Chapter 311 : Unleashing the Soul Capturing Art (1)

Chapter 311: Unleashing the Soul Capturing Art (1)

Jo Qiansheng approached where Yong Hwarin was and spoke.

“There’s an odd energy lingering in this place. Baiya, search through the captives’ belongings.”

They had confiscated the weapons, but not the captives’ possessions.

It was because provoking the pride of captives who had been made unable to use martial arts by administering the Seven-Day San Gong Poison and poison might cause them to resist with desperate determination.

There was nothing to be gained from wounding a martial artist’s pride.

Tang Cheolgi noticed what was happening and said,

“Could it be because of the Antidote Pellet I possess?”

Tang Cheolgi pulled out a jade-colored orb from his groin. As the Young Master of the Tang Clan, it was only natural for him to carry an Antidote Pellet.

He had originally kept it at his waist but hid it in his groin when he became a captive.

That was why no unusual items had been found even when the other captives were searched. In fact, the most valuable object among them was Tang Cheolgi’s Antidote Pellet.

“Hmph.”

Jo Qiansheng glared at the captives for a moment before turning his head.

He then snatched Tang Cheolgi’s Antidote Pellet.

“T-That belongs to me.”

When Jo Qiansheng glared with killing intent, Tang Cheolgi gave an awkward laugh.

“You see, it’s something money can’t buy.”

“A Tang Clan Antidote Pellet. I’ll accept it as a gift.”

At Jo Qiansheng’s words, Tang Cheolgi’s face contorted.

Jo Qiansheng said to Mo Baek,

“To react to something like this… seems I’ve grown too sensitive. Baiya, let’s go.”

“Yes, my lord.”

As Jo Qiansheng withdrew, Yong Hwarin let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

Had he not swallowed the Azure Dragon Three Marbles and instead kept them on his person, Jo Qiansheng would certainly have recognized them, and the entire captive rescue operation might have been ruined.

Or worse, all the captives might have perished in the sudden conflict.

The very thought made Yong Hwarin’s hair stand on end.

But then, a different problem arose—his stomach churned after swallowing the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.

Startled by the bubbling sensation in his gut, Yong Hwarin panicked.

‘Don’t tell me… something terrible is going to happen?’

He’d swallowed something without even knowing what it truly was, and now fear gripped him.

Then suddenly, it was as if all his vital energy had been sealed off and couldn’t move.

‘Heavens… the energy of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles is suppressing all the energy in the Tai Chi Dantian.’

It was truly alarming.

Since forming the Tai Chi Dantian, never had its energy been suppressed like this.

‘What exactly is this Azure Dragon Three Marbles?’

For the first time, Yong Hwarin realized how little he knew about the Four Great Divine Items.

He knew they were connected to the Four Great Families and Four Great Divine Arts, but had no idea where the Four Great Divine Items originated, who had created them, or what powers they held.

‘Perhaps… our Four Great Families aren’t even capable of properly handling these divine relics. No one even knows anything about the Azure Dragon Three Marbles—that alone proves it.’

Feeling the flow of energy stop, Yong Hwarin began to worry about something else.

‘This is bad. My qi has suddenly stopped flowing.’

But he couldn’t just vomit out the Azure Dragon Three Marbles here.

‘I need to get it out… but there’s no way to slip away.’

It was an utterly frustrating situation.

“From this point on, you will all take the pills being distributed.”

Ju Namok, the Fine Needle Guangno, handed out pills one by one to the captives.

“Let me be clear—if you don’t take this, you’ll become nothing more than venom spikes. We’ve mixed poison into the Seven-Day San Gong Poison. This pill is the antidote. You must take one per day to prevent the poison from activating. If you want proof, feel free not to take it.”

Hearing this, all the captives swallowed the pills.

So far, the Fine Needle Guangno hadn’t spoken falsely.

With everyone watching, Yong Hwarin also swallowed his pill.

Once all had taken the pill, the Fine Needle Guangno spoke again.

“From now on, we’re relocating to another safehouse. Follow the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit. Anyone who attempts escape will be decapitated on the spot! Oh Danzu, lead the way! Guardian Won will be heading to the safehouse we’re moving to.”

“Yes, Elder.”

The Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit surrounded the captives and began to march.

“Move it! You claim to be martial artists, and yet you’re this sluggish just because you’ve lost your internal energy?”

When Wi Oh shouted, the captives quickened their pace.

There was a reason Yong Hwarin had told Jeong Minji to win over Wi Oh.

They had no idea what the antidote was, nor where it was kept.

Securing that first was crucial; even if the captives were rescued, without the antidote, they could end up just like the Fine Needle Guangno said—turned into venom spikes.

In that case, not rescuing them might have been better.

That was why Yong Hwarin planned to approach Wi Oh.

He had immediately recognized that Wi Oh was a lover of the color blue. The way he acted and the clothes he wore were typical of someone fond of it.

Yong Hwarin planned to take advantage of that.

And soon, he came upon a certain method.

If the soul of the Demonic Master were still within him, he would’ve undoubtedly cursed him as a wicked bastard.

Yong Hwarin approached Tang Cheolgi and whispered,

“Tang Sohyeop, if we’re taken away like this, we may never get the chance to rescue the captives.”

Tang Cheolgi had been silently waiting, trusting that Yong Hwarin would come up with something.

“What do you mean? I’ve followed you this far believing in you, Yong Gongja.”

Tang Cheolgi had so much trust in Yong Hwarin that he hadn’t even considered coming up with his own plan.

“There is one way… but Tang Sohyeop will need to actively cooperate.”

“Of course. If it’s something I can do, I will.”

Yong Hwarin spoke quietly and discreetly.

After hearing it, Tang Cheolgi’s eyes widened, and he stared at Yong Hwarin as if he’d gone insane.

Then, in a low growl, he said,

“Are you seriously saying that?”

“That man Wi Oh… he’s a lover of the color blue. And he prefers those with delicate features—making you the perfect target, don’t you think?”

“Wait a minute, are you telling me to… seduce him?”

“No. I’m telling you to lure him out alone. From what I’ve seen, he never separates from the group. So if we want him isolated, there’s no choice but to entice him.”

“If I manage to lure him alone, do you have a plan?”

“I do. Once I get him alone, I plan to use the Soul Capturing Art and have him retrieve the antidote from the Fine Needle Guangno.”

“Do we really have to go that far?”

“You may not know this, but for the Soul Capturing Art to be fully effective, the target needs to trust the caster to some extent. Fortunately, he seems to have taken an interest in me. Once he’s isolated, I’ll be the one to cast the Soul Capturing Art.”

“Ah.”

“If we can control Wi Oh, then we’re already halfway to success. With him, we might be able to lure the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit away. How could captives without their internal energy resist otherwise?”

Tang Cheolgi nodded at Yong Hwarin’s reasoning.

“Understood. I’ll see what I can do and try to entice him.”

Yong Hwarin had to remove the Azure Dragon Three Marbles from his body and regain control of his qi as soon as possible. He had tried to guide his energy while walking, but it remained unmoving—as if he were still poisoned by the Energy Dispersing Poison.

But it wasn’t the lingering effect of the previously ingested Seven-Day San Gong Poison that kept his energy locked.

It was the exact same reaction as when he had swallowed the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.

“We’ll rest here for a moment!”

At the shout of Fine Needle Guangno, the captives were gathered in a wide clearing. The Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit sat in a circle around them, forming a complete perimeter. In that formation, escaping wasn’t even an option to be considered.

At that moment, Tang Cheolgi began approaching the place where Wi Oh was stationed.

Simultaneously, Yong Hwarin started dry heaving repeatedly.

“What on earth did you eat to be gagging like that?”

One of the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit warriors looked at Yong Hwarin with disgust.

“Apologies, but I believe I’m about to have diarrhea.”

Since the warrior had already witnessed Yong Hwarin vomiting profusely, he believed his words.

“Disgusting bastard. Come with me.”

The warriors were careless, assuming all the captives had lost their internal energy. Still, they always followed and watched anyone who claimed they needed to relieve themselves.

Yong Hwarin also walked into the waist-high thicket, lowered his trousers, and sat down.

As the warrior frowned and turned his head away from the sight, Yong Hwarin plopped down, pretending to relieve himself while secretly starting to circulate his qi.

Once Yong Hwarin disappeared into the underbrush, Tang Cheolgi carried out the plan and approached Wi Oh.

But then a problem arose.

Even after forcing himself to vomit again, there was no sign of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles coming out.

‘What now? It’s not showing any signs of emerging.’

Yong Hwarin grew flustered, unable to think of a solution. Meanwhile, Tang Cheolgi was already entering the forest with Wi Oh.

The assumption that vomiting would expel the Azure Dragon Three Marbles had been the problem.

‘At this rate, Tang Cheolgi might actually end up getting violated.’

The plan had been to reveal himself at the moment Wi Oh tried to assault Tang Cheolgi.

It was then that he intended to cast the Soul Capturing Art if Wi Oh became mentally shaken.

But an expert like Wi Oh wouldn’t fall for the Soul Capturing Art so easily. One could not use it on someone with pure and refined internal energy through such a simple method.

The Soul Capturing Art only worked when the target was mentally disturbed.

His mind was racing, but his qi refused to move, which only worsened his frustration.

Then a sudden idea struck Yong Hwarin.

‘Could this perhaps be activated with the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique?’

It was a secret technique of his clan, yet completely useless in combat.

It was such a neglected technique that it wouldn’t have crossed his mind if not for the current crisis. But the moment he used the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique, he miraculously sensed the Azure Dragon Three Marbles beginning to stir.

‘Unbelievable… the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique really is the method to control the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.’

He hadn’t held much hope, but when the Azure Dragon Three Marbles responded, Yong Hwarin cheered inwardly.

As he manipulated the Azure Dragon Three Marbles using the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique, its energy began to flow along his meridians in accordance with the technique.

Yong Hwarin became so immersed in circulating his qi that he completely forgot about Tang Cheolgi being alone in the forest with Wi Oh.

Tang Cheolgi looked at Wi Oh and said,

“I’ve longed to fall into your arms ever since I first saw you, Wi Danzu.”

Just saying something so unlike himself made his whole body break out in hives.

“Hohoho, Young Master Tang, you’re quite the bold one.”

Wi Oh looked at Tang Cheolgi with loving eyes.

But to Tang Cheolgi, those eyes were so sticky and repulsive it felt like centipedes were crawling all over his skin.

‘Hurry up, Yong Hwarin! I can’t take this much longer.’

Despite his inner torment, Tang Cheolgi forced a smile.

“Meeting someone you truly like gives you courage, doesn’t it?”

“Hoho, who would’ve guessed the Young Master of the Tang Clan enjoyed the company of men so much?”

Tang Cheolgi was crying on the inside.

Wi Oh approached Tang Cheolgi and gently rubbed his buttocks with his hand.

“Nice and firm, full of life.”

While speaking, he slyly slid his hand into Tang Cheolgi’s waistband.

Tang Cheolgi inwardly recoiled and grabbed Wi Oh’s hand.

“Allow me to undress myself.”

“Really? Then let’s not waste time.”

Wi Oh smiled brightly as he hurried him along.

When he had first left the Blood Demon Castle, he thought he would be savoring the company of many handsome men. But he had spent all his days buried in missions and hadn’t even had a whiff of carnal pleasures.

That was why Wi Oh fell for Tang Cheolgi’s bait so easily.