Chapter 376: At The Sea (6)

Kwaaang!

From a corner of the Salt Bones Ship,

The area where alcohol is stored,

An explosion echoes outwards.

Due to spatial compression, the space, as large as a small city, is filled with an enormous amount of alcohol.

From Lower Realm drinks like rice wine, moonshine, and wine, to high-quality Middle Realm liquors like Spirit Nectar, White-Red Wine and True Moon Dew, the enormous explosion just now has shattered their containers, causing the alcohol to flow throughout the storage area.

Baek Rin, holding Yuk Yo with one arm, is breathing heavily in that space.

Kwagwagwagwang!

Several members of the Fighting Ghost Race, including Jin Ma-yeol, fall before them.

Jin Ma-yeol, with an excited expression, smiles as his muscles bulge.

Zzirururururururu!

All five of Jin Ma-yeol's horns are vibrating simultaneously.

"This...fighting you who is holding Yuk Yo feels like I'm actually fighting Yuk Yo herself. I have no interest in Yuk Yo with her insect-like skills, but focusing only on her face during battle makes it feel like I'm doing what I wanted with Yuk Yo. It's very enjoyable."

His face is flushed red.

Baek Rin burst out with rage.

"Filthy bastard! Do not look at her with those eyes!"

"Who are you calling filthy? Yuk Yo is my betrothed, designated by the Governing Dragon Palace Lord. On the contrary, isn't it rather you who is the one running away after kidnapping my betrothed?"

"Who abuses their betrothed like that!? Stop spouting nonsense!"

"It's the traditional culture of our Fighting Ghost Race, is there a problem? If Yuk Yo doesn't want to be mistreated by me, she should also grow stronger, elevate her realm, and have a joyful battle together with me."

"Don't talk dogshit! Do you think I haven't encountered ghostly creatures of the Fighting Ghost Race in the Nether Ghost Realm? The Fighting Ghost Race always takes those of the same realm as betrothed, and consider fighting in the same realm as virtue! What you are doing is simply bullying the weak!"

"Is there a problem with disciplining a thief who stole my belongings?"

Jin Ma-yeol smiles sinisterly and extends his palm towards Baek Rin and Yuk Yo.

Kwaang!

A gigantic palm strike flies towards Baek Rin, who swiftly evades it.

The enormous barrel of alcohol behind Baek Rin shatters in an instant, and the alcohol inside flows out, turning the nearby area into a sea of wine.

Kwaduduk!

The sea of wine freezes due to Baek Rin's yin energy and ghostly energy, and ice spikes formed from the alcohol surge up.

Without using any spells, Jin Ma-yeol shatters the ice spikes purely with his physical strength and charges at Baek Rin.

"Come, bone fellow. Stop with the nonsense and make me more joyful. Make me happier!"

"Kugh...!"

With an excited expression, Jin Ma-yeol gathers energy in the air to create a chain sickle and swings it at Baek Rin.

Kwagagagak!

The land of ice created by Baek Rin is shattered in one blow.

Chwararararak!

Jin Ma-yeol's chain sickle wriggles as if alive, continually chasing Baek Rin.

Finally, the chain sickle descends towards Baek Rin.

Yuk Yo tightly closes her eyes, and Baek Rin shouts as he emits ghost fire.

"White Bone Shedding Shell Strategy, First Form!"

Kwaaang!

It looks as if the chain sickle pierces through Baek Rin's body, but Baek Rin splits into hundreds and thousands of afterimages, all fleeing in different directions.

Moreover, since all the afterimages are holding Yuk Yo, it's nearly impossible to tell which one is real!

However, Jin Ma-yeol licks his lips and becomes even more excited.

"Good...! Very good...! If a bug-like creature can't fight, it should at least have the skills to run away to make it enjoyable to catch!"

With a highly excited expression, Jin Ma-yeol swells his muscles and wildly swings his chain sickle in all directions.

Kuaaang!

It's as if a storm of chain sickles is raging.

After a while, two-thirds of Baek Rin's fleeing afterimages in the hall are annihilated.

And the remaining third is being quickly destroyed by Jin Ma-Yeol's hunting.

"Stop there, resist more! Hahaha! Make me happier!"

The real Baek Rin and Yuk Yo, without looking back at the chilling voice behind them, exit the alcohol storage.

Yuk Yo grabs Baek Rin's chest and shakes him.

"...It's enough now. Leave me and run away. If you're alone, you can surely escape, right?"

But Baek Rin burns with ghost fire in his eyes and speaks firmly.

"No!"

"Why not? You, didn't you become a ghostly creature because you didn't want to die? Jin Ma-yeol is an Integration stage Grand Cultivator! If you get him excited, he'll pounce on you in heat even if you're a ghostly creature!"

But Baek Rin shakes his head with a resolute face.

"The Cult Leader commanded me to take care of you. So, I won't run away leaving you behind."

"What crazy talk! If you die, it's over! Let me go! I'm telling you to abandon me!"

Yuk Yo tries to push Baek Rin away and escape from his embrace, but Baek Rin holds her tighter and says,

"...A long time ago, I once left my friends behind and ran away."

Baek Rin recalls the events in the Nether Ghost Realm.

The betrayal of Wei Shi-hon and the capture of Eum Wa by the Wuji Religious Order.

Now, he himself is devotedly loyal and inspired by the magnificent Wuji Religious Order, but at that time, it felt like the sky was falling.

"And...I had to pay a price for that."

The event that shattered Baek Rin's heart happened afterward.

'I liked...Eum Wa first...'

But Baek Rin ran away, leaving Eum Wa behind.

Because of that, Eum Wa married Wei Shi-hon.

Thus, Baek Rin had to lose the one he loved to his best friend.

That was the price of running away.

"I will never run away again!"

Baek Rin, hugging Yuk Yo, exits the alcohol storage and runs towards the food storage.

The food storage is actually smaller than the alcohol storage, about the size of a small village at most.

However, it's filled with the carcasses of giant demon beasts and all sorts of food, and Baek Rin hides behind the massive bones of a demon beast that's against the wall with Yuk Yo.

When Baek Rin forms a hand seal, the bones of the demon beast moves and cleverly conceals them.

"Do not worry. My White Bone Shedding Shell Strategy has even evaded the pursuit of the Six Extremes Ghost King of our order who prides himself on his lightning speed. He won't find us easily."

He speaks while panting, and Yuk Yo, after looking at Baek Rin for a moment, smiles.

"...Would you like to know a secret of our clan?"

"Suddenly...?"

"Our clan, in the distant past, had an ancestor from the Sea Dragon Race. That's why we have some Sea Dragon blood within us. Although we are a hybrid of carp and sea dragon...anyway, my father, being from the carp lineage, succeeded in Dragon Transformation and became a part of the Dragon Race."

“What does that have to do with the current situation?"

"It's important. The Black Dragon Race has the authority to govern all yin aspects of Heaven and Earth, and as a branch of the Black Dragon Race, the Sea Dragon Race has the authority to govern all seas of Heaven and Earth."

She continues her explanation.

"The Sea Dragon Race is far inferior to the Black Dragon Race in handling yin energy, but they are actually more specialized in controlling the 'sea'. And the sea that the Sea Dragon Race can handle is not limited to just saltwater."

Yuk Yo's eyes sparkle.

"The sea of the Ancient Force Realm can also be controlled to some extent. No, to be precise, the Sea Dragon Race is the only race that can rise to the surface from the sea of the Ancient Force Realm without an ancient stone. They can find the 'paths' of the sea!"

She begins to undo her top.

Exposing her chest, Yuk Yo points to the vicinity of her heart.

"Take my heart. The Sea Dragon True Blood I contain is very inferior and insignificant, so my father treated me like trash. Though that's why I was able to survive...last time, I awakened a bit more of the Sea Dragon True Blood thanks to the energy from Sir Seo Ran. After taking my heart, the source of my Sea Dragon energy, pierce through the ship and swim through the sea of the Ancient Force Realm to the sea surface."

Baek Rin looks at Yuk Yo's face for a moment before speaking.

"Why would you go to such lengths for me...?"

Yuk Yo's body and voice trembles as she speaks.

"I kept deceiving and trying to escape, but the only one who treated me consistently is you."

At those words, Baek Rin is silent for a moment and then arranges Yuk Yo's clothes.

"I don't need it. I..."

At that moment.

Kuaang!

The door to the food storage shatters, and Jin Ma-yeol walks in with a sinister smile.

"I've caught all the runaway clones. I know you're in there. Come out."

Baek Rin flinches.

He can tell.

Jin Ma-yeol's consciousness is pinpointing exactly where Baek Rin and Yuk Yo are hiding.

Baek Rin steps forward with Yuk Yo in front of Jin Ma-yeol.

"How did you find all those clones so quickly...!?"

Jin Ma-yeol chuckles.

"I'm a hunter. I excel at tracking, hiding, and hunting. The same goes for the crew members of my pirate gang who learned these skills...In fact, I already knew your location."

He points to Yuk Yo's chest.

"Has it been just once or twice that deceitful thing tried to escape? I placed a tracking spell on that carp's heart. As long as she doesn't have the courage to rip out her own heart, you were always in my grasp."

Yuk Yo shrinks at his words.

Baek Rin glances at Yuk Yo briefly.

Jin Ma-yeol, seeing Yuk Yo's demeanor, exclaims as if realizing something.

"Ah! I think I know what scam that scammer tried to pull on you. Did she perhaps tell you something like 'if you take my heart, you can escape,' or something of the sort?"

"..."

Baek Rin remains silent, and Yuk Yo shrinks even more.

Jin Ma-yeol laughs out loud as he reads Yuk Yo's intent.

"So it's true. Last time, I cast a similar spell on her leg, and she escaped by giving her lower body to one of my subordinates. Since she reached the Nascent Soul stage, losing a major part like that wouldn't kill her, so it isn't even an issue. Haha, how do you feel? Do you still intend to protect that thing? I'll give you one last chance. Hand over Yuk Yo and get lost. You seem to have exhausted your energy anyway, so I can't even get excited. I'll let you escape."

Yuk Yo bites her lip hard.

However, Baek Rin does not move.

Rather, he only lights up the circuits implanted by Kim Yeon, igniting his fighting spirit.

"...What's this? Didn't I tell you she deceived you?"

However, Baek Rin only ignites his ghost fire.

"It doesn't matter. I was never interested, nor did I plan to run away!"

"Hoh...you're brimming with momentum."

Baek Rin stands his ground, blocking the path to Yuk Yo, while Yuk Yo looks at him with a complicated expression.

"Good...! I like people like that too! Come, then. Serve me more!"

Jin Ma-yeol, excited by Baek Rin's refusal to back down, begins to approach them with an excited expression.

And then, it happens.

Kugugugu!

The ship suddenly shakes violently, and the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy changes.

Reading the change in the spiritual energy, Yuk Yo's eyes brighten, while Jin Ma-yeol frowns.

'Damn it...!'

"Sir Baek Rin! The Salt Bones Ship has surfaced!"

As soon as Yuk Yo's words are heard, Baek Rin scatters a spell towards the wall, instantly creating a hole.

What appears is not the dark, gloomy dimension of the Deep Sea but a clear seascape.

Paaaatt!

Baek Rin quickly grabs Yuk Yo and escapes using the Flying Escape Technique.

Jin Ma-yeol, with an enraged expression, chases after the two demon spirits and extends his hand.

Kugugugu!

Attraction force of an Integration stage Grand Cultivator emits from his hand, pulling Baek Rin and Yuk Yo towards him.

Having exhausted his strength, Baek Rin begins to be dragged towards Jin Ma-yeol.

He grits his teeth.

'Damn...is this how it ends?'

Yuk Yo's betrayal doesn't affect him at all.

Though it's fine now, he had been betrayed by a closer friend before, and he had his first love taken by that friend as well.

Baek Rin exhales as he feels the ghost fire in his eyes dimming.

'Still...the Conqueror King and the Mysterious Bizarre Ghost King, those two should be able to escape. With this, my duty is done...'

And then.

Kuwaaang!

A beam of light from somewhere explodes on Jin Ma-yeol's arm.

Baek Rin, with his mouth agape in disbelief, looks towards the direction where the beam came from.

"Your Highness!! Why did you not flee!?"

It's Kim Yeon and Buk Hyang-hwa.

Paaaatt!

The two puppeteers, riding on a puppet with each of their heads emerging from the puppet's head, swiftly rush forward and snatch Baek Rin and Yuk Yo who are being dragged by Jin Ma-yeol.

"Don't worry as good news is on the way!"

Kim Yeon says with a bright smile as she flies away quickly, and Buk Hyang-hwa reassuringly smiles in agreement.

Behind them, the furious Integration stage Grand Cultivator, Jin Ma-yeol, begins to pursue them.

Chwarururuk!

He swings his chain sickle once and the puppet is sliced in half.

But as Buk Hyang-hwa manipulates something, the four people inside the puppet are immediately ejected forward.

Buk Hyang-hwa shouts as she signals to the puppet.

"General Buk, self-destruct!"

Kwaaang!

The puppet they ejected from self-destructs, creating a cloud of smoke.

But Jin Ma-yeol pushes through the mist and catches up right behind them, swinging his chain sickle.

Kim Yeon gathers the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, and Baek Rin emits repulsive force.

However, Jin Ma-yeol's chain sickle ignores all their defenses and splits Kim Yeon's right arm, Buk Hyang-hwa's upper body, and Baek Rin's skull in half.

"Kugheok!"

Buk Hyang-hwa vomits blood, and Kim Yeon quickly regenerates her arm, shrinking her consciousness domain.

The consciousness domain, gathered in the form of a fingernail on Kim Yeon's left arm, momentarily appears to be tinged with a pink hue before launching as a massive slash towards Jin Ma-yeol.

Kwaaang!

It's the martial art Kim Yeon occasionally used to shatter the Wuji Religious Order's training formations, emitting immense power.

Jin Ma-yeol looks to ignore it and charge forward, but his expression changes drastically for a moment, and he unfolds his domain to defend against Kim Yeon's strike.

Taking advantage of that gap, Kim Yeon swiftly uses the Flying Escape Technique while holding the others.

"Sir Baek Rin, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am a ghostly creature so it doesn't matter!"

"Buk Hyang-hwa, are you okay?"

But Buk Hyang-hwa does not answer.

Kim Yeon can immediately identify the cause.

'Her Nascent Soul is injured!'

"Buk Hyang-hwa, Buk Hyang-hwa! Wake up! Get a grip!"

Kim Yeon's voice trembles.

She quickly uses consciousness threads to seal the wound and support the Nascent Soul from dispersing, but Buk Hyang-hwa, her breath faint, onlys looks up at Kim Yeon with blurry eyes.

"Buk Hyang-hwa!!! Hyang-hwa, wake up! I won't call you Wah-Wah anymore! S-So...don't die! Please!"

Kwaaang!

Jin Ma-yeol, who has shaken off Kim Yeon's slash, is chasing after them from behind.

[This...I didn't realize it before, but the Mysterious Bizarre Ghost King is quite the impressive fighter as well!]

Licking his lips, he follows Kim Yeon with a chain sickle and a grotesque sword in both hands.

In an instant, Jin Ma-yeol catches up with Kim Yeon and raises his grotesque sword.

[Now, take this as well...!]

The next moment,

Jin Ma-yeol is split in half.

Kwaaang!

As Kim Yeon looks back, preparing for another strike, she collides with something massive while flying.

"Ah..."

Tears well up in Kim Yeon's eyes.

"E-Eun-hyun...Buk Hyang-hwa is...right now..."

[Got it.]

The Ghost King with 19 heads gestures to the giant centipede behind him.

The giant centipede quickly brings a floating magic artifact, lays down Baek Rin, Kim Yeon, and Buk Hyang-hwa, and begins treating them.

I look with a cold gaze at Jin Ma-yeol, whose split body is reattaching in front of me.

He licks his lips with an excited expression.

Zzirurururururu!

His vibrating horns are for some reason quite unpleasant.

"This...! It's the best. Wuji Cult leader, will you entertain me as well? Let's compete! It's a pity you have the form of a ghostly creature, but with a strong opponent like you, it doesn't matter! Let us intertwine our bodies together and dance! Hahaha! This excitement I couldn't feel even with that Six Extremes Ghost King...! Hurry, come at me!"

I stare at him briefly before gathering both hands with curses and blessings.

[Great Mountain!]

"What! W-Wait! Damn it, you coward! Don't do that, let's clash body to body while we fight..."

[Splitting Emperor!]

A pure white light envelops Heaven and Earth.