Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 260
>Chapter Title: Kill Each Other (2)
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Il-mok and his group left White Crane Mountain and headed for the nearest Jincheon County.
Jeong-hyeon, who wasn't being carried by anyone, took the lead, and the Ghost Spirit Divine Art she had mastered shone brightly.
With her realm elevated, she could expand her senses over a considerable range, guiding the group to move without encountering anyone.
On the path to Jincheon County while avoiding people.
Il-mok, carried on Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a's back, briefly recounted to the group what had happened at White Crane Mountain.
The nightmare that had assailed them was a formation set up by the Blood Cult, and the entire White Crane Mountain had been a trap of the Blood Cult.
And how he had deceived the Beggar Clan’s Pursuit Elder and the Martial Alliance’s Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord, collapsing the Blood Cult’s scheme alongside them.
When he added that after dismantling the Blood Cult’s scheme, he had fought a deathmatch with the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord and emerged victorious, the group showed varied reactions.
“I’ve heard the story, Young Master. That man was your enemy and the reason you came to the Central Plains, wasn’t he?”
“Congratulations.”
Some celebrated that Il-mok had avenged his foe.
“I’m sorry, brother. I couldn’t be of any help…”
“I’m sorry, Young Master.”
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who had been carrying Il-mok on her back, and Jin Ha-yeon, carried by Dam-bin, bowed their heads with apologetic expressions.
Since he hadn’t shared the story to elicit such reactions, Il-mok hurriedly added,
“Oh. And I forgot to mention the most important part. I found the remains of Blood Tower Heavenly Demon.”
“!!!!”
Those who had been dashing along with vigorous lightness skills halted all at once, as if blocked by an invisible wall.
A storm of diverse emotions swirled in their eyes.
Il-mok held out the bundle he clutched, made from a blood-soaked robe top, and added,
“They’ve been there too long—only bones and bone dust remain—but I gathered them like this anyway.”
“I-is that truly the remains of Blood Tower Heavenly Demon?”
When Team Leader Dam-bin stammered her question, Il-mok, still carried by Seon-a, nodded.
“There was a message left behind by Blood Tower Heavenly Demon there. If descendants of the Divine Cult came, he was grateful and sorry for making us seek it out.”
He decided to omit the sneers and curses directed at the hypocrites of the orthodox faction.
Somehow, it felt like it would tarnish the dignity of the previous Heavenly Demon, whom they revered without doubt.
“Aaah.”
No sooner had they heard Il-mok’s explanation than they began prostrating themselves full-body with fervent expressions.
“Long live! Long live! Heavenly longevity!!”
They bowed vigorously toward Il-mok, spewing all sorts of words like they were speaking in tongues.
‘At times like this, they really are fanatics, huh.’
To be precise, toward the remnants of Blood Tower Heavenly Demon in Il-mok’s hands.
* * *
After the brief commotion ended, they resumed their preparations and headed for Jincheon County.
“If we dawdle here, we should hurry and send these remains to the main mountain instead.”
Had Il-mok not said this, they might have spent the whole day bowing and babbling in ecstasy.
In any case, upon arriving at Jincheon County, they rented out an entire inn.
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who set down Il-mok from her back, stared wistfully at her own hands for some reason.
The hands that had gripped his rear to support him while carrying him on her back.
“…….”
Pretending not to notice, Il-mok issued instructions to the group.
“You’ve all been through a lot, so first wash up. Then regulate your qi and adjust your breathing to heal your internal injuries.”
Il-mok particularly emphasized washing up.
They each took separate rooms to rest comfortably, bathing or having simple meals for recovery.
When Il-mok returned refreshed from his bath, a woman was waiting in his room.
It wasn’t Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.
“What is it, Team Leader Dam?”
She too had clearly washed up neatly, her damp appearance exuding a subtle allure.
Perhaps it overlapped with the seductive smile she occasionally flashed while using her martial arts.
But contrary to Il-mok’s expectations(?), what came from her lips was official business.
“Young Master Guyang’s condition is worsening by the minute.”
“…The effects of the formation haven’t worn off?”
“He’s already reached the peak of demonic deviation and heart demons, wandering in nightmares independent of the formation.”
“…We must head to Pyeongnyang County as quickly as possible.”
There were physicians from the main mountain in Pyeongnyang County, so treatment might be possible there.
But for some reason, Dam-bin shook her head.
“He won’t last until then.”
“Then we’ll find a local physician.”
“There’s a risk of his demonic arts cultivation being exposed.”
After saying that, she added with a resolved expression,
“In truth, I have one method to treat Young Master Guyang. However, I won’t be able to stand guard during the treatment, so I came to inform you in advance.”
“Saving Young Master Guyang comes first, so don’t worry about it.”
Dam-bin, who had clasped her fists in salute at Il-mok’s response, turned to leave the room.
Watching her retreating figure, Il-mok’s curiosity suddenly piqued, and he asked,
“By the way, Team Leader Dam, have you also studied medicine?”
At his question, Dam-bin, who was stepping out, turned her head and replied.
“It’s not medicine.”
“???”
“It’s merely tonic arts.”
“Tonic arts?”
When Il-mok repeated the words, instead of further explanation, Dam-bin curved her lips into a soft smile and left the room.
It was an oddly seductive smile.
Thanks to that smile, Il-mok easily grasped what those tonic arts entailed.
‘Whoa…’
Bedchamber arts. Or perhaps dual cultivation tonic arts.
As indecent imaginings involuntarily surfaced in his mind, Il-mok hurriedly shook his head.
‘It’s just treatment.’
Only one question arose. Why did Team Leader Dam possess such a skill(?).
Il-mok could easily infer the reason.
‘It’s because of Master.’
To be precise, perhaps she had learned it for the Heavenly Demon.
She was the team leader of the Silver Guard, an organization dedicated to serving the Heavenly Demon.
In case the Heavenly Demon or Cult Leader they served suffered internal injuries or demonic deviation, she might have learned these tonic arts to treat him.
Moreover, the side effects of her demonic arts were related to lust, making it a perfect match.
‘Do all women in the Silver Guard learn it? Or did Team Leader Dam pick it up as a bonus due to her demonic art’s side effects?’
Such questions arose, but Il-mok quickly shook his head to dispel idle thoughts.
Most of the women around her were Silver Guard affiliates. Entertaining such imaginings about those nearby was impolite.
Il-mok left the room as is and informed the group.
“Team Leader Dam will treat Young Master Guyang. To avoid interfering with the treatment, move to rooms farther from Young Master Guyang’s.”
It was consideration for Team Leader Dam.
Returning to his room, Il-mok sat on the bed and assumed the cross-legged position.
‘Enough idle thoughts. One slip, and I could end up crippled.’
Il-mok’s internal injuries were severe too, so it was time to focus on qi regulation and meditation.
“Whew.”
As Il-mok closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and out, and began sinking into his inner depths.
Whiiiing.
The Ascending Heaven Sword in the corner of the room let out a sword cry.
Amid the successive urgent situations, Il-mok hadn’t noticed.
That resentful energy had once again gathered on the Ascending Heaven Sword.
* * *
How long had it been since he immersed in a trance, focusing on qi regulation and meditation to heal his internal injuries.
Having nearly healed them and emerged from the trance.
What appeared before Il-mok’s eyes were at least a hundred vengeful spirits.
“Fuck, you scared me!”
Bloody figures with limbs severed, or oozing blood from all seven orifices.
He realized they were vengeful spirits, not corpses, because they weren’t sprawled on the floor but stood straight, staring at him.
Moreover, their bodies were somewhat translucent, looking like ghosts to anyone.
As if they had waited for him to emerge from meditation, the moment he opened his eyes, the vengeful spirits bellowed.
“You bastard~!!”
“Did you think you’d get away with killing us!!”
“Blood!! Give me back my blood!!!”
Though initially startled, Il-mok quickly grasped the situation.
‘I overfed it on blood.’
While fighting the Blood Cult, he had thrust the Ascending Heaven Sword into blood qi convergence points multiple times.
It seemed the countless blood qi absorbed then included these vengeful spirits.
“Die!! Die already~!!”
“We’ll suck your blood and restore our bodies!!”
Their frenzied bellowing with rolled-back eyes felt oddly familiar to Il-mok.
‘Not even entitled complainers.’
Of course, he’d never dealt with over a hundred mobbed together, but individually, they were familiar.
Well, none had come covered in gore like this before.
Having assessed the full situation, Il-mok stood and shouted.
“Where do you get off venting at an innocent guy!!”
He wasn’t a civil servant, so no reason to yield to entitled complainers.
“Go complain to the Blood Cult bastards who killed you, you lunatics!”
“…….”
Unprepared for this response, the vengeful spirits, who had been roaring vigorously, momentarily shut their mouths.
And just as the vengeful spirits were about to bellow again.
A shout came from behind him.
“That’s right! How dare you to our master!”
“He’s the one who avenged us! Touch a single finger, and we won’t let you off!”
Startled by the voices without any prior presence, Il-mok whipped around.
“You scared me.”
There, were spirits numbering no less than the vengeful ones ahead.
But they looked different from the vengeful spirits.
Not gore-covered or missing body parts, just translucent, ordinary human-shaped spirits.
Thanks to their shouts, Il-mok guessed who they were.
‘The residents of Pyeongnyang County killed by the Ghost Valley Master.’
Now he saw why the vengeful spirits hadn’t attacked during his qi circulation—these spirits had blocked them.
“What!?”
“That guy resolved our grudges!?”
The vengeful spirits reacted to the shouts from the spirits behind.
“Then resolve ours too!!”
“Blood Cult! Kill those Blood Cult mongrels!!”
At their cries, Il-mok racked his brain and replied.
“Fine! Your enemies are the Blood Cult anyway, so once they’re destroyed, that settles it, right?”
“Yes!!”
“Chew up the ones who toyed with and killed us!”
“I don’t have a hobby of eating people, but anyway, revenge on them is enough, isn’t it? So trust me and just stay quiet for now.”
Il-mok had no intention of personally attacking the Blood Cult.
Even in making this promise, he carefully avoided saying he’d ‘directly destroy them.’
‘Anyway, I’ve tangled the orthodox faction with the Blood Cult, so they’ll roast each other now.’
Even if the orthodox faction crushed the Blood Cult, it would still avenge these spirits.
The reason for this verbal sleight-of-hand wasn’t just the hassle of fighting the Blood Cult.
Frankly, from Il-mok’s perspective, catering to each of their grudges was a chore. Unlike Pyeongnyang County.
Pyeongnyang’s residents were innocent civilians victimized, but these were martial artists who had swarmed for Heavenly Demon’s Secret Record treasures and died.
Unlike Pyeongnyang’s folk, he felt no particular sympathy.
His goal was simply to placate them and move on.
“We’ll trust and leave it to you!”
“Please, we beg you!”
As the mood shifted toward the vengeful spirits buying Il-mok’s words.
“I don’t care about the Blood Cult! It wasn’t the Blood Cult—you killed me!!”
A bold shout rang out from among the vengeful spirits.
Il-mok looked toward the voice and saw a familiar face.
Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord Jeong Yeong.
‘Oh right. To disguise as Blood Cult kills, I drained all their blood.’
Only then did Il-mok fully comprehend the Ascending Heaven Sword’s ability.
It wasn’t just absorbing blood and done. Light grazes didn’t matter, but absorbing a certain amount or more brought the vengeful spirits along.
Facing the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord’s murderous, razor-sharp glare, Il-mok snorted and replied.
Not to the Pavilion Lord, but to the other vengeful spirits.
“Hear that? He says I killed him. What a pickle. If I die, who’ll avenge you all?”
“…….”
No sooner had Il-mok finished than the vengeful spirits’ gazes turned en masse to the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord.
“Hey. Step on that bastard.”
“Kill him!”
“You motherfucker!!”
And the vengeful spirits’ group beating began.
“Phew.”
Like indigestion finally easing, Il-mok felt refreshed.