Having heard the news from Seomun Hwa-rin and arrived a little late, Tang So-wol's fingertips trembled.
"Young hero Cheon?!"
She propped up Cheon Hwi, who lay on the ground, and quickly examined his condition.
His breathing, pulse, and blood flow were all normal. Yet for some reason, his eyes were closed as if he had fallen into a deep slumber.
That made the situation all the more serious. At the very least, it was proof that Cheon Hwi's unconsciousness lay beyond the realm of what she could handle.
Tang So-wol's heart lurched as if someone had gripped it. Her eyes fell upon the one who had been examining Cheon Hwi a step ahead of her.
A middle-aged man holding a steel fan, lost in thought.
He was Jegal Bu, the Murim Alliance's strategist and the younger brother of the Jegal Clan head.
He must have rushed over alongside the Murim Alliance Leader, for his usually immaculate appearance was now considerably disheveled.
Cheon Hwi, an absolute master of the Harmony Realm, was physically unharmed yet unable to regain consciousness. This was not something that could be resolved with mere medical skill.
Thinking of the eerie energy the Blood Buddha had conjured even in that moment, Tang So-wol concluded that this was the work of sorcery—or something on par with it—and opened her mouth.
Hoping that even a single lifeline might be lowered to her.
"St-Strategist. Is young hero Cheon going to be alright? What in the world is going on here…"
"I'm afraid I don't know the details either. What I do know for certain is that this elder did something to the White Moon Sword Lord. The only saving grace is that those three fought hard enough to at least get his body out of there."
"…"
Tang So-wol gritted her teeth, swallowing her emotions as if forcing them down. But that alone wasn't enough, so she lifted her head.
As if refusing to let the tears that threatened to spill freely fall.
Perhaps it was because she raised her head. She could see Seol Ri-hyang, who had been training separately due to the nature of her martial art, rushing over using her Lightness Skill.
How should she explain the current situation to Seol Ri-hyang?
That they were already too late, and that they didn't even know what needed to be done to save Cheon Hwi?
Grit.
Tang So-wol swallowed the sudden wave of helplessness by biting her lip, then looked in the opposite direction.
There stood the Blood Buddha, the one presumed to have reduced Cheon Hwi to this state. And surrounding him, unleashing a fierce assault, were the Murim Alliance Leader, Seomun Hwa-rin, and Tang Jincheon.
Even if one could create a poison capable of afflicting even a Harmony Realm martial artist, this was a battlefield that Tang So-wol, in her current state, could not dare to step into.
***
His clothes were slightly tattered, unbefitting of the title of Murim Alliance Leader. Beneath them, the contours of well-trained muscles bulged.
As if his body itself was expressing his sense of betrayal.
"So you were hiding your strength, Elder? Then why did you commit such an atrocity!"
"Namu Amita Buddha. 'Atrocity' is a harsh word, Alliance Leader. I am merely helping as many people as possible reach the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The White Moon Sword Lord also understood my intentions and gladly took the lead."
"…It seems words will not reach you."
The Murim Alliance Leader swung his worn-out staff like a storm. As if proving his alias of Uicheon-singae, each blow carried enough force to topple even a small hall, and such attacks filled all directions in an unending barrage.
The beating continued, one-sided and brutal, just like the name of the martial art—Striking the Dog with a Staff.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than wild, reckless swings, but the profound mystery contained within each strike drove the opponent into a corner where even proper resistance was impossible.
However, the Vajra Arhat—no, the Blood Buddha wearing the Vajra Arhat's body—simply took every single blow.
Born with exceptional bones and muscles, he had trained the Shaolin Temple's grueling External Arts his entire life. On top of that, he had reinforced his body further with Vajrayana techniques, forging it to an even greater hardness.
This was only possible because the current Blood Buddha possessed a body worthy of being called the Indestructible Vajra Body.
Faced with that unnatural hardness, Seomun Hwa-rin abandoned her strike-focused Fist and Leg Art and instead employed the Golden Capture Technique, which bound the opponent up close.
An inevitable ultra-close-quarters battle followed. Unlike her usual self, Seomun Hwa-rin pressed the Blood Buddha with a completely expressionless face, not even twitching an eyebrow.
"Confess how to wake Cheon Hwi. That is the only way you will die a comfortable death."
"How can one call back a soul that has already departed to paradise? And is it truly right to drag one who dwells in the Pure Land back to the mortal world? Think it over carefully once more, Baekbal Nachal."
"…This woman abandoned that name long ago. And whether I answer or not, nothing will change. I will find out by any means necessary. Let us see whether you can still speak so boldly once every bone in your body is broken."
Seomun Hwa-rin's dark red eyes flashed sharply, and her limbs accelerated to several times their previous speed.
Heavenly Thunder Divine Art.
A mystery that burns everything one possesses without holding anything back—unleashed not through a sword, but through arms and legs.
In the span of a single swallow, her fingers tangled and released seven or eight times. Her arms moved along unpredictable trajectories in an attempt to break each other's limbs, and in between, she used palm techniques to shove her opponent, collapsing his center of gravity.
The Blood Buddha reacted as well, albeit a beat late, but even so, it was always Seomun Hwa-rin who held the upper hand.
Was the Blood Buddha not already trying to contend with the Murim Alliance Leader while also facing Seomun Hwa-rin?
It was only natural that neither side could properly respond, leaving one party to be pushed back one-sidedly.
After all, even if the Blood Buddha possessed the mature enlightenment of the Harmony Realm and a powerful body, facing two martial artists of the same level was no easy task.
Nevertheless, the Blood Buddha was only forced onto the defensive—he did not fall.
This was partly because his body was simply that tough, and partly because, trusting that sturdy frame, he kept escaping Seomun Hwa-rin's Golden Capture Technique through grotesque, contorted movements.
Bizarre. Yet it was an exchange that would continue until one side collapsed from exhaustion.
But the maintenance of that strange balance ended here.
Tang Jincheon, who had been wary of the Blood Buddha's peculiarities, had been refining not some half-hearted poison but the extreme of extremes, and now he finally began to move.
"You wretch! I'll make you understand the meaning of touching a member of the Tang Clan to the marrow of your bones! You won't leave behind even a scrap of a corpse—you'll melt away into a handful of poison ashes!"
A kaleidoscope of poison mists burst forth from Tang Jincheon's sleeves.
It was surprising enough that he had applied so many different kinds of poison at once without letting them mix, but even more surprising were the names of the poisons he scattered.
The Formless Poison, famous for its three absences—no color, no scent, no taste. The Seven-Step Soul-Chasing Poison, a fast-acting lethal venom that killed before one could walk seven paces. The Extreme Bone-Melting Ash, which dissolved not the meridians or internal organs but the flesh and skin themselves. And the Scattered Energy Poison, Heaven-Slaying Immortal Lung Rupture, which tore the dantian itself into a thousand shreds.
Ordinarily, these poisons were so precious and so virulent that merely handling them required the utmost caution—if ownerless vials of them ever circulated, they would paint the martial world in rivers of blood. Yet here they filled the air as casually as if they were nothing.
The Blood Buddha, who had no room to dodge while dealing with the Murim Alliance Leader and Seomun Hwa-rin, was instantly drenched in poison and coughed up blood.
"Cough! As expected of the Poison King. This is quite potent."
"Tch. You're still breathing after taking all of that? Then I'll keep spraying until you die."
Tang Jincheon's sleeves fluttered once more. Having achieved Bone-Exchange Rebirth and become a complete Poison Human, he could now create any poison he remembered, so long as he had the internal energy to fuel it.
Because he directly controls the poison he creates with his Intent, there is no worry of poisoning his allies.
It is the very image of what every poison art practitioner dreams of.
It took a little time to create such a powerful poison, but thanks to having already produced a sufficient amount, the Poison Mist now blankets the surroundings without interruption.
The Blood Buddha did not die instantly because, no matter how his martial art is judged, it is rooted in Buddhist martial arts. And.
Ting-a-ling—
It was because he used a powerful Dharma artifact, a bell, to expel the poison energy from time to time.
However, even doing this much, he could not be completely free from the combined attack of three Harmony Realm martial artists.
Despite his Indestructible Vajra Body, the Blood Buddha's hands and feet were completely bound. And slowly but surely, he was being poisoned from the inside.
The Blood Buddha dies here. That is a certainty. The problem is that it will take considerable time to reach death.
And for the Blood Buddha, that was enough.
The Vajra Arhat's body was excellent, but it could not compare to Cheon Hwi's body, which shone with talent as if it were a Heavenly Martial Body.
'Since it has come to this, I should hide my identity entirely and start over. Fortunately, the Tang Clan is becoming the greatest clan in the world, so I am lucky. I can just claim that my memories are unstable due to the aftermath of the sorcery.'
One who is possessed by the bell loses their will completely the moment it melts away, becoming another body that the Blood Buddha can take over.
And a portion of the memories of the body thus seized is also transmitted to the Blood Buddha.
Thanks to that, he was able to hide as the Vajra Arhat for quite a long time and recover his strength, and this time would likely be no different.
He stalls for time with a decent act. He does not know how remarkable the new body will be, but since it is already the body of a martial artist who has reached the Harmony Realm, he will recover all his power within a year at most.
Jegal Bu begins drawing a formation centered on the fallen Cheon Hwi's body, as if making a last-ditch struggle.
The Blood Buddha sneered inwardly at that meaningless struggle.
After all, the secret art he had created by pouring his everything into it in his lifetime was not something that could be dealt with by a mere simple formation.
'By now, he should be gradually melting completely into the Pure Land Paradise that the secret art is showing him… well, it's fine. No matter how great a martial artist is, one cannot be completely detached from oneself. It won't take that long.'
His entire body, inside and out, repeatedly melted and stopped, and though it did not break, his senses remained intact, so every time he was struck and his bones snapped, sharp pain surged through him.
Even amidst such sharp pain, the Blood Buddha wore a faint smile resembling a Buddha statue.
To him, who had already transcended the physical body, this level of pain was more than bearable.
***
As if recalling something, Jegal Bu began drawing complex lines around Cheon Hwi with his iron fan.
Then, after surveying the surroundings, he poured out from his bosom a heap of strange objects that clearly radiated an ominous energy.
And then, looking at Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang, who had just arrived, he spoke in a serious tone.
"Young lady of Flying Butterfly Poison Peak. If you wish to save your betrothed, could you lend me your aid? I've heard that the young lady of Cheongeum Binghwa is also close to the White Moon Sword Lord…"
"Of course! I'll help in any way I can!"
"…What do we need to do?"
The moment they realized there was something they could do—and something they must do—Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang perked up.
Jegal Bu pointed to the strange objects he had poured out and continued speaking to the two of them.
"Please place these in the locations I mentioned. First, the jade qilin…"
Jegal Bu began reciting positions while still drawing complex lines. Following his instructions, Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang moved in perfect unison, fixing each object into its designated spot.
Thanks to their efficiency, the formation was completed quickly. Feeling the shift in the flow of surrounding energy, Jegal Bu let out a short sigh.
"Hoo. This formation can't wake the White Moon Sword Lord, but it's meant to make contact with his lingering image. In the first place, it might fail, and even if it succeeds, all we can do is convey a few words…"
"Still, it's worth a try."
"A fine answer. Then, for the last piece, I need an object with a deep connection to the White Moon Sword Lord. You're his betrothed—surely you carry one or two such things?"
"An object with a deep connection…"
Tang So-wol pondered for a moment. Before long, a sweet-smelling liquid tinged with soft pink rippled in her palm.
"That is…"
"It's the poison I used to save young hero Cheon before, and it's still dissolved somewhere in his body even now."
"If that's the case, it's more than enough. Leave the rest to me—place it on the White Moon Sword Lord's chest."
Without a word, Tang So-wol nodded and laid her hand upon Cheon Hwi's chest.
Tang So-wol's love seeped into Cheon Hwi's heart. And then.
"Ah."
Rushing back into her own heart came anger, despair, hatred, regret, murderous intent, self-blame.
At this very moment.
Tang So-wol had definitely touched Cheon Hwi's hell.