Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Subduing Demon Hall
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And then a bizarre voice echoed from somewhere.
[Are you an acquaintance of Mangnyang?]
I couldn't tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman. I calmly scanned my surroundings, but detected no plausible presence. I roared back in response.
"Who are you? Where have all the villagers gone?"
[Heh heh heh... I can't let a member of the Anti-Heaven Alliance go free. This place will be your grave.]
Anti-Heaven Alliance?
Before I could react to the incomprehensible words, plant stems erupted from all directions. Each stem was over three張 in thickness, and it seemed something was buried in the center of the village. The tendrils shot out like tentacles, lunging at me with tremendous speed.
*Slash*
As I unleashed Heavenly Thunder Palm to cleave through the stems, the voice sounded surprised.
[Oh? Impressive skill.]
"Are you a sorcerer? What have you done with Mangnyang?"
[Hahaha... It changes nothing. Die!]
Mad cackling reverberated as the plant stems thrashed even more violently, attacking me. If this were five years ago, I wouldn't have even dreamed of facing those grotesque tendrils head-on—I'd have just dodged.
"Hah!"
But now, I scoffed and activated Thunder Command breathing technique, charging straight toward the center. A single flash streaked by, and the stems burst spectacularly, spewing viscous fluid.
*Splatter!!*
Then, I unleashed Thunder Cloud Palm with full power toward the bulb at the center of the stems.
*Boom!*
[Arghhhh...]
A scream echoed. As I'd suspected, the foe was controlling the plant stems from inside it. Scorched black all over by the Thunder Spirit Finger Technique, it writhed as it crawled out of the bulb. When I saw the sorcerer emerge, my eyes widened.
"......!!"
It wasn't human!
It resembled an insect—closer to a fly, really. A fly-man stood there. The only hint of humanity was its two legs; the rest was a grotesque monster that defied classification as a fly. Proboscises writhed from its bright red mouth. Any ordinary human would lose heart at the mere sight.
As I stood stunned, the sorcerer shrieked.
[You bastard... How dare you gaze upon this splendid body bestowed by the gods! Die!]
It convulsed wildly and sprang at me like a coiled spring. So far beyond human form, I was momentarily speechless, then bisected it with a single sword stroke. Bluish bodily fluid sprayed, and its remains rolled across the ground.
"What the hell is going on? What is this thing?"
Shaking off my confusion, I headed toward Mangnyang's residence above Jinrang Valley. On the way up the mountain, more bizarre freaks ambushed me.
*Skreee!!*
"Snakes?!"
More precisely, they were humans with serpentine lower bodies and faces. Armed with swords and tridents in their arms, they bounded toward me like springs. I couldn't tell if they could speak human tongue, but their speed would trouble even skilled experts. I effortlessly evaded their attacks and stabbed each one, but they didn't slice cleanly as expected.
*Thud*
[Skreee...]
The serpent people had such durability that they died only after being mangled horribly. I'd aimed to dice them painlessly into dozens of pieces, but they perished from sloppy dismemberment. Their innate physiques were far tougher than human. Even as Mangun Formation exerted its full might as before, I realized serpent people kept charging in relentlessly.
'No. These things are just brute-forcing their way through the formation in massive numbers!'
I was astonished. Mangnyang's Mangun Formation hadn't lost any power—it was fully active. But these serpent freaks screeched nonstop, forcing their way through! It was crude and primitive, but with over a hundred of them, they might succeed given enough time.
Having studied the Eight Trigrams Divination, I didn't need to blunder about like them—I could roughly locate the life gate. I pierced the Mangun Formation and reached the cabin atop the hill. There, I saw a familiar face.
"Mangnyang!"
"You arrived just in time..."
Mangnyang gazed at me with bitter eyes. He looked quite different from before, clad head to toe in crow-black robes. He'd fully assimilated the Black and White Lotus I'd given him, radiating peak-level internal energy.
I glanced at the reddening sky over Jinrang Valley and asked.
"What the hell is all this? What are those things?"
"It's because the Embroidered Uniform Guard found traces of the Seven Luminaries."
"What?"
Mangnyang glanced toward the Mangun Formation.
"Thanks to you cutting down nearly half the serpent people, we've bought some time. Still, when the demonic beasts arrive, it'll be breached— we need to flee quickly."
"Explain, fast."
Mangnyang began his slow explanation.
"During that time, I cultivated my internal energy with the Black and White Lotus you gave me, learned martial arts, and studied sorcery. The synergy elevated my sorcery to a level where I could hold my own. Gaining confidence, I headed to Liaodong."
"Liaodong?"
"Balhae's ancient lands were nearby. There, I found clues to the phoenix fragment—and uncovered something astonishing."
Mangnyang extended his hand. In it lay a silver phoenix fragment, shattered—or rather, as if it had always been in pieces. After staring at it for a long while, Mangnyang spoke.
"This was a diagram meant to be disassembled in a specific sequence. It also contained the last king of Balhae's account of why Balhae fell. Balhae perished in a massive volcanic eruption. But the cause of that eruption... was the Seven Luminaries."
"Was something like the Water Luminary Divine Sword Makkaya nearby?"
I recalled the massive storm that had raged when I unsealed Makkaya. Mangnyang nodded.
"The Earth Luminary's divine treasure was the world's first Bagua Diagram, bestowed by Fuxi of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Precisely, the Eight Trigrams Chart. When someone removed the Earth Luminary's treasure from its seal, the ley lines stabilized by the trigrams were disrupted, triggering the volcano that destroyed the Balhae Empire."
"......!!"
It was an unbelievable tale. No matter how mighty the Seven Luminaries' treasures, could they really shift ley lines, erupt volcanoes, and topple empires? As my jaw dropped, Mangnyang continued.
"But in my investigations, I learned who took that Earth Luminary treasure."
"Who?"
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard... More precisely, a clan lurking behind the emperor. They've obsessively collected the Seven Luminaries for centuries, toppling dynasties as needed. The current Guard is likely under their control."
"......"
"I've dubbed their faction the Subduing Demon Hall on my own."
My head spun from the sudden information. But one thing was clear: during my five years of training, the Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn't idled—they'd gathered the Seven Luminaries' treasures for some plot.
Mangnyang pressed on.
"To uncover the Subduing Demon Hall's true face, I formed the Anti-Heaven Alliance and operated for the past few years. Righteous folk aided me. But the Guard and the academy have apparently deciphered the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture, breeding sorcerers. Now they wield power we can barely resist..."
"Those bizarre sorcerers and serpent people outside?"
"Demonic minions of the Subduing Demon Hall, summoned via the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture's spells."
I was floored.
"What...? Didn't the otherworldly sorcerers' escape make deciphering the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture impossible?"
"Doesn't seem so. The Subduing Demon Hall must have summoned otherworldly beings in their place."
"......!!"
I was horrified. More monsters on par with that grotesque one?!
Listening to the serpent people's skreeching outside, Mangnyang muttered despondently.
"They've gained such otherworldly power they no longer need human sacrifices. They've probably found one of the Seven Luminaries in recent years..."
"Finding just one turned things this bad?"
"You know the blessings we received from merely venerating its manual? Properly wielding a Luminary's power makes that trivial..."
"........"
I gritted my teeth.
I'd thought it was over, but no. Mangnyang continued.
"As the Subduing Demon Hall's Guard closed in, I summoned you to Jinrang Valley to share this before it was too late. But they beat us by a step."
"We can still flee. Follow me."
"...Please do."
I led Mangnyang down from the Mangun Formation. Serpent people lunged with metallic shrieks, but I cut them down relentlessly. Normally, their group assaults would trouble me, but I'd endured Lee Gwang's scorn at Azure Dragon Martial Hall for nothing—I'd trained hard. Flashing Thunder Command intermittently, I slew over fifty in moments.
Mangnyang marveled at my skills.
"I-Incredible. Each serpent person is a handful even for first-class experts..."
"Hmph. Think some piddling first-class expert impresses me now?"
Teasing him lightly, I hurried down to Jinrang Valley village.
"Let's go."
*Tat-tat-tat*
We dashed toward the nearest forest. Mangnyang kept pace with lightness skill—he'd mastered advanced martial arts in just a few years, reaching the level of a decent later-generation martial artist.
'Mangnyang had solid martial talent too, it seems.'
I felt a twinge of envy. Apart from sorcery, he excelled at everything. Deeper into the forest, I spotted rotten-corpse-like monsters spewing crimson flames from all sides. They too were otherworldly freaks, far from human.
*Boom*
"Urgh... No end to them."
I'd already given up on the Jinrang Valley folk. They'd likely become nutrients for that root-controlling sorcerer. My goal now was just to save Mangnyang and escape.
That's when it happened.
*Squeee-*
A eerie cry rang out. Mangnyang paled at the sound.
"N-No way, Flying Gut Beasts!"
"What're those?"
"Th-Those... triangular footprints... Ugh... We're in trouble."
Spotting the bizarre tracks on the ground, Mangnyang shoved my back urgently, his face ashen.
"Leave me and go. The monster coming now is more vicious and terrifying than the one you faced. They swarm in packs—hopeless. I'll hide with Invisibility Technique. You run without looking back!"
"If I take you with me..."
"No! Please, just go. They're truly dreadful."
With that, Mangnyang pulled out talismans and began setting up a formation around himself. It seemed his power could shield only one. Seeing him frantically cast spells, too panicked to speak, stirred my defiance.
'I've got confidence to slay demonic beasts now. Why flee from some bird-brained ones?'
Five years of blood-soaked training would feel wasted. If worst came to worst, I'd flee—but for now, I quietly roused Thunder Command breathing.
*Rustle-rustle*
Something approached. Far off, I spotted massive, semi-transparent shapes swarming toward us. Monsters several times a buffalo's size floated half-invisible through the air, nearly unseen. Unbelievable—they couldn't have spawned naturally.
I bellowed heartily, unleashing sword qi.
"Hah! Take this!!"
*Slash!*
Advancing beyond Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship into the Myriad Victory Sword Arts, I unleashed the swift and illusory formulas relentlessly. Hundreds of sword qi strands surged, swirling around one charging Flying Gut Beast. Fast and sturdy as it seemed, it was still shredded by the qi.
But my expression didn't brighten.
*Kee-kee-kiik*
The other Flying Gut Beasts beside it suddenly generated wind pressure in unison. Long fleshy tendrils writhed, circling my openings—utterly repulsive.
I surged my internal energy, scattering Thunder Cloud Palms everywhere. Struck by lightning, they staggered briefly but recovered without major damage. From that, I realized something.
'Th-These things... barely take physical damage! Only pure qi or natural forces...'
*Boom*
*Squeeee-*
Before I could regret the insight, invisible monsters rampaged wildly, hundreds assaulting me at once. They even fired beams from the sky.
"Uwaaaah."
I resisted with all I had, but cleaving dozens yielded no end. Soon, other otherworldly monsters joined, spraying fluids from afar.
*Thud-thud-thud*
Half a shichen later, one monster's tendril burst my skull.
That was my ninth death.