Chapter 76

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The palm force that had previously been blocked by the breastplate finally pushed through the rebounding force and advanced.

The cracks on the breastplate gradually grew larger.

Within the slowed time, a red energy mixed into the halo of lightning beyond the shattered fragments.

The blood bursting out from beneath the masked warrior’s opened chest sprayed and scattered the light; on a bright moonlight night, the lightning made it as bright as if daylight had been brought to a corner of the massive manor.

“The Yurong Armor with a single palm strike?!”

“It’s lightning qi!”

“The rumor that he brought down the Great Sage Who Overturns Seas elder was true?!”

“Surround and encircle him!”

Urgency was felt amidst the busily shouting voices.

Meanwhile, I assessed with my upper dantian.

The energy of the Changyou-masked bandits who were ruthlessly approaching over the wall wavered; it was the influence of their shaken minds.

The moment I drove the Wind and Thunder Palm’s force once again into the chest of a Changyou-masked bandit rushing to hastily form an encirclement.

Their clamor subsided.

The wavering energy stabilized.

A green light shimmered through the eyeholes cut in the mask.

Apart from the light, the Changyou-masked bandits, who had calmed down, narrowed the encirclement in silence.

Instead of rushing in like at first, they slowly assumed a formation.

Instantaneously, I realized.

‘There is a mask of a higher level…!’

I could immediately tell who that mask was.

The master of the Changyou-masked bandits.

‘Great Sage Who Drives Spirits!’

Behind those who had lost their reason, the Great Sage of the Green Forest was undoubtedly present.

The Tai Chi Diagram Exposition was telling me.

That danger was close.

However, he was not someone for me to deal with.

Master’s body moved forward.

Holding swords in both hands.

Keeping that sight in my eyes, I focused on the enemies before me.

‘They have become more organized.’

They brandished distinct, exotic weapons.

Some monkey brandished a nine-section spear, while another threw hidden weapons; a massive ghost-faced saber, a ghost-head saber, and a supple willow-leaf saber slashed through space.

Yet their movements did not overlap.

The weapons flying in with a split-second difference in timing were troublesome.

The joint attack, revolving like gears as if they had become a single body upon losing their reason, was far more threatening than before.

I pushed away the wolf-tooth club pressing against my Shoulder Well acupoint with the second form of the Wind and Thunder Palm, and redirected the hidden weapon flying behind my back with a single step of the Slender Willow Flutter.

Immediately, I successively unleashed the third and fourth forms of the Wind and Thunder Palm.

I withdrew the lightning qi and utilized only the palm wind.

The laminar flow coiled in the palm and the turbulent flow enveloping its surroundings solidly built a defensive wall at the front, so.

Pagak!

The massive ghost-head saber tore through the ground, and the willow-leaf saber slashed the empty air.

Next, I infused the stored lightning qi into my palm.

The palm force of the fifth form of the Wind and Thunder Palm, Accumulated Plate Torrential Flow, poured out.

Having stacked palm force compressed like a disc, I discharged the force along the trajectory of a planet thrown out of orbit.

Kureung-jjeojeong—!

This time, two masked bandits fell simultaneously.

However, other Changyou-masked bandits instantly filled their spots.

The masked bandits who had lost their reason solidified the encirclement without any agitation despite their comrades’ deaths.

Thanks to that, the damage was not spreading to the family members of the Yeo Family Clan, but.

‘At this rate, my internal strength will be depleted first.’

In the presence of the joint attacks continuing without a moment to catch my breath and the encirclement that seemed penetrable but was not, I felt the internal strength of my lower dantian rapidly decreasing.

No matter how much I had compensated through spiritual medicines, the aftereffects of using my cultivation power for detoxification throughout three days were considerable.

Furthermore, when calculating the number of masked bandits gauged through the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition and my remaining cultivation power.

‘It is not enough.’

Since energy is conserved.

Cultivation power does not suddenly get created out of nowhere.

No matter how much the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art was a divine skill capable of accumulating qi even during battle, the cultivation power consumption of the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm was immense.

If I utilized lightning qi in that state, there was no guarantee that I wouldn’t end up like when I first acquired the lightning qi.

Because of that.

‘No more Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm.’

I withdrew the palm force of the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm.

In an instant, their momentum rose further, and attacks flooded in like a tide.

Naturally, since the solid wall had vanished.

They might even think I had given up from exhaustion.

Of course, dealing with all of them alone was clearly impossible for the current me, but.

‘If I hold out until Master arrives… there is a chance of winning.’

I drew the sword slung across my back while keeping the enemies’ movements in my eyes.

**

Immortal Gangwon stood in front of the man wearing a six-eared monkey mask and a crookedly worn fancy crown.

“Great Sage Who Drives Spirits.”

He was a titan of the unorthodox path who possessed the arrogant nickname meaning the great sage who drives away immortals.

Unlike other masks, the fellow’s mask completely covered even his lower jaw; more precisely, the lower jaw was covered with some kind of fabric woven from threads drawn thin from metal.

It looked as if some special craft had been applied.

Beyond that metal fabric, his jaw moved.

“Hehehe. You Taoist scoundrels. You will be buried here today.”

The voice, as if passed through a strange contraption, echoed gloomily in the space; the wide-open manor suddenly became stifling, as if it were inside a cave.

“Can you not hear it? The sound of your disciple dying.”

Simultaneously with the words of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits, it was heard.

The palm wind of the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm and the discharge sound of the lightning qi suddenly vanished, and.

“Die!”

“Mince his arms!”

“Start with the legs!”

The battle cries, sounding as if weapons were falling down to crush a tender body, rang in the ears.

“You will not even leave behind intact corpses in this place; you must pay the price for daring to obstruct the grand event of the Great Sages!”

The words of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits, sounding as if foretelling a determined future, were cursing the future of Immortal Gangwon and Yeon Baek-jung.

‘He is amplifying anxiety and paralyzing rational judgment through demonic energy and sound arts; it is a sorcery of heterodox paths.’

Was it, however, insufficient to disturb the intellect of Immortal Gangwon who possessed a massive upper dantian?

Immortal Gangwon closely assessed the changes occurring in his own body and, after recalling them.

A refreshing energy rose from the internal core firmly situated in his middle dantian.

As the efficacy of the cultivation power filled with the Taoist Three Clarities Power drove out the sinister energy.

The space of the spirit in the upper dantian, which was being contaminated by sorcery and demonic energy, was washed clean.

Energies of mutual exclusion.

Since what opposed the sorcery was the purely polished cultivation power of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.

Over the cleared vision, the cave-like stiflingness vanished.

Only then was it visible.

The demonic energy rising from beneath the feet of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits.

In addition, he realized.

That the words spoken as if threatening him concerning his disciple had not disturbed his mind state at all.

The greatest wall defending against sorcery was.

Belief.

-There is no way my disciple would die to such trash.

Gangwon realized anew just how much he believed in his disciple.

A smile came out naturally.

Backed by the bright moonlight, Immortal Gangwon felt the texture of the sword hilt in his hand and spoke.

“Is this the sorcery of heterodox paths? Entertaining.”

“Do you triumph just because you cracked a single technique? Even so, there is no way the destined fate of you Taoist master and disciple will change.”

The gloomy voice held conviction.

In a way, it was natural.

Since in Gangwon’s own qi perception, a three-digit number of masked bandits was felt.

He felt that the fellow had reason to possess such conviction.

And when a grinding sound echoed.

Immortal Gangwon seized the split second to observe the sky.

Judging by the configuration of the stars, the situation had passed the hour of the Pig and reached the hour of the Rat.

‘Not yet?’

Immortal Gangwon was one of the Nine Swords of Wudang and, at the same time, the foremost strategist of the Wudang Sect; strategists were those who designed, planned, and realized matters.

As such, Immortal Gangwon did not prefer uncertainty.

Because of that, the current situation was not deviating greatly from what he had considered and calculated.

‘Though it is a bit tight.’

Finishing his calculations in the interval of a single breath split dozens of times, Immortal Gangwon cast his vision forward and raised his cultivation power.

He smiled.

“I hope the martial arts you possess will be a little more interesting.”

Facing an opponent against whom he could exert his full genuine power for the first time in a while subtly made his heart flutter, and.

Just as expected.

“Heuu.”

The body of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits, who let out a cry, was changing.

The muscles of his entire body swelled massively, making his size look as if it had doubled.

Accordingly, upon the exposed skin, tattoos were darkly absorbing the surrounding light.

He did not look human.

A figure that would not be strange to call a monster or a specter.

Bone elongation and muscle expansion.

For it was a physique completed through the essence of heterodox and unorthodox technologies.

“You will not return alive.”

Along with his words, he drew the twin sabers slung horizontally across his back.

Fitting his massive body, huge saber blades were revealed, and.

The massive body of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits lunged toward Immortal Gangwon.

**

‘The force of precisely rotating gears can be stopped more easily by a single small foreign object than by blocking it head-on.’

It was one of the facts realized while handling state-of-the-art equipment in the butterfly dream.

That was why I raised my sword and began to emit sword force according to the formula of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword.

The net of true qi spread along the extending blade manipulated the force.

Before the approaching wolf-tooth club could even touch the blade, its trajectory was twisted and its speed was accelerated.

“Uh-huh?”

A tiny crack.

That was the beginning.

The wolf-tooth club of the Changyou-masked bandit, who let out a startled cry despite having lost his reason, blocked the blade of the fellow who was striking down a crescent blade over the back of my head.

Jjeong—!

Blocking the enemy’s weapon with the enemy’s weapon.

It was using barbarians to control barbarians.

Thanks to that, the movement forms of the joint attack, which had been precisely interlocking like cogs, began to loosen bit by bit.

Although it did not load destructive power to kill the opponent in a single strike like the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm, the Four Symbols Flowing Sword was a sword technique highly optimized for utilizing the opponent’s force in reverse.

Thus, its marvelous utility could be sufficiently exerted with only a small consumption of internal strength.

Reduced internal strength consumption.

As the loosened joint attack forms brought composure to my body and mind.

‘From now on, I will move a bit more efficiently.’

A situation where a prolonged battle was certain.

I began to adjust my forms and force release to suit the situation.

I mobilized the physical strength of my Innate Divine Strength to reduce internal strength consumption to the absolute minimum.

‘I load stress onto the gastrocnemius muscle.’

Replacing the silk reeling force with the twisting of muscles, strength was properly loaded onto the tip of the sword as if cultivation power were loaded.

Chiring—!

The ghost-head saber, whose trajectory was twisted as it was deflected, reached the shoulder of another Changyou-masked bandit.

Jjeong—!

Another masked warrior, who was on the verge of having his shoulder cut, narrowly raised a crescent blade to block it.

Like a swinging-by satellite, the paths of the weapons of the masked warriors approaching around my sword were warped and accelerated.

Thereby attacking another masked bandit who formed the encirclement.

‘Entertaining!’

The number of enemies was forgotten, and the figures of the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits and Master were erased; only the enemies surrounding me and I remained in the world.

No.

Even that was erased.

Only forms, trajectories, and the flows of force and true qi remained.

A simplified world.

Inside the slowed sensation of time, the sword moving as if dancing twisted the trajectory heading toward the centerline of my body, blocking another trajectory.

A roar erupted from the collision of trajectory and trajectory.

The encirclement became even looser.

More Changyou-masked bandits were added to compensate for that looseness.

The gap between the fellows grew tighter.

Along with the narrow gap, the range of movement was also narrowed, so.

‘The trajectories also became monotonous.’

What did it mean to be monotonous?

It meant it was easy to predict.

An easily predictable attack was much easier to deflect.

The moment the accumulation of easiness reached its critical threshold.

‘Now.’

I began to counterattack.

Upon the simple thrust of the first form of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword, Immortal Pointing the Way, the true qi that had been draped like a net concentrated.

Despite the monotony of the heavily extending sword strike, the narrowed range of movement among the Changyou-masked bandits left no space to evade.

Could they, then, raise their weapons to block it?

The guy I targeted was the one throwing hidden weapons.

As if he had completely exhausted even the hidden weapons equipped in his chest, he stood to block with bare hands.

The gap between us was exactly the distance of one sword.

Along with the sensation of stabbing a sword into soft soil, the tip of the blade pierced through his arm, split between the ribs, and reached the pulsating heart.

Puhwahak—!

The blood spraying from the heart shot up as if to reach the night sky where dark clouds had now gathered.

Simultaneously, as the concentration of my upper dantian reached its peak, invisible trajectories were grasped.

‘Behind my back, one crescent blade, two wolf-tooth clubs, and one hidden weapon.’

Immediately swirling the sword drawn from the heart, I did not touch the flying wolf-tooth club but twisted its path using only sword pressure; the hidden weapon lodged itself in the massive wolf-tooth club, and the crescent blade was deflected by the Three-Section Brocade body protection technique.

I advanced a step and slit a throat with the sword blade.

I utilized the narrow space efficiently.

Like that, another one fell.

Step by step, I brought down the Changyou-masked bandits who formed the encirclement.

Finally.

When the dark clouds completely blocked the moonlight and made the world a pitch-black dark heaven.

There were no longer any Changyou-masked bandits remaining behind my back.

Because the encirclement was half-destroyed, the enemies stood before me in a crane-wing formation.

Eventually, the battle fell into a lull.

Rain began to pour down from the sky.

Along with the sound of rain, the slowed sensation of time returned to normal; the narrowed realm of my senses also widened once again, and the figure of Master came into view.

Between the two men, there was no chance for the raindrops to touch their bodies due to the wind pressure generated by the collision of their force waves.

‘Should I… help him?’

The thought occurred to me, but I soon shook my head.

For there was absolutely no room to intervene in Master’s figure as he deflected and bounced back the massive twin sabers brandished by the Great Sage Who Drives Spirits while launching counterattacks.

Instead, I gazed straight ahead.

Even though I had cut down so many, there were still many left.

Moreover, fighting spirit still surged in eyes that looked as if their reason had returned.

Should I say it was impressive that they still showed fighting spirit despite being beaten to this extent?

Midst such thoughts, one masked bandit opened his mouth.

“The rain is coming.”

As if that were the signal.

All the masked fellows shouted together.

“The rain is coming!”

‘What is this?’

Along with that shout, the loosened string of concentration was pulled tight, and my concentration went beyond the limit.

Once again, time slowed down.

Within the slowed sensation of time, I realized.

That the falling raindrops had momentarily subsided.

An alarm rang loudly in the realm of intuition.

For a split second, an illusion of the manor’s uncollapsed wall collapsing overlapped.

And I realized.

That which had not yet occurred.

But I had briefly caught a glimpse of the soon-to-be-determined future.

Pouring in all the cultivation power I had recovered so far, I swung the sword according to the Tai Chi Sword Manual’s Wash formula.

Simultaneously, the wall collapsed, and a water pillar stretched toward me like a dragon ascending to heaven.

A water pillar that was uniquely fast even within the endlessly slowed time.

Beyond it, a man was visible.

A person wearing a flood dragon mask and grinning with bared teeth.

‘Great Sage Who Overturns Seas!’

It was the second coming of the Green Forest bandit leader who had been submerged with a shattered spine.

The only saving grace was.

That my sword art’s mastery had grown deeper through the training of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword and the Tai Chi Sword Manual, so.

The path of the water pillar was slightly altered by the sword strike swung according to the Tai Chi Sword Manual’s Wash formula which swept away everything.

In that state, I could be safe if I dodged.

However.

‘Behind me is the room where the brothers Yeo Mun-yang and Yeo Jung-yang are.’

The option of evasion was erased, and.

Channeling all my cultivation power into the Three-Section Brocade body protection technique, I planted my feet into the ground.

At that moment, a water dragon struck my body.

I endured with my body to somehow weaken the power of the water pillar; it felt as if all the bones in my body were about to dislocate.

Additionally, the stone floor shattered under my heels as my body was pushed back.

Blood splattered on my legs that I had planted into the ground.

‘Am I dying?’

By the time such a thought occurred as I was pushed back and back.

‘Hmm?!’

According to calculations, it was a situation where my spine should have been shattered by crashing into the building’s main beam; instead, a soft sensation was felt against my back.

In addition, a gentle sword strike severed the waist of the water dragon.

Truly a sword that parted water.

Even in my vision darkened by internal injuries, the shadow of the person who swung the sword was familiar.

‘Martial Uncle Im-won?!’

He was the Prosperity Star Unit Leader who had passed down the Four Symbols Flowing Sword to me.

And the owner of the gentle hand supporting my back asked.

“Are you alright?”

Even the Greedy Wolf Unit Leader, Martial Aunt Hye-won.

It was the reinforcement of the leaders of the two combat units of the True Martial Pavilion.