Chapter 365

Namgung Geol asked Jin Ja-gang.

“Poison Dragon. Are we still far off?”

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“I don’t know.”

“From my perspective, you don’t seem qualified…”

An Ryeong chuckled. But since she was the only one who laughed at that lame joke, An Ryeong quickly became embarrassed.

Soon Yuk Ha-seon stepped forward with her blade as if replacing Jin Ja-gang. Yuk Ha-seon also knew well that they had to defeat the Arhat monks.

“Let’s quickly clear away those monks in front.”

Thin silk clothing close to nudity and a thick blade.

Though they seemed mismatched, there was a strangely harmonious aspect to them.

Yuk Ha-seon didn’t go straight toward the Arhat monks but stopped.

Then she took out a small pouch the size of a fingernail hidden inside her silk clothing and threw it to Namgung Geol.

“What is it?”

“It’s called antidote powder. If you dab it under your nose, you can escape the influence of Joyful Love Maiden.”

“Hmm.”

Namgung Geol opened the pouch that had been tightly tied multiple times. Suddenly he involuntarily gagged.

“Huh… this is…!”

Yuk Ha-seon giggled.

“It’s powder made from drying the flowers, pollen, and stems of the most foul-smelling Giant Flower in the martial world. The flower blooms once every few years, and when it starts blooming, the smell is so terrible that people can hardly approach it. In the world, it’s also called the corpse flower.”

“A name that perfectly fits the smell. You want me to dab this on?”

“It’s the only poison prevention method that can withstand the pleasure of Joyful Love Maiden.”

Namgung Geol grimaced deeply and dabbed plenty of powder under his nose.

“Oh my… there’s no need to take so much.”

“…Sniff.”

Martial artists with developed senses are also sensitive to scents. Namgung Geol kept swallowing saliva. His eyes even became bloodshot from holding back nausea.

Namgung Geol handed the pouch to Im Yi-eon. Im Yi-eon glared at Namgung Geol and firmly conveyed her refusal.

“I am not a man.”

Yuk Ha-seon said with a smile.

“Joyful Love Maiden doesn’t distinguish between men and women. That would be interesting too, wouldn’t it? Seeing the Sword Empress soaked in pleasure begging me for affection?”

Im Yi-eon’s face turned bright red. Im Yi-eon took the pouch and very lightly dabbed powder under her nose with her fingernail. From the constant gulping sounds in her throat, the smell seemed quite severe.

Im Yi-eon threw it to Ham-geun as if she couldn’t bear holding it. Ham-geun quietly applied it and passed the pouch to An Ryeong.

An Ryeong took the pouch and brought her nose to the opening, then immediately started retching.

“Ugh! Bleh!”

Tears streaming down, she barely managed to apply it under her nose.

An Ryeong handed the antidote powder to Jin Ja-gang as if to see how he would react.

The smell was certainly terrible.

But for Jin Ja-gang, who had already lived with corpses for years in confined spaces, it wasn’t a particularly meaningful smell. Jin Ja-gang even tasted it.

An Ryeong was horrified.

“You’re eating that?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry! Just from talking, the smell is already… ugh.”

It was absurd that she worried about someone else’s breath smell after applying it under her own nose.

Yuk Ha-seon walked gracefully forward, then looked back at Jin Ja-gang and said.

“The proposal I made to the young hero earlier, I’ll wait for an answer.”

An Ryeong glared at Jin Ja-gang.

“What proposal?”

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t care.

Yuk Ha-seon burst into coquettish laughter and began dancing as she approached the Arhat monks.

“Ho ho ho ho!”

The Arhat monks’ eyebrows twitched. The areas near their bald crowns and earlobes visibly reddened. Their eyes became bloodshot. They gritted their teeth to control their lustful thoughts, making the tendons in their jaws stand out prominently.

As the distance closed, the blade in Yuk Ha-seon’s hand gleamed. The blade light extended horizontally like a meteor’s tail.

Dam-gok with his massive cleaver stepped forward to receive Yuk Ha-seon’s blade.

Clang! Clang clang!

Though the fluttering silk clothing should have been inconvenient, Yuk Ha-seon actually used it to her advantage. The clothing obscured vision, making it difficult for Dam-gok to properly see Yuk Ha-seon’s movements.

After a couple exchanges, Yuk Ha-seon spun around once. The silk that had been covering her body swirled greatly, revealing her bare legs and prominently exposing her upper body.

Gasp!

Very briefly, Dam-gok’s pupils shook. Still, he quickly regained self-control and his gaze returned. But by then, Yuk Ha-seon’s right arm had already disappeared, hidden by silk.

Multiple layers of silk fluttered and overlapped, completely concealing her arm’s movement.

Mu-gak shouted.

“Compassion!”

Yuk Ha-seon’s blade fell from above like lightning.

At the same time, Arhat monks rushed out from Dam-gok’s left and right.

Dam-gok raised his massive cleaver to block the blade like he had done with Im Yi-eon. The massive cleaver was made of special material that couldn’t be damaged even by sword energy. What Yuk Ha-seon held was a crude blade carried by the Cherry Blossom Corps youths – how strong could its durability be? It would be fortunate if it didn’t break in half.

But completely unexpectedly, Yuk Ha-seon’s blade exploded upon striking Dam-gok’s cleaver.

Clang!

The blade completely shattered, showering tremendous fragments over Dam-gok’s head. This was Yuk Ha-seon’s specialty, Pressing Nail Blade.

The Arhat monks who had rushed out wrapped themselves in Iron Shirt and surrounded Dam-gok from left and right.

Thud thud thump! The blade fragments either embedded in or bounced off the kasayas of the Arhat monks wrapped in Iron Shirt. If their assistance had been even slightly delayed, Dam-gok would have become a porcupine from the blade fragments. But that wasn’t the end – silver powder was also flying above.

A soft fragrance spread.

Joyful Love Maiden.

Dam-gok and the Arhat monks quickly held their breath and retreated. Yuk Ha-seon didn’t just leave them like that.

Yuk Ha-seon rushed toward the Arhat monks with both hands extended to either side. Several blades that had fallen to the floor were drawn into Yuk Ha-seon’s hands as if alive.

“Telekinetic Object Control!”

An Ryeong shouted.

At first glance, one might easily regard Pleasure Heaven Lord as lowly, using only aphrodisiacs, but the reality was completely different. Possessing such internal energy at thirty years of age meant she had already reached a tremendous level. There was a reason she could face Sword Empress Im Yi-eon without being intimidated.

Yuk Ha-seon floated several blades in the air. Then she leaped up to catch the blades. An Arhat monk with a spear, not wanting to miss the opportunity, used his spear to vault from the ground and kicked at Yuk Ha-seon’s abdomen. Yuk Ha-seon brought her hands together at her chest and spun in a straight line. The silk wrapped around the Arhat monk’s ankle, making his ankle spin with Yuk Ha-seon.

Crack!

His foot completely turned around with the heel facing forward. The Arhat monk bit down hard on his molars and swung his spear. But even the spear was already wrapped in silk. Though he exerted enough force to turn his face red, with his shoulder and leg wrapped in silk, he could do nothing in mid-air. He was like a moth dangling in a spider’s web.

Yuk Ha-seon stepped on one of the blades floating in the air and climbed onto the Arhat monk’s shoulder, strangling his neck with her legs. Silver powder fell from Yuk Ha-seon’s body.

“Kugh!”

The Arhat monk dropped his spear and kicked it to embed it in the floor. Then he stood on one leg atop the embedded spear and shook his body. The spear shaft with the Arhat monk on it swayed back and forth.

But Yuk Ha-seon didn’t fall. The Arhat monk’s struggle didn’t last long. His fierce expression gradually softened and foam began bubbling at the corners of his mouth. His pupils also almost lost focus. The spear shaft’s movement gradually decreased. He was poisoned by Joyful Love Maiden.

Yuk Ha-seon gripped one of the blades floating in the air.

Then Im Yi-eon shouted while rushing in.

“Get away!”

Namgung Geol and Im Yi-eon swung their swords from both sides, trying to leap up to help Yuk Ha-seon.

Mu-gak shouted.

“Block Advance!”

An Arhat monk with clubs and an Arhat monk with a spear blocked Namgung Geol and Im Yi-eon.

Mu-gak’s shout came from above Yuk Ha-seon’s head. A massive bulk was jumping down over Yuk Ha-seon’s head.

Mu-gak was there. Mu-gak’s twisted hand was trembling as it emerged from the Vajra monk’s embrace.

Yuk Ha-seon swung her blade upward without releasing the legs strangling the Arhat monk’s neck. A long blade light tail extended diagonally upward from Yuk Ha-seon’s body. The Vajra monk presented his side shoulder. The blade that struck his shoulder exploded.

Bang- clatter clatter! The blade fragments couldn’t pierce the Vajra monk’s golden kasaya and scraped past. This was Golden Silk Iron Beads, one level higher than the Arhat monks’ Iron Shirt.

Yuk Ha-seon didn’t give up and pulled another blade with her left hand to deploy Pressing Nail Blade once more.

From below to above, the blade light connected to the Vajra monk’s sole. When the Vajra monk stepped on the blade light, the blade exploded. The Vajra monk used the explosion’s recoil to leap up once more in mid-air and spin his body diagonally. The blade fragments that exploded and flew out struck the Vajra monk and scattered in all directions. The silver powder of Joyful Love Maiden scattered in the air was also swept away by the wind.

One of the Vajra monk’s feet had his clothing and shoes torn to shreds, but his flesh wasn’t seriously injured.

The Vajra monk’s body dropped from mid-air. He accelerated his fall with Thousand Pound Drop. Mu-gak’s hand appeared again from the Vajra monk’s chest.

Yuk Ha-seon leaned her body backward. She hooked silk to the spear shaft to secure her body and completely bent the spear shaft. She barely escaped the distance Mu-gak’s hand could reach.

Moreover, she had scattered silver powder in her original position. The Vajra monk and Mu-gak who jumped down were exposed to the silver powder. The Vajra monk spun his body once while landing to clear away the Joyful Love Maiden. While doing so, he lightly grazed the spear shaft with his toes. The spear shaft was cleanly cut as if sliced by a blade.

Meanwhile, Yuk Ha-seon applied force to her legs to completely break the Arhat monk’s neck, then leaped to the inn’s second floor. The Vajra monk immediately kicked off the ground and followed Yuk Ha-seon to the second floor.

Seeing this scene, Im Yi-eon shouted.

“Disaster Sword Guest, go help Pleasure Heaven Lord!”

While saying this, she took on Namgung Geol’s Arhat monk as well, fighting two against one.

Mu-gak wasn’t retreating after failing his attack like before. It meant he intended to kill Yuk Ha-seon first.

Yuk Ha-seon was not only strong in martial arts but also used Soul Bewitching Dance that disturbed the Arhat monks’ unmoving minds while scattering poison. From the Arhat monks’ perspective, she was extremely troublesome.

Just as they were trying to quickly deal with the Arhat monks to remove Mu-gak’s shields, Mu-gak also intended to kill Yuk Ha-seon first to increase the Arhat monks’ effectiveness.

Namgung Geol withdrew to fly toward the Vajra monk holding Mu-gak.

This time, another Vajra monk blocked his path. Namgung Geol took a breath and scattered the sword energy of Heaven Sky New Sword.

The Vajra monk stood tall and crossed both arms to block.

Crash crash crash!

While sword energy had some effect on the Arhat monks’ Iron Shirt, it couldn’t properly penetrate Golden Silk Iron Beads.

Namgung Geol bit his lip. It was difficult to pierce Golden Silk Iron Beads with sword energy. He attacked the areas where Golden Silk Iron Beads didn’t reach as much as possible.

Eyes, nape, wrists, ankles!

Light beams drew multiple arcs and continuously slashed at the Vajra monk. The Vajra monk was blocking when he suddenly thrust his fist. Namgung Geol used footwork to lean his waist backward. With a heavy whooshing sound, the fist grazed past his mouth and nose.

Pop.

His nose bled from the wind pressure.