CHAPTER 141

The approach of the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader was inevitable.

He had nearly lost all the experts under his feet.

Considering what had occurred at the City of Master Craftsmen and the Desolate Fortress branch, it was understandable for him, as the leader of his sect, to come and punish Jung Yeonshin and the experts of Desolate Fortress.

The appearance of the Lord of Desolate Fortress was not unexpected either.

Ma Yeonjeok was said to be an old friend.

As the Lord of the Fortress, she had received reports that her old comrade's body had deteriorated to the point of ruin, so it was plausible that Fortress' Lord had come down here before his last breath.

However, it was mysterious.

The sight of the Desolate Fortress' Lord stepping out from behind the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's shadow was particularly so.

Such was the world of the martial arts realm—always full of surprises.

Was it mere coincidence that their timing aligned?

Or perhaps a divine will was bestowed upon those who wield the power of the heavens to its limits?

Considering the power Jung Yeonshin wielded in his upper dantian, it was not an entirely unreasonable assumption.

Or maybe the Desolate Fortress' Lord, upon seeing the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader first, had chosen to delay the confrontation.

Just like always, while sensing the wind brushing against his skin.

If so, what was the reason?

In the past, even the Blood Flame Cult's Leader had been forced to retreat without hesitation.

It was when the boy once again began to raise countless questions.

Rustle.

It was truly a strange sight.

The Desolate Fortress' Lord approached, surrounded by the blue light of lush leaves.

She appeared as if laying down her presence like mist through the gaps of the trees.

The most noble among the clans.

The power exuded by the forest resonated with the aura of a peerless martial master, deceiving even the senses of the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader.

It was only after the Desolate Fortress' Lord stepped fully out of the tree's shadow that the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader seemed to notice her presence.

It was but a fleeting moment.

With wide-open blue eyes, he spun around, his expression utterly shocked.

"...!"

By then, Jung Yeonshin was already stirring his inner energy.

The radiant wheel of his heart whirled.

Energy gathered at the acupoints on both sides of his throat and the Lianquan acupoint directly above the vocal cords.

Immediately, he transmitted a voice message.

—No energy waves must be released.

His grandfather would be put in danger.

Even at the risk of committing sacrilege by whispering into the Fortress Lord's ear, it had to be stopped.

In that instant, the Desolate Fortress' Lord's green eyes swept past the boy.

It was a moment when sunlight cascaded down her pale face as if welcoming her from the shadowed forest.

Moonlight Harmony Technique.

A faint brilliance shimmered around her body.

Her wide, pale-green sleeves fluttered gently like a ceremonial robe.

Moonlight-like radiance encased her garments and filled the entire space.

Energy Barrier.

The tangible manifestation of energy formed a solid shield.

It was a defensive barrier so strong it pushed Jung Yeonshin's body backward.

Crash.

His feet dug grooves into the ground as he slid.

The boy widened his eyes.

A hemisphere-shaped energy barrier, approximately ten jang in radius, had manifested.

It isolated only the Desolate Fortress' Lord and the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader.

It was a sight conjured purely based on Jung Yeonshin's words, yet it felt otherworldly.

Every technique and movement in the flow of energy seemed mystical.

It didn't appear humanly possible.

"Desolate...?!"

In that fleeting moment, as the astonished Pure Demon Alliance's Leader completely turned around, the Desolate Fortress' Lord was already swinging her sword.

The light trickling down the blade was brilliant.

The sword strike glimmered as if blending sunlight with moonlight.

Swish!

A long spray of blood burst from the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's abdomen.

The dark glow of his internal energy armor flickered and tore apart.

He had failed to form a defense strong enough to withstand the Desolate Fortress' Lord's ambush.

Yet, it didn't feel real.

At least, not to Jung Yeonshin's eyes.

The demonic energy of the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader—so profound it had once felt unfathomable.

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed within the energy barrier.

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's blood-soaked form was twisted amidst the whirlwinds of energy waves.

It was difficult to catch with the naked eye—such was the rapidity of his evasive movements.

Still, Jung Yeonshin instinctively knew.

Even with the energy barrier deployed, the Desolate Fortress' Lord was overwhelming the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader.

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's fortune was ill.

Even if they had faced each other directly, the Desolate Fortress' Lord would have held the upper hand.

Yet, he was ambushed in a dense forest by an unmatched master of the Noble Clan.

Taking the first strike and entering a fight to the death—he was already at least two moves behind.

Rustle.

Even the measured steps of the Desolate Fortress' Lord spoke volumes.

She no longer held her sword raised to unleash sword waves.

Her sleeves billowed like blades of grass in the wind.

The sword she wielded in her white hand spread faintly, like a haloed moon.

It had transcended mere speed.

The overlapping sword strikes seemed ready to shred the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's entire body.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The endless surge of sword techniques resembled a grand spectacle of nature.

Like wind endlessly accelerating as it carved through cliffs.

But the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader was also a peerless master.

He continuously exploded dark energy with his limbs, deflecting the strikes.

His fist and foot techniques scattered like moths flitting their wings.

He intercepted numerous sword paths by redirecting them.

It implied that his movements had already surpassed the Fortress Lord's shadow-like speed.

It seemed like a battle of supernatural beings testing their powers.

'I must be able to slay someone like that to obtain the fruit of the World Tree....'

Jung Yeonshin thought.

He had unconsciously felt relieved by the Fortress Lord's presence.

At that moment, the Desolate Fortress' Lord extended her leg forward.

With one step forward, using a sudden advancing technique—

Boom!

Though lightly stepped, the ground shook like an earthquake.

The glowing sword aura dimmed.

It wasn't that her strikes had weakened.

Rather, they had become so powerful that the visible trails were significantly reduced.

The Fortress Lord extended her sword again, slashing horizontally.

Suddenly, the atmosphere rumbled.

A sword strike condensed like a storm quietly spread outward.

Crash!

The air seemed to tear apart.

Even the energy barrier dispersed like mist due to the aftermath of her attack.

It seemed ordinary sword techniques alone weren't enough to slay the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader.

"Hah—!"

The war cry of the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader rang out. At the same time, an ominous black inner-energy armor enveloped his entire body. A sinister and chilling aura spread outward.

The manifestation of true energy into tangible form was a rare skill, yet these two supreme martial masters wielded their extraordinary techniques as effortlessly as if they were street-level swordplay.

Boom!

Another tremor shook the ground. This time, it was the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader who stomped his foot.

Jung Yeonshin, standing nearby, steadied the swaying shoulders of Heon Wonchang without glancing away.

His gaze remained fixed ahead as he witnessed the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's form erupt into the air with explosive force.

'With a single step... how many times did he condense the energy of the life gate acupoint?'

His figure halted mid-air. It was a masterful display of the Flying Void Step, a body movement technique that defied the laws of nature.

"Desolate Fortress' Lord!"

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader shouted.

His once-ebony hair was now ragged and unevenly cut.

Blood flowed down his forehead, highlighting his fierce, demon-like expression.

"Was your urgency so great?! How disgraceful!"

Suspended in midair, speaking as if he were a demon from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, he appeared both carefree and far from heroic.

Despite being the head of his sect, he resorted to reckless provocations, embodying the ways of a demonic practitioner who found satisfaction solely in defeating and overpowering others.

Even his gaze, which swept meticulously over the Desolate Fortress' Lord as if searching for weaknesses, revealed such intent.

The Desolate Fortress' Lord did not respond.

She simply lowered her eyes calmly.

Without bothering to look up, she half-closed her eyes, her long, delicate eyelashes casting shadows over her jade-green pupils.

It was truly a mystical sight—the presence of a Noble Clan master who lived in harmony with the wind and sensed energy as if it were an extension of touch.

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader slowly closed his mouth.

It was then.

"A practitioner of the demonic arts speaking of disgrace—is this a farce?"

The boy in the black robe murmured.

The energy in his voice scattered like a gentle breeze.

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's head turned slowly. He looked toward Jung Yeonshin.

His senses were likely fixed on the Desolate Fortress' Lord, yet even receiving his gaze felt as if a mountain had come crashing down—an overwhelmingly heavy presence.

"Young one, what did you just say?"

His rough, hoarse voice demanded an answer.

The boy replied without hesitation.

"I said your words sound like those of a lowly thug from an alley."

"..."

"No, that's not quite right. Even street thugs wouldn't dwell on irrelevancies during a fight, nor would they shamelessly bring up lovers. It's truly astonishing. If you hand over the secrets of your demonic arts, I might even fix you up. It seems your energy has invaded your Baihui acupoint."

Jung Yeonshin tapped his temple lightly with his long index finger.

He understood the value of direct words.

Through his journeys in the martial world, he had come to realize it.

Provocation wasn't necessary.

The pride of martial artists who had spent years refining their techniques was as vast as the sky.

Simply stating the truth without reservation was often enough to sway the flow of a life-or-death duel.

A warrior whose vision narrowed in anger could face fatal consequences, as a single moment's reaction determined the outcome.

'Now's not the time to be picky.'

The boy thought.

As soon as the Fortress' Lord heard Jung Yeonshin's voice transmission, she deployed the energy barrier.

She must have sensed Ma Yeonjeok's condition.

Fighting the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader under such pressure was no easy task.

Even with the advantage of the first strike, the opponent was still a peerless martial master.

The only person who could discuss victory was the Fortress' Lord.

Even so, it was a difficult battle.

Jung Yeonshin wanted to lighten his teacher's burden—by any means necessary.

'The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader wouldn't have come alone.'

He imagined him losing control and charging ahead of his subordinates.

This fight needed to end quickly.

Leaves silently settled around the Desolate Fortress' Lord.

The atmosphere reminded him of the calm before a storm.

The Pure Demon Alliance's Leader, still gazing down at Jung Yeonshin, also seemed to be circulating his internal energy through some secret technique.

This brief moment of stillness was merely a pause to regain composure.

Ma Yeonjeok was in danger.

The battle against a peerless martial master had revealed how difficult it was to maintain the energy barrier.

His master, the Fortress' Lord, appeared to be honing her sword techniques for a short, decisive duel.

If so, it was enough to simply steal her opponent's focus, even for an instant.

If an opening appeared, he was prepared to launch a concealed blade.

Whoosh!

A whirlwind suddenly swirled around Jung Yeonshin's feet.

Dust and debris scattered, revolving with the motion of the glowing energy.

White currents flickered faintly, and a sacred aura began to fill the surroundings.

The boy spoke again.

"I'm somewhat interested in demonic arts. I know a fair bit about the Baihui acupoint too. Lord Ryeon, from what I can see, you—"

"Young master, that's enough—"

The situation shifted as Heon Wonchang intervened, his voice trembling slightly as he gripped Jung Yeonshin's shoulder.

The boy brushed off the hand with a quick flick of his arm.

What? Why?

It was then.

Hmph.

A faint breath echoed.

A thin, clear laugh rang out sharply.

Jung Yeonshin's gaze shifted.

It was none other than the Desolate Fortress' Lord.

She, who had remained silent despite the Pure Demon Alliance's Leader's harsh words, had lifted her head slightly.

"I shall now deliver the second teaching…"

A clear, resounding voice flowed out.

A small smile graced her lips.

"It is the sword of the heart."