madnovel Chapter 272 : Descent of the Malevolent God (3)
Chapter 272 : Descent of the Malevolent God (3)
Chapter 272: Descent of the Malevolent God (3)
As if nothing had happened, Mad Wolf Blood Blade twisted the corner of his mouth.
Though he had shown evenly matched inner qi, it was not enough to make him feel any fear.
Compared to the power he possessed through his master’s grace, it was nothing more than low-grade energy and martial arts.
“Kuahahahaha! Die!!”
Roaring, Mad Wolf Blood Blade ferociously swung his enormous Blood Blade, its blade body shaped like serrated saw teeth.
Swaaaaa!
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
The dense demonic qi erupting from his Blood Blade surged toward Gong Taemun like living streams of blood.
Stepping forward with his right foot, he lightly slashed horizontally at his opponent’s left waist.
At the same time, Mad Wolf Blood Blade’s martial art—Ghost Catastrophe Severing Moon Blade—unfolded.
True to its name, said to be able to sever even the moon hanging in the sky, a Blade Strike that pursued only madness and destructive power was unleashed.
An extremely simple yet merciless form of slashing attack!
Pa-bat!
Gong Taemun did not evade the attack. Instead, he kicked off the ground and charged straight in.
Sreung!
He began to 펼쳐 the blade art that had earned him the alias Six-Soul Blade.
Chaeng!
Kwaaang!
In midair, the two blades collided violently.
Two bladesmen of the unorthodox path pressed their weapons toward each other’s throats.
Kuru-rurung!
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
The blood-red demonic qi pouring from Mad Wolf Blood Blade’s entire body collided with the sharp, azure-tinged energy emanating from Gong Taemun, giving rise to a massive storm.
“So confident, were you?! Is that all the power you have?!”
Immediately after, Mad Wolf Blood Blade unleashed a relentless offensive.
Like a beast that had locked onto its prey and gone mad, he rampaged about, endlessly swinging his blade at Gong Taemun.
He sneered with confidence.
His superiority was only natural.
No matter what despicable means his opponent had used to rapidly advance his inner power and martial attainment, there was no way he could surpass the seasoned experience of someone who had crossed the line between life and death for decades as an elder of the Blood Cult.
In his eyes, every opening born from his opponent’s lack of experience was plainly visible.
Chaeng!
Cha-cha-chaeng!
But just as it seemed Mad Wolf Blood Blade had seized the upper hand—
Swaaaa!
‘?!’
Amid the feral onslaught reminiscent of a savage beast, the grade of the blade wielded by Gong Taemun suddenly changed.
His blade moved with elegance, as if dancing.
Paa-at!
Chwaa-at!
Pu-puk!
“Keuk!”
Gong Taemun’s blade moved as though alive, found a gap, and finally drove its edge into Mad Wolf Blood Blade’s shoulder.
The unfavorable tide reversed in a single instant.
And what had created all of this was—
[Deflect the left, then thrust into the upper right.]
A certain voice resonating clearly within Gong Taemun’s mind.
But it was not anyone’s telepathic transmission.
Gong Taemun let out a sigh inwardly.
‘Haah… to think I have to receive instruction from someone already dead….’
Wooooong!
A clear blade resonance rang out from the blade in Gong Taemun’s hand.
Yes—what he was hearing now was the voice of the resentful soul dwelling within his newly wielded blade.
As he charged once more toward Mad Wolf Blood Blade, a conversation he had shared with Sewoon before coming to the battlefield naturally surfaced in his mind.
“This is about the extent of my martial learning regarding blade arts.”
“Thank you very much! This is already more than enough…!”
“No need to lie. It’s obvious you’re disappointed and want to learn more.”
“That’s… I’m sorry, Hall Leader.”
“No. But I can’t help it either. Swords and blades are worlds apart.”
“Yes….”
“Still, I prepared something for that reason.”
“Pardon??”
With a meaningful smile, Sewoon handed him a newly completed Divine Weapon.
The very one now held in his hand.
“It’s called ‘Closed Gold.’ I made this Divine Weapon for you.”
“……!!”
There was only one reason such a strange name was given to Closed Gold.
[Left Encircling Force… place your left foot forward, twist your body so your right shoulder comes out front. Then raise the blade upward and thrust at the opponent’s throat.]
Because within this blade was sealed the soul of Golden Wave Dignitary Roh Gyeongmyeong, once counted among the Ten Great Experts of the World.
Roh Gyeongmyeong, who had met a miserable death at Sewoon’s hands in the battle of Gansu, was now conveying the insights of his life to Gong Taemun.
Following the words of Closed Gold, Gong Taemun 펼쳐 his blade art.
This was the secret behind the completely different texture of his martial art.
At first, it had been true that he felt uneasy, wondering whether a ghost might try to seize his body, but Sewoon had assured him there was no need to worry, as he had placed perfect shackles upon Roh Gyeongmyeong’s soul.
In the first place, for Roh Gyeongmyeong’s soul to escape the seal and ascend, Gong Taemun would have to surpass the extreme of the Manifestation Realm and reach the Life and Death Realm, which was impossible for now—so he would give his utmost teachings in the meantime.
Seogeok!
At that moment, a chilling sound of cutting rang out.
“Keuk!”
Mad Wolf Blood Blade let out a groan filled with pain.
Large and small wounds had multiplied across his body, and red blood streamed down, soaking his clothes.
‘This is impossible. How could I be pushed back by trash like this…!’
His blood felt as though it were surging in reverse with rage. He could not accept the fact that he was being overwhelmed.
But—
Chwaaaaa!
Kwa-ga-ga!
“……!!”
Even in that moment, Gong Taemun’s slashing attacks were flying toward Mad Wolf Blood Blade.
The momentum had completely shifted into Gong Taemun’s hands.
* * *
‘Foolish bastard.’
Blood Brain Gui Yeongja clicked his tongue in disdain as he watched Mad Wolf Blood Blade, who was being steadily pushed back from start to finish.
Without question, this was the result of Black Heaven Death Lord’s arrangement coming into effect.
He had warned him repeatedly not to underestimate his opponent so carelessly.
If it were up to him, he would have liked to let the fool die right there.
‘Hoo… there’s no helping it.’
If trash like that died, in the end, the one who would suffer losses would be his master.
“Crimson Fire Blood Spit…….”
Gui Yeongja began chanting an incantation, preparing a sorcery to aid Mad Wolf Blood Blade.
Paa-at!!
Swae-aek!
“-!!”
At that moment, a formless arrow of wind flew toward him, disrupting the progress of his sorcery.
Whoosh!
Gui Yeongja immediately abandoned the spell and hurled his body aside, narrowly evading the attack.
“What a shame. I could have pierced a wind hole right through your glabella.”
A mocking voice rang out—it was Shrine Maiden Sect Leader, Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden Hwa Wolyung.
Gui Yeongja furrowed his brow, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
‘You rat-like bitch—.’
Paa-at!
Swallowing his curse, Gui Yeongja drew up demonic qi and unleashed a new spell toward Hwa Wolyung.
Naturally, Hwa Wolyung did not even blink and countered with her own sorcery.
A fierce clash between a sorcerer and a spellcaster had begun.
Wooooong!
Pa-jik!
Gui Yeongja pushed his demonic qi to the extreme.
As a spellcaster, his martial attainment ranked at the second-highest tier, Earth Rank.
However, by virtue of the grace he had received from the Blood Demon, he was able to wield sorcery infinitely close to the supreme Heavenly Rank.
Pa-seu-seu!
Swae-aek!
Demonic qi burst forth from his hand and surged toward Hwa Wolyung like a living venomous snake.
As that grotesque black energy spiraled and distorted space itself, a rift spread open in an instant, like a black swamp ready to swallow everything whole.
Bottomless Ghost Prison.
A cursed sorcery that confined the target within an endless spatial fissure—once fallen into it, one would be trapped forever, unable to escape.
“Hi— hiik!”
“W-what is that…?”
The surrounding martial artists were paralyzed with fear, unable even to breathe properly.
Yet Hwa Wolyung showed no agitation whatsoever.
Rather, her gaze grew even colder.
Hwa-at!
Her slender, jade-like hands reached gently into the spatial rift torn open by Gui Yeongja.
It looked no different from an act of suicide, and the onlookers’ gasps deepened.
Swaaaaa!
Jjeo-jeok!
‘What—?!’
Astonishingly, the torn space began to seal itself back together.
In the blink of an eye, the black rift vanished completely, leaving behind only a calm breeze, as though nothing had happened.
As his Heavenly Rank sorcery was so effortlessly neutralized, Gui Yeongja’s eyes filled not merely with confusion, but with outright horror.
Gasps of disbelief erupted from all around.
“T-that…”
“……!!”
It was not because the sorcery had been sealed.
It was because the sight of Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden calmly stepping out from the spatial fissure was far too unreal.
Chwaaaaa!
Swaaaa!
Behind Hwa Wolyung, brilliant white light burst forth like a flash.
Nine delicate yet razor-sharp Silk Whites wrapped around her like the celestial maiden’s feathered robes.
This was no mere garment.
It was Heavenly Loom, one of the Ten Demonic Weapons before Sewoon’s regression.
Before heading to war, Sewoon had newly completed it and bestowed it upon Hwa Wolyung.
“Keuk!”
Puh-eong!
The sorcery Gui Yeongja desperately unleashed upon sensing danger was nullified once again.
The Silk Whites fluttered like first snow, moving freely according to her will and blocking every spell without exception.
Chwaaaa!
Paaah!
What was even more shocking was that Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden was wielding Heavenly Loom perfectly.
But in truth, it could not have been otherwise.
Even before the regression, Heavenly Loom, created by Sewoon, had been designed to be optimally compatible with the martial arts of the Shrine Maiden Sect.
“This is impossible…! How—how could your sorcery possibly…!”
“How utterly pathetic, Blood Cult lackey.”
As she looked down at the flustered Gui Yeongja, Hwa Wolyung twisted the corner of her lips.
Still, Gui Yeongja could not help but be shocked.
Before being a martial artist, he was a spellcaster—and at a glance, he could tell.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden standing before him had surpassed his own Earth Rank and ascended to the final and ultimate tier of spellcasters: Heavenly Rank.
Yes. Hwa Wolyung had reached the very realm that only her master, the Musan Divine Nun, had once attained.
No matter how close he himself was to Heavenly Rank, Gui Yeongja could never defeat someone who had truly reached it.
As Hwa Wolyung once more unfolded her sorcery, one person naturally came to mind.
‘If not for the Overlord of Sichuan, it would have been impossible in this lifetime.’
That person was, of course, Tang Sewoon.
The reason she had reached the realm she had long desired all her life was precisely because of Black Heaven Death Lord.
Sewoon had handed over to her every sorcery tome and secret manual related to spells that An Cheongmyeong, the Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader, had accumulated at the Heaven-Piercing Sect.
Though she had protested in shock, saying it was impossible, Sewoon had been utterly unyielding.
He said that for himself, only the sorcery texts necessary for a Demonic Craftsman were needed, and that for the sake of the martial world, he wanted her to use the rest.
And then—
He even passed on his own realizations and insights gained through his battle with An Cheongmyeong.
As the memories resurfaced, she could not suppress the swell of emotion in her chest.
‘…In a way, I received help akin to that of another master.’
Because of his help, she had reached the Heavenly Rank, the realm she had pursued her entire life.
This debt was one she would have to repay for as long as she lived.
‘First, I’ll deal with the enemy right in front of me…!’
At the same time, her garments split into dozens of flowing strands. The power of her sorcery—now strengthened enough to manipulate the harmony of heaven and earth at will—engulfed the battlefield.
Kwaaaang!
Wooooong!
“Kraaaaagh!!”
Gui Yeongja’s scream rang out.
He hastily deployed defensive sorcery, but before Hwa Wolyung’s overwhelming power, it crumbled helplessly.
‘I—I have to run.’
Not only Gui Yeongja, but even Mad Wolf Blood Blade, were about to flee in terror.
At that very moment—
Kuuuuwoong!
Kwa-rurururur!!
The entire battlefield suddenly shook.
“……!!”
“!!”
Even Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden stiffened.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward a single point.
“You worm-like trash. To be pushed back by insects that aren’t even worthy of being called divine.”
From beyond, Left Protector Gu Eum Majon descended upon the battlefield.