Chapter 329

Rumble rumble rumble.

Water rushed up more forcefully through the hole in the floor.

Woon-jeong looked down from the deck above and shouted.

“Poison Dragon! Have you lost your mind?”

That was also what Beom-mong, who couldn’t curse due to his dignity as a monk, most wanted to say.

Beom-mong looked incredulous, and Yeong Hyeon-sa silently glared at Jin Ja-gang.

Yeong Hyeon-sa spoke heavily.

“Death is not for showing to others. How utterly reckless. Do not make light of death!”

“Does death have any meaning other than dying?”

At Jin Ja-gang’s murderous sneer, Yeong Hyeon-sa suddenly struck the bulkhead.

Crash!

Thick planks were torn away leaving marks as if clawed and ripped. Yeong Hyeon-sa struck the side wall once more.

Rip! As the wall tore, planks were roughly torn like broken thread, and simultaneously water poured through that hole.

Roooar!

Water rose from below and poured in from the side.

Yeong Hyeon-sa soon submerged his ten fingers in the rising water.

Bubble bubble, green bubbles rose one by one then popped. As the bubbles burst, green bands spread and scattered in the current.

There was no need to ask what he was doing.

Soon, small fish that had been mixed in the pouring water began floating up dead, showing their bellies.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was dissolving Ten Earth Corrupting Poisons in the rising water. Even though it would normally be diluted and weakened, his indifference showed his confidence in the poison’s potency.

“…”

Beom-mong fell silent.

But Jin Ja-gang’s smile only grew more murderous.

Click, Jin Ja-gang released Soul Seizing Thread and threw a loop to the floor.

The cargo hold was already dark with only moonlight shining in. The Soul Seizing Thread hidden in the floor water became completely invisible.

Jin Ja-gang waved his arm. Soul Seizing Thread moved underwater.

Swish.

The fish that had floated up poisoned by Yeong Hyeon-sa’s Ten Earth Corrupting Poisons were sliced apart. Dark red swollen organs protruded due to corpse poison and floated on the water.

Jin Ja-gang retrieved Soul Seizing Thread again.

It was a warning that with feet submerged in water, careless movement could result in ankles being severed by the invisible Soul Seizing Thread.

Poisoned water. Soul Seizing Thread within it. River water endlessly rushing in.

“…”

Beom-mong watched this scene blankly as if stunned, then sighed.

“Haaa. World-Honored One, World-Honored One. What shall we do with these mad ones?”

Both Yeong Hyeon-sa and Jin Ja-gang looked at Beom-mong with unpleasant expressions. Who was he talking about whom?

Beom-mong shouted.

“Fine! This old monk will compromise.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will spare you and your wife.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes sharpened. Did Shaolin Temple know about Tang Ha-ran too?

“I refuse.”

“I wasn’t speaking to you.”

Suddenly Beom-mong pulled down a necklace-shaped lock ornament hanging around his neck.

“Child, Hai-ah. Youth, Dong-hae. Little one, Yu-ja. This old monk has something to give you.”

Hai-a, Dong-hae, Yu-ja were all terms referring to children.

Wondering who he was calling, it turned out to be none other than Woon-jeong on the deck above.

“I will transfer this life-lock to you.”

Woon-jeong blinked in surprise.

“What? The life-lock?”

A life-lock was a lock-shaped ornament made with the meaning of locking away a child’s life so they wouldn’t die young through the power of Buddha and immortals. When a child was born, they would be registered as a monk’s or Taoist’s disciple while wearing this life-lock.

Beom-mong’s life-lock was an object equivalent to Beom-mong himself.

“Why would I receive Master’s life-lock?”

“This is the method to save Poison Dragon and Poison Dragon’s wife.”

“Then you should give it to Poison Dragon, why to me…”

“This old monk finds that Poison Dragon fellow very displeasing. So you must convey two words to Shaolin for me.”

Woon-jeong was too kind-hearted to refuse immediately. Thinking that Jin Ja-gang and Tang Ha-ran’s lives were in his hands, he became restless.

“But I’m a Taoist practitioner…”

“Only two words.”

Those two words couldn’t be simple two words!

Woon-jeong made a tearful face.

“Actually, Poison Dragon is better at that sort of thing.”

“I say again, this old monk neither trusts Poison Dragon nor wishes to save him. That’s why I’m entrusting it to you.”

“Sigh, I’m not confident, but then please tell me. I swear by the Heavenly Venerate to deliver it.”

Beom-mong cleared his voice and spoke slowly.

“The alliance leader… dies, and the poison sects are destroyed.”

At the words about destroying poison sects, Yeong Hyeon-sa’s eyes narrowed.

But the one truly shocked by those words was Jin Ja-gang.

“What do you mean?”

Splash splash splash splash.

Now water had risen to their knees. Flesh and organs of poisoned, dismembered fish flowed toward where Beom-mong was.

Beom-mong leaped backward onto a cargo box.

Beom-mong adjusted his robes and said.

“If it’s judged that the Embracing Sect has failed to correct the righteous law of the martial world, the Breaking Sect steps forth. When the Breaking Sect emerges from Shaolin Temple, it’s for only one mission.”

“What is it?”

Beom-mong spoke each word clearly.

“Purification.”

The Breaking Sect preferred radical directions that didn’t discriminate means.

The Breaking Sect’s purification meant destruction through force.

Jin Ja-gang pondered briefly then asked back.

“I see. The Master called himself an assassin, so ultimately murder was the purpose.”

“No. This old monk is merely the advance guard. An advance guard that chooses what to keep and what to discard.”

Beom-mong had somehow returned to his original expression with killing intent gone. However, the words from his mouth were truly unbelievable.

“To properly establish righteous law, we destroy all miscellaneous standards of the martial world. We leave only one righteous law to serve as the standard and destroy everything that doesn’t follow it. This is what happens when the Breaking Sect emerges into the world.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes narrowed. Now he understood Beom-mong’s words.

“Then what does it mean that the alliance leader died?”

“I came out to make the final judgment on whether to destroy the alliance leader or leave him be. Originally, the alliance leader was someone who read the great flows of the martial world and acted with heaven’s will. Such an alliance leader left the alliance to meet you. The alliance leader has already lost the power to push forward the banner he raised, and his will has partially passed to you.”

This implied that the alliance leader was as good as dead while simultaneously having a successor.

Beom-mong had deduced that far from Jin Ja-gang meeting the alliance leader.

“It’s presumptuous to say his will was passed on. Of course, I have no such intention either.”

At Jin Ja-gang’s words, Beom-mong slightly snorted.

“The alliance leader is like the sea. His will can never be contained by one person. You are merely one strand of his will.”

Jin Ja-gang sensed something in Beom-mong’s tone. It seemed as if Shaolin Temple knew Taoist Haewol’s true intentions.

At that moment he realized.

“The alliance leader…! Was Taoist Haewol blocking you Shaolin Temple? Was he preventing the Breaking Sect from appearing?”

Beom-mong only smiled faintly without answering.

Anger crept into Jin Ja-gang’s voice.

“So you were looking for the alliance leader? You needed to see with your own eyes and confirm that the alliance leader had left the alliance? To judge whether the alliance leader’s era had ended or not!”

“Don’t seek to know more. If Shaolin is the Yangtze River, you are but a minnow struggling within it!”

Grind grind.

Jin Ja-gang ground his teeth.

“Why. If you knew Taoist Haewol’s true intentions, why didn’t you act earlier? Purification now of all times. What exactly are you trying to do!”

“Don’t be mistaken. Shaolin pursues only righteous law. If it’s not righteous law, nothing else matters. If it weren’t for Yeong Hyeon-sa, you too would have died here.”

Suddenly Yeong Hyeon-sa interjected and asked Beom-mong.

“I ask. How much does Shaolin Temple know about our poison sects?”

“Shaolin has been watching the poison sects for a long time. Whether you’re the masterminds of various chaos in the martial world or not doesn’t matter. Righteous law doesn’t consider sequence. Whether poison sects are leaders or underlings, the fact that you’ve been involved in various evil acts and done improper things is sufficient reason for destruction.”

“If you know that much, it’s sufficient reason for death.”

Yeong Hyeon-sa’s eyes filled with death energy reached even Woon-jeong. Woon-jeong shivered with dread. Yeong Hyeon-sa had no intention of letting go of Woon-jeong who needed to deliver Beom-mong’s message to Shaolin Temple!

Beom-mong threw the life-lock to Woon-jeong.

“I’ll tell you the method. Register Poison Dragon and his wife’s names on the life-lock and go to Mount Song to inform them.”

Woon-jeong shouted in surprise.

“Then what about our Qingcheng!”

“Qingcheng Sect is not this old monk’s concern. Have them go to Mount Song themselves to ask. If you bring this old monk’s life-lock, Shaolin will inform you truthfully.”

“Ah…!”

Watching the despairing Woon-jeong, Jin Ja-gang bit his teeth hard.

Shaolin Temple had decided to eliminate the poison sects. At this rate, Tang Ha-ran at the Tang family would also find it difficult to avoid attack by Shaolin Temple.

Countless ideals clashing endlessly against ideals and ideals.

Countless relationships clashing from individuals to organizations and factions, relationships within relationships within relationships.

Like a scene from hell where everyone wailed their piece, Shaolin Temple chose the most Shaolin-like method.

Shaolin Temple’s most powerful force.

Purification of the martial world through violence.

Shaolin Temple planned to create a new pure land even if it meant overturning the entire martial world. Compared to that, Taoist Haewol’s plan was actually closer to trying to resolve the situation with less damage.

But there was no guarantee that Shaolin Temple wasn’t the “them” that Taoist Haewol had been looking for.

Therefore Jin Ja-gang’s head became complicated. It was very difficult to choose how to judge and what actions to take.

And it was the same for Woon-jeong.

“Poison Dragon…”

Having received the life-lock, Woon-jeong was in a difficult position. If Qingcheng Sect was involved too, he couldn’t avoid it.

Jin Ja-gang said to Woon-jeong.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Then Beom-mong said to Jin Ja-gang.

“It’s bothersome, so you disappear too.”

Jin Ja-gang frowned. Beom-mong said without humor.

“If you interfere and I can’t kill that fellow, the young Taoist will die, and if the Taoist dies, your wife will die too.”

Rumble rumble rumble…

Water had now risen almost to their waists.

Yeong Hyeon-sa said.

“Are the last words finished?”

“It seems so.”

Then Beom-mong lowered the robes draped over his shoulders and pulled down his outer garment to his waist. He revealed his bare upper body covered with all sorts of scars and freed both arms.

Around his ribs, around where the poison needle was embedded, red flowers were blooming.

Red Extinction Flowers.

Beom-mong brought both hands together as if in prayer.

Whooooom, his exposed upper body heated up and radiant light shone brilliantly from his eyes.

Simultaneously, Red Extinction Flowers suddenly began rapidly increasing one by one around him.

Beom-mong had given up blocking Asura poison with internal energy, even removed his golden orchid iron armor, and began gathering all his internal energy.

Tremble tremble tremble.

Beom-mong’s body shook.

Pop… pop.

Below the cargo Beom-mong stood on, concentric circles formed on the surface of the rapidly rising water and water droplets bounced upward.

Pop… pop pop pop pop!

As the water droplets’ bouncing intensified, water spray swirled like a whirlpool around Beom-mong.

Screeeech!

The ship shook and tilted due to Beom-mong’s internal energy.