Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 16
>Chapter Title: Corpse Blood Valley (1)
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A dark forest.
A woman with a seductive appearance, wearing a bamboo hat, hung from the top of a tree, staring intently in a certain direction.
A faint light visible in the distance.
About a hundred zhang away, that place was the Heaven and Earth Society's campsite.
"Damn it. What the hell am I doing here?"
The identity of the woman grumbling inwardly was Ha Chae-rin, a candidate for sect leader of the Shadow Assassins Sect.
No, it was the escort warrior Go Chan, who had possessed Ha Chae-rin's body.
He had been relentlessly tracking them ever since Mok Kyung-un had been acupointed by the Bright Dao King and essentially kidnapped.
Normally, for tracking, he would close the distance more than this, but because of the monstrous expert known as the Bright Dao King, he was maintaining this range to avoid being detected by getting too close.
"At least I know the general location, so I can follow along."
The problem lay elsewhere.
As a food spirit, he was connected in series, so he could instinctively know where Mok Kyung-un was.
But there was no way to get closer.
In fact, if it weren't for the food spirit bond, this would have been the perfect opportunity to distance himself from Mok Kyung-un, but the farther away he got, the more inexplicably anxious he became, making escape impossible.
No, it was impossible from the start.
If Mok Kyung-un died, he would cease to exist as well.
"Hoo. How did things end up like this?"
Even he himself found his situation ridiculous.
He had no talent anyway, and his goal had been to retire and live quietly, but not only had he died absurdly, now he was trapped in this woman's body, serving as a slave.
"What rotten luck."
It would be hard to find someone with such a harsh fate.
In any case, to remain in this world even a little longer, he had no choice but to serve Mok Kyung-un well.
"I need to find a way to infiltrate somehow."
For now, he was keeping his distance out of caution for the Bright Dao King, but he couldn't just keep trailing behind forever.
He needed a natural way to infiltrate the Heaven and Earth Society.
"Yeah. Instead of dragging this out, I should find that method first."
He was a former assassin, after all.
He was seasoned in infiltration.
And by sifting through Ha Chae-rin's memories, there were even infiltration methods he had never tried before.
"Seduction? ...Like hell."
Just recalling them gave him chills.
No matter what, he wanted to preserve his last shred of pride.
* * *
-Clatter clatter!
Thus, a fortnight passed.
The method of travel was repetitive.
Every two days, they passed through someplace, and each time, masked men brought in boys aged 15 to 18.
Repeating this, their numbers had already swelled to over a hundred.
Curious about why, Mok Kyung-un had asked Sorcerer Jo Ui-gong a couple of times, but the response was always that it wasn't his concern.
"Why is that, I wonder?"
At Mok Kyung-un's question, a voice emanated from the wooden doll on his shoulder.
-I don't know.
"You said you were part of the Heaven and Earth Society."
-It's been a full century since this one left the Society's hands. How would even I know how it operates now?
She too found it hard to understand why.
She had one guess, but the method seemed rather odd.
Was there really a need to recruit manpower this way?
"I always feel like every time you mention it, it sounds like the Heaven and Earth Society belonged to Cheong-ryeong."
-........
"You're not denying it?"
-Frivolous nonsense.
Cheong-ryeong oddly disliked talking about the past.
Was it anger from even recalling memories?
Or was there something she wanted to hide?
Mok Kyung-un found it strange, but it was only a fleeting thought, and he soon erased the doubt from his mind.
More importantly, what came next.
"We'll arrive soon."
-Why are you tense?
"Who knows."
-It would be good to be tense. Even though you've learned the Moon Vein's sword path from this one, at your mortal level, you're barely scraping into first-rate.
First-rate entry level.
That was Mok Kyung-un's current martial arts state.
Just a fortnight ago, he had barely crossed from third-rate to second-rate.
However, by absorbing and assimilating the substantial amount of death qi gained from the battle at Timber Sword Manor, he had formed a dantian equivalent to half a jia in that time.
In terms of internal energy alone, he had reached first-rate.
If others knew, it would be shocking.
In truth, though she spoke casually, Cheong-ryeong had been quite surprised inwardly.
"Can't dismiss it as mere luck."
From the supremacy art called the Eight Forms of Breaking Thought, to successive fortuitous encounters akin to heavenly opportunities, it was hard to deny his remarkable talent.
Reaching first-rate entry in less than a month of learning martial arts was truly astonishing.
Perhaps his late start was compensated by martial fortune.
"But you're still far off."
Even with such miraculous growth, the situation remained dire.
Considering that even when she was alive, there were quite a few first-rate or higher experts within the Heaven and Earth Society, there might be even more now.
With his current skill, not only revenge against his clan grandfather, but even continuing the Moon Vein's legacy was impossible.
"I need to grow stronger faster."
To do that, he needed to push even harder.
From first-rate onward, it was the realm of enlightenment.
Without enlightenment, progressing further could take a year or turn into a decade, and without fortune, one might stagnate for life.
* * *
Countless mountain peaks too numerous to take in at a glance, with a single river like a vein of blood flowing between them.
The sight below in the sunset was quite a spectacle.
With the river as a base, the peaks formed natural walls, creating a massive city.
This was the headquarters of the Heaven and Earth Society, one of the three powers dividing the current Central Plains martial world.
The inner castle at the city's center.
-Creeeak!
As the gates opened, warriors in the inner castle formed two lines and cheered at the sight of a tall man riding in like a triumphant general.
"Waaaaah!!!!"
The man at the front was Son Yun, one of the Heaven and Earth Society's Five Kings, the Bright Dao King.
Behind him followed a procession of some three hundred.
The men in black attire were the Society's warriors, and the hundred in white were the boys they had brought this time.
Startled by the cheers, the boys flinched and took a step forward one by one.
The procession thus passed through the inner castle's main avenue to a wide plaza.
"Oh?"
A glint appeared in the eyes of Bright Dao King Son Yun, who had arrived first at the lead.
It was because an unexpected figure awaited.
-Thud!
Son Yun lightly dismounted his horse.
He then cupped his fists in greeting toward the waiting person.
"Bright Dao King Son Yun pays respects to Vice Chairman Mong."
At the greeting, a man in his early forties with white hair and no beard, with snake-like eyes, returned the fist-cup salute and spoke.
"You've had a hard journey, Bright Dao King."
The responding man was none other than the Heaven and Earth Society's second-in-command, Vice Chairman Mong Seo-cheon.
For the vice chairman to come out personally to greet, even for one of the Five Kings like Son Yun, was quite rare.
Son Yun laughed heartily in response.
"Hahaha! What hardship? It was just a trip to get some fresh air after so long."
"Crossing the Righteous Alliance's territory could be dangerous, yet only the Bright Dao King would call it merely getting some fresh air."
"Anyone would think we fought a war and returned in triumph. Let's end the formalities here. Where is the Chairman?"
Having been assigned a special mission, he needed to report.
At the question, Vice Chairman Mong let out a shallow breath before speaking.
"Bright Dao King. I came out personally to urgently convey the Chairman's order regarding that very matter."
"Urgently convey an order? What do you mean?"
Bright Dao King Son Yun asked, puzzled.
He had even sent a messenger pigeon with the general situation, so what was this?
To him, Vice Chairman Mong whispered.
"The Chairman ordered that all those you brought be sent to Corpse Blood Valley without exception, immediately."
"So soon upon arrival. Well, that's why we brought them anyway....."
"Not just them."
"What?"
"He also ordered the child from Timber Sword Manor who mastered what the messenger mentioned, and the hostage child you brought, to be sent to Corpse Blood Valley together."
"!?"
At those words, Bright Dao King Son Yun furrowed his brow and spoke.
".......What do you mean? Did he truly order that?"
"Yes."
Son Yun was momentarily speechless at the firm reply.
Though they hadn't recovered the manual itself, after a hundred years, someone had deciphered the cursed manual and mastered the Timber Forming Sword Art of the severed Moon Vein.
Yet, without even verifying it, send him to Corpse Blood Valley?
"That can't be. I'll go meet the Chairman right now."
"You cannot meet the Chairman now."
"What are you saying? This is the Chairman's direct order. If so, they should extract the incantations from the boy's head first before sending him, this is....."
"Bright Dao King. He said it is an order issued under the Chairman's authority."
"..........Ha!"
Bright Dao King Son Yun was genuinely dumbfounded.
However, the Chairman's order was absolute.
* * *
-Bang!
Someone roughly opened the door of the baggage cart.
It was none other than Sorcerer Jo Ui-gong.
To this, Mok Kyung-un said.
"We've arrived......"
"Things have gone awry."
"Pardon?"
Mok Kyung-un asked back, puzzled at Sorcerer Jo Ui-gong's sudden words.
"What do you mean, gone awry?"
At the question, Jo Ui-gong replied in a somewhat absurd tone.
"The Chairman ordered you to Corpse Blood Valley."
"Corpse Blood Valley?"
"Ha...... To think such an absurd thing would happen."
"........I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No time. Take this first."
What Jo Ui-gong pulled from his bosom and handed over was a ring engraved with tiny letters.
Seeing the letters engraved on the ring, a glint appeared in Mok Kyung-un's eyes.
They were incantations used in specific talismans.
"With a few of these engraved here, you can perform sorcery with hand seals alone, without talismans."
"How did you......"
"Listen well. The odds of surviving unscathed in Corpse Blood Valley are less than ten percent."
"What do you mean?"
"Survive somehow. I'll inform the Hall Leader and get you out of there one way or another, so endure no matter what."
"Endure......"
It was right then.
"That's far enough."
-Rumble!
Before Mok Kyung-un could finish, warriors wearing red belts and red headbands burst into the baggage cart.
* * *
"You!"
Regaining his senses, Mok Yu-cheon glared at Mok Kyung-un.
For a fortnight, he had been unconscious from the blood seal, except for two meals a day and one chance to relieve himself.
Naturally, he was furious at Mok Kyung-un for doing such a thing.
"What the hell did you......"
-Thwack!
"Ugh!"
But soon, he couldn't say another word as a warrior struck him from behind with a staff.
Though the blood, mute, and demon seals had been released, with six Forbidden Gate Locks—a type of needle—inserted into his six vital gates, his internal energy was sealed, making resistance impossible.
"Hey. Shut your mouth and walk."
"........."
Mok Yu-cheon, twitching his lips in displeasure, soon closed his mouth and obeyed the order.
For now, he had no choice but to follow their commands.
"Damn it."
Waking up to this mess—what the hell?
Was this how the Heaven and Earth Society treated hostages?
Following the person ahead, they walked single file down a dark, narrow slope, feeling exactly like prisoners being led to labor.
"What the hell are they planning?"
Unlike the confused Mok Yu-cheon, Mok Kyung-un remained utterly calm.
Partly because Sorcerer Jo Ui-gong's warning had already informed him something was wrong.
"What is Corpse Blood Valley?"
That was his immediate question.
Why go to such lengths, even implanting Forbidden Gate Locks, to send them there?
Even Cheong-ryeong didn't know what Corpse Blood Valley was.
Harboring these doubts, they walked nonstop for about three shichen, until finally, a wide, shallow valley lit with torches on all sides came into view.
"Were there this many?"
There, countless boys were gathered, sobbing in unison.
Adding the hundred including Mok Kyung-un and Mok Yu-cheon made it seem around eight hundred at a glance.
As they arrived, a resounding voice echoed.
"Welcome to Corpse Blood Valley."
All eyes turned there.
There was a large incense burner and a massive rock.
Atop the rock stood a man in a gray demon mask, hands behind his back, arrogantly.
As all looked on, the demon mask spoke.
"From now on, you have work to do."
With that, he pulled something from his bosom.
It was none other than an iron bead about the size of a finger joint.
"What is that?"
"What are they going to do?"
As everyone wondered puzzledly, the demon mask said.
"The allotted time is two gak. In the valley stream, there are iron beads like this. Find one and bring it to this large incense burner. Those who fail to find one die."
"!!!!!!"
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