yasinovel Chapter 266 : Battle of Hakbyeok (3)
Chapter 266 : Battle of Hakbyeok (3)
Chapter 266: Battle of Hakbyeok (3)
‘Jisal Sosu dies like that, without even being able to do anything?’
‘What in the world is that…?’
As Sa Bul stared at the brutally mangled corpse of Jisal Sosu, his pupils shook violently.
Yo Uirim was no different. Her demonic qi surged chaotically, as turbulent as her confused thoughts.
Through the report left behind by the now-dead Prayer Demon, she had grasped the full extent of the combat strength of all warriors belonging to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
‘To grow that much in such a short time…?’
Of course, even if there was no information after the Dark Heaven Venerable took control of the Beast Palace, she simply could not believe that one’s realm and martial prowess could advance to such a degree in so little time.
No—there was only one way this could be possible.
‘To forcibly accelerate growth to that extreme…’
‘…there is nothing but the grace our master bestowed upon us.’
It was the grace that Sa Bul and Yo Uirim had received from the Blood Demon before marching to battle.
Only the so-called “grace,” in which a master bestows boundless power upon his servants, could make such a thing possible.
…But if that was the case, did that mean the Dark Heaven Venerable possessed abilities equal to their master?
‘—!!’
Startled, the two hastily erased that blasphemous thought from their minds.
However, the enemies did not overlook even that brief moment of hesitation.
Pa-bat!
“Amitabha.”
“To lose focus. I’ll take your head just like that!”
At that instant, Great Master Gakgong and Paeng Seungsan charged in like lightning, swinging the Green Jade Buddhist Staff and the Five Tiger Blade respectively.
‘Heavenly Fist Tathagata—!’
Sa Bul hurriedly retreated a step, narrowly avoiding the Green Jade Buddhist Staff that came flying at him with the force to split his skull.
The image of Great Master Gakgong reflected in his eyes was completely different from what he had seen on the battlefield before.
‘The inner turmoil is gone. Why all of a sudden?’
It was because the Inner Demons he had carried until now had been dispelled by Paeng Seungsan, but there was no way for him to know that.
Hwa-reuk!
The energy pouring out of the Green Jade Buddhist Staff was like fierce flames incinerating immense karmic burdens.
Sa Bul could clearly feel that Great Master Gakgong’s martial prowess had grown incomparably stronger than before.
Yet without showing it, he drew out his ultimate art, the Destruction Spirit Demonic Qi, to its fullest.
“Kekeke, how laughable! I shall make you kneel before the power of the true Demon Buddha!”
The so-called Demon Buddha was none other than the Blood Demon, the Blood Maitreya.
Mocking Great Master Gakgong, Sa Bul swung the rosary of dark iron clenched in his hand.
Despite wearing a monk’s robes, there was not a shred of compassion in his movements.
The Destruction Spirit Demonic Qi seeped into Sa Bul’s dark iron beads, imbuing each bead with destructive power.
If struck directly, even the Manifestation Realm’s protective qi would be shattered without mercy.
Paat!
Yet Great Master Gakgong did not retreat.
“Amitabha.”
Once more chanting a Buddhist invocation, he swept the Green Jade Buddhist Staff sideways, green flames blazing along its length.
True to the name Heavenly Fist Tathagata, Great Master Gakgong’s fist arts were the pinnacle of the Righteous Path Murim, but the staff technique he now displayed—the Overwhelming Demon-Buddha Shadow Staff—was no less fearsome.
“All martial arts under heaven come from Shaolin.”
As the saying long engraved into the jianghu went, Great Master Gakgong’s staff art carried power enough to shake the world.
“Keugh!”
Bang!
Kraaaash!
Each time the staff descended, Sa Bul staggered as if struck by an enormous mountain range.
Unlike before, when his heart had been shaken, there was now not the slightest hesitation or doubt in Great Master Gakgong’s martial arts.
His eyes, brimming with profound qi, were filled with unwavering calm and resolute determination.
‘Ah… Master. Only now do I understand, even a little, the will you left behind.’
For a moment, he almost forgot that he was fighting a demonic fiend, unable to suppress his surging emotions.
At that moment, only two people filled his mind.
His master, Divine Monk Gongsung Daesa, who would surely be smiling warmly as he watched him now.
And—
‘I owe you a great debt.’
—the Dark Heaven Venerable, Tang Sewoon, who had become the first thread of this enlightenment.
Kwaaaang!
Buuuuung!
“Kraaaagh!”
The instant the Green Jade Buddhist Staff struck Sa Bul’s chest, a tremendous explosion erupted.
Sa Bul’s protective qi tore apart like paper, and unmistakable shock flashed across his face.
‘Impossible! Not even the Sword Emperor—how could trash like this…!!’
Sa Bul could not accept it.
He drove all of his demonic qi to the limit, trying desperately to offset the enemy’s power.
And then—
Swaaaa!!
Chwaaaaah!
“…!!”
Suddenly, demon-subduing energy burst forth violently from Great Master Gakgong’s entire body, like an erupting volcano.
His martial arts had already surpassed the level Sa Bul once knew.
Suu—
Among Shaolin’s ultimate secret arts, one achieved only by Divine Monk Gongsung Daesa alone.
The aura of the Supreme Great Ability roared through Great Master Gakgong’s body.
He was stepping beyond the extreme of the Manifestation Realm and advancing into the Life and Death Realm.
Upon witnessing this, Sa Bul’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
This could not be allowed.
“Die—!!”
Sensing his end, the demonic practitioner unleashed a desperate, all-out strike.
But—
[Amitabha.]
Uuuuung!
Chwaaaaah!
A single line of Buddhist invocation echoed by the demonic fiend’s ear.
An overwhelming torrent of profound qi, powerful enough to reduce Mount Tai to a sandcastle, crashed over Sa Bul’s entire body like raging waves.
Meanwhile, Paeng Seungsan was also fiercely swinging the Five Tiger Blade toward Yo Uirim.
Kwagaga!
Kwaaaang!
From Paeng Seungsan’s hands, the Five Tiger Severing Blade Art, which had made him the Blade King, spewed flames.
His blade techniques were like a tiger reigning over the mountains, roaring without restraint—ferocious and utterly overwhelming.
However.
His situation was completely different from that of Great Master Gakgong.
Jiiiiing!
Pa-jik!
In an instant, crimson lightning flashed from both of Yo Uirim’s hands.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Shut up, witch!”
Wearing a sinister, chilling smile, she lightly deflected his attack.
The moment the crimson lightning unique to her Blood Thunder Soul-Shattering Palm wrapped around Paeng Seungsan’s Five Tiger Blade—
‘Keugh!’
A horrifying pain surged through Paeng Seungsan’s hand.
Paat!
As numbness like paralysis made Paeng Seungsan hesitate for a split second, Yo Uirim did not miss the opening and launched a ferocious counterattack.
“Now fall into hell already.”
With that eerie smile still on her face, Yo Uirim continued her relentless assault.
Since the battle began, Paeng Seungsan had not landed a single proper hit on her.
It was a perfect gap in ability.
‘Is this really how it ends…!’
Just as Paeng Seungsan swallowed his groan—
Chwaaak!
Paaah!
Suddenly, two streaks of light plunged down onto the battlefield.
“Father! We’ll help you!”
“Please fall back for a moment!”
“…!”
Paeng Daeho and Paeng So-hye had joined the fray.
Even he himself could not block her—there was no way these children could handle her.
“Wait—!”
“We’re going! Starting now!”
“Understood, Brother!”
Leaving the protesting Paeng Seungsan behind, Paeng Daeho and Paeng So-hye launched their offensive without hesitation.
Watching them, Yo Uirim snorted in disbelief.
‘To dare challenge me with such utterly insignificant martial prowess!’
At best, their realm was only at the extreme of the Transformation Realm.
Between the Transformation Realm and the Manifestation Realm stood an absolute, insurmountable wall.
There was no way they could defeat her.
“Tiger King Emerges from the Forest—!”
Yet Paeng Daeho unleashed the Five Tiger Severing Blade Art that Paeng Seungsan had used earlier, as if fear of death did not exist.
‘…What?’
Yo Uirim was startled.
The form was the same, but the meaning contained within it was completely different.
Slash!
“Kuhk!”
The price of carelessness was heavy.
Assuming it was the same technique she had seen before, Yo Uirim attempted to counter it the same way—only for a long gash to be carved into her arm.
Swaaaa!
Chwaaaaah!
The transformation of the Paeng siblings’ martial arts had, as expected, been made possible by Sewoon’s help.
Before they departed for this place, Sewoon had interpreted the martial incantations of the Five Tiger Severing Blade Art.
He reinterpreted them to best suit the two siblings and passed them on, allowing them to break past their former wall and unleash power far beyond before.
However, that alone did not bridge the gap between the Transformation Realm and the Manifestation Realm.
Pasas!
Chijik!
‘Th-that’s impossible?!’
At that moment, when Yo Uirim’s Blood Thunder Soul-Shattering Palm struck Paeng Daeho’s blade, the crimson lightning vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
‘Just as the Lord said!’
Seeing the enemy’s panic, Paeng Daeho smiled in triumph.
—From now on, I will tell you everything about the martial arts and power possessed by the elders of the Blood Cult.
—…Among them, at Hakbyeok you will encounter the Black Bone Witch Yo Uirim. Take this Lightning-Severing Blade.
That was right. Along with detailed information about Yo Uirim’s martial arts, Sewoon had given them a Divine Weapon that sealed her lightning qi.
The Lightning-Severing Blade wielded by Paeng Daeho was forged from a special material that absorbed all lightning qi, while the throwing daggers cast by Paeng So-hye were engraved with spell markings that forced lightning qi to surge back into the caster’s body.
That was how they were driving the enemy into such a perfect corner.
Paeng Seungsan stared at his children’s martial prowess in shock.
‘What kind of teachings did they receive from the Clan Head of Tang…?!’
What had happened to make such a transformation possible?
They were as powerful as if they had undergone complete Body Reformation.
“Keugh… kuhk!”
Large and small wounds began appearing in succession across Yo Uirim’s face and body.
‘Th-this… this can’t be…! Me, who received the master’s grace… to something like this…!’
Just as despair overtook Yo Uirim—
Puh-puk!
A chilling tearing sound echoed.
Overcome by sudden unease, Yo Uirim glanced to the side and could not hide her shock.
“Keu….”
“!!”
Sa Bul had collapsed to his knees.
Though she did not want to admit it, a being who had received grace even greater than her own was meeting such an empty end.
Hwa-reureuk!
His body was engulfed in green karmic flames and began to burn away.
At the same time, the demonic qi that had raged wildly dissipated without strength.
As Yo Uirim watched Sa Bul’s body turn to ash, her pupils shook violently.
‘N-no! I can’t… I can’t die like this!’
Paat!
At that moment, Yo Uirim kicked off the ground and hurled herself away.
She did not want to die.
Even if she were reprimanded by the Blood Demon, she wanted to escape and preserve her life.
Watching the enemy flee at full speed, shamelessly turning her back—
“Shatter the enemy’s heart, Lightning-Severing Blade.”
Paeng Daeho grasped his blade’s hilt and hurled it with all his strength, as if loosing an arrow.
Kwaaaang!
Instead of the sound of air being torn apart, a thunderous explosion rang out, like a siege bomb detonating.
The final ability of this Divine Weapon left behind by Sewoon was to release all of the wielder’s energy through the incantation of Explosion.
Kwrrr-rrrr!
Kwagagaga!
A destructive roar, as if a massive earthquake had struck, violently shook the surroundings.
Thud.
‘Keugh.’
Paeng Daeho dropped to one knee.
It was the backlash from having all his energy drained.
By means of Sewoon’s Divine Weapon, he had unleashed a strike that, for a brief moment, surpassed the wall of the Manifestation Realm despite not being in it himself.
‘This… this is… Manifestation Realm…’
Just then, the sand and dust that had obscured everyone’s vision began to settle.
Ssssss!
The surrounding scene slowly came into view.
“…!!”
“!!”
The eyes of Paeng Seungsan, Paeng So-hye, and everyone present widened as if they would burst.
And it was only natural.
What had once been Yo Uirim was scattered across the battlefield.
Paeng Daeho’s single strike had completely shattered her body, reducing it to torn fragments of flesh.
It was a result no one could believe.
After all, two of the Ten Elders of the Blood Cult had vanished so utterly and meaninglessly.