Crash!

The moment Cheonyeong greeted it with a smiling face, the Manggongbaek's mouth that had slightly poked out suddenly opened wide.

"Hiss!"

Cheonyeong staggered from the poison that poured out along with its breath.

Damn creature.

Snakes typically possess yin energy, yet this one with extreme yang force had such poison...

There was no need to understand it.

The world was always full of incomprehensible things anyway.

But perhaps because the Manggongbaek saw Cheonyeong endure the first poison?

Its eyes grew desolate as it puffed its cheeks as if gathering poison.

Crash crash crash!

As an even greater amount of potent poison poured out, Cheonyeong, realizing he couldn't endure it, rolled to the side and drew his sword simultaneously.

Hadn't it poked its head out?

It was the perfect opportunity to sever its neck.

In an instant, the Samyang Divine Skill infused the sword, and a long tail hung like a blue light cluster was swung.

"Got it..."

Clang!

"...Or did I?"

He naturally thought it would be cut.

But a metallic sound?

What nonsense was this?

Could it be that sword energy that cuts steel like tofu doesn't work? Were the snake's scales really that hard?

There was no time to be surprised.

The fury that had struck its neck directly from the sword energy melted entirely into its golden eyes, which flickered, and its swung head flew at him fiercely.

"This... damn it."

He tried to evade.

But the speed was incredibly fast, so instead of evading, he couldn't prepare at all and took the hit directly.

"Cough!"

Though he considered himself strong-boned, his bones shattered, and with an impact that felt like his organs were being torn apart, his body was driven into the ground.

"Cough!"

He tried to get up, but strength wouldn't enter his body.

From the impact, his internal energy scattered, and poison infiltrated his body.

Screeeech!

Enraged by the intrusion into its territory, the Manggongbaek immediately opened its mouth wide and approached.

With the impact to his head and poisoning, he had no strength to escape...

But at the critical moment, a hand of salvation flew.

"Dodge!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

With a mighty shout, Nangong Hyeok soared above the poisoned mist and powerfully brought his sword down.

It was the Imperial Sword Technique that could split a mountain with one stroke.

Crash crash crash!

As the sword flew with fierce wind pressure, it split the poison and a cyan sword light fell toward the Manggongbaek.

But was it startled by the sword light?

The Manggongbaek, which had been about to swallow Cheonyeong, quickly rolled its body into the cave and released poison.

"Whoosh!"

Even Nangong Hyeok couldn't continue his attack and urgently retreated from the thick poison.

"Tang Family Head! Are you alright?"

"Ugh."

He didn't have the energy to answer.

Just as he was only groaning, another hand of salvation approached.

"Family Head!"

"Senior... brother."

It was Byeon Gil-tae.

Having raised the Samyang Divine Skill as Cheonyeong had instructed, he endured the poison and helped Cheonyeong away from the poisoned mist.

"Tang Family Head!"

"Cheonyeong!"

As they left the poisoned mist, people rushed from all directions.

"Don't come!"

But knowing the remaining poison on his body would cause harm, Cheonyeong urgently shouted to block their approach.

"Senior brother, now you retreat too."

"But..."

"It's fine. The impact from getting hit in the head is worse than the poison. Senior brother, hurry and expel the poison."

"Understood."

Byeon Gil-tae moved Cheonyeong to a safe place and retreated.

"Phew..."

Circulating energy in the presence of others was tantamount to throwing away one's life, but now wasn't the time for such concerns.

Seated, Cheonyeong gritted his teeth to endure the pain and circulated the Samyang Divine Skill multiple times.

Meanwhile, Beakta and Yu Seong-yeon guarded the area around Cheonyeong and Byeon Gil-tae.

In fact, even if they hadn't guarded, the Nangong family would have done nothing.

Rather, they were watching the cave to ensure the Manggongbaek didn't harm the two.

"Phew..."

After considerable time passed, Cheonyeong finally burned away the poison and stopped circulating with a deep sigh.

"Tang Family Head, how is your body?"

"I'm fine."

Though significant impact remained in his body, with the poison resolved, breathing wasn't difficult.

But it was a mess.

As he got up, the clothes touched by the poison crumbled with a rustling sound, falling away piece by piece.

"Bring clothes!"

"Yes!"

Family Head Nangong Seong-lim, quick-witted, received clothes from the martial artists and handed them to Cheonyeong.

Thanks to this, he avoided embarrassment.

"Thank you, Family Head Nangong."

"What's there to thank? Is your body really alright?"

"It's bearable."

Cheonyeong wiped blood from his mouth with his sleeve and grimaced.

It was bearable.

His entire body just ached.

"I don't know much about poison, but I understand the Manggongbaek isn't something to face carelessly."

Nangong Hyeok clicked his tongue while looking at the cave.

"Hmm."

Cheonyeong, grimacing, looked at the cave.

Damn creature...

A mere snake being that strong.

It seems it's not without reason that it's a legendary spiritual creature.

"This is serious. Its poison isn't something to take lightly."

"..."

"Moreover, it's retreated into the cave..."

At Nangong Hyeok's words, everyone nodded, and Cheonyeong organized his thoughts with narrowed eyes.

As he said, with the creature back in the cave, there was nothing to be done.

Approaching the cave would likely result in poison damage.

And such a narrow space...

But through the recent confrontation, he had gained considerable information.

"It seems there's nowhere for it to escape."

"Huh?"

"Despite being surrounded, it attacked rather than fleeing."

"Ah! That's right."

Nangong Hyeok nodded in admiration at Cheonyeong's words.

If the cave had an opening on the opposite side, the creature would have escaped quickly.

But its remaining here meant it was a dead-end cave.

As long as the encirclement was maintained, the creature couldn't escape.

"Its scales are incredibly tough, but it couldn't withstand strong energy."

"Huh?"

"I struck its neck earlier."

"Though obscured by poison, I saw it. High-level sword energy, but it bounced off."

"Yes, it only angered it uselessly. But I noticed the Sword Emperor's strong energy made it avoid and even release poison to prevent approach. It's clear it can't block strong energy."

"Hmm, it seems so."

"The problem is... that cave."

"Indeed, I can't dare approach it because of the poison."

Nangong Hyeok nodded with a furrowed brow.

Even the one called Sword Emperor had no means to deal with the Manggongbaek holed up in the cave.

In other words, to capture it, they must first lure it out of the cave.

Otherwise, what could they do?

After contemplating while looking at the cave, Cheonyeong smiled and spoke.

"Starve it."

"Huh?"

"Spiritual creatures are ultimately living beings. Surely it can't escape hunger?"

"...Ah."

Even those who cultivated internal energy could endure with turtle breathing for roughly two weeks. After that period, one must consume something.

Would a spiritual creature be different?

It possessed an inner core in its body and accumulated spiritual energy, but it still needed to eat to maintain life.

"Myeongson!"

"Huh?"

"Show me the letter that came from the Tang Family."

"Here."

At Cheonyeong's call, Beakta hurried over.

Cheonyeong examined what the Hyeon Gal clan had written and nodded.

Typically, snakes must consume food unless in hibernation. The same applies to spiritual creatures. Depending on the prey's size, they usually resume hunting within a week.

"Even if it just ate before entering, we have a week."

Cheonyeong smiled coldly while looking at the cave.

"Sword Emperor."

"Huh?"

"Let's endure until it crawls out on its own. To avoid starving to death, it will come out."

"Ah..."

Spiritual creatures were living beings, and hunger made them feel pain. It was an obvious statement, but he had never thought of it that way.

Starving out a spiritual creature...

Nangong Hyeok nodded with an awkward smile.

There was no other method anyway.

"And we'll need sturdy iron hooks."

"Iron hooks?"

"Yes, I took considerable impact even though I hit its head. The poison isn't the only concern—the twisting force could cause great damage. It's best to restrain it somehow."

"Hmm."

"Also, prepare oil and fire."

"What are those for?"

"Fire has the power to burn poison. Also, since it's sensitive to moisture, I'll place fire in front of the cave to dry the ground. Well, the smoke might be acrid enough to make it come out."

"Understood, I'll have them prepare quickly."

"Thank you."

"I should be thanking you. I was worried something might happen to you."

"Ah, thank you for saving me. There's no need to worry now. I have no intention of being defeated by a mere creature again. When it comes out, I definitely intend to take revenge for earlier."

Cheonyeong ground his teeth while feeling the pain in his body, glaring at the cave.

Resentment is the same whether toward beasts or men.

Just wait, little snake.

* * *

Days passed quickly.

Day and night.

The Nangong family, having established the encirclement, continuously lit large bonfires in front of the cave, as if stoking a furnace.

The ground naturally dried, and whether the acrid smoke flowing inside was painful, the Manggongbaek twisted its body inside the cave, causing the surrounding ground to shake several times a day.

It must have been quite heated.

Had a creature that lived over a hundred years ever received such treatment in its life?

But even after a week passed, it didn't come out.

When they briefly extinguished the fire and approached the entrance, seeing it release poison in vigilance confirmed it was still inside.

Ultimately, it was a battle of endurance between a spiritual creature and humans.

"Don't lower your guard and always remain tense! The Manggongbaek could burst from the cave at any moment."

"Yes!"

Nangong Seong-hwi and the elders regularly patrolled, maintaining the tension of the martial artists maintaining the encirclement.

Humans, when the same routine repeats, become bored and lazy. They knew this well.

While waiting, Cheonyeong healed his wounds and transmitted his understanding of the Samyang to Byeon Gil-tae.

And as the boring waiting continued, various thoughts emerged, including one.

How could he focus only on the spiritual creature?

"Myeongson."

"Huh?"

"There's nothing unusual in Guangxi and Guangdong as you mentioned before?"

"Ah, that? The operatives are constantly observing the descendants of the Eight Immortals, but there's no special report coming in."

"Hmm."

That was strange.

They knew about the Gongsun family.

Since they were searching for the Samyang Divine Skill, they might also know of the Eight Immortals' existence.

But why was there nothing around Byeon Gil-tae?

If Beakta had discovered the Eight Immortals' whereabouts, they likely had too.

There was no guarantee their eyes and ears weren't in the Beggar Gang, and records were fair to everyone.

"Send the operatives to investigate the movements around Guhua Mountain."

"Movements around Guhua Mountain?"

"Yes, since we're only guarding the cave anyway, the operatives have nothing to do."

"What, you think our kids are just playing?"

"I have an uneasy feeling, so please don't complain."

"An uneasy feeling?"

"Those assassins I mentioned before."

"Those guys?"

At Cheonyeong's words, Beakta's eyes widened with curiosity.

It was natural given the reward offered.

"I have a feeling they're nearby."

"Really? Understood, I'll have them investigate discreetly."

Beakta hurried off to give orders.

That fellow hungry for merit...

Anyway, why is there no sign at all?

It's been ten days already, so it should come out from hunger by now.

Its skin must be dried from the heat too.

Just then, the ground around the cave began to shake more violently than ever before.

Had its endurance finally reached its limit?

Cheonyeong gripped his sword as if he'd been waiting.

...This time, if I can just get the inner core, I'll roast it with the fire already prepared.

(End of Chapter)