Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 146 - Poison Person (2)
Chapter 146 – Poison Person (2)
===================
Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
“Virulent? This?”
‘!?’
His tone sounded as though he genuinely could not understand.
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, knit his brow.
It could have sounded extremely arrogant, but looking at Mok Gyeong-un’s state now, he really did seem unaffected by the poison aura at all.
‘Huh.’
It truly was a startling sight.
The mist of Wave Poison, which could only be displayed after reaching the seventh layer of the Wave Demon Poison Scripture, was so virulent that even experts who had reached the transcendent level would be poisoned in an instant if they did not keep a proper distance.
Was there not excellent proof of that right here?
“Huff… huff….”
“Haa.”
Even the Society Leader’s two disciples, Jang Neung-ak and Wi So-yeon, had let down their guard, been exposed to the mist of Wave Poison, and were now too busy dispelling it.
Nothing would be reaching their ears right now.
The poison aura was that strong, so the sight of Mok Gyeong-un reacting as if it were nothing truly felt bizarre.
“You said you are the Shadow Sect Master’s disciple?”
At the question of Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, his second son Baek So-gang, who had been wearing an expression of disbelief, hastily answered.
“Y-yes! That is correct!”
“What an interesting fellow. He is not wrapped in a poison-repelling pearl, nor is his internal power thick, yet I find myself curious by what means he remains unharmed by this old man’s Wave Poison.”
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un bowed respectfully and said,
“It is a matter of constitution, so I would appreciate it if you did not think much of it.”
“Constitution?”
“Yes.”
“Ha!”
Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, clicked his tongue as though dumbfounded.
From time to time, there certainly were people who by constitution possessed strong resistance to poison.
But even in those rare cases, they only endured or self-neutralized poison at an ordinary level, not the poison of the Wave Demon Poison Scripture.
This extreme poison, gained only through training with hundreds of different poisons, was entirely on a different track from ordinary poisons.
For one to endure such an extraordinary poison by constitution alone was impossible.
“Are you making sport of this old man?”
“How could that be? I have only spoken the truth.”
“The truth…… Heh heh, good. Then this old man shall personally dig out your secret.”
“My secret?”
“Indeed. Come here.”
-Pah-pahk!
Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, thrust a hand forward and then made a pulling gesture.
At once the surrounding qi stirred, and Mok Gyeong-un’s body began to be dragged by it.
‘Ah?’
Was this truly grasping objects through the void?
Mok Gyeong-un instinctively realized that Baek Sa-ha was using qi to pull him toward himself.
Certainly, the caliber of Baek Sa-ha’s qi was different.
The Shadow Sect Master had also been strong, but this was far vaster even than his.
-Grrrk!
Mok Gyeong-un’s feet scraped across the wooden floor.
Yet in truth he moved only about two paces.
At the sight of him not being pulled over as easily as expected, a strange light appeared in the eyes of Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King.
‘Well now.’
Judging from his qi sense, the boy appeared to be only at the threshold of the peak realm.
Yet he was enduring his qi.
That should have been possible only for someone at the transcendent level.
‘It seems he has learned a knack for hiding his internal power even from a master above himself. But this old man’s internal power….’
-Pah-pahk!
Baek Sa-ha stretched out his hand and pulled once again.
Then far stronger qi than before wound around Mok Gyeong-un’s body.
It was nearly twice as much qi.
‘This is……’
Mok Gyeong-un let out a faint breath and then entrusted his body to that qi.
To resist this, he would likely have to open the death aura in his middle dantian as well, but it did not seem necessary to reveal that power.
-Pahk!
Mok Gyeong-un’s body floated into the air and flew all the way to the front of Baek Sa-ha.
Then Baek Sa-ha traced the path of a palm technique gently with his hand, and Mok Gyeong-un’s body spun around and was forced into a seated position on the floor.
‘He handles qi almost as though he were breathing.’
The title of one of the Five Kings truly was no empty thing.
If even an expert close to the realm of transformation was like this, one could not even begin to guess how strong those who had truly crossed the wall would be.
At that moment Baek Sa-ha opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, I heard you wished to receive this old man’s instruction?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me how you endured this old man’s poison. Depending on your answer, I shall decide whether or not to give you instruction.”
“That is strange.”
“What is strange?”
“Under the Society’s rules, you should not be able to refuse, and yet you speak as though you could reject me depending on your mood.”
“Heh heh heh, yes, of course I must keep the Society’s rules.”
“And yet….”
“And yet this old man could teach you nothing more than how to strip sorghum stalk bark before sending you off. That too would be instruction.”
“Peeling sorghum stalk bark is not martial arts.”
“It is only an example that I could teach something useless.”
At Baek Sa-ha’s words, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled inwardly.
Just as the Shadow Sect Master had said, he certainly seemed eccentric and possessed his own stubbornness.
So Mok Gyeong-un said,
“Now that you put it that way, I suppose I should answer clearly.”
“Heh heh heh. So you have wisely changed your mind. Good. Then how did you endure this old man’s Wave Poison?”
“Constitution.”
“……”
One eyebrow of Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, shot up.
His face had already looked savage and uncanny because of its violet hue, but now his expression seemed to become that of a demon.
“I thought I would speak gently out of regard for your master’s face, but it seems you do not care for that.”
“I have spoken honestly.”
“Honestly? Fine. Then if, as you say, it is merely constitution, let us see whether you can endure this too.”
“Pardon?”
-Whaaaaa!
The instant he asked back, Baek Sa-ha’s hand was dyed violet.
It was more condensed than the mist form and far exceeded the poison aura from a moment ago.
Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, smiled fearsomely and said,
“Endure this old man’s Wave Demon Staff Method as well.”
-Paaaang!
Baek Sa-ha’s palm struck Mok Gyeong-un squarely in the chest.
At that moment the back of his clothes tore, and poison aura burst out through his back.
It was a phenomenon brought about by the subtle principle of issuing force.
Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, curled up the corner of his mouth.
‘As the poison aura pierced through him, his five viscera and six bowels must have been struck by poison. He babbled about constitution, but now that I have driven it directly inside him, let us see him dispel it if he can.’
He became curious as to how he would neutralize the poison.
Since he certainly did not practice poison arts, he would have no choice but to reveal his secret.
That was what he thought, but then,
“How long do I need to endure it?”
“……Surely you are not saying you are fine?”
“Yes. If this was simply a test of whether poison works on me or not, then for my constitution it is rather pointless.”
“You, just what in the world……?”
Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, was dumbfounded.
The poison contained in that palm strike just now was powerful enough that if an ordinary master took it properly, he would not even be able to breathe right and would soon die.
Yet this boy was wagging his lips just fine.
-Pahk!
Baek Sa-ha seized Mok Gyeong-un by the collar and yanked him close.
“How exactly did you do it? By what means did you endure this old man’s poison without even circulating qi?”
“You are asking the same question. I have the same answer.”
“Nonsense!”
“It is the truth.”
“Are you making sport of this old man? The poison just now was poison aura strong enough to melt even stone. Do you think one could endure that by constitution alone?”
“Hmm. It seems you cannot believe it.”
“Would you believe it, were you in my place?”
“Do you truly want to know?”
“……Do you truly wish to die?”
-Whaaaaa!
In that instant, fierce poison aura and killing intent burst from Baek Sa-ha’s entire body as his anger surged.
The force of it was so strong that his second son, Baek So-gang, nervously took a step back.
‘Why is he provoking Father like this?’
He could not understand Mok Gyeong-un’s intentions at all.
Rather than asking him to explain the secret in detail, it would have been enough just to hear how he had endured the poison aura, yet he kept provoking his father, Baek Sa-ha the Annihilation Poison King.
It was then that Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.
“In truth, there is a simple reason I could endure your poison, Elder.”
“Speak. If you are making sport of this old man again, then disciple of the Shadow Sect Master or not, you had best prepare yourself.”
“Understood. Since your temper is this unpleasant, there is no reason not to tell you.”
“Hmph. There is no need to go in circles to say you do not wish to die.”
“Let us say that is so.”
“Hah….”
Baek Sa-ha clicked his tongue.
Even though he was showing such anger, this boy did not so much as blink and continued to say what he pleased.
He could not tell whether the boy had lost the sense of fear or was simply bold.
But seeing those unwavering eyes, one thing was certain: it was not the former.
“Speak.”
“Since I must tell only you, Elder, I will briefly commit a discourtesy.”
“What?”
To the man who asked back, Mok Gyeong-un lowered his head close and whispered into his ear.
“You asked how I endured it, did you not?”
“I did.”
“Have you ever been poisoned by the toxin of itchweed, Elder?”
“The poison of itchweed? Why would this old man be poisoned by such a weak toxin, one that at most causes hives on the body?”
“That is it.”
“What?”
“The reason your poison has no effect on me.”
‘!?’
In an instant, Baek Sa-ha’s expression twisted viciously.
Though spoken indirectly, Mok Gyeong-un had scraped at his pride.
To put it bluntly, Mok Gyeong-un had said this.
[It is because your poison is weak and does not work on me.]
-Creak!
Baek Sa-ha ground his teeth hard.
His poison, that of a grand authority on poison counted among the top three in all the Central Plains, was weak?
Was this whelp truly mad to die?
He was digging his own grave.
“Heh heh heh. So my poison feels that way to you. Then this old man ought to show you what proper poison truly is.”
‘Eh?’
At those words of Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, his second son Baek So-gang’s eyes widened.
That was because he realized what poison his father was about to show.
Where poison was honed, there was of course something that could be called a secret art.
For example, there were the Tang Clan of Sichuan’s Formless Poison, the Guyang Clan’s Hapma Scripture Snake Poison, and Baek Yu’s Wave Demon Poison, created by Baek Yu, the Master of Ten Thousand Poisons and the progenitor and grandfather of the Baek family.
“Father!”
Startled, Baek So-gang called out to him.
Yet Baek Sa-ha did not even turn his gaze toward him.
He truly seemed furious.
‘No.’
Baek So-gang thought that this, at least, could not be allowed.
Wave Demon Poison was the Baek family’s secret transmission in the truest sense, and it was called dead within ten steps, the worst kind of extreme poison, lethal enough to kill before one had taken ten paces.
“Fathe….”
Baek So-gang tried to approach to stop his father.
At that moment, Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, lightly extended his hand.
Then,
-Kuuung!
The stone door, which had been half open at the entrance, slammed shut.
At the blocked entrance, Baek So-gang’s face turned grave.
It seemed he had done that so he would not be interrupted.
‘This is bad.’
At this rate, his father might really use Wave Demon Poison and kill Mok Gyeong-un.
The problem was that this stone door had been made so it could be locked and opened from inside the training chamber, so if it was firmly locked from within, it became difficult to force one’s way in.
-Bang bang!
“Father! Father!”
Ignoring the faint sounds of pounding and calling from outside, Baek Sa-ha said,
“Since you call this old man’s poison weak, this old man shall show you proper poison….”
“It seems the soundproofing is not complete.”
“What?”
“Still, this should be enough for the two of us to talk quietly.”
At those words of Mok Gyeong-un, Baek Sa-ha furrowed his brow.
Was this fellow saying he had deliberately provoked him to make him close the door?
Baek Sa-ha spoke in a voice of disbelief.
“What trick are you trying to pull?”
“It is no trick. I simply do not think it would do me any good if my constitution became too widely known.”
“Constitution?”
Was he still talking about that?
As he was thinking this, a sharp edge suddenly flowed from Mok Gyeong-un’s joined index and middle fingers.
“What are you….”
-Slash!
At that moment Mok Gyeong-un lightly cut his own palm.
Then blood began to drip from the wound in his palm onto the floor.
-Drip, drip!
As the drops of blood fell to the floor, Baek Sa-ha asked with a frown,
“What are you doing right now?”
“I thought I should show you the poison I possess as well, Elder.”
“Poison? Do not tell me you are….”
Baek Sa-ha stared at the blood running from Mok Gyeong-un’s palm with shocked eyes.
What this boy was saying now was,
“……Are you saying there is poison in your blood?”
“Yes. Would you like a taste?”
Smiling, Mok Gyeong-un held out the hand dyed with blood.
‘!!!!’
At this act, Baek Sa-ha wore an expression of utter disbelief.
Those who studied poison deeply and practiced poison arts had a final state they ultimately sought.
That was to become a Poison Person, one whose flesh, blood, and everything else were made of poison.
This state of becoming poison itself was the highest realm they pursued.
‘……You whelp, are you trying to say you have reached the realm of a Poison Person?’