Chapter 065
Cheongmyeong frowned slightly as he swung his sword to deflect the blades of the Blood Cult warriors. The demonic energy they emitted was strange—sticky like blood incense that polluted the air, and persistent like dust that clung to one's body. What made it even more peculiar was that those emitting this energy appeared to be low-ranking Blood Cult warriors. Bodies that regenerated despite being cut repeatedly.
It reminded him of records about the "Soul Restoration Art," a demonic technique the Old Murim's Sun Moon Cult had developed for their low-ranking warriors. Reading even a little about the Old Murim's Sun Moon Cult proved helpful at times like these.
With a slash, he avoided an enemy sword aimed at him and severed the tendons inside the attacker's wrist, temporarily disabling his opponent. But that alone wasn't enough.
'Swords aren't sufficient.'
Cheongmyeong calmly deflected the swords of the Blood Cult warriors pressing toward him and stepped into his footwork pattern. Two swords rose behind Cheongmyeong's back and danced through the air like a musician's fingers plucking zither strings. One sword remained in his hand while the other two spun like windmills, deflecting enemy blades.
Like Jin Un, he hadn't yet achieved true enlightenment, making both his "Dark Heaven Limitless Divine Art" and "True Martial Thirteen Swords" incomplete. So Cheongmyeong chose the Three Pure Ones Limitless Sword Wisdom instead.
"Primordial Twin Wheels!"
With Cheongmyeong's sharp cry, the two swords spinning in the air synchronized with the sword in his hand, creating a terrifying storm of true energy. A fearsome wheel that literally plowed through everything in front crashed down toward the Blood Cult warriors.
With a thunderous sound, the two swords plunged from the air, carrying clear sword energy as they raced across the ground, causing even the Blood Cult warriors to retreat in fear.
After scattering the Blood Cult formation in one breath, Cheongmyeong spotted a spear flying toward him from the distance.
Metal clashed violently.
The spear that met Cheongmyeong's sword seemed to spin fluidly before being deflected skyward—the Wudang Sect's distinctive Soft Sword technique that redirected an opponent's strength rather than confronting it head-on.
After splitting the airborne spear in two, Cheongmyeong found himself facing a Blood Cult warrior carrying five spears on his back.
"Are you the famous Clear Wind Sword of Wudang?"
The man drew the second of his five spears and smiled.
"I am Jo Munbin of the Asura Divine Cult."
Though commonly called the Blood Cult, its followers actually referred to themselves as the Asura Divine Cult.
If Baek Sugyeong were here, he'd probably say, 'These bastards are cosplaying as the Demonic Cult.'
Perhaps fortunately, Baek Sugyeong wasn't by Cheongmyeong's side.
"Cheongmyeong."
No lengthy conversation was necessary. They were enemies. Moreover, they had targeted the imperial princess and even Baek Sugyeong.
What more needed to be said to those targeting Baek Sugyeong, the greatest force moving Murim, a figure practically equivalent to Wudang's greatest benefactor?
Words were unnecessary.
If anything was needed, he would speak with his sword.
"I hear those old farts at Wudang cherish you greatly! Let me see that skill, Clear Wind Sword!"
No more words followed.
A short spear left afterimages as if suddenly extending, flooding toward Cheongmyeong's front.
Fast and powerful.
Cheongmyeong had no intention of meeting the fierce spear strikes head-on.
Wudang martial arts were fundamentally based on softness. Just as Shaolin martial arts were based on using stillness to control movement, Wudang martial arts emphasized softness.
This meant they specialized in redirecting an opponent's strength.
"Shattered Wind!!"
The short spear extended with a click and added fierce rotation. Jo Munbin's spear drew a savage trajectory as he pursued Cheongmyeong, who retreated like sliding on clouds using the Cloud-Riding Sect's footwork.
Blood Forged Spear, based on the Boom Blood Demon Art rather than the Blood Essence Demon Spirit Art practiced by lower-ranking warriors.
The wave-like spear strikes with the Boom Blood Demon Art's characteristically violent energy poured down like rain toward Cheongmyeong.
"Two-Curve Flow."
He remained calm.
Cheongmyeong's sword carved a circle in the air, and the two swords falling from the sky filled that space. They spun like windmills, deflecting enemy blades.
The force generated by the rotation of two circles spinning in different directions.
Silk-Wrapping Energy.
Jo Munbin's spear was stopped and pushed back by the energy of the two circles intertwining like silk.
Jo Munbin frowned as he felt a rebounding force that threatened to tear his grip.
"You use three swords?"
Cheongmyeong didn't answer.
With a grinding sound of metal on metal, the two hovering swords flew horizontally like birds.
The terrifying sound of air being sliced.
Jo Munbin quickly stepped into his footwork pattern and swung his spear to deflect the swords. Flying swords without any internal energy were no problem to deflect.
"Let's see how long you can keep this up, Clear Wind Sword!"
With a stomp, Jo Munbin hit the ground. Though the movement seemed slow, his form had already reached Cheongmyeong's vicinity.
A spear strike of terrifying momentum rushed toward Cheongmyeong.
Cheongmyeong slid with the Cloud-Riding Sect's footwork and calmly swung his sword to receive the energy flying toward him.
'A strong opponent.'
The energy his enemy emitted was heavy but not overwhelming.
Just heavy and sticky.
Despite the demonic energy that constricted as if to erode his mind—characteristic of the Blood Cult's demonic arts—Cheongmyeong remained calm.
It was commonly said that Taoist and Buddhist mental cultivation methods were the natural enemies of demonic arts, making them difficult to infiltrate.
That was true.
Taking one deep breath, the clear energy rising from his dantian raced through his body like flames, driving away the demonic energy covering him like rain.
His vision cleared.
A change that came as the Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi harmonized with the Jade Void Divine Art.
"Ha!"
A battle cry like urging a horse.
Seeing Jo Munbin's spear violently cutting through the air and falling diagonally, Cheongmyeong switched his grip on his sword.
The sword in his left hand moved to his right, and naturally his left hand rose.
A strange sound erupted, unlike what one would expect from a bare hand meeting a spear shaft.
At the same time, a crack appeared on Jo Munbin's forehead.
'He grabbed the spear?'
Grabbing a spear wrapped in Silk-Wrapping Energy with bare hands was madness.
It would shred one's palm.
Even with internal energy protection, there were limits.
But Jo Munbin had other means of attack despite having his spear grabbed.
Jo Munbin naturally released the spear and thrust a palm strike toward Cheongmyeong's momentarily stationary chest.
The Generous Shade Blood Palm, imbued with Boom Blood Demon Art, extended with terrifying momentum.
"Kuh!"
Cheongmyeong raised his arm to block it but was pushed straight back.
Despite blocking with an arm protected by internal energy, the strike penetrated his defenses and churned his internal organs, causing a trickle of blood to flow from the corner of his mouth.
He had suffered an internal injury.
The result of being directly hit by Penetrating Energy, which used internal weight-shifting techniques to directly strike an opponent's interior.
Jo Munbin smiled.
"Hehe, it's the Generous Shade Blood Palm, mixing the Myeongwang Society's Generous Shade Palm with our cult's demonic arts. Even with internal energy protection, it's hard to prevent damage to your internal organs."
Though he used a spear as his weapon, Jo Munbin wasn't limited to just one martial art.
The Blood Cult's purpose was to convert the Central Plains. To spread the blessing of the Blood God, Asura, and await the arrival of the Blood Heaven World.
If they died in the process, they would have sacrificed their lives for the arrival of a new world, so they had no hesitation in throwing themselves into battle.
Moreover, they drank human blood and stole vital energy, making them difficult to kill.
Could there be more troublesome opponents?
"Clear Wind Sword, I'll take your head!!"
Jo Munbin's spear blade rushed toward Cheongmyeong as he swallowed his blood.
...
His insides were churning, his true energy disrupted.
It wasn't that he had been careless. He simply hadn't expected his opponent to have stolen and modified the Myeongwang Society's martial arts.
Cheongmyeong blamed himself for his foolishness.
This was all due to his own inadequacy.
'The opponent is the Blood Cult.'
He avoided the spear strike by twisting his neck, but the energy grazed his nape, creating a gash that sent blood spraying into the air.
Jo Munbin naturally pulled back his spear, which had absorbed the small amount of blood into his blood-colored clothes.
He licked his lips as if having tasted a delicacy.
"Taoist blood isn't particularly delicious, but it's nutritious. That's why our cult particularly favors you Taoists and those stone pillars from the Buddhist sects."
He smirked.
Perhaps believing he had already gained the upper hand, Jo Munbin's movements were more relaxed than before.
The Blood Cult's distinctive Blood-Craving Footwork.
Like a predator circling its prey and waiting for the right moment to pounce, he left subtle afterimages as he circled around Cheongmyeong in this strange footwork.
Instinct warned against rashly extending his sword.
"Hup."
He inhaled.
As the Jade Void Divine Art harmonized with the Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi and further reached the Jade Pure True Energy, a clear jade-colored sword energy extended along Cheongmyeong's blade.
The Jade Void Divine Art was a foundational technique learned by those initiated into Wudang's higher martial arts.
It served as the foundation for progressing to the Supreme Pure Mind Method, Jade Pure True Energy, and Upper Pure Divine Art.
Therefore, it naturally—as if it were the most obvious thing—blended with the Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi created by the Wudang Sword Hero.
Simultaneously, a cold killing intent that seemed to cut flesh emanated from Cheongmyeong's entire body, like a clear wind blowing.
"...!!"
Jo Munbin's expression hardened as he witnessed Cheongmyeong emitting a killing intent chilling enough to make one's spine tingle.
Why were Taoist priests from Wudang and Buddhist monks, especially those from Shaolin, underestimated compared to their actual status in the martial world?
Because they controlled their killing intent through cultivation.
They didn't casually display killing intent, killing will, or killing thoughts toward others.
That's why they were respected.
They were extremely cautious when drawing their swords.
And when they struck, they were mercilessly without compassion.
That was Shaolin.
And that was Wudang.
'This guy...?'
Wudang martial arts were synonymous with softness.
But softness alone couldn't defeat strength.
Without truly high-level soft techniques, it would be difficult to even face an opponent.
If one had learned powerful martial arts with innate physical strength, relying on softness alone would lead to disaster.
He met strong momentum with strength.
The question of whether this was possible with Wudang martial arts flashed through Jo Munbin's mind.
"Ha! Interesting!"
Cheongmyeong took a step forward.
The wavering sword tip seemed to draw a circle, then traced a strange curve.
The shape drawn by the sword tip was the taiji symbol representing Wudang.
Circles naturally appearing in the air transitioned from formless to form.
"Taiji Sword? Can you face me with Wudang's outdated martial art that has lost its true form?!"
Jo Munbin's spear tip instantly shattered the taiji pattern drawn in the air.
But Cheongmyeong's steps didn't stop.
With each step he took, the momentum of Cheongmyeong—who should have been suffering from internal injuries—only increased.
It felt like a thousand-jin pressure weighing down on his entire body.
"Kuhap!"
Only Jo Munbin was shouting.
Cheongmyeong didn't even make a shallow breathing sound.
He stood still.
The moment Jo Munbin gritted his teeth and shot out his spear, dozens of sword energies that had transcended formless force to become tangible energy brushed past him.
The spear energy Jo Munbin unleashed seemed to be trapped within the circle drawn by the sword tip, then was cut and shattered by merciless slashes, with fragments of broken energy scattering.
A booming sound erupted like a leather drum being torn apart as the energy Jo Munbin released shattered, unable to withstand Cheongmyeong's force.
"You!!"
The spear created countless afterimages as it poured down.
Dozens of gray snakes with iron scales surged like waves, but Cheongmyeong's eyes remained utterly calm.
Five circles drawn by his sword tip instantly enclosed the space.
"Five Falls."
With Cheongmyeong's calm words, the five circles constricted and dispersed the dozens of spear shadows flying toward him.
This time it was Jo Munbin who was bewildered.
But Jo Munbin quickly flipped his body in the air, pulled back his spear, and threw it with terrifying speed.
A blood-red spear blade imbued with rigid energy rather than vital energy fell like a meteor.
But Cheongmyeong wasn't naive either.
His right hand formed a sword-binding finger position, concentrating internal energy.
In his left hand rested Wudang's characteristic clear sword energy, rising from his abundant internal energy.
The Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi resided separately in both hands, creating an aura around Cheongmyeong that seemed to distort the air.
Seeing this, Jo Munbin's forehead creased.
The energy rising from Cheongmyeong was far from ordinary.
"You bastard!!"
With Jo Munbin's shout, all three spears strapped to his back were drawn.
The three spears soared through the air and rushed toward Cheongmyeong like meteors.
Cheongmyeong didn't disturb his breathing even as he watched the approaching spears.
Wudang's sword must be unwavering.
In this respect, it somewhat resembled Shaolin, which demanded extreme cultivation.
Clear mirror, still water.
Like a clear lake reflected in a mirror, Cheongmyeong's eyes were extremely clear.
"Return to Origin."
The Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi raced through his entire body.
He seemed to focus entirely on the single sword in his hand.
Like the twin spirits returning to heaven, they coiled in his dantian.
As life and death hung in the balance, the Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi was returning to One Origin.
One Origin is Limitless.
Limitless is Endless, so no matter how much one uses it, it will never be exhausted.
"Die!!"
The three spears Jo Munbin had shot plus the one he had thrown—four spears in total—formed the shape of an evil spirit and pounced on Cheongmyeong.
The Blood Cult's ultimate technique, Death Calls Chaos, combining the Boom Blood Demon Art with the Blood Forged Spear.
Just as the blood-colored light was about to tear Cheongmyeong apart, a dazzling light bloomed from the tip of his sword.
"What...?"
As Jo Munbin's eyes filled with shock.
Cheongmyeong's single sword strike became a blue lightning bolt that tore through the air.