The inherent chill of the Ice Clarity Sword combined with the Ice Qi generated by Jin Cheon-hee’s Five-Elemental Divine Art, leaching the warmth from his enemy and freezing him solid. As this happened, the Sword Qi surrounding the Ice Clarity Sword grew longer and more intense. The blade itself was less than half a zhang (about 1.5 meters) long, but the qi enveloping it had stretched to a horrifying one zhang (3 meters).

It flickered like a flame, yet possessed a biting cold and a razor-sharp edge.

The sight was utterly bizarre. Anything that came near was instantly frozen and torn to shreds. This was the result of mixing Ice Qi and Sword Qi, an outcome made possible only by pouring almost every last drop of his pure Five-Elemental True Qi into the attack.

The qi consumption is massive! I’ll be completely spent in 30 seconds. But… that should be…

Jin Cheon-hee took one step forward.

…enough!

Behind Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon, and behind the charging Darkborne Jiangshi, he could see the blank-eyed children. A searing rage erupted from within him.

“For that worthless thing.”

His blazing heart was a stark contrast to the cold, flickering ice-flame of his Sword Qi.

“You sacrificed children for that pathetic jiangshi, you son of a bitch?!”

The sword descended in a vertical arc.

It was a direct, honest sword path. But the opponent could not evade it. It was a single strike that allowed no response but to block; yet to block it meant certain ruin.

It was a mass of Sword Qi that had not quite condensed into Hardened Qi. But the total amount of true qi poured into it was more than enough to have formed Hardened Qi. Therefore, even if it wasn’t true Hardened Qi, its power could not be underestimated.

At that exact same moment, the Darkborne Jiangshi also lunged at him from the side.

The instant Jin Cheon-hee’s sword struck down, the Darkborne Jiangshi would attack his flank.

But Jin Cheon-hee’s expression was unwavering.

Here and now. I will subdue Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon.

He brought his sword down with an iron will. Seeing this, Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s expression twisted in fury.

“So you were the ‘Seed of the Half-Immortal‘ the Blood Immortal prophesied!”

It was strange. In that infinitesimal instant, he could hear the creature’s words. For a moment, Jin Cheon-hee thought he’d actually heard Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s voice. The words were distracting, enough to break his concentration, but Jin Cheon-hee’s blade did not waver.

“I will kill you and offer you as a sacrifice to the Blood Immortal!”

Knowing he couldn’t dodge, Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon thrust out the hand holding the bell. A black, murky energy swirled and condensed around the bell, unleashing a sinister, malevolent power in all directions.

Corpse-Liberation Jiangshi Art: Corpse-Liberation Demonic Spirit Slash.

It was Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s final, ultimate technique.

The sword and the bell collided in mid-air. The energies they had infused into their weapons clashed, mixed, and began a brutal contest of strength.

Kwaaaaaa—

The surrounding wave of qi vibrated violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone floor and ceiling. And in that gap, the Darkborne Jiangshi arrived and thrust out its hand.

Thud!

The blow slammed into Jin Cheon-hee’s side. A sickening udeuk sound of breaking bone echoed out.

“Hahaha! Little White Dragon, you have lost— What!?”

But Jin Cheon-hee’s expression hadn’t changed at all. And the Sword Qi enveloping his Ice Clarity Sword was rapidly devouring the Corpse-Liberation Jiangshi Art’s energy.

“How… How…?”

“The Darkborne Jiangshi was ordered to ‘capture’ me, wasn’t it? It won’t attack me lethally. See? After hitting me, it doesn’t know what to do, so it’s just standing there. It has determined that it has ‘captured’ me.”

“What!?”

“Jiangshi… they’re great. Truly great. But… they aren’t alive, are they? And you didn’t use your full power from the start. As a result, your instantaneous output of true qi was weaker than mine. And now, you’re being pushed back.”

Having experienced the fourth industrial revolution, Jin Cheon-hee knew just how foolish artificial intelligence could be.

In the modern era, my robot vacuum would get stuck on the front doorstep beeping ‘Master, save me!’ Why would a jiangshi be any different?!

No matter how strong the Darkborne Jiangshi was, a human still had to fix the loopholes created by the command itself.

The Sword Qi pressed relentlessly forward, inching toward Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon. His face went pale.

“I told you before, Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon.”

His arm, unable to withstand the force, was being pushed back. Cold sweat poured down his face.

“The fact that you sacrificed children to make that worthless thing… I truly, truly don’t like it. So.”

Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes turned to ice.

“…Reflect on your actions in the afterlife.”

Jin Cheon-hee had decided to kill a person. It was a decision that went against everything he was, but he had no choice. This wasn’t an opponent he could spare, and more importantly, he was a Taoist priest, not just a martial artist. Even if he crippled his limbs and destroyed his danjeon, there was no telling what blessing some Monstrous Immortals might grant to restore him.

He decided to stop judging whether this was the right or wrong thing to do. If he could stop this atrocity by sacrificing that one paltry thing—”himself”—then he would.

A piece of his heart shattered.

The pain was a good thing. It meant the heart inside Jin Cheon-hee was still alive.

And so, Jin Cheon-hee gave up on protecting himself.

The sword cleaved Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon in two.

“Kkeuaaaaaaah!”

Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon screamed. The blade had sliced him from shoulder to waist. But his body, hardened by the Corpse-Liberation Jiangshi Art, was tough, and he wasn’t completely severed. He was just deeply cut, and the wound froze over instantly.

His body fell backward.

Simultaneously, Jin Cheon-hee swung his sword to the side.

Cheugagagak—!

The Darkborne Jiangshi stupidly took the blow, its head flying from its shoulders as it collapsed. Its neck, too, had been frozen and shattered.

Teolseok.

Jin Cheon-hee dropped to one knee, using his sword as a cane to support himself.

“Hoo…”

The Sword Qi dissipated. He had used every last wisp of his internal energy. With a look of utter exhaustion, he struggled to catch his breath.

Now I have to get the children… and the antidote… This is exhausting.

Killing Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon didn’t make the strange, poisonous incense filling the cave disappear. To get rid of it, he had to keep circulating the Five-Elemental Mutual Overcoming Poison.

But I don’t have the strength to lift a finger.

He missed his furry friends. But he had no idea if they could even resist this poison mist. If they came in and were mesmerized by the scent, becoming puppets of the enemy, it would be a whole other catastrophe.

“Right… If I’m going to die, I should at least get the kids out first. Ugh…”

His legs trembled violently. Just the simple act of standing up from a kneeling position sent waves of hellish pain through him. The sudden, overwhelming weakness made it hard to even stay conscious.

I wonder what happened to the Three Perfections Tracking Tiger.

Since no other black-robed men had come down, it seemed she had done everything she could at the entrance.

I just hope she’s alive… There isn’t even a White Qilin Medical Pavilion branch in this region.

Just as he took one… two… agonizing steps toward the children, a horrifying sound echoed from behind him.

Rip—

It was the sound that signaled things were about to go horribly wrong.

He looked back and saw the damn Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon twitching, pulling himself back up.

“You… You baaaaaastard—!”

Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s roar thundered through the stone chamber.

Did he… reanimate his own body as a jiangshi? Is he insane…?

That wasn’t all. The priest’s face began to glow a crimson red.

“Monstrous Immortals! Grant me your strength!”

A self-destruction technique.

Dark Lightning Blood Demon’s self-destruction was powerful, but I never thought I’d see Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s…

He didn’t self-destruct in the novel. That’s how unbelievably furious he was right now!

Jin Cheon-hee gave a bitter laugh.

Hahaha… there’s no way out of this.

He had no internal energy left. No stamina. He didn’t even have the strength to run for his life.

Jin Cheon-hee raised his Ice Clarity Sword. The blade trembled in his grip, his muscles pushed beyond their limit. His entire body screamed.

Does death always come this easily?

He thought of his death in his past life. That, too, had been sudden. It wasn’t that he had no regrets, but he had done what he could, and that had been enough.

Have I done everything I could this time?

Yes. He had.

Jin Cheon-hee accepted the image of death before him.

In that instant… a thunderous roar sounded from above.

Kwareureureung!

The ceiling of the stone chamber shattered.

A man with hair darker than the black night sky poured down. And yet, his skin was so pale that he seemed to be made of only black, white, and red. The boy, now a young man, dropped from the sky.

“Found you, Hyung.”

His voice, just past the break of puberty, grated like a stone scraping against a wall.

***

As Yeo Ha-ryoon fell from the ceiling, he saw his hyung. He saw the wounds covering his body, the children his hyung was shielding with his back, and the monster in human form standing before him.

Twice.

His promise to endure twice had just ended.

The killing intent of the Star of Heavenly Slaughter sang with joy.

It’s similar to demonic arts, but it’s not from the Demonic Cult. How should I kill it? What kind of scream will it make?

In the mere instant it took to fall, Yeo Ha-ryoon had already prepared to kill his enemy. He gripped his sword in a reverse hold and twisted his body once. Using the energy of his descent, he dropped like a guillotine.

Heavenly Pillar Dark Art. Dark Dragon Falling Lock Sword!

The name, Dark Dragon Falling Lock Sword, came from its resemblance to a black dragon plunging from the sky.

Internal energy distribution? Optimal posture? Dispersal of Sword Qi?

Yeo Ha-ryoon cared for none of it. The madness of the Star of Heavenly Slaughter guided him. It wouldn’t have mattered even if the enemy were stronger than him!

Strike!

Jin Cheon-hee couldn’t even see how Yeo Ha-ryoon had used his sword. It was like living destruction. In that single strike, Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon’s head flew into the air. Yeo Ha-ryoon watched its arc with pleasure.

But his fingertips still tingled. This sensation.

It’s still alive.

The Demonic Cult had similar bastards. Ones that still moved for a moment even after their heads were lopped off. It was different from rigor mortis; it was more like a mating mantis or a decapitated ant. The spinal cord was still sending signals, unaware the brain was gone.

Yeo Ha-ryoon, his face devoid of expression, slashed his sword diagonally through the air. What he cut was empty space. Incredibly, his Sword Qi remained embedded in the air, following the path of his blade. Not advancing, just… stopped.

He traced that suspended sword path again and again.

The creature charged at him.

The painter of death set aside his brush and took up his sword.

Black Dragon Sword Style. Spacetime Suspended Slaughter.

The compressed Sword Qi in the air all flew at once, beginning to mercilessly butcher the creature’s body.

Cheugagagak—!

Strangely, the Sword Qi wasn’t released all at once; it flew with minute, staggered timing. Even if the enemy blocked one strike, it was fated to be hit by the hidden blade immediately following. I don’t even understand the principle.Only the sound of air escaping from lungs filled the chamber.

Leaving the silent slaughter behind him, Yeo Ha-ryoon spoke. “Hyung. I’m here to get you.”

“Yeah… You’re not too late, thank goodness.”

As the tension drained from him, a trickle of blood rose in his throat.

Yeo Ha-ryoon said, “You’re still insane, Hyung. You fought that thing alone?”

“I had my reasons.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon reached out, grabbing Jin Cheon-hee’s arm to support him. Jin Cheon-hee felt his consciousness fading. He spoke urgently.

“The Three Perfections Tracking Tiger… is at the entrance. Go check on her.”

“That woman is fine. I killed all the black-robed men. She’s probably searching for any documents left here by now.”

“The children… Send them home. The aftereffects…”

“…I’ll take care of it.”

“And…”

“Rest, Hyung.”

“…”

With those final words, Jin Cheon-hee’s body went completely limp.

Yeo Ha-ryoon clicked his tongue. “Hyung, you’re still as stubborn as ever, and you still make everyone worry.” What was he supposed to do with this insane older brother?

The younger brother, mad in his own different way, was lost in thought.