Absolute Regression Chapter 752

Episode 752: You brought that backpack well.

It was a truly beautiful melody.
But the Sword Dance Theater knows: the sweeter the melody, the closer it is to death. This is the sound from hell.

After a brief performance, a man walked through the open door.
His body was as long and slender as a stick, so thin that he could have been reduced to skin and bones.
His cheekbones were prominent, his cheeks were sunken, and where his eyes should have been, there were dead, white pupils. He was blind.

His gaunt body looked like it might collapse at any moment, but surprisingly, there was a strange rhythm to his movements.

Was he hearing music only he could hear? His two legs, striding forward, pounded like drums, and his long arms swung like they were dancing to the melody. Is this how a blind person walks? This was the kind of gait, or rather, the way of walking, that made me think.

The most striking thing among them was the pipa he was holding.
It was old and worn, and unusually, it had no strings.

So, of course, the beautiful melody just now wasn’t his.
But Geommugeuk knew it was this man. He was someone Geommugeuk knew.

The tenth king of the twelve zodiac signs, the king of sound, Shinryu.

He was known as a true genius in the art of yin, known to be unrivaled among all the martial artists of all time.

That pipa without strings is his poisonous weapon, the ghost-tuned pipa without strings.

But even among the twelve zodiac kings, he was not a particularly prominent figure. No one knew who he had killed or what he had done.

But he held on to his position as the King of the Zodiac until the very end. With that frail body that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, with that blind body.

Before his death, he was said to have perfected a fearsome yin art. Rumors circulated that it was so powerful that no master could match it. However, the nature of this art remained unknown to the martial world.

The King of Evil who lived such a life has appeared here today.

I could intuitively tell that it was a sword dance.

The reason the Sword King came here was to protect the Sound King.

As if his prediction had been accurate, the Sword King took the first step.
The Sword King, seemingly unbound by anyone, walked slowly and stood next to the Sound King.

The fighting ceased, but King Do-Wang still had an angry expression on his face. He didn’t bother to hide his anger from King Yin.
But that didn’t stop him from insisting on continuing the fight. Whether it was orders or his own skill, there was an inexplicable tension emanating from King Yin right now.

The Tao King looked at the Blood Heavenly Horse coldly, then walked briskly and stood next to the Yin King.

This was the first time since the Sword Dance Theater had fought the power behind the scenes.
The three Zodiac Kings were gathered together.
This must have meant that the power behind the scenes considered this event very important.

Even though he stood between the Sword King and the Tao King, the Yin King’s presence remained undiminished. Was this the kind of person the Yin King always was? Even Geommu-geuk was secretly surprised by the presence he displayed.

He was clearly the main character here today.

In the place where the Emperor and the Emperor are, the Ten Kings are the main characters?

The sword dance’s gaze turned to the sword king. Their gazes met in midair.

What on earth are you planning today? Why are you here?

But the Sword King silently accepted Geommugeuk’s gaze, refusing to utter a single word. He acted as if he didn’t exist.
Geommugeuk, in fact, considered this a positive sign. If the Sword King were to make excuses, it would be the worst possible outcome.

At their sight, Bloody Heavenly Sword and Ilhwa Sword Master stood proudly on either side of the swordsman. Yes, it seemed like the two were ready to fight three-on-three.

In particular, Blood Heavenly Demon and the Dao King were glaring at each other as if they were ready to kill each other. The two men were still hot from their previous fight. Although the Dao King had been cut in the waist, their fight was a close one.

The King of Yin stared at the place where Geommu-geuk stood, as if he could see. His empty eyes held no emotion, giving him a mysterious yet chilling feeling.

“Thank you for coming such a long way, Young Master.”

Despite his appearance, his voice was a pleasant, beautiful sound.
Even though he spoke softly, almost as if whispering, it resonated clearly and pierced my ears. His voice betrayed the profound depth of his inner strength.

“It was a pleasant journey rather than a difficult one.”

Geommugeuk continued speaking, looking back at Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon.

“Because it was a journey with people I respect and love so much.”

The King of Yin immediately greeted Blood Heavenly Demon. He was as polite as he had been to Geommu-geuk.

“I have heard of the fame of Blood Heavenly Master. It is an honor to meet you.”

Bloodthirsty Demon looked into his gray eyes and asked.

“Can you see those eyes?”
“No, you can’t see them.”
“Then how did you know I was here?”
“I knew because the one who prayed the most fervently in this place was standing there.”

This time, the King of Evil’s gaze turned towards Ilhwageomjon.

“You have an elegant and noble prayer. Nice to meet you, Ilhwageomjon.”

Despite the praise, Ilhwageomjon didn’t like it at all. In fact, he reacted even colder than Hyeolcheondoma.

“You saw wrongly. How could I be elegant and noble when all I want to do is kill you?”

Her straightforward words didn’t offend the Yin King at all.
Bloody Heavenly Sword continued her words.

“Now, stop talking nonsense and tell us why you called us here.”

The fact that three such masters had appeared meant they had been waiting for them. Just looking at the puppets that had previously performed the sword dance together, it was clear. This place was clearly prepared.

Then the king of darkness answered calmly.

“Of course I have my reasons, just like you all.”

The dead eyes of the Yin King asked Ilhwageomjon.

“Why did you come here?”

It was a question that seemed to suggest she had come for a reason.
The King of Yin asked the same question to Blood Heavenly Demon, Jin Sojin, and Sadomaeng Muin.

No one responded, but come to think of it, everyone had their reasons. Even Jihan, who had become his subordinate, had a reason for following him here, and Taesu had his own reasons, too.

The King of Yin asked the same question to Geommugeuk at the end.

“Why did you come here?”

The sword dance attributed the reason to the King of Yin.

“I was drawn here by the beautiful melody. Even if I die, I cannot turn away from beautiful music.”
“You, Young Master, are a person who loves music.”
“I know how to kill people, so please take this opportunity to teach me about music.”

The King of Darkness’s gray eyes stared silently at the sword dance, then turned around.

“Please come into this room for a moment.”

He walked back to where he had come from.
The Sword King, the Tao King, the Dark Blood Sage, and the Iron-Faced Man followed.

Geommu-geuk looked at Hyeoncheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon. Since they held the initiative, they absolutely could not afford to let their guard down.

The two demons nodded. They knew what Geommu-geuk meant by his gaze. It was a warning to be careful, and even more careful.

The Geommu-geuk group, Dansojin, and even the Sadomaeng warrior followed the King of Yin into the room.

In the vast space, which resembled a plaza, broken swords and weapons were strewn about, and the bones of about a dozen people were scattered about.

Traces of fierce battle.

There were skeletons lying on the floor, some entangled with swords stuck in each other’s bodies, and some leaning against the wall alone.

A coffin was placed in the middle.

A flash of emotion crossed Taesu’s face.

‘think!’

I could finally tell I’d reached the swordsmanship. I’d risked my life to get here, even jumping into the fray for Jangbo.
Truly, I’d met the leader of the Cheonma Sect and the demon lords before I could even get here.

Others might not know, but I, a thief, came here to claim the treasure. I wanted to see the swords those corpses were holding, and I wanted to rush over and open those coffins to see what was inside.

Of course, the authors would have opened it. That’s why I wanted to open it, even though I knew there would be nothing inside.

The King of Yin said to Geommu-geuk.

“This is the sword and shield written on the map.”
“It’s a different atmosphere than I expected. I thought it would be much more ornate and grand.”
“We haven’t touched anything in this room.”

I couldn’t tell if it was something I could really trust.

“Aren’t you curious about what’s inside that coffin?”
“But I guess you can’t insult the deceased.”

The king answered as if he had really not opened anything.

At that moment, Geommu-geuk saw Ilhwa Geomjon staring intently at one of the skeletons. It was a skeleton kneeling, one hand on a sword, and Ilhwa Geomjon’s gaze was unusual.

The swordsman came to her and asked.

“Do you know him?”

Ilhwageomjon slowly nodded.

“That sword you’re holding is Danmok. He’s my maternal uncle. He used to come and play with me sometimes when I was little. The last time I saw him before he disappeared, he told me about Jang Bo-do.”

Now I understood. The reason Ilhwageomjon had come to Geomchong was because he thought his uncle might have come here.

“I came here just in case, and you really are here.”

Geommu-geuk knew.
The power behind the scenes had ultimately used this sword to lure him in.
If she hadn’t left the sect with Ilhwa Geomjon, he would have captured her when she came here alone and contacted him. In any case, he would have brought her here.

At that time, Dansojin sent a message to Geommugeuk.

-There is a poisonous insect hidden in that corpse.

Poison was also placed on the corpse that had special meaning to Ilhwageomjon.

He had previously planned to poison himself with the Jaunjinkidok while passing through the gate, and then poison Ilhwageomjon in this Baekgol.
Perhaps the Blood Heavenly Demon had intended to kill the King in the previous fight. He failed because he hadn’t realized how powerful the Blood Heavenly Demon was.

Geommugeuk immediately sent a message to Jihan.
Jihan responded as instructed.

“There’s something smelling off that body.”
“What does it smell like?”
“It smells like bugs.”

He used Jihan’s sense of smell to conceal what Dansojin had revealed.
Geommu-geuk rummaged through Hyuknang and pulled out a small container and chopsticks.

“May I excuse myself for a moment?”

Geommugeuk asked Ilhwageomjon for permission. She could tell from the conversation and the look in Geommugeuk’s eyes that something was happening, so she readily nodded.

The sword dance paid respect to the corpse that had turned into skeletons.

“I am the leader of the Cheonma Sect, Geommu-geuk. I respect Ilhwa Geomjon, your blood relative, more than anyone else.”

The sword dance bowed respectfully to the corpse that had turned into white bones.

“For your safety, Your Majesty, I will take a moment to look into it.”

At that time, Geommugeuk was carefully examining the corpse.

Whew.

Something leaped toward the sword dance, so fast it was almost invisible.

Paat.

Of course, Geommugeuk, who had been prepared, snatched it up in an instant.
What moved between his chopsticks was a poisonous insect with many legs, resembling a weasel. Geommugeuk recognized the poisonous insect, which was almost like a spirit.

“It’s a corpse-poisonous insect. Where did you catch such a precious poisonous insect?”

The blood poisonous insect, a parasite primarily found in corpses, possessed a toxicity so powerful it could instantly kill even the most skilled practitioners.
A master like Ilhwageomjon would likely avoid instant death. However, he would have to concentrate the poison in one area of ​​his body, preventing him from exerting his full power.

If it weren’t for Mandokbulchim, the Jaunjinkidok would not have known that they were addicted, and this blood poisoning would have looked like an accident, so they would have controlled the situation without letting it get out.

Geommugeuk put the blood poison into the container he had taken out of Hyuknang and tightly closed the lid.

“If you bring it to our Poison King, he will really like it.”

It was truly a sword dance, deliberately prepared with chopsticks and a canister to be given to the Poison King. If the poisonous insect was targeting the Ilhwa Sword Lord, it would have prepared something truly precious. The poisonous insect I received was even more precious than I had anticipated.

Bloody Heavenly Horse laughed at the King of Yin.

“You said you didn’t touch this room?”

Ilhwageomjon looked at the King with cold eyes. Her anger was justified. He had targeted her and insulted her uncle’s body.

The King’s expression hardened slightly, and his gaze turned to the man with the iron mask.
The man with the iron mask answered calmly.

“I just did what I was assigned to do.”

At least I could tell that it wasn’t something the King of Evil had ordered me to do.

The expression on Geommu-geuk’s face hardened slightly.
This was even worse. In other words, it meant that the Yin King was confident he could win without using poison.

Ilhwageomjon walked slowly, bowed, and gazed at the bones for a moment. He hadn’t given them much thought when he left the school, but finding his uncle’s remains from long ago left him with a pang of sadness.

“Uncle, I will take you back now.”

Geommugeuk took out a leather pouch from Hyuknang to hold the remains. It was a pouch filled with all sorts of things.

“I will help you.”

The sword dance began to collect the remains with her.

Seeing this, the Taoist King was about to step forward, asking what he was doing at this crucial time.
Then, he felt someone’s gaze. It was Blood Heavenly Demon looking at him.

Bloody Heavenly Swordmaster shook his head, his expression indicating he should stay out of this matter. His gaze held no emotion, but the King felt his heart freeze. It was colder than any gaze he had received during their previous fight.

Did you find him because he possessed the most fervent prayers? If you misjudged him, you were seriously mistaken.
At that moment, the Taoist King realized.

‘The darkness of interest is deeper than mine.’

The King of Darkness watched silently as the two men collected the body. Beside them, the King of Swords silently watched the sword dance.

Meanwhile, Geommugeuk, who had collected the body, hung the leather pouch next to Hyuknang.

“Even if it is uncomfortable, please bear with it for a moment.”

The bones were collected in advance because they weren’t sure what would happen later. A major battle could have caused the cave to collapse.

The bloodthirsty demon who had been watching suddenly spoke.

“You brought that backpack well.”

The swordsman said with a smile.

“Now you admit it!”

The King of Yin, who had been waiting for the two to collect the body, asked Geommugeuk.

“Do you know where this is?”

Geommugeuk heard from Taesu a fact that was almost unknown to the world.

“Isn’t this the tomb of Ju Gao-shin, the greatest master of the Sapa and the leader of the Sado League three hundred years ago?”

Then the King shook his head. A truly astonishing truth came out of him.

“All the past Apostolic Leaders are buried in one place.”

Everyone listening was astonished. This was something even the Demon Lords, let alone the Sword Dancers, had never heard of before.

“No one in the martial arts world knows its location. Even the leader of the Sado Alliance doesn’t know where he will be buried. Only the Baekjongga (百塚家), a family that has guarded and managed the tomb for generations, knows its exact location.”

The King of Evil’s dead eyes turned towards Dansojin.

“Isn’t that right? Baekchonggaju Dansojin.”