Chapter 474: An Ever-Growing Variable
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Clatter, clatter, clatter…
White bones rolling on the ground where the scent of blood spread.
Thus, the swarming hungry ghost energy devoured and killed the Commander without leaving even a scrap of flesh, then dissipated.
In the empty space, only Gal Jung-heon stood upright.
His very presence seemed to overwhelm all under heaven.
Indeed.
It was the domineering majesty befitting the strongest level of the Demonic Path.
The remaining Southern Heaven Division personnel witnessed that scene and despaired.
The pillar had collapsed.
They were fighting having already resolved to die anyway, but the shock brought by the Commander’s death was too great.
No, to be precise, it was because of that result.
They had thought he would at least succeed in mutual destruction.
Now that the Commander had perished, there was no one who could face head-on the wondrous and terrifying demonic technique that utilized the Demon-Devouring Sword’s unique energy at its peak.
As if to prove that, no one approached near Gal Jung-heon.
Amidst that.
Swish.
Gal Jung-heon, with an indifferent expression, quietly looked around.
The battlefield was still chaotic.
Melee and blood scent, thunderous sounds and screams ran rampant.
But not everything was the same.
Before long, the light and shadow of the battle had diverged and become apparent.
The White Peak Sword Sect side had seized the momentum.
Completely so.
Right now, the series of scenes reflected in Gal Jung-heon’s pupils were teaching that.
The first to catch the eye was an old demonic man whose entire body was dyed blood-red.
One who wore the Ten Thousand Heavens Demonic Treasure Robe, one of the Four Great Demonic Weapons.
It was none other than the current Blood Demon Cult Leader, Blood Rain Demon Lord Gi Cheon-geuk.
Each time he unleashed his techniques, the Blood Wind People gang collapsed bleeding to death.
Toward that Gi Cheon-geuk, three middle-ranked Generals of the Southern Heaven Division launched a combined attack in a triangular formation.
Sword attacks swirling from three directions.
At that moment, the blood robe wrapping Gi Cheon-geuk’s body fluttered.
Swooooosh… !
Along with a sound like cloth being torn long, the hem of the robe divided into three strands and shot out.
Clang clang clang clang… Boom boom boom boom!
Having deflected the attacks from three directions at once, the robe strands rapidly rotated and expanded.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…
They had changed like pointed awls, spinning round and round while stretching out.
It was the mysterious and immeasurable wondrous use of the Ten Thousand Heavens Demonic Treasure Robe, which freely transforms like various weapons such as swords, sabers, spears, axes, and whips if the owner’s qualifications are outstanding.
Thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk… !
Before it, the chests of the three middle-ranked General were pierced through, and they spewed blood.
It didn’t stop there; all the blood vessels in their bodies rapidly and hotly boiled as if reversing.
This was the essence of the Blood Stream Divine Demon Art, symbolizing the martial achievements of Blood God Mu-wol.
That is, instantly rupturing an opponent’s blood vessels through demonic energy.
That wasn’t all.
Due to the Blood Stream Divine Demon Art released through the robe, even the energy channels and pressure points connected to the blood vessels ruptured.
As death arrived, the bodies of the three middle-ranked Generals exploded.
Kaboom… Whoooosh!
Green flames burst out with a thunderous sound and spread widely.
But the Ten Thousand Heavens Demonic Treasure Robe had already become a shield protecting its master, wrapping around his body.
From head to toe, in the blink of an eye.
Then he flew away like the wind and disappeared.
His path of movement was difficult to track.
Because another mysterious ability of the Ten Thousand Heavens Demonic Treasure Robe was hiding its owner’s presence.
Of course, the reason such remarkable wondrous use was displayed was entirely because Gi Cheon-geuk’s qualifications were outstanding.
It wasn’t something that just anyone could manifest by merely wearing it.
Whether it was the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons or the Four Great Demonic Weapons, if the owner’s ability was lacking, it was only natural that the power hidden within couldn’t be drawn out.
Through the ambush attacks of Gi Cheon-geuk moving swiftly while hiding his presence, the enemies had their fatal weak points exploited helplessly, and once again they stopped breathing one by one.
And the forty-odd upper-tier powerhouses and elite demonic soldiers of his cult also unleashed merciless techniques as they turned this training ground into a sea of blood and hell.
Like the Blood Demon Cult, the frontier force Potala Palace was also annihilating enemies as if in competition.
The Lama monks gathered together were displaying body techniques that bent and twisted to an almost miraculous degree.
The Arayujia Formation, the pride of Potala Palace.
The series of movements each performed were so bizarre that the Deaf-Mute Blood Wind Person group couldn’t help but struggle.
Amidst that, Chief Teaching Lama Dalu, making his age of eighty seem meaningless, poured out tremendous force through fist techniques, palm techniques, and leg techniques that seemed capable of collapsing Mt. Tai.
Martial arts that exquisitely harmonized flexibility and oddity, speed and power… Truly unpredictable.
His body movements seemed to twist and turn this way and that, completely ignoring even his joints, so for the Southern Heaven Division, defending alone was a struggle, let alone counterattacking.
On one side, Wei Ji-am was overwhelming two middle-ranked Generals, displaying his improved martial level.
The Advancing Lightning Sword Corps also, befitting their status as the elite group representing the Thunderbolt Sect, employed powerful sword formations while taking enemies’ lives.
Although there were casualties, no swordsman had suffered fatal wounds, and those who were hurt instead poured out increasingly powerful attacks as if forgetting even their pain.
Not far from there, the sect masters of the Nine Great Sects were displaying the ultimate techniques of their respective schools against the Southern Heaven Division officers.
Among them, two old masters stood out.
They were Wudang Sect’s Immortal Muhyeon and Mount Heng Sect’s Cheon Mu Daoist.
Moreover, those two were facing the top-tier forces of the Southern Heaven Division… Great General-level figures, specifically the Seventh and Tenth Great General
Immortal Muhyeon and Cheon Mu Daoist, after exchanging about forty blows, completely secured victory by inflicting severe external and internal injuries on those two Great Generals.
The gu poison inside the Tenth Great General, who suffered fatal wounds first, exploded.
Kaboom!
Soon after, the Seventh Great General, whose death acupoints had been struck, also had his entire body swell before bursting.
Roar roar roar roar roar… !
The two sect masters retreated backward to avoid the fierce green flames.
Right after that, Immortal Muhyeon spoke in a low voice.
“Hmm, I find myself newly impressed by his power.”
The Cheon Mu Daoist beside him responded with a quiet nod instead of words.
The object of their admiration meant Gal Jung-heon.
To be precise, it was praise for his remarkable martial prowess.
The two had just keenly felt the powerful martial level of Great General-level personnel through their battle with the Seventh and Tenth Great General’s.
Therefore, they felt a sense of wonder at the tremendous power of Gal Jung-heon, who had overwhelmed the Commander just moments ago.
At that moment, Daoist Cheon Mu spoke.
“They are the same.”
His gaze lingered somewhere.
Immortal Muhyeon also looked in that direction.
What Daoist Cheon Mu had indicated were the young guest retainers of White Peak Sword Sect.
Slash, slash… !
Through the combined attack of the paired Seol Pan-gyo and Mae Yak-bang, both arms of a Southern Heaven Division General-level figure were mercilessly severed.
“Gaaaahh…!”
Toward his screaming back, a blade wrapped in blue current flew rapidly.
Squelch… Splurt… Crack!
The sound of skin being pierced and spine breaking.
The owner of that rapid sword attack was Seol Pan-gyo.
Not to be outdone, another sword smoothly penetrated deep into the opponent’s middle dantian.
This time it was Mae Yak-bang.
Thus, another General-level figure died.
Also.
Nearby, Hae Su-yeon, the owner of the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons’ Bewitching Flower Sword, disrupted the enemy lines with advanced wondrous uses of bewitching energy.
An unbelievable sight where six Young General-rank officers wore expressions as if entranced by something and fiercely struck at each other.
Each had lost their reason and, unable to distinguish friend from foe, swung swords loaded with peak internal power as if to kill.
It was a phenomenon where their minds and bodies, centered on the upper dantian, had been dominated by Hae Su-yeon’s powerful bewitching energy.
Eventually, the moment one suffered serious injuries, his gu poison exploded, and because of that, the remaining five were also engulfed in flames and caused chain explosions.
In the meantime, countless energies reminiscent of flower petals had covered Hae Su-yeon’s entire body.
It was a beautiful and solid protective energy technique created by the Bewitching Flower Sword’s mysterious power harmonized with her internal energy.
At that moment, the Southern Heaven Division’s Second Great General, aiming for the rear, approached in ambush and thrust his sword point.
Having retreated earlier while struggling against Hae Su-yeon, he had charged in again to exploit an opening.
However, the brief gap of showing her back was a trap of seduction.
Just before the sword point touched her.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh… !
The countless petal-like currents forming her protective technique rapidly burst out and ruthlessly swept through the Second Great General behind her back.
Thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk…!
Following a series of sounds of his entire body being pierced.
“Kuh…!”
The moment the Second Great General, reduced to a horrific state, let out a groan, gu poison exploded and fiercely spewed green flames.
But Hae Su-yeon didn’t dodge.
The petal-like currents had soon covered her entire body again to protect her.
About ten paces away from there, Namgung Sang-rin was strongly pushing the Third Great General with sword techniques armed with the spirit of the azure heavens.
Offensive sword forms that didn’t even consider defense.
Each time his sword traced an arc, enormous sword power burst forth and shook the atmosphere and ground.
Boom… Boom, boom… !
From the mouth of the Third Great General, who kept retreating, blood poured out in a gush!
It was a scene proving the gap in internal power between him and Namgung Sang-rin.
Suddenly, a magnificent wave of sword energy resembling the blue sky filled his field of vision.
Crash crash crash crash crash… Boom boom boom boom boom!
By that terrifying sword power, the Third Great General flew all the way through the wall far behind, then departed from this world along with a gu poison explosion.
With even the Second and Third Great General’s dead… The strongest aside from the Commander… The remaining Southern Heaven Division personnel crumbled even more rapidly.
Amidst that, White Peak Sword Sect’s Elder Yeop Hweon, Chief Inspector Hyeop Mu-geuk, and the Three Guyang Brothers Instructors also simultaneously claimed the lives of Young Generals and middle-ranked Generals.
In the end, the Southern Heaven Division group lost even the small will to fight they had been holding onto in their hearts until the end.
To make matters worse, the White Peak Sword Sect side was reinforced.
“Strike!”
“Waaaah!”
“This place shall be your grave!”
Right on cue, Seop Pyo, Cui Lan, Gung Roe, and others had fiercely leaped into the arena through the broken wall.
Because of that, the Southern Heaven Division was completely annihilated in an instant.
A complete overwhelming victory.
There were no survivors from the enemy camp.
Following the failure of the mission related to the Shiwan Mountains, it was a moment when the Heaven Emperor Society’s plan was once again rendered null.
Because of the remarkable existence called Cheol Ryu-heun… The reincarnation of Bai Chu, who had become the Divine Martial Sword.
* * *
Eul Sa-jeok couldn’t easily fall asleep and was wandering around the vast mansion grounds when he discovered the entrance to something like an old warehouse.
Located in a secluded spot, it was a place that usually didn’t catch the eye.
Curious, he carefully pushed the door.
Creak, grumble.
The door, having made a sound, disappeared downward.
In its place appeared stairs leading underground.
It was clearly some kind of mechanism device.
‘Wh… What is this!’
Eul Sa-jeok hesitated for a moment, then soon brought a torch and headed into the dark underground.
Upon arriving below, a rectangular stone chamber appeared.
Also, in its center sat a partitioned cabinet.
‘Is this a place for storing valuables? But they don’t seem to be treasures exactly…’
Honestly, the items placed in each compartment didn’t look special.
Moreover, spider webs were strewn here and there.
It appeared to be nothing more than a space abandoned and neglected for a long time.
But at that moment, something caught his eye.
Hissss… Hummmm…
A stone the size of a fist was suddenly emitting a hazy light like mist while creating a small tremor.
That soon gathered into one and flowed out forward.
Hissssss…
It wriggled and squirmed, then created the image of a single sword, as if an illusion.
That was exactly the same appearance as the Divine Martial Sword.