Chapter 250: Punishment, Ties of Fate (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 250: Punishment, Ties of Fate (7)
A hill stood to one side of the manor where the fierce battle raged.
The winter-stricken grass was a rusted, clay-brown color. It remained so even as swordsmen, who had sprinted through the air as if flying, landed upon it.
On the quiet hill, seemingly detached from the clash of blades below, five profound presences emerged one by one.
They were the Plum Blossom Swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect.
The embroidered petals on their white robes fluttered elegantly—the only trace left by their passage using Mount Hua's Dark Fragrance Drift, the ultimate movement technique of the Nine Sects' immortals.
Rustle.
At the head of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen stood a woman.
"For all the commotion, I didn't expect it to lead to a place like this."
The moment the woman, dressed in a pink robe with a worn sword at her waist, stepped onto the grass, the clay-brown blades beneath her snow-white socks shattered into vibrant green.
In an instant, the hill regained its lush color, as if spring had been yanked forward into winter.
Despite her wearing socks suited only for a pristine wooden floor, the blades of grass stood perfectly upright beneath them—a miraculous harmony achieved through the Body Protection Scripture.
The Plum Blossom Swordsmen who landed behind her whispered among themselves, their faces filled with astonishment.
"Sahyung, has the Sect Leader achieved the Living Sword with her very body?"
"Isn't the answer in your question? How else could she do that, if not with the Living Sword of the Unity of Body and Sword?"
"You are both wrong. It is simply the Sect Leader's intent influencing physical matter—a supreme realm of the Way of the Sword, far beyond our comprehension."
They spoke of martial arts without hesitation, even with the Sect Leader's back to them. This was not merely because the Mount Hua Sect's ethos was strict toward enemies but free-spirited within its own mountains.
It was also because the young Taoist standing beside her was pointing downward, whining like a child to his older sister.
"Master, Master...!"
"Do not rush me, disciple Yu-hyeon. I was observing the sword of the child you call your friend," a clear, resonant voice flowed out.
"Did your master not tell you to remember the sunset? The name itself is the key. Calm the fire in your heart. If you wish to achieve great completion in the Purple Mist Divine Art, you must breathe according to its mnemonic."
"But I'm talking about that friend right now! His eyes look strange! And that thing in his mouth—isn't that a poppy? He might be unlucky, but his conduct was always as upright as one of our own Taoists!"
"Speak honestly. What part of your conduct is like a Taoist's? It will be a miracle if you don't earn Mount Hua the nickname 'home of the donkey-nosed Taoist' in the future. Weren't you the one looking for 'grain tea' on Lotus Peak the other day? The scent of alcohol was incredibly strong."
"I don't understand you, Master! How can you be so leisurely when every second counts...!"
"Be quiet. I have something to verify. Now, I intend to find out why the Sword Ghost of the Deep Martial Alliance is watching that child."
Suddenly, all the mountain birds in the vicinity fell silent.
*
The manor where Jeong Hye had been brought.
Here, the Thirteen Heavens Lingering Spirit Branch clashed with the Demonlight Wing of the Desolate Fortress.
Jeong Yeon-shin burned the scene unfolding before him into his mind.
His vision blurred as the manor crumbled into ruins under the shockwaves of clashing weapons, but his focus converged on a single point.
It was aimed at the farthest battlefield, toward the one who posed the greatest threat to the Demonlight Wing.
Boom! Crash!
An elderly swordsman in a yellow robe unleashed overwhelming sword strikes.
Every time his blade thrust forward, a colossal pressure surged forth with a black haze—a testament to his immense achievements in qigong.
As if he had transposed the night sky onto his blade, pitch-black smoke gouged and crushed the surroundings before dispersing. The power of his materialized internal energy was terrifying.
It was so overwhelming that most of the surrounding Demonlight Wing experts couldn't even exchange a single blow before being forced to retreat. For the elites of the Desolate Fortress, simply approaching him to keep him in check was like walking a tightrope.
The confidant of the Thirteen Heavens Lingering Spirit Lord, Shaanxi's number one demon. Before refining his Law-Transcending Halo Qi, Jeong Yeon-shin would have found it difficult to even approach such a man.
Wi Geuk-sang, Shaanxi's Number One Demon, was truly worthy of being called a match for ten thousand men. He had long run rampant across the martial world.
The laughter in his wrinkled eyes didn't look out of place; a cruel madness peeked through. He seemed utterly unconcerned by the deaths of his subordinates.
"Exquisite martial arts, and quite decent achievements. You lot are the ones who took the Twin Demons of Chaneum, aren't you? Is it not fitting, then, that I personally turn your efforts to ash!"
Hahaha!
He laughed, crushing the white beams of the Vast Art Formula with his sword.
His temperament bordered on eccentric. Even though he must have recognized Jeong Yeon-shin, he was entirely absorbed in his own amusement.
A demon of the martial world was, by definition, a madman who had mastered martial arts. Shaanxi's Number One Demon was no different.
He was said to take pleasure in cutting short the lives of highly accomplished experts, rendering their hard-won achievements meaningless. And he was a transcendent powerhouse who possessed the martial prowess to do so with ease.
"Your leader is incredibly young! Once I kill one or two of you, his face will be quite a sight to behold! Come on! Come to me!"
Clang! Crash!
The roars and dust storms never ceased. The figures of the Demonlight Wing experts, who had slaughtered hundreds of martial artists in the Great Moon Gorge, wavered continuously.
The disparity in their martial skill was stark. Even his jest about their leader's expression loomed as a palpable threat.
Such was the majesty of a supreme expert.
An exquisite martial artist of the Jianghu could match the strength of an entire army alone.
Therefore, the core of any great sect war was the life-and-death duel between its leading experts.
As a unit commander of the Desolate Fortress, one must never spare a glance for the enemy's underlings. This was what Jeong Yeon-shin had heard repeatedly from Ma Jin and Ak Su-rim.
The subordinates of the 17th Unit existed to create a one-on-one duel for their commander.
A Black Rank expert was expected to walk the path they cleared and end the fight in a single stroke.
'The situation is precarious. If even one person misdirects the shockwave of the Vast Art Formula, the balance will collapse. It will be an instant slaughter. Just like how the leaders of Shaanxi's seven great sects fell to me.'
Step.
He shifted his stance, aligning the tips of his leather boots until they were parallel.
From behind the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, a faint blue current began to flow gently from both of his temples.
The faces of the two white-ranked warriors guarding the Lazy Flame Dragon beside him turned pale with shock.
They were the Steel-Cutting Saber Guest, Ho Un-cheol, and Serene Deep Eye, Jegal Cheong-a.
Ho Un-cheol, an extremely gaunt man who had transferred to the Demonlight Wing with the permission of the Forest-Treading Unit's Commander, Hahu Wi-jin, normally showed no change in expression. But now, he hurriedly tried to stop Jeong Yeon-shin.
"You mustn't! In your condition...!"
Jegal Cheong-a did not. A green light flashed in her clever eyes as she glanced at the unconscious Lazy Flame Dragon.
"By telling us to leave this person, you mean to draw their attention...?"
"Yes."
Jeong Yeon-shin's gaze swept forward. Just as the poppy had dulled his pain, it was also making his vision waver.
There were at least twenty enemies lined up before him, but their figures began to split and multiply, as if seen through a drunkard's eyes. It was the effect of the poppy, amplified by his Halo Qi.
"That guy came alone! There's no backup!"
"His energy signature is unusual!"
"Kill him first! The ones clinging to Lord Wi are next!"
Their shouts echoed, washing over him in waves and piercing directly into his mind.
It was dizzying. He was using a few mere flowers to ignore the backlash of running for days on end, disregarding all his injuries, both internal and external.
The poppy wouldn't buy him much time. He had to settle this quickly.
The principle of the short, decisive battle he had always pursued was now facing its ultimate test.
"You must have known where this place was before coming here!"
"Strike!"
Watching the afterimages of the rushing enemies, he gripped his sword hilt and forced his eyes to focus.
Even so, he couldn't see them clearly. I just need to sweep them all away, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
Boom!
Wind exploded from the Yongquan point on the sole of his foot—the shockwave of the Wind God Movement Technique. The ground beneath him burst apart. The moment he kicked off, a massive headwind slammed against him.
The murderous faces of his enemies instantly filled his vision.
Jeong Yeon-shin flooded the fine meridians from his right shoulder blade to his arm with Law-Transcending Halo Qi.
The strands of muscle trained through the Jeong Family Dynamic Art immediately tightened. The excruciating pain that should have followed never came, thanks to the poppy.
'Shaanxi's Number One Demon, Wi Geuk-sang. If you aren't going to pay attention to me...'
Shring!
He drew the Northern Light Sword.
He struck straight forward. The blade, held low, accelerated into a devastating arc.
The enemies' movements were also swift. The four in front thrust their swords, sabers, and fists, the sharp qi from their attacks sweeping the surroundings like a freezing wind.
From above, two men holding spears leaped down in a long strike.
The spearheads drew diagonal lines through the air, letting out a heavy resonance.
Wuuung!
Such was the deadly coordination of a great sect. The attack tightening around him, carrying the unique murderous intent of the unorthodox factions, was formidable.
Yet Jeong Yeon-shin accelerated. He ignored the spears plunging toward the crown of his head.
Penetrating deeper and faster, he drew a long flash of light with the Northern Light Sword. A storm raged from the palm gripping the hilt to the very tip of the blade.
'Qilin's Judgment.'
Crash! Clang!
He shattered everything. Swords, sabers, and gauntlets flew apart in pieces. Three men coughed up blood and were sent flying, struck by the destructive shockwave of his sword strike.
The one who met the attack head-on was cleaved in two, his Body Protection Qi shattering with him as his body fell to either side. A path straight ahead was blasted open.
It was an incomparable sword force. In the split second that astonishment washed over the faces of the two spearmen plunging from the air, Jeong Yeon-shin passed beneath them and extended his left hand backward.
He didn't even look back.
The vortex of qi that had traveled from the halo around his heart to his left hand surged out violently. The fragments of shattered blades hanging in the air swirled in all directions.
'Myriad Blossoms Rain.'
Swoosh!
The iron shards soared into the air and embedded themselves in his enemies' bodies. A succession of dull thuds followed as the spearmen's bodies convulsed in midair.
Blood burst from all over them. Even the spear shafts caught in the cold flurry were shattered to pieces, swelling the scale of the Myriad Blossoms Rain.
Jeong Yeon-shin drew his extended left hand forward and spread it wide. Without halting his sprint under the Wind God Movement Technique, he executed a godlike manipulation of true qi.
Rumble!
The sound of the ground being gouged was deafening as the cold petals of the Myriad Blossoms Rain scattered in all directions.
Its swaying, drunken dance was both beautiful and merciless. The vortex of iron fragments expanded rapidly, eventually spreading across the battlefield like a colossal dragon ascending to the heavens.
"Vast Art Stronghold! A big one is coming!"
"You bastards! What in the...?!"
"Turn around! Don't show your back!"
"Do not retreat! Argh!"
The Demonlight Wing experts knew their commander well. The moment Jeong Yeon-shin extended his hand, they had already executed the retreat footwork of the Vast Art Formula and scattered, wrapping up their individual battles without hesitation.
The experts of the Lingering Spirit were not so fortunate, for they had no idea what was coming.
They paid the price immediately.
Swoosh! Clang!
With a flutter of sleeves, the Body Protection Qi of dozens of men was instantly shredded.
"Wh-What the—argh!"
"It's impossible to counter! Run!"
Blood and screams erupted from everywhere.
A divine art, counted among the world's best for wide-area combat, had been unleashed by a Desolate Fortress Black Rank expert intoxicated by poppy.
He had poured so much internal power into the attack that there was no turning back. In an instant, the unorthodox warriors of the Lingering Spirit were strewn across the ground.
"..."
The state of those who failed to escape was horrific. Most were corpses.
From their bloodstained clothes to their mangled bodies, not a single part of them was left intact. It was difficult to even recognize what their faces had looked like in life.
The battlefield ground to a halt. Those who had paid the intruder no heed now lowered their swords. This was true for both ally and foe.
Far away, Shaanxi's Number One Demon, who had been tangled in the chariot-wheel formation of the Demonlight Wing experts, did the same.
The wrinkles around the yellow-robed swordsman's eyes twitched. He still didn't seem to take his opponent seriously, yet he couldn't completely hide his surprise.
He gradually allowed the powerful demonic energy coiling around him to subside.
"You... that energy is..."
"Wi Geuk-sang, Shaanxi's Number One Demon."
His lips were twisted, laced with intoxication.
A crimson smile spread across the lips of the Demonlight Wing's Commander.
"Your face isn't much of a sight to behold after all."