Chapter 91
“Th-this... disgusting bastard. Fine. Just die already.”
The Nascent Soul Daoist twisted his face and waved his hand.
I poured every ounce of my consciousness and the aura of the evil spirits into retreating.
A blood-red energy mass brushed past the spot where I had been.
A faint look of admiration flickered across his face.
‘Wait... his face is clearly visible.’
The Nascent Soul Daoist wore a black mask that looked as if it were made of mist or writhing liquid, revealing only the outline of his face inside.
I had to read his mood entirely from his intent alone.
“Impressive. You didn’t even throw a dodge, yet you somehow evaded it... At Core Formation level I shouldn’t have detected a thing... But you did.”
He sent a curious gaze through the black mask.
A flash of bloody light appeared in his eyes.
‘Here it comes again!’
I dodged once more.
A second streak of crimson light swept the empty spot.
“Heh. You weren’t just lucky. Your eyes can see my technique all the way through. Hmm... it’s not a common gaze. You’ve cultivated some strange spiritual eye technique? To dodge a technique from Core Formation with... I wonder if such a thing even exists...”
He murmured while stroking his hair.
A translucent black mask. Long black hair spilling out from beneath it.
Hands pale as a corpse. Blood-red robes.
Swish. Swish. Swish!
The eerie Nascent Soul Daoist kept firing bloody techniques at me without pause, as if determined to catch me.
‘I can’t sense it with the eyes. It doesn’t even trigger the usual consciousness domain.’
Only the color of my intent and the evil-spirit perception could perceive his techniques.
‘How is there a technique that can’t be caught even in the consciousness domain?’
Is this actually his technique?
After dodging several times, he slammed his palms together.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
“Excellent. You run like a monkey. Even at Core Formation you’re shockingly fast and have a unique skill. I’ve decided. I’ll catch you and refine you into my Blood Corpse.”
Whoosh!
A blood-red aura gathered above his palms.
It churned like real blood and formed a massive blood claw.
Whoosh!
The claw shot toward me at his gesture.
‘Damn it!’
I gritted my teeth and pulled out my Invisible Sword.
Boom!
Space shuddered.
My hand shook violently.
“Ugh...”
Even one collision rattled every bone in my body.
At the mid-Core Formation stage, my consciousness had grown larger and my output had risen, yet I could barely block even a casual strike from the Nascent Soul Daoist.
“Ho... you.”
Pulling out the Invisible Sword had instead stoked his curiosity.
“What is this technique? I’ve lived nine hundred years and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like it. It’s not a typical Core Formation technique. A Golden Elixir from the Core Formation stage... yet it didn’t form one? Hahaha!”
He grabbed his black mask and laughed.
His voice was neither clearly male nor female—something uncanny.
It differed from Baekgol Gwima’s as well. While he felt like something between man and woman, this one was a chaotic mix of both.
“Alright. I’ll refine you into a Blood Corpse. It’s a waste to make a creature like you into one. I’ll take you in as my Blood Follower instead. It’s like accepting a disciple, yet you keep running. Fine. I’ll overlook the rudeness of vomiting in front of your master and accept you as my Blood Follower.”
Ziiiiaaa...
A crimson fog spread around the Nascent Soul Daoist, seizing the surrounding space.
The fog soon sealed off Bongmyeong Castle’s first floor and cut off every escape route.
‘Shit...’
I bit my lip.
“This lowly junior has entered my master’s domain. I fear I may bring disgrace to my master.”
“Fuhaha. You think you know my master’s name?”
“...”
“Tsk tsk. Interesting. You don’t even know who I am, yet you’re here, and somehow you’ve survived until now.”
He clicked his tongue and pulled something from his pocket, scattering it into the air.
Chuuwaaaak!
I flinched.
Thousands of crimson flags spread across the entire first floor of Bongmyeong Castle.
‘Formation flags?’
Countless crimson light clusters dispersed in every direction.
He had laid down formations throughout the first floor of Bongmyeong Castle.
“For now, let me introduce myself. I am the Blood Wood Daoist, Won Rip.”
Won Rip stroked his translucent mask.
“Have you heard of my name?”
“...”
“You haven’t, of course. Don’t worry. I’ve hidden my true identity for hundreds of years on purpose. Being a mere mountain bandit, it’s only natural you don’t know me. The various Daoist sects that claim war against me right now all think of me as just another Core Formation bandit hiding in the desert. Only a few Nascent Soul Daoists who’ve seen me know the truth.”
Won Rip chuckled darkly.
I kept my guard up, watching the formations while looking for an opening.
‘Should I just punch a hole in Bongmyeong Castle’s wall? No... to break the castle’s formation seal I’d need the Jueju that was used to create it. I remember every word, so I could craft it, but it would take some time.’
“...I want to know what my master desires from this lowly junior.”
“I already told you. Become my Blood Follower. As I explained, no one knows about me. I can tell you exactly who I am.”
He placed a hand on his chest and murmured with satisfaction.
“Even when the Nascent Soul Daoists swept through the continent under the Dragon King, hiding in this desert, I was still a Nascent Soul Daoist. Hahaha. I’d rather be a dragon’s tail than a snake’s head. I hid my presence for hundreds of years. Now that all the dragons have ascended... I have finally reached the peak of cultivation. If you follow me, you’ll gain endless wealth, honor, spiritual medicines, and power. Become my Blood Follower. I’ll cherish you...”
And then I opened my mouth.
——!
A pitch-black curse shot from my lips and pierced me.
“Kuuuugh!”
Intense pain racked my body as my blurry vision cleared.
“Kuk... kuuugh... Master, why do you go to such lengths to obtain even this lowly junior? Do you really need to use the Evasive Art?”
Boom, boom!
I swung my Invisible Sword, slicing away the shadows that had crept close, then backed away once more.
“Hmph...”
The flow of energy shifted.
I could see Won Rip’s intent turning sour.
“If you’d just become a slave quietly I’d have been fine. I wanted to fuse your body with mine because you have so many strange abilities, but you keep resisting.”
A chill ran down my spine.
The voice that had been warm moments ago was now ice-cold.
It seemed the Illusion Technique no longer worked on me, so he had dropped his act.
Kugugugu!
In an instant the first floor of Bongmyeong Castle turned crimson.
The countless spiritual veins flowing through the first floor suddenly erupted.
“Heh. Fine. I was going to take you as a Blood Follower and let you enjoy life a little longer... but Blood Shatter Formation it is. Die.”
“Wh-what?!”
The next moment the spiritual energy of the entire first floor of Bongmyeong Castle boiled, and crimson light engulfed the heavens and earth.
* * *
The crimson light faded.
“Cough... hah... hah...”
I staggered to my feet, bleeding from every inch of my body, gripping my Invisible Sword.
I looked around.
The first floor walls and formations that had once separated the various sections had collapsed. The entire first floor was now one open space, and the ceiling had vanished entirely, revealing the second floor.
Scattered throughout were the corpses of Core Formation Daoists who had hidden in the corners, their severed hands, feet, and flesh pieces protruding.
“Kuh... uk...”
I spat a mouthful of blood.
“Heh. This thing... survived the Blood Shatter Formation?”
I had channeled every ounce of my spiritual power into the Invisible Sword, countered the formations from all directions, maintained the Mountain Beyond Mountain stance, and kept striking.
Yet the price was that I was now collapsing.
Thud. Thud...
Won Rip walked toward me.
‘Just... die...’
I had no strength left to resist.
“I’ve decided. I’ll take you as my disciple. The fact that you vomited earlier will be overlooked as long as you endure the Blood Shatter Formation once.”
Shudder. Shudder...
Slam!
The heavier Won Rip got, the more crushing pressure I felt from him.
I could no longer endure it and collapsed to my knees.
Crack!
He grabbed my hair and forced my head up.
Slap!
In his left hand he now held a translucent flag.
The flag was woven from subtle spiritual energy and contained a ghost-like pattern.
Crack!
“K-k...”
Won Rip drove the flag straight into my head.
It pierced through my skull like an incorporeal entity and slammed directly into the center of my soul domain, pinning my Hunpo.
“I have implanted my Blood Lord Flag Technique. From now on, if you resist me, you will suffer the pain of your Hunpo being torn away. There is no spiritual power strong enough to overcome it. I advise you not to harbor any resentment.”
Tap!
Won Rip flicked his finger.
The flag technique embedded in my Hunpo activated instantly, unleashing unbearable agony.
“K-k... kuuuuugh!”
I screamed and thrashed.
At the same time the technique melted into my entire body, restricting my movements.
Tap!
When he flicked again, the pain eased. Won Rip kept his hand in my hair and dragged me toward some unknown place.
I barely regained my senses and focused my swirling mind.
‘Where is he taking me...’
A while later I sensed soil and grass beneath me.
‘This... is a treasure grove?’
It hadn’t been shattered by that formation?
“Hmph. Greedy Heavenly Person brats with swollen bellies. As expected, they took everything good. I didn’t expect much... mm? Oh...”
Gradually familiar spiritual energy flowed in.
“Haha. One little treasure grove remains? And the Longevity Fruit is almost ripe...”
Whoosh!
Tap!
He tossed me aside and sealed the technique.
Chuuwaaaak!
The corpses of the Core Formation Daoists who had hidden in every corner of the first floor were dragged out.
A white light cluster rose from them.
Kugugugu!
The light clusters gathered from all directions and flowed above Won Rip as a river of light.
‘Life force...?’
He was gathering the life force remaining in the corpses of the Core Formation Daoists he had killed with the Blood Shatter Formation.
“Come forth.”
Whoosh!
Soon the life-force river was sucked into the Longevity Fruit.
Whoosh!
‘Ah...’
The spiritual power I had poured into it for decades was wasted. Instead, the Longevity Fruit rapidly formed from the massive life force he dumped into it.
The other flower buds beside it swelled and bloomed into Longevity Fruit as well.
He was feeding blood to grow trees.
‘The demonic path techniques are convenient.’
Stealing someone else’s and pouring it in like this produced results in an instant.
I could even create things beyond my own power.
Watching what Won Rip did left me with a hollow feeling.
‘What I did... did it have any meaning?’
That was when Won Rip glanced at me.
“You’re starting to come to your senses. Don’t worry. With so many Longevity Fruits, one will do for you.”
“...Ah, no.”
“What?”
“I... won’t... eat... it.”
I forced my still mouth to move.
“I won’t... put anything I made by sacrificing a human... in my mouth.”
“Hmph... interesting. Whether you like it or not, it goes in your mouth. And besides, sacrificing someone?”
Kukukuku...
Won Rip chuckled.
“Wrong. I didn’t sacrifice anyone. I devoured the weak as a strong. The law of the jungle is the truth of this world. Devouring the weak as a strong... what’s wrong with that?”
“...This world isn’t made only of the strong and the weak.”
Creak. Creak...
I curled my fingers.
Won Rip’s will crushed my Hunpo and body. The technique in my Hunpo moved, tearing at my soul.
Yet I endured the pain and rose to my feet.
“This world is made of people and people. Eating a fellow human... whether you’re strong or weak, it must never be done!”
“Heh. You can resist that?”
Won Rip didn’t even hear my words. Instead, he seemed even more amazed that I was moving while enduring the agony of my Hunpo being shredded.
“Impressive. Even in the pain of my Hunpo being torn apart you stand tall...”
And then...
Puk!
He formed another flag and drove it into my head.
“Kuuuugh!”
I collapsed again.
The pain wasn’t doubled—it multiplied.
“Amazing spiritual power. I can’t help but praise you. I don’t care about your nonsense about people devouring people. The law of the jungle is truth and it’s real. Look, it’s already being proven right here in front of you.”
Kugugugu!
The formation flags scattered around spread through the first floor, passed through the newly opened ceiling, and rose to the second floor.
“Blood Shatter Formation—Open!”
Kugugugugu!
The second floor of Bongmyeong Castle turned crimson and collapsed.
The Core Formation Daoists hiding on the second floor were reduced to pieces.
Under Won Rip’s gesture the flags flew toward the third floor.
He was systematically destroying Bongmyeong Castle.
Countless pieces and blood rained down, and every time he absorbed the remaining life force from them and gathered it above his head.
“Why... are you... doing this?”
I endured the pain and asked.
My entire body was still bound by the seals, but I could probably move if I gathered a little more strength.
‘Buy time.’
Won Rip gathered life force in front of him and muttered.
“To obtain Bongmyeong Castle.”
“...Bongmyeong Castle...?”
Is it something that can even be obtained?
‘Then why didn’t the Nascent Soul Daoists just take the entire thing?’
He continued with a chuckle.
“Do you know the structure of Bongmyeong Castle? The first floor corresponds to the Wood Venerable’s Seven-Symbols array, the second to the Water Venerable’s, the third to the White Venerable’s, and the fourth to the Yang Venerable’s.”
Won Rip seemed eager to boast about his knowledge and began listing even things I hadn’t asked.
“The fifth floor is the Jade Origin, the sixth the Purple Origin, and the seventh the Heavenly Time Origin. The structure of Bongmyeong Castle, which corresponds to the heavens’ domains, is... what does it symbolize?”
“...It corresponds to the Daoist’s realm? The Jade Origin, Purple Origin, and Heavenly Time Origin would all be Core Formation stages. The Twenty-Eight Stances correspond to Foundation Establishment, and the Three Origins to Core Formation. Maybe Bongmyeong Castle is related to a Daoist’s cultivation.”
But Won Rip shook his head.
“Wrong. You can think that if you want, but it’s still wrong. The creator of Bongmyeong Castle simply implemented ‘the heavens.’”
‘The heavens?’
“What lies beyond the Twenty-Eight Stances and the Three Origins?”
“The sun, the moon, and other stars, right?”
“Wrong. Nothing exists beyond the heavens. Emptiness. The very reason Bongmyeong Castle floats in the void space is tied to this. An empty, barren heaven. That is what the creator of Bongmyeong Castle wanted to convey.”
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!
Soon the first through seventh floors of Bongmyeong Castle collapsed completely.
All layers of the castle merged into one.
“When the entire tower of Bongmyeong Castle merges and the emptiness is recreated, the hidden ‘true’ Bongmyeong Castle will reveal itself...”
And then...
At the very center of the fully merged giant castle...
A brilliant blue light burst forth and revealed something radiant.
“Hahaha! That is the true Bongmyeong Castle. No, more accurately, it is the Bongmyeongin.”
Won Rip reached toward the empty air.
The blue light floating above fell into his hand.
It was a small model of Bongmyeong Castle made of jade.
It looked like a toy.
“I have grasped the Bongmyeongin that symbolizes the continent’s fate! Hahaha! The entire fate of the continent has fallen into my hands!”
I frowned at the light and asked.
“What is that? If such a treasure existed, why didn’t the Nascent Soul Daoists take it?”
“They didn’t take it because they didn’t need to. The Bongmyeongin is bound to this world and the powerful pull of destiny. Taking it before victory would pull it into failure because the fate within would drag it down... that’s why it’s for blessing before victory.”
“Blessing...?”
“Anyway, you’ve been talking a lot lately.”
Won Rip glared at me.
Creak. Creak...
I gathered strength again and stood up.
“Heh. The more I look at you, the more I like you. How is your spiritual power this stubborn? Only a will that transcends even your own consciousness could endure that pain...”
“...I’m sorry, Master.”
I stared at the Blood Wood Daoist.
“I have no intention of eating that fruit made by sacrificing humans.”
I thought human life was like a flower, just like the treasure grove.
After spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the flower blooms and bears fruit. Life is a flower.
“I will not follow you if you arbitrarily break the lives of others.”
Grasp!
I gripped my energy sword and stared at Won Rip.
“Kill me.”
“The day I obtain the Bongmyeongin and gain a disciple with endless will is not something to be unhappy about...”
Slap!
A Blood Lord Flag formed again in his hand.
“So it wasn’t a lie that the Bongmyeongin brings fate...!”
Won Rip activated his technique.
I gripped my Invisible Sword and rushed at him.
And...
Whoosh!
I quickly passed him and flew straight toward the outer wall of Bongmyeong Castle.
Flash!
In my hand I secretly formed the Jueju that could unlock the castle’s formation seal.
Boom!
The Invisible Sword pierced the outer wall and created a hole. The Jueju scattered the formation seals beyond the wall, opening an escape route.