Light Novel: Volume 17 Episode 16
Manhwa: N/A
People come from afar and die away from their hometowns.
Soldiers, exiles, or those who, for some other reason, left their hometowns only to tragically lose their lives.
When the resentment of the deceased reaches its peak, it usually brings negative energy to that area.
Especially in areas where many have died, the haunting aura grows dense, leading to unfortunate incidents among the living.
To prevent such events from happening, Taoist priests cast spells on the bodies of the recently deceased to allow them to move on their own.
This was the beginning of a jiangshi.
Taoist priests would lead the spell-bound jiangshi back to their hometowns, allowing them to rest in peace.
Taoists priest of the now-extinct Maoshan sect1 were especially skilled at this.
Nowadays, when one thinks of a Taoist priest, one might think of a sword-wielding warrior from sects like Mount Hua or Wudang sect, but in the past, it was not uncommon to see Taoists who practiced talismans or Taoist magic spells. However, as time progress, such methods fell out of favor, becoming obscure and rarely seen.
The reason Kwak Nosaeng became interested in jiangshi, which had nothing to do with medical arts, was because of the Ghost King.
The Ghost King, who is considered the most incomprehensible being in the Jianghu.
Most believed the Ghost King possessed the power of immortality, but after years of research and obsession, Kwak Nosaeng learned the truth that the Ghost King had been simply switching bodies.
A monster born from the power of magic.
That was the Ghost King.
From that point on, Kwak Nosaeng became obsessed with creating a being that would surpass the Ghost King.
The result was a living jiangshi.
Kwak Nosaeng believed that the Ghost King was also a type of living jiangshi.
A jiangshi born from the power of magic.
Determined, Kwak Nosaeng set out to create a jiangshi using medical arts and dedicated decades to this endeavor.
The living jiangshi in the underground space was the culmination of his decades-long effort.
Every living human has a soul.
A human being without a soul is nothing more than an empty shell.
It’s impossible for a soulless human to move. This is because the moment one loses their soul, they transition into the realm of the dead.
However, the dead cannot move smoothly because of their rigid muscles and stiff joints. That’s why instead of completely extinguishing the soul, Kwak Nosaeng sealed it within a part of the body.
This resulted in a being that, while alive, wasn’t truly living nor truly dead.
This also allowed the living Jiangshu to have the smooth movements like a living person.
However, because the person’s soul was sealed, they would not be unable to make rational decisions.
They were reborn as monsters that followed orders and nothing more.
Unlike the Ghost King, who could think and make decisions for himself, these beings lacked rationality.
To some, they could be seen as failures. However, Kwak Nosaeng was quite satisfied.
What he needed was a monster that would obediently obey his orders, not a rational human being.
Save for Kwak Nosaeng, these living jiangshi would attack every other living creature.
Their inability to make rational judgments meant they couldn’t differentiate friend from foe. Still, Kwak Nosaeng didn’t consider this a major issue.
Such minor shortcomings could be worked on later.
Even though they were not completed yet, they moved no differently like a human being and displayed ferocious aggression.
“AHHH!”
“S-Save me!”
Jang Sa-chun’s men screamed as they fell down after being attacked by the jiangshi.
Although Jang Sa-chun’s men considered themselves skilled fighters, they were helpless against the jiangshi’s assault.
Their attacks were useless against the jiangshi.
Even if an arm or leg was severed, the jiangshi continued to move unhindered. They neither felt pain nor experienced fear.
They were, in essence, perfect monsters born for slaughter. While there was still room for improvement, time would take care of that.
“Hehehe!”
Kwak Nosaeng chuckled as he watched his masterpiece in action.
A hellish scene had unfolded in the underground space.
Severed limbs were strewn about, and blood soaked the floor.
“Crazy! We can’t stop this!”
“Demon Doctor! Please save us!”
The subordinates who were still alive pleaded with Kwak Nosaeng. However, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
He was solely focused on observing the movements of the jiangshi.
The jiangshi’s movements were as smooth and powerful as those of a living person. It possessed a destructive obsession towards its target.
Everything was satisfying.
Kwak Nosaeng’s gaze turned towards Pyo-wol.
For some reason, Pyo-wol hadn’t moved since earlier.
Ever since he took down Jang Sa-chun, he hadn’t moved as much as a single finger.
Something about that felt quite unsettling.
So, Kwak Nosaeng pointed towards Pyo-wol with his finger and yelled,
“Capture that man! But, don’t take away his life. He will be a very good ingredient.”
He wasn’t sure if the jiangshi would obey his order of not to kill. But he chose to give the order anyway.
Growl!
The jiangshi leaped over Jang Sa-chun’s subordinates and rushed towards Pyo-wol.
Some ran on two feet, but most of them ran like beasts, using their arms as well.
They roared and charged at Pyo-wol.
“It’s dangerous!”
Yong Seolran shouted.
But even without her warning, Pyo-wol was well aware of the danger.
The problem did not lay with the strength of the jiangshi.
What was more dangerous was the man who had created these monsters.
Given time and resources, Kwak Nosaeng could create countless such monsters.
Kwak Nosaeng was more dangerous than any martial artist Pyo-wol had encountered so far.
Pyo-wol kicked the jiangshi, who was charging ahead of him.
Boom!
With a sound like a drum bursting, the jiangshi was flung far away.
Any other expert would have suffered internal injuries and struggle to move after such an impact.
However, the jiangshi was different.
Without screaming, it rose and charged at Pyo-wol again.
“Ha!”
Instead of using a tree branch, Yong Seolran picked up a sword that her enemies had dropped nearby, and unfolded the technique, Infinite Lotus Sword.
The jiangshi’s arm fell off as her sword slashed at it, but such a thing did not stop it from roaring and charging again.
“Crazy!”
Despite spraying blood, Yong Seolran was startled by the jiangshi charging like a monster.
She repeatedly slashed with the Infinite Lotus Sword, cutting down the jiangshi. But killing it wasn’t easy.
To incapacitate the jiangshi, she had to cut off its head in one go. But swiftly beheading a rapidly moving jiangshi was by no means easy.
Moreover, Yong Seolran had taken a break from practicing martial arts for a long time.
Although she hadn’t forgotten what she had learned, her sharpness had inevitably diminished.
Moreover, she was still hesitant in viciously cutting down her opponent.
Such a mindset put her in danger.
“Argh!”
Six jiangshi pounced on her.
She managed to fend off five of them, but the sixth one broke through her sword defense and came right up to her nose.
The jiangshi, opening its wide mouth, tried to bite Yong Seolran’s pale neck.
The moment Yong Seolran closed her eyes tightly,
Swish!
Suddenly, with a sharp slicing sound, the jiangshi’s head flew into the air.
Pyo-wol had beheaded the jiangshi with his Soul-Reaping Thread.
“Pull yourself together!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“If you were going to be like this, you shouldn’t have followed me from the beginning.”
At Pyo-wol’s harsh criticism, Yong Seolran slightly bit her lip.
She had followed him out of her own stubbornness, yet she kept on becoming a burden.
It was all because of her soft heart.
“Hoo!”
Yong Seolran closed her eyes and let out a soft breath.
Grrrr!
The roar of the living jiangshi could be heard.
Trampling over their fellow jiangshi that had already fallen over, the other jiangshi rushed over. Their appearance was terrifying enough to make one’s skin crawl, but there was no longer a hint of hesitation in Yong Seolran’s eyes anymore.
“Hah!”
Yong Seolran unleashed the Infinite Lotus Sword’s ultimate move, Lotus Petal Scatter Burst.2
Instantly, her sword emitted sword qi like a firecracker bursting.
The sword energy, resembling lotus petals, mercilessly slaughtered the jiangshi.
There was no need to specifically decapitate them.
Just cutting off its arms and legs was enough.
With all its limbs cut off, the jiangshi would no longer be able to move.
Even if they were a jiangshi, they still lingered on the edge of humanity. Even they could die if they bled too much.
The jiangshi stood no chance against the unhesitating Yong Seolran.
Swinging her sword, Yong Seolran stole a glance at Pyo-wol.
At Pyo-wol’s feet, numerous jiangshi corpses had piled up.
‘As expected!’
A light of admiration shone in Yong Seolran’s eyes.
Unlike her, there was absolutely no hesitation in Pyo-wol’s moves.
His Soul-Reaping Thread precisely sliced the jiangshi’s throats.
Jiangshi who had their throats sliced couldn’t breathe and move anymore.
Kwak Nosaeng’s face involuntarily twisted as the jiangshi he had painstakingly created were killed by Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran.
His anger poured out towards the two who ruined his meticulously crafted creations.
“Do you think you can handle this?”
He touched the wall. The wall then shifted, revealing a hidden space.
Filling the secret compartment were more than a hundred jiangshi.
These were the ones he had been manufacturing in secret, without even informing Jang Sa-chun and the others.
Kwak Nosaeng awakened all the jiangshi.
“Kill them!”
He directly ordered the jiangshi to kill Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran.
He concluded that the two were too dangerous to keep alive and transform into jiangshi.
It would be better to kill them to have fewer repercussions.
With more than a hundred other jiangshi joining the fray, the place became even more chaotic.
By now, none of Jang Sa-chun’s men were left alive.
The only living people were the three of them.
Excluding Kwak Nosaeng as he is the jiangshi’s master, there were only two targets left.
Grrrrr!
The jiangshi charged towards Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran like rabid dogs.
A triumphant smile curled on Kwak Nosaeng’s lips.
No matter how exceptional Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran’s martial arts were, it was impossible for them to deal with all those jiangshi charging at them at once.
He believed the two of them would be torn apart and killed in no time.
It was then.
Ssshh!
A sharp, piercing sound echoed in the darkness.
In an instant, Kwak Nosaeng felt an indescribable, eerie sensation. Every hair on his body stood on end, and his eyes widened in shock.
“What, what is it?”
The jiangshi that had been charging so frantically toward Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran suddenly stopped.
It was as if they had been covered in glue, frozen on the spot.
“What happened?”
It was then.
Thud thud thud!
Suddenly, from the front, the jiangshi began to collapse one by one.
The heads of the fallen jiangshi were all severed from their necks.
Kwak Nosaeng exclaimed,
“What have you done to my children?!”
At that moment, Kwak Nosaeng saw a silver thread.
This incredibly fine silver thread, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, was the Soul-Reaping Thread.
The Soul-Reaping Thread that crossed the underground space wasn’t just a single strand. Countless Soul-Reaping Threads were stretched out, resembling a spider web.
A technique that spreads the Soul-Reaping Thread in all directions, waiting for its prey, just like a spider does with its web.
Spider Silver Net.3
It was another evolved form of the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Thud thud!
The jiangshi, oblivious to the spread of the Spider’s Silver Net, continued to charge and subsequently fell one after another.
They were like sand castles crumbling as they get swept away the waves.
“What is happening–!”
Kwak Nosaeng had an incredulous look on his face.
He had never imagined that his army of jiangshi, which he had painstakingly created, would collapse so easily like this.
It was so surreal that it felt more like a nightmare.
Kwak Nosaeng shouted,
“Who are you?! How dare you kill my children like this?!”
It was then.
Whoosh!
He suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his shoulder.
Pyo-wol sent a Soul-Reaping Thread in his way instead of answering.
As Pyo-wol pulled the Soul-Reaping Thread, Kwak Nosaeng was dragged towards him.
Kwak Nosaeng mustered his internal energy to resist, but it was futile.
Suddenly, a malicious glint flashed across Kwak Nosaeng’s face.
He formed a blade with his hand and slashed the shoulder that had been pierced by the Soul-Reaping Thread. His arm immediately got severed, dropping to the ground.
He had deliberately chosen to cut off his own arm.
It was a move that Pyo-wol hadn’t expected.
“Mark my words, you bastard! I will never forget this grudge!”
Kwak Nosaeng roared as he shot towards the secret passage.
Upon seeing him, Yong Seolran shouted,
“We must not let him escape!”
Pyo-wol shared her sentiment.
If they let Kwak Nosaeng escape now, the repercussions will be endless.
Pyo-wol immediately set out to pursue Kwak Nosaeng.
Yong Seolran quickly followed behind him.
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