Chapter 186

The old Taoist was walking as if he had come out for a leisurely stroll, but his pace was by no means slow. It was a speed that would require a healthy adult to walk quickly and occasionally run to barely keep up.

Therefore, Jin Ja-gang also urged the horses faster to increase their speed.

The place where the old Taoist, who had been walking ahead for quite some time, arrived was a small hermitage on the mountainside.

During this time, the group had not said a word. Though the old man emitted no particular aura, he strangely created a suffocating tension.

Particularly, the expressions of Woon-jeong and Dan Ryeong-gyeong had remained the most rigid throughout.

The old Taoist stopped in the courtyard of the hermitage and turned around. He gestured for them to get off the carriage.

When Jin Ja-gang got off the carriage, everyone else followed suit.

At that moment, Woon-jeong hesitantly moved forward with his shoulders hunched.

The old Taoist glanced at Woon-jeong, then broke off a branch from a broom corn bush in the courtyard.

Then he immediately struck with the branch.

“Are you holding your head up stiffly thinking you did well?”

Thwack!

Woon-jeong didn’t dodge and was hit on the head.

“A disciple of Qingcheng stupidly became a hostage and brought outsiders straight into Mount Qingcheng?”

If it hadn’t been for Woon-jeong, the group might have been stopped before even entering Qingcheng Sect’s territory.

“Well, that is…”

“No excuses needed, you fool.”

Thwack!

“Please, let me speak…”

“I told you to watch Poison Dragon so he wouldn’t cause trouble, but instead you cooperated with him to attack an Emei Sect master and severely injure her?”

Thwack!

“Ah!”

After being hit three times in the same spot, Woon-jeong could no longer endure and cried out.

“Do you know how difficult this made things for the sect leader? Do you have thoughts or not? Bringing those whom the Tang family and Emei Sect are desperately searching for all the way here?”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s not like that…”

When the old Taoist swung the branch, Woon-jeong swayed his upper body to dodge. Woon-jeong’s upper body split into three or four blurred images. However, the old Taoist accurately struck one of them.

Again, a thwack sound rang out as the branch hit Woon-jeong’s head directly.

Seeing such a sound come from a broom corn branch that could be easily broken by hand, it was clear he wasn’t hitting with ordinary technique.

Soso even flinched every time Woon-jeong was struck.

“Ugh…!”

Woon-jeong even shed tears while clutching his head. A visible bump had formed on his head. The old Taoist scolded sharply.

“Still haven’t come to your senses and trying to make excuses?”

“I was wrong…”

“Quiet, you fool!”

When the old Taoist swung the branch, Woon-jeong desperately swayed his upper body more. His upper body split into five or six images, becoming faster than before. However, the branch also split accordingly. Rather, the number of branches increased much more, becoming dozens.

Thwack!

Once again, Woon-jeong was inevitably hit on the head. Just from the sound, one could tell how hard he was struck. Woon-jeong staggered and nearly sat down.

Woon-jeong protested.

“I’m not making excuses but apologizing that I was wrong, yet you still hit me – what am I supposed to do!”

“Just shut your mouth and stay back, you lacking fool.”

Whoosh!

The last strike with the branch was aimed at Woon-jeong who had fled and dodged.

“Stop hitting me, Master!”

Woon-jeong had unknowingly hidden behind Jin Ja-gang. Because of this, the old Taoist became even more displeased and his eyes narrowed.

However, the old Taoist didn’t even glance at Jin Ja-gang.

“Bin-do said…”

The old Taoist briefly lowered his head to look down and tapped his sole with the branch to shake off dirt.

“She must have told you. Never to meet again.”

Then the old Taoist straightened his already upright back even more, arrogantly raised his head, and looked at Dan Ryeong-gyeong.

“That if we met, she wouldn’t let it pass.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong replied with her characteristic bewitching smile.

“It’s been a long time, Taoist Bok-cheon. How is your senior brother, Dark Venerable Master?”

“That name…”

The old Taoist, Taoist Bok-cheon, smoothed his disheveled beard back behind his neck, then forcefully raised the branch upward.

Whooom!

Suddenly the air became heavy and Taoist Bok-cheon’s Taoist robes swelled tightly!

Rumble rumble rumble.

A whirlwind rose from beneath his feet, carrying up dust and dirt.

He had gathered tremendous internal energy.

Unlike before when there had been no aura, he was now freely emitting killing intent and anger, making the rough torrent of emotions palpable. Taoist Bok-cheon’s internal energy also raged accordingly.

Bian Bu and Woon-jeong’s complexions changed greatly as their internal energy resonated with Taoist Bok-cheon’s and began raging, causing them to step backward. Bian Bu embraced the pale-faced Soso and retreated.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong didn’t retreat. However, since her internal injuries hadn’t fully healed, her complexion quickly became wan.

Jin Ja-gang also felt strange. Though he hadn’t raised his internal energy, his body grew hot, his hair stood on end, and his vision kept narrowing.

This feeling…

The feeling when meeting a master with incomparable skills!

The feeling that his life and death was as thin as paper, fluttering as if it would tear at any moment in the fierce wind!

At that moment, Taoist Bok-cheon shouted in a voice choked with rage while swinging the branch.

“I told you never to speak that name again!”

Crack crack crack crack!

The ground split.

Across half the courtyard.

From where Taoist Bok-cheon stood to the base of the peak across the way.

A length of dozens of zhang – a severance occurred in the skin of the earth, and for a moment, disconnection occurred in the things within.

Even the roots of plants that had been connected underground, and even the stream water.

Screech.

A large pine tree was cut vertically and fell to both sides. Mountain birds that had momentarily held their breath at the sudden calamity flew away in surprise.

Flutter, flutter flutter.

Everything quickly became quiet.

Even nature itself seemed cowed by Taoist Bok-cheon’s tremendous martial prowess.

The branch in Taoist Bok-cheon’s hand had burst and become tangled like hemp fiber from the middle.

Taoist Bok-cheon’s face was flushed as he worked his lips.

“Your attempt to hide here like moles after coming all this way using Bin-do’s disciple as a hostage was very good. For the sin of having a foolish disciple, Bin-do will also endure today.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong silently listened to Taoist Bok-cheon’s words.

“This place is a hermitage where Bin-do achieved enlightenment in his youth. You may stay here until your physical condition recovers. I don’t care what you do. However, do not cross this line.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong looked beyond the line. Since they were already deep within the mountain gates, in Qingcheng Sect’s territory, Qingcheng Sect’s main mountain was right beyond the line. The halls of Qingcheng Sect were directly visible.

However, a single line crossed from the hermitage courtyard to the path down the mountain and the roads leading to Qingcheng Sect’s main mountain.

It meant to stay only here no matter what they did, and not to come near Qingcheng Sect’s main mountain.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong stared at Taoist Bok-cheon for a long time before nodding.

“I shall do so.”

However, Taoist Bok-cheon’s anger hadn’t subsided as he threw the branch to one side of the courtyard.

“Remember this. Next time, absolutely never let me see…”

Meanwhile, Woon-jeong tried to sneak behind Taoist Bok-cheon. Then Taoist Bok-cheon stopped speaking mid-sentence and shouted.

“You stay there too! Don’t even dream of setting foot in the main mountain until these people all leave! You should know that if you cross that line too, I won’t let it pass!”

“M-Master…”

When Woon-jeong called his master with a tearful expression, Taoist Bok-cheon’s eyes blazed again.

“You lacking fool… Who’s your master! As if there was no one else to bring…”

Taoist Bok-cheon reached to the side and applied force.

A branch of the broom corn bush snapped and flew into Taoist Bok-cheon’s hand as if being sucked in.

Taoist Bok-cheon raised the branch high as if to hit Woon-jeong again.

But then.

Jin Ja-gang stepped in front to block him.

Jin Ja-gang boldly stood blocking Taoist Bok-cheon and only looked up at him with his eyes.

Bewilderment and anger simultaneously surged on Taoist Bok-cheon’s face.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“You also should not cross the line.”

Bian Bu, Soso, and Woon-jeong were aghast.

“…!”

For a moment, killing intent flashed in Taoist Bok-cheon’s eyes.

“You also?”

Jin Ja-gang wasn’t overwhelmed by Taoist Bok-cheon’s killing intent and calmly looked at him.

A murderous smile appeared at the corners of Taoist Bok-cheon’s mouth.

“Are you Poison Dragon?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you brazenly barging into someone else’s home and claiming ownership as if it’s your own land?”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t care what we did?”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s killing intent deepened. His voice also sank ominously.

“If you act up and cross the ‘line,’ you might die.”

Goosebumps rose on Jin Ja-gang’s arms too. However, Jin Ja-gang didn’t retreat.

“Then you shouldn’t have said such things from the beginning.”

“I gave permission to stay temporarily, but I didn’t give permission to act arrogantly.”

“Does acting arrogantly require permission?”

“This fellow…”

Woon-jeong stopped Jin Ja-gang with a trembling voice.

“P-Poison Dragon benefactor… Please don’t be rude to Master and apologize.”

However, it was Taoist Bok-cheon who became angry.

“Are you, as a disciple of Qingcheng, begging for apologies from the likes of Poison Dragon!”

When Taoist Bok-cheon tried to take a step forward, Jin Ja-gang moved sideways to block him.

“You fellow…”

Taoist Bok-cheon was so angry his teeth chattered.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong also intervened.

“As a guest, causing a disturbance in the host’s home is not proper etiquette. Being shown this much consideration is already something to be grateful for, so young hero should stop as well.”

However, Jin Ja-gang looked directly at Taoist Bok-cheon without turning his head and answered.

“I came here to live, not to die.”

Taoist Bok-cheon ground his teeth.

“Did I tell you to die?”

“Drawing a line like this and leaving is no different from driving us out to die.”

At that moment, a strange light flashed in Taoist Bok-cheon’s eyes. After glaring at Jin Ja-gang for a while, Taoist Bok-cheon’s killing intent softened slightly.

“Right. That’s right. Your words are correct.”

Only then did Bian Bu and Dan Ryeong-gyeong realize why Jin Ja-gang had stepped forward.

“Ah!”

Taoist Bok-cheon had drawn a line.

He had declared that Qingcheng Sect wouldn’t interfere with what happened outside the line.

However, that wouldn’t apply only to Jin Ja-gang and Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s group.

Taoist Bok-cheon had defined them as outsiders from the beginning. That meant he would also stand by and watch whatever other outsiders did outside the line.

Those outsiders could include the Tang family, Emei Sect, and even the Zhuge family.

Momentarily distracted by Taoist Bok-cheon’s tremendous martial power, everyone except Jin Ja-gang had failed to realize this fact.

So when Jin Ja-gang told Taoist Bok-cheon not to cross the line, he wasn’t referring to the line drawn on the ground.

It meant not to drive them into a deadly situation under the pretext of a few words and then stand by and watch. It was no different from warning him not to spread word everywhere that Qingcheng Sect wouldn’t interfere with what happened outside the line, telling others to come capture them.

If Jin Ja-gang’s group entered within the line to avoid external threats, then Qingcheng Sect would act as originally warned.

Taoist Bok-cheon didn’t hide his emotions and expressed admiration.

“Clever. Worthy of being called Poison Dragon. Now I finally understand why people keep saying Poison Dragon this, Poison Dragon that.”