Chapter 43: Crimson Full Moon
The moment the Heavenly Poison Old Demon collapsed, I sank straight to the floor.
“Haah… haah…”
Inside my body, the deadly poison of the Reverse Blood Heart Fist and my internal energy were tangled together in chaos.
My arms and legs trembled as if they no longer belonged to me.
At that moment, a commotion broke out inside the stone chamber.
“Th… the Heavenly Poison Old Demon…?”
“…That’s impossible…”
The people who had been locked in fierce combat stopped fighting and stared at me with frozen expressions.
Shock and disbelief appeared on their faces at the same time.
Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah looked the same.
“Ha… Han Mujin…”
“…Mujin Sahyung.”
Three of the Heavenly Poison Old Demon’s subordinates, who had been fighting the two, approached me.
Their faces showed a brief moment of shock, but they quickly regained their composure.
“…The Heavenly Poison Old Demon is dead.”
The man standing at the front muttered expressionlessly.
The subordinate next to him shrugged his shoulders leisurely.
“He must have let his guard down because the kid was so young. Well, it doesn’t matter if he dies anyway. Our mission was to secure the materials.”
“This guy looks like he got hit by the Reverse Blood Heart Fist too, so he’ll be finished soon. Let’s deal with him quickly and move the materials first.”
Their conversation instantly raised doubts in my mind.
‘What is this? The Heavenly Poison Old Demon is dead, yet they’re not shaken at all?’
It was far too strange.
They spoke about their leader’s death as if it were someone else’s problem.
Even though their master had died, I couldn’t sense even the slightest emotional change from them.
‘Is there… another power behind the Heavenly Poison Old Demon?’
An unbearable suspicion slowly crept up from the depths of my chest.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“It’d be best to finish this quickly. It seems the Kunlun Sect has already caught the scent.”
The jackals aiming for my life were closing in.
“Ugh…”
I forced my staggering body to stand.
Every time I drew breath, a pain like something gnawing at the ends of my lungs spread through me.
The poison from the Reverse Blood Heart Fist was digging into my internal organs.
Even so, I couldn’t collapse here.
‘I have to survive. I have to… save the two of them.’
I couldn’t fall.
I had to struggle with everything I had to stay alive.
And I had to rescue my comrades.
I raised my sword.
My hand trembled, causing the tip of the blade to shake, but my mind became clearer than ever.
“You’re a surprisingly tenacious bastard. It’d be much easier if you just gave up.”
I shouted at the sneering men.
“Come…!”
One of them charged at me.
A sharp, lethal sword flew toward my neck.
I swung my sword with all my strength.
Clang!
The moment our blades collided, blood surged up my throat.
Operating my internal energy while poisoned had pushed my body past its limit.
I forced the blood back down and pushed forward.
“Uaaaaaah!”
The tip of my sword shot forward as if bursting from my strained grip and pierced the enemy’s throat.
Squish!
The man whose throat had been run through died instantly and collapsed to the floor.
I gasped for breath roughly.
“One…”
Barely regaining my balance on my swaying body, I glared at the remaining enemies.
“Now… two left.”
Their expressions twisted all at once.
“That… crazy bastard…”
“…He’s clearly on the verge of death… how…?”
Instead of answering, I raised my blood-stained sword again.
My body had already reached its limit.
The flow of my qi pathways was twisted, and the poison continued to burrow through my entire body.
But.
‘It’s not time to fall yet.’
I charged toward the remaining two men.
Clang! Clang! Kang!
The sound of swords and weapons clashing rang out repeatedly inside the stone chamber.
I poured every last ounce of strength I could muster into each and every strike.
Slash.
“Guhk!”
My blade sliced through the second enemy’s throat.
At the same time, however, the remaining bastard’s sword tip dug deep into my shoulder.
“Die, you damn poison freak!”
“Ugh…!”
Blood sprayed.
My vision blurred with red.
Right before I collapsed, I squeezed out the last of my power and thrust my sword forward.
Squish!
My blade sank into the final enemy’s abdomen.
“Th… this… crazy…”
He stared at me with eyes that couldn’t believe the situation.
That was the end.
He coughed up blood and lowered his head.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
Harsh breaths kept exploding from my mouth.
Strength no longer remained in my legs.
‘No… I can’t… collapse here…’
I turned my head.
My eyes found Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah, surrounded by enemies.
Both of them stood covered in blood.
Three corpses lay around them—subordinates of the Heavenly Poison Old Demon.
But seven enemies still remained.
Hyun-kwon’s arm, gripping his spear, was shaking violently.
Yu Seol-ah was also breathing in short, ragged gasps.
They all looked like they had reached their limits.
‘I have to help them… At this rate… the two of them will die.’
The moment I tried to force my body toward them—
“Guh…!”
A sharp pain pierced my side from behind, making me stagger.
I reflexively turned my head.
‘Ugh… he was still alive…?’
It was one of the Heavenly Poison Old Demon’s subordinates whose abdomen I had pierced earlier. He had squeezed out his final strength and twisted the dagger in his hand deeper into me.
“…Let’s go together… you Kunlun… bastard…”
I tried to raise my sword to respond, but strength wouldn’t enter my arm.
My body refused to move, against my will.
In the end, I collapsed to the floor.
And the enemy’s blade, which would sever my lifeline, drew closer and closer.
The man looked down at me with a fishy smile.
“…Hehe… die…”
He raised the dagger gripped in reverse overhead.
The red tip of the blade grew larger and larger, filling my fading vision.
Was it because I had lost too much blood? I couldn’t even react.
With no strength left to dodge, I could only blankly stare at the death blade coming for me.
‘Damn it… Is this how it ends?’
Just as the dagger was about to pierce my forehead—
Thud! Crunch!
The sounds of something exploding and shattering rang out at the same time.
“…!”
The owner of the dagger aiming for my life was slammed into the opposite wall.
He had been reduced to a lump of meat that barely retained its original shape.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
I widened my eyes in shock.
Beyond my blurry vision, I saw someone’s broad back and a fluttering gray robe.
“You stupid disciple… what the hell are you doing, sprawled out here?”
A gruff voice.
I knew it the moment I heard it.
‘…Master…’
At that moment, the tension that had gripped my body melted away.
Simultaneously, I felt hands supporting me.
“Mujin Sasuk! Are you alright?! It’s me, Myeong-jeon.”
Myeong-jeon’s voice reached my ears.
I gathered every last bit of strength and barely opened my mouth.
“…Hyun-kwon… Yu Seol-ah…”
Then, right above my head, came Elder Jin Gwang-ung’s curt voice.
“…Don’t worry… This old man will take care of the rest.”
In my fading consciousness, the sounds of devastating sword strikes and the enemies’ screams echoed throughout the underground stone chamber one after another.
Boom! Kwaaang! Kwa-kwa-kwaang!
‘Now… it’s fine…’
With a deep sense of relief, my consciousness completely cut off.
***
A clear mountain breeze from the Kunlun mountain range gently brushed across my face.
The refreshing energy of spring softly enveloped Kunlun Sect.
I stood in the center of the Martial Training Hall located behind the Literary Accomplishment Pavilion.
‘It’s my first time here since the Great Assembly of Elders.’
It was also a meaningful place for me—the spot where I had first demonstrated the Kunlun’s Flowing Flower Sword in front of others.
Suddenly, a strange sense of unease washed over me.
‘But… why am I here? I was definitely in Black Spirit Valley…’
At that moment, a familiar voice broke through my thoughts.
“Mujin, when did you return to Kunlun Sect?”
I turned to see Yi Sogwang standing there with his usual bright smile.
“Sogwang? Why are you—”
“Mujin, you’re finally back!”
Wang Dusik appeared out of nowhere, beaming at me with a welcoming smile.
“Mujin, teach me some martial arts too! I want to become strong like you!”
At Wang Dusik’s words, Yi Sogwang shook his head.
“Martial arts? Yeah right. Why would you learn martial arts just to torment the people in the Affairs Hall again?”
“T-that’s not true! I’ve changed! Really!”
“Who knows… A dog can’t change its habits, they say…”
Watching the two bicker, I couldn’t help but smile.
A little further away, I saw the members of the search team I had worked with.
Hyun-kwon was lightly sparring with Yu Seol-ah and Myeong-jeon.
“Myeong-jeon, your training is still too lacking. How can you not even last one move against the Decree Spear Art?”
“Th-that’s because Sasuk Hyun-kwon is too strong… Please show some mercy…”
“Senior Brother Hyun-kwon, just spar with me instead. I’ve been wanting to find out which is stronger—my Snowflower Sword Art or your Decree Spear Art.”
Watching the three of them, I tilted my head.
‘Were they always this close?’
Just as I was about to take a step forward to talk with them—
“Mujin, has your body recovered?”
A warm voice called out from behind me.
I turned around to see two familiar figures.
Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon.
And beside him stood Elder Jin Gwang-ung with his arms crossed.
“Hmph, what a frail weakling you are. With you like this, how can this old man ever take my eyes off you?”
Elder Jin Gwang-ung glanced at me and grumbled, but I could feel a strange warmth in his eyes.
For a moment, my heart felt at peace.
‘So… this is why people need a place to return to.’
It was then that it happened.
Sssssss—
A thin layer of mist suddenly flowed across the floor of the Martial Training Hall.
Yi Sogwang, standing nearby, frowned.
“Huh? What’s going on…? Why is there fog all of a sudden?”
I unconsciously looked up at the sky.
‘…!? ’
The clear spring sky… was slowly being dyed with a crimson hue.
Elder Jin Gwang-ung narrowed his eyes and looked upward as well.
“Hmm… Has the sky of Kunlun ever looked like this before?”
His voice carried clear tension rather than its usual boldness.
I also scanned my surroundings, raising my guard.
At that moment—
Kuuuung—!!
The entire Martial Training Hall suddenly shook violently.
The ground split apart, and the whole world trembled.
A sound like Kunlun Mountain itself screaming echoed across the area.
“M-Mujin Sahyung! What is this!?”
Yu Seol-ah’s terrified voice rang out.
Hyun-kwon’s trembling voice followed right after.
“Wh-what on earth is happening?”
Yi Sogwang, Wang Dusik, and the other Affairs Hall members looked at me with faces full of confusion.
And then—
A crimson shadow suddenly engulfed the entire training hall.
I instinctively looked up at the sky.
“This is…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
My breath caught in my throat and refused to go down.
The sky was being dyed with blood.
A bloody red energy devoured the heavens, twisting and spinning like a massive vortex.
That vortex eventually took shape.
A crimson full moon.
A blood-red moon that swallowed the sky whole.
It looked like a bloodshot eye filled with madness.
That ominous eye gazed down as if it would devour the entire Kunlun Sect.
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