Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Blood Ghost Mother
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Schwick... schwick...
With the sound of something being sliced open, blood sprayed from the necks of the warriors.
Their heads floated into the air, and their limbs were severed.
Clang! Clang...
The moment swords clashed and fell away, the bodies of more warriors split apart.
Schwick... schwick...
Kraaah...!
Aaagh!
In an instant, eight warriors collapsed, their heads rolling.
Ughhh...
The woman approached a warrior who hadn't yet breathed his last.
The middle-aged warrior glared with eyes stained red.
"Now that the family head has come out, you'll soon follow me, you wench."
Her eyes flickered slightly at his words.
The family head he spoke of was the Heaven Dominating Blade King, one of the Five Absolutes of the Martial World.
But her eyes quickly turned妖艳 once more, as if nothing had happened.
"Do you really think that man can catch me?"
Stab!
She thrust her sword unhesitatingly into the middle-aged warrior's throat.
Shiii...
Her figure then whipped up a gust of wind and vanished swiftly.
"Isn't it human nature to lament growing old? How could we dismiss the Youth Preservation Technique as some evil or narrow-minded martial art?"
"Are there people in the martial world who practice the Youth Preservation Technique, Father?"
"There's this wicked woman called the Blood Ghost Mother. Her skills are quite formidable."
"What did you do with her?"
"She begged for mercy and promised to live in seclusion, so I let her go."
Tsk...
Se Yeong smacked his lips in regret as he recalled the conversation with his father.
Though it had been twelve years ago, he still remembered it vividly.
It was because his grandmother maintained her youth with the Youth Preservation Technique, just like the Blood Ghost Mother.
'Who would've thought I'd run into the Blood Ghost Mother here.'
He had seen her face for the first time this time.
Twelve years ago, upon returning from wandering the martial world, his father had shared many stories about various figures in it.
Among the villains he encountered, not a single one had died by his father's hand.
He even said he spared the truly irredeemable ones by merely severing an arm.
Haa...
'Seclusion, my ass...'
Se Yeong let out a deep sigh and moved his figure.
If his father hadn't let that woman go back then, there wouldn't have been these pointless deaths.
'Damn... Heaven Dominating Blade King.'
The Blood Ghost Mother's stomach churned.
The experts of the martial world didn't scare her, but the Five Absolutes were burdensome foes.
She had never clashed directly with any of them.
But instinctively, she knew they were stronger than her.
She had once fought one of the Seven Mysteries to a draw, but the Five Absolutes were absolute masters far beyond even them.
'Guess I'll have to hide away for a few more years.'
Living in hiding required a lot of silver.
That's why she came out to the martial world every few years to pillage.
But this time, thanks to the Heaven Dominating Blade King, she'd have to retreat early.
'Shouldn't have messed with the Golden Prosperity Merchant Group...'
The place she'd hit this time—killing merchants and looting—was the Golden Prosperity Merchant Group, famed for their wealth in Hubei.
In response, they called in help from the Paeng Family in Hebei, and the Heaven Dominating Blade King himself led his men out.
As the Blood Ghost Mother moved, a strange feeling made her halt.
Turning her head, she saw a young man staring at her from the middle of a vast field.
"What the hell? Who's that punk?"
The Blood Ghost Mother tried to ignore the young man.
But then, the fellow who was just standing there crooked a finger at her.
'Well, aren't you bold?'
She flashed a妖艳 smile and strode across the field.
She was already in a foul mood anyway—might as well tear this young punk apart to vent.
"And whose young master might you be?"
The Blood Ghost Mother slyly exposed her pale cleavage and spoke in a coquettish voice.
Up until now, few men had resisted her beauty and smile.
Most men fell for this stunning allure, losing their lives and fortunes.
Even her enemies often went easy on her because of it.
"Blood Ghost Mother."
Her妖艳 smile wavered at Se Yeong's words.
If he already knew her identity, he must be an expert tracker like the Paeng Family warriors.
But she was adept at handling such situations.
"Have we met somewhere before, young master?"
The Blood Ghost Mother smiled妖艳ly as she drew closer.
She planned to draw her sword the moment she was near and sever his limbs.
Many experts had fallen to this trick, losing their lives.
Ptooey...!
"Who the hell are you trying to seduce, you old ghost hag?"
Se Yeong spat in mockery, and her delicate brow furrowed.
What she hated most was being called old-looking.
To maintain her youthful beauty, she relentlessly practiced the Youth Preservation Technique and pillaged spirit medicines.
She appeared to be in her early twenties, but she was actually in her mid-fifties.
"You seem to know me... quite well, young master."
Shiiiik...
When the distance between her and Se Yeong shrank to about three paces, the Blood Ghost Mother had already drawn her sword.
The blade flashed out like lightning, slicing toward his arms and legs.
The moment the sword edge pierced flesh—or so she thought—her heart sank.
Se Yeong's figure, arms and legs supposedly run through, scattered like smoke.
Swaaak...
The Blood Ghost Mother urgently shifted her stance, swinging her sword left and right.
But all that reached her ears was the sound of space ripping apart.
"Disappointing, old timer."
Se Yeong smirked from about nine paces away.
Her swordsmanship was undoubtedly exquisite.
The sword aura swirling around the blade alone proclaimed her a master of great caliber.
But it wasn't enough to threaten his life.
"You bastard...!"
Enraged by the word "old," she lunged in a frenzy.
The sword's trajectory aimed at his throat and chest clashed with Se Yeong's iron staff.
Kwa-kwang...!
The staff repelled the sword aura and plunged into the Blood Ghost Mother's chest.
The staff's motion—shortening then extending in an instant—was nothing short of divine.
Ah...
The Blood Ghost Mother's mind went hazy.
She had once experienced a sword moving just like that iron staff.
"If you break our agreement and disturb the martial world, my son will take your life."
The clear-featured man had been so overwhelmingly strong she hadn't even dared to face him.
Thanks to her own formidable skills, during the Demonic Cult War, she had witnessed the Demon Emperor's martial arts.
The Demon Emperor's arts weren't human—they were those of a demon god.
An absolute terror with no precedent, nor would there ever be again.
Yet the aura emanating from that clear-featured man was eerily similar to the Demon Emperor's.
Terrified, she had fled the martial world and secluded herself in the wilderness for five years.
But he never appeared in the martial world again.
Thud!
The staff pierced her chest.
'In the end... in the end... that man's taking my life.'
Her body toppled backward, blood gushing from her chest.
Se Yeong withdrew his staff and looked down at the sprawled Blood Ghost Mother.
As her internal energy drained, her once-beautiful face rapidly aged.
Cough... cough...
Blood poured from her mouth as she struggled to speak.
"You... that man... what's your... relation?"
Se Yeong understood her immediately.
She meant his father.
"His son."
The Blood Ghost Mother gazed up at Se Yeong with eyes full of regret.
"Of all the... rotten luck... why him..."
Haa...
Her eyes widened in death.
Se Yeong bent down and picked up the Blood Ghost Mother's sword.
The blade she used wasn't some common iron sword—it looked valuable enough to fetch a good price.
Lifting her outer robe, he rummaged through her bosom and found a hefty money pouch.
Inside the pouch were bundles of banknotes and a small wooden box.
'What's this?'
The moment Se Yeong opened the box, a pungent medicinal scent stung his nose.
Inside was a single pill the size of a chestnut.
"A spirit medicine?"
Se Yeong had once taken a spirit medicine called the Demon Calming Pill around age twelve.
Not by choice, but because he'd entered qi deviation and had no other option.
Se Yeong tucked the pouch into his bosom and turned away.
He had time to spare, but no intention of digging her a grave.
A massive middle-aged man dropped from the sky.
Boom!
Kicking up dust as he landed, the man examined the corpse sprawled on the ground.
Dozens of warriors then gathered around the body.
As the hulking man remained silent, a middle-aged man who had arrived late with his subordinates spoke up.
"This isn't the Blood Ghost Mother, family head."
The massive man countered.
"Didn't you hear the rumors that even thirty years ago, the Blood Ghost Mother looked just like this?"
His voice was so grave it rumbled like a mountain.
The gathered warriors were all stunned.
"Then... are you saying the Blood Ghost Mother practices the Youth Preservation Technique?"
Martial artists viewed the Youth Preservation Technique as a demonic art, and indeed, it originated from the Demonic Cult.
The righteous sects of the martial world pursued reversal of aging instead.
"Have you forgotten the Blood Ghost Mother was originally an unorthodox expert? And that the unorthodox sects were the first to surrender to the Demonic Cult?"
Only then did the warriors understand.
During the Demonic Cult War, the unorthodox sects had knelt before the Demonic Cult without putting up a proper fight.
Rumors even swirled that they were in cahoots from the start, given how quickly they surrendered.
Most of the experts troubling the martial world now were unorthodox sect survivors.
The middle-aged man who recovered first spoke.
"Judging by the large hole through her chest, the weapon seems to be a Judge's Brush."
The Judge's Brush was a brush-shaped spear used by scholars.
The hulking man voiced a rhetorical question.
"Is there anyone using a Judge's Brush capable of handling the Blood Ghost Mother?"
"I believe the Murim Alliance's Strategist is a Judge's Brush master."
The Judge's Brush was primarily used by the Jegal Family, and the Murim Alliance's Strategist hailed from that family, a true expert with it.
However, the responding middle-aged man knew well the Strategist had no connection to her death.
Though one of the Seven Mysteries, he wasn't the type to exterminate the Blood Ghost Mother personally, nor in a position to do so.
"Find the martial artist wielding a Judge's Brush. He's no ordinary expert, so show proper respect if you encounter him."
"Understood, family head."
The massive man lingered even after the warriors departed.
Who on earth had slain the Blood Ghost Mother?
No traces of a fierce battle meant the gap between her and the killer was vast.
'An absolute master of the Judge's Brush...'
Having finished his meal, Se Yeong paid and left the inn.
This was a small village of about three hundred households, situated at a crossroads to Healing Forest.
"Where's the weapons shop in this village?"
Walking along, Se Yeong grabbed an old man and asked.
The elder, basking in the warm sun by the roadside, pointed down the path ahead.
"Keep going straight that way, and you'll see it."
"Thanks."
Se Yeong continued on.
Carrying one sword was fine, but two was a hassle.
Especially since it was the Blood Ghost Mother's sword—he had no attachment and just wanted to sell it quick.
Sure enough, as the old man said, a weapons shop soon appeared.
"Welcome. What are you looking for?"
As Se Yeong entered, a pot-bellied middle-aged man greeted him with a sly grin.
"Here to sell this sword."
Se Yeong unfastened the sheathed sword from his waist and handed it over.
The middle-aged man took it, drew the blade from its scabbard.
Schling.
The moment the sword's gleam filled his eyes, the man's gaze flickered.
"Quite... a fine sword. I'll give you two hundred silver taels."
A freshly forged sword went for five taels, a master smith's for fifty.
A superbly forged one from fine steel fetched two hundred—so the man's offer was generous.
But Se Yeong shook his head right away.
He lacked deep knowledge, but the blade's eerie sheen clearly indicated cold iron alloy.
Plus, he caught the greedy glint in the man's eyes.
"Just take it."
The owner quickly changed his tune.
Keh heh...
"You know your swords, sir. Fine. How about one hundred twenty taels? I can't go higher."
He forced a hearty laugh and raised the price.
"Just take it."
Se Yeong shook his head again, and the man grew anxious.