The warriors of the Five Venoms Sect were scattered along the sand dunes, surrounding .
Even with their pants on, their exceptionally developed thighs and lower bodies were visible.
Considering what I knew about the Five Venoms Sect's techniques, these n were definitely from the Blood-Tailed Swift Kick division, which focused on enhancing speed and leg strength.
There was no other explanation for their physiques.
Hyang and I were already surrounded.
And in the center, standing among them, was Oh Cheong-yu.
She exuded an eerie atmosphere, as if sculpted from the ominous moonlight itself.
With her gothic aura and the glow of the moonlight bathing her, she looked truly unsettling—almost chilling.
"Aha-ha... Look who it is! Oh, it's been so long, hasn't it? Miss Cheong-yu. What a coincidence. Running into you here in the middle of the desert... What are the odds?"
I forced an awkward smile, cracking a joke as I greeted her.
anwhile, my eyes darted around, quickly scanning the surroundings.
My inner energy was nearly depleted, but I needed to check—was there any escape route?
A cliff? A river? Anything I could use to escape?
But all I saw was a barren desert.
Beneath the moonlight, there were no cliffs, no rivers—just endless sand dunes stretching as far as the eye could see.
'Just sand dunes... I must have been dragged deep into the desert. Even if Hwa-eun cos looking, it'll take too long... And with them surrounding , breaking through won’t be easy... Damn, am I screwed?'
As I took in the hopeless surroundings, the reality set in.
I was trapped.
Not only had the cal spider delivered right into their hands, but I was in the worst possible location to escape.
Oh Cheong-yu's smile lingered as she spoke again.
"Oh Yeon-un, you rushed here so quickly after receiving my invitation to bring So-ryong to . As expected of you."
"An... invitation?"
I blinked in confusion at the ntion of an invitation.
She gestured toward the cal spider.
Then, flashing a dangerous smile, she explained what she ant.
"I assud that if the Beast Palace got word of what was happening, So-ryong would co running. And just as my father said—he was right. You arrived so quickly. We didn’t even have to do anything, and you walked straight into my hands. Fufu... Did you like my invitation that much?"
I finally understood.
The information leaked from the Beast Palace had been intentional.
It was all bait.
A trap specifically to lure in.
'Wait... So just to capture , they leaked information about their own secret operation?'
It didn’t make sense.
Why risk exposing themselves just to capture one person?
But then again—considering Oh Cheong-yu’s mindset, this level of insanity wasn’t that surprising.
After all, here I was.
Once again, it seed like they had completely read .
A perfectly tailored invitation.
'Damn it. How the hell was I supposed to refuse sothing like this...'
Forcing another awkward smile, I responded.
"So... this was your invitation, Miss Cheong-yu. Aha-ha... It seems you know far too much about . How embarrassing..."
"Of course. After all, you're going to be mine soon. I've done my research. Fufu."
The possessiveness in her voice sent chills down my spine.
I quickly averted my gaze from her hungry stare and looked toward the cal spider.
"But... Your precious invitation seems to be... ruined."
I gestured toward the dead cal spider, feigning regret.
Oh Cheong-yu just shook her head.
"It's fine, So-ryong. I was going to slaughter it anyway."
"Sl-slaughter?!"
I flinched at her words.
Cal spiders weren’t livestock.
Hearing that it was raised just to be butchered caught off guard.
She pointed to the round object still clutched in my hand.
"I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) wanted to see how big the Neidan had grown."
"A... Neidan?"
"Yes. Now that you're part of the Five Venoms Sect, I suppose there's no harm in letting you know. Using the Grand thod of the Five Venoms, we've been artificially enlarging creatures. One of the special abilities of the Five Venoms Explosive Severing Art—we're testing whether these beasts can create a Neidan, just like natural spirit creatures do."
That explained why a Neidan had fallen from the dead cal spider’s mouth.
The Five Venoms Sect had been experinting with artificial Neidan creation.
No—more than that.
They were creating artificial spirit beasts.
And then, she dropped sothing even worse.
"As I expected, feeding them humans was the most effective thod. It’s much bigger than I anticipated. My father will be pleased. Next ti, we should try feeding them martial artists."
"Y-you’re insane...!"
• Thud.
The Neidan slipped from my hand.
It had absorbed human energy during its creation.
The realization disgusted so much that I imdiately dropped it.
Oh Cheong-yu didn’t even blink.
Instead, she simply gestured toward .
"Pick up the Neidan. And bring So-ryong along as well."
"Yes, my lady!"
The warriors flanking her began to approach .
If they caught , they’d seal my pressure points and drag straight to the Five Venoms Sect.
I had to act fast.
"Wait!"
I shouted before they could grab .
Oh Cheong-yu tilted her head.
"Hm? What is it, So-ryong?"
The way she said my na so casually made my skin crawl.
I lifted Hyang onto my shoulder, making sure she was clearly visible.
Tsrrrt."This little one is still attached to . I wouldn’t want your warriors to get hurt. I’ll walk on my own."
Hyang had already used up all her venom.
But they didn’t know that.
Oh Cheong-yu might have resistance to venom, but her warriors didn’t.
By walking willingly, I could at least try to find an opening.
If they sealed my pressure points, I’d be dragged straight to the Five Venoms Sect with no way out.
"Hm... That’s true. You do have that little one."
Oh Cheong-yu nodded.
Then, she waved her warriors back and started walking toward .
"Both of you, step back. I’ll bring him myself."
"N-no, that’s really not nece—"
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Before I could finish, she had already reached .
She linked her arm with mine, smiling.
"Just be careful with your little pet. If I get bitten, it’ll hurt."
Her inner energy was overwhelming.
A level beyond masters.
Almost like Grandfather Mandok Shingun.
I was trapped.
Trying to figure out how to escape, I quickly spoke.
"Fine... But don’t do anything to Hyang. She’s like my daughter."
I wanted to make sure she didn’t harm Hyang.
Oh Cheong-yu simply nodded, as if it were obvious.
"Don’t worry, So-ryong. I won’t touch anything that belongs to you. I’ll raise her well...So you can eat her when she’s fully grown."
"What?!"
Tsrrrt!Hyang flinched, her antennae shooting up.
I was just as shocked.
I had clearly introduced her as my daughter—
Yet she thought I wanted to eat her?!
'How the hell did she co to that conclusion?!'
But before I could react—
Oh Cheong-yu’s next words made my head spin even more.
"You said she’s as precious as a daughter. So I’ll make sure she can live inside you forever.
After all, isn’t that what a daughter should do?
A daughter should offer her body for her father’s sake."
'Wait... Did I hear that right?'
Sothing about her words felt fundantally wrong.
Like reality itself had just shifted in a way I couldn’t grasp.
I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to get as far away from here as possible.
And then—
As Oh Cheong-yu linked her arm with mine, guiding forward, the moonlight caught sothing shimring along the boundary of her forehead and hairline.
'That’s—?!'
A silver needle.
The sa kind that had been embedded in the Ghost Howling Tiger’s head, the Army Centipede’s head, and the Cal Spider’s head.
Now that I thought about it—
I had seen sothing similar before when she appeared with the Ghost Howling Tiger.
The realization hit like a cold wave.
Her words from earlier suddenly clicked together in a horrifying way.
"With the Five Venoms Explosive Severing Art, we’re testing whether these creatures can create a Neidan like spirit beasts."
"A daughter should offer her body for her father’s sake."
Oh Cheong-yu had called this the Five Venoms Explosive Severing Art, but she never explained exactly how it worked.
If it was a thod to artificially create a Neidan inside living beings...
Then there was a possibility that Oh Cheong-yu herself was being used to cultivate an artificial Neidan.
And considering how warped her words were—
It sounded like she truly believed that it was her duty to offer herself to her father—the Five Venoms Sect’s leader.
She wasn’t just raising spirit beasts for their Neidan.
She might have been raised herself to be fed to him.
'These... these insane Five Venoms bastards... They’re beyond crazy!'
I had thought they were just feeding people to create spirit beasts.
But they were going even further than that.
They were planning sothing far worse than I had ever imagined.
"Why do you look so pale, So-ryong?"
Oh Cheong-yu smiled sweetly at .
Until now, I had just thought of her as a deranged psychopath.
But now—
A terrifying thought crossed my mind.
What if she was a victim too?
My heart pounded wildly.
"A-ah, it’s nothing."
I took a step forward, but my legs staggered from the shock of what I had just realized.
I stumbled.
Oh Cheong-yu imdiately caught , her voice filled with concern.
"Oh? Oh dear... You’re in terrible shape."
She wasn’t wrong.
My body was a ss.
Dragged behind the cal spider, my chest was torn up, my clothes were shredded, and my skin was covered in scratches from the rough terrain.
Sand was embedded in every crevice of my outfit.
On top of that, I had internal injuries from being slamd into the ground, and I had burned through most of my inner energy using Iron Defense just to survive.
I wasn’t just battered on the outside—my insides were a wreck too.
Oh Cheong-yu let go of my arm and crouched in front of .
"Get on my back."
"...What?"
"I said, get on. You’re in no condition to walk."
"I... But..."
"Because of Qinghua Centipede, I can’t have my warriors carry you. I’ll do it myself."
As she insisted, I hesitated.
But then—
As I was about to climb onto her back, I caught sight of another silver needle embedded in the crown of her head.
This was it.
A gamble, but one I had to take.
With trembling fingers, I slowly reached toward her head.
And then—
She spoke again.
"So-ryong, when we get to the Five Venoms Sect, you’ll have to eat well. Your body is still too light. But don’t worry—I’ll prepare plenty of food for you... lots and lots of..."
I tightened my grip around her neck—
And seized the silver needle embedded in her head.
Then I shouted.
"Everyone stand back! If anyone moves, I’ll rip this needle out of her head!"
I had to try taking her hostage.
If she really had a Neidan forming inside her, then the Five Venoms Sect’s ultimate goal was probably tied to her.
If I removed the needle, they wouldn’t get what they wanted.
It was my only shot at escaping.
But then—
Oh Cheong-yu chuckled.
"That’s a funny joke. A silver needle? As if sothing like that would be stuck in my head—"
"It is stuck in your head! Those bastards are cultivating a Neidan inside you! Listen to —!"
"A Neidan? Inside ? What are you talking abo— H-huh...?"
Her voice froze mid-sentence.
Then—
Her expression contorted into a grimace of pain.
"A... ah... aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAH!"
She suddenly scread.
The piercing wail ripped through the night sky.
"My lady!"
"My lady!"
The warriors rushed forward in panic.
And then—
A cold, chilling voice whispered into my ear.
"For the sake of my lady’s stability, I planned to turn you into another puppet. But it seems... you’re too clever for that. I suppose...I’ll just have to kill you here."
Stab!"Khuhh—!"
A sharp pain pierced my side.
Tsrrrrrrr!Hyang sprang forward, reacting to the killing intent—
But sothing struck her midair, sending her crashing into the sand.
"H-Hyang..."
Even through the excruciating pain, I managed to reach for her, pulling her into my arms as I fell.
Her cry echoed in my ears.
Tsrrr! 『Dad! Dad!』Her frantic voice filled my mind.
And then—
The ground itself began to tremble.
Rumble...The earth shook violently beneath us.
And Hyang’s final words rang through my fading consciousness.
Tsrrt... 『So... bright...』My vision blurred.
And then—
Everything faded to black.
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