Realm of Ancient Power
WHOOOOSH!
The ghosts who made up the land of Gwangheungyeong crossed a colorless shortcut.
“No problems appear to be present.”
The shortcut was originally a method that passed through the deep outer reaches of the Ming Ghost Realm.
To use this shortcut, one needed to have mastered the Ghost Dao Art or possessed a dream body created using the power of the Seopmyeong Ship.
However, the Mugeuk Sect situated in Gwangheungyeong was the sect of the ghosts.
Originally, there was no issue whatsoever with utilizing the shortcut.
GWAOOWWWWWW―
The colorless shortcut was silent.
The disciples also kept their mouths shut at the deathly aura given off by the shortcut.
Yet even with their mouths closed, they felt it.
They were all tremendously excited.
Although the sound reaching the ears was almost nonexistent and quiet, it was visible to my eyes.
The various colors entering my visual field of the will-mind were wildly jumping around.
All the disciples.
They were feeling tremendous loyalty toward me and tremendous sense of belonging to the Mugeuk Sect.
Was it because I had personally witnessed the expulsion of the Gaeyeol sages?
Even though I had risen from the form of a twenty-one-headed ghost king to the form of “human Seo Eun-hyun,” no one showed fear or dread toward me.
Instead of the fear my appearance gave, loyalty and the heart of enthusiasm had grown far greater.
‘Up until now, thank you for following me so well.’
I offered silent thanks to the disciples in my heart as I led Gwangheungyeong toward Gwanghan Realm together with Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“…Hey, Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
While doing so.
“Hmm? What is it?”
At that moment, Gwangheungyeong was under my control since I was the one who had opened the shortcut.
Jeon Myeong-hoon, who possessed the power of Integration, was controlling it.
I would maintain the shortcut while Jeon Myeong-hoon calculated the coordinates of Gwanghan Realm and guided Gwangheungyeong using that pull.
However, I felt something strange.
“Are you driving properly?”
“Of course. I am driving straight toward Gwanghan Realm. I have set the old site of the Geumsin Cheonroemun as the coordinate, so we will emerge from that direction. What do you think I am using?”
“A conceptless guy who hands over driving to someone who worked overtime because they couldn’t drive properly?”
“Haha, is this the shortcut? It really has a nice view.”
I clicked my tongue and grabbed his shoulder.
“No, I am not joking. I am seriously asking. Are you truly using the Gwanghan Realm as the coordinate and pulling? Something feels off….”
“What feels off?”
I frowned at the strange sense of unease.
Clearly, Jeon Myeong-hoon was pulling toward the site of the Geumsin Cheonroemun that he remembered.
Since it was an unforgettable coordinate for him, there was no chance of it being wrong.
But strangely, even though we were heading toward a “correct” coordinate, it felt as if we were heading toward a “wrong” path.
‘Why? The direction is correct, but it feels like we have suddenly turned onto another path.’
I checked Jeon Myeong-hoon’s pull multiple times to confirm whether he was truly going the right way.
Clearly, Jeon Myeong-hoon’s pull connected directly to the old site of the Geumsin Cheonroemun in Gwanghan Realm.
‘It really is odd….’
We were supposed to be going the right way, but we were somehow going the wrong way.
It was a truly strange feeling, but it was a fact I could feel.
At that moment.
WUUUWOONG!
“…!?”
I suddenly felt the Colorless Glass Sword inside my abdomen grow hot.
‘What?’
The Colorless Glass Sword was crying.
“Stop crying, Colorless Glass Sword!”
I tried to stop the Colorless Glass Sword’s vibration by pulling it out with my mouth, but the Colorless Glass Sword did not move an inch.
The sword continued vibrating and emitting a faint light.
‘This light…?’
I was startled and looked at the light.
This was clearly the light of a technique that reversed the Taesan Yeolje Art.
The salt-like light I had just used to chase away the sages!
‘Is it possible that using this technique affected the Colorless Glass Sword?’
I saw the Colorless Glass Sword spewing out white grains of light.
WIIIIING!
“…!”
I realized that the mist of the Mansang Inyeondo embedded inside the Colorless Glass Sword was vibrating along with it.
‘No, what is this…!’
Just when I was bewildered.
“Wait! Jeon Myeong-hoon! Where are you driving to!?”
“What? I am driving perfectly!”
“Damn it! You are going down the wrong path!”
“What are you saying? Aren’t you seeing me heading straight to the place where I fixed the pull?”
“No, damn it!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon seemed to have gone crazy all of a sudden, suddenly veering off from the straight line into a strange place.
I was startled, but Jeon Myeong-hoon looked at me with an innocent expression.
“How is this straight?! We were there just a moment ago—what direction are we heading now?!”
“No! I can’t see front, back, left, or right—what are you talking about!? I can’t tell which is front and which is back, so I am just following the pull!”
“This damn…!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eyesight was not as deep as mine because he had not reached the peak of death yet, so the shortcut was not as clear to him, but to my eyes it was vividly clear.
This guy had suddenly turned toward a strange place.
“Done! I will set the direction, so follow that way for now.”
“Okay, got it….”
KUGUGUGUGU!
Right at that moment.
“What…!”
The Colorless Glass Sword began wailing madly.
At the same time, the Gwangheungyeong that had been slowly advancing forward began being pulled “madly” forward.
“This damn! What is happening!?”
“I don’t know either!”
I thought we would be in big trouble if we kept going straight, so I tried to cut off the pull however I could, and Jeon Myeong-hoon followed my instructions to enclose Gwangheungyeong within his own domain for now.
I could feel it.
‘Something’ was pulling us.
‘W-wait, could it be the Gaeyeol sages?’
It was possible.
One of the many horned sages might have come all the way to the shortcut and tried to eat us up!
I raised my guard and pulled up the aura of the Taesan Yeolje Art once more, my face tense.
Right at that moment.
“…!”
Ahead, I saw the veil of dimensions.
If we kept going, Gwangheungyeong would be crushed straight into the dimension veil!
WUUWOONG!
Through the Chongcheon-geom I covered the front of Gwangheungyeong.
‘I will pierce through!’
The next instant.
KWAAANG!
The density of the Gwangheungyeong combined with the sharpness of the Chongcheon-geom and the speed of the pull made an enormous explosion that covered the surrounding area, and Gwangheungyeong entered that suspicious dimension directly.
* * *
Goryeok Realm.
Seongran Island in Suryu Region.
Seongran Island, located in the middle of a vast sea, was a thriving place.
It was also one of the trading cities where trade was frequent, as many islands gathered here, and it was a place where no major disputes occurred because the ley lines were rich.
On that day, Yuk Yo, the seahorse youkai and resident of Seongran Island, was in her domain of the Eordeung Falls and had just shaken her body once after waking up.
She jumped into the waterfall and climbed toward the sky against the current.
KUGUGUGUGU!
After climbing once against the waterfall, Yuk Yo transformed into a divine blue dragon right there.
She was not actually a dragon clan member, but she had used her own divine art to mimic the transformation as closely as possible.
“Hmm, today is really a good day. Today I will find a weakling to eat happily.”
Although she was still only at the initial stage of Nascent Soul, Yuk Yo flew toward the harbor of Seongran Island with a relaxed expression.
When she arrived at the harbor, tongues clicked here and there.
“Look at that scam artist again, he must be starting his activities.”
“He is working hard at cultivation but not trying to become a real dragon, only using a similar transformation to cheat people.”
“Only the victims suffer. Tsk tsk….”
Although voices were raised here and there, Yuk Yo did not care and performed a half-body burning execution while in the form of a dragon clan member.
The upper half was in dragon form and the lower half in human form.
However, the appearance was quite elegant, so it looked quite good from the outside.
While wandering around the harbor, Yuk Yo spotted a newly arrived ship and lit up her eyes, approaching the ship.
Several youkai had unloaded goods from the ship, and youkai from other islands were looking around the area.
Yuk Yo approached one of the youkai who looked foolish, a Cheonin stage youkai.
That youkai who had completely burned in human form was gnawing at his lips, as if it was his first time at Seongran Island.
“Haha, hello, senior. Is this your first time at Seongran Island?”
“Ah… yes, senior. I came to attend the auction held in Seongran Island this time….”
“Ah, you mean the Seongran Trading Conference. The Seongran Trading Conference is in five days, but how about you take a look around Seongran Island until then? I, the local resident, will guide you well.”
“Oh, no need for a noble dragon clan member to do that.”
“Haha, it is not necessary. I have always liked making friends with people who come from outside the island since long ago. I would be grateful if you give me the chance.”
“Haha, if the dragon clan member says that….”
The youkai monk, seeing the solemn dragon face of Yuk Yo, was convinced and began to accompany her.
Yuk Yo, walking together with the Cheonin stage youkai monk, became friendly with him in an instant using her unique charm and charisma art.
“No! Really? Of course, you are my uncle Yuk! You brought down a level-four-pillar beast with one command!”
“Hmph, that guy was not all that bad. The truly scary one was the Integration stage youkai king. The strike of an Integration stage youkai king was truly terrifying. Because I had to receive his ultimate skill, my cultivation dropped all the way down here.”
“My goodness, you survived meeting a youkai king! Truly, my uncle Yuk… I admire you!”
Yuk Yo kept boasting while talking with him, and at one point she took out a small piece of paper from Jeomuldo and showed it to him.
“So, little brother, I am planning to do a business recently. If I do business under my name, I can make an enormous amount of money. So, little brother, could you lend me ten pieces of ancient stone? I will return them multiplied by a hundred.”
“No! Really? If it is you, auntie, I can sell all my assets and give you a hundred pieces of ancient stone!”
“Oh! Even though we are close siblings, money transactions should not be done lightly. Our friendship would break if we quarrel over it, so please give me just ten.”
“Ah… still, as expected of a noble dragon clan member, you are amazing, auntie!”
Yuk Yo received ten shining stones from the touched youkai monk.
“Ah, by the way, there is something left behind at the other harbor. Wait a moment, little brother. I will quickly go get my luggage again.”
“Yes, auntie!”
Yuk Yo left the youkai monk and disappeared somewhere, and he waited there with an excited face.
However, Yuk Yo did not return.
“…? Strange. Why isn’t auntie coming?”
At that moment.
“Hey, young man. Are you waiting for a dragon clan member who looks elegant?”
“Yes… that is correct.”
“Tsk tsk… you have been scammed.”
“Yes…?”
“That guy is a famous one around here. He uses transformation to scam newcomers to Seongran Island. He is a vicious guy… he is extremely elusive and hard to catch. Just think you stepped in something dirty.”
“Ah, no, what do you mean. My uncle Yuk is a near youkai king who was about to reach the Integration stage, so why would he be scamming someone like me at the Cheonin stage?”
“Tsk tsk. This guy, the scammer is not at the level-four-pillar stage. He is a Nascent Soul stage youkai. Even his burning execution art is not done properly, he is only at the initial stage of Nascent Soul.”
“….”
“Poor guy. Tsk tsk….”
The passerby said that and patted his shoulder while subtly taking the Jeomuldo from the youkai monk’s waist and left.
The youkai monk stood there blankly, and only after a long time did he realize he had been robbed and let out a furious roar.
“HUUUUAAAAA!!!”
KURUL, KURURL!
Another harbor of Seongran Island.
From a far distance, Yuk Yo saw a Cheonin stage youkai who was furious and laughed loudly.
“Welcome to the island of thieves, brat. You are so stupid that you are being tricked by this old man. Hahaha… so what should I buy with these ancient stones….”
Yuk Yo laughed while looking at the ten stones in her palm.
Although the dragon transformation art she had learned had a small side effect, it was a secret art that could transform into a dragon clan member almost perfectly, as if she had seen the original one before.
She had used this secret art many times to scam in Seongran Island, and today she had made one more deal.
While he was excited.
KURUL, KURURL!
The sky suddenly darkened.
“Hmm? What is that? Is someone promoting?”
Yuk Yo looked up at the sky with a puzzled expression.
The sky darkened and dark clouds gathered.
‘No, somehow this….’
Yuk Yo broke out in cold sweat while watching the heaven and earth vitality fluctuate unstably.
The heaven and earth vitality was sending a strong sense of foreboding.
‘Is the yin energy becoming too strong?’
The balance of yin and yang broke, and the smoothly flowing heaven and earth vitality began to shift sharply toward the yin side.
And right at that moment.
KWAAAANG!
A tremendous boom sounded, and the void looked like it was cracking like porcelain.
“W-what!”
He froze in place from shock.
And the next instant.
KIIYAAAAA!
KUUAAAAA!
KIYAAAK!
An enormous ghost wail echoed across the surrounding sea, and countless ghosts began emerging from the cracks.
KURURL!
It sounded like thunder, and a six-armed monster crawled out from the crack.
[――――――!]
The giant came out of the crack and roared in a strange language.
In response, six shadows below the giant summoned black lightning and began forcibly widening the crack.
The giant threw the black lightning into the crack like a hook and began pulling something inside.
KWAGWAKWANG!
The next instant.
KUGUGUGUGU!
A gigantic landmass large enough to cover Seongran Island erupted from the crack.
OOOOOOOO―
UUUUUUUU―
KIYAAAAA!
A terrifying ghost wail resounded.
Yuk Yo looked up at the sky.
Above the landmass were countless towers emitting terrifying yin energy, and between the towers grotesque cursed dolls knelt toward the sky and prayed.
“W-what is that…!”
Yuk Yo’s face turned white.
TWO TWO TWO TWO―
All the residents of Seongran Island, sensing the crisis, transformed into their main bodies and began to flee.
Yuk Yo, seeing them, finally came to her senses.
‘Y-yes. Damn it, this is not the time. I must escape this island quickly!’
He had turned pale and tried to release the burning execution and run away, but his speed was slower than even the Gaeyeol stage monks.
‘This damn! Because of the dragon transformation art, my speed is not coming out!’
The dragon transformation art he had learned allowed a seahorse youkai like him to transform into a noble dragon clan member, but as a price, his speed and physical strength decreased.
Of course, as a divine art with a price, he could mimic the dragon clan member’s aura almost perfectly.
However…
‘Damn it! Release it! Release it!’
To release the dragon transformation art, Yuk Yo needed quite a bit of time.
At least one or two days of sitting still and concentrating without moving would be required for the transformation to be released.
While running, Yuk Yo tried with all his might to release the transformation.
But at that moment.
Yuk Yo felt a tingling on the back of his neck and turned around, his breath feeling like it would stop.
A six-armed giant stood at the center of the ghost kings and was staring directly at Yuk Yo.
Chik!
The giant extended his arm toward him.
At the same time, an enormous pull was felt and Yuk Yo was dragged toward it.
“HUCKAAAAA!!!”
Yuk Yo screamed and struggled, but in the end he could not escape and was caught in the giant’s hand.
* * *
“Bring him.”
I sat before the Mugeuk War and looked at the endless sea and said.
KUNG, KUNG, KUNG, KUNG!
Jeon Myeong-hoon, in the form of a giant, brought a youkai who looked like a dragon clan member right in front of me.
[I have caught him, Chief Lord.]
I looked down at the youkai in front of me with cold eyes.
The youkai was loudly shouting in youkai language, but since the ghosts of the Ming Ghost Realm had their own language, shouting in youkai language was useless.
I spoke to the youkai in youkai language.
“Calm down. I will not eat you. First, explain where we are.”
The guy trembled and said.
“This, this place is Seongran Island in the Suryu Region, senior. P-please spare me! If you look at my vitality, you will know that I am only at the Gaeyeol stage, a weak body!”
“…Suryu Region? Where is that? An-gye Region or Nan-gye Region?”
“Yes, yes? Of course the An-gye Region.”
“Since there are youkai here, it should be in the territory of the dragon clans… how far do I have to go to reach the Jinryong Alliance?”
However, the youkai guy asked as if he did not understand my question.
“The Jinryong Alliance? What are you talking about? Where is that?”
“….”
I watched the youkai’s reaction and realized something was wrong.
‘As expected… did Jeon Myeong-hoon drive strangely?’
It seemed we had not fallen into Gwanghan Realm.
“Here… yes. What is the name of this world? We just came from the Ming Ghost Realm and do not know much, so explain it to us.”
At the mention of coming from the Ming Ghost Realm, the youkai began trembling and speaking.
“T-this place is the Goryeok Realm, my lord. H-however, why are the people from the Ming Ghost Realm here….”
[You bastard! How dare you question the Chief Lord without permission!]
Baek Rin, who had recently joined as a guardian ghost king, roared angrily beside the youkai. Even though he did not know youkai language, the tone told me he understood the question.
The youkai monk’s face turned deathly pale at Baek Rin’s roar and he gasped for breath.
Hong Beom translated the question to the youkai in youkai language from beside me.
“Before asking, close your mouth.”
The youkai rolled his eyes and closed his mouth.
I sighed.
‘This… why did we fall into the Goryeok Realm!?’
The distance between Goryeok Realm and Gwanghan Realm alone was a thousand years.
Of course, since Jeon Myeong-hoon had reached the Integration stage, he could return much faster with his help, but to bring the entire Mugeuk Sect back would take a considerable amount of time.
‘How did this….’
I sighed.
“Great Law Protector, use Yeon-jin to call Yeon-wi.”
No matter what, the situation called for the wisdom of the old man.
“And you there….”
I asked the youkai who was trembling in front of me.
“That appearance, is that not your real form?”
“Yes, yes! That is correct, my lord. This is a secret art I learned that allows me to transform into the face of a dragon clan member I have seen once!”
“Oh, I see.”
I lit up and asked the guy.
“Then you must have met Seo Ran before, right? Tell me when and where you met that guy.”
The guy in front of me had a form so identical to Seo Ran’s dragon form that it was uncanny.
===
Author’s note: The Ming Ghost Realm part is ending and the Goryeok Realm arc is beginning. The continuation of the Hahye or lower realm arc will be picked up a little in Goryeok Realm as well. The Goryeok Realm arc will be finished as quickly as possible and I will return, so please wait a little longer. Thank you.
And… to organize the Goryeok Realm arc, I will take a day off tomorrow. Hahaha.
Everyone, thank you.