Chapter 48: Forbidden (4)

Chapter 48: Forbidden (4) The moment the life-saving artifact activated, the Makli Clan elder rocketed upwards at an incredible speed, and my Sword Gang could only graze his chest instead of striking his neck. Swoosh! Even so, it was enough to slice through his ribs, half his liver, and completely sever one of his lungs. The Makli Clan elder, bleeding profusely, was still alive. "Cough! Cough... Grlgrglgh.." Despite spitting blood foam and barely holding together his falling intestines with spiritual power, he remained alive. "Grunt, gasp... That... uniform... Cheongmun Clan...! You damned... colluding with, Jin Clan...!" Despite having one lung crushed, he forcibly maintained his bodily functions through spiritual power. Terrifying vitality. But if left alone, he would eventually die from depleting all his spiritual power. "Grunt... Cough.. Cheongmun Clan descendant, spare my life. I promise enormous compensation from the main family. Many cultivators from different clans are currently on edge due to the massacre in the Heaven-Treading Desert...! In two hundred years, there will be a great war, and every cultivator, including Qi Building, is crucial..!" "......" I silently held my sword, infusing it with Sword Gang. Seeing this, the Makli Clan elder gritted his teeth. "You fool! Don't you understand what's important...! I will ensure proper compensation for crossing the Byeokra border! Please, I beg you..." Buzz! "Yiiik!" He dodged my Sword Gang and started infusing energy into the life-saving artifact. 'He's pouring his life force into it...!' Simultaneously, his figure turned blue and reached the edge of the barrier with astounding speed. 'That's a Core Formation's escape technique!' The life-saving artifact seemed to allow lower-level cultivators to mimic the flying techniques used by Core Formation cultivators. "Damn it..! I won't die like this! No way!!" Boom! The elder released all his power in a burst, shattering the barrier like a paper wall, creating an escape route. The backlash caused the Jin Clan Qi Refining cultivators who had set up the array to spit out blood. "You can't escape!" "Ha, catch me if you can!" He gripped the life-saving artifact on his chest and used the escape technique again. In a blink, he moved another 30 meters away. "Catch him!" "Yes!" I swiftly kicked through the air, shooting Sword Gang. "You fools...! I won't die so easily to your schemes!" Flash! He activated the life-saving artifact again, and with a blue light, his figure moved further away once more. 'That direction is...!' The faces of me, Kim Young-hoon, and other Jin Clan Qi Refining cultivators twisted. He is flying towards the Makli Clan's outpost on the Yanguo border. "Block him! We can't let him reach the outpost and receive support from Makli Clan's Qi Building cultivators!" "I'm aware!" Kim Young-hoon and I furiously pursued the Makli Clan elder, and a chase across the border region began. Whoosh! I swung my sword, shooting Sword Gang, and quickly formed hand seals to recite the Earth Imprisonment incantation, corresponding to the Earth Imprisonment Star. "Earth Imprisonment!" Rumble! Pillars of earth shot up, attempting to trap the Makli Clan elder. However, as he formed hand seals, a gust of Yin wind tore through the earth bars, scattering them back towards me. Flash! I assessed the space, dodging the falling debris, and leapt into the air. At the same time, I unleashed a powerful sword slash with Transcending Peaks. A semi-circular white Sword Gang shot towards the elder. "Hah!" As he formed hand seals, Yin energy coalesced into dark clouds, enveloping him and deflecting my Sword Gang. Simultaneously, the dark clouds transformed into a Cloud Dragon and shot towards me. But I charged straight towards him. Unstoppable. Flash! A tremendous wave of intent resonated behind me, and the sound of Gang Qi Compression Sphere echoed. Boom! A fist-sized orb of light passed by me, entering the Cloud Dragon's mouth, exploding it, and rushing towards the Makli Clan elder. "I cannot die!" Flash! He again infused life force into the life-saving artifact, disappearing with a blue light, and simultaneously, an explosion of Saber Gang erupted at his former location. A storm of light! Numerous light streams filled the space in front of me as if painting with saber scars. As the explosion subsided, I burst through the light storm, extending a massive sword strike towards the fleeing Makli Clan elder! Severing Mountain Swordsmanship Qi Mountain, Heart Heaven! The Sword Gang enhanced and expanded, widening its range as it extended towards the elder of the Makli Clan. Whoosh! My elongated Sword Gang struck down the elder, sending him crashing to the ground below. Frowning, I formed hand seals to create an earthen prison. 'The Sword Gang's impact felt dull.' It didn't cut through. Even amidst this, he had managed to raise his protective Gang Qi, turning a deadly strike into a mere hit. "Earth Imprisonment!" Rumble! Pillars of earth rose, encasing the elder of the Makli Clan. However, with a powerful shout from within the earthen prison, my spell shattered and exploded. 'Indeed, Qi Building cultivators are in a league of their own.' Neither Sword Gang nor spells could deliver a decisive blow. But it didn't matter. I had successfully hindered him. Kim Young-hoon arrived anew, unleashing a barrage of Gang Spheres. Nine spheres cascaded towards the elder. Flash, flash, flash! A storm of light relentlessly pressed in. Amidst the tempest, a blue streak of light flickered. "I cannot die, not like this..!" The elder of the Makli Clan desperately activated his life-saving artifact, narrowly escaping Kim Young-hoon's onslaught. His abdomen is torn open, and one arm had vanished. Yet, he forcibly regenerated an arm using spiritual power and continued his escape. 'Not even a cockroach...' I was astounded by his tenacity. What kind of human is this? 'Qi Building cultivators don't die easily unless their head, heart, or dantian is completely destroyed... That saying is indeed true.' Qi Building cultivators can substitute the functions of lost organs with the spiritual power they've cultivated. Though the concept seemed absurd, it was proven true. Of course, he would die once his spiritual power was depleted. But for now, he remained alive. Kim Young-hoon and I relentlessly pursued him. While I hindered him, Kim Young-hoon followed up with lethal attacks. The elder continually resorted to his life-saving artifact, narrowly escaping each time. This cycle repeated, and despite being nearly dead, the elder kept consuming pills from his storage bag, barely managing to survive. 'It's hard to end this in one strike...' The biggest problem was his efficiency countering the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts technique of erasing perception. He has more and stronger magical artifacts than Makli Wangshin, and it seems the technique had become well-known due to previous confrontations with the Makli Clan. 'And he has so many pills...' He kept popping them like snacks. 'Dragging this out is troublesome...' The day was fading. I clenched my teeth and launched my flying sword after the Makli Clan elder. In any normal situation, this would be pointless. For Qi Building cultivators, unless their protective auras weak point is precisely targeted, Sword Gang and sword strikes are ineffective. But the elder, now pale as a ghost, dodged my flying sword. To the nearly dead elder, even my flying sword posed a tremendous threat. Swoosh! My flying sword again narrowly missed the elder. 'In a chaotic battle, it's hard to precisely control a flying sword.' A stable footing was necessary. I landed and touched the ground. "Swift as the Sky!" I chanted the Sky Speed Star incantation and cast a spell. Rumble! The earth coalesced, forming a circular platform under my feet. I slashed, parried, and dodged numerous spells, finding a sliver of an opening. 'Cut!' My sword, in a swift motion, aimed at the mid-stage Qi Building young man. Severing Mountain Swordsmanship, Twenty-Second Move, Severing Mountain! All twenty-one forms unleashed at once, exploding through my sword. 'Break through!' Severing Mountain! The final form, named for its power to even cut through mountains, surged towards the mid Qi Building man. And then. Kaang! My sword broke. Not just the sword, but the Sword Gang covering it shattered into pieces. Was it a defensive spell? No. A counterattack? No. Did he use a magic artifact? No. The mid Qi Building young man was doing nothing. Just emitting protective Gang Qi using Pure Spiritual Force, he looked at me as if I was a joke. His mere presence was enough to repel the onslaught of Sword Gang from a Five Energies Converging to the Origin martial artist. '...So this is a Qi Building cultivator...' A novice who had just entered Qi Building could be dealt with using the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts and other martial arts, risking life in a fight. However, a cultivator who has truly experienced Qi Building and reached the mid-stage is an impossible opponent for a Five Energies Converging to the Origin martial artist. Unlike Makli Yun-ryeon, who was nearly beaten to death by Kim Young Hoon, this young man is full of spiritual and physical strength. 'Ah, I see.' I realized I have no chance against him. Even facing Makli Wangshin in my past life was possible only because his strength had fallen from the third stage of Qi Building to the 4th Star of Qi Refining. Anything beyond that is out of reach. "Is this all you have? You insect." Kwaang! Immense Yin energy gathered in the young mans hand, forming a dragon claw. The dragon claw struck me, sending me crashing down into the forest below. "Kheuk...!" If I hadn't instinctively released my strength and deployed a defensive spell, I would have died in one blow. There was a clear difference in our levels. "Cough... Cough..." Struggling to rise, I spat blood, unable to move my legs. I saw pieces of my intestines mixed in the coughed up blood. It seems my intestines are ruptured. "Cough... Cough... Kaha... Kahaha..." I coughed up blood, looking up at the night sky covered in dark clouds. The green-robed cultivator was already pressing Kim Young-hoon in combat. '...I can't be more ashamed.' Running away? Buying time? I had been overwhelmed so easily, now lying helplessly. Shameful, utterly shameful. An unaccomplished life. I never achieved anything, merely confirming that even the heavens have rejected me. I barely reached the mid-stage of Five Energies Converging to the Origin. After the 7th Star of Qi Refining, I only studied in theory, never reaching higher as the heavens forbid it. Even my death, which I thought would be somewhat honorable, turned out to be a miserable end, treated like vermin. "Pathetic. Cheungmun Clans martial artist of Five Energies Converging to the Origin is you? Daring to face a cultivator with just some lump of iron in your hand. Even the little cultivation you have is only up to the 7th Star of Qi Refining... Pathetic and useless..." The young man from Makli Clan clicked his tongue, forming a seal. "Since you dared to kill a member of my clan, under the pretext of border invasion, I too will kill you under the same pretext..." My body was lifted by his spell, crossing the border between Byeokra and Yanguo. "Regret killing a great alchemist of my clan as you die like an insect." He formed another seal. I felt a bitter smile on my lips. 'An insect-like fate...' True enough. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape this fate. What could I do when even the heavens deny me? No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to reach beyond. I closed my eyes, waiting for death that was approaching. An unfulfilled life. The end of a tenacious life came just like that. I thought it was my seventh return. Kwaang! An explosion sounded, and the binding spiritual power of the Makli Clan cultivator dispersed. I opened my eyes and looked at the person who freed me. A very familiar back. "...Master...?" My master, Cheongmun Ryeong, stood in front of me. "How did you come here...?" I asked in confusion, but Master didn't turn to me and replied shortly. "Didn't you send a letter?" "Yes...? But that should take at least three days to arrive..." "Hmph! Three days? Youve always been slow, but is even your letter to your master slow? Before you left, I put a much better transmission talisman in your storage device." Master sighed and waved his hand. In his hand was my crumpled letter. "Did you think I wouldnt know? You fool... I could tell your emotions just from your handwriting." I thought I had written with maximum emotional restraint. But it seems impossible to fool the eyes of my master. "...My disciple. Why are you so frustrating to the end? I have conducted rituals and read the celestial omens with you countless times. I have read the celestial omens concerning you by myself hundreds of times. Did you think I wouldnt know that your end is near?" "......" "It seemed that you knew your life was coming to an end, so you sent the letter... But what is this? Did you come here wanting to die honorably? Did you really intend to fight and die without telling me anything?" Master scolded me with a tone of anger. I couldn't help shed tears. Masters intent was a deep, dark blue. The intent of sorrow. Like the dark clouds covering the sky, his intent was also deeply colored with sorrow. "...I'm sorry." And then, I had to hear the words I least wanted to hear from my master. "I failed you, I couldn't do anything for you..." "...No, it's not your fault." "I don't know how much time is left in your life, but still... shouldn't you say goodbye in front of your master?" Master still didnt turn to me as he spoke. Somehow, I knew why. Master's voice was trembling. "...Yes. I will do that." Then, it happened. Makli Jun chuckled and shouted at my master. "Ha, your disciple crossed the border of Yanguo recklessly, so I have to deal with him. Step aside..." "...You seem to be under a strange misunderstanding. It's not the Qi Refining cultivators who are forbidden to cross borders without permission, but the main forces of each clan, the Qi Building cultivators. Therefore, my disciple has no reason to be judged by you." "Huh, that's interesting. Then, as a Qi Building cultivator from Byeokra, you are also currently standing in Yanguo's land, so you fall under judgment too?" "...Yanguos land?" Kugugugu- Green spiritual energy began to swirl around Master. "Young one, you are mistaken. The territories among cultivator clans are not clearly defined by mortal laws. It's not about the borders of Yanguo or Byeokra as defined by mortals. The territories are based on the dragon veins () flowing through each land. The territories are marked based on the land where spiritual energy suitable for each cultivator clan flows. It's the countries of mortals that have been established under those territories. Not the other way around..." Kugugugu! Masters formation diagram spread around him. Simultaneously, the nature of the energy around us changed. Kugugugu! 'This is...' The energy of the dragon vein is changing! The original spiritual energy of this land was pushed out and started to recede! "In other words, dragon veins are the proof of the territory of cultivator clans. So long as I maintain the dragon veins, this land is our territory. Now it's the opposite, you have invaded the land of Cheongmun, Byeok, and Gongmyo, the three clans of Byeokra. Get lost! If you dare to disturb the last moments between me and my disciple, I will not forgive you!" "Eek, Eeek...!" Makli Jun formed a seal, trying to drive away the dragon veins summoned by Masters formation diagram. However, whether it was due to the difference in skill and experience in handling spells and formations, his attempts to counter the formation were all thwarted. "I will not allow... Anyone to harm my disciple!" *** Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried Link to donations in the discord!