Chapter 17: Chapter: Together to Ghost Valley (2)

༺ Third Chapter – Together to Ghost Valley (2) ༻

Aside from Hwa-seo’s unease, Mok Riwon was in high spirits throughout the journey to Blood Valley.

It was inevitable.

To him, Blood Valley was not simply a location from the Bloodied History, but where his master’s footsteps remained. It was only natural that he would be more talkative than usual.

“I heard that the seniors who went to the battle for Blood Valley and survived, all rose to fame. No, it would be strange if they hadn’t! After all, didn’t they defeat the Unholy Blood Fiend? One of the Five Fiends of the Blood Cult!”

Drunk on whatever it was, he even let out a ‘Kuh!’ as he continued.

Tang Hwa-seo now felt a throbbing headache and replied casually.

“Yes, it was also the moment the name ‘Sword Star’ emerged in the martial world.”

Tang Hwa-seo was well aware of him as well.

Sword Star, Mok Seon-oh.

The one called ‘Unrivaled Under the Heavens’ of the previous generation, who had vanished without a trace.

And the first martial artist in the Central Plains to be honored with ‘Star’ in his title.

‘It was said that he received that name because of his sword qi that was like starlight. The Four Stars originated from masters who admired the Sword Star and wanted to imitate him.’

She recalled that they all became absolute masters and pillars of the Orthodox Faction.

As Tang Hwa-seo absentmindedly walked, thinking about that, she suddenly felt Mok RIwon’s mouth shut tight and turned around.

“...What are you doing?”

What appeared before her eyes was Mok Riwon, his face flushed red, puffing up his shoulders as though he were proud of something.

Wondering what it could be this time, Tang Hwa-seo guessed the reason after a bit of thinking.

‘Ah, right. He must be a follower of the Sword Star.’

He was someone whose eyes practically flipped inside out and went berserk at the mere mention of a martial hero.

To him, who took care of ‘Tales of the Martial Heroes’ as though it were some absolute truth, it would indeed be odd if such a person had no interest in the Sword Star.

Tang Hwa-seo wanted to let him indulge in his admiration, but time was running out.

“Enough of that, follow me. We need to reach the entrance of Blood Valley before the sun sets.”

“Ah! Understood!”

Mok Riwon quickened his pace to walk alongside her.

At least he was obedient, which was a relief.

Tang Hwa-seo couldn’t decide whether to feel happy or sad about this.

* * *

Ghost Valley.

At last, they had arrived at Blood Valley, a place that truly deserved such a name.

Tall trees densely obscured the sky.

Below, in the shadows where sunlight failed to reach, an abundance of mushrooms and mold flourished in the gloom. The damp and dreary surroundings only served to heighten that eerie endlessness.

“Wow, there’s corpses everywhere.”

Mok Riwon stated, observing the scattered skeletons all around.

Tang Hwa-seo nodded in agreement.

“Yes, we will be seeing them tirelessly from now on until we leave Blood Valley.”

To refer to them as skeletons seemed almost disrespectful.

And for good reason, as the bones had yellowed from the dust and ravages of time, with unidentifiable weeds growing thickly over them.

‘The death qi is slowly rising.’

Tang Hwa-seo frowned as she felt the death qi tear through her insides with every breath, then seep into her dantian and change into a minuscule inner qi.

“Young Hero Mok, please put the blood poison pill into your mouth.”

“Not yet...”

“Quickly.”

Mok Riwon sullenly reached into his bundle, then took out a small pill and put it into his mouth.

“Eurgh...”

It would indeed be a superhuman ability if one could speak properly with a pill in their mouth.

Tang Hwa-seo smiled in satisfaction now that he had finally quieted down.

“Let’s get moving, we have a long way to go.”

“Eugh...!”

Mok Riwon drooped, nodding his head.

Despite being in Blood Valley, where echoes of his master’s legacy lingered, he was saddened that he couldn’t talk about the true greatness of this place.

* * *

The death qi of Blood Valley grew denser the deeper one ventured.

One might wonder how many had died here, as bones would be trodden upon every ten or so steps while walking.

But, no, that was not the only problem; something else was torturing Tang Hwa-seo, who had attained Poison Immunity.

‘This stench is too strong.’

Stench.

A foul odor as though the air was trapped and rotting was rising from all over the place.

But was that all? It was so humid and sticky that it added weight to the stench, intensifying the discomfort.

“It’s a ridiculous idea, but...”

She stroked her chin gently as she continued pondering.

Spirit beasts were said to be created only after absorbing the same qi in the same place for hundreds to thousands of years.

Therefore, it did not make sense for them to be in a place that had only been filled with death qi for about twenty years.

Even so, Tang Hwa-seo was undeniably a martial artist, so she could not dismiss the possibility that lay before her.

After all, the inner core of a spirit beast was like a heavenly spiritual elixir to a martial artist. To let that go, she would certainly feel regretful.

Tang Hwa-seo focused her attention in the direction Mok Riwon was pointing.

‘There’s a rock wall. If something exists, then there has to be a cave somewhere over there.’

She quickly calculated everything in her head.

If they moved hastily, stopping by would be no problem at all. All she had to do was make sure Mok Riwon did not stray off the path by grabbing onto his collar.

But was that all?

Mok Riwon had reached the Realm of Sword Intent, and she was a martial artist with Poison Immunity, capable of converting nearly every poison in the martial world into inner qi.

‘Blood Valley is a land overflowing with death qi, a young land where that qi has been present for less than twenty years.’

If there really was a spirit beast here, it would either be a young one that had not been around for long, or had moved in and was still adapting to the environment.

“It’s uncertain if it truly exists, but we’d be fools to not go.”

“Euph!”

“Yes, let’s go. Young Hero Mok, you’ve done a great deed.”

Mok Riwon blushed and smiled.

Seeing this, Tang Hwa-seo thought.

‘He’s so charming like this when he keeps his mouth shut.’

Not saying bullshit and only fully expressing himself when necessary was truly admirable.

Indeed, the saying that a man should be tight-lipped was right.

* * *

After making that decision, their steps quickened.

Mok Riwon’s eyes were practically bulging out in excitement at the thought of possibly encountering a spirit beast, and he kept his eyes straight ahead.

Tang Hwa-seo, too, had shaken off her irritation from the stench and humidity, thinking about how she might have encountered an unexpected fortunate.

As they arrived at the rock wall relying on Mok Riwon’s senses, they searched here and there until they found a fairly large cave entrance.

“Huh, it really exists.”

‘Euph!”

Mok Riwon’s face lit up innocently.

He had expended his qi to fight off the surge of poison that he inhaled, but even that fatigue could not stop his enthusiasm.

“Do you feel anything still?”

Mok Riwon spat out the Blood Poison Pill for a moment before answering.

“Certainly! The strange sensation I’ve been feeling on the way here has intensified. It’s definitely from a living creature!”

“Good, now let’s proceed with caution.”

Tang Hwa-seo had fallen into a delightful dilemma.

‘What kind of spirit beast is it...’

The land was full of death qi so the spirit beast might even use poison.

No, considering its home was inside this cave, the likelihood was over ninety percent.

‘Poison.’

Even if there was no inner core, it would still act as a spiritual elixir for her.

Tang Hwa-seo cracked her knuckles and sharpened her qi detection in preparation.

Similarly, Mok Riwon retrieved a small paper soaked in paper from his bundle and promptly lit it.

Crackle–

As the light illuminated the darkness, the two people stepped inside the cave.

Upon reaching deeper into the cave, what they saw was.

Saaaaa–

Eight legs.

Above an insect’s head and voluminous stomach was a face that eerily resembled a human wailing.

The creature before them was a giant spider, rivaling the size of a massive wild beast, crouched on its web with multiple eyes staring at them.

“A Man-Faced Spider.”

It was also a species known to spew poison.

A poison that would seep into her lungs and threaten to corrode her insides, but would instead transform into a source of nutrients that invigorated her body.

It was too good of a nourishment.

“We’re in luck.”

Tang Hwa-seo smiled with a face as though she were drooling.

You can rate/review this serieshere.

Illustrаtiоns on our discord – discord.gg/genesistls

/genesisforsaken