Chapter 22 - Refining (1)

Following Kim Young-hoon, I left the Imperial palace and arrived at a small manor on the outskirts of Seokyung City.

There, I found a gathering of martial artists who had followed Kim Young-hoon.

"These people are..."

I was impressed by the caliber of martial artists Kim Young-hoon had assembled.

"Members of the Four Star Three Demons? There are even elders from various major sects too."

It seems he had used his connections from his days as the Wulin Alliance leader to gather elders from the seven major sects of Seokyung City's Four Star Three Demon and elders from some of the major sects in Yanguo.

All of them were peak masters, capable of using the Sword Silk, and there were over ten who had reached the level of Three Flowers Gather at the Summit.

'If there weren't cultivators, this force could even overthrow the Imperial family...!'

While I was admiring their strength, a few among them shot their fighting intent at me.

Red threads targeted my throat, glabella, and vital points, provoking me.

'What is this, some kind of test?'

I responded with my intent, pointing at their vital points in kind.

In a brief moment, I exchanged blows with several major sect elders.

"Hmm, who is this person brought by the former alliance leader, the number one under the heavens? I've never seen such a master in Seokyung City."

"Ah, this man is Seo Eun-hyun, my younger brother. He was a renowned peak master in the Changho city area about twenty years ago. He has been recently active in the shadows of the Imperial family, but he decided to follow me after hearing my proposal."

At his words, some elders seemed displeased.

"You brought someone from the government? And of all things, someone from the imperial family?"

"What if he's still loyal to the Emperor?"

"I can't trust someone from the government!"

It seemed the martial sects, having always had poor relations with the authorities, naturally held prejudices.

"Wait, everyone, calm down. It's true he served under the Emperor, but after hearing my words, he completely betrayed the Emperor. Isn't that right, Seo?"

"That's right. If you want, I can even curse the Emperor."

I cleared my throat and let loose the frustrations I had been holding against the Emperor.

"Emperor Makli Jung, you turtle-like bastard! Treating your subordinates like dogs while you comfortably sleep in your chamber, you shameless and lazy bastard! I'll expose your family's atrocities to the world!"

While guarding the Emperor, it wasn't just once or twice that I grew irritated at the Emperor, who despite being a cultivator himself, didn't even think about fighting and instead just turned on a soundproof spell and slept comfortably in his bedchamber while assassins attacked.

Besides, from the beginning, I never had the loyalty a person who had been raised as a subject of Yanguo would have to the Emperor. On the contrary, I even held a certain degree of resentment toward the existence of an emperor itself.

After I spewed out curses toward the Emperor for a while, the hostility in the eyes of the gathered peak masters seemed to soften.

"Hmm, with curses like that, even if he were a spy, he'd be worthy of execution."

"If he were a spy, he definitely would've used safer insults."

Thus, I earned the acknowledgment of the peak masters.

Once a degree of acknowledgment toward me had settled, Kim Young-hoon spoke to the gathered martial artists.

"Listen. As I said before, the current Imperial family and the cultivator clan behind them, the Makli Clan, have abandoned their humanity and sucked the lifeblood of countless commoners. They are no different from cannibalistic devilish cultivators.

Now that we've gathered all the comrades I sought, starting today, we will join hands with the cultivator clan who opposes the Makli Clan, the Jin Clan, and we'll begin destroying the Makli Clan's strongholds one by one."

He continued his explanation.

"The Jin Clan will support us from behind, and under their guidance, we will locate the hidden territories of the Makli Clan and destroy the elixir-making furnaces where they grind commoners into pills.

I hope you, the great masters gathered here, will join us in this righteous cause."

No one gave a loud reply.

They simply nodded in silence.

"Then, let us head without delay to the strongholds of those vile devilish cultivators and destroy even one more of their elixir-making furnaces as soon as possible!"

We followed Kim Young-hoon out of Seokyung City.

In a small valley northeast of the city, known as Immaek Valley, we met a group of red-robed cultivators waiting for us.

'Those people...'

They were dressed in the same attire as the cultivator who had participated in the Emperor's assassination attempt years ago.

"Hmm, each one looks usable enough."

An elderly man among them, appearing to be the most senior, looked around at us and spoke.

"I've kept my promise. I brought those who align with me. Now allow us to eliminate those wicked cultivators together."

"Yes, yes. You are right. Those vile Makli Clan bastards must be eradicated from Yanguo. Then, I shall open the gate to the Makli Clan's territory."

As the red-robed elder formed a hand seal, the shape of the ravine began to distort.

"Follow us closely. From this point on, we'll be breaking through the Makli Clan's formation."

Following the red-robed cultivators, we stepped into the distorting path.

Not long after, the distorted scenery of the ravine disappeared, and before we knew it, we had entered a village.

It was a very small, rustic village, lined with thatched-roof houses.

'This smell.'

However, as soon as we entered the village, the peak masters, myself included, frowned.

The stench of blood and rotting corpses filled the air.

"Invaders! The Jin Clan bastards have broken in!"

Dang, dang!

A bell tolled from a watchtower in the village.

Simultaneously, cultivators in blue robes emerged from the thatched houses and began forming hand seals.

Woom!

A blue barrier enveloped the entire village, blocking our entry.

"Ha, you may have brought some martial artists, but you, Jin Clan scum, dare not enter here!"

The barrier looked robust at first glance.

The thickness of the blue light barrier was hundreds of times thicker than the paper-like defensive spell cast by the cultivator that I had shattered with my Gang Qi.

That's when it happened.

Step, step...

Kim Young-hoon stepped forward.

"Elder, who is this mortal? Can we really trust him?"

Voices of red-robed cultivators from the Jin Clan were heard behind us.

The red-robed elder paused for a moment before responding.

"He may be a mortal, but he's different. It may be hard to believe, but he matched me in combat without being overpowered with a mere mortal's body. Moreover, the power of the techniques he uses sometimes even surpassed my defenses..."

Wooong...

Kim Young-hoon began to gather his energy.

Both I and the other peak masters, even those old monsters who had reached Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, widened our eyes, eager to witness Kim Young-hoon's single technique.

Woooong...

As he raised his hand, energy began to coalesce in the air.

The energy gradually condensed into a form of Gang Qi

The immense power emanating from the Gang Qi was such that it made us, as well as even the Jin Clan cultivators, flinch.

However, the transformation of Gang Qi was not the end.

'That is...!'

My eyes widened as I looked at Kim Young-hoon's move.

The Gang Qi was condensing.

Rumble, rumble!

'That is...!'

The final moment of my past life.

The realm Kim Young-hoon had madly ran after and pursued

Rumble, rumble!

'The realm beyond Five Energies Converging to the Origin'

The realm he had strived for until the very end was now unfolding from his hands once again.

The Gang Qi compressed, taking the form of a small sphere.

Everyone present could feel it.

If struck directly by that sphere, there would be few who could remain unharmed.

The very strike that had burst the arm of a Core Formation cultivator in the past life!

The technique that could confront a Qi Building cultivator in raw strength head-on!

The Sphere of Gang Qi, directed by Kim Young-hoon's gesture, flew towards the barrier created by the cultivators.

Boom!

Bright light flashed, and a fierce windstorm ensued.

The cultivators quickly activated whatever spells to avoid being swept away by the storm, while we peak martial artists relied on our leg strength or cut through the wind to endure and witness the spectacle.

We saw it.

Hundreds, no.

Thousands, tens of thousands of Saber Gang exploded from the sphere, ripping and slicing through the barrier.

In the world of peak masters, tens of thousands of intents danced in unimaginable trajectories.

"Khmm..."

The red-robed elder of the Jin Clan revealed an uncomfortable expression.

As if he had some unpleasant memory of that sphere.

The storm subsided, and the light faded.

What was revealed was a gaping hole, large as a gate, pierced through the center of the formation.

"Everyone, enter!"

"Yes, Elder!"

The Jin Clan cultivators each mounted their flying tools and entered through the wind hole Kim Young-hoon had opened.

We also drew our weapons and entered through the hole in the barrier.

"S-Stop them! Stop the Jin Clan bastards!"

"W-Wait! Stop those martial artists first! The martial artists..."

Shwak!

The sword energy of a peak master who had reached Three Flowers directly pierced through the defensive spell of a cultivator who had been speaking and slit his throat.

"A mortal...has broken through a cultivator's spell!"

"It's the Pinnacle Realm of martial artists! Qi Refining cultivators of 1st and 2nd Star retreat to the rear, and release the Jianghis!"

Simultaneously, dark Jiangshi started emerging from various places in the village.

Bang!

The Jiangshi rushed towards the peak masters.

Their speed was faster than ours, and their strength far superior.

However...

'I can see it.'

The optimal trajectory of the Jiangshi's attacks was clearly visible.

'Strange. I never thought about it before...but those lines represent intent. Then, does that mean even the Jiangshi, who are already dead and mere lingering spirits, possess intent?'

I dodged the hand of a Jiangshi rushing towards me, then, using Deep Mountain, I cut diagonally while thinking.

'Is it simply the intent of the one controlling them? No, it doesn't quite feel that way. But if Jiangshi truly have intent, then why can't they use sword energy?'

I cut down the Jiangshi while thinking.

Beyond the Jiangshi, I saw a cultivator preparing a spell.

Pshut!

I quickly move my hand and throw a hidden weapon towards the cultivator forming hand seals.

Clang!

The weapon rebounded off the cultivator's defensive spell, but it seemed the cultivator had no combat experience, as he immediately canceled his spell preparation at the sound.

'Judging by the size of his consciousness...about Qi Refining 1st Star.'

I cut down the Jiangshi in my way and charged towards the cultivator, cutting into the cultivator's chest with Sword Silk.

Clang!

When the Sword Silk hit, visible cracks appeared in the cultivator's defensive spell.

'This is pathetically weak compared to the spells used by the Qi Refining 2nd Star cultivator I fought before.'

Of course, although that cultivator had artificially inflated his abilities with talisman, his defensive spell was still cast by his own ability.

Clang, clang!

How many times have I struck with Sword Silk? Eventually, I shattered the dazed cultivator's spell.

"H-Hiiek... S-Spare me. Please spare me."

After grabbing the begging cultivator by the collar, I dragged him into the house he had come from.

It was a traditional thatched house, but every house reeked with the repulsive stench of blood.

Bang!

As I opened the door, I was met with a horrific scene that was truly difficult to explain in words.

Countless humans lay dead. The blood flowing from their bodies was gathering towards a small formation in the middle of the room.

"What is this?"

"Please spare me. I was only doing what the clan ordered me to. It wasn't something I did because I wanted to. In truth, I..."

"I asked what this is. If you don't answer, I'll kill you."

"Hiiek, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything. T-This is the primary refinement."

I furrowed my brow.

"Primary refinement?"

"Yes. After we extract the blood and innate vital energy from mortals, we gather it into the formation for primary refinement and make it into origin blood. This origin blood is then sent to the clan's higher-ups who then take it to a higher-level territory where it is gathered and mixed together for secondary refinement.

This process continues through the third, fourth, and fifth refinements, and finally, the origin blood made from the blood and innate vital energy of thousands of mortals is then refined into pristine blood, which if used to make pills, can produce the Revival Pills that are consumed by the Core Formation supreme elders.

Aigo, great hero, I've really done nothing wrong. I-If you want, I can even give you all the origin blood I refined. Origin blood is a clump of powerful energy, so if the great hero consumes it, your internal energy will surely increase..."

"Thank you."

I looked at him with a sneer.

"I can kill you without hesitation."

"W-what?"

Pwak!

Instead of using my sword, I infused my fist with internal energy and burst the cultivator's head.

It was true I had hesitated for a moment.

No matter if they were devilish cultivators, perhaps there were those who lived peacefully, cultivating in this place.

I wondered whether, like the appearance of this village, there were innocent cultivators.

'In this village, there is no good person. There can't be!'

I cast aside all hesitation and drew my sword towards the cultivators in blue robes controlling Jiangshi.

"All of you have no reason to live."

Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Qi Mountain, Heart Heaven!

With my meridians fully opened, I unleashed an empowered sword silk, cutting down the Jiangshi charging at me in one swoop, and charged towards the blue-robed cultivators.

"Die, all of you!"

The battle ended quickly.

This was because at the center of the village, the Qi Building cultivator of the Makli Clan was swiftly killed by the combined attack of the Jin Clan elder and Kim Young-hoon.

And with the Qi Building cultivator killed, Kim Young-hoon went around slicing through Jiangshi and other cultivators with blasts of Gang Qi.

"Huhaha, good! Excellent! As expected of a Makli Clan cultivator, their pockets are deep!"

"I made the right decision joining this raid!"

The Jin Clan cultivators were all rummaging through the corpses of the Makli Clan cultivators, looting their pouches.

Even the Jin Clan elder was searching the corpse of the Makli Clan Qi Building Stage cultivator.

"Those cultivators are going a bit too far."

"How can they think of looting bodies after killing them?"

"Kuhmm, hmm."

In contrast, I and the other peak masters were visibly uncomfortable.

Although I had experience in plundering weapons and wealth after killing unorthodox martial artists, I had never actively rummaged through their bodies in such a manner.

"Well, it's only natural for the victor to claim the spoils. You mortals might not understand with your short lives, but taking spoils is also a way to preserve the honor of the defeated,"

One Jin Clan cultivator, perhaps overhearing the murmurs of the peak masters, tried to justify their actions with a reddened face.

But the more he spoke, the stiffer our expressions became.

"Ahem, enough. I never expected mortals to understand the thoughts of cultivators anyway. If you have nothing to collect, you'd best start preparing to leave the village."

Just then, Kim Young-hoon approached us.

"You all go ahead. We still have something to do."

"Hm? What is it? Ah, as expected. Are you also after…"

Ignoring the cultivator's words, Kim Young-hoon spoke to us.

"In the houses of the cultivators, there are the corpses of sacrificed commoners. We should at least bury their bodies, so they aren't left to rot like this. What do you all think?"

"You're right."

"Yes, we forgot about them."

We entered the houses where the Makli Clan cultivators had lived, carried out the bodies of the commoners, and buried them one by one.

"Tch, just let them be. They're already dead anyway. Isn't it better to leave quickly?"

The Jin Clan elder, having finished looting, looked annoyed at Kim Young-hoon, who was digging the ground to bury the bodies.

However, neither Kim Young-hoon nor any of us paid any attention to him, continuing to silently dig the ground and bury the bodies.

How much time has passed?

After burying all the numerous bodies, we recited a short rite led by Kim Young-hoon and prayed they would rest in peace and not become evil spirits. We then left the village.