Chapter 120 : Search for the Divine Item
The image of a giant blood bird, summoned by the Fifth Blood Lord Ma Jo using his own heart as a dium, dyed the night sky in a blood-red hue.
A fishy scent of blood pierced my lungs, and the fresh blood pooling on the ground was sucked into the body of the blood bird with a grotesque pulsating sound.
"Kukuku…… I will turn this sanctuary into a massive grave!"
Along with Ma Jo's maddened shout, the giant beak of the blood bird struck down at the plaza.
Boom—!
"Young Master!"
"Third Young Master!"
Seol Ye-rin and Cheon Deung-jin scread simultaneously, but I did not back down.
Rather, the Buddhist Venerable's prayer beads wrapped around my wrist began to emit a blinding golden light like the sun.
"I should have ended it back then."
I looked at the Disciplinary Hall Master, Ja Seong.
The fact that he was committing such acts alongside the Fifth Blood Lord was all because of Ja Seong.
I held the Vajra vertically and quietly recited a chant.
Diamond Immovable Wisdom King Divine Art
Wisdom King Manifestation
Purple Demonic Fire swirled with the golden dharma power, creating a massive illusion behind my back.
As the image of the Wisdom King with furious eyes and four arms appeared, the damp blood qi covering the plaza evaporated in an instant.
"……Wisdom King? How can a bloodline of the Demonic Cult use the martial arts of the Buddhist Venerable!"
Ja Seong stepped back in astonishnt, but it was already too late.
Wrapped in the illusion of the Wisdom King, I kicked off the ground and soared up.
"I will purify you. Go back to hell."
My fist struck the chest of the blood bird head-on.
It wasn't a simple physical strike.
The holy energy emanating from the Buddhist Venerable's divine item began to burn away the evil blood qi, the very foundation of the blood bird, from its source.
Sizzle—!
"Kuaaaagh!"
As the blood bird, which was like his alter ego, was purified, Ma Jo vomited blood and rolled on the ground.
Not missing that opening, the Lion King Cheon Jeok-pa leaped forward, splitting the earth.
"The end of a traitor is decided by the lion's fangs! Heaven Breaking Strike!"
Cheon Jeok-pa's massive dharma staff rcilessly crushed Ja Seong's chest.
Thud—!
"Keuheok…… Pa, Palace Lord……."
"Shut your mouth! It wouldn't be enough even if I scrubbed this palace with the blood you shed!"
With Cheon Jeok-pa's fierce strike, Ja Seong rolled on the floor with his qi center destroyed.
***
anwhile, on the outskirts of the battlefield, the Small Snow Squad mbers were driving away the remnants of the Blood Cult.
"Eit, you disgusting things! How dare you disturb our Young Master!"
Wi Ji-yeong shouted as she scattered flying daggers in all directions.
The flying daggers she threw accurately pierced the joints of the Blood Shadow Assassins.
Following that, Baek Mu-yong's heavy sword cut through the air, claiming the heads of the frozen enemies one by one.
"Yu So-dong, take the left! Tae Un-seo, support the rear!"
Under Baek Mu-yong's command, the Small Snow Squad mbers moved in perfect order.
Their combined combat skills, tempered through the Southern Barbarians and the Western Regions, had already surpassed the level of ordinary experts.
Eun Bin also moved soundlessly through the shadows, striking the acupoints of the surviving Blood Cult mbers.
The dawn at the Potala Palace after the battle ended was silent.
I raised the Vajra high.
Woong—!
As a faint golden wave emanated from the Vajra and swept through the entire palace, the fishy scent of blood that had perated every corner was washed away.
"……Third Young Master, no, Young Hero Hyeokryeon."
Cheon Jeok-pa approached, breathing roughly, and held out his hand.
Gratitude was visible in the eyes of the man called the Lion King.
"My eyes were not wrong. I, as the Palace Lord of the Potala Palace, swear that the Potala Palace will form an eternal blood alliance with the North Sea Ice Palace and with you starting today."
I clasped his hand and replied.
"Thank you. I will speak to the Palace Head about it as well."
"And about that, could you take the Young Palace Head with you? I will give you this instead."
"Pardon?"
Cheon Jeok-pa handed a letter.
***
When Cheon Jeok-pa's shocking remark settled down with the dawn air, Cheon Deung-jin almost dropped the dharma staff she was holding.
She felt as if her heart was going to pop out of her mouth.
She had never dread that her father would openly tell Hyeokryeon Yeom to 'take her' like that.
Flustered, Cheon Deung-jin urgently called her father.
"……Father?"
But the Lion King Cheon Jeok-pa stared only at Hyeokryeon Yeom, pretending not to hear.
"Since the demonic claws of the Blood Cult have reached this far, it is dangerous for Jin to stay only here. Besides, aren't you the only one who can fully control this child's Fire Spirit Body? Please take this child along on your way back to the Ice Palace and let her see more of the world."
That was the justification.
The real intention lay in the conversation they had shared in the bedroom earlier.
It was her father's winning move, telling her to 'convey her true feelings without holding back'.
Cheon Deung-jin looked at Hyeokryeon Yeom with trembling eyes.
Hyeokryeon Yeom was scratching the back of his head with his usual indifferent expression.
"Well, if the Palace Lord says so, I don't mind."
That short answer, 'I don't mind', sounded sweeter to Cheon Deung-jin than any touching verse in the world.
The energy of the Fire Spirit swirled hotly inside her chest.
But that joy did not last long.
It was because of the chilly coldness she felt from the side.
"Since the Young Palace Head of the Potala Palace is joining us, the Small Snow Squad Captain's shoulders must have beco very heavy."
It was Seol Ye-rin.
Her voice was calm, but a cynicism colder than eternal snow lingered within it.
Seol Ye-rin took a step closer to Hyeokryeon Yeom and t Cheon Deung-jin's gaze head-on.
"The North Sea Ice Palace does not treat guests poorly."
Cheon Deung-jin bowed her head as if in gratitude.
For now, she was happy just to be able to follow Hyeokryeon Yeom.
***
As the majestic dawn light of the Potala Palace flowed down the ridges of the snowy mountains, a foreign sense of intimidation arose within the cold fog wrapping the outskirts of the sanctuary.
It was a massive energy that neither the fishy sll of blood shed by the remnants of the Blood Cult nor the pure buddhist power of the Potala Palace warrior monks could dare to approach.
An overwhelming weight that only the strong could possess pressed down on the atmosphere and was transmitted through the ground.
Two n giving off a strange atmosphere were standing there.
One had eyes as thin and eerie as a snake, while the other boasted a massive physique like a heavy boulder.
However, what represented their identity was the bizarre weapons emitting a faint glow from both their arms, the Twin Rings.
Ten Venerables under the Heavens
Twin Venerables
The people of the world called them the Twin Venerables.
Originally, they were monsters who carried out secret objectives behind the scenes of the Murim while entrusting their bracelets, one of their divine items, to the Saphaeryeon Leader Yong Il-gang.
"Is it that guy? The brat from the Demonic Cult who stirred up the Great Thunder Temple and the Potala Palace."
Gwak Wi, one of the Twin Venerables, licked his lips and laughed fishily.
His gaze was fixed on the Buddhist Venerable's prayer beads shimring brilliantly like the sun on Hyeokryeon Yeom's wrist.
Currently, they were chasing the Holy Hand Divine Physician Seong I-han.
It was to steal the bundle of tokens, which were said to be able to shake the Murim, that the Divine Physician had collected in exchange for treating patients all his life.
"It's not just the Buddhist Venerable's divine item. I can feel the energy of the Iron Venerable, Poison Venerable, and Fighting Venerable as well. If we had the bracelets we entrusted to the Saphaeryeon Leader, they would be vibrating crazily by now."
Jang Wi, standing next to him, clashed his huge fists together.
Kwaang, along with a loud roar, the surrounding rocks turned into powder and scattered.
The Twin Venerables' bracelets held by Yong Il-gang had the ability to resonate if other divine items of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens were nearby.
Although they had lent the bracelets to Yong Il-gang as a compass, being the masters of the divine items, they could instinctively feel it.
The fact that that man nad Hyeokryeon Yeom was monopolizing as many as four legacies of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens.
"We are the ones who chased the Holy Hand Divine Physician while evading even the pursuit of the Blood Cult. But to think we would encounter such a windfall here. If we retrieve those legacies before getting our hands on the tokens, even the Saphaeryeon Leader won't be able to shut his mouth."
Gwak Wi's fingertips seeped toward the Twin Rings at his waist.
He had taken the lives of countless experts throughout his life, but it was his first ti seeing soone emitting such a foreign yet destructive energy.
The form where Purple Demonic Fire and golden dharma power strangely coexisted was destroying even the common sense of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens.
"If one could ascend to the rank of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens just by obtaining legacies, then who in this world wouldn't be a genius. My Twin Rings will confirm if he's a guy who's only loud on the outside or the real deal."
As Jang Wi stepped lightly on the ground, the hard rocky mountain scread.
The fighting spirit Jang Wi emitted had already far transcended the realm of ordinary masters.
In the eyes of the Twin Venerables, Hyeokryeon Yeom appeared less like a great martial artist and more like a massive treasure warehouse full of ripe fruits.
The cold logic of the Murim, that the one who snatches it first becos the owner, flashed in their eyes.
"Hey, Gwak Wi. When do you intend to attack?"
"Let's aim for when they enter the Central Plains."
The Twin Venerables had chased them past the Southern Barbarians and all the way to the Western Regions.
Now was the ti to appear before them and take the tokens from the Holy Hand Divine Physician.
***
The white fortress of the Potala Palace began to gradually fade from view.
Sitting on the roof of the rattling carriage, I took out the letter from my bosom and read it again.
Cheon Jeok-pa had given it to , saying it was a secret letter found on Ja Seong.
A secret order sent by Hyeokryeon Geuk to Ja Seong. The word 'Zither Venerable's divine item' written in it stimulated my nerves.
-Kukuku, Zither Venerable, you say. Does that an the stuff of that old man crazy about wind and flow has appeared in the Central Plains Sword Gate?
'Do you know him?'
-Yes, he was soone who called himself the Refined Playboy. It seems that it remains the sa even after generations.
The telepathic ssages of the Sword Venerable and the Demon Queen brushed past my ears.
I fingered the Buddhist Venerable's prayer beads wrapped around my wrist.
Iron, Fighting, Poison, Buddhist.
I was already carrying four divine items.
If it is true that the Ice Emperor, Seol Cheon-u, distributed these legacies.
'If I obtain the Zither Venerable's legacy, the Heavenly Cry Zither, I might be able to gain information about Seol Cheon-u.'
At that mont, a noisy commotion erupted from inside the carriage.
"Young Palace Head, please have so tea. I don't know if the Snow Tea of the North Sea will suit your taste compared to the High Mountain Tea of the Western Regions."
"Ah, thank you. Miss Seol. But I am more curious about the tea leaves the Young Master brought from the Southern Barbarians?"
Seol Ye-rin and Cheon Deung-jin. The voices of the two won were incredibly soft, but the current flowing between them was sharp enough to explode at any mont.
Watching the complexions of Wi Ji-yeong and Mu-myeong, who were traveling together inside the carriage, turn pale, I made a troubled expression.
"Hehehe, Master, where are you heading now?"
Moyong Geum of the Moyong Clan rchant Guild looked excited, saying he had made a connection with the Potala Palace.
"Didn't you say you had sothing to give in exchange for connecting the distribution channel?"
"Ah, then how about stopping by the Moyong Clan this ti?"
Since I was planning to stop by various places on the way back to the North Sea anyway.
"It doesn't seem like a bad idea, I'll ask the Young Palace Head."
"Yes. I will prepare a pair of swords made of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron for you."
At the ntion of swords made as a pair, my eyes shone.
"The Young Palace Head will like that."
Naturally, the next destination for our party was decided.
The destination was Liaoning.
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