The Epidemic Drawn to the Tyrant
The epidemic that hung over Jamun Village sent its poisonous qi rushing straight toward Tang Cheonwi.
It poured into him through his nose, his mouth, and every pore of his body.
Hwancheonjihwan, who had kept silent because of the latter half of the tale concerning the Dark Blood True Scripture, finally opened his mouth in a sullen grumble.
"With that Ten Thousand Poison Ghost Body of yours, every scrap of poisonous qi in the air is just going to pour into your internal energy. Talk about luck."
In place of the filthy, polluted qi that vanished into Tang Cheonwi’s body, a clear and pure poisonous qi began to spread through the air.
It was energy refined by Tyrant Blood Poison Qi.
"Not bad. So the people who cultivate the Tang Clan’s arts don’t get poisoned by it?"
Tyrant Blood Poison Qi was, after all, the highest internal art of the Tang Clan. When operated for life rather than slaughter, even its poisonous nature refused to poison living people.
Even the village chief of Jamun Village felt his breathing ease.
"This… this can’t be!"
Tang Mansong stared at Tang Cheonwi with trembling eyes.
Poisonous qi gathering around the young master, and the new energy he exhaled in return—both were lethal poisons, yet what flowed from the young master carried life itself.
"What am I even witnessing right now!"
His voice shook. No—the tremor that began at his fingertips raced through his entire body. Goosebumps rose across his skin. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he could scarcely believe it.
"The epidemic hanging over Jamun Village is vanishing…"
Tears of pure emotion spilled down his face.
Only for a moment. While still circulating Tyrant Blood Poison Qi, Tang Cheonwi muttered under his breath.
"Huuu… If I try to take it all in at once, something’s bound to go wrong."
He could absorb every last drop with Tyrant Blood Poison Qi. Yet hidden among it was a poisonous qi no one could afford to ignore—a toxin so fierce that even the third-star stage of Tyrant Blood Poison Qi would struggle to endure it.
"Chief, guide me to the poison herb field."
Tang Mansong, still lost in a daze, snapped back to himself at once.
"Th-the poison herb field? Why there?"
"The cause of this epidemic originated from the poison herb field and the medicinal herb field."
"Th-that can’t be! Biwon Forest is the one place our villagers manage with absolute thoroughness!"
Biwon Forest was the name that encompassed both the poison herb field and the medicinal herb field together.
"It’s possible if someone deceives the eyes of the managers."
"I cannot believe it."
"I’ll prove it to you myself. Open Biwon Forest for me."
"Very well."
Tang Mansong led the way to the mountain behind Jamun Village. There stood a solid wall. When he stretched out his hand and turned it this way and that, an entirely new vista unfolded before their eyes. The wall became a vast open space, filled from end to end with medicinal herbs and poison herbs.
Tang Cheonwi walked not toward the poison herbs but toward the medicinal ones.
The poison herb side was tampered with by Demonic Cult spies, so there’s no need to examine it now. The real prize is over there.
Among the medicinal herb fields, nestled between fully blooming white lotus flowers, a single strand of silver-white fur glimmered. Only the most careful scrutiny could ever reveal it.
Hwancheonjihwan, do you see that white fur?
"What the hell is that supposed to be?"
Still as surly as ever, Hwancheonjihwan asked without even looking properly.
It’s a tail hair of Seol-eum. You know what that means, right?
"You’re telling me an actual Heavenly Spirit Fox is here?!"
The divine fox of the heavens—another name for the Yin Spirit Ice Fox.
Whenever the Yin Spirit Ice Fox moves its nest, it leaves a trail of its own tail fur.
"Insane! A beast that lives on Mount Heaven has nested all the way down here in Sichuan? Why the hell would it do that?!"
Even Hwancheonjihwan, who knew so much, was baffled. This was something even he had never encountered before, and the shock showed.
It was driven out by the Heavenly Flamewing.
In the ice-bound gorge of Mount Heaven that never thawed—Hongyeom Gorge—lived a bird that was the natural enemy of the Yin Spirit Ice Fox: the Heavenly Flamewing.
"If it got chased out, it could’ve just gone to Kunlun Mountain, which is freezing cold."
You think the Heavenly Flamewing would just leave a defeated rival alone? It would hunt the fox down and kill it anywhere cold enough to hide.
"So it came all the way down to Sichuan?"
Tang Cheonwi nodded as he picked up the tail fur. The hair was so cold it stung. The chill was fierce enough to freeze a finger solid in an instant. Without shielding his hand with internal energy, he would never have used that hand again.
Biwon Forest is cool and thick with yin energy.
It was the perfect place for a wounded Yin Spirit Ice Fox to recover its body.
"On top of that, it’s packed with high-grade poisonous qi…"
The Yin Spirit Ice Fox was a spiritual beast that carried both extreme cold and poison. Poison was precious nourishment to it. It had absorbed the qi of this place and healed its injuries.
"Then where is the Yin Spirit Ice Fox right now? I can’t sense it at all."
It’s probably out hunting down whoever invaded its territory.
In a darkened room, men wearing face masks snickered among themselves.
"Heh heh! The Tang Clan is finished now."
"How could they ever know that Sabi Herb was sown throughout Biwon Forest?"
"Ho ho ho. It looks almost identical to the poison herb Sahwa Herb—they’ll never find it. And even if they do, Sabi Herb is a mutant that sprouts again from every cut root."
They were certain Biwon Forest would never function properly again. If the Tang Clan’s vital supply of poison herbs and medicinal herbs was cut off, what would happen? Even the greatest clan under heaven would falter once it could no longer employ the Poison Use Technique.
"Thanks to that Tang Clan traitor helping us, everything went smoothly."
"Without him we would have had to attack Jamun Village outright. Luckily our losses were zero—the higher-ups will be extremely pleased."
They had struck at a key stronghold of the Sichuan Tang Clan and suffered not a single casualty. Could there be a greater victory report? All of it had been possible thanks to the Tang Clan’s own traitor.
"Did the higher-ups say anything else?"
"They ordered us to erase Jamun Village from the world entirely if it can no longer serve its purpose."
"Every Tang Clan dog in Jamun Village is already poisoned. They won’t be a match for us."
"Then do we attack at once?"
"I think we should wait a little."
"Is there still some other preparation?"
The masked man seated in the highest seat shook his head.
"Preparations are finished, but there is someone we must wait for."
"Who?"
"The young master of the Tang Clan."
"What are you talking about?"
"According to our internal collaborator, the Tang Clan’s young master is coming here."
"You mean that tyrant of the Tang Clan? The one who acts like a despot with no real ability, simply because he holds the legitimate bloodline?"
"That’s the one."
"Hah. Even the greatest clan under heaven can’t escape its own internal strife."
The masked men laughed darkly. For members of the Divine Cult, this was excellent news. Without the Tang Clan—the greatest clan under heaven—the Central Plains would already have been trampled under their feet. But the Tang Clan stood firm astride the roads of Sichuan, blocking the Divine Cult’s advance into the Central Plains. If the Tang Clan resisted, more than a third of the Divine Cult’s forces would be lost before they could even face the rest of the martial world. The Divine Cult had no desire for that. They preferred to take their time and keep their losses to an absolute minimum.
While they held that very thought, a traitor of the Tang Clan had approached them. Help me, he said, and I will remove the thorn in your side. They had nothing to lose, so they made contact—and the fool had handed them far more than they expected. Even Biwon Forest, the core of the Tang Clan. An utter idiot. To sell out his own clan for nothing more than the Tang Clan itself… not even half the world under heaven.
"If we kill the legitimate heir of the Tang Clan as well, the Divine Cult’s dream will take another step closer."
"I look forward to it."
"Unification of the martial world… just thinking of it is enough to make the heart race."
They were dreaming sweet dreams, completely unaware that their entire plan had already collapsed.
Holding the white fur carefully, Tang Cheonwi searched until he found a particular poison herb.
"Chief, where is the Sahwa Herb field?"
"Among the poison herbs it holds the strongest toxin, so we planted it deepest inside. Why do you ask?"
"Because Sahwa Herb is the source of the epidemic."
"Is that the truth?"
Tang Mansong still harbored doubts. He did not want to accept that Biwon Forest was the origin of the plague. This place was the fruit of his life’s blood and effort; he refused to believe it could be the root of the epidemic.
"To be precise, a poison herb called Sabi Herb is the cause."
"Sabi Herb? There is no such poison herb."
"Of course not. Neither you nor the villagers ever planted Sabi Herb."
The Sahwa Herb field at the very heart of the poison herb beds came into view.
"They’re almost impossible to tell apart."
Until the sun set, they looked completely identical.
"Watch carefully. Distinguishing Sahwa Herb from Sabi Herb is surprisingly easy. When the sun goes down or the surroundings are darkened, Sabi Herb shows its true nature."
Tang Cheonwi circulated Tyrant Blood Poison Qi. As the green energy grew steadily darker, red veins began to flow across the leaves of the Sabi Herb.
"Do you see those red lines?"
"Wh-what in the world is that?"
"That is Sabi Herb."
"We never planted any such poison herb!"
"I know. Someone who betrayed the Tang Clan planted Sabi Herb that looks nearly identical to Sahwa Herb."
"Who is that person!"
Tang Mansong flew into a rage. If Biwon Forest was ruined, the Tang Clan would suffer a catastrophic blow. That was why only those of absolute loyalty were ever allowed to manage it.
"Do you want to know?"
"Of course! I’ll seize him this very day and tear him limb from limb!"
"Even if that person is your own son?"
"You’re saying my son is the culprit? Your joke has gone too far."
Tang Mansong was so dumbfounded he could barely speak. It was only natural. To cast doubt on his loyalty was to deny the entire life he had devoted to the Tang Clan.
"You may not, but your son harbored resentment toward the Tang Clan."
"Do you have proof that my son destroyed Biwon Forest?"
Of course he did. He had lived through it in his previous life.
"Side branches that resent the main family are overflowing throughout the Tang Clan. Some of them even hold key posts. If they whispered in your son’s ear, betrayal was more than possible."
"That’s nothing but words. Bring me proof. Then I will believe you."
"And if I bring that proof, what will you do?"
"Take my son’s head—and my own as well."
"You’d better keep that promise."
Tang Cheonwi laid the white fur he had been carrying atop the Sabi Herbs, then walked out of Biwon Forest.
The moment he vanished, the white fur began to pour out freezing cold. The Sabi Herbs reacted by spewing poison, yet the cold that flowed from the white fur simply swallowed that poisonous qi. The Sabi Herbs joined forces to resist the chill, but it was useless. The more they fought back, the more vigorously the cold from the white fur created new poisonous qi—pure, refined, and crystal-clear poisonous qi.
The moment they stepped out of Biwon Forest, Hwancheonjihwan spoke in a surly tone.
"Why are you doing this the long, annoying way? It’s not like you."
Because there’s a great deal I need to obtain from this place.
Curing the epidemic was no problem. He had Tyrant Blood Poison Qi, after all. Yet Jamun Village held more than just the Yin Spirit Ice Fox. It also held another treasure: Tang Mansong’s grandson—the man who would one day be known as the Ten Thousand Herb Guest, Tang Saeng, a peak-level master. Obtaining that boy was the real goal. In his previous life they had been bound by a bitter grudge. This life, he intended to reverse that fate and make the boy his own.
"Come with me to the back mountain for a moment."
Together with Tang Mansong he climbed the rear mountain. It was not a steep climb, so the walk was not especially hard. Still, Tang Mansong remained poisoned, and the strain showed clearly on his face.
"Huu… Why did we climb all the way up here?"
"You asked for proof, didn’t you? Once the sun sets, you’ll learn exactly who ruined Biwon Forest."
"From here? Biwon Forest is sealed by a formation—you can’t see a thing from this spot."
"Is that so? Come over here for a moment, if you would."
Tang Mansong stepped closer. Tang Cheonwi corrected his position by a single pace to the side.
"Hah!"
"Can you see it?"
"B-but Biwon Forest has an illusion formation laid over it…"
"Time has opened a gap."
"How did you know a gap had formed?"
He could hardly say he knew because he had regressed. He answered with a casual half-truth.
"There is nothing the Tang Clan does not know. And I happen to be its young master."
Tang Mansong nodded and accepted the words without protest.
"You’re right. For the young master of the Tang Clan, knowing such things must be as easy as eating cold porridge."
The instant his words ended, the sun sank and night arrived.
"Brace yourself. The culprits are about to appear."
And just as he said, figures began slipping into Biwon Forest.