Chapter 451: Pandemonium (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 451: Pandemonium (4)
Moments after the death of the Outer Hall Master of the Great Thoroughfare Sect.
A faint white light flowed from Jeong Yeon-shin's body.
Ssssshh—
Swaying like a hazy mist, it crept up the edges of the massive crater and slowly swept down the mountain path.
It was an incredibly bizarre manifestation of internal energy. The sound of it brushing against the dirt was quiet, almost serene.
[Was that just now, perhaps...?] the Heaven-Smiling Invincible muttered.
Soon after, a cold light flashed through her dark-blue eyes.
It was a temperament similar to the gleam that used to flash in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes even before he created his eye technique. The Heaven-Smiling Invincible openly revealed her heaven-sent insight.
[Surprising in many ways. Not only do you possess such a thing, but you even consumed it right in front of me in your current physical state.]
Erasing the crooked smile from her lips, she descended in front of Jeong Yeon-shin.
It was the Ming Cult Leader.
She stood tall and straight. Despite her translucent form and the snow-white cape she wore, demonic energy gathered with transcendental density in her lower back, radiating an overwhelming presence.
The greatest genius under heaven, Yelu Jin.
[Kid.]
Her hair fluttered like dark clouds in the night sky, as if her true body, located somewhere else entirely, was releasing waves of energy.
[Did you overlook Void Displacement? The Ming Cult Leader never takes more than two steps, no matter where the battlefield is.]
Jeong Yeon-shin sat cross-legged in the very center of the crater.
Then, he slowly parted his lips.
"Try it."
[What?]
"Because I will crush your body to pieces."
A boiling voice erupted from his throat. True Qi scraped against his vocal cords, twisting his words into a lion's growl.
At the same time, a freezing, pure white energy crackled like lightning at the nape of his neck.
It was Dharma Power.
[...Crush my body?]
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible, who had been staring down at him, suddenly narrowed her eyes.
[I see what kind of countermeasure you've devised. You possessed such a technique as well?]
"..."
[I am also weaving a counter-formula against you, Jeong Yeon-shin, so let us exchange blows in the near future. I have very high expectations.]
Her voice was laced with amusement.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not reply. Another spiritual essence, however faint, had settled inside his body. He had to overcome the drowsiness flooding his mind.
It wasn't even the full inner core of an Imugi, but a mere fragment of it, yet it was whispering something inside his head.
It felt like a mother's lullaby heard only in dreams. It seemed ready to gently wrap around his consciousness and dissolve it.
What nonsense are you babbling...
He felt like he had to fall asleep right this instant. His vision gradually blurred.
Conversely, his battered acupoints were regaining their elasticity.
The Law-Transcending Halo Qi flowed through his body according to the mnemonic of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art. The divinity dwelling within that energy had grown incomparably dense, surging forth with immense restorative power.
At the same time, a domineering whisper echoed in Jeong Yeon-shin's mind.
It told him that since he now possessed a god, he must lose consciousness for a corresponding amount of time. All spiritual medicines under heaven demanded the same toll.
Jeong Yeon-shin muttered the Eastern curse he had once learned from Heonwon Chang.
Eat shit.
Mingmen, Dachu, Tianzhu.
He accelerated his blood flow, starting from the Mingmen point in his lower back. Immediately, a scorching sensation swept up his lumbar spine.
Then, full-body Fa Jin. He contracted the fine muscles around the Dachu and Tianzhu points, located just above and below the nape of his neck.
As a result...
Thump—
The Baihui point at the crown of his head pulsed like a second heart. His burning hot blood, carrying True Qi, began to circulate throughout his entire body.
His mind snapped awake.
It was a Great Heavenly Cycle where blood and True Qi were perfectly unified. Its flow was incredibly fierce.
Circulating the Law-Transcending Halo Qi through the Jeong Family Dynamic Art... the acupoints will recover within half a shichen. If I spread the flow of the Great Heavenly Cycle to the fine meridians like this and readjust the Qi routing pathways...
He crushed the endless waves of drowsiness with his innate talent. He began to harvest and refine the Imugi's spiritual essence even as he moved.
He staggered to his feet. A tyrannical murderous intent bled from his movements as he found his balance. The surrounding air grew scorching hot.
[...Crazy bastard.]
Her clear, resonant voice echoed like a low groan.
Step.
Climbing out of the crater, Jeong Yeon-shin continued forward. He didn't follow the mountain path. Instead, he headed straight toward the city—toward the distant Yeomcheon Pavilion of Hangzhou.
Each step resembled the staggering gait of a refined drunkard.
There was only one difference: the stone fragments brushed by his feet crumbled instantly into dust.
[I don't understand.]
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible watched him blankly.
[You deliberately seek out a place to die...?]
She floated behind Jeong Yeon-shin, her head tilted to the side, sitting with her legs crossed as if her grandmaster's chair were right there in midair.
* * *
So Mu-cheon, Lord of the Great Thoroughfare Sect, sat silently in the banquet hall.
The endless scenery where the waterways met the sky reflected in his eyes.
It was a superb view, one that could only be witnessed from the top of this twenty-four-story pavilion.
Damn it.
He was on the top floor of Yeomcheon Pavilion, a masterpiece crafted by renowned Ironfolk artisans. A place where only those at the absolute pinnacle of Hangzhou could set foot.
Spitting curses inwardly, So Mu-cheon carefully scanned his surroundings while maintaining a solemn expression.
The figures currently making his life a living hell were lounging about, drinking from their cups.
A giant of a man with blue veins of internal energy flashing over his hands; a woman with a single sword strapped to her back, downing an entire bottle of liquor; a scrawny young man dozing off with half-closed eyes, looking as if everything in the world was a chore...
Dragon Strength Sword Ghost, Drunken Sword Fierce Tiger, Hidden Sword Absolute.
They were the Five Sword Masters of the Heavens.
It was said to be difficult to see even one of the five in a lifetime, yet three of them were currently exchanging drinks right before his eyes.
Were they planning to strike down the Nine Sects? It was a terrifying sight, the kind that would haunt one's dreams.
So Mu-cheon had tried to zone out several times, but whenever that sight caught his eye, a cold shiver would run down his spine.
Damn it, damn it...
So Mu-cheon, Lord of the Great Thoroughfare Sect, was born and raised in Hangzhou.
He had grown up witnessing all kinds of bloody sword fights in this city of scenic beauty, pleasure, and eccentric hermits. It was an inevitable fate for anyone born in a land where countless factions and interests violently entangled.
Thus, So Mu-cheon's humble dream was simply to drink during the day in his hometown and sing at the top of his lungs.
More precisely, he wished that if he ever caused a disturbance, the government soldiers would just arrest him and toss him into the Thunder Prison—rather than being trampled under the feet of the Black Way thugs who ruled the marketplace, or beaten to a pulp by Murim warriors who didn't even view commoners as human.
That was exactly why he had learned the Spirit Overwhelming Art.
It was a third-rate martial art used purely for bluffing and intimidation, designed to make the user's aura and presence feel profound. It was the best martial art a man like him could obtain.
So Mu-cheon just wanted a peaceful Hangzhou. He hoped the people around him wouldn't draw their swords so easily. He didn't want to see blood flow.
That single-minded determination eventually led him to achieve the Stage of Great Completion in the art. Then, one day, while he was devoted to his training, something seeped into his millet-sized dantian.
It was a spiritual essence that, if infused into a blade, would forge a Divine Sword, and if infused into a martial art, would exponentially bolster internal power and shockwaves.
He had become a warrior possessing a Divine Ultimate Technique.
Using this, So Mu-cheon had pacified Hangzhou with an aura that literally took his opponents' breath away. Swordsmen, mistaking him for an enlightened peerless expert, had bowed their heads and sheathed their weapons of their own accord. His dignified appearance, coupled with his plausible words and actions, played a major role in the deception.
He spoke slowly.
"Why do you only enjoy your drinks after calling me here?"
If you have no business with me, please just let me go.
His spoken words and his inner thoughts were completely at odds. He was, after all, originally just someone who had rolled around in the mud of Hangzhou's Black Way.
He knew the rules: bow when necessary, but if you let yourself be looked down upon too much, these monsters would rip out your liver.
The man of immense stature poured liquor into So Mu-cheon's cup.
"Why are you so stiff? We know that Hangzhou runs because of you. No one will harm you just because we've gathered like this, so take a cup. I admire your heavy, dignified presence."
It was the Dragon Strength Sword Ghost of Heaven's Bane.
He was a truly terrifying peak expert. South of the Yangtze River, his strength was comparable to the Commander of the Forest-Treading Unit of the Desolate Fortress.
So Mu-cheon didn't know his real name.
To begin with, the swordsmen of Heaven's Bane didn't have personal names. He had heard they were simply called by their aliases, and if they lacked one, they were addressed by numbers like Number Four or Number Seven. The Dragon Strength Sword Ghost was Number Three.
On one side, the long-armed woman and the scrawny young man were conversing. The Drunken Sword Fierce Tiger and the Hidden Sword Absolute. They, too, were members of the Five Sword Masters of the Heavens. They spoke casually, as if they were the only people in the world.
"What do you think happened to Shin Hwang?"
"...The Commander of the Thread-Annihilation Unit? Either his limbs or his neck must have flown off. He caught our Sect Leader's eye, after all."
"That's a bit of a pity. You can't reattach a neck."
"And you can reattach an arm?"
"I heard there's a Divine Doctor in Hangzhou. The old man has a terrible temper, but his medical skills and internal energy mastery are mind-blowing. He moves around so elusively that even the Imperial Court is desperately searching for him."
"Why didn't we bring such a person into our sect...?"
"Our Sect Leader told us to treat him with respect. He said his acupuncture skills are superior to our swordsmanship."
"What's the point, then? From what I hear, he wouldn't just offer his medical skills to anyone anyway."
So Mu-cheon simply couldn't understand why they had called him here just to throw a drinking party.
Crazy bastards, he thought. He had heard that in Heaven's Bane, they trained in swordsmanship with their very survival on the line every single day.
The Outer Hall Master... I shouldn't have trusted that bastard Mu-jin.
When Taemo Mountain Fortress first set foot in Hangzhou, So Mu-cheon had fully intended to report the news to various great sects, including the Desolate Fortress.
If the Outer Hall Master—who was in charge of the Great Thoroughfare Sect's external affairs—hadn't blocked him, he really would have done it.
Even then, he had been completely in the dark. He never imagined that his own Outer Hall Master would deceive his Lord and side with Taemo Mountain Fortress.
Because of that betrayal, it was too late. "Dark Sky Emperor" was a dread-inducing title passed down through generations, given only to those whose methods were terrifying and whose martial arts possessed unfathomable depths.
By now, the Master of Taemo Mountain Fortress would have already completed the Great Technique that would turn Hangzhou into a living hell.
He had heard it was called the Dragon Summoning Formula.
It was a sorcery martial art designed to drag down a Flood Dragon—one of the strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural entities that had plunged the founding era into chaos alongside the Brightfolk. They intended to stage a massive rebellion using the Earth Qi of Hangzhou, an area famous for its rich energy since ancient times.
Indeed, the Dark Sky Emperor Cho-yeol was a man possessing world-shaking martial arts.
Damn it! Damn it!
Just as So Mu-cheon clenched his fists beneath the table, the surroundings were suddenly dyed black. Billowing dark smoke enveloped the top of the pavilion like a storm cloud.
It was a surreal, dreamlike sight. Within the smoke, the silhouette of a person faintly appeared, only to vanish a second later.
The peak experts of Heaven's Bane paused their drinking.
"For the host to call his guests and be this late..." the Dragon Strength Sword Ghost muttered.
[My apologies. I was delayed by a task my father ordered.]
Voices of varying pitches overlapped and echoed together. It sounded as if several internal cultivation experts were using Six Harmonies Sound Transmission at the exact same time.
So Mu-cheon flinched.
Great Black Divine Beast Cho Pae-gwang...!
The Young Lord of Taemo Mountain Fortress. The one who practically ruled Hangzhou.
So Mu-cheon didn't know his face. No one did, because he always moved around with his entire body shrouded in that thick black fog.
According to the words casually dropped by the Five Sword Masters of the Heavens, the pitch-black cloud surrounding Cho Pae-gwang was a layer of body protection Qi woven from sorcery martial arts. They claimed it was difficult to pierce through even with a high-level eye technique.
[Ah.]
The massive black fog surged and billowed.
[The Lord of the Great Thoroughfare Sect was here as well. My, how rude of me.]
The Young Lord apologized politely. Judging by his tone, he might have even clasped his hands in a formal greeting inside that black fog.
So Mu-cheon didn't feel particularly honored.
He clearly remembered the people who had been completely devoured by that very mist—along with an entire pavilion—leaving not even a corpse behind. He needed to escape this banquet hall full of strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural monsters as quickly as possible.
"Our sect is faithfully complying with your demands. One thousand sheets of Sophora paper will arrive soon."
[Excellent. Now, Sect Leader, please block the city gates. With your aura, you should be able to completely isolate the front of Hangzhou.]
So Mu-cheon was internally shocked. These bastards are truly going to commit treason.
To blockade the gates of a major city like Hangzhou was absolutely not something that could be done lightly.
"...Are you not afraid of the Desolate Fortress?"
[The commanders of the Divine Sword Corps cannot assemble again. They are entangled in highly political relationships with the Imperial Court.]
"The Imperial Army might rise. This is rebellion...!"
[Why would we fear a martial arts army whose core forces are stuck in the Northern Region? Furthermore, our fortress only needs to buy a few days. It is not as if we plan to hold a long siege in Hangzhou.]
It was an extremely leisurely reply. He sounded as if he were thoroughly enjoying this little Q&A.
This was the successor whom the Dark Sky Emperor Cho-yeol had obtained late in life.
So Mu-cheon felt a vast, insurmountable distance between them. Although Cho Pae-gwang carried the blood of the direct lineage, he was a transcendent being who had seized the position of Young Lord by completely surpassing the head of the Three Arts Great Seats—a man personally taught by the Master of the Fortress.
To refuse meant death.
The swordsmen of Heaven's Bane were already staring at So Mu-cheon with intrigued, predatory eyes.
"Is your father here?"
A woman's voice.
It was a voice that hadn't been present in the room a second ago. Startled, So Mu-cheon whipped his head around.
A figure suddenly rose from the twilight-shadowed floor. A beautiful woman wearing a light pink robe over snow-white martial attire stood there, casually caressing the hilt of the sword at her waist.
Her sudden manifestation was incredibly transcendental, enough to immediately bring to mind the word Nangrang—a Taoist goddess.
In an instant, the black fog of the Young Lord Cho Pae-gwang billowed violently.
[...Lady Yul-ha, how could you be so reckless...]
"Tell your father. If he does not stop what he is doing right now, he will pay dearly."
Lady Yul-ha rested her wrist on the hilt of her sword. A natural confidence flowed from her demeanor.
"What kind of monster suddenly...!"
The presence of the Mount Hua Sect Leader was truly immense. It was so overwhelming that the peak experts of Heaven's Bane—who had silently moved to occupy her left, right, and rear—immediately drew their swords.
Yet, not a single person backed down.
Three of the Five Sword Masters of the Heavens, plus the Young Lord of Taemo Mountain Fortress.
With a joint attack, they could realistically aim to defeat Lady Yul-ha. Besides, they were in a position where retreat was impossible.
The atmosphere began to distort in multiple layers.
The three Sword Masters released sword-strike shockwaves without even raising the tips of their blades. In an instant, the roof of the pavilion shook with a heavy rumble.
Lady Yul-ha smirked.
"Do you want to try me?"
[We naturally anticipated the intervention of the Nine Sects.]
Rustle.
From within the black fog, several sheets of paper flew out and landed on the table.
Plum (梅), Forest (林), Way (道)... they were characters symbolizing the Mount Hua Sect, Shaolin Temple, and Wudang Sect, respectively.
Among them, the character 'Hwang' (荒) for 'Desolate' was also present. They looked like markers used in military circles to designate targets.
[In truth, I even hoped for this a little. Your Nine Sects run around extracting the inner cores of all kinds of strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural entities under the pretext of restoring order to the world. And the Desolate Fortress is, goes without saying, a massive eyesore... I wished for your core experts to enter Hangzhou. Because whoever comes, their life thread will be cut.]
Lady Yul-ha did not answer. She merely gripped her sword hilt lightly. At the same time, the sky darkened. A faint red light rose from beneath the pavilion.
[...!]
She was the greatest sword talent of the Nine Great Sects. The youngest Sect Leader in history.
Yet, the voice of Young Lord Cho Pae-gwang flowed smoothly without a single tremor.
[Honored guests of Heaven's Bane, you must deploy a sword formation. Do not give her the chance to unleash the Purple Mist Divine Art. In the meantime, I...]
The four sheets of paper engraved with the characters Plum, Forest, Way, and Hwang floated above the table and began to tear one by one.
It was Void Grab—exerting an extremely precise force without even touching the targets. To So Mu-cheon, Lord of the Great Thoroughfare Sect, every single person in this room was nothing but a monster.
[I will add my strength to the Dragon Summoning Formula.]
Rumble—
Suddenly, a heavy vibration rang out from beneath their feet.
But it only lasted for a moment.
Though faint at first, the amplitude of the vibration grew at a terrifying pace. In the blink of an eye, the roof shook so violently it felt like a localized earthquake. Something was piercing straight up through the entire twenty-four-story pavilion.
In the brief moment when bewilderment flashed across the faces of all the gathered experts—
───!
A figure made of light soared upward, shattering the floor entirely like a bolt of pure white lightning, and sliced vertically straight through the Young Lord's black cloud.