Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Night Dyed in Blood (4)
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A single man stood there motionless.
"S-Sima Geon!"
"Divine Demon Division Leader!"
Pung Cheonroe and Eum Seolhui's faces drained of all color.
"Why... did you come here? You're... too late."
At Cheol Woo's reproach, Sima Geon offered a faint smile.
"I ran here like hell."
As Sima Geon stepped toward Cheol Woo, Eum Seolhui and Pung Cheonroe, who had been blocking the middle of the road, flinched in shock and hurriedly retreated.
"The little one... is she... okay?"
Cheol Woo gasped out the question, struggling for breath.
"Fortunately, I wasn't too late. It was a close call. It was those Red Dragon Gang bastards."
"Those idiots... again..."
Cheol Woo let out a chuckle, as if he could already picture the fate that had befallen the Red Dragon Gang after crossing paths with Sima Geon.
"So stop worrying needlessly and pull yourself together. You two as well—get your heads straight. What the hell is wrong with all of you?"
Sima Geon glanced at Cheol Woo, then at Noejeon clinging desperately to life, and at Gwa Yu and Ha Hu Yeon leaning on each other, barely holding on amid their severe wounds.
"Heh heh heh! I said I'd do it, but it's not... that easy. They came... properly laced with poison... you see."
"Enough. Shut your mouth now and start circulating your qi. You got poisoned, right?"
Cheol Woo nodded weakly, lacking even the strength to speak.
"I have a rough idea who did this."
With those words, Sima Geon stomped the ground.
Two venomous snakes that had been stealthily approaching exploded, their bodies bursting apart.
Sima Geon kicked one of the snake corpses lightly and looked at Eum Seolhui.
"Ten Thousand Poisons Valley, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
Eum Seolhui screamed as if possessed.
"And."
Sima Geon's gaze turned to Pung Cheonroe.
"Long time no see, Flying Heaven Mad Demon."
"Indeed."
Pung Cheonroe couldn't hide his tension, his eyes darting about wildly.
'For the Red Dragon Gang, it was impossible after all. But still, not even a proper scratch on him, let alone any injury.'
Pung Cheonroe couldn't conceal his disappointment at the sight of Sima Geon, who looked utterly unscathed.
After their plan was exposed at the Guanji Temple, the Red Dragon Gang had split off from the group under the pretext of securing hostages. Rather than just a portion of their forces as originally planned, the entire Red Dragon Gang had mobilized to capture a young girl named Sima Jin.
As if to punish their overreach, word came that Sima Geon had left for the Clear Heart Clinic.
With Gu Seongnyang leading them, the fighters dispatched by the Red Dragon Gang had seemed decently skilled, so he'd held out some hope. Of course, he'd never dreamed of defeating Sima Geon.
"Die!"
With a cry laced with venom, Eum Seolhui leaped into the air and thrust her hand toward Sima Geon.
Dozens of poison streams split off in a brilliant explosion.
It was the technique known as Dark Heaven Fragrance.
One could hardly be blamed for falling into fear at the sight of poison streams that blotted out the sky itself—but Sima Geon was the exception.
Sima Geon's sword narrowed its range sharply, thrusting toward the encroaching poison streams.
It was Flying Willow Scatters Flowers, a secret technique of the Myriad Phenomena Sword, the signature poison martial art of the Iron Blood Demon Lord—one of the Three Demon Lords alongside the Great Power Demon Lord and Blood Sea Demon Lord.
Petals scattered, enveloping the poison streams.
As the strands snapped and vanished like a mirage, Eum Seolhui's mind reeled in daze.
Overwhelmed by Sima Geon's momentum, she staggered backward unsteadily.
Sima Geon's form closed in like the wind itself.
Pung Cheonroe rushed in desperately, unleashing a barrage of Bloodless Palm ultimate techniques to save her.
A series of collision sounds rang out, and a fountain of blood erupted from Pung Cheonroe's mouth.
His hands, tempered hard as diamond stone, were mangled and drenched in blood.
At that moment, Eum Seolhui—who had felt the vast gap with Sima Geon in just that single clash—whirled around.
Her poison-laced gaze fixed on the room where a half-shattered door barely clung to its frame.
'That bastard's siblings!'
If revenge was impossible, she would at least inflict the same pain of losing family before her eyes.
The moment she reached the door in a single leap and black energy rippled from her hand, a horrific pain like lightning piercing her struck.
"Kwaaaagh!"
Eum Seolhui let out a gruesome scream as she stared in despair at the sword protruding from her dantian after piercing straight through it.
Bloody tears streamed from her eyes.
"M-Mother... F-Father..."
Grieving the failure of the revenge she'd dreamed of even in her sleep, Eum Seolhui's body collapsed limply.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Having hurled his sword to finish off Eum Seolhui, Sima Geon unleashed the ultimate techniques of the Heaven Shattering Nine Part Fist left behind by the Great Power Demon Lord.
Ten Directions Thunder flowed into Meteor Strikes Moon, then into Ink Cloud Light, the chain assault exploding as it battered every vital point across Pung Cheonroe's body.
Pung Cheonroe gritted his teeth and gathered his innate true qi for a counterattack, but Sima Geon crushed it with overwhelming martial prowess.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Blood sprayed, flesh tore.
Each time Sima Geon swung his fist, Pung Cheonroe's face twisted in agony as he endured the torment wracking his entire body.
'Damn it! Why did I come to this place...'
Regret came far too late.
Crack!
Pung Cheonroe's legs snapped.
Sima Geon kicked the face of the pitching-forward Pung Cheonroe squarely.
With the gruesome sound of his neck vertebrae shattering, Pung Cheonroe's body tumbled lifelessly into a corner, collapsing the outhouse there.
Sima Geon took a light breath, turned, and walked toward Cheol Woo, who was circulating his qi with a darkened face.
"B-Brother. G-Great Granduncle..."
Ha Hu Yeon cried out urgently.
"Yeah. Got it."
Sima Geon nodded lightly as if to say not to worry, then leaped beyond the fence.
Finding Ha Hu Gok was not difficult.
Traces of fierce battles littered the area everywhere.
Following them, he soon left Wu Family Village behind.
A violent clash echoed from ahead, accompanied by a shout powerful enough to overturn the heavens.
In the distance, under the cloudless moonlight, nine flying daggers danced freely around Ha Hu Gok, pressuring him—Somaensa was on the verge of delivering the killing blow.
No matter how fast he moved, the distance made it impossible to save Ha Hu Gok in time.
Without hesitation, Sima Geon removed the Heavenly Demon Ring from his wrist and hurled it at Somaensa.
Whoosh!
Even upon spotting the terrifying projectile slicing through the air, Somaensa did not falter.
This old monster had endured their combined assault of himself and Ilgeom Talmyeong until now. He had to kill him for certain while he could.
Somaensa trusted Ilgeom Talmyeong to block any threat to him.
As if mocking that assumption, the moment Ilgeom Talmyeong swung his sword, the Heavenly Demon Ring transformed into a sword and evaded the attack at astonishing speed.
A speed like light itself.
"Danger!"
Ilgeom Talmyeong cried out in alarm, but the Heavenly Demon Ring was already upon Somaensa.
"Wha... Gahk!"
A dying scream—that was the last thing Somaensa ever uttered.
As he turned his head, Somaensa's body toppled, the thin blade of the Heavenly Demon Ring embedded in his forehead swaying gently.
"A sneak attack? You've grown quite cowardly in the time we haven't met, Divine Demon Division Leader."
"Cowardly? And two against one is fair?"
Sima Geon, who had closed in unnoticed, drew the still-swaying Heavenly Demon Ring.
At a loss for words, Ilgeom Talmyeong glanced at Somaensa's corpse and sighed.
"If you've come all this way, it seems our plan has failed."
"Probably."
"Are they all dead?"
"You're the last."
Sima Geon swung the Heavenly Demon Ring, his face showing he was done talking.
He clearly hadn't expected the Divine Demon Division Leader of the world to resort to such a surprise attack, panic evident on his face—but he was a veteran of countless battles. The instincts honed through hundreds, thousands of duels already moved his sword.
It was the pinnacle of speed that proved his moniker Ilgeom Talmyeong was no exaggeration.
Yet Sima Geon's sword was faster.
The Three Demon Lords, forever second to the Heavenly Demon.
The martial art they had forged together in bitter determination: Single Heaven Nine Forms.
The first form, Gap Horse Fleeting Light, unfolded.
Before Ilgeom Talmyeong's sword could move halfway, Sima Geon's blade was already at his face.
An overwhelming speed that closed the distance between them in an instant.
Ilgeom Talmyeong twisted away in shock, his feet moving with blinding agility.
One Step Chasing Thunder.
A footwork as renowned as his swift sword, arguably the fastest in the demonic path if speed alone were considered.
Yet the sword's trajectory pursuing Ilgeom Talmyeong was far swifter and sharper.
Slash.
A chilling tearing sound rang out as one arm soared into the air.
Ilgeom Talmyeong bit his lip to swallow his scream and pushed his feet to their limit.
With the initiative completely seized, facing head-on was suicide. Escaping the onslaught came first; counterattacking could wait.
The second form of Single Heaven Nine Swords: Piercing Clouds Covering Sun.
True to its name of invading clouds and eclipsing the sun, waves of sword force blocked every direction of movement.
Ilgeom Talmyeong halted, his expression blank with despair.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
He swung his sword desperately to survive.
It was mere futile struggle, like a candle flickering perilously in the wind.
As countless sword forces raked him simultaneously, Ilgeom Talmyeong scattered into pieces without even a final scream, his body torn asunder.
Though weary from prolonged battle and caught off-guard by the preemptive strike, Ilgeom Talmyeong was still one of the demonic path's top masters. Yet he fell without mounting any proper defense, let alone a counter.
Having ended Ilgeom Talmyeong with just two strikes, Sima Geon stared at the Heavenly Demon Ring in his hand.
A strange feeling welled up at the perfect harmony between the Heavenly Demon's divine artifact—his beloved weapon—and the martial arts of the Three Demon Lords, forged through bone-deep agony to surpass him.
"Elder!"
Sima Geon rushed to Ha Hu Gok after felling Ilgeom Talmyeong.
Ha Hu Gok, now unconscious, was beyond "miserable"—his state was utterly horrific.
Countless wounds large and small covered his body, blood flowing from them to dye his entire form red.
Compared to Cheol Woo, who could still circulate his qi despite looking on the brink of death, Ha Hu Gok's injuries seemed far more critical.
There was no time to lose. Sima Geon swiftly scooped up Ha Hu Gok and raced away like the wind.