Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: It Was Real? (3)
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He lightly tapped the peak and moved to the next spot, arriving at his destination in an instant.
As Mujin descended the mountain, he surveyed the terrain.
'This is the place, right?'
-No doubt about it.
This was before the information about the azure crystal oil leaked out. Right in the midst of the great demonic war, the Demonic Cult of the Demon God had seized it. After that, their forces grew dramatically stronger.
Even though there was a significant time difference from the present, claiming it first could disrupt the Demonic Cult's movements.
It might seem trivial, but that small difference could lead to massive repercussions later on. Still, it wasn't enough to overturn the overall balance. The Demonic Cult wouldn't weaken just from losing one azure crystal oil.
Thud. Hummm!
Mujin lightly tapped the ground made of jagged rocks with his foot. If there was a cave, there would at least be a faint echo.
"This way."
The echo started and propagated inward, sounding subtly different. An ordinary person wouldn't notice that slight variance, but Mujin's senses transcended the limits. When he focused them intently, he could perceive and disrupt everything within a three-hundred jang radius.
He had found the cave.
Not that jumping around would help much...
Whoosh!
Water was cascading down. The stream from the valley concealed the cave entrance leading inward.
Split!
He cleaved the rock to form a chair. Mujin sat on the stone seat and admired the waterfall plunging from the valley. He could enter alone, but considering their pursuit this far, he decided to show some courtesy. He was practicing the joy of sharing, after all.
Even so.
His patience wasn't infinite.
"Taking their sweet time."
Mujin's mood soured at the lazier-than-expected response. Crossing just a few ridges shouldn't take this long. Their lightness skill hadn't reached the desired level.
"Looks like I need to drill lightness into them separately."
If Cheolho, Nareung, or Yukchil heard that, they might faint mid-run from sheer terror. But reality was harsh. Their training intensity was already set.
A future of dashing through mountains with hundred-geun weights strapped on.
Thud thud thud!
Just as his irritation peaked, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed. Nareung and Cheolho were sprinting full tilt.
Cheolho and Nareung arrived almost simultaneously.
"You two get two drops."
"Thank you."
Much later, Yukchil appeared, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
"You're late. No azure crystal oil for you."
"...Understood."
To Yukchil, the water right in front of him was more urgent than any azure crystal oil. He immediately pressed his mouth to it and gulped desperately. In that moment, nothing—not the oil or anything else—mattered more than water, the elixir of heaven.
After about fifteen minutes, Mujin stood up.
Step, step!
He deployed precise Level Step to avoid wetting his feet. At the same time, he deflected the falling waterfall at a right angle. Using the art of Void Grasping, he seized the cascading water and redirected its flow.
The waterfall lost its path and veered away.
Gasp!
Yukchil was speechless at the astonishing sight. Following Level Step and Void Grasping came a barrier of qi.
"One's lower body should always stay dry."
To keep his lower half from getting wet, Mujin's daily martial arts were growing ever more refined. Indeed, the higher one's mastery, the more convenient even the smallest things became.
'Don't waste martial arts on crap like that!'
Worried about wet clothes or shoes? Why even fuss over that? Who in their right mind uses Level Step and qi barriers for comfort?
He was the type to unfurl a qi umbrella in the rain.
Squandering supreme arts on trivialities. If other martial artists saw it, they'd be horrified. Might as well give those skills to me instead of wasting them.
'He doesn't even hide it anymore!'
He flaunted it openly.
The closer people were, the less he bothered concealing it. Once they knew, he didn't hold back. It was utterly irresponsible—like saying, "Figure it out; I don't care if you know."
Any fallout was for those around him to handle. He had the confidence to deal with it himself, which was maddening.
'Fuck, how do I even report this?'
Eagle Wind Flight, Level Step, qi barrier, Void Grasping—used casually. And if asked why? "It was inconvenient," he'd say truthfully. What then?
They'd be lucky not to get cursed out.
'Cut it out already!'
He made reporting a nightmare. At least if he hid things, there'd be some intrigue to investigate. But he spilled everything unprompted.
Maybe he was saying something with it.
Go ahead and expose it if you want.
If you can handle the consequences.
'That's a threat!'
Having a guy like that as an enemy?
Yukchil shuddered at the mere thought. He couldn't even gauge how strong he was.
Hm?
While he agonized, everyone else had entered the cave. Yukchil steeled himself and parted the water flow to follow inside.
'Waiting a bit wouldn't kill him!'
The cave was far more spacious than it appeared from outside. And pitch black. The light reflected by the waterfall was meager. A short way in, darkness blanketed everything.
Hummm!
No need to worry about lighting. Mujin floated qi orbs into the air, illuminating the cave.
Qi orbs as torches.
'Isn't that overkill?!'
Torchwood was plentiful outside, yet Mujin abused his martial arts.
Were qi orbs made for that? It was enough to make one despair. Die to one, and it's no different from perishing to a torch!
"Smells fishy."
"With all the moisture and moss, maybe there are bugs?"
"I hope so, but there's something weird inside."
"Pardon?"
Mujin's sharpened senses read the contents within. It was a living being. But its energy quality differed from a human's.
"Oh, its energy is stirring."
"......"
"Sharp senses."
No one else but Mujin had noticed. The dormant energy detected the intruders and rapidly awakened.
Whoosh!
The deeper they went, the more the energy fluctuated.
Nareung, Cheolho, and Yukchil also sensed something lurking in the cave. The echoes grew louder. A clear warning to the intruders.
"Do we have to go in?"
"The more this happens, the more we must."
Everyone panicked at Mujin's unique mindset. Normally, detecting danger meant turning back, right? Seeing his eager curiosity made them sigh.
It proved he was in no danger.
"Block your breathing first."
"My breathing? Ah!"
The energy mixed in the humid air grew thicker. Inhaling it made their internal energy react.
"Poison qi!"
The poison intensified with every breath. Without countermeasures, it could paralyze their bodies.
"What the hell is in there?"
"This isn't dangerous?"
Nareung and Yukchil were dying. They circulated their qi to expel the infiltrated poison, but it grew absurdly potent deeper in. Their bodies couldn't hold out.
They couldn't go further.
Nareung and Yukchil debated turning back. Pushing on would lead to more than paralysis.
They could only watch Mujin press ahead. The poison didn't faze him. Inhaling such potent toxin for long could be incurable. But since he wasn't human, it was expected.
"Why's that guy fine?"
What they couldn't understand was Cheolho advancing unfazed. He resisted the poison too. Immunity to all poisons? That seemed unlikely.
Why?
"Idiots are immune to poison."
"I'm not an idiot!"
Cheolho denied it indignantly, but Nareung and Yukchil nodded. It defied logic, but who cared? As the saying went, strong denial was admission.
'Give us some too!'
Regretfully, Nareung and Yukchil turned back. A natural poison this potent meant no ordinary creature. Usually, the ones beside the troublemaker died first. History's truth.
"Convenient."
Mujin welcomed the unknown life form baring its claws and spewing poison. No reaction would've meant wandering seven forks. It saved time.
"I'll kill you painlessly."
If it wasn't human, it had to die. Especially a spirit beast spewing poison—harmful to humans.
Poison beast. Good enough.
If human, it had an owner. Then he'd leave.
One of Mujin's principles: never covet others' belongings. No matter how vital.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"Knew you were an idiot."
"I'm not!"
"It's a compliment."
Don't compliment me like that!
Cheolho grumbled inwardly. He was pretending to be fine, but it wasn't easy. He pushed Iron Blood Lion Art to its limit to resist the poison.
As they neared the target, a vast cavern appeared. Such a huge space inside a cave—nature's power was awe-inspiring.
Slither slither!
A massive life form occupied the cavern's center. The filling poison qi was its exhalations. Its own emissions were far denser.
Whooshhh!
The poison's acidity melted the life form? No—wait, context is the acid from poison.
"What is that thing?"
"...No idea!"
"Figures."
If Yukchil or Nareung were here, they'd have identified it, but the ones who could answer lacked endurance. Scared off by a bit of poison qi—tch tch!
"Whatever it is, it has to die."
The black life form resembled a snake. Differences: a horn at its triangular forehead's tip, and far larger than average—body at least fifty jang long.
Finally, the exasperated Demon King answered.
-It's a Poison-Horned Dark Dragon.
'Oh, a spirit beast.'
A venomous creature harboring a millennium's poison, prized by poison experts as a heavenly elixir. The problem: all who tried capturing it ended up snake food.
Its venom was deadly, but it also boasted immense strength, speed, and durability. Especially its scales, hard as meteorite star iron. Immobile, it was tough; moving, impossible.
Kieeech!
Eerie red light burst from the Poison-Horned Dark Dragon's eyes, accompanied by a ear-piercing shriek. A sonic attack to disorient the mind.
"Sorry for barging in uninvited."
Mental assaults were useless against Mujin.
Cheolho beside him was bothered but immune—thanks to idiocy. A stubborn fool's advantage.
Shuuu!
Mujin vanished from his spot.
Full Army Stance, Prediction Phase.
In an instant, he calculated the Poison-Horned Dark Dragon's moves.
Swish!
When Mujin reappeared, he was atop its head. The startled beast thrust its horn.
As predicted.
He met the stabbing horn with his fist.
Boom!
Crack!
The horn that pierced rock like tofu snapped and ricocheted.
Shudder!
The red glow in the Poison-Horned Dark Dragon's eyes dimmed. The shriek was loud, but ending it in one blow wasn't simple. Yet its vitality faded, and it slumped lifelessly.
"Still just a snake."
It wasn't mere thrusting. He infused Penetrating Scripture with explosive force, pulverizing its brain and organs.
There was reason for the single, overwhelming strike. The cavern wasn't indestructible; resistance risked collapse.
"Now, where's the inner core?"