Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 294

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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 294
From the destroyed mechanism, unfired poison needles continued to spill forth. These needles were known as Heavenly Poison Soul-Transforming Needles, a secret weapon of Cheon Rim, and they carried no fewer than four distinct poisons. The Linked Serpent Blood Toxin that coagulates blood, the Thousand-Year Paralysis Poison that numbs the nerves, the Resonant Hallucination Toxin that clouds the mind, and the Korean Corrosive Poison that dissolves flesh and bone.
These four poisons ordinarily could not coexist.
Even if they did coexist, two at most was the limit, yet Cheon Rim had conducted research to bind all four of these extreme toxins into one, and now the deceased Valley Master of Poison Snake Valley had completed it.
Should this poison enter the body all at once, even a master of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth would struggle to endure a single time period.
“Lord of Heavenly Righteousness…”
Ya Muk-cheon spoke with a trembling voice, his gaze shifting toward Sa Seol-ran.
“This is… the Cheon-rim Five-Poison Formation. But for something like this to be installed here…”
“…What? Why are you looking at me while saying that?”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Ah… our Muk-cheon has grown so much. Do I look like a fool just because I stay quiet? No matter how much I control this place, bringing in something like the Cheon-rim Five-Poison Formation would be difficult. Rather, since you’re the one in charge of research as the Black Market master, wouldn’t it be easier for you to bring it in?”
“That’s ridiculous. The research on the Cheon-rim Five-Poison Formation was indeed conducted on our end, but this is a perfect formation. If I recall correctly, five were completed—one is with Rim Lord Yeon Song-baek, one with the Master, and another at the Cheon Rim Ye Song branch office.”
“…”
“And the remaining two were sold on the Black Market.”
Sa Seol-ran let out a low chuckle.
“So, I bought one of the two that were sold?”
“It’s not an impossible story. Even moving by the fastest route, the path was altered from the usual one, and the only person who would know this route is you, Sa Seol-ran.”
“Did this bastard sneak some medicine in the dead of night? Why are you excluding yourself?”
“Because it wasn’t me.”
“It wasn’t me either, so it must be you then.”
Sa Seol-ran’s expression turned cold as she drew a hidden dagger from her opposite hip, and in response, Ya Muk-cheon also drew the sword at his waist.
It was Seol Woon-hwi’s calm voice that broke the standoff between the two, as if they were about to rush at each other.
“Moo Cheol-woo must have installed it.”
Both turned their gaze toward Seol Woon-hwi.
“Even if the timing doesn’t align, the Four Main Gods of Cheon Rim would have no difficulty tracking movements, and moreover, since this place is the Poison Master’s domain, that would be more reasonable.”
Despite Seol Woon-hwi’s words, the expressions of Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran remained complex.
Both of them knew. The possibility was slim.
Yet why was Seol Woon-hwi saying such things?
The situation was becoming increasingly certain that there was a traitor among them, so could he have something prepared separately?
Or did he know something?
Seol Woon-hwi quietly mounted his horse.
Since these were standard-grade poison needles, there would be no contamination of the pond until they were fired.
Because it was a mechanism rather than martial arts, even martial artists of the Divine Transformation Realm had not anticipated it.
Since Seol Woon-hwi had stated clearly that it was not the betrayal of these two, it was now right to move forward.
“Stop this and let’s depart.”
Even at Seol Woon-hwi’s words, the two hesitated for a moment.
Seol Woon-hwi let out a sigh.
“Are you thinking of settling this with a fight to the death right here? Is that what you want—the loser being the traitor and the winner being the one who exposed them?”
“…”
“A rift is already beginning to form between you two.”
At those words, the eyes of the two sharpened with sudden awareness.
“Seo Hyo would be delighted to hear of this situation.”
“…My apologies.”
This was Ya Muk-cheon speaking.
“I shall exercise restraint.”
This was Sa Seol-ran’s reply.
“Then board. We depart at once.”
“Understood.”
* * *
Pushing their pace to greater speed, the three arrived at Cheong Pung City in a single time period. Cheong Pung City lived up to its reputation as a place of extraordinary prosperity. Merchants of every variety hawked their wares along the streets, and the air hung thick with the mingled scents of exotic spices and medicinal materials.
“Where is Moo Cheol-woo?”
“At the Cheon-dok Trading Company in the heart of the marketplace. Moo Cheol-woo serves as its group leader and is the supreme ruler of all Cheong Pung City.”
“The supreme ruler?”
“Yes. Even the county governor of Cheong Pung City dare not defy Moo Cheol-woo. To speak plainly—this entire city is his domain, and his domain alone.”
Seol Woon-hwi let out a soft chuckle.
“Yet we entered without any significant obstruction.”
Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran shared the same bewilderment.
Who had orchestrated those relentless attacks?
If not each other, it would have to be Moo Cheol-woo—but if that were true, why had he allowed them passage so effortlessly?
They had even reached the very entrance of the Cheon-dok Trading Company without a single attempt to bar their way.
The gates stood open as if inviting them inside.
This was profoundly strange.
Which meant it could not have been Moo Cheol-woo.
Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran exchanged glances simultaneously.
Turning the matter over in their minds—
‘…This woman is cunning, but she would never attempt something so crude as to be discovered so readily.’
This was Ya Muk-cheon’s thought.
‘This bastard may be reckless, but he doesn’t bungle his operations like some fool.’
This was Sa Seol-ran’s thought.
Which meant it had to be Moo Cheol-woo after all.
Yet this made no sense whatsoever.
That Moo Cheol-woo possessed such capability?
To orchestrate attacks, continuously alter their routes, set traps at the pond where they sought brief respite, and even install the Cheon-rim O-dok-jin formation?
Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran had lived in the Murim since before entering Cheon Rim. They had witnessed horrors beyond counting and accumulated experiences that elevated their senses far beyond those of ordinary Divine Transformation Realm martial artists.
And with Seol Woon-hwi among them—to evade the perception of all three, and moreover to lay traps through prediction? If Moo Cheol-woo truly possessed such ability, he would not merely be a Rim Lord of Cheon Rim, but a contender for supremacy across the entire Central Plains.
In the world of Murim, cultivation realm is absolute—yet more absolute still is intellect.
A foolish martial artist can never seize dominion.
Not even one who masters Primordial Sole Existence.
Before long, a man approached the three.
“The group leader awaits you. Allow me to escort you.”
He took the lead and guided the way.
The three of them arrived at a vast Byeol Won situated outside the Cheon-dok Trading Company.
Waiting for them was a man draped in an enormous long robe that could have covered his entire body, holding a cup in one hand.
He appeared to be in his early forties, with a pallid complexion and a slender frame that left a striking impression. Yet his gaze was as cold as a viper’s.
The man opened his mouth.
“I have been waiting for you.”
His gaze turned toward Seol Woon-hwi.
“Seol Woon-hwi, the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s Celestial Righteous Arbiter, and….”
He looked at the remaining two in turn.
“Yeon Song-baek, the Dark Master, and Sa Seol-ran, the Killing Master.”
He tilted his head curiously.
“What brings you three to this place?”
The two men and woman did not answer. The man who shrugged his shoulders spoke to Seol Woon-hwi.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Moo Cheol-woo, the Rim Lord of Cheon Rim.”
“So you are Moo Cheol-woo. Quite confident, it seems.”
“…Setting aside the matter of your casual tone, what reason would I have not to be confident?”
Moo Cheol-woo furrowed his brow as if displeased, then immediately offered a cold smile.
“Absorbing Cheon Rim’s forces into the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance… it is certainly not unfavorable, but should it not be the reverse?”
“The reverse?”
“I believe it would be far more ideal for Cheon Rim to absorb the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
“Is that so.”
“Well, both the Odaegeomsong and the Four Demonic Outer Sects have united, and someone of your standing surely knows that the Martial Alliance will soon make its move.”
Seol Woon-hwi let out a soft laugh.
“Your insight is better than I expected. Then let me ask—do you know why I have come?”
“Of course. You came to persuade me to join the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance. If you wish, I shall do so.”
His brow twitched.
The way Moo Cheol-woo spoke as if bestowing a favor nearly made me burst into hollow laughter, but I held my tongue.
Moo Cheol-woo continued.
“First, assign me one strike force from the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance. Second, this Cheong Pung City shall be under my sole jurisdiction, subject to no one’s interference save the Alliance Leader or Vice Alliance Leader. Third, provide me with regular financial support from the Alliance every half year….”
“I cannot grant that.”
“…What did you say?”
“Know your place. Your demands are far too excessive.”
Moo Cheol-woo furrowed his brow.
“…Did you not come to persuade me?”
“Everyone says the same thing.”
“…Pardon?”
“I had no intention of persuading you from the start, so whatever your demands are, they are not worth hearing.”
Seol Woon-hwi moved forward slowly.
“I made a proposal through Seo Hyo, and you refused it.”
Sensing the ominous shift in atmosphere, the Rim Lord slowly rose from his seat.
“My trust in Seo Hyo is absolute. You are not the kind of existence that can weigh against someone like him, so there is only one action I must take.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s feet sank deep into the ground.
A flash of movement.
Just as Moo Cheol-woo was about to scatter the pile of toxins from his waist.
Crack—!!
Everything in the surrounding area froze solid.
Moo Cheol-woo could do nothing more.
Thud.
Seol Woon-hwi’s hand had seized his throat.
From Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes, now pale white with frost, Moo Cheol-woo read only one thing.
Murder intent.
“W-wait… let us… talk about this…”
“I have one question.”
“S-speak… tell me…”
“Do you have the Cheon-rim O-dok-jin?”
“Of course… of course I do! It’s beneath the bedchamber!”
“I see.”
“You’re sparing me?”
“Not a chance.”
Crack—!
Moo Cheol-woo’s neck snapped.
The entire situation could be read from the wide-open eyes of Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran.
He hadn’t come to persuade them—he’d come for this.
Seol Woon-hwi turned his head.
He seemed intent on making something clear in this place.
“As I keep saying, it was not you who installed the Cheon-rim O-dok-jin.”
“…But Moo Cheol-woo had one too, so he wasn’t the one either? Then who exactly…”
“No.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes were resolute.
“Moo Cheol-woo possessed two Cheon-rim O-dok-jin.”
“…Pardon?”
“One of them was used. Remember it that way.”
Moo Cheol-woo had never once mentioned having two Cheon-rim O-dok-jin.
He had never spoken of devising or executing a scheme.
Yet such a conclusion had been reached.
“…From the beginning, did you know who devised the scheme?”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.
“Did I not say so? That Moo Cheol-woo did it.”
“…”
“Does it change anything to place one on a dead corpse’s cart?”
“…But….”
“Simply trust me. I believe in Seo Hyo, and Seo Hyo believes in you—surely that is sufficient, is it not?”
The two exchanged complex glances as they regarded Seol Woon-hwi.
Certainly, this was a man capable of shaking the very foundations of the Murim.
The aura emanating from him was unmistakably that of a sovereign.
He trusted his people absolutely.
Words failed them.
The rumors had not done him justice.
“I believe I have sufficiently demonstrated my trust….”
Seol Woon-hwi shifted his gaze.
The martial artists of the Cheon-dok Trading Company were pouring forth.
“Now I wish to witness your capabilities.”
The two nodded in acknowledgment.

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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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