Chapter 1718: Betting Your Neck (3)
Seeing the pure and transparent energy at the tip of Chung Myung's sword, the Blood Palace leader, wrapped in bandages, began to sweat coldly.
"Celestial Qi (仙氣)?"
Anyone who had practiced martial arts would know it was the ultimate energy that Taoist martial arts practitioners sought.
It was the purest and clearest energy, completely refined and extracted from the contaminated air that filled the world.
Therefore, it was an energy that purified all evil and subdued all demons.
However, knowing it didn't mean it was easy to accept.
"Can he handle Celestial Qi?"
If celestial energy were so easy to create, how could demonic martial arts exist?
There was no denying the existence of Celestial Qi in the person before him. After all, anyone practicing Taoist martial arts would have, to some extent, some Celestial Qi within them.
But it was a completely different matter to manifest the energy to the point of making it visible at the tip of a sword. Those who could control Celestial Qi at will were called immortals.
However, immortals only became such after death. So, what should one call a living immortal?
Ugh! Ugh!
The Blood Palace leader gripped his pierced shoulder so tightly it almost broke.
"Kuh..."
The wound penetrated by Celestial Qi burned as if it were on fire. It wasn't just the pain of a physical wound. The energies flowing through his shoulder disintegrated and dispersed, as if his very existence were being negated and erased.
However, there was no time to be astonished.
Chung Myung lowered his sword and began to advance slowly toward him.
"Where is all that arrogance you had?"
The Blood Palace leader's hand, which was supporting him on the ground, retreated involuntarily. Realizing his own shameful behavior, he pressed his dry lips together tightly.
If his face had been like anyone else's, it would now be red with embarrassment.
"I didn't expect to find someone so formidable in Mount Hua. Celestial Qi..."
The Blood Palace leader desperately tried to maintain his composure, but Chung Myung's gaze didn't change. The light of contempt was obvious.
"A talking worm."
"…"
"It's not that I'm formidable, but that you're insignificant. Or more precisely..."
Chung Myung's smile twisted.
"Your so-called Cult, or rather, your Palace is insignificant."
Crack.
The Blood Palace leader ground his teeth.
In his mind, he wanted to tear that young man apart right then and there. He wanted to strangle him and rip out his tongue to offer it on the altar of his Cult.
Wooong.
But seeing the celestial energy at the tip of Chung Myung's sword, all his desires crumbled like a sandcastle. Without a way to completely counter that energy, any fight would be suicide.
Swoosh.
The Blood Palace leader's body disappeared from its place. He reappeared much further back, away from Chung Myung.
With one hand holding his injured shoulder, his eyes flashed with a blue glow.
"It seems today is not the right day."
Chung Myung let out a sarcastic laugh.
"What a fancy way of saying you're going to flee. Something your predecessors didn't know how to do."
The Blood Palace leader narrowed his eyes.
For a while now, this young man kept mentioning his predecessors. It was incomprehensible since they had never met in life.
But that didn't matter now.
"Don't think this is over. Our Cult does not forget its grudges..."
The Blood Palace leader stopped, shuddering. A murderous energy was launched toward him.
Chung Myung's eyes radiated an indescribable hatred.
"Don't talk so much. Your mouth smells like shi*."
"…"
"This isn't over?"
Chung Myung's sword made a chilling sound as it scraped the ground.
"It's not something you can say. I am the one who should say it. Listen well."
His cold eyes pierced the Blood Palace leader.
"Don't think this is over. I'm not generous enough to share the same sky with you. Just wait. I'll come for you. No matter where you hide, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth and cut off your heads, leaving not a single one alive."
"…"
"So that you can never boast about those pathetic demonic arts again."
A faint groan escaped the Blood Palace leader's lips. Something more than his martial prowess was crushing him.
Ugh!
He looked at his pierced shoulder. The blood kept flowing. Maybe that's why Chung Myung's words didn't sound like just a warning.
"Retreat."
At the leader's command, the Blood Palace members turned and began to leave. Even the leader, after a final glance at Chung Myung and the Mount Hua disciples, turned away.
Chung Myung watched them leave in silence.
Baek Sang, who had been paralyzed by the pressure, regained his composure and saw the Blood Palace members almost out of the temple.
"Chung Myung, why are you letting them go? Those bastards..."
Then, Chung Myung quickly turned around, passing by Baek Sang and heading into the Martial Artists.
"Chung Myung?"
The place he was heading was the bed where Heo Gong was treating Baek Cheon.
Baek Sang's eyes widened.
He had been so focused on the Blood Palace invasion that he hadn't noticed Heo Gong was completely drenched in sweat. The energy emanating from him was much less than it had been at the beginning.
'Ah!'
Baek Sang understood. If Chung Myung had fought the Blood Palace members, Heo Gong wouldn't have been able to treat Baek Cheon.
That would have been impossible from the start, or the sudden attack from the Blood Palace would have disrupted Heo Gong.
When Chung Myung reached the bed, everyone helping Baek Cheon looked at him urgently. Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon.
"Well done..."
The words he murmured were barely audible. A mix of emotions was hidden behind them.
"When I give the signal, withdraw your energy."
At Chung Myung's command, everyone striving to prevent the energy from escaping Baek Cheon's body widened their eyes.
If they withdrew their energy now, all the energy filling Baek Cheon's body would dissipate. Not a shred of vital force would remain to sustain his life.
Therefore, they couldn't obey that order. They could end Baek Cheon's life with their own hands.
However, Chung Myung looked at them with unwavering determination. No one could easily respond in this situation. Surprisingly, Yoo Iseol was the first to nod her head.
"Trust."
Jo Gul's eyes widened.
"Really?"
Even though the order came from Chung Myung, still, in this situation...
But Chung Myung's signal came before he could make a decision.
"Now!"
Swoosh!
As soon as the signal left his lips, Jo Gul's hand moved before his mind. The hands touching Baek Cheon withdrew in unison.
"Ah!"
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong stepped back, watching Baek Cheon and Chung Myung tensely. But Chung Myung did nothing. He didn't even try to stop the escaping energy or protect Baek Cheon's body.
"What!"
Swoosh!
The energy they had been containing overflowed from Baek Cheon's body in all directions. A cry escaped Jo Gul's mouth.
"What are you doing, idiot? This way he'll...!"
"Silence!"
Chung Myung suppressed Jo Gul's cry firmly and remained focused on Baek Cheon.
"It's not just about containing it. What is overflowing must be released."
"What?"
Everyone was stunned.
It's not that they didn't know that. The problem was that the situation was so precarious that even the slightest impact could break the vessel.
Baek Cheon's body couldn't withstand that shock.
"No, no..."
Yoon Jong, desperate, reached out toward Baek Cheon's body.
Wooong!
But at that moment, pure energy began to emanate from Chung Myung's hand. An energy so pure no one had ever seen in their life.
Everyone was momentarily astonished, forgetting even the current situation.
"Don't worry."
Chung Myung's eyes shone with serene confidence.
"If it's Sasuk, he will endure."
The Baek Cheon he knew wouldn't die from something like this. Baek Cheon was one of the strongest people he knew.
Wooong!
Chung Myung's celestial energy penetrated Baek Cheon's solar plexus.
"Ah!"
Everyone watched as Chung Myung's clear energy spread throughout Baek Cheon's body like ripples in a lake.
The energy that had been resisting Heo Gong's guidance finally calmed in contact with Chung Myung's celestial energy.
"What is this...?"
Tang Gunak's face filled with astonishment.
The celestial energy hadn't subdued the energy. It hadn't absorbed or mixed it.
It had simply calmed it. Like a lake absorbing everything in its depths.
"Is this really possible?"
He had never seen anything like this, nor had he even imagined it. Extreme Yin and Yang energy coexisting without collision in Baek Cheon's body. The sun and the moon in the same sky, night and day in the same world.
"Celestial (仙)."
A celestial world that cannot be seen in reality.
Perhaps, what is called the celestial realm is a world where the impossible coexists.
The energy calmed by Chung Myung was gently enveloped by Heo Gong's energy. Guided by the essence of Mount Wudang, it began to circulate slowly in the vessel that was Baek Cheon.
Wooong!
Simultaneously, a soft light emanated from Baek Cheon's body.
The charred arm slowly began to regain its original color. Not completely, but at least it was taking the form of an arm again.
"Ah..."
Tang Gunak murmured in astonishment.
Wooong!
How much time had passed? The light enveloping Baek Cheon's body began to fade gradually.
Plop!
"Elder!"
Heo Gong collapsed on the spot. Many quickly ran to support him. At the same time, Chung Myung withdrew his hand from Baek Cheon's body.
"Chung Myung, how is Sasuk?"
Chung Myung, who had had his eyes closed, slowly opened them and looked at Baek Cheon.
"That guy won't die from something like this."
His calm eyes reflected an unshakable belief.
"If he's the Deputy Sect Leader of Mount Hua, he will live."
"Ah..."
Baek Sang and some Mount Hua disciples collapsed on the spot. The weight that had been crushing them like a mountain disappeared in an instant.
