Chapter 215: Kongtong (6)

The moment that ominous energy burst out from the altar, Il-mok quickly formed a sword barrier to block it.

Whiiiiing.

The energy that crashed into Il-mok's sword barrier dissipated, but what he managed to eliminate was only a tiny fraction.

The same went for everyone else.

Jin Hayeon's ice arts and Ouyang Mun's saber techniques managed to cancel out bits and pieces of the wave, but most of it simply washed past them and kept going.

The energy fanned out in every direction and mixed with the mountain's own sacred power, creating a massive prison.

Though Il-mok was no expert in sorcery, his exceptional qi perception allowed him to instinctively realize one thing.

'There is no Life Gate.'

A Formation with no way out. Of course, he could understand that much.

If it was meant to trap someone, having no escape route was actually pretty logical.

What puzzled Il-mok was something else entirely.

'What is that lunatic planning?'

Because Ghost Valley Master was trapped in the Formation too.

And he was standing right in the center of the altar, the very core of the Formation.

Just then, a bizarre change occurred within the Formation that was churning with ghostly qi.

The twisted energy began to condense in one place, then rapidly took on a distinct form.

The shape of a human.

No, they were human, yet their forms were somehow grotesque.

Some had limbs bent at impossible angles, while others were just dripping with blood.

"My blood! Give me back my blood!!"

"Send me to paradise!!"

These bizarre entities suddenly appeared from thin air and shrieked like they were screaming in agony as they attacked Il-mok and his group.

'Are they illusions?'

That was his first thought, but he wasn't about to bet his life on it.

The concentration of malevolent energy flowing through the entire Formation was too thick. Whatever these things were, they weren't just simple phantoms.

Clang!

After blocking an attack from one of these unidentifiable monsters wreathed in red energy, Il-mok used the principle of redirection to deflect its arm and simply cut off its head.

"Kyaaaaaaah!!"

The monster whose head was grotesquely severed screamed as a geyser of "blood" shot from its mouth.

Except it wasn't blood, it was just pure red energy.

Clang!!

"Kugh."

Il-mok barely managed to block that blood-colored energy. With that final attack, the monster dissolved into thin air.

But things weren't getting any easier.

For every monster Il-mok cut down, the Formation's thick energy was clumping together and spewing out new monsters.

"Watch out, Hayeon!"

Ouyang Mun, who'd managed to take down a monster, shouted as he blocked the coordinated attack of two monsters that had suddenly appeared on both sides.

"Noisy."

That was Jin Hayeon's cold reply as she used her ice powers to handle her own pincer attack.

The women in the rear weren't faring much better.

With their numbers growing by the second, Ju Seo-yeon was frantically executing her already dizzying spear art at a pace that made her head spin.

"Eeek!"

Hyeokryeon Seolnah was tangled up fighting two monsters, and since she fought with the same kind of blood-red energy they had, the whole mess looked like three monsters tearing each other apart.

As monsters spawned from all directions—

"Hiiik."

One materialized right in Jeong Hyeon's face, causing her to retaliate with an arrow despite her spooked face.

Thunk!

The monster twisted its body just in time, so the arrow lodged in its shoulder instead of its head.

"Kyaaaaaaah!!"

Ignoring the arrow sticking out of its body like it was nothing, the monster lunged right for her. The situation in the back was suddenly even more dangerous than it was for the fighters up front.

"Hah!"

Seeing the endless horde, Dam Bin swung both hands in succession.

A storm of black threads erupted from her sleeves, weaving through the air like an intricate dance controlled by her fingertips.

PAPAPAPAK!

A flurry of sharp sounds rang out as more than half her threads found their marks, piercing deep into the monsters.

But since these weren't human, hitting their vital points didn't stop them.

Seeing that, a chilling and bewitching smile spread across Dam Bin's face.

She strongly gripped the myriad outstretched threads with both hands, and the moment she violently pulled her arms apart—

KRRRRRRR-TCH!

The threads embedded in the monsters' bodies suddenly went taut, acting like a thousand tiny blades that sliced them apart from the inside out.

"Kyeeeeeek!!"

The shredded monsters screamed their ghostly death rattles and vanished, only for a fresh wave to pop up instantly.

"Blood!! Give me back my blood!!"

Thanks to the monsters’ screams, something clicked in Il-mok's head.

'Don't tell me... these are the ghosts of the people they sacrificed here.'

But even figuring that out didn't really change anything.

For some reason, the spirits weren't going after the Taoists who'd murdered them. They were following their orders.

No, wait. That wasn't right.

Crunch.

"Kueeeok..."

The surviving Taoists were also getting their bodies pierced by those vengeful spirits' attacks.

And the blood flowing from their wounds was being absorbed back into the altar, adding to the Formation's malevolent energy.

There was only one person the vengeful spirits weren't targeting.

The Ghost Valley Master who is standing in the center of the altar.

Dam Bin caught on to this fact just as quickly as Il-mok, and boldly shot a single thread at Ghost Valley Master right after executing a major technique.

The thread that traveled a distance rippled with sharp energy similar to Sword Qi, but—

SCREEECH!!

It scraped against something with a nasty shriek and then fell dead in the air.

"Hehehehe. You think this pathetic technique can pierce my Ink Blood Steel Tablet?"

Ghost Valley Master was now holding out a dark red wooden tablet, and blood-colored energy rippling from that tablet was enveloping him.

It was a magical artifact created by Ghost Valley Master, who valued his own safety above all else. He had forged it from the life force of the countless people he’d sacrificed here.

Actually, it was something he'd been creating and strengthening since the days of human sacrifices at Ghost Valley Mountain.

"You'll never escape this Dead Spirit Blood Demon Formation."

At Ghost Valley Master's shout, which sounded almost like a curse, Il-mok scowled.

'Damn it.'

He knew this was going to be a real mess.

'He's just going to hide behind that shield of his and wait for the spirits to tear us apart.'

With his keen qi perception, Il-mok had noticed something. These vengeful spirits couldn't spawn infinitely.

He'd felt the foul energy in the air dip just a little when Dam Bin took out that big group. But the dip was tiny, and the energy had shot right back up the second the other Taoist bastards started dying.

Worse, he realized it wasn't just death that refueled it. Any blood they spilled was being used as fuel.

The amount of malevolent energy flowing within the Formation was still overflowing, so trying to hold out until all that energy ran out would be a guaranteed loss.

Figuring all this out in a split second, Il-mok started shouting orders.

"Squad Leader Dam Bin! Keep the others safe in the back! Miss Jin, Young Warrior Ouyang, I need cover!"

After shouting that, Il-mok cut down a monster screaming right in front of him and launched himself toward Ghost Valley Master.

Instead of waiting for the Formation's energy to run out, he'd decided to target Ghost Valley Master directly.

He became a blur of motion, his sword flashing out again and again while maximizing the principle of swift swordsmanship, and the vengeful spirits blocking his path were instantly torn into pieces.

In a heartbeat, he'd carved a path and used his speed to appear right in front of Ghost Valley Master.

"Haaaah!"

He put all his power into the swing, and the Sword Qi around his blade solidified into pure Sword Force.

BOOM!!!

The Sword Force Il-mok unleashed clashed with the blood-colored barrier with a deafening roar.

But Il-mok's expression after swinging his sword wasn't great.

Surprisingly, the blood-colored energy barrier didn't disappear despite clashing with the Sword Force.

It just flickered unstably with cracks forming in it.

But even those cracks disappeared quickly.

Energy flowing from Ghost Valley Master's body was sucked into the tablet, instantly repairing the cracks.

Like a tug-of-war, the Sword Force on Il-mok's sword and the blood-colored barrier created by the tablet pushed against each other for a moment.

"Kyeeeeeek!"

"Blood! Hand over your blood!!"

Before long, new vengeful spirits materialized by the Dead Spirit Blood Demon Formation and began rushing toward Il-mok.

But Il-mok didn't twist his sword path to strike at the vengeful spirits.

He just silently kept his sword pressed against the blood-colored energy.

He was counting on Jin Hayeon and Ouyang Mun to have his back.

Swoosh!

Thwack!

And they did.

Ouyang Mun's swift blade and Jin Hayeon's freezing cold palms flew toward the vengeful spirit trying to attack Il-mok, and the two who'd landed on the ground used their lightness skills to position themselves on the left and right behind Il-mok.

"Brilliant move, Hayeon!"

"Shut up."

Jin Hayeon shot back, ignoring his pointless chatter as she calmly stared down the next wave.

Behind her, Il-mok's Sword Force and Ghost Valley Master's blood-colored barrier were struggling against each other, constantly creating explosive sounds, but she paid no mind to the events at her back.

'If it's Young Master Il-mok, he'll find a way to handle it.'

Her faith in him was absolute, second only to her faith in the Heavenly Demon himself.

Though his occasional displays of laziness were a slight concern, there was not even a shred of doubt about his ability and talent.

However, as someone who served him, it wouldn't be right to leave everything to the person she served.

'My job is to make sure nothing distracts him.'

As her mind became perfectly calm, the icy energy deep in her dantian surged through her body and gathered in her palms.

"Kyeeeeeek!!"

As vengeful spirits rushed toward her—

She simply kept her palms pressed together, condensing the energy flowing from her dantian.

And the moment the closest vengeful spirit swung its blood-energy-wreathed claws at her—

Tssssshk.

With a strange sound, her palms that had been pressed together in a prayer-like gesture separated.

Tsssshk.

In a place filled with ghostly wail, a breathtakingly beautiful dance began.

Following her slow but unceasing movements, countless ice flowers embroidered the air along her palms.

The crimson energy of the Formation, the eerie moonlight filtering through clouds of blood, it all mixed with the shimmering frost, painting the cavern in strange colors.

"Kyeeeeeek..."

The vengeful spirits that touched the ice flowers created by her White Hand Demonic Art screamed as they froze solid.

She had created a deadly garden of icy thorns, a wall that would stop anyone who dared to threaten her master.

Frigid yin qi leaked from her as she sighed.

"Phew."

Just then, a strained voice spoke up from right next to her.

"Ahem. H-Hey, a heads-up would've been nice, Hayeon."

It was Ouyang Mun's voice.

He'd nearly frozen solid along with those vengeful spirits.

He'd survived only because he'd swung his saber like a madman, barely managing to deflect a few ice flowers flying toward him.

In response to his whining, Jin Hayeon just clicked her tongue.

"Tsk."