Chapter 160: Chapter 160
The poison mist that had obstructed the view settled down.
The demonic cultist of the Poison Demon Corps lying dead with a shattered jaw and Cheon Woo-jin standing nonchalantly beside him revealed themselves.
Seeing this, the demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps flinched greatly. It was not because of their comrade’s death. Even though they had scattered layer upon layer of deadly poison where merely grazing it made avoiding death difficult, the opponent was far too fine.
To a martial artist who used poison, an opponent on whom their poison did not work was a great terror.
“C-Corps Leader!”
One demonic cultist looked for the Poison Lord.
However, the Poison Lord had already pulled his steps far back. As a master, he recognized at once that Cheon Woo-jin’s martial prowess was extraordinary.
Confirming the distant Poison Lord, the demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps crumpled their expressions. There was no disaster like this.
They also belatedly attempted to pull back their steps. They knew instinctively that this mysterious master was not someone they could face.
However, Cheon Woo-jin did not grant them escape.
“You said death for the cult was an honor.”
Leaving such a low murmur behind, Cheon Woo-jin surged forward. Among the demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps, there was not even one who could follow that movement with their eyes.
Truly, a one-sided slaughter began. Every time Cheon Woo-jin took a step and swung his hand, two or three demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps died.
“D-Die!”
Those with backbone attempted mutual destruction while scattering the strongest poison they possessed. Cheon Woo-jin did not particularly dodge that poison. Even so, their deadly poisons could not inflict any damage upon Cheon Woo-jin.
After repeating that several times, the demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps naturally thought of the same thing.
‘Immunity to All Poisons…’
It was truly an unrealistic realm, but the current situation had no way of being explained other than Immunity to All Poisons. Deadly poison that melted people alive was failing to perform its role and scattering like water vapor.
The Espionage Hall Master, who had initially watched Cheon Woo-jin with a worried heart, was now watching half-spellbound.
‘…It is just like watching a honey buzzard.’
Hornets belonged to the considerable predators among creatures that harbored poison. The poison of each individual was strong, and they even swarmed in tens and hundreds, so naturally so.
Almost the only natural predator of such hornets was the honey buzzard. To this bird belonging to raptors, the toxicity of hornets did not work.
Finding a hornet’s nest nonchalantly, it thrust its beak into the hole and devoured them all. Although the hornets would sting wildly with poison stingers, the honey buzzard only left the spot after peacefully finishing its meal as if merely tickled.
The current situation was like that. The demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps, who belonged to the considerably terrifying ones even in the Demonic Cult, were truly scattering deadly poisons wildly. Even so, the Hidden Dragon Squad Leader merely struck them down one by one nonchalantly.
He did not particularly look like he was having a hard time either. He merely tore or crushed anything caught when he reached out his hand. If they charged aiming for mutual destruction, he killed them comfortably as if it were rather welcome.
There were also those who fled upon realizing they could by no means face him. Whenever that happened, the Hidden Dragon Squad Leader pulled them in with the profundity of Telekinetic Attraction and killed them.
“Corps Leader, the situation does not seem good. I shall escort you, so please avoid the spot first while the Poison Demon Corps faces him.”
The Espionage Hall Master suggested so. He was still acting as the Vice Leader of the Poison Demon Corps.
The Poison Lord nodded after watching Cheon Woo-jin closely.
“That would be best. Probably that bastard is none other than the Heartless Wanderer.”
Discerning his identity was not difficult. In this era, there were only a few beings endowed with such nonsensical martial prowess while having an appearance looking merely a little past twenty.
‘At most, the youngest young master, the Heartless Wanderer, and the Young Castle Lord of the Black Overlord Castle.’
Actually, among them, he had thought the Heartless Wanderer and the Young Castle Lord were inferior in class. The Fifth Young Master, whom the late Cult Leader had taken in during his later years, was truly an unfathomable existence.
He did not know how he had come to possess such martial prowess at that young age. He only knew that he was someone personally brought by the Divine Maiden, who decided the major and minor affairs of the Heavenly Demon Cult alongside the Cult Leader.
At any rate, because the youngest young master was an entity strong and profound enough to overwhelm the other four young masters, he had thought the Heartless Wanderer and the Young Castle Lord would fall far behind, but…
‘Now I do not know.’
His thoughts grew complicated. He felt that he needed to hurry back to the Sacred Cult and report on the Heartless Wanderer.
It was at that moment.
“Corps Leader, what are you pondering so deeply? Could you perhaps be thinking the same as me?”
“What were you thinking?”
“Man, I’ve only heard rumors about the Heartless Wanderer. Seeing him in person, he really is a nonsensical bastard. Now the Demonic Cult is completely screwed.”
The Poison Lord glared with wide eyes.
“What did you just say?”
The Poison Lord thought the Vice Leader had gone mad with fear. But unfortunately, the Vice Leader was more sober and sincere than ever.
“You’re in deep trouble now, punk.”
The crown of the Poison Lord’s head flared with rage.
Checking behind him, several dozen demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps still remained. Although they were dying rapidly, there was enough leeway to strike this insolent bastard dead and flee.
Soon, the moment he extended his hand to kill the Vice Leader.
Clack, someone stepped down between the two and grabbed his wrist.
“H-How?”
Startled out of his wits, the Poison Lord checked behind him once more. All several dozen demonic cultists of the Poison Demon Corps who had remained were dead. Only a white whirlwind that had torn them apart in an instant flowed quietly without completely fading away.
Thinking that several dozen subordinates had died in that short moment, an emotion he had lived without knowing his entire life filled the Poison Lord’s heart.
It was none other than fear.
The Poison Lord swung the Poison Mist Fan as if in a frenzy. It was a divine weapon designed to scatter colorless deadly poison. The number of masters who had died to his Poison Mist Fan could not even be counted.
However, another white fan blocked before the Poison Mist Fan.
Clang!
Although fan and fan had collided, a metallic sound erupted.
The deadly poison scattered on the Poison Mist Fan was dispersed in an instant by the gust of the Crane Feather Fan.
Crunch!
Cheon Woo-jin applied more force to the hand holding the Poison Lord’s wrist. His wrist was twisted into a bizarre shape. Even so, the Poison Lord did not let out a single scream. Having handled poison all his life, he was someone already accustomed to pain.
“If you kill me, the Righteous-Demonic War will happen. Do you truly intend to start a war with your own hands?”
Watching this from the side, the Espionage Hall Master thought the Poison Lord had made quite a decent judgment.
Against the Heartless Wanderer, whose martial prowess was supreme but who had little experience and would be filled with chivalric spirit having joined the alliance not long ago, waging psychological warfare was better.
However, the problem was that he, an experienced hall master of the Martial Alliance, was beside such a Heartless Wanderer.
“Hidden Dragon Squad Leader, there is no need to heed this bastard’s words…”
Just as he was about to say there was no need, the Crane Feather Fan had already pierced through the Poison Lord’s chest.
“Just as you said, since you died for the cult, it must be an honor.”
It was the remark the Poison Lord had made while pushing hundreds of demonic cultists into Poison Valley as shields.
Cheon Woo-jin, having returned those words verbatim, pulled out the Crane Feather Fan. The Poison Lord, whose pupils grew dim, collapsed to the ground, and Cheon Woo-jin shook off the blood on the Crane Feather Fan.
“The Poison Lord really died.”
The Espionage Hall Master spoke in a daze. He had seen everything directly before his eyes, yet could hardly believe it. To think that the Poison Demon Corps, called an object of terror even within the Demonic Cult, was annihilated by a young man barely past twenty.
“It truly turned out just as you said. The annihilation of Poison Valley and the Poison Demon Corps. If known to the Martial Alliance, there will be an uproar. In particular, the Chief Strategist will even dance with joy.”
“Is that so.”
“This is not something to end with just speaking so nonchalantly. What on earth is your identity? How did you achieve Immunity to All Poisons?”
Cheon Woo-jin was about to explain Dark Heavens Qi, but suddenly feeling bothered, replied roughly.
“It is thanks to my masters.”
“Indeed, both senior White Flower Sword Immortal and Black Elder are extraordinary people. Although in different meanings.”
“What will you do now, Hall Master?”
“I must return to the alliance. Even if I return to the Demonic Cult, they will not trust me anymore. When even the Poison Lord died, it would be strange for the Vice Leader to return alive alone.”
“That is true indeed.”
“I already had a hall member retrieve that iron staff of yours. It will be brought to the alliance, so let us return together.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head.
However, there was still work left to do.
“The First Valley Lord is alive.”
“What!”
“During the melee, he fled into a small hole in the canyon. There is no guarantee he is the First Valley Lord, but if only a single person survived in Poison Valley, there is a high probability it is the First Valley Lord.”
“You saw that in the middle of that chaotic mess? No, rather than that, why did you not follow and kill him? What if he fled far away through something like a secret passage?”
“That will not be the case.”
Cheon Woo-jin was sensitive to the wind. If it were a hole with another escape route, there would only be wind entering or exiting. However, wind was flowing in and out at the mouth of the hole. It meant that hole was the sole connecting passage.
.
.
.
In the canyon, just as Cheon Woo-jin said, there was a hole. It was a small hole barely large enough for an adult man to enter.
“It looks dangerous just looking at it. I will go first. Such matters are the specialty of the Espionage Hall.”
“Yes.”
When he agreed immediately, the Espionage Hall Master wore a disappointed expression. In fact, he had slightly expected words like: ‘No, as the younger one, I shall go first.’ The Espionage Hall Master still did not know Cheon Woo-jin well.
Even so, as an adult, he could not take back his words at this point.
In the end, the Espionage Hall Master squeezed his body into the hole and entered first. Even while crawling through the long passage for quite a while, he constantly looked back to check if Cheon Woo-jin was following well.
Just how long had they crawled like that?
The passage gradually widened, and around the time they could walk even with their backs fully straightened.
“…”
The Espionage Hall Master looked spellbound at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
At the end of the passage, a massive cavern was situated. It was so enormous that there was a pond as wide as a lake, and glowing grasshoppers flew here and there, creating an ethereal atmosphere.
Unlike the mysterious atmosphere, the air was unpleasantly humid, and a thick fishy smell wafted over.
Nowhere in that wide space was the First Valley Lord to be found.
Did he flee there because there was another passage after all?
Just around the time he was thinking thus.
Rustle.
A chilling sound was heard, like thin blades of grass brushing in the wind. The Espionage Hall Master quickly turned his head to check, but there was nothing there. Even when he spread his sensory perception widely, nothing was felt.
It was at that moment.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly yanked the Espionage Hall Master’s hem.
The Espionage Hall Master, also not being a novice, instinctively tried to hold his ground, but because Cheon Woo-jin’s strength was so formidable, he was pulled, fluttering like a paper doll.
“What are you doing…!”
Before the question could even finish.
In the spot where the Espionage Hall Master had been standing, something like a huge hole plummeted down. Looking closely, it was not a hole, but the gaping mouth of a certain creature.
Realizing this, the Espionage Hall Master’s jaw slowly dropped.
The creature that had plummeted down was extraordinarily long. It would easily measure ten zhang. Moreover, the circumference of its body was terrifyingly thick like a tree several hundred years old.
Its scales were transparently white like ice, and its two pupils were pitch-black and lustrous as if obsidian had been embedded.
“A-An imugi?”
Having said so, the Espionage Hall Master soon shook his head.
“I see, I have been poisoned and am seeing illusions.”
There was no way an imaginary spiritual creature like an imugi could exist in the world, could there? The First Valley Lord’s poison was said to be so extraordinary, and it seemed to be true. Of course, beside him was Cheon Woo-jin, who had Immunity to All Poisons.
With such a reassuring heart, he looked at Cheon Woo-jin.
“…”
However, Cheon Woo-jin, who could by no means be poisoned, was also looking at the imugi with surprised eyes and his mouth slightly open.
Ah, it was not an illusion.