Chapter 279

Thud!

Jin Ja-gang’s left palm collided with Baek Li-jung’s right palm.

Jin Ja-gang had poison needles between his fingers, but the needles couldn’t withstand Baek Li-jung’s palm force and bent.

Jin Ja-gang felt chills run down his spine.

It was a mistake.

He already knew from touching hands that Baek Li-jung’s internal energy was far superior to his own, but he hadn’t realized it was this overwhelmingly powerful. Being too absorbed in the Grappling Technique and carelessly meeting him head-on was truly a grave error.

But since he was already in a twisted position, he couldn’t flee or dodge. Jin Ja-gang judged that he had to sacrifice his arm. Jin Ja-gang barely held on while drawing a small dagger from his waist.

If he didn’t cut off his arm, Baek Li-jung’s internal energy would rush through his palm and destroy Jin Ja-gang’s organs.

However, Baek Li-jung wouldn’t allow it. Baek Li-jung applied even more force to his palm technique.

Baek Li-jung’s internal energy penetrated through Jin Ja-gang’s palm and entered his palm center.

Crack crack!

Starting from Jin Ja-gang’s back of the hand, the blood vessels and muscles in his forearm swelled as if about to burst in succession.

Jin Ja-gang’s entire body hair stood on end and his body stiffened as if paralyzed.

Pop.

His wrist joint was pressed and his elbow twisted.

Jin Ja-gang couldn’t hold on and bent his legs. The force of Baek Li-jung pressing down was so strong that no matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn’t straighten his legs. Jin Ja-gang’s legs, using all his might to resist, trembled violently.

During this, doubt flashed through Baek Li-jung’s eyes.

He had put eighty percent of his strength into this Internal Heavy Hand Technique.

At this level, even Dan Ryeong-gyeong or Elder Bok-cheon would have difficulty withstanding it head-on.

So why was Jin Ja-gang still holding on?

Why couldn’t his internal energy penetrate deeper than the elbow?

Moreover, Jin Ja-gang and he used the same source for internal energy cultivation methods. If they had the same source, shouldn’t Baek Li-jung, with higher achievement, naturally overwhelm him?

While Baek Li-jung’s palm force hesitated, Jin Ja-gang built up the dike in his left palm center to maximum and raised his internal energy. He drew out all the vortex power generated from the middle dantian, right Yongcheon, and Huiyin dikes to block.

Feeling the Vortex Rush from the Fourth Light, Baek Li-jung’s eyes glinted coldly.

The sight of Jin Ja-gang struggling desperately reminded him of Baek Li-gwon.

The reason Baek Li-gwon, who had surpassed the seventh star of Heavenly Blade Divine Sword, couldn’t defeat Jin Ja-gang was because the ten stars of Heavenly Blade Divine Sword were originally designed based on the Fifth Light of Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art.

Only upon reaching the eighth star of Heavenly Blade Divine Sword could one barely cope with the early stages of the Third Light. This showed how powerful Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art was.

But even setting aside Heavenly Blade Divine Sword, Baek Li-jung couldn’t understand why Jin Ja-gang of the Fourth Light was still resisting when Baek Li-jung had long surpassed the Seventh Light.

Baek Li-jung applied more force. He drew up another ten percent of his strength. Because Dan Ryeong-gyeong and Elder Bok-cheon were present, it was difficult to pour out his full power with the tenth star without reserve.

However, Baek Li-jung soon regretted not using his full strength.

Jin Ja-gang’s energy and blood were strangely heavy and thick. The energy and blood were too dense and sticky. This was almost equivalent to having blocked energy and blood channels. With the Vortex Rush of the Fourth Light added to this, Baek Li-jung’s internal energy couldn’t penetrate and was only destroying the meridians where they made contact.

Pop, pop.

Jin Ja-gang’s forearm swelled as his skin tore and crushed muscles protruded, spurting blood. Using his internal energy with full force, blood leaked from burst capillaries on his right side for the first time in ages. Blood vessels burst even inside his eyes, turning them bright red with blood.

He exerted so much force that he couldn’t breathe and his head became dizzy. Despite the side effects of the Clarity Elixir, Jin Ja-gang was pushed almost to the point of losing consciousness.

Baek Li-jung was almost disgusted seeing Jin Ja-gang whose eyes still hadn’t died despite all this.

With muscles rupturing and blood vessels being compressed until blood burst, his whole body must feel like it was being torn apart. Yet Jin Ja-gang hadn’t screamed even once.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong, who had followed behind Baek Li-jung, thrust the Non-Killing Sword toward Baek Li-jung. With Jin Ja-gang spurting blood from his entire body, every moment was critical.

Baek Li-jung didn’t stop pouring Internal Heavy Hand Technique into Jin Ja-gang and faced Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s Non-Killing Sword with his Heavenly Vermillion Blade.

When the pressure briefly weakened, Jin Ja-gang squeezed out his remaining strength and raised his right hand. From near the fingernail of the little finger he had bitten earlier, colorless poison fluid was dripping along with blood.

Jin Ja-gang raised his trembling right hand above his head. The poison fluid mixed with blood dropped. Jin Ja-gang caught the poison fluid in his mouth, held it on his tongue, and pursed his lips to gather force. He intended to aim for Baek Li-jung’s side eye while he was looking at Dan Ryeong-gyeong and spit the poison fluid.

But then Myowol unexpectedly intervened.

Myowol kicked Baek Li-jung’s waist.

Thud!

Baek Li-jung, caught completely off guard, was struck and slid sideways. In the process, he allowed Dan Ryeong-gyeong one sword strike, getting a cut below his eye.

Myowol grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s neck with her left hand and shouted shrilly.

“This one is mine! If you want to kill him, you give up an eye too!”

Baek Li-jung looked at Myowol in disbelief. Myowol’s suppressed killing intent had surged up and she couldn’t control herself. Myowol exploded with killing intent and tried to gouge out Jin Ja-gang’s eye with her other hand.

But Jin Ja-gang forcibly turned his head and bit Myowol’s hand.

Crunch!

Jin Ja-gang’s teeth dug into Myowol’s bony hand.

Myowol had also had her fingertip bitten off by the Bald Brothers before, losing the tip of her index finger. Being bitten by Jin Ja-gang again, she became so enraged that she raised her hand regardless of whether flesh was torn off.

Jin Ja-gang spat the torn flesh and blood at Myowol’s face. Without even closing her eyes, Myowol kept them wide open and struck Jin Ja-gang’s head.

Thud!

With his neck held by Myowol’s hand and his temple struck, Jin Ja-gang’s eyes lost focus. Myowol lifted Jin Ja-gang’s neck up and threw him down hard.

Bang!

Even as his back was struck, Jin Ja-gang kept his right hand raised. Two needles flew toward Myowol’s face. Myowol blocked in front of her face with her hand. She caught both needles between her fingers. Jin Ja-gang had aimed for Myowol’s left cheek and cheekbone where her blind spot was, but failed.

Jin Ja-gang’s hand, having used all his strength, dropped down as he completely lost consciousness.

“This… this…!”

Myowol raised her foot in rage. If she stomped down like that, Jin Ja-gang’s chest would be crushed.

Elder Bok-cheon threw his body and shoulder-checked Myowol. Myowol leaned back and hooked her arm under Elder Bok-cheon’s armpit, throwing him. Elder Bok-cheon’s body spun as he grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s collar. Holding Jin Ja-gang, he was thrown and rolled on the ground several times before barely getting his bearings and standing up.

“Cough!”

Elder Bok-cheon spat blood from his mouth again due to his pierced lung.

Myowol approached Elder Bok-cheon and Jin Ja-gang while emanating streams of killing intent.

Then.

Stumble.

Myowol’s legs swayed. Myowol’s expression became puzzled.

But I blocked the needles?

Myowol looked down at her hand. Her hand had turned black. Where she had been bitten, the flesh was rotting at the tooth marks.

Myowol slowly raised her head and looked at the unconscious Jin Ja-gang being held by Elder Bok-cheon. Myowol ground her teeth and roared like a beast.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Seeing this, Baek Li-jung decided not to linger here any longer. It was already too late. Having been hit by Jin Ja-gang’s poison, Myowol would be difficult to help now.

Baek Li-jung had also been delayed too long because of Jin Ja-gang.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong blocked Baek Li-jung’s path as he tried to leave.

“Running away? Who said they’d let you do that?”

Baek Li-jung glared at Dan Ryeong-gyeong and said.

“Don’t you want to save the kid and the Taoist?”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong flinched. It was a threat that if she blocked him to the end, he would kill Jin Ja-gang and Elder Bok-cheon first. Jin Ja-gang was unconscious and Elder Bok-cheon couldn’t breathe properly, in no condition to fight.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong bit her lips.

“You haven’t changed, then or now. Utterly despicable. You.”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong stepped aside. Baek Li-jung mocked Dan Ryeong-gyeong.

“Don’t be pleased. I’ll come for your head soon enough. Your life is just extended by a very little.”

Baek Li-jung immediately used lightness skill to leap away and leave. He moved to personally deal with the Zhuge family warriors.

Elder Bok-cheon coughed and apologized to Dan Ryeong-gyeong.

“I’m ashamed. Because I was defeated.”

Not even a moment after Baek Li-jung went down, screams began to ring out. They sounded like the screams of Zhuge family warriors.

For the Qingcheng Sect disciples or Evil Sect members, they couldn’t stop Baek Li-jung. It would only increase meaningless sacrifices.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong shook her head.

“We can’t fight anymore either, so let’s retreat.”

When all the Zhuge family warriors died, next would be the turn of Qingcheng Sect and Shandong Evil Sect. They had to flee now.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong looked at Myowol.

“Ughhhhh…!”

Though Myowol was glaring with both eyes wide, she actually couldn’t move properly as she was busy blocking the vicious poison that had entered her body.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong shouted.

“Brothers! Retreat!”

Elder Bok-cheon also painfully whistled to signal Qingcheng Sect to flee.

When the Evil Sect members and Qingcheng Sect retreated, Mang Ryo and Baek Li-jung didn’t block them. They began massacring while chasing the Zhuge family warriors scattered in all directions.

The pitiful screams of Zhuge family warriors continued to ring out with increasing frequency.

* * *

Baek Li-jung wiped the blood on his Heavenly Vermillion Blade with a dead Zhuge family warrior’s clothes and sheathed it.

Limp, limp.

Mang Ryo, with blood all over both hands, approached Baek Li-jung.

“Done. All dealt with. Not one alive.”

Baek Li-jung looked at Mang Ryo with a hardened face, not even glancing at him. Strictly speaking, what should have ended easily had become a mess because of Mang Ryo alone, so his mood couldn’t be good.

Baek Li-jung quietly asked.

“There should be one more left.”

“Ah, right.”

Mang Ryo approached Myowol, who was sitting cross-legged fighting the poison. Myowol’s face alternated between red and pale as she circulated her energy.

“You’ve been hit by his poison. Let me help you.”

Myowol answered with rough breathing.

“Thank you…”

Mang Ryo placed his hand on the Mingmen acupoint below her spine. Mingmen was a very dangerous acupoint that couldn’t be carelessly exposed to just anyone. This showed how much Myowol trusted Mang Ryo.

However, Mang Ryo pretended to inject internal energy into Myowol’s Mingmen acupoint and then simply pierced through her back.

“Kugh!”

Myowol’s eyes widened. Mang Ryo’s hand penetrated through her spine and came out below her solar plexus. There was a large hole punched through her solar plexus area. Myowol swayed and fell forward, then raised her head to look at Mang Ryo. With her spine broken, she couldn’t exert strength in her legs or raise her upper body.

“You… why did you…”

Mang Ryo, dripping blood from his hand, spoke with a seemingly sad expression.

“I actually liked you very much, nun. But Mount Emei has now decided to help Poison Dragon, and if you remain, you’ll be a hindrance to both Mount Emei and Poison Dragon. Having to choose between Mount Emei and you, I had no choice.”

Myowol’s voice trembled.

“This poor nun… trusted you… believed we shared the same suffering…”