Chapter 79: The Hunt (4)

Kwa-gwang!

At the unimaginable attack, Jang Woo-hyun quickly pushed off the ground.

It wasn’t a level that could be dodged with a footwork technique. The earth caved in deeply, and a massive pit with a diameter of about fifty jang formed in an instant.

“Uwahahahaha! Wonderful! Yes, this much makes the hunt worthwhile!”

Even when his attack missed, Yeong-gok laughed gleefully and moved his hand. Each time he did, a colossal storm surged.

The opponent was like a natural disaster. It felt like facing a tornado or a typhoon.

Jang Woo-hyun was barely evading the attacks, retreating gradually toward the distant mountain range.

Kwaaa—

With a single attack, an entire mountain peak was blown away. Each time Yeong-gok waved his hand, the peaks of the long mountain range disappeared as if a giant had scooped them up with a massive spoon.

Jang Woo-hyun could also unleash similar destructive force with the Destructive Slash, but not as effortlessly. At this moment, evasion was the only option.

“Uhehehe, you’re like a little rat! Running around so well!”

With each strike, the land flipped and the terrain changed. Whether this environment resembled the outside world or not was unclear, but Yeong-gok’s attacks created canyons and obliterated mountains.

The surroundings were continuously destroyed. If the battle went on, it seemed likely that the entire mountain range would vanish soon.

Kwa-gwagwang!

The relentless barrage continued.

Jang Woo-hyun dodged the disaster-like assaults while desperately searching for a way to counterattack.

After experiencing several attacks, one question arose in his mind.

‘He’s strong, but…….’

He was weak.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t weakness—it was incompetence.

The raw power was immense, enough to seem like a conscious natural calamity.

But his attacks were simple and lacked refinement. He only relied on brute force.

After dodging several storms, the flow of their patterns became apparent. It was at a level that could be pierced through by swinging a sword.

To illustrate, the opponent was like a brawny giant. However, he didn’t know how to fight. His movements were slow.

In contrast, Jang Woo-hyun was small and lean. But he knew how to move fast and fight. Moreover, he held a weapon in his hand—a blade that could sever the opponent’s throat.

“Just die already!”

As Jang Woo-hyun kept dodging, Yeong-gok, seemingly irritated, launched a more massive attack than before.

It wasn’t just a peak—he flattened an entire small mountain with that wide-reaching strike.

Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes gleamed amid the raging power that filled the area.

Having solidified his resolve, he leapt into the attack. He pinpointed a weak spot and hurled Black Wolf Fang.

Puh-eo-eong!

With a resounding noise, a hole was pierced through a part of the raging force.

‘As expected!’

His judgment had been correct.

“Huh? Wh-what…….”

Yeong-gok’s face showed surprise at Jang Woo-hyun’s sudden shift in behavior. Without hesitation, Jang Woo-hyun released his technique and prepared for the next strike.

Tik. Ti-dik.

The blade of Dragon King’s Scales split and multiplied into hundreds.

A massive surge of energy transmitted through the technique.

Hundreds of blades became a torrential downpour of Qi Projection, pounding against the storm winds.

Kwa-gwang! Kwa-gwang! Kwang!

The surrounding whirlwind, seemingly flustered by the onslaught, intensified.

While Yeong-gok was focused on Dragon King’s Scales, Jang Woo-hyun, clad in Sacred River Flowing Armor, charged into the storm’s interior.

Kwa-deudeudeuk!

There was pressure, but it wasn’t unbearable.

‘Why is he using it like this?’

If that power had been focused and layered over his body, it could have provided a defense several times stronger.

To Jang Woo-hyun, it was a waste of strength.

As he entered the core of the whirlwind, the pressure pressing on his body weakened significantly.

When he lifted his head, he saw Yeong-gok floating above.

Tak!

He leapt into the sky and unleashed Destructive Slash.

A pillar of light shot upward from inside the whirlwind.

“Kkyaaaagh!”

Yeong-gok, who was defenseless inside the whirlwind, was struck squarely by Destructive Slash.

“Ggeueugh……”

As if losing strength, he began to stagger and fall. Half of his body had vanished from the blow of Destructive Slash.

“You filthy worm……”

Despite his state, Yeong-gok was not dead.

No, it wasn’t merely that he was still alive—flesh squirmed from the missing arm and torso as his body rapidly regenerated.

“……!”

Jang Woo-hyun was startled by the cultivator’s ability, which he was witnessing for the first time.

An unbelievable regeneration. At that level, it wasn’t human—it was something in human form.

‘A monster, perhaps?’

Deciding to regard Yeong-gok not as human but a monster, Jang Woo-hyun resolved to attack.

Before he realized, Yeong-gok had completed his regeneration, and the wind swirled once again around him. This time, unlike before, it wasn’t a massive whirlwind but a sphere enclosing only his body.

However—

Jang Woo-hyun was not letting his guard down. He had been preparing his next attack ever since Yeong-gok survived.

The hundreds of blades had already merged into seven swords.

Using the technique Dragon Fang Blade, which creates multiple swords, he had formed seven blades and imbued them with power.

The contained force made the blades tremble, and Jang Woo-hyun clenched his fist.

Seven Destructive Slashes targeted the opponent. The same technique he had used to attack the Great Gale Sage at the Demon Extermination Sect. This time, there were three more.

Kwaaaahhh—

Seven attacks overlapped. An indescribable explosion resounded as a massive sphere of light appeared in the air.

In that moment, it seemed as if a small sun had been born in the subspace inside the gourd.

The wind barrier Yeong-gok deployed was meaningless before that attack. The entire space trembled, and from the aftermath of the explosion, the earth’s crust overturned, triggering a landslide.

Kuoohhh.

Even after the light sphere vanished, strong winds swept the area. The lingering, fierce Qi filled the sky.

Jang Woo-hyun stepped through the air and approached where Yeong-gok had been.

The place where the sphere of light had disappeared—

Inside it, there were still squirming chunks of flesh.

‘Still?’

The chunks wriggled again, growing in size as if trying to regenerate.

‘This is ridiculous.’

To finish it completely, Jang Woo-hyun used his technique to control Dragon King’s Scales.

Kwagagagak!

Hundreds of blades swirled like a storm, not just slicing the flesh but grinding it into nothingness.

Chareureuk.

He ground the flesh to the point no trace remained and returned Dragon King’s Scales to sword form. But even then, Jang Woo-hyun did not deactivate Sacred River Flowing Armor.

Though the enemy had clearly been annihilated, unease lingered.

‘Is it still alive?’

Suppressing the urge to murmur the resurrection phrase ‘Did I finish it?’, he spread his Qi sense wide. But nothing was detected.

He had torn the enemy to shreds and ground it to powder, so there shouldn’t be anything left to detect. Still, an unsettling feeling lodged in his chest, as if nothing was over yet.

Even when he carefully searched the place where the opponent had been using his technique, nothing turned up.

It was then, while he was scanning the area—

Puh-eoeoeong!

Far off in the distance.

With the sound of something bursting, a hole tore open in midair, and Maeng Ye-ju appeared, gripping someone by the collar.

“Damn it!”

Breaking through the air, Maeng Ye-ju dashed forward with the person in tow.

“Are you alright?”

At Jang Woo-hyun’s question, she raised her hand to silence him and scanned the surroundings.

“Did they escape?”

There hadn’t been anyone hiding, so Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t understand what she meant.

“What are you talking about? Who escaped?”

“You fought the cultivator here, right?”

“Yes.”

“He’s probably a cultivator of the Incarnation Stage. That would explain how he was able to handle us. Judging by the situation, Woo-hyun, you must’ve taken him down? But he probably isn’t dead yet.”

“He’s not dead?”

“Yeah, someone at the Incarnation Stage doesn’t die that easily. There are even cases where they escape with only their soul using strange cultivation techniques. To kill them completely, you have to destroy the soul or their original essence.”

“Ah……”

Only then did he understand what she meant.

The cultivator he had faced couldn’t be completely extinguished just by killing the body.

“Seems like a martial artist at the Transcendence realm crossed over from our side. Are you injured anywhere?”

“So the one who came later was from our side, huh. The one I faced first knew how to fight, but the one who appeared afterward was pathetic. His Qi might’ve been at the Transcendence level, but he was unskilled. I couldn’t figure out how he even reached Transcendence.”

What Jang Woo-hyun had felt, Maeng Ye-ju felt the same.

“Let’s head out first. We don’t know what the ones outside might be plotting.”

“Do you know the way out?”

Jang Woo-hyun looked as Maeng Ye-ju lifted the man she had by the collar.

His body was shredded and mangled all over. It was a miracle he was even alive.

“I found out through this guy. They were targeting Yong and me. If Yong had charged into that red mist, it would’ve been a problem. I don’t know the exact method, but they said it weakens the bodies of beastkin. This was a perfect trap. Luckily, you eliminated the mist and were stronger than Yong, so you were the one who got pulled in.”

What she said wasn’t far off from what Jang Woo-hyun had already guessed.

“Let’s talk outside.”

Maeng Ye-ju pulled a small marble-like object from her bosom, manipulated it, and the three of them vanished from the spot.

When they emerged outside, two humans were waiting. Fortunately, they were martial artists from the Suwang Sect.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Oh! You’re back! We’ve spread out and are scanning the area.”

Originally, the ones who should’ve been pulled into the space inside the gourd were Maeng Ye-ju and Kang Yong. The plan was to drag them inside and deal with the remaining Suwang Sect martial artists. But because Jang Woo-hyun was pulled in instead, Twin-Winged Lotus’s plan fell apart.

Naturally, the troops outside were no match for the rampaging Kang Yong, and the situation was quickly dealt with.

“Where did they go?”

“They went deeper inside.”

“Alright, then let’s move too.”

Leading the rest of the group, Maeng Ye-ju picked up the gourd lying on the ground.

“It’s not an ordinary item, right?”

Even Jang Woo-hyun, who wasn’t familiar with Dharma Treasures, could tell that a gourd capable of holding such a vast internal space was extraordinary.

“It’s not a normal Dharma Treasure. I haven’t checked every part of it, but judging from how we rampaged inside without major issues, the internal size must be massive. At the very least, it’s a mid-grade Dharma Treasure. Maybe even higher. Let’s sort out the loot later once everything’s done.”

Giving the gourd a light shake, Maeng Ye-ju placed it into her inner robe.

Then, Jang Woo-hyun and Maeng Ye-ju moved toward the place where Kang Yong had disappeared.

Kang Yong had entered through the wall that the Twin-Winged Lotus traitors had used and was exploring the interior.

As expected, this wasn’t a place that Twin-Winged Lotus had prepared for temporary use.

Inside, starting from what looked like a dining hall, there were training rooms, living quarters, storage areas, an armory—countless rooms. It was a well-constructed facility of considerable scale.

“What the hell were they planning in here?”

The entire place was big enough to house a small sect. And even the areas they had passed through on their way here were no small spaces either.

As he continued exploring, Maeng Ye-ju and Jang Woo-hyun arrived at his location.

“Yong!”

Turning his head at the call, Kang Yong saw Maeng Ye-ju and wagged his tail like a puppy as he ran over.

“Sis! You’re out… Ack!”

Just as he was charging over joyfully, Kang Yong got smacked in the head by Maeng Ye-ju’s fist.

“What? What was that for? Have you gone mad?”

“Hey! I got dragged in and you’re just hanging around here?”

“Wait, are you serious… Hold on, put your hand down first! Do you think I was just lazing around? I tried to figure something out, but nothing worked. I didn’t even know how to use that gourd. So I talked it over with the others, searched this place to find something—anything—to get you and that guy out. That’s better than just sitting around doing nothing, isn’t it? I couldn’t break the gourd either.”

“……”

Faced with such unusually logical words from Kang Yong, Maeng Ye-ju hesitated and slowly lowered her raised fist.

“You always go straight to punching… Never mind. Just keep your hand down now. But are you really alright?”

Lowering her hand again, Maeng Ye-ju spoke.

“Yeah, nothing much happened. Just fought a bit inside. Nothing major outside, right?”

“Everyone’s fine. Like we’d ever lose.”

“Did you find anything?”

“This way.”

Kang Yong led the two of them in one direction.

They arrived at a fairly spacious room. Inside, guarded by two beastkin, the floor was inscribed with an elaborate spell formation.

Maeng Ye-ju instantly recognized what it was.

“Teleportation Array?”

“That’s right. This must be an important place for them.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep