The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

No matter how long the night, the sun will rise, and so did the seemingly eternal moment of darkness come to an end.

As the water pouring from the ceiling ceased, lights were lit in the night luminous pearls.

“Ugh, huk.”

Yi-gang, holding the meteorite sword, gasped for breath.

A long scratch was on his cheek.

It was thanks to deflecting a hidden weapon that flew from somewhere.

Behind Yi-gang, nearly ten people stood. They sheathed their weapons upon his word.

Thanks to that, they were able to stop a massacre.

“It’s over… now.”

True to those words, the night luminous pearls did not darken any further.

However, the scene inside was already beyond help.

Numerous people had been killed by swords or hidden weapons. It was a tragedy among the orthodox sects’ successors.

“Look, there really was a mechanism,” Hwa So-so, looking up, exclaimed in shock.

The stakes where various treasures had been placed were deeply embedded.

In the hole that had opened, twinkling hidden weapons could be seen.

It was clear that these hidden weapons were fired when the space darkened. In a place boiling with desire and tension, it was natural to suspect each other when blood was shed.

“The first disappearance of the Cat’s Eye Jewel might not have been taken by someone.”

From the beginning, the design seemed to have a clear intent.

It was a trap designed to make them suspect each other and eventually lead to fighting.

Then, Yi-gang knelt on one knee.

“Brother!”

Yi-gang barely supported himself with his sword.

Baek Ha-jun and Peng Mu-ah rushed over quickly.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh no… your body feels burning hot.”

Everyone who gathered around Yi-gang’s words were safe.

Everyone’s gaze towards Yi-gang had changed.

The image of Yi-gang, shining alone in the darkness, was unforgettable. He looked almost like a divine general from the heavens, an unreal figure.

“It’s okay. I just need to rest a bit.”

Yi-gang tried to stand up as he spoke, but his voice lacked strength, making his words unconvincing.

He barely made it to a wall and leaned against it.

Peng Mu-ah’s hand, checking Yi-gang’s fever, felt cold.

“You say you’re okay, but you’re burning up like this.”

“I really am okay.”

His fever was high, but his face was pale.

Peng Mu-ah’s complexion turned pale too, but Yi-gang was really fine.

This heat was due to consuming the Golden Flower Carp’s elixir.

Originally, he should have absorbed the medicinal effect of the elixir through energy circulation while expelling the excessive Yang energy.

However, Yi-gang, instead of energy circulation, used that Yang energy to shine in the rain.

Just as the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon said, he became a guiding light.

Even those proud successors bowed their heads in front of Yi-gang.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, Young Master.”

“It’s all thanks to you, benefactor.”

About ten people gathered behind Yi-gang.

Among the other successors who didn’t, few were standing properly.

Almost ten lives were lost in an instant. The number of injured was about the same.

But if Yi-gang hadn’t been there, the damage would have surely been greater.

Yi-gang, while insisting he was okay, suddenly burst into a violent cough.

“Kuluk, keuk.”

He took out a wet handkerchief from his pocket and covered his mouth.

When the coughing stopped and he removed the handkerchief, dark blood was clearly stained on it.

“…Yi-gang.”

Peng Mu-ah’s face turned into a picture of distress.

Yi-gang silently put the blood-stained handkerchief back into his pocket.

If the burning fever was indeed the process of digesting the Yang energy, then coughing up this dark blood meant…

「Is it the expulsion of impurities?」

‘No.’

It was unrealistic to expect things to always turn out so favorably.

‘My body is getting worse.’

People who have long suffered from illness instinctively sensed an impending crisis.

Ah, I’m going to be sick soon. Something is wrong with my body. That kind of crisis.

Yi-gang had repeated such a life from his previous life to this one.

And right now, he felt that sensation.

「Do you think it’s that attack coming on?」

‘It’s not that, but… it means my life isn’t much longer.’

Originally, he was fated to die around twenty.

Thanks to the legacy of the Immortal Divine Sword, he extended his life by connecting his major meridian.

It was estimated that the Golden Needle Phantom bought him three years, but the lifespan of a person was unknown unless decreed by heaven.

It might not be three years, but two. Or it could even be this very year.

Death was approaching.

「You must live.」

‘I know.’

Yi-gang planned to send the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon to the arms of the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Fox.

And with their help, he would connect another main meridian. He never forgot that purpose.

Even coming here was not irrelevant to that goal.

Yi-gang blankly stared at Namgung Shin, who was standing idly.

His clothes and arms were soaked in blood.

Namgung Shin did not come behind Yi-gang, and his sword must have swallowed the blood of several people.

Yi-gang leaned against the wall and assumed a seated posture.

“I’ll do some energy circulation for a while, please guard me.”

“Got it.”

Ha-jun and Peng Mu-ah stood in front of Yi-gang.

Since Yi-gang had protected them, now it was their turn to protect Yi-gang.

Jeong Myung, among others, began to deal with the chaos inside the hall.

“Gather the bodies in one place. If they can be handled, that’s what should be done.”

The bodies of the deceased were collected together.

Jeong Myung was a young monk, but still a monk.

Among the dead was Qingcheng’s Divine Wind Sword Ok Ja-cheong, and there were others who had relationships with him.

Someone asked Jeong Myung to recite scriptures.

“Sir Monk, please.”

Jeong Myung clasped his hands in front of the bodies.

He uttered the Guangming Mantra. A sentence in Sanskrit flowed from his mouth.

After chanting a mantra wishing for rebirth in paradise, Jeong Myung recited the scriptures.

“…Under the compassion of the great and merciful Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, may you be reborn in the Pure Land.”

He clasped his hands once more towards the bodies.

That was all they could do. There was no way to properly bury these bodies at the moment.

With a very bitter expression, Jeong Myung began to tend to the wounded.

Leaving the bodies was one thing, but they couldn’t do the same for the injured.

Some were wounded by hidden weapons that sprung from the mechanism, and even more were struck by each other’s swords.

About two people had their innards damaged. Having lost too much blood, they were unconscious and couldn’t wake up.

The end of these wandering successors roaming Jianghu seemed too pitiful.

“Just hold on for a moment.”

Jeong Myung tightly wrapped the shoulder of one injured person with a bandage.

“Ugh, kkkkkk. Huh.”

This person had their right arm completely severed.

He was drooling from his mouth due to pain and fear. Jeong Myung felt as if his insides were turning black.

“Stay conscious. You need to get up.”

“It, it hurts too much.”

“Still, you have to endure.”

“My, my arm… Can it be healed?”

Jeong Myung closed his mouth.

How could a severed arm be healed? Unless one of the Four Great Divine Physicians was nearby…

“…Amitabha.”

All he could do was recite the Buddha’s name.

Jeong Myung felt ashamed in front of Buddha.

“What’s your name?”

“Yang Gu-jeon…is my name. Th-that person… cut off my arm…”

The one who desperately survived was Yang Gu-jeon.

Having lost his right arm, one could say his life as a warrior was over.

Yang Gu-jeon’s left hand pointed to Namgung Shin, who was sitting against the wall.

“That person cut off my arm!”

“Young Master Namgung?”

“Yes, definitely, it was him!”

How could one know who cut them in the darkness?

Even if it were true, they couldn’t accuse Namgung Shin. Who among those present could claim innocence?

Except for Yi-gang… all had committed crimes.

“That person is unforgivable!” Yang Gu-jeon exclaimed, his eyes bloodshot and spitting saliva.

Jeong Myung turned his gaze away bitterly.

Yang Gu-jeon’s severed right arm was still firmly clutching his sword.

“Blood is also on your blade, benefactor.”

“…Uh.”

Yang Gu-jeon’s body twitched.

Judging by his reaction, he too had undoubtedly cut someone in the darkness.

Jeong Myung stood up, leaving Yang Gu-jeon with his head bowed deeply.

Jeong Myung approached Yi-gang.

“…Did you treat your internal injury, benefactor?”

“Just briefly.”

“People are exhausted, we should rest here tonight.”

“Let’s sleep a bit and then leave immediately.”

Yi-gang wiped his face with a wet handkerchief.

Then he looked at Jeong Myung and said, “You seem to be in a bad state of mind.”

“…Shamefully, my practice is lacking.”

“You need to gather your strength so that Shaolin’s First Fist does not falter.”

“Falter… you say?”

Jeong Myung, receiving expectations as the future of Shaolin and being called the pride of Shaolin, felt his heart already half-broken.

But Yi-gang didn’t seem to be affected at all.

“It’s about the intentions of the person who designed this vile place.”

“…The Five Elements Divine Lord.”

“Whether it’s the Five Elements Divine Lord, the living ghost, or even the Master of the Ghost Valley.”

At the mention of the Master of the Ghost Valley, Jeong Myung’s mouth slightly opened.

“We can’t let that piece of shit play us as he wants.”

“…”

“Shouldn’t we take revenge?”

As a Buddhist, it was impossible to advocate for revenge.

However, Jeong Myung couldn’t dare to make such a reprimand.

“Amitabha.”

He could only deeply clasp his hands together, trying to control his boiling emotions.

After spending a day.

The successors continued on their arduous journey.

Overnight, two of the injured had failed to wake up.

The remaining fifteen successors walked with more somber expressions than before.

Their speed slowed down as the injured were included.

But, fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur.

No hidden weapons were shot from the mechanism, nor did darkness descend.

For the next two days, the expedition team continued to traverse the Five Elements Tomb.

The remaining provisions had run out long ago.

They continued, forgetting their hunger through energy circulation.

Chattering away, they burned with hatred towards the designer of the Five Elements Tomb and also passed time hoping for the martial arts of the Five Elements Divine Lord to be gained.

And when even such conversations ceased.

When people’s suppressed desires began to ignite slightly.

That place appeared.

The Five Elements Divine Lord’s Tomb.

Beyond the massive arch-shaped stone pillars, a unique space appeared.

It was a huge vertical circular cave, open at both top and bottom.

In the center stood a pillar, and from its perimeter, five stone bridges extended upwards to the pillar.

In the middle, a body sat cross-legged.

“That is… the Five Elements Divine Lord.”

A once supreme figure who ruled over the Central Plains from the highest seat.

The body of the Five Elements Divine Lord was not in a coffin.

He sat erect as if guiding fate.

“It’s in a mummified state.”

“Undecayed. How is that possible…?”

It had been hundreds of years since the Five Elements Divine Lord died. Even buried in the ground, enough time had passed for even bones to decay.

However, he was preserved as a mummy.

Though the silk clothes draped over his body had decayed, his cross-legged posture remained undisturbed.

The successors felt awe towards the once supreme figure who had dominated an era.

Yi-gang gazed intently at the body of the Five Elements Divine Lord.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any spirit.’

「Why? Were you planning to scold it if you saw one?」

He had wondered if he might see the spirit of the Five Elements Divine Lord, but that wasn’t the case.

Looking up above the cross-legged Five Elements Divine Lord, the top of the vertical cave was so high that even the ceiling that should have been there was not visible.

The problem was that the bottom was also open.

The five stone bridges extending to the Five Elements Divine Lord seemed narrow and precarious.

Given the diameter of the vertical cave appeared to be dozens of zhang, to approach the body of the Five Elements Divine Lord, one would have to climb those long stone bridges.

“Over there, on the body…”

The keen-eyed successors noticed something held in the arms of the distant body.

It was a rolled-up bamboo slip. However, what was astonishing was that it seemed to be made of gold, shimmering in a yellowish color, not bamboo.

Everyone instinctively knew.

That was surely…

“Five Elements Divine Art.”

The cultivation technique of the greatest martial artist, the Five Elements Divine Art.

Suddenly, someone dashed out.

He was a disciple of the Pure White Water Sect, famous for its light footwork.

“Benefactor!”

Jeong Myung tried to grab him, but it was too late.

Blinded by the appearance of the Five Elements Divine Art, he ran beyond the pillar and stepped onto the stone bridge.

“Huk!”

But he panicked the moment he stepped onto the stone bridge.

Although no mechanism was triggered, the disciple of the Pure White Water Sect quickly withdrew.

Staggering unlike when he ran out, he returned to the successors.

Jeong Myung, intending to ask what happened, was stopped by Tang Eun-seol.

“What’s…”

“Don’t go near.”

The disciple of the Pure White Water Sect suddenly clutched his throat.

“Kkeuk, keok.”

He made a gasping sound as if suffocating.

“Kkuwaeek!”

He violently vomited. Despite not having eaten, he expelled a lot.

The contents were not food or stomach acid, but bright red blood. It was as if he were throwing up all his internal organs.

“Kkeueuk…”

He collapsed over the blood he had vomited.

After a brief wriggle, he stopped moving. He was dead.

It was obvious what had afflicted him.

“Poison…!”

He had been poisoned in that brief moment.

Given the suddenness of his collapse, it was clear he was poisoned with something extremely toxic.

Tang Eun-seol cautiously approached the path the disciple had taken.

She covered her nose and mouth with a wet cloth, and Yi-gang followed behind her. Tang Eun-seol didn’t stop him.

They carefully leaned forward to look down below.

Then they recoiled, scrunching their faces.

“Phew. I wondered what kind of poison it was.”

“Corpse poison. An extreme poison, further strengthened with a formation.”

The path leading to the Five Elements Divine Lord was filled with a dense flow of poison. The toxin, originating from underground, was rising with the updraft.

The group was startled.

“Do you mean poison is flowing?”

“Yes, a tremendous poison. It’s significant, this…”

The disciple of the Pure White Water Sect had only taken a single breath. But he died instantly.

“Even if we hold our breath, we can’t be safe. It will be absorbed through the skin and the mucous membranes of the eyes.”

“Corpse poison comes from a corpse, doesn’t it?”

When the bodies of humans or animals decayed in special environments, they generated severe toxins.

In the Tang Clan, corpse poison was considered the poison among poisons.

“I was wondering how they hid such a huge space secretly… They must have put all the workers in there.”

Yi-gang’s words sent a chill down everyone’s spines.

Countless human bodies below might have been decaying for hundreds of years, condensing the poison.

“So, what should we do?”

Yi-gang wasn’t the leader or a master among the successors.

But everyone looked at Yi-gang for an answer.

「Is it my turn to appear?」

The fox possessed by the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon wriggled in the bag, but Yi-gang didn’t respond.

Ziiing—

His wooden box had been vibrating slightly for some time.

Yi-gang looked back at Yu Su-rin and Ha-jun.

Their boxes were also trembling, as they all had stern expressions.

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