Chapter 341: Growth (1)

Yong Hwarin ran as he looked over the letter again.

‘There’s no doubt this came from Myeong Gujeong. No one else could’ve known the whereabouts of the Red-Haired Demon Empress Lee Myeongja. And it had to be him who uncovered the location of the Three Supreme Swords’ duel.’

Myeong Gujeong managed Woo Hak Bookstore and was in charge of information for the Heavenly Demon Sect.

If it were him, acquiring information of this level would’ve been possible.

‘The duel site for the Three Supreme Swords is unexpected. To think Jungeuk Peak of Taesil Mountain on Mount Song would be the location.’

Mount Song was a mountain composed of two large masses.

Centered around Jungeuk Peak, Taesil Mountain lay to the east, and Soshil Mountain to the west—together, these two mountains were collectively called Mount Song.

Since Shaolin Temple was located on Soshil Mountain, it couldn’t even be seen from Taesil Mountain.

‘If Myeong Gujeong already obtained this information, then it means the formation has already been installed. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d know Jungeuk Peak was the location for the duel.’

With that in mind, Yong Hwarin thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit the duel site before the Shaolin gathering, and quickened his pace.

The Red-Haired Demon Empress, Lee Myeongja, looked over the seated group without suspicion and sneered inwardly.

‘Fools.’

She had already laced the tea with poison before scheming with the three thugs.

And it wasn’t ordinary poison.

It was colorless, odorless, and known as Dreamsmile Poison in the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Those afflicted would fall asleep smiling, never to wake up again—hence the name.

She had used an entire handful, meaning anyone who drank this tea would not survive.

“Please, drink.”

Lee Myeongja poured tea into everyone’s cup, then lifted her own.

Then, as if savoring the fragrance, she took a sip and closed her eyes.

“This is good tea.”

By drinking first, she aimed to break their guard.

Of course, she had already taken the antidote beforehand.

Since Dreamsmile Poison killed in less than fifteen minutes, failing to take the antidote quickly rendered it meaningless.

The others raised their cups to their lips.

It was at that moment—

“Wait!”

Seok Unjeong halted her motion with the cup just at her lips and shouted.

Everyone turned toward her in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” asked Demonic Master.

“This tea… it’s strange.”

At her words, the others quickly set down their cups and looked at Lee Myeongja.

“What do you mean? Strange how?”

Feigning confusion, Lee Myeongja lifted the lid of the teapot and pretended to examine its contents.

Then, just in case, she flung the handful of Dreamsmile Poison she’d been clutching in her left hand toward the group.

“Ah!”

As the pale powder scattered into the air, Seok Unjeong sprang to her feet and slammed the table.

Bang!

The cups flew into the air, and the tea scattered like mist.

Seok Unjeong flung her arms wide and crossed them—at that moment, the tea droplets scattered in the air began to form a thin water curtain, like a silk screen unfolding in the sky.

After receiving Bukri Sehee’s blood, Seok Unjeong’s internal strength had increased dramatically, and in this dire moment, she instinctively formed a water curtain using the energy of the Black Tortoise Supreme Yin Art.

The silk-like water curtain absorbed the airborne Dreamsmile Poison.

“Die!”

As her plan unraveled due to this girl’s interference, Lee Myeongja resolved to kill at least one of them and thrust her palm at Bukri Sehee’s chest.

At that moment, three palms met hers in an instant.

Jeong Minji, Demonic Master, and Seok Unjeong had simultaneously raised their hands to block her lethal strike.

Boom!

Jeong Minji and Demonic Master were thrown back as they overturned the tea table, and Lee Myeongja took the opportunity to leap through the teahouse window.

Seok Unjeong gathered the airborne water curtain into a dense mass.

She then infused it with the qi of the Black Tortoise Supreme Yin Art and hurled it toward Lee Myeongja, who was midair.

That was the best offensive move Seok Unjeong could muster.

Just as Lee Myeongja landed on the roof opposite, something cold exploded against her back.

Thud!

“Gah!”

It wasn’t just a stream of water.

Hit by the force of Seok Unjeong’s throw, Lee Myeongja staggered back two steps, cracking roof tiles beneath her feet.

A chilling yin energy pierced into her body, and the dampness made her feel like she was freezing from the inside out.

“To think I’d suffer at the hands of brats like them…”

She had made two attempts, and both had ended in failure—she could hardly contain her rage.

The Red-Haired Demon Empress, Lee Myeongja, couldn’t tell whether it was the martial world that had changed, or if the successors of this era were just growing too quickly.

Clearly, Deung Hwaun and Hae Cheollyeong should’ve died after being hit by her Corpse Rot Yin Qi.

Yet Deung Hwaun was alive and well.

Which meant that Hae Cheollyeong was also likely still alive.

‘Was Corpse Rot Yin Qi always this weak?’

In the martial world she once roamed, people died after inhaling even a trace of it.

The Corpse Rot Yin Qi had once been a terrifying poison.

But now, failing to even kill the likes of them made her feel as if she had fallen behind.

If Demonic Master, Deung Hwaun, Jeong Minji, and even the girl Seok Unjeong, who used a strange kind of energy, attacked at once—she wasn’t confident she could endure it.

Truthfully, the Red-Haired Demon Empress Lee Myeongja was capable of fending off their combined assault, but the clash had rattled her more than expected.

Grinding her teeth, Lee Myeongja kicked off the roof and soared into the air.

She realized now was not the time to face them.

After running for about two hours using movement arts, she finally came to a halt.

The energy from that girl who formed the water curtain had strangely disturbed her qi, making it murky—and eventually turbulent.

At first, she thought it was nothing and tried to suppress it with her internal energy, thinking the girl’s cultivation was shallow.

But now it was beyond control.

‘What a bizarre energy. I sealed it away with my qi thinking it was weak, and now it’s grown into something I can’t even handle.’

She had planned to resolve it later through circulation, but given she was on the run, she had endured until now.

Yet the weak energy had now grown so vast it was overwhelming.

“Ugh!”

In the end, she coughed up blood as she tried to manage her internal injuries.

Though the Corpse Rot Yin Qi and the Black Tortoise Supreme Yin Art were both classified as cold and yin-based arts, it was the Black Tortoise Supreme Yin Art that had triggered the corpse poison.

It had activated the toxin.

Originally, the Corpse Rot Yin Qi was an art fused with true qi.

But because the Black Tortoise Supreme Yin Art had separated the toxin from the true qi, the poison had begun to act on its own.

Lee Myeongja’s red hair rapidly began turning white.

She poured all her qi into stopping the poison from spreading through her body, causing her qi to deplete rapidly, which in turn caused the sudden change.

“I need to quickly find someone with decent internal energy.”

Her cultivation wasn’t built up through normal training. It was accumulated using the Qi Absorption Grand Art.

At first, she had absorbed true qi through Yin Harvesting Technique, but later evolved it into the Qi Absorption Grand Art.

Fleeing in the direction of Woo Hak Bookstore, she turned onto the main road and waited for someone to pass by.

It was the main route from Jeongju city to Mount Song.

Most people heading to Mount Song via Shinmil passed through this road.

Several people passed by, but none of them practiced martial arts, so she ignored them.

‘Hmph, just like they say—when you need even dung for medicine, you can’t find it. Not a single person with a sword at their hip.’

As she waited, she spotted two horses galloping toward her in the distance.

Focusing her vision, she smiled faintly.

They were martial artists, judging by the swords they carried at their waists.

‘Perfect prey, just in time.’

When the horses came within five jang, Lee Myeongja suddenly stepped into their path and released her palm force.

Thud!

Both horses’ heads were crushed, and they collapsed on the spot.

The riders immediately kicked off the horses and leapt into the air.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

A middle-aged man shouted, his eyes fierce.

They had let their guard down because a woman had been standing there.

In contrast, Lee Myeongja chuckled mockingly.

Judging by the force they displayed when leaping from their horses, she assumed they were at least nearing First-Rate Martial Artists.

If they were around the half-cycle stage, she could easily replenish her qi with just these two.

If their qi was weak, she’d have had to search elsewhere for martial artists.

Just thinking she could avoid the trouble brightened her sour mood.

“Just think of today as a stroke of bad luck.”

Without warning, she attacked.

The young man let out a hollow laugh, clearly baffled.

“This is ridiculous. Murim may be a place of blades and blood, but there should still be some sense of propriety. I grew up among demonic practitioners, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone draw their sword without a word.”

“Young Cult Leader, step back. I’ll handle this lunatic myself.”

From horseback it hadn’t been clear, but now that he faced her directly, the middle-aged man’s qi was no joke.

Under normal circumstances, she could have killed him within fifty seconds—but now, just blocking his attacks felt like her arm would rip off.

Then, hearing him call the young man “Young Cult Leader,” she examined his martial arts more closely.

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact technique, but it was definitely not orthodox.

“Wait! Hold on a moment!”

Lee Myeongja released a surge of Corpse Rot Yin Qi and retreated.

The old man, seeing the ominous and sinister energy, protected himself with Protective Qi and stepped back.

“My apologies. I mistook you for someone else.”

Lee Myeongja had realized the young man seemed connected to Sacred Heaven Sect, and thus withdrew.

‘Damn it. Of all people to run into…’

Truly, ever since she left the Heavenly Demon Sect, nothing had gone her way.

But the old man suddenly shouted,

“If you draw your blade at the wrong person, the price is usually your life—you know that much, don’t you?!”

Still filled with fury, the old man continued,

“Everyone who ever raised a sword at the Young Cult Leader has lost at least an arm. If you cut off your own arm, I’ll spare your life.”

Lee Myeongja wasn’t ruthless enough to cut off her own arm. She could be merciless toward others, but never to herself—cutting her own arm was unthinkable.

“To ask for an arm for mistaking someone… that’s far too harsh.”

She had tolerated this so far, thinking they might be connected to Sacred Heaven Sect, but now that they pushed too far, her tone grew curt.

The old man scoffed.

“Then I’ll cut it off for you.”

His sword flashed in like lightning. If she didn’t focus, she’d be skewered.

At that moment, Lee Myeongja saw two horses galloping from the direction of Mount Song.

Seeing the sword at the waist of the woman riding one of them, she assumed she was a martial artist and shouted,

“There are demonic cultists here! Demonic practitioners are trying to kill someone!”

She yelled this while clashing with the old man, infusing the shout with her qi.

The horses picked up speed.

‘I’ll use them as bait and escape.’

The Red-Haired Demon Empress had been unable to escape due to the old man’s pressure.

If those two youngsters could delay him even briefly, she could get away.

Hiiiing!

As the two riders arrived, they soared into the air to strike the middle-aged man.

The old man intended to dispatch the two brats and then kill Lee Myeongja.

So he poured over two hours’ worth of qi into his sword and struck the woman’s slash.

At that level, even if the kids didn’t die, they shouldn’t be able to stand back up.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep