Chapter 141: A Small Lake Soaked in Blood (2)

At the critical moment, I thought to pierce the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm into the zigzag-bent space. I shook my left arm and infused it with the internal energy of three cycles.

“That crazy bastard!”

The Third Young Master clicked his tongue as he watched me charge head-on at Baek Yeomma’s Heavenly Hundred Ghosts.

Even he wouldn’t dare dash straight at Heavenly Hundred Ghosts like that.

The Iron Turtle Palm was a demonic art from the Heavenly Demon Sect that had leaked out during the era of Martial Calamity a hundred years ago. It couldn’t be dismissed just because it was a palm technique.

Even elders of the Gongdong Sect had died without so much as lifting a hand against Heavenly Hundred Ghosts, which had reached the level of extremity.

Frankly, after witnessing that, he no longer treated the subordinate who acted as his guard with any disregard.

Even someone like him, who had feared nothing in the world, acknowledged Heavenly Hundred Ghosts as a terrifying technique.

And yet, when he saw me draw out a piece of silk fabric from my left sleeve and charge in, he clicked his tongue again.

“Tsk tsk, I thought he had some skill, but to be such a fool not knowing the danger of Heavenly Hundred Ghosts.”

Though he said so, a smile crept over the pale face of the Third Young Master.

He looked delighted to see me on the verge of death.

Just as I heard the Third Young Master click his tongue, I thrust the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm into the empty space.

After stabbing it, I concentrated and redirected the flow of True Qi using the Tai Chi Dantian.

Because the True Qi created through the Tai Chi Dantian was a twisted mixture of two opposing forces, reinforcing one would naturally push against the other.

This, too, was a flow of True Qi I had realized only after understanding natural order and current.

One realization didn’t end as one; it sparked a chain reaction.

Natural order and current applied not only to martial forms but also to the flow of energy.

And more than anything, these two realizations greatly aided me in life.

‘Is this the realm of Intention Initiates Movement?’

As I sought empty space with the pupil technique and recalled how to maneuver the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm with the Tai Chi Dantian, my body and True Qi moved accordingly.

Intention Initiates Movement means that when the will rises, the body follows. But that was easier said than done. Even in martial theory, it was a level of profound mastery.

Whip—!

The Black Silk Celestial Silkworm bent midway and tunneled into the empty space to the right.

Then about a third of it veered left and pierced into Baek Yeomma’s chest.

Puk!

Even as the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm flew at an odd angle and struck the chest, Baek Yeomma couldn’t escape his position.

Although Heavenly Hundred Ghosts was a fierce technique that blocked off all angles and attacked simultaneously, it had a flaw—if one moved, the formation would break, so one had to hold their position.

It was unavoidable to operate the technique since one had to release all internal energy through both hands.

Even Shaolin’s strongest fist art, Hundred Steps Divine Fist, had to plant its stance and remain fixed due to the same limitation.

Most absolute techniques that poured out all internal energy had this in common—maintaining an immovable stance was critical.

‘Did it pierce the heart?’

A tingling sensation in the chest gave the impression that the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm had reached the heart.

‘Now the blood pressure will erupt through the seven orifices.’

Baek Yeomma recalled the scene he always saw when destroying an enemy’s heart with his own internal pressure.

Swoooosh!

A cooling wind rang in his ears.

His vision gradually turned crimson.

Cough!

Something hot surged up his throat, and he could no longer hold it back, spitting it out in streams.

It was not something he could suppress with willpower.

“Damn!”

The Third Young Master clicked his tongue as if pitying Baek Yeomma, who now bled from the seven orifices with a deranged grin.

“Yeomma!”

The Eastern Demon of the Red-Clad Twin Demons dashed toward Baek Yeomma upon seeing his condition.

He had only barely been holding even ground against the combined assault of Jegal Cheongyeong, Jegal Yeongcheon, and Seomun Yuwon.

But now the Eastern Demon had suddenly revealed an opening. Pang Giyok, of course, wouldn’t miss such a chance.

His saber radiated a white saber-qi.

A white tiger’s saber-qi surged forward as if to pounce and tore toward the Twin Demons’ front.

“Ugh!”

The Eastern Demon let out a shriek and split the tiger’s saber-qi with both hands.

Boom!

“I missed!”

His left hand was mangled to the point the white bone was visible. Still, the Eastern Demon ignored his arm and charged toward Baek Yeomma.

He released red-tinged internal energy and lunged toward me.

“Go. Get out of here, you fool.”

Even as death approached, Baek Yeomma muttered upon seeing the comrade he had walked with for decades running toward him.

I responded to those words.

“I’ll send him off painlessly as well.”

Baek Yeomma closed his eyes while still standing.

“Th… thank you.”

And with that brief final word, Baek Yeomma drew his last breath.

“Yeomma! You bastard, don’t die on me!”

As the Eastern Demon charged, I wove through his flame-like internal energy and extended my sword.

Shhk!

Just as I had promised Baek Yeomma, I pierced the heart swiftly.

My heart felt heavy for once.

The Eastern Demon hadn’t released his final True Qi at the end. He had lost strength upon seeing his comrade die.

Though they had been powerful figures of the past, the two had shared a deep bond.

They were enemies, but their sincerity struck a chord and left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‘In the end, these two were friends—perhaps even brothers.’

Lost in such thoughts, I snapped back to reality when I noticed white powder flowing from Ihwa Fairy’s ship.

Pang Cheollyeon was fighting there.

At that moment, Pang Giyok leapt aboard Ihwa Fairy’s ship.

“Brother, protect Yohye here!”

Leaving Jegal Yeongcheon behind, Jegal Cheongyeong also rushed to the ship, but she was already a step too late.

Soon, those aboard Ihwa Fairy’s ship began to collapse one by one like rotted straw bundles.

“Poison? You cowardly bastards!”

Seomun Yuwon shouted as he charged toward Man Inhwa, Ihwa Fairy.

As soon as Pang Giyok boarded the ship, he picked up the fallen Pang Cheollyeon and hurled her toward me.

That was the only thing he could do.

Without looking back, he, too, dashed toward Ihwa Fairy’s side.

He believed I would catch his younger sister safely.

I soared through the air, caught Pang Cheollyeon, and landed.

Then I spoke to Jegal Yeongcheon and Monk Gak Un.

“Please take care of her.”

Jegal Yohye quickly spoke.

“We’ll tend to her, so go quickly.”

Just as I was about to leap toward Ihwa Fairy’s ship, I felt a menacing aura that couldn’t be ignored and raised my sword to block it.

The sword imbued with sword qi that the Third Young Master had thrown deflected away.

“You think I’m just a scarecrow? You shouldn’t be distracted by something irrelevant.”

The Third Young Master, a middle-aged Demonic Master, and Deung Hwaun approached.

I said to the people behind me:

“Leave this ship.”

I had no intention of letting that bastard calling himself the Third Young Master live.

I was going to kill him quickly and rescue the sub-leaders of the noble clans.

Monk Gak Un made a hand gesture and said:

“Lay brother Yong, be careful.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Stay safe.”

Jegal Yohye and Jegal Yeongcheon boarded a small skiff floating nearby.

They followed my instructions because they knew the ship would be torn to shreds once the battle began.

They understood that staying would only burden me.

I gave a brief glance toward Ihwa Fairy’s ship.

Only Pang Giyok, Seomun Yuwon, and Jegal Cheongyeong were fiercely fighting the old woman and the old man.

Everyone else had collapsed.

Even Jeong Suji, known for her savage nature, lay unconscious with a peacefully sleeping expression—evidence that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable.

At that moment—

“I told you not to get distracted.”

Before I realized it, the Third Young Master’s sword had come dangerously close.

I could no longer afford to divide my attention elsewhere.

The swordsmanship of the Third Young Master wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Especially since his sword absorbed even sword qi, making it a troublesome weapon to face.

‘But all I have to do is not clash swords with him.’

I avoided direct clashes with his sword and targeted his pressure points with swift attacks.

I fiercely unfolded the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword, but the Third Young Master, just like me, avoided direct confrontation.

‘As expected, this bastard has already reached the same level as I have.’

In the midst of trading blows, I realized this and slowly lowered my left arm to prepare to fire the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.

The Third Young Master was so absorbed in the battle that he didn’t notice my right hand.

I had already used a finishing form of the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword to distract his gaze.

As he took a half-step back, I deployed Domijeolhae imbued with three cycles of internal energy.

Pararararak!

The sword tip shook left and right as it drilled in, but the Third Young Master didn’t even think to block it. If he did, he felt his sword would surely snap.

‘This brute! But where did he get such monstrous internal energy? I’ve consumed countless rare elixirs, and even then…!’

Thankfully, his Taiyin Spirit Sword had absorbed my energy just in time. If it hadn’t, he would’ve ended up like Baek Yeomma—or worse.

On top of that, even the sword techniques he was confident in couldn’t keep up with mine.

He resented his master for passing down swordsmanship that couldn’t even surpass the techniques of mid-sized sects from Henan.

‘Those old bastards! They said no one could match the Nine Nether King Sword—all lies!’

The Third Young Master gritted his teeth and poured all his internal energy into the Taiyin Spirit Sword.

Even so, he still couldn’t seize the momentum.

On the contrary, my sword shifted and drilled into his chest. If he retreated any farther, he felt he would fall into the lake.

Left with no choice, he crossed swords to block my attack.

Tatata-tang!

At the lakeside, where the sun had set and a red glow lit the sky, blue sparks from the sword clash burst like fireworks.

I took the brunt of the clash.

Because the Third Young Master’s Taiyin Spirit Sword absorbed my qi, he suffered no backlash.

In contrast, when I struck his sword, my own sword qi disappeared without a trace.

“Just die already, you bastard!”

Using excessive qi, I staggered.

It was the side effect of pushing out three full cycles of internal energy—my body couldn’t keep up.

Sensing this, the Third Young Master, Eum Sajeok, switched from defense to offense.

His Taiyin Spirit Sword, filled with all his internal energy, let out a strange wail as it shot straight toward my chest.

His intention was simple: no matter how much internal energy I had, I must be running dry by now.

But then, I wrapped the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm around the Taiyin Spirit Sword and pulled it.

“Huuh!”

As his sword arm twisted the opposite way, the Third Young Master tried to slice the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm by injecting even more energy.

His round, pale face turned beet red as he poured nearly all of his energy into it, but I wasn’t affected at all.

The Black Silk Celestial Silkworm also had the property of absorbing the opponent’s energy.

“What the hell is this?!”

While he cried out in shock, my sword flew silently toward his neck.

In that moment of carelessness, the Third Young Master realized he might actually die—his eyes widened in fear.

Just as my sword was about to slice his neck, a dagger flew toward my temple.

I realized that if I cut his neck, the dagger would pierce my head—so I changed my sword’s trajectory and struck down the dagger.

Chaaaang!

The dagger ricocheted off and nearly hit the ground—but instead flew back like a swallow to the other side.

Standing on the opposite ship, Ihwa Fairy had thrown the dagger and saved the Third Young Master.

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