Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 58

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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 58
As the world crumbled around me, I opened my eyes wide.
Crash!
I deflected the claw strike of the black bloodfiend creature hurtling toward me from the front.
I had abandoned Hui Cheon-gi. My focus narrowed to sensation alone.
And in that moment.
Whoosh!
The world slowed.
The rocks falling from the ceiling descended as if sinking into water, languidly and without haste.
Gi Sohwa’s movements too appeared to stutter and freeze.
Crash!
In this decelerated world, I perceived countless lines extending in all directions.
They stretched from the falling cliff face, from Gi Sohwa, and from myself.
Straight paths of absolute geometry.
Lines perceived through the foundation of Hui Cheon-gong.
‘This isn’t it.’
Thump! Thump!
Hui Cheon-gi stirred, attempting to move.
No. You must remain dormant. It is not you who must emerge now.
‘Open.’
My eyes flashed with intensity.
‘Open!’
In an instant, my vision flooded crimson.
The straight paths began to undulate and ripple.
Simultaneously, my movements transformed.
Whoosh! Crash!
For the first time, the black bloodfiend claw that Gi Sohwa extended struck empty air.
Her eyes trembled.
‘He dodged?’
This was the first time he had executed an evasive maneuver.
“Where are you going!”
Gi Sohwa rushed toward me, concealing her shock.
The moment she extended her force toward my heart—
Swish!
My body curved with fluid grace, evading her grasp once more.
No—I hadn’t merely evaded. I had already burrowed into the space directly before her face.
‘What?!’
Whirr!
My hand ascended her arm like a serpent.
I sealed her wrist at the armpit and locked both her elbow and shoulder joints with my hands.
“Let go of that!”
Gi Sohwa cried out sharply, pulling her arm back.
Crack! Snap!
“Huh?”
Her left arm suddenly went limp and hung uselessly.
The pain arrived a moment later.
“Kyaaahhh!”
Gi Sohwa let out a piercing scream, her body staggering.
‘Is it broken?’
No, that wasn’t it.
The bones and joints were fine. The problem was the stretched and twisted muscles and tendons.
‘How is this possible? I didn’t even feel him use much force!’
“Huu.”
Dokgo Myeong exhaled.
Uuuuung!
A hazy inner force seeped out with his breath.
Similar to Hwicheon Qi, yet different.
‘Hongcheon.’
The third heaven of Cheonoe Gyeong.
The sky of sunset arrived, passing through dawn and day.
Its essence was like the crimson glow that gently painted the heavens.
Hongcheon Qi filled the dantian striking the ground, and the Purple Glow Method began to unfold from Dokgo Myeong’s hands.
“Let’s end this now.”
Gi Sohwa’s eyes widened.
“Graahhh! I’ll kill you!”
With a scream-like roar, Gi Sohwa rushed forward.
Whoosh!
Dokgo Myeong’s feet moved.
Different from Gwangguk Unheung.
A curved footwork technique.
Moving like leaves scattered by the wind, Dokgo Myeong reached out his hand toward Gi Sohwa’s arm once more.
Gi Sohwa’s eyes widened.
‘You think I’ll fall for it again!’
Boom!
Gi Sohwa folded her extended arm and drove her elbow downward.
Dokgo Myeong’s hand moved as smoothly as water, touching her elbow.
And then he simply pushed it away.
Whoosh! Crash!
“…!”
Gi Sohwa’s eyes widened.
My elbow was barely pushed back, yet my waist twisted along with it.
Despite it being my own body, it wouldn’t move as I intended. It felt as though he had twisted my energy flow at will.
‘Flower-Grafting Technique? No, that’s not it. What kind of bizarre martial art is this…!’
Just as Gi Sohwa hastily tried to correct her stance.
A searing flame erupted!
An intensely blazing torrent of inner force surged from behind her back.
Boom!
“Gahhh!”
The punch detonated with explosive force.
Gi Sohwa’s body shot backward like a bullet, crashing into the altar that now stood as nothing but a hollow shell.
‘His… his momentum and trajectory are still perfectly linear…’
A transition from the Crimson Heaven Technique to the Spinning Heaven Technique.
There was no reason to neglect the Spinning Heaven simply because he had obtained the Crimson Heaven.
“Indeed, whoever mastered the Black Bloodfiend Technique certainly has impressive durability.”
A sinister laugh echoed!
Dokgo Myeong’s silhouette stretched and extended.
It was the Extreme Limit Cloud Form.
“Ugh!”
Crash! Bang bang bang!
Gi Sohwa was driven back relentlessly, unable even to regain her footing.
Gritting through the pain, she swung her drooping arms, but it was futile. All her Black Bloodfiend techniques were shattered against his overwhelming assault.
“Krraaaagh!”
Gi Sohwa threw herself at Dokgo Myeong in desperation, attacking recklessly.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
A sharp sound rang out!
He effortlessly caught her desperate strike. Gi Sohwa could no longer comprehend how such a thing was possible.
In the next instant, Dokgo Myeong’s body spun in a smooth rotation.
‘No, this can’t be…’
A whooshing sound tore through the air!
Gi Sohwa’s feet lifted clean off the ground.
Dokgo Myeong hurled her directly into the wall.
A deafening crash erupted!
The sound of destruction filled the chamber.
A massive boulder that had been hanging from the ceiling shattered like an eggshell, crumbling down in a cascade of rubble.
“Gack! Gahhh, cough!”
Gi Sohwa gasped for breath, her voice breaking.
There was nothing left to examine.
The victor was decided.
‘Indeed, for suppression, the Crimson Heaven Technique surpasses the Spinning Heaven Technique.’
Dokgo Myeong paused briefly to steady his breathing.
My vital energy churns like a boiling cauldron.
The uncontrolled Hongcheon Qi erupted like sparks from a dying flame.
“Ugh… Ack. K-kill me….”
“No, I can’t let you off that easily.”
Thud, thud!
Dokgo Myeong approached Gi Sohwa, buried beneath the rubble of stone.
“I have so much I need to hear from you.”
“Ack! Ack ack ack! Foolish heretic… You will die here as well….”
Gi Sohwa looked up at Dokgo Myeong with a sneer playing at her lips.
‘…She’s laughing?’
Yet Dokgo Myeong was laughing as if she were pathetic.
Crack!
“Ahhh!”
Dokgo Myeong seized her hair and lifted her, meeting her gaze directly.
“Pathetic woman.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a contemptuous laugh.
“Your Bloodfiend Cult’s methods are predictable.”
“W-what….”
“There’s an escape route, isn’t there?”
“…!”
Gi Sohwa’s breath caught for a moment.
“You said it yourself. That you wouldn’t kill everyone. And that you’d capture me alive.”
“…!”
“That means there’s at least one way out of here. More precisely, a passage for you to escape through.”
Dokgo Myeong seized her throat.
“Gack! Cough! I, I… won’t… tell you….”
“I assure you.”
Dokgo Myeong nodded and gripped her forearm.
“You won’t last even a moment.”
Wrench! Crackle!
I couldn’t tell exactly what he had done.
Dokgo Myeong had merely rotated her forearm outward ever so slightly, yet a sound of something tearing came from deep within her shoulder.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
Gi Sohwa screamed.
“I’ve learned something through bitter experience.”
Dokgo Myeong whispered near her ear.
“Even fanatical faith crumbles before excruciating pain.”
“…!”
* * *
Hyeon Un-jin, an elder of the Huangshan Sect, furrowed his brow as he surveyed his surroundings.
Across the mountainous terrain of Guhuashan, martial artists bearing countless wounds sat collapsed, struggling to catch their breath.
“I have gathered the information, Master!”
“Speak then, without delay.”
Hyeon Un-jin turned his gaze toward his disciple Mokyul, who had rushed over.
“It appears that Bidong and Jangbodo were both… entirely fabricated.”
“What did you say?”
Hyeon Un-jin’s eyes widened considerably.
“It seems this entire affair was a trap laid by one of the Mogyeong Family’s retainers for the sake of revenge…”
Hyeon Un-jin’s face contorted as he listened to his disciple’s disheartening report.
‘What in the world transpired within that place?’
While wandering through the formation, Hyeon Un-jin suddenly witnessed the mist dissipating entirely.
Moments later, the passage suddenly trembled precariously.
Upon noticing something had gone amiss and making his escape, he found those who had entered Bidong gathered with vacant expressions.
“Wait, the divine weapon—what of the ancient legacy? What became of it?”
“That was also false. Everything was broken, they say…”
“….”
Hyeon Un-jin furrowed his brow briefly, surveyed his surroundings, then nodded slowly.
‘So it was all for nothing, then.’
Hyeon Un-jin was not particularly shaken by this revelation.
From the outset, his sect’s directive had merely been to mediate the disputes near Guhuashan.
His entry into Bidong was nothing more than an opportunity to gain merit while he was here.
‘Though I cannot say I feel no disappointment.’
He had entered with certain expectations, but if it was all counterfeit, there was no real loss.
However…
‘Where is that fellow?’
Hyeon Un-jin’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Dokgo Myeong of the Dokgo Family.
That irritating man was nowhere to be seen.
‘These rabble managed to escape alive, yet that bastard couldn’t? Preposterous.’
Hyeon Un-jin was certain of Dokgo Myeong’s survival.
Though he had only glimpsed him from a distance, the man’s martial prowess was genuine. He could not have perished in such circumstances.
It was then.
“…I’m telling you, we can’t! Please, sir!”
“Release this! I must return inside!”
Hyeon Un-jin spotted two men struggling on the ground where he sat collapsed.
‘Those two are surely…?’
Hyeon Un-jin’s eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
“Move aside! The Young Master is still in there!”
Clang! Clang!
Seo Ryun, his eyes bloodshot with desperation, slashed frantically at the collapsed passage that blocked the way.
“Cough!”
Blood finally spilled from Seo Ryun’s lips.
Geum Seok-du, watching this, cried out in alarm and tried to stop him.
“Seo! This is truly dangerous! The passage could collapse!”
“Get out of my way! The Young Master is trapped in here!”
Seo Ryun, who never raised his voice, bellowed and shoved Geum Seok-du aside.
Geum Seok-du exhaled deeply and spoke.
“Even if we dig through this, there’s likely nothing but earth and rocks on the other side!”
“Still!”
Seo Ryun bit his lip.
His expression twisted.
“I must break through. I came here as the Young Master’s bodyguard!”
Crash! Clang!
Seo Ryun’s sword finally snapped.
He glanced at the broken blade, then reversed his grip on the hilt and began driving it into the wall like an awl.
Geum Seok-du shouted.
“You must have had a plan all along!”
Seo Ryun finally stopped.
“…What did you say?”
“Young Master Dokgo Myeong, that is. He surely knew everything would collapse, yet he entered anyway?”
“…”
“And even if he were buried, we should request reinforcements to dig him out. How could you possibly excavate all this alone!”
Whoosh! Thud!
Only then did the half-broken sword fall from Seo Ryun’s hand.
Seo Ryun pressed his forehead with a frustrated expression.
Geum Seok-du exhaled deeply and spoke.
“It’s none other than Young Master Dokgo Myeong. He’s surely doing something strange down there beneath this floor.”
* * *
Thump! Thump!
The sound of something being struck echoed through the darkness.
It sounded like a hammer striking metal, or perhaps something heavy falling.
And in that instant.
Boom!
An explosion rang out and a door burst open in the darkness.
Whoosh! Slap!
Something that looked like baggage was carelessly thrown through the doorway, and almost simultaneously, a young man pushed his body through.
“Gasp, gasp! So there really is a subterranean space below the altar.”
The young man was none other than Dokgo Myeong.
Whoooosh!
Earth and rocks rushed into the passage through which Dokgo Myeong had entered.
I quickly shut the iron door, and only then did Dokgo Myeong release a sigh of relief.
“Ugh, ugh….”
At that moment, Gi Sohwa, sprawled out like a bundle of cargo, let out a whimpering groan as if the wind had been knocked from her.
“You spoke with such confidence, yet you couldn’t last even a moment.”
“Ugh, ugh….”
Dokgo Myeong scoffed.
There were still many things I hadn’t heard. I’d struggled to suppress the urge to kill her on the spot.
Throb!
Suddenly, Dokgo Myeong’s expression hardened.
“First… I need to circulate my energy.”
I felt cold sweat trickling down my forehead.
Dokgo Myeong crossed his legs in a seated position right there.
Whoooosh!
Crimson Heaven’s Qi bloomed from the exposed dantian below.
‘If Seo Ryun saw this, he’d certainly nag me.’
Dokgo Myeong smiled bitterly as he examined his injuries.
The external wounds were the most severe, but the internal injuries were also considerable.
During the battle, I’d been struck by falling earth and debris, and I’d allowed the Black Bloodfiend Beast’s direct hits several times.
‘Radiant Heaven’s Qi isn’t functioning properly at all. Whether it’s because of the severe external wounds, even Bright Heaven’s Qi is barely holding….’
Dokgo Myeong let out a low groan.
Unlike Radiant Heaven’s Qi, which strengthens vitality and stamina, Crimson Heaven’s Qi had no healing efficacy. Crimson Heaven’s Qi, with its permeating and spreading nature, was more effective at the emission and absorption of inner force.
‘Still, this is enough for now.’
Dokgo Myeong opened his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.
Whoosh!
The subtle, enigmatic light of Crimson Heaven’s Qi—neither red nor blue—naturally spread outward.
As color gradually returned to Dokgo Myeong’s eyes, the surroundings finally came into focus.
A dimly lit passage.
From the ceiling, the sounds of continued collapse echoed like reverberations.
“…So this space was created by that man as well, they said.”
-The deep wall-stone, the weapons of the Twelve Divine Generals—these were originally here. We discovered this place and sacrificed much to dismantle the mechanisms….
-We only installed traps and explosives. Everything here was originally present. Please, please… Ahhh!
Dokgo Myeong swept his gaze across the surroundings with sunken eyes.
At the far end of the dim passage, a faint glow of light was visible.
“Let’s go check it out.”
“Ugh!”
Without the strength to carry her anymore, I dragged Gi Sohwa along as I moved forward.
Soon the narrow passage opened up considerably.
My vision cleared, and the shape of a chamber came into view.
On the ceiling, the precious Night-Luminous Pearls shone like stars, and the walls on all sides were filled with murals depicting prayers for rebirth in paradise.
And in the very center of that chamber.
Someone was sitting there.
Dokgo Myeong paused momentarily, muttering to himself.
“…So it was real.”
That someone was no longer alive.
With not a trace of vitality remaining, it was the skeletal remains of someone—quite literally, nothing but bones.
And before the corpse, upon a crumbling tombstone eaten away by time, five simple characters were inscribed.
Tomb of Yeo Cheon-wi
The tomb of Yeo Cheon-wi.
The true corpse of the former master lay here.

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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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