novelraw Chapter 199 : The Affairs of the World Always Flow Toward the Unpredictable (3)
Chapter 199 : The Affairs of the World Always Flow Toward the Unpredictable (3)
Chapter 199: The Affairs of the World Always Flow Toward the Unpredictable (3)
The Poison Demon, Yelü Seung, who had claimed himself to be a protector, was not merely boasting.
The fierce onslaught of the spell entities was focused entirely on him.
While taking the surging waves of sorcery and the raging torrents of curses head-on with his entire body.
“Khahaha! Is this really all you can do!!”
“If you want my head, then you’ll have to stake the lives of every single one of you!!”
He was truly rampaging in a frenzy, protecting Sewoon.
Of course, since attacks that were difficult to endure even for two people were being concentrated on a single man, large and small wounds were being engraved all over his body like ink markings.
Shraaaa.
Meanwhile, while the Poison Demon was holding the line so reliably, Sewoon was slowly focusing on the flow of his qi.
The Innate True Qi and Ink Blood flowing along his meridians were returning to their proper places, and the operation of the Golden Bridle Movement Technique had stabilized on its trajectory.
At the moment when he had recovered roughly thirty percent of his strength.
‘Yes. At this level, it’s enough to draw out the Reverse Heaven Qi again.’
It wasn’t perfect, but just as he was about to rejoin the battle—
Kwa-deuk!
Kwa-jik!
Along with grotesque noises, abnormalities were detected throughout Sewoon’s entire body.
‘What the—?!’
Suddenly, his internal organs twisted as if being wrung out, and a horrific pain surged through him as though his entire body were being torn apart.
The Golden Bridle Qi that had been soothing his meridians screamed and began sinking back into dormancy.
And that vacant space was occupied by a familiar tyrant.
‘……Reverse Heaven Qi!’
Kwa-rurur!
The Reverse Heaven Qi had begun rampaging once more.
His qi and blood twisted, cracks formed in his minor meridians, and his heart slammed down heavily like a massive chunk of iron.
It was as if the Reverse Heaven Qi had been holding its breath all this time, waiting precisely for this moment.
‘K-kh!’
Sewoon barely suppressed the groan that was about to escape.
Having swollen itself through the Reverse Heaven Channel, the Reverse Heaven Qi openly revealed its killing intent, mocking its own master.
It forcefully agitated all the meridians, trying to trigger a violent explosion.
The pain grew beyond control.
Sewoon felt as though blood might burst from his mouth.
And then, at that very moment—
[You damned, wretched disciple!!]
[What kind of dog-shit nonsense do you think you’re pulling!!]
‘……!!’
Suddenly, Yelü Seung’s telepathic voice overlapped near Sewoon’s ears like an echo from within.
Yelü Seung’s voice grabbed hold of Sewoon’s consciousness as it was about to scatter.
[Is a disciple of this great Yelü Seung really about to submit to nothing more than the Blood Demon’s power!!]
‘……!’
The Poison Demon was blind.
He could not see.
But because of that, his other senses had reached a level far beyond human limits.
Through those senses, it seemed he had precisely grasped the Reverse Heaven Qi raging wildly inside Sewoon’s body.
[Wasn’t the way you handled that qi wrong from the very beginning, you idiot!]
The way of handling the Reverse Heaven Qi was wrong…?
Sewoon could only feel bewildered.
Yet Yelü Seung’s telepathy continued.
[By the principles of Heaven, your innate body and the Blood Demon’s body are fundamentally different! If you try to force yourself to match a method tailored to that bastard’s body, how could dissonance not arise!]
[You must create your own unique flow, and assimilate that bastard’s qi into your flow!]
‘……!!’
Pajijik!
Sewoon felt as though he had been struck by a thousand bolts of lightning at once.
He had thought he had learned everything from the Poison Demon before his regression.
But that was not the case.
Their realms were the same, yet the accumulated years and experience Yelü Seung possessed were not something to be dismissed.
The man had grasped Sewoon’s condition the instant he saw him.
Sewoon slowly focused on the newfound enlightenment that had descended upon him.
‘So that’s it. Had I been harboring fear toward that bastard without realizing it?’
The Blood Demon was his irreconcilable mortal enemy who had taken everything from him.
He had lived while constantly seeking a chance to kill him.
Yet perhaps because he had witnessed the Blood Demon conquer the jianghu while washing it in blood.
The belief that the Blood Demon was the strongest existence in the human world had been carved into his heart.
And in that state, having received instruction on the Reverse Heaven Qi directly from the man himself.
He had unconsciously never once questioned the Blood Demon’s martial arts.
He had merely done exactly as he was told, following every word.
‘By the principles of Heaven, the number of people born into this world is endless. Then the paths to completing a martial art must also be truly infinite.’
Even if the Reverse Heaven Qi originated from that man.
For Great Completion, Sewoon would have to completely transform it from the roots up through his own interpretation of martial arts.
Saaaaah!
Kwa-ga-ga!
It felt as though tidal waves were surging through Sewoon’s mind.
The dreadful pain that had felt like his body was being carved apart by blades gradually subsided, and his mind settled into calm clarity.
As if he had sensed this, Yelü Seung’s telepathy rang out once more.
[Where do your bloodlines lie.]
The Sichuan Tang Clan.
Masters of poison and hidden weapons.
[Then what is the origin you carry within you.]
My origin.
Sewoon could not immediately answer the second question.
However—
Shraaaa!
Before his thoughts could catch up, his qi reacted first.
‘Ah…!’
Only then did Sewoon finally face the origin that had already been dwelling within his body.
The evil qi of Heavenly Punishment.
The very same evil qi that had been dissolved into his Divine Poison Qi, a lifelong curse and shackle.
At that moment, the words of a certain being overlapped in his mind.
—When you come to realize that Heavenly Punishment is not a curse but a blessing, you will take one step closer to what you desire.
Those were the Blood Demon’s words from before his regression.
Saaaaah!
The evil qi followed the veins of Divine Poison Qi that wrapped around Sewoon’s entire body, rapidly flooding into his four limbs and every part of him.
[Heh heh, yes. That’s exactly it.]
[You damned disciple.]
With Yelü Seung’s laughter.
The evil qi that had always done nothing but torment Sewoon mercilessly was changing into an entirely different form.
The evil qi that had once been an uncontrollable beast had now become a loyal hound, faithfully blocking the madness of the Reverse Heaven Qi.
The power of the Reverse Heaven Qi was being pushed back by the flow of the Divine Poison Qi.
In Sewoon’s eyes, a new shape was being formed by the overflowing qi within his body.
It was a single lotus, just about to bloom.
Sewoon slowly extended his hand toward that shape.
Ink Blood flowed along his fingertips and began wrapping around the two energies within.
Kwarurur……!
Kururur!
The void resounded.
The earth twisted.
Vibrations spread so powerfully that everyone present could feel them down their spines.
Sewoon slowly regulated his breathing.
The circulation of the Golden Bridle Movement Technique had reached complete perfection.
Ink Blood had fused flawlessly.
The Innate True Qi had created stability.
And atop all of that.
The Divine Poison Qi and the Reverse Heaven Qi were naturally layered together.
Chwaaat!
The lotus finally bloomed in full splendor.
Beside its petals, the Reverse Heaven Qi lay subdued and powerless.
The Reverse Heaven Qi was no longer a power that rampaged without Sewoon’s will.
Sewoon was now wielding the Reverse Heaven Qi as he pleased.
It was thanks to the Divine Poison Qi having formed a perfect kinship with it.
Its spasms subsided, and perfect balance was achieved.
‘Devouring it completely with Divine Poison Qi will come later, but even this alone is tremendous progress.’
Only then did Sewoon open the eyes he had kept closed.
His pupils were clearer than before.
They carried an overwhelming presence, as if holding the deepest depths of the abyss.
-Krk, kreee.
-Krr.
The spell entities, having sensed Sewoon’s transformation, stopped fighting and collectively retreated backward.
As a result, the Poison Demon, who had momentarily escaped their combined assault, turned his gaze toward Sewoon.
“Cough, hack. Heh heh, such an impertinent disciple.”
“To dare overtake his master’s path.”
Though his appearance was nothing short of a battered wreck, a clear smile was etched upon Yelü Seung’s face as he spoke.
And it could not have been otherwise.
From Sewoon’s entire body as he looked back—
Saaaaah!
Chwaaaah!
An earth-shaking, heaven-rending destructive qi was overflowing.
Such ruthless qi was something only achievable upon reaching a certain realm.
A realm attained only by one who fully understands, controls, and operates every flow of qi they possess.
That realm was precisely the ‘Extreme of the Manifestation Realm.’
Kwaaaang!
In that instant, a thunderous boom echoed as if the sky itself were collapsing.
Everyone was taken aback, yet astonishingly, it was merely Sewoon—now fully awakened—taking a single step toward his enemies.
And yet that one step carried such immense power that it felt as though the world itself had collapsed.
Saaaaah!
Chwaaaah!
At that moment, Sewoon spread both hands.
From their tips, thread-thin strands of qi burst forth.
It was Heavenly Thread.
But this Heavenly Thread was clearly different from before.
A complete, perfected Form-Shaped Qi, no longer incomplete.
Heavenly Thread that carried the Reverse Heaven Channel.
It was no longer just two strands.
It was swelling into dozens—hundreds.
The threads of Heavenly Thread came alive with Sewoon’s breath, spreading wider with every inhale.
Feeling the new flow within himself, Sewoon finally turned his gaze toward the battlefield.
“Shall we begin.”
His eyes were different now.
They were not the eyes of one preparing to fight, but of one ready to conclude everything.
Kwarururur!
With massive tremors, the earth twisted violently.
‘……What in the world is happening?’
Watching the strange turn of the battlefield, Baek Choryang could not hide his confusion.
Up until just moments ago, they had succeeded in driving the Poison Demon to the brink of death.
But the moment Sewoon, who had been crouched behind them, began to move, the spell entities suddenly started exhibiting abnormalities.
Baek Choryang shouted at the Ghostfire Unit subordinates in a near fit.
“What are you all doing!! Why have the spell entities stopped?!”
“Kgh! C-Captain! We—we can’t control them anymore!”
“The spell entities—no, the great yokai are agitated!”
“What? What nonsense is this all of a sudden?!”
Yet the subordinates were just as frustrated.
They had thought they could maintain control for at least half a quarter-hour more, but suddenly the spell entities had begun absorbing several times more power.
It was as though beasts facing a massive threat were hoarding every last ounce of strength they had ever possessed.
The sorcerers barely managed to hold on, but their limits quickly arrived.
“Kgh! N-no!”
“They’re going berserk!! The spell entities are rampaging!!”
As spell entities broke free from control one after another, unit members collapsed one by one.
Having pushed their sorcery power beyond their limits, bloody tears streamed from their eyes.
Seeing this, Baek Choryang rapidly calculated.
‘At this rate, the rampage will be unstoppable. We need to leave the berserk spell entities behind to hold the enemy and flee immediately—!’
And then, at that very moment—
Puuk!
A chilling sound of penetration echoed.
“……Why, why?”
“Aaaargh!!”
A fox yokai that had suddenly revealed itself tore apart the weakened members with its claws.
“V-Vice Sect Leader?”
“I-I’m sorry. But if I don’t do this, I’ll die……!”
As if he had lost his sanity, Gongsun Beon had unleashed his spirit servant and attacked his own men.
“You filthy traitor!!”
The moment he saw the scene, Baek Choryang immediately grasped the situation.
Gongsun Beon had sided with the Poison Demon.
He was about to rush forward and kill Gongsun Beon on the spot—
Paaaat!
Suddenly, a beam of light slashed across the void.
Ppeok!
“Ghk……?”
With a sickening sound of flesh being crushed, it was his own head that shattered instead.
Crack.
And there—
“One down.”
Before anyone realized it, Sewoon had arrived, casually shaking the blood from his hand.