Chapter 426 : A Storm of Blood Rises (2)

Chapter 426: A Storm of Blood Rises (2)

“Brother Dong, won’t you come with us?”

The reason Dong-oh couldn’t refuse the Demonic Master's proposal was exactly that.

And so, the four of them climbed Mount Tianzhong.

The place where the Demonic Master cultivated the Seonyuhonghwa Herb was exceptional not only in scenery but also in its flow of energy.

There was a small pond nearby that brimmed with yin energy, while another side was bathed in sunlight, full of yang energy.

Moreover, the forest was thick, allowing the yin and yang energies to stay in balance, and the fertile soil made it ideal for wild ginseng to grow.

On top of that, the area was elevated enough to overlook the Heavenly Central Sect, so the wind flowed well.

It was the perfect spot to cultivate a demanding spiritual herb like Seonyuhonghwa Herb.

“I’ll go check the cultivation site with Brother Dong. You two wait here for a moment.”

The Demonic Master and Dong-oh made an excuse and left the two behind.

Deung Hwaun stood facing the wind, looking down toward the Heavenly Central Sect.

Hong Ahyool stared at Deung Hwaun’s back and spoke inwardly.

‘Mother, why did you pretend not to recognize me when you did?’

After discovering that Deung Hwaun was her mother, Hong Ahyool began to see the hidden meaning behind her actions and words until now.

She realized that the unusual kindness Deung Hwaun showed her wasn’t mere friendliness, but affection for her daughter.

Deung Hwaun wasn’t someone who treated others with kindness easily.

There was no reason for her to be so warm to Hong Ahyool, a newcomer to the Heavenly Central Sect.

‘If you don’t have the courage to come to me, then I’ll come to you first.’

Though she had resented her mother, Hong Ahyool now understood that she hadn’t been abandoned — it was simply a situation beyond her control.

Knowing that Deung Hwaun refrained from revealing their relationship out of guilt made all of Ahyool’s resentment dissolve.

Now that even her younger sibling was safe, she wanted to open her heart to her mother and reunite properly.

With courage, Hong Ahyool stepped toward Deung Hwaun.

“Um…”

Just as she hesitated and tried to speak, Deung Hwaun turned around.

Her expression was one of shock, as if she had seen something.

“A large force is approaching the Heavenly Central Sect. It looks like enemies are coming.”

Hong Ahyool could also see many warriors charging from afar.

A moment later, the Demonic Master and Dong-oh returned, seemingly having seen it too.

He first examined the expressions of the two, then shook his head.

He could tell they still hadn’t had their heart-to-heart.

“Let’s head back!”

As they descended the mountain, Hong Ahyool let out a deep sigh.

“Huu.”

“Huu.”

Yong Hwarin exhaled heavily.

It was because of the flying pigeon message Myeong Gujeong had just received.

“They say the heir of the White Tiger King is not among those moving to attack Sangmubo. Most likely, they’re heading toward the Heavenly Central Sect. And since the attack has already begun, it’s probably under siege right now.”

Upon hearing Myeong Gujeong’s words, the woman beside him murmured thoughtfully before speaking.

“Hmm… It seems we were a bit late. I didn’t expect them to move so quickly. What will you do?”

Yong Hwarin turned away.

“I’ll return to my clan. Since the heir of the White Tiger King has disappeared, there’s no reason to go to Sangmubo.”

“We’ll go to Sangmubo to verify the report.”

When the woman said that, Yong Hwarin made a request.

“Sangmubo will likely be attacked too. If it falls into danger, please help them.”

“All right.”

The woman silently watched Yong Hwarin as he headed back toward the Heavenly Central Sect.

“This is such a strange feeling.”

Myeong Gujeong understood Lady Gun Buyong’s heart.

It was a complex situation — having to fight for her nephew’s stepmother — that left her with mixed emotions.

The Heavenly Central Sect had already completed all battle preparations and moved like a well-oiled machine.

“They’ll definitely attack from all directions. As long as we defend our assigned positions, we’ll be able to stop their assault.”

When Yong Kijoong spoke, a resounding cheer erupted.

“Waaah!”

The fighting spirit of the Heavenly Central Sect pierced the sky like never before.

Not a single person showed fear.

The young talents from the prestigious clans were impressed by what they saw.

“Amazing.”

“So this is what it means to be a sect founded by the Heavenly Sword Hero?”

“Wait until the Corpse Illusion Formation is triggered.”

When Jong Munhye spoke, the warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect stood ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

The strategy was simple.

They would confuse the enemy with the Corpse Illusion Formation, reduce their numbers in the chaos, and then launch an all-out attack to drive them out.

They had no intention of just defending.

If their strength had been weaker than the enemy’s, they would’ve focused on defense. But since they were evenly matched, there was no reason to avoid battle.

WAAAAAAAH!

The coalition of the Dabie Sect, Dark Echo Valley, and the Demonic Cult warriors launched their attack with a deafening roar.

The qi imbued in their war cries made ears ring.

Once the warriors of the Dabie Sect were judged to have stepped into the area of the Corpse Illusion Formation, Jong Munhye raised a red flag.

Then, about thirty women stepped forward with pipas in their arms.

Ddiririring!

As Bukri Sehee led the sound arts, a powerful wave of sonic energy spread forward.

Those at the front of the Dabie Sect alliance were struck directly by the sound and collapsed, vomiting blood from their ears and noses.

As about twenty warriors were suddenly incapacitated, someone shouted from the rear.

“Don’t be afraid! Use the earplugs we prepared!”

The warriors of the Dabie Sect alliance who were attacking the front gate took out cotton-like bundles from their pouches and stuffed their ears.

They intended to block the sound arts with them.

They had learned through reconnaissance that the Heavenly Central Sect was preparing to use sound arts and had made preparations accordingly.

And it worked better than expected.

However, Bukri Sehee's Heavenly Dragon Sound Dragon Unit hadn’t activated the sound arts to attack the warriors.

The pipa sound just now was to awaken the jiangshi hidden within the Corpse Illusion Formation.

“Beware the large needles more than the sound arts!”

The Dabie Sect alliance also knew that the Heavenly Central Sect trained in the Dragon Scale Finger, so the vanguard warriors wore defensive armor made of tough leather.

Also, Yi Jin carried small circular shields made of leather.

It wasn’t as if the Dabie Sect alliance had been idle while the Heavenly Central Sect prepared for battle.

“As long as you protect your head and chest, you’ll be fine! Grrhk!”

One of the shouting warriors turned around at the sudden, scorching sensation crawling up his spine.

A jiangshi, with a grotesque appearance, had approached silently and raised its hand.

The warrior tried to back away from the jiangshi’s hand, but something tightened around his waist, and he flinched in shock.

“What the—?!”

The jiangshi had wrapped its arms around his waist. With no way to dodge, the warrior struck its head with his elbow.

Puhk!

But the jiangshi didn’t budge, and the warrior had to grit his teeth and swallow a groan as searing pain surged through his elbow like it was about to break off.

“Watch out for the jiang— urgh!”

Puhk!

He couldn’t even finish warning about the jiangshi before its punch crushed his jaw.

“Guhk!”

As the warrior’s head dropped from the blow, the jiangshi’s knee slammed upward into his skull.

Puhk!

The warrior’s head exploded right there on the jiangshi’s knee.

As the jiangshi rising from the ground launched their attack, the warriors at the vanguard fell into chaos.

At that moment, Jong Munhye raised a blue flag.

In response, Bukri Sehee began to play another tune.

Rather than music, it was more like an eerie sequence of discordant notes, a grating sound that was uncomfortable to hear.

But with that sound, the environment around the alliance warriors who had entered the formation slowly began to change.

From the Heavenly Central Sect’s side, it merely looked like mist, but inside the formation, the illusion took on the shape of dense fog and violent storms.

Caught in the illusion of fog and rain, the alliance warriors couldn’t tell where the jiangshi were or even distinguish friend from foe.

It was a masterful combination of sound arts and formation techniques.

“Damn it!”

With the vanguard trapped in something that wasn’t the Dragon Scale Finger or sound arts, but a formation, Soyonghwa clenched her fists.

She had expected the Heavenly Central Sect to have prepared some trump card, but didn’t expect it to be a formation.

“How could we not notice a formation being installed?”

She directed the question to the command unit in the rear.

There stood the Dabie Sect’s Sect Leader Hwang Sinjik, the Small Sect Leader of Muhuomun Cheong Geonmin, the Small Sect Leader of Songcheonmun Jeok Gwang, the Sect Leader of Iron Response Sect Jeon Woong, and the Small Sect Leader of Saryongmun Gocheok.

“Judging by how it evaded our surveillance, they must have installed it quite a while ago. As if they knew we’d be attacking.”

Jeon Woong of Iron Response Sect had brought all of his elite troops, driven by a strong desire for revenge against Yong Hwarin.

That was why he’d been keeping a close watch on the Heavenly Central Sect since the alliance was formed — and yet, he hadn’t noticed the formation being set up, which had now come back to bite him.

“Our intel must be absolute trash if we didn’t even know about the jiangshi.”

Gocheok of Saryongmun grumbled bitterly.

“It would be wise to pull back our forces for now.”

At Hwang Sinjik’s suggestion, Soyonghwa nodded.

“We only launched the attack to gauge the enemy’s strength, but the unexpected damage is quite concerning.”

Pwooooo!

As the trumpet sounded, the warriors who had been attacking the Heavenly Central Sect began to retreat.

But those trapped within the Corpse Illusion Formation couldn’t retreat properly, panicking as they lost their lives.

The number of corpses piling up within the formation had already exceeded two hundred.

Some had been taken down by the jiangshi, but many others had fallen due to the illusions, mistaking allies for enemies and killing each other.

The faction that suffered the heaviest losses was the Demonic Cult, affiliated with Sanbi — who wasn’t even present at the battlefield.

Since Sanbi had gone to Sangmubo, the warriors gathered from the Sacred Heaven Cult’s branch ended up leading the vanguard.

Thus, as the others looked at the fallen warriors caught in the Corpse Illusion Formation, they let out sighs of relief.

If they had let their pride push them to volunteer for the vanguard, they too might have been annihilated.

“Let’s stick to the original plan and attack from multiple directions!”

Those who had been humiliated by the Corpse Illusion Formation gathered and spoke to Soyonghwa.

Originally, they had planned to divide up and attack from different directions simultaneously, but Soyonghwa had insisted on a frontal assault, sending the vanguard straight at the front gate.

Now that that vanguard had been decimated before even putting up a fight, they had no choice but to proceed with the original plan.

The Heavenly Central Sect also identified that the enemies were splitting up to attack from different directions and redistributed their forces.

The east was defended by Jeong Minji and the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

The west was held by Jong Seok-ok, Bukri Sehee, and the Rear Flag Bearers.

The north was guarded by Mo Biyoung, the Heavenly Central Blood Dragon Unit, and guest warriors.

Lastly, the south — the main gate and the direction from which the majority of enemies would come — was held by Sect Leader Yong Biyang, The Greatest Sword Under Heaven Jo Cheonsaeng, and the Demonic Master.

“We will be victorious! Not a single one of them will step foot into our sect!”

At Yong Biyang’s shout, the warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect raised their voices in a thunderous cheer.

The Greatest Sword Under Heaven raised his sword high, glaring coldly at the incoming enemies.

When the two forces clashed simultaneously from all directions, it shook Mount Tianzhong.

WAAAAAAAH!

The war cries of the two forces drowned out the screams of those falling in battle.