Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 425 – Soul and Spirit (3)

Western Shanxi Province, southern part of Xing County.

A strange war was taking place around a huge estate there.

It wasn’t a fight between people, that is, between humans and humans.

On one side were martial artists, and on the other were beings with bizarre forms that were neither beasts nor humans; they were called anomalies or demons.

-Kwaaaaa!

There were various kinds of anomalies, such as those that spewed poisonous mist from their mouths, moved with agile body movements as if using internal cultivation, and tore bodies apart with long claws.

Although they were beings that seemed terrifying just to look at, the human side, that is, the martial artists, were not overwhelmed by them at all, but rather were pushing them back with overwhelming force.

Their numbers alone seemed to be as many as two thousand.

Flags were raised here and there on the martial artists’ side, which gave an indication of what group they were.

[Evil Alliance]

[Second Alliance Leader]

[Fifth Alliance Leader]

[Sixth Alliance Leader]

The Evil Alliance.

It was one of the three powers dividing the current martial world, formed by the remnants of the old martial world and the evil sects of the current martial world.

Three of the Alliance Leaders of this Evil Alliance participated in this war.

They were Second Alliance Leader Hae Yeok-won, the Invincible Golden Body, Fifth Alliance Leader Yoo Gyeong, the Asura Destruction Blade, and Sixth Alliance Leader Gwi Sa-man, the Evil Tranquil Sword.

Among them, Second Alliance Leader Hae Yeok-won was also one of the Eight Stars, considered the highest masters of the current martial world.

How did such formidable supreme masters of the Evil Alliance end up fighting these demons?

It was for the sake of a single person.

-Swoosh!

“Waaaaa!”

“It’s the True Blood Golden Body!”

The martial artists of the Evil Alliance cheered at the sight of a middle-aged man with a large build, his muscles swelling with a brown hue and steam erupting from his entire body.

“Hmph!”

-Bang!

The middle-aged man kicked off the ground, launching his body to strike down with both fists on the head of a huge demon that looked like a mix between a tiger and a wild boar.

The demon’s head shattered, its chin hitting the ground as it collapsed.

“Kuhuhehe. Just big in size. Not much else.”

The name of this muscular middle-aged man with an unkempt beard was Hae Yeok-won.

He was one of the main pillars of the Evil Alliance, worthy of receiving the title of one of the Eight Stars.

At that moment, a demon with agile movements rushed at Hae Yeok-won’s back as he was laughing.

Just then,

-Swish swish swish swish swish!

Someone flew in, unfolding sword techniques like flashes of light with both hands, slicing another demon’s body into dozens of pieces.

-Thud thud thud thud!

“Don’t let your guard down, Alliance Leader Hae.”

“I knew you’d save me. Yoo Gyeong.”

“You sure talk well.”

The long-haired man who smirked, holding swords in both hands, was Yoo Gyeong, the Fifth Alliance Leader of the Evil Alliance, known as the Asura Destruction Blade.

These two men had one thing in common: they were both from the Old Blood Sect, which had been the most powerful force in the old martial world.

-Rustle rustle! Pak pak pak pak!

“Huk!”

“W-what is this?”

Just then, tree roots near them suddenly elongated, binding the bodies of the Evil Alliance martial artists so they couldn’t move.

The martial artists were bewildered and tried to break free, but the tree roots kept rising and wrapping around them even more.

Seeing this, Yoo Gyeong clicked his tongue.

“Huh. Seems like this is some kind of sorcery too.”

-Pat! Swish!

Fifth Alliance Leader Yoo Gyeong flew towards the tree that could be considered the center of the roots and cut it down.

As the large old tree lost its strength and fell, Yoo Gyeong, just in case, used the Three Realms True Fire technique to burn the tree.

-Whoosh!

The tree, which had been moving its roots as if alive, shook violently as if in pain while burning.

“How bizarre.”

“Damn it!”

Yoo Gyeong turned his head towards the direction of the estate where a voice was heard.

There, he saw diviners holding talismans and forming hand seals.

‘I thought it would be an easy fight, but it’s turning out to be quite troublesome.’

He had wondered why they had been asked for help just to fight a group of diviners.

But now that he was actually facing them, they were clearly different from ordinary diviners.

They truly lived up to their reputation as a group led by one of the top six diviners among the Sixty-Four Divination Halls.

They controlled demons stronger than average martial artists as spirit mediums and used bizarre sorceries to give the martial artists a hard time.

Of course, there were monsters on this side that even these demons and diviners couldn’t touch.

“Kwahahahaha!”

-Crunch!

Hae Yeok-won broke the two horns of a red bull-shaped demon charging at him.

Not content with that, he lifted it up and threw it backwards.

-Bang!

Second Alliance Leader Hae Yeok-won was this type of monster.

Martial artists called him the Invincible Golden Body because he became virtually invincible when he unleashed his True Blood Golden Body, a unique qi cultivation method.

Although the era of the old martial world was forgotten by everyone after the day of the great calamity, the Hai family was said to have produced the world’s strongest fighter in the past, making them a renowned martial arts family.

-Swish swish swish!

Of course, he was no pushover either.

Fifth Alliance Leader Yoo Gyeong, who had turned one of the demons into pieces of meat, spoke to Hae Yeok-won in a low voice.

“It’s been almost half an hour since the young lady infiltrated, but there’s still no news. It’s worrying.”

To his concern, Second Alliance Leader Hai replied with a laugh.

“Kuhehe. Don’t worry. It’s not just anyone, but that person who could be called a legend of the Old Blood Sect, along with the Sixth Alliance Leader, the Evil Tranquil Sword.”

“That’s true, but…”

It was taking longer than expected.

They had been holding off the diviner group’s forces for over half an hour, yet there was still no news. It was impossible not to worry.

Even though they went in as an elite few, three supreme masters had entered.

If they hadn’t been able to subdue them yet, it seems that diviner who received the title of one of the Six Direction Gods was no ordinary being.

Fifth Alliance Leader Yoo Gyeong looked at the main hall of the estate.

[Spiritual Word True Origin Pavilion]

Spiritual Word True Origin Pavilion.

***

“Cough… cough…”

A middle-aged man wearing golden diviner robes, with a sword piercing his abdomen, was coughing up blood.

The identity of this middle-aged man was Gi Jin-mun, the pavilion master of this Spiritual Word True Origin Pavilion and a diviner who had received the title of one of the Six Direction Gods.

How did one of the six best diviners end up in this state?

Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun, who had been coughing and spitting blood for a while, painfully raised his head to look at someone’s back.

That someone was a woman in Embroidered Uniform Guard attire with a red vest and golden belt.

The identity of this beautiful Embroidered Uniform Guard woman, whose clothes were stained with blood here and there, was none other than So Ye-rin, the Six Offices Commander.

-Suk!

Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun tried to slightly move his middle finger.

At that moment,

-Swish!

“Kuaaaaargh!”

Gi Jin-mun’s middle finger was cut off.

The one who cut it was a woman with long nails and a seductive appearance, who was Dam Baek-ha of the Blood Saint from the Old Blood Sect.

Dam Baek-ha warned Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun in a voice filled with killing intent.

“If you move even a single finger, I’ll kill you regardless of the young lady’s orders.”

“Kuuuu. You vicious thing!”

“If you understand, stay still.”

The reason Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha was so wary of him was simple.

Though they had infiltrated this place to subdue him secretly, they encountered difficulties.

They thought they could easily subdue him if they didn’t give him a chance to use sorcery or spells, no matter how godly a diviner he was said to be.

However, the title of one of the Six Direction Gods was indeed not given for nothing.

‘We cut off one of his arms in a surprise attack, yet we barely managed to subdue him.’

He was strong enough to make one marvel.

They thought spells could only be cast by chanting incantations or using talismans, but this man cast spells so quickly there was almost no opening, giving them a hard time.

Even though he had prepared spells to be cast at any time, his skills truly matched his reputation.

“Hmph.”

And thanks to an unexpected spy, they almost had a big problem.

It was because of the person who had infiltrated with them.

There was a corpse on the floor, not only burned all over by lightning qi but also cut in half.

This corpse was Gwi Sa-man, the Sixth Alliance Leader of the Evil Alliance, known as the Evil Tranquil Sword.

Looking at this, Dam Baek-ha clicked her tongue.

‘If I hadn’t been behind…’

The young lady would have been in danger.

In the moment So Ye-rin pierced Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun’s abdomen with a swift thrust, Gwi Sa-man suddenly tried to behead her.

She blocked him by raising lightning qi.

[What are you doing?]

[Kuk!]

Having failed to kill her, Gwi Sa-man, even as he was being burned by the lightning qi, then tried to kill the subdued and immobilized Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun.

As if trying to silence him.

However, So Ye-rin, who had raised sword qi on her sword in that instant, ducked in and sliced his waist, resolving the situation.

‘What’s going on?’

Although the Evil Alliance was formed by gathering numerous evil sects, how could there be a spy hidden among its executives?

It could have been a big problem.

It seems that when this matter is concluded, she should tell Second Alliance Leader Hae Yeok-won to conduct a large-scale spy hunt.

Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha, who was keeping her eyes on Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun, glanced at So Ye-rin.

She was examining documents in a hidden safe.

But something about the atmosphere felt strange.

“Young lady?”

Why is she focusing on that so intently, holding her breath?

As she wondered, Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun spoke.

“Cough, cough… I’m sure I told you… Nothing will change even if you look at that.”

Meanwhile, So Ye-rin, who had been intensely focused on the documents, turned around and approached Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun with them in hand.

Then she spoke in an angry voice.

“You, no, what does the Secret Society intend to do with this?”

To her question, Gi Jin-mun laughed while coughing up blood.

“Cough, cough… Kuhehehehe. Well. I told you that knowing won’t change anything…”

-Puk! Crunch!

“Kueup!”

At that moment, So Ye-rin twisted the sword stuck in his abdomen.

The pain of his internal organs being twisted and torn by the sword blade was indescribable.

So Ye-rin glared at him fiercely and said.

“You think I’ll let things go as you wish.”

“Kuuu… haa… haa… It’s not… a matter of… letting things go… or not… Even if your ancient ancestor were to be revived… You absolutely… can’t… stop…”

-Crack!

At that moment, Pavilion Master Gi Jin-mun’s head exploded.

So Ye-rin wiped her face with her sleeve, splattered with brain matter and blood.

Then she quickly brought the document behind her back, which had almost been soaked in blood, and looked at it.

On the old document paper was a map, with several places marked in red.

Among them, one place caught her eye.

It was the northern part of Shaanxi Province.

‘…’

After staring at this for a while, she spoke to Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha.

“I’m sorry, but may I ask you for a favor?”

“How can you call it a favor? Please give me your orders.”

“…Thank you. Without the Blood Saint’s help, it would have been difficult alone.”

“Please don’t say such things. This isn’t just your matter. Baek-ha has also been waiting for the day to take bloody revenge on them.”

Dam Baek-ha showed fighting spirit filled with killing intent.

She was also that excited about this matter.

So Ye-rin, the Six Offices Commander, handed over the document she was holding and said.

“Please take this to Young Master Mok Gyeong-un at the Heaven and Earth Society.”

“This? But this is…”

“I’ve memorized it in my head, so I don’t need it anymore.”

“…Understood. Then, are you returning to the Imperial Palace in Kaifeng…”

“No. I think I need to go to northern Shaanxi Province.”

“Northern Shaanxi Province? Could it be…”

Before Dam Baek-ha could finish speaking, So Ye-rin answered with a bitter smile.

“Yes… It’s my dear hometown.”

***

Around the same time at the Heaven and Earth Society.

The Society Leader, forcibly held by Cheong-ryeong’s spirit energy, spoke with difficulty.

“Haa… haa… I really don’t know. But there is a way to draw him out… Ryu So-wol, don’t you know it too?”

-…Speak.

“The Ghost Blade… found traces of alchemy that can forcibly unite the soul and spirit.”

-The Ghost Blade?

“Cough, cough. That’s right.”

At those words, Cheong-ryeong’s expression, which had been uncontrolled by anger, became strange.

Hadn’t she been trying so hard to find him together with the mortal?

But that wasn’t important right now.

-Where is the Ghost Blade?

To her question, the Society Leader said.

“The northern edge of Shaanxi Province. Where there are ruins of a collapsed fortress.”