The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 120

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 120

The Five Poison Gate.
It was a massive sect spoken of alongside the Sichuan Dang Family as the ancestor of poison arts.
From what I’d heard, unlike the Dang Family, they had the distinctive trait of commanding venomous creatures and demonic beasts.
‘Yet such a place wages war with the Wild Beast Palace.’
This was information I’d never encountered before.
In my first life, I’d never heard of such an occurrence.
Did this mean history had diverged at some point?
‘No, that’s too simplistic a thought. Perhaps the war was already happening, and I simply remained ignorant of it.’
Those from the Central Plains were largely ignorant of Nam Man’s affairs.
I was no exception to this.
Especially since I had only ever operated in Shanxi Province, the northernmost reaches of the Central Plains, so my knowledge of Nam Man amounted to nothing more than hearsay.
Thus, it would be foolish of me to speculate wildly about matters here.
Therefore, I should simply accept information I hadn’t known in my first life at face value.
“I was unaware a war was occurring.”
“That’s understandable. It’s a localized conflict among us that has no bearing on the Central Plains.”
“Ah, so it’s not a full-scale war then?”
“To be precise, small-scale skirmishes occur frequently. There’s no telling when it might escalate into an all-out conflict.”
“Is it quite dangerous?”
“I cannot call it safe. Since you’ve made a name for yourself even in the Central Plains, the Five Poison Gate won’t readily provoke you… but one can never be certain, can they?”
That was true enough.
We were not in the heart of the Central Plains now, but rather where conflict raged in Nam Man.
In that sense, how they would act depended entirely on circumstances.
It was all the more so because this place lay beyond the reach of the Bukcheon Sword Family’s influence.
“Still, will you venture directly to the Wild Beast Palace?”
“Yes.”
I answered with unwavering resolve.
Otherwise, the entire journey here would have been meaningless.
At my response, Hyeok Un let out a low groan.
“If your resolve is that firm, there’s no point in trying to dissuade you. Very well.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Then when will you depart? I shall personally guide you.”
I regarded Hyeok Un’s offer with surprise.
“Are you certain you can leave the branch unattended?”
“It’s fine. There’s little pressing business anyway, and besides, escorting you would prove far more important than shuffling through paperwork here.”
There was no artifice in that voice.
Then it must be the truth.
‘Of course it is.’
We were the ones who had brought back the sacred treasure of the lost Wild Beast Palace.
As members of the Wild Beast Palace, such treatment was only natural.
I nodded in acknowledgment.
There was no reason to refuse when they offered to provide an escort.
“Then rest well today. As a gesture of welcome, I shall host a grand banquet in your honor.”
“Thank you.”
Hyeok Un kept his word.
He invited the major sects from the surrounding regions and held a lavish banquet to welcome us.
“The Wind God Dragon recovered the sacred treasure of the lost Wild Beast Palace?”
“Remarkable—I never expected to hear that name here in Yunnan.”
“His reputation as a wandering hero wasn’t undeserved. I’ve gained new respect for him.”
Word of my exploits spread rapidly throughout the gathering.
My fame had not been particularly great in this region before, but…
The fact that I had journeyed all this way to recover the sacred treasure of the Wild Beast Palace left a profound impression on everyone.
Thus, I was able to make my mark with the various local powers in Kunming.
Among them was the Jeom Chang Sect, which had established a branch here.
And several days later.
“It’s time we departed.”
We left the Kunming branch and headed southward.
Our destination was the Wild Beast Palace.
Where the greatest power in Nam Man was located.

* * *

Late into the night.
Within the territory of the Five Poison Gate.
“….”
A young man dressed in fine robes was reading a letter that Jeon Seo-eung had delivered.
His expression was quite grave, and from the look of it, one could discern that the letter contained matters of considerable importance.
“So Mun-ju. What is the matter?”
A middle-aged man observing the young man inquired with a curious expression.
The young man folded the letter and handed it to the middle-aged man, answering calmly.
“A message from Black Night Fortress.”
“Those Black Night Fortress dogs…? Why would they contact us?”
“Read it yourself.”
The middle-aged man unfolded the letter and read it, his brow furrowing.
The contents were quite astonishing indeed.
“So the Wild Beast Palace has recovered the Manshou Lingyu Pavilion. How surprising.”
“To be precise, they haven’t recovered it yet. This Wind God Dragon—a Central Plains native—is supposedly bringing it to them.”
“What a shame. We invested so much effort in seizing it….”
“Due to the incompetence of those Black Night Fortress fools, it slipped from their grasp and fell into the other side’s hands. And now they wish to erase their mistake. Look at the final part of the letter.”
“They’re asking us to kill the Wind God Dragon.”
“It seems this Wind God Dragon and Black Night Fortress are not on good terms. That’s why they’re making such a request.”
“So Mun-ju. What will you do?”
The young man called So Mun-ju pondered for a moment before answering.
“Honestly, I’m reluctant. Touching a Central Plains native could bring unwanted trouble upon us.”
“But….”
“However, I have no desire to let the Wild Beast Palace have the Manshou Lingyu Pavilion either. Rather than letting it fall to Black Night Fortress again as before, it would be better if we kept it for ourselves.”
“Understood. Then shall we dispatch troops at once?”
“Send the Poison Men.”
“…!”
“According to their account, the Wind God Dragon is young but no ordinary talent. We must take every precaution on our end.”
“Understood.”
The middle-aged man bowed and departed immediately to relay the orders.
The young man called So Mun-ju closed his eyes, lost in thought.
It was a night laden with worries.

* * *

The journey to the Wild Beast Palace was quite grueling.
“It’s humid and sweltering.”
Kunming had been no picnic, but the further southwest we traveled, the more oppressive the conditions became.
Ordinary people could have collapsed from exhaustion along the way.
But there were no ordinary people in our group.
So Hye-rim and I were masters of the Johwa Realm, and Poong-ah was a spiritual creature.
As for the people from the Wild Beast Palace’s Kunming branch, this was their homeland, so the journey posed no difficulty for them.
And since we’d packed an abundance of supplies just in case….
We had no reason to suffer from dehydration or food poisoning.
‘But even accounting for that, this is certainly not an environment conducive to comfortable living.’
The weather alone wasn’t the issue.
The real problem, if anything, was the environment itself.
Especially once we entered the forest—venomous serpents and poisonous insects swarmed around us constantly.
Poong-ah killed most of them, but they kept appearing whenever we let our guard down.
And the unmaintained paths were unbearably difficult to traverse.
I began to understand why the warriors of the Wild Beast Palace were so formidable.
Living in such a place, one’s body had no choice but to grow stronger through environmental adaptation.
“Just a few more days and we’ll reach the main palace’s territory.”
Hyeok Un encouraged us to push forward a little longer.
But it was at that very moment.
“Screee!”
Flap!
Poong-ah suddenly spread his wings and cried out toward something in the distance.
Whoooosh!
Simultaneously, the wind informed me that over a dozen martial artists were rushing toward us.
‘This is….’
Each of them possessed formidable strength.
At minimum, they were on par with or exceeded the Black Market assassins we’d fought before.
I immediately drew my blade and shouted.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The Wild Beast Palace members, still unaware of the approaching enemies, were startled but obeyed my urgent command.
Soon after, figures in green armor emerged from the undergrowth.
“You bastards…!”
Hyeok Un’s eyes widened as he glared at them.
But they did not respond to his words.
They simply fixed their gaze intently upon me.
I regarded them and asked.
“You don’t appear to be from the Wild Beast Palace. Are you disciples of the Five Poison Gate?”
“Indeed. And among them, these are the troublesome poison masters. And they’re moving in organized units like this…!”
Hyeok Un ground his teeth and shouted toward the enemies.
“You wretches of the Five Poison Gate, get out of here! There are people from the Central Plains among us with no connection to the Wild Beast Palace! Do you intend to drag them into this?”
But they showed no sign of heeding Hyeok Un’s words.
“Kill them all.”
“Yes.”
The poison masters of the Five Poison Gate all drew something from their robes and hurled it toward us.
“Poison! Be careful!”
It was a violet-hued poisonous mist, gleaming with malevolent light.
One glance was enough to know that inhaling it would result in far more than a mere cough.
I immediately extended my palm toward them.
Whoooosh!
“!?”
Tremendous wind condensed and erupted in an instant, sweeping the violet poison mist back toward its source.
“What, what is this!”
Hyeok Un’s jaw dropped as he witnessed my display.
It was only natural—I had neutralized their technique in a single stroke and launched a counterattack in the same breath.
“Scatter!”
But they were no easy opponents.
The moment the poison mist reversed course, they scattered and unleashed a barrage of poisoned projectiles.
‘It seems their immunity to poison is a natural advantage of being poison masters.’
Otherwise, they could not move so freely while inhaling their own toxins.
I deflected the poisoned projectiles and pressed forward.
Gale Chaos Dance.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-crack!
Dozens of blade strikes surged toward the poison masters.
They panicked and wielded their weapons to block my assault.
But even as they did, the next move was already unfolding.
“Screeeech!”
Poong-ah spread his wings in fury and dove with incredible speed, tearing into one poison master’s shoulder with savage force.
There was good reason for the epithet “Purple Lightning” attached to his name.
The poison master whose shoulder was torn bled profusely, writhing in agony.
And nearly simultaneously, So Hye-rim rushed toward another target.
Slash!
Her blade was graceful yet devastatingly direct.
Moving only along the most optimal paths, she executed her killing techniques without hesitation, severing necks and shattering their formation.
“Counterattack!”
The leader among the poison masters cried out in panic.
He swung his poison staff toward So Hye-rim, who was cutting through his subordinates.
The violet aura rippling across it marked it as a dangerously potent attack.
“How dare you.”
Boom!
I unfurled the Pungsin Cloak and blocked the assault.
Was it wrapped in Poison Qi?
Unfortunately, the enemy’s hand wasn’t severed cleanly in two.
Yet it seemed I had succeeded in catching them off guard.
“You dare lay hands on my disciple?”
“Master!”
From behind, So Hye-rim’s delighted voice reached my ears.
I didn’t respond, merely fixing my gaze upon my opponent.
Their leader was clearly flustered. Our strength had evidently exceeded their expectations.
“Are you the Wind God Dragon?”
“You know of me?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to die here.”
But the creature quickly regained its composure and raised its claws again, unleashing a claw technique upon me.
Five poisoned claws, like those of a wild beast, surged toward me.
“How absurd.”
And I activated Yaksha Transformation and drew my blade.
“You die instead.”
Kuwakwakwakwabang!
A golden tempest engulfed the poison cultivator attacking me, sweeping them away entirely.

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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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