Chapter 143

“Deadly? This?”

‘!?’

A tone as if he couldn’t understand.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha frowned.

It could sound very arrogant, but looking at Mok Gyeong-un’s current state, it really seemed like he was not affected by the poison qi at all.

‘My goodness.’

It was a truly astonishing sight.

The fog of wave poison that could only be unleashed upon reaching the seventh layer of the Wave Demon Poison Scripture was so deadly that even masters who had reached the supreme stage could be instantly poisoned if they didn’t maintain an appropriate distance.

Wasn’t there a prime example right here?

“Huff… Huff…”

“Hah.”

Even the Society Leader’s two disciples, Jang Neung-ak and Wi So-yeon, were preoccupied with dissolving the wave poison fog after being exposed to it due to a moment of carelessness.

They probably couldn’t hear anything right now.

The poison qi was so strong that Mok Gyeong-un’s unaffected reaction seemed truly bizarre.

“You said you were the disciple of the Shadow Clan Master?”

At the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha’s question, his second son Baek So-gang, who had been staring with an unbelievable expression, hastily replied,

“Y-Yes! That’s right.”

“He’s a very interesting fellow. He’s not wearing a poison-repelling robe, and his internal energy isn’t thick, but I’m curious how he’s unharmed by my wave poison.”

At his words, Mok Gyeong-un politely bowed his head and said,

“It’s a matter of constitution, so please don’t pay much attention to it.”

“Constitution?”

“Yes.”

“Ha!”

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha clicked his tongue as if he was dumbfounded.

Occasionally, there are individuals who have a strong natural resistance to poison.

However, that occasional resistance is also about enduring or self-detoxifying ordinary levels of poison, not the poison of the Wave Demon Poison Scripture.

This extreme poison, which can only be acquired through training with hundreds of different poisons, is completely different from ordinary poisons.

Enduring such a tremendous poison solely with one’s constitution was impossible.

“Are you trying to mock me?”

“How could I possibly do that? I merely spoke the truth.”

“The truth… Tsk, fine. Then I’ll personally uncover your secret.”

“My secret?”

“Yes. Come closer.”

-Grab!

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha extended his hand forward and made a grabbing motion.

Then, the surrounding true energy fluctuated, and Mok Gyeong-un’s body was about to be pulled by it.

‘Huh?’

Is this really the technique of capturing objects from a distance?

Mok Gyeong-un instinctively realized that Baek Sa-ha was using his true energy to pull him.

Indeed, Baek Sa-ha’s true energy was on a different level.

The Shadow Clan Master was also strong, but Baek Sa-ha’s was far more extensive.

-Screech!

Mok Gyeong-un’s feet were dragged across the wooden floor.

However, he had only moved about two steps.

Seeing that he wasn’t being pulled as easily as expected, a glint of surprise flashed in the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha’s eyes.

‘Look at this kid.’

Based on his spiritual perception, Mok Gyeong-un’s martial prowess seemed to be at most at the early stage of the peak realm.

Yet, he was resisting his true energy.

This level of resistance was only possible upon reaching the pinnacle stage of the transcendent realm.

‘He seems to have mastered the skill of concealing his internal energy even from those with higher cultivation than himself. But my internal energy is…’

-Grab!

Baek Sa-ha stretched out his hand once more and pulled.

Then, a true energy nearly twice as strong as before enveloped Mok Gyeong-un’s body.

‘This is…’

Mok Gyeong-un let out a soft sigh and then entrusted his body to that true energy.

To resist this, he would have to unleash the death energy in his middle danjeon as well, but there was no need to reveal that power.

-Thud!

Soon, Mok Gyeong-un’s body floated and flew to Baek Sa-ha’s front.

In that state, Baek Sa-ha gently drew a trajectory with his palm, and Mok Gyeong-un’s body spun around and was forcibly seated on the floor.

‘He manipulates true energy as if breathing.’

Indeed, the title of Five Kings was not undeserved.

If a master of approaching the Unrestrained Realm was like this, he couldn’t even imagine how strong those who had truly surpassed the wall would be.

At that moment, Baek Sa-ha spoke,

“Come to think of it, you said you wanted to receive my guidance, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me how you endured my poison. Depending on your answer, I will decide whether to give you guidance or not.”

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“Based on the sect’s rules, you shouldn’t be able to refuse, but you’re talking as if you can reject me depending on your decision.”

“Hahaha, of course, the sect’s rules must be followed.”

“But…”

“But I could just teach you how to peel the bark of a sorghum tree and send you away. That’s also a form of guidance.”

“Peeling the bark of a sorghum tree is not martial arts.”

“It’s an example that I can teach you something useless.”

At Baek Sa-ha’s words, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled inwardly.

As the Shadow Clan Master had said, he indeed seemed to be eccentric and had his own stubbornness.

So Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Since you put it that way, I should definitely tell you.”

“Hahaha. You’ve made up your mind well. So, how did you endure my wave poison?”

“It’s my constitution.”

“…”

One of the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha’s eyebrows arched up.

His face was already purple, making him look fierce and grotesque, but his expression seemed to transform into that of a demon.

“I was going to talk nicely for the sake of your master’s face, but it seems you don’t want that.”

“I have spoken honestly to you.”

“Honest? Fine. Then if it’s your constitution, let’s see if you can endure this as well.”

“Hmm?”

-Whoosh!

The moment he questioned, the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha’s hand turned purple.

It was more condensed than the fog form and far surpassed the poison qi from earlier.

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha smiled menacingly and said,

“Try enduring my Wave Demon Palm Technique as well.”

-Blast!

Baek Sa-ha’s palm soon struck Mok Gyeong-un’s chest.

At that moment, the back of his clothes tore, and poison qi spurted out through his back.

It was a phenomenon caused by the principle of acupoint striking.

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha curled the corner of his mouth.

‘As the poison qi penetrates, his internal organs will be struck by the poison qi. He talked about constitution or whatever, but now that I’ve directly injected it inside, let’s see if you can dissolve it.’

He was curious to see how Mok Gyeong-un would dissolve the poison.

Since it was certain that he hadn’t cultivated poison arts, he would have no choice but to reveal his secret.

Or so he thought, but,

“How long do I need to endure it?”

“… Don’t tell me you’re alright?”

“Yes. If it was a test to see whether the poison would work or not, it’s a pointless act due to my constitution.”

“what the .... are you?”

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha was dumbfounded.

The poison qi contained in the palm technique just now possessed the power to prevent even skilled masters from breathing properly and kill them in no time if they were hit properly.

Yet, this kid was blabbering away.

-Grab!

Baek Sa-ha grabbed Mok Gyeong-un’s collar and pulled him.

“How did you do it? Without even circulating your energy, how did you endure my poison?”

“It’s the same question. And I have the same answer.”

“Nonsense!”

“It’s true.”

“Are you mocking me? The poison just now could melt even stone. Do you think you can endure it simply with your constitution?”

“Hmm. It seems you don’t believe me.”

“Would you believe it if you were me?”

“Are you really curious?”

“… Do you truly wish to die?”

-Whoosh!

Suddenly, strong poison qi and killing intent burst out from Baek Sa-ha’s entire body as his anger surged.

The force was so strong that even his second son, Baek So-gang, took a step back in tension.

‘What is he trying to do by provoking Father?’

He couldn’t understand Mok Gyeong-un’s intentions at all.

Rather than asking for a detailed explanation of the secret, it would have been sufficient to just tell him how he endured the poison qi, but he kept provoking the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un spoke,

“Actually, there’s a simple reason why I could endure your poison.”

“Speak. If you’ve mocked me again this time, regardless of being the Shadow Clan Master’s disciple, you’ll have to be prepared for the consequences.”

“I understand. Since you’re so displeased, there’s no reason for me not to tell you.”

“Hmph. No need to beat around the bush and say you don’t want to die.”

“Let’s say that’s the case.”

“Hah…”

Baek Sa-ha clicked his tongue.

Even though he was showing such an angry appearance, this kid was speaking his mind without even blinking an eye.

He couldn’t tell if he had lost his fear or if he was just bold.

However, one thing was certain: judging from his unwavering eyes, it didn’t seem to be the former.

“Speak.”

“Since I must speak only to you, I will take the liberty of being rude for a moment.”

“What?”

Questioning him, Mok Gyeong-un lowered his head close to his ear and whispered,

“You asked how I endured it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been poisoned by eating false hellebore?”

“False hellebore poison? Why would I, at most, get poisoned by a weak poison that only causes a rash on the body?”

“That’s it.”

“What?”

“The reason why your poison has no effect on me.”

‘!?’

Instantly, Baek Sa-ha’s expression twisted fiercely.

Although he spoke in a roundabout way, Mok Gyeong-un’s words had scratched his pride.

To be blunt, Mok Gyeong-un had said this:

[Your poison didn’t work because it was weak.]

-Grind!

Baek Sa-ha gnashed his molars strongly.

His poison, known as one of the top three in the entire Central Plains, was weak?

Did this kid really have a death wish?

He was digging his own grave.

“Hahaha. It seems my poison felt that way to you. Then I should show you what a truly proper poison is.”

‘Uh-oh?’

At the Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha’s words, his second son Baek So-gang’s eyes widened.

That’s because he realized what kind of poison his father was trying to show now.

Naturally, there were secret techniques in places where poison was cultivated.

For example, there was the Invisible Poison of the Four Seasons Tang Clan, the Clam and Snake Poison of the Guyang Clan, and the Wave Demon Poison created by the patriarch and grandfather of the Baek family, the Myriad Poisons Master Baek Yu.

“Father!”

The startled Baek So-gang called out to him.

Even at his call, Baek Sa-ha didn’t even spare him a glance.

He seemed to be really angry.

‘No.’

Baek So-gang thought this shouldn’t be allowed.

The Wave Demon Poison was literally the secret of the Baek family, and this poison was called “Ten Steps to Death” because one would die before even taking ten steps, making it the worst extreme poison.

“Fath…”

The moment Baek So-gang tried to approach his father to dissuade him,

The Annihilating Poison King Baek Sa-ha lightly stretched out his hand.

Then,

-Rumble!

The stone door that was half-open at the entrance closed.

Baek So-gang’s face turned serious at the blocked entrance.

It seemed he had done that to avoid interference.

‘This is a big problem.’

At this rate, his father might really use the Wave Demon Poison and kill Mok Gyeong-un.

The problem was that this stone door was designed to be locked and unlocked from inside the training room, so if it was firmly locked from the inside, it would be difficult to break through and enter.

-Bang bang!

“Father! Father!”

Ignoring the faintly audible knocking and calling from outside, Baek Sa-ha said,

“Since you said it’s so weak, I will show you a proper…”

“It doesn’t seem to be completely soundproof.”

“What?”

“But I think this much is enough for the two of us to have a quiet conversation.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Baek Sa-ha frowned.

Did this kid deliberately provoke him to make him close the door?

Baek Sa-ha spoke in a dumbfounded voice,

“what the .... are you up to?”

“It’s not a scheme, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be good for my constitution to be widely known.”

“Constitution?”

Is he still going on about that?

As he was thinking that, suddenly, sharp aura flowed out from Mok Gyeong-un’s index and middle fingers forming a sword finger.

“You, what are you…”

-Slice!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un lightly cut his palm.

Then, blood began to drip from the wound on his palm onto the floor.

-Drip drip!

As the blood droplets fell on the floor, Baek Sa-ha frowned and asked,

“What are you doing now?”

“I thought I should also show you the poison I possess.”

“Poison? Don’t tell me you…”

Baek Sa-ha looked at the blood flowing from Mok Gyeong-un’s palm with surprised eyes.

What this kid was saying now was,

“… Are you saying there’s poison in your blood?”

“Yes. Would you like to taste it?”

Mok Gyeong-un, smiling while extending his blood-stained hand.

‘!!!!’

At this action, Baek Sa-ha’s expression became one of disbelief.

There is an ultimate realm that those who deeply study poison and cultivate poison arts aim for.

It is to become a Poison Master, where one’s flesh, blood, and everything else is composed of poison.

This realm of becoming poison itself was the highest realm they pursued.

‘… Are you trying to say that you, a young kid, have reached the realm of a Poison Master?’