Chapter 64: Time to Kill Her and Move On
How much time had passed? The eastern sky was slowly brightening.
The small tree, which had swayed wildly as if battered by a storm, now welcomed the quiet morning as if nothing had happened.
Beneath that tree lay Yeop Hyeon, sprawled out on the ground in a spread-eagle position. The black-robed woman hung limply from the tree, her clothes caught on its branches.
The woman looked utterly exhausted, as if she hadn't slept a wink.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon's body twitched. Slowly, he sat up cross-legged on the ground.
"Ugh... my head..."
Feeling a splitting headache, Yeop Hyeon shook his head repeatedly. The pain seemed to ease a little.
He suddenly looked up at the woman. Her flawless, beautiful body and the lingering heat of the passionate night before flooded into his vision.
Yeop Hyeon averted his gaze and hurriedly searched for the Heavenly Maiden.
"Heavenly Maiden? Why didn't you stop me?"
"How was I supposed to stop you? You think I should have detoxified you or something?"
"Do you not have the ability to detoxify it?"
"I do."
As Yeop Hyeon opened his mouth to speak, the Heavenly Maiden cut him off.
"Do you know what I hate most? People without integrity. That woman broke her own word, so this is her just deserts!"
"Heavenly Maiden... but I..."
"What exactly are you dissatisfied about?"
"......"
"Let's just kill her and go."
'Kill her?'
As Yeop Hyeon gaped, the Heavenly Maiden spoke calmly.
"Or what? Do you want to end up worse than a bug in that girl's hands? I'm warning you now—don't rely on me. I already used up a lot of power manifesting last time. If I force it again, things will get even worse. And I only have about a day left. After that, I'll fall into deep slumber. So no matter what, you must find the Dochik within today!"
Yeop Hyeon's expression darkened instantly.
"Heavenly Maiden, are you alright?"
"Finding the Dochik will make me better!"
Yeop Hyeon nodded and turned his gaze back to the woman. She had lifted her head straight, staring at him. Her expression was serene beyond words—no emotion showed in her eyes.
Yeop Hyeon hesitated as he approached her and met her eyes.
"You were my first, and I was yours. So we're even..."
Yeop Hyeon picked up her tattered clothes and slowly dressed her. As his hand brushed her skin, he felt an involuntary twitch in part of his body, and a surge of impulse rose within him.
'Is there still some aphrodisiac left?'
Yeop Hyeon took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. This reaction wasn't his own—it had to be from the lingering drug!
"The drug's effects left your body long ago."
"......"
Embarrassed by the Heavenly Maiden's words, Yeop Hyeon steadied his mind and finished dressing her.
But her clothes were shredded by him beyond repair—they offered no coverage. Even dressed, her bare skin was fully exposed.
With no choice, Yeop Hyeon removed his own outer robe, draped it over her, and turned away.
"If you don't kill me, you'll regret it!"
From behind him came her emotionless cry.
Yeop Hyeon halted.
"Even if you kill me, I'll always be your first man... haha..."
With that, Yeop Hyeon bolted away.
Moments later, once he was far out of sight, the two sword gleams binding her body vanished.
Regaining her freedom, the woman's expression twisted savagely.
Boom—!
Lightning erupted from her body. The forest for dozens of jang around her turned to ash in an instant!
She shot into the air, scouring the surroundings, but no trace of Yeop Hyeon's energy remained. It was as if he had never existed in this world!
Her face contorted hideously.
Soon after, her figure flickered and reappeared outside a city gate—Jeoguk's imperial capital.
The soldiers atop the walls spotted her and knelt in haste.
"We greet Your Highness!"
"We greet Your Highness!"
Her figure blurred again, entering the palace. Every soldier she passed knelt in reverence.
Finally reaching a grand hall deep in the palace, she sat on the dragon throne at the highest seat and began drawing intently.
Moments later, a portrait of a man appeared on the paper.
It was Yeop Hyeon!
"Convey to the Gold Crow Guard! Within three days, go to Jiang Kingdom, find this man, and report everything about him!"
From the side of the hall came a voice.
"May we kill him?"
The woman made no reply, her face cold as ice.
Yeop Hyeon raced madly through the deep mountains.
"Heavenly Maiden, am I too soft-hearted?"
"If you'd actually killed that girl, I wouldn't even want to look at you."
"What do you mean? You're the one who told me to kill her first."
"Killing someone who can't even stand means you're afraid of them. A sword cultivator must stay farthest from that fear. You didn't kill her because you weren't afraid—or because you believe you'll grow stronger than her someday. That's praiseworthy."
Yeop Hyeon scratched his head.
"Heavenly Maiden, honestly, I didn't think that deeply..."
"......"
Realizing his mistake, Yeop Hyeon hurriedly added,
"O-Of course, you're right a hundred times over. How could a real man fear a woman? Once I become a Sword Immortal, she'll consider that night the greatest achievement of her life..."
"Enough! Keep talking, and I might just cut your head off myself!"
"......"
The next day, Yeop Hyeon finally returned to Yangjie Mountain.
"Heavenly Maiden, in the end, I couldn't figure out where that woman sensed the earth power from..."
"Follow my directions!"
Yeop Hyeon nodded and quickened his pace.
Guided by the Heavenly Maiden, he arrived once more at the Sword Lord's cave. Familiar with the interior, he soon reached the underground palace entrance.
"Don't go in—turn right!"
Turning right, Yeop Hyeon faced a dead-end wall.
"Smash it!"
Boom—!
One fist from Yeop Hyeon crumbled the wall, revealing another behind it.
"Smash them all!"
After smashing walls for about half a gak, a narrow path of stone stairs appeared before Yeop Hyeon.
'This place is a whole other world!'
He was stunned by the sight.
"Let's go down."
Yeop Hyeon nodded and descended slowly. The cave was so deep that even after walking for a full si-jin, the end wasn't in sight.
Another half si-jin later, he felt the surroundings grow suddenly hot.
"Keep going!"
Urged by the Heavenly Maiden, Yeop Hyeon descended silently. Another half si-jin passed, and the heat intensified to the point where his face flushed red.
"Heavenly Maiden, it's too hot!"
A moment later, her voice came.
"Unfurl your sword veil and wrap it around your body."
Yeop Hyeon immediately drew his Spirit Water Sword and enveloped himself in a sword net. The heat dropped significantly.
"Hurry!"
Though the temperature kept rising, Yeop Hyeon pushed on.
Dochik!
He recalled the Heavenly Maiden's words. She had said her power surged dramatically with each Dochik acquired.
But right now, the second-floor entity was more pressing. He had to find the Dochik and calm it somehow—or risk getting slapped again at any moment.
And those slaps hurt like hell...
A full si-jin later, Yeop Hyeon could descend no further. He had reached a river of lava!
Then, in the center of the lava, a brown object floating caught his eye.
Squinting, Yeop Hyeon saw it was the character for "Earth" (土). Astonishingly, the lava evaporated whenever it tried to engulf the character!
"Heavenly Maiden!? That's..."
Dochik!
The Heavenly Maiden shouted.
If you subdue it, whenever you stand on the earth, you'll gain boundless power from it. With this Dochik, you'll conquer the first floor of the Gyeok Ok Tower. Then you can store items there or trap enemies.
Unable to contain his excitement, Yeop Hyeon yelled,
"How do I subdue it?"
"Don't get excited. It's damaged, but it'll instinctively resist. Brace for some pain."
"I can endure a bit of pain!"
"Good. From now on, follow my instructions in your mind. First, slowly sense the Gyeok Ok Tower. Then summon it..."
Yeop Hyeon closed his eyes slowly. After some time, when he opened them, a small tower shape appeared between his brows.
Boom—!
In an instant, the lava beneath his feet vanished. The "Earth" character trembled, then turned into a beam of brown light and was sucked into the mark between his brows.
Crack!
Something shattered, and Yeop Hyeon's pupils dilated wildly. Red veins bulged in his eyes.
"Urgh..."
Cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across his entire body, fresh blood spurting from them.
"Heavenly Maiden... this... this isn't just pain... I'm gonna die..."
"Hm, looks like I overestimated you..."
"......"
I'm done for!
Yeop Hyeon screamed inwardly. His body was literally shattering to pieces.
Right then, the Gyeok Ok Tower mark between his brows vanished. Simultaneously, a brown mist enveloped his body.
Thud—!
His body reeled from the massive impact. Endless brown mist surged from all directions, entering through his feet.
Soon, the cracks in his body began healing miraculously.
Recovery!
The absorbed Dochik was aiding his body's repair.
Even so, the pain wracking his entire body was so excruciating that death seemed preferable.
It felt like a heavenly army and demonic horde were tearing his body in all directions.
The agony of his limbs being ripped apart nearly made him pass out. He gritted his teeth and endured.
Blacking out now would lead to a miserable end.