Chapter 288: Chapter 288
“The Ghost Shadow Squad Leader…….”
“W-what in the…….”
The Four Black Alliances forces, which had been relentlessly pushing back the female monks of the Emei Sect, faltered.
By just one person.
It was that shocking of an appearance.
As the Ghost Shadow Squad Leader collapsed powerlessly, in the space where only blood and the scent of blood remained, a single young man stood proudly.
A young Taoist wearing a black and red Taoist robe.
A young appearance that made it hard to believe he had severed the Ghost Shadow Squad Leader’s life with a single sword strike.
However, his aura and presence were extraordinary.
“That person is…… the Plum Blossom Divine Hero…….”
The old man, the Blood Shadow Squad Leader, let out a groan.
The Mount Hua Sect’s, no, Jianghu’s rising star.
The existence that captured people’s attention more than anyone else in the current Jianghu had appeared.
“…….”
The Blood Shadow Squad Leader felt his mouth go completely dry.
He had not really believed the rumors of the Plum Blossom Divine Hero that were widespread in Jianghu.
To think that a young man who had just passed the age of twenty had defeated the Green Forest Great Emperor, who was evaluated to have reached the Heavenly Martial Realm ten years ago.
Who in the world would believe it?
But he was different now.
Had he not just seen it with his own eyes?
The sight of the Ghost Shadow Squad Leader dying in a single sword strike.
Cold sweat flowed down his entire body.
‘To think there is such a monster in the world…….’
Sweat that had beaded up on his chin, which was full of a white beard, dripped down.
A completely unexpected danger had struck.
His eyes moved quickly up, down, left, and right, scanning his subordinates and the Ghost Shadow Squad.
Their condition was also not good at all.
Their pupils were unfocused as if they were in a panic, and their tension was clearly visible to the eye.
On the other hand, the Emei Sect’s side was different.
“Young Hero!”
“Amitabha. You have come to help.”
The Emei Sect disciples were in a state where relief and joy coexisted at Cheon-hwi’s dramatic appearance.
The situation was not good to begin with.
About half of the disciples were injured and could not continue fighting.
Furthermore, wasn’t it a situation where even the Emei Sect’s expert, Abbess So-hye, had lost an arm?
It was heading towards the worst.
But at this moment, Cheon-hwi appeared.
Right now, he was no different from a savior to the Righteous Faction martial artists gathered at Subduing Tiger Temple.
The atmosphere of the battlefield, which was leaning towards the Four Black Alliances, gradually changed.
Jianghu was a world where the strong were supreme.
The shocking appearance of an expert like the Plum Blossom Divine Hero was more than enough to break the morale of the Four Black Alliances forces, which had been holding the advantage.
“There is still a lot of trash.”
Cheon-hwi scanned his surroundings and spoke as if talking to himself.
Arrogant words that scratched at the pride of martial artists.
However, no one among the martial artists of the Four Black Alliances, including the Blood Shadow Squad Leader, opened their mouths.
Tap.
Cheon-hwi’s leather shoes stepped on the ground.
A small ringing sound.
But that sound clearly pierced the ears of everyone present here.
Cheon-hwi continued walking.
Towards the forces of the Four Black Alliances that filled the area in front of him.
One versus hundreds.
To anyone who didn’t know anything, it looked just like walking into a tiger’s maw.
“The enemy is one.”
The Blood Shadow Squad Leader bit his lip and barely managed to speak.
He was surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Flee? It was impossible.
As long as he was the leader of the Blood Shadow Squad. No, as long as he belonged to the Four Black Alliances, abandoning the mission and fleeing was directly linked to death.
There was only one choice left for him.
To kill that Plum Blossom Divine Hero.
“Kill him!”
Along with his sudden shout, the Blood Shadow Squad and Ghost Shadow Squad scattered in all directions.
Cheon-hwi quietly looked at those who spread out around him.
Perhaps because they were not a squad of the Four Black Alliances for nothing, their movements were organized and sharp.
Hidden weapons, blade arts, axe arts, sword arts, etc…….
Various kinds of martial arts were unleashed.
A feast of ununified martial arts.
And yet, their movements felt the same, as if they were unified into one.
Killing Cheon-hwi.
It was precisely because it was a movement with only that single purpose.
Their martial arts, accompanied by a terrible killing intent and evil qi, tightly constricted Cheon-hwi.
Cheon-hwi, who was watching those pouncing on him from all directions, opened his closed mouth.
“You are hastening your own ends.”
A voice mixed with laughter rang out.
Fwoosh!
An aura bloomed from Cheon-hwi’s body.
The colourless energy bloomed like haze, reflecting the sunlight high in the sky.
The divine might of an expert who had reached a peerless realm.
Was it said that an expert who has reached the Heavenly Martial realm can single-handedly handle a combat power akin to an army?
The aura he emitted was not pushed back at all by the energy of the surging army.
Rather, it even felt like he was ahead.
Shring…
Cheon-hwi lifted the Hwawol that he had been letting hang down.
The faintly red sword body, reflected in the sunlight, pointed at the rushing enemies.
Then, Cheon-hwi raised his head.
The sun, which had been floating high in the sky, was obscured by the enemies’ weapons that had reached a short distance away and started swinging, making it completely invisible.
Pitch-black darkness fell.
A darkness filled only with killing intent and evil qi.
Within it, Cheon-hwi’s eyes shone with light.
The Baihui acupoint fully opened.
At that moment, the three dantians unified, and the time around him slowed down immensely.
Due to his rapidly accelerated thinking, only the time within his consciousness sped up.
Cheon-hwi lowered his eyes while looking at those who moved so slowly they almost seemed to have stopped.
‘Fragrance Filling Heaven and Earth Dance.’
At the same time, he thought of a technique.
Second Move of the Seven Absolute Plum Blossom Sword.
Among the martial arts he had learned, it was an appropriate martial art to unleash over a wide area.
Soon, a trajectory was drawn in the darkness.
It was the sword path of the Fragrance Filling Heaven and Earth Dance.
Swoosh…
Hwawol subsequently moved.
Following his intent, his inner qi activated, and Hwawol disappeared in an instant.
A speed that surpassed extreme swiftness, like a flash of lightning.
Hwawol, which had drawn a single trajectory, soon divided into tens and hundreds.
And then, eventually.
Flash!
The sword strikes of Hwawol turned into light.
Clang! Slaaash!
The light enveloped them, and the cool red sword qi slashed the Unorthodox Faction martial artists to pieces.
“Uaaagh!”
“Keuheok!”
Those who were rushing in let out screams.
A bone-chilling pain surged.
The severe pain of their entire bodies being slashed to pieces.
The Fragrance Filling Heaven and Earth Dance split not only their clothing, but also their weapons and entire bodies.
Soon after, blood splattered in all directions.
Dozens of Unorthodox Faction martial artists sprawled on the ground, having lost their lives just like that.
It was a tragedy that occurred in the blink of an eye.
Blood slowly pooled up.
The corpses began to be dyed red in the blood puddle that had formed before long.
A heavy silence fell.
It felt as if someone had poured cold water over the scene.
It was the same for the Emei Sect disciples, who could not easily open their mouths.
It was then.
Tap.
A low sound of footsteps could be heard from among the corpses sprawling on the ground.
Everyone’s gazes were focused.
Cheon-hwi was walking.
Not a single drop of blood was on him.
“…….”
Cheon-hwi scanned the Unorthodox Faction martial artists, who were trembling like aspen trees, with indifferent eyes.
It was a gaze seemingly devoid of any emotion, looking annoyed at a glance.
At that gaze, the Blood Shadow Squad Leader’s body stiffened rigidly.
‘I-I can’t win.’
His thinking stopped.
It was the same feeling as when he saw the Leader of the Four Black Alliances.
When his breath was taken away and he recalled the Leader of the Four Black Alliances.
Crunch.
He took a step forward.
A distance of ten zhang was closed in just a single step, and Cheon-hwi’s figure suddenly magnified greatly.
It was an astonishing footwork, as if he had shrunk the earth.
“……S-spare me…….”
As the terrified Blood Shadow Squad Leader dropped his sword from his hand and tried to put his hands together.
Swoosh…
A red trajectory appeared in his vision.
His vision, which had been blankly staring at the trajectory that was so enchanting it seemed like twilight had fallen, now began to darken.
Soon, his consciousness disappeared.
Slaaaash!
Blood sprayed up from all directions.
The sword strike cut down the Blood Shadow Squad Leader and the Unorthodox Faction martial artists lined up behind him.
Just two clashes.
In just those two clashes, about one hundred from the Blood Shadow Squad and Ghost Shadow Squad that had surrounded Subduing Tiger Temple died.
The martial artists of the Righteous Faction swallowed their breath.
It was something they should rightfully rejoice over, but they could not come to their senses at Cheon-hwi’s ruthlessness.
At that time, someone approached Cheon-hwi.
“Amitabha.”
Abbess So-hye, who had chanted the Buddhist moniker, approached Cheon-hwi and pressed her hands together with one hand.
“I am grateful for the help.”
Having already wrapped her severed part with cloth, she bowed her head to Cheon-hwi.
Cheon-hwi stared at her and spoke.
“You have lost a hand.”
“Haha, how could that be a big deal? It is a fortune just to have preserved my life like this…….”
Abbess So-hye smiled.
A smile blooming amidst a pale complexion.
It seemed to lack strength at a glance, but perhaps because of that, it also looked affectionate.
“Hmm, that is true.”
Cheon-hwi, who was looking at her, turned his head.
This was a place he had stopped by while passing through.
Right now, Cheon-hwi’s destination was over there.
The end of his gaze captured the mountain gate.
A force wrapped in a golden radiance and a dark, gloomy evil qi convulsed in the air.
C-c-clang!
Cracks were occurring.
And the earth’s crust around it was ringing fiercely as if an earthquake had happened.
The clash between two absolute experts.
The aftermath had been transmitted all the way here.
Cheon-hwi smacked his lips.
“You can handle the cleanup on your own, right?”
Spitting out the question, his gaze was fixed on the mountain gate and did not move.
Abbess So-hye gazed quietly at Cheon-hwi and answered in a low voice.
“Do not worry, and please go.”
As soon as her answer was heard.
Whoosh!
Cheon-hwi’s figure disappeared just like a lantern blowing out.
It was an instant.
* * *
Beneath the blazing midheaven.
Two women glared at each other.
Nong Jil and Abbess So-un.
The two peerless experts were raising their respective internal energies and guarding against each other.
Swish…
Suddenly, Nong Jil waved her sleeve.
Was it because they had exchanged a clash a moment ago?
Most of her sleeve was torn to shreds and dangling in tatters.
And between that sleeve.
Ssss…
A long-stemmed pipe was leaking the qi waves it could not bear to contain in all directions.
“You are the only one in the last ten years who has given me such a strong shock. The Alliance Leader said that the Dharma power of the Great Serenity Divine Art lacked nothing even compared to Shaolin, but I truly did not know it would be to this extent.”
She laughed as if feeling good.
Her fully arched eyebrows drew a beautiful trajectory like a crescent moon.
In contrast, Abbess So-un was expressionless.
However, the Dharma power exuding from her entire body was burning even more intensely than before.
Instead of answering Nong Jil’s words, Abbess So-un lifted her Reincarnation Six Rings Staff.
Jingle…
As the bell sound rang, intense Dharma power spread out from her entire body like a wave.
It was a massive wave of qi.
“A good spirit.”
Opening her mouth as if replying to that spirit, Nong Jil also raised her inner qi.
Evil Heaven Peerless Arts.
The ultimate technique of the Evil Emperor Palace, which she had learned with the resolve to exchange her life in the past, revealed itself.
A whitish energy bloomed.
The materialized evil qi blazed like a flame and wrapped around her entire body.
And then.
R-r-r-rumble…
It collided with the wave of qi that Abbess So-un had spread, causing vibrations in the atmosphere.
Those whose martial might had reached a peerless realm…….
The atmosphere trembled violently, as if frightened by the clash of qi spread by two experts of the Heavenly Martial Realm.
At the same time, the space tore apart into pieces.
Although it was merely an offense and defense of inner qi without executing any moves, the space gradually distorted.
By the time the thunderous qi wave struck down in response.
Boooom!
Suddenly, an intense explosion erupted.
Nong Jil had executed ghost-like footwork, shrinking the space in a single breath.
Closing the distance, she stretched out her left hand straight.
The sight of her sleeve fluttering was clearly engraved in Abbess So-un’s two eyes.
Abbess So-un also stretched out her left hand to meet it.
It was a move of the Tiger Subduing Palm Art.
The two left hands clashed in midair.
That was the beginning.
In an instant, they unleashed their respective martial arts and moved to kill each other.
C-c-clang! Boom! Clang!
The clash of the two experts who had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm rang with explosive sounds on Mount Emei, raising a fierce tornado of a storm.
Boooom! Bang! Clang!
Belated explosive sounds followed.
The intense shockwave went beyond the mountain gate of Subduing Tiger Temple and echoed throughout Mount Emei.
The space between the two vibrated.
Every single strike of the two peerless experts clashed faster and more intensely than anywhere else on the battlefield.
Dozens of exchanges unfolded in a flash.
A technique of Buddha’s Light Universal Illumination Extinction containing the Great Serenity Divine Art.
Unorthodox Faction martial arts containing the Evil Heaven Peerless Arts.
At a certain moment when the contrasting golden radiance and whitish evil qi were tearing at each other.
Fwoooosh!
Suddenly, Nong Jil’s aura changed.
Materialized astral qi wove together like threads from the long-stemmed pipe she held in her right hand.
A solid and sharp-edged evil qi.
A terrible evil qi, feeling as if it should not exist in the human world, condensed into one.
“Such wicked……!”
Even Abbess So-un, who had maintained her composure while exchanging blows, swallowed her breath as if surprised by the energy tangling around the pipe.
“You are insane! To try and harbor such energy in a human body!”
At Abbess So-un’s agitated shout, Nong Jil burst into mad laughter.
“Hahahahat! Yes, I am crazy! Crazy indeed! But do you know this?”
Nong Jil’s eyes flashed with a mad light.
She then spread a thick killing intent and let out a low voice filled with madness.
“You can only become strong if you go crazy.”
As soon as those words ended.
Booooom!
A terrifying evil qi spread from her entire body and eroded the surroundings.
Soon, her pipe moved.
“Amitabha!”
Abbess So-un chanted a Buddhist moniker.
At the same time, she loaded all the Great Serenity Divine Art that had bloomed from her entire body onto the Reincarnation Six Rings Staff.
An intense golden light incomparable to before.
It was a strong Dharma power, as if it was the second coming of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Having raised all the Dharma power she possessed like that, Abbess So-un thrust the Reincarnation Six Rings Staff.
Nirvana’s Tranquility, Right Concentration.
The Emei Sect’s peerless divine art manifested.
The moment the Reincarnation Six Rings Staff, dyed in golden light, pierced through as if connecting the sky and her.
“Hahahahat! Good!”
Nong Jil, who had been laughing so hard her veil shook, shot forth a fierce gaze.
She moved while holding the pipe that had transformed as if it was a single sword.
Ooooo…
In an instant, the air spewed a cry.
A tremendous surging pressure.
And then, finally, the two met.
Booooom!
An intense explosion and shockwave spread from the mountain gate of Subduing Tiger Temple to the entire mountain.