The Forgotten (2)
I believe you, Seo Eun-hyun.
Yeah. If it's you, honestly, even after ten years of integration, you could just break through dimensions with your bare hands and return to Gwanghan Realm without anything strange.
As expected of Eun-hyun! I believed in you from the company!
I believe you too, oppa!
As expected of our owner!
Yeon Wi, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, Kim Yeon, and Hong Beom each showered me with expectations in turn.
I felt a cold sweat trickling down my neck.
...
Something needed to be cleared up.
Everyone seems to be misunderstanding something... I... can wield power beyond the boundaries, but I can't raise their realms as easily as they imagine.
Hoo-hoo, why do you say that, my lord? Your talent is something no one can touch. Please show me your brilliant talent!
Hong Beom clenched his fists and shone his eyes as if cheering for me.
...
I felt an impulse to cover Hong Beom's mouth for the first time in my life.
Seeing me stiffen, Yeon Wi laughed heartily.
Ahahaha, it's fine. The ten-year integration is just a joke. Try for about a hundred years.
...There seems to be a rather large misunderstanding between us.
My head ached as I rubbed my temples.
However, Yeon Wi shook her head instead.
No, it's not a misunderstanding. Even if the method for accumulating the five pillars is unknown, it's difficult, but once you know the method, it becomes easy. Forcing future to precede past, if you don't know it, you can never accumulate it, but if you do know it, you can really accumulate it easily. And this body has accumulated the three pillars by traveling through the Ghost Realm, Goryeok, and Purple Gold Realm. I can teach you anytime.
Yeon Wi continued.
And since you currently don't know anything about the foundation of the five pillars, you think it's vaguely difficult, but if you actually try once, your thinking will change.
...
Well then, let everyone hear about the five pillars. Jeon Myeong-hoon, you also didn't accumulate the five pillars, but listen anyway!
She gathered us and continued explaining the five pillars.
Their power and performance, and how to accumulate those pillars.
Listening to the reasons, I understood why those who know about the five pillars in places like Black Ghost Valley always strive to expand their power.
And at the same time, I was horrified.
That... that... is complete demonic dao!
I asked Yeon Wi with a dazed expression.
However, Yeon Wi tilted her head as if she was puzzled.
Um, what do you mean? This is not demonic dao. It's a struggle for survival. It's nothing more than a common material exchange at the same time.
...Isn't that deceiving the opponent by the difference in realms instead of a material exchange? Isn't it just disguising forced theft as something plausible?
Hoo, you really haven't met ugly cultivators. No, perhaps you don't even know what it means to be in dire straits because you have overwhelming talent?
My face muscles twitched involuntarily at Yeon Wi's words, but I held back.
Listen carefully. Even if your talent is inferior to mine, as an elder who prides herself on having lived painfully, I will give you advice. Cultivation is nothing but 'stealing'. Steal from the demonic dao, steal from the righteous path, steal from the demons, steal from the enemies to raise myself higher. That is cultivation! Anyone who stands in my way, steal from them. Even from evil ghosts, steal from enemies, steal from companions, even if it's the fiancé's thing promised for a thousand years, steal it and complete me! That is cultivation!
Crack!
Yeon Wi approached me with cold eyes and poked my chest with her finger.
Stop talking nonsense. If you're walking the path of cultivation, show a bit more guts. Even if the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect has declined, weren't you once a member of the main sect? If you inherit the legacy of the founder Yang Su-jin, you should become even more ruthless!
I flinched.
Somehow, the being in front of me didn't feel like just Yeon Wi.
...I see...
She is Yang Su-jin's successor.
Perhaps Yang Su-jin didn't just leave his will as a phantom on Shattered Heaven Peak.
All the successors of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
All of them inherited the legacy of the founder and passed on the ruthless heart of the cultivator.
I was facing Yang Su-jin again.
...
But I couldn't simply deny this will.
To deny this will, there is too much on my shoulders right now.
I'm sorry.
It's fine. So, as I understand, you need preparation to accumulate the five pillars, right?
Yes.
To obtain the five pillars, first you need the middle realms like Gwanghan Realm, Goryeok, Ghost Realm, Purple Gold Realm, and Hyeol-eum.
However, those middle realms are only needed as intermediaries.
What is truly needed is 'power'.
First, as I said, we need to obtain power.
How do we obtain power?
First, I heard about the characteristics of ghosts from Black Ghost Valley before. I want to hear a little from you, senior, about those characteristics and this Ghost Realm...
What is it?
...For example...
I asked Yeon Wi about the ghosts and soul beings of the Ghost Realm, and heard her answers.
As I expected, I told her my plan first.
Yeon Wi listened with a dumbfounded expression and laughed.
...Is it possible...
Yes.
...Ha, that's a shame. Instead of returning to Gwanghan Realm, what do you think about just driving a stake into the Ghost Realm? From my perspective, after about sixty thousand years of developing power in the Ghost Realm as you said, I could reorganize the Ghost Realm into five power groups instead of the four of the Three Palaces and One Island!
She spoke with slight excitement, but everyone, including myself and Jeon Myeong-hoon, gave expressions of not agreeing, and Yeon Wi shrank a bit.
Hmmm, if everyone wants to leave, there's nothing for it. It's just a shame. Well then! Go gather information from the nearby area, investigate, and find an appropriate place to make a power base!
Yes, I will.
We stood up from our seats and decided to gather information from the nearby area first and then settle.
Plop, plop...
I separated from my companions and climbed upstream along the river we had parted from.
The companions had decided to go downstream centering on Jeon Myeong-hoon, who had mastered the Five Extreme Lightning Tribulation Divine Art, and I decided to go upstream by separating.
The companions couldn't use their power properly because of the ghosts of the Ghost Realm, so they had gone together, and I had separated because my Thousand Clan Gong Method had become even stronger due to the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation compared to Gwanghan Realm, for efficiency in information gathering.
'...It's a bit sad.'
I wiggled the nineteen heads of only the Ghost King state.
Seo Lip liked this form because the Ghost Dao Gong Method suited his constitution, but for me, I thought the appearance of General Seo was more imposing, so I didn't like it much.
Plop, plop...
I walked occasionally and used the Yin Escape Technique to traverse against the river current for some time.
Um... Is this the city of the Ghost Realm?
I smiled with my thirty-eight eyes shining with ghost qi.
Far in the distance, a gorge above a large mountain peak where the river current began.
From there, the qi of countless ghosts could be felt.
Hmmm...
After climbing a bit further, a huge fortress similar to the city walls seen in the Water Realm appeared.
There was no gatekeeper in front of the fortress gate, but I soon understood the reason.
Hey, you, do you want to enter Heukryuseong?
Kugugugugu!
The upper wall of the main gate twitched, and a large eyeball popped out.
At the same time, the gate turned into something's 'mouth'.
Ho, the walls themselves are possessed by ghosts?
The walls themselves were both gatekeeper and gate.
There was a dense formation on the upper part of the wall that prevented anyone from flying over easily, so you had to get permission from this gatekeeper ghost to enter.
Hey, ghost. I don't know where you're from, but you have the proof... Ack!
The wall ghost completely revealing its face twitched and tried to say something to me, but when it saw me, it froze for a moment.
...Do you have something to say?
I asked curiously, and the wall ghost laughed while stuttering for a moment.
Ah, no, senior. Just looking at you, you must be a noble ghost lineage senior. This junior ventured to be disrespectful to you.
Hmmm, no. It's only natural for a gatekeeper.
Thank you! Actually, originally to enter Heukryuseong, some of the consciousness you carry must be restricted...
The wall ghost asked me cautiously.
If you don't want to, you don't have to.
It's fine. If the law of this fortress is like that, I must abide by it.
I suppressed my consciousness and asked.
Is this enough?
T-Thank you! Please visit Heukryuseong well, senior!
He looked at my faces awkwardly and smiled, then opened his mouth wide to let me enter easily.
Hmmm...
My death essence must have been quite effective even in the Ghost Realm.
'Unlike the troublesome human world, in the Ghost Realm, as long as it's recognized as a great ghost, you don't even need a proof paper.'
Well, thinking about it, being able to be recognized as a ghost-like ghost simply by having the form of death was a strange thing.
Nothing more strange than requiring identification from a ghost-like ghost in the ghost world's place.
I walked slowly into Heukryuseong and sighed softly.
Ho...
'This is... much more varied than what I saw in the Jinlong League.'
Truly, various kinds of beings were wandering the streets.
From ghosts with normal appearances to completely grotesque-looking ghosts, and soul beings that were monsters that only moved like zombies or skeletons rather than being ghosts.
And even among the zombies and skeleton monsters, there were hugely varied kinds, and so were the ghosts and ghost kings.
Just looking at their appearances near mine.
An old man carrying a flower basket.
A zombie dog with three heads, a lizard made only of bones, and a transparent ghost that looked like it was floating with a hat and robe.
A ghost that looked like a shadow, a ghost king shaped like an egg ghost with no face but a dark body, and a tree ghost that moved while filled with blood.
A maiden ghost dressed in a monochrome robe that looked no different from a human except for being pale, and so on.
Tremendously diverse beings were strolling around.
Is this the Ghost Realm...?
When I was looking around with interest.
Swaaaaah-
The ghosts around me spat out fear qi and vacated their spots one after another on the path I was passing.
As a result, large paths were created wherever I walked.
...
They all had pale complexions and gloomy qi color, which I thought was due to practicing the Ghost Dao Gong Method.
But it seemed not to be the Ghost Dao Gong Method but me.
...Hoo-hmm.
When I awkwardly cleared my throat, the ghosts widened the distance even more.
'...It's strangely quiet. The ghosts don't shout like people to solicit or haggle?'
While I was looking around for a moment, I heard lively voices from other streets of Heukryuseong and walked over there.
'What kind of enormous thing could it be that even among these quiet ghosts, there's a big commotion?'
A little later.
I entered the market street of Heukryuseong where lively voices were heard.
...
And when I entered, the market street became quiet.
And from the street I had just left, voices gradually began to be heard, and soon it turned into lively commotion.
The ghosts weren't pale or gloomy just because they were ghosts, and they weren't quiet just because they were ghosts.
'Damn... Did I make the whole area shut up because of me?'
Rather than this, the ghosts of Gwanghan Realm and Water Realm who screamed and wailed whenever they saw me seemed much better.
'Why is there such a difference between the Ghost Realm and other realms for ghosts?'
I turned my gaze to the will-o'-the-wisp that had been actively soliciting the other ghosts before I entered this street.
'It was definitely the ghost with the loudest and most spirited voice...'
Hey, wait a second...!
'This damn. I must have misunderstood something about what I said!'
I finally concluded that it was all due to the appearance of the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation and decided to turn my body back into human form first.
'Do I look like a madman pulling out and hanging the necks of same-realm cultivator monks in the Ghost Realm too? No way. Appearance doesn't matter that much, but words do. Seo Lip, why the hell did you complete the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation like this...'
The current Great Desert Dead Sea Formation was quite well-structured and high-completion, so even I would need a long time to transform it into a normal appearance.
I internally cursed Seo Lip's taste and decided that someday I would somehow deal with this Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
Then, I used the Invisibility Technique to chase the slower tree ghost and slowly canceled the Ghost King state of the Great Desert Dead Sea Formation.
My appearance returned to the plain form in white robes.
Hey, I changed it so you won't feel repulsed! I'm not trying to harm you, but I want to talk for a moment, so please resolve my question for just a bit.
And then.
The tree ghost turned its head to look at me and instead spewed ghost cries even more madly.
Kiyaaaaaaa! Please forgive me, senior! Please! Please! Kiyaaaaaaa!
Kugugugu!
The tree ghost, seeing me chase it all the way behind, made a faint expression as if fainting and cut off its qi while using the Yin Escape Technique to flee completely outside Heukryuseong.
I was dumbfounded by the sight and touched my face.
No, why are they screaming?'
It was then that I felt an unease and looked around, and the entire street that had been bustling with ghosts, even though quiet, was now empty.
The ghosts had all fled upon seeing my human form faces.
'...No good.'
Feeling irritated, I flew toward the center of Heukryuseong.
Hey, are you the lord of this Heukryuseong?
In the central palace of Heukryuseong, a skeleton skullcap ghost dressed in sackcloth was sitting in seiza on the palace roof.
There were also many presences inside the palace, but they all seemed connected to this skeleton skullcap ghost, so this ghost must be controlling puppets.
And I realized that this skeleton skullcap ghost, looking like the Heukryuseong lord, was also extremely terrified of me.
Yes, yes. Senior. I am the lord of this city.
Good. Well done. Why the hell are you all so afraid of me?
***
The lord of Heukryuseong, Manggol, trembled while glancing up at the madman in front of him.
Heaven... why are you giving me such a trial?