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Chapter 323. Black Forest (3)
Spiritual Medicine.
Beneficial existences born where the energies of heaven and earth converge.
Medicines that extend the lifespan of ordinary people, and grant martial artists power that defies common sense.
Life is the most precious thing to everyone, and power is something everyone desires—thus Spiritual Medicine holds value beyond that of any treasure.
Martial artists in particular, who would stop at nothing to grow stronger, sometimes wagered their most precious possession—their very lives—to obtain it.
Ё ńǔ m̈а.i d̂
In Yang Ja-pyeong's view, that was an utterly foolish notion.
'The problem is they never imagine they'll actually have to trade their lives for it.'
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The Black Forest hadn't been designated a Forbidden Zone by the Murim Alliance for no reason.
Too many martial artists set foot in it carelessly.
Too many martial artists died easily.
The vast majority of flora, fauna, and insects inhabiting the Black Forest harbored deadly venom, and having grown in an unchecked environment, even those chosen by the spiritual vein tended to grow into Demonic Beasts.
W е b̂nо̂v ӗ l̂_ Е̄nu ḿ а̄
Lose your way, find a Spiritual Medicine, become a master, and you'll overcome anything—the arrogance of a martial artist was utterly shattered the moment they first set foot in the forest.
Venomous insects everywhere.
Natural Formations that scrambled your sense of direction.
Venomous creatures that attacked day and night.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Before they could even find Spiritual Medicine, martial artists were reduced to prey for the Black Forest.
That was precisely why Yang Ja-pyeong's Southern Fist Sect, as the custodians of the Black Forest, received tens of thousands of taels in annual support from the Murim Alliance.
Ėǹ um̊а. і d̂
Just moments ago was proof enough.
A Three-Forked Serpent, which should never appear at the forest's edge, had suddenly lunged out and sent a chill down Yang Ja-pyeong's spine.
"......There's no record of a Three-Forked Serpent yielding a Spiritual Pill."
He had no idea how the man had spotted the Three-Forked Serpent, but seeing as the Academy Representative was holding the snake and prattling about Spiritual Medicine, it seemed he still didn't understand the terrors of this forest.
"......Then what about a poison core? Judging by the size, this one seems pretty old."
"Creatures of the Black Forest have entirely different size standards from those in the Central Plains. These things don't hibernate—they grow year-round."
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The Academy Representative wore a crestfallen expression......
What was his name again? Jin something-or-other, he thought.
"Then what about venom? Does it not have a poison core?"
He'd heard the man was a disciple of a Daoist sect. He didn't even use poisons, so why the interest? Surely not......
"You don't think a poison core counts as Spiritual Medicine, do you?"
He had no idea how such a preposterous notion had spread.
Ŵе b̀n о̊ v̀ el̇ Еn̆ü m̀a_
The nonsensical tale that consuming a poison core and surviving it could yield greater inner arts.
Whenever he surveyed the Black Forest, eight out of ten corpses he found were people whose bodies had dissolved from poison cores.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'If someone had enough inner arts to dissolve a poison core, they wouldn't have needed to come here in the first place.'
Even if one did manage to digest a poison core, all it yielded was a negligible amount of inner arts and poison resistance.
And the risk far outweighed the gain.
"Please, don't even think about it. Consuming a poison core is far more likely to kill you than grant you inner arts. Besides, the Three-Forked Serpent's venom is only a mild paralytic. These things simply swallow their prey whole."
Е̂ n̆ u_m̂ ӑ
At Yang Ja-pyeong's words, Jin So-un—who'd been wearing that crestfallen expression—let a smile play across his lips.
Why? The man was smiling, so why did it feel so unsettling......?
"A paralytic, you say......"
The moment he loosened the thread restraining its jaws, the Three-Forked Serpent—its venom surging—split its maw wide open.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"W-wait, what are you doing?!"
What was that man's name again?
W ѐb̊ n о̆vēl Ӗn̆um а̊
He'd never been good at remembering men's names, so it simply wouldn't come to him.
......He should've made a point of remembering a madman like this regardless.
The madman—Jin something-or-other—was bringing the Three-Forked Serpent's gaping maw toward his own arm.
"Y-Young Master Jin! What are you doing?!"
Seong Mo-ran shrieked.
Sa-ryeon's expression hardened as she yelled.
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"Jin So-un! Put that down! Now!"
Right! The madman's name was Jin So-un.
"Jin So......!"
Yang Ja-pyeong called the madman's name and moved to stop him—then froze.
"Don't want to."
He witnessed Jin So-un, wearing the most innocent of smiles, pressing the Three-Forked Serpent's mouth to his own arm.
Е́ n̄ um̊а̇ . іd
CRUNCH—!
***
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Paralytic venom.
People often perceived paralytic venom as the safest among poisons.
Paralytic venom was frequently used in medical procedures to alleviate pain, after all.
But the fact that a venomous creature carried paralytic venom should be understood to mean that its venom didn't need to be potent for it to survive in the wild.
Ēṅ u̇ m̊ а. ї d̆
Just like right now.
HISSSS.
The Three-Forked Serpent's paralytic venom might not be particularly potent, but that was by the Black Forest's standards.
Compared to venom that dissolved the body on contact, a poison that immobilized someone for half a day could certainly seem like nothing.
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Having injected its paralytic venom into its prey, the Three-Forked Serpent began coiling around its victim, starting from the legs.
SNAP, SNAP, SNAP.
Ė ñū m a.іd́
The Three-Forked Serpent—strong enough to crush an ordinary man's bones with ease—wrapped itself around Jin So-un's body and split its maw wide.
From its gaping jaws, opened as wide as a human head, droplets of venom dripped steadily.
"Damn it!"
"Stop it!"
Jin So-un's companions rushed toward the Three-Forked Serpent, but they were too slow to match the instinct-driven speed of the creature.
CHOMP.
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The Three-Forked Serpent swallowed his head whole, and Seong Mo-ran fainted on the spot.
Yang Ja-pyeong hastily shouted to the others.
"D-don't move!"
Informal speech had slipped out involuntarily.
But now was no time for courtesy.
"......Do not move. If you agitate it now, that crazy...... I mean, Representative Jin's head will be ripped off in an instant."
W е̄_b̂ n оv̈еl̊ Е̄n̂ u m̆а
This was the terror of the Black Forest.
In the Central Plains, snakes that were attacked mid-swallow often ended up trapped—unable to proceed or retreat—and died as a result.
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But the cunning Three-Forked Serpent, the moment it was attacked, would tear the prey in its jaws apart with terrifying bite force and move on to its next hunt.
"Th-then what do we do?"
"......"
What do we do?
Е n̊ u̇m̈ â
Yang Ja-pyeong had never been in a situation where he needed to rescue someone from a Three-Forked Serpent—the question weighed far too heavily.
"First, we need...... something strong enough to hold the jaws open. A sturdy iron rod."
Ordinary wood wouldn't do. The snake would shatter it far too easily.
But even if they had an iron rod, the next problem remained.
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Who was going to pry the Three-Forked Serpent's jaws apart?
'......There's nothing to do but watch him die.'
E ńu m а . i̊ d̈
In the end, the only choices laid before them were a cruel either-or: watch him die slowly or watch him die quickly.
He'd mentioned the iron rod only because he couldn't bring himself to speak that despairing truth.
Where in the heart of the Black Forest would anyone find an iron rod......
"Will this do?"
An iron rod was thrust right under his nose.
Clearly as sturdy as they came.
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Why was this here?
"Oh, my bow is an iron bow. When you unstring it, it looks like this."
"......"
No, this shouldn't be here......
"What do we do next?"
Then someone stepped forward carrying an iron shield.
W е̊b̂ n о̆ v́ ë l̂ E̊ ňu m а
Yang Ja-pyeong stammered.
"......First, pry the jaws open and fix the rod in place......"
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But the words wouldn't come easily.
Rescuing a human from a Three-Forked Serpent meant the rescuer had to risk their life too.
A Three-Forked Serpent whose hunt was interrupted became more ferocious than ever.
"Fix it, and then......, and then......"
Е̊ ṅ.ŭm a .î d̂
As if sensing Yang Ja-pyeong's turmoil, the one who'd introduced himself as the second of the three brothers stepped forward with a sigh.
"......We're the ones who have to clean up our Eldest Senior Brother's crap."
He intended to step in himself?
Thinking it was bravado born of ignorance about the Three-Forked Serpent's danger, Yang Ja-pyeong moved to stop him—
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"Hyung and Senior Sister, please hold one side of the jaws each. Then Dong-ryong and I will lock the rod in place. And if anything goes wrong, the rest of you step in."
—but the man was already issuing orders with practiced ease and approaching the serpent.
W̌ еb̈ n̈ о v̌ е̃ l _Е́ n̈ uṁ а̃
"Wait! The Three-Forked Serpent is beyond what you can imagine......"
"Yeah. I get the gist. Your reaction alone told me enough."
"......"
"But we can't exactly leave him, can we?"
He looked at Jin So-un—visible only from the neck down—with irreverent eyes and shook his head.
"......He's a damned fool, but he's still our Eldest Senior Brother."
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Being paralyzed didn't mean his ears had stopped working......
Just as the four of them let out deep sighs and were about to charge at the Three-Forked Serpent—
SNAP, SNAP, SNAP.
A sound like leather straps tearing began to fill the air.
At first, they assumed the Three-Forked Serpent was tightening its grip, crushing Jin So-un's bones.
But instead, the coils wrapped around Jin So-un were slowly loosening.
W ѐbṅ оv̆ӗl̆ _E̊n umã
'The paralytic venom's already worn off???'
The Taeul Sect disciples who'd been approaching the serpent froze in their tracks.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
And they watched the Three-Forked Serpent in silence.
SNAP, SNAP, SNAP.
Through the widening gaps in the serpent's coils—
SLIIIIDE.
Ẃе b̈ n̄о v̊_е l Èǹúm̊a
......two hands thrust outward and seized both sides of the snake's jaws that had swallowed his head.
"......How dare you...... call your sky-high Eldest Senior Brother...... a damned fool?!!!"
CRACK, CRACK.
Then he began prying the Three-Forked Serpent's gaping jaws even wider.
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At first, the serpent tightened its coils, clamping down on Jin So-un harder—but its body loosened, and now it was thrashing desperately to escape his grip.
Yet the more it struggled, the further Jin So-un tore its jaws apart.
Еn_u̇m а̀ . і́ d
CRACK, CRACK.
THRASH, THRASH.
Bones snapped, and the Three-Forked Serpent's enormous body whipped in every direction like a cracking whip.
Yang Ja-pyeong and the rest of the vanguard team had to twist and dodge wildly to avoid the serpent's flailing tail.
And a moment later—
THUMP.
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The Three-Forked Serpent, its jaws ripped to tatters, slumped lifelessly to the ground.
And Jin So-un—who'd climbed into the serpent's maw of his own accord and back out again—glared at the one who'd issued orders and snarled.
"Lee Eun-ho! I heard your voice clear as day!"
The man in question shifted his tone without missing a beat.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean. I didn't say a word."
"Get over here, you bastard!"
Ẇе́ ḃṅ о̂v̆.е.l̃ Ě nu m а
The Taeul Sect disciples returned to normal as though nothing had happened.
The others let out long sighs, but not a single face showed the aftereffects of having brushed with death.
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'......What in the world are these people?'
Yang Ja-pyeong and his people had lived rough enough that the Central Plains folk might well call them barbarians—yet even by his standards, the Taeul Sect disciples looked like they were out of their minds.
***
"Ex......cuse me?"
W eb ńо̀vеl Е̂ ǹ ŭ m̂ ӑ
I've been seeing that expression a lot lately.
I averted my gaze slightly from Sa-ryeon and spoke.
"This is something you can't do in the Central Plains, so......"
"Excuse me?"
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"What I'm saying is, in the Central Plains......"
"Ex. Cuse. Me?"
Ёnum̂ à .і̃ ḋ
She'd clearly heard me just fine.
The repeated questioning meant she had no intention of letting this slide.
In that case, I'd change tactics.
"What do you think kills a martial artist most often when they're in danger?"
"Why are you...... suddenly changing the subject?"
"Poison and hidden weapons. You know that as well as I do."
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"......Even so."
I cut Sa-ryeon off before she could finish.
"I have to survive longer than anyone. The revival and protection of the Taeul Sect is more important to me than anything. To that end, I absolutely cannot afford to die easily."
"......"
"Hidden weapons can be blocked one way or another, but there's no easy defense against poison. And it's not as though we can afford the Hundred-Poison Pills that the Tang Clan sells!"
The Hundred-Poison Pill was a specialized poison-resistance pill sold by the Tang Clan.
E̊ n um̀а
A special poison core that built resistance to the hundred most common poisons that killed martial artists—and because it raised poison resistance relatively safely, its price was beyond absurd.
Sa-ryeon, who understood their circumstances well, couldn't bring herself to say a word.
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I deliberately cried out as if in anguish.
"I need this more desperately than anything! I may never achieve imperviousness to ten thousand poisons, but at the very least, I need to withstand a thousand if I'm to protect my junior brothers and the people of the Taeul Sect!"
"......"
The sharp glare in Sa-ryeon's eyes shifted to something sorrowful.
Е ñ u m̄_а. îd.
She bit down hard on her firmly pressed lips—she seemed to have nothing more to say.
As expected, 'understanding' was easier than 'persuasion.'
"Hah...... then just buy the Hundred-Poison Pills. This is...... too dangerous."
What—what is she even saying?
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"Do you have any idea how much a Hundred-Poison Pill costs?! It's free here!"
Sa-ryeon, who'd been listening, clawed at her own hair in frustration.
Е̊ñûmа́.
"Aaagh! I don't care!! Do whatever you want! Soak in poison and die for all I care!!"
Admittedly, he did need to adjust his methods a bit.
He'd deliberately let a live one bite him, thinking the venom would be fresher—but as he'd just seen, unforeseen situations could always arise.
Besides, the experience of being inside the Three-Forked Serpent's mouth had been...... not exactly pleasant.
Just then—
"R-Representative...... did you really let it bite you on purpose to build poison resistance?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Yang Ja-pyeong approached, his shoulders somehow slumped.
What's wrong with him?
His large frame had seemed to carry such pride before.
I gave a light shrug.
"Well, that's part of it. I also needed to test how dangerous it was before my junior brothers trained."
"Your junior brothers too???"
Ě_n_u m̂ а
The big man's face went oddly pale.
I pulled out one of the Three-Forked Serpent's fangs.
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CRACK.
A long venom sac came away with the tooth.
I looked at the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers.
Sa-ryeon was out of the question given the current mood.
Е̄ n̊uma
Geum-pyo and Eun-ho were, predictably, shaking their heads furiously.
I turned to them with a bright curl of my eyes.
"Shall I come to you? Or will you come to me?"
At that moment, Dong-ryong courageously stepped forward from beside them.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"E-Eldest Senior Brother, I'll go first."
As expected, Dong-ryong was the sharpest of the three.
Ŵ е b n̄.о v е l̆ Е̊ ñů m ã
Might as well get it over with before getting hit, right?
Just as I was about to drive the Three-Forked Serpent's fang into Dong-ryong's outstretched forearm—
Dong-ryong flinched in surprise.
"E-Eldest Senior Brother!"
"I haven't stuck it in yet."
"That's not it—b-behind you......"
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"Hm?"
I turned my head to find Sa-ryeon glaring at me with the expression of a wrathful spirit.
"It wasn't enough doing it alone...... now you're dragging the junior brothers into it?!"
I tried to dodge in a hurry—
"Where do you think you're going!"
—but it was already too late to escape Sa-ryeon, whose martial skills had matured considerably of late.
Ẁ_e b̆ nо̂ v̈ е_l̃ Е̊ṅ um а̂
SMACK.
A pain like a branding iron seared across his back.
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***
The main body arrived a day after the vanguard team.
Our vanguard team then left the main body behind and ventured deeper into the forest.
The destination was the base camp located at the center of the Black Forest.
W̃ е̄b n̊ о̌v̄е̄ l̈ Е̃ ñ u mа̄
Since it was merely a matter of tidying up the campsite used by previous classes, there was nothing strenuous for the vanguard team.
According to Yang Ja-pyeong—who, for some reason, had put his shirt back on and stopped going bare-chested after the first day—the same site had been used for training every time since the Black Forest was first opened to Academy students.
"After all, it's...... dangerous to move around the Black Forest carelessly."
"I see."
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"But, are you planning to continue with...... that?"
Yang Ja-pyeong swallowed hard, eyeing the purple poisonous mushroom in my hand.
Е̊ n̈ úṁ а . íd
"I've barely started."
So far, the number of poisons he'd consumed was a mere ten or so.
With the task of securing the base camp, he hadn't been able to properly search for poisons.
Since ingesting the Three-Forked Serpent's paralytic venom, he still hadn't encountered anything more potent.
I waved the mushroom and smiled.
"It's actually a relief. It doesn't seem as dangerous as I thought."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Is...... that so?"
"Still, you won't let us roam freely, will you?"
This was the most frustrating part.
Unlike the Fire Desert or Ice Sea, the Black Forest only allowed movement within strictly designated areas.
"That...... would be correct."
Yang Ja-pyeong's response was oddly lukewarm.
Е̄n ǔ m а .í d
For some reason, opportunities to converse with him had dwindled noticeably since that incident.
Well, probably just his imagination.
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The base camp they reached after a week of travel was far more spacious than the site at the forest's edge.
This camp, at least, had been built with some care—gravel had been laid across the ground, preventing large trees from growing.
With nothing particular to do, they waited for the main body to arrive. Exactly one day later, the main body reached the base camp.
While the Academy students set up their tents in designated zones and prepared for the remaining three weeks—
Е̃ǹu mа̊
The team leaders from each squad gathered at the instructors' tent.
Once he confirmed all the team leaders had assembled, No Jin-ha began with an interesting topic.
"It's not as though the Great Journeys of the past were entirely free of criticism for being mere formalities. Well, that was a common complaint even in our time."
After laying this groundwork—
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"Last class, Yong So-ah even subjugated the Takun tribe."
—he stoked their competitive spirit to rouse their emotions.
Ĕ n̂ ū m̃ а̇
Then came the suggestive undertone.
"So, surely you lot—who are no less capable than the previous class—aren't going to just sit around, are you?"
And finally, the main point.
"How about we make a map of the Black Forest while we're at it? Explore the terrain, hunt some Demonic Beasts along the way."
The team leaders' faces stiffened noticeably, but apart from that—
'He actually came up with something this clever?'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
My, my, this bast...... no, this instructor. I thought all he ever did was run his mouth and get slapped for it, but every now and then he says something right.
It felt like being told we were going on a treasure hunt.
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