Chapter 52: A Blood Star Descends Upon Xinjiang (2)

Dam Ho's stomp also affected Eun Ha-seong.

Vmmm!

The intense shockwave that rattled his eardrums caused Eun Ha-seong's pupils to waver momentarily. For an instant, objects blurred and overlapped, and he lost his balance.

But he was a man of extraordinary internal energy. Using his tremendous power, he blocked the sound waves that pierced into his ears and restored himself to his original state.

Shiak!

In that time, the blade he had swung cut harmlessly through empty air.

"Where are you?"

Eun Ha-seong's gaze traced Dam Ho's silhouette.

Dam Ho had already retreated a single step backward. No more, no less—just enough distance to avoid the saber strike Eun Ha-seong had unleashed.

"You!"

Eun Ha-seong roared and channeled his power into the Crimson Saber. A heat haze rippled around the blade, extending its length by another three feet.

It was blade energy.

Though he had not yet attained enlightenment to form blade aura, the blade energy infused with his tremendous power was no less formidable in its destructive force.

That was what Eun Ha-seong believed. If he could only strike Dam Ho's body once, it would be over.

Moreover, Dam Ho was a cripple. No matter how he had learned such powerful martial arts, without a proper footwork technique to support him, his power would be halved.

If the upper body accounted for three parts, the remaining seven lay in the lower body. There was a reason the saying "three above, seven below" existed.

Eun Ha-seong employed his secret footwork technique, the Wind Heaven Step, and pursued Dam Ho.

In an instant, his form seemed to multiply into a dozen. Such was the dazzling complexity of the Wind Heaven Step.

"Chaah! Die!"

Of his signature martial art, the Mad Heaven Harmony Saber, he unleashed the technique with the greatest destructive power: Ghost Eye Blood World.

Tsss!

Seven consecutive saber strikes hurtled toward Dam Ho in succession.

Although Eun Ha-seong had not learned the Demon's inherited techniques, he believed that the internal energy carried within his blade strikes alone could kill Dam Ho.

'I will kill him and then learn the Demon's inherited techniques. After that, I will enter the Central Plains. Heh heh!'

He harbored dreams.

Of mastering the Demon's martial arts and commanding the world under heaven.

Eun Ha-seong's voice echoed through the Blood Demon Hall.

"Turn to dust and vanish."

At that very moment.

Dam Ho, who had until now only evaded, suddenly extended his hand.

Five fingers spread wide, spiraling forward toward the incoming blade strikes.

Cwa-cwa-cwaang!

A thunderous explosion erupted.

The seven blade strikes had been blocked by Dam Ho's palm.

"How can this be?!"

Eun Ha-seong's eyes widened in disbelief. The sharpness and hardness of the Crimson Saber were enough to rival any blade under heaven.

He could cut through human flesh like paper without even channeling internal energy. And yet, that very Crimson Saber had been stopped by Dam Ho's hand.

Upon closer inspection, a microscopic gap existed between Dam Ho's palm and the Crimson Saber. Dam Ho's released qi had shielded his hand from the blade. But Eun Ha-seong had failed to notice this.

Silver Net Hand.

Intricate strands of qi intertwined and wove together to form a net of energy. This net of qi had protected Dam Ho's hand.

It was a martial art he had created by distilling profound insights from the Bamboo Leaf Technique, Crouching Tiger Fist, and Six Harmonies Fist.

The swiftness of the Bamboo Leaf Technique, the heaviness of the Crouching Tiger Fist, and the versatility of Six Harmonies Fist—all had been masterfully fused into this single technique.

The moment Dam Ho's hand made contact with the Crimson Saber, it released a violent surge of qi.

Hwooom!

The Crimson Saber let out a wail, as if screaming.

The violent tremor nearly caused Eun Ha-seong to lose his grip on the saber.

All of this had transpired in the span of an instant. So brief was the moment that ordinary people could not even perceive it. But for a master like Eun Ha-seong, it was an eternity.

Eun Ha-seong instinctively sensed that the air surrounding him had shifted.

A sense of crisis assailed his mind.

'It is coming.'

A sinister atmosphere bore down upon him like a storm.

Shiing!

Eun Ha-seong retreated and swung the Crimson Saber.

Ghost Heaven Bright Extinguish.

The defensive technique of his signature art, the Mad Heaven Harmony Saber. By swinging the blade eighteen times in a single motion, he created a barrier of blade energy to protect himself.

It was the most powerful defensive technique that Eun Ha-seong could employ, having not yet mastered the Demon's inherited techniques.

A solid defense, followed by a counterattack. That was Eun Ha-seong's plan.

Tense beyond measure, Eun Ha-seong blinked.

The instant he opened his eyes, he beheld an impossible sight.

Dam Ho's face had appeared before him. Dam Ho had penetrated his Ghost Heaven Bright Extinguish technique and closed the distance to within arm's reach.

'How?'

Disbelief flooded his face.

He could not comprehend how Dam Ho had pierced through eighteen consecutive strikes without a single collision and closed to such proximity.

A powerful force descended upon him. The entire pressure of his face felt as though thousands of needles were piercing into him.

'A storm?'

Eun Ha-seong felt the dizzying isolation of a man standing in the heart of a vast ocean upon a tiny skiff.

Waves crashing like mountains, winds howling as if to blow the world away—all of it was being driven by Dam Ho.

Grab!

Dam Ho's two hands seized him by the collar.

Even then, Eun Ha-seong could not comprehend the situation and merely blinked.

Whoosh!

In that instant, as though a tree had been uprooted, his feet left the ground and his body was hurled upward.

As if caught in a tornado, Eun Ha-seong's body, held fast by Dam Ho, was flung a full zhang into the air.

"Kuhuk!"

Only then did Eun Ha-seong regain his senses and attempt to break free from Dam Ho's grip. But Dam Ho's strength was too fierce; he could not break loose.

Eun Ha-seong changed his approach and attempted to strike at Dam Ho's neck with the Crimson Saber.

Whiik!

In that instant, Eun Ha-seong's body spun violently.

Head downward, feet toward the sky.

Heaven and earth were reversed. And his body was driven straight down toward the ground.

Splat! Crack!

Eun Ha-seong's body slammed headfirst into the earth.

The face that had only moments ago gleamed with fierce determination burst apart like a pumpkin, its contents spraying in all directions.

There was not even a scream.

For the end of a figure who had aimed to dominate not only Xinjiang but even the hegemony of the Central Plains, it was far too anticlimactic. Though it was a sight that left onlookers feeling hollow, those who witnessed it felt a chill run through their entire bodies.

The entire sequence had transpired so swiftly it felt as if one were dreaming. Unreal, like a nightmare on a midsummer's night.

The Crimson Saber that had been in Eun Ha-seong's hand lay far away on the ground, letting out a mournful ring.

Dam Ho withdrew his hands from Eun Ha-seong's corpse and rose. Not a single breath was out of place on Dam Ho's face, and the sight of him sent a wave of shock and terror through all who watched.

The lord of the West Heaven Mountain Manor had been slain without so much as landing a proper blow. And by a bizarre technique that none had ever witnessed.

Sim Su-myeong suddenly looked down at his own hand. The hand gripping the Blood Scale Saber was drenched in sweat.

His body was reacting involuntarily to a sight of such overwhelming shock—something he had never imagined in his life.

Earth Heaven Strike.

It was the name of the technique Dam Ho had employed.

Earth Heaven Strike had been a technique born from chance during the process of breaking and moving boulders in the underground cavern.

To escape the underground cavern, he had needed to shatter the subterranean rock. It was not enough to simply break the stone; he had to carry the fragments away to clear a passage.

At first, he had carried each boulder on his back. But as he gained experience, he began hurling the rocks instead. After doing this hundreds, thousands of times, he naturally grasped the method of driving boulders into the ground to destroy them.

One day, a thought had occurred to him.

What if what he drove into the ground were not a boulder, but a human?

That hypothetical gave birth to Earth Heaven Strike.

A brutal attack that used the very earth on which humans walked as a weapon.

Thinking that the power was more than adequate, Dam Ho turned his gaze to Sim Su-myeong. Sim Su-myeong flinched involuntarily.

It was not only Sim Su-myeong. Every martial artist he had brought, along with Sim Ok, all trembled.

'Death… it is the God of Death.'

'Where did such a man come from…'

They too were men who had fought countless battles. And yet, in the eyes of these vagrants—whose fierce natures made them difficult to cow—the light of fear flickered.

They had never imagined that such a martial artist could exist. That the lord of the West Heaven Mountain Manor, Eun Ha-seong, would be killed with his head burst open, without having landed a single meaningful blow.

If the world learned of this, they would be struck with astonishment.

A suffocating silence dominated the underground space. But silence is never eternal, and Sim Su-myeong, speaking on behalf of all, broke it.

"Who is this great hero? How did you manage to defeat Eun Ha-seong so…"

Sim Su-myeong's voice trembled as he spoke. But he was so tense that he did not even notice this himself.

Dam Ho tilted his head slightly.

"Eun Ha-seong?"

"The Master of the West Heaven Mountain Manor whom you slew."

"He was nothing special."

"Nothing special? What do you mean…"

Sim Su-myeong's face twisted in disbelief, but Dam Ho's opinion did not waver.

Eun Ha-seong had indeed possessed formidable conditions.

The sheer killing intent he emanated was sufficient to rend flesh, and the immense internal energy left behind by the Demon was undeniably extraordinary.

But the martial artist Eun Ha-seong was not so impressive. His martial arts may have been strong, but his instantaneous reflexes, adaptability, situational judgment, and decisiveness were all below expectations.

A martial artist was supposed to have nerves honed sharp as razors, senses wide open. But Eun Ha-seong, who had spent so long living as a lord, no longer possessed such primal instincts.

If the sword was the weapon, internal energy was the force that enabled its proper use.

A sword, if it did not connect, was useless. And immense internal energy, if it did not collide, served no purpose.

Battle was not won by the one with greater strength. The truly powerful were those who could read the rhythm of victory in an instant and draw it toward themselves.

By that standard, Eun Ha-seong was nothing more than a fool who possessed a fine weapon and great power but had no idea how to wield them. At least by Dam Ho's reckoning.

Dam Ho's gaze suddenly turned to Sim Ok. The cheek struck by Dam Ho was still red and swollen. But Sim Ok did not dare confront Dam Ho. His overwhelming presence made it difficult even to breathe.

Sim Ok's pupils trembled. The image of Dam Ho reflected in her eyes wavered with her.

"You have… brought a storm of blood with you."

"…"

"You could have avoided it."

"Why should I have avoided it?"

"That is because…"

Sim Ok could not find the words.

Dam Ho's gaze fell upon her father, Sim Su-myeong.

"Do you believe I should have done otherwise?"

"I…"

Sim Su-myeong gritted his teeth.

He wished he could deny Dam Ho's words. He wished to fight. But he could not.

Though Sim Su-myeong prided himself on having fought countless battles and navigated carnage, he could not utter a single word before the vision of hell that lay spread before him.

One thing was certain: the man before him was fundamentally different from any martial artist he had ever encountered.

It was not a matter of martial arts or personality.

The man before him was simply a different species of being altogether. He was a creature that the nerves of an ordinary person could not measure or judge.

"Hah!"

In the end, Sim Su-myeong answered only with a sigh. It was a sigh laden with meaning.

Dam Ho passed by Sim Su-myeong and spoke.

"I leave the cleanup to you."

"I… understand."

He had brought the full might of the Blood Scale Stronghold, only to end up doing the cleanup. But Sim Su-myeong could not voice a complaint.

His gaze could not tear away from Dam Ho's retreating figure.

"A blood star has descended upon Xinjiang."

Sim Su-myeong's voice, trembling with unease, spoke for the hearts of all present.

Jin Ja-gang stopped by a stream before fully descending the mountain.

There, he caught sight of his reflection in the water and involuntarily stiffened.

His entire body was caked in dried blood, a gruesome sight.

“Haha…”

Jin Ja-gang let out a bitter smile.

If it hadn’t been for that wild boar, he might have been consumed by his killing intent and gone on a rampage. In that case, the blood covering him now might not have been the boar’s.

“Hoo.”

Jin Ja-gang shook his head to dispel his thoughts and drank from the stream.

The cold, refreshing taste of the water was so invigorating that it made every hair on his body stand on end. The stagnant, toxic water he had been drinking in the mine shaft was so repulsive that just thinking about it made him feel nauseous.

A wry smile escaped Jin Ja-gang’s lips.

He never imagined that a single sip of water could make him feel so alive.

As he washed himself, Jin Ja-gang examined his body from various angles. Though it was under moonlight, seeing his own body directly for the first time in years felt incredibly unfamiliar.

Jin Ja-gang was no longer the soft, downy child he once was. He had grown a beard and body hair. His height had increased, and his chest, abdomen, arms, and legs bore well-defined muscles.

He was no longer an eleven-year-old boy but a fully grown adult.

A pang of sorrow struck Jin Ja-gang’s heart.

The image of himself as a child transitioning into adulthood was gone.

It was as if a part of his life had been severed, lost forever, never to be seen again.

For a long while, Jin Ja-gang awkwardly examined his reflection.

***
Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Though it had been a long time, the path down to Tuanshan Village remained clear in his memory.

However, the sense of distance he had measured as a child was different now as an adult, making the journey feel somewhat shorter.

When he arrived at the entrance of Tuanshan Village, it was still early dawn, before the sun had risen.

Yet, at this hour, there should have been smoke rising from chimneys as people prepared breakfast. Instead, the village was eerily devoid of any signs of life.

After a moment of hesitation, Jin Ja-gang entered the village.

The village looked as though it had been abandoned for years, desolate and forlorn. All around were neglected houses, left to decay.

Relying on his memory, Jin Ja-gang headed to the home of the first child.

The house had become a dilapidated ruin. The broken, fallen door and the overgrown weeds in the yard clearly showed that no one had lived there for a long time.

Jin Ja-gang briefly looked around inside the house before digging into the soil of the yard to bury the child’s remains.

“I’m sorry.”

After creating a small grave for the child, Jin Ja-gang offered a brief prayer with clasped hands and left the house.

By the time he finished making the grave, quite a bit of time had passed, and dawn had broken into morning.

The situation at the second child’s house in the center of the village was the same. It, too, had become a ghastly ruin.

Jin Ja-gang found it puzzling, but at this point, there was nothing more he could do. All he could do was bury the child’s remains in the yard of that house as well and pray for their peace.

In truth, Jin Ja-gang had also been reluctant to meet the children’s families, feeling uneasy about facing them. However, he hadn’t wanted it to be like this.

‘What on earth happened here?’

Since so much time had passed, it was hard to even speculate. After all, Jin Ja-gang didn’t even know how many years he had been trapped in the mine shaft.

As Jin Ja-gang left the ruined Tuanshan Village with questions lingering in his mind, he noticed a figure by a wall that hadn’t been visible earlier.

It was an old woman in her seventies or eighties, dressed in rags like a beggar. She was so emaciated from whatever she had been surviving on that she looked almost skeletal.

The old woman was muttering to herself, speaking into the void, and as Jin Ja-gang listened, he realized her words were strange.

“When I was young, my mother used to braid my hair and call me pretty. But my children don’t give me food. They ignore me because I’m old. If only my husband were still alive, no one would dare treat me like this!”

The old woman, seemingly out of her mind, stomped her feet and rambled incoherently.

“I miss my husband. If he were here, I wouldn’t be in this state.”

The old woman sobbed and sniffled.

Jin Ja-gang watched her for a moment before continuing on his way. Though he felt pity, there was nothing he could do for a deranged old woman.

Limp, limp.

Though his limp was less pronounced than before, Jin Ja-gang still walked with an unconscious hobble.

However, as the old woman quietly observed Jin Ja-gang’s gait, her eyes widened, and her face contorted.

“That’s him!”

At her shrill cry, Jin Ja-gang turned his head.

Pointing at Jin Ja-gang with a trembling finger, the old woman screamed in a cracked voice.

“The limping brat! He’s the one who brought disaster to our village eight years ago!”

Jin Ja-gang felt a chill in his chest.

‘Eight years?’

He had vaguely thought a significant amount of time had passed, but he hadn’t realized it had been that long.

No, since this was the ramblings of a mad old woman, he couldn’t be certain if it was truly eight years. Jin Ja-gang took a deep breath to steady himself and looked at the old woman. She glared at him with fierce, bloodshot eyes.

“You brought misfortune to our village! We must tie him up and burn him alive, this cursed demon!”

As Jin Ja-gang approached to hear what the old woman was saying, she suddenly lunged at him.

Jin Ja-gang considered dodging but decided against it. The old woman bit down on his hand.

Crunch.

She bit so hard into the back of his hand that her teeth sank into the bone.

Jin Ja-gang merely furrowed his brow slightly, not letting out a scream.

How much time passed in that state?

Eventually, the old woman seemed to calm down a bit and released Jin Ja-gang’s hand from her mouth.

Her lips were drenched with Jin Ja-gang’s blood.

A flicker of sanity returned to the old woman’s eyes. She looked at Jin Ja-gang’s bitten hand and then at his face, before shrinking back in fear.

“Eeek. It’s not me. I was wrong. I… I…”

She was so terrified that it seemed pointless to say anything to her.

Jin Ja-gang sat silently beside the old woman and waited.

After some time, the old woman stopped trembling and cautiously glanced at Jin Ja-gang.

“Why… did you come back?”

It seemed she had regained just enough composure for minimal communication.

Jin Ja-gang spoke as gently as possible to avoid startling her.

“I brought the remains of the children who died.”

The old woman’s memory seemed stuck in the time from eight years ago. She blinked her eyes and soon recalled their names.

“Wang-sam and Dong-gu?”

“Yes.”

“Their parents are all dead.”

“Why did they die?”

“The Stone Forest Gang…”

The old woman’s pupils darted rapidly, and her eyebrows trembled uncontrollably.

“They killed them. Children and adults alike. Even my son and daughter-in-law… I… I was too scared and hid…”

Suddenly, the old woman burst into tears and screamed.

“Kiaaa! My grandson too! Everyone died!”

She tore at her graying hair, pulling out strands stained with blood.

“Kill me! Just kill me instead, you monsters!”

Jin Ja-gang waited until the old woman calmed down. Her voice gradually faded as her strength waned, and she stopped screaming.

“Everyone… everyone died, and only I survived…”

“That was eight years ago?”

“Yes… the snow came eight times.”

Had she been living alone like this for all eight years?

Jin Ja-gang’s heart ached.

He took the old woman’s trembling hands in both of his.

“You must have suffered a lot during that time, haven’t you?”

At those words, the old woman looked at Jin Ja-gang.

She muttered under her breath.

“My husband?”

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Would you like to go see your husband?”

The old woman shook her head vigorously, like a child.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m scared…”

“Of what?”

“He’ll scold me. For surviving when everyone else died.”

“He’ll understand.”

The old woman trembled again. Then, with innocent eyes, she looked at Jin Ja-gang.

“Why did the Stone Forest Gang kill us?”

Jin Ja-gang held her hands once more.

“I’ll go ask them.”

“No, if you do, they’ll come back and torment us again…”

Her voice grew fainter. Not just her voice, but her body also began to slump. Her eyes lost their strength. When she had bitten Jin Ja-gang’s hand, she had already been poisoned.

The old woman suddenly collapsed, losing all strength. Jin Ja-gang held her to prevent her from falling.

The light of life was fading from her eyes.

“I’m scared… that the Stone Forest Gang will come back…”

Jin Ja-gang embraced the old woman.

“The Stone Forest Gang will never torment you again. Those b*st*rds…”

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth.

“Those b*st*rds will disappear from this world.”

Did she hear Jin Ja-gang’s words?

A faint smile appeared on the old woman’s wrinkled face as her breath ceased.

Thud.

A single tear rolled down Jin Ja-gang’s cheek, despite his efforts to hold it back.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang buried the old woman and left Tuanshan Village.

“Stone Forest Gang!”

Jin Ja-gang ground his teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter. Just repeating the name of the Stone Forest Gang made his anger surge, heating his chest.

Not content with burying people alive, the Stone Forest Gang had committed mass murder in Tuanshan Village to erase all evidence.

Even after eight years, nothing had changed.

The world was filled with far too much evil. Evil that would never disappear unless uprooted completely!

It must be eradicated.

Jin Ja-gang clenched his fists tightly.

Revenge.

It was time to begin the path of vengeance for his mother, grandfather, Hundred Flower Valley, and ultimately, the entire medicinal sect community.

Until his path of vengeance was complete, Jin Ja-gang would not stop, and the Stone Forest Gang would be the first example of his wrath.

* * *

The Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison was the strongest power Jin Ja-gang could wield and an extremely potent poison, but having used a significant amount, very little remained.

Therefore, he had to conserve this poison as much as possible.

He knew well that he couldn’t rely on the Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison forever.

Thus, he sought ways to become stronger on his own. Even in the mine shaft, he tirelessly practiced internal energy cultivation methods while chiseling, and even breathed in a meditative state while sleeping.

However, Jin Ja-gang’s body, with its completely blocked energy channels, couldn’t accumulate internal energy in his dantian, let alone practice martial arts.

Still, Jin Ja-gang did not give up. Over the past eight years, he tried every possible method among the secret techniques taught by the last survivors of the medicinal sects.

And finally, Jin Ja-gang discovered a new method.

A method to fill his dantian not with internal energy, but with poison!

There are countless poisons in the world.

Even roadside azaleas, if consumed in large quantities, contain poison that can lead to death.

Through the secret manuals of Hundred Flower Valley and the Medicine King Sect, as well as the knowledge from the last survivors of the medicinal sects, Jin Ja-gang learned about the effects and side effects of various plants.

Using that knowledge, Jin Ja-gang consumed plants imbued with toxic energy, allowing him to accumulate and utilize poison within his body.

Thus, now in Jin Ja-gang’s dantian, alongside the toxic energy of the Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison, there was another kind of poisonous energy.

It was the refined toxic energy of cinnabar, contained in the plants and water he had consumed throughout his time in the mine shaft.