Chapter 304: A Nameless Sword
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Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae exchanged glances.
“Kwae, should we go check?”
“Ugh, it’s scary.”
“We need to confirm first. We clearly heard something just now. Something like stone cracking…”
“That’s true, but… ugh, look at that thing. It’s gruesomeness itself.”
“You’re making a fuss that doesn’t match your size.”
“Hey, can’t you see? That thing is much bigger than me.”
“Stop talking and let’s go.”
“Tch… fine.”
Thus the two flew over and approached the corpse of Nuwa Yin Serpent.
KKOOLKKEOK.
Jeon Kwae, having swallowed dry spit, muttered low with a tense expression.
“Ugh, up close it’s even scarier.”
“Why are you suddenly lowering your voice?”
“Ah, I just did it without realizing… anyway, even with time passing, I can’t get used to it. Every time I see it, chills run down my spine. What if it wakes up hearing our voices?”
“Ugh, the more you say that, the more scared I’m getting too.”
Namgung Heon-rin tilted his head back and gazed upward.
He was looking at the face of Nuwa Yin Serpent positioned high up.
A massive height exceeding ten Cheok.
It was beautiful like an absolute beauty.
That’s right.
The facial features were unmistakably those of a beautiful woman.
It was alluring.
Pretty eyes, a straight nose bridge, full lips… perhaps because it was a petrified corpse, it gave the feeling of an artisan’s sculpture.
Also.
Since it was naked from head to waist, staring at it quietly evoked a certain titillating feeling.
Especially the pair of breasts rising roundly like burial mounds – they were breathtakingly seductive…
But looking at the lower body changed one’s thoughts.
Why?
Because below the navel, it had a snake body more than an armful in circumference.
A bizarre appearance completely opposite to the upper body’s beauty.
Namgung Heon-rin slightly turned his head and lightly poked Jeon Kwae’s side with his elbow.
“You were making a fuss about it being scary, what are you doing? Stop staring at the chest.”
Jeon Kwae’s face flushed red as his body flinched.
“Wh-what are you… ahem.”
“Don’t forget. It’s an ancient monster that only resembles Goddess Nuwa in appearance.”
“I know, I know. I was just looking to briefly forget my fear.”
At those words, Namgung Heon-rin let out a wry laugh.
“Right, let’s say that.”
The two then examined every corner of Nuwa Yin Serpent’s corpse.
A moment later.
Namgung Heon-rin, having surveyed even the back of the corpse, walked out front.
“Hmm, what was it? I don’t hear that sound anymore… there’s no newly cracked area either. No, is it not visible because it’s too small?”
Then seeing Jeon Kwae, he burst out laughing.
“Pfft, you’re really hopeless.”
Jeon Kwae was again staring fixedly at Nuwa Yin Serpent’s perky breasts.
“Ugh, that’s not it.”
“Sure it isn’t. You, this won’t do. When we get out of here, you should get a girlfriend first.”
“Shut up and look at this.”
Jeon Kwae, having furrowed his brows, pointed at Nuwa Yin Serpent’s chest with his finger.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Keuk! I’m telling you to look at the wound, you jerk!”
Only then did Namgung Heon-rin hurry over.
“Why, is something different?”
“Open your eyes wide and look carefully. Doesn’t the wound on that chest seem to have shrunk from before? Very slightly, but.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
“What, you don’t think so?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
“Really? Phew, is it just because I’m nervous?”
“It’s probably a sound made by stone debris or something. Earlier, it was so quiet, you know? It’s plausible that our ears reacted sensitively.”
“Well… that has some logic too, but, hmm…”
When Jeon Kwae scratched the back of his head, Namgung Heon-rin patted his shoulder.
“Hoot, forget it. Our nerves must have been on edge. It must be from being trapped here for a long time.”
“Yeah.”
“Escape is impossible until we achieve the Heaven Emperor Sword Path arranged by Sword Emperor anyway. So let’s maintain equanimity well. Don’t worry about that thing that’s already dead and turned to stone.”
“Alright…”
In an instant, a sound reached their ears clearly.
JJEOK.
Startled, Jeon Kwae and Namgung Heon-rin’s expressions hardened.
A moment of silence.
Jeon Kwae, having turned his head, stared at Nuwa Yin Serpent nearby and stuttered.
“D-did you hear? That damn corpse… made that sound, right?”
At that, Namgung Heon-rin answered with a nod.
“Yeah. D-definitely…”
Both their gazes soon rested on the wound on Nuwa Yin Serpent’s chest.
Their ominous premonition was correct.
The wound area engraved there had shrunk a little.
A sentence flashed through both their minds at that moment.
-Nuwa Yin Serpent has a very violent nature and is an existence that sucks the Yang energy of males. Its innate monstrous strength is at a fearsome level, and it even wields mysterious special abilities and poison arts, making it difficult for even a Jianghu warrior to handle.
It was part of the content from a book recorded by Sword Emperor Buk Ga-shin.
Jeon Kwae, his face ashen, suddenly drew his sword.
“Crazy…! Is that thing really waking up? How about we just smash it?”
“Hmm, it’ll be difficult. According to Sword Emperor’s past records, the surface is as solid as an iron wall.”
“Damn… if we keep hitting until it works, won’t it break? If that thing revives, we can’t handle it. You know that well, right?”
It was as he said.
It was a monster they couldn’t handle with just the strength the two possessed.
Even Sword Emperor in the old days had fought that Nuwa Yin Serpent for days.
Even though it wasn’t his prime period.
Immediately after.
SEURUNG-
Namgung Heon-rin, having also drawn his sword, cried out softly.
“Good! Like you said, let’s combine our strength and smash it somehow! That seems like it’ll be more comfortable!”
“Yeah, yeah! Just in case of emergency!”
United in purpose, Jeon Kwae and Namgung Heon-rin immediately injected massive true energy into their respective swords.
UNG- UUUNG-
In the meantime, another sound was heard.
JJEOK, JJEOJJEOK…
The wound area on the chest rapidly shrank.
Seeing that, Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae got goosebumps.
“Huk! It’s healing!”
“Damn! Let’s hurry and do something!”
Thus the two without hesitation rapidly swung the swords in their hands.
KKAAAAAAANG- JJEOEOEOONG-!
A stinging metallic sound burst out simultaneously.
“Keuk!”
“Euuk!”
Both their blades were forcefully bounced back.
As Sword Emperor’s records said, the petrified corpse’s surface was as solid as an iron wall.
But Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae didn’t give up.
KKANG, KKAANG, KKANG, KKAAANG-!
Blades striking the petrified corpse ceaselessly.
Amid the metallic sounds echoing noisily.
JJEOK, JJEOJJEOK… TUK, TUTUK…
Along with a series of sounds, the wound area on the chest shrank even more, and the corpse’s surface scattered like sand.
SSWASWASWASWASWA, SSWASWASWASWASWA, SSWASWASWASWASWA, SSWASWASWASWASWA…
Soon, hazy powder completely covered the front.
Jeon Kwae and Namgung Heon-rin, having stopped their sword work, swiftly retreated backward.
“Heon-rin, did we succeed?”
“I don’t know, I can’t see the form because of the powder.”
But at that moment.
-Kkalkkalkkalkkal!
An eerie laughter rang out.
Was it Six Direction Sound Transmission?
It even seemed to carry demonic energy that scrambled the mind.
Oh no!
Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae sensed it intuitively.
That Nuwa Yin Serpent had revived.
Sure enough, a large shadow emerged, parting the hazy dust.
PAPAPAPA-
Nuwa Yin Serpent charged at rapid speed, targeting the two people in front.
‘Ah! Dangerous…!’
The two kicked off the ground simultaneously with that judgment.
Forms scattering left and right.
KWAKKWANG-!
The ground that Nuwa Yin Serpent struck with one hand split long and exploded.
KKWADEUDEUDEUK-!
It was nearly half a Zhang deep.
Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae were astonished by that tremendous power.
The arm strength was at a level comparable to sword energy.
-Kkalkkalkkal!
Nuwa Yin Serpent, having let out an eerie laugh, turned its body around.
BINGGEUL.
Then it moved forward, wriggling like a snake.
It was truly swift direction change and movement speed.
Nuwa Yin Serpent’s target was Namgung Heon-rin, who was evading to the left.
‘KEUK! Where do you think you’re going!’
Namgung Heon-rin, the moment he steadied his center and stood, executed a slash.
SEUPAAAAT!
A horizontal sword energy accompanied by a sharp sound shot out fiercely.
But.
PEOHEOEOEONG!
Nuwa Yin Serpent lightly blocked the fierce sword energy by swinging both hands, then advanced again.
Namgung Heon-rin, his eyes flashing, bravely charged head-on.
The gap was rapidly compressed.
Thus the sword in Namgung Heon-rin’s hands, having closely approached, danced.
CHAECHAECHAENG, CHAECHAECHAENG- PEOPEOPEOPENG, PEOPEOPEOPENG-!
While Namgung Heon-rin’s powerful sword strikes were being executed consecutively, Jeon Kwae attacked the rear.
Nuwa Yin Serpent dealt with front and back at once while emitting terrifying power.
Fierce offensive and defensive battle.
KKWADEUK, KKWADEUDEUK, KKWADEUK…!
Before they knew it, the ground had become a mess.
Meanwhile, Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae’s internal energy was rapidly depleting.
Leaving aside the offensive that mobilized massive internal power, it was the effect of Nuwa Yin Serpent continuously absorbing their Yang energy imperceptibly.
Namgung Heon-rin, who had been exchanging techniques, suddenly realized.
‘UUK! Now I see, it’s deliberately dragging out time!’
He finally perceived Nuwa Yin Serpent’s cunning plan.
It could kill both of them easily if it wanted to, but since it needed to absorb Yang energy as a kind of nourishment, it was deliberately keeping them alive while fighting.
Just like a master toying with an inferior opponent.
In the blink of an eye.
‘Die!’
Jeon Kwae executed a satisfying sword move employing extreme-level energy.
SSWAEAEK!
A sword point extending toward the center of Nuwa Yin Serpent’s back.
At that moment.
HWIRIK-
Something covered in scales wrapped around Jeon Kwae’s body.
“Keok!”
Because of that, the sword point also stopped.
What was binding his body was Nuwa Yin Serpent’s snake-like tail.
Jeon Kwae wore a pained expression.
His entire body’s bones felt like they would be crushed before the terrifying power.
That wasn’t all.
His body’s Yang energy also began to be absorbed through the touching tail.
His breath was blocked, his eyes closed.
The speed at which his strength was draining was too fast.
“Kwae!”
Startled, Namgung Heon-rin thrust out a sword operating extreme-level energy.
He exquisitely dug into an opening.
KWAKKWANG!
Simultaneously with the explosion.
-Kkihaaaak!
For some reason, Nuwa Yin Serpent let out an irritated shriek.
At that moment, Namgung Heon-rin’s dark brown pupils sparkled.
‘That reaction, then…!’
Just now, he had targeted the chest and released sword energy.
More precisely, it was the scar from being wounded by Sword Emperor in the past.
Yet Nuwa Yin Serpent had reacted like that.
Perhaps the old memory had remained as a psychological trauma?
‘That will be the answer!’
Right as Namgung Heon-rin was about to persistently target the scar.
HUUUNG- HWIIIK- KKWANG!
Nuwa Yin Serpent threw Jeon Kwae, who had been wrapped in its tail, hard to one side.
“Kkeu…”
Jeon Kwae, having collided with the wall and fallen face-down on the ground, let out a painful groan.
“You wretch!”
The moment enraged Namgung Heon-rin operated massive internal power and charged.
-Kkiaak!
When Nuwa Yin Serpent opened its mouth wide with an eerie shriek, pink smoke was emitted.
SSYUAAAAAAAAT-!
It was poison mist sprayed like fog.
‘Heop!’
Namgung Heon-rin immediately stopped breathing and retreated agilely.
But he was a bit late.
By truly a hair’s breadth, he had inhaled a minuscule amount of poison mist.
His head felt briefly dizzy, and instantly his entire body burned hot as if engulfed in flames.
‘No!’
Having shouted inwardly, Namgung Heon-rin pressed pressure points on his upper body.
It was to slow the spread of the toxin.
SHWISHWIT!
Before he knew it, Nuwa Yin Serpent had approached right nearby.
At that, Namgung Heon-rin evaded a fearsome attack and then shot sword energy operating maximum energy.
Sword energy that barely squeezed into an opening.
KWAKKWANG!
Energy that once again struck the scar hard transformed into haze.
-Kkihaaak!
Nuwa Yin Serpent showed an irritated reaction like before and retreated.
In that interval, Namgung Heon-rin executed swift lightness arts and approached Jeon Kwae’s side.
“Kwae! How is it?”
“Euuuk… I can somehow move.”
Right at that moment.
Namgung Heon-rin’s gaze turned to the side not far away.
There, an iron chest arranged by Sword Emperor could be seen.
‘If perhaps I use that sword…!’
Eyes gleaming, Namgung Heon-rin swiftly took out an iron sword stored in the iron chest.
It was a nameless sword.
But he thought there must be a reason it was stored here.
Perhaps it might be related to Nuwa Yin Serpent.
When Namgung Heon-rin, having judged so, infused extreme-level energy into the iron sword.
UNG-
The blade vibrated strongly and emitted strange golden light.
FLASH-!
At that moment, a mysterious voice echoed in his head.
-Practitioner of a later generation. Have you finally touched this power?
* * *
“My story is finished. Now, dismiss and go about your work.”
Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent command.
Immediately after, the personnel who had been summoned to the office answered in unison.
“Yes!”
Then they walked out the door one by one.
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun called.
“Pan-gyo, Yak-bang.”
Seol Pan-gyo and Mae Yak-bang, having paused their steps, answered and turned their heads.
“Yes, Sect Master.”
Cheol Ryu-heun, meeting both their gazes, gestured and said indifferently.
“Shall we begin now?”
At those words, Seol Pan-gyo and Mae Yak-bang had bewildered eyes.
“Pardon?”
“What do you mean…”
Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent reply came back.
“Reconstruction of the Body.”
“…!”
“You can’t accompany me to the Shiwan Mountains with bodies in that condition. Tonight, you will be reborn as true Orthodox martial talents. Though the process will be painfully excruciating.”