Chapter 1969 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1969. He Was Really This Strong? (4)

A string of curses burst from Jo Geol’s mouth as he suffered a long gash beneath his eye.

“Those damned bastards……!”

“Calm down, you bastard!”

Jo Geol, who had bitten down on his lips hard enough to tear them, twisted his sword as he watched the Demonic Cultists approaching.

‘They’re different.’

These men were incomparably stronger than the members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance.

It was only natural. Demonic Cultists were fundamentally different from the Evil Tyrant Alliance, who had indiscriminately scraped together all sorts of people, without distinction.

Moreover, even their very state of mind was different. Demonic Cultists had thrown everything away for the sake of their faith in the Heavenly Demon.

Those who had filled their lives with fanaticism had endured prolonged hardships, becoming even more vicious and harboring an even more poisonous malice.

So there was no choice but to say they were incomparable to those bastards of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, who had simply overwhelmed their opponents with numbers.

‘As if I didn’t already know that.’

Jo Geol hadn’t thought of these men as being on the level of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, either.

They would be far stronger and far more brutal. Hadn’t he already known that and prepared himself for it?

But the problem Jo Geol was facing now deviated somewhat from what he had prepared himself for.

His fingers instinctively felt over his face. An indescribably filthy sensation lingered around his fingertips.

“Damn it.”

“Raise your qi and suppress it for now!”

“I’m doing it!”

Jo Geol glanced down. But there was no way for him to see his own face.

In fact, perhaps it was better that he didn’t. No matter how bold Jo Geol was, if he directly saw the black flowers spreading across his face, he wouldn’t be able to remain as calm as he was now.

“Whether it’s the Demon Flower or whatever……”

[Mahwa. 마화(魔花). Literally “demon flower”. A manifestation associated with the Demonic Cult’s qi that spreads from wounds inflicted by demonic qi.]

The Devil’s Flower. The symbol of the Demonic Cult that had once stained the world with terror.

Right now, a Demon Flower would be spreading across his face.

The pain transmitted from the wound, along with the strangely unpleasant sensation that seemed to indicate that his qi wasn’t flowing properly, gave him certainty.

‘If this gets worse...... does the wound rot from the inside? Then isn’t it practically the same as poison?’

Extremely poisonous. And one without an antidote.

He knew of the existence of the Demon Flower in his mind. But there was a very simple reason Jo Geol had overlooked it.

“Damn it. Back in Hangzhou, it definitely...... wasn’t like this.”

Even then, he had suffered from the suffocating stickiness peculiar to demonic qi and the pressure weighing down on his entire body, but the Demon Flower had never interfered with his fighting.

But these bastards were different.

Whether it was because of the difference in their level, or because the kinds of Demonic Arts they had learned were fundamentally different, the reason was not yet clear. But one thing was certain. Demon Flowers were invariably blooming from wounds afflicted by the demonic qi of these men.

A flicker of anxiety crossed Jo Geol’s eyes.

The most fatal injury right now was the wound on his right wrist. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if his martial arts lost speed, their power would fall by roughly half. Moreover, a swift sword, in other words, was none other than the most delicate sword.

Yet because of the pitch-black flowers etched into this damned wrist, qi wasn’t circulating properly through it. At this rate, didn’t that mean he had already lost three-tenths of the ability he possessed?

‘First, the qi……’

At that moment, the Demonic Cultists charged at them once again. Jo Geol reflexively thrust his sword toward them. The moment he transferred the qi he had raised into his sword and twisted his wrist, the Plum Blossom Sword twisted in a direction he hadn’t intended.

Of course, the difference wasn’t all that great. But when stopping five Demonic Cultists violently forcing their way in, even an error of half a chi became fatal.

[tl/n: approximately 1.5–2 cm, here emphasizing an extremely small margin of error.]

Crack.

One of Jo Geol’s sword shadows pierced the Demonic Cultist’s shoulder instead of his chest. The Demonic Cultist, whose shoulder had been pierced, naturally didn’t even spare his wound a glance and continued charging with enough force to crush Jo Geol’s head.

It was then, as Jo Geol clenched his teeth while watching the demonic qi flying toward his head.

Shreeeeek!

A white sword that shot forward like a flash of lightning instantly split apart. Then it blocked the demonic qi pouring toward Jo Geol’s head as solidly as an iron fortress.

“Careful!”

Flash!

Yoon Jong swung his sword repeatedly, slicing deeply across the Demonic Cultist’s neck. As the Demonic Cultist toppled backward while violently spewing blood, Yoon Jong stepped in front, standing as though to protect Jo Geol.

“Are you all right?”

“.....Yes.”

Jo Geol bit down hard on his lip. If only he hadn’t been wounded in the arm, he could have dealt with bastards like those……

“Huh?”

At that moment, Jo Geol’s eyes widened slightly. There was a long slash along Yoon Jong’s side.

Of course, he wasn’t about to make a fuss over an injury that minor on a battlefield. The problem wasn’t the wound. It was the area around it.

The injured flesh was visible through the torn clothes, but there were no Demon Flowers blooming around it. Even though the scar appeared far deeper than the one on Jo Geol’s arm.

“H-How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Your side. It looks fine!”

“......Have you had your eyes poked in the meantime? Does this look fine to you?”

“No, that’s not what I mean!”

Jo Geol thumped his chest in frustration as he asked. In his urgency, his words came much faster than usual.

“The Demon Flower! There are no signs of you being corrupted by demonic qi! How did you do that, I’m asking?”

“Hm?”

Yoon Jong carefully examined the Demon Flowers blooming across Jo Geol’s face and arm. Then he narrowed his already-slit-like eyes even further.

“I’m just fine, though?”

“……What?”

“No, I mean, nothing in particular……”

Yoon Jong tilted his head.

From the beginning, he hadn’t done anything specifically to stop the Demon Flower. He had simply been wounded, and the Demon Flower hadn’t bloomed. That was all Yoon Jong knew.

“Hmm…… Maybe it’s just because your internal energy is weak?”

“What are you talking about?! I have more internal energy than you, sahyung.”

“Then perhaps you’re lacking in purity?”

“This guy, seriously.”

Judging by the look of things, Yoon Jong really didn’t seem to know the reason.

‘What is it? What’s different?’

Was the Demonic Art of the person who had cut Yoon Jong simply weaker than usual? No. That couldn’t be. If that bastard were someone like that, he wouldn’t have even dared leave a wound on Yoon Jong’s body.

‘Don’t look for the reason in the enemy.’

If there was a reason, it was certainly within himself. There was something different. Something Yoon Jong possessed, but Jo Geol didn’t……

“Huh?”

At that moment, Jo Geol’s senses, with his concentration raised to its utmost, detected something strange.

Around Yoon Jong’s side, the very place where Jo Geol had concentrated all his nerves, he briefly sensed the presence of demonic qi. Then another kind of energy soon covered that demonic qi.

‘What was that? Just now...... it felt somewhat familiar.’

Unfamiliar, yet familiar. It was a sensation difficult to put into words.

“Sahyung. What was that energy just now?”

“Hm?”

Yoon Jong furrowed his brows as though Jo Geol had asked the most obvious thing in the world, then spoke with an incredulous expression.

“What are you talking about? It’s Immortal Qi.”

“......Immortal Qi?”

“Yeah, Immortal Qi. What kind of Taoist are you, making such a fuss over Immortal Qi?”

“Uh……”

Jo Geol blinked like a man whose soul had left his body.

Immortal Qi. Like the Buddhist power of Buddhism and the demonic qi of Demonic Cult, Immortal Qi refers to the distinctive energy possessed by those who practice the martial arts of the Taoist tradition.

“So Immortal Qi is definitely for warding off evil and…… subduing demons?”

[Pasa. 파사(破邪). Literally “breaking/dispelling evil.” A Taoist/Buddhist concept referring to overcoming or destroying 邪, unorthodox or evil forces]

[Hangma. 항마(降魔). Literally “subduing demons.” A term for overcoming or suppressing demonic forces]

An energy that resisted demons. Yes, Jo Geol had certainly heard that Immortal Qi was something like that.

“Eh. Then that means I have less Immortal Qi than sahyung....... Uh, yeah, that makes sense. Can’t be helped, then.”

“What are you doing, getting surprised by yourself and then convincing yourself?”

“......No, I mean, it really can’t be helped.”

Immortal Qi doesn’t simply fill up on its own as one’s martial arts realm becomes higher. It varies according to one’s enlightenment and attainment. Unlike martial arts themselves, it was an energy created through pure cultivation and self-refinement.

Jo Geol quietly bit his lips.

There was no denying that Yoon Jong was far more Taoist-like than he was. No matter whom they asked in this world, everyone would give the same answer.

Jo Geol himself didn’t particularly resent this, nor did he feel competitive about it. Even by his own estimation, he was a person closer to being a martial artist than a Taoist.

But he had never imagined that the difference would come back to hinder him like this now.

“Sahyung. That…… how do I increase my Immortal Qi?”

Yoon Jong stared at Jo Geol for a moment, as though he had been rendered speechless.

How to increase Immortal Qi? Polish oneself, gain enlightenment, maintain a mind as clear as a bright mirror and still water.......

[tl note: 명경지수, 明鏡止水. Literally “a bright mirror and still water.” A classical idiom describing a mind that is clear, calm, and undisturbed, without agitation or distraction.]

‘There’s no way words that obvious would help Geol right now.’

Of course, if they had sufficient time, following the orthodox method would be right a hundred times over. But right now, they had no time to become stronger through cultivation.

Then there was only one answer he could give.

“I don’t know.”

“......”

Yoon Jong spoke firmly.

“It’s not an energy you can forcibly increase like that. You know that, too.”

A gloomy look flickered across Jo Geol’s face for an instant.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t fight without Immortal Qi. After all, not everyone who had fought against the Demonic Cult possessed the energy to ward off evil.

But hadn’t Jo Geol just experienced it firsthand?

Whether one possessed enough Immortal Qi to resist that Demon Flower or not was a far greater factor than he had thought. It was enough to immediately understand why Mount Hua had been able to fight the Demonic Cult from the forefront.

And right now, Jo Geol lacked precisely that Immortal Qi. It was as though he were missing the greatest weapon he had for fighting against the Demonic Cult.

He struggled not to let his heart sink at once, but Yoon Jong, who had been quietly watching him, opened his mouth.

“So……”

Then he gathered up all the Immortal Qi flowing through his body.

Immortal Qi was, by nature, an energy that wasn’t bound by anything, so consciously gathering it was almost impossible. Thus, even the Immortal Qi he managed to draw together amounted to no more than the size of a fingernail.

Yoon Jong painstakingly gathered that Immortal Qi and shoved it into Jo Geol’s wounded arm.

“Feel it with your body.”

Jo Geol flinched and looked directly at Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong spoke with certainty.

“It’s not that you don’t have any. There’s definitely Immortal Qi inside you. There’s no way you lack enough. You’re a disciple of Mount Hua, too.”

“......”

“So feel it and become conscious of it. Awaken it, and it’ll be enough.”

Having finished speaking, Yoon Jong gripped his sword firmly and stood resolutely beside Jo Geol.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll help you until then. Just as I’ve always done.”

For a while, Jo Geol couldn’t say anything as he looked at Yoon Jong. Then he clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

It is inside him. The Immortal Qi that he couldn’t possibly lack. Those words wouldn’t leave his ears.

Yoon Jong believed in Jo Geol more than Jo Geol believed in himself. How could he bring himself to speak of weakness in the face of such a person’s expectations?

“……I understand, sahyung.”

Jo Geol bit down hard on his lips, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

“That’s what I should do! If the sahyung with the greatest Immortal Qi in Mount Hua is going to help me, then of course I’ll do it.”

“Uh, that’s not quite right.”

“Eh?”

Jo Geol whipped his head around, and Yoon Jong smiled brightly as he shrugged his shoulders.

“I am in a better position than you, but I’m not the person with the most Immortal Qi in Mount Hua.”

“What? You’re not, sahyung?”

It was strange. If someone asked who among them seemed the most like a taoist, anyone would obviously point to Yoon Jong.

“Then who is it?”

“Cheong Myeong has to be excluded as an exception, so if we leave him out…… well, it’d be that person.”

“That person?”

Jo Geol blinked.

With a sound like a sharp needle scraping against silk, a sword imbued with chilly sword qi cleaved through the demonic qi.

Chwaaaaag!

Wherever the sword extended, the demonic qi withered away helplessly, like flames thrown into a great sea. Even the demonic qi in places the sword had yet to reach was pushed back precariously, flickering like candle flames.

“What……”

Even the Demonic Cultists, who cared for nothing except tearing their enemies apart, widened their eyes and faltered.

Before they could even comprehend the situation, the sword flew toward them once again like a dream. Its blade lightly sliced through the necks of the Demonic Cultists as it passed.

Seogeok.

Their severed heads soared into the sky.

Beneath the rain of blood (血雨), Yoo Iseol’s sword traced a beautiful arc through the air, like the moon hanging in the sky.

At its tip, an extraordinarily clear Immortal Qi shimmered.

[血雨. Literally “blood rain.”]

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