novelraw Chapter 167 : Newly Written Anew (2)
Chapter 167 : Newly Written Anew (2)
Chapter 167: Newly Written Anew (2)
"To think a place like this actually existed on Mount Emei…."
Do Ha-yeong, who had been sweeping her gaze around nonstop, spoke in a tone of disbelief.
While climbing the mountain, the two had somehow ended up strolling deep inside a cavern.
This was the destination Sewoon had mentioned.
"Since a formation that naturally produces thick fog and makes one lose their way had formed here, even if someone stepped into this place several times, they would’ve had trouble discovering it."
"Exactly. There wasn’t a single artificial formation element, so no one sensed anything amiss."
As Sewoon traversed the steep ridges of Mount Emei, he slipped into a winding side path at an unfrequented point midway up.
Thick fog—so dense one couldn’t see an inch ahead—filled that place, but Sewoon led the way without hesitation, and soon a large cavern revealed itself.
After entering without delay, about half a shichen had passed.
Though the cavern walls were lined with stones similar to night pearls, granting them decent visibility, Sewoon still spread his qi sense sharply.
‘Since I’m already here, I should start slowly retracing memories unrelated to the Blood Cult as well.’
At the end of this cave grew the Earth Spirit Grass, the cure for the plague that had spread throughout the jianghu before his regression.
When the suffering of the afflicted reached its peak, the Subduing Tiger Divine Physician and the Shrine Maiden Sect Leader had joined forces to search—barely managing to find it.
The reason Jeok-un remembered this so clearly was simple.
They had scoured the entire jianghu for the Earth Spirit Grass’s habitat and couldn’t find it, only to discover it—absurdly—in what was practically their own front yard, Mount Emei.
Because of how loudly the story spread across the jianghu—how the Subduing Tiger Divine Physician lamented that if she had simply noticed earlier, she could’ve saved many more lives, calling it the classic case of “blind under the lamp.”
"Come to think of it, this terrain is similar to that place from the Poison Demon incident."
"Ah, you’re right."
At Do Ha-yeong’s words, a mischievous spark rose on Sewoon’s face.
He spoke softly.
"Hmm, now that I think about it, that was when Miss Do abandoned me and ran away on her own."
"W-what? You told me to run!"
"I’m joking."
"…Ha, honestly."
Do Ha-yeong shot him a sharp look, but unlike before, there was no chilling coldness in it.
Sewoon also showed a faint smile.
Before they knew it, the two had grown quite close.
But the atmosphere—almost as if they were out on a light excursion—ended quickly.
Chrch.
The two halted in place.
A small inner chamber spread out at the end of the cavern.
Sssaaaa—
And from within, a horrifying surge of venomous qi and demonic qi overflowed at once.
Face stiffening, Do Ha-yeong sent Sewoon a telepathic message.
[Young Master Tang, that must be the guardian of the Earth Spirit Grass.]
[Yes, the Human-Faced Spider.]
Originally, all spiritual herbs and miraculous plants had spiritual beasts drawn to their mystical energy.
And in the case of the Earth Spirit Grass, that guardian was the Human-Faced Spider.
A gigantic spider whose head grotesquely resembled a human face—its strength incomparable to ordinary spiders.
[Miss Do, never think of that as an ordinary spiritual beast. Judging from the density of its aura, it likely possesses at least the strength of a Transformation Realm martial artist.]
[Understood.]
Do Ha-yeong replied with a slightly tense tone.
She had no choice but to be tense.
Her current martial foundation was at the peak of the Supreme Peak Master Level.
From the moment she entered the Jecheon Unit, through her own grueling effort and Sewoon’s guidance, she had risen to this realm—but she still hadn’t crossed the massive wall known as the Transformation Realm.
‘If she overcomes this… it will become an incredible opportunity.’
Watching her, Sewoon thought so.
Before his regression, she—known as the Sword Queen—had endured countless trials and eventually reached the Manifestation Realm.
Do Ha-yeong possessed talent worthy of that title.
Although her growth was far faster now than in his past life, to Sewoon, it was still not enough.
The calamity the Blood Cult was preparing was rapidly approaching even now.
To face them, awakening the Sword Queen Do Ha-yeong was a necessity.
At that moment, Do Ha-yeong slowly stepped forward again and sent him another telepathic message.
[I’ll say it again—no matter how dangerous it gets, do not step in.]
[…Alright.]
The moment Sewoon’s answer reached her—
Srrrng!
She drew a new sword from her waist.
[Since I received payment, I must deliver what I owe.]
Sssaaaa!
From her sword—radiating a mysterious light—spilled a deep Profound Qi that soothed the heart just by beholding it.
The carved patterns and shape did not belong to a sword of Mount Emei.
Receiving Do Ha-yeong’s energy, the blade exuded natural energy on par with Innate True Qi.
Seeing that, Sewoon was greatly satisfied.
‘As expected, it suits her perfectly.’
Indeed. The sword Do Ha-yeong was holding was a Divine Artifact that Sewoon had newly crafted.
Just like how he had gifted Twin Polar Fang to Nameless, Sewoon had prepared this Divine Artifact for her before arriving at Mount Emei.
A sword he had personally forged after a long time with true intent—something not included among the Ten Demonic Weapons of his past life.
From guard to blade to ridge, the sword shone with pure white radiance.
A new Divine Artifact crafted solely with Ha-yeong in mind.
Its name was the Whirlwind Sword, Pung-yeon.
[You must inflict significant damage before it awakens. The fight will be much easier. The moment we enter the chamber, unleash a full-power strike.]
[Got it!]
With that final telepathic message—
Pabat!
The two kicked off the ground and surged into the inner chamber.
The passage widened abruptly, revealing a broad cavern.
Kiiii—
And there lay the Human-Faced Spider, just as Sewoon had said—deep in slumber.
Its outer shell, black as obsidian pearls, looked incredibly sturdy even at first glance.
And its eight grotesquely bent legs were each thick as tree trunks.
Yet even before such overwhelming pressure—
‘I’ll cut it down—!’
Do Ha-yeong, without the slightest hint of fear, shot forward like a streak of light and unleashed the strongest sword technique she had mastered.
Burning Blood Sword Technique
Ultimate Technique
"Wind-Without-Trace"
Swaeak!
Chwaaah!
Sword threads that burst forth from the blade split into dozens—no, hundreds—of strands.
They were the afterimages created by the dazzling flurry of swift strikes poured out like a raging storm.
‘Concentrate every slash on a single point!’
And all those afterimages materialized, converging on the Human-Faced Spider’s neck.
Each time the strands of sword thread struck its exoskeleton, a violent detonation rang out as if fire pellets were exploding.
Kwa-gaga!
Crack!
Along with a fierce tearing through the air, a slicing sound rippled out.
But Sewoon, who was watching the situation from behind, wore a calm, settled gaze.
‘It isn’t a fatal wound.’
The moment he thought that—
Kiiiii!!
“……!!”
The Human-Faced Spider awoke, thrashing its legs in a convulsive strike.
Do Ha-yeong quickly withdrew backward after realizing her attack had failed.
Grrrk!
Thud!
Its six eyes, radiating ominous yellow light, rolled wildly before locking onto Do Ha-yeong all at once.
Fluid dripped down from the slightly cracked area around its neck, but as Sewoon had said, it was not a deep wound.
In truth, the fact that her sword had pierced even that much was a miracle.
The exoskeleton of the Human-Faced Spider was so hard that unless one used sword flux, it couldn’t be cleanly cut at all.
If not for the power of the divine weapon Wind Shackles that Sewoon had given her, her blade would not have pierced—
it would have bounced off helplessly upon impact.
Paat!
Chwaaah!
In the next instant, the Human-Faced Spider shot forward at incredible speed, charging at Do Ha-yeong.
Its swiftness did not match its massive size.
Puuk!
Kuuung!
“Hup!”
Do Ha-yeong released a rough breath as she narrowly evaded the attack.
Where its leg had struck, the ground was left with a deep crater.
Seeing her struggle, Sewoon felt worry rise within his mind.
‘Is it still too much for her?’
A part of him wanted to dash forward right then and effortlessly cut down the Human-Faced Spider.
But Sewoon held himself back.
Growth must always be accompanied by pain.
This ordeal was something she had to overcome herself.
Even Do Ha-yeong would not want him to step in.
Cha-chaeng!
Tting!
But even in that moment, her sword still failed to split the creature’s exoskeleton.
‘Sword threads at the Supreme Peak Master Level can’t cut through it.’
As the spider’s leg—thicker than her torso—skimmed past her head, she thought that.
No—someone whispered it to her.
In that instant, Ha-yeong found herself staring at the pure-white sword in her grip.
Woooong!
Woooong!
With a resonant vibration pulsing through her hand, a beautiful sword cry rang out.
Wind Shackles.
The new divine weapon Sewoon had named was speaking to her.
How had he managed to forge such a sword?
Skrk!
A chilling sound rang out as the creature’s claw carved a slash across her shoulder, yet her mind remained entirely fixed on her sword.
The moment she gripped the hilt, she understood.
This sword was a divine relic crafted solely for her.
The hilt perfectly matched the size and shape of her fingers and palm.
Not only that—every part of the sword’s form was crafted to suit her.
Dozens—no, hundreds, thousands of times more difficult than creating an ordinary sword.
And the meaning behind overcoming such difficulty was already etched into Wind Shackles.
‘To protect me.’
In that intention infused within the blade—
Even though she faced an opponent she could never defeat, she could not let go of the sword.
Woooong!
Wooong!
Then, Wind Shackles released another sword cry.
‘Yes… it’s telling me to unfold my own sword.’
And it wasn’t the only message.
It screamed again and again that a sword learned from someone else could never defeat an enemy.
Swaeak!
Chwaaah!
The moment the Human-Faced Spider fired its spear-like leg at her—
Ssssk.
She slowly closed her eyes.
A sword that shields one from fierce winds no matter the chaos faced.
And she discarded the Burning Blood Sword Technique that Lord Geum Hwa had taught her.
Instead, she pictured the shape of the sword she wanted to create anew.
‘The person I want to protect right now is……’
Swaaaa!
At that moment, the sword threads linked to Wind Shackles burst forth with even stronger light.
Others gathered their sword threads into one to form sword flux—
but she was different.
Swaaaa!
Chwaaaaah!
Instead of merging together, the sword threads split even thinner, scattering like windblown strands.
A new type of sword flux emerged.
Swaeak!
Chwaaah!
And then, Do Ha-yeong opened her eyes and swung her sword at the Human-Faced Spider’s approaching leg.
Seeing sword flux so thin it was nearly invisible, Sewoon’s eyes gleamed with surprise.
She had stepped onto the entry stage of the Transformation Realm.
‘Has she completed it—Thin Sword Flux.’
In his memories from before regression—
Every swing of the Sword Queen’s blade contained that unique sword flux.
And those who faced the tip of that sword always transformed into the same end.
Kwa-rururur!
Kwaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted, and the shattered fragments of the Human-Faced Spider scattered in all directions.
She walked forward calmly and plucked out the Earth Spirit Grass.
Then she turned back, lifted it above her head, and waved it toward Sewoon.
“Look! It’s Earth Spirit Grass!”
A smile spread across Sewoon’s face as he looked at her bright grin.