The Avenger (1)
The ground trembled with a low, ominous rumble.
“Damn it… How the hell did these insects gather such power?!”
“You dare lay a hand on us and still expect to escape unscathed? The wrath of the Heavenly Race means nothing to you?”
“The Heavenly Race’s wrath…” I forced a cold smile. “I’m afraid that’s something the Black Dragon King has already approved.”
The moment the words left my lips, I felt a surge of amusement.
“If the Black Dragon King wants to launch his invasion into the Demon Realm and trigger the true plan we prepared on the dragon side, the first step is to secure a clean entrance to Jinma-gye.”
Kwaaang!
The dragon roar split the air.
At the same instant, the Four Pillars-level guards stationed at the Jinma-gye entrance vomited blood and charged me with ferocious desperation.
*This bastard is a poison master.*
I spread my toxic aura while watching him dash forward, eager to inject it into me.
Kwaaang!
Our fists collided. I deliberately left a gap so his poison could seep inside.
Even weakened, two of them were still manageable.
I pressed them mercilessly, shattering one body into red mist.
Kwaaang!
He died instantly. I locked his soul before it could flee through the soul passage.
Just as I prepared the finishing blow to the poison master,
“Cough… Grrr…”
I feigned agony, letting their souls slip free.
I had killed their bodies, but their souls were now free to reincarnate.
I staggered, clutching my chest, and shouted, “You bastards! I can’t believe this! If I miss any witnesses…!”
Paaaaat!
The souls of the Four Pillars guards tore through the soul channel and vanished.
I stood frozen for a moment, then a savage grin spread across my face.
*Now the Heavenly Race side will doubt everything.*
The Heavenly Race wasn’t stupid. Anyone who came out with Seo Hyul’s face and started plotting would never be believed at face value.
It was far more likely someone had imitated Seo Hyul to frame him.
But once witnesses were eliminated and evidence destroyed, the Heavenly Race could no longer ignore the possibility that the real Seo Hyul had appeared.
*On the human side, a strong protest against the Earth-side will go out soon, followed by a bounty on Seo Hyul.*
Then Gyu-ryeon would realize it.
That Seo Hyul wasn’t dead.
She already knew about his connection to the Black Dragon King. If the face she had seen was indeed Seo Hyul discussing that connection with me, hope would bloom inside her.
*Considering Seo Hyul’s cunning, there was a real chance he wasn’t dead at all.*
A chill ran down my spine the moment I recalled the Seo Hyul from the first loop— the one who had monitored everything through my soul.
The Four Pillars guards were dead. The Heavenly Person and below-level cultivators who had been guarding the entrance earlier had all fled.
I relaxed and swung my dragon blade, burying the maximum amount of horse and dragon energy into the entrance.
I didn’t close it completely. The human side on Earth could keep opening dimensional gates endlessly if they wanted.
The Demon Realm’s taesu wouldn’t slaughter the humans in a rage; their retreat was already blocked.
*Among the demon side, humans are considered madmen…*
Since I had once stood with the demons, I understood exactly how they viewed humans.
*I doubt they’ll go all out in their panic. They’ll just tighten the net after sealing the entrance.*
I turned and headed toward Cheonbusan, a grin on my lips.
*First I’ll ask Hongbeom to brew an antidote. After that, I’ll further stabilize the Heavenly Person Grand Completion realm…*
That was the plan I was already crafting in my mind.
Boo-wung!
My inner voice rang out. Jeon Myeong-hoon was calling.
“What is it, Jeon Myeong-hoon?”
―While digging through the remains of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect, I found something.
“What?”
―It’s a record written by the Supreme Sect Master after his battle with the former Geum Wi.
*The record of Geum Byeok-ho and Yeon Wi’s fight?*
“How does that record affect us?”
―The record says that after Geum Wi’s defeat, the Supreme Sect Master reported to the true orthodox qi axis. He then sent some disciples of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect into the Myeonggwi Realm to investigate.
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s next words hit me like lightning.
―I also crafted a long-distance communication talisman so I could talk to those disciples the Supreme Sect Master sent. I tracked the talisman down. And… the signal was captured just four days ago!
“Four days ago…!”
―Among the disciples who went to the Myeonggwi Realm and gave up on the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect, several of them… are still alive!
His voice crackled with raw excitement.
The number of disciples sent to the Myeonggwi Realm was small—maybe four or five at most.
But to Jeon Myeong-hoon they clearly held far greater value.
*Four or five disciples? Yeah, their worth suddenly skyrocketed.*
I cared more about the true orthodox qi axis they had discovered than about the disciples themselves.
*If we can reach the true orthodox qi axis, we can step over Seo Hyul’s secret…!*
And a true orthodox qi axis was far stronger than any ordinary orthodox or heterodox qi axis. My combat power would skyrocket.
*Wait… something feels off.*
A sense of unease crept over me.
***
“Hmm…”
My body moved toward the headquarters of Heuklin-eolryeongmun and submitted the mission request. Then I headed east, furrowing my brow.
*What the hell? My main body feels… different.*
In Earth terms, I seemed to have turned slightly psychopathic.
I had no hesitation ripping off Seo Hyul’s face and wearing it. I tried controlling Gyu-ryeon from thousands of miles away. I couldn’t empathize with Jeon Myeong-hoon’s report at all.
Something was missing.
*Did that snake Seo Hyul do something?*
When in doubt, the first person I suspected was always Seo Hyul or Jinseon.
*Weird feeling.*
My main body and I shared thoughts now. Whatever I felt, he felt too.
But when I turned my consciousness toward the main body, I felt nothing strange at all.
*Instead, the main body is complaining that he’s worrying too much while wearing Seo Lip’s body.*
I recalled the hypnotic technique Seo Hyul had used on me the moment we met.
*Maybe the hypnosis I felt back then was just an illusion, and the real one succeeded without me knowing?*
My consciousness immediately rejected the idea as too far-fetched.
*This is annoying.*
I continued cultivating the Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art and decided I needed to gather merit points in Heukgwi-gol to obtain more consciousness techniques.
If I mastered those techniques, I might finally understand whether the main body’s strange behavior was caused by them or by my own growing delusions.
“Huu…”
I exhaled yin energy and drew in fresh qi countless times. Gradually I felt black mist wrapping around my body.
A few moments later, six swords of pure ghost qi condensed around me.
The cultivation method of Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art was as follows.
First, accumulate yin energy and use it to summon ghost qi. Form six swords from that ghost qi.
Puk, puk, puk!
The swords stabbed into my entire body.
Second, embed them into the spiritual veins throughout my body and sever every single one.
Do not regenerate any severed veins, even partially.
Third, the body will enter a near-death state. Only in that critical moment should you sense true death.
Fourth, repeat the process until you are intimately familiar with the sensation of death. Then, through a curse word, draw power from that intimate closeness to death.
Fifth, once you have drawn enough power, draw the same power from other ghost bodies and cultivate the technique…
*From the fifth stage onward, this isn’t necessary.*
The “power” mentioned in Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art was simply death itself.
I didn’t need to extract death from other ghost bodies. Drawing it from my main body would suffice.
Woo-woong!
Puk, puk, puk, puk!
I severed the flow of life force while my ghost swords remained embedded in my flesh.
And I surrendered to that familiar feeling.
The death I had felt since birth.
The darkness wrapped itself around me like a lover.
*What is this?*
How many people truly feel that they are breathing?
Probably very few.
Most would only sense the presence of breath after holding it in a completely clear space or after intense exercise.
Breath itself was natural.
And I had realized, just like breath, that I had been carrying death with me naturally all along.
I turned my body into a corpse state, sank my consciousness, separated the death wrapped around my soul, and fused it with my original yin.
*Is that… it?*
I felt absurdly simple.
*Wait, didn’t the manual say it was an extremely difficult difficulty?*
I asked the system.
Bi-yul, who had once called the act of turning into a purple lust-devouring hermit crab “an extremely minor side effect,” now described Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art as having “a slightly difficult side effect.”
Of course it wasn’t “slightly” difficult.
*Maybe the later stages of Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art become much harder?*
I examined the later stages of the technique.
I couldn’t find anything especially difficult.
Every stage was as natural and peaceful as breathing.
*Could there be a hidden stage I don’t know about?*
“Bi-yul, is there any hidden stage in Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art that appears only after complete mastery?”
[Yes? If there were, it would have been discovered long ago. Hee hee, there are people who have already reached the Black Origin level after fully mastering it.]
“Didn’t the manual say it was an extremely difficult difficulty? Yet every stage feels ordinary.”
Bi-yul sounded puzzled.
[Yes? Which stage do you think is ordinary? Every single one—stabbing the body with swords, burning it with ghost fire, rotting the entire body—has an enormous difficulty. Ordinary cultivators who begin the art can’t endure the pain and go mad. To complete Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art, mental cultivation must be performed alongside it.]
“Hmm…”
*Is that called “enormous” difficulty? We do it every day in Daejangcheon-gaegyeokmun…*
My eyes had always been subtly different from the main body’s, but this time I couldn’t understand it even from the main body’s perspective. I clicked my tongue.
*He’s too weak.*
[The first, second, and third stages are indeed difficult. But the real problem starts at the fourth. The fifth is actually easy. It’s never easy for someone who has lived their whole life as a living being to suddenly feel the power of death. No matter how close you get to a corpse state, you have never truly experienced death, so manipulating death remains nearly impossible.]
Bi-yul continued.
[That’s why people without talent who repeat the first three stages over and over can’t reach the fourth stage. There is no other way to reach the fourth stage than repeatedly dying and reviving until you approach death infinitely closely. Even after a lifetime of cultivation, most people still can’t surpass the fourth stage of Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art. In fact, those who properly master it after becoming Ghost Kings through death are far more numerous.]
“Hoo…”
His words left me momentarily stunned.
“Stage four is the stage where you control the power of death, fuse it with your original yin, and become a Ghost King, right?”
[Correct.]
“Is that the difficult part?”
[Yes.]
“…?”
I had never imagined that even the stage that felt as natural as breathing would be so difficult. I felt uneasy.
*Is this really correct?*
It was as if I had just tested moving something that had always been beside me.
*It actually felt refreshing. Is it really that difficult for others?*
I couldn’t believe I had already passed the difficult stages of Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art so easily.
*Maybe this too is Seo Hyul’s trick?*
Honestly, I was more likely to believe that Seo Hyul had secretly interfered with me than that a slow-witted talent like mine had mastered the technique so quickly.
I remained lost in thought for a while, moving death exactly as the technique prescribed and reshaping my original yin.
Tzuzuzuz…
My original yin turned pitch black. My eyes began to tear open, and my entire body was wrapped in black smoke and ghost fire.
A moment later I opened my eyes, realizing that the original yin inside my dantian had transformed into a small Ghost King.
“Hey, Bi-yul.”
[Yes, Master.]
“Is this… the result of fully mastering Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art?”
[I humbly accept, Master. In truth, the technique was undoubtedly lacking for even such a great being to master. Please forgive this humble servant who offered such a flawed technique…]
“…?”
*How long has it been since I received Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art?*
I added up the time from receiving it, submitting the mission at headquarters, heading east, and beginning to cultivate the technique. One hour.
*In just one hour I fully mastered the technique I just received? Me?*
Of course, the technique itself was still weak, and there were many improvements left to make.
But I understood one thing clearly.
I had grasped the profound meaning of Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art. In this state, I could accumulate law power at an astonishingly fast rate simply by circulating the technique.
***
Approximately one day and ten gyeong after I realized I had fully mastered Ghost Immortal Star Demon Art.
I received a notice that the mission for Heuklin-eolryeongmun had been accepted. I was told to report to the mission location.
A short while later I boarded the transmission array heading toward Heukgwi-gol and was instantly sent there.
Paaaaat!
When I opened my eyes, I saw a palace as vast as a mountain range, shaped like a coiled dragon.
At its main gate stood the words “Heuklin-eolryeongmun.”
Hundreds of cultivators had already arrived. Every single one of them radiated an aura of malice.
[Attention, Master.]
“Hmm? What is it?”
[The remnants of Eumhon Gwisi-mun are here. If they realize you are from Heukgwi-gol, they will try to curse you no matter what.]
I glanced at Bi-yul.
They were spitting out a unique energy that mixed ghost qi and corpse qi in perfect proportion.
“Shouldn’t ‘remnants’ like them be hiding instead of wandering around openly?”
[Because Eumhon Gwisi-mun is masters of curse dolls and corpse dolls, along with master puppeteers. Those are probably curse dolls or corpse dolls, not their real bodies.]
I watched them with bright eyes.
“They’re all cultivating Eumhon Gwijumun.”
[…Yes, that’s correct.]
Bi-yul’s confession continued.
[It’s embarrassing, but the Black Ghost Valley’s curse lineage is heavily present in Eumhon Gwisi-mun. The curse technique for creating corpse dolls and the curse technique for creating puppet dolls complement each other.]
“I see… I understand the feeling.”
I had used my original yin as a curse doll many times before and knew the feeling well.
A curse doll that could not only survive death but also regenerate possessed immense utility.
It was likely they were creating corpse dolls that mimicked the same method and using them as curse dolls.
“Speaking of which, Bi-yul. Do you know anything about Heuklin-eolryeongmun? For example… is there ever a sudden need for curse techniques there…?”
[I apologize. This is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing… Originally Heuklin-eolryeongmun has nothing to do with curse techniques. However…]
“However?”
[Heuklin-eolryeongmun frequently issues missions that seem completely unrelated to them or puts out bounties. In those cases, there is a very high probability the mission involves the Earth-side. Heuklin-eolryeongmun receives the Earth-side’s commission.]
“Earth-side…”
I began racking my brain, wondering why Heuklin-eolryeongmun had suddenly gathered so many curse cultivators.
***
Deep underground.
In the center of the dark chamber floated a water mirror made of black water.
Two figures sat in lotus position before it.
Woo-woong—
One figure placed a hand on the water mirror and muttered something.
After a moment the water mirror churned, and a man in black robes rose to the surface.
[It is an honor to greet you, Lord Guardian Taesu. As instructed, we have gathered curse cultivators. However, poison masters who have mastered the poison art are not easily obtained. Please forgive us.]
“I understand. Poison masters are mostly stationed among our Earth-side…”
The second figure sat before the one who had touched the water mirror.
Gyu-ryeon, Guardian Taesu of the Earth Dragon Alliance, nodded.
“Even if we cannot obtain poison masters, we must at least secure curse cultivators.”
[I will remember. Then I shall request transmission.]
“Here.”
Gyu-ryeon pulled a piece of paper from her sleeve and threw it into the water mirror.
A man wearing white robes was drawn on the paper.
“To the new Taesu of Earth… mobilize as many curse cultivators as possible and flood him with curses.”
Her eyes split vertically.
“I will also secure excellent poison cultivators and prepare an extreme poison…”
Crunch…
She gritted her teeth and stared at the figure drawn on the paper inside her hand.
Seo Eun-hyun.
*After gathering information, I have concluded that Seo Eun-hyun is absolutely unbeatable with my current power.*
But there were countless ways for the weak to defeat the strong. Among them, the most famous were curse and poison.
*There are no bugs that can match poison. I should also make contact with the bug side. Use curse cultivators to curse him, hire poison masters to manufacture extreme poison, lure him into a trap, and release it. Then… there will be a chance of victory in my revenge!*
Gyu-ryeon severed contact with Heuklin-eolryeongmun, stepped out of the dark chamber, and muttered with a vicious smile.
“Wait for me, you bastard…! I will definitely repay this grudge! No matter what it takes!”