Chapter 303

“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.