Chapter 223
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Wudang Under Attack
When Ja-seong appeared at Shangqing Palace, it wasn't just Mountain Lord who was shocked and terrified.
“W-What the hell... how is that bastard...!”
Deep within Wudang Mountain, far from Cheonju Peak where the Wudang Sect resided.
Yuk-gan, who had been staying where the divine tree's offshoot was growing, stammered with a face drained of color at the scene transmitted through the 'eye' she had planted in the Wudang Sect.
Ja-seong's sudden appearance in the Wudang Sect came as a massive shock to her.
“No way... this can't be happening?”
Yuk-gan muttered in a dazed expression.
But her eyes mercilessly projected Ja-seong at Shangqing Palace even more clearly.
'Is what I'm seeing real? Is that really him?'
It was pure coincidence that Yuk-gan spotted Ja-seong appearing in the Wudang Sect.
Some of the sacred beasts blessed by the divine tree had suddenly surged toward the Wudang Sect on Cheonju Peak, so she activated the eyes she had planted near the sect out of curiosity.
And through those eyes, she saw it.
The face of the man she never wanted to encounter again.
“N-No way... did he track me down? How? I didn't leave any traces...!”
She tried not to show it, but the humiliating failure at the Zhuge family was deeply etched in Yuk-gan's mind.
And now, the culprit of that failure had shown up on Wudang Mountain as if chasing after her—who wouldn't be shaken?
In reality, it was just a coincidence, but from Yuk-gan's perspective, she had no choice but to think otherwise.
“I-I have to tell him. I need to inform Lord Il-gan and get his help...!”
Yuk-gan floundered, losing her composure.
As she hurriedly pulled a mirror from her bosom, Il-gan's brief words suddenly flashed through her mind.
[I trust you.]
-Halt.
“.......”
I trust you.
Just those three short words made Yuk-gan freeze in place.
Her pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
She bit her lip, feeling reason and emotion clash violently.
'Lord Il-gan said he trusts me...!'
Though she had taken on the task due to O-gan's death, he had still trusted her and entrusted her with this vital mission.
So, was it right to panic prematurely and beg for help?
Wouldn't he be deeply disappointed in her?
'Besides, Lord Il-gan has already sent excessive reinforcements.'
Yuk-gan's gaze turned to the wooden puppets standing side by side—Muk-ryeong.
Three Muk-ryeong, each rivaling the power of the Ten Supremes.
Plus countless blessed sacred beasts, and herself, empowered even further by the divine tree's energy.
It was an overwhelming force that couldn't even be compared to something like the rampaging Zhuge Cheon-sang.
Realizing this, Yuk-gan swiftly regained her cool.
'Right, no matter how skilled that bastard is, he can't overcome this difference in power.'
This could even be the perfect chance to make him pay for ruining her previous operation.
Feeling the abundant divine tree energy coursing through her body, Yuk-gan quickly erased her fear of Ja-seong.
Just then, she saw Mountain Lord fleeing desperately from Ja-seong's attack, and Ja-seong launching crescent-shaped sword energy at him.
“Damn...!”
Mountain Lord was a sacred beast worthy of being called a divine beast, especially blessed with abundant power within Wudang Mountain.
She couldn't let him be lost so pointlessly.
Yuk-gan manipulated the other sacred beasts through the eye she had sent to the Wudang Sect.
The beasts blessed by the divine tree obeyed her will—the superior being sharing their energy—without regard for death, blocking Ja-seong's attacks.
Thanks to them, Mountain Lord safely escaped the Wudang Sect.
“Phew....”
Confirming this, Yuk-gan let out a small sigh of relief and fell into thought.
The reason the sacred beasts attacked the Wudang Sect no longer mattered.
What mattered was that Ja-seong had appeared on Wudang Mountain chasing her, and she had to prevent him from carelessly approaching the divine tree's offshoot and herself.
“...The best option is to keep him tied down inside the Wudang Sect?”
After pondering for a while, Yuk-gan murmured softly.
Even with their overwhelming power advantage, Ja-seong was an enemy she couldn't afford to underestimate.
'Especially that glowing sword.'
The faint glow of sword force that had destroyed the blood crystal—the fruit of the divine tree's blessing.
Yuk-gan instinctively sensed the danger of that sword force and remained wary.
'If he points that glowing sword at the divine tree's offshoot...!'
Shuddering at the unimaginable consequences, she hardened her resolve.
As she had murmured earlier, the best course was to ensure Ja-seong couldn't even approach the offshoot.
And a perfect method for that had just occurred to her.
“...That bastard might be astonishingly strong, but the others aren't.”
Yuk-gan replayed the scene she had just witnessed.
The Wudang Sect in ruins from the sacred beasts.
The second-generation disciples couldn't properly resist the sacred beasts, and even the first-generation disciples—the sect's main force—needed five of them to handle just one sacred beast.
So, what if sacred beasts attacked Wudang on a scale incomparable to today?
“The Wudang Sect would be annihilated.”
The annihilation of the Wudang Sect.
What a sweet ring it had.
How delightful it would be to watch the Wudang Taoists burn amid a sea of blood and flames.
'But not right now.'
Yuk-gan smacked her lips in regret.
Destroying the Wudang Sect wasn't her current task.
She would push them just enough to barely hold on—enough for a powerhouse like Ja-seong to protect them.
That way, she could tie Ja-seong down in the Wudang Sect as much as possible.
Until the offshoot fully matured.
Yuk-gan looked up.
At the end of her gaze was the offshoot, emanating an even greater aura than yesterday.
Gazing at the offshoot wrapped in beautiful crimson light, Yuk-gan gauged when its growth would complete.
“...Six days. Exactly six days. Then the offshoot will have fully matured.”
Once the offshoot fully grew, no glowing sword or anything else would matter.
No mere human could accomplish anything before a fully matured offshoot.
'Buy time. That's all I need to do.'
Having finished deliberating, Yuk-gan took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly.
Soon, blisters bubbled up across her body, bursting through her skin as something emerged.
What emerged were eyeballs.
Eyeballs with tiny wings attached.
When the number of eyeballs emerging ceaselessly from Yuk-gan's body reached a hundred, they all flew off in every direction at once.
To gather the sacred beasts scattered throughout Wudang Mountain—the legion of beasts.
*
“Ugh... uuuugh....”
Ye So-ha, who entered the room first through the door, groaned and slumped her upper body over the large round table.
Seeing her noticeably pale face, I could truly feel just how grueling her efforts had been.
She really worked her ass off.
Treating everyone from the sect leader to those in critical condition.
Having watched her efforts up close while she sealed acupoints to stop bleeding, I couldn't treat her coldly and quietly offered some encouragement.
“...You did well.”
“Yes, I worked really hard.”
I gave a wry smile at Ye So-ha, who waved her hand dismissively while keeping her face buried in the table. Hwa-ryeon greeted me.
“You did well too, Ja-seong. So, how's the sect leader?”
“The wounds themselves are treated for now. He should be able to get up sometime today or tomorrow.”
“That's a relief.”
I gently stroked Hwa-ryeon's head as she sighed in relief, then sat in a chair. Soon, the rest of the group gathered around the table one by one.
“So, what's the exact extent of the damage?”
Hwa-ryeon spoke up first.
I answered with a sigh.
“More than anything, the second-generation disciples took heavy losses. Out of fifty-four, twenty died.”
During the monster attack.
Unlike the first-generation disciples and elders gathered at Shangqing Palace, the second-generation disciples scattered throughout the sect were ambushed.
They died without mounting a proper defense, resulting in twenty casualties, including Hyun-un Taoist—the senior brother of the second-generation disciples.
“...The damage is worse than I thought.”
Hwa-ryeon's face stiffened.
The others wore grim expressions at the greater-than-expected losses, and the room's atmosphere grew heavy in an instant.
Ye So-ha added fuel to the fire.
“The problem is, this isn't the end.”
“...This isn't the end? What do you mean?”
At my question, Ye So-ha straightened up with a groan, rolling her neck as she spoke.
“Just what I said. There's a very high chance the mutants... the monsters... will attack again.”
Everyone's faces hardened at the grave implication behind her nonchalant tone.
“...What's your reasoning?”
“Yes. I was just about to explain.”
Ye So-ha sat up straight and addressed the group.
“First off, there are two main possibilities for why they attacked the Wudang Sect. If we categorize them, private reasons and public ones?”
“Public... reasons?”
“Yes. We've already talked about how a sapling of the blood tree is growing somewhere on Wudang Mountain, right?”
According to Ye So-ha's explanation, it was highly likely that whoever was protecting the sapling on Wudang Mountain had already planted surveillance eyes on the Wudang Sect.
“The Wudang Sect wouldn't sit idle during anomalies on Wudang Mountain. It was probably to prepare for any contingencies.”
“But they left it alone until now, and suddenly decided it was getting in the way?”
“You heard earlier, right? Right after this incident, they kept scouting the surroundings and expanding the range.”
Nodding as I recalled what the Wudang Taoists had said, I then asked about the private reason.
Ye So-ha reacted as if it was obvious.
“What else? Obviously, that tiger venting its rage.”
“...Venting its rage?”
Even as I reacted with inner disbelief, Ye So-ha stuck to her claim.
“I told you, the monsters' purpose is malice toward humans. But it got its life threatened by Goon gongzi's Storm Sword and fled in disgrace.”
Calling the Sovereign Sword Form 'Storm Sword' irked me greatly, but it wasn't important, so I let it slide.
“So, it was pissed that I scared it off and ran, but lacked the confidence to do anything about me directly, so it took it out on the Wudang Sect instead? The tiger?”
“Not just any tiger. One that can command other monsters and has the intelligence to use human heads as decorations and mock them.”
Along with her speculation that it was probably a spirit beast even before mutating, Ye So-ha wrapped up her explanation.
And the conclusion.
“No matter the real reason, the monsters will attack again. Maybe even as soon as tomorrow.”
“...I hope that prediction is wrong.”
Seol-i shuddered and muttered in dread.
But contrary to her wish, Ye So-ha's words became reality.
The next morning, another horde of monsters invaded the Wudang Sect.
This time, on a scale at least twice as large as yesterday's.