novelraw Chapter 71 : Chapter 71
Chapter 71 : Chapter 71
Chapter 71 Ghost Blood Sect (4)
Before long, the doors of the pavilion opened, and the sound of footsteps descending the stairs could be heard.
Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong and I each grabbed a member of the Ghost Blood Sect to use as cover before standing together in front of the table.
─ Thud, thud
The footsteps continued, and soon, beyond the stairs, the Ghost Blood Sect Leader, with his hair neatly swept back, and his Escort Warriors began to appear.
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader, who was coming down the stairs, spotted Ice Rakshasa and me.
He frowned and looked at the middle-aged man.
“……Gongya Mun. Who are these people?”
“Sect Leader! They are intruders! Since they know about the ritual, I believe we must capture them and verify their identities.”
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader tilted his head as if he found it strange.
“Intruders, you say. Was this pavilion a place that could be entered so easily? Furthermore, how did they even know there was an incense burner here?”
Turning his gaze back toward me and Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong, the Sect Leader tilted his head and then nodded.
“I see. It seems it was your doing that turned the 60th birthday banquet hall into a mess. We were so careful, yet I wonder where you caught the scent…….”
Lost in thought, the Sect Leader finished descending the stairs and stepped onto the basement floor.
“It is a mystery. Regardless, I suppose I must manage our secrets more strictly from now on.”
The Sect Leader clicked his tongue and signaled toward his surroundings with his eyes.
At that, the Escort Warriors spread out wide to the left and right, taking their stances.
They drew their swords from their waists and pointed them at me and Ice Rakshasa.
“Where did you learn this ritual?”
When I asked, the Ghost Blood Sect Leader shook his head from side to side.
“Haha. A ritual. Seeing as you know things you shouldn't, it clearly means information has leaked from somewhere.”
The Sect Leader's sharp gaze turned toward the man called Gongya Mun.
“The only people who can enter and exit this place are my escort squad and the two of you. If that is the case, where could this information have flowed from?”
At the Sect Leader's question, Gongya Mun's face instantly turned pale.
“S-Sect Leader. This is a misunderstanding. Why would we ever inform the outside about this matter!”
“Misunderstanding, my foot. You simply grew greedy for the incense burner.”
The Sect Leader shrugged his shoulders and signaled to his escorts with his eyes.
─ Ting!
─ Chaeng!
I and Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong blocked the hidden weapons that the Escort Warriors fired toward the captured middle-aged men.
Only then did Gongya Mun realize that hidden weapons had been aimed at him, and his body began to tremble violently.
“S-Sect Leader. No, Brother! This is truly a misunderstanding. I have absolutely never spoken a word about this matter!”
Looking at the middle-aged man held in my grip, the Sect Leader spoke with a bitter expression.
“How foolish. I kept you alive until now precisely because you were stupid……. But you have walked a path from which there is no return. Well, I was thinking of replacing the transporters anyway, so this worked out. As time passes, one only develops useless expectations, and expectations that grow that large are bound to overflow eventually.”
The Sect Leader raised his head and stared intently at Gongya Mun.
“I am only saying this now, but there was never a place for you here from the start. Transporters are merely tools. A tool that has lost its utility has no choice but to be discarded.”
At the Sect Leader's words, Gongya Mun’s legs lost their strength, and he hung off my arm.
I pressed Gongya Mun’s acupoint to knock him out and threw him into a corner.
“Are you doing this while knowing what kind of results this ritual will bring upon you?”
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader, who had been staring blankly into my eyes, burst into a smirk.
“Heh. I do not know where you heard it from…… but you youngsters still know nothing.”
The Sect Leader narrowed his eyes and fell into thought for a moment.
“Have you ever watched yourself grow older day by day as the years pass?”
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader swept his hair back once and continued speaking.
“Of course not. Right now, you probably think that youth is eternal.”
After scanning Ice Rakshasa’s smooth legs with his eyes, the Sect Leader looked down at his own body.
“When time passes and you go beyond forty and reach the age of fifty, you begin to feel that things you once saw clearly are no longer visible, and your body no longer moves as you wish. Your breathing becomes shallow, and you feel pain in various parts of your body.”
The Sect Leader tapped his waist.
“The moment you realize that you are walking toward death step by step with every passing moment, you first begin to envision the final moments of your life.”
The Sect Leader cracked his neck and looked down at his body once more.
“Whether your life until then was happy or miserable doesn't matter. The moment you imagine the end of your life, a desire surges within you to extend this thin breath even a little longer, even if it means rolling in a bucket of dung.”
Looking at my sturdy body and licking his lips once, the Ghost Blood Sect Leader answered my question.
“The result of the ritual? I have heard of it as well. Was it said that if one obtains life through this ceremony, their soul is passed to the Demon God in return? Heh. What a joke.”
A thick blood energy began to spread out from around the Ghost Blood Sect Leader's body.
“They say I can gain youth in this life right now, so would the invisible world of souls be important? If I can gain youth and extend my life right now, I have absolutely no interest in such things. To gain the chance to live longer. That is the most important thing. This is a value that must be pursued blindly, regardless of right or wrong.”
At the Sect Leader's words, Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong trembled.
“Have you felt no guilt while extending your life through the lives of others?”
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader glanced at Ice Rakshasa and let out a sigh.
“What a foolish thing to say. The number of people I have saved with my hands is ten times greater than the number of those I have killed. Wouldn't that be enough of an answer? Besides, isn't it a matter of consuming a useless life to extend my meaningful one? That is not something to feel guilty about.”
Listening to the Ghost Blood Sect Leader, Ice Rakshasa looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
“His words aren't even worth listening to anymore.”
At Ice Rakshasa’s words, I nodded.
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader licked his lips with his tongue and looked at us.
“By the way, what exactly are you two relying on to be this relaxed? Do you not realize that you are destined to enter that incense burner soon?”
Watching the Ghost Blood Sect Leader stroke his sword while smirking, I cracked my neck to loosen up.
“You'll find out if you wait and see.”
At my words, the Ghost Blood Sect Leader burst into laughter.
“Heh. Indeed, you must have something to trust since you crawled all the way in here. Fine. Then shall we see just how great your skills are?”
Stepping back, the Ghost Blood Sect Leader spoke to the Escort Warriors standing beside him.
“Everyone, consume the Blood Immortal Pills. Do not kill them; bring them before me alive. I have a few things I'm curious about.”
At the Sect Leader's command, the Escort Warriors all clenched their teeth simultaneously.
Then, something inside their mouths popped.
Subsequently, a red energy began to flow from the Escort Warriors' mouths, and the momentum they emitted began to amplify rapidly as time passed.
Watching that scene, Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong frowned and muttered.
“……What on earth is that.”
“Let's just take them down first.”
As I drew up my energy, a thick darkness began to spread in all directions.
The Ghost Blood Sect Leader's face stiffened at my Demonic Energy, which filled the room in an instant.
“Wait……. Demonic Energy? You belong to the Demonic Cult? Why is a member of the Demonic Cult here?”
In front of the Sect Leader's confused eyes, a bright light flashed by.
─ Slash
─ Crash!
As the sword qi I unleashed cut through the stairs, the staircase collapsed. Subsequently, as Ice Rakshasa surged her energy, a chilling cold air spread to the surroundings.
─ Crackle
When a white layer of frost formed right before their feet, the Escort Warriors faltered and took a step back.
“Demonic Energy and cold energy? Just what kind of bastards are these guys? What are you doing! Capture them and make them kneel before me!”
Having confirmed the martial prowess of the two of us, the flustered Ghost Blood Sect Leader hurriedly pulled a pill from his robe, threw it into his mouth, and stepped back.
Confirming that the Sect Leader had put the pill in his mouth, the Escort Warriors blocked the path in front of him with their bodies.
─ Clang
The Escort Warriors in the front drew their swords and rushed toward me and Ice Rakshasa in a swarm.
Then, the sword of the foremost Escort Warrior flew toward me.
─ Ka-ang!
It was a sword strike delivered at high speed, but it was easily blocked by the dagger I held up.
Having parried the Escort Warrior's sword just as it was, I instantly accelerated forward.
Reaching the Escort Warrior's chest in an instant, I drove my dagger straight into it.
─ Thwack
My dagger was embedded deep into the Escort Warrior's chest.
However, the Escort Warrior paid it no mind and swung his sword at me as he was.
─ Whoosh
I hadn't expected him to attack while disregarding his own life in such a manner, so I hurried to lean my body back and take a step away.
At that sight, Ice Rakshasa rubbed her eyes and examined the Escort Warriors again.
“These people, something is strange.”
Ice Rakshasa looked back and forth between the Escort Warrior's red pupils and his wounded chest.
─ Bubbling
Bubbles arose on the chest of the Escort Warrior who had been stabbed by my dagger, and the wound could be seen slowly recovering.
The Escort Warriors smirked with eyes that had turned completely red.
“No, seriously. Is the world coming to an end? What kind of medicine is this?”
Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong frowned.
“Blood Immortal Pills. Those cursed pills have already reached the completion stage. It seems this place is a supplier that creates those pills, which temporarily act like an altar.”
“I suppose this was the reason a bloodbath occurred in the Jianghu every time the Blood Cult appeared.”
Ice Rakshasa clenched her teeth and ran forward quickly, thrusting her hand out.
─ Kwang!
The palm force she thrust forward was deflected to the side by the sword the Escort Warrior swung powerfully.
“Hah. To think that warriors who were at the tail end of the Second-Rate at best could have their level rise this much just by taking one pill?”
As if she found it absurd, Ice Rakshasa shook her head and rolled up her sleeves.
“Fine. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”
Ice Rakshasa caught the sword swung by an Escort Warrior with her bare hand.
Then, putting strength into her hand, she snapped the sword and surged her energy to the fullest.
─ Rumble
Ice Rakshasa’s clothes began to flutter in all directions, and a fierce cold wind began to whirl within the small room.
Ice Rakshasa, whose pupils had even turned white, concentrated the energy she had fully drawn up into both hands and thrust them forward.
“Ice Snow Flower Chaos.”
With Ice Rakshasa’s cry, a massive wave of cold energy shot forward.
─ Shatter
The cold energy, which shot out while creating ice flowers in every direction, directly covered the bodies of the three foremost Escort Warriors.
Unable to avoid Ice Rakshasa’s cold energy that had rushed in at an immense speed, they froze solid on the spot.
─ Kwa-ang!
Immediately after, Ice Rakshasa’s rear foot, having rotated her body rapidly, struck the ice.
Then, the bodies of the frozen Escort Warriors shattered into pieces and exploded in all directions.
With smoldering eyes, Ice Rakshasa swung her leg once more.
─ Thud!
The arm of an Escort Warrior standing nearby flew up into the air.
Subsequently, a massive wave of cold energy swept over the Escort Warriors.
─ Crackle
Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong, who was overwhelming her surroundings with cold eyes while scattering freezing energy everywhere.
She was clearly demonstrating why the title ‘Rakshasa’ was attached to her name.