Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 225
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 225
A distance away from the Three Gates.
Hong Lu and her brother Hong Ta gripped each other’s trembling shoulders.
Under normal circumstances, she would have pushed him away calling it disgusting, but even such everyday words wouldn’t come—they simply trembled.
“H-how is this…”
“S-sister. Will we be alright?”
Though they stood at a distance from the Three Gates, the erupting vibrations were unmistakably felt.
A demonic creature.
The Iron Net displayed power far too overwhelming to be called merely a creature or demonic creature.
‘Is that…the Gwisucheolmang?’
‘Did Mother and Father fight against something like that?’
It was a form terrifying enough to haunt one’s nightmares.
An aquatic serpent that coiled black energy around its entire body, twisted its massive form, and attacked the people.
“No, this can’t be!”
Whoosh!
The hidden siblings rose from their place.
They could see the adults’ formation collapsing. The adults flew through the air in chaos, screaming.
“Hong Ta! No! We have to run! We have to escape!”
“Wait!”
Hong Ta shouted.
“Look over there!”
Being at a distance, the siblings could see two streaks of light descending toward the village.
Faster than mountain wolves, faster than wild horses—two streaks of light racing down the mountain.
It was Dokgo Myeong and Geum-ye.
“It’s Myeong-i!”
Dokgo Myeong’s blade surged forward.
The moment Hong Ta saw it, he felt his fear dissipate.
* * *
Kwaaaang!
Right after landing a strike on the Iron Net’s snout.
Upon touching down on the ground, Dokgo Myeong slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Whoooosh!
His five senses felt as though they were being drawn into somewhere.
Soon, Dokgo Myeong entered the ascending realm where time slowed.
‘I cannot drag this out any longer. That creature grows stronger with each passing moment.’
Dokgo Myeong calculated his chances of victory.
The Iron Net had fled and come to this place.
Though I was startled by its cunning method, upon reflection, there lay an advantage within it.
‘That it fled means it ultimately needed a variable.’
The Iron Net’s power was not infinite after all.
Of course, the Iron Net’s current power exceeded my own, so I needed to close that gap.
‘How?’
I possessed the Wuji Heavenly Wave Scripture.
The very technique that even Dokgo Cheon said would become a divine art.
Though still incomplete, it would suffice. With this martial knowledge that had grown closer to completion through studying the Eight Divine Techniques here at Seonsan, it was possible.
‘But I cannot do this alone.’
I needed someone to help me accumulate sufficient inner force.
Or perhaps not a someone.
“Grrrrrowwwl!”
A Mystical Beast could lend its aid.
Had it read my thoughts?
As if our intentions had aligned, Geum-ye unleashed a lion’s roar and charged forward first.
Uuuuuoooong!
The slowed time accelerated once more.
I drove the most violent force from Cheonoe Gyeong—the Whirling Heavenly Technique—into the Geonkun Sword I gripped with all my strength.
And then.
Craaaaaash!
With a deafening roar, the blow landed.
The Iron Net’s neck snapped backward violently.
“Screeeech!”
Geum-ye clamped those massive fangs around the Iron Net’s body and shook its head without mercy.
“Kyaaaaaaagh!”
This cunning demonic creature had sensed something as well.
In its anguished cry, there seemed to be an unmistakable note of urgency.
Just as I was about to deploy my second technique, the Iron Net lashed its tail like a whip.
Then my second technique would be the Jecheon Technique.
Craaaaaah!
The joints of my sword arm screamed in protest.
It felt not like a serpent’s tail, but like a boulder tumbling down a mountainside.
‘All the better.’
My body spun.
I channeled not only my own force but the Iron Net’s power as well through the blade’s edge, returning it to the creature.
Craaaaaash!
“Kyaaaaaaagh!”
A shrill cry erupted from the Iron Net’s mouth alongside the explosion of force.
Yet I had not cut it.
‘Still insufficient!’
Indeed, even the Simian had not been severed by this level of force. I needed to layer the Continuous Initial Technique more densely.
That was when.
“Kaaaaaa!”
Centered on the Iron Net, a murky, dark aura erupted outward.
Whoooosh!
‘Ugh!’
The following exchange nearly became entangled.
The ground beneath Dokgo Myeong’s feet caved inward. Merely exhaling demonic and poisonous energy had caused this devastation.
This was no longer wind—it approached the pressure of a typhoon.
“This…!”
My dragon-scale robe fluttered wildly, and even taking a single step felt burdensome.
Then, unexpected aid arrived.
Clang!
A sound like shaking bells.
Immediately after, the crushing pressure bearing down on my entire body lessened considerably.
“Go! Young Master Dokgo Myeong!”
I didn’t turn around, but I recognized the voice.
Dan-hu.
Rather than offering thanks, I connected the flowing energy wave with my hand that wasn’t gripping the sword.
An unwavering barrier.
The Immovable Absolute—the Silver Han Wall.
Kaaaaang!
The tension stretched forth, perfectly withstanding the demonic energy.
“Kraaaaaaah!”
With a resounding battle cry, I unleashed every martial technique of the Cheonoe Gyeong.
Clang! Craaang! Boom! Kaaaaang!
How many attacks had there been? I couldn’t count them individually.
Lost in a state of transcendence, I continued connecting the energy waves, focusing solely on striking the Iron Net.
Then, in an instant.
Shhhhiiiiing!
A strange sound grazed my ears.
I suddenly lifted my head.
“Kiiiieeeeeeek!”
The creature twisted its entire body, letting out a bone-chilling shriek.
At last, the blade had pierced.
Just below its head.
The Qiankun Sword finally tore through its scales and split open its flesh.
Yet I was not unscathed.
“Cough!”
Ssssshhh!
Drenched in the Iron Net’s blood, I felt my insides twist momentarily.
The stench was unbearably foul. This cursed serpent’s blood was no different from its poison.
‘And I’ve lost my grip on the sword.’
Not much time remained.
Dokgo Myeong, drenched in blood, blazed with intensity in his eyes.
‘Yes, that’s it! Let’s see which one of us dies!’
Boom!
Dokgo Myeong extended his leg.
It was the Gwanggeukyunhyeong, the forward-advancing footwork technique.
Crash!
Whether the ground itself had become unstable or not, Dokgo Myeong’s foot burrowed into the earth up to his ankle.
That tremendous force from the stomp was channeled directly into his fist.
Boom!
With the successive attack, scale fragments scattered down.
Dokgo Myeong was once again drenched in blood and venom.
Yet he did not care.
Whether venom clung to his body, blood stained him, or anything else—Dokgo Myeong fixed his gaze solely upon the Iron Net and swung his blade.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Screeeeeech!”
The Iron Net unleashed every means at its disposal to ram into Dokgo Myeong.
Already, the Iron Net had ceased to properly respond to the attacks of others targeting it or even Geum-ye’s assaults.
It understood.
That its options had become severely limited.
But if it could only slay this human blocking its path, it would emerge victorious!
In that moment.
Crunch!
The Iron Net, as if making one final desperate struggle, clamped its jaws down upon Dokgo Myeong and drove forward with all its might.
“Ughhhhhh!”
Though the Iron Net’s fangs could not pierce through the Seoncheon-gi and Yongrinpo, the tremendous pressure caused him to feel his bones crack.
Dokgo Myeong shattered the fangs with the Jecheon-gi and drove his knee upward toward the creature’s jaw.
Crunch!
“Shrieeeek!”
The creature’s snout snapped shut as its neck whipped skyward.
From this point onward, Dokgo Myeong lost all conscious thought.
Instinct moved his body.
As the Sect Leader had said, it all circled back to the sense of resonance.
Hwacheon-gi.
Jecheon-gi.
Eunhanbyeok.
Unconsciously, all martial techniques intertwined and flowed together.
For a moment, Dokgo Myeong felt all distinctions blur—the separation of inner force, the separation of martial techniques, the separation of meridian pathways, everything.
Hwicheon-gi and Eunhanbyeok moved as one.
Gwanggeukyunhyeong and Jecheon-gi moved as one.
The Hongcheon Gi, the Hwacheon Gyeok, or perhaps other martial techniques altogether.
‘Ahhh!’
Crash!
Something crumbled away.
Another wall that had been blocking me.
The moment the Three Divine Energies merged into one.
My fist became enveloped in an unprecedentedly brilliant light.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
A violent gale swept forth, and clouds of sand shot skyward in a massive plume.
Thud!
Like a towering pagoda collapsing.
The colossal body of the Gwisucheolmang crashed to the ground.
Whoosh! Thump!
“Hah… hah!”
Had I poured out all my remaining strength?
I collapsed to the ground without even a moment to savor the joy of victory.
‘That creature…’
I turned my head and examined the Gwisucheolmang through my dimming vision.
Splurt!
A massive hole had been torn through its belly.
From within, black blood poured out ceaselessly.
No matter how legendary the Iron Net was as a demonic creature without equal in the world, as long as it was a beast with a fatal wound, it could not possibly survive.
That was when.
I saw the Gwisucheolmang’s pupils shift toward me.
“…Young Master Dokgo! Young Master! Are you alright…!”
“Fetch the Physician! …Quickly!”
“Bring the antidote and hemostatic powder!”
My vision grew murky and my consciousness grew hazy—I could not fathom what was happening.
Then I witnessed the creature’s two eyes, which had blazed with crimson light, gradually shift to a soft blue hue.
And I heard a ‘voice’.
‘Thank you. You freed me from my shackles.’
A strange, utterly strange voice.
Was it the voice of a Mystical Beast?
Or was it the voice of the Gwisucheolmang itself?
Or perhaps merely an auditory hallucination born from my fading consciousness.
‘What are you saying… you wretched snake… prepare yourself to become snake liquor…’
With that final thought, I lost consciousness.
* * *
“The… the toxin is far too potent!”
“This is… not a wound that can be healed through treatment. His vital energy channels are in complete turmoil.”
“It’s not even the martial techniques of the Dokgo Family! Whether he circulates his energy or not….”
There was an old saying that killing a Demonic Creature would bring down a curse.
That was precisely Dokgo Myeong’s current state.
Having exhausted every ounce of his power and even been drenched in the Iron Net’s blood, Dokgo Myeong was in a life-threatening condition as though cursed.
“Gasp, gasp, wheeze….”
Even while unconscious, his breathing was frantic and ragged.
No matter how much they called out or tried to wake him, he wouldn’t stir, yet his entire body burned with fever and his breathing only grew more rapid.
“No! Myeong!”
“Brother Myeong-i!”
“Don’t come closer! The toxic miasma still fills this place!”
“But Brother Myeong-i!”
Hong Lu and Hong Ta, the siblings, hopped anxiously as they stared at Dokgo Myeong.
Dan-hu spoke calmly.
“Still, it’s not the absolute worst. Even while unconscious, he continues to move his vital energy on his own, so his life thread hasn’t been severed. However….”
Severe poisoning, internal injuries, external wounds as well.
Left as is, he wouldn’t last even a day. They needed to prepare a potent elixir with genuine healing properties and have him consume it.
But then it happened.
“Grrrrrowl….”
Another existence, equally battered and broken.
Geum-ye limped forward on one leg and rubbed her head against Dokgo Myeong’s.
Uuuuuoooong!
An auspicious aura spread forth, enveloping Dokgo Myeong.
Perhaps there was some slight improvement. Dokgo Myeong’s breathing returned a little.
But that was all.
The foul stench and bleeding from Dokgo Myeong’s body remained unchanged.
“Divine Spirit, is there perhaps no method you can employ?”
Dan-hu swallowed hard as he looked at Geum-ye.
“…Grrrowl.”
Geum-ye’s eyes deepened.
Geum-ye hesitated, glancing toward something, then looked back at Dokgo Myeong.
What Geum-ye’s gaze had fallen upon was none other than the corpse of the Gwisucheolmang.
Hobble, hobble!
Geum-ye approached the Iron Net, who still emanated a vicious toxic miasma, moving on one folded leg.
Then, as if searching for something, her eyes darted about before she bit into the Iron Net’s belly with her tusks.
Splorch!
Blood and entrails spilled forth, and something fell with a soft thud atop them.
It was a fist-sized orb emanating a dark, sinister aura.
“…An inner core? Is that the Iron Net’s inner core?”
Dan-hu asked with a bewildered expression.
Can this even be called an inner core?
A demonic creature’s inner core is not something a human can possess. Much less the inner core of a Gwisucheolmang.
Geum-ye also gazed upward at the sky as if in contemplation.
Soon, Geum-ye let out a long, sighing roar and suddenly shifted her gaze.
“Grrrrrrrrgh….”
Geum-ye approached Dokgo Myeong and lowered her back.
Dan-hu instinctively understood that this meant Geum-ye was offering to carry Dokgo Myeong on her back.
Whoosh!
With Dokgo Myeong upon her back and the Iron Net’s inner core clenched in her jaws, Geum-ye became a streak of light, ascending the mountain path.
Yongryeong Mountain, now ravaged beyond recognition.
Climbing ever higher, Geum-ye soon arrived before the waterfall where her offspring waited.
“Kyaeng!”
As Geum-ye gestured with her eyes and turned her body, young Geum-ye followed in her wake.
Thus they ascended the mountain once more.
Soon, the two mystical beasts reached their destination.
A pale gray structure carved into the cliff face.
The ancestral shrine of the Dokgo Family.
Thud! Thud!
Geum-ye, who had been advancing ceaselessly through the darkness-shrouded space, suddenly came to a halt.
Geum-ye carefully lowered Dokgo Myeong to the ground.
Then she placed the Iron Net’s inner core she had been carrying into Dokgo Myeong’s mouth.
In that moment.
Dokgo Myeong’s consciousness flickered dimly awake.
-A power not permitted to humans….
Whose voice was this?
Amidst the hazy confusion of a dream, a mysterious voice echoed once more.
-Perhaps this too is the turbulent flow of heavenly principles….
Crack!
The inner core burst, becoming a wisp of smoke that flowed past my throat and into my body.
A virulent poison and demonic aura spread throughout my meridians and capillaries.
“Grrrrgh….”
Geum-ye gazed at her offspring with sorrowful eyes.
Young Geum-ye made no sound, simply watching Dokgo Myeong.
As if this were her very purpose.
Without hesitation, young Geum-ye approached Dokgo Myeong.
And the moment she pressed her forehead against mine, a clear, luminous energy flowed forth, enveloping me.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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