Chapter 302 – Drawing Pictures with Blood on White Snow (2)

Ji Su-hyeon's eyes looking at Geom Yul-cheon were filled with nothing but venom. Jeong Cheon-ak, who glanced at her appearance, chuckled.

"It seems you've finally shaken off even your remaining attachment."

"Shut up!"

"Hehe!"

Even at Ji Su-hyeon's thorny outcry, Jeong Cheon-ak only laughed. It was because he was satisfied.

The anger of a woman who has been rejected in love is more frightening. That was Ji Su-hyeon's current state.

Im Dok-oh, Baek On-woo, Seomun Ha-gyeong, and Nam Jeong-ok approached Jeong Cheon-ak's side.

The more they approached, the darker Geom Yul-cheon's eyes became.

"Phew!"

A deep and heavy breath flowed out.

A meeting with friends should be joyful, but now his heart was as stuffy as if a huge boulder had been placed on it.

Geom Yul-cheon's gaze turned toward Im Dok-oh, who was standing beside Jeong Cheon-ak.

"It's been a long time."

"……"

"Dok-oh."

"Don't call me that. When you escaped like that, our connection ended."

Im Dok-oh's cold voice stabbed Geom Yul-cheon's heart like a dagger. A regretful light briefly flashed across Geom Yul-cheon's eyes. But that was only momentary, and soon his gaze became heavy.

"Yes! It ended. Our connection……"

Geom Yul-cheon no longer made excuses.

Among all the others, he had wanted to stay with Im Dok-oh until the end. That's why he had even risked his life. But his efforts ended in failure, and he had no choice but to leave Im Dok-oh behind.

He could clearly see what kind of hell the abandoned Im Dok-oh had gone through. That's why he could understand his hatred as well.

"I will kill you. Yul-cheon."

"……"

"By killing you, I will open the Divine Cult's world."

Hiss!

Suddenly, thick cloud mist began to emanate and undulate from Im Dok-oh's entire body. No, it wasn't cloud mist. It was dust finer than grains of sand.

Geom Yul-cheon bit his lips tightly.

"You completed the Hidden Soul Sand."

"Yes! I endured bone-cutting pain to kill you."

Hidden Soul Sand was literally sand. Made of grains dozens of times smaller and finer than actual sand.

The microscopic sand grains invisible to the eye had very special properties and could become the most fearsome weapon in the world depending on how they were handled.

To properly handle Hidden Soul Sand, one had to first absorb it into their pores. No matter how much finer than sand it might be, the process of absorbing foreign substances through pores could not be smooth.

Living flesh would be torn and bone-cutting extreme pain would come. Since no one could endure this process, no one in the Demon Cult had appeared who absorbed Hidden Soul Sand until now.

Im Dok-oh was the first martial artist in hundreds of years of Demon Cult history to make Hidden Soul Sand his own. Beneath his pores and skin, an immeasurable amount of Hidden Soul Sand had taken position.

Kwakwakwa!

The undulating Hidden Soul Sand had already become a storm swirling around Im Dok-oh. A sandstorm was raging centered on Im Dok-oh.

Geom Yul-cheon instinctively knew it would not be an easy fight.

Im Dok-oh alone was a formidable opponent, but he had to face Jeong Cheon-ak, Ji Su-hyeon, Baek On-woo, and Nam Jeong-ok as well. The weapons they possessed were as fearsome and deadly as Im Dok-oh's Hidden Soul Sand. On top of that, there were hundreds of subordinates they had brought.

"Phew!"

Geom Yul-cheon took a deep breath.

A resolute light appeared in his eyes.

He had thought such a moment would come someday. The moment had just arrived sooner than he had expected.

Geom Yul-cheon slightly turned his head to look at Dan Gong-wol beside him.

"Elder! It seems this is as far as I can accompany you."

"I will fight alongside you."

"This is an evil connection entangled with me. Untying it is also my responsibility."

"You?"

"I'm sorry, Elder!"

At Geom Yul-cheon's answer, Dan Gong-wol briefly closed his eyes. It was because he felt the resolve contained in his voice.

After a moment, Dan Gong-wol opened his eyes.

"Thank you! For trusting this old man and bringing me this far."

"Not at all."

"Then I'll go first. Be sure to follow. Don't you also need to know the truth?"

"I will. Please go first."

"We must meet again."

After Dan Gong-wol patted Geom Yul-cheon's shoulder, he left his position.

"Impossible."

"No one can leave this place."

Jeong Cheon-ak's subordinates tried to block Dan Gong-wol.

Thump!

At that moment, Geom Yul-cheon stamped his foot hard.

The earth screamed and vibrated from the intense foot energy. Jeong Cheon-ak's subordinates hesitated.

"Without my permission, no one can pass through this place."

His voice no longer contained any wavering. The unwavering cry became a lion's roar that resounded thunderously throughout the entire Death Cliff.

Everyone's complexion changed completely at Geom Yul-cheon's lion's roar.

A giant lion was blocking their path. The Geom Yul-cheon reflected in their eyes was a lion itself, baring its huge fangs.

At his overwhelming presence, Jeong Cheon-ak's eyes lit up.

"Yes, that's right. You need to be at least that much to make hunting worthwhile."

Then Baek On-woo quietly approached his side.

"Are you going to let the Wind Moon Emperor go like this?"

"That old man is not our share."

"Then?"

"Have you forgotten? Who came with us."

"The Demon Mother?"

"Yes! That old man is her share."

At Jeong Cheon-ak's answer, Baek On-woo glared at Geom Yul-cheon. The wounds he had received from him were still painfully stimulating him.

"Then I can fight to my heart's content. I've disliked that bastard from long ago."

"Shall we start the lion hunt then?"

When Jeong Cheon-ak gestured, the subordinates who had been waiting all at once rushed toward Geom Yul-cheon.

Swish!

"It's a lion hunt."

"Kill him!"

The swords they swung flew through the air, tearing it apart with sharp sounds.

Geom Yul-cheon flew toward them while drawing up his power. Already, powerful energy had been generated throughout his entire body.

'Quick decisive battle.'

The longer time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him. Because of this, Geom Yul-cheon decided to give his all from the beginning.

"Chaaaat!"

Crash!

The atmosphere exploded. The martial artists who had been rushing at Geom Yul-cheon were shattered and sent flying. At the moment of collision, Geom Yul-cheon had exploded the repelling energy wrapped around his body.

Blood splattered and bone fragments scattered. In an instant, dozens of martial artists lost their lives.

"To use repelling energy like that."

"As expected, his fighting sense alone is outstanding."

How admirable must it have been for even the enemy Ten Soldiers to utter exclamations of admiration?

Jeong Cheon-ak clenched his fist tightly and said:

"However, the fact that he dies here today doesn't change. Everyone prepare."

Anyway, the subordinates now attacking Geom Yul-cheon were nothing more than sacrifices to drain his strength. No matter how great a martial artist Geom Yul-cheon might be, he was ultimately just human.

Being human, he would eventually tire, and that would be the moment for the Ten Soldiers to attack.

***

"Phew!"

Dan Gong-wol suddenly stopped moving and looked back.

Crash!

The explosion from far away was vividly transmitted to this place. It was proof that they were fighting that fiercely.

Dan Gong-wol hoped Geom Yul-cheon would be safe. But that was all. As Geom Yul-cheon had said, he had his own work to do, and Dan Gong-wol had his own work to do.

Now was the time to be faithful to their respective roles.

'I'm sorry.'

Dan Gong-wol moved with heavy steps.

He had been to this place before. So long ago that he couldn't even remember.

At that time, he didn't know he would come to this place again.

Dan Gong-wol moved his steps while groping through memories that had now become dim.

His eyes lit up when he saw a large rock in the distance. It was a black rock shaped like a crouching elephant.

"Black Elephant Rock."

Black elephant rock, that's why his close friend had given it the name Black Elephant Rock.

Black Elephant Rock was like a guide. Seeing Black Elephant Rock, his dim memories began to surface clearly.

Dan Gong-wol moved his steps without hesitation. He went around large trees and passed giant stone tombs. The place he arrived at after walking like this for a while was ruins existing below Death Cliff.

The ruins, so vast that their scale was unimaginable, showed only occasional foundation stones, and were so thoroughly destroyed that their original form could not be recognized.

"Sigh!"

A sigh flowed out first upon seeing the ruins.

Dan Gong-wol's face was filled with the light of regret.

"To come here again."

It was when he gritted his teeth and moved his steps.

Whoosh!

Suddenly a fierce sound of cutting through air echoed.

When Dan Gong-wol raised his head to look at the empty air, a huge rock was falling toward him.

Dan Gong-wol frowned while spreading both hands wide. Then silver chains that had been wrapped around his body flowed out from his clothes.

Swish!

Like a snake raising its head, a dozen bundles of silver chains shot toward the rock.

Crash!

The chains and rock collided in mid-air.

"Hmm!"

From that impact, Dan Gong-wol stepped back three or four steps. Deep footprints were carved where he had stepped back. The impact he received was considerable.

A shadow fell over Dan Gong-wol's face.

"Hahaha!"

What he had thought was a rock was bursting into laughter toward the sky while doing aerial somersaults. It had been a person, not a rock.

Thump!

A man as huge as a rock landed on the ground with a heavy sound. Dan Gong-wol's expression looking at the man was not very bright.

Although he couldn't use his full power due to internal injuries, it had still been an attack with considerable power invested. Yet the opponent didn't seem to have suffered any significant damage. It meant he was that formidable an opponent.

The man straightened his waist and opened his mouth.

"Even if wounded, is a tiger still a tiger? Your hand skills are sharp."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who will take the old man's head."

"Your words are too big."

"Why? Because the old man is one of the Four Divine Emperors, the Wind Moon Emperor?"

At the man's nonchalant answer, Dan Gong-wol's expression hardened. The fact that he came out like this even while knowing his identity meant the opponent was that confident.

That's when it happened.

"You can believe it. He will take your head."

Suddenly a woman's cold voice penetrated Dan Gong-wol's ears. Before he knew it, a mysterious woman wearing red silk had appeared behind the man.

Dan Gong-wol's brow furrowed at the red silk woman's appearance. It was because he hadn't been able to perceive her existence until she opened her mouth.

"Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"……"

"It's okay, I understand. You might not know. I'm called Dan Woon-hyang. People who know me call me the Demon Mother."

"Dan Woon-hyang?"

"I'm the woman of the one you cowardly ambushed."

"You mean the Cult Leader's woman?"

"That's right."

"Should I call it an honor?"

"You should. You made me move personally."

The red silk woman, Dan Woon-hyang, answered coldly.

A chill like northern wind and snow was flowing from her body.

When a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in midsummer. Needless to say, if it was a strong woman like Dan Woon-hyang.

Dan Woon-hyang stepped forward.

"There's one thing I want to ask."

"What?"

"Why did you choose this place as your grave? What is here?"

"Truth!"

"Truth?"

"That's right. There is truth here."

"Hmph! Whatever it is, it will be buried with your death."

"That won't happen."

Dan Gong-wol drew up his power.

Watching such a Dan Gong-wol, Dan Woon-hyang clicked her tongue.

"An immortal monster showing off……"

She looked at Seok Mu-gang beside her.

If Dan Gong-wol was an old monster, then Seok Mu-gang was a young monster.

Iron King of the North, Seok Mu-gang.

The master of Rock Cliff Stream, one of the Thirteen Branches, he moved.

Piercing Ghost stood in the middle of the village.

Jin Ja-gang was coming.

His figure could be seen walking from the village entrance.

On both sides of the road, villagers crawled out and wailed miserably.

“Uh-huh-hic…”

“Huh-uh-uh…”

The crying sounds of people who no longer had the strength to scream were eerily haunting.

Ghostly wails.

Ghostly wails heard from the darkness. An ordinary person would have their heart trembling just from hearing these sounds, making it impossible to approach.

One woman wailing by the roadside trembled as she grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s ankle.

“Please… please… kill me… huh-hic, please…”

Pause.

Jin Ja-gang stopped and looked down at the woman.

At that moment, the woman froze. Her body stiffened the moment she met Jin Ja-gang’s glaring eyes. The woman couldn’t even make a sound and just opened her eyes wide while moving her mouth.

She let go of Jin Ja-gang’s ankle.

Jin Ja-gang began walking again.

Cries for salvation and pleas for death could be heard from all directions.

However, whenever Jin Ja-gang passed by, the sounds mysteriously disappeared instantly.

Even those who had been pleading to be killed couldn’t make sounds, suppressed by Jin Ja-gang’s killing intent!

Then after Jin Ja-gang passed, they would moan again.

“Uh-uh-uh…”

“Huh-uh…”

It was a bizarre sight.

Piercing Ghost, who had been waiting for Jin Ja-gang, smiled with the eyes visible through his cloth-covered face.

“Good killing intent. As expected of Poison Dragon.”

Paradoxically, the three people who still had strength left, Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min, screamed the loudest.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Kugh, kugh-hugh!”

Piercing Ghost had done nothing to them. He had simply poisoned them and left them alone. The three were writhing behind Piercing Ghost, screaming.

“Br, Brother Jin! Th, this person is too strong!”

“Run away! Ahhhhh!”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t give the three a glance or respond.

When Jin Ja-gang looked at Piercing Ghost, Piercing Ghost slightly shrugged his shoulders to deflect Jin Ja-gang’s killing intent.

“The night is cold. Come inside. I’ve prepared warm tea.”

Piercing Ghost pointed to a teahouse beside them and walked ahead. The teahouse was brightly lit with fires and even had tea prepared, as if deliberately showing it was prepared solely for Jin Ja-gang.

However, Jin Ja-gang didn’t follow and stopped.

Piercing Ghost stopped and turned around.

“Why?”

Jin Ja-gang spoke without hiding his hostility.

“Are you insane?”

“Hm?”

Piercing Ghost tilted his head slightly as if Jin Ja-gang’s words were unexpected.

“Uh-ahhhh…”

“Huh-ugh, huh-ugh. Save me…”

The villagers continuing to wail like ghostly cries.

These were words thrown at Piercing Ghost who calmly suggested having tea while leaving them like this.

“Ah, those things? Kekeke!”

“Are you joking?”

“Joking? That’s harsh language.”

“Did I use harsh language?”

Jin Ja-gang walked toward Piercing Ghost and suddenly punched him in the face.

Thwack!

Piercing Ghost’s face turned slightly.

Piercing Ghost defended with internal energy as if he had expected it. Jin Ja-gang’s hand stung from the counter-repulsion equal to what he had given.

Jin Ja-gang shook his hand.

Piercing Ghost turned his crooked head and chuckled.

“Then this much wouldn’t be enough to call harsh…”

Thud!

Jin Ja-gang hit Piercing Ghost’s face again. This time Piercing Ghost hadn’t expected it, so his head turned considerably. Piercing Ghost’s eyes filled with confusion.

Jin Ja-gang mercilessly pummeled Piercing Ghost’s face.

Thud! Thud!

It wasn’t simply a contest of pride or spirit, but gritting his teeth and striking with internal energy!

Piercing Ghost’s face spun wildly as even his upper body began to shake.

Crash!

Crack.

When Jin Ja-gang struck down with full force at the end, Piercing Ghost’s waist bent so much his upper body nearly lay backward. Even his legs swayed.

Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min were horrified by this sight even while suffering from poison.

Anyone could see that Piercing Ghost had deliberately taken the first hit. It seemed like he was engaging in a battle of momentum using the difference in internal energy.

But who would have known he would beat him to death instead of just one hit!

Moreover, at the end there was even the sound of bones breaking.

Only then did Jin Ja-gang say.

“Do you think it’s somewhat harsh now?”

Flutter.

The cloth covering Piercing Ghost’s mouth came loose and flowed down.

Two gaping holes where there was no nose and grotesquely distorted lips were visible. Few teeth remained, and the cheekbone area that Jin Ja-gang had hit last was swollen and puffy, making for a hideous appearance.

Blood flowed from the gaping nose holes.

Stagger.

Piercing Ghost barely maintained his balance and stood upright.

Jin Ja-gang and Piercing Ghost glared at each other. The tension was taut.

Piercing Ghost opened his mouth.

“There was a misunderstanding.”

“Did you say misunderstanding?”

“Do you think this old man does such things for amusement?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“Of course, it’s not entirely without amusement. With just a sense of duty, one couldn’t do such things as chasing people around, drilling holes in their shoulders and poisoning them.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes turned cold.

Piercing Ghost, who had regained his composure, smiled and said.

“Agonizing Ointment Blood.”

Piercing Ghost walked over and kicked a man who was almost on the verge of fainting. The man’s body was completely drained and limp, yet he still occasionally twitched and moaned from pain.

“All living beings generate poison in their blood when their lives are in crisis. The more extreme the pain becomes, the more muscles contract making flesh tough, body fluids dry up and harden, and the poison in blood becomes denser. Eventually, if a predator eats them, it will cause trouble. Lions bite deer’s necks to kill them instantly, and humans strike cattle and chickens dead at once for the same reason. The longer it takes to catch them, the more the meat becomes inedible.”

Piercing Ghost grabbed the man’s head and lifted his body. From the collarbone hole that had been bleeding profusely, thick blood now pooled.

“Horse Poison Entering Wounds is the same. Horses with tenacious vitality don’t die easily. Therefore, if the fresh blood of a horse that died painfully touches a person, they get purple sores and die.”

Piercing Ghost made the man lie face down and placed a small bottle against the collarbone hole. Then he deeply stabbed his finger into the spine of the lower back.

“Uh-uh… Ahhhhhh!”

The man’s body trembled like an aspen tree. Thick, black blood pooled in the collarbone hole. Piercing Ghost collected the black blood in the bottle and kicked the man away with satisfaction.

“He won’t die. However, I make him suffer painfully enough to die so he develops blood poison. That is the source of the Infinite Ghost Poison that this old man uses.”

“So you committed such acts to squeeze poison from people like squeezing ointment blood from them.”

“That’s right. So strictly speaking, it’s not something done for amusement or play.”

Jin Ja-gang opened and closed his fist.

“Do you think that becomes a reason for forgiveness?”

“Forgiveness?”

Piercing Ghost picked up the fallen cloth and covered his face again while saying.

“From the moment I set foot in this world, this old man has never sought forgiveness from anyone. I just wanted to talk about the poison I use.”

Piercing Ghost slowly walked up to the teahouse. He went to the table where tea was prepared and offered Jin Ja-gang a seat.

“Now then, won’t you tell me about your poison? While having a cup of tea.”

Jin Ja-gang stared at Piercing Ghost.

“You may find it enjoyable, but I don’t. How many times must I go through such bothersome acts?”

“I promise. This will probably be the last time. This old man is second-in-command of Leper Mound. If you kill me, Leper Mound will withdraw from Poison Dragon.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I can’t ask you to trust me unconditionally at first meeting. Then what should be done?”

“Tell me Leper Mound’s base location.”

Piercing Ghost’s eyes narrowed.

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth and said.

“If Leper Mound continues to lurk around me even after killing you, Leper Mound will become ashes that day.”

Piercing Ghost thought briefly then moved his lips. He had told Jin Ja-gang Leper Mound’s location through voice transmission.

“Will you believe me now?”

Jin Ja-gang looked quietly at Piercing Ghost then climbed the teahouse stairs.

Yeong-woon, who had been watching, squeezed out strength to shout.

“Br, Brother Jin! There’s definitely poison in the tea too!”

Piercing Ghost chuckled.

“Those who use poison have an elegant way of fighting different from ignorant sword-wielders. Would I have prepared tea to have silly chatter like little girls?”

“Kugh!”

“Anyway, the fight between Poison Dragon and me isn’t about martial arts but poison. The key is who can endure the other’s poison longer. If so, there’s no need to waste strength fighting.”

Jin Ja-gang agreed.

“Fine.”

Jin Ja-gang sat at the table facing Piercing Ghost.

Piercing Ghost poured tea into the cups placed in front of each.

Then he took out a red scale smaller than a fingernail and put it in the teacup.

“Let’s start slowly. This is ordinary poison that our Leper Mound uses frequently. In the martial world, it’s well known as the poison of the Single-Horn Blood Snake.”

Single-Horn Blood Snake!

The poison of a snake with a single horn that uniquely secreted poison from red scales attached to the sides of its body. Despite its small size, one drop of poison squeezed from the scales could kill dozens of people. Even martial world people would die instantly within an hour if caught off-guard by a Single-Horn Blood Snake. Even if lucky enough to survive, it was an extreme poison requiring months of recuperation.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Piercing Ghost and raised his right hand to bite the tip of his little finger.

Crunch!

Jin Ja-gang dropped that blood into the tea water.

Drop.

A drop of blood with dissolved poison spread like thread in the teacup.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of mistletoe lately.”

Piercing Ghost pushed his teacup toward Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang likewise pushed his cup containing his blood to Piercing Ghost.

The three people, Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min, couldn’t help but watch even while screaming, as their lives depended on this outcome.

Pyo Sang-guk spat out curses with his face completely scrunched up.

“Cr, crazy. Kugh.”

They were openly giving each other tea with poison dissolved in it to drink.

Jin Ja-gang and Piercing Ghost looked at each other and slowly drank their tea. Jin Ja-gang even put the scale in his mouth before spitting it out.

A breathtakingly heavy silence fell. Whether poison spreads or is suppressed by internal energy, it takes time.

The Single-Horn Blood Snake’s poison manifested first in Jin Ja-gang’s body. The area below his eyes yellowed and his nose became sore, bleeding slightly. Jin Ja-gang rubbed his nose with his sleeve to wipe the nosebleed.

“Huff.”

In comparison, Piercing Ghost remained unchanged without any particular expression.

The three felt something close to despair.

This was just the beginning, but anyone could see the clear difference in poison mastery!

Jin Ja-gang said.

“What you said about Leper Mound wasn’t false.”

“Mistletoe, the poison of parasitic plants becomes less effective in humid conditions. Will you believe this old man’s words now?”

He had said Leper Mound’s base was on an island. A humid place. Jin Ja-gang had confirmed Piercing Ghost’s words with mistletoe poison.

“I’ll believe you.”

“Good. Then next.”

This time Jin Ja-gang poured tea into the teacups.

Glug glug.