Chapter 161: Ice Essence

Chapter 161: Ice Essence

TL: FoodieMonster007

“Kyahhhhh!!!”

The Nine Yin Witch’s shrill scream reverberated through the cave, threatening to bring the entire structure down.

“Ugh...”

“Gah...”

Hyonwon Kang and Ya Suhyeok clutched their ears in agony, blood trickling between their fingers.

Baek Suryong spun around and yelled, “Get Yeo Min to the Demon Doctor! Tell him I sent you, and that he must heal her even if it costs him his life!”

Without hesitation, the students hoisted Yeo Min onto their backs and dashed out of the cave.

“Let go of me! I said let go!” the Nine Yin Witch shrieked, thrashed wildly as she struggled to shake off Baek Suryong. Radiating a terrifying chill, she slashed at him with qi-infused hands, desperate to tear him apart. “Die! Die! Die!”

Unfortunately, none of her attacks made Baek Suryong loosen his grip on her head. His Black Dragon Armor, bolstered by the Heaven Defying Divine Art’s inner qi, shielded him from the bone-chilling cold, and he could easily see through her palm and claw techniques.

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How odd. Her qi cultivation runs deep, but her offensive techniques are surprisingly crude.

Baek Suryong frowned. The Nine Yin Witch’s martial arts development was peculiar. Since most martial artists learned martial arts to become stronger in battle, it made no sense that her offensive skills were far less refined compared to her mastery of the White Ice Divine Art.

Unknown to him, her instructors in the Blood Cult had never taught her any fighting techniques, focusing only on perfecting the White Ice Divine Art.

“Dieeee!” the Nine Yin Witch screamed.

CRASH!

Annoyed, Baek Suryong slammed her face into the cave floor, shattering the rock and leaving her body half-buried in debris. “Hold still, will you?” he snapped.

Writhing like a worm, the Nine Yin Witch groaned, “Ugh... ugh...”

“I’m not keeping you alive out of the kindness in my heart,” Baek Suryong stated coldly, though inside, he was deeply conflicted.

The Nine Yin Witch’s situation reminded him of Wiji Cheon. Like the boy, she had learned his counterfeit version of the White Ice Divine Art. This resulted in impure qi seeping into her bone marrow, which in turn caused qi deviation and episodes of madness.

I designed those martial arts to sabotage the Blood Cult and force them to give it up... but instead, they gathered children and made them learn the fake techniques, using them as experiments to perfect it.

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Baek Suryong bit his lip. It hadn’t been his intention, but he couldn’t help feeling somewhat responsible for the Blood Cult’s deeds.

“Listen,” he lied, “I’m helping you regain your sanity because I need information about the Blood Cult, alright?”

“No! It hurts! It hurts! Let me go, please!” the Nine Yin Witch sobbed, still pinned to the ground, thrashing like a child.

Baek Suryong pressed down harder, channeling the Heaven Defying Divine Art to absorb the impurities embedded in the Nine Yin Witch’s bone marrow. From her head, he extended his qi into her eight extraordinary meridians and the twelve main meridians, drawing out all the toxins that had seeped into her limbs.

The process was smooth-sailing. After all, when it came to handling impure qi, the Heaven Defying Divine Art was unrivaled. Still, extracting such deep-rooted impurities was dozens of times more painful than tearing off flesh.

“...!!” Overwhelmed by unbearable pain, with every muscle in her body convulsing, the Nine Yin Witch clawed at the ground helplessly, unable to even scream anymore.

Ice crystals formed on Baek Suryong’s hair and eyebrows, and his breath was frosty. Since he was in direct contact with the Nine Yin Witch, not even the Black Dragon Armor was sufficient to completely repel the White Ice Divine Art. Still, despite the freezing cold seeping into his body, he refused to let go and held her down firmly.

“Hang in there if you want to live,” he urged.

“Ugh...!”

Fortunately, as time went on, the bone-chilling cold radiating from the Nine Yin Witch’s body gradually began to fade.

With her immense qi, if she had truly completed the Ice Moon Divine Art left by the Ice Moon Goddess, I wouldn’t have lasted even half a second... Nah, even as it stands now, without the Black Dragon Armor, I’d be in real trouble, Baek Suryong thought, heaving a sigh of relief.

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After what seemed like forever, when the impurities were finally purified, the Nine Yin Witch’s pain eased and her convulsions subsided.

It was unfortunate, but if she wanted to withdraw from the world and live in seclusion for the rest of her life, he couldn’t force her to do his bidding. That would make him no different from the Blood Cult or the men who had tried to take advantage of her.

However, the Nine Yin Witch’s next actions hit him like a ton of bricks.

“I have one request,” she said earnestly.

“You’re not exactly in a position to ask for favors.”

“Yeo Min.”

“......”

“I’ve hurt that child deeply. I want to make amends, even if just a little.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“...Because I’ll never see her again.”

The Nine Yin Witch smiled gently, then sat down in a lotus position. Bringing her hands together as if in prayer, she began to circulate the White Ice Divine Art.

Baek Suryong immediately shouted, “Hey! I told you not to circulate your qi! If your madness returns...”

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Focusing all the yin energy she’d accumulated over her life between her palms, the Nine Yin Witch laughed lightheartedly, “Forgive me. It’s the last time I’ll ever do this anyway.”

“What are you doing...? Wait, don’t tell me...!” Realizing the Nine Yin Witch’s intent, Baek Suryong face fell.

RUMBLE!

The Nine Yin Witch gathered all the yin energy she’d amassed throughout her life between her hands, compressing it into a single crystal.

“Are you... creating an Ice Essence?” Baek Suryong whispered.

An Ice Essence, a crystal formed from the purest yin energy, was a priceless treasure that any practitioner of ice arts would risk their life to obtain.

Moments later, the Nine Yin Witch opened her eyes, her face ghostly pale. In her palm rested a single snow-white crystal, slightly larger than a fingernail.

Without hesitation, she handed the Ice Essence to Baek Suryong, saying, “Please give this to Yeo Min. I’ve harmed her body greatly, and I hope this Ice Essence will make up for it.”

“......”

“Please.”

“...Alright.” Baek Suryong sighed, accepting the Ice Essence. It was so pure that he felt only a gentle chill when he touched it.

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The Nine Yin Witch smiled weakly. “It’s probably too much for Yeo Min right now, so use some of it yourself if you need to, though I doubt you need my martial arts...”

“No, I need it. I’ll use it well,” Baek Suryong interrupted. Even though he knew the Ice Moon Goddess’s martial arts, he couldn’t practice it due to his constitution and could only use her movement techniques. However, with the help of the Ice Essence, he could definitely learn the White Ice Divine Art.

The Nine Yin Witch sighed in relief. “That’s good. I’ve only ever caused trouble for others... I’m glad I can be of help to someone in the end.”

“Any last words?”

“......”

“Hey.”

“......”

“Hey!”

No response came. The Nine Yin Witch sat in a lotus position, her eyes closed. With a serene smile, as if she’d shed all the burdens of the world, she drifted into an eternal sleep.

Translator’s Note: That’s all for this week! See you next week for the conclusion to the Valley of Evil arc!