Chapter 157: Chapter 157
It was when Dok-ra-su, dragging the idiotic Fifth Valley Lord along, took a few steps. A figure dropped straight down from the sky, blocking his path ahead.
Dok-ra-su was startled out of his wits, but after urgently identifying the opponent, he spoke while pretending he was not startled at all.
“You have come, Woo-jin. You really are a guy who is everywhere.”
“I found you on my way back after killing the Beast Palace Lord. But what is that?”
Cheon Woo-jin pointed to the Fifth Valley Lord while speaking nonchalantly.
Dok-ra-su doubted his ears for a moment.
Whom did he just say he killed?
Dok-ra-su wanted to make a fuss and ask for details. However, he had decided to live as a righteous martial artist now. In other words, he would directly become Cheon Woo-jin’s distant senior, so he needed to carry some weight from now on.
“The Beast Palace Lord… That guy was also someone I was going to handle personally someday, but the work has been reduced. Well done. Ah, this guy is the Fifth Valley Lord of Poison Valley. By impromptu modifying the method I used when treating that fellow Poison King, I created a mighty martial art.”
“Is that so.”
Cheon Woo-jin listened half-heartedly. Originally, more than half of what Dok-ra-su said was useless talk.
By the way, for even Poison Valley to step forward following the Beast Palace.
“It is probably the work of the Demonic Cult, right?”
“It must be. Their internal situation is chaotic, so they cannot step forward directly, but just enduring it patiently would damage their pride and face. Since most of the powers beyond the border are originally no different from the lackeys of the Demonic Cult… perhaps the Ice Palace might step forward as well.”
Dok-ra-su thought about the North Sea Ice Palace for a moment. Although he had traveled all over the world in his youth, the only place he had not been able to visit was the North Sea Ice Palace.
That was how distant, cold, and mysterious the North Sea was. Perhaps due to its unique atmosphere, all kinds of legends and folk tales about the North Sea were widely spread throughout the Central Plains.
“As always in history, if the Ice Palace smashes through the thick glaciers and heads toward the Central Plains, from that moment on, it will feel quite like a war. Because their martial arts are known to be by no means weaker than those of the Central Plains.”
Although there were many factions beyond the border, by far their supreme head was the North Sea Ice Palace Lord. For the Ice Palace Lord was famous as an existence who was not simply treated down even by the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“I am truly looking forward to the war.”
“Do you like seeing people die?”
“How could that be a good thing? When a war breaks out, the value of a poison arts master rises tremendously. Since I can boast my martial arts to my heart’s content in a place where others are watching, as a fellow martial artist, how could my blood not boil?”
“Hmm, poison arts…”
Cheon Woo-jin stood for a moment and thought.
At any rate, it was true that poison arts exerted immense influence in war. In that case, would it not be good to clear away Poison Valley in advance?
Above all, the conversation his masters had shared during their lifetimes came to mind.
– Black Elder, how old are you that you still believe in such things? Just when are you going to grow up?
– I am so frustrated I could go crazy. I’m telling you, an imugi that has lived for five hundred years really lives in Poison Valley!
– Yes, you are right. Let us say it is there, whether an imugi or a dragon. Since it is truly terrifying, I must never go to Poison Valley in my entire life. Woo-jin, you must not grow up to become an adult like that.
According to master Black Elder’s words, the imugi’s scales were harder than meteoric iron, and its inner core was just shy of becoming a wishing jewel, possessing efficacy greater than any spiritual herb existing under heaven.
As always, deliberation was brief and action was swift.
“Are you going straight to the Tang Clan, Uncle?”
“No, I intend to go to the Martial Alliance. Thanks to me subduing the Fifth Valley Lord, I saved quite a few alliance members. I plan to properly show off and ask them to revoke my status as a public enemy of the martial world.”
“That is a good idea. Since it would be inconvenient in many ways if the person who is my uncle was a public enemy of the martial world.”
Cheon Woo-jin often called Dok-ra-su uncle like this. Because if master Black Elder were alive, in the end, he would not have killed Dok-ra-su, but accepted him as a close friend.
“Heh, hearing that ‘uncle’ makes me feel good every time I hear it. Then let us go to the alliance together.”
“I have a place to stop by for a moment.”
“Where?”
Cheon Woo-jin was about to answer Poison Valley, but stopped. Somehow, he felt that if he said that, Dok-ra-su would say he would follow. He had felt it once again when performing a mission with the Wudang Sword Immortal before. He felt comfortable doing anything alone.
“There is such a place.”
“How disappointing. You can tell your uncle, can you not?”
Dok-ra-su spoke in a feigned stern tone. At the same time, Cheon Woo-jin raised his hand. Dok-ra-su, who had resolved to carry some weight in his own way, was startled out of his wits and wrapped his head with both hands.
Smack. Cheon Woo-jin caught a flying insect attached to his own shoulder.
Dok-ra-su, realizing his mistake, hastily pretended to dust off his head.
“At any rate, there are many bugs since it is inside a forest.”
“Yes, that is true.”
Having said so, Cheon Woo-jin showed his palm.
Dok-ra-su wore a grave expression. Because what had burst dead in Cheon Woo-jin’s palm was not a flying insect, but a hornet handled by the Fifth Valley Lord.
“S-Surely you were not stung, were you?”
“I was stung, though.”
“Y-You…!”
Dok-ra-su began to make a huge fuss.
Did hornets controlled by the Fifth Valley Lord still remain!
“No, why the hell is a master of your caliber getting stung by a bee! An antidote, you must take an antidote immediately. How do I get one? Surely the poison of the hornets is…”
Dok-ra-su’s head spun rapidly. He had to make even a temporary antidote by combining the poisons he possessed and the surrounding medicinal herbs.
“It is fine. An antidote for something as minor as getting stung by a bee.”
“It is not fine, you are going to die! Do you know how strong a deadly poison that hornet harbors? It is much stronger than the Seven-Step Snake. To the extent that even a peak master cannot take a single step and dies just from being stung once…”
It was at that moment.
Dok-ra-su sensed something strange.
By this point, the poison should have spread sufficiently. No matter how much one channeled internal energy to neutralize it, something should show on the outside. But he was far too fine. Just as if the poison itself could not exert any effect on his body.
In an instant, Dok-ra-su’s eyes narrowed.
Unease crept over him.
“Y-You… it is not, right?”
“What is.”
“It isn’t, right? It isn’t that thing I’m thinking of right now, is it! Hurry and tell me it isn’t!”
“Are you perhaps talking about Immunity to All Poisons?”
“Aargh!”
When the words ‘Immunity to All Poisons’ came out of Cheon Woo-jin’s mouth, Dok-ra-su was greatly astonished. To those who practiced poison arts, Immunity to All Poisons was that kind of realm. A realm that truly existed only in legends, no, a realm that must not exist in reality.
“T-Truly, do you mean Immunity to All Poisons?”
“Yes.”
Dok-ra-su wore a half-dazed expression.
The realm called Immunity to All Poisons was famous. Everyone went on about Immunity to All Poisons this, Immunity to All Poisons that, at the drop of a hat.
But Dok-ra-su could guarantee that among those who said so, not a single person had truly achieved poison immunity. In the first place, it was an unrealistic realm. When there were more than tens of thousands of kinds of poison in the world, how could one build immunity to all those poisons?
In fact, the figures known to have achieved Immunity to All Poisons were also figures from early Jianghu, distant enough to be called the ancient martial world.
For example, the first Heavenly Demon, the founding ancestors of the Nine Great Sects and One Clan, the Emperor of antiquity, a woodcutter chosen by an immortal, and the like…
At any rate, they were all figures where illusion and legend overlapped.
However.
Dok-ra-su’s common sense was shaken. Because no matter how he thought about it, Cheon Woo-jin was not a person to lie.
All right, let us say that even by a one in ten thousand chance, he had achieved Immunity to All Poisons.
“Just how? What on earth is the principle?”
Just how on earth could a physical body exist that canceled out all tens of thousands of different poisons!
Cheon Woo-jin answered calmly.
“Something like this flows in my body.”
Spreading his palm, he made Dark Heavens Qi bloom over it.
Dok-ra-su looked at the Dark Heavens Qi fashioned into the shape of a sphere as if bewitched by something. It was gloomy and dark as if drawn up from the deepest well in the world, a bizarre energy that provoked instinctive fear in whoever looked upon it.
“Around the time I passed fifteen years of age, I once broke through the wall of a certain realm. At the same time, this energy grew even thicker, and after that, poison did not work on me. Master Black Elder also entered that realm a little before me, so he was naturally immune to all poisons as well.”
Cheon Woo-jin did not understand why Dok-ra-su was making such a fuss. Just looking at himself and Black Elder, there were already two who had achieved Immunity to All Poisons in this era. Perhaps there might be more among the Dark Emperor’s disciples.
“Haha…”
Dok-ra-su let out an empty laugh as if he had lost his mind.
Soon, taking a bottle out from his robes, he dropped poison onto the Dark Heavens Sphere lingering on Cheon Woo-jin’s palm.
Then the poison vanished. It did not burn and evaporate, but literally lost all power within that energy and broke down into pieces.
Even when he spread Extreme Yang Poison, the strongest poison art he could display, it was the same. Even Extreme Yang Poison was no different from plain water before the Dark Heavens Sphere.
“You are saying such nonsensical energy flows inside your body?”
“Yes.”
“Are you even human?”
“Then what do I look like to you?”
Cheon Woo-jin retorted as if displeased. He was merely a young man in his twenties, so he did not feel very good about people constantly saying he was not human or that he was a monster.
Whether that was so or not, Dok-ra-su retorted with a still half-dazed face.
“If you are truly human, then I am a bug.”
“Understood.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head. Looking at his current state, it did not seem like he would come to his senses no matter what was said.
“Anyway, if you go to the alliance first, I will go soon as well. If you happen to discover figures of Poison Valley on your way there, please take care of them.”
“Why should I? I’m a bug.”
“Who in the world other than you, Uncle, would block Poison Valley?”
In an instant, the light in Dok-ra-su’s lifeless eyes regained its color. Among all the middle-aged men under heaven, the one most vulnerable to compliments was none other than Dok-ra-su.
* * *
Having sent Dok-ra-su off, Cheon Woo-jin began to run.
His footsteps were filled with conviction. Originally, most people without a sense of direction were like this. They thought they were quite good at finding their way, and unfortunately, Cheon Woo-jin was the same.
Since the Martial Alliance was in the north, running in the opposite direction of where Dok-ra-su headed was south. Therefore, if he continued running straight like this, the Southern Barbarians would appear, and he would also be able to find Poison Valley before long.
Thinking thus, just how long had he run?
Cheon Woo-jin sensed something strange.
The Southern Barbarians were clearly a region made up of lush vegetation, yet trees were gradually decreasing and the land was turning like a desert.
Soon, what drove a wedge into that doubt was about a hundred monks running toward this side from far away. Because their attire and appearance were so unique, he could recognize their identity at a glance.
‘Martial monks of the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple…’
Rather than the fact that he had met them, it was more shocking that the road he was heading on was west, not south.
No, it was still not a certainty.
Thinking thus, Cheon Woo-jin blocked the path in front of the busily running martial monks. His masters had said of the martial artists of the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple that they were Demonic Cultists wearing the shells of monks. They were known to be so short-tempered and crueler than any demonic or unorthodox faction when it came to battle.
Nevertheless, Cheon Woo-jin made an effort not to hold prejudice as much as possible, asking in a polite tone.
“Pardon me while you are running busily. Is the direction you came from perhaps west instead of south? That is, I am asking if you were running toward the east.”
Then the martial monks said something to each other. However, because it was similar to yet different from the language of the Central Plains, it was difficult to understand.
– What is this? This guy is wearing Martial Alliance clothes? Should we kill him?
– Since we were on our way to wage war against the Martial Alliance anyway, it is not bad. If we spare him for no reason, he might send word to the Martial Alliance and have them prepare in advance. If we fail this time, the Demonic Cult will not sit by idly.
– That is why we mobilized all the strength of the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple, did we not? I had a good idea. Let us cut off this guy’s head and show it to the Martial Alliance bastards.
– Crazy bastard, why do such a cruel thing? There is no need to go out of our way to mutilate him; just showing the corpse will be enough to enrage them.
Of course, Cheon Woo-jin did not understand a single word. However, he thought that contrary to the rumors, they were kind people.
‘Even though they could just say they don’t know and pass by, they are making an effort to answer with all sincerity.’
Soon, the martial artists of the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple said something toward Cheon Woo-jin. It was difficult to understand, but even considering their kind intentions, he clasped his hands together while recalling the gestures of monks from Shaolin and Emei, pretending he had roughly understood.
“Thank you. It was a great help.”
At that, the martial monks of the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple became indignant.
The etiquette of their Buddhist order was different from that of the Central Plains. Yet, they considered that he had dared to provoke them by displaying Central Plains etiquette in front of them.
– Do you dare insult us!
– Central Plains bastards are always like that. Let us strike him dead immediately!
Cheon Woo-jin let out a sigh.
Although he did not know the reason, they seemed angry about something, but since he could hardly understand them.
“What on earth are they saying.”
It was at that moment.
From among the hundred or so martial monks, a man suddenly charged in. In the palm strike he extended toward Cheon Woo-jin’s face, the unique lightning qi of the Thunder Sound Temple was harbored.
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head back and dodged. The palm strike harboring lightning qi grazed his chin and the tip of his nose by a hair’s breadth. Because their arms were much longer than those of Central Plains people, even with the same strike, it felt somehow half a breath faster.
“It seems a misunderstanding arose between us.”
Before his words could even finish, the martial monk attacked once again. This time, faint sword astral was formed alongside even greater lightning qi.
Truly having no choice, Cheon Woo-jin took out the Crescent Moon Staff and swung it.
Thwack!
The head of the martial monk who had thrust out the palm strike burst and he died.
Blood dripped down, dyeing the sandy ground red.
“…”
In that silence, Cheon Woo-jin looked at the martial monks with a dry gaze. Even though words did not get through, there were things martial artists could sense instinctively among themselves.
“You were on your way to attack the Martial Alliance.”
Soon, the hundred or so martial monks surged forward all at once, kicking up a sandstorm.
.
.
.
About the time to drink a cup of tea had passed.
Around Cheon Woo-jin, about a hundred corpses were strewn about.
One of the factions beyond the border that had attempted to attack the Martial Alliance by order of the Demonic Cult was abruptly annihilated in the middle of the sandy desert.
To them, it was neither misfortune nor good fortune. Even if they had not met now, it was only a matter of time; they would have met Cheon Woo-jin at the Martial Alliance in the end and suffered the exact same fate.
Wild animals that had gathered before anyone noticed waited while drooling. For now, they could not approach due to Cheon Woo-jin’s overwhelming presence, but as soon as he left the spot, they would immediately rush in and clean up the corpses.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a sigh.
“In the end, I could not find out where south is. Poison Valley is truly a distant place.”
Since there was nowhere to ask, he could only infer.
The place they were running from was west, the place they were heading was east.
Then over there was south.
It was roughly like this.
“…It must be right, yes?”
Soon Cheon Woo-jin moved his feet. They were steps with somewhat less confidence than when he first departed.
* * *
Cheon Woo-jin, who had run for a long time, was standing blankly in one spot with his head raised.
“…”
At the end of that gaze were red walls and an enormous gate, and on the signboard hanging above it, golden characters were written with a single stroke of the brush, but unfortunately, they were not the characters for Poison Valley.
Cheon Woo-jin slowly read the characters aloud.
“…Heavenly Demon Cult.”
It was the place where Cheon Woo-jin, who had been heading toward Poison Valley, ended up arriving after annihilating the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple on the way. It was also a moment when one could not help but pity the Chief Strategist, who would suddenly receive these reports one after another.