Murim Login - Chapter 636

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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 636
The valley was narrow and shrouded in darkness. Ancient trees of indeterminate age crowded densely overhead, blocking out the moonlight, and strange flora and fauna I had never encountered in my life filled every direction.
Among them were creatures with considerable predatory instincts.
Whoosh!
As I deployed the Lightness Skill, I thrust my hand forward in an instant. Something that had shot up like lightning from the grass struggled within my grasp.
Hiss. Hisssss!
‘What is this? A snake?’
Upon closer inspection, I was half right and half wrong.
It was indeed a snake, but no ordinary one. The triangular head and the horns protruding from both sides were proof of that.
Wait. I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.
As I stared intently at the snake, I muttered softly.
“Not Mi-mi… but a Thousand-Year Poison-Horned Snake?”
Hiss.
No, why would this appear here? Wasn’t the Thousand-Year Poison-Horned Snake supposed to be a rare poison even in all the lands?
‘Now that I look at it again, it seems a bit different.’
Perhaps because this is a pseudo-China. There are plenty of counterfeits.
Compared to Mi-mi, its body was larger, but its luster and the size of its horns were inferior.
I stared at the snake in my hand with bewilderment before hurling it far away and accelerating my pace. Whether that was truly a Thousand-Year Poison-Horned Snake or something else, one thing was certain—this valley was far from a safe place.
‘Is this a trap after all?’
Because I had spent a brief moment before entering, Black Tiger and Beast King Miao Wang were already far ahead.
The one consolation was that unlike Black Tiger, whose footprints were nowhere to be found as if he were a phantom, Beast King Miao Wang’s tracks remained, though sparse.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
After running for about a quarter of an hour, I spotted a vast swampland drawing closer in the distance and a familiar silhouette at its center, and I cried out.
“Ya-ryul Mok! Stop! Stop charging recklessly!”
“…I was already stopped.”
Beast King Miao Wang’s words were true. Though his face still bore anger, he stood motionless in place, and around him lay the corpses of poisons and beasts scattered about.
“What is all this?”
“They suddenly swarmed at me from all directions like madness. In the chaos, I lost track of him.”
Strong creatures do not rashly attack the powerful—this applies equally to humans and beasts. Rather, beasts with superior instincts are even more cautious in their approach.
Yet the fact that they had blocked Beast King Miao Wang’s path nonetheless meant…
“Could it have been for his sake?”
“I don’t know. But there’s nothing strange about it, regardless of the reason. This land has always been this way. It was likely the same a hundred years ago, and two hundred years ago as well.”
A peculiar answer. As if he had known from the beginning.
When I sent him a questioning look, Beast King Miao Wang continued with a stern expression.
“In the past, the Five Poison Sect, unlike other tribes, focused on raising poisons rather than beasts.”
Poison is despised everywhere, but in truth, it is the most efficient weapon of all.
For the Five Poison Sect, it was even more so. They had made enemies of the entire Southern Wilderness except themselves, and had to face adversaries numbering at least dozens of times their strength.
“The place created that way was called Poison Blood Land. A location teeming with the most ferocious and vicious beasts and poisons in all the lands, not just the Southern Wilderness. The most lethal and covert legacy left behind by the Five Poison Sect.”
“Does that mean this place is…?”
Beast King Miao Wang gave a small nod.
“That’s the Poison Blood Land right there.”
“Hm. I noticed there wasn’t even a proper path. But it doesn’t seem as dangerous as you described. The air is breathable enough.”
Of course, I’d encountered a counterfeit Thousand-Year Poison Centipede on the way here, and with each breath, a carbonated toxin seeped into my lungs, but so far I’d managed well enough.
Of course, that assessment changed considerably after hearing Beast King Miao Wang’s voice that followed.
“That’s because we’re still on the outer edges of the Poison Blood Land. We’re barely past the entrance.”
“The entrance?”
“According to the records, a hundred years ago, each tribe of the Southern Wilderness selected only their finest elite and sent them into the Poison Blood Land. They carried hundreds of jars filled with lamp oil and held poison-resistance pearls in their mouths. What do you think happened to them?”
“I’m guessing they didn’t all return safely and live happily ever after.”
“Not a single one came back. Everything came to nothing after that, and it’s the primary reason Ai-nao Mountain has remained a forbidden zone ever since.”
Following the direction Beast King Miao Wang pointed, I shifted my gaze to see an enormous swamp stretching out for what appeared to be hundreds of yards.
As I stared blankly at the mist settling over it, I carefully opened my mouth.
“By the way… is the mist in this area normally green?”
“Of course not. Mist is usually white.”
“That one’s green.”
“Ah. That’s because it’s poison fog.”
“…?”
Momentarily flustered by the casual way he said it—as naturally as if Mother had simply announced we were having miso soup for dinner—I managed to ask with forced composure.
“…Exactly where have you brought me?”
“The Poison Blood Land.”
“….”
Damn it. He’s calling that an explanation.
At my incredulous expression, Beast King Miao Wang smacked his lips.
“I didn’t realize it myself until after we entered. The exact location of the Poison Blood Land wasn’t recorded anywhere.”
This is a cursed situation. I answered while wondering if Baek Ho could possibly bring others this far.
“So what lies deeper inside than here?”
“Who knows. They’re all dead.”
“That’s remarkably reassuring.”
“Even Baek Sang’s grandfather, who was the Palace Lord at that time, perished there. I heard he was the strongest warrior in White Tribe history.”
The leadership of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace doesn’t operate on pure hereditary succession.
Ya-ryul Mok is merely a nominal deputy lord. Should the position of Palace Lord become vacant, a tribal council is convened, and one of the four great clan chiefs—the strongest among them—is elected as the new Palace Lord through voting.
“You mean stronger than Ya-ryul the Great Hero?”
“Impossible to say. The standard of strength always changes. But had he lived in my era, it wouldn’t be strange if there existed a Beast White King instead of Beast King Miao Wang.”
The way Beast King Miao Wang spoke made it clear that by Central Plains standards, he was at minimum a supreme master—one who had opened the middle dantian or beyond.
‘The problem is that a master of that caliber, along with the Southern Wilderness’s finest warriors, was completely annihilated in the Poison Blood Land.’
An even bigger problem was that I now had to venture into that place.
But….
“We’ve come this far. We can’t turn back now. Let’s go.”
At my calm declaration, Beast King Miao Wang’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
“Unexpected. I thought you’d suggest we retreat.”
“Who said that? Once a man draws his blade, he cuts through the Poison Blood Land itself.”
“…Who on earth?”
“It’s me.”
Beast King Miao Wang, who had been regarding me with reluctance, let out a snort of amusement.
“Your master has trained his disciples well.”
“Well, if I’m being honest, it was a time filled with considerable violence and oppression… but what’s the point in going into all the details? Either way, Ya-ryul Mok wouldn’t listen to anything I say.”
“Is that what you call an answer?”
Crack.
The sound of bones grinding echoed from his massive fist clenched with all his might. A chilling voice flowed from between Beast King Miao Wang’s lips.
“I am the great patriarch of the Miao Clan, but I am also the lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace. I must collect the blood price for their deaths.”
Perhaps it was because of this very demeanor that he had been able to become the lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
As I regarded him with renewed appreciation, Beast King Miao Wang suddenly opened his mouth.
“Thank you. For your help.”
“What else could I do? People have died. I couldn’t leave this place and return alone.”
“Even if there were no Dark Heaven within, would you still do the same?”
“I’m not the type to be easily frightened.”
A faint smile settled at the corners of Beast King Miao Wang’s mouth.
“In the Central Plains, they call men like you a righteous wanderer.”
“People who dislike me usually call me a bastard. Mostly, I hear myself called a madman.”
It’s the plain truth, so I don’t take offense. And most of those who said such things are dead by my hand. This is why people must always guard their tongues.
‘A righteous wanderer, then.’
I still don’t know if I truly am one.
I simply ended up here through circumstance, and happened to be called that along the way.
In the Central Plains, they call me a righteous wanderer. In the modern world, a hero. But what does any of that matter? Whatever others call me, I’ve always done as I pleased, and Dark Heaven was simply an existence I particularly disliked among all of it.
‘Yes. Let’s give it a try. Whatever lies within.’
If I were alone, perhaps not. But with Beast King Miao Wang, even if the Nantian Demon Empress awaited us, we would have a chance of victory.
Thud.
Having finished my deliberation, I stepped forward into the swampland shrouded in deep green poison mist, following Beast King Miao Wang.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
– Quest condition,
[Investigate Ai-nao Mountain within the time limit]
has been completed!
– Sudden Quest,
[Unknown Omen]
has been successfully completed!
– Quest completion rewards have been granted!
– You have acquired a small amount of experience and renown!
–
[Superior Antidote]
x20 has been acquired!
The system notification rang out abruptly. But that was not the end.
Ding!
– You have entered a hidden location,
[Poison Blood Land]!
Jin has entered!
–
[Poison Blood Land]
is the most secretive place ever created by the Five Poison Sect, which once existed. Here, they cultivated countless toxins and produced lethal poisons that could not be cured.
– You have achieved a very rare Achievement,
[How on Earth Did You Find This]!
You have achieved it!
– As a reward for achieving the Achievement, you have obtained
[Superior Poison Resistance Orb]!
You have obtained it!
– A linked Quest has been generated!
– Will you accept the Quest,
[Friend, Do Not Cross That Swamp]?
Will you accept this?
“….”
Damn it. Look at the state of that quest title.
I stared reluctantly at the holographic window that grew more distasteful the longer I looked at it, then nodded my head.
– You have accepted the Quest,
[Friend, Do Not Cross That Swamp]!
You have accepted!
And in that moment, as I instinctively exhaled within the deep emerald poison mist, I realized it.
Beep.
– The penalty effect of
[Poison Mist]
has been activated!
“…!”
Something had gone terribly wrong.
Beep! Beep! Beep beep beep!
– Toxins permeating the air penetrate your body through your respiratory system and skin!
– Due to your traits,
[Heavenly Poison Immunity]
and
[Yang Qi Mastery],
the penalty of
[Poisoning]
is reduced!
– Status abnormality,
[Mild Toxin]
has taken effect!
– All stats decrease by 10!
–
[Mild Toxin]
If this persists beyond a certain duration, the penalty effect will intensify and may even lead to death!
“….”
Poisoned from just a single breath?
And if the toxin can penetrate through the skin, it means I’d be poisoned even without breathing at all.
‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this.’
From the start, this was absurd, but I held back. After all, I possessed an item that was perfectly suited to handle exactly this kind of predicament.
‘Inventory open. Summon.’
A ring embedded with a gem that gleamed black—the Ten Thousand Poison Ring, the sacred treasure of the Sichuan Poison Sect. The moment I slipped it onto my finger, a system notification announced the status ailment had been dispelled, and my body, which had felt heavy moments before, became light and nimble again.
‘As expected.’
Smiling contentedly as I caressed the Ten Thousand Poison Ring, I suddenly noticed someone’s gaze fixed silently upon me and flinched in surprise.
“Ah. You startled me. What is it?”
“…Huff. Poison. Huff. Don’t. Huff. Speak.”
Right, he was still here.
Regarding Beast King Miao Wang with cold, piercing eyes, I tossed him a superior antidote I’d received as a reward for completing an Achievement.

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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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