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Chapter 290
Chapter 290
Chapter 290 – The Northern Sect Blade King (3)
The energy Gu Seong-baek raised with his inner energy at the 10th level was incredibly sharp, as if it would envelop flesh, and just by exuding it, it even created a whirlwind of true energy in all directions.
At his tremendous momentum, the eyes of the three people were further colored with vigilance.
“Then let’s start again.”
-Pak!
With those words, Gu Seong-baek struck the blade body of the Golden Dawn Moon that was thrust into the ground with his palm.
Then, the wide blade body of the Golden Dawn Moon cracked into three sections.
Everyone was puzzled by his sudden action.
But at that moment, when Gu Seong-baek stamped his foot towards the ground,
-Kwang!
The edge of the Golden Dawn Moon’s blade body that was thrust into the ground split into three and floated upward.
‘The blade split?’
Surprisingly, the Golden Dawn Moon was an abnormal weapon in which three blades were combined into one.
As Gu Seong-baek drew a line with his hand, the Golden Dawn Moon that had split into three and floated began to revolve around him as if swimming.
Seeing this sight, Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint clicked her tongue.
‘To unleash the Qi Blade Control Technique not with one blade, but with three blades… He has truly reached the pinnacle in manipulating true energy.’
She couldn’t help but admire him, even if he was an enemy.
It could be said that just unleashing the Qi Blade Control Technique with a single weapon alone consumed a great deal of true energy and mental strength.
However, Gu Seong-baek was displaying the Qi Blade Control with three blades.
Even during the Old Martial Arts World era when she roamed, it was extremely rare for someone to reach that level of mastery with blades.
It was that moment.
-Swish swish swish swish swish!
Gu Seong-baek, who had created a circular formation with the Qi Blade Control by rapidly revolving the three blades of the Golden Dawn Moon around him, launched his body towards them.
-Pat!
Mok Gyeong-un, Dam Baek-ha, and So Yerin moved accordingly.
Judging that the three blades of the Qi Blade Control revolving around Gu Seong-baek were unusual, they maintained their distance without hastily closing in.
Even Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint, who had the deepest experience and knowledge among the three, had never heard of a supreme master at the level of a great sage unleashing the Qi Blade Control in this manner.
‘What the hell is it?’
It was an instant of puzzlement.
“If you won’t come, I’ll go to you.”
-Ssrk!
At that moment, Gu Seong-baek’s figure blurred.
His blurred figure reached in front of them in the blink of an eye.
Gu Seong-baek, who had instantly closed the distance, reached out his hand towards So Yerin, who was at the forefront.
-Cha cha chak!
Then, the three revolving blades of the Qi Blade Control intricately interlocked and created a dazzling trajectory.
‘What?’
It was as if three supreme masters were launching a joint attack.
If they were to hold the blades directly and launch a joint attack, they would inevitably have to maintain a distance from each other to prevent clashing.
However, that was not the case with the three blades of the Qi Blade Control.
Since there was no risk of clashing with each other, the trajectories of the blades could be narrowed, allowing for a more precise combination.
‘There’s no gap.’
Unable to find any openings in the joint attack unleashed by the three blades of the Qi Blade Control, So Yerin thought she had no choice but to block it at once.
So, she firmly stamped her foot.
-Kwang!
In that state, So Yerin pulled her sword and thrust it forward.
‘True Chasing and Turning Sword!’
Then, a whirlwind of Sword Intent arose from the tip of the sword and clashed with the joint attack created by the three blades of the Qi Blade Control.
-Cha cha cha cha cha cha chaeng!
As the ultimate moves fiercely collided, a tearing metallic sound along with blue sparks scattered in all directions.
The two ultimate moves that clashed head-on seemed to form a stalemate at a glance.
However, since she was inferior in inner energy, So Yerin’s feet were gradually being pushed back.
-Chrrrrr!
But there was no way the other two would just stand by and watch this.
Mok Gyeong-un and Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint tried to take advantage of the gap while narrowing their bodies to the left and right, aiming for Gu Seong-baek’s opening as he unleashed the Qi Blade Control.
However, this was a trap.
-Ssk!
Gu Seong-baek’s fingers moved slightly.
At that moment,
-Cha cha chak!
-Gasp!
Mok Gyeong-un, who was unleashing a sword strike, hurriedly twisted his body and pulled back.
-Chak!
In an instant, something sharp brushed past his neck by a hair’s breadth.
It was none other than one of the three Golden Dawn Moon blades.
-Puk!
“Ugh!”
Unlike Mok Gyeong-un, who narrowly avoided it and only had a slight cut on the side of his neck, one of the Golden Dawn Moon blades pierced Dam Baek-ha’s thigh.
She also somehow avoided one of the Golden Dawn Moon blades that flew at her by surprise.
However, she couldn’t avoid the other blade that followed.
‘This won’t do.’
But Gu Seong-baek wasn’t satisfied with this.
The one Gu Seong-baek thought he should kill first was none other than Dam Baek-ha.
It was because of her marvelous recovery ability that was close to super-regeneration.
-Pak!
Gu Seong-baek chased after Dam Baek-ha, whose figure was disturbed due to her pierced thigh, grabbed one of the Golden Dawn Moon blades, and tried to behead her.
Even if she had achieved immortality, he didn’t think her life would continue if her head was cut off.
-Pachichichik!
To keep Gu Seong-baek in check, Dam Baek-ha unleashed the claw force of her Blood Jade Hands infused with lightning power.
However, Gu Seong-baek lightly slashed it with Blade Qi, and,
-Chak!
He tried to behead her as well.
The blade of the Golden Dawn Moon was heading towards her neck without hesitation.
-Chaeng!
Mok Gyeong-un slashed down with the Plundering-killing Sword and kicked Dam Baek-ha to the side, interrupting Gu Seong-baek’s blade.
-Pok!
Thanks to that, the path of the blade deviated, and Dam Baek-ha was able to avoid being beheaded.
Gu Seong-baek, whose attempt to kill Dam Baek-ha was thwarted, immediately reached out his left hand towards Mok Gyeong-un.
Then, two of the Golden Dawn Moon blades flew towards Mok Gyeong-un.
-Cha cha cha cha chaeng!
Mok Gyeong-un swung the demon swords Evil Commandment Sword and Plundering-killing Sword and blocked the two Golden Dawn Moon blades.
As the two Golden Dawn Moon blades were engaged like this, Dam Baek-ha and So Yerin didn’t miss this opportunity and unleashed their ultimate moves towards Gu Seong-baek.
In response, Gu Seong-baek increased the size of the Blade Qi to over five zhang and simultaneously repelled them.
-Chaaaaaang!
As the two were pushed back, Gu Seong-baek immediately created distance and waved his hand.
Then, the two Golden Dawn Moon blades that were confronting Mok Gyeong-un were recalled back to him.
Gu Seong-baek shouted at them.
“Give up on killing one at a time.”
With those words, the moment Gu Seong-baek reached out his hand, the three Golden Dawn Moon blades crossed and rotated with tremendous momentum, flying towards them.
The force of the whirlwind created by the three Qi-infused blades,
-Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
It caused the blood that had pooled on the ground due to the Blood Domain to disappear and left a huge impact on the ground.
If one were to be hit properly even once, their body would be torn to shreds and disappear.
However, the problem was that the power of these Golden Dawn Moon blades was the ultimate move of the Qi Blade Control, so it would continue endlessly unless Gu Seong-baek stopped.
-Cha cha cha cha cha cha cha!
The whirlwind of the Qi Blade Control rotating in a blue light flew towards them as if a dragon was striding through the air.
‘The power is unbelievable.’
Dam Baek-ha unconsciously swallowed her saliva.
Then, So Yerin’s voice reached her ears.
It wasn’t just her.
So Yerin’s voice transmission also reached Mok Gyeong-un’s ears.
-Young master. We will block that. When an opening is created, aim for the Southern Pacification Commissioner with the profound principle of unification that overwhelmed me before.
-Pat!
It was the moment those words ended.
As So Yerin took the lead and launched her body, Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint followed.
The two seemed to be heading to collide head-on with the three blades of the Qi Blade Control that flew like a dragon.
‘Foolish.’
Gu Seong-baek chuckled and soon brought his hands together.
And when he reached out towards them, the rotational force intensified, and the blue dragon became even more colossal.
The surroundings were on the verge of being split by the sharp wind pressure of the Sword Intent due to the tremendous momentum.
-Crack crack crack crack!
-Grip!
So Yerin tightly gripped her sword.
Then, she consecutively stamped the ground.
‘Wind Shadow Eight Types!’
At that moment, the wind rose, and her figure blurred, splitting into not two, but eight afterimages.
‘!?’
Seeing that, Gu Seong-baek frowned.
Afterimages were ultimately the result of high-speed movement, so if the figure split into eight, just how fast was she moving?
-Pa pa pa pa pa pa pak!
So Yerin’s figure, split into eight like that, rushed towards the blue Qi Blade Control dragon.
Then, So Yerin’s eight split afterimages spread out in each direction and stamped their feet on the ground.
-Kwang!
The eight afterimages of So Yerin, who had stamped their feet, simultaneously pulled their swords and thrust them out.
Then, the whirlwind of red Sword Energy created from her swords surged towards the blue dragon.
The red whirlwinds surging from eight directions became like a huge wind net, pressuring the blue Qi Blade Control dragon.
-Cha cha cha cha cha cha cha cha cha cha!
Thanks to that, the dragon, whose momentum was bound, couldn’t move an inch.
This wasn’t the end.
“Haaaaaah!”
-Pachichichichichik!
Dam Baek-ha, who had leaped high towards the whirlwind of the three Blade Qi bound by the red whirlwind net, unleashed a massive Penetrating Force Qi infused with the essence of her Blood Jade Hands and all her lightning power.
Lightning power possessed the properties of rigidity and paralysis.
As the Penetrating Force Qi of lightning struck the trapped Qi Blade Control dragon, it gradually began to lose its rotating force.
‘Now.’
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un, who had been watching for an opportunity, launched his body.
He gathered the twenty-four sword techniques into one and combined their power into a single point, aiming for his heart.
-Gasp!
Gu Seong-baek’s gaze, who had been concentrating on controlling the Qi Blade Control, hurriedly turned.
Gu Seong-baek’s pupils trembled.
The moment he saw the unified sword flying towards him at a single point, he could instinctively sense it.
‘How can there be such a sword?’
It was unbelievable.
This single sword strike Mok Gyeong-un was currently unleashing was a realm that even he, who had crossed the wall of walls, had not yet reached.
What the hell was going on?
In an instant, Gu Seong-baek’s mind became complicated.
The ultimate move of the Qi Blade Control unleashed with the three Golden Dawn Moon blades consumed a tremendous amount of true energy and mental strength.
The moment he released the force he had been maintaining, the impact would come rushing in.
-Grit!
However, there was no time to think about that impact.
As Gu Seong-baek released the force he had been maintaining for the ultimate move, he twisted his body.
At that moment,
-Chaaaaaang!
A black line brushed past him in the air.
Mok Gyeong-un appeared where it had brushed past.
-Ssrk!
Along with that, the blue whirlwind dragon formed by the Qi Blade Control that had been set to devastate the surroundings had disappeared.
At this, So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha, who had barely held it back and exhausted most of their true energy, simultaneously looked towards Mok Gyeong-un.
“Haa… haa…”
‘Did it succeed?’
Then, they looked at the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek.
He was staggering while holding his chest with both hands. Had the unified power penetrated his heart?
-Clang!
Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un dropped the Plundering-killing Sword he was holding in his left hand.
Then, blood dripped from his left hand.
-Drip drip!
Mok Gyeong-un looked at his shoulder.
His shoulder was half slashed, and if a little more force had been applied, he would have lost one of his arms.
Seeing this, So Yerin wondered if the single sword strike that had gathered his power had failed.
However, the staggering Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek soon knelt on one knee, and,
-Splat!
His entire left hand had been severed, and blood was gushing out.
‘!!!!!!’
It was a completely unexpected outcome.
This was due to Gu Seong-baek’s judgment.
If it hadn’t been in the midst of unleashing the ultimate move, he might have been able to avoid it or do something about it. However, Gu Seong-baek, who had suffered internal injuries due to the impact of retracting his true energy, was paralyzed for an instant.
And in that instant of paralysis, a single sword strike with unified power aimed at his heart.
Gu Seong-baek, who believed he couldn’t block this unified power without any damage, made a choice.
It was to accept the sacrifice.
He concentrated all his energy on his left palm to block his heart and tried to slash Mok Gyeong-un’s shoulder in an instant to somehow reduce the unified power.
This was the result of doing everything he could.
“Huu… huu.”
Gu Seong-baek, who had lost his left hand along with internal injuries, quickly regulated his breathing and circulated his energy.
Although he was injured, it wasn’t a fatal wound.
If he controlled his internal energy a bit, he could still fight.
It was that moment.
-Crack crack crack crack crack!
The blood-red sky cracked, and the Blood Domain that had been overturning the surroundings disappeared.
Cheong-ryeong, who was in the air, muttered with a fatigued expression.
-I’ve reached my limit.
Maintaining such a wide-ranging Ghostly Domain during the day, not at night, was her limit as well.
“Huh?”
“I-it’s become bright.”
-Murmur murmur!
As the Ghostly Domain was released, the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the eunuchs of the Eastern and Western Depots, who had been in chaos and confusion, looked around in a daze.
Then, the commanders who discovered the Southern Pacification Commissioner, Mok Gyeong-un, So Yerin, and Dam Baek-ha in the middle of the devastated area shouted.
“Capture them! Capture them!”
At this, the Embroidered Uniform Guards pulled themselves together and ran.
So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha, who had exhausted most of their energy, had darkened complexions at the sight of the numerous warriors rushing in from all directions.
With their remaining energy, it might be difficult to face all of them along with the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek, who, although injured, was still formidable.
As if reading this atmosphere, Gu Seong-baek opened his mouth.
“You absolutely cannot escape. Surrender.”
At his words, Mok Gyeong-un picked up the dropped Plundering-killing Sword with his other hand and said.
“We don’t know that yet.”
“You fought splendidly, but you are exhausted. On the other hand, even if I am injured, once I recover the flow of my internal energy, the situation will return to how it was.”
“Yes, that’s why we’re going to leave now.”
“What?”
It was that moment.
“Heum-won.”
Mok Gyeong-un looked up and called out something.
It was that exact instant.
Despite the Blood Domain being shattered, the ground suddenly darkened, and the sound of flapping along with gusts of wind abruptly swept through.
At this, everyone looked up in surprise.
“W-what is that?”
“A bird? What kind of bird is that big?”
The thing descending was an incredibly huge bird.
However, it had a grotesque appearance that was vastly different from an ordinary bird.
With the upper body of a bird and the lower body of a hornet with a stinger, this was none other than the Demonic Beast Heum-won.
Heum-won was the only Imae Mangryang that Mok Gyeong-un had tamed as his spirit beast.
“Get on the cart!”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s shout, So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha, who were equally dumbfounded, reflexively launched their bodies towards the food waste cart.
Mong Mu-yak, Seop Chun, and Ma Ra-hyeon, who had already heard Mok Gyeong-un’s instructions and were waiting in puzzlement while excluding the food waste container with Holy Fire Priestess inside, also lost their words at the sight of the colossal Heum-won.
‘When the hell did he tame something like this?’
While they were marveling like that, So Yerin, Dam Baek-ha, and then Mok Gyeong-un had already boarded the cart.
Then, as if it had been waiting, the descending Heum-won snatched the cart with its huge talons.
-Flap flap!
Heum-won, who had snatched the cart like that, tried to take off into the sky again.
At this, the commanders, who had been momentarily stunned by Heum-won’s appearance, soon shouted at the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
“We can’t let them go! Shoot arrows!”
“We mustn’t let them escape!”
At that command, the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had bows hurriedly fired arrows.
However, when Heum-won flapped its wings, the arrows were instead deflected by the tremendous wind pressure.
-Pa pa pa pa pa pak!
“D-dodge!”
“Aaargh!”
An incident occurred where those who had been firing arrows were instead injured by the arrows flying back.
Heum-won had flown up about twenty zhang like that.
“Kuk!”
The Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek spat out a clump of black blood.
He had regained the flow within his body through energy circulation.
Having quickly recovered his body, he stood up and immediately unleashed his inner energy, once again deploying the Qi Blade Control with the three Golden Dawn Moon blades.
“You think I’ll let you go!”
With a shout, Gu Seong-baek utilized the Bow Body Projectile Shadow technique to soar into the sky using elasticity.
Seeing him flying up in an instant, So Yerin tried to draw her sword.
To her, Mok Gyeong-un said.
“Aaah. It seems the message was delivered.”
“What do you…”
-Gasp!
At that moment, So Yerin looked somewhere with surprised eyes.
It wasn’t just her.
Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint also widened her eyes and looked in a certain direction of the Imperial Palace.
-Gooooo!
From there, an extremely ominous and evil energy was surging, and the energy was so strong that they couldn’t help but have their gazes drawn to it.
At that time, the pupils of Gu Seong-baek, who had been soaring into the air with the Bow Body Projectile Shadow, trembled violently.
‘Your Majesty?’
He also sensed this ominous energy, just like them.
However, the place where it was emanating from was none other than where His Majesty the Emperor was.
At this, Gu Seong-baek, without a moment’s hesitation, used the Golden Dawn Moon blades he was deploying with the Qi Blade Control in midair as a support and once again unleashed the Bow Body Projectile Shadow.
-Pang!
Seeing Gu Seong-baek change direction in midair and head towards that place, everyone plopped down and let out a sigh of relief.
What on earth was happening?
In the direction of the inner palace, far from where they were.
-Gooooo!
In a palace where people rarely passed by, there was a being blatantly exuding an ominous energy.
The peerless beauty in splendid attire was none other than the concubine Ho, no, the Hundred-Faced King, Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.
Openly revealing her energy, she lifted the corners of her mouth and muttered.
“You owe me one, Cheonma (Heavenly Demon).”