The Seven-Headed Ghost King in the North
The dark skies of the Ghost Realm hung low over the northern edge of An-gye, bordering Nam-gye.
From there, a colossal dust cloud rose into the air.
“Master, another Terminating One has arrived.”
“I see it.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon stood with arms crossed at the edge of Guangum-yeok, listening to the reports of the spirit beasts while gazing at the distant dust cloud.
“They’re pouring out killing intent like crazy.”
He spoke calmly and sat down, gently stroking Geum So-hae’s hand.
Even though her hand had been splattered with water and dried, the special preservative treatment Jeon Myeong-hoon had applied left it unchanged from that day.
While watching this calm expression, Oh Hyun-seok and Kim Yeon approached from behind and spoke.
“By the way, Myeong-hoon, is that okay? Including the Terminating One who just arrived, there are already thirty Core Formation cultivators here.”
It was the truth.
After settling into the area where the True One’s disciples had been for six months, they had gathered every Core Formation cultivator from every major power in the Ghost Realm during Seo Eun-hyun’s seclusion.
The entire Ghost Realm was like an army mobilizing for a war against the Infinite Sect.
“Don’t worry from now on. The four major powers of the Ghost Realm seem to be throwing everything into a total war. In a few months, we’ll probably have hundreds of Core Formation cultivators gathered.”
Seeing him laugh, Oh Hyun-seok’s expression grew even more worried.
“Hmm, should we call on Lady Yeon Wi again? Is it really okay like this?”
“Well… my ancestors were knowledgeable in many ways, but sometimes they were a bit… naive. It’s often better to trust Seo Eun-hyun than my ancestor.”
“What if he makes a mistake?”
“Even if it looks like a mistake, it’s better to trust the guy.”
He grabbed Geum So-hae’s hand tightly and muttered.
“If I had properly trusted my colleague back then… maybe So-hae wouldn’t have died…”
Oh Hyun-seok looked at him with a touch of pity.
“…All right. I’ll trust him too.”
At that moment, a flash of light shot toward Guangum-yeok from the allied army’s camp.
The light lance, infused with the aura of the True One’s disciples, sliced through the Ghost Realm’s yin energy and charged toward them.
Oh Hyun-seok took a step forward.
“Hah, they’re finally starting to pick a fight.”
Just as purple qi was about to boil from his entire body.
Kim Yeon stepped past Oh Hyun-seok and took the lead.
Whoooong!
Her lotus-pink bow fluttered as she assumed her stance.
Jeon Myeong-hoon looked at her with a start and asked carefully.
“Hey, Kim Yeon. Are you okay?”
Kim Yeon gave no reply.
Instead, she bit her lips hard, her eyes unstable as she muttered.
“No… I can’t forgive them. Seo Eun-hyun is mine. I can’t forgive anyone who tries to harm him…”
Crack!
She rolled her foot as if launching into the sky and swung her left hand at the light lance.
Kwaaang!
The light lance, carrying the True One’s disciples’ light, bounced straight into the sky and spun like a top.
Kim Yeon changed her posture mid-air and pulled her right hand back, brimming with overwhelming power.
The lance dropped toward her eye level.
She precisely struck the handle end again.
Kwaaang!
Lotus-pink ripples surged in the air, and the lance shot back the way it came.
Ku-kwa-kwa-gwang!
The allied army’s camp exploded with True One’s disciples’ light, spreading chaos.
Thud!
After displaying a series of martial techniques, Kim Yeon landed back on the ground and glared at the camp, still chewing her lips.
No further attacks came.
Jeon Myeong-hoon watched her with uneasy eyes.
“The cycle of madness has shortened.”
She had shown signs of madness before.
But with Seo Eun-hyun nearby, it had always been fine.
Now that he was in seclusion, her condition had deteriorated sharply.
Jeon Myeong-hoon observed her.
He knew because he had once been on the verge of madness after losing Geum So-hae.
Kim Yeon was in a very dangerous state.
Yet he couldn’t figure out why.
“Why is the madness flaring up? There was no problem on Earth…”
Unlike him, who lost his lover, unlike Kang Min-hee who absorbed countless ghosts, unlike Seo Eun-hyun or Oh Hyun-seok who trained brutally, he had been held captive by Goe-gun.
But Seo Eun-hyun had comforted him remotely, so it hadn’t been too bad.
“This is strange.”
From his perspective, Kim Yeon’s madness felt completely alien.
Like someone had injected madness into her.
But Jeon Myeong-hoon didn’t dig deeper.
“If something was wrong, Seo Eun-hyun would have noticed.”
The fact that he had left her behind to enter seclusion meant he believed she could overcome it herself.
“Since Seo Eun-hyun trusts her, I should too.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon stroked Geum So-hae’s hand and closed his eyes.
“That’s right, So-hae?”
He had trusted his colleagues.
Even if it seemed suspicious on the surface, trusting meant handing the result to them.
He had trusted Seo Eun-hyun, Kim Yeon, Oh Hyun-seok, the Guardian Ghost Kings, and the Infinite Sect.
“So my job is to protect the sect until his seclusion ends, not to worry about Kim Yeon.”
A faint red light leaked from his eyes.
“I, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Grand Law Master of the Infinite Sect, command this: Do not block the incoming lance. Leave it to Elder Oh Hyun-seok. Kim Yeon, when a large-scale assault comes, move the puppets to block the attack.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon placed Geum So-hae’s hand gently inside his sleeve and stood up.
“Hong Beom will sow confusion and poison in the enemy camp, Oh Hyun-seok will handle the incoming lances from afar, Kim Yeon will block large-scale assaults, and I will confront the Terminating One who charges straight at us. Remember your roles!”
Kim Yeon stared at Jeon Myeong-hoon for a moment through her madness, then nodded as if accepting it.
Days passed.
Ku-gu-gu-gu—
Terminating Ones began gathering in larger numbers at the opposite camp from all corners of the Ghost Realm.
The more they came, the more frequent the attacks on Guangum-yeok became.
Kwaaang!
Oh Hyun-seok transformed into the Star Giant and swung the green talisman through the wind-breaking technique, tongue clicking.
“My hands are numb. Is this a strike from a Core Formation cultivator…”
Deep worry etched his face.
“Can we really handle this? The number of Core Formation cultivators has already surpassed fifty…”
“It’s fine. I can block it for a moment if I use ‘that’.”
“G, really…? You have ‘that’.”
Even Jeon Myeong-hoon looked uneasy.
“Hurry and finish your seclusion, Seo Eun-hyun.”
If it were a short battle, Jeon Myeong-hoon could match fifty Core Formation cultivators with special methods.
But it was risky for him.
With more Terminating Ones arriving constantly, there was no way.
“I’ll trust and protect you, Seo Eun-hyun! So please… hurry…!”
All he could do was wait, trusting him.
Jeon Myeong-hoon observed his own cultivation at the peak of the Four Pillars, eyes tense as he stared at the opposite camp.
***
Ku-gu-gu-gu!
In the dark inner room, a boy who had reached the fourteenth layer of Qi Condensation in the Infinite Cloud Realm spun the cloud around him.
And suddenly!
The boy half-closed his eyes and inhaled the swirling cloud around him.
At the same time.
Kururung!
A thunderous sound rang from inside his dantian, and a cloud formed inside him.
Whoooong!
Weak but pure qi swirled inside the boy’s body.
Jeon Ham-jin’s face brightened.
“E, finally…!”
He couldn’t hide his joy at the pure qi rising from his body.
“I… entered the Foundation Establishment!”
He read the heavenly secrets and jumped for joy at the added three hundred years of lifespan.
“Finally! I’ve reached the true half-immortal realm!”
At that moment, a man in white clothes smiled faintly and clicked his tongue.
“You’ve only just entered Foundation Establishment. Master your five elements well and stabilize your realm. There’s still a long way before you can overcome your mentor at Core Formation.”
“Yes…! It’s still a long way before I become an Enlightened Immortal from a half-immortal.”
“…Yeah. Core Formation isn’t an easy realm either. Anyway, ‘the work’ will speed up now.”
“Yes, I feel the Earth Dragon Wall Art has become even more active.”
About a year ago.
Ham-jin had used the secret formula of the Earth Dragon Wall Art that the great being had taught him.
Whoiiing—
Inside the dark room, the light of the dragon veins surged in.
It was originally a method for Foundation Establishment, but this one had been modified so even someone at Qi Condensation could learn it from the white-clothed man.
Ham-jin felt as if he could grab the dragon veins in the valley with his bare hands.
“At Qi Condensation, I could barely sense even one dragon vein’s position, but now I can vaguely know dozens or hundreds!”
He smiled.
For the past year, avoiding his mentor’s eyes, he had twisted the directions of every dragon vein in Jue-gwi Valley.
Now the dragon veins in Jue-gwi Valley intertwined like a great formation as the great being had demanded.
With Ham-jin at Foundation Establishment, completing the formation would be even easier.
“Anyway, once I slightly modify the formation, the great being will activate it…”
“Yes, you will leave your mentor.”
“Finally… Thank you for all this time. Even now, I bow in advance. The fact that I reached Foundation Establishment is thanks to you, Infinite Tong-gui-nim.”
“Haha, it was because you worked hard.”
Ham-jin sincerely thanked the being the Infinite Ghost King had given him, the “Infinite Tong-gui.”
He recalled the year before.
The words of the great being, the Infinite Ghost King, came to mind.
[I will teach you the technique, but you will find it difficult to understand. Therefore, I will give you a helper to interpret this technique for you.]
After facing the Infinite Ghost King in the consciousness world, when Ham-jin opened his eyes, he saw a “new being.”
A mysterious man in white clothes.
He introduced himself as the “Infinite Tong-gui” and said he was the helper the Infinite Ghost King had given Ham-jin.
The word “Tong-gui” was not empty talk.
He was visible only to Ham-jin’s eyes, and no one in Jue-gwi Valley, including his mentor, noticed the Tong-gui.
Over the past year, the Infinite Tong-gui had taught Ham-jin the technique in incredible detail, sometimes guiding his qi flow and tempering his realm.
Thanks to him, Ham-jin had reached Foundation Establishment in an unbelievable amount of time.
“But, Tong-gui-nim, why did the Infinite Ghost King send you to teach me instead of teaching it himself?”
Ham-jin asked after opening the door of the dark room.
The Tong-gui smiled faintly.
“I told you last time. The King is still spreading consciousness across countless worlds and fulfilling countless wishes, so he doesn’t have much free time.”
“I see… Well, if the Ghost King had taught it himself… it might have been a bit scary.”
“Haha, probably he was scared and didn’t swallow his breath.”
The Tong-gui teased Ham-jin with a kind face, and Ham-jin smiled back.
Soon, however, he wiped the smile from his face.
Shortly after leaving the room, his mentor, Yeom-gok, ran over with an excited expression and started touching his body.
“Really! Truly! Hahaha, reaching that realm in such a short time. You are truly my beloved disciple! Ah, the best! This lively body overflowing with pure qi everywhere!”
Yeom-gok, excited, scanned Ham-jin’s body as if he might drool.
Ham-jin looked at the Infinite Tong-gui beside him.
Yeom-gok didn’t notice the Tong-gui at all, and the Tong-gui nodded at Ham-jin and spoke.
“This time it’s a test. Stay obedient.”
Ham-jin nodded.
Since the Infinite Tong-gui had started hovering beside him, whenever Yeom-gok tried to do something to him, the Tong-gui read his mentor’s mind and told Ham-jin.
“He pretends to like you but is quite wary. He’s suspicious of you reaching Foundation Establishment without a Core Formation foundation so quickly.”
Ham-jin swallowed.
At that moment.
Yeom-gok laughed loudly and patted Ham-jin’s shoulder.
“A disciple growing so solidly has no worries! Since it’s come to this, in three days I’ll pass everything to you!”
“…”
His words made Ham-jin’s eyes shake.
“T, that means…”
His body was now mature enough, so he intended to steal it.
Ham-jin was terrified, but the Tong-gui’s gaze beside him kept him from showing any reaction.
“To pass everything to your master… it is truly an honor!”
“…Yeah. I’m glad you like it.”
Yeom-gok smiled at Ham-jin with meaningful eyes.
“In three days, I will invite all the Enlightened Immortals of Hwa-guk and hand over my main name law treasure, the Black Ridge Seal, to you. In front of them, I will announce that my successor is you. So be careful with your conduct and don’t make a mistake on that day.”
Yeom-gok patted Ham-jin’s shoulder, turned around, and left his body.
“…Tong-gui-nim, w, what should I do? He says he’s going to take my body in three days…!? No, more than that…”
Ham-jin asked the Tong-gui, unable to understand.
“I’ve heard the three great Enlightened Immortals of Hwa-guk have bad relations, yet he wants to invite them to declare me as successor…? What does that mean?”
The Infinite Tong-gui smiled faintly.
“Probably for some reason, the three Core Formation cultivators seem to be cooperating.”
“Yes…!?”
Ham-jin’s face darkened.
Using the fact that the three great Enlightened Immortals had bad relations was what he had been hoping for to escape his mentor’s grasp, but such a fact was terrifying.
Yet the Tong-gui smiled as if it were nothing and said.
“Don’t worry. Probably what those three Core Formation cultivators want is the same as what the Infinite Ghost King wants. Looking at the law treasures… he probably wants to clear a path to the underworld through the law treasures… In that case, you might not even need to modify the formation.”
“Yes…?”
“Don’t worry. Through my abilities, I’ve already found out everything about your mentor’s plan, even the parts you don’t know. He’s using some kind of technique to stir up his body and dig a path straight to the underworld. Then he’ll switch to your body quickly.”
“…”
Ham-jin bit his lip after hearing the fact through the Infinite Tong-gui.
“…Tong-gui-nim, will I be able to survive?”
He didn’t distrust the Infinite Ghost King who had sent him, but the Infinite Tong-gui was only at the level of a pill cultivator in terms of qi.
And the Infinite Ghost King was great, but he lived in a distant other realm, and his mentor was right in front of him.
“My, my master, Yeom-gok the Black Ridge Demon, is… an Enlightened Immortal! He won’t die before his golden core is shattered—he is a god of the world!”
“…”
“I didn’t know the day would come so soon…”
Ham-jin was shaken by anxiety and ground his teeth.
“Infinite Tong-gui-nim, tell me, will I really be able to overcome that Enlightened Immortal…?”
The Infinite Tong-gui looked at him and hesitated as if trying to persuade him, then sighed.
“Don’t worry. Don’t doubt—believe. I’ll show you a new future. You will one day reach a realm where you can easily leap over Core Formation.”
“H, but…”
Whoooong—
“…”
Before Ham-jin could ask more, the Infinite Tong-gui turned into a single breeze and disappeared before his eyes.
His voice echoed in Ham-jin’s ear.
—Don’t worry. I have already reached that realm, so I have enough power to save just you….
It was a meaningless phrase.
Yet Ham-jin, hearing that voice filled with confidence, had no choice but to bite his lip and wait and believe.
***
Ku-gu-gu-gu!
In the Ghost Realm, Guangum-yeok.
At the very front, the law masters and Guardian Ghost Kings of the Infinite Sect lined up to watch the other side.
The ground shook.
Stars spewed ominous light, and visible killing intent flowed from the enemy camp.
Oh Hyun-seok swallowed hard, Kim Yeon displayed her ominous madness, and Jeon Myeong-hoon stood in the center with bright eyes.
“Ninety-six Core Formation cultivators… and seven disciples who have been eroded by the True One…”
In the distance, seven ghost kings with multiple heads, looking like Seo Eun-hyun, floated in the air.
Jeon Myeong-hoon felt instinctively.
“Everyone, stay tense. They’re all here now.”
Even though the entire Ghost Realm had designated them as public enemies, not all their power could be sent.
They needed people to guard and manage their own territories, so they had set a limit on how many each power could send.
It seemed that more Core Formation ghost kings would not come; this was the end.
But even so, over a hundred Core Formation cultivators.
“Even Seo Eun-hyun can only fight to the death against about ten Terminating Ones. Can I… protect Guangum-yeok from them…?”
But Jeon Myeong-hoon shook his head.
No need for doubt.
He would protect it no matter what.
At that moment, Kim Yeon’s eyes lit up.
“They’re coming.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eyes brightened at her words.
Exactly.
Those who had been hurling law techniques from afar began moving toward them.
Tension filled the faces of everyone present, including Jeon Myeong-hoon.
But he clenched his teeth and advanced forward.
“Protect me, So-hae.”
Kung, kung, kung, kwa-ji-ji-jik!
Each step made his body swell, and soon Jeon Myeong-hoon transformed into the Six-Organs Giant.
The four pillars he had accumulated over time twitched inside him.
[Attack!]
Far away, the seven “disciples.”
The True One’s erosion bodies began using their power.
Kiiyaaaaah—
Aaaaa—
Ghost kings with multiple heads like Seo Eun-hyun opened their mouths simultaneously and fired countless light rays into Guangum-yeok.
Some even charged with their own bodies, others tossing ghost kings out of their mouths.
And, Jeon Myeong-hoon bright-eyed, brought his six hands to his dantian.
Whoiiing—
A circular halo behind his head.
Four pillars rose from his dantian.
Heaven and Earth Unification!
[Heaven and Earth Unification begins.]
Kwa-ji-ji-jik!
Thunder cracked as his heavenly and earthly parts merged.
At the same time.
Kwurururung!
An enormous sky tribulation poured down like a waterfall toward Jeon Myeong-hoon.
The ghost kings of the four major powers looked at the scene with blank expressions.
“Crazy bastard… I heard he handles thunder laws, but he gets promoted before a fight? Is he crazy?”
“He wants to die. Everyone attack!”
The ghost kings poured attacks at Jeon Myeong-hoon without holding back.
And.
Kwurururung!
The sky tribulation twisted and flew toward the ones attacking Jeon Myeong-hoon instead.
Kwaaang!
Even the True One’s eroded disciples flinched and stopped.
And, at the center of the tribulation storm, Jeon Myeong-hoon laughed.
[Sorry, but I become strongest when I take the sky tribulation.]
Kwa-ji-ji-jik!
The sky tribulation stained.
Blue and gold.
The two-colored sky tribulation gradually turned red.
The sky itself turned red.
[This is my heavenly medicine and law treasure.]
Kwa-ji-ji-jik!
The sky tribulation falling toward him condensed obediently in his hand, becoming a lightning lance.
[It will soon be my will.]
Kwurururung!
The lightning lance pierced the clouds and rose into the sky.
It looked like a sacred aurora connecting heaven and earth.
Jeon Myeong-hoon caught the stretched lightning lance that seemed to reach the stars and laughed.
[Come on, you’ll never set foot in Guangum-yeok!]
Kwa-ji-ji-jik!
And, Jeon Myeong-hoon swung the lightning lance.
The enormous sky tribulation lance slashed toward the ghost kings.
***
In the darkness, I opened my eyes hearing the voices of countless others.
What is the true name of the Four Pillars?
“Too simple.”
Heaven and Earth Unification, yet why is it Four Pillars after Heavenly Person?
Isn’t the name “Earth” supposed to come after Heavenly Person at least?
Earth Axis.
Yes, the first realm of the Central Sky Realm is not Four Pillars but Earth Axis!
It was the Earth Axis Realm.
“Then… let’s properly enter the Earth Axis Realm.”
Finally.
I had gathered a lifespan of ten thousand years.
Then what remained was simply to obtain true contraction!
I prepared for the contraction oath, and Jeon Myeong-hoon entered Heaven and Earth Unification.
The end of everything that happened in the Ghost Realm was right before me.