Chapter 86 : Chapter 86

Chapter 86. It Isn’t Over Yet (3)

“Urk?!”

Qingcheng Daoist was horrified.

His sword had pierced straight into Han Cheong-un’s abdomen. Even as he witnessed it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.

“Th-this… what is…?”

Panicking, Qingcheng Daoist let go of his sword. For a swordsman of his caliber to drop his blade meant his composure had completely collapsed.

But—

“Sang-gong!”

That wasn’t the problem right now.

As Han Cheong-un collapsed after being stabbed in the abdomen, a woman rushed over with a piercing scream and caught him.

“Sang-gong! Sang-gong! What—what do I do? Ah…!”

It was Tang Seoyeon.

Her face had gone deathly pale as she stared at the scene before her, unable to believe it. Blood flowed from Han Cheong-un’s body, dyeing his clothes red and soaking her hands.

‘This… this can’t be. This can’t be happening.’

To Tang Seoyeon, Han Cheong-un wasn’t just the man she loved or her benefactor.

He was her entire world.

To her, Han Cheong-un’s death meant the end of the world. Her world was collapsing, dyed red before her eyes.

What was the point of living if the world had ended?

A world without him.

A world like that…

“Let it all disappear.”

The moment she murmured in empty-eyed despair—

An aura far denser and more intense than when she had faced the Myriad Poison Demon began to pour out of her body.

“Ugh…!”

“Wh-what is that?!”

“Everyone, fall back! The young miss is rampaging!”

Quick-witted members of the Tang Family shouted in alarm.

As an overwhelming poisonous aura overflowed from Tang Seoyeon’s body, everyone hastily retreated.

Everyone—

Except one.

***

Tang Seoyeon stood there vacantly, her eyes hollow.

It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Whenever the poison rampaged, it was always like this. Her reason dulled, her emotions took over, and rational thought became impossible.

The difference this time was that she herself had chosen to rampage.

Feeling Han Cheong-un’s body temperature slowly cooling in her arms, she thought—

If this precious warmth disappeared completely, everything would be over.

Tang Seoyeon couldn’t live in a world without him.

So she would end everything.

And then—

Clink.

The sound of a bell rang out from somewhere.

A strangely familiar sound accompanied it.

As the bell drew closer, Tang Seoyeon unconsciously focused on it. And then—

“Miss Tang, are you all right?”

A man appeared before her, accompanied by the sound of the bell.

She knew him.

She’d never thought of him as particularly important, but this man was unmistakably—

“Jeong…cheon.”

“That’s right. I’ve come all this way to save you, Miss.”

The first disciple of the Qingcheng Sect, the Azure Cloud Sword, Jeongcheon, had appeared.

Why? How?

Tang Seoyeon’s state of mind wasn’t normal enough to think that far. She merely stared blankly as Jeongcheon spoke.

“Miss, I will save you.”

“…I don’t need it.”

Her reply was curt.

What she wanted right now wasn’t her own salvation. She wanted something else.

“Then I will save Sect Leader Han.”

“…!”

Tang Seoyeon’s pupils twitched.

Her mind hadn’t cleared. Her emotions stirred, but her reason grew even more clouded.

And the more the conversation with Jeongcheon continued, the worse it became.

“If you ask me, Miss, I will grant your request.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. I am a being who can grant any request of yours.”

“…Any request…”

“Yes. I am omniscient and omnipotent.”

“Omni… scient… omnipotent…”

“If you ask me, I can grant any wish. You only need to ask.”

“…Ask…”

“Now, say it. Ask me to save Han Cheong-un. Hurry.”

“Sang…gong, sa—”

That was when it happened.

Before she could finish speaking, a hand shot up and covered her mouth.

And a voice spoke—

“The hell are you spouting?”

Jeongcheon looked down in shock.

Han Cheong-un was staring straight at him, wearing a triumphant grin.

“Got you!”

In an instant.

The moment his eyes met Han Cheong-un’s, Jeongcheon tried to retreat—to flee outright.

But Han Cheong-un wouldn’t allow it.

Spirit Domain Second Step

Activating the technique in urgency, Han Cheong-un grabbed Jeongcheon’s wrist.

At the same time, Jeongcheon’s palm strike flew toward him.

Han Cheong-un hurriedly thrust out his own hand.

Puuuuung!

The moment their palms collided, Han Cheong-un spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Cough…!”

This was bad.

When palm techniques clashed head-on, things like the subtlety of techniques or the level of mastery didn’t matter.

Only internal energy determined victory.

And in terms of internal energy alone, Jeongcheon was originally stronger than Han Cheong-un. After all, he was the foremost disciple of a prestigious orthodox sect. On top of that—

“Cough… damn it, this really might kill me.”

Han Cheong-un was currently stabbed in the abdomen.

He’d avoided the most fatal vital points, but—

‘Damn, it still hurts.’

Getting stabbed in the stomach was bound to hurt.

He’d avoided the major organs, but his condition was far from good.

Still—

Crack.

Han Cheong-un didn’t let go of Jeongcheon’s wrist.

He’d gambled his life for this moment. If he let this man escape now, everything would be for nothing.

Seeing this, killing intent flared in Jeongcheon’s eyes as he drew his sword from his waist, aiming to decapitate Han Cheong-un without hesitation—

Whooooosh!

A wind blew.

A wind that was strangely warm, carrying the fragrant scent of spring.

Spring wind, in a space engulfed by lethal poison?

For a split second, Jeongcheon flinched at the impossible scene—

Shraaak!

Something fell from the sky, cleaving Tang Seoyeon’s rampant poisonous aura cleanly in half.

A woman appeared.

Dressed in white martial robes, her beauty was like that of a celestial maiden.

It was Baek Sua.

As she entered the space, the poison aura surged again—but—

[ Twenty-Four Forms Plum Blossom Sword Art: Plum Fragrance Becoming a Flow ]

Her sword qi blossomed into a dazzling rain of flowers that spread in all directions.

The scattering plum blossoms soon formed a single flow, swirling around her body and driving back the poison.

This was supreme swordsmanship—freely wielding the plum blossom sword qi at will.

A sight impossible without reaching the pinnacle of understanding of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

Even elders of Mount Hua who had trained it their entire lives would struggle to achieve this.

But Baek Sua could.

Though only a first-generation disciple by rank, among all current Mount Hua swordsmen, none surpassed her in mastery of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

Wrapped in plum blossom sword qi as she pushed back the poison, Baek Sua stepped forward gracefully. In the next instant, her sword met Jeongcheon’s blade.

Kaang!

Jeongcheon’s sword was knocked away just before it could reach Han Cheong-un’s neck.

Baek Sua didn’t contest strength head-on. Using the rebound force, she spun through the air and landed directly in front of Han Cheong-un.

And then—

Fwoooosh!

Baek Sua’s eyes glowed golden.

She fully unleashed the ability she had hidden until now.

Seeing her, Jeongcheon—

No, something inside Jeongcheon sensed an overwhelming danger.

The woman before him was looking at him.

It was impossible—yet those eyes were clearly, unmistakably gazing straight at him.

Then—

‘Danger.’

He attempted to disengage in haste.

But Baek Sua’s sword was faster.

“Ghost Spirit Daoist!”

With a roar like an enraged tiger, Baek Sua slashed.

Her blade cut what she saw.

Seeing the essence with the Dragon Eye, then severing that essence.

This was not Mount Hua’s sword.

It was a sword created by Baek Sua alone, for the sole purpose of cutting down a single being.

Its name was—

Ghost Spirit Severance.

The moment her sword cut through the air—

Her blade passed through Jeongcheon, yet it didn’t cut him.

What she severed was something inside him.

Han Cheong-un rushed over and asked urgently,

“How is it? Did you get him?”

Baek Sua looked down at her sword blade and replied,

“I felt it.”

“How much?”

“More than before.”

“Then that means…”

“I don’t know beyond that.”

“Haaah…”

Han Cheong-un sighed.

A master of Baek Sua’s level would unmistakably feel it if she had taken an opponent’s life.

The fact that she wasn’t sure meant—

“Did we fail?”

“Still, it was definitely more severe than last time.”

“Haaaah…”

He’d laid this trap with utmost caution, even sacrificing his own body.

And yet—

“He’s not easy.”

The operation had only achieved half success.

***

Somewhere in a dark, sealed chamber.

It looked like a natural cave, yet seemed artificially modified.

In a space filled with mysterious books and bizarre instruments, a man sat with his eyes closed, focusing his mind.

A large cloth covered him from head to toe—resembling the robes worn by monks from the far western regions.

The difference was that while monks wore brown robes, his was pitch-black.

And then—

“Kuh-huk!”

The man suddenly collapsed, groaning in agony.

And that wasn’t all.

“Ggh… gghhh… aaaaagh…!”

He writhed in unbearable pain.

Looking closely at his chest, there was a sharp slash wound. From it, something black—not red blood—oozed out like smoke.

“Th-this… at this rate…”

Even as he convulsed in pain, he stretched out a trembling hand and grabbed something.

A human skull.

Decorated with gold and jewels, yet undeniably a human skull.

And astonishingly, within the empty eye sockets, eerie red pupils flickered.

The man grasped it—

Crack!

—and crushed it.

Then—

[Heeheehee… freedom. Freedom!]

[Let’s play. Let’s kill everyone and play!]

[Kiiiiiiiiii!]

Amid shrill, soul-piercing screams, clearly visible vengeful spirits were released in a flood.

No—these weren’t mere wandering souls.

Each one was a clearly defined evil spirit, dangerous enough to wreak havoc upon the world.

In an instant, the cave was filled with them.

Within that chaos, the man forced his lips to move and uttered—

“ᛟ ᚹᚱᚨᛁᚦ ᚲᛟᛗᛖ ᛏᛟ ᛗᛖ.”(O wraith, come to me)

Words from no language of the Central Plains.

At once, all the evil spirits surged toward him, drawn in and absorbed.

[Nooooo!]

[I don’t want to! Nooooo!]

[Aaaaaaah!]

They screamed in uncontrollable terror, but a power far beyond them bound them completely.

When all the spirits had been absorbed, the man slowly rose.

Then he spoke in a cold voice.

“Hah… I almost died.”

He looked down at his chest.

Even after absorbing the evil spirits to seal the wound, a vivid scar remained.

“I didn’t know such a technique existed.”

Ignoring distance and space, severing only the essence.

A divine art impossible by what the Central Plains called martial arts.

That strike had been aimed squarely at his heart. Had his escape been delayed even slightly, death would have been certain.

“So such a monster exists.”

But he survived.

He’d been forced to sacrifice his most treasured demonic artifact for emergency treatment, and it would take far more resources and time to heal this injury completely—

“But I’m still alive.”

That was what mattered.

No matter what crises or hardships lay ahead, he had to live.

He had to live to achieve his goal.

“It isn’t over yet.”

The world still did not know him.

But Han Cheong-un and Baek Sua called him by this name—

The Ghost Spirit Daoist.