Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1185

The black surface of the semi-circular poison barrier that had swallowed Cheon Wi-Ryong pulsed incessantly.

Thud! Thud!

The poison barrier heaved greatly with each pulse, but it did not collapse. Rather, the more explosions occurred inside, the more the poison intensified, forming an even thicker outer wall.

酆都縛魂陣 (Pungdo Bak Hon Jin) [Pungdo Bak Hon Jin: A formation that sends the opponent to the underworld and binds their soul].

Pungdo refers to Buk-eum (北陰), which means hell or the underworld. In essence, the Pungdo Bak Hon Jin was a formation that sent the opponent to the underworld and bound their soul (縛魂).

Of course, it didn’t actually send anyone to hell or the underworld. However, once trapped inside the formation, one would remain confined until death.

Naturally, internal destruction was impossible. At least, that was the theory. Because it was a self-sustaining formation that absorbed internal energy (氣) to increase its own power, any attempt to break the formation would only make it stronger.

Since the formation sustained itself by using the trapped person as a host, the formation would disappear if the host died. In other words, once trapped, death was inevitable. It was the most terrible anti-personnel formation (對人陣法) in the history of the Tang family.

“C-Cult Leader?!”

Kyu-Hong’s face, watching the Bak Hon Jin from afar, was filled with shock.

Tang Yu-Gwang gasped for breath. Although he had created it using Tang Hyeong’s poison as a medium, Tang Yu-Gwang, who had poured almost all of his formation power into constructing the formation with one hundred and eight long needles, was also pushed to his limit.

However, his expression was bright.

“You played your role as the formation axis (陣軸) perfectly.”

Tang Hyeong couldn’t answer. He could only cough up another mouthful of blood.

‘How vicious.’

It was a considerable internal injury. He had only allowed three attacks, but each one was powerful enough to kill anyone.

Even though he was on the verge of death, it was a stroke of luck that he was still somewhat intact. Considering he had risked his life for the Pungdo Bak Hon Jin, it could be said to be a worthwhile trade.

‘If I had maintained the Ten Direction Wall with my own power alone, I wouldn’t have survived.’

Cheon Wi-Ryong must have thought that Tang Hyeong had been desperately consuming his internal energy to maintain the Ten Direction Wall.

But that was only half true. While Tang Hyeong’s power had initially maintained the Ten Direction Wall, the moment all the long needles for the Pungdo Bak Hon Jin were in place, the Ten Direction Wall was sustained by the earth’s energy (地力) and Tang Yu-Gwang’s internal energy.

That was why Tang Yu-Gwang had exhausted almost all of his internal energy and was so tired. Binding the Demon God, the leader of the Demonic Cult, who was considered the greatest demon (天下第一魔) of this era, was not the work of Tang Hyeong alone.

“How long will it last?”

“Why ask when you already know? Until he dies. Considering the average internal energy of a Limitless Master, he’ll be trapped for ten days, or if he’s more powerful, maybe fifteen days before he dies.”

“It will take twenty days then.”

“Was he that strong?”

“He had more internal energy than I do now.”

“That crazy bastard.”

He spat out the words as if he was disgusted, but his expression was still bright. He had killed one of the three leaders of the enemy who had plunged the world into fear, so his sense of accomplishment was beyond words.

Tang Hyeong also let out a sigh of relief.

‘I’ve taken a big burden off my shoulders with this.’

Thump!

A tremendous pain surged from his heart.

“Kuhweeeek!!”

Tang Hyeong’s complexion turned white as he coughed up blood again.

Tang Yu-Gwang’s face became serious.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright.”

The poison that had invaded his heart was not the poison of the Poison Core, but a poison that harmed its host. The poison that had started as a single point had grown to stain half of his heart due to excessive internal energy consumption and injuries.

Tang Hyeong, who was quickly controlling his heart meridian with the Emperor Poison Art, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

“Danger!”

Whirl!

A Blood Dragon Gale swept across the earth, creating a huge ravine.

Hugging Tang Yu-Gwang and leaping to the side, Tang Hyeong looked at Kyu-Hong.

“Those crazy bastards!!”

Whoosh!

Red demonic energy was erupting from Kyu-Hong’s body like a storm.

“What have you done to our Cult Leader!”

Tang Yu-Gwang sneered.

“Your ignorant brain wouldn’t understand. Go study formations for thirty years and I’ll tell you. Though I don’t know if I’ll be alive by then.”

Kyu-Hong’s eyes were bloodshot.

Krrrr!

Gathering immense power with a tremendous stance, Kyu-Hong swung his fist towards the Pungdo Bak Hon Jin.

Bang!

Surprisingly, Kyu-Hong’s body was thrown back more than ten yards. The Pungdo Bak Hon Jin had easily repelled the power of the Blood Dragon Demonic Fist.

‘This can’t be.’

It was an attack he had unleashed with all his might. Yet, it seemed not only unbroken but without even a crack.

‘Has the Demon God truly been defeated by those lowly things?’

That couldn’t be. He was having a hard time coming to his senses due to the great shock, but Kyu-Hong believed in the Demon God until the end.

He would surely tear through that damned formation and come out.

Thinking that, the excitement that had been burning gradually subsided. But his anger had not disappeared.

He could not forgive the madmen who had dared to confine his master, even for a moment.

“I’ll kill you all!”

Wham!

Kyu-Hong, who had flown in with the Blood Dragon Divine Step (血龍神步), extended his fist towards Tang Yu-Gwang.

At that moment, Tang Hyeong blocked his path.

Clang!

With a loud crash, Tang Hyeong was pushed back.

A sneer appeared on Kyu-Hong’s face.

“Can you even fight me with that body of yours!”

“That’s rich.”

Boom!

Kyu-Hong’s upper body twisted with a loud explosion. If he hadn’t moved his body in advance, his heart meridian would have burst.

Tang Hyeong grinned.

“You talk too much.”

“You!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Although he had just suffered a humiliating defeat, Kyu-Hong was a Limitless Master, a master worthy of the Four Great Protectors. He was a master of martial arts.

His movements, which seemed to tighten from all directions, were like forming a formation. It was a bizarre footwork that had never been seen before, and the stench of evil (魔) that made his nose tingle was overwhelming.

At that moment, Tang Hyeong was certain.

That this place would become his grave.

If it had been before facing the Demonic Cult Leader, it might have been different, but in his current state, it was impossible to win against this opponent.

However.

‘Even if I can’t win.’

Tang Hyeong, and all the members of the Tang family, believed in the power of poison.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Although he was not in his best condition, his internal energy was continuously increasing due to the abnormality in his heart meridian and the rampage of the Poison Core.

The Poison Palm of the Ethereal Flower, which was unleashed with that power, contained enough poison to cover a radius of more than ten yards.

“Ughhh!!”

Kyu-Hong’s protective energy (護身罡氣) exploded, repelling the force of the Poison Palm of the Ethereal Flower.

This was proof that having a lot of internal energy was not always advantageous. Although he had a large amount of internal energy, Tang Hyeong, who was suffering from a qualitative decline in his internal energy due to internal injuries, was now almost unable to poison Kyu-Hong without him noticing, unlike when they first met.

But it wasn’t like there was no way.

Wham!

He blocked the gale of the Blood Dragon Demonic Fist with his Thousand Poison Hand, which was holding the wide sleeves of his robe.

Kyu-Hong’s body faltered, and Tang Hyeong also stepped back three or four steps.

“You!”

A look of surprise appeared on Kyu-Hong’s face. He had felt the gale of the Demonic Fist scatter in all directions like water droplets the moment it touched the robe.

It was the power of the Black Demon Battle Robe, which defended against the invasion of demonic energy. In addition, he had perfectly blocked Kyu-Hong’s power by increasing the rebound force with the power of the Thousand Poison Hand.

“How dare you!!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Kyu-Hong was also formidable. Seeing the extraordinary nature of the Black Demon Battle Robe, he immediately fired the Blood Dragon Three Fingers. Even if it defended against the invasion of demonic energy, it would be meaningless against the sharp finger winds created by the explosive force.

Tang Hyeong’s fingers flicked rapidly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was the Three Yang Fingers unleashed with the Emperor Poison Art. Most of the Blood Dragon Three Fingers were neutralized.

Thud!

A single finger wind that had been missed pierced Tang Hyeong’s forearm, leaving a wound the thickness of a finger.

Whoosh!

Kyu-Hong, who had approached at an incredible speed, unleashed a triple attack of the Blood Dragon Demonic Fist, the Blood Dragon Great Demonic Palm (血龍大魔掌), and the Blood Dragon Demonic Fist.

Krrrr!

The ground within a radius of five yards was completely shattered. It was a destructive power that was hard to believe even when seen with one’s own eyes.

Tang Hyeong, who had received that power with the Poison Palm of the Ethereal Flower and the Poison Dragon Gale Strike, now looked so pale that he was almost blue.

Kyu-Hong sensed that his opponent’s power had reached its limit.

‘You! Die!’

At the moment he was about to unleash the Blood Dragon Three Fingers again.

Tang Hyeong’s upper body tilted elastically. He had unleashed the Poison Dragon Gale Strike before the Blood Dragon Three Fingers could even be launched.

Although surprised, his response was swift. Kyu-Hong quickly neutralized the power of the Poison Dragon Gale Strike with the Blood Dragon Great Demonic Palm.

It was then.

The blood that had dripped from Tang Hyeong’s wounded forearm pierced Kyu-Hong’s protective energy and touched his right hand.

Sizzle!

“Kuh!”

Kyu-Hong, who had instinctively stepped back more than ten steps, poured demonic energy into his right hand.

But the poison that had penetrated his body did not disappear. Due to the rampaging Poison Core, Tang Hyeong’s blood had become as potent as a corrosive poison. Even with the power of the Blood Dragon Golden Demon Art, it was difficult to extract the poison that had already penetrated.

“Y-You bastard!”

The poison was slowly climbing up his wrist and forearm to his upper arm.

If he couldn’t block it with demonic energy, death was inevitable. Kyu-Hong made a ruthless decision.

Thwack!

Kyu-Hong quickly sliced off his right shoulder with a hand blade.

It was a good decision, and a ruthless one. Tang Yu-Gwang was amazed by Kyu-Hong’s decisiveness.

Tang Hyeong smiled weakly.

“How is it? My poison that I’ve been accumulating for over seventy years?”

“You!!”

He suppressed his terrible sense of loss with anger. Kyu-Hong, who had somehow regained his balance, unleashed a palm strike with his left hand, emitting a powerful force.

Wham!

He blocked it with the Thousand Poison Hand, but the arm that blocked it was flung back. The difference in power was clear.

‘It’s okay.’

Clang!

He approached with the Poison Dragon Sky Step and swung the Soul Severing Poison Sword.

Kyu-Hong’s movements became erratic. Even a Limitless Master could not immediately adapt to a body that had lost an arm.

Tang Hyeong rotated his body and swung his elbow.

Crack!

Kyu-Hong spat out blood after being hit in the jaw.

Thwack!

Tang Hyeong, who had allowed a kick to his abdomen, also spat out blood and flew backward.

At that moment, the transparent glass bottle in Tang Hyeong’s left hand shattered.

Shatter!

The bottle broke, and the powder inside scattered in all directions.

Kyu-Hong did not see that scene. Even if he had seen it, he wouldn’t have understood. It was an invisible powder.

Wham!

Kyu-Hong, who had maintained a safe distance with the Blood Dragon Divine Step, unleashed a Blood Dragon Gale from afar.

Bang! Wham!

While breaking through his opponent’s gale, Tang Hyeong was certain.

‘He’s terrified.’

If he gets too close, he’ll be covered in blood. That one fact was firmly imprinted in Kyu-Hong’s subconscious. That was why he was launching long-range attacks.

Against a poison user, no less.

Tang Hyeong smirked and shook his sleeves.

Between his fingers, red, blue, and gold glass bottles were visible.

Crack!

The powders from the broken bottles showed a colorful spectacle. The three-colored smoke, which had spread like a galaxy with the power of the Emperor Poison Art, spread in all directions.

It was when Kyu-Hong was about to step back in terror.

‘……!!’

His face turned pale. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

Tang Hyeong, who had coughed up blood, looked at Kyu-Hong and grinned.

His blood-stained teeth evoked a sense of dread.

“The moment I scattered the Colorless Powder (無色散), you were finished.”

“W-What did you say?!”

“Your demonic art is based on fire energy (火氣). The Red Fire Powder (赤火粉) reacted, skipping the Blue Yin Powder (靑陰粉) and the Gold Middle Powder (金中粉).”

Tang Hyeong raised his hand.

“If the servant’s end is similar to his master’s, then it wouldn’t be such an unfair death.”

The poison that Tang Gwan had used when facing the armed Yo-Roe of the Divine Cult, who were waiting near the Murim Alliance in the past.

A peerless poison that had ruthlessly overturned the common knowledge that poison was weak against fire, was transmitted to Kyu-Hong’s body through the Red Fire Powder that had permeated him, mediated by the Emperor Poison Art.

An extreme drug that explodes the inherent fire energy of humans through biochemical reactions.

“Farewell.”

Tang Hyeong flicked his finger.

At that moment, the Red Fire Powder that had permeated Kyu-Hong’s body transformed into a Fire Amplifying Poison (增火毒), consuming his entire body.

Kyu-Hong’s eyes widened.

“No!!”

Wham!

With a loud explosion, Kyu-Hong’s entire body burst into flames.