Chapter 349
Chapter 349
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 349
>Chapter Title: Chaos (3)
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A nun swung her sword at Il-mok.
In that fleeting moment as the blade arced through the air, the wrinkles on the woman's face deepened.
It was the result of shattering the dam that had held back her innate vitality, known as congenital essence.
Thanks to that, she had gained an immense surge of energy, and the sword she wielded brimmed with a power far beyond her level.
But.
Slash!
No amount of raw strength could bridge such a vast gap.
Il-mok's Ascending Heaven Sword sliced past her blade like a whisper, severing her wrist.
Even as red blood spurted from her wrist, the nun's eyes held no trace of pain.
"Die!!"
Her eyes burned with malice.
Forgetting the agony, the nun charged at Il-mok despite her severed wrist.
Crunch!
Even as her heart was pierced next, she swung her remaining arm to grab at Il-mok's collar.
She was not alone.
Blinded by vengeance, the women threw away their lives to rush him.
Limbs severed by Il-mok's sword, vital points pierced—none of it mattered.
They hurled themselves forward just to grasp his collar or pant leg.
If they could halt the masked man even for a moment, they trusted someone would finish him.
Their forms, screaming and reaching out amid dismemberment and impalement to clutch at his hem, resembled the hungry ghosts of Avici Hell.
They fought with desperate ferocity, demonstrating the sheer terror of those who battled with utter disregard for their lives.
But.
Slash.
Il-mok casually shook off and severed their grasping hands, slaying them one by one.
Battles against madmen who valued life not at all were all too familiar to him.
'...Fighting those fanatics has proven useful in times like this.'
Thanks to the Hu Hui Church zealots, he had endured it until he was sick of it.
Recalling those clashes, Il-mok leaped about, cutting down the Emei Sect nuns.
Countless sprays of blood filled the air, but not a single drop was his own.
They couldn't even graze him, let alone seize his collar.
Slash.
With the Ascending Heaven Sword's power keeping his internal energy from depleting, Il-mok unleashed lightness skill and sword aura endlessly.
How long had it been since he painted crimson blossoms in the sky?
Before long, a horrific hellscape of flesh and blood surrounded him.
Now only five Emei Sect nuns remained, finally snapping from their hypnosis to face reality.
"Ahh.... Aaaah...."
Perhaps the truth was too overwhelming for them to accept. The nuns collapsed to their knees, shrieking and behaving erratically.
Having burned through their congenital essence, all the deranged nuns had aged into old women.
As Il-mok pondered what to do with these elders.
"Young hero, that should suffice."
Hwanbo Yeon approached and addressed him.
"Have you not seen enough blood already?"
To her question, Il-mok replied.
"Looking at them like this, it almost seems merciful to put them out of their misery."
That was why he had hesitated.
Leaving these mad ones alive felt more like punishment.
"......"
Realizing the same, Hwanbo Yeon momentarily lost her words, her expression frozen.
"Haa. Still, it might be best to let them live for now."
"You're a cruel one."
"...That's rich coming from you, young hero."
As Hwanbo Yeon sighed in response, Il-mok turned to survey the battlefield.
A few Emei Sect nuns survived in the rear as well.
Some had gone mad like those here, others glared with acupoints sealed, and a tiny few trembled in terror.
Among the sealed ones was the Emei elder Hwanbo Yeon had faced.
Their skills had been evenly matched, but as her sisters fell one after another, the elder grew hasty, glanced away, and got her acupoints sealed.
Surveying the field like Il-mok, Hwanbo Yeon felt an absurd urge to laugh.
'I knew he was strong, but this level...'
The Incarnation of Maitreya, whom she thought teetered at the edge of peak transcendent, had surpassed it by leaps.
He seemed to have crossed the initial Sea Transformation into even higher realms.
'Perhaps even stronger than Father.'
He matched, if not exceeded, the head of House Hwanbo—Fist King, one of the Twelve Heavenly Lords of the Central Plains.
As she unconsciously compared him to her father, Il-mok approached the blood-soaked group.
"You've all done well. The fight's over—tend to your wounds first."
Praising them while checking injuries, Il-mok soon smiled faintly and spoke to one.
"Congratulations. It seems you've broken through the wall."
Beaming at his praise, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a replied.
"I'm still sorely lacking."
The pure smile ill-fit her blood-splattered face.
Seeing it, Il-mok inwardly sighed in relief.
'Phew. At least she's escaped Extreme Demon now—the obsession should ease.'
He anticipated that as Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a's realm rose further, she would leave his side for a wider world.
Afterward, he exchanged words with each member, assessing the situation.
"Fortunately, no severe injuries, Incarnation."
At Jin Ha-yeon's report, Il-mok nodded.
"Thanks to you, Jin Sojeo."
"I merely did my duty."
As Il-mok conversed with Jin Ha-yeon last, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a watched sidelong.
To monitor Jin Ha-yeon's every move.
Not to punish her for fawning over Il-mok, but to learn and earn recognition as a woman in his eyes.
She half-abandoned vengeful urges, knowing Il-mok would disapprove.
Once Il-mok finished checking everyone, Hwanbo Yeon asked again.
"What now? Do you intend to storm Emei Sect and wipe them out?"
"What do you think?"
"...Emei has already lost its strength. How about demanding they seal their gates and call it done?"
"Seal their gates. Judging by their eyes, they'll seek revenge the moment it's lifted."
As Il-mok eyed the sealed nuns, Hwanbo Yeon shook her head.
"They may dream of it, but lack the means."
"Emei didn't send child disciples this time. At least a hundred young ones remain. With their many ultimate arts, if they grow during seclusion, they'll be a headache."
"The same holds. Sealing gates bans all external activity—no new recruits, and their territories will fall to other sects or families. Even if the current youths mature, rebuilding afterward will be daunting."
Despite her explanation, Il-mok's face showed clear dissatisfaction.
'Any need to leave such risks?'
He had planned total eradication from the start.
Reading his blunt expression, Hwanbo Yeon added.
"Young hero, massacring even the child disciples to exterminate Emei risks branding Maitreya Cult public enemies."
Appealing not with morals, but practical politics.
Il-mok clicked his tongue lightly at her point.
'The righteous sects are such a hassle.'
Black道, nomads, Hu Hui zealots—he could kill freely without such worries.
The thought was fleeting.
Suddenly, Il-mok startled at his own mindset.
'Killing child disciples just because they might be dangerous?'
Back when first dragged to Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he had shrunk from killing.
True, upon entering Sea Transformation, he vowed to slay villains gladly—but not murder for convenience.
'Close call. I'd grown too numb to killing without realizing.'
Sorting his thoughts, Il-mok nodded once and spoke.
"Then, the key is how long to seal them."
"Precisely, young hero."
Ending discussion, Il-mok and Hwanbo Yeon approached the sealed Emei elder.
"I'll release your acupoints. Return to Emei with the survivors and seal your gates for fifty years. Do so, and no more blood will spill."
No sooner had Il-mok freed the nun's points than she bellowed in fury.
"Kill me instead!! Think I'd beg scum like you for my life?!"
At her shout, Hwanbo Yeon urgently interjected.
The elder might provoke the Incarnation's wrath again.
"Think of your disciples! Will you doom Emei's children to slaughter over mere vengeance?"
The elder glared murderously at Hwanbo Yeon for a moment.
Thud!!
Slamming her forehead to the ground, she lifted it—brow split, blood streaming—and spoke.
"For fifty years, we shall seal our gates."
Eyes bloodshot, teeth gritted amid the flow, she swore it.
* * *
Il-mok and his group headed south with the surviving Emei nuns.
A few porters joined to pull carts.
To transport over a hundred nun corpses to Emei, and guard against treachery.
For the same reason, survivors received periodic Crippling Poison doses.
Days into southward march for corpse delivery and firm gate-sealing.
Past Sichuan's capital toward Misan County, over a hundred warriors blocked them.
Not Emei disciples—mostly men.
Spotting a familiar face, Il-mok stepped forward.
"Long time, Martial Alliance Leader."
To his greeting, Alliance Leader Cheok Pae-myeong showed a wholly different attitude from Nanju.
"No time for pleasantries—especially now."
He seethed with displeasure.
He had planned joining mid-war between Emei and Maitreya Cult, but Emei's pathetic defeat ruined it.
Upon hearing near Sichuan, he and subordinates raced nonstop by horse and lightness skill, barely catching them here.
"What changed from then to make you block us with so many?"
To Il-mok's question, Cheok Pae-myeong bellowed with internal force.
"While our Martial Alliance and affiliate Emei warred with the Blood Cult, you vilely built strength in the shadows! Not content, you oppressed and massacred weakened Emei amid their fight—so from this moment, you are martial world's public enemies!"
Before Il-mok could retort to his rant.
"By the Alliance's name, we right Jianghu's justice! Slay these brazen public enemies!!"
Shouting thus, Cheok Pae-myeong abruptly unleashed lightness skill, charging at Il-mok.