Chapter 245. Within Ten Paces, You’ll Find A Fragrant Flower (16)

“Damn you, bastard. I’m starting. You have to stop them!”

Woo-Moon sat cross-legged and brought the unconscious Cho-Ah floating in front of him.

He moved his fingers in a dazzling manner as if he was picking gold from thin air, examining Cho-Ah’s meridians and trying to find a solution.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor stepped back, holding his breath. He was afraid of disturbing Woo-Moon. He then looked closely at Cho-Ah’s face, the face of his younger sister whom he hadn’t seen in forty years.

He laughed while shedding tears.

‘You have to live, no matter what, Cho-Ah. I... even if I live, I can’t be with you. The smell of blood on my hands can never be cleansed, and this cursed demonic art of mine makes it impossible for me ever to escape it or control my desire for blood. So, don’t be sad. I was destined to die anyway.’

On that fateful day of his awakening, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had killed the Blood Cult leader in his bed, absorbed the entirety of his Blood Devil Merciless Art cultivation, and then knocked out Cho-Ah by pressing her acupoints.

Then, he murdered every single member of the Blood Cult and used every single drop of their blood to hold a bloody banquet for himself. It was nothing to write home about; after all, he had become an Absolute Master, and none of the Blood Cult members could stand up to such power, much less one that used the Blood Devil Merciless Art.

He had only ever had a few happy moments: when he was young, when he was with his family, and later when he was with Cho-Ah.

Thinking back to that time of his life, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor imbued his finger with qi and pressed his Huiyin acupoint.

As the Blood Devil Merciless Art qi passed through the acupoint, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor writhed in pain. But he continued, pressing onto the next acupoint.

Then, part of his qi started to boil and flow in reverse, according to the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s guidance.

‘I didn’t want to show you this side of me, the side of me that enjoys killing people and lusts for blood. I’m sorry for what you’ll hear about me when you wake up.’

That was why the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had knocked out Cho-Ah before murdering the entire Blood Cult.

How could he know that was the last time he would be able to talk to Cho-Ah?

The Sword King had been sent to subdue the Blood Cult, and he’d arrived just in time to find that there was no Blood Cult to be subdued.

Meanwhile, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had been taking a bath to get rid of the dirt and the thick smell of blood on his body. He planned to wake Cho-Ah up once he got clean. However, the Sword King simply beat him up as if he were a dog. Then, he took Cho-Ah as a hostage, and the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had to live as a puppet of Martial Heaven.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s finger pressed his last acupoint. The rampaging qi boiled throughout his body, bringing forth a power that he had never felt before, as well as an equally strong thirst for blood.

Under the long and luscious hair that was even more beautiful than a woman’s, the white face of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor was lit up by an eerie smile.

“Goodbye.”

He couldn’t stay here any longer.

The desire for blood was too strong, and the moment he lost control of his sanity, he would even attack Woo-Moon and Cho-Ah without a second thought.

Seob Un-Ha dug through the ground and emerged from the chamber, stepping onto the dirt.

“As expected. It’s you, Blood Cloud Devil Emperor! You were the one who dragged Song Woo-Moon all the way here! I knew it, you brought that bastard here!” said the vice cabinet leader of Martial Heaven’s Worshiping Martial Cabinet, Yoo Dae-Gwang.

He brought his palms together, creating a massive Palm Sphere, and threw it at Seob Un-Ha.

Fortunately, he was the vanguard. In other words, all Martial Heaven underlings were behind him. In other words... As long as the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor blocked the entrance, Cho-Ah would be safe.

His eyes turned red as he watched the flying Palm Sphere, and terrible madness flowed through him.

“Hahaha, a new bloody banquet!

Kehehe!!

”

As Seob Un-Ha’s thin white hand cut through the air, Yoo Dae-Gwang’s Palm Sphere bounced off weakly, piercing countless other Martial Heaven warriors.

“What the... my Palm Sphere?”

Seob Un-Ha was an Absolute Master, but so was Yoo Dae-Gwang. Their strengths were similar, incredibly similar for that matter.

‘So how did he block my attack so easily?’

Before Yoo Dae-Gwang could finish his thoughts, Seob Un-Ha moved, leaving countless afterimages behind him, and arrived in front of him. It was only then that Yoo Dae-Gwang realized that Seob Un-Ha wasn’t in a normal state.

‘The Blood Devil Merciless Art... wait, that’s not it! What the fuck is he doing?!’

“Y-you, you’re throwing your life away! You’re using Reverse Bloodstream!”

Reverse Bloodstream—it sounded simple enough, but what it did was reverse the flow of the Blood Devil Merciless Art qi and cause the user to go berserk, producing an even stronger burst of power than the typical qi deviation. The duration varied depending on the level of the user, but it lasted roughly the length of time to drink a cup of tea. Once it ended...

...the user’s blood would burst out of their every pore, and they would die without question. And it would hurt the whole time they died.

“Ke—hahahahaha!”

Blood Cloud Devil Emperor used his beloved weapon, the Mad Devil Blood Fan, to continuously attack Yoo Dae-Gwang.

Yoo Dae-Gwang’s subordinates tried to rush in from behind. However, they were unable to move as they wanted due to the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor having already spread the Blood Cloud Vampiric Membrane, which was continuously consuming their blood.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Squelch!

Yoo Dae-Gwang’s arm was cut off.

Woosh!

In an instant, all of the blood within the severed arm was sucked out and flew toward the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor.

Having tasted the blood of an Absolute Master, the insane glare in the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor flickered even darker.

Crunch!

“A-agh!”

A streak of blood pierced into half of Yoo Dae-Gwang’s face and then pulled out a vein. From there, blood flowed out like a fountain and was absorbed by the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!”

The roar of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, who had by now entirely sunk into madness, shook Martial Heaven.

Yet although he had lost all sanity, for some reason, he didn’t take a single step away from the entrance to the underground chamber.

***

‘Is this... Really now?’

The more he examined Cho-Ah’s body, the more the Martial Heaven God’s seal resembled something he was rather familiar with.

The disease that Woo-Moon himself was born with—the Solar Physique.

Realizing this, he recalled what the old Daoist had told him and unleashed the Gentle Celestial Sword using the Forbidden Divine Art.

However, he had to be extremely careful with the treatment. The natural Solar Physique and the Solar Physique created by the Martial Heaven God would be different.

‘It’s even more extreme than my own condition. Martial Heaven God, what were you trying to do? Were you trying to experiment to see if you could create your own Solar Physique?’

Creating an illness in someone versus curing an illness in someone.

Of course, curing the condition was invariably the more difficult task. The Martial Heaven God had been able to not only reproduce the Solar Physique, but even cause it to become more extreme. Yet was he able to resolve it? Questionable.

‘Well, that’s as far as others are concerned. Thank you, Martial Heaven God. Of all things, you just had to choose the Solar Physique.’

As he grew more familiar with the Solar Physique that the Martial Heaven God had created, his treatment gained momentum.

***

“Huff, huff...”

Compared to the beginning, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s strength had diminished significantly. However, in front of him were piles of withered corpses, all dead by total blood loss.

“You relentless bastard! He has to be tired by now. Everyone, attack with all your might!”

Following someone’s shout, the ordinary warriors of Martial Heaven rushed toward the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor all at once.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor was covered in wounds large and small. The biggest one barely missed his heart, and there were many cuts, bruises, and punctures across his body; some on his arms, some on his legs, and several everywhere else. But the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor didn’t fall. He continued to endure with the help of Reverse Bloodstream.

Sadly, no matter how big a jar is, if one keeps scooping, the bottom will eventually show.

Squelch!

A spear pierced the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

The one holding the spear had his chest sunken in by Seob Un-Ha’s attack and died instantly. The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor broke the spear’s shaft, then grabbed it and swept it around in a wide circle.

Bang!

Three more heads were shattered, and three more wounds appeared on the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s body.

“Ke...

cough

, keke...”

The madness that had been flashing in the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s eyes had diminished. His movements had slowed down.

The end was near.

“Cut off his head!” someone else’s shout rang out again.

The one closest to Seob Un-Ha raised his sword and struck down. However, at the last moment, an image appeared in the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s mind. It was Cho-Ah’s smiling face—the last smile he’d seen forty years back.

“RAHHHH!”

He snatched the opponent’s sword and turned the man’s wrist, using it to cut off its master’s neck. Then, having regained his senses for a moment, he looked behind him.

Taking advantage of his distraction, several Martial Heaven warriors had slipped past and were heading toward the stairs leading to the basement.

Bang, bang! Crack!!

He slashed the bottom of the pillar next to him with the sword. Then, gathering his remaining qi, he knocked it over. He lifted the pillar sideways and swung it around with immense strength.

BOOM!

“Ugh!”

Those who had slipped by and were trying to go down the stairs were unable to avoid the pillar and screamed as every bone in their bodies was crushed.

“STOP!” the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor shouted as he ran forward. The long pillar simultaneously pushed the Martial Heaven warriors backward.

‘None of you can pass. None of you will get down there!’

Squelch!

Seob Un-Ha had pushed the pillar with the last of his strength, and he was once again pierced by swords and spears.

Despite his efforts,despite trying to avoid getting hit in the head at all costs, a spear finally pierced his temple. And it was only then that Seob Un-Ha’s heart gave out.

“You fucking undying bastard! And what the hell are you all doing? Hurry up and go down!”

The warriors of Martial Heaven went down the stairs, stepping over Seob Un-Ha’s body.

BOOM!

An explosion echoed from the bottom of the stairs, and bone fragments and blood spurted out onto the stairs!

“W-what!” shouted in surprise the man who had been giving orders from the safety of the rear.

Then, a black shadow flashed from within the stream of blood spurting up the stairs.

Squelch!

Woo-Moon’s Inkblade cleaved through his head right at nose level.

He looked at the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s body as he flew past the falling dead body.

‘He was a villain, but...’

He didn’t finish his thoughts; he just stretched out a hand and struck the air, setting the corpse of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor on fire and instantly incinerating it. In the same move, he grabbed the remaining ashes in his hand.

‘I’ll definitely pass this on to Cho-Ah.’

Cho-Ah was on his back. He had finished the treatment, and she was still unconscious.

There was no one who could block Woo-Moon’s path or chase after him. However, he was still anxious until the very end. He jumped into the lake, hoping that the Martial Heaven God wouldn’t appear.

And the Martial Heaven Emperor... did not, in fact, appear.

This should have made Woo-Moon feel relieved, but what it

actually

did was make him question things.

‘What’s going on? He didn’t even come out even though there was such a commotion in the courtyard, even until the very end. It’s too strange just to assume it’s because his ass is too heavy.’

He emerged from the lake, but Sang-Woon and Jin-Jin weren’t waiting for him. It was an obvious decision; the important thing was to get as far away from Martial Heaven as possible. Staying behind and waiting could have caused them to become a burden for him.

‘The Baek Family. Grandfather will definitely go to the Baek Family. I can meet him if I go there. I can see my grandfather and my mother!’

His mind was already racing as he blasted through the sky like a comet, heading toward the Baek Family.

Meanwhile, the martial artists of Martial Heaven were engulfed in anger as if they would explode at any moment.

“How dare those scumbags!”

In the long history of Martial Heaven, something like this had never happened before.

Instead of them going out to fight, their enemies had invaded their base, killed countless of their people, and leisurely escaped!