Chapter 609
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 609
Chapter Title: You're the Real Monster
Darkness's counter is light.
Obsidian's counter is radiance.
Though said to have split from the primordial oneness into six fragments, clear counters existed, and darkness and radiance were perfect opposites.
That was why he unleashed the Infinite Commandment Eight Severing Sword Radiance with the energy of radiance, but Ha Mu-baek saw no great effect.
'As expected, the counter's effect maximizes when you're stronger than the opponent.'
Unable to overwhelm it—no, with the radiance energy actually seeming weaker than the darkness—Ha Mu-baek even appeared to be pushed back at a glance.
The current situation stemmed not from a difference in will, but in raw power.
Ha Mu-baek had no choice but to change tactics.
Not relying on the properties of counters, but a pure clash of strength against strength.
Ha Mu-baek's dantian began expelling internal energy.
A storm-like whirlwind of qi.
Its nature had changed.
Yet Bang Sa-uk remained calm.
He knew well that such internal energy held no sway over him, now one with the darkness.
He moved the darkness.
The darkness transformed into countless blades.
With a casual wave of his hand, blades of darkness hurtled toward Ha Mu-baek, who was emanating waves of murderous intent.
They would pass by Ha Mu-baek's sword and carve dark wounds into his body.
But then.
Kang!Ka-kang!Kang!
Countless dark blades bounced off Ha Mu-baek's sword.
An unexpected outcome.
At least for him.
For Ha Mu-baek, it was only natural.
Darkness, after all, was ultimately a primordial force.
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy, the Infinite Commandment, originated from the primordial as well.
Naturally, it could interfere with Bang Sa-uk's darkness.
Shuuuk.
Ha Mu-baek shifted in an instant, seizing Bang Sa-uk's rear.
Seogeok.
A light downward slash.
"Kuhk."
Bang Sa-uk rode the darkness away, a searing pain exploding from his shoulder.
Viscous darkness oozed from his wound.
At the same time, darkness from all directions flowed into the gash.
And in a flash, it healed.
"You're the real monster. A demon through and through."
Ha Mu-baek said calmly.
That strike had let him fully grasp the rhythm.
But the efficiency was too poor.
The foe was steeped in the primordial force itself, while Ha Mu-baek had to draw on the primordial power latent in his internal energy.
The gap was wider than expected.
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy was vast beyond even his own comprehension.
Still, the difference in efficiency was a clear anxiety factor.
Ha Mu-baek's face remained utterly serene.
He wasn't so green in battle as to show dismay in such straits.
On the contrary, wasn't he Ha Mu-baek, seasoned by endless experience?
Thus, he unleashed even more qi.
Infinite Commandment Eight Severing Sword Radiance.
First form: Heaven Cleaver.
A strike aimed precisely at Bang Sa-uk.
Bang Sa-uk tried to block by manifesting countless swords of darkness, but they split apart in an instant.
He hastily dodged.
The darkness where he had stood parted in two, briefly revealing an even deeper abyss of true black before reforming.
"Kuk. You're the real monster. I didn't think you had it in you to this extent."
Bang Sa-uk muttered in bewilderment.
The situation left him no choice but to be flustered.
Internal energy that could cleave darkness?
However.
Even so, before greater power, it would inevitably kneel.
The darkness began to roil.
And then.
Not just the power of darkness, but Bang Sa-uk's own internal energy flowed into it.
His internal energy, explosively grown after succumbing to the Curse of Annihilation, mingled with the darkness.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Their fierce exchange unfolded.
A massive explosion rocked the Beggars' Sect headquarters.
Vast as it was, it was still a tent.
No tent could withstand their power.
Ha Mu-baek's sword unleashed the Infinite Commandment Eight Severing Sword Radiance in succession.
Second form: Earth Sunder.
Third form: Thunder Split.
Fourth form: Soul Shredder.
Bang Sa-uk countered Ha Mu-baek's onslaught by pushing the power of darkness to its limits.
A clash of darkness and internal energy.
It was evenly matched.
Bang Sa-uk infusing his internal energy into the intangible darkness to generate greater power was actually a boon for Ha Mu-baek.
As Bang Sa-uk's internal energy permeated the formless darkness, it gained a faint tangibility.
The efficiency of Ha Mu-baek's internal energy naturally rose.
Even so, Bang Sa-uk was holding his own against Ha Mu-baek.
Among foes Ha Mu-baek had faced after transcending a certain realm, he was displaying the greatest power.
'To think a mere Dark Blood Jiangshi could do this.'
Ha Mu-baek's inner thought.
As the battle intensified, Ha Mu-baek gleaned much information.
Bang Sa-uk.
This man wielded the power of darkness, but at root, he was a Dark Blood Jiangshi ensnared by the Curse of Annihilation.
Born with the Vermilion Bird Blood Spirit Body, resistant to the curse, he had ultimately become a jiangshi as the darkness seeped in.
Vermilion Bird Blood Spirit Body, Curse of Annihilation, and the energy of darkness.
A mutant born from the fusion of those three.
In other words, unlike Ha Mu-baek, he hadn't properly claimed a primordial fragment—its power.
Yet he had fought Ha Mu-baek on equal footing until now.
It was astonishing.
Gae Hong-cheon, revived as a jiangshi, possessed far greater heights, yet Bang Sa-uk was waging an even fiercer battle against Ha Mu-baek.
Due to the nature of the energy he wielded.
The form of intangible darkness.
However.
Ha Mu-baek's attacks, growing ever more attuned, showed no mercy.
The storm-like qi was gradually overwhelming Bang Sa-uk.
Darkness surged from all sides to resist Ha Mu-baek, but its struggles were growing feebler.
Dismay slowly crept onto Bang Sa-uk's face.
When he first grasped the power of darkness and merged with it, he believed no one in the world could match him.
He thought he could drown the Beggars' Sect in blood right then.
"Eek."
Bang Sa-uk foresaw the flow of this battle.
He would be slowly pushed back, overwhelmed, and ultimately defeated.
Thus, his decision was swift.
"You damned bastard! Why are you getting in my way?!"
With a scream near a shriek, he gathered the surrounding darkness.
And hurled it straight at Ha Mu-baek in one go.
It took the form of a sphere the size of a child's fist.
Dark Orb.
Ha Mu-baek took it head-on.
An energy of profoundly condensed darkness.
Infinite Commandment Eight Severing Sword Radiance.
Sixth form: World Annihilator.
The pinnacle form he had used in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest reappeared.
Ha Mu-baek's pure white sword beam collided with the Dark Orb.
Kuuaaa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!!!!!!!
With a colossal explosion.
Kwajijik!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
Ku-kung!
The Beggars' Sect headquarters burst apart.
Due to the immense storm from the clash of the two energies.
Even intangible darkness's power.
This strike produced a tremendous blast.
Even Ha Mu-baek took a step back.
The Beggars' Sect disciples outside the headquarters gaped as their HQ exploded before their eyes.
"N-No..."
"No!!!!"
Screams from the beggars.
Those with dark rings around their eyes.
Anyone could see the fatigue etched on their faces.
Their main duty was to check, compile, and sort the Beggars' Sect intelligence from across the land.
Now, with the headquarters blown apart, the documents they handled soared into the air, fluttering like snowflakes.
Some tore, some burned.
Others remained intact.
They leaped to retrieve as many pristine documents as possible, desperately.
For those were the Beggars' Sect's very strength.
That sight caught the eye of Ha Mu-baek, who was scanning for Bang Sa-uk amid the explosion with his senses.
'A mistake?'
He realized with a start.
The value of the Beggars' Sect headquarters was incalculable.
Vast, yet a mere tent.
But considering the intelligence stored within, it was one of the most vital places in the orthodox martial world.
Ha Mu-baek's thoughts didn't linger.
More important was Bang Sa-uk's whereabouts.
He had vanished without a trace.
That final scream and all-out strike had been a ploy to escape.
Bang Sa-uk evaded even his senses.
Frowning, Ha Mu-baek infused his senses with dark energy.
Since it was the enemy's energy, it might react.
Still, nothing.
Even as it blanketed all of Kaifeng in an instant.
No matter how fast the foe, this defied logic unless he transcended space in a blink.
And even Ha Mu-baek hadn't reached that realm.
Suddenly, he recalled the past.
Tak Yo-beom, who had fled underground from the North Sea Ice Heaven Palace.
Ha Mu-baek redirected his senses.
His senses spread like a spiderweb through Kaifeng's underworld, finally detecting Bang Sa-uk.
Darkness.
Most fitting for night, but the perfect venue was underground.
A place of nothing but darkness.
There, Bang Sa-uk sped through the depths.
Fully assimilated with darkness, his form half-there, half-gone.
Soil and rock posed no barrier.
Ha Mu-baek immediately unleashed his lightness skill.
The foe had already passed Kaifeng's heart, so Ha Mu-baek pursued.
Having his tail, there was no letting go.
Thus, the shattered Beggars' Sect headquarters stood with its disciples staring blankly at Ha Mu-baek's vanishing figure.
"What in the world is the Corps Leader fighting...?"
Dam Mu-hyeon gazed in the direction Ha Mu-baek had gone, face full of confusion.
He had felt the immense qi Ha Mu-baek emitted from the headquarters, but the enemy's presence had barely registered.
"Bang Sa-uk. What the hell has that monster become?"
Dam Mu-hyeon muttered in horror, recalling the bizarre scene he had witnessed.
"Elder Bang. What kind of monster have you turned into?"
Hoga Jwa Il-do, staring vacantly at the collapsed headquarters, turned to gaze where Ha Mu-baek had disappeared.
Bang Sa-uk moved at full speed.
What he needed now was power.
The place where he had first gained power had absorbed all its darkness.
Thus, he raced toward other darkness at full tilt.
Something was drawing him in.
Darkness calling to darkness.
Toward the strongest pull, Bang Sa-uk sped on.
Through the earth, seeking the power of darkness.
With all his mind fixed on that alone, Bang Sa-uk never dreamed.
That Ha Mu-baek sensed his movement and was in pursuit.
It was only natural.
The Heaven's Net qi that had densely blanketed Kaifeng.
Bang Sa-uk had realized its owner was Ha Mu-baek, and experienced how it failed to find him.
Thus, he grew careless.
Ha Mu-baek, who had effortlessly undone the darkness-wrapped Myo Su-gae.
Ha Mu-baek, who wounded him despite his merger with darkness.
But he figured that was only possible facing him head-on.
Bang Sa-uk did sense Ha Mu-baek's qi laced with dark energy.
Yet he dismissed it as just one of the countless dark qi swarming around.
Ha Mu-baek quietly trailed him.
Sensing it wasn't mere flight.
He was desperately seeking something.
To confirm what, Ha Mu-baek simply kept a set distance, following Bang Sa-uk's wake.
Now beyond Kaifeng, he could erase him instantly if desired.
But he decided to uncover why the foe had become such a mutant.