Chapter 34
Episode 34
Angsinru
As the concealment formation activated and Poison Demon Yayul Seung's figure vanished completely before his eyes,
Se-woon collapsed to the ground.
"Huff... huff..."
His face was deathly pale as he gasped for breath.
From head to toe, his entire body felt as though it were burning in the fires of hell.
This was the backlash of pushing Reverse Heaven Energy beyond its limits.
He had stubbornly endured, refusing to show any weakness before Dokma, but the moment his tension eased, the recoil surged over him like a tidal wave.
Thud! Thud-thud!
His meridians raged wildly, as though they might burst at any moment.
Yet despite the excruciating pain,
Se-woon's gaze remained fixed on the spot where Dokma had disappeared.
An unmistakable regret flickered in his eyes.
"......In the end, I couldn't kill him."
He couldn't shake the frustration of missing the perfect opportunity to behead Dokma.
Had he killed him now, he could have ensured that no further victims would fall in the future.
A bitter taste rose in his throat.
'Just because I regressed doesn't mean I know everything.'
This was entirely his own mistake.
He had been confident that he knew Dokma inside and out, yet he hadn't known about the White Clan's hand in his past—something he hadn't even discovered in his previous life.
For a moment, he had forgotten that martial artists always kept a final trump card hidden until the moment of death.
"Haaah..."
Leaning against a rock, he exhaled deeply.
Still, there were some silver linings.
'It's not like I gained nothing at all.'
In fact, Se-woon had secured several significant victories.
He had severed one of Dokma's arms—the limb that wielded his primary martial techniques, Jo Gong and Su Gong.
He had successfully seized over seventy percent of Angsinru, the core of all the bloodshed Dokma had unleashed.
And finally, he had injected Dokma with the cursed energy of his Congenital Disability as the man fled.
Though this was his first time using the method of poisoning someone with his own cursed energy, so the exact outcome remained uncertain.
'But Dokma was clearly in agony from the moment it entered his body.'
In a way, that was only natural.
For those who relied on dantian energy, the cursed energy of a Congenital Disability was nothing short of fatal.
It rejected all other internal energies,
inflicted unbearable suffering upon its host,
and ultimately drove them into Demon Qi Deviation.
That was precisely the outcome Se-woon desired most.
'If the poison of Angsinru runs rampant inside Dokma, it'll deal a significant blow to the Blood Cult's forces.'
But even if the cursed energy dissipated quickly, it wouldn't matter.
Left unchecked, Dokma's condition would continue to deteriorate.
'Now that there's no one left in the Blood Cult who can suppress Angsinru's poison for him.'
Unlike in his past life, Dokma would never obtain the Black Lotus Pill—one of the Ten Demon Artifacts—that had allowed him to suppress Angsinru.
In the end, he would have to fight the poison alone.
By the time they met again, Dokma would undoubtedly be far weaker than he was now.
'Next time, I'll kill him without fail.'
Se-woon reaffirmed his resolve.
As his thoughts settled,
Whoosh—
His body, which had been too battered to move, stabilized ever so slightly.
Rumble—!
"—!"
The cave trembled violently, as though struck by an earthquake.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Se-woon forced himself to stand.
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
Whoosh—
Sinister mist, conjured by the concealment formation, filled the cavern.
But through the gaps in the fog, something about the cave's structure seemed... off.
'It feels like parts of the cave have been jumbled together.'
Rumble—!
Another deafening roar shook the cavern, stronger than before.
The violent tremors sent stalactites raining down from the ceiling like blades.
Swish—!
Se-woon unleashed Thousand Layers, slicing through the falling stalactites.
Then, as he glanced upward, his eyes widened.
'This is bad.'
Above where the stalactites had fallen, the air itself seemed to warp, like a heat haze.
At a glance, it was clear—Dokma's concealment formation was collapsing.
No doubt, this was the result of Se-woon's interference disrupting the formation's activation at the last moment.
"......If I delay any longer, I'll be trapped here forever."
Once the formation fully collapsed, escape would be impossible—he would remain imprisoned within it for as long as he lived.
Judging by the formation's state, he had at most half a shichen (30 minutes) before total collapse.
His life now hung by a thread.
Se-woon rapidly ran through possible escape methods in his mind.
'There are two ways to break free from a concealment formation.'
The first was to follow the precise path within the formation and exit through the Life Gate.
The second was to obliterate the formation outright with overwhelming force.
But the first method was impossible—it required complete mastery of the formation's mechanics and countermeasures.
That left only the second option.
Whoosh—
Se-woon's expression darkened as he assessed his internal energy.
The reason was simple.
'I have no energy left to use.'
Having exhausted all his Reverse Heaven Energy in the battle with Dokma,
the remnants in his meridians were barely enough to move his body.
Nor could he immediately activate Golden Armor Circulation to replenish his energy.
'And time is too tight.'
While Golden Armor Circulation could restore Reverse Heaven Energy, its sole drawback was its slow recovery speed.
To shatter Dokma's formation, he would need energy equivalent to at least the initial stage of the Pinnacle of Martial Arts.
But even if he focused every ounce of his mind and spirit for the remaining quarter-shichen (7.5 minutes), he wouldn't even gather a tenth of the required energy.
Just as he realized the second method was also impossible—
Rumble—!
"—!"
As if mocking him, another tremor shook the cavern.
Time was slipping away.
In that moment, determination flashed in Se-woon's eyes.
'If that's the case, I'll have to gamble.'
There was one last option.
Se-woon glanced down at his right hand.
The Formless Dagger.
The weapon imbued with the power of Pasa Hyeonjeong (Shattering Evil, Revealing Truth).
But.
The reason he called it a gamble was simple—this wasn't something to be taken lightly.
He had already pushed the Formless Dagger to its limits in the fight against Dokma.
Using it again now would mean gambling with his life.
He would have to expend even the bare minimum of Reverse Heaven Energy needed to sustain himself.
Yet, no matter how he looked at it, this was his only remaining choice.
'Do your best and leave the rest to fate. I've done all I can—now, it's up to heaven.'
Just as Se-woon steeled himself to draw the Formless Dagger at the cost of his life—
Crack!
"Ghk—!"
A sudden pain forced him to stop.
As though resisting the dagger's summoning, a surge of energy rampaged violently within him.
What—?
Se-woon's eyes widened in disbelief as he identified the unruly energy.
It wasn't Golden Armor Circulation.
Nor was it Reverse Heaven Energy.
'The cursed energy of my Congenital Disability—why now?!'
The remnants of the cursed energy, scattered like debris in his dantian, were reacting.
Se-woon was utterly baffled.
As he knew all too well, cursed energy induced Demon Qi Deviation—it couldn't be harnessed.
At best, lingering traces of it would slowly evaporate on their own.
Yet now, this energy—which had always acted like a tyrant, wreaking havoc within him—
Hummm—!
For the first time, resonated with Se-woon's body, seeking to align with him.
In that instant, Se-woon instinctively understood its intent.
The cursed energy that had tormented him all his life was now trying to save him.
'It's pointing... there?'
Through their resonance, the cursed energy eagerly indicated a direction.
It was ravenous.
Desperate to devour something delicious that still lingered nearby.
Se-woon's eyes gleamed as he stared in the direction it pointed.
This changed everything.
Tap!
Without hesitation, Se-woon sprinted toward the cursed energy's target.
Rumble—!
By now, only a quarter-shichen (7.5 minutes) remained.
In his past life, Se-woon had struggled desperately to cure his Congenital Disability within the Blood Cult.
Though he had gained power in his upper dantian through Reverse Heaven Energy and Golden Armor Circulation, his lower dantian remained flawed, severely stunting his martial progress.
To kill the Blood Demon, overcoming his disability was non-negotiable.
Early on, Se-woon had reached this conclusion and tried every method imaginable.
He drowned himself in the Blood Cult's rare elixirs, hoping for a miraculous rebirth.
He even demanded the Soul Transference Great Method from Ghost Shadow, the Blood Brain—leader of all the Blood Cult's sorcerers.
But nothing worked.
Because Se-woon's disability wasn't physical—it was a curse and shackle engraved upon his soul.
The day he realized this, Se-woon sought out the Blood Demon.
The man's mastery extended beyond martial arts into the realm of divine sorcery.
When Se-woon outright demanded, Fix my body,
the Blood Demon smiled cryptically and replied:
-Foolish. There is no need.
-When you realize that this disability is not a curse, but a blessing, you will come one step closer to your desire.
At the time, Se-woon had assumed the Blood Demon simply had no intention of helping him.
How could something that inflicted nothing but agony possibly be a blessing?
But now, he thought he might understand those words a little better.
'Just what kind of power is this?'
Even Reverse Heaven Energy, which devoured all impure energies, had been rejected by the cursed energy of his disability.
The cursed energy, in turn, had lunged to consume Reverse Heaven Energy—only to retreat after acknowledging its rival.
The two energies had chosen to coexist, neither encroaching on the other's domain.
Meaning the cursed energy was an equal—never inferior to Reverse Heaven Energy.
Se-woon suddenly wondered:
Why had he been born with a dantian that produced such energy?
Was this simply a cruel twist of fate?
Or...
As these thoughts filled his mind—
Crack!
The cursed energy signaled that they had arrived.
"—!"
Before him stretched an endless sea of corpses and blood.
Though the space was chaotically distorted, the location was familiar.
The very place where he had rescued Hayoung and the hostages before confronting Dokma.
Hummm—!
At that moment, the cursed energy resonated fiercely once more.
It pointed insistently toward the center—buried beneath corpses and pools of blood.
Se-woon swiftly crouched to inspect the spot.
There were traces of a severed flower.
"—!"
This was where Dokma had unleashed Angsinru.
Se-woon immediately understood what the cursed energy desired.
He began digging into the earth where Angsinru had bloomed.
'There!'
Jet-black roots of Angsinru emerged.
But surprisingly, they radiated no energy at all.
Aside from their ominous color, they appeared utterly ordinary.
Confusion flickered across Se-woon's face.
'Hmm... I've never heard of Angsinru's roots containing any special properties.'
That was likely why Dokma had taken the flower but left the roots behind.
Half-doubting, Se-woon reached out.
The moment his hand touched the roots—
Hummmmm—!
The cursed energy resonated with them, triggering an anomaly.
Whoosh—!
'Ghk—!'
A terrifying poison—one that seemed capable of erasing all existence—erupted from the roots, forcing Se-woon to instinctively recoil.
The sheer intensity was absurd.
The poison Se-woon had absorbed from Angsinru's flower paled in comparison—this was at least twice as potent.
Swish—!
Grrr—!
The cursed energy, which had rejected all other energies until now, hungered ravenously for the poison radiating from Angsinru's roots.
Only a quarter-shichen remained.
Se-woon's gaze locked onto the roots.
Then, a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
'Fine. Do as you please.'
With that, Se-woon bent down.
And then—
Gulp.
He shoved the roots of Angsinru down his throat.