The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 155
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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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The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family — Chapter 155
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“Gung-ju! Where did that Jin Family bastard go? I’ve been searching all over to ask him about the Central Plains, but I can’t find him anywhere?”
Gu Gunbaek, who had been lounging inside the cave, turned his head at the sudden voice.
Several men and women stood before him.
All of them were individuals of considerable influence within the Beast Palace.
Observing the confused expressions on the faces of those who approached, Gu Gunbaek let out a yawn and gestured vaguely with his chin.
“Over there.”
“…Over there?”
“Yeah, over there.”
In an instant, the heads of everyone present turned in the direction of his gesture. Yet even after looking, they found it difficult to believe, and they turned their gaze back to Gu Gunbaek once more.
“Is Gung-ju really saying it’s that place?”
“What do you think, you fool? I’m so drowsy I could die—would I spout nonsense?”
In that moment, the faces of everyone present turned ashen.
Some broke into cold sweat, while others’ eyes filled with doubt.
“Wait, then where is Gung-ju’s disciple?!”
“I told you—over there.”
Gu Gunbaek gestured toward the same location once more with his chin, a smile crossing his face.
This meant that not only Jin Cheon-u but Jang Chuchyeong as well had been placed in that location.
Everyone present was struck with shock at this unbelievable revelation.
“That’s where the Wilderness Unaware Formation is located, isn’t it?!”
“That’s right.”
The Wilderness Unaware Formation.
There was only one place where what was called the absolute formation of the Namman Yasugun was displayed—the training ground of the Gung-ju who was called the strongest throughout all history.
For this reason, countless Gung-ju had the tradition of confirming the traces left by the Gung-ju who was called the strongest in Namman Yasugun history, and leaving their own traces for comparison.
Simply entering that place and returning alive was itself a tremendous achievement for whoever assumed the current Gung-ju position, and they were worthy of receiving the respect and loyalty of the Yasugun martial artists.
However, because the Formation of Truth was so formidable and exceptional, more often than not the Gung-ju who entered did not return alive, and as a result, fewer and fewer dared to enter until, three hundred years ago, it became a Forbidden Land.
The very fact that even the free-spirited denizens of Yasugun never ventured near it spoke volumes about its danger.
“Ugh… it looks like we’ll end up having to clean up corpses because of our Gung-ju.”
“Will we even be able to recover the body?”
“Baek Gu will bring it back, I suppose. The problem is… whether the Nakhyang Jin Family will just sit idle.”
Was it the sighs and reproachful glances coming from all around? Gu Gunbaek, who had been lying quietly, suddenly furrowed his brow and shouted.
“Ah, these fools really want to die, don’t they? He’ll come back safely. Don’t worry.”
“Isn’t that only possible for the Gung-ju?”
During the three hundred years, not a single person who had assumed the Gung-ju position had set foot there, but only one person broke that rule, entered that place, and returned alive.
The being standing before them.
Demon King Gu Gunbaek.
This was why the countless free-spirited Southern Barbarians obeyed without question, bowed without hesitation, and simply accepted his absence without complaint.
Because he had entered the Forbidden Land from which no Gung-ju had returned in three hundred years and survived to come back.
Despite their grumbling, every person of Yasugun present harbored absolute loyalty to Gu Gunbaek in a corner of their hearts.
For this reason, they did not believe anyone less than Gu Gunbaek could set foot in the Forbidden Land and survive.
However, Gu Gunbaek’s thoughts were different.
He lifted the corners of his mouth slightly, a smile playing at his lips.
“There’s no need to worry. That one will earn his keep and return.”
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I had lost my sense of direction.
I heard a sound from the right and looked toward it, only to have a venomous insect crawl out from the left instead.
It felt as though everything was twisted and inverted.
It wasn’t merely my directional sense that was affected.
All five senses were distinctly different from their normal state.
I furrowed my brow and walked slowly.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a leaf caught on my collar and was sliced clean away.
Even leaves that fluttered gently in the breeze could become deadly weapons in this place.
Was that all?
Thud!
At the sound from somewhere, I turned my gaze and saw a crimson monkey perched in a tree plummet straight down.
Screeeech!
It thrashed about with piercing shrieks, but unable to shake off whatever had seized it, it eventually crashed to the ground.
As the creature convulsed in its final moments, black ants swarmed around it and began devouring it.
Witnessing tiny ants hunting a monkey of overwhelming size, I hastily retreated and checked the ground beneath my feet.
Several ants were attempting to climb up my shoe.
I brushed them away with quick taps, but as if unwilling to relinquish their prey, they charged again, and the number of ants—which had been merely a dozen—began multiplying rapidly.
Was one monkey not enough for them?
I furrowed my brow and quickly fled the area.
My movements as I deployed my lightness technique were extraordinarily cautious.
Leaves were blades, and the ground harbored ants that hunted beasts.
It wouldn’t be only the ants.
I advanced with the certainty that this ecosystem was a peculiar place unlike anywhere else in Namman.
Whoosh!
In that moment.
Something flew at me.
I twisted my body quickly and barely evaded it, then confirmed that a plant with a bud-like sealed mouth opened wide the instant it detected me, attempting to swallow me whole.
Slash!
My sword severed its stem.
The way it fell seemed like an ordinary flower, but from within its gaping maw flowed a strange liquid that, the moment an insect passing by touched it, dissolved into nothingness—a sight so absurd it made my eyes widen.
Merely witnessing it sent chills down my spine.
From this, I understood one truth.
Whether plant or insect, everything visible posed a threat to human life.
Moreover, the intense gazes I felt emanating from all directions were unmistakably those of beasts.
Yet finding not a single bone of a dead creature anywhere suggested that countless things existed here capable of grinding bones to dust or dissolving them entirely.
“They say even the smallest things in Namman are dangerous, and it seems they’ve all gathered here.”
I recalled Gu Gunbaek and let out a hollow laugh.
An ordinary person would have no chance of survival. No—even those trained in martial arts would likely collapse mentally and physically in such a place.
No trace of human presence, senses twisted unnaturally, and everything around me viewing me as prey.
I pressed forward without even knowing where I was going, yet I couldn’t afford to relax my guard for a single moment.
Crack-crack-!
Then.
A peculiar sound reached my ears from somewhere.
Under normal circumstances, I could have pinpointed its location instantly, but now I had to sweep my surroundings quickly to trace the source of that sound.
Soon, something caught my eye.
Yet I couldn’t trust even what I saw with my own eyes.
I approached slowly, sensing its presence and aura clearly as I observed it.
“A Monkey?”
No.
A frame several times larger than any monkey.
A dark, shadowy creature with muscles so overwhelming it recalled Gu Gunbaek himself.
The Black-Haired Savage Beast—a name that would hardly seem out of place—was devouring a corpse sprawled across the ground.
Crunch-!
Slurp-!
The creature tore through the body with its massive hands, gnawing at bones with savage hunger. In mere moments, the corpse was reduced to such a gruesome state that no semblance of its original form remained.
Watching this, I furrowed my brow.
At a glance, I could tell it was human remains.
Then there were others here besides me?
To learn the truth, I would first need to dispose of this creature.
I launched myself forward, pushing off the ground with explosive force.
Whoosh-!
My blade swept toward the Black-Haired Savage Beast’s neck.
Roooaarrr-!
Yet its overwhelming musculature blocked the strike, and the creature shrieked, thrashing its massive arms wildly to beat its chest.
Drip-drip-
The oppressive aura emanating from it was no trivial matter.
Kerking-kerking-!
It bared its hideous teeth and emitted a grotesque sound, its eyes gleaming with recognition of me as prey, narrowing with savage intent.
“Taming this one is out of the question.”
A bitter smile crossed my face as I reset my stance.
Whoosh-whoosh-!
The creature released a strange, guttural breath and charged.
Crack-crack-!
With its overwhelming bulk, it trampled and tore through every thicket and tree in its path, yet its intent was unmistakable—to shred me to pieces and devour me whole.
Soon, a massive fist hurtled toward me.
Whooom-!
It wasn’t meant to strike and swing.
It meant to seize and tear me apart.
I evaded it and moved my blade once more.
Screech—!
My precisely aimed blade flew toward the creature’s heart, but it only carved a wound into its muscle without penetrating deeper.
Despite channeling my inner energy into the attack.
I narrowed my eyes sharply and focused my concentration.
Then, catching the sound from my right, I pushed off the ground and leaped upward.
The massive creature’s arm came flying at my legs instead of my right side.
As I soared into the air, the Black-Haired Savage Beast’s gaze followed me.
As if this twisted perception meant nothing to it.
From that alone, I began to wonder—were the creatures in this place not affected by this strange formation at all?
Perhaps they even knew the method to counter it.
At that moment, the Black-Haired Savage Beast moved and seized something from the ground.
The instant I saw what it was, my expression twisted involuntarily.
Foul—!
As the object flew at me with brutal speed and grazed my cheek, a putrid stench assaulted my nostrils.
The creature’s feces.
Unable to smooth my twisted expression, I gripped my sword tighter.
At this rate, I had no idea when this fight would end.
I had no desire to prolong a battle with something that threw excrement.
I sharpened my focus further and released my full momentum.
If my sword couldn’t pierce through muscle, I would either cut through it with greater force, or I could draw upon my sword energy—the kind that could even cleave diamond.
Right now, I had only one choice.
I closed the distance in a single breath and swung my blade toward the creature’s chest.
Screech-screech-screech—!
The moment my sword embedded itself in the muscle, I poured even greater force into it, driving it deeper. Gripping the blade with both hands, I carved through the muscle and pushed forward.
Kuwaaaaang—!
The instant my sword tore free from the creature’s body, blood erupted with a terrible shriek.
The beast, which seemed as though it would never fall, thrashed violently before finally collapsing to the ground with a tremendous crash.
Yet it still wasn’t dead, for it continued to writhe as if proving its lingering life.
Its tenacity was so revolting it made my skin crawl.
I exhaled a sigh and approached, driving my blade through its skull.
Thud—!
Only then did it cease moving, its eyes losing all light.
I could feel its breath had stopped, yet the unease didn’t fade easily, so I pierced its heart once more.
“So creatures like this swarm about here?”
I retrieved my blood-stained sword, my eyes gleaming sharply.
Simply fighting one of them had drained me considerably.
If multiple creatures like this were to attack together, I suspected the battle would become quite grueling.
Huff—
I exhaled another sigh and turned my head.
Now at last I could examine the corpse, which was my true objective.
“…What is this?”
The corpse, with bones and flesh separated and scattered in all directions, was so grotesquely mangled that its identity was impossible to discern, yet upon the tattered remnants of clothing, I could make out a peculiar serpent emblem etched into the fabric.
Unmistakably, the mark of Snake Horn.
Which meant.
“They’re here in this place.”
Though I couldn’t fathom the circumstances, it was abundantly clear that members of Snake Horn were indeed present in this location.
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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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