Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Black Dragon (1)
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“Farewell and safe travels, sir!”
The day Ouyang Jue disembarked in Jiangsu, the river pirates saw him off with bright faces.
It wasn’t just a sense of relief at having survived. On the contrary, their reasons were far more malicious.
Ouyang Jue sneered at the river pirates with a cynical smile.
“Happy your boss killed himself?”
“Hehe. It’s a chance for us to move up in the world, isn’t it?”
They didn’t know why Zheng Jian, who had lost his right hand, had decided to hang himself.
Perhaps he knew his subordinates would turn out like this and chose a comfortable death for himself.
There was no way to know the answer now that he was dead, but Ouyang Jue thought Zheng Jian had been quite wise.
“Move up in the world, you say…”
Ouyang Jue gently closed his eyes for a moment. At the same time, a clattering sound scraped at his ears.
It was a malevolent noise, born from the thought that now might be the perfect time for a surprise attack.
When Ouyang Jue opened his eyes again, the river pirates were grinning. He didn’t know what expressions they had worn just before.
But the answer was already decided.
“You can move up, indeed.”
“Ooh! Are you in this line of work as well, sir?”
“Instead of living as less than human, wouldn’t it be better to die and go pay your respects to the King of Hell?”
“…?!”
The moment he finished speaking, the river pirates raised the knives, weights, and spears they had hidden behind their backs.
Their actions were a complete contradiction to the smiles they had just shown.
*Disgusting bastards.*
Wiping the fleeting thought from his mind, Ouyang Jue gripped Severing Manifestation.
“At least I’ve never plundered or killed the innocent like you have.”
Ouyang Jue’s form seemed to blur for an instant, and in the next, the heads of a dozen river pirates went flying.
* * *
*Step, step.*
After completely wiping out the river pirates, Ouyang Jue immediately began walking toward Mount Mao.
He didn’t seek out the Martial Alliance members as he had promised Nangong Cheon. Ouyang Jue’s intuition screamed that he shouldn’t be so meticulous about keeping such promises.
Moreover, his concern for the Omniscient One was gradually morphing into something else.
*Could it be… that the Omniscient One was also corrupted by what I did?*
Just as a single trivial matter could disrupt a grand scheme, the failure of one component was bound to bring the whole structure crashing down.
And the Omniscient One was a Great Sorcerer who had solely inherited the essence of the Mount Mao Sect, as well as a genius who had reached a certain level as a martial artist.
Because of this, his connections were many and exceptionally extraordinary.
The only reason Ouyang Jue had grown so strong in such a short time was because of the Omniscient One’s dedicated help.
What if such a man had been led down the wrong path?
“…”
It was too much to even imagine.
To have to kill the benefactor he had gained in his past life—even Ouyang Jue couldn’t help but hesitate.
He was a benefactor and a friend.
They had shared cheap liquor and talked about the future. Every time, the Omniscient One would chide Ouyang Jue, calling him a jinx.
Did his prediction back then about the “mark of defying the heavens” mean changing the world as he was doing now?
Or did it mean that the Omniscient One himself would be corrupted?
*Thud.*
Ouyang Jue realized he had arrived at the mountain trail of Mount Mao and heightened his senses.
But he felt nothing.
Not a living animal, not an insect, not even a blade of grass he was treading on—the life force in everything was faint.
“Ah.”
At the voice coming from beyond a grove of trees, Ouyang Jue whipped his head around.
He had channeled so much internal energy that his purple eyes, transformed by his unique vision, shone with exceptional clarity.
Thanks to this, he could see exactly who was speaking. And the situation he was in.
Ouyang Jue smiled grimly.
Then, a voice drifted over.
“Is anyone there?”
“…”
Ouyang Jue clenched his fists, his lips sealed. His knuckles trembled, wondering if he should step forward right now.
Ouyang Jue finally answered belatedly.
“It seems a guest was here before me. Might I ask your esteemed name?”
As he spoke, Ouyang Jue lifted his head.
He looked straight ahead, beyond the trees he had tried to avoid looking at properly.
“My esteemed name, you ask?”
A hint of playfulness laced the voice that answered.
Even that was a habit Ouyang Jue knew all too well, and he abandoned his last shred of hope.
It wasn’t a disguise, nor was it a proxy.
Ouyang Jue faced the horrific scene beyond the trees.
*…Drip, drip, drip.*
Crimson blood flowed from a deep gash in the abdomen of a body, as if freshly wounded.
There were over twenty such corpses.
Some Taoists’ lips twitched intermittently, but with their lungs half-shredded, they could only gurgle on mouthfuls of bloody foam.
The only one free here was the man who had spoken to Ouyang Jue.
“…”
But the man took no action, even as he watched the one whose lips were twitching.
He simply watched calmly.
His gaze was like that of someone observing a dragonfly with its wings torn off. The Taoist, feeling a surge of terror, thrashed his legs about.
He had to warn the young man over there of the danger this man posed. If possible, he had to buy him time to escape.
But it was futile.
*Press.*
The man’s foot gently pressed down on the Taoist’s chest. It didn’t seem like much force was applied, yet the Taoist was engulfed in a pain akin to being crushed by a thousand-pound rock.
“…Grrrrr.”
It was a truly excruciating agony that wrung his entire body.
The Taoist’s face turned bright red, and even blood that hadn't been shed began to seep out of his wounds.
Then, the man spoke.
“My apologies for the late reply.”
“…Keoheok.”
“My name is the Omniscient One. I am the sorcerer who inherited the single lineage of Mount Mao.”
As the Omniscient One continued his reply, he casually tossed three pebbles.
Though they seemed thrown at random, they formed a three-point formation with the corpse at the center.
Then, he placed a talisman, thoroughly soaked in chicken blood, on the chest of the Taoist he had just pressed down on.
*Swoosh.*
With that, the twenty-odd corpses instantly vanished as if they were illusions. Until the formation was dispelled, no one would be able to notice them.
Even the thick stench of blood disappeared without a trace.
All that remained was the Omniscient One, his body covered in blood.
“…”
*Step, step.*
Completely unaware that Ouyang Jue had witnessed the entire sequence of events, the Omniscient One walked slowly forward.
“My apologies. A wild boar was acting up today.”
To this, Ouyang Jue replied with a blank expression.
Even if he had to feign ignorance, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.
“Must have been a rather large one?”
“Well, it was big enough to have eaten several people. Haha, indeed.”
The Omniscient One let out a laugh, but he couldn’t smile genuinely. He, too, felt a sense of unease from Ouyang Jue.
“…Have we, by any chance, met before?”
“No.”
Ouyang Jue shook his head, hiding his bitter feelings.
“This is the first time we’ve met.”
“Is that so? But what brings you to Mount Mao?”
“I came here hoping to train for a while. If it’s an intrusion, I will leave.”
At his words, the Omniscient One smiled brightly.
“An intrusion? Not at all. Please, come inside.”
A heavy tension settled upon Ouyang Jue’s shoulders.
* * *
For the next few days, Ouyang Jue enjoyed his daily life on Mount Mao.
*Crunch!*
Just as in his past life, he indulged in ripe fruits every day and occasionally sparred with the spirit beasts that challenged him.
They weren’t trying to kill him, so dealing with them wasn’t particularly difficult.
However, it bothered him that all the spirit beasts were slightly injured and weakened even before they sparred.
He tried to ask the Omniscient One about it, but…
“It’s nothing. They probably just bumped into something while playing on a mountain slope.”
The Omniscient One acted with a nonchalant expression, trying to dismiss Ouyang Jue’s suspicions.
He hadn’t even given permission to speak informally, yet his freewheeling behavior was the same as in the past life.
But Ouyang Jue did not let his guard down.
The scene he had witnessed that day, and the Black Dragon’s mask that occasionally caught his eye.
These aspects were different from his past life, so Ouyang Jue slept lightly every night, wary of the Omniscient One.
“Why are you always staring at me like that? Do you have a preference for men?”
“Bullshit!”
Yet, even this, the Omniscient One seemed to have seen through in advance. Moreover, he didn’t seem to be hiding the fact that he knew.
Wondering if a curse had been placed on him, Ouyang Jue tried to perform a dispelling art, but the Omniscient One actually helped him.
“I don’t know who taught you, but your talisman drawing skills are clumsy!”
“…”
He wanted to yell, *You taught me*, but he’d be treated like a madman.
Ouyang Jue had to be content with knowing that the Omniscient One had not cast a spell on him.
*Lick.*
The white tiger that had attacked him this morning suddenly licked his cheek.
It seemed to be trying to soothe the momentary displeasure Ouyang Jue had felt.
The problem was, Ouyang Jue wasn’t in the mood.
“Go away.”
When Ouyang Jue firmly pushed its head away, the white tiger snorted as if offended and disappeared beyond the forest.
Watching it go, Ouyang Jue drew Severing Manifestation and swung it.
“Hoooo…”
He had only taken a deep breath, but the spiritual energy of Mount Mao filled his dantian.
Above all, the refreshing air cleared his mind.
The energy that Mount Mao held was so pure that it naturally brought a smile to Ouyang Jue’s face.
But for some reason, something dark and musty was hidden at its edge.
*What is this?*
With a flicker of curiosity, Ouyang Jue followed the energy to its source.
“…!”
He felt it, if only for a brief moment.
The one with the dark, musty energy was nearby.
And this person possessed such immense power that, in his current body, Ouyang Jue couldn't be sure of victory. It was a being with a formidable physique.
“Stop.”
At the sudden voice, Ouyang Jue whipped his head around.
He let out a sigh of relief after identifying the speaker.
“Omniscient One.”
“Never mind that. Why don’t you wipe off your sweat first?”
At his words, Ouyang Jue touched the side of his head with his palm.
He must have felt the tension without realizing it, as his hair was damp.
“Thanks.”
After wiping his sweat with the cloth the Omniscient One offered, Ouyang Jue stared intently at him.
His gaze was filled with the clear intention of asking, *Don’t you have something to say about this?*
No matter how skilled the Omniscient One was at feigning ignorance, he couldn’t ignore this.
The Omniscient One raised both hands.
“Alright. Ask me anything you want right now. I’ll answer honestly.”
“You’ll really tell me the truth?”
“Ah, why can’t you trust a man at his word?”
“Can you swear an oath?”
At Ouyang Jue’s words, the Omniscient One’s face hardened. He looked as if he’d been struck by an unexpected blow.
“An oath?”
“Why pretend you don’t know? I’m asking you to swear on the lineage of Mount Mao, of course.”
“How amusing.”
The Omniscient One wore a sneer he hadn’t shown before. But to Ouyang Jue, this expression felt more natural.
The Omniscient One was a man who knew all of the Mount Mao Sect’s sorcery, footwork, and even its banner arts, to the point that generals would occasionally plead with him to create flags for them.
It was strange that such a genius had only shown a friendly side until now.
The Omniscient One’s head tilted.
“What if I refuse? Why should I?”
Having been treated with kindness all this time, only to have Ouyang Jue bring up an oath, the Omniscient One seemed to feel a great sense of betrayal.
But Ouyang Jue’s demeanor was remarkably calm.
Because he knew from the beginning that it wasn’t pure kindness.
“You recognized it from the start, didn’t you?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“This sword.”
Ouyang Jue tapped Severing Manifestation.
“You were nice to me because you recognized Severing Manifestation, weren’t you? If you answer my questions well, I’ll help you get what you want.”
At those words, the Omniscient One frowned.
“How on earth did you know? Fine. What is it you’re curious about?”
“It’s about a certain talisman.”
Ouyang Jue recalled the last talisman the Omniscient One had drawn for him and sketched it on the ground.
What was happening on Mount Mao was one thing.
But first, he needed to find out what kind of power the talisman that had guided him here possessed.
Seeing Ouyang Jue’s drawing, the Omniscient One’s eyes widened.
“That’s…!”