Chapter 141: The Turbulent Return Journey (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: The Turbulent Return Journey (6)
The arrival of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance was inevitable.
She had lost nearly all the experts under her command. Considering what had transpired in the City of Master Craftsmen and at the Giju Branch of the Desolate Fortress, it was only natural for her, as the head of her sect, to seek retribution against Jeong Yeon-shin and the Desolate Fortress.
The appearance of the Lord of the Desolate Fortress was not surprising, either.
She had called Ma Yeon-jeok an old friend. Upon hearing that her close companion, who had served as the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps for decades, had been crippled, she would have rushed here before he drew his last breath.
Still, the timing was uncanny.
The way the Lord of the Desolate Fortress emerged from behind the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance was just as mystifying. The affairs of the Jianghu were always so astonishing.
Was it mere coincidence that their paths crossed at this exact moment? Or did some special Heavenly Mandate guide those who wielded heaven-granted power to its absolute limits? Considering the capabilities of Jeong Yeon-shin's Upper Dantian, such a hypothesis wasn't entirely far-fetched.
Perhaps the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, who felt the world as keenly as the wind on her skin, had already sensed the Alliance Leader’s presence and was biding her time. If so, why? In the past, she had driven back even the Blood Flame Cult Leader without a moment's hesitation.
Just as the boy was turning these questions over in his mind—
Rustle.
It was a truly wondrous sight.
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress approached, shrouded in the green light of the lush foliage. She moved as if she had left her human presence behind, a mist drifting through the gaps between the trees.
The most noble of her clan.
Her innate power, radiating within the forest, merged with the martial prowess of a peerless expert, completely deceiving the qi sense of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance.
Only when the Lord of the Desolate Fortress fully stepped out from the shade of the trees did the Alliance Leader seem to notice her.
In a mere instant, her blue eyes widened in shock as she spun around, visibly startled.
“...”
Even before that, Jeong Yeon-shin was already channeling his internal energy. The halo of his heart spun as True Qi flooded into his Renying Points on both sides of his throat and his Lianquan Point just above his vocal cords. He immediately sent a telepathic transmission.
—The shockwaves of qi must not scatter.
His maternal grandfather would be in danger. He had to prevent it, even if it meant the impertinence of sending a message directly to the Fortress Lord.
For a brief moment, the emerald eyes of the Lord of the Desolate Fortress swept over the boy.
As she parted the forest’s shade like a curtain, a halo of sunlight settled over her pale face, as if to welcome her.
The Moon Spirit Divine Technique.
A faint, hazy glow emanated from her body. The wide, flowing sleeves of her light-green court robe fluttered gently as a moonlight-like radiance enveloped her and filled the entire space.
An energy barrier.
She materialized her True Qi to form a solid wall. A massive shield of internal energy expanded outward, its texture so robust that it physically shoved Jeong Yeon-shin back.
Screeech.
His feet dug furrows into the ground. The boy looked up.
A hemispherical energy barrier with a radius of about ten zhang had manifested, trapping only the Lord of the Desolate Fortress and the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance inside.
She had conjured this scene solely in response to his words. It was a feat that seemed to transcend the mortal realm; every single movement of her internal power was mystical, far beyond any human art.
“The Desolate Fortress...?!”
It all happened in the blink of an eye. The moment the astonished Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance fully turned, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress was already swinging her sword.
Brilliant light flowed down the blade as a sword strike that seemed to blend moonlight with sunlight flashed through the air.
Spurt!
A long spray of blood erupted from the Alliance Leader’s abdomen. Her internal energy armor, which had flickered with a dark hue for an instant, had been torn apart before she could fully deploy it against the surprise attack.
The scene felt surreal, at least to Jeong Yeon-shin. The Demonic Art True Qi of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance—an internal power that had felt so profound and deep—was shattered with such ease.
Boom!
The deafening roar was muffled within the energy barrier. The figure of the Alliance Leader, drenched in blood, blurred amidst a vortex of energy waves. She had activated a Body Protection Scripture so rapidly it was nearly impossible to follow, a testament to the astonishing martial prowess she possessed even after taking a direct hit.
However, Jeong Yeon-shin knew by instinct that even while maintaining the energy barrier, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress was overwhelming her opponent.
Fortune was not on the Alliance Leader's side.
Even in a fair, face-to-face duel, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress would have held the upper hand. But to be ambushed from behind in a dense forest by a peerless Brightfolk expert?
Having taken a blow before the life-and-death duel had even truly begun, she was already at a two-move disadvantage.
Rustle.
One could tell just by watching the Lord of the Desolate Fortress advance, step by step. She no longer held her sword in a lowered stance. Her sleeves fluttered like blades of grass as the sword thrust from her snow-white hand, spreading like a pale lunar halo.
It was a technique that transcended even the concept of a fast sword. The dizzying layers of overlapping strikes threatened to shred the Alliance Leader's entire body at any moment.
Crash, crash, crash!
The endlessly unfolding sword techniques resembled a force of nature, like the wind carving away at a cliffside, infinitely accelerated.
Yet, the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance was also a peerless expert. She blocked the sword strikes by continuously unleashing dark shockwaves of energy from her limbs. Her fists, palms, and kicks scattered like the fluttering wings of a moth, deflecting a significant portion of the sword paths and leaving behind afterimages barely visible to the naked eye. The speed of her hands completely surpassed that of a Black Rank expert of the Desolate Fortress.
It was a chaotic clash of esoteric powers, a battle between absolute authorities.
And I have to be able to kill someone like that to obtain the fruit of the World Tree… Jeong Yeon-shin thought. This was why he had felt an unconscious sense of relief at the Fortress Lord’s arrival.
Suddenly, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress took a single step forward.
Thud!
Though it was a light step, the earth rumbled as if from an earthquake.
The sword light that had been creating halos in her hand grew faint—not because her momentum had weakened, but because it had become too powerful for the naked eye to perceive.
The Fortress Lord thrust her sword once more, a horizontal slash that moved from her core outward. The very atmosphere seemed to groan under the pressure.
A sword move that seemed to compress a typhoon spread out subtly.
Riiip!
It felt as if the air itself was being torn apart. Under the aftermath of the strike, the energy barrier dispersed like mist. It seemed ordinary sword moves were insufficient to slay a Lord of the Thirteen Heavens.
Hup!
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance let out a sharp breath as dark internal energy armor enveloped her entire body, radiating an ominous and eerie wave of power.
Materializing True Qi was a rare martial attainment, yet these two peerless experts executed such profound techniques as if they were common, third-rate swordplay found in the streets.
Thud!
Another tremor shook the ground. This time, it was the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance stamping her foot. Jeong Yeon-shin casually grabbed the staggering Heonwon Chang by the shoulder, his gaze never leaving the fight.
He watched as the Alliance Leader soared upward with explosive force.
With just a single stamp… how many times did she compress the True Qi in her Yongquan Point?
Her figure stopped in midair, a masterful use of the Body Protection Scripture of Void Treading.
“Lord of the Desolate Fortress!” the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance shouted.
The ends of her ebony hair had been sheared off unevenly. Above her deep blue eyes, characteristic of a Westerner, blood trickled down her forehead, giving her the terrifying appearance of a Yaksha. Coupled with the dark Demonic Art True Qi oozing from her body, she no longer looked human. The blood staining her upper body was a testament to her formidable spirit.
“You must have been in a hurry! How utterly petty!” Frowning like a demon, she wiped the blood from her brow with the back of her hand.
Even while suspended in midair, one of her legs was slightly bent. Her taunting of an enemy, despite her status as a peerless expert, spoke volumes about her temperament.
“I didn’t expect you to swing your sword out of nowhere like that,” she continued. “Have you no shame? To reach such a realm and give no thought to a proper duel. I’ve heard the strange rumors spreading in Xiangyang recently—that you took someone who isn’t even of imperial blood as your disciple.”
The corners of her mouth curled upward as she gave a slight nod of her chin toward Jeong Yeon-shin below.
“Was your little lover that precious to you? Lord of the Desolate Fortress, you lackey of the Ming Imperial Family.”
Hovering in the air and spouting such venom, she was the very image of a demon from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. She seemed cheerful on the surface, yet she lacked the true dignity of a hero. Despite being the leader of a sect, she resorted to frivolous provocations. It was the typical behavior of a demonic practitioner, for whom defeating and crushing the opponent was all that mattered. This was evident in the way her gaze swept over the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, searching for any opening.
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress did not answer.
She merely lowered her gaze calmly. Without bothering to look up, she kept her eyes half-closed, her long, delicate eyelashes casting shadows over her jade-like eyes. It was a truly mystical sight—the starting stance of a Brightfolk expert who lived as a friend to the wind and perceived qi as if it were touch.
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance slowly closed her mouth.
It was then that a new voice spoke.
“A grandmaster of the Demonic Path speaking of pettiness. Is this some kind of play?” the boy in the black robe muttered, his True Qi carrying his words like a gentle breeze.
The head of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance turned slowly toward him. Although her qi sense must have been focused entirely on the Fortress Lord, just receiving her gaze felt as if a mountain were crashing down.
“Child. What did you say?” her rough, hoarse voice demanded.
The boy spoke without hesitation. “I said your words and actions are like those of a back-alley thug.”
“...”
“Actually, no. Even a common street thug wouldn’t complain about such things in a real fight. It’s astounding that you can babble about lovers without a shred of shame. If you hand over the mnemonic for the Demonic Art you practice, perhaps I can fix it for you. It seems your internal energy has invaded your Baihui Point.”
Jeong Yeon-shin lightly tapped his temple with his index finger. He knew the utility of blunt truths. He had learned it well during his travels in the Jianghu. There was no need for elaborate provocations. The pride of martial artists was as high as the heavens; simply speaking the unvarnished truth was often enough to seize control of a life-and-death duel.
A field of vision narrowed by rage was fatal in the world of experts. After all, a split-second reaction was what determined the outcome.
This is no time to be picky, the boy thought.
The Fortress Lord had deployed the energy barrier the moment she heard his telepathic transmission. She must have guessed the state Ma Yeon-jeok was in. Engaging in a duel with a Lord of the Thirteen Heavens while carrying such a burden was no easy task. Even with a successful first strike, her opponent was still a peerless expert. There was no one else who could even speak of a chance of victory.
It would be a difficult fight, and Jeong Yeon-shin wanted to ease his master's burden by any means necessary.
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance wouldn’t have come alone. He imagined her rushing ahead of her subordinates, unable to control her temper. This fight had to end quickly.
The leaves settling quietly around the Lord of the Desolate Fortress caught his eye, their stillness reminiscent of the calm before a storm. The Alliance Leader, staring down at him, also seemed to be circulating some kind of mnemonic. The current lull was merely a brief respite to regain her composure.
Ma Yeon-jeok was in danger. It was clear now that maintaining the energy barrier during a fight with a peerless expert was difficult. His master seemed to be honing her sword momentum for a swift, decisive battle.
If so, distracting the enemy even slightly would suffice. If an opening presented itself, he was prepared to launch a flying sword.
Whoosh!
A whirlwind swept beneath Jeong Yeon-shin's feet as dust swirled with the movement of his halo. Accompanied by a flickering white current, auspicious waves of Dharma Power began to fill the area.
The boy opened his mouth once more. “I have some interest in Demonic Arts. I also know the Baihui Point quite well. Alliance Leader, in my view, you are—”
“Young Hero, that’s enough…” Now the roles were reversed, with Heonwon Chang trying to stop him. The hand on Jeong Yeon-shin's shoulder trembled slightly.
The boy shook his arm to brush it off. What? Why?
Just then…
Heh.
A soft chuckle sounded, a faint, slender laugh echoing with unusual clarity. Jeong Yeon-shin's gaze shifted.
It was none other than the Lord of the Desolate Fortress. She, who had remained silent despite the verbal abuse, raised her head slightly.
“I shall impart the second lesson,” her melodious voice flowed. A small smile played on her lips.
“It is the sword of the heart.”