The Hundred Meetings (3)
I recalled the inscription on the stone I had seen in the previous Deungsunhyang.
The upper part had been broken away, leaving only this lower section visible.
Clearly, this was the lower half of a broken stone slab!
I had not connected it to Won Rip at the time, because nothing about the black castle near the Seopmyeong Ship suggested any relation.
Yet now…
Fourteen thousand years ago, in the same place, I had seen a stone plaque bearing the words “Geumsin Cheonroe.”
Who could have imagined?
This fellow had been involved with the Golden Divine Thunder Gate all along.
Of course, the finer details could wait.
First I had to suppress him and learn everything.
[Ah… kwek…!]
The instant Won Rip opened his mouth and vomited blood, I shot forward.
Kugugu-gung!
My invisible sword sliced through the air at blinding speed and slammed into his barrier.
As long as we did not destroy the entire castle, we could still tap into Core Formation–level power here.
“But the situation is different from my previous life.”
Twang!
I kicked Won Rip directly.
He had tried to raise his barrier, yet the invisible sword pierced straight through and struck his abdomen.
Puk!
A fistful of blood sprayed from his mouth.
The kicked man tumbled outward through the shattered walls of the black castle.
Kwaaaang!
The moment we left the castle’s domain, his performance collapsed to barely Core Formation standard.
[This bastard…!]
Won Rip ground his teeth and pulled seven talismans from his sleeve.
He opened the talisman drawer and released two ghostly kings formed of blood.
Seven yao hun beasts erupted into the air.
Yet…
“By the name of my disciple Seo Ran.”
Seo Ran’s voice thundered across the desert.
“Children of the sea shall prostrate before the Sea Dragon King’s bloodline.”
Ziiiiing!
Seo Ran’s command turned into a binding spirit and wrapped around the yao hun.
The Sea Dragon yao hun dropped instantly, bowing low.
Those who had refused the command also trembled and knelt.
“Fellows above Core Formation level cannot be restrained for long!”
Seo Ran shouted urgently.
I nodded.
“Kiyaaaah!”
“Kuwaaaah!”
Two blood-formed ghostly kings howled, each gripping a sickle.
But from behind, a booming voice cut in.
“Under the name of the Seopmyeong Ship!”
“And beneath the bridge that crosses the Ming River, all ghosts shall bow!”
Kugugu-gugu!
A powerful suction force suddenly yanked at their spirits from the Seopmyeong Ship.
“Kuaaah!”
“Keyaaaaak!”
The two ghostly kings screamed and stabbed their sickles into the desert floor to anchor themselves against the pull.
In an instant, three of Won Rip’s strongest servants were neutralized.
“Seo Ran and Song Jin… they make the perfect counter for Won Rip.”
In my previous life I had watched Seo Ran suppress a fully recovered Won Rip using the Profound Wind Severing Blood Blade. This time it felt even simpler.
Of course, if Won Rip had properly recovered his Blood Spirits and supplied his yao hun and ghostly kings with Core Formation energy, even Seo Ran or Song Jin would have found it far harder.
But the moment he was kicked outside the castle, everything changed.
Thud… thud…
I drew my invisible sword and walked toward the defeated man.
[Kuk…! This damned fellow! Do you think I’ll just let you—]
Boom, boom, boom!
Around him, the Goryeok Pocket Talisman, Spear Talisman, and Mirror Skeleton Staff rose.
At the same time, five Five Elements Blood Curse Flags hovered above his head.
Chrrararararack!
The flags shot straight at my head.
I took them without a care.
Puk!
A faint sting spread through me. The flags sank into the Five Elements Blood Curse Flag resting in my dantian and were absorbed.
[What…!]
Won Rip shuddered, voice shaking with panic.
Thud… thud…
I walked slowly toward him.
“That reaction… you really do carry the Five Elements Blood Curse Flag, don’t you? Then…”
Seventeen Goryeok Pocket Talismans spun.
I swung my invisible sword.
The spirit thread connecting the talismans to Won Rip snapped cleanly.
The talismans dropped to the ground.
[Ah…!]
A blood-formed ghostly king burst from a blood spear and seized it.
The moment it appeared, it slammed the spear into the desert and desperately anchored itself against the Seopmyeong Ship’s suction.
Only the Mirror Skeleton Staff remained.
[Kuuuuk…!]
Won Rip groaned and began casting spells.
Chwaja-jwaja-jwajeok!
Light burst from the staff. Blood Wood sprouted from the desert floor and a sea of blood engulfed everything.
Blood clouds rose, smothering Won Rip’s body.
In an instant the entire desert became his domain.
Blood rivers surged toward me.
Countless skulls charged from the blood clouds.
Blood arrows shot from the sea of blood.
The whole world turned blood-red.
I swung my sword.
Kwaaaang!
A single slash.
All the scattered spells were swept away in one stroke.
Yet the slash did not lose power; its trajectory twisted and stretched like barbed wire, piercing straight toward the heavens and earth.
Won Rip fought with countless techniques, but the blade sliced through strong parts and severed weak ones, erasing everything.
And finally…
Chwaak!
Won Rip’s body was hurled into a storm of trajectories and turned into bloody paste.
Of course…
Chwul, chwurruk!
The instant he absorbed the blood clouds, his flesh writhed and regeneration began.
But the process took far too long.
Two breaths.
Two breaths was enough time for me to swing the invisible sword hundreds of times.
Kwaaang!
Kwaang, kwaang!
Everything in front of me had been swept away. In the blink of an eye I stood before the regenerating Won Rip and kicked him.
Jeeo-eeng!
The regenerating body flew far into the desert again.
Churruruk!
Like a cockroach, the man kept regenerating mid-flight.
But somehow I had already climbed back above him.
I bent my knees, straightened my legs, and brought both feet down like hammers.
Puk!
Won Rip’s body split in two and crashed to the ground.
Chwak, chwarararak!
Fish made of blood shot at me from the broken pieces.
Bung, bung, bung, bung!
My invisible sword spun around me.
In perfect coordination I shredded the swarm of fish and dropped straight down.
Thud!
Half of Won Rip’s upper body exploded into pulp.
From the lower half he was already regenerating the upper body.
Wooong!
I felt air burst behind my back.
I had turned his upper body into blood. Now I stepped on the lower half that was regenerating and slammed my hand down.
Kwaaaang!
The regenerating body beneath the palm split in half.
“Kugugu…”
The regenerating body and the ground below created a canyon. Won Rip was halved.
“Keep regenerating, you cockroach.”
Chwuk, churruruk!
The broken halves began to reattach.
Hwaruruk!
His blood turned into blood fire that swallowed me.
But the invisible sword flowed through my body and sliced straight through the flames. I reached out.
Kwack!
My hand closed around Won Rip’s head.
“I will kill you until you are dead.”
I gripped his head and drove it into the desert floor.
Twaaaak!
His upper body vanished together with the slash marks.
At that moment, Won Rip’s regeneration power clearly slowed.
Shlik, shiriririk!
I watched the upper body he was forcing back and lifted my foot.
[Wa, wait…]
Kwaaaang!
In my previous life I had been too cautious, watching Goe-gun and Seo Hyoel, and had killed him too easily.
It was fortunate I had been so fast.
Goe-gun had still been holding back among the Heavenly Persons.
If I had dragged it out then, Seo Hyoel would have come himself.
[Wait…]
Paaang!
I kicked his face again to blow it apart.
Whenever he tried to regenerate, I poured attacks on him without mercy.
The spells that came flying in were so weak that even the invisible sword flowing through me could have blocked them, and they were growing weaker by the second.
And then…
Kwaaang!
The moment I kicked his face a third time, I saw him finally manage a half-regeneration after a long struggle.
I placed my foot on his stomach and only then stopped attacking.
“Ah, it feels good.”
[K, kuaaaah…!]
“I’m sorry for you. But there was something I had been holding back.”
[Kheuk, kuhuk!]
“Your regeneration is already weak, right? If I step on your golden core now, you’ll die.”
[Kuuuk…]
Gasping, Won Rip looked up at me.
[Why… why are you doing this to me? Are you… a Core Formation Heavenly Person…?!]
“Think about it. I could have smashed your golden core and cut your soul in one go, but I wanted to hit you a few times first.”
[A, I… I’ll never forget this favor…!]
I looked down at him and smirked.
“I never said I would spare you…”
[I’ll never regret it…!]
“How?”
[M-my castle has plenty of wealth…!]
“If I kill you, everything becomes mine anyway, doesn’t it?”
[I’ll tell you every martial art I’ve mastered!]
“I have no interest in martial arts.”
[What do you want?! I know a lot! If you have questions, ask!]
I grabbed the hair on his head and said,
“You’ve finally learned to talk.”
Thud… thud…
I dragged him toward the Seopmyeong Ship.
Thud!
I set Won Rip down on the deck of the Seopmyeong Ship and said,
“You are now my slave. You cannot disobey my commands. If I order your death, you will obey without resistance. Understand?”
[Y-yes! If you’ll just spare me now…]
“Swear it on the Seopmyeong Ship.”
[…!]
I felt Won Rip’s will power burning red-hot.
At the same time his spirit was flooded with despair and fear.
“You didn’t swear sincerely. I should have just killed you right now…”
[Swear! I swear on the Seopmyeong Ship! I will follow your orders!]
In the end, Won Rip made a blood oath to the Seopmyeong Ship.
From now on, if he broke the oath, his soul would be sucked straight into the ship.
I asked him,
“Wait here for now.”
First, I had to read the full inscription on the stone.
Taat!
I jumped down and read the missing upper part.
“What kind of nonsense is this…”
The upper section was slightly longer and contained far more content.
The inscription read:
“Warning to all future generations: every immortal treasure in this world is ultimately connected by human will and attraction to a True Immortal.
Anyone not yet prepared who becomes entangled with a True Immortal will inevitably meet catastrophe.
One of the few bright spots in this sinister and grotesque world is that, because of its darkness, most True Immortals are so difficult to locate that they are almost impossible to find.
Therefore, future generations: if you have obtained an immortal treasure or some item from another immortal realm by chance, leave it in this world.
Do not laugh at the desires and powers of those who have reached the Great Boundary. Those who surpass others with an immortal treasure will be discovered and suppressed by a True Immortal no matter where they go.
Especially my descendants.
Those born in the Golden Divine Thunder Gate, those who might attempt to surpass others while carrying an immortal thunder banner.
Do not ignore my warning. The immortal thunder banner is…”
That was the end of the stone’s message.
I combined it with the later portion I had already seen in Deungsunhyang.
“…Leave it for future generations. Lay down your heart and surpass others. Those who do not obey will face calamity.”
“…Just a pep talk to let go of everything, then.”
The warning was far more detailed than I had expected.
And I recalled the three Heavenly Persons who had taken everything from their sects and the Sea Dragon King who had left behind a great treasure in the Sea Dragon Palace.
“The Sea Dragon King must have known this warning.”
And then…
“Ah…”
This warning was meant for the Golden Divine Thunder Gate.
Yet the Golden Divine Thunder Gate we had just encountered was…
“You didn’t even take the immortal thunder banner with you?”
The Seopmyeong Ship of Black Ghost Valley held only a fake of the treasure.
Changhoza’s Azure Heaven Armor was an over-standard talisman.
But the thunder banner was a genuine “immortal treasure” known to belong to Yang Su-jin.
“Jeon Myeong-hoon… this guy…”
I unconsciously worried about the man.
I had been most concerned for Oh Da-ri and Kim Jumin who had been captured by Seo Hyoel and Goe-gun.
But surprisingly, the person I should be worrying about right now might be Jeon Myeong-hoon, who had just entangled himself with Great Boundary entities.
Crack, crackle…
I stared at the stone floating in front of me, lightning still flickering.
Won Rip had quietly appeared beside me and stood at attention.
“What is your relationship with the Golden Divine Thunder Gate? What is this black castle?”
“This castle was originally a temple in Deungsunhyang fourteen thousand years ago. It was the shrine that served Yang Su-jin the Golden Divine One. I am a descendant of the family that managed that shrine.”
The broken-off castle.
I remembered the black building whose top had been torn away in Deungsunhyang.
It was the other half of this castle.
“You have no connection to the Golden Divine Thunder Gate?”
“After the war fourteen thousand years ago, when the shrine was torn from Deungsunhyang and blown to the desert, our clan was forgotten within the memory of the Golden Divine Thunder Gate.”
“I see…”
I kept questioning him.
“What was your original purpose?”
[…After all the Heavenly Persons surpassed and ruled the entire continent, after they mastered martial arts to the limit using continent-wide resources and became Core Formation Heavenly Persons themselves, I planned to surpass into the Blood Yin Realm—a realm connected to the Ascension Gate—through the traditional method using the blessing of the Bongmyeongin, rather than the magical realm connected to the Ascension Gate.]
“Blood Yin Realm?”
“Yes. Now, thanks to Yang Su-jin’s Ascension Gate, everyone ascends through it. But in the distant past, fourteen thousand years ago, the world available for ascension depended on the martial arts you had mastered. The realm connected to the Ascension Gate was not suitable for cultivating martial arts. Of course it would be hundreds of times better than this world, but it was not perfectly optimized for magic arts. I simply wanted to surpass using the traditional method through the Bongmyeongin.”
“Blood Yin Realm… You seem to have information about other realms. Tell me.”
Won Rip glanced at me and began to speak.
“The observable realms are currently six: Blood Yin, True Demon, Ancient Power, Ming Ghost, Purple Gold, and Guang Han. Ancient Power, Ming Ghost, and Purple Gold have no recorded information, but Guang Han Realm and True Demon Realm are well-known. Guang Han Realm is the world currently connected to the Ascension Gate. True Demon Realm is the world adjacent to it and engaged in war with it.”
His explanation continued.
By now Seo Ran had quietly joined the conversation, and Song Jin was listening with arms crossed, evaluating Won Rip’s words from the deck.
“When there was no Ascension Gate, ordinary immortal-refining arts or righteous arts would send you to Guang Han Realm, while demonic arts would send you to True Demon Realm. If you went to True Demon Realm, you would receive its demonic qi and could turn into a demon race.”
“Then what is the Blood Yin Realm?”
“Blood Yin Realm was originally part of the True Demon Realm, but because its qi of deception, yin energy, and turbid qi was especially thick, it had already separated as its own world. If you surpass there, you can absorb its power and become far more famous than the demon races of the True Demon Realm.”
“Hmm…”
In other words, this man planned to slaughter the entire continent to maximum demonic qi and then surpass into a specially suited realm.
Then…
“Seo Hyoel… what exactly was he trying to do through this guy?”
Did he want to go to the Blood Yin Realm too?
“No. He’s meddled with this world too much.”
Won Rip’s goal was this world, not the realm.
From the explanation alone I could not guess Seo Hyoel’s real intention.
“You heard something from Seo Hyoel, didn’t you?”
“About the Sea Dragon King? No, not from him. I stole one drop of his blood and his martial arts manual. If you want them, I’ll give them.”
“…Fine.”
In truth, this man probably didn’t even realize he had been used by the Sea Dragon King.
“The purpose of this man and the Sea Dragon King coincided. Does that mean the slaughter he planned for the Blood Yin Realm is actually what the Sea Dragon King wanted…?”
“Hmm… that’s possible.”
There was still something I could get from this man.
“If you want the blessing to surpass with the Bongmyeongin, you must have been trying to obtain the Bongmyeongin, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must also have a way to break the layers of the Bongmyeong Castle.”
“Yes. I analyzed the qi flowing through the layers of the Bongmyeong Castle and prepared a formation to destroy every layer. If you want it, I’ll give it to you!”
Won Rip took several red-flagged talismans from his talisman drawer and handed them to me, explaining the activation method.
It was a formation that only applied inside the Bongmyeong Castle, exactly like the one Seo Eun-hyun and Cheongmun Ryeong had created.
“Fine. And…”
I asked him a few more things.
I learned the location of his treasure vault and the hiding places of all his Blood Spirits.
I followed him through the black castle and saw what he had hidden.
“This is…”
I stared at a large blood-red jar.
It was sealed with pure white cloth. The color was red, but unlike Won Rip’s other items it carried no blood stench—only a pleasant fragrance.
“What is inside?”
“Inside… is my blood body.”
“…What is a blood body made of?”
“Basic blood bodies are made by cultivating my own blood in a spiritual liquid. When I later want to add special functions, I melt gathered materials inside the jar and slowly synthesize them into the blood body.”
“Gathered materials?”
“Yes. There is a solution made from melted corpses of impressive enemies.”
“…How much material has been melted into this blood body now?”
Won Rip’s next words shocked me.
“Currently the blood body is still being refined with pure spirit power and pure demonic qi, so no synthesis has been done yet. I planned to go recover the Heavenly Spirit later and, over the next two hundred years before the next Bongmyeongin appears, slowly synthesize it.”
“I see… Give me everything about this blood body.”
Won Rip detailed the methods of creation, manipulation, and enhancement. He poured out every secret.
That was all I needed to hear.
“Now I’ve heard everything worth hearing.”
“Yes. I told you everything truthfully. Of course, my usefulness isn’t over. There are also slaves I prepared in advance by embedding the Five Elements Blood Curse Flag…”
That was when Song Jin, who had been listening, spoke.
[Let me take a closer look at his head for a moment.]
[What…!]
[He wasn’t exactly telling the truth, but why would you believe every word of a demonic cultivator? Obviously there are far more secrets than he’s revealed. If I just peek at his dantian, he’ll spill everything.]
“Hmm, that makes sense.”
I nodded.
“Then do it.”
[Wait!]
“Stay still, Won Rip. If you resist, I’ll kill you. Do you plan to break the Seopmyeong Ship’s oath?”
[Wait, master!]
Song Jin’s hand reached Won Rip’s head faster than I could react.
A moment later.
[Kuaaah!]
Won Rip’s entire body trembled as he screamed.
Song Jin continued.
[He said most things, but there are a few seals he placed on his own mental information. When I roughly tore them away, they were like this…]
Song Jin listed the secrets: how to offer sacrifices to high-ranking beings of the Blood Yin Realm, efficient methods of maintaining blood seals, and other personal details.
“Of course, these aren’t particularly useful, but…”
[Either way, the important thing is that this bastard hid something from you. Especially offering sacrifices to beings of the Blood Yin Realm—there’s a way to escape the Seopmyeong Ship’s oath if you use it properly.]
“Hmm, I see.”
It didn’t matter anyway.
[And…]
After rummaging through Won Rip’s mind for a while, Song Jin spoke.
[About the Sea Dragon King, it seems you didn’t know even that.]
“…! Is there information?”
Black qi rose in Song Jin’s eyes.
[…Nothing.]
Song Jin clicked his tongue.
[The remnant of Seo Hyoel I saw when I struck him with my peak power… When that shadow activated, it automatically created a seal that deletes all information about Seo Hyoel. The seal is embedded in this man’s dantian. The information he kept inside his own head has been wiped out.]
“….”
In the end, there was no way to obtain information about Seo Hyoel.
“I see… So that’s it?”
[Yes.]
Shiiiiik!
Song Jin released Won Rip. The man clutched his head and collapsed.
I looked down at him and said,
“Good. Now that I’ve obtained all useful information, die.”
[Wa, wait! I still have use!]
“You’ve already given me every secret you hid, haven’t you?”
[No! The influence I’ve built across this world through covert operations is far greater than that!]
“Really?”
[My reach includes the three western nations, the northern tribes, the five eastern countries…]
“I see.”
I raised my invisible sword.
“Goodbye.”
[Why, why, why! No, don’t! I don’t want to die! Master, master, master! You bastard—!]
Shkang!
The invisible sword glowed and cut Won Rip’s soul in two.
Thus, Won Rip died after spewing every last secret.
“Don’t worry…”
“I’ll kill you more comfortably from now on without tormenting you with false hope.”
I stared at the cold corpse of Won Rip and muttered to myself.
Song Jin chuckled.
[You weren’t worried about betrayal at all. You never intended to spare him from the start.]
“It wasn’t betrayal. I had no allies to begin with. I simply cut off the head of an enemy.”
I looked at the man, then at the jar containing his blood body.
Whiiiik!
I opened the sealing cloth. Inside lay a beautiful woman from my previous life.
This being was neither man nor woman.
I used the spell I had learned from Won Rip to separate my consciousness and place it inside his blood body.
Flash!
The blood body’s eyes opened as it accepted my consciousness.
It sat up.
The blood body was completely nude, its jet-black long hair covering its private parts.
“It seems you’ve mastered Won Rip’s original name technique…”
Its cultivation had only reached late Core Formation level—too early to have grown for two hundred years.
“After investigating the Ascension Gate, this doll might actually be useful.”
It was still a puppet I could send to die first, but it was useful.
Then…
Thud, thud…
I had the blood body dress itself in Won Rip’s blood robes and equip his talismans.
Since Won Rip’s talismans could still be used, it became a truly useful puppet.
“Any spirit stones or pills beneath the castle—please keep them, senior Song Jin. I don’t need such valuables.”
[Oh, really?]
Song Jin happily rummaged through the treasure vault and loaded the Seopmyeong Ship with spirit stones for charging.
While I was searching the castle,
“This is…”
I found a familiar item rolling inside Won Rip’s vault.
Jade pendant.
“….”
It belonged to Wol-ryang’s great-grandson.
“So he really did get eaten…”
I decided to give the pendant to Wol-ryang.
A while later, Song Jin and Seo Ran moved the Seopmyeong Ship according to my orders once more.
Kugugu-gugu!
The ship circled the northern grasslands, the desert near the Dabcheon Desert, the east, the southern seas, and the vicinity of the Byeokra Kingdom in the west.
From the bow of the Seopmyeong Ship I spotted the familiar castle.
Kugugu-gugu!
It was Cheon-saek Castle.
The ship hovered above it, eying Won Rip’s final Blood Spirit.
Kiiiiiiing!
The Blood Spirit hidden in the center of Cheon-saek Castle screamed like a monster and was swallowed by the Seopmyeong Ship.
“Haa… It’s over now. There was less than a one-in-a-hundred chance of revival the moment I cut the soul, but you went this far. You really are tough, Won Rip.”
“…Rather than worrying about him reviving…”
I smiled bitterly.
“I just wanted to completely erase every trace of him from this world.”
I looked down at Cheon-saek Castle.
Countless people lived there. I hoped none of them would carry even the slightest trace of Won Rip in their daily lives.
Thud.
Instead of the jade pendant given to Wol-ryang, I gripped the jade pendant that had become my talisman.
“Senior, I have someone I need to meet briefly. Will you wait?”
[Of course.]
I gripped the jade pendant and leaped down in front of the familiar refining shop in the center of Cheon-saek Castle.
Thump, thump…
My heart pounded.
Where should I start?
I…
And
Kiiiiik…
I opened the door to the Magic Artifact Point and stepped inside.