Chapter 303 – Drawing Pictures with Blood on White Snow (3)

One side was a member of the Four Divine Emperors who had established himself as a legend of the martial world long ago.

The other side was the master of Rock Cliff Stream, one of the Demon Cult's Thirteen Branches.

Their clash was truly terrifying.

CRASH! CRASH!

Every time they collided, the ground split and enormous trees were uprooted and sent flying.

CLATTER!

Dozens of Dan Gong-wol's silver chains stretched out like snakes to target Seok Mu-gang's vital points. In response, Seok Mu-gang's entire body radiated momentum as solid as Mount Tai.

Rock Cliff Stream was rock.

Solid and unwavering like a massive rock – that was its essence.

Seok Mu-gang was a man faithful to the teachings of Rock Cliff Stream.

WHOOSH!

Every time he moved his body, fierce momentum radiated outward.

"Die! Old man."

Seok Mu-gang flew his body forward ferociously.

CLANG!

The silver chains could not handle his body and were deflected. But Dan Gong-wol did not panic in the slightest and spread his palm to smoothly redirect his body. At the same time, he skillfully wielded the silver chains to attack Seok Mu-gang.

"Magnificent."

Watching this scene, Dan Woon-hyang could not help but exclaim in admiration.

Though he was an enemy, Dan Gong-wol's martial prowess was truly terrifying. He was not pushed back even an inch against the master of Rock Cliff Stream, one of the Thirteen Branches. Considering the fact that he was deeply wounded and exhausted, it felt even more magnificent.

"To reach that level, he must have wounded the Cult Leader."

In other words, if he had not been wounded fighting the Cult Leader, even Seok Mu-gang would not be able to match him.

The masters of the Thirteen Branches could not all have identical martial arts. Among them, levels would naturally be divided, and exceptionally outstanding ones would exist.

Seok Mu-gang was certainly an outstanding one. He was young and his martial arts were strong enough to rank among the upper tier of the Thirteen Branch masters. Considering his age, it was an unbelievable achievement.

That's why she had been very pleased when he said he would join forces with her. But on the other hand, it was also true that she felt regretful.

"Old man."

The person she thought of at this moment was none other than Cheon Oh-gyeong.

The head of Sword Stream, one of the same Thirteen Branches as Seok Mu-gang. But his martial prowess could not compare to Seok Mu-gang's.

Even when all the other masters of the Thirteen Branches had changed, he was still the master of Sword Stream.

When Dan Woon-hyang was young, he still had that same appearance, and even now that Dan Woon-hyang had aged, he looked exactly the same.

Even within the Demon Cult, there was no one who knew exactly how many years he had lived. He had almost no contact with the Demon Cult either. But the symbolic significance he held within the Thirteen Branches was beyond imagination.

Dan Woon-hyang deeply regretted not being able to draw in such a Cheon Oh-gyeong. If only he had been there, they could have easily subdued Dan Gong-wol without Seok Mu-gang having to struggle like this.

"But why did that old man crawl here so desperately?"

A light of suspicion appeared on Dan Woon-hyang's face.

As far as she knew, Dan Gong-wol had no connection to this place at all. There was no reason he had to flee here while seriously wounded. Yet Dan Gong-wol had come all the way here, even drawing in Geom Yul-cheon.

"What's the reason? The reason that old man had to risk his life to come here."

Dan Woon-hyang looked around her surroundings.

Only then did the surrounding scenery enter her view.

It was ruins that seemed to have been abandoned very long ago. Only the occasional foundation stones spoke of past glory.

Deep furrows formed in Dan Woon-hyang's brow visible above her red silk.

"What on earth?"

A light of suspicion arose in her eyes.

Dan Woon-hyang had wandered the world her entire life as the Holy Maiden of the Demon Cult. Therefore, she prided herself on knowing every corner of the world.

As far as she knew, there were almost no civilian homes on the snowy mountains. This was because of the perpetual snow that didn't melt even in midsummer. For such large-scale ruins to exist in such a place.

'With this scale, hundreds or even thousands of people could have lived here. If that many people had lived here, our cult couldn't have been unaware of it.'

It was when Dan Woon-hyang's suspicions were deepening.

CRASH!

An enormous roar incomparable to anything before echoed throughout.

"What?"

Dan Woon-hyang quickly turned her head. Then she saw a massive rock that had been under Death Cliff shatter and scatter in all directions. And she saw Seok Mu-gang with a somewhat bewildered expression extending his fist.

Just moments before, Seok Mu-gang had unleashed his fist energy.

Even with the same energy, the power differs according to the quality of concentrated internal energy. The energy unleashed by a master of Seok Mu-gang's level would naturally have power beyond imagination. But Dan Gong-wol had deflected such fist energy from Seok Mu-gang. He had changed the direction of the fist energy flying toward him and made it strike the massive rock under Death Cliff directly. Thus, the house-sized rock was shattered by Seok Mu-gang's fist energy.

While Seok Mu-gang hesitated momentarily in surprise at this, Dan Gong-wol flew his body toward the rock. More precisely, toward the black cave that was revealed after the rock shattered.

Dan Gong-wol's figure disappeared into the darkness of the cave in an instant. Only then did Seok Mu-gang realize that Dan Gong-wol had used his power to shatter the rock that had been blocking the cave, and he burst with indignation.

"How dare the old man mock me?"

Without thinking further, he flew his body after Dan Gong-wol.

"Wait a moment…"

Dan Woon-hyang cried out belatedly, but Seok Mu-gang had already disappeared into the cave.

Dan Woon-hyang shook her head.

The black cave without a single point of light felt ominous. But having come this far, she had no choice but to enter.

Eventually, Dan Woon-hyang also flew her body toward the cave.

After they disappeared and considerable time had passed, someone revealed themselves.

A man with disheveled black hair wearing a torn black windbreaker robe – it was Dam Ho.

Dam Ho briefly looked around his surroundings.

Traces of battle were clearly visible everywhere. It was certain that someone had fought here before he arrived.

The black cave that gaped open like the mouth of hell entered Dam Ho's view. Dam Ho moved his steps toward the cave without hesitation.

As soon as he entered the cave, he felt a chilling coldness. The cave felt full of damp energy, as if it had been sealed for a very long time.

Step! Step!

Dam Ho's footsteps struck the cave walls and echoed several times louder. The echoes did not subside easily and spread far and wide.

It felt as if the entire cave was like a giant resonating chamber.

Still, Dam Ho silently moved his steps.

Not hurrying, slowly.

Though it was darkness where he couldn't see an inch ahead, Dam Ho's eyes were piercing through beyond the darkness. Patterns and pictures of unknown meaning were carved on the cave walls. Dam Ho briefly stopped walking and looked at the pictures carved on the wall.

The patterns and pictures were very faint, showing how old they were. The moment Dam Ho touched them, the wall crumbled and fell apart.

Dam Ho removed his hand and looked at the pictures. Pictures whose forms could not even be recognized due to faded and blurred colors. But among them, there was one picture whose colors still remained vivid.

A snake with two heads. A pair of large wings were attached to its body.

It was a Double-Headed Flying Winged Serpent that did not exist in reality.

The heads of the Double-Headed Flying Winged Serpent were looking in different directions, but only the eyes were distinctly yellow.

The bright yellow pupils were so vivid that they made one feel as if the Double-Headed Flying Winged Serpent was alive.

Dam Ho looked at the Double-Headed Flying Winged Serpent for quite a while.

"Two heads…"

What meaning was contained within it could not be known for now. But truth was like an awl in a pocket – it would be revealed someday.

It was when Dam Ho was looking at the picture like this.

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, a strong resonance was felt from inside the cave, and intense wind rushed forth. Thanks to this, Dam Ho's hair and windbreaker robe fluttered.

CRASH! CRASH!

Following this, violent roars echoed along the cave walls. The entire cave vibrated as if an earthquake had occurred. Stone fragments fell from the ceiling, and water pooled on the floor kept splashing up, soaking Dam Ho's pants.

Dam Ho moved his steps toward the inside of the cave.

He never hurried.

With all his muscles relaxed, he moved one step, then another step toward the source of the roars.

How far had he gone like this?

At the point where the narrow cave ended, a faint light was visible.

ROAR!

From there, rough air currents were surging along with the usual roars. It was when Dam Ho was walking toward that place.

FLASH!

Suddenly, a black shadow popped out from there.

It was a shadow holding a sword stained with fresh blood. The black shadow wearing a mask over its head was very surprised by Dam Ho's appearance and gasped 'Huh!' But that was only momentary, and immediately swung the sword fiercely toward Dam Ho.

WHINE!

Sword wind filled the narrow cave.

Dam Ho clenched his fist tightly and leaped toward the sword wind.

CRASH!

With one Explosive Star Strike, the sword wind that had been blowing so fiercely disappeared like a lie.

An ordinary martial artist would have their fighting spirit broken by one of Dam Ho's Explosive Star Strikes. But the black shadow that attacked Dam Ho was not an ordinary martial artist.

"Not bad."

Along with a heavy bass voice, the sword in the masked person's hand underwent a change.

HISS!

His sword flew toward Dam Ho's vital points like a venomous snake.

Commonly, martial artists who had reached a certain level would unconsciously use techniques like sword energy or sword force to maximize the power of their sword. But the masked person was different.

He maximized the subtle principles inherent in the sword without drawing up sword energy or the like.

Dam Ho's eyes gleamed in the darkness.

Dam Ho had faced countless martial artists until now. Among them were many who could be called absolute masters, and there were many martial artists who had achieved mastery with the sword.

The masked person's swordsmanship was not inferior to any of the sword masters Dam Ho had faced until now. No, he rather thought it was a level above.

The technique the masked person was deploying was the Three Elements Sword Method.

Ordinary movements of cutting, thrusting, and slashing that all martial world people knew. But the masked person was skillfully mixing these three movements to target Dam Ho's weak points.

HISS!

Sharp sounds of cutting through air continuously echoed in the darkness.

The reverse energy contained in the sword was extraordinary. Every time the masked person swung his sword, the air split and screamed.

The masked person was perfectly dominating inside the cave. But his opponent was wrong. The one he was facing was none other than Dam Ho.

He deployed his charging technique.

His body rushed forward at a frightening speed like a battering ram.

It was inside a narrow cave. There was nowhere to escape. Only a collision of force against force awaited.

CRASH!

"Hmm!"

With the collision, the masked person let out a stifled groan.

Blood traces showed at the corners of the masked person's mouth.

For a moment, a bewildered light arose in his eyes.

'To encounter the Fist Demon in this place of all places.'

If you grabbed all the martial artists in the world and asked who they least wanted to meet, one hundred out of one hundred would all answer the Fist Demon.

This was the same for the masked person as well.

'It's still too early.'

He was someone he would meet someday, but it was the masked person's honest feeling that he wanted to delay it as much as possible.

As a result of directly clashing, the Fist Demon was strong. No matter how much he applied ordinary techniques, he was not an opponent who could be defeated.

That spine-chilling intimidation and beast-like gaze were pressuring him.

Eventually, the masked person had to make a decision.

"CHAAAAAT!"

Along with a loud battle cry, his sword underwent a change.

Flowers began to bloom in the darkness.

Pure white flower petals heralding the brilliant beginning of spring.

For a moment, Dam Ho's pupils, which had been emotionless, shook for the first time.

"Plum blossoms?"

The flowers the masked person had bloomed were definitely plum blossoms.

Countless sword techniques exist in the world, and among them, quite a few emit flower-shaped sword energy. But there is only one sect in the world that has sword techniques that emit plum blossoms.

Mount Hua Sect.

No other sect can bloom plum blossoms.

Dam Ho recognized the identity of the sword technique the masked person was deploying at a glance.

"Twenty-Four Step Plum Blossom Sword?"

The ultimate sword technique that only Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Masters could learn.

WHOOSH!

Mount Hua's supreme learning was being deployed not at Mount Hua but by someone who was not a Mount Hua disciple.

“Ink Spirit Poison. Poison collected from a swamp that receives no sunlight throughout the year except for a single day. It’s perpetually foggy and unspeakably humid, with all kinds of rotting things pooled there. When it enters a living person’s body, it makes blood vessels rot and eyes become mushy, causing blood to pour from the eyes.”

Piercing Ghost opened the cork of a small bottle only two finger joints long and dropped poison into the tea water.

Jin Ja-gang squeezed essence from his little finger and dropped it into the teacup.

“This is Pokeweed poison. It makes the mouth hot, causes drooling and vomiting, greatly damaging bodily fluids, and ultimately causes loss of consciousness leading to death.”

Piercing Ghost stared at Jin Ja-gang intently, then switched teacups with him and drank.

After drinking poison, there’s a brief delay while waiting for the poison to spread. Jin Ja-gang and Piercing Ghost sat looking at each other nonchalantly during this time, but the ones who found this time hardest to endure were the three watching: Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min.

Drip.

Again, Piercing Ghost was fine while blood first dropped from Jin Ja-gang’s nose. Black blood vessels showed like spider webs on his neck and jaw. His eyes kept blinking, suggesting even his eyes were uncomfortable.

“Kugh.”

The three watching through gritted teeth felt like they would die from frustration.

It was Jin Ja-gang who had tasted the poisoned food and warned it was dangerous. Yet the person who called it dangerous was having a poison contest with him—what kind of stubbornness was this?

When the poison subsided and Jin Ja-gang regained stability, Piercing Ghost continued pouring tea.

“Red Dream Three Pleasures. When inhaled, the brain feels great euphoria, losing sense of reality and darkening vision. Reason becomes clouded, limbs lose strength causing collapse. Long-term use causes the brain to melt and flow out through the nose.”

“This is Bracken poison. It causes internal bleeding, dims vision, and paralyzes muscles.”

Jin Ja-gang’s pupils repeatedly dilated and contracted after drinking tea containing Red Dream Three Pleasures. Occasionally his body even trembled as if having seizures. This time he spat blood from his mouth in addition to nosebleeds.

The three were bursting with frustration.

Piercing Ghost was using poisons that sounded terrifying just to hear about, while Jin Ja-gang was talking about eating strange ferns or something.

Piercing Ghost observed Jin Ja-gang quietly like studying him and said.

“Most peculiar. Do you prefer poisons in their natural state?”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Piercing Ghost with eyes whose focus wavered, still unable to settle the poison. Compared to Piercing Ghost who was completely fine, Jin Ja-gang looked precarious. The accumulated poison seemed to make his eyes increasingly sunken.

“Is there a problem?”

“No problem. I’ve tasted such powerful parasitic plant poison, pokeweed poison, and bracken poison for the first time. Even those who handle poison would find it difficult to overcome.”

The three were half-skeptical of Piercing Ghost’s words. Were plants like mistletoe and pokeweed really such terrifying poisons?

Pyo Sang-guk shouted.

“Br, Brother Jin! Use some proper poison! Kugh. We’re all going to die!”

Piercing Ghost glanced at the three and chuckled.

“They don’t understand. Originally, Poison Dragon’s poison and my poison aren’t different. Poison Dragon concentrated hundreds of bunches of one type of plant poison to create a single drop of poison, while my poison is simply made by mixing various types of poisons.”

His insight was sharp.

He claimed to be Leper Mound’s second-in-command, and indeed he was no ordinary person.

Piercing Ghost and Jin Ja-gang shared another cup of tea. Jin Ja-gang swayed his upper body while sitting, perhaps from dizziness. He barely managed by gripping the table with his arm.

Pyo Sang-guk shouted again.

“Damn it! Then why are you fine! Kughhhh.”

Piercing Ghost laughed and answered.

“Difference in internal energy. Difference in ability to control poison. Difference in poison combinations used. And if there’s one more thing…”

Piercing Ghost poured fresh tea into an empty teacup while speaking.

“It was when I was young. To escape this heavenly punishment-like disease, I sought and searched for every medicine said to be good for the body. If I could buy it, I didn’t discriminate against anything. I didn’t hesitate to chew human liver and heart. But it was useless. Fingers and toes fell off one by one, and my nose tip was crushed. My lips rotted and gums festered, causing teeth to fall out.”

Piercing Ghost was momentarily moved by emotion while recalling the past.

“So with resolve to die, what I finally chose was the method of fighting poison with poison. I found poison more toxic than leprosy and applied it to my body. It was hellish pain. Sores appeared on my body, skin peeled off, flesh split and blood flowed without stopping. But you know what? A miraculous thing happened.”

Piercing Ghost continued speaking while watching Jin Ja-gang gradually regain stability.

“After suffering from poison for several years like that, suddenly at some point the leprosy stopped progressing. Moreover, no matter how much poison I used, it didn’t hurt. Without my knowledge, I had somehow become a body impervious to ten thousand poisons.”

“Body impervious to ten thousand poisons!”

The three recited simultaneously as if screaming. So-min chattered her teeth and shouted.

“Ugh, th, then this was a method advantageous only to one person from the start… ugh!”

Kekeke.

“I made the proposal, and Poison Dragon accepted. Is there a problem?”

He returned the exact question Jin Ja-gang had asked.

Jin Ja-gang calmed his breathing and answered.

“No problem.”

“Young Master Jin!”

“Brother Jin! Don’t be stubborn and even now use martial arts, ughhhh!”

The three were frantic. Anyone could see Jin Ja-gang was at a disadvantage!

However, a slight smile also appeared at the corners of Jin Ja-gang’s mouth.

“You’ve followed along quite well, but it seems time to reach a conclusion.”

Piercing Ghost smiled while raising his blunt finger with only the middle finger remaining.

Poison energy gathered at his fingertip, turning it dark. Piercing Ghost dipped his finger in the teacup and pulled it out. The darkened finger had returned to its original color when it emerged from the teacup. The clear tea water had become black as if ink had been dissolved in it.

“The final destination is Infinite Ghost Poison. Feel the terrible pain I once endured.”

“Is this poison the end you can show?”

“That’s right. If you have any poison left, I’ll gladly receive it. Of course, you’ll have to endure the Infinite Ghost Poison first.”

Jin Ja-gang drained the tea containing Infinite Ghost Poison in one gulp. Then he forcefully threw the teacup aside, shattering it.

Crash!

Piercing Ghost laughed loudly.

“Hahahaha! What tremendous courage. But looking at your current ability, that’s just recklessness!”

The three gritted their teeth and watched anxiously while only letting out screams between their teeth. They couldn’t understand why Jin Ja-gang had only drunk poison without giving any of his own.

Jin Ja-gang’s eyebrows began twitching as his expression started changing.

Piercing Ghost spoke loudly.

“It’s been an enjoyable time in a while. I’ll respect you and kill you painlessly after extracting poison with your blood. It will probably become the finest Infinite Ghost Poison.”

Piercing Ghost tried to stand up. He seemed to think it was already over.

But suddenly Piercing Ghost’s eyes widened.

“Hm?”

Thin threads were wound around his body. Piercing Ghost immediately tried to use movement techniques to pull his body away. Jin Ja-gang immediately pulled his hand. The Soul Seizing Thread tightened while wrapped around Piercing Ghost’s body.

“Where are you going?”

The Soul Seizing Thread was wrapped around Piercing Ghost’s neck, arms, and waist.

“Kugh! This bastard!”

He had attached the Soul Seizing Thread to Piercing Ghost while diverting attention by breaking the teacup.

Piercing Ghost stared quietly at Jin Ja-gang then snorted.

“I thought you were remarkable, but you’re just a third-rate hoodlum who secretly schemes behind backs.”

“It’s because I was worried you might run away, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“Good! I’ll watch and see how long you last.”

However, Jin Ja-gang didn’t show pain even as time passed. He only occasionally flinched and emitted killing intent, but didn’t suffer or scream like Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min. He was even smiling slightly.

Poison that had already manifested once didn’t work on Jin Ja-gang.

“Huh?”

Piercing Ghost was also slightly flustered.

Jin Ja-gang spoke in a cold voice filled with killing intent.

“I should thank you.”

“Wha, what…”

“Thanks to you, I learned the essence of the poison I possess.”

“What did you say?”

Jin Ja-gang said to the confused Piercing Ghost.

“Sit down. It’s my turn.”

When Jin Ja-gang applied force, the Soul Seizing Thread dug into the chair making an irritating noise.

Screech.

Piercing Ghost glared at Jin Ja-gang and sat down. His expression showed he couldn’t understand why his poison wasn’t working at all.

Jin Ja-gang poured tea. He dropped a single drop of poison into the teacup and pushed it to Piercing Ghost.

“Single-Horn Blood Snake poison.”

Piercing Ghost was shocked.

“What!”

The three—Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min—were also greatly surprised.

Wasn’t Single-Horn Blood Snake poison the same poison Piercing Ghost had used on Jin Ja-gang earlier!

Piercing Ghost lifted the cloth covering his mouth and immediately drank the tea Jin Ja-gang gave him. His eyes opened wide.

It was indeed Single-Horn Blood Snake poison!

Piercing Ghost was flustered. But without pause, Jin Ja-gang poured tea again and offered it.

“Ink Spirit Poison.”

Piercing Ghost glared at Jin Ja-gang with wide eyes.

“How…”

“If you don’t drink, I’ll kill you.”

Jin Ja-gang was showing his teeth in a smiling expression. His killing intent was so viciously dense that Piercing Ghost’s hair stood on end.

Jin Ja-gang then successively presented Red Dream Three Pleasures, even the poison Na-ryuk had used and the poisons used by Travel Bandit, Twin Kill, and Three Tigers.

And then.

“Infinite Ghost Poison.”

Piercing Ghost’s pupils shook.

Piercing Ghost raised his internal energy and drank the tea containing his own Infinite Ghost Poison.

Piercing Ghost’s hand trembled slightly. No matter how impervious to ten thousand poisons one’s body was, there were limits. He was continuously drinking deadly and extreme poisons without rest. But poison kept accumulating in his body before being detoxified, so there was no way there wouldn’t be burden.

The tea water he had already drunk exceeded two teapots.

It was the same as having a stomach full of poison.

Moreover, being mentally cornered disrupted his internal energy operation. Piercing Ghost’s face alternated between flushing and paling, showing changing complexion. This was proof that suppressing poison manifestation had become uncomfortable.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t stop.

This time he raised his left hand and bit the tip of his index finger.

Soon sticky, dark essence mixed with blood and formed at the root of his fingernail.

However, the dark drop of essence gradually became transparent and began emitting a brilliant blood-jade color.

Simultaneously, a rich floral fragrance wafted around.

Jin Ja-gang dropped it into the teacup.

Plop.

The poison dissolved slowly into the tea water. The green tea water gradually changed to transparent blood color.

Jin Ja-gang offered the teacup to Piercing Ghost.

“This is the last poison you must drink.”

Piercing Ghost couldn’t readily extend his hand.

The poison energy felt from the tea water was warning his five senses.

That was not acceptable.

* * *

Two types of poison exist in Jin Ja-gang’s body.

Poison energy existing as turbid energy in the left half’s meridians and energy channels. And poison energy accumulated in the dantian through direct consumption.

Usually chewing poisonous plants was to gather poison energy in the dantian, and during this process some poison energy was absorbed into the left half’s turbid energy, making the turbid energy even thicker. And when turbid energy increased, the clear energy of the right half also increased together through mutual storage and mutual transformation of yin and yang.

That was the circulation phenomenon of poison energy and internal energy generated in Jin Ja-gang’s body.

However, Jin Ja-gang’s turbid energy was uniquely peculiar. Its form was unclear because it contained various poisons. It was poison that couldn’t be defined as anything specific.

Jin Ja-gang had until now thought the identity of this poison was mixed poison. He thought various poison energies had been mixed based on the Flower Essence Pure Heart Pill.

But meeting Piercing Ghost made him realize.

The Flower Essence Pure Heart Pill had only played an auxiliary role in concentrating poison energy; the actual foundation was Jin Ja-gang’s blood.

The culmination of pain Jin Ja-gang had endured.

It was Blood Poison.