Chapter 266: The Master of the Martial Book (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 266: The Master of the Martial Book (3)
The Second Apostle's lips twisted into a sinister smirk.
"The Cult Leader has vanished, yet those who call themselves Apostles rule the Cult with their shallow faith. They are truly a wretched lot, deserving of death. Cultists, execute the Seventh Apostle with a noble heart."
He spoke with his arms crossed in an elegant posture. He floated slightly in midair, sustained by the Body Protection Scripture of Void Treading.
To any onlooker, he might have seemed divine, yet the chaotic energy characteristic of the Heterodox Sects enveloped him, giving him the aura of a demonic god.
The god of the Blood Flame Cult's Shaanxi Branch had given his command.
Spread out like a swarm of red ants, the Blood Flame Cultists reacted. Fanaticism, by nature, always gravitated toward the ruler closest at hand.
Shaanxi was their world. This was evident in how they bared their killing intent toward the Seventh Apostle of the destroyed main headquarters.
"The Apostle has commanded!"
"Let us drink the traitor's blood!"
"Kill her!"
In the midst of the uproar, the head of the bastard who shouted to drink blood suddenly exploded, obliterated by the violent sweep of a palm wind.
From afar, the Second Apostle—who had unleashed the Red Dark Divine Palm with a single hand while keeping his arms crossed—muttered, "Every single drop belongs to this seat."
Unfazed, the Blood Flame Cultists rushed toward the Seventh Apostle, their red hair fluttering in the wind.
They kicked off the ground, completely unbothered by the powerful shockwaves exploding beside them. Their numbers easily reached the hundreds.
Framed by the semi-transparent, shimmering walls of the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation, it created a scene straight out of myth—a horde of monsters torn from the pages of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
The Seventh Apostle did not dodge. She merely glanced around as if the charging cultists were invisible. A madman's temperament flickered within her distracted demeanor.
The Second Apostle smiled like an ancient sage.
"Seventh Apostle, noble of the sublime True Blood. Do not resist the cultists. They are born of your martial arts and your blood."
"You use sound transmission with the solemnity of a high-ranking official," the Seventh Apostle replied curtly.
The smiling Second Apostle's sound transmission flowed like a rapid melody.
"Do you intend to spill the blood of your own kin? Even if you escape this place, no Apostle will welcome you, so do not be so hasty to apostatize. It would be better for you to become the sword of the Shaanxi Branch. Think of how much you could enjoy through faith."
At that moment, five figures landed in front of the Seventh Apostle. They were exceptionally powerful Blood Master Swords.
With their dark red hair fluttering, they stomped their feet, violently gouging out the softly piled snow with the energy waves of their Blood Art.
"Traitor."
"Rest in peace."
Merciless energy emanated from the swords, sabers, and hand-claws they wielded.
Every single one of them had mastered the Blood Art. They were men and women whose eyes flashed with bloodlust, acting as if they had been born with precious blood.
Beset on all sides.
Any master, no matter how great, would have been forced to negotiate. The scale of this coordinated attack was on an entirely different level. Not only was their combined strength immense, but the clash was imminent.
"Choose."
Just as the Second Apostle's voice drifted from afar...
Suddenly.
The Seventh Apostle extended her leg. A crimson energy spread along the hem of her Pure Blood Robe.
Crunch.
In that brief moment, she took a single step forward.
That was the trigger.
Wroooooom—!
A red light flared from her toes, the physical materialization of her profound True Qi.
The snowy ground beneath her feet trembled. Soon after, the red light began to billow like mist.
At that exact moment, a violent wave of energy erupted from the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation spread out behind her.
Thud—!
The five Blood Master Swords were pushed back simultaneously. Even though they had channeled powerful Blood Art True Qi throughout their bodies, their sliding feet left deep furrows in the snow.
Bewilderment washed over their faces, replacing their blind killing intent.
Curling the corners of her lips, the Seventh Apostle took another step.
Boom!
The rush of the red wave stopped all at once. The cultists who had been charging forward faltered and lost their balance.
The energy forming the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation bound their bodies. The fundamental True Qi of the Blood Flame Cult had halted their massive charge in its tracks.
"Seventh Apostle. What trick did you play on our Cult's secret sorcery formation?" the Second Apostle asked, his face entirely expressionless.
The Seventh Apostle blinked once.
"I went for a walk with the young Grand Preceptor. It was wonderful."
On the day the main headquarters was destroyed, countless cultists had died within the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation. It was the result of Grand Preceptor Jeong Yeon-shin's handiwork—he had operated the sorcery formation in reverse.
The Grand Preceptor had easily shattered and hijacked the formation guarding the headquarters.
Bringing sorcery into the realm of martial arts, he had ruthlessly punished the headquarters' underlings with his dazzling control. He showed no forgiveness to those who challenged his dignity.
She had meticulously engraved those brilliant traces into her single eye.
Tracing the lingering senses of the young Grand Preceptor, she had felt a pleasure akin to walking on clouds.
Lost in that immensely joyful and refreshing sensation, she had deciphered the method to operate the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation on her own.
The Seventh Apostle...
...had donned the Apostle's robe at the age of seventeen. She was born of pure blood.
She was a supreme master of the True Blood. It was said her talent was unprecedented in the entire history of the Cult.
A radiant talent that allowed her to perceive just how exceptionally dazzling the Grand Preceptor truly was. She would also be the one to grieve his death the most—unlike those with the Solar Divine Pulse of the Hwangbo Clan, who merely shared a similar innate destiny.
"I pondered for a very long time. I wondered why the Grand Preceptor avoided me. I couldn't understand it at all. We connected through martial arts. We are the only ones who can understand each other. I am the only one who should engrave the epitaph on the Grand Preceptor's tombstone..."
Her lips, which had been twitching as if she were muttering to herself in madness, curved into a smooth arc.
"But after hearing the Grand Preceptor's words..."
Swoosh.
She lightly raised her arm, letting her red sleeve slide downward.
"I realized it was because of you bastards."
She had to reclaim what she felt when she posed as Miss Ye of the Hanzhong Martial World Alliance.
She had loved the Grand Preceptor's words and actions, which had been gentler than ever before. Like an addictive drug, they melted her mind and body. Compared to that, her faith in the Cult was utterly trivial.
The Seventh Apostle muttered in a whisper, "I alone am the noble True Blood. Why would I need any of you?"
A reddish Blood Art energy sprouted from her pale hands.
Boom!
The walls of the sorcery formation surged like waves, bending to the Seventh Apostle's energy.
The walls, originally constructed to trap the Flash Art along with Mount Taibai, severed like a horizon. They were soon dyed in a faint blood-red hue, matching her True Qi.
The technique the Grand Preceptor had displayed across the main headquarters in the past was now manifesting once again.
It had been adapted into the Seventh Apostle's own style. The blade forged to kill the Flash Art, Jeong Yeon-shin, now pointed its edge in the exact opposite direction.
"What on earth is..."
"Divine punishment... It's divine punishment...!"
The Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation, towering high behind the Seventh Apostle, pulsed. It danced, swayed entirely by her control of internal energy.
The dimly billowing walls of the formation began to drag downward toward the base of Mount Taibai.
It loomed directly in front of her. A semi-transparent red tsunami cast a massive shadow, vast enough to envelop the entire mountainside.
Wroooooom—
It swept in, blotting out the sunlight in an instant. The earth shook.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"O Blood Buddha! O Flame God!"
Cultists began to turn and flee in droves. But the wave was already too close.
A heavy rumble echoed.
It was like an inescapable net cast by the Mountain God of the Qinling Mountains.
Falling from the snow-covered slope, it reached the entrance of Mount Taibai and the piles of corpses. It passed right through the Seventh Apostle, sweeping over and crushing several hundred people in its massive embrace.
It happened in an instant. The Blood Flame Cultists, who had just been smearing the blood of Jianghu martial artists and commoners on their lips, convulsed in unison.
The resonance of True Qi was incredibly immense. A massive influx of identical energy forcibly dragged the internal energy residing within their bodies out through their skin.
The principle of essence absorption was applied in reverse against the blood ghosts. Unable to endure it, their bodies began to explode one after another.
Thud! Crack—! Boom!
It was a completely different fate from those they had killed through essence absorption. Instant deaths followed, as if they had been struck point-blank by Thunderbolt Bombs. Most did not even leave a corpse behind.
A powerful backdraft swept through, whipping up a blizzard. The blood ghosts exploded continuously.
The Seventh Apostle's lips curled into a bloody smile.
Ahahaha—!
Her maddened laughter carried a silent question directed at the Grand Preceptor: I can act like a wicked demon to these bastards, right?
"Seventh—Apostle—!"
The Second Apostle flew forward, his eyes rolling back in fury. His disheveled hair fluttered dully alongside his Pure Blood Robe.
Like the Seventh Apostle, he was a supreme master who had purified his internal energy instead of absorbing essence, but even he seemed on the verge of falling into Qi Deviation. His energy wave was nowhere near as powerful as before.
The Seventh Apostle made a small gesture.
Crunch.
The snowy ground beneath her feet collapsed. In an instant, her body blurred forward.
Sunlight rippled at the tips of her pitch-black hair.
In the very next moment, she stepped lightly onto the Second Apostle's shoulders.
The red mist of the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation had already dragged up to his knees. With his movements sealed, the Second Apostle let out a low groan.
The Seventh Apostle exhaled a smooth breath. A bizarre heat writhed across her pale face, matching the distinct, piercing gaze of a supreme master.
"My Grand Preceptor, my dazzling comet."
Next time, I will be able to see you from a higher place. She smiled.
* * *
"The encirclement has broken," muttered Bukgung Hu of the Ice Palace.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt it immediately as well. The vastly spread Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation had collapsed.
It felt as if one axis of a massive fortress wall had caved in on itself and vanished. He had a vague idea of why, though he couldn't be entirely sure.
Surely not. No matter how crazy someone is...
It was often said that the affairs of the Jianghu were as complex and unpredictable as the currents of the Yangtze River. It was best to refrain from hasty assumptions and focus on what lay ahead.
The situation was wrapping up. Now that an escape route was secured, the incident would end once they shook off the pursuing Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect.
Of course, that was the hardest part.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at Jang Sun-il and the noble siblings of the Ice Palace.
"You guys head down first. I still have work to do."
They did not linger. All three possessed extraordinary quick-wittedness and knew exactly when to withdraw.
"Young Master, I wish you success."
Jang Sun-il seemed more accustomed to bowing his head than performing a traditional Arching Hand Salute.
Jeong Yeon-shin genuinely hoped this kind herb gatherer would not die in a foreign land. They were both in similar positions, burdened by the need to seek revenge.
He silently patted the boy's shoulder. Channeling his Law-Transcending Halo Qi into his palm, he performed Acupoint Clearing.
"Ugh...!"
"I've moderately stimulated the acupoints throughout your body. It should do you more good than the soil where that fleeceflower root grew. A person needs to eat proper food."
Jang Sun-il, who had been groaning in pain, widened his eyes in realization. Jeong Yeon-shin gently pushed the boy's shoulder.
"Don't look back. I wish you well."
He glanced at the Bukgung siblings, silently signaling them to accompany the boy. They nodded.
"We will wait for you in the North Sea. Thank you," Bukgung Hu said.
"This is a very grand achievement. You can look forward to our gratitude," Bukgung Rin added, waving the Compendium of Demon Extermination.
Bukgung Hu clasped his hands in an awkward Central Plains-style salute, while Bukgung Rin waved the Compendium of Demon Extermination in farewell.
Crunch.
The three of them descended the mountain side by side, occasionally looking back at Jeong Yeon-shin.
The sunlight shimmered white over their three rows of consecutive footprints. Distinct traces remained on the snowy ground. It was a simple, clean connection.
He glanced to his side. Lady Yul-ha was sitting on a snow-covered boulder, completely engrossed in reading the Compendium of Demon Extermination.
Just then, she looked up.
"You are quite warm-hearted."
"Pardon...?"
"The disciples of my sect are the same. This humble Taoist is no different."
"The Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect is coming up. Rather than idle chatter..."
"The Compendium of Demon Extermination." Lady Yul-ha cut Jeong Yeon-shin off.
"For the next ten years, the Heterodox Sects of Shaanxi will not be able to withstand the Plum Blossom Sword. At least ten years. The martial arts of prestigious sects, regardless of whether they are orthodox or unorthodox, are attainments accumulated over a long time. They cannot easily alter the framework of their martial studies like you do."
She continued slowly. "You saved my disciple Yu-hyeon a couple of times. Our Mount Hua is a sword sect with strict laws, so we must naturally treat you as our benefactor."
"You read it quickly."
Jeong Yeon-shin realized it immediately. The Mount Hua Sect Leader had already fully mastered the counter-techniques against the Hegemon Sword Sect.
What would happen next? The function of his coolly calmed Upper Dantian remained completely silent at this moment.
The corners of Lady Yul-ha's lips curved up gently into a playful smile.
"Do you know how tedious and long the passages of Taoist scriptures are? Your handwriting is neat and the content is intuitive, so it was highly enjoyable. It truly felt like returning to my youth. There was a time when reading even a single line of a mnemonic would excite me..."
It was then.
—Imperial hunting dog, prepare to receive the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect!
A young man's voice echoed loudly. He seemed to be a master escorting the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect, as his shout carried a profoundly deep level of internal energy.
Jeong Yeon-shin paid it no mind and shifted his gaze. An immeasurable power was gradually rising from below.
He couldn't even sense the presence of the bastard who had just shouted. Finally, the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect was arriving.
If I observe him with the Sight of the Lowly now, next time...
Jeong Yeon-shin lightly moved his index finger, like he was performing a shadow play.
First strike, starting with a horizontal slash.
< Compendium of Demon Extermination—Book of the Hegemon Sword Sect. >
[These are bastards with highly developed lateral deltoids.
The energy in their Jianyu Point and Zhongfu Point on the sides of their shoulders is equally robust. Rather than downward strikes, they excel at horizontal slashes extending outward, which means they are adept at countering vertical strikes.
Delivering a horizontal slash as the first strike is advantageous for seizing a split second of time. This is a principle even a moderately dull monkey would understand, and the structure of their True Qi is generally...]
Suddenly.
The sky turned dark.
It happened before the crown of the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect's head even came into view.
Whoosh—!
Following the unconscious movement of Jeong Yeon-shin's finger, a reddish sunset glow was etched in a long arc across the ridge of the hill.
Extending her pure white Divine Sword to the side, Lady Yul-ha's sleeves fluttered in the wind. It was an elegant shade of pink.