The Epidemic of Jamun Village
The marketplace of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
At the top floor of the five-story Manhyangru, martial artists of the Tang Clan had gathered.
"Pavilion Master, please avenge this injustice for us."
"I'm so furious I can't sleep at night."
The middle-aged men bowed their heads earnestly toward a beautiful woman.
"How are Cheolung and Su?"
At the woman's question, the men ground their teeth as they answered.
"Cheolung has seizures the moment he sees any boy his age."
"And Su? He's lost his mind completely. He soils himself all day long."
"Is there no improvement at all?"
"They say the mental shock was simply too great, kuhhk!"
"Pavilion Master, lend us the power of Yuhongak. We will deal with that Tang Cheonwi ourselves."
The beautiful woman was Tang Cheong, Master of Yuhongak and Tang Cheonwi's aunt.
"That tyrant of a nephew has left the clan, so this would indeed be the perfect time to eliminate him…"
She regarded the two middle-aged men.
They were from a side branch, yet skilled enough to have entered Yuhongak.
She hesitated over whether to entrust Tang Cheonwi's elimination to them.
"My eldest brother the Clan Head and Brother Ho would never have sent Cheonwi out alone, you know."
Yet Tang Cheonwi had left the clan at just the right moment.
It was a chance to strike.
"We can slip past the escorts and kill him."
"Aren't we your subordinates, Pavilion Master? If it isn't you yourself, no one can stop the two of us."
"I trust both of you as well. But the Black Scale Guard may have moved. Brother Ho's Killing Wind Shadow might be trailing him too."
The Black Scale Guard was the Clan Head's personal escort unit.
It was filled with the most outstanding geniuses of the clan.
Men of immense potential and skill.
They were the Tang Clan's absolute elites, shrouded in secrecy.
In contrast, the Killing Wind Shadow was the clan's most renowned combat force.
When they moved, they could wipe out ordinary mid-sized sects in a single sweep.
Their martial strength was that formidable.
Moreover, they were much like Yuhongak itself.
A unit specialized in intelligence and assassination.
One could call them a superior force to Yuhongak.
"Can the two of you lead Yuhongak men and face them?"
"We can at least kill Tang Cheonwi without fail."
"That baseless confidence alone is not enough. If you fail, it will place a heavy burden on our Yuhongak."
This was an assassination attempt on the Tang Clan's legitimate heir, after all.
One wrong move and a storm of blood would sweep through the entire family.
They could not set the plan in motion without absolute certainty.
"Isn't there people connected to those units wherever Tang Cheonwi is headed? If we disguise ourselves as—"
The moment Tang Daesan, father of Tang Cheolung, uttered the word "those,"
Tap!
Tang Cheong rapped the table with her fingernail and cut him off.
"Squad Leader Oh, refrain from dangerous talk."
"I-I apologize, Pavilion Master."
Tang Cheong's nature was viciously sharp.
She used polite speech with her subordinates, yet venomous snakes coiled in every word.
She always carried poison, so one always had to be careful.
Knowing this, Tang Daesan immediately bowed his head.
"Still, as Pavilion Master I cannot ignore the two of you's resolve."
"Then you grant us permission?"
"On the condition that you abandon both the Tang Clan and Yuhongak."
It was insurance in case the assassination of the Young Master failed.
The two men belonged to Yuhongak.
If word reached the clan that they had attacked the Young Master, the one who would be in trouble was the Master of Yuhongak—Tang Cheong herself.
"…We will do so."
"If we can only take revenge for our sons, we will gladly cast aside the Tang name."
A will to kill or die.
Tang Cheong looked upon the two men with satisfaction.
"I will remember your service. I will take good care of Cheolung and Su, so focus only on the mission."
"Thank you, Pavilion Master."
"We will return with Tang Cheonwi's head."
Tang Daesan and Tang Pil, father of Tang Su, steeled their resolve and left the room.
Alone, Tang Cheong murmured softly.
"How convenient that he walked out of the clan of his own free will."
Crack, crackle.
In the pitch-black night, Tang Cheonwi sat before a campfire, tearing into a fish.
"This is the whole point of camping out."
He had caught a great haul of fish and was eating his fill.
"Hey, did you somehow reverse age? How the hell are you this good at roughing it?"
Hwancheonjihwan spoke in an irritated tone.
At first it had tried to act knowledgeable and teach him how to camp.
There had been no need.
Tang Cheonwi handled everything smoothly on his own.
As if he had already done this many times before.
"Normally those pampered heirs from famous clans fuss over cleanliness and refuse to sleep anywhere but a high-class inn."
While picking at the fish, Tang Cheonwi answered the ring's question.
"I'm a bit of an odd one, that's all."
The Kunlun Mountains where he had trained in his previous life had been extremely harsh.
Even finding food or animal hides had been difficult.
Gathering food in the fertile lands of Sichuan was child's play by comparison.
"Tch. Boring brat."
"Something fun will happen soon enough, so just wait until then."
"You mean those guys?"
Apparently Hwancheonjihwan had sensed the presence following them.
Originally they would have attacked around now. The fact that it's so quiet means the plan has changed.
Two sets of auras were trailing him.
One belonged to Yuhongak; the other to the Black Scale Guard.
Yuhongak had been sent by his youngest aunt to kill him.
The Black Scale Guard had been sent by his father for protection.
It's a little different from my previous life.
Because the flow of time had shifted, the sequence of events seemed to have shifted as well.
Well, as long as the main current doesn't change, it's fine.
In his previous life he had been attacked by Yuhongak right here.
Back then he had already attained the Latent Poison Body.
Now he had reached the Ten Thousand Poison Ghost Body.
Whether past or present, Yuhongak posed no threat to him.
"Not those guys. I have a real goal of my own."
"Your real goal?"
Hwancheonjihwan's curiosity was piqued.
Its eyes sparkled as it waited for his voice.
You taught me this yourself, my friend.
He laughed inwardly.
He remembered his previous life, yet Hwancheonjihwan retained none of those memories.
"I plan to obtain the Yin Spirit Ice Fox."
"…You're lying, right?"
"Believe it or don't."
"The Yin Spirit Ice Fox lives on Mount Heaven! There's no way it would appear in this sweltering Sichuan!"
That was true enough.
The Yin Spirit Ice Fox never showed itself except in cold regions.
There was a reason it would appear in Sichuan.
"Want to make a bet on whether the Yin Spirit Ice Fox shows up or not?"
He offered a light provocation.
Hwancheonjihwan seemed certain it would not lose this time.
"Hmph. Even if you receive the protection of the Poison God himself, I'm destined to win this bet."
"So you accept?"
"Of course. What do you want as the stake?"
Hwancheonjihwan brimmed with confidence.
"Teach me the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture."
"…"
Silence fell for a moment.
Crack, crackle!
In the empty night, only the faint sound of the campfire could be heard.
No voice answered.
"Why so quiet all of a sudden?"
Had Hwancheonjihwan been thrown into panic?
Even in his previous life he had never mastered the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture.
His skill had been insufficient; he had only ever heard of its existence from the ring.
That was how fiendishly difficult the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture was said to be.
"Y-you! Do you even know what kind of martial art that is before you open your mouth?"
"It's the poison art of our founding ancestor, the Poison Sage."
The ring itself had told him that.
It claimed to have personally taught the Dark Blood True Scripture to the Poison Sage.
"The first half is one thing, but the latter half is an entirely different martial art! Someone like you has no business coveting it."
He had heard those exact words before as well.
How much scolding he had endured back then.
It had said one needed to reach at least the Profound Realm before one could even begin to learn it.
Asking for it now was enough to make the ring leap in outrage.
"I want the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture as the prize of this bet, no matter what."
"You lunatic! If you covet that, you'll only lose your life. Think again."
Even at the ring's earnest dissuasion, he remained firm.
"I've already decided, so just accept it."
"You've completely lost your mind. Do you even know what the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture actually is?"
Hwancheonjihwan grew heated.
It was the contempt reserved for one who coveted something that must never be coveted.
Quite the resistance. Still, I absolutely must obtain the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture.
The latter half did not contain martial arts alone.
It was said to hold the secret history that named the true mastermind behind the Tang Clan's civil war.
Even he did not know the full details.
It was something Hwancheonjihwan had told him just before he set out for the Sichuan Tang Clan to save Yuhyeon.
If what it said is true, every truth is written in the latter half of the Dark Blood True Scripture.
The reason he had regressed was simple.
To eliminate every last person who would become Yuhyeon's enemy.
Not the tail of the dragon, but its body and head as well—all of them.
To do that, he needed to know the contents of that secret history.
I have to learn everything and kill them all before I can rest easy.
He could not tolerate any force that threatened Yuhyeon remaining alive.
What happened in my previous life must never be allowed to happen again.
Ten days later.
He finally arrived at the Blackwater region of Sichuan.
A village utterly devoid of vitality.
Every door in Jamun Village was shut tight.
"The epidemic has spread thoroughly."
A foul stench hung in the air.
It was filthy poison qi.
"A perfect place for circulating energy."
To him, however, it was ideal.
Because he cultivated poison arts—specifically Tyrant Blood Poison Qi—this kind of poison qi became strength for him.
No matter how dirty the energy, he only needed to purify it with Tyrant Blood Poison Qi.
"First I should see the village chief."
He had arrived several years earlier than in his previous life.
Back then the chief had been half-dead.
Only because Cheonwi had absorbed every last scrap of poison qi in Jamun Village had the chief survived.
"At least the chief of Jamun Village left his door open."
He approached the thatched house with its open door.
As if sensing his presence, a feeble voice drifted out from within.
"…Who is it?"
"I have come from the Sichuan Tang Clan."
"From the Tang… Clan? Urgh."
An old man forced his weakened body upright and emerged from the room.
"What business does the main house have…?"
"The Clan Head has ordered me to resolve the epidemic spreading through Jamun Village."
The old man stared at him intently before asking,
"Is your father the Master of Jeokryeongak?"
"That man is my youngest uncle."
The Master of Jeokryeongak was the position held by his youngest uncle, Tang Gang.
The pavilion responsible for external affairs.
Jamun Village also fell under his youngest uncle's jurisdiction.
"What is the young master's name?"
"Tang Cheonwi."
"Tang Cheonwi… Tang Cheonwi…!?"
The old man's eyes widened.
It was the face of a man who had long heard the name and knew it well.
"The Young Master of the Tang Clan!?"
"That is correct."
"Hah! Why would the Clan Head send the Young Master to a place where plague is running rampant!"
The old man hurriedly moved to fetch a clean face cloth.
He tried to act quickly, yet the poison saturating his body made every motion painfully sluggish.
"Put this cloth on at once and leave Jamun Village immediately."
"I must carry out the task the Clan Head has ordered."
"The epidemic spreading through Jamun Village is no ordinary plague. Even the men dispatched from Jeokryeongak lost several lives and then withdrew completely."
The old man pushed at Cheonwi's body.
He clearly wanted to shove him out of Jamun Village by any means possible.
The sight drew a natural smile to Cheonwi's lips.
Only those loyal to the Tang Clan died early.
The old man's name was Tang Mansong.
A side-branch member whose loyalty belonged solely to the Clan Head.
The reason such an important stronghold—where the clan cultivated poisonous and medicinal herbs—had been entrusted to a side-branch member was precisely because of Tang Mansong's upright character.
If men like him had lived, Yuhyeon would never have died.
"I do not become poisoned, so there is no need to push me away."
"Nonsense! I heard the Young Master's realm is only third-class. Unless the Young Master possesses Thousand Poisons Immunity, he cannot remain unharmed by this plague."
Even Thousand Poisons Immunity would not be enough to stay safe from this epidemic, the old man believed.
"If I have Thousand Poisons Immunity, then I don't have to leave Jamun Village, right?"
Tang Cheonwi looked at Tang Mansong and smiled with pure brightness.
It was a genuine smile.
"That's absurd…"
"I will prove it right now, so please step back for a moment."
A short distance from Tang Mansong's side, he stirred his Tyrant Blood Poison Qi.
And then something astonishing occurred.