Greetings, Elder Brother (1)
A whooshing wind cut through the air.
The desolate desert stretched out endlessly.
Not golden sand, but a rough, unpleasant ashen gray.
One of the wild regions in the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
Sato Territory.
A band of cultivators had appeared there.
Every one of them wore black robes embroidered with a golden phoenix rising into the sky.
Their leader was a young man in the Heavenly Person stage.
Hyeon-gwi of the Black Forest Spirit Sect smiled faintly as she surveyed her surroundings.
“Let me see… Seon-saja wanted me to look here….”
Then her gaze landed on a spot.
“Ah, there he is. Haha, how have you been, Seon-saja? It has been a long time since we last met… You have advanced quite a bit.”
The ashen desert trembled slightly.
Below it, a Ghost King with eighteen heads clawed its way out of the sand.
[Elder Brother, how have you been?]
It was Seo Lip.
I drew in a deep breath and returned my Void Shattering form to a human body.
Hyeon-gwi’s eyes sparkled with interest at the sight.
“Impressive. Did you hide your true strength when we met last time…? Well, that curse is certainly beyond the reach of even a Nascent Soul cultivator… Still, I never imagined you had reached the Four Pillars stage.”
He bowed politely with both hands, as if I were his senior.
“No need for such formalities. I am only at the mid-Four Pillars stage anyway. And….”
I glanced at the three black-robed cultivators standing behind him and chuckled.
“The gentlemen behind you look formidable as well. You must be even more impressive, guiding such powerful subordinates.”
Behind Hyeon-gwi stood three cultivators who appeared to be at the Heavenly Person Great Completion stage.
However, I did not underestimate them simply because they were Heavenly Persons.
[The Black Forest Spirit Sect’s thought origin soul…]
I had witnessed their power during the Great War of Man and Beasts, so I knew them well.
They could wield the strength of the precursor bloodline through the Hyeon-eum bloodline that flowed in their veins. They were also masters of the technique that allowed them to borrow power from outside using their thought origin soul arts.
[The Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators all use that thought origin soul to borrow power from outside and jump over stages.]
The three cultivators behind him were not actually Heavenly Persons. They were more like early-Four Pillars.
Moreover, the seven Nascent Soul cultivators who had followed Hyeon-gwi showed no trace of tension or fear when they looked at me.
They paid respect to a Four Pillars cultivator, but there was no awe or genuine fear in their eyes.
[Black Forest Spirit Sect, including Hyeon-gwi… Eleven of them in total. These are the kind of people who hide plenty of tricks.]
I kept my guard up while greeting Hyeon-gwi, ready to flee at any moment.
“By the way, what were you doing in the sand, senior brother?”
“Ah, this Sato Territory is a perfect place for my technique to cultivate.”
The ashen desert formed by the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation was an excellent match for it.
The Great Desert Dead Sea Formation was not only a method that turned surroundings into desert, but also one that tempered the aura of death.
A desert filled with nothing but death was ideal for cultivating that technique.
“I see. As expected of a Four Pillars senior. Even here you seek the path of cultivation. You are becoming increasingly dependable.”
“Haha, no need to thank me for that.”
We laughed together and joined forces, flying toward the western edge of the Sato Territory.
“Mmm, indeed a wild region. The Heaven-Earth Qi is in chaos.”
I stopped using my riding technique and began controlling my men.
“From now on I will use the foot-stabilizing technique to reach the destination. What about you, Black Forest Spirit Sect members? Will you join me?”
They looked at one another and nodded.
Hyeon-gwi smiled faintly and relayed their decision.
“If you say so, we are truly grateful. Please take care of us.”
I tied Hyeon-gwi and the Black Forest Spirit Sect members to my men with the wealth pillar technique.
Then I activated the wealth pillar I had accumulated from the previous life.
Uuuuuung!
Powerful qi surged from the pillar, causing space to fold.
I took a step.
Pa-aat!
With each step the distance of five hundred li was cut short.
I moved one foot after another using the foot-stabilizing technique.
The destination we headed for was the westernmost edge of the Sato Territory.
The further we went, the more chaotic the Heaven-Earth Qi became, as we moved away from the stable An-gye region.
[In wild regions, anyone below the Heavenly Person stage has severely limited combat power.]
The Great Desert realm was divided into the An-gye region and the wild region.
The An-gye region was where Heaven-Earth Qi was stable and life could survive normally.
In contrast, the wild region had Heaven-Earth Qi so chaotic and laws so twisted that life was nearly impossible.
Generally speaking, the Great Desert realm was so large that the An-gye region itself dwarfed the wild region by comparison.
“Roughly, the entire An-gye region is the size of the Earth’s solar system… or maybe even larger. If that’s the case, the wild region would be on the order of a galaxy.”
The Human Clan territory, the Jinryong League territory, and countless others all fell within the An-gye region. The rest were wild regions.
I compared the size of the Great Desert realm in my mind.
[The Demon realm is quite far from the wild region, they say. I wonder how they live there.]
The wild region grew more law-twisted the farther one went from the An-gye region, making life nearly impossible.
As I pondered the structure of the Great Desert realm, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“By the way, have you ever thought that way, senior brother?”
“Thought what?”
“The An-gye region is said to be the only one in the vast sea of wild regions, and no one bothers to investigate the wild regions. Couldn’t there be other An-gye regions in the wild regions? Why do they all avoid investigating them?”
Hyeon-gwi’s expression turned serious.
“Now that you mention it, I suppose that’s true.”
[Hmm?]
I realized that he was feigning seriousness while secretly mocking me.
[What in the world? Is this common sense?]
“In other middle realms, the An-gye region is said to be only one, and the source of the information that ‘An-gye region is one’ is… all Star Shattering Venerables and Star Plate saints. Perhaps the great ones are hiding some secret.”
“Mmm….”
[This fellow…]
He was spilling out what sounded like a huge secret, yet the contempt in his eyes grew even stronger.
I glanced at the other Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators.
[They don’t seem to be like that…]
Perhaps only Hyeon-gwi knew the truth.
I moved toward the destination with the others while keeping Hyeon-gwi in mind.
A short while later.
We arrived at the edge of the Sato Territory using the foot-stabilizing technique.
“This is….”
“Yes, the entrance to Jeongryong Jinin’s Jeomuldo. Ah, there are other guests as well.”
The entrance to the pocket dimension was a vast basin.
[Here…]
I surveyed the basin and tried to figure out its nature.
[It appears to be a former spring pool, given the remaining water qi.]
There were no spatial rifts or pocket dimensions visible.
I sent a transmission to Hyeon-gwi.
[Is there truly an entrance to the pocket dimension here?]
[Haha, many people who don’t know do not. But at night the spring pool fills with water. Three days later, every star in the Great Desert realm briefly loses its light on the night of the new moon. When that sky illuminates the spring pool, Jeongryong Jinin’s legacy will appear. There is no need to rush.]
I nodded and stepped onto the ground.
Several cultivators who appeared to be at the Heavenly Person stage had already arrived and taken positions.
Approximately fifty of them had gathered, most of them Yao clan, with only about ten Human clan.
Among them were the reptilian human Eopta tribe, the green-scaled Yeongrin tribe with powerful clairvoyance and stealth arts, and the Hanryeong tribe that had recently been wiped out by the madman.
[Eopta, Hanryeong, Yeongrin…]
The Eopta tribe were Human clan who lived cautiously, the Hanryeong tribe had once been friendly with Human clan, but the Yeongrin tribe had suffered defeat in a war with Human clan, so relations were poor.
When I glanced at them, they all shrank back in fright.
“Damn it, greedy Human clan brats. Bringing a Four Pillars freak…”
“As expected of wicked Human clan, their qi is terrifying.”
“Monstrous Human clan killers, how many lives did they devour to reach this realm…”
They whispered and moved far away from me.
[…Well, this is the average impression of a Human clan cultivator anyway. No need to explain.]
I sighed softly and sat in lotus position to begin cultivating the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
Kwad, kwaddeuk!
I transformed into a Ghost King with eighteen heads again and refined my qi with the death filling the Sato Territory.
The other races trembled in fear at my transformation.
“A mad Four Pillars Human clan freak… I hear he planted seventeen heads of the same stage on his shoulders.”
“Quite ruthless. We must never approach him.”
“So Human clan really do steal heads from other races and keep them as trophies…”
“Shh, quiet. Don’t make eye contact…”
The Heavenly clan cultivators fell silent and trembled. The Yao clan chattered in their own language as if I could not understand.
I considered explaining, then decided silence was safer.
How long did we wait at the entrance to the pocket dimension?
Several more cultivators arrived, including three Four Pillars ones.
I analyzed them using Hyeon-gwi’s information.
The Blood Cult sect’s early-Four Pillars cultivator, Gyeom.
The Bi-ik clan’s late-Four Pillars cultivator, Baek-wi-ik.
The Jang-mok clan’s mid-Four Pillars cultivator, Nok-ju.
[Be careful, senior brother. The Blood Cult and Bi-ik clan are not on the same level as Human clan combat power, but Jang-mok clan…]
[I know.]
I lit up with excitement upon receiving Hyeon-gwi’s transmission.
The Jang-mok clan.
A clan I had heard of before, the green-armored tree people who had been kidnapped by the madman.
I thought they were weak because I only remembered them being kidnapped, but that was because the madman was an exception; in reality they were far more powerful.
There were thirteen major clans in the Demon realm and six in the Heavenly clan. They were:
The Jang-mok clan.
The Bi-ik clan.
The Human clan.
The Du-gwi clan.
The Bu-hyu clan.
The Gyun-hye clan.
Each was divided into three categories: Idu (two-headed), I-nan (two dilemmas), I-ak (two evils).
The Idu category united the Heavenly clan with their superior judgment and symbolism, represented by the Jang-mok and Bi-ik clans.
The I-nan category consisted of the Bu-hyu and Gyun-hye clans, which were difficult to oppose and had unique lifestyles.
The I-ak category was the Du-gwi and Human clans, the most brutal and terrifying.
Some even called the Du-gwi and Human clans the Sur-a clan (Asura clan) together because of their fierce temperament and combat power.
Among them, the Jang-mok clan had the highest reputation in the Great Desert realm, having produced the Star Plate saint Baek-woon, and they took pride in it. They were so symbolic that they became the center of the Heavenly clan’s Idu category.
Rumors claimed Baek-woon had no interest in her own clan and would bring disaster upon any clan that tried to enter the Heavenly Lotus Mountain she resided on.
[Still, they have been the center of the Heavenly clan since its beginning. They would be troublesome if we attacked them with the Bi-ik clan.]
I kept a close eye on the Bi-ik and Jang-mok clan cultivators.
At the same time I let qi flow from my eighteen heads, surrounded myself with my men, and cultivated the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
Finally, the time had come.
[Today…]
I spat qi from my eyes and looked at the sky.
The day when, every thousand years or so, the stars of the Great Desert realm briefly lose their light.
The new moon that overlapped with it.
As the sun set, the sky gradually darkened.
At the same time, the spring pool began to fill with water.
I watched the rising water level of the spring pool, which rose slowly yet steadily, and my qi glowed.
[It will be soon…]
I surveyed the other Four Pillars cultivators to remain cautious.
They had all moved far from me, unlike when we first arrived, and were sweating nervously while stealing glances at me.
[Hmm, why are they acting like this?]
I tilted my head, wondering as qi flowed from my eyes.
* * *
In front of the entrance to Jeongryong Jinin’s Jeomuldo.
There, Seo Lip stood out most of all, sucking in the yin qi of the new moon and spraying sharp qi from his entire body.
The rumor that he had planted seventeen heads of the same stage on his shoulders had spread. His terrifying appearance, his powerful qi, and his unique temperament built on true orthodox qi pillars rather than the five elements.
Although Seo Lip did not know, every race present there regarded him as their number-one priority target.
The Jang-mok clan’s Four Pillars cultivator Nok-ju was already in transmission with the Bi-ik clan’s Four Pillars cultivator Baek-wi-ik.
[Baek-saja, if we enter the pocket dimension we must combine forces. The Human clan are especially notorious for their vicious and powerful techniques, paired with the Du-gwi clan. We do not know what kind of forbidden technique that strange-looking Human clan freak will show us.]
[I agree, Nok-saja. If the greedy Human clan freak attacks us, we must combine forces to defeat him!]
The two Heavenly clan Four Pillars cultivators combined their power. Gyeom, the Blood Cult’s early-Four Pillars cultivator, sent transmissions to all the Yao clan cultivators gathered there.
[Those treacherous Heavenly clan brats may be plotting something. Especially that monster-like Human clan freak, rumored to be a ruthless monster who extracts his own clan’s heads and wears them on his body. Once we enter the pocket dimension, never approach him alone. If you are cornered, contact me immediately. Especially since he has mastered the ruthless qi-gathering technique, if captured his head could be used as medicine and his soul turned into a slave. We are all different clans, but before these terrifying Heavenly clan freaks we must combine forces to survive!]
Around Gyeom, the Yao clan Heavenly Person cultivators huddled together.
Four forces had already divided around the spring pool.
The Human clan Black Forest Spirit Sect force centered on the forbidden-technique-using freak Seo Lip.
The Two Four Pillars cultivators from the Jang-mok and Bi-ik clans.
The Yao clan force centered on the early-Four Pillars Gyeom of the Blood Cult sect.
And a few stray Heavenly clan cultivators.
All of them waited with tense eyes, watching the rising water of the spring pool and occasionally glancing at Seo Lip.
And the time had come.
Challang―
Finally, the spring pool was full.
Above the spring pool, a completely black night sky shone over the transparent water.
“Here it comes. The moment we enter the pocket dimension we will be scattered by spatial storms, so I will take measures to bind us together.”
Hyeon-gwi of the Black Forest Spirit Sect took out a talisman and recited an incantation.
A pure white cloth rope shot out from the talisman and bound Hyeon-gwi and Seo Lip.
The white cloth rope glowed pure white and vanished.
The other forces began preparing to enter the pocket dimension one by one.
A short while later, the surface of the spring pool that had shone on the empty black sky.
There, a faint moon began to rise slowly.
Seo Lip looked up at the sky in wonder, then at the spring pool again.
A mysterious moon that only floated on the surface.
And on the moon’s surface was a faint glowing ancient palace.
A short while later, the door of the ancient palace carved into the moon opened.
Kiiiiiik―
“Now! Let us go!”
Starting with Hyeon-gwi, the gathered cultivators leaped into the spring pool at the same time as if they had made a promise.
Thus, the exploration of Jeongryong Jinin’s Jeomuldo began.
* * *
Pa-a-aat!
I protected my body with qi against the spatial storm that swept me along.
The talisman Hyeon-gwi had used generated faint qi, and Hyeon-gwi, Seo Lip, and I were connected by it and did not fall away.
[Impressive. They created a pocket dimension entrance on the very appearance of the moon.]
I had no idea how they did it.
How long did I endure the spatial storm? We fell into a desert after crossing countless beams of light.
[Here… the Sato Territory?]
I looked around in confusion, and Hyeon-gwi brushed dust from his robes beside me.
“It looks similar but it is not. This is the land of the moon we saw on the surface. No, actually, it is not the moon either. The land here is a hallucinatory technique of the Fissure Opening Venerable, so it is not even a real place.”
[Mmm, so this is a hallucination?]
I scooped up sand from the ground and let out a sigh.
The sensation was so vivid.
I checked all five senses and it was truly sand.
Hyeon-gwi smiled faintly.
“It is a technique of the Semi-Immortal. Especially since Jeongryong Jinin was originally a great sage who fell to the Fissure Opening stage, his power is said to be far greater than that of an ordinary Fissure Opening Venerable. Come, let us leave this area first. We must find the ancient palace we saw earlier to truly enter the interior of the pocket dimension.”
Hyeon-gwi pointed at the sky.
“There are several ways to escape this kind of hallucinatory formation, but the most orthodox are two. One is to enter a coma state, discover the flaw in the hallucination, and attack it. The other is… reading the stars is best. A technique that creates a ‘sky’ cannot omit the stars, so interpreting the path of the stars is best.”
I looked at the sky at his words.
But the sky was the same as the Sato Territory sky before we entered, an empty night with no stars visible.
“Senior brother, try reading the Heavenly Qi.”
[Heavenly Qi? Ah…]
I lit up.
It was true that the starlight was invisible, but the Heavenly Qi was readable.
I traced it backward and read the stars even without starlight by using qi to read gravity.
Perhaps even the Demon clan could not read Heavenly Qi but could read qi from the flow of Heaven-Earth Qi.
[A simple method, but not an easy concept.]
A very skilled cultivator would have trouble conceiving it.
I felt the unknown skill in Hyeon-gwi and increased my caution toward him.
I read the stars and flew across the desert following Hyeon-gwi’s guidance.
We soon reached a place thought to be the center of the desert, guided by the stars.
“The end of the two-star constellation points here. Let us go a little further in this direction.”
Hyeon-gwi skillfully read the stars and led us. I followed him and suddenly felt as if we had crossed some kind of ‘curtain’.
Pa-aat!
[Mmm…!]
Before I knew it we had reached the entrance of a vast ancient palace in the middle of the empty desert.
“It seems we arrived first. Let us enter.”
Hyeon-gwi smiled faintly as he walked toward the entrance of the ancient palace.
I looked up at the inscribed stone plaque hanging above the entrance.
The entrance bore the words Kang-nyeong Bong-yang Sa-ja Seong-ryong Ji-do.
[Kang-nyeong Bong-yang Sa-ja?]
A very amusing title.
However, I thought of the Kang-nyeong of the true orthodox qi pillars and lit up.
[Is there some connection to the qi pillars?]
Thinking of the Wealth Virtue Ritual Book Hyeon-gwi had obtained here, the probability was high.
Dook, dook…
As we entered the interior of the ancient palace, space twisted and we entered a vast river.
Under a clear sky, clear river water flowed and ethereal fish-like creatures swam leisurely here and there.
The river was enormously wide, and beyond it another river stretched endlessly.
But I felt something was wrong.
[It is hot…?]
The scene was incredibly peaceful. Yet instead of a cool river breeze, a scorching heat hit the soul instinctively.
Hyeon-gwi surveyed the surroundings and gave me a talisman.
“Jeongryong Jinin’s other realm has four layers beyond the outer hallucinations. The first is the Water Flow Layer, the second the Dao Go Layer, the third the Bong-yang Layer, the fourth the Chi-je Layer. Originally the Water Flow Layer where we stand was a place of thick water qi like the sea, but Jeongryong Jinin fought a being in the Demon realm and completely transformed it. Try using the talisman.”
I activated the talisman Hyeon-gwi gave me. I felt my blood boil and a Taiji symbol appear in my eyes.
At the same time, the scene before me changed to the exact opposite of the current view.
Hwarururuk―
Red flames burned everywhere.
The river that had flowed moments ago had all dried up, replaced by living flames like lava.
The sky was not clear, filled with dark smoke, and the acrid smell assaulted the nose.
I was astonished by the hallucination I could not detect with any sense, and then again by Hyeon-gwi’s skill in piercing it with a single talisman.
[What is this talisman?]
“Nothing special. It is a talisman that briefly grants the strength of the precursor bloodline to a target. It focuses the eye to make the clairvoyance brief. It is a trivial technique anyone with precursor bloodline can do. It is only known to those who know.”
I surveyed the surroundings. All the Black Forest Spirit Sect members had raised their eyes with black dragon blood and displayed Taiji symbols in them.
[Similar to Heon-won’s.]
Heon-won’s eyes had been similar to theirs once the ‘gwan’ character was removed.
[Did Heon-won have precursor bloodline?]
I sent cold qi toward the surroundings as I thought this.
Chiiiiik―
The flames around me dimmed slightly by my qi.
“Thank you, senior brother. Now let me explain our goal. To escape the grasp of Hyeon-eum, we need one picture of the Heavenly Lotus and the Chijeong Treasure Painting drawn by Jeongryong Jinin himself in the third layer Bong-yang Layer. However, reaching the third layer is a massive ordeal in itself. As you can see, the flames grow stronger the higher we go. Especially on the path to the third layer there is Jae-yeom, the ‘living flame’ called Disaster Flame.”
His words continued.
“Jae-yem is itself a living creature born in the shape of a flame. The powerful curse born from the malice and hatred of some being in the Demon realm who fought Jeongryong Jinin long ago is the true nature of Jae-yem. Senior brother, please suppress Jae-yem with the curse technique while we extinguish it with our own techniques.”
[Suppressing Jae-yem is my job?]
“Yes. Of course there will still be some curses left in the third layer, so senior brother will have to work a little, but suppressing Jae-yem is your biggest task.”
[Understood. I will try.]
We began wading through the river of flames.
* * *
In front of the vast ancient palace.
The true entrance of the pocket dimension.
After Seo Lip and Hyeon-gwi passed, more people began gathering.
The Heavenly clan Four Pillars cultivators Nok-ju and Baek-wi-ik arrived first and surveyed the surroundings.
“It seems we arrived first.”
“Indeed. The Demon clan cannot read Heavenly Qi directly, so it will take them a while, and the other Heavenly clan do not know how to read stars, so they are probably going back and forth in coma states.”
Baek-wi-ik sneered at the others.
The Jang-mok clan’s Nok-ju crossed his arms and laughed.
“This method is only given to the cultivators of noble families among our Heavenly clan’s Idu, the Jang-mok clan, and you Bi-ik clan. Who would arrive quickly using this method? Most do not even know how to interpret the stars related to formations.”
“Haha, of course. Fortunately the terrifying Human clan freak has not arrived yet. Let us enter quickly. If he has mastered the qi-gathering technique, he will soon enter a coma state, find the flaw, and come here.”
“Indeed. Let us hurry.”
After the two Four Pillars cultivators entered, a short while later Gyeom and the Yao clan horde arrived in front of the ancient palace.
The Yao clan looked pale and covered in bloodstains as if they had suffered injuries.
“Come, let us all enter. We must enter quickly to claim the treasures.”
The Yao clan groaned at his words.
“Respected master, we apologize, but everyone has been forced into coma states so many times that our vitality is severely depleted. Please allow us half a day of rest before entering.”
“Yes, respected master. If we have all entered coma states as you said, just a little time…”
Gyeom’s eyes spewed red blood flames at those words.
“You damn rebellious brats… You dare blame me?”
“Ah, no, that is not it…”
“Shut up! Did I not say it?! We Demon clan must combine to survive in front of those treacherous Heavenly clan freaks! I see you are trying to break our unity and let us be defeated by the Heavenly clan, so you must be a Demon clan spy!”
“No, respected master, what are you…”
“Die, Demon clan spies!”
Kwaddeuk!
Pebong!
Two Yao beasts who had tried to protest against Gyeom exploded into pieces.
At his ruthless attitude the Yao clan horde held their breath and shrank back.
Gyeom bared his sharp teeth of the Blood Cult and growled.
“From now on, any rebellion against our Demon clan’s unity will be treated as a treacherous Demon clan spy and dealt with immediately. This is for the sake of our Demon clan protecting ourselves from the Heavenly clan freaks. Understand the righteousness! Is that clear!?”
“Yes, respected master!”
A terrified reply came from the Yao clan horde.
Gyeom led the Yao clan horde into the ancient palace with satisfaction.
The other clans, Eopta, Hanryeong, Yeongrin, and so on, arrived one day later.
* * *
Chiiiiik―
I cooled the surrounding heat with the cold qi my body emitted while walking at the front with Hyeon-gwi.
The Heavenly Person cultivators of the Black Forest Spirit Sect gathered around me and used black dragon blood to cool the heat with its yin qi.
However, the flames and heat flowing throughout the Water Flow Layer did not stop, so even as we cooled the heat the flames filled the space again.
The Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators, however, had laid many traps in the places they had passed, thinking that was not enough.
[Now I understand why they call Human clan greedy and ruthless.]
The other cultivators coming from behind had to step on the traps of the Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators in addition to the heat of the Water Flow Layer and would suffer.
I considered asking what kind of trap, but decided I did not need to know.
The Water Flow Layer had formations covering the entire layer that made riding techniques impossible, so we had to walk out after stepping on the traps.
I wondered what kind of reaction the other cultivators would have after stepping on them.
Kieeeeek!
Even in places burned-out amorphous monsters rushed at us and spat flames.
“These are called Fire Corpses. Said to be ancient Yao beasts, but in reality they are pieces of Jeongryong Jinin’s flesh.”
[It feels like I have seen them somewhere…]
“Haha, the fierce beast Bi that guarded the entrance to the main body we saw earlier made these Fire Corpses by studying them. Most corpses from the void space have no use even if captured, but for these Fire Corpses…”
Puk!
Hyeon-gwi waved his hand and exploded one Fire Corpse.
The Fire Corpse screamed and vanished.
[Different from the corpses of the void space. They were hard to kill even if captured…]
It seemed the yin qi of the precursor bloodline Hyeon-gwi possessed made them easy to suppress.
Yin qi was a clear weakness.
And at the center of the vanished Fire Corpse I discovered something.
[Hmm?]
Chiiiiik―
The dead Fire Corpse left behind a small cloud-like object.
Hyeon-gwi, before the smoke around him evaporated, took out a glass bottle from his own Jeomuldo and opened the lid, holding it to the cloud.
Shuuruk―
The cloud was compressed into a single drop of liquid and sucked into the bottle.
Hyeon-gwi explained after absorbing the cloud.
“The Fire Corpses here contain the original water power they absorbed from the Water Flow Layer. It is a power that was polluted long ago by some being in the Demon realm, so we call it Magtak-yeok. Although polluted by malice, hunger, and turbid qi, it is the best material for forbidden technique users. Our Bi also uses this Magtak-yeok to make it.”
He smiled faintly and offered me the bottle.
“Would you like to try it? There is a rumor that it grants special clairvoyance to cultivators who have mastered forbidden techniques.”
[Mmm, I will pass. It seems like a liquid that does not suit my technique well.]
I felt the malice, turbid qi, and hunger in the liquid and refused.
Even if it helped forbidden techniques, casually drinking something full of turbid qi could damage the mind.
Hyeon-gwi smiled again.
“Then we Black Forest Spirit Sect will take this Magtak-yeok with us. It is fine, right?”
[Do as you like.]
Thus we advanced, killing every Fire Corpse we saw and obtaining Magtak-yeok.
[They said this was Jeongryong Jinin’s Jeomuldo, but are there no treasures here?]
“Haha, the Water Flow Layer is a kind of Dao garden. Originally it was a place where Jeongryong Jinin and his tamed species raised their pets. Now all the corpses and remains of the spiritual beasts and pets have been eaten and turned into ashes by the Fire Corpses, so there is nothing to see. Ah, of course…”
Hwarurururuk―
How long had we walked out of the Water Flow Layer following Hyeon-gwi? We arrived at a vast basin-shaped place.
The entire basin was engulfed in flames, but inside it broken stone buildings could be seen.
“There are some magic tools and spiritual pills left in the dwellings of Jeongryong Jinin’s tamed species. I investigated it when I was here last time. This was a place where they raised the Du-gwi clan.”
We entered the stone buildings.
Inside the stone buildings there were no flames burning and it was quite cool.
Formations hanging everywhere seemed to block the flames.
“I checked this place once before, so there may be things I missed. Let us thoroughly search it again.”
The Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators scattered to search the stone buildings. I also moved away a bit to look around.
There was nothing particularly noticeable, though.
Then I noticed something strange in the cracks of the stone buildings.
[What is this? Gold? Gaps? Just decayed and cracked?]
But I felt there was some pattern in those gaps.
I scratched at the bedroom-like part of the stone building and asked one of the searching Black Forest Spirit Sect cultivators.
[Excuse me, do you know the origin of this gold? Some formation or… it seems to have some regularity.]
“Ah, you mean that? We do not know either. We tried dripping qi and drawing formations in the gaps but could not find anything meaningful. It is probably just the last desperate words of a Du-gwi clan survivor who lived here with no meaning.”
[Mmm… I see.]
I could tell from the transmission that he truly did not know.
I followed the lines and saw that they were drawn across the entire stone building.
[What in the world is this?]
No matter how I looked, I could not understand.
I reached toward one line to connect it with another.
Then.
[Wait a moment.]
Chiiiiik―
I immediately released my Void Shattering form and turned back into a human.
“…These lines…”
Chuchuch―
I gathered my qi and created a sword qi blade.
Then I began moving the tip of the sword along the lines.
[Ah…]
The structure of the stone building and the arrangement of the lines were already in my mind.
I moved the sword, then raised my hand to create a qi formation.
After that I focused my consciousness and moved the qi formation along the corridors of the stone building.
[I see, this is…]
A sword array.
A trace of a sword array that used non-sword qi.
But I realized this sword array was connected to martial comprehension like Hong Su-ryeong’s.
[No, it is not martial comprehension. This is…]
The Demon clan.
The Du-gwi clan that had used this stone building must have been a Demon clan themselves.
I walked through the stone building with a mental clone created from qi and imagined the scene of me unfolding the sword array in the stone building.
The swords intertwined.
The swords twisted to form a formation, and the paths intertwined to control space.
Interestingly, this sword array was for narrow spaces. It was specialized for corridors and rooms.
I imagined the power of unfolding this sword array.
The entire corridor, each room, all of them would be swept up in a storm of light.
Anyone who entered this building would never be able to escape easily.
They would be swept away by the light storm formed by swords.
Sword qi would bounce off walls and walls and be amplified.
I felt the flow of qi in this sword array.
[Aaah…]
Zzrit, zzrit…
Something seemed about to be interpreted.
The person who left this sword array seemed to want to convey some warning through the flow of qi generated by unfolding it.
But I could not read that warning.
[Damn it! Why is it not working!]
I still had the vision of Geom-cheon.
But it was not enough!?
I let out a sigh and felt a sense of injustice and frustration. I did not even realize I had shed a tear.
* * *
A glass sword mountain.
Above it.
A man in white robes opened one eye.
Sreung―
Sword qi surged around him.
The sword qi was exactly the same as the sword qi Seo Lip had seen in the sword array.
The man in white robes was Seo Eun-hyun. He slowly raised his head and looked at the sword array.
It was a sword array, but to Seo Eun-hyun’s eyes it appeared in a completely different form.
It was a muscular old man with a single small horn protruding from his head.
―Younger brother, when that day comes that I am seen by you, it means that a Demon clan of the same realm as me has been reborn.
Following Seo Eun-hyun’s will, the sword array expanded.
At the same time the old man continued his words.
―Even though the fallen judge’s invasion continues the legacy of the Venerable and the Du-gwi clan, our Demon clan… Yes, our skill. You may call it whatever, but our soul has repeated rise and fall and will eventually be cut off.
Hard to understand.
But Seo Eun-hyun understood.
Wu.
Or what some called fighting soul.
Seo Eun-hyun interpreted the old man’s words as Wu.
The old man was worried about the legacy of Wu being cut off.
―I did not know, but according to the Venerable, the rise and fall of Wu has been repeated since ancient times. When a certain opportunity arises, Demon clans are born one after another, and when the opportunity disappears, they disappear one by one and decline. That is why Demon clans have never been able to obtain successors and decline quickly. And I now recognize that the ‘opportunity’ has disappeared.
The old man’s expression became bitter.
―The foundation of the Demon clan’s power has been blocked at some point. It is no longer possible to use fighting spirit. The first realm, the second, the third, even the fourth that we reached our whole lives.
The old man continued to grow increasingly depressed.
But even in depression his eyes did not die.
―Younger brother, you may pity me. And you may fear that it may become your own problem. But younger brother, do you know the reason I left the sword array?
The increasingly depressed voice quieted, and his eyes became even brighter.
―The Demon clan’s power is Wu! It is not a power borrowed from someone else. Even if the foundation is blocked, my everything I have devoted my whole life to for Wu will not disappear!
The old man, who had first appeared slightly separate from the sword array, gradually merged with it.
―Even if the Demon clan declines, my Wu does not die! Even if the heavens do not permit…
Chuchuchuchuch!
The old man melted into the sword array.
He became the sword array.
―Our will will never die!
“Good.”
Seo Eun-hyun walked calmly toward the sword array.
The sword array, clearly created by Seo Eun-hyun’s hand, rushed at him as if it had a mind.
Seo Eun-hyun collided with the sword array.
The sword array dispersed upon collision with Seo Eun-hyun.
But the sword intention contained in the sword array melted into the glass sword mountain.
* * *
I closed my eyes and paid respect to the giant of the previous era.
Yang Su-jin said.
The Demon clan is proof that we are all slaves to fate and inhuman.
An existence that only appears when the Terminus One appears and disappears when the Terminus One disappears.
Then, after the Terminus One disappears, do the Demon clans lose their power?
Lose the ability to see the mind?
It was possible.
But I kept the old man’s words in my heart.
―Our will will never die!
Even though the Terminus One had disappeared, he was a proud martial artist who had honed Wu.
Even if it was not called Wu, it proved that a person’s will and heart do not end.
Are Demon clans slaves to fate?
A ridiculous statement.
No one in this world is a slave to fate.
Only those who live life exist in this world.
“So, Seo Hyul. You will never be able to keep my heart as a slave forever.”
I looked at the sky and muttered to myself while working hard on Seo Hyul.
“Wait. I will free you soon.”