Chapter 2350 – 2350. Ascent To The Light
The murderous intent I exuded caused the commoners watching from outside the inn to recoil in terror. Some even wet themselves and trembled.
Among them, I noticed a particularly dark shadow. The shadow seemed to writhe before a woman stepped forward. She was dressed in a flamboyant, purplish-black light armor. Her sleek black hair was pulled up and secured with a hairpin. She wore light makeup, but her lips appeared to be naturally purple, as if she hadn’t applied anything.
Even through her clothes, one could sense her voluptuous breasts, slender waist, and childbearing hips. I licked my lips at her beauty.
“It’s the Bewitching Poisonous Consort of the Great Eight Evils!”
“Run! Even being near her can poison you!”
The commoners scattered in panic. The Bewitching Poisonous Consort paid them no mind. Her eyes were fixed solely on me and Baek Mu-han.
“You should be suffering from the Thirteen Serpent Poisons… It’s impressive that you’re still fine after being hit by them. Even if you’re a master of the Three Realms, unless you’ve trained in poison arts, you’d be weak to poison…”
“Thirteen Serpent Poisons?”
“It’s a deadly poison made by combining thirteen types of snake venom. Ordinary people would be sent to the afterlife the moment they touch it.”
“I see. By any chance, are you married?”
“Huh? Ah, is it because my title is Consort? People strangely mistake me for a married woman. Haha. There isn’t a man in this world who could handle me.”
With her mature appearance and decadent aura, it was natural to mistake her for a married woman.
As I approached her, I felt my vision sway. I nearly lost my balance and fell.
“To be like this from mere snake venom…”
I possessed the body of the Three Realms and the Thunder Heaven Flow. The Thunder Heaven Flow, with its extreme yang nature, was highly compatible against poison. Most poisons would burn away the moment they entered my body. Moreover, I had recently acquired poison resistance as one of my traits.
“Each of the snake venoms used as ingredients is a deadly poison that can instantly take a person’s life. The fact that you’re still alive is astonishing. The reason you didn’t block the dagger… was it because you were confident in your poison resistance?”
“I thought it would be blocked by my protective aura. Even if it pierced through, I could overcome any poison.”
Even now, I was reciting the Thunder Heaven Sutra, suppressing and burning the poison within my body. To completely burn away the poison, I needed to focus on circulating my energy.
“You’re arrogant.”
The Bewitching Poisonous Consort smiled seductively. It was a moment when I was momentarily distracted by her. She pulled something from her sleeve and threw it to the ground.
*Poof!*
Purple smoke billowed out, obscuring our vision. It wasn’t an ordinary smokescreen. My senses were disoriented.
Thunder Heaven Flow Electromagnetic Wave.
As if overlaying the disoriented senses, information flooded in. The Bewitching Poisonous Consort was already more than 100 meters away. From the moment she realized her stealth had been exposed, she had been planning to escape.
Should I chase after her and violate her? I pondered, then decided against it. Baek Mu-han was beside me. To safely extract the Heavenly Demon Divine Art from this guy, I needed to maintain our friendship. To do that, I had to act nice. At least, I had to avoid committing evil deeds in front of him.
“Everyone, hold your breath! It’s poisonous smoke!”
Baek Mu-han shouted. Conversely, I inhaled. My nose tingled, confirming that it was indeed mixed with poison.
By my standards, it wasn’t particularly dangerous. My throat was only slightly sore.
The poisonous smoke dissipated. We exchanged simple greetings and cleaned up the mess. Baek Mu-han compensated the innkeeper, the biggest victim, with gold.
“It was them who attacked… but I can’t say I’m completely blameless… Please accept this. This amount of money should be enough to rebuild the inn.”
“Sob, sob. It’s more than enough to rebuild! Thank you so much, Great Hero! Please come back once the inn is rebuilt! I’ll treat you, Great Hero!”
We sat facing each other at another inn.
“Sir, aren’t you poisoned by the Bewitching Poisonous Consort’s poison? Shouldn’t you be getting rid of the poison instead of being here?”
“Poison? I’m fine. I focused on circulating my energy for a moment earlier. I’m just a little drunk now.”
“…You were just spacing out, and that was you circulating your energy? You’re truly amazing. You’ve become incomparably stronger than when I saw you before.”
Baek Mu-han said, sounding envious.
“You can do it too if you reach the Three Realms. Still, circulating energy is most efficient when done in a cross-legged position. But how did you end up here?”
Baek Mu-han explained the situation. He was currently wandering the martial world. He had recently gotten involved with the Great Eight Evils and was now moving to stop them.
“We must stop the Great Eight Evils. If we don’t stop their plot to control Geon-so City… many people will surely suffer.”
Baek Mu-han said, his eyes shining. To someone who didn’t know better, he looked like a determined young martial artist.
I knew the truth. Baek Mu-han was chasing after evil because of the Redemption System. The Redemption System gave him power the more he did good and eliminated evil. If he committed evil or ignored evil deeds happening before his eyes, he would suffer immense pain.
“Those guys don’t seem ordinary… Can you handle them alone?”
“I can.”
Baek Mu-han said with a confident smile. I knew the source of his confidence. His past life was that of a Heavenly Demon. Having been the strongest in the martial world in his past life, he would find the Great Eight Evils laughable.
“How are you so sure?”
“I know about the Great Eight Evils. I’ve focused on gathering information about them while coming here. The current leader is injured and is recuperating. The one leading the Great Eight Evils now is a guy named Cunning Evil.”
“Cunning Evil? What kind of guy is he?”
“He’s a sinister guy. He enjoys subtle schemes, like water seeping into cloth.”
“How did the leader get injured?”
“The Great Eight Evils attacked after hearing rumors of the Thunder Sound Temple closing its doors. They underestimated the Thunder Sound Temple’s power. In that battle, the leader was injured and retreated. It was the turning point in the Great Eight Evils’ activities.”
“The rumors of the temple closing were false. Good. I came to Geon-so City because I have business with the Thunder Sound Temple. I don’t have time to help you, even if I wanted to.”
“…It’s a bit of a shame, but it’s okay. As I said, I can handle them alone.”
“Still, if you’re really in trouble, ask me for help. I’ll help you a few times because it’s you.”
• • •
The Bewitching Poisonous Consort, Yu Yeo-ryeo, entered a building hidden in the mountains outside the city. It was a building that the Great Eight Evils were temporarily using.
The one who greeted her in this dilapidated building was Cunning Evil, the mastermind of the Great Eight Evils. He wore all black with a silver mask.
“The One-Strike Evil isn’t here. Did you fail to kill the Black Wind Sword Hero? I thought the two of you could kill the Black Wind Sword Hero.”
“…If that idiot hadn’t rushed out alone to fight the Black Wind Sword Hero, things would have gone smoothly.”
“What happened?”
“The Blood Light Saber intervened.”
The Bewitching Poisonous Consort explained what had happened, starting with the Blood Light Saber’s intervention. Cunning Evil listened and nodded.
“Keep a close watch on the Blood Light Saber from afar. That guy is unpredictable. But trying to deal with him now is not an option, since his martial power is similar to the leader’s… For now, it’s best not to get involved.”
“Do you know the Blood Light Saber? He certainly seemed dangerous when I saw him in person, but… if we were determined, we could kill him, couldn’t we?”
Except for Cunning Evil, everyone in the Great Eight Evils was a seasoned martial artist. Even if the Blood Light Saber was an absolute master of the Three Realms, he was only at the first stage of the Three Realms. With a well-planned strategy, they could kill him without much difficulty.
“The Blood Light Saber is hard to predict. A few months ago, I sent subordinates to recruit the Blood Light Saber. Do you know what happened?”
“Judging by the fact that I’m hearing this for the first time, it seems they failed.”
“The subordinates couldn’t even make an offer. They were killed the moment they were seen, for being annoying.”
“…He didn’t seem that crazy.”
“He’s probably restraining himself to some extent since he’s in the city. Anyway, it’s not good to confront the Blood Light Saber at this time. You will keep an eye on the Blood Light Saber.”
“……You want me to monitor him?”
“Monitor him carefully from a distance. You have the Shadow Concealment Hairpin, don’t you? You’re the best at stealth among us.”
The Shadow Concealment Hairpin was a magical artifact that Yu Yeo-ryeo possessed. It had the ability to hide in the shadows.
“…Okay.”
Yu Yeo-ryeo said, feeling uneasy. As Cunning Evil said, she was the most suitable for this mission. Still, she planned to run away immediately if she felt it was dangerous.
• • •
I looked at the Thunder Sound Temple building. I could feel a barrier. It was incomparable to the barrier installed at the Wall Gate.
‘That was a barrier that could be shattered with a casual wave of the hand. But this one… I don’t know if I can destroy it even with all my power.’
It was that sturdy. It was even stronger than the barrier Mi-ryeong had created. It was strange to compare a barrier created by an individual to one created by a group in the first place.
‘The Thunder Sound Temple is a sect that trains in both martial arts and sorcery, right?’
It was impossible to ignore the barrier and jump over the wall.
I decided to enter through the front, fair and square. If it seemed impossible, I could just use a space-shifting scroll to escape.
*Crackling*
After channeling the Thunder Heaven Flow and raising my energy to its peak, I kicked the Thunder Sound Temple’s gate with all my might and shouted.
*KWAANG!*
“Come out!!”
As if they had been waiting, bald-headed monks popped out and blocked my path.
“Who dares to open the Thunder Sound Temple’s gate… Huh! This clear and profound thunder energy…!!”
“It’s a Thunder Spirit! He’s a person born with the Thunder Spirit!”
“He’s a noble! Oh, noble one! Have you come to join the Thunder Sound Temple?! Our Thunder Sound Temple welcomes you!”
The bald monks bowed their heads with their palms together.
‘What is this? This is unexpected…?’
