Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 347 – The Rumor (2)

“Hmm.”

Eight Poison Snake Staff Guyang Sa-oh carefully pulled out the long acupuncture needle from the head of Ye Song-ah, the granddaughter of Holy Fire Priestess, who lay motionless as if she were dead.

During the process of removing the needle, Ye Song-ah’s head trembled slightly.

Soon, a black liquid oozed from the tip of the needle and seeped out through the hole in her head where the needle had been inserted.

Seeing this, Guyang Sa-oh breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phew.”

Mok Gyeong-un asked.

“Is it done?”

“Yes. Fortunately, I managed to extract all the delicate poison.”

“Excellent work.”

“Hohoho. It’s nothing.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s praise, Guyang Sa-oh shrugged his shoulders with a sense of pride.

When it came to poisons, Guyang Sa-oh was one of the top three experts across the Central Plains and the Western Regions.

Although Mok Gyeong-un had also learned about poisons from his grandfather, Medicine Immortal Hae Yeong, and the Island Poison King, Baek Sa-ha, and was proficient in their use, Guyang Sa-oh’s extensive experience gave him an edge in handling intricate details.

“Is she completely detoxified?”

“Yes. No matter how skilled the Tang Clan bastard is, this level of poison is not a problem.”

Although the Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae had personally administered the poison, as long as it wasn’t the Formless Poison, Guyang Sa-oh was capable of detoxifying any type of poison.

However, the brain was one of the most delicate areas to handle, so it inevitably took some time.

“She will wake up soon.”

“It seems so.”

-Exhale… Exhale… Exhale…

As the delicate poison was expelled, her breathing changed.

This alone indicated that the blood circulation to her brain had returned to normal.

‘Blood circulation…’

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un suddenly thought of Yoo Moo-jin.

Through his confrontation with Yoo Moo-jin, Mok Gyeong-un had vaguely grasped how his strength manifested.

Yoo Moo-jin’s explosive power was achieved through the innate condensation of natural energy and the circulation of blood and expansion of muscles that were incomparable to ordinary people.

‘Can I do it?’

This technique was more intricate than manipulating energy.

Controlling muscles-

-Clench!

Mok Gyeong-un clenched his fist and tried to expand the muscles in his forearm and biceps.

Even ordinary people could slightly expand their muscles by applying force to their developed muscles through training.

However,

‘Is it impossible?’

The muscular expansion like Yoo Moo-jin’s seemed to be an entirely different matter.

It went beyond the scope of ordinary muscles.

It seemed that rather than being developed through training, it was greatly influenced by bloodline.

Instead, trying to expand his muscles only drained his strength unnecessarily.

‘Should I approach it differently?’

The method of infusing natural energy into the blood and rapidly circulating it seemed quite useful.

Mok Gyeong-un had a way to rapidly circulate blood, which he had grasped while becoming a Poison Man, so it seemed possible to try it out.

-Whoosh!

Soon, the skin on his clenched fist turned slightly red and felt hot.

‘I think it’s working.’

He tried to circulate it even faster.

As a result, his right hand turned even redder, and soon, white steam rose from his skin.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flickered with surprise.

If done well, it might be possible.

However, as he circulated the blood even faster, the muscles in the area where the blood was rapidly circulating began to ache severely.

It felt as if the blood vessels and the muscles at their center had ruptured.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un stopped.

-Whoosh!

Witnessing this strange sight, Eight Poison Snake Staff Guyang Sa-oh asked in astonishment.

“What did you just do?”

“I tried to circulate my blood rapidly.”

“Blood? Not internal energy, but is it possible to rapidly circulate blood?”

“Yes. It’s possible. It’s just a bit difficult to do it normally.”

At those words, Guyang Sa-oh frowned.

No matter how advanced an expert he was, freely controlling the blood flowing within one’s body was nearly impossible, even if he spoke of it casually.

“When the blood circulation speeds up, it puts a strain on the blood vessels and muscles.”

It made sense why Yoo Moo-jin’s muscles were developed.

The thick, armor-like muscles protected his body from the rapid blood circulation.

This meant that either overwhelming muscles were needed to support it, or a method was required to protect the body from strain when circulating blood.

‘Hoh.’

If he circulated the blood while protecting the blood vessels with internal energy, it might be possible to maintain it to some extent.

In that case, it might be possible to stably amplify energy even more than when partially utilizing the Reverse Blood Flow Technique.

For example,

-Whoosh!

If he circulated the blood even faster while protecting the blood vessels with the Heavenly Demon Technique,

-Whoosh!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s right hand and wrist turned dark red, no, a shade of brown, and steam rose from them.

Seeing this, Guyang Sa-oh spoke with wide eyes.

“Advancing Blood, Golden Body?”

“What?”

“Isn’t the technique you’re using right now the Advancing Blood, Golden Body?”

“What do you mean?”

“The technique Mok Gyeong-un is currently using closely resembles the Advancing Blood, Golden Body, the unique poison martial art of Hae Yeok-won, the second leader of the Four Evils Alliance.”

“Hae Yeok-won? Ah!”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un recalled the conversation he had with Yoo Moo-jin before parting ways at the Tang Clan.

***

[Are you leaving?]

[Yes. Since you said there’s nothing that can be done about the demonic energy remaining in my heart, I have no choice but to return home and inquire about it.]

[I apologize for that.]

The demonic energy lingering in his heart was due to the curse of the Demon Sword, Plundering-killing Sword.

The wound inflicted by Plundering-killing Sword would not heal because of this demonic energy, which was no different from a curse.

If it were an ordinary person, being struck in the heart by Plundering-killing Sword would be considered a fatal condition, but thanks to the recovery power passed down through his bloodline, Yoo Moo-jin was able to maintain his life.

‘Demonic energy…’

In fact, Mok Gyeong-un had considered using his Fang Arts to treat Yoo Moo-jin’s demonic energy.

Of course, he couldn’t be certain that it would definitely work, but if this curse had arisen from a long-standing resentment, it might be possible to dispel it using Fang Arts.

However, he quickly dismissed the idea.

Although the Sichuan Tang Clan had agreed to a sixty-year seclusion due to the agreement, it was questionable whether they would continue to abide by it. If they decided to seek revenge, it was uncertain whether Yoo Moo-jin would offer to assist them.

Therefore, he judged that it was better to leave the demonic energy of Plundering-killing Sword intact, rendering Yoo Moo-jin unable to fully exert his power.

[Then, this is farewell. If you have nothing else to say…]

[May I make one request?]

At Yoo Moo-jin’s words just as they were about to part ways, Mok Gyeong-un looked at him with a puzzled expression.

[A request?]

[It’s nothing major. I’m a bit worried after observing you.]

[What do you mean?]

[There seem to be few who can stop a monster like you if you decide to go on a rampage. Our family has to continuously keep watch over ‘that place,’ so we can’t venture too far. At most, we can only keep an eye on the nearby Tang Clan.]

[That place?]

What is he talking about, keeping watch over something?

It seems like they are guarding something.

Then, Yoo Moo-jin spoke.

[Should I say it’s a family matter? It’s a form of service. Service.]

[Hearing you say service makes me curious.]

[It’s nothing special. In the distant past, the founder of our family defeated an extremely large and white ox. However, this ox possesses tremendous strength and refuses to die.]

Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head.

What is he talking about, suddenly mentioning a large ox?

[White Ox?]

[…Yes. Anyway, the important thing is not that. If you happen to encounter someone with the surname Hae while roaming the martial arts world for revenge, I ask that you show mercy to them at least once.]

[The surname Hae?]

[Yes. They can be considered closer relatives to our family than the Tang Clan. Of course, I’ve never met them personally.]

[…Is this a request?]

[Yes, it’s a request. This is also a form of connection. Can’t you grant me this much?]

[As long as they are not involved in my grandfather’s death, I will do so.]

[That’s enough for me.]

[But there must be more than one or two people with the surname Hae. How will I recognize them?]

[I heard there are fewer than you think. And you’ll be able to tell at a glance. Even though they aren’t born with the same innate abilities as our clan, I heard they know how to control their bodies to some extent.]

***

Right.

The person Yoo Moo-jin had mentioned must be that Hae Yeok-won.

The phrase “know how to control their bodies to some extent” seemed to imply that he had mastered the method of rapidly circulating blood to explosively increase his power.

They seemed to call it the Advancing Blood, Golden Body.

“Who is this Hae Yeok-won person?”

“He is the second leader of the Four Evils Alliance. He is known to possess martial prowess comparable to the Eight Stars.”

“I see.”

In any case, now that he knew the name and affiliation, there was no need to bother him unless he was entangled with the Secret Society.

But wasn’t the Four Evils Alliance a group formed by the remnants of the annihilated Nine Blood Sect and other evil sect members?

Little by little, connections seemed to be forming, whether he knew it or not.

At that moment,

“Ugh.”

Along with a groan, Ye Song-ah, who had been asleep, opened her eyes.

After blinking a few times, she suddenly sat up in surprise and looked around.

“Who, who are you?”

In response to her question, Guyang Sa-oh scoffed and said,

“After all the effort I put into treating you and waking you up, that’s the first thing you ask?”

“What?”

“You should be thanking this person.”

Guyang Sa-oh politely pointed at Mok Gyeong-un with his palm.

At this, her eyes widened.

‘!!!!!!’

Having just awakened, she was disoriented and couldn’t recognize who was who.

However, after staring intently, she finally recognized Mok Gyeong-un’s face, and her eyes were filled with joy.

“Ah ah ah!”

With tears welling up in her eyes, she immediately prostrated herself inside the carriage.

-Thud!

She even banged her forehead hard against the floor.

Surprised by her sudden action, Guyang Sa-oh couldn’t understand.

“No matter how much I told you to be grateful…”

“Only! Only for this moment have I been waiting!”

At her overwhelming voice, even Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t hide his confusion.

She was seeing him for the first time, so why was she acting this way?

As Mok Gyeong-un stared at her intently, he slightly moved his hand.

Then, her head, which was pressed against the floor, was lifted by the internal energy.

“Oh?”

As her head was raised against her will, her eyes trembled.

Mok Gyeong-un asked her,

“What have you been waiting for? Aren’t you seeing me for the first time today?”

“The sacred orb showed you to me.”

“Sacred orb? The… one that bestows the revelation of Holy Fire?”

“That’s right. The revelation told me that you would come to find me, the lowliest of the low, and pave the way for me.”

“…Pave the way?”

“Yes. You are the one who will purify this tainted world with sacred flames and lead the foolish beings to the demonic path!”