Chapter 442
Chapter 442
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 114
>Chapter Title: Ghost Sword (5)
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-Swooooosh!
The demon beast Heumwon flapped its massive wings as it searched for a spot to descend near the carriage.
Normally, with one wing torn, it wouldn't have been able to fly, but thanks to the power of Milhoe's First Commandment, Spring and Autumn, it had recovered in less than half a shichen.
Spring and Autumn's blood possessed the bizarre ability to restore demonic energy, which had allowed them to shorten the time.
"Heh heh. Gonna just jump down?"
"······We're not our lord or that monster woman. What good would jumping from here do?"
Seopchun clicked his tongue at Breaking Precepts Monk Ja-geum-jeong's words.
No matter how skilled they were in martial arts, they hadn't reached the level where they could perform Skywalking like their lord, so they needed to descend lower for a safe landing.
At that moment, Right Dharma Protector Mara-hyeon pointed toward something.
"Look over there."
"Huh."
Eight Venom Snake Leader Gu Yang-so frowned upon seeing it.
And for good reason—hundreds, at least three hundred strong, were marching toward the bamboo grove.
All masked, they were undoubtedly enemies.
Mong Mu-yak gazed toward the bamboo grove.
It was too far to see clearly, but Mok Kyung-un seemed to have someone presumed to be the Ghost Sword in his grasp, and for some reason, Spring and Autumn was fighting something.
"We need to hurry down."
They had to help ensure those foes didn't interfere with their lord.
* * *
"After handing over the Moon Vein Secret Scripture like that, it fortunately didn't take long to regain control of my body again. But when I returned there, the child was already gone······."
"Wait."
Mok Kyung-un interrupted midway, halting the Ghost Sword's tale.
The Ghost Sword looked at him puzzled.
"Why?"
"······What do you mean the Moon Vein Secret Scripture could persuade the Incarnation?"
From the start, his mind had been a whirlwind with the Ghost Sword's words—how the Incarnation prophesied by the Flower Transformation Cult had taken human form.
And now, out of nowhere in his past story, the Moon Vein Secret Scripture appeared, leaving Mok Kyung-un full of questions.
The moment Timber Sword Manor was mentioned, he'd instantly realized what it referred to.
It was undoubtedly the secret scripture where Cheong-ryeong had been sealed.
What did that have to do with the Incarnation, and how could it persuade her?
The Ghost Sword furrowed his brow in response.
"You haven't yet realized who you are yourself, but wasn't it you who freed Ryu So-wol?"
"······How do you know that?"
Mok Kyung-un's expression hardened further.
While searching for the Timber Sword Manor manual and seal hidden by Clan Head Mok In-dan, he'd coincidentally obtained the Moon Vein Secret Scripture, which had sealed Ryu So-wol—Cheong-ryeong.
The Heaven-Earth Society called it the cursed manual no one could open, but Mok Kyung-un had unlocked it and broken Cheong-ryeong's seal.
It had been nothing more than a coincidence of events.
But what was this about?
"Freeing Cheong-ryeong—no, Ryu So-wol······."
-Flinch!
Mok Kyung-un stopped mid-sentence and turned toward the east.
He sensed numerous presences approaching.
He wasn't the only one who felt it.
The Ghost Sword and Spring and Autumn did too.
-Clang!
Spring and Autumn, who had been clashing with the Formless Sword to protect Mok Kyung-un—whom she saw as a threat to her father, the Ghost Sword—shouted urgently.
"It's them."
"······."
"Gonna keep this up?"
At that, Mok Kyung-un withdrew the Formless Sword he'd been operating while dividing his attention.
-Swish!
As the Formless Sword vanished, a somewhat fatigued Spring and Autumn inwardly stuck out her tongue.
She'd thought, since he was mostly focused on the Ghost Sword, that she'd break through the Formless Sword quickly, but she hadn't.
What a monstrous human.
'No wonder he wounded Mok-gan even if it wasn't against his true body.'
Just then, some three hundred masked figures appeared from the east, advancing like an army.
They were no ordinary foes.
Each seemed at least a peak realm expert or higher.
Some even included transcendent experts.
Seeing them, Spring and Autumn said,
"Not just Third Commandment members—Second Commandment ones are mixed in too. Mok-gan must be desperate. Looks like they've gathered every available force from the nearby branches."
"······."
"Planning to keep this up?"
At her words, the Ghost Sword looked up at Mok Kyung-un, who still hadn't withdrawn the Formless Sword aimed at him, and said,
"I'll tell you everything left unsaid. So put it away for now."
"No. I'll keep listening."
"They're not after us. We don't have time for this."
The Ghost Sword subtly shifted his gaze toward the bamboo grove.
Sending so many Milhoe experts after Pa-je meant the forbidden technique to merge souls was absolutely essential even for Mok-gan.
"My lord!"
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un's subordinates arrived.
Eight Venom Snake Leader Gu Yang-so, the masked Mara-hyeon, Breaking Precepts Monk Ja-geum-jeong, Seopchun, Mong Mu-yak, and others.
Of course, they weren't alone.
There was also the demon beast Heumwon, which had descended to the ground and adjusted its size.
"Al-yu."
-Clatter! Clatter!
At Mok Kyung-un's call, from the southeastern brush emerged a creature with horns on its head, a dragon-like face, red fur covering its body, resembling a mix of dog and ox—the demonic beast Al-yu.
It was the one he'd sent ahead to track Cheong-ryeong.
Mok Kyung-un issued orders to them.
"Guard this place. I'll wrap things up and return shortly."
Breaking Precepts Monk Ja-geum-jeong looked dumbfounded at the command.
"Heh heh, isn't it usually the other way around?"
Of course, Mok Kyung-un was their greatest asset here, so if he went all out, he could dispatch the enemies faster than they could.
He was even specialized against large numbers.
But then,
-Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from somewhere, and the ground suddenly trembled violently.
All eyes turned simultaneously toward the source.
It was the bamboo grove.
'!?'
The bamboo forest shook, white dust billowing from its center.
Seeing it, the Ghost Sword shouted in dismay.
"It's Pa-je."
"What?"
"He must've tunneled underground into the bamboo grove."
Mok Kyung-un was such an unparalleled powerhouse that facing him and the Ghost Sword simultaneously was troublesome, so he'd assumed Pa-je had retreated temporarily. But it seemed he'd let his guard down.
He'd thought the formation of absolutes would deter rash approaches, but Pa-je, aware of them, had forced his way in.
"We must stop him now. You intend to let him take the forbidden technique?"
Mok Kyung-un stared intently at the Ghost Sword.
He desperately wanted to hear the crucial story that had been cut off.
But then,
-Kiririk! Master. Better do as that guy says.
"What?"
-Kirik kirik! The high-ranking怨魂 you told me to track entered the bamboo grove and hasn't come out.
"What are you talking about?"
Mok Kyung-un whipped his head toward the demonic beast Al-yu, his face terrifyingly stiff.
He'd sent it alone to track Cheong-ryeong heading to northern Shaanxi Province.
-Exactly as I said. That human at your feet went in after the怨魂, then suddenly vanished, and only that guy walked out of the bamboo grove.
-Grind!
In that instant, immense killing intent surged as Mok Kyung-un glared at the Ghost Sword.
According to Al-yu's report, one of two things had happened.
Either something had gone down inside the intricately formed absolute formation, or the Ghost Sword and Cheong-ryeong had clashed, causing trouble.
"What did you do to Cheong-ryeong······ no, Ryu So-wol?"
At Mok Kyung-un's words, the Ghost Sword hurriedly explained.
"Misunderstanding! I came here to prevent the forbidden technique from falling into her hands. Why would I harm someone precious to you?"
"······You."
Mok Kyung-un stared down at him piercingly.
Only Cheong-ryeong herself knew his feelings.
How could this man gauge whether she was precious to him and speak with such certainty?
Mok Kyung-un, still glaring at the Ghost Sword, finally withdrew the Formless Sword.
-Swish!
Then, looking toward the bamboo grove, he said to his subordinates and familiars,
"I'll head into the bamboo grove with the Ghost Sword. Block them."
"Yes, sir!"
"As you command!"
-Swoosh!
No sooner had the order been given than his subordinates and familiars charged toward the presumed Milhoe enemies advancing on the bamboo grove.
The Ghost Sword looked at his daughter, Spring and Autumn, and said,
"They won't hold alone. Help them."
At his request, Spring and Autumn ground her foot into the ground and snorted.
"Hmph! Only asking now."
She grumbled, but the subordinates alone lacked the power to block those foes.
Shaking her head, Spring and Autumn launched her form forward.
As she moved to intercept the enemies, Mok Kyung-un said to the Ghost Sword,
"Go ahead."
"Understood."
-Swoosh!
They both shot toward the bamboo grove simultaneously.
Matching speeds almost perfectly, the Ghost Sword said to Mok Kyung-un,
"I don't know what happened inside, but I definitely entered this place. Yet that memory is gone."
"That's why you sent the same messenger pigeon to the Heaven-Earth Society Lord."
"What?"
"You said you sent it twelve times repeatedly."
'!?'
At Mok Kyung-un's words, the Ghost Sword's face darkened.
Thanks to the wound on his palm, he knew he'd entered and encountered something, but his memory had issues.
If true, he'd entered and exited over twelve times, each memory erased.
What exactly was hidden in that formation to cause this?
-Kaboom kaboom kaboom boom!
Another massive explosion burst from deep within the bamboo grove.
The Ghost Sword started to say something but accelerated toward it instead.
Soon, the central clearing—the only spot in the bamboo grove without bamboo—came into view.
There, unlike before, stood someone covered head to toe in armor of white scales.
It was Pa-je.
-Wooooong!
Around Pa-je floated countless eggs of qi blades, too many to count.
The surrounding bamboo, forming a complex formation, bent warped, shattered, and burned in places.
Seeing it, the Ghost Sword urged,
"Stop!"
No matter the haste, forcibly breaking the formation with brute force rather than properly could make the entrance vanish forever.
Ignoring the Ghost Sword's plea, Pa-je scoffed.
"If you can stop me, then do it."
Pa-je had no intention of stopping.
But right then,
-What an annoying pest.
'!?'
At the voice echoing around, Pa-je scanned his surroundings.
Hard to pinpoint the origin.
Mok Kyung-un was the same.
Even with his pupil force unleashed, he couldn't locate the source, and the energies from the surrounding formation were shifting.
"Whoever hides, if you're the guardian of the forbidden technique, show yourself now."
-Swish!
With that, Pa-je prepared to unleash the hundreds of qi blades.
But in that instant,
Before the qi eggs could move, the bamboo bent inward, and space warped around.
At the bizarre sight, Pa-je fired qi blades and tried to burrow into the ground.
However,
-Squelch!
From the warping space, a hand shot out, grabbing Pa-je's head,
"Huh?"
-Pop!
His body was sucked straight into the warped space.
As the space began closing, Mok Kyung-un didn't miss the moment and thrust his sword formula.
Then,
-Slash!
An utterly transparent Formless Sword flew forward, embedding in the spot.
Mok Kyung-un twisted the sword formula spirally.
-Crack crack crack!
A fissure split the warping area, widening it.
-N-No?
A dismayed voice echoed from the cracking fissure.
-Swoosh!
Mok Kyung-un launched toward the fissure.
-Squelch!
Passing through, darkness enveloped him briefly, then bright light revealed a vast blue meadow before his eyes.
In the meadow's center stood a beautiful woman with bluish-black hair and cat-like eyes, gripping Pa-je's head.
[Chapter 114: Ghost Sword (5)] End