Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 19
>Chapter Title: Gu Poison (3)
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It was on the verge of completing its mutation, gradually regaining its reason.
Even as reason returned, it was still corroded by madness, making the endless hunger unavoidable.
Thus, it devoured whatever came its way without cease.
The only things it could devour were vengeful spirits in the same plight as itself.
For over a decade, it had eaten these vengeful spirits trapped at the base of this cliff, screaming and suffering in torment—and it kept eating them.
It had not always been this way from the start.
When the vengeful spirits devoured one another, it had merely fled and hidden out of a desire to survive.
But that desire to live eventually led to an explosion of resentment and madness.
Caught in madness, it had been devouring whatever crossed its path for over a decade now, trapped in that cycle of repetition—until something else intruded.
It looked toward the chained being with curiosity.
‘A human?’
Could it be a living being?
For so long, this place had been filled only with vengeful spirits.
New ones periodically appeared to replenish their numbers, but no living creature had ever shown up.
And yet, a living being had appeared in this hellish pit?
-Shiver shiver shiver!
It could not contain its excitement.
The dead vengeful spirits could not sate this maddening famine.
But this living being that had appeared was more than enough to pique its interest.
‘Fear me.’
It sought to instill fear and terror in it.
The fear and dread from a living being was the greatest nourishment for a vengeful spirit.
But,
“Our opinions align.”
What the hell was this human?
Laughing in a situation like this.
And that smile carried a malice so unpleasant it grated.
Even a slight exertion of force would tear the limbs bound by iron chains, yet it acted with such leisure—it was infuriating.
Fine then. I’ll rip off your limbs one by one and savor your suffering.
-Clang!
Mok Kyung-un, bound by the iron chains, was forcibly dragged forward by a mere gesture from it.
Knowing there was no resisting its power, Mok Kyung-un offered no struggle.
Throughout the process, he still wore that smile on his lips.
Its composure was so unshakable that it only fueled its rage.
It yanked the chains right up to its face and spoke.
-I’ll peel off every bit of your flesh, slice away your meat bit by bit, and devour you down to the bone.
At this threat, Mok Kyung-un sneered.
“You sure have refined tastes.”
-Refined?
Insolent human.
Acting so leisurely right in front of my face.
Fine. Let’s see if you can keep that up after tasting pain.
-Pierce! Rattle rattle!
In an instant, one of the iron chains pierced through Mok Kyung-un’s left shoulder.
Whether his guts spilled out or he was numb to fear—it didn’t matter.
Once he felt the pain, he’d be different.
But,
“Is that all?”
His expression unchanged, he sneered again.
If that wasn’t enough, good.
At its glance, the iron chains filling the ground like writhing snakes began moving as if alive.
-Clang! Rattle rattle!
-Pierce pierce!
One chain pierced his right shoulder, two more his thighs.
Not satisfied, another burrowed into his abdomen.
-Pierce!
This was no pain one could endure with mere mental fortitude.
The chains felt freezing cold and searing hot, delivering agony like flesh burning and freezing the moment they touched skin and organs.
All suffering stemmed from the mind.
This human must be tasting the worst torment imaginable...
‘!?’
What was this guy?
His expression hadn’t changed.
He even scoffed openly, staring right at it.
How could a living being, bound by the fetters of flesh, endure such pain so casually?
As it reeled in astonishment, Mok Kyung-un spoke.
“Did you think I’d be scared or scream in pain from something like this?”
-..........
“You’re wasting your time.”
-Grrrrrr!
No sooner had Mok Kyung-un’s mocking words ended than the entire space shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
It was furious.
How dare this pathetic thing mock me?
Fine then. I’ll eat you alive, just as you wish.
-Rattle rattle!
The chains pulled, dragging Mok Kyung-un—his limbs held fast—right up to its face.
It then opened its mouth grotesquely wide.
The maw gaping between the chains bore no resemblance to a human’s.
Having devoured countless vengeful spirits and mutated, it was lined with hundreds of sharp spines, and purple mist leaked from within.
-Grraaah!
Its mouth expanded enough to swallow Mok Kyung-un in one bite.
-Rattle rattle!
The chains embedded in his body began releasing one by one.
With a jolt, Mok Kyung-un’s body drew closer to its maw.
-Rattle rattle!
It was just as his head and shoulders reached the gaping mouth.
In that moment, something foreign detached from Mok Kyung-un.
-Thud!
It dismissed it as mere blood or flesh flaking off—nothing noteworthy.
But the instant it slid down its throat,
-Sizzle sizzle!
Agony burned through its throat like fire.
-Guhhh! You! What the—?!
“You shouldn’t let your guard down just because you think you’ve got me.”
The ring on Mok Kyung-un’s finger was gone.
Indeed.
What had slid down its throat was the ring containing the incantation made by the Sorcerer of the Radiation Sect.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un formed a hand seal with one hand and shouted loudly.
-Boom boom boom!
“By the imperial ink divine curse, silent spirits form shadows and mists, supreme structures of silent sutra demon barriers, swiftly dividing and urgently commanding!”
It was the spell of the Imperial Ink Divine Curse.
As his shout echoed, brilliant light erupted from within its mouth.
-Hummmm!
The incantation ring summoned a deity’s descent, exploding with immense power to exorcise the vengeful spirit.
Since it detonated from inside where the incantation resided, its force was...
-Kraaaaa!
Even it, constantly mutating, writhed in agony from the explosive spiritual power.
Yet this was still insufficient to exorcise a being of its caliber.
Its body crumpled temporarily in torment but retained its form.
-Rattle rattle!
Thanks to that momentary weakness, the chains binding him scattered like mist.
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un launched himself toward its agonized, gaping mouth.
-!?
What was this fool doing?
Jumping into its mouth of its own accord?
It seized the chance, aiming to chew and devour the leaping Mok Kyung-un.
That was when Mok Kyung-un thrust his hand toward its throat.
-Smack!
And then,
‘With boundless despair, shift form to heart’s will, no prior obstruction above, formless shift to front, demonic energy fills and reverses the ultimate blood.’
He recited the incantation of the Attachment Form.
It was his gambit.
The most direct way to absorb the demonic energy of this massive lump of resentment.
Targeting its core from within.
Externally bound by chains, this was his only option.
But,
-Whoooosh!
‘Huh?’
As Mok Kyung-un executed the Attachment Form, rather than drawing in its energy, his body was sucked deeper into its mouth, as if overpowered by sheer mass.
As if a hidden space lurked within, Mok Kyung-un’s body plummeted deep inside.
-Whooooosh!
Into darkness like the depths of hell.
Mok Kyung-un’s body was pulled toward its origin.
In the process, fragments of its memories flowed in like a panoramic reel.
[Brother! Brother! I’ll always be with you.]
[I’ll support the household as your right hand. Don’t worry.]
A beaming younger brother following devotedly.
And a stern father.
[This is for the clan’s long-cherished wish. The descendants of the other Five Kings have all agreed, so you must lead by example.]
[Understood.]
Soon, a familiar place appeared in the memory.
Repeated countless times, the darkness revealed the valley where the iron bead contest had unfolded.
[Huff huff... Brother...]
[Take it.]
[But you found this one, brother.]
[Go on ahead. I’ll find another soon.]
[Brother...]
Then another slithering memory continued.
Someone struck the back of its head with a sharp stone.
Gasping, it turned—and there stood the once beaming younger brother, gazing down coldly.
[Y-You... How could you...]
[Damn you. If you just die, everything works out.]
[You... You...]
[Always acting superior, pitying me because you had it all...]
[I... I never...]
[You were just born before me, that’s all.]
With those words, the brother smashed its face with the stone.
Unsated after one blow, he struck repeatedly before vanishing.
Rage and surging emotions accompanied it.
The next vision was entirely different.
Not a memory from life, but from after death.
-Let me eat. Let me eat you.
-Die! Die!
-Die already!
Vengeful spirits lunging madly.
Intense fear and despair welled up.
It built relentlessly.
-Why me...? Why must I be eaten even in death?
-Did I live just to suffer like this?
[Am I... meant to be eaten?]
[I...]
[I... won’t... be... eaten...]
[I’ll... devour... everything!]
As it was bitten and devoured by those vengeful spirits, its madness finally exploded.
-Raaaaah!!!!
The madness of the resentment was so overwhelming it felt like being swallowed in an instant.
At the same time, absurd quantities of demonic energy surged through his palm, accompanied by the screams of countless resentments echoing in his mind.
-I’ll devour you too!
Its madness transmitted over.
Amid the excruciating wails, Mok Kyung-un’s head felt like it would split, but he did not halt the Attachment Form.
‘With boundless despair, shift form to heart’s will, no prior obstruction above, formless shift to front, demonic energy fills and reverses the ultimate blood.’
* * *
-Crush! Shatter!
The vengeful spirit’s head crumbled, eventually oxidizing into ash in the air.
The hand gripping its skull belonged to none other than Cheongnyeong.
With blood-red eyes blazing, Cheongnyeong shouted at the whirlwinds closing in like a siege.
-If you’re so eager to be annihilated, come on then, you little ones.
At her cry, the whirlwinds hesitated, their movements stalling.
Having already annihilated seven near-Hwangryeong-grade entities, she wondered if they were finally feeling fear.
-Flash!
In that instant, immense demonic energy burst outward in all directions.
She frowned and looked toward it.
‘No way?’
Its origin was none other than the massive whirlwind.
As the mutation neared completion, cracks formed in it, releasing all the power it had condensed.
These whirlwinds had paused in reaction to it.
Now, they surged toward it en masse, cracks splitting wide as it tried to manifest.
-Damn it!
She had barely turned her gaze when the situation turned dire.
What was the point of deliberately expanding her blood domain, the realm of the 귀?
She thought just that when,
-Rattle rattle!
-Clang!
From the widening rift poured countless iron chains, indiscriminately binding the approaching whirlwinds and surrounding vengeful spirits.
The force was so overwhelming that even mutating vengeful spirits couldn’t budge.
Even a few Nokryeong-grade ones were the same.
-Raaah!
-Guhhh!
Unable to resist the chains, they were soon,
-Whoooosh!
Dragged bound into the widening rift.
She instinctively knew why this was happening.
‘It’s trying to complete itself.’
The Gu Poison was finally about to be born.
It intended to fill the remaining gaps by devouring whatever it could, transforming into the most ideal—no, the most horrific—form.
Then, a thick iron chain flew toward her.
Not content with consuming the whirlwinds, it now targeted Cheongnyeong.
‘So it fails after all?’
She muttered as the chain hurtled at her.
She saw the red thread linking her tremble violently.
This signaled her master’s life hung by a thread.
If the red thread oxidized completely amid the shaking, she too would perish.
-Rattle!
The chain sought to coil around her body.
She swung her staff.
Just before contact, the chain’s tip crumbled and the corrosion raced upward.
-Fwoosh!
Cheongnyeong’s form followed the disintegrating chain into the widening rift of the whirlwind.
-Rattle rattle!
-Clang!
Countless chains erupted to seize her, but,
-Smack! Smack!
They were all repelled by her swinging staff.
She passed through the rift and entered within.
At the center, where resentful energy swirled like a raging torrent, stood the being wrapped in iron chains.
First came the echoes of the dragged resentments’ screams in her ears.
-Run. Run. Run.
[The grudge has reached its end.]
[A being of deep despair’s blue malice is born.]
Blue malice.
It signified reaching Cheongnyeong grade.
Normally, the worst vengeful spirit, born only after a century of deep grudge, but here artificially completed through mutual devouring into Gu Poison.
-Whoooosh!
Even the screaming vengeful spirits were sucked in, thickening the chains enveloping the being.
She snorted derisively.
-Arrogant little thing. You think you’re the only one who’s been through it?
As she stepped forward, blood droplets surged upward from the ground at the center.
With each step, they spread outward.
Clashing with the being’s domain of chains, space rippled here and there, blue flames igniting like tree roots.
-Crackle crackle!
Cheongnyeong’s blood-red eyes deepened in hue.
-Give me the mortal, or you’ll be annihilated the moment you’re born, little one.
-Rooooar!
The energy surged tremendously.
It was then. As Cheongnyeong took another step, the chain-wrapped being suddenly twisted wildly.
Condensed resentment energy blasted fiercely through the gaps.
-Clang! Clang!
Was it thrashing because the Gu Poison neared completion?
She thought so when,
The chains encircling it constricted upon itself.
As if squeezing tight.
‘What?’
The transformation was utterly bizarre.
As she puzzled, cracks suddenly formed in the tightening chains.
-Crack!
One crack.
It split into two, then rapidly multiplied.
Soon the cracks shattered the chains, which fell to the ground in chunks.
Was the completed Gu Poison finally revealing itself?
-Swish!
Cheongnyeong raised her staff, ready to confront it.
Then, as all chains fell away, a figure emerged.
It was none other than,
-The mortal!?
Mok Kyung-un.
Her eyes narrowed.
-Rooooar!
The immense demonic energy emanating from his body was condensed as if ready to explode.
Had he been possessed by the completed Gu Poison?
With anger lacing her voice, Cheongnyeong aimed her staff and spoke.
-Foolish thing. You got eaten after all?
At her question, Mok Kyung-un’s lips twitched. He looked at Cheongnyeong and opened his mouth.
“I didn’t get eaten. I ate it.”
'!!!!!!'
[Chapter 19 Gu Poison (3)] End