The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Night of the Hunt (1)

[Past Life's Gangho]

I slipped out of Demon Wind Manor and fled deep into the mountains. I did not burn Demon Wind Manor down. I — the last descendant of the Sacheondang Family — judged it more advantageous to let them believe I was still trapped there.

When I was killing the manor's warriors, the servants had scread and fled.

"P-please spare !"

"Young master! Please, save us. I beg you……."

They had knelt before and pleaded.

"Make a promise. That you will not speak of having seen ."

"We swear it! We give you our word!"

I did not kill them. I let them go. Call it the rcy left in a child of a prestigious family.

Perhaps it was the recklessness of a boy who still believed in the bonds of Gangho.

That small sliver of conscience I had shown then ca back to as poison.

The mont the servants saved their lives, they ran straight to my enemies. Manor Master Myo Dan-u had died at my hands, and though they had tried to stop it, there had been nothing they could do — that was the story they told.

They received a few sacks of rice as their reward for informing on .

***

The mountain I chose after leaving Demon Wind Manor felt like a safe hiding place at first. A mountain with no one around seed more advantageous than a city or town full of people.

And there was Jiange Mountain, where Demon Wind Manor had stood. According to what I knew, sowhere on Jiange Mountain would be the Red Spirit Grass — one of the ingredients for the Eight Great Extre Poisons.

The extraordinarily rare poisonous herb, Red Spirit Grass. This plant, with its blood-red petals and blue-green stem, harbored a lethal poison born of nature itself.

The longer it absorbed sunlight, the more potent its toxicity grew, and a fully blood flower needed only to be touched for the poison to seep through the skin — its characteristic sweetish fragrance was unmistakable.

They said that even a single petal was enough to kill a hundred people instantly.

I circulated the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art as I wandered in search of Red Spirit Grass.

Cultivating the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art. Had I simply built up my energy gradually, as Myo Dan-u had done, it might have been different — but I was paying dearly for the path I had chosen, the path of becoming a legendary Poison Demon.

I had devoured Myo Dan-u's poison energy and achieved a sudden surge of internal energy. But I was still young then, and I did not know how to control the violence. A dantian emptied to nothing.

The side effects of forcing cultivation before my realm had even stabilized. My body and energy channels craved extre poisons like a starving man craves food.

"I absolutely need Red Spirit Grass!"

With only that, I could stabilize my realm. The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art was now, in reverse, gnawing away at my own body.

"Red Spirit Grass grows stronger the more sunlight it receives……."

Then it wouldn't be deep in the forest. Most likely it would be near the mountaintop, sowhere that receives plenty of sunlight. All I had ever done was sll it diluted a thousand tis over as a child. It was a vague notion — but it was the only hope I had.

As I fled into the mountains, I had packed food and Wind Fur Moss and other poisons. But the mountain showed no rcy to a boy. Wind Fur Moss was notorious for making hair fall out, yet I was in no position to be choosy.

I chewed and swallowed bitter poisonous herbs. The food and poisons I had brought ran out quickly. I dug for roots and stripped bark from trees to eat.

I had thought the mountains would be teeming with rabbits and deer — but after wandering for days on end, I could not find even a single footprint.

Starvation could be managed sohow.

"The problem is poison."

Now that I had been cultivating the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art, I had to consu poison — but neither poisonous herbs nor poisons were anywhere to be seen.

"Damn it……. I should have gone out collecting with the Sacheondang Family elders."

Regretting it was useless. , unable to consu poison. The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art, left unsatisfied, hungered for my own blood and flesh.

Seven days surviving in the mountains. I barely managed to dig up ants and eat them. Formic acid was feeble — but still poison. Insufficient, yet better than nothing.

Twelve days. In the crack of a rock, I found a small deposit of stone honey. I devoured the small but precious wild honey in a frenzy, and ate the bees along with it. The sweet honey made forget the unbearable pain. Bee venom filled, however faintly, the craving for poison energy. I felt like I might just survive.

And so, over twenty days later, on a late night—

Grrrrrr-.

A wolf's howl tore open the silence, and the hunt began. The prey was .

Cold moonlight seeped through the dense branches, casting faint silver shadows. My entire body was already drenched in cold sweat and caked with dirt, and my lungs burned as if on fire.

Every ti I tried to swallow a breath, my throat stung as though it were being torn — but I ran, and ran again. The sound coming from behind, low and deep. They were the black wolves of the Black Wolf Squad. The wolves of Blood Wolf Gate's Gate Master, Wolfish Heaven Marquis Choi Mu-jin, were chasing .

"A mistake."

I should have hidden in a village, not the mountains. The poison energy drifting from in this uninhabited mountain was like a signpost telling the Black Wolf Squad exactly where I was.

One, two……. Over a hundred wolves of the Black Wolf Squad. The black wolves writhed beneath the moonlight.

Their bearing was as if they might tear out my throat at any mont. Claws raked the earth, fangs glead, reflecting the moonlight. Howls that seed to rend the ears shook the night air.

I gritted my teeth.

'Stop and you die!'

But my legs were already reaching their limit. It had already been more than ten days since I had eaten the stone honey. Skeletal arms without even a fistful of strength.

The poison energy gained from killing Myo Dan-u had been spent far too recklessly when killing his subordinates.

Power easily gained is easily lost. I had beco drunk on victory before I could even stabilize my realm. A lack of experience. Recovering from eating ants and bees alone was impossible.

'I should have killed them all!'

The re fact that the Black Wolf Squad was chasing made it much more clear. The servants of Demon Wind Manor I had let live had obviously tell on .

'rcy was a luxury.'

The ruthless world of Gangho had shattered the heart of a fifteen-year-old boy far too easily. I had thought I would crush Demon Wind Manor and rise up as a soaring dragon. I was, at best, a diseased carp floundering in a ditch.

'If caught, I die!'

Wolfish Heaven Marquis Choi Mu-jin was a notoriously feared figure even in the Murim world. His personal martial arts were nothing exceptional — but the hundred wolves of the Black Wolf Squad had the power to bring down a small sect.

Above all, there was the alpha of the Black Wolf Squad's wolves. White Night Black Wolf. Said to be all black except for the white that ran from its head down its back to the tail — this divine beast was known to be more than capable of handling two or three absolute-peak masters and still have room to spare.

***

Auoooo-!

The howls of the Black Wolf Squad wolves were swallowing up the dim moonlight. Two full days of pursuit. The sound was drawing closer.

'They were biding their ti on purpose! They waited until I was exhausted in the mountains.'

I should have struck first while I still had so strength. I had no ti to tend to the wounds covering my body — I just ran, and ran again. Wolfish Heaven Marquis was a formidable hunter, true to his reputation.

He had dug traps throughout the mountain and deliberately driven toward them. His aim was not to take my life. Thin, razor-sharp iron wire. Iron caltrops scattered across the ground.

All of it was designed to exhaust further and make blood pour from every part of my body. To a man like him, a creature like was nothing but prey. No — perhaps not even worthy of being prey. Wolfish Heaven Marquis and his Black Wolf Squad were enjoying themselves.

It seed they intended to finish things only after making taste terror right up to the mont before death. His wolves drew even closer. I could not look back.

Thud!

My foot caught a stone, and my body pitched forward. I desperately reached out my hands but was hurled to the ground. Without even ti to register the pain, I instinctively rolled my body. Right at that mont, a pitch-black shadow ca flying in.

Thwack!

The sound of earth being torn. Into the very spot where I had fallen, one of the black wolves lunged and drove its claws down. The fur grazed my cheek. The beast's eyes were flooded with blood-red. Fear seeped all the way to the marrow of my bones.

"Grrrr……."

It opens its mouth. Fangs are visible. Its breath is hot. On instinct, I drove the dagger I gripped into the wolf's throat.

Yelp!

The black wolf let out a single shriek and collapsed. At the sa mont, more black wolves lunged at . I tried to summon internal energy, but my dantian was hollow.

"Damn it!"

With no ti to pull out the embedded dagger, I snatched up a rock and swung.

Thwack!

The rock slamd into the wolf's face. The beast groaned and twisted away.

Riiiip-.

A wolf's fangs caught my clothing and tore it open in a long gash. I didn't let that gap go to waste — I got back up and ran with everything I had. I couldn't see ahead. But I had no choice but to go. Because if I stopped now, it was truly over!

Then, at the edge of my vision, a dark gap appeared.

'A cave!'

There was no ti to hesitate. I wrung out whatever strength remained and hurled myself inside. Darkness swallowed . The howls of wolves ca from outside. But they soon went quiet.

"Haah…… haahh……."

I heaved for breath and collapsed to the ground. When I pressed my hand down, I felt a damp floor. Cold rock, clammy moisture.

'Please let it run through, please.'

The inside of the cave was deep and dark. Not even the dim moonlight was visible. It was a dead end.

"……A fatal mistake."

I had rolled myself straight into a trap. I slowly turned my head. The wolves had drawn close and were blocking the way. I swallowed. My way out was sealed.

Looking at the beasts staring back at , a vague vision of my future took shape in my mind. A more distant future. Hunters chasing , making the enemy of all Gangho. , struggling desperately.

"Damn it all!"

I wrung out my internal energy and channeled the Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art into both hands. Forcing out poison energy I didn't have left made blood surge up from my gut just from that alone.

"Co at !"

A desperate fight ensued. I used hand-blade techniques to slash the throats of the beasts and pierce their bellies. Striking, beating, biting. A struggle where it was impossible to tell who was the beast and who was the human!

At one mont, a path opened up through the black wolves. I ran straight out. Outside the cave, a cool air brushed across my back. In the darkness, sothing chilling was watching . The place I had sprinted and reached was a cliff edge. The mountaintop.

A fierce wind wrapped around my blood-soaked body. Not just internal energy — even my poison energy was completely spent.

Grrrrowl-!

In the darkness, the yellow eyes of the Black Wolf Squad appeared. I thought I had killed quite a few, yet they still numbered well over a hundred, easily. The beasts baring their fangs at . I stepped backward.

Piiiiih-!

The piercing sound of a flute tore through the stillness. Wolfish Heaven Marquis had initiated the final hunt. At once, from the darkness behind the Black Wolf Squad—

A massive shadow rose, bathed in moonlight.

"Baeya-heukrang……!"

That pitch-black beast draped the silver moonlight around itself and radiated it like a brilliant aura.

"Ha ha ha! Dang Seon! Quite clever that you made it this far!"

Wolfish Heaven Marquis Choi Mu-jin revealed himself atop a boulder.

"……Wolfish Heaven Marquis."

"Not bad at all. You've cost quite a loss."

"Who hired you to kill ?"

"What use is knowing that when you're about to die?"

"I need to know at least that. So I can track them down, even from the afterlife."

"Puahaha! I can tell you what was in the contract, at least."

He pointed at .

"They said to tear you apart and scatter the pieces — but it seems that won't even be necessary."

Wolfish Heaven Marquis crouched down on the boulder and said,

"The boys have been quite hungry."

"……!"

Kherrgh!

White Night Black Wolf let out a roar and advanced. The beast's eyes were cold and unsettling. Instinct warned .

‘This is no ordinary wild animal!’

Every pore across my body blazed with a prickling chill. I wrung out every last thread of remaining energy and drove the poison energy into motion. The energy was as faint as a sigh cutting through empty air. I tightened every muscle in my body. I had to fight.

"Co!"

At my scream-like cry, White Night Black Wolf charged at like lightning. Blade-like claws carved through the air before my eyes and ca crashing down.

I barely twisted my body aside — but the thick reek of blood stabbed at my nose. In a single strike, the boulder in the spot where I had been was shattered! The cliff's edge trembled dangerously, and dirt rained down.

I struck at White Night Black Wolf's throat with a hand-blade, but it was blocked by fur like forged steel. Imdiately the beast turned its head and slamd into .

I caught it at an angle, but my body was sent flying and crashed to the ground. White Night Black Wolf's fangs grazed my shoulder. A ferocious attack like a frost blade! Each fang was like a finely honed dagger.

Damn it……!

Pain engulfed my entire body.

Grrrrr-.

The beast took its stance and aid for my throat. The cliff's edge. My heel touched open air. There was nowhere left to retreat. Even my breathing was ragged and thin.

The enemy's force was like thunder, and the ground beneath my feet trembled as if it might crumble at any mont. My vision blurred and the blood boiling within made my head reel.

At that mont. A single cool breeze blowing up from the cliff's edge brushed the tip of my nose.

"……!"

The chaos in my mind was cut cleanly away. The blood cooled, and my head cleared. They say the greatest of all poisons is 'human poison'. Yes.

I will give up this body of mine. One who seeks poison alone shall endure poison alone. To die in order to live — that was my fate.

The mont I resolved to cast everything away, strength surged up within .

White Night Black Wolf charging!

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist. Wretched poison energy surged and raged. That final strike imbued with poison energy— shattered not the beast, but the precarious edge of the cliff!

Crack.

The ground beneath my feet gave way. I plumted off the cliff together with White Night Black Wolf. The night sky swept upward and away in a flash, and the wind tore at my ears. For one instant, all sound vanished.

I reached out desperately, and my fingertips caught hold of sothing!

A tree root. The fall barely stopped.

I looked down.

Grrr-.

White Night Black Wolf had also barely managed to drive its claws into the cliff face.

Scraaaaape!

True to its nature as a divine beast, the creature clawed its way up the cliff face. I could not even breathe properly.

And then, at that mont. A glowing red grass blade entered my vision.

"Red Spirit Grass……!"

Just as I had thought! That faint fragrance carried on the wind — it had been this. The crimson petals, lit by starlight, glistened as though beaded with blood. Jiange Mountain, where sunlight struck abundantly.

……Red Spirit Grass was blooming on the cliff face.

Without hesitation, I put the Red Spirit Grass in my mouth. In an instant, a blazing heat enveloped my entire body. True energy surged and rushed, and poison energy raged as if blood were reversing through my veins.

Roaarr!

White Night Black Wolf vaulted up the cliff and bared its fangs. I unleashed palm force. The overwhelming poison energy that erupted from my palm struck with the wondrous principles of the Flying Cotton Palm in an explosive blast.

Boom!

The black wolf struck dead-on had its back blown apart, and with all four legs flailing, it fell off the cliff into the endless darkness below.

'The one left is Wolfish Heaven Marquis!'

I kicked off the cliff and shot straight upward. My body rose light, as if it might fly. Atop the cliff. Wolfish Heaven Marquis Choi Mu-jin was looking down at . His eyes flickered between doubt and certainty. He couldn't have seen clearly from where he was standing!

"Wolfish Heaven Marquis!"

I hurled myself at him like a wild beast. The eyes of him and his Black Wolf Squad tracked upward, following as I rose— and Wolfish Heaven Marquis's gaze flooded with shock, and the flute he had been holding in his mouth fell away below.

"……!"

Overwhelming killing force! My hand-blade pierced through his chest. The Black Wolf Squad bristled with every hair on their bodies at their master's peril — but crack! I bit into Wolfish Heaven Marquis's throat. My poison-laced fangs tore through flesh. Hot blood gushed from Wolfish Heaven Marquis's throat.

Shudder- Thud.

He collapsed in an instant.

I looked at the Black Wolf Squad. The wolves, having lost both their alpha and their master, dropped their tails at my gaze. The yellow eyes in the darkness flickered out one by one like dying candles, and soon every last one of them had vanished from this place.

"Huuuuu……."

I exhaled sharply. The night sky shone cold, and I let out a roar like a beast.

It was the day the prey beca the hunter.