A Bitter Sip in the Dragon’s Shadow
Thwack!
At the very edge of the Wijeong Sea.
Someone had smashed through the sky-high barrier and stepped into the Wijeong Sea.
It was a golden Bongrae creature.
And from its belly, Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Young-hoon leaped out.
Plop. Plop.
While passing through the sea, they had been briefly trapped inside a dimensional shard filled with thick slime. Now the clone’s body was everywhere sticky with it.
“Tsk, spat!”
Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Young-hoon spat out the slime, looked around, and when their eyes met, they both nodded once.
They flew a short distance after Kim Young-hoon and landed atop an island in the sea.
In other words, they had finally reached Seongran Island—the very island where the Mugeuk Sect had first entered the Goryeok Realm.
Ta-da!
“Still, why here of all places?”
“Well, I heard Seongran Island is basically a gathering spot for pirates and swindlers. They like it there.”
“Anyway, pirate scum.”
Kim Young-hoon clicked his tongue and plopped down on the dockside of Seongran Island.
Seo Eun-hyun stood a little behind him, gazing at the sky.
Soon the sun would reach its brightest point of noon.
The time they had promised had almost come.
And it was exactly noon.
Kim Young-hoon, sitting on the dock, opened his eyes and looked up into the empty air.
“He’s here, Jin Ma-yeol?”
The air rippled. Then the captain of the Tuma Pirates, Jin Ma-yeol, appeared.
* * *
In his main body, he would train on the peak of the Salt Mountain for a hundred years. For the clone he used to tie up Yuk Rin’s legs, he would handle maritime affairs.
And among those plans, the representative operation was this one: the Baek Rin Rescue Plan.
Currently, Baek Rin—one of the thirteen Guardian Ghost Kings of the Mugeuk Sect—was dragged away by Yuk Rin while trying to protect Yuk Yo. So before escaping to the Gwanghan Realm, they had to save him.
In their struggle to rescue him, they happened to meet someone with a similar purpose.
Jin Ma-yeol, the Tuma Pirate Captain who had been betrayed by Yuk Rin.
They agreed to temporarily join forces for their own goals, and today was the day they would meet at Seongran Island for a talk.
“…So you need our help?”
Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Young-hoon faced the Qilu, a seventh Lou, who was the chief of the eastern district and the innkeeper at Seongran Island—a fourth-pillar master and a seven-colored Qilin beast riding the bloodline of the Suishou Yougong Duke.
He respectfully offered tea and refreshments.
“Here is the tea and sweets. Please drink to your heart’s content.”
Jin Ma-yeol didn’t even glance at Qilu and spoke first.
“Yes. As I’ve said before, our Tuma Pirates are the poor, innocent victims. We were nothing but long-term chess pieces used by Yuk Rin and discarded. So we plan to take revenge on Yuk Rin, repair our broken Salt Bone Horse, and steal a piece of the salt crystal he took. Help us with that.”
“Hmph…”
Seo Eun-hyun took a sip and read Jin Ma-yeol’s true intention.
‘Calling us the “poor, innocent victims” is brazenly false… but he really does want to avenge Yuk Rin and seize the salt crystal. The reason for allying with us is perfectly logical.’
But…
“There’s more you haven’t told us, isn’t there?”
“…!”
Seo Eun-hyun smiled coldly and brought up the day’s events.
“When Yuk Rin was after you, we were only hiding. We saw everything that happened. Jin Ma-yeol, if you truly want to join us, tell us exactly what you want.”
Jin Ma-yeol had used the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens technique while hiding with Kim Young-hoon and watched the entire situation unfold.
He fell silent for a moment, then said,
“…You want the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens?”
“No. I already have the formula. I obtained it from Yuk Rin. Now tell me precisely what your goal is.”
Jin Ma-yeol clicked his tongue and scowled.
“…You haven’t learned the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, have you?”
“Yes. Right now I’m interpreting the formula because there’s something more urgent. So you’re asking because you know it’s the real thing.”
“Hah! Telling you the truth… sounds like a joke. Once you learn the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, you would have realized exactly what I want.”
Jin Ma-yeol smiled darkly.
“The Purple Soul Filling the Heavens… is a technique we cannot cultivate.”
“What?”
“Your Mugeuk Sect raided one of the pirate gangs’ secret bases last time, so you must have found the Purple Soul Jade Egg, right?”
“…Yes.”
“As you guessed, I acquired the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens through the Purple Soul Jade Egg.”
“Hmm… that’s strange.”
Seo Eun-hyun looked at him doubtfully.
“The young man we call Seoran is a half-human, half-dragon hybrid. His dragon blood comes from the Sea Dragon Clan, and of the royal bloodline at that! Yet even he can’t dream of cultivating the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. Then how did you, of all people, obtain it?”
“Oh, our Mugeuk Sect’s leader must not know much about the Tuma Clan, huh?”
He grinned wickedly and tapped his half-palms together.
Then suddenly—
Crack!
“…!”
Jin Ma-yeol’s hand looked as if it had been covered in scales. His left arm instantly turned into the arm of a sea dragon.
“Our Tuma Clan is both a heavenly race and a deep-sea race. Before we discovered the sacrificial rites, we were a deep-sea clan that reached the pinnacle of our kind. Depending on the number of horns we are born with, we can imitate the physical traits of other species. Even those born with the Suishou bloodline!”
Crackle-crackle!
His eyes glowed with the seven-colored light of the Suishou Yougong. His hair became a jumbled mass of coral and unknown sea creatures. His right arm blazed with the flames of a fire monkey. Patterns resembling tiger stripes appeared on his cheeks and forehead. His entire body began to change.
“We are a species like that. Of course we cannot gain the Suishou bloodline or fully transform into another race, but we can manifest and use even some of their physical traits. And that… combining all of these traits…”
Crunch, crunch!
The traits sprouting from his body gathered into his right arm.
After a moment, accompanied by an eerie sound, his right arm grotesquely mutated. Flesh, bone, and blood twisted, mixing the traits of the sea dragon with four other unknown species, until it became a sharp, monstrous blade.
“Because we can maximize our combat power through the Tuma Dance of our own tribe, the Tuma Clan has always been a species that reached the pinnacle of life.”
His voice carried pride as if he were speaking about his own Tuma Clan.
But Seo Eun-hyun was taken aback by the boastful explanation and asked one question.
“…Do you know of any talent that allows one to copy every martial artist’s ability and wield it freely?”
“Ah… it’s in our Tuma Clan mythology. The Guixue Zhenhai Guangshen myth! A legendary body said to freely wield the divine abilities of every martial bloodline just by ‘recognizing’ them. Of course it’s completely exaggerated, so our Tuma scholars treat it as a metaphor for some tier we may one day reach.”
“…I see. Thank you.”
“Interested in Tuma Clan mythology? Since it descends in the form of our Tuma Dance or techniques, if you cultivate one of our Tuma Clan techniques you’ll naturally learn it. The Tuma Clan techniques that humans can learn are probably things like Tumazinhai, Yukshasurimgyeol, Tumagubao…”
He boasted about the Tuma Clan and introduced several techniques.
“…Thank you for the good techniques. Your Tuma Clan really seems like a wonderful race.”
“Haha, you’re too kind.”
“Then let’s finish what I was saying.”
“Good. Anyway… I obtained the secret of the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens from the Purple Soul Jade Egg because I saw Yuk Rin’s main body, who had already possessed Yuk Woong’s flesh. From his appearance I copied the sea dragon’s traits.”
Swish-swish—
He twitched his left arm, glaring at the undulating sea dragon scales.
“The reason my companion, the half-dragon hybrid Seoran, couldn’t obtain anything from the Purple Soul Jade Egg is probably because his realm is still too low. Once he reaches at least the fourth pillar, he’ll be able to get the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens from it.”
“Good information. So… then what’s the meaning of you not being able to cultivate the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens right now?”
Jin Ma-yeol’s face twisted with rising anger.
He returned his monstrous blade to its original shape and bit his lip in humiliation.
“…At first, even after obtaining the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, I couldn’t cultivate it. So I thought the only technique I could learn was the Dragon Transformation Technique that pure sea dragons can use, and tried to steal it. I thought that if I took the Dragon Transformation Technique, took the form of a sea dragon, and then cultivated the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, I would finally succeed. But…”
Killing intent poured from Jin Ma-yeol.
Qilu, the Seongran Island chief waiting beside them, silently knelt before him and bowed his head.
Jin Ma-yeol gave him a vicious look and slammed his hand down on Qilu’s head with brutal force.
“That damn princess Yuk Yo… that worthless brat stole my Dragon Transformation Technique! On top of that, that bastard Yuk Rin broke our official contract and, while on the Bongrae-do trip, violated the unofficial contract we had made and attacked me, taking my extra life!”
Seo Eun-hyun glanced at the woman called Qilu. She was being crushed flat on the face by Jin Ma-yeol.
“If that worthless thing hadn’t been hiding Yuk Yo, I would have gone looking for her, retrieved the Dragon Transformation Technique, cultivated it in the form of a sea dragon, and still wouldn’t have been able to get the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens! Damn it! Damn it!”
He glared at Qilu as if he wanted to kill her, then pulled his hand away from her head and bit his lip again.
“…In the end, I realized even taking the form of a sea dragon, I still couldn’t cultivate the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. Perhaps even you, with the formula, won’t be able to cultivate it.”
“That’s unfortunate. So then, what you want is a way to cultivate the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens?”
“Yes.”
Jin Ma-yeol nodded.
“And the method… is probably related to Princess Yuk Yo.”
“Yuk Yo?”
“Yes. As you can see from her alias ‘Seongran Princess,’ Seongran Island is officially Yuk Yo’s territory. Of course the actual ruler is the Seongran Island chief here… but still, Yuk Yo hid in Seongran Island, and Qilu, who claimed to be my subordinate, betrayed me and hid her. Why do you think that bloodless, tearless Yuk Rin took the salt crystal from Bongrae Island and, for some reason, also took something as trash as Yuk Yo with him?”
“…You think Yuk Yo has the secret of the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens?”
“Well, I don’t necessarily think it’s the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. Maybe some ancient record related to sea dragons, or perhaps the Sea Dragon King’s Jade Egg that he’s hiding. But either way doesn’t matter! Even if it’s not the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, acquiring the Sea Dragon King’s Jade Egg is fine. After all, Yuk Yo has enough value for that. Kidnapping her again, trading with Yuk Rin, and obtaining the complete Purple Soul Filling the Heavens formula! That’s what I want!”
Seo Eun-hyun looked at Jin Ma-yeol for a moment. There was no lie in his words, and he had hidden nothing more.
‘Of course his ambition to monopolize Yuk Rin’s treasure and his revenge also showed up… but that was all.’
They held a short meeting and decided.
‘Since Baek Rin’s puppet hasn’t been extinguished even in the Mugeuk Sect, he must still be alive. And if he’s alive, the probability of him being with Yuk Yo right now is high.’
“Fine. Let’s join forces, Jin Ma-yeol.”
“Haha, looking forward to it, Demon Cult Leader.”
“Looking forward to it, pirate scum.”
Thus the Demon Cult Leader and the Tuma Pirate Clan formed an alliance to stab the Seongryong Palace Lord in the back and kidnap his daughter.
‘Wait for me, Baek Rin. I’ll save you along with Yuk Yo.’
Seo Eun-hyun recalled the figure of Baek Rin who had gradually changed while living beside Yuk Yo.
Even Baek Rin himself probably didn’t realize it, but the man now loved Yuk Yo.
* * *
“…The Purple Soul Filling the Heavens…”
Seo Eun-hyun gathered information from the clone he had left on the Salt Mountain and recited the formula of the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.
‘I’ve been somewhat neglectful while researching the Mountain-Cleaving Emperor Art and the Sea Dragon King’s Jade Egg, but I should look into this too.’
Thinking back, this was also an opportunity to understand the flaw in Seo Huel’s Muddy Soul Filling the Heavens.
He spread out the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens formula.
It contained several formulas and incantations, but the most important one consisted of three lines.
They were as follows:
—Purple is the color most suitable for hiding in darkness.
—Continue the legacy in the darkness where light can never reach.
—Continue the legacy passed down to us, and finally we will all reach liberation.