Chapter 422: Heavenly Timing (1)
Several years ago.
When Baek Sang-ah and So Cheon became disciples of Murder Demon So Jeong.
“Keurgh! Kuek!”
The two of them were dying miserably in a void, where there was nothing but emptiness.
Under the pretense of ‘training’, they had suffered tortures that made them experience death literally hundreds of times at the hands of So Jeong.
But the manner of those deaths was not singular.
Baek Sang-ah clutched her throat as she coughed up black blood from her seven orifices.
“This, this time… it’s poisoning?”
“…….”
Upon reaching the realm of the Extreme Demon, one became immune to most poisons, an attribute known as Myriad Poison Immunity.
Especially in the case of So Cheon, who had survived a harsh childhood, his resistance to poison was even higher.
However—
Be it Baek Sang-ah or So Cheon, neither could withstand the unidentified poison that So Jeong had administered.
Baek Sang-ah tried to resist by forcefully detonating even her innate qi, but—
The moment it touched the poison, not only did her innate qi vanish, but the surrounding Sword Intent also disappeared.
“This, this is a poison even Master struggled with considerably.”
“Kegh! Keuuugh!”
“Strictly speaking, it transcends the category of poison. It is something… else. It’s a mutual annihilation, where Sword Intent devours Sword Intent.”
Sword Intent was the proof of one’s identity.
Whether it was big or small, controllable or not, any being with sentience innately possessed it.
To erase such Sword Intent was to obliterate a being's existence from its foundation—
It was a poison that should never exist.
“Still, you should be able to endure. What’s infused in the poison isn’t the Priestess’s Intent, but my own. Hehehe….”
‘Endure my ass!’
If even Myriad Medicines were ineffective, and one died like an insect, what was there to endure?!
So Jeong squatted down before the two trembling figures and spoke.
“The moment you experience death—just that one instant—you will face the moment when the concept of death takes form.”
“…….”
“…….”
“It’s a moment that crumbles instantly, as fleeting as a breath, yet it’s the only time when it manifests as a tangible form of energy.”
Among the infamous Unorthodox Masters in the history of the Central Plains, many had manipulated Malevolent Qi, but few had ever handled Death Qi.
“Most living beings cross the Three-Way River before they can even perceive it.”
Even when handled, it was usually through zombies or external mediums rather than one's original internal energy.
That was how impossible Death Qi was for any living being to contain.
“One of the reasons I chose a different path instead of modifying Master’s true inner arts like my other senior brothers and sisters… was to prepare for the unpredictable.”
So Jeong, uncharacteristically fluent, continued.
“To respond to variables.”
If one could control the energy of death, then they could be free from any kind of death—except their natural lifespan.
Even if—
It was the Heaven-Destroying Poison.
Crash!
The teacup in her hand shattered into powder and scattered.
“Unbelievable….”
Even if poisoned, one could pretend to wield internal energy for a moment.
But the black Death Qi coiling around her entire body was far beyond the level a poisoned person could emit.
“Geon Wiyang. There’s no point asking someone brainwashed like you for a satisfying answer.”
“Brainwashed? You arrogant wench?!”
Geon Wiyang’s aura exploded as if in a seizure.
Her reaction showed she had heard something that should never have been said.
“I… this one joined hands with them for the prosperity of the clan! Do not dare try to shake me with talk of brainwashing!”
Geon Wiyang immediately shouted toward the outside.
“Shiryang! Ilho! Strike that bitch down!”
At her signal, Geon Shiryang and Geon Ilho, who were waiting outside with elite forces, were supposed to ambush Baek Sang-ah.
However—
There was no response at all from outside.
“……?”
As Geon Wiyang widened her eyes in disbelief—
“Haa, I had a feeling….”
Baek Sang-ah sighed, pressing her forehead.
“Never thought it would be both of them.”
“Y-You, what are you—”
Ignoring Geon Wiyang’s words, Baek Sang-ah raised her voice toward the outside.
“You may come in, both of you.”
Creeaak!
“……?!”
This time, the door burst open in an instant.
And standing in the opened doorway… were Geon Shiryang, subdued by the hand of Saber King, and his younger brother Geon Ilho, unconscious at the hands of So Cheon.
Geon Wiyang's lips parted slightly.
“Clan Head….”
Saber King, carrying Geon Shiryang on his shoulder, rebuked her with a horribly twisted expression.
“When did someone of your caliber ever fall for such a petty scheme?”
“Older Brother Heon… how are you here…?”
Geon Wiyang glared at Saber King with eyes full of betrayal.
It was an utterly shameless reaction, but from Geon Wiyang's perspective, Saber King was no different from a traitor who had abandoned the Bukcheon Geom Clan.
“Then what about the North Light Sea Dragon Unit?”
“All subdued.”
“……What?”
Geon Wiyang’s expression turned to one of utter disbelief.
No matter how she thought about it, it made no sense.
Baek Sang-ah resolved that doubt.
“This temporary building actually has a certain Mechanism Array embedded in it.”
The only ones who knew the true nature of that Mechanism Array were its designer Ji Jae and Jegal Eun—just those two.
“It completely blocks out all external sound and sensation. And…”
She slowly rose from her seat.
“It makes one unable to notice the disruption in their own senses.”
It wasn’t poison. Most poisons wouldn’t work anyway, and if it were a fast-acting toxin instead of a chronic one, it would have been noticed immediately.
If there was a way to confuse the senses without affecting the flow of internal energy—
“Dream-Blurring Incense! You used the sense of smell?!”
“You’re quite perceptive.”
Though, at this point, realizing it made no difference.
“You dare use such a cheap trick….”
“Cheap or not, in the murim, isn’t the fool the one who falls for it?”
“……!”
Geon Wiyang's shoulders began to tremble with rage at the insult that went beyond imagination.
“To quietly die at my hands would’ve been a merciful end. You’re a fool.”
“How is dying by your hand considered merciful?”
“You’ll soon understand why.”
As the red hue around Geon Wiyang’s eyes darkened, his mind was completely consumed by madness.
“I’ll tear you limb from limb!”
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
As a peak expert at the Transformation Realm released her Combat Energy Surge, the entire building began to erupt.
‘He’s gotten even stronger than before!’
The Demonic Soul Repression Technique couldn’t increase internal energy or qi, so this must have been power drawn from latent reserves.
‘This is dangerous…’
She wasn’t referring to her own danger.
At this rate, things would escalate into a life-or-death struggle, and if Geon Wiyang continued to burn through his latent power like this, he would die regardless of the outcome.
‘According to Grandpa Heon, he’s not inherently evil. He’s just a victim of poison...’
But even so, she couldn’t let him go.
‘Even if he loses his martial arts, I’ll try to spare his life.’
Pushed back by Geon Wiyang’s Combat Energy Surge, Baek Sang-ah finally drew her twin swords.
She had already confirmed the difference in skill from their previous clash.
If she and So Cheon attacked together, they could likely subdue her with ease…
But then—
Baek Sang-ah’s gaze suddenly whipped southward.
From not too far away, she began to sense a multitude of hostile presences!
‘Southern Murim Alliance?’
The problem was their numbers—far more than she expected.
Five hundred… No, a thousand… No, even more!
‘…How?!’
This wasn’t the two or three hundred reported earlier.
Her mind was stormed by unending questions.
She had made considerable efforts to establish an information network—so how had they gotten here without a single report?
‘I definitely expected some level of ambush. But this…’
Not only the number, but the density of the presences that could be called elite warriors was overwhelming.
It felt like the entire leadership of the Southern Murim Alliance had descended here!
“Lady Baek!”
“I know already!”
Understanding So Cheon’s shout, Baek Sang-ah cried out downward.
“Black Sky Guardian Unit!”
“We heed your command!”
Although it was a surprise attack, even after subduing the elite forces of the Bukcheon Geom Clan, the Black Sky Guardian Unit still had strength left.
However—
“Retreat preparation!”
“……?!”
The Black Sky Guardian Unit, who had resolved to fight to the death, were thrown into confusion by the sudden order to retreat.
They had sworn to fight alongside the Alliance Leader even if it meant burning their lives away!
‘I can’t afford to be prideful.’
Just as Geon Wiyang had declared, the enemies had indeed brought a force that ‘exceeded all imagination’.
In this situation, there were only two possible explanations.
Either they had broken through to this place that swiftly and silently—
Or there was a traitor within that they had failed to identify.
“What the hell? With that many enemies approaching, why isn’t there a single report from the front?!”
Saber King, too, seemed to have sensed the Southern Murim Alliance's army and erupted in rage, grinding his teeth.
“It’s already happened.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“…….”
With every passing moment, the reality became clearer.
The level of the enemies converging on this place.
The Southern Murim Alliance had truly committed their ‘forces’.
Originally, the standard strategy would be to avoid direct combat and consolidate scattered forces to form an encirclement.
But that approach—someone like the Lion Saber Lord Geon Wiyang would never permit it.
‘From within, the Bukcheon Geom Clan. From without, the Southern Murim Alliance.’
Baek Sang-ah admitted she had been a little overconfident.
She had certainly left openings to lure attacks, but the enemies had lunged with sharpened fangs, intent on dying alongside them.
“Young So Cheon.”
“Yes, Lady.”
“You’ll join me, right?”
“Of course.”
“What are you thinking, Sang-ah, don’t tell me….”
Baek Sang-ah cut off Saber King.
“Grandfather Saber King, please take the Black Sky Guardian Unit and the civilians and head as far north as you can.”
“W-What?! Are you saying the two of you will remain here alone?!”
There should be limits even to recklessness!
However, the answer that came was completely unexpected.
“No?”
“…No?”
“Are you insane? Why would we charge straight into that force head-on?”
Unless one was a monster like Mister Jin currently training hard beneath Luoyang, such a thing was impossible.
“We’re going to do what we’re best at right now.”
Chwaruruk!
Before anyone noticed—
So Cheon had summoned the Nine Heavens Celestial Thunder, wreathed in black lightning around both arms.
A demonic beast that displayed extreme performance in rough terrain.
From this point on, it was time to hunt.
If there was one fortunate thing in the midst of the sudden worst-case scenario—
It was that there wasn’t a traitor within the Northern Murim Alliance.
“How curious. Those Northern Murim Alliance bastards haven’t even sensed our presence.”
Jeok Yu, one of the elders of the Qingcheng Sect, grinned sinisterly.
“They would never imagine the existence of sorcery.”
In fact, the sorcery factions that had cooperated with the Heaven-Defying Society were not limited to the Mosan Sect or the Heavenly Illusion Clan.
Even smaller forces had succumbed to temptation and lent their aid—far more sorcerers than anyone had anticipated.
And now, they were pouring all their resources into concealing the main forces of the Southern Murim Alliance.
“It’s a pity the Demonic Cult isn’t settled yet, but if it’s the Bukcheon Geom Clan, they should be able to at least stall them.”
“The Demonic Cult? What about it?”
Jeok Yu answered reflexively at the sudden question.
“The sky of the Demonic Cult will soon change. No, perhaps it already has. With all Four Atrocities awakened, that damned Cult Leader woman won’t be able to survive… no, wait.”
Jeok Yu suddenly realized his slip of the tongue and furrowed his brows.
This information was not something he should have revealed to his disciples yet.
“Who just asked that qu—”
But Jeok Yu couldn’t finish picking up his own words.
Seogok!
A handsome young man landed gracefully nearby—
And the heads of the Qingcheng Sect disciples standing beside Jeok Yu were severed cleanly from their bodies.