Chapter 255: Corpse-Blood Realm (2)

Seo Ryeom, formerly of the White Martial Society’s Battle Fiend Division.

He loved martial arts and had always fought recklessly, but even he could not help feeling flustered in this situation.

It was already hard to adjust after suddenly falling into the Corpse-Blood Realm, yet Jang Woo-hyun had someone he knew here—and that person possessed strength comparable to the Realm of Wish for a martial artist.

If someone could calmly accept such a situation and rush forward saying they wanted to fight, that person would simply be a fool.

Naturally, Seo Ryeom was not that stupid.

“Don’t worry. I’m not an enemy.”

Seeing Lee Ahn smiling as he spoke, Seo Ryeom studied him while remaining tense.

He looked different from the martial artists and cultivators Seo Ryeom usually saw.

Even in the Central Heavens Murim there were people with different hair or eye colors, but Lee Ahn was different even from them.

His facial features were far sharper and more defined.

Like Cho-su or himself, he felt almost like a different species entirely.

‘Do humans here look like this?’

It was Seo Ryeom’s first time seeing humans from the Corpse-Blood Realm, so he guessed to himself.

He turned his head to see if Jang Woo-hyun knew something, only to see his stiff expression.

Even knowing Lee Ahn was being friendly, Jang Woo-hyun remained tense.

He had expected Lee Ahn to be strong, but not this strong.

Sensing the emotion in Jang Woo-hyun’s gaze, Lee Ahn spoke.

“I told you before. If I had been able to use my full power, I wouldn’t have been captured by Yang Jeon-gun.”

With the power Lee Ahn currently showed, Yang Jeon-gun would not have been difficult to deal with.

Even though the Yang Jeon-gun he fought had been a Projection, the difference in power was still overwhelming.

“Even with that level of strength, you couldn’t use it in the Central Heavens Realm?”

Lee Ahn frowned at the question.

“That’s a different problem. It’s because of my nature. My own body isn’t that strong. In the Central Heavens Realm my summoning was completely sealed. I never expected that.”

The power Jang Woo-hyun had glimpsed within Lee Ahn was an enormous army.

As he said, if summoning had been sealed and that power unusable, Lee Ahn would have been unable to demonstrate his true strength in the Central Heavens Realm.

Seo Ryeom glanced between the two and, realizing there was no immediate danger, spoke.

“If you’re truly not an enemy, we should introduce ourselves properly. I’m Seo Ryeom. I belong to the Demon-Slaying Corps and work under our captain. Thank you for helping us.”

“I’m Lee Ahn. But what’s the Demon-Slaying Corps? Is that the organization this guy belongs to?”

“The Demon-Slaying Corps was formed to fight the cultivator bastards of the Ascension Cult and the True Immortals. Cheonrin Sword Alliance’s Jang Woo-hyun. That’s our captain.”

“You’re fighting the True Immortals? A group from a Middle Realm?”

Lee Ahn widened his eyes.

True Immortals were beings who had ascended to the Upper Realm.

To those belonging to the Middle Realms, they were like gods.

Naturally, it was shocking to hear that someone intended to fight them.

“Well… things just ended up that way.”

“…I see. Everyone has their own circumstances. Let’s set that aside for now and help the person inside that thing first. Who’s inside? They don’t seem to be conscious.”

Lee Ahn pointed at the metal cocoon nearby.

“Unlike us, he’s not a martial artist.”

“Then a spellcaster? Or a cultivator?”

“He’s from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.”

“The Nation of Mechanical Marvels?!”

Lee Ahn’s expression changed instantly.

At the same time, greed flickered in his eyes.

“You—”

Seeing that change, Jang Woo-hyun reacted immediately.

He focused all his senses and grabbed the hilt of the Black Wilds Sword he had put away, ready to draw it at any moment.

“No, that’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding.”

Lee Ahn waved his arms and stepped back.

“It’s like a habit. Really, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Jang Woo-hyun knew what kind of mage Lee Ahn was.

A necromancer who controlled corpses and commanded the dead.

The power Jang Woo-hyun had glimpsed earlier through Lee Ahn’s eyes had been countless troops.

An army of the dead.

If Lee Ahn revealed greed, things would not end well.

That was why Jang Woo-hyun reacted so sharply.

“It’s… more like talent greed…”

Lee Ahn scratched the back of his head while explaining, but the tense atmosphere did not ease.

The moment he heard “Nation of Mechanical Marvels,” he had reacted instinctively, and that reaction had caused a misunderstanding.

When they met in the Central Heavens Realm, Jang Woo-hyun had quickly understood what kind of magic Lee Ahn used.

So the reaction was understandable.

Lee Ahn watched their reactions before speaking carefully.

“For now… let’s wake the person inside first and continue the conversation.”

—

“This is remarkable.”

Cho-su emerged from the metal cocoon and used the pill and bracelet Lee Ahn had created.

Regaining his senses quickly, he examined the bracelet with admiration.

A bracelet made from black beads.

Each bead was a Dharma Treasure of considerable quality.

Jang Woo-hyun and Seo Ryeom had not recognized it, but Cho-su—an expert—understood its power immediately.

“Does this erase the wearer’s traces? No… calling it traces isn’t accurate in this situation. It’s not erasing traces—it’s denying existence.”

“As expected! A person of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels really is extraordinary!”

The bracelet Lee Ahn gave them concealed the living from the world of the Corpse-Blood Realm.

Because of the bracelet, the three of them—except Jin Ha-un—were deceiving the world itself.

At this moment, Jang Woo-hyun, Cho-su, and Seo Ryeom were indistinguishable from the beings native to the Corpse-Blood Realm.

That was why they were no longer attacked by the world and could move normally.

“To make a living person appear as a dead one. Did you make this? Impressive skill.”

“Hahaha! Incredible. I’d heard rumors that the technology of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels could reach beyond the Middle Realms into the Upper Realm. To recognize it instantly like that!”

As Lee Ahn laughed loudly, his gaze changed again.

Jang Woo-hyun glared at him and grabbed the hilt of the Black Wilds Sword once more.

He had received help, but he did not trust Lee Ahn completely yet.

“I told you, it’s just a habit. Talent greed. Talent greed.”

Ignoring Lee Ahn’s excuses, Jang Woo-hyun asked another question.

“Putting us aside, why is Ha-un fine?”

“That friend? It’s hard to say he’s alive.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a hole in his chest, isn’t there? It looks like it’s slowly healing, but it hasn’t fully recovered yet. From my perspective, his chest is still pierced.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Jang Woo-hyun understand why Jin Ha-un could move normally.

Long ago, Jin Ha-un had been struck by the Dragon Emperor Heavenly Lord and had a hole punched through his chest.

He survived thanks to the power of Heavenly Void True Immortal.

A Dharma Treasure from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels was slowly healing the wound, but because it had not completely healed yet, the world did not fully recognize him as alive.

“So the world recognizes Ha-un differently from us.”

“That’s right.”

“Woo-hyun, what do you mean by collecting talent?”

Cho-su, who had been listening, suddenly spoke.

He had just come out of the metal cocoon and knew nothing about the situation.

“My kingdom needs people with skillful hands and exceptional techniques. Someone from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels would be perfect.”

“A kingdom? You have a country in the Corpse-Blood Realm?”

“Not the kind of kingdom you’re thinking of. You sensed it earlier, didn’t you?”

Hearing that, Jang Woo-hyun understood what Lee Ahn meant.

The army that had filled the plains within Lee Ahn’s eyes.

Lee Ahn referred to that force as his kingdom.

With numbers like that, the name was not exaggerated.

“I don’t know exactly what you mean by kingdom, but if someone stays in the Corpse-Blood Realm, they won’t remain normal. Am I right?”

“…That’s true. If you join my kingdom, you become no different from the dead. But you can live forever. I guarantee immortality. Even if I myself am destroyed, I can promise that. If someone of your ability joins, I can easily make such a contract.”

“So you’re just saying they become living corpses.”

Jang Woo-hyun frowned.

Knowing roughly how Lee Ahn’s magic worked, further discussion seemed unnecessary.

“Stop talking nonsense about kingdoms. Instead, we—”

Unlike Jang Woo-hyun, Cho-su seemed to think about something before speaking.

“So you can use them forever?”

“Cho-su?”

Jang Woo-hyun called out in surprise, but Cho-su smiled.

Don’t worry—it’s not what you think.

“Well… technically yes. But he’s your acquaintance, so I don’t really need to go that far—”

“There’s someone else. A fellow with quite useful abilities.”

Cho-su took out a massive coffin from his storage artifact.

Only then did Jang Woo-hyun realize what he intended.

“There’s a cultivator inside who’s quite skilled at crafting Dharma Treasures and artifacts. He’s a truly vicious bastard, so I’d like to see him worked for eternity.”

“Wait.”

Lee Ahn immediately understood.

He moved his hand.

The air around them suddenly grew heavy.

The atmosphere changed completely.

Gone was the casual mood.

For a moment it felt as if the surroundings had grown dark.

Rumble.

A small tower made of bones rose from the ground.

In front of it stood a chair formed from countless bones.

“Over here.”

Cho-su walked to where Lee Ahn pointed and pulled a person out from the coffin-shaped Dharma Treasure.

The Ascension Cult cultivator Je Yeong-jeong appeared.

He was the one who had created the horrific Dharma Treasure that crushed humans and the tower formed from spellcasters.

“Fellow Daoist—no, Senior! Please spare me! I’ll give you everything—gk!”

He begged for mercy as soon as he appeared.

But the power of the Corpse-Blood Realm struck him, causing pain and cutting off his words.

Lee Ahn grabbed his neck and seated him on the bone chair.

Crack. Crunch.

The tower emitted a sinister aura.

Bones moved and restrained Je Yeong-jeong.

Lee Ahn placed his hand on Je Yeong-jeong’s head and murmured unknown words.

His eyes shone with ghostly blue light.

“AAAAAAAGH!”

Je Yeong-jeong’s scream echoed everywhere.

It was not a normal scream.

It sounded as though both his body and soul were screaming simultaneously.

【This one… is quite the wicked piece of work.】

The tone was eerie, yet there was satisfaction in it.

Lee Ahn’s lips curled upward.

He had glimpsed Je Yeong-jeong’s memories and abilities.

The man had committed terrible acts without hesitation.

But his skills were exceptional.

Lee Ahn decided to use him.

Blue energy flowed from Lee Ahn’s hand, and white energy from the bone tower entered Je Yeong-jeong’s body.

Drip. Drip.

“Aaaaagh!”

A horrifying scream shook his entire body.

Je Yeong-jeong’s flesh melted away.

Moments later—

What sat on the bone chair was a skeleton.

The skeleton that had once been Je Yeong-jeong remained seated as the tower itself disappeared again.

Lee Ahn burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahahahaha!”

After laughing for quite some time, Lee Ahn looked toward Jang Woo-hyun.

“I owe you again, Jang Woo-hyun! You are my benefactor!”

“….”

At the completely unrelated word, Seo Ryeom and the others tilted their heads.

Jang Woo-hyun simply let out a quiet sigh.

He already knew Lee Ahn often misused words.

“Benefactor. Not beneficiary.”

“Ah, sorry. I’m still bad with your language. Heh heh.”

Even though he had helped them, Lee Ahn still somehow felt unreliable.

“Now then, let’s talk again. What you need, and how you ended up here. I owe you a debt again, so I’ll help very enthusiastically.”

Seeing his enthusiastic expression, Jang Woo-hyun wondered whether he should really trust this guy.

Regardless of his strength, he simply didn’t feel trustworthy.

For a moment, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Why do people like this always gather around me?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep