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While living on Mount Huang, I was aware of three kinds of venomous snakes in the area. There were probably more, but the ones I clearly remembered were these three. When I mentioned this fact to Mangnyang in my fifth reincarnation, he said,

“Those are the Black Headed Snake, the Blue Snake, and the Fat Snake. You should catch a lot of the Black Headed ones.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Blue Snake has almost no poison, and while the Fat Snake has a potent venom, it’s limited in use for water-soluble applications.”

At that time, we were discussing making nerve poison. We devised a plan to put poison in the well to subdue the fanatics overflowing the village, and I learned the nerve poison manufacturing technique from Mangnyang.

As an added note, Mangnyang shared,

“The venom of the Black Headed Snake is a suitable neurotoxin, and if you mix it with the flame poison that occurs in closed spaces, you’ll create a mighty nerve toxin. If you can dissolve it in water over a day and night, you’ll have a water-soluble nerve poison.”

“Flame poison? What’s that?”

“There’s more than just nerve poison; there are various types of poison. There are tiny bacteria invisible to the human eye, and those bacteria, especially the kind that hates the atmosphere, are what we call decay poison. This poison is so potent that it easily surpasses most animal venoms.”

“Are you talking about corpse poison?”

“Not greatly different. The difference is that it can be artificially extracted instead of only occurring from corpses. It can come from decaying food or animal waste. Scholars collectively refer to these as flame poison. The term corpse poison is something only martial artists use.”

Continuing from there, Mangnyang explained,

“With the venom from about ten Black Headed Snakes, you could probably incapacitate around two hundred people. If you want to enhance the nerve poison, bring it back to me. I can mix it with decay poison in my workshop to quickly create a stronger water-soluble nerve poison.”

“How strong will the completed poison be?”

“It will be extremely strong. It can even knock out nerves, so it sometimes gets used during the Taoist purification rituals. If used correctly, it can even slow skin aging, so you’ll understand just how potent it is.”

Mangnyang gave a bitter smile.

“Do you know why they named it flame poison? Because it’s strong enough to burn human souls.”

I had to catch at least ten Black Headed Snakes and squeeze their venom into small bottles. After all, I was determined to stop the human sacrifice. Moreover, I needed to visit Mangnyang; even if I had some knowledge to create nerve poison myself, I needed his workshop for the enhancement.

It was hard to keep anaerobic bacteria alive using normal preservation methods from nature. Mangnyang had prepared a special workshop behind his cabin, where he had created various poisons. If I could borrow those facilities, I’d likely be able to easily complete the mixed nerve poison.

Shhhhhh!

I gathered my energy and quickly scanned around the peaks of Huangshan. I searched slowly by the rocks and near the valleys, finding the habitats of the Black Headed Snakes. Sometimes they hid in the grass, so I looked carefully.

‘Found one!’

I spotted a Black Headed Snake raising its dark head in vigilance against me. So, I picked up a small pebble from the ground and knocked it out cold.

With that, I expertly stuffed the fainted snake into my sack. Back in the days when I lived alone on Huangshan, I had learned a few tricks from snake hunters, so I was capable enough. I might not be a professional snake hunter, but I could hold my own.

I spent the entire day hunting Black Headed Snakes on Huangshan. In total, I caught six, carefully inspecting them for their venom sacs. Upon seeing the venom sacs, I cut them open to extract the poison. Since the Black Headed Snakes are not directly linked to survival organs, they seemed to still live even after cutting them open. After extracting the venom completely, I released the snakes back into the wild.

As I watched the Black Headed Snakes flee swiftly, I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. Originally, I would occasionally roast them up because snake meat was tasty, but as Mangnyang had said, snakes were filled with parasites, making them not a good choice for eating. Thankfully, my deep internal power burned off the parasites, but still, wild boar was the better option for eating.

The process of extracting the venom from the Black Headed Snakes wouldn’t finish until the next afternoon. I realized I had squeezed poison from a total of fifteen Black Headed Snakes, with the amount not being much, not even filling half a bottle. Still, I thought this quantity would be enough.

As I prepared to leave Huangshan for Mangnyang, I noticed something on my way down to the lower village.

Shhhhhh!

“Wait!”

I discovered a bunch of warriors in yellow clothing blocking the path towards the lower village. All of them were on high alert, swords drawn. Among them stood four individuals with impressive martial skills.

When I spotted the face of Kong Jae, the Cold Sky Sword master among those four, I instantly recognized the situation.

‘Oh no… it’s the Huashan Sect experts.’

It looked like four elders from the Huashan Sect along with a bunch of accompanying disciples had all gathered! Judging by their numbers, it seemed that over seventy percent of the Huashan Sect’s strength was gathered here.

They must have decided to set up camp at the lower village while searching all the peaks of Huangshan to find me. I hadn’t expected they would wait down here, so I was caught off guard.

I pretended to nonchalantly step forward and sent out a pulse of energy.

[What’s going on? I’m just passing through after finishing my tour of Huangshan.]

“I’ve heard there are three Dharma Guardians from the White Lotus Sect. May I ask for your alias?”

[……]

It suddenly dawned on me that things were going awry. There was no way they could have figured out I was pretending to be a Dharma Guardian, but the fact that they were openly asking about my identity wasn’t a good sign. This implied they thought I was a White Lotus Sect Dharma Guardian and might want to test me.

Even if I had no idea about the aliases of the Dharma Guardians, I figured I might as well feign indignation.

[Unbelievable! Are you really going to intimidate a martial world traveler like this?]

Grrooowwwl

The pulse of energy I released converted into a low rumble directed at the intended recipient. I cranked it up even further, making sure everyone around could hear it. It was a power-consuming technique, but thanks to that, a gust of wind blew through the area, causing the disciples of the Huashan Sect to stagger back.

“Gurgle!”

“W-What tremendous inner power…”

The Huashan disciples wobbled, fear evident on their faces as they gazed at me. One of the elders from the Huashan Sect stepped forward, commanding attention.

“I am the elder Su Jeong-gyeom, Ma Lei. Excuse me, but we ask your identity for our sect leader deeply wishes to meet the White Lotus Sect’s Dharma Guardian in person.”

[In person? You must be joking! I have no business with the Huashan Sect.]

“Cough…”

At that moment, the Huashan elder, Su Jeong-gyeom, seemed to take a measure of the situation, then discreetly sent me a pulse of energy.

[I wish to speak about the Wind Spirit Sect. Please, I beg you.]

“……?!”

I was taken aback. The unexpected mention of such a name caught me off guard.

‘Wind Spirit Sect!?’

The Wind Spirit Sect represented martial arts developed from the powers of wind and cloud, contrasting with the Thunder God Lineage, which based its techniques on Thunder Energy. This martial art was undoubtedly top-tier, actively competing with the Thunder God Lineage among the various martial factions associated with the White Lotus Sect.

However, unlike the Thunder God Lineage, the Wind Spirit Sect remained firmly allied with the Master of the Sect, also rumored to have played a part in the Thunder God Lineage’s cleansing. Because of this, Samjeol Lee Kwang had the habit of saying he wouldn’t spare anyone associated with the Wind Spirit Sect.

So I wondered why the Huashan elder suddenly brought up the Wind Spirit Sect. It seemed that the elder believed that if I were indeed a Dharma Guardian of the White Lotus Sect, I would naturally be familiar with the Wind Spirit Sect. Moreover, there was a strong assumption that I’d naturally be willing to hear their story. This strongly implied that some kind of relationship existed between the Huashan Sect, the White Lotus Sect, and the Wind Spirit Sect.

As I remained silent, Su Jeong-gyeom sent out another pulse of energy, perhaps feeling the urgency of the situation.

“I’ve heard a master from the Wind Spirit Sect is among the Dharma Guardians. If it’s truly you, our sect leader wishes to meet you. Surely you have a deep connection?”

I realized things were turning quite interesting.

‘So, the sect leader of Huashan is closely tied to the Dharma Guardian who has mastered the Wind Spirit techniques. They’re likely expecting me to accept a personal invitation… Does this mean they’re not here to attack, but rather to bring me along in good faith?’

It seemed reasonable to follow them; after all, I could easily slip away if needed, and I was curious about the connections between the Wind Spirit Sect, the White Lotus Sect, and the Huashan Sect. However, I instinctively suppressed my impulse, saying,

[Sorry, but I have matters to attend to and no time to chat leisurely. However, once I’m done, I’ll consider meeting Him, so please wait.]

[When could you possibly come?]

I intentionally sent out a sharp pulse of energy.

[Why must I spell that out? Just let me be!]

[Ah… I understand.]

Su Jeong-gyeom seemed resigned, understanding my position. He whispered something to the three elders beside him, then turned to the disciples.

“Let’s go back!”

The disciples of the Huashan Sect flickered their torches and disappeared into the darkness. Townsfolk spectating from a distance wondered what had just occurred, but since I had no intentions of hanging around, I quickly shifted into my sword form.

WHOOSH!

I sailed through the darkness and pondered,

‘So the Huashan Sect has ties to the Wind Spirit Sect? How should I take this?’

My mind was in a whirl from the sudden information. Yet one thing was clear—I had managed to grasp a crucial clue. After stopping this human sacrifice business, I’d have the time to delve deeper into this. I was considering sneaking into the Huashan Sect later just to see the leader.

No, perhaps there’s another way.

“Ugh, who knows.”

I shook my head, accelerating my light body technique over the mountain peaks. What mattered right now was saving time to reach Mangnyang. The more time I had, the higher my chances of success with my plans. I couldn’t afford to distract myself with the matters of the Huashan Sect right now.

After running tirelessly for days, I finally arrived at Jinrang Valley, Mangnyang’s residence. I had been so sleep-deprived in the meantime that my mind was in a haze, so I paused at a guesthouse in Jinrang Valley to regain my strength and energy. It wouldn’t do to have a muddled mind before the important conversations.

As I climbed up early the next morning to Mangnyang’s place, I found him sprawled on a couch, singing. There seemed to be a cleaned-up dining table nearby, suggesting he’d finished eating and was now taking a relaxed break.

“Hey, hey, what should we do~”

“……”

“Shhh~ Don’t let that be known~”

I made my presence known.

“Mangnyang.”

He let out a peculiar noise, as if his heart might fall out of his chest with surprise. It took him about half a breath to calm down. He finally returned to a normal complexion after some coughing, stammering out,

“I am… Mangnyang, blessed with the vision of the True Martial Emperor…”

“Forget that. I already know all that.”

He awkwardly ceased his strange voice techniques and transformations.

‘Hmmm, what to do now…’

I contemplated just telling him everything as usual, but it seemed like we wouldn’t make any progress like that. So, I decided to switch gears and started a different conversation.

“Mangnyang, what would you do if you were faced with a similar situation?”

“What situation?”

I recounted my encounter with the fanatics and the demon beasts as though they were somebody else’s business. After a while, Mangnyang suggested a solution.

“If I were you, I’d put poison in the well.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

Then, I handed him a small bottle containing the venom I had squeezed from the six Black Headed Snakes.

“This bottle contains the venom of fifteen Black Headed Snakes. If it were you, you could mix it with the flame poison to create a water-soluble nerve poison.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“……!!”

He accepted the bottle, gazing into it as though he couldn’t believe it.

“Who are you? You seem very knowledgeable about poisons. How did you find me?”

“That’s not important. What matters is that the tragedy I mentioned is going to happen soon, and you and I can stop it. They’re planning to do the same thing again.”

“Hmmm.”

“If you help me, I’ll give you all of this.”

Thud.

At the same time, I placed a silver vault I had taken from the village chief’s house on the table. I had already used one silver bar as travel expenses, but its intrinsic value still rivaled that of most treasures. Mangnyang stared dizzily at the silver bars as he checked them, his voice full of disbelief.

“Hmmm… This is more than enough as a reward.”

“How long will it take?”

“Probably a day. Maybe at most two days.”

“Got it. I’ll wait in the separate room. I’ll cover the accommodation fees separately.”

“……”

Suddenly, Mangnyang called for me.

“Wait!”

“What’s up?”

“I’ll go with you to the village.”

His words were laced with firm resolve, making me jump a bit.

“No way. That place is extremely dangerous; I can’t afford to take care of someone like you, who has no knowledge of martial arts.”

Mangnyang shook his head.

“Hmm… no, I think the opposite.”

“The opposite? What do you mean?”

Now that I looked closely, Mangnyang had an expression like he had stumbled upon an interesting toy. He was clearly very invested in this situation. Smiling widely, he said,

“Somehow, listening to you makes me think I could discover the [truth] that you might have missed.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“Just a gut feeling.”

Mangnyang shrugged.

“Well, I could just take this money and stay safe here without any trouble, but the choice is yours.”

I pondered.

Could I really accept Mangnyang’s offer and take him along to the village of tragedy?

After a moment of contemplation, I nodded.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

“Great! I look forward to working with you.”

After all, if I gained the support of Mangnyang, I felt he might uncover something important.

 

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