Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 465

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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 465
Even a net with gaps would have those gaps obscured if layered thick enough.
Dokgo Myeong’s blade touched the Limitless.
“…!”
Yuk Ho-beop’s eyes widened dramatically.
Vital energy accumulated in layers, transforming into radiant light. The pitch-black blade of the Hyeonchul Heavy Sword was submerged in that brilliant luminescence.
Dazzlingly beautiful, it resembled starlight. As beautiful as it was dangerous. Thus the starlight swept away all the darkness of night.
The blade transformed into starlight drew near.
‘Could this uncivilized Central Plains warrior possibly…!’
Yuk Ho-beop ceased his thoughts and drew forth all his blood essence.
Asura Bloodfiend Armor, Asura Bloodfiend Carapace.
A deep crimson protective aura wrapped around his entire body like armor.
Flash!
Kwaaaaaaang!
A blinding flash erupted.
All things that had been shrouded in darkness suddenly recovered their colors, then bleached bone-white, losing every hue.
Sound vanished.
A deafening roar struck the eardrums, but immediately the ears went numb and silence engulfed the surroundings.
Dokgo Myeong was swept up in the explosion, tumbling about, until I drove the Hyeonchul Sword into the ground to brace myself.
“….”
My entire body ached and my mind was hazy.
Unable to hear anything, I tapped my ears repeatedly, and along with the sensation of sticky liquid flowing, a high-pitched ringing pierced through.
Dokgo Myeong staggered and lifted my head.
Thud-thud-thud!
Dust and reed fragments rained down like precipitation.
Beneath it, a deep trench carved across the devastated ground. It was roughly one zhang wide and appeared to stretch at least five zhang in length.
The trench’s true nature was a sword scar.
* * *
Trickle.
A thread-thin stream of water flowed along the sword scar. Since reeds naturally grew near coasts or wetlands, it seemed the blade had struck through a nearby water vein.
“Cough! Cough!”
Dokgo Myeong hacked up a fit of coughing mixed with blood and soil, then staggered to my feet, covered head to toe in dust.
Yuk Ho-beop stood at the starting point of the sword scar.
“Grrrgh! Krrgh!”
Yuk Ho-beop released bestial groans as blood poured from his body.
A deep sword wound carved across his chest. Through the gaping chasm, muscle, blood vessels, and bone lay completely exposed.
“How on earth….”
Yuk Ho-beop’s eyes trembled faintly.
“A footwork technique that shakes the opponent’s energy waves, combined with a continuous technique that stacks vital force…? I’ve never seen nor heard of such martial arts….”
Yes, I acknowledge it.
Had I not created distance or given myself room to build my defenses, I would have been caught.
But he grew careless. Intoxicated by his initial onslaught, he convinced himself of his superiority. That was his second weakness.
Dokgo Myeong stared at Yuk Ho-beop with eyes bloodshot and crimson from burst capillaries.
‘Good. That’s enough.’
A wound deep enough to expose bone. My strike had reached his organs and vital meridians. He should have no strength left to move.
‘Just a moment… I need to stabilize my body quickly, then reach Hoa…’
Dokgo Myeong collapsed onto the ground and crossed his legs into a meditation posture.
Heat radiated across my entire body. The external injuries were worse than the internal ones.
Circulating energy to heal in this state was a perfect invitation for demonic possession, but I had to treat my wounds quickly or die.
But then.
“Hehehehe… hehehehe…”
Laughter echoed. Dokgo Myeong cracked open his eyelids slightly.
“Yes, yes… kehehehe! That’s right… A heaven-defying genius should be like this. I’m actually delighted. The material to become part of the Bloodfiend cannot be subpar.”
“…!”
“But… did you underestimate me too much?”
Whoooosh!
In an instant, Yuk Ho-beop’s form was engulfed in a dense crimson blood aura.
“The Asura Divine Body is not some lukewarm armor that breaks once and is finished.”
Thud.
A foot tore through the blood aura and extended forward.
Boom!
The foot struck the ground, and Yuk Ho-beop walked out from within the blood aura.
Splurt splurt splurt!
Blood essence bubbled and foamed from his blood vessels and muscles, and his wounds began regenerating at terrifying speed.
With another step, blood vessels reconnected, muscles filled in, and skin sealed shut.
Hisssss!
Pale vapor rose from his entire body.
All the Dark Heaven Technique’s power that had penetrated his body was being expelled.
“The successes of Cheonsal, Bloodfiend, and Ji-myeol were worthwhile.”
“…”
“If the Bloodfiend recovers your martial arts, we shall truly reach invincibility. Kehehehe!”
Zzzzzzzt!
Yuk Ho-beop’s entire body was wrapped once more in a flawless crimson armor of blood.
I couldn’t even muster a bitter laugh now.
Dokgo Myeong glared at Yuk Ho-beop as if cursing with his eyes.
‘What in the hell are these madmen doing…’
There is no power without a price, but how much blood must they have shed to achieve this?
Even the Jeonghyeol School Grand General’s regeneration was not at this level. No, not even Hyeok Wi-sang, who was a Bloodfiend in his past life, could do this.
He seemed to have recovered not just his body but his internal injuries as well.
And that was not all. After completing his regeneration, he emanated an aura barely different from when he began the fight.
He had not merely recovered—he had achieved perfect condition.
‘What do I do, what do I do….’
I’ve lost too much blood. The dizziness makes it hard to think clearly.
Then suddenly, a flood of memories swept through my mind.
Dokgo Hyeon’s memories, my own memories, the hardships of this new life, the moments shared with the Cheonma Sect….
‘The lantern of life at death’s end?’
Damn it all.
Who knew I’d die like this?
‘Is there any way, any way at all?’
Blood vessels bulged in my eyes.
Some hidden master appearing like a comet to help? Nothing like that?
Or maybe an actual comet could fall and smash through that bastard’s skull instead.
But such miracles did not occur.
Nor could I think of any other solution.
No trusted companion at my side, no hidden blade in my robes… no traps….
“….”
I stopped thinking and gazed blankly at Yuk Ho-beop.
Yuk Ho-beop watched with extreme caution, approaching step by careful step toward me, sitting cross-legged despite being battered and broken.
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth slowly.
“The White Lotus True Scripture and the Reverse Heaven Technique….”
Yuk Ho-beop stopped two paces away.
“What?”
“…I will hand them over.”
Yuk Ho-beop chuckled darkly.
“You should have said that earlier.”
“….”
“Do you truly believe that could be a bargaining chip in this situation?”
“Whether elixir or food… it’s better to take them while alive than dead, cough! Fresh goods are always preferable, after all….”
Yuk Ho-beop’s brow twisted.
I’d known long ago he was mad, but to speak of freshness regarding his own body and life—what audacity.
“Now you beg for your life?”
I nodded heavily.
“I do not wish to die.”
“….”
“Save me.”
“What scheme is this? No, never mind. Don’t answer.”
Yuk Ho-beop laughed coldly.
“Very well, I shall save you. First, I’ll locate your meridians and treat them so you cling to life….”
Yuk Ho-beop smiled with chilling cruelty.
“Then I’ll sever your tendons, break your limbs, pluck out your eyes, tongue, and ears to make jerky of them, cut off every finger and toe… and then I shall keep you alive.”
You madman. Is that supposed to be saving me?
I ground my teeth together.
Whoosh.
Yuk Ho-beop’s hand slowly approached the area beneath my sternum, toward the Queque acupoint. He clearly intended to knock me unconscious first, then stop the bleeding.
In that instant.
Whack!
I thrust my right palm toward his incoming hand.
Yuk Ho-beop let out a soft laugh as if amused, or as if he’d expected this all along, then opened his palm to receive my strike with his left hand.
Boom!
Next, Yuk Ho-beop unleashed his right palm strike, and I met it with my left palm in a direct collision.
Crash!
In the end, both our palms collided in midair.
I neither bounced back nor attempted to bounce him away. I had deployed a martial art I’d never fully utilized before.
The Northern Ming Divine Art.
Rather than the repelling technique of the pushing method, I unfolded the absorbing technique of the drawing method, completely accepting Yuk Ho-beop’s inner force.
“Krahaha!”
Yuk Ho-beop burst into wild laughter.
“So this is it? You challenge someone of a higher tier to a battle of inner force? You must have seen that recovery is already possible, so did you dream of mutual destruction? You abominable thing….”
Even with our qi connected, he showed no difficulty in speaking.
I wanted to mock him as usual, but if I exhaled carelessly, my concentration would shatter and I’d be pushed back entirely.
But I didn’t simply endure—I moved my tongue.
“Have you ever experienced death?”
“…?”
“I have. Let’s take a trip to the underworld together, Yuk Ho-beop.”
Click!
In an instant, I stopped the rotation of the Heavenly Extreme Soul Orb. Then immediately twisted it into rotation again.
But in the opposite direction.
Reverse rotation instead of forward.
Kuuuuung!
The pure spiritual energy of the Heavenly Extreme Soul Orb turned black in an instant.
It was Reverse Heaven Art.
“…!!”
Yuk Ho-beop, who had maintained composure throughout, suddenly trembled in shock, his eyes widening.
That expression was quite a sight. I felt the torrent of reverse heavenly force rushing toward me, openly sneering.
Soon darkness engulfed my vision and consciousness grew hazy.
* * *
It hurts.
Throbbing, stinging, aching, pulsing, throbbing—how could such pain possibly exist in this world? Every form of suffering a human could feel compressed from the crown of my head to my fingertips and toes.
Would exposed flesh feel this way if salt were poured into the wound? If boiling oil were poured over it, scrubbed with a rough sponge, and salt sprinkled again repeatedly—would it not hurt like this?
Such agony.
I forced myself to maintain consciousness. I had a conviction that if I lost awareness here, I would die on the spot.
‘This isn’t real. This is false pain.’
Such pain couldn’t possibly exist. If it were genuine, I would have died long ago. With that thought, the suffering became slightly more bearable.
Uuuuung!
When I delved deep into cultivation, I sometimes witnessed visions. Not actual hallucinations, but rather manifestations of unconscious thoughts that materialized when I entered a state of selflessness.
This time too, I witnessed a vision.
A colossal crimson creature—blood-red from head to tail feathers.
Blood dripped steadily from its menacingly spread wings, while its sharp beak and talons gleamed like honed blades. The monstrous bird with its gaping maw stared down at me. It resembled what the legendary bird that devours dragons must have looked like.
The creature’s true identity was the vital essence of the Yukho-beop Geukrak-sinjyo.
And in the bird’s eyes as it gazed upon me, I saw fear.
In that moment.
Flash!
I opened my eyes.
More precisely, I awakened from the vision and saw the world clearly.
The face of Yuk Ho-beop, still pressing both palms against mine, came into view.
“Nngh… nngh…”
Pained groans continuously escaped his lips.
His face had flushed crimson, and every vein in his neck stood rigid and trembling.
‘As expected.’
He was suffering far more than I was, if anything—certainly no less.
“Hehe, hehehe…”
I shouldn’t laugh lest my strength falter, yet laughter kept leaking out.
Grrrrind.
Yuk Ho-beop gnashed his teeth and glared at me as if he would kill me.
What good would looking do?
Did he think he had the advantage in a battle of cultivation power?
Of course, he did…
‘You may be able to kill me, but you cannot destroy me. You must preserve my vital essence at minimum. From the start, in a pure cultivation power contest, I’ve already secured half the advantage.’
Of course, even accounting for that, he would have had a chance at victory.
Had I not entered the path of Yeokcheon-gong.
Kwaaaaaah!
The torrent of Yeokcheon-gi instantly devoured the Sura Bloodfiend essence.
If the Bloodfiend essence was the bird that devours dragons, then Yeokcheon-gi was the evil dragon that devours that bird.
It felt different from suppression or mutual restraint. The vital essence of Yeokcheon-gi itself seemed to possess a higher grade.
“Nngh, nngh-ugh…!”
In Yuk Ho-beop’s trembling eyes, I could see anxiety and hesitation.
His thoughts were completely transparent to me.
He was deliberating whether to pour all his vital essence in now to destroy my meridians and preserve his life, or to withdraw his essence and accept death.
‘How he struggles.’
This was his third weakness.
He was a madman willing to stake his life for his grand cause, which is precisely why he hesitated to make rash decisions—fearing he might be the one to ruin that very ambition.
Time passed.
Though it was but a fleeting moment, it felt like an eternity of torment.
Sizzle! Hisss—!
Between the two of them, an endless sound of something evaporating filled the air.
Beads of sweat and blood flowing across their bodies could not withstand the power of the vital energy.
“….”
Yuk Ho-beop’s pupils turned toward him.
-You’ve reached your limit too, haven’t you?
He seemed to be extending a hand of reconciliation with that question.
‘Yes, I’ve reached my limit as well.’
The Reverse Heaven Energy had always been something I could only operate in meager amounts. Until now, I’ve been desperately holding the reins, but it felt precarious enough to slip away at any moment.
Heh.
But I rejected Yuk Ho-beop’s offer of peace with a clear, contemptuous sneer.
‘Let’s have a test of endurance then. Didn’t I say it? Let’s go see the underworld together.’
“…!!”
Yuk Ho-beop stared at me with eyes wide in shock.
‘This bastard!’
From his forcibly twisted lips and the glimmering madness in his eyes, I read his intent.
Did he truly mean for us to die together?
Sacrificing this one life meant nothing. If it would achieve the grand cause, I could offer it ten times over.
But if a vessel capable of drawing out the Reverse Heaven Energy dies already?
Grrind.
Yuk Ho-beop ground his teeth.
He tightened his grip with an urgent expression.

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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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