Breaker’s eyes filled with wariness at the ferocious, extraordinary aura emanating from him.
But the man half-turned his head and spoke.
“This one is mine.”
He was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
[Chapter 114: Ghost Sword (1)] End
ⓒ Han Jung-wol-ya