Chapter 634
‘Pa-pa-pat!’
Neither the Beast Miao King nor the white tiger slowed down. As the chilling wind swept past me, I narrowed my eyes.
‘That’s Mount Aino.’
Even from a distance, the jagged terrain and deep ravines were evident. The countless peaks, shrouded in mist, rose into the sky like blades.
Was it the lingering darkness of early dawn?
Or was it because this was the former base of the Five Venoms Sect, which once cast fear over the Southern Region?
Either way, the fast-approaching silhouette of Mount Aino felt ominous and foreboding.
Perhaps that’s why the Beast Miao King’s voice was so subdued when he finally spoke.
“The Five Venoms Sect was annihilated by this palace, but not everything vanished with them.”
If something remains after people are gone, you simply burn it to ashes.
But what if those remnants had legs?
“No one knew at the time. That something left behind by the Five Venoms was still alive deep in Mount Aino.”
Over a century passed.
The dark legacy left behind by the Five Venoms seeped into Mount Aino, surviving in an untouched domain.
Feeding on one another, breeding, expanding… growing stronger.
“But in the end, our ancestors learned the truth—though not in a way anyone wanted.”
Three hundred elite warriors of the Southern Region were reduced to puddles of blood.
Two great chiefs and over ten tribal leaders were torn apart and killed.
It happened exactly one hundred years after the Five Venoms were supposedly wiped out—during the Tribal Assembly held on Mount Aino.
“Records say we were attacked not by men, but by rare venomous beasts and strange monsters unseen even in the Central Plains.”
Deadly poison without cure, and monstrous beasts with claws and fangs stronger than steel.
The Southern Beast Palace, caught off guard, suffered devastating losses.
They trembled at the realization that the Five Venoms’ shadow had never truly vanished.
“So once again, the entire Southern Region united. Every tribe sent its warriors to surround Mount Aino and exterminate the beasts.”
But their campaign was only half-successful.
They managed to burn some of the mountain and slay hundreds of beasts and venomous creatures, but the cost was too high.
And during that operation, invisible cracks began to form.
‘Now that I think about it… it was inevitable.’
Even something as simple as sharing a pizza—someone ends up with more toppings, someone with less.
The extermination effort on Mount Aino worked the same way.
Sensing danger, the venomous beasts turned into guerrillas, appearing all over the region.
The tribal leaders feared their own losses.
What could you even say? “Let’s all lose a few warriors each?” Split the deaths evenly? That’s absurd.
“…The tribes began to divide.
They tried fire tactics as a last resort, but it spread outward and caused more harm than good.
And even that wasn’t enough to burn the entire mountain.”
So the Southern Beast Palace had to retreat from Mount Aino.
But it wasn’t all for nothing.
“We suffered massive losses, but the threat lessened. We killed many of them and burned part of the mountain. That result was inevitable.”
“What happened afterward?”
“Mount Aino fell silent, but this time, no one lowered their guard.
We declared the entire mountain a forbidden zone.
Three hundred elite warriors—one hundred from each of three tribes—rotated guard duty.
And every year, four great chiefs led small-scale purges.
That’s how we’ve maintained peace for the past century.”
It was a practical compromise.
They avoided massive losses while remaining vigilant.
But the real problem now…
“Seems like that peace ends today.”
I muttered heavily, pointing ahead.
At the end of my outstretched finger, a shadow sat slumped against a tree in a narrow, dark valley—like the mouth of hell.
‘Shhhk!’
The Beast Miao King surged forward like a bolt of light, descending near the figure.
I dismounted the white tiger just behind him.
As he stood frozen before the figure, his face hardened like stone.
“…Too late. He’s already dead.”
I quietly nodded.
Even without being told, I would’ve known.
The stench hit long before I got close.
There’s only one cause of death capable of producing such a stench.
‘Poison. Definitely poison.’
And a potent one at that.
The figure slumped against the tree—no, the corpse—emitted such a foul stench and oozing blood that the surrounding grass and soil had turned black and dead.
Without mastering [Scorching Yang Energy] or any flame-based inner energy to counter poison, even a first-rate warrior wouldn’t survive three steps within that toxic aura.
‘Grrrr.’
I gently patted the white tiger, its brows furrowed, and asked,
“Someone you know?”
“He looks familiar. Must’ve been one of the warriors stationed here.”
“Do you normally post guards at the entrance?”
“Of course not. Every hand is precious when it comes to Mount Aino. The mountain is too vast, and although there are a few nearby villages, they know well not to approach.”
In short, this area had been strictly off-limits for generations.
There was no need for guards.
Which meant…
‘This guy came down from the mountain. Fleeing from something.’
I looked around.
Beyond the darkness, faint but clear footprints remained.
They were definitely human—not left by beasts or venomous creatures.
And more…
“There are wounds. Look at his side.”
Just as the Beast Miao King said, the man’s side was torn as if by claws.
His clothing shredded, his flesh blackened from venom.
“It’s not a weapon. Something rough and strong grazed him…”
“That’s what makes poison terrifying. Even a slight scratch can be fatal.”
If ‘this’ was the result of a mere graze…
Could it be something like the [Formless Absolute Poison] that nearly killed Jeok Cheon-Gang?
I turned my gaze from the corpse to the dark valley beyond.
I hadn’t seen it yet, but the scene played clearly in my mind.
He had likely been fleeing with all his might, staggering and falling, delirious from the poison—until he collapsed under that tree.
It was tragic.
But right now, what mattered more was finding what killed him.
Was it Dark Heaven?
Venomous beasts from Mount Aino?
Or venomous beasts ‘controlled by’ Dark Heaven?
Unanswered questions.
I looked at the Beast Miao King.
“Seems there’s only one way to find out.”
“Indeed.”
He growled, like an enraged beast.
“We’ll see with our own eyes what did this.”
‘Ding.’
‘ Investigate Mount Aino within the time limit. (Incomplete)
‘ Time remaining: 1 hour 24 minutes 32 seconds
—
It should’ve been dawn by now.
But Mount Aino remained engulfed in shadow.
No—it wasn’t just darkness that lingered here.
‘Blood scent.’
That all-too-familiar stench of blood was now like a guidepost.
Following the trail of a fallen warrior, the Beast Miao King and I rushed through the mountain.
Catching a new scent in the damp air, we turned without hesitation.
And then—we found it.
Countless corpses strewn across ridgelines.
And a stench so foul, it overpowered even the scent of blood.
The unmistakable stench of poison.
How many bodies? A hundred? More?
The foreboding suspicion I had earlier was now real.
As the horrifying scene spread before us, fire rose in the Beast Miao King’s eyes.
“Who… who dares do this?!”
As the master of the Southern Beast Palace, his fury was justified.
But instead of sharing his rage, I remained calm.
I gathered my energy and formed a [Qi Barrier] to block any sound from leaking as I carefully examined the bodies.
‘Fractures. Bruises. Dismemberment. Poison.’
Unlike the previous body, the ones here died in many different ways.
Some had limbs ripped off.
Some were poisoned.
Some were mauled to death.
‘If they were elite enough to guard Mount Aino, they had to be skilled.’
To die so horrifically…
While most Southern warriors were weaker than their Central Plains counterparts, there were exceptions—especially among elites.
Even more when you account for the beasts fighting alongside them.
‘Which makes this almost equivalent to one of the great sects.’
And then it hit me.
A chilling sense of wrongness.
I stopped in place.
Then I saw it—so did the white tiger, which let out a low, alert growl.
‘Where are the beasts?’
The warriors of the South are never alone.
Yet among over a hundred corpses, only three or four dead beasts were visible.
“Why…?”
As the question left my lips—
‘Ssssssh…’
A sinister, piercing aura rode the wind.
The Beast Miao King and I turned in unison.
We both saw it.
We both heard it.
‘Rustle…’
Far off, the grass quivered slightly.
The darkness itself shimmered like a living thing.
And then—
‘Grrr…’
From within the shadowed underbrush came a low growl.
Slowly, the world seemed to crawl.
And the darkness moved—creeping forward like death incarnate.
A massive figure cloaked in black.
Larger than any beast I’d ever seen.
Its bluish-white eyes burned with rage and nobility.
‘Black Tiger.’
The name struck me like lightning.
The moment I thought it—
The white tiger beneath me trembled.
‘ROOAAARRR!’
With a roar that split the sky and shook the earth—
the familiar bell echoed once again.
‘Ding.’
‘ [Wraith of Mount Aino] has appeared!