Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Third Chapter - Companions, Ghost Valley (2)
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Regardless of Hwa Seo's unease, Mok Ri-won scattered an air of excitement the entire way toward Residual Blood Valley.
It couldn't be helped, from his perspective.
To him, Residual Blood Valley wasn't just the site of a bloodbath—it was where the traces of his master lingered.
As such, his chatter was bound to be worse than usual.
"What I heard was that all the seniors who fought in the Battle of Residual Blood Valley and survived went on to make names for themselves. Well, it would be strange if they hadn't! They defeated Evil Heavenly Blood Ghost, one of Blood Heaven Cult's Five Wicked Ghosts, after all!"
He let out a hearty "Hah!" as if drunk on something, pressing on with his words.
Dang Hwa-seo felt a throbbing headache coming on and gave a vague reply.
"Yes, it was also the moment the title 'Sword Saint' appeared in the jianghu."
Dang Hwa-seo was well aware of the tale.
Sword Saint Mok Seon-o.
The former greatest under heaven, who had now completely vanished from sight.
And the first warrior in the Central Plains martial world to have a star in his moniker.
*'They said the nickname came from his sword qi that shone like starlight. And the Four Stars thing—that was something the experts who admired the Sword Saint came up with, riffing off his title.'*
She recalled that those men had all become absolute masters in their own right, pillars of the orthodox sects.
Lost in such thoughts as she walked, Dang Hwa-seo suddenly noticed Mok Ri-won's mouth snap shut and turned her head.
"...What are you doing?"
What she saw was Mok Ri-won, face flushed red, shoulders puffed up to the max.
He looked downright proud.
Wondering what had gotten into him this time, she quickly pieced it together.
*'Ah, right. This guy's a Sword Saint fanboy too, huh.'*
The type of wanderer who would flip out and charge in at the mere mention.
The kind who treated *Tales of the Jianghu Heroes* like gospel truth.
For such a person to have no interest in the Sword Saint? That would be the real oddity.
She wanted to let him bask in his admiration a bit longer, but time was too tight.
"Enough of that. Hurry up and follow me. We need to reach the entrance of Residual Blood Valley before sundown."
"Ah! Got it!"
Mok Ri-won scurried up to walk beside Dang Hwa-seo.
At least he listened well. What a relief.
Dang Hwa-seo felt a mix of relief she wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about.
*
Ghost Valley.
Residual Blood Valley, their final destination, was a place that fit the name to a tee.
Towering trees crowded thickly overhead, blotting out the sky.
Beneath them, sunlight vanished, giving way to surging yin energy where molds and mushrooms sprouted in abundance. The drab surroundings only amplified the eerie chill endlessly.
"Smells like corpses."
Mok Ri-won remarked upon seeing the scattered bones littering the ground.
Dang Hwa-seo nodded.
"Yes, things you'll be sick of seeing until we exit Residual Blood Valley."
They were almost too pitiful to call bones.
Dust and the ravages of time had yellowed them, and atop that, unidentified weeds sprouted thickly.
*'The evil qi is starting to build up.'*
With every breath, a qi that churned her insides, seeped into her dantian, and converted into a grain of inner force assaulted her. Dang Hwa-seo furrowed her brow.
"Young Hero Mok, put a Corpse-Repelling Bead in your mouth."
"Not yet..."
"Now."
Mok Ri-won pouted and rummaged in his bundle.
He pulled out a small bead and popped it in his mouth.
"Mmph..."
If he could speak clearly with that in his mouth, it'd be superhuman in itself.
Dang Hwa-seo smiled in satisfaction at the now-silent Mok Ri-won.
"Now, we've got a long way to go, so shall we get moving?"
"Mmph!"
Mok Ri-won slumped and nodded.
Even so, this was Residual Blood Valley—traces of his master's feats remained here. It pained him that he couldn't rave about its wonders.
*
The evil qi in Residual Blood Valley thickened the deeper they ventured.
So many had died here that every ten paces, a bone crunched underfoot.
But that wasn't the only issue. Even Dang Hwa-seo, who had reached Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity, suffered from something else.
*'The stench is unbearable.'*
Stench.
A rotten, trapped-air reek rising from everywhere.
And the humidity—stifling and muggy—added weight to the foulness, heightening the disgust.
Dang Hwa-seo had always loathed bad smells to the point of revulsion.
Thus, she desperately wished to escape this place, but alas, it was impossible.
*'The heart of Residual Blood Valley is still far off.'*
Residual Blood Valley had once been a village of slash-and-burn farmers.
In other words, they hadn't even found the village yet—they weren't truly inside.
Irritation surged at random intervals.
Her expression darkened by the moment, yet Mok Ri-won remained bright-eyed.
*'Traces of martial arts!'*
Mok Ri-won closely examined the scars on rocks, trees, and bones, grinning to himself.
Just looking at them sparked associations.
He might seem dumb and naive, but he was the Heavenly Slaughter Star—heaven's own martial prodigy.
Thus, he could roughly reconstruct the battles from these remnants.
*'Accounting for tree growth over time...'*
The fights must have been even fiercer than what remained suggested.
That skull before him bore a long gash from lower left jaw to eye.
Clearly from an upward slash.
The uneven end of the sword mark suggested the attacker had met their end in that instant too.
Mutual destruction, for sure.
And that sword embedded in the tree?
Its style differed slightly from Central Plains norms—likely wielded by a Blood Heaven Cult warrior.
Judging by the angle and depth, a blade aimed elsewhere had been deflected by external force into the trunk.
Its wielder probably perished in that split-second mishap.
"Young Hero Mok."
Dang Hwa-seo scolded him as he kept stopping to scan the surroundings.
"Curiosity is fine. But we have too far to go. Enough, and follow me."
"Mmph!"
"Is there any energy you sense? Any living people, perhaps...?"
"Mmmph!"
Mok Ri-won shook his head.
His senses detected no human inner force.
Nor any killing intent aimed their way.
That's why he'd indulged his curiosity so freely—but even he felt something off.
"Mmmph!"
With the bead in his mouth, he had to communicate with gestures.
Mok Ri-won flailed his arms in bizarre, incomprehensible motions.
Doubt clouded Dang Hwa-seo's face.
"Yes?"
"Mmmph!"
Mok Ri-won spread his arms wide.
Then, index fingers extended, he stabbed at the empty air.
Dang Hwa-seo's lips pressed tight.
A blank look crept over her face.
*'What the hell is he on about?'*
Utterly baffling behavior.
Dang Hwa-seo sighed deeply.
"Take out the Corpse-Repelling Bead and speak. You can handle a moment without it, right?"
"Mm! Got it! Something's prickling against my skin!"
"Yes?"
"It's not human killing intent! But it's too lively to be mere air currents!"
With that, Mok Ri-won popped the bead back in.
His eyes sparkled—he was hooked on whatever it was.
Normally, Dang Hwa-seo might dismiss that gleam, but not now.
*'Something's there?'*
This was Residual Blood Valley.
In this Ghost Valley, something matched what he'd described.
Something alive.
Not human.
In a place thick with evil qi.
*'...No way.'*
Dang Hwa-seo let out a hollow chuckle.
The circumstances made it all too plausible.
And tantalizing.
"...There were rumors swirling around Residual Blood Valley."
"Mmph!"
"Yes, about spirit beasts."
Mok Ri-won bounced in place.
He thrust out a hand, pointing slightly off their original path.
Hwa Seo didn't stop him.
"It's ridiculous, but..."
Dang Hwa-seo stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Spirit beasts formed over centuries or millennia, absorbing the same energy in one spot.
A place flooded with evil qi for merely twenty years? Impossible.
Yet she wanted to bet on the chance—she was a warrior, after all.
A spirit beast's inner core was a priceless elixir for any martial artist. Too good to pass up.
Dang Hwa-seo's gaze followed Mok Ri-won's finger.
*'A cliff face. If anything's there, it'd be a cave somewhere in that.'*
Her mind raced with calculations.
A quick detour wouldn't delay them much.
She could just grab Mok Ri-won by the collar to keep him on track.
And that was it.
Mok Ri-won was at the Sword Qi Wounds Men realm.
She had Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity, able to convert nearly any poison into inner force.
*'Residual Blood Valley overflows with evil qi. And it's young—less than twenty years old.'*
Meaning, if a spirit beast existed here, it'd be a fledgling or one recently relocated, still adapting.
"No guarantee it's real, but skipping it would make me an idiot."
"Mmph!"
"Yes, let's check it out. You've done a great deed, Young Hero Mok."
Mok Ri-won blushed and grinned.
Dang Hwa-seo thought to herself watching him.
*'So pretty when his mouth's shut.'*
No nonsense, expressing himself through actions when it mattered. Perfect.
Men really should keep quiet.
*
Once decided, their pace quickened.
Mok Ri-won was beside himself at the thought of encountering a real spirit beast, eyes straight ahead.
Dang Hwa-seo, envisioning unexpected fortune, shrugged off the stench and humidity.
They reached the cliff face.
Relying on Mok Ri-won's senses, they searched until they found a fairly large cave entrance.
"Huh, it's really here."
"Mmph!"
Mok Ri-won's face lit up innocently.
Exhausted from channeling inner force to block the seeping evil qi past the bead, yet his excitement persisted.
"Still feel it?"
Mok Ri-won spat out the bead briefly.
"Definitely! The weird sensation I felt on the way has intensified! It's from something alive!"
"Good. From here on, stay alert."
Dang Hwa-seo pondered with delight.
*'What kind of spirit beast...?'*
In a land steeped in evil qi, maybe a venomous one.
A cave-dweller? Odds were nine in ten.
*'Poison.'*
Even without the core, it'd be an elixir to her.
Dang Hwa-seo cracked her knuckles and sharpened her senses.
Mok Ri-won pulled a small oil cloth from his bundle and lit it.
Whoosh—.
Flame pierced the darkness.
Guided by its light, the two stepped into the cave.
Deep inside, after advancing, they beheld it.
Rustle—.
Eight legs.
An insect head, a massive abdomen marked with a screaming human face.
The giant spider, big as a mountain beast, crouched on its web, multiple eyes fixed on them.
"Human-Faced Spider."
A specimen that spewed potent venom qi.
The toxin seeped into her lungs.
It tried to gnaw her insides, only to falter and convert into nourishing energy, invigorating her body.
Prime sustenance.
"We're in luck."
Dang Hwa-seo grinned fiercely.