Chapter 266

The command barracks set up at the foot of Qingcheng sect’s mountain.

Thirteen sect leaders from the small and medium sects surrounding Qingcheng sect had gathered in one place.

Thunder Brand Sword Ye Jin-gyeong’s Sword Hero Squad and White Tiger Earth Emperor Pavilion had been completely annihilated, and Indestructible Heavenly Sword Baek Li-jung was missing. On top of that, the Tang family had suddenly lifted their siege and returned, making the situation strange.

“Is there no contact from the Martial Alliance’s main headquarters?”

“Not yet. Even if reinforcements come from Shanxi and Huguang, it will take time.”

“What does Mount Emei say?”

“Mount Emei is a Buddhist sect, so they said they won’t participate in attacking first.”

“So you’re saying we have to charge into Qingcheng Mountain by ourselves?”

“If we succeed, we’ll achieve great merit, but…”

The sect leaders’ faces looked troubled. They could hold their position with Mount Emei backing them, but attacking was too much. There were Evil Sect masters who had killed Thunder Brand Sword, especially the Shandong Enchantress. The casualties among ordinary disciples would be severe.

“Going in by ourselves would be reckless.”

“But we can’t maintain this siege here forever, can we?”

“That’s right. With hundreds of people gathered, food is also a serious problem. The Martial Alliance says they’ll pay the costs later, but nearby food supplies have run out and we’re transporting from far away. As you know, the nearby Guizhou branch was completely destroyed by Poison Dragon…”

The sect leaders fell silent with grim faces. If only the Guizhou branch had remained, such problems could have been supported without much difficulty.

The sect leaders sighed.

“We can’t retreat now…”

They resented the Tang family and blamed Thunder Brand Sword and Indestructible Heavenly Sword.

“I can’t believe the Martial Alliance didn’t predict such events.”

“The Alliance Leader was severely injured, so they must be in chaos too.”

The sect leaders voiced their complaints.

“We were unlucky to get involved in this mess.”

“We should have left with the Tang family.”

But then there was commotion outside.

“Please come out!”

The warriors shouted.

The sect leaders lifted the tent flaps and came outside.

Someone was walking through the middle where the warriors had split left and right.

The sect leaders’ eyes widened.

“Baek, Hero Baek Li!”

Though his entire body was cut up with tattered clothes covered in bloodstains and black dirt, it was definitely Baek Li-jung.

“H-how did this happen? Why only now…”

Baek Li-jung’s eyes flashed sharply as he spoke like talking to himself.

“Am I a bit late?”

“You’ve been missing for seven days and nights.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Li-jung held up a head.

“I was looking for a lost head.”

What Baek Li-jung held up was Venerable Woo-am’s head.

“Gasp!”

The sect leaders swallowed their groans.

The sect leader of Qingcheng sect, one of the ten great sects of the martial world, and one of the Three Taoists of “One Scholar, Two Buddhists, Three Taoists, One King,” had officially died.

This also meant that Baek Li-jung had finally surpassed Venerable Woo-am and ascended as a new powerhouse of the martial world.

Venerable Woo-am had been dead for a long time, so no blood flowed from the severed neck, and his face even showed traces of birds and beasts eating the flesh. Yet somehow he seemed to be smiling, making it extremely eerie.

“Ugh.”

Several people standing nearby with weak stomachs swallowed their saliva.

Baek Li-jung smiled slightly and said.

“Let’s go in. I’m hungry.”

Baek Li-jung led the way into the barracks. The sect leaders followed him in, and one of them ordered the warriors to bring food.

It was a handful of dried jerky.

“We apologize. Food supply isn’t working properly, so this is all we have now. We’re roasting deer hindquarters, so if you wait a moment…”

Baek Li-jung sat in the barracks, threw the jerky into his mouth in one bite, then gestured.

“No need to roast it, just bring it as is.”

Baek Li-jung chewed and tore at the raw deer hindquarters the warrior brought.

“I heard on the way that you’re preparing to withdraw?”

“That’s…”

The sect leaders glanced at each other before one spoke.

“With Thunder Brand Sword dead and the Tang family withdrawn, we can’t attack Qingcheng Mountain with just our strength.”

For some reason, Baek Li-jung seemed absorbed in eating and didn’t appear to be listening to the sect leaders.

Baek Li-jung pulled and broke tough tendons with his teeth while chewing and speaking.

“That’s understandable. Now that I’m back, you don’t need to worry. As soon as I recover my strength, let’s go deal with the remnants. By the way, there’s not enough food.”

“As we said, there are supply problems, and even this was obtained by hunting. All that’s left are organs and hide…”

“Bring it all.”

The sect leaders were dumbfounded. The warriors brought half a deer that was still being butchered.

Baek Li-jung tore at the deer flesh without even removing the hide, and when that wasn’t enough, he even tore into the organs.

The sect leaders fell silent at Baek Li-jung’s strange behavior and overwhelming aura.

While they were relieved that Baek Li-jung had returned, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

“Did I eat too ravenously?”

Baek Li-jung laughed heartily while holding up the deer’s heart.

“It looks a bit unsightly, but please join me.”

One of the sect leaders had no choice but to speak as a representative.

“I am Na Il from Seven Star Gate. Hero Baek Li, there’s something you need to know.”

“Ah, Sect Leader Na from Seven Star Gate. Nice to meet you. But… hmm, everyone’s expressions are strange. What’s wrong? Don’t be troubled and speak comfortably.”

Seven Star Gate’s sect leader Na Il opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Silent Dragon is dead.”

Pause.

Baek Li-jung stopped while chewing the heart.

“Who?”

“Poison Dragon. While heading to Guizhou, he was killed along with Swift Dragon from the Yang family.”

After maintaining a long silence, Baek Li-jung let out a long breath.

“Whew.”

The sect leaders tensely swallowed their dry saliva.

Silent Dragon Baek Li-gwon was both Baek Li-jung’s adopted son and disciple. It was well known that Baek Li-jung cherished him specially.

With such a Silent Dragon dead, it was hard to fathom how great Baek Li-jung’s grief must be.

“I see…”

Baek Li-jung slowly chewed the heart.

Squish squish.

The chewy yet crisp texture of the raw heart dripping with blood was clearly conveyed through sound.

“As a disciple, he was exceptionally trustworthy and kind, but as a son, he was a fool who wasn’t reliable at all.”

With blood streaming from his mouth and hands, Baek Li-jung continued speaking.

“He was stubborn and single-minded, which was good as a disciple, but he wasn’t clever enough to live in the world. He always caused his father worry.”

The sect leaders found it difficult to comfort Baek Li-jung.

“We’re sorry to bring you bad news.”

The sect leaders gave Baek Li-jung space to have time alone. Baek Li-jung remained alone, continuing to chew the deer’s parts.

“Poison Dragon.”

Chew, chew…

He chewed everything without discrimination, hide, claws, and all.

“Poison… Dragon.”

Crunch, crunch.

“Poison… Dragon…”

While muttering, he unconsciously reached out his hand, but what he touched wasn’t the deer but Venerable Woo-am’s head. In the meantime, he had devoured the entire half deer.

Baek Li-jung turned Venerable Woo-am’s head to face forward. He didn’t like the seemingly smiling expression.

“You, even in death you’re causing serious trouble. If you hadn’t stimulated my appetite, if I had gotten up and come out quickly, then maybe I could have saved my son. Right?”

Baek Li-jung pressed Venerable Woo-am’s cheek with his finger to break his teeth and tear his mouth. He changed the smiling expression to a crying one.

Baek Li-jung’s hand holding Venerable Woo-am’s head trembled. Baek Li-jung was suppressing his emotions with superhuman patience.

“Poison. Dragon.”

Baek Li-jung shed bloody tears while laughing. The name of Poison Dragon Jin Ja-gang was carved into his bones, into his marrow.

* * *

The small and medium sects of Sichuan were considerably uplifted by Baek Li-jung’s return. With the super master Baek Li-jung present, they could reorganize their forces without worry and proceed with preparations to subjugate Qingcheng Mountain.

And as if things were going well, unexpectedly even the Zhuge family joined.

Zhuge Ming, Zhuge Yon’s uncle and the Zhuge family’s second-in-command, had come leading fifty Zhuge family warriors.

“Though the enemy numbers are few, each one’s skill is not low, so fighting recklessly is not right. Our side should also have a few masters step forward to eliminate the Evil Sect members one by one with minimal casualties, but when they’re cornered, they’ll definitely flee. The rest should rather maintain a solid siege from the bottom of the mountain.”

Naturally, what Zhuge Ming proposed was the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation. He planned to trap Qingcheng Mountain with the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation using personnel including warriors from small and medium sects, then capture every single one without exception.

The sect leaders from small and medium sects agreed and handed command authority to Zhuge Ming. Zhuge Ming explained that even without perfectly understanding the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, it could show sufficient power in three days.

“But before that, one thing.”

Zhuge Ming looked at the sect leaders and Baek Li-jung and said.

“You must have all heard about the incident at Guizhou. It’s confirmed that Poison Dragon is heading this way.”

The sect leaders from small and medium sects glanced at Baek Li-jung. Baek Li-jung couldn’t hide his anger for a very brief moment but endured it well.

“Among us are those who have scores to settle with him. Therefore, I propose we lure him in first. Even if not, if he starts using poison outside the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, the formation won’t function properly.”

The meaning was to lure Jin Ja-gang into Qingcheng Mountain and annihilate everyone together.

All the sect leaders agreed. And finally, they waited for Baek Li-jung’s judgment.

Baek Li-jung didn’t refuse either.

“Let’s do that.”

Zhuge Ming looked at Baek Li-jung.

“Though our family’s grudge against him is not small, his head… I’ll leave it to the Pavilion Master.”

“No. Take the head from there.”

Baek Li-jung said with a sinister expression.

“Everything except the head, even a fingernail fragment or a strand of hair, I’ll take it all.”

Zhuge Ming created several loose gaps in the siege under the pretext of practicing the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation. And he planted appropriate traps in those gaps. He thought someone with Jin Ja-gang’s meticulous nature would definitely check and pass through there.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang entered Sichuan and first checked news about Qingcheng Mountain.

Qingcheng Mountain had not yet fallen. And he confirmed that Baek Li-jung had appeared and the Zhuge family had joined. There seemed to be room to break through the gaps.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t go.

He circled around Qingcheng Mountain, observed more, then actually left Qingcheng Mountain.

And when he reappeared at Qingcheng Mountain, four days had passed.

* * *

Both Mang Ryo and the Shandong Evil Sect members trapped in Qingcheng Mountain, and the Martial Alliance members guarding the lower slopes were all tense.

Hundreds of martial artists in different situations were holding their breath, waiting for just one person, Jin Ja-gang.

Meanwhile, commotion arose at midday when the sun was high in the sky.

A warrior standing guard ran over shouting.

“Poison Dragon! He’s appeared!”

Zhuge Ming and the sect leaders immediately gathered.

“Where!”

The warrior swallowed dry saliva with wide eyes and said.

“He entered the southwestern siege line that Harmony Gate is in charge of!”

“Is it really him?”

“Yes. Handsome appearance and limping with his left foot.”

“Where is he going?”

The warrior answered with wide eyes as if bewildered.

“H-he’s coming this way.”

“Which way?”

“Right here, he’s coming exactly toward where the command post is!”

“What!”

The sect leaders looked back and forth between Zhuge Ming and Baek Li-jung in disbelief.