―'Kuaaak!'
―'Uwaaaah!'
Three hundred elites of the Martial Soul Society, dressed as mercenaries, charged in on horseback with irresistible force.
Rumble, rumble.
As they charged like a swirling black storm, the formation of the tens of thousands of troops who had invaded the Divine Beast Palace split and collapsed in the blink of an eye.
Though they were riding horses, their martial arts were profound, and they were pushing against the ground with their internal energy, effectively flying while seated on horseback.
Swaaaesh!
Along with the sound of the air being torn as if splitting the blue sky, they were already severing the necks of their next enemies before the horses' hooves could even touch the ground.
Craaack! Slaaash!
Bing Hanpung and his Glacial Vanguard unleashed the extreme yin martial arts derived from the Heavenly Glacial Secret.
Whenever frost-light energy cleaved through the air, the flesh and blood of the enemies froze solid white.
In an instant, the battlefield was covered in a blizzard.
Crash! Slice!
Do Cheonlin's Mercenary Corps was even more berserk.
They tore through the chaotic battlefield, wildly pouring out blade qi.
Sharp air currents burst forth from every trajectory, cleaving apart dozens of people at once.
As the enemy's ranks crumbled, Nae Bihon's Swift Thunder Corps entered the center with a deafening roar that seemed to tear the sky apart.
Blinding lightning exploded from the tips of their spears, piercing straight through the battlefield.
Every time a flashing bolt of light passed by, the soldiers' bodies split in mid-air and fell to the ground.
It was truly a thunderbolt shot from the ground.
Like an army of demonic gods riding upon death, the elite troops of the Martial Soul Society were turning the battlefield into a living hell in a flash.
―'Uwaaah!'
At that moment, along with a miserable scream, the head of the Divine Dragon Society Leader, who had been directing the formation, soared into the sky.
Watching this unfold, Dae Guhwi took a deep breath.
'Master, and even the Corps Leaders, everyone...'
"What is going on here?"
"Didn't I tell you? The Command Lord has been closely monitoring the situation in the external regions for a long time."
The Glacial Vanguard Leader Bing Hanpung was the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, and Dae Guhwi was the successor to the Divine Beast Palace.
Bu Eunseol did this for the sake of the two men who had willingly left their sects to join the Martial Soul Society to help him.
He had constantly kept a watch over the situation and well-being of the two great sects.
Then, he recently detected strange movements surrounding the Divine Beast Palace.
And he had prepared a method to break through that crisis.
"So that was why."
Dae Guhwi wore an embarrassed expression.
"I was wondering why everyone left for training so suddenly."
When he left the Martial Soul Society, not a single person had come out to see him off because they had all left for training.
That was so they could match their pace with Dae Guhwi, who was leaving for the Divine Beast Palace.
They secretly left the Central Plains and joined the Mercenary Corps to establish a perfect alibi.
If it became known that the Martial Soul Society had intervened, it could escalate into a conflict between the Grand Alliance of the Central Plains and the external sects.
"Hurry and go."
Black Leopard brought out a pill from inside his robes. It was a Sleep Demon Divine Pill.
"Thank you."
Upon swallowing the Sleep Demon Divine Pill, his internal energy and Thunder Spirit Energy, which had hit rock bottom, recovered in an instant.
Bzzzt.
As his Thunder Spirit Energy recovered, his minor wounds healed instantly.
"Then."
Bringing his hands together, Dae Guhwi,
Ruuuumble!
With a tremor that shook heaven and earth, he dashed like a gale toward the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion.
As he pushed the Thunder Spirit Energy flowing within his body to its limit, his fighting spirit and sense of elation began to surge.
The interior of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion was filled with flames, screams, the heat of battle, and the stench of blood.
'Dae Unpung!'
Dae Guhwi bit his lip until it bled.
In the end, the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, the heart of the Divine Beast Palace, had fallen.
Yet, the figure of Dae Unpung, the main culprit behind this entire situation, was nowhere to be seen.
Like a cunning snake, he was definitely deep within a safe place, completing his despicable scheme.
'If you dare touch the Palace Lord, I will never forgive you!'
Bzzzt.
His anger turned into pure white lightning that was constantly being emitted, and true power was endlessly replenishing within his body.
Boom.
At that moment, a massive iron gate, three chi thick, suddenly blocked his path.
Dae Unpung, who had invaded the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion first, had immediately activated the mechanisms inside the moment Dae Guhwi entered the interior.
However, Dae Guhwi did not stop his footwork.
'There's no time.'
Bzzzt.
Fusing the energy of his beast martial arts and the destructive power of his Thunder Spirit Energy into one, he rammed straight into the iron gate.
Claaang!
Simultaneously with an explosive sound like a wild beast's roar, the iron gate was torn apart like paper, and its fragments scattered in all directions.
When he finally neared the Palace Lord's quarters.
He saw the troops of the Western Heaven Poison King Palace brutally slaughtering the martial artists of the Divine Beast Palace who were defending the inside.
"Block him!"
Upon spotting Dae Guhwi rushing in, they immediately moved to intercept him.
"Get lost!"
From the tips of Dae Guhwi's fingers, formed into tiger claws like those of a beast, pure white Thunder Spirit Energy surged upward like a sword.
Using the materialized Thunder Spirit Energy, he began to blow off the heads of the Western Heaven Poison King Palace's poison masters.
His Thunder Spirit Energy was surpassing that of Nae Bihon in his youth.
He was combining the martial arts of the Thunder Spirit Sect with his beast martial arts, which could tear and crush everything.
Bam! Splat!
With a single strike, the heads of dozens of poison masters shot up into the sky.
The sight of blood and chunks of flesh scattering about was a majestic display, as if a martial god had descended.
"Uwaak!"
"Kuaaak!"
The invaders who had dyed the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion in blood were being torn apart like wet paper at Dae Guhwi's hands.
Though he possessed a naturally gentle and honest disposition, he had no sympathy to spare for them.
Becoming a streak of lightning, he traversed the battlefield, tearing, crushing, and exploding everything that passed by him.
Every time a move combining Thunder Spirit Energy and beast martial arts was unleashed, heads flew or limbs shot into the air.
Craaash!
He broke through the defense line in an instant, and mountains of gruesome corpses piled up behind him.
"Hmph!"
As he finally reached the center of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, a familiar shout struck his ears.
Amidst the enemies that filled his vision, far away, a giant shadow as massive as a mountain was fighting a desperate battle and holding its ground.
It was the Divine Beast Palace Lord, Dae Gon.
And right behind him was...
'Dae Unpung!'
Dae Guhwi's eyes became bloodshot with sheer fury.
Dae Unpung was slyly swinging his sword, acting as if he was fending off the enemies while standing back-to-back with the Palace Lord, Dae Gon.
However, he could not deceive Dae Guhwi's eyes.
'He's waiting for a chance to launch a surprise attack on the Palace Lord!'
In the midst of fighting, Dae Unpung stealthily moved his hand and slightly opened a small leather pouch tied around his waist.
Then, a colorless and odorless poisonous gas began to spread behind Dae Gon's back.
It was the venom sac of the Myriad Soul Silkworm, the extreme poison of the Western Heaven Poison King Palace.
That Myriad Soul Silkworm was the final trump card meant to drive Dae Gon, already poisoned by the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison, into an irrecoverable state.
"Dae Unpung!"
Dae Unpung's shoulders flinched at Dae Guhwi's roar that shook the ceiling.
Anxiety and panic crossed his face as he confirmed the sight of Dae Guhwi approaching from afar, forging a path of blood while scattering flesh and gore.
'All my plans have gone awry!'
Losing his reason, he chose to make a final, desperate struggle.
"Palace Lord! It's Guhwi!"
He shouted loudly on purpose.
"We must save him quickly!"
Having diverted Dae Gon's attention and gaze toward Dae Guhwi, he used the sword he was holding.
And deeply stabbed the lower abdomen of Dae Gon, who had entrusted his back to him.
Shuuk!
Along with the gruesome sound of flesh being pierced,
Thud.
Dae Gon ultimately fell to one knee.
He had already been enduring for over two hours while poisoned by extreme poison, drained of true power.
On top of that, having received a fatal wound from Dae Unpung plunging a blade into him, he finally collapsed.
"Dae Unpung―――!"
A shriek burst from Dae Guhwi's mouth.
With a thunderous shout, he rushed at Dae Unpung, sweeping away the surrounding troops like a storm.
Seeing Dae Guhwi charging like a wild beast devoid of reason, Dae Unpung took out a dagger from within his robes with a terrified expression and swung it.
But there was no way he could be a match for him in the first place.
His sword was shattered to pieces upon colliding with Dae Guhwi's Thunder Spirit Energy, and Dae Guhwi's claws followed through, piercing straight through his neck bones.
Craaack.
With a spine-chilling cracking sound, Dae Unpung died on the spot, unable to even close his eyes.
For a traitor who had betrayed his father and brothers and subverted the Divine Beast Palace, it was a rather hollow end.
"Palace Lord!"
Dae Guhwi supported the collapsing Dae Gon with his bloodstained hands.
Thick tears welled up in his eyes.
In the past, he had thought of him as a heartless father, but now he knew everything.
That despite having been poisoned for a long time, he endured the pain in silence so that his son could pursue his ambitions in the Central Plains.
So that he wouldn't have to worry about the affairs of the Divine Beast Palace.
Spurt!
Instead of answering, Dae Gon gathered his remaining internal energy and pushed out the sword lodged in his dantian.
The sword shot out like an arrow, and dark red blood spurted out like a fountain.
Tap, tap.
With a nonchalant motion, he pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding.
However, his dantian was heavily damaged, and the vast majority of his internal energy was dissipating.
Vwoom.
As Dae Gon's face rapidly paled, Dae Guhwi tried to inject his internal energy.
But Dae Gon shook his head.
"There is no need."
"Palace Lord."
"Do not make a fuss."
Even when his life was on the line, Dae Gon did not lose the dignity of the Divine Beast Palace Lord.
"This is not a wound that can be healed by injecting internal energy."
Rumble!
But not missing that split-second opening, the enemies who had been eagerly seeking a chance surged in again like a tidal wave.
"You worthless vermin!"
Dae Guhwi roared and unleashed his beast martial arts once more.
He swept away the surrounding enemies like autumn leaves in the wind, but their numbers did not decrease.
If he cut down one side, two more would appear from the other side.
Meanwhile, Dae Gon's panting breaths were growing fainter and fainter.
At the very moment Dae Guhwi was engulfed in despair,
Ruuuumble!
Piercing through the ceiling of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, a pure white flash struck down like a pillar.
Amidst the pure white light spreading around, a large shadow stood tall.
At that overwhelming presence, all the charging enemies momentarily stopped their movements.
Nae Bihon, who had been disguised as a mercenary and fighting the forces besieging the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, had entered this place.
As he slammed both hands into the floor,
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Pure white lightning spread across the floor like a spiderweb.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
And those bolts of lightning dug into the Yongquan acupoints of the charging enemies, completely bursting the muscles in their legs.
"Uwaak!"
The screaming men,
Sizzle. Trickle.
Collapsed, writhing in pain as they spewed white smoke.
Without an ounce of mercy, he continuously manifested his Thunder Spirit Energy, burning the enemies.
'Why.'
Watching the sight, Dae Guhwi was greatly flustered.
They were absolutely not to leave any traces that a sect from the Central Plains had intervened.
That was why even the masters of the Martial Soul Society disguised as the Mercenary Corps did not use their innate martial arts at all.
So why was he suddenly using Thunder Spirit Energy so deliberately?
"It's the Thunder God!"
Not only were the poison masters of the Western Heaven Poison King Palace still deployed inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, but...
The gang members of the Black Blood Gang had constructed a formidable defensive formation capable of defending against attacks from a master like Nae Bihon.
"Deploy the formation!"
Vwoom.
As the Black Blood Gang's formation was completed and a massive energy barrier spread out, the Thunder Spirit Energy could no longer pass through their bodies.
―'Ughh. Aaaargh!'
However, an unexpected situation unfolded.
The troops of the Black Blood Gang, who were being protected by a solid energy barrier akin to diamond...
Were they not suddenly melting away with wretched screams?
Poison Saint.
The extreme poison that only one who had reached the absolute zenith among poison masters could wield had been unleashed.
'So that's how it was.'
Only then did Dae Guhwi realize the reason why Nae Bihon was pouring out his sect's unique martial arts to his heart's content.
'The Society Leader has arrived.'
Since he was planning to wipe out every single martial artist who had entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion anyway...
Without leaving a single one alive, Nae Bihon was freely displaying his Vacuum Supreme Art.
"What is this!"
The Palace Lord of the Western Heaven Poison King Palace, Un Cheonggyo, glared fiercely.
The interior of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion was filled with the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison he had spread.
But for all of that to suddenly disappear and the Black Blood Gang martial artists to die from poisoning?
Trickle.
In the blink of an eye, the vast majority of the Black Blood Gang martial artists began to melt into puddles of water within their formation.
"Palace Lord Un!"
The Black Blood Gang Leader, Baek Ryeonghu, shouted in panic.
"Why are you not stopping that Poison Phosphorus!"
'Poison Phosphorus?'
Un Cheonggyo widened his eyes.
Just where in the world was this Poison Phosphorus?
Ziiiing.
At that moment, Un Cheonggyo's vision went dark, and the shape of a giant spider looking down at him from above his head appeared.
It wasn't a real spider; he was experiencing a hallucination.
"I've been poisoned?"
He might have only reached the initial stage of the Poison Saint, but a Poison Saint was still a Poison Saint.
He could instantly detoxify any poison, so how could he possibly be poisoned?
Smirk.
At that time, the large spider smirked at him, and soon morphed into the figure of a dazzling man dressed in black.
It was none other than Bu Eunseol.
'That man is...'
At that moment, Un Cheonggyo recalled another realm passed down in legends.
A realm said to limitlessly create new poisons that had never existed before, adapting to the surrounding environment...
The legend of the Supreme Sovereign of Myriad Poisons, the Absolute Poison Emperor.
'He used my bizarre poison as a base to create a new poison and infect me with it.'
Having realized everything, Un Cheonggyo instead wore a smile.
Since he was killed by someone who had recreated the realm every poison master dreamed of even in their sleep... he had no regrets.
'It wasn't that I was weak.'
C-c-craaack.
Purple veins spread across Un Cheonggyo's entire body like a spiderweb, and then,
Trickle.
He instantly turned into a puddle of blood and scattered across the floor.
"Palace Lord Un!"
By the time Baek Ryeonghu watched the sight with wide eyes,
Bzzzt.
Before he knew it, was a shadow enveloped in purple lightning not placing a hand on his lower abdomen?
It was none other than Bu Eunseol.
"How dare you!"
Baek Ryeonghu was greatly enraged and immediately tried to kick him with the technique of the Poisonous Snake Emerging from the Cave.
And that became... the last struggle of his lifetime.
Bam!
Baek Ryeonghu's body shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.
Pitter-patter.
Blood and all sorts of entrails spread out, scattering everywhere.
Paaat! Paaat! Triiickle.
At the same time, the bodies of the troops inside were bursting or turning into blood puddles.
Drip, drip, drip.
As if Hwagolsan had been used on them.
The interior of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion formed a river of blood from the melting corpses.
Nae Bihon intentionally discharged his Thunder Spirit Energy to induce all the troops to enter their formation to defend themselves.
And at that very moment, Bu Eunseol spread poisonous gas inside the formation, annihilating them in an instant.
"Palace Lord."
Nae Bihon walked over with large strides and respectfully bowed to Dae Gon.
At that, Dae Gon also struggled to raise his body and bowed in return.
"Master Nae."
Nae Bihon's official title was the Swift Thunder Corps Leader.
But because he was Dae Guhwi's master and adoptive father, he used a title bearing the meaning of respect.
Splash.
At that moment, Bu Eunseol, who had turned all the troops inside into puddles of blood, slowly walked out from amidst the pooling blood.
He had rushed to the Divine Beast Palace along with the four great Corps Leaders of the Martial Soul Society and had disguised himself as an ordinary martial artist.
However, realizing that the situation in the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion was becoming urgent, he had entered this place together with Nae Bihon.
"Command Lord."
"Palace Lord."
The two giants exchanged short bows.
Heroes speak through their eyes.
Just by exchanging glances, they had shared countless words.
"Palace Lord!"
Only then did Dae Guhwi come to his senses and rush over, shouting like a scream.
Bu Eunseol spoke in a calm and low voice.
"He's fine."
Swoooosh.
And immediately unleashing the power of the Poison Saint, he expelled the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison eating away at Dae Gon's body outward.
'You've been poisoned for a long time.'
However, because the poison had accumulated for a long time, there was a limit to expelling it externally.
Vwoom.
Ultimately, Bu Eunseol began to absorb the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison in Dae Gon's body into his own.
Since the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison had been eating away at his body for a long time, no matter how much power of a Poison Saint one had...
It was an extremely difficult task to pull out the poisonous gas accumulated in the body in one go.
But Bu Eunseol was not expelling the poisonous gas externally; instead, he absorbed it himself.
Thanks to that, the residual poison that could not be discharged instantly began to be absorbed into his body.
Swoooosh.
As he absorbed the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison, pitch-black and pure-white light alternately flashed in Bu Eunseol's eyes.
The more new bizarre poison he absorbed, the deeper Bu Eunseol's realm became.
By absorbing the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison, he once again leaped to a new realm...
And was becoming the progenitor of poison passed down only in legends, though he was not yet aware of it.
"Palace Lord. Please take this."
He offered a jade bottle wrapped in a radiant aura.
"This is a spiritual medicine of the Azure Cloud Sea Palace that will restore your dantian and breathe new energy into it."
The Azure Cloud Sea Palace had researched secret methods to heal destroyed dantians over the past several years.
And finally, they had created a crystal that condensed all that essence into a single pill.
As Dae Gon received the bottle, he first felt a coldness like ten-thousand-year ice, and then a warm life energy like a spring sprout.
Letting out a rough breath, he managed a nod.
"I thank the Command Lord for your goodwill."
He was originally blunt and reticent, and in the past, he had treated Bu Eunseol as a junior.
But now, he was showing utmost courtesy.
Not only was Bu Eunseol a master who guided and enlightened Dae Guhwi.
But he had also become a supreme grandmaster whose name echoed not just in the Central Plains but even in the external regions.
Gulp.
As he swallowed the spiritual medicine immediately,
C-c-crack.
An unexpected thing occurred.
As soon as the medicine took effect, his skin cracked open, and soon, was a soft light not rising from within it?
Dae Gon's body was already weakened from extreme injuries and the penetration of poison, and his internal energy had scattered after being stabbed by Dae Unpung's blade.
In that state, when Bu Eunseol absorbed the Western Heaven Bizarre Poison, his flesh reached a state of complete emptiness.
When the spiritual medicine was administered into that, not only was his body instantly restored, but he achieved the shedding of the mortal body and exchanging of bones.
Vwooom.
When Dae Gon finished channeling energy, a bizarre luster flowed across his dark skin.
Not only was his body fully recovered, but his internal energy had deepened a level further.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Bu Eunseol smiled.
"Are we not one family?"
At that moment, Dae Guhwi trembled with overwhelming emotion.
It was by no means a feeling unique to him.
While staying in the Martial Soul Society, he had bickered and trained with the Corps Leaders, eaten from the same pot, served Bu Eunseol with loyalty, and fought for the great cause.
And before he knew it, he was feeling a tight-knit affection akin to family.
The heaven-like absolute grandmaster Bu Eunseol was the eldest brother, Nae Bihon was a caring uncle, and the Corps Leaders were strict uncles.
'I am no longer alone.'
Once, he thought that when everything was over...
He would have to return to the Divine Beast Palace and live out a lonely end.
But that would absolutely never happen.
Because they were all one family.
"Palace Lord."
At that time, Bu Eunseol looked around the interior of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion, stained with blood and flesh, and tilted his head.
"There is something I completely do not understand."
As he continued his words, his gaze moved past Dae Unpung's corpse and rested on the smashed remains of the invaders.
"Is there any reason for them to form an alliance and risk their lives to attack the Divine Beast Palace?"
Even if the Divine Beast Palace was the hegemon of Namman, it had never coveted the Central Plains or invaded other sects.
And yet, they had invaded this barren land surrounded by rugged mountains, with barely any profitable interests to gain.
Furthermore, there was another point of doubt.
What ability did a young Dae Unpung have to persuade the overlords of each region to carry out such a deed?
He had continuously investigated while preparing for this matter, but aside from the fact that Dae Unpung had brought in external forces...
He had not been able to find the reason for it.
"As for why they attacked our palace."
At that moment, in the silence, Dae Gon laboriously raised his hand.
"It is because of this."
He carefully removed something from the necklace hanging around his neck, which was gorgeously decorated with all sorts of beast bones and jewels.
Swaaa.
What rested on his palm was something that could hardly be considered made by humans.
It was a bead emitting an extremely mysterious brilliance.
Inside the bead, which emitted light on its own even within the dark palace, tens of thousands of colors swirled like a living nebula.
"Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl."
Bu Eunseol and Nae Bihon widened their eyes at the same time.
The reason they had risked their lives to invade the Divine Beast Palace. It was precisely because of the legendary treasure, the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl.
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