Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 13
>Chapter Title: Ambush (1)
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A man in an indigo Daoist robe, with two Six Jia Comprehensive Talismans affixed to his forehead, chest, and abdomen, and one Thunder Lord Seal Talisman, chanted spells with a face full of tension.
"Yangming Supreme Divine Guard, Subduing Yin Spirits, Dull Earthly Form, Spirit Talisman Unites as One, Four Directions Invincible, Heavenly Demons Retreat, Thousand Soldiers Advance, Hasten to the Command!"
The spell he was chanting was the Western Protection Charm, a type of invisibility technique.
The man's face was drenched in cold sweat as he ceaselessly scanned and guarded his surroundings.
While chanting the spell, no one could detect him.
The drawback was that he couldn't move and had to recite the incantation without pause.
'Damn it.'
He was filled with regret.
He had thought that with caution, he could uncover the truth, given his experience surpassing even the monster-grade Im Mae-mang-ryang High Ancestor and handling the New Moon.
But that had been his miscalculation.
'How could this be...'
It wasn't Green Spirit grade.
There was no way it could be.
If it were Green Spirit, he could have somehow managed with his warding arts combined with his servant spirit High Ancestor.
Yet in an instant, it had undone his binding spell and wounded him.
The man's back was soaked in blood.
'High Ancestor...'
His servant spirit High Ancestor had lured that existence away.
To buy him time.
But a problem had arisen.
Thanks to the nimble servant spirit, he thought he could escape, but what was this?
-Sasasasak!
Who the hell were these masked intruders?
Thanks to the invisibility technique, he had avoided their gaze, but they didn't seem to be Timber Sword Manor's warriors.
If they were, there would be no reason for them to enter wearing masks in the middle of the night.
"Dull Earthly Form, Spirit Talisman Unites as One, Four Directions Invincible, Heavenly Demons Retreat, Thousand Soldiers Advance..."
It was a precarious situation.
The bleeding from his back was steadily draining his strength.
He didn't know what they wanted, but these masked men were thoroughly searching every corner for something.
He had to hold out until they left, but it was too grueling.
'I have to endure. Somehow.'
That was when it happened.
'What is that?'
Someone markedly different from the searching masked men revealed himself.
It was a man wearing an eyepatch and leaning on a staff.
The moment he saw him, the man instinctively knew.
'Sorcerer?'
The extraordinary aura emanating from him.
This was one of the traits that appeared in those who had long cultivated warding arts.
Even if not, the hand seal formed on his left hand alone showed it was basic sorcery.
'A pursuit spell?'
It was a spell used to locate a desired target.
The man furrowed his brow.
Seeing the masked men naturally deferring to the sorcerer, it was clear they were allies.
However, sorcerers had one major rule.
In cultivating the Way's principles and practicing warding arts, they did not directly collude with worldly factions or join their ranks.
Until just ten years ago, this had been strictly observed.
But then some group of sorcerers had broken it, allying with someone.
'No way?'
These masked men were...
-Shuk!
'Hup.'
The man's breath grew ragged.
The eyepatched man was standing right in front of him.
He was using invisibility, so there was no way he could be detected—what was going on?
As he felt bewildered, the eyepatched sorcerer spoke.
"If you wanted to use invisibility, you should have at least erased your traces completely."
'Traces? Ah!'
Only then did the man realize.
Blood dripping from his back onto the floor.
At that moment, the eyepatched man chanted a spell and slammed his staff hard into the ground.
"Spirit Eye Pierces All, Each Ghost Reveals Truth, Hasten to the Command! Dissolve!"
-Kung!
-Shrrrrrr!
At that instant, space warped around the staff, and the man who had been completely invisible came into view.
Startled, the man leaped back, trying to unleash another warding art.
However,
-Chak! Chak! Chak!
Lin! Bing! Jie! Zhen!
As the Nine-Character Empowerment seals connected, the man's feet stuck to the ground.
His body slumped weakly, strength draining away.
The man's eyes widened.
'A spell of this level with just hand seals?'
Warding arts were completed through various combinations.
Incantation, talisman, chant, seal, tool.
These five harmonized exquisitely to form the art.
Lowly sorcerers needed all four methods to perform a spell, but the skilled could reduce them.
'At least Square Moon rank or higher.'
Sorcerers received titles in six stages based on skill.
From highest: God, Sun, Moon, Skill, Subtle, Initiate.
The man was certain.
This eyepatched man was a sorcerer of tremendous skill, Square Moon rank or above.
The man said, brimming with tension.
"I am Sorcerer Mok-go of Ghost Shadow Pavilion. Who might you..."
-Kwak!
"Urk!"
Before he could finish, the eyepatched man seized the mouth of the self-proclaimed Sorcerer Mok-go of Ghost Shadow Pavilion with one hand.
Then, curling his lips slyly, he said.
"To dare interfere with the Primal Slaughter Pavilion's affairs—you must be prepared for death?"
'Pri... Primal Slaughter Pavilion?'
Unfortunately, his ominous guess was correct.
One of the Sixty-Four Sorcerer Pavilions that had joined a massive martial world's faction.
That was the Primal Slaughter Pavilion.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the same time,
-Chaechaechaeng!
The clash of weapons made the area in front of the main hall noisy.
-Kung!
"Wh-what is this?"
Led by Clan Head Mok In-dan, the Mok family brothers emerging from their rooms couldn't hide their bewilderment.
Just moments ago, Timber Sword Manor's interior had been silent, and now it was a battlefield.
Timber Sword Manor's warriors were entangled in combat with mysterious masked intruders—no one could guess how this had happened.
"Madam. What in the world is going on?"
The Clan Head asked Great Madam Seok, who was flustered in front of the main hall.
His retainers and Inner Hall Leader Jang Myeong-in were fighting the masked men, so the only ones he could ask were her and Second Madam Jang.
Great Madam Seok replied in bewilderment.
"I-I don't know. The outer hall warriors just shouted about an enemy raid moments ago, and suddenly masked men poured in, turning it into this."
"Brother is right. It happened so fast we don't know what's going on either."
At the madams' words, the Clan Head's expression darkened.
Even for a midnight raid, to breach Timber Sword Manor's outer defenses and push in this quickly meant they weren't ordinary foes.
-Sreung!
Clan Head Mok In-dan drew his sword with his unfamiliar left hand.
He didn't know who they were, but his retainers and warriors alone couldn't hold them off.
The Clan Head roared, unleashing sword qi.
"Who dares invade Grand Timber Sword Manor? Prepare to forfeit your lives!"
"Waaaaah!!!"
At the sight of their liege, who had been bedridden for so long, the warriors facing the masked men cheered.
"Let's go! Protect Timber Sword Manor!"
-Pat!
As Clan Head Mok In-dan led the charge with his lightness skill, the Mok brothers and the martial-born madams were fired up, shouting as they followed.
"Protect Timber Sword Manor!"
Of course, not everyone joined the fray.
Alone, Mok Kyung-un did not participate in the battle.
Pretending to follow naturally, he slipped to the side, moving to a less conspicuous spot.
'Time to leave, I suppose.'
There was no reason to defend this place.
He didn't care if these people died fighting the masked intruders or not.
Just one thing bothered him.
'That scar.'
The mark on Clan Head Mok In-dan's side.
It was similar to that insignia.
He wanted to ask how it got there, but coincidentally, the incident erupted.
'Should I help?'
He pondered.
Then Mok Kyung-un felt something strangely filling up.
'This is... ah!'
It was none other than death qi.
Mok Kyung-un closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and sensed the rapidly swelling aura of death.
'Nice.'
In a short time, a considerable number had died.
Otherwise, death qi wouldn't overflow everywhere like this.
He couldn't ignore it.
'I want to absorb it.'
Such opportunities were rare.
But masked men were popping up everywhere, and a moment's carelessness could be dangerous.
-Pat!
Then someone appeared beside him.
A seductively beautiful woman—Go Chan, the escort possessing Ha Chae-rin's body.
"Young Master. Are you alright?"
He had rushed to Mok Kyung-un amid the sudden raid.
With their connection, finding him wasn't hard.
Mok Kyung-un chuckled and said.
"Perfect timing. Can you watch over me for a bit?"
"Yes?"
"Then I'm counting on you."
With that, Mok Kyung-un sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
He began absorbing the ceaselessly flowing death qi around him via the Reverse Earth Absorption Method.
'What? What is he doing now?'
Go Chan was momentarily dumbfounded by the sight.
Even if he had no attachment to Timber Sword Manor, was he that bold? Truly audacious.
To circulate qi in what was essentially a battlefield.
But he could guess why Mok Kyung-un was doing this.
'Not qi, but absorbing this?'
Though possessing Ha Chae-rin, Go Chan was a vengeful spirit.
Thus, he had ghost eyes, and he could see the dead's energy flowing rapidly into Mok Kyung-un from all directions.
To ghost eyes, the vital energy or life force of living humans was clear and warm.
Yet Mok Kyung-un absorbing death qi was the complete opposite.
'Is this guy really human?'
Only in death did he learn this guy's true face.
Somehow, he felt even more terrified.
That was when it happened.
-Sruruk!
'Huh?'
From somewhere, a massive monk wearing skull prayer beads around his neck appeared.
It was the Demon Monk, who had possessed the outer hall leader's body.
But why had the Demon Monk returned to his vengeful spirit state?
'That startled me.'
Go Chan, jumping in shock at the sudden appearance, soon recalled Mok Kyung-un mentioning another servant spirit besides Cheong-ryeong.
'I heard he possessed the outer hall leader's body.'
Puzzled, Go Chan asked.
"Ar-are you Demon Monk Senior?"
-........
The Demon Monk nodded and said something.
It sounded mumbled, but he understood.
"You lost your body to a strong foe?"
Losing his body—did that mean the possessed flesh had been defeated?
As far as he knew, Outer Hall Leader Sang Ung-baek was a peak-entry master.
If even he lost his body, just how strong was the foe...
-Kwajik!
"Gahk!"
Then came the sound of something crunching, followed by an agonized scream, and a tall, scar-covered man with a thick-bladed greatsword slung over his shoulder vaulted over the hall.
He exuded an ominous presence, and the Demon Monk furrowed his brow, pointing at him with a finger.
-........
"Him? That guy?"
That man had killed the Demon Monk's possessed body?
As he watched, the scar-covered man's eyes met Go Chan's.
At that instant,
-Himk!
'Wh-what?'
Ha Chae-rin's peak-level senses were strongly warning him.
That the man before them was an extraordinary master.
If even Ha Chae-rin's body instinctively went on utmost alert, just what level was he?
He couldn't even gauge it.
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