Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: What a Mess
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As the chief steward entered the office, the Hubei Martial Alliance Leader asked urgently.
"How was it? Were they really people from the Black Iron Hall?"
The chief steward replied in a cautious tone.
"First, the corpse with the exploded head was impossible to investigate, but the three relatively intact bodies were definitely warriors of the Black Iron Hall."
"I knew it... so it was them."
"As for the rest, their bodies were too shriveled to identify accurately, but... it is highly likely they also belonged to the Black Iron Hall."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader frowned.
"They're really no ordinary bastards. If it weren't for Byeok Taesan, we would have been in deep trouble again."
"Would we have just been in trouble? It would have been... rather chaotic."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader shook his head.
"The thought of those fiends pouring out from the Black Iron Hall amidst all that chaos sends a chill down my spine."
The chief steward gave a bitter smile. He couldn't deny the truth in that.
"Is Byeok Taesan resting well? Make sure to provide him with proper lodging. Pay special attention to it."
The chief steward wore a troubled expression.
"Well... Byeok Taesan's party is currently at the Black Iron Hall."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader stared at the chief steward in disbelief.
"Why? Don't tell me they intend to stay there?"
"He says it's more comfortable there."
"Comfortable? The place that was filled with a pile of corpses?"
"We collected all of them, did we not?"
It was, after all, the place the Black Iron Hall had been using. Still, it had been neglected for quite some time, so it might be uncomfortable without a thorough cleaning.
Besides, it was far too large.
"Aren't there less than twenty of them? Isn't it too spacious for so few people?"
"Well, I suppose they'll manage."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader shook his head and changed the subject.
"By the way, how is the search going? Have you found anything?"
The chief steward gave a bitter smile.
"It seems the identities of our people on the move have been completely exposed. We have made no progress at all."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader frowned.
"You know we've mobilized most of the personnel currently in the Hubei Martial Alliance, right? If we get hit while our guard is down, we'll be helpless."
"We must hurry. That's why I was about to suggest... what if we commission the Underworld Sect?"
"The Underworld Sect?"
The frown on the Hubei Martial Alliance Leader's face did not ease.
"They're not what they used to be. Weren't they on their last legs?"
"Not anymore. They were, but things have changed recently."
"Well... did they agree to help?"
"That's what we need to find out now."
The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader waved his hand dismissively.
"Whatever it is, do it quickly. Don't forget we need to hurry. Oh, and tell Byeok Taesan I'd like to see him. He should at least pay his respects, having come all this way."
"Yes. I will relay the message."
***
Byeok Taesan's party settled in at the Black Iron Hall.
They decided to stay there until their business in Yichang was concluded.
Byeok Taesan had mentioned it on an impulse, and Hwaok, catching his drift, immediately contacted the Underworld Sect to have the estate prepared for use.
Since the Hubei Martial Alliance had collected all the corpses, the members of the Underworld Sect only needed to clean up and repair the damaged areas.
They had arrived in the middle of the night, crushed the Half-Jiangshi and the potential-unleashed men at the Black Iron Hall, immediately contacted the Hubei Martial Alliance to collect the bodies, and called in the Underworld Sect to tidy up the estate. By the time all this was done, the darkness was beginning to recede.
Byeok Taesan decided to use one of the pavilions in the inner courtyard of the Black Iron Hall.
In truth, there was no need to use any other part of the estate. With a few members of the Underworld Sect added to help, Byeok Taesan's group now numbered just thirty people.
The Black Iron Hall was excessively large for thirty people. In fact, even a single pavilion felt too large for so few.
Byeok Taesan's party assigned themselves rooms in the pavilion and went to sleep first.
They had rushed from Wuhan in a single day and fought a fierce battle, leaving them all at the peak of physical and mental exhaustion.
A comfortable bed was the best remedy for such fatigue.
Byeok Taesan decided to use the top floor of the pavilion for himself, and even had a massive, soft bed moved there.
Sitting on the bed, Byeok Taesan quietly closed his eyes and organized the spiritual energy he had gained today.
The spiritual energy he acquired today was superior to any he had ever experienced.
He had only absorbed a tenth of the total amount, but that single tenth was better than the combined spiritual energy of hundreds of Half-Jiangshi.
He methodically stored that spiritual energy in his body.
Now that his severed meridians were fully healed, he no longer needed to invest spiritual energy into his energy channels.
Therefore, he just had to accumulate the remaining spiritual energy in his body.
Byeok Taesan spread the spiritual energy evenly throughout his entire body, storing it.
All previous Heavenly Demons had mastered the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts and naturally burned souls to extract spiritual energy and store it in their bodies.
However, their methods of storing and using that energy were all different.
Usually, it was compressed and gathered in the lower or middle dantian before use.
They would control it to keep it from reaching the upper dantian. No, they would not send spiritual energy above the neck.
This was because they didn't know what effect the spiritual energy might have on the brain.
Spiritual energy created by burning an entire soul would definitely have adverse effects. This was to prevent that.
When Byeok Taesan was the Heavenly Demon, he stored spiritual energy in his middle and lower dantians.
Later, when he surpassed his limits, he expanded the storage into the energy channels surrounding his dantians.
Keeping the spiritual energy confined to the dantians was the best way.
At least, that was how it was when he was the Heavenly Demon, before he gained enlightenment about the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts. No, that was what he believed.
But it was different now.
The spiritual energy he now possessed was truly clean and pure.
Clean spiritual energy has a positive effect on the body. So, he stored it in a way he could never have imagined before.
After carefully spreading and organizing the spiritual energy, Byeok Taesan slowly opened his eyes.
Byeok Taesan didn't train much, but his body was gradually improving due to the effects of the spiritual energy.
It wasn't just about becoming healthier.
His muscles and bones became tougher, stronger, and more flexible.
His blood became purer, and his heart grew stronger.
He also felt that his mind had become quicker. It felt as if his memory had improved and his thoughts were faster.
And whatever training he did, the effects were much greater.
'If I accumulate a bit more spiritual energy, I might be able to share a similar effect with those around me...'
If he were to quietly release his spiritual energy into his surroundings, training within that field would drastically increase the efficiency of martial arts practice.
And it wasn't as if doing so would deplete his spiritual energy.
Of course, he was still a long way from that. He would need at least hundreds of times more spiritual energy than he had now to even attempt it.
Byeok Taesan gave the newly acquired spiritual energy one final check and then lay down on the bed.
He fell asleep just like that and didn't wake until the sun was high in the sky the next day.
***
As Byeok Taesan woke up and sat up, Soso, who was waiting outside the door, asked quietly.
"Young Master, I will prepare your washing water."
The door opened, and Soso and Danyeong brought in a large basin of warm water, placing it beside the bed.
Byeok Taesan washed himself, attended to as usual.
Once the bathwater basin was removed, other maids brought in food, and he ate his morning meal, again attended to as usual.
After the meal, when Byeok Taesan went outside, the maids swarmed in and began to clean.
Thanks to taking over the Black Iron Hall, he could maintain his usual lifestyle.
Of course, this was only possible because he had brought all ten of his maids.
Byeok Taesan thought it was a good decision to have diligently taught them lightness techniques and brought them all along.
He also decided that from now on, he would take all of them with him wherever he went.
When he went downstairs, Hwaok, who had been waiting, quickly approached and stood by his side.
"Young Master, a message came from the Hubei Martial Alliance this morning."
Byeok Taesan nodded for her to continue, and Hwaok carried on with her report.
"The Hubei Martial Alliance Leader wishes to see you, Young Master. He requests that you visit the Hubei Martial Alliance."
Byeok Taesan let out a smirk.
"He still hasn't fixed that arrogant habit of summoning people. If he wants to see me, tell him to come himself."
He was willing to meet the man if he came here. Provided, of course, that he was here.
"What about the Half-Jiangshi?"
"The Underworld Sect has been investigating ever since the incident in Yichang, but their progress has been minimal."
Byeok Taesan frowned.
"Nothing's changed from before."
Having been given the Shadow Steps, they should have become more competent. What was the point if they couldn't even locate a single Half-Jiangshi?
Hwaok quickly spoke up. She was no longer a member of the Underworld Sect, but it was still like her family home. She hoped Byeok Taesan would hold a favorable opinion of the sect.
"Those bastards from Nameless planned this meticulously. They identified Yichang's intelligence organizations in advance and came in with numerous countermeasures."
Byeok Taesan stared at Hwaok silently. So what did that have to do with anything?
"So, they were caught off guard at first. But the Underworld Sect is now preparing countermeasures, so there should be news soon."
Byeok Taesan nodded.
It was true that this was probably their limit for now.
"And the Hubei Martial Alliance?"
"The Hubei Martial Alliance's intelligence is practically paralyzed. They put in a request with the Underworld Sect this morning."
Byeok Taesan smirked.
What a mess.
It made him realize just how incredible the Moon Shadow Group had been.
If he could use the Moon Shadow Group, they wouldn't just find the location of the Half-Jiangshi; they would have dug up everything that came after.
Of course, whether they could capture the entire organization called Nameless was another matter.
Hwaok continued cautiously.
"There is one location the Underworld Sect has identified. However, they don't seem to be certain."
"Let's go."
As Byeok Taesan quickened his pace, Hwaok hurried to follow him.
***
The place Byeok Taesan and Hwaok arrived at was a residential area where relatively small houses were crammed together.
It was called a residential area, but in reality, it was closer to a slum.
Small houses were built against each other, forming walls, and any small gap between them served as a path.
It was a place where a web of alleys was intricately tangled.
It looked like if you took a wrong turn, finding your way out would be a challenge.
Of course, one could always climb up to get a better view and run across the rooftops to get out.
"It's over there. The Underworld Sect said they had limitations in properly checking the inner areas, so they couldn't obtain precise information."
That certainly seemed plausible.
"It is complicated."
In fact, even during his time as the Heavenly Demon, he had never been to a place like this.
What reason would the Heavenly Demon have to go to a slum?
And even if there was business in a slum, it was natural for his subordinates to handle it.
The slum was quite large, so it probably wasn't easy for the Underworld Sect to find the Half-Jiangshi here.
Which was likely why those Nameless bastards had hidden the Half-Jiangshi here.
And this probably wasn't the only place they were hidden.
Others might not be able to find the Half-Jiangshi here, but Byeok Taesan was different.
He could sense the unique presence of the Half-Jiangshi, who straddled the line between life and death.
Moreover, his sensory perception was so extraordinary that he could cover an extremely wide radius.
However, he would definitely have to sweep through the entire slum.
In other words, he needed someone who knew the paths well to guide him through the web-like alleys, methodically covering the entire area without circling the same spots.
With that thought, Byeok Taesan looked at Hwaok.
Miraculously, as if she understood without him having to explain, Hwaok's eyes sparkled as she replied.
"There should be someone in the Underworld Sect who knows this area well. I will bring him at once."
After saying that, Hwaok turned and made a peculiar hand gesture.
At that, someone approached quickly from a distance.
Hwaok exchanged a few words with him, and he bowed his head, ran off somewhere, and returned with another person.
Hwaok reported respectfully to Byeok Taesan.
"I have brought someone who knows the geography of this place well."
Byeok Taesan stared at Hwaok for a moment before turning and walking towards the slum. As he did, he tossed out a single comment.
"Well... you're a little useful."
A faint smile graced Hwaok's lips. She quickly gestured to the Underworld Sect member standing beside her.
The Underworld Sect member scurried forward to lead the way.
"I will guide you."
Byeok Taesan followed behind the Underworld Sect member.
The alleys were so narrow that they could barely fit one person at a time.
The Underworld Sect member navigated the slum's alleys with incredible skill.
He methodically swept through the slum without passing through the same area twice.
Byeok Taesan paid no attention to anything else, focusing only on detecting whether a Half-Jiangshi entered his senses.
Soon, he got a bite.
"Wait a moment."
As he said that, Byeok Taesan's figure vanished in an instant.
The Underworld Sect member and Hwaok were flustered.
But before they could even grasp the situation, Byeok Taesan reappeared.
"Let's go."
The Underworld Sect member started moving again with a bewildered expression.
And Hwaok stared at Byeok Taesan with eyes wide with astonishment.
As they swept through the slum from one end to the other, Byeok Taesan disappeared and reappeared a total of six times.
When all was said and done, a very satisfied smile was etched on Byeok Taesan's face as he left the slum.
< What a Mess > End