Chapter 394
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 394
Chapter Title: It's Coming Soon
The pitch-black eyes of the dark iron corpse met Kwan Ha-kyung's gaze.
A warrior bringing down a blade wreathed in blue sword energy upon itself—that was what the dark iron corpse beheld.
Slash.
The blue sword energy cleaved down from the crown of the dark iron corpse's head all the way to the ground.
Screeech.
One strike, two halves.
The dark iron corpse split cleanly in two and collapsed.
Yu Gwi-gwang and the Fierce Dragon Corps member, their arms still spread wide from the block, were flung apart to either side by the force.
"Hoo."
Kwan Ha-kyung exhaled deeply but kept his guard up.
He had taken down the dark iron corpse, but who knew when another might appear from somewhere.
"Good."
A quiet word of praise slipped from Ha Mu-baek's lips.
The coordination between the Demon-Sealing Corps and the Fierce Dragon Corps had been excellent.
They had made superb use of the cramped terrain thick with trees.
And their vigilance right up to the end was commendable.
Not just Kwan Ha-kyung—all the others were scanning their surroundings with sharp, gleaming eyes.
"Alright, let's move."
Ha Mu-baek dropped from the tree with those curt words and started off.
The rest followed behind.
He hadn't told them the destination.
Yet they trailed him in silence all the same.
As Ha Mu-baek wove through the western woods, his expression grew increasingly grave.
His senses spread wide, he was tracking the movements of the poison corpses that had appeared out of nowhere.
'Looks like we're the target. Or am I?'
He knew the Blood Cult could intentionally control the corpses.
They hadn't shown such behavior since their defeat in the great martial conference.
Today, though, it was clear they were operating under the Blood Cult's command.
Otherwise, how could six corpses move toward the exact same target?
'First, I need to figure out who the target is.'
Me, or the Demon-Sealing Corps?
Ha Mu-baek figured it was him.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have mobilized the corpses so suddenly.
The Demon-Sealing Corps had roamed freely through the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest for years without this happening.
"Split up."
Ha Mu-baek directed the Demon-Sealing Corps to move in one direction.
There was no real threat that way.
They were the ones who had already brought down the dark iron corpse, after all.
Ha Mu-baek moved off in another direction with Pyeong Deok-jo.
Both paths led through open clearings midway.
It was a setup to deal with six poison corpses.
About fifteen minutes in,
Ha Mu-baek halted.
Pyeong Deok-jo stopped with him.
"Regroup."
With that, Ha Mu-baek changed course.
Not back to where they'd split, but the fastest route to link up with the Demon-Sealing Corps.
It wasn't a proper path.
They had to push through the dense trees.
Ha Mu-baek leaped up onto a tree.
Traveling along the branches was easier and faster.
Pyeong Deok-jo followed Ha Mu-baek up into the trees.
His lightness skill wasn't quite up to par, but he managed to keep pace without falling too far behind.
'Not me, then?'
The poison corpses were heading straight for the Demon-Sealing Corps.
Not toward Ha Mu-baek himself.
The moment he confirmed it, he'd turned right back toward them.
'Not bad.'
The Blood Cult had anticipated that Ha Mu-baek would head for the Demon-Sealing Corps anyway.
'Who is it?'
The one clever enough to counter him like this.
'Has to be the First Elder.'
The Blood Cult's First Elder, leader of their Ten Elders.
It had to be him.
Ha Mu-baek had tried to kill him in the last war, but the bastard had hidden away too well.
Looks like he was holed up in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
That explained the reaction.
Ha Mu-baek's eyes darkened.
'Do Mun-wi, you bastard... you hid the First Elder in a dump like this?'
As far as Ha Mu-baek knew, there was nowhere in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest for the First Elder to hide.
That's why he hadn't suspected it.
He'd smashed every possible spot they could be lurking in.
They wouldn't have regrouped and rebuilt there.
The Demon-Sealing Corps wouldn't have missed such activity.
No matter how worthless their leader was, they wouldn't overlook a report on something that big.
Even Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong hadn't mentioned anything about the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
'Where could they be hiding...'
Ha Mu-baek recalled every inch of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest's terrain
and spread his senses wide.
Wide enough to blanket the entire forest.
He had to ferret out the rats in hiding.
Something impossible at his old level, but now it was different.
He had reached a realm where he could scrutinize every detail of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Ha Mu-baek frowned.
He could only sense the corpses, the Demon-Sealing Corps, the Fierce Dragon Corps, and the faint presences of herb gatherers risking their lives to sneak in for rare plants.
His circular sensory field, spread wide, detected no signs of Blood Cult remnants burrowed deep underground.
There were no presences practicing blood arts anywhere.
Someone had to be around to control the corpses—he should've sensed at least one.
Or had they withdrawn their senses at the perfect moment and gotten lucky?
Ha Mu-baek's thoughts cut off there.
He spotted the Demon-Sealing Corps below.
Thud. Thump.
Ha Mu-baek lightly kicked off a branch and landed on the ground.
The sudden appearance startled the Demon-Sealing Corps members.
"Uh, th-that..."
As Pung Geon stammered in surprise,
"Move fast."
Ha Mu-baek took the lead, heading along the route he'd designated earlier.
The poison corpses were closing in, so better to face them in a wide clearing.
They arrived at the open space.
"What happened?"
Kwan Ha-kyung stepped forward as representative.
"Some annoying bastards are on your tail."
"Pardon?"
"Poison corpses... first time I've seen 'em. They're homing in on you lot. Six of them."
The Demon-Sealing Corps recoiled in shock.
They had countless experiences in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest,
but they'd never heard of corpses moving as a group toward a specific target.
"H-how could..."
Yu Gwi-gwang muttered in disbelief.
If that were possible, the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest would be a true land of death.
"Form up. They're coming soon."
At Ha Mu-baek's command, the Demon-Sealing Corps and Fierce Dragon Corps sprang into action.
Pyeong Deok-jo joined the Fierce Dragon Corps as well,
shield in hand from his spare gear.
As an instructor of the Dragon Training Pavilion's Fierce Dragon Corps, he'd drilled with them using shields before.
The strongest among them, he stood beside Yu Gwi-gwang.
How long did they wait like that?
"Kuuuuaaa!"
"Kraaaang!"
"Kuaakuaakuwa."
The six corpses appeared.
Poison corpses.
With their dark purple claws extended, they charged straight at the Demon-Sealing Corps.
They didn't spare Ha Mu-baek a single glance.
Boom!
Five slammed into five shields.
The sixth's attack was parried by Kwan Ha-kyung's blade.
Ha Mu-baek observed them closely.
They looked identical to poison corpses, but their presence felt different.
Why was that?
The ten-against-six skirmish was fierce.
Ha Mu-baek could have stepped in and ended it, but he held back—this was training, cultivation.
Besides,
he needed to spot the difference from regular poison corpses.
These seemed like a new breed he'd never encountered.
As he watched, Ha Mu-baek frowned.
One Fierce Dragon Corps member's movements with his shield were off.
He hadn't been scratched by a claw,
yet his eyes were starting to glaze over.
The weakest in internal energy among them.
As his eyes unfocused, drool began trickling from his mouth.
Then, ignoring defense entirely, he lunged at the poison corpse.
Yu Gwi-gwang blocked for him several times, keeping him safe, but
he kept throwing himself at the poison corpse,
as if craving something.
'Hold on.'
Ha Mu-baek tensed.
That was it.
His movements weren't about fighting to bring it down.
He was craving something.
Desperately seeking to indulge in it.
Ha Mu-baek had seen that look before.
An unforgettable sight.
Last winter.
The Soul-Bewitching Poison scattered by the Blood Cult in Muchang.
It matched the symptoms of those addicted to it.
'No way...'
He thought they'd crushed the Blood Cult's plot completely back then.
Ha Mu-baek launched himself forward.
From his distance, he couldn't tell.
Even with the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye, he couldn't read the energy of these non-cultivating corpses.
He landed at the center of their formation.
His expression twisted.
Only now, in position, could he sense it.
"Those bastards..."
Poison corpses.
Indeed, different from the usual.
Like poisoned humans exhaling toxin with every breath,
they were emitting faint traces of Soul-Bewitching Poison from their mouths and noses.
The poison spread roughly a zhang in radius.
Ha Mu-baek had been farther out, so he'd missed it.
The Demon-Sealing Corps and Fierce Dragon Corps were all fighting sword and shield within that poisoned zone.
He hadn't imagined the Blood Cult pulling something like this,
creating corpses like these.
That's how this mess happened.
The silver lining:
Ha Mu-baek knew the symptoms of Soul-Bewitching Poison.
He could intervene before it worsened.
Only the one weakest in internal energy had started showing signs.
Not too late.
"Everyone, hold your breath!"
At Ha Mu-baek's shout, they all stopped breathing.
All but one.
That one tried to rush the poison corpse and inhale deeply, but
thwack.
Ha Mu-baek struck the back of his neck, knocking him out.
Then,
he swept his hand toward the five poison corpses.
"Begone."
With those brief words,
roooar!
Crimson flames engulfed the corpses' bodies.
Writhing in the blaze, they crumbled to ash in moments.
Far off, a man watched the scene.
'Im... impossible...'
Blood Cult or not,
with his sack stuffed full of herbs, he couldn't believe what he'd witnessed from afar.
A native of the distant Mongolian plains, his superhuman eyesight—honed to human limits—had captured every detail.
He hurried away.
Blending back into the careful steps of a herb gatherer seeking more plants.
Terrified lest that monster spot anything suspicious.
The Demon-Sealing Corps members stared wide-eyed at the spectacle before them.
With a casual flick of his hand,
five poison corpses had turned to ash.
The last one still bared its fangs and slashed with claws, but
thud.
Ha Mu-baek's single punch sent it sprawling.
Crunch. Crunch.
He stomped and shattered its shoulder and knee joints.
It was still exhaling faint Soul-Bewitching Poison like breath.
Some reached Ha Mu-baek's nose,
but nothing happened.
Immunity to All Poisons.
His recently attained realm.
Soul-Bewitching Poison was just another toxin—it couldn't invade his body.
Ha Mu-baek extended his hand.
His internal energy flowed out, enveloping the poison corpse.
Like a barrier silencing sound,
his energy sword aura sealed off the corpse's poison.
A protective aura projected onto another body.
Though the intent here was the opposite.
Not protection, but restraint.
Flames erupted from Ha Mu-baek's hand once more.
The blaze roared up, devouring the surroundings in an instant before vanishing.
"It's done. Breathe now."
He'd burned away any lingering poison mist.
At his words, they inhaled one by one.
"What in the world was that?"
Pyeong Deok-jo managed to compose himself and asked.
"Soul-Bewitching Poison."
Short and to the point.
But enough to shock Pyeong Deok-jo.
He'd heard of the Muchang incident—and even witnessed parts of it.
He'd helped direct the masses flooding the Dragon Training Pavilion.
"S-Soul-Bewitching Poison, how...?"
Pyeong Deok-jo's voice trembled as he asked.
"Don't know. But they were exhaling it like breath. Radius of about one zhang."
"You mean..."
Fear flashed across Pyeong Deok-jo's face.
"Yeah. You're all poisoned. Like him."
Ha Mu-baek pointed to the drooling, collapsed Fierce Dragon Corps member.
With those words,
a heavy silence descended.