The Crack in the Seal
In terms of playing it safe, it seemed like the right choice, but looking at Han Cheongyu—who looked like little more than a walking corpse—made him second-guess himself.
'I shouldn't have brought him along.' Still, it couldn't be helped.
His original plan had been to quietly investigate the cultivation world of Jimagwon while looking for an opportunity to obtain a spark of the Sect-Guarding Heavenly Fire. Had things gone according to plan, Han Cheongyu would have been able to play his part. But who could have foreseen that he would suddenly get tangled up with Hwaryeong?
It was a rare thing for worldly affairs to go exactly as planned, but even with that in mind, this was excessive. This wasn't merely taking a detour down a side alley instead of the main road; it was carving out a path where none existed.
"Wait here."
As Han Cheongyu's complexion grew so pale it could not possibly worsen, Jekyeong set up a temporary formation to provide a place for him to rest, deciding to proceed alone.
"I can feel it. It is drawing closer."
Even though he wasn't circulating his cultivation method, Hwaryeong's voice echoed. It was a whisper so faint that one might easily miss it without listening closely, but Jekyeong understood every word even as he silently pressed forward.
Jekyeong quietly listened to the whisper, thick with impatience and heat, for a long while.
"You said it was a sealing site."
"Yes. A very ancient seal."
For Hwaryeong, who perceived even thousands of years of history as a mere extension of the present, to describe it that way meant something. Perhaps the seal dated back to the distant past that the human race referred to as the primordial era.
"And you said what is sealed there is a demon."
"To be precise, it is an Outer Demon."
"Is there a difference?"
In this world, there were anomalies, monstrosities, beasts, and evils, but there were no native demons. If a demon existed in the cultivation world, it was either an invader from the outside or a lingering remnant of one. Jekyeong was well aware of this, which was why Hwaryeong's phrasing puzzled him. An Outer Demon? Did that imply there were demons that did not originate from beyond the heavens?
"The outer heavens you know of are not the true outer heavens, and an Outer Demon is not the kind of demon you imagine. It is an entity of extreme danger and terror."
"Have you seen it yourself?"
"No. But I know. Once we reach the sealing site, you will understand as well."
Leaving Han Cheongyu behind, Jekyeong walked and walked, guided by Hwaryeong. Neither the heat that threatened to wither his very spiritual energy, nor the yin wind that clawed at his soul, nor any other hardship could slow his pace.
Jekyeong scanned his surroundings with his Divine Sense as Hwaryeong's whispers grew increasingly distinct. His primary concern right now was the possibility of hidden watchers. Hwaryeong had assured him that the human race remained ignorant of the sealing site's existence—claiming that, at most, only a few guardians watched over the ancient battlefield—but Jekyeong refused to let his guard down. It wasn't that he particularly distrusted the spirit; he simply made it a rule never to trust anyone when it came to his own survival.
"Here we are."
Once they crossed the desert of swirling black ash, a land radiating intense heat revealed itself. Cracks spiderwebbed across the parched, yellowed earth like veins, within which crimson magma boiled silently. Everywhere Jekyeong looked, he felt an overwhelming, volatile fire energy.
"Here, many of my kin, including myself, were defeated and melted our own bodies. It was a desperate struggle to survive, a frantic effort to conceal."
"Conceal? You mean the seal?"
"Yes. We believed that even if we fell, we had to protect that seal at all costs. That was the will of our guide," Hwaryeong murmured distantly.
Jekyeong could feel the emotions woven into the spirit's voice: longing, and deep regret.
"It was a mistake. The human race was not satisfied with merely driving us out and becoming the masters of this land. They inflicted endless suffering and misery upon us. On top of that, they plundered the very essence of the earth without restraint. Humans cannot see past their own noses. They are an ignorant, foolish lot who would swallow any poison if it meant increasing their cultivation by a mere speck."
All other emotions vanished like a mirage, leaving only a boiling, pure hatred.
"Our guide was wrong. Those humans are a plague, another breed of demon. Even if we do not break the seal now, it will not last. Those greedy, blind fools will eventually discover the seal and meddle with it anyway."
It was a classic rationalization born of hatred, but it wasn't entirely incorrect either. Just as Hwaryeong said, humanity had committed countless blunders throughout history, including catastrophic errors that had completely ruined entire cultivation worlds. And almost all of those disasters had indeed been driven by greed. Then again, was greed truly exclusive to humanity?
"Where is the path?"
Jekyeong didn't bother to argue. Instead, he looked toward the shimmering, distorted horizon and asked for directions. Hwaryeong had claimed that the path to the sealing site lay within the ancient battlefield where the spirit had once dissolved, and they had now arrived. Yet, the path was nowhere to be seen. It was undoubtedly hidden with great care, but even Jekyeong could detect nothing.
"It is here. Hidden within the unquenchable fire. It will only reveal itself once the gateway is opened."
"Open the gateway? Where is it? And how do we open it?"
Before Jekyeong could even finish his questions, a massive pillar of fire erupted right in front of him.
"You can neither see nor open it. It is a task only we can perform."
What would it look like if fire itself were given life? In this moment, Jekyeong witnessed the answer. The manifestation was somewhat distorted, yet the awe-inspiring presence of a being birthed by heaven and earth remained entirely undiminished.
"Once the gateway opens, our remaining life force will be severed."
"What? You mean you will die?"
"We all died a long time ago. We have merely forced ourselves to linger."
The flames flared. Simultaneously, the sluggishly flowing magma began to churn violently.
"The sealing site lies beyond the gateway. Once the seal is broken, you must escape immediately. Otherwise, the space will collapse, and you will not survive."
"How do I break the seal? And if you disappear, what happens to the Sacred Fire?"
"Do not worry. The seal itself is the Sacred Fire. The moment you claim the Sacred Fire, the seal will break. But as it breaks, the space will collapse with it. Therefore, you must take only a single spark and flee."
Finally, Jekyeong understood. No wonder Hwaryeong had trusted him so readily; since the Sacred Fire was the seal itself, there was no need to worry about either party breaking the contract.
"So you are warning me not to get greedy."
"Indeed. If you wish to live, do not let greed consume you."
Even without Hwaryeong's warning, Jekyeong had no intention of doing otherwise. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted to take more of the Sacred Fire, but he had no desire to gamble his life for extra profit. A single spark was more than enough. As long as he had that one spark, he could nurture it into a full flame given enough time and effort.
"I shall open the gateway. Do not hesitate."
Hwaryeong's final words were remarkably simple.
The pillar of fire expanded explosively, splitting into thousands of crimson lines that sliced through the empty air. Weaving through the void, the countless lines collided and intertwined, weaving a complex pattern. It resembled a divine sigil, or perhaps an abstract painting.
Whoosh!
When the chaotic lines finally settled, the entire world shuddered alongside a fierce, crackling roar. In that instantly transformed world, Jekyeong saw what looked like a still photograph. No, it wasn't a photograph. It was a pocket of space where time itself had ground to a halt. Within that space, only a single sphere of fire existed.
'The Sacred Fire!'
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he found himself already standing inside that space. Jekyeong was startled, but only for a brief second.
'...It certainly lives up to its reputation.'
Even though the flame was frozen in time, Jekyeong could feel its overwhelming, intense power. As if possessed, he reached his hand toward the Sacred Fire. But just before his fingers brushed against it, Hwaryeong's warning flashed through his mind.
"..."
Summoning a superhuman feat of self-control, Jekyeong suppressed his greed. He harvested only a tiny fraction of the Sacred Fire and immediately threw himself backward out of the space.
Thud!
The moment he cleared the threshold, the world shuddered violently once more.
'I have to run!'
It was pure intuition, an instinctive reaction. Before he could even register the joy of acquiring the spark, a primal terror gripped him, and he bolted. The fact that he managed to restrain himself from reverting to his true form in his panic was a testament to the absolute limit of his rational mind.
Boom!
A moment later, an invisible, imperceptible energy rippled outward from the fractured sealing site. Simultaneously, Jekyeong's own aura, which had been tightly suppressed by his Presence-Concealing Technique, began to writhe violently.
Hwaryeong, the elemental spirit of Jimagwon, had not deceived him. Though the tiny spark was but a minuscule fraction of the Sacred Fire, the moment Jekyeong claimed it, a crack formed in the once-perfect seal.
'It's a good thing I didn't get greedy.'
Though it was a crack, it was practically a microscopic scratch on a massive steel plate. Yet the instant he sensed that tiny scratch, Jekyeong fled the sealing site without looking back. It was a purely instinctive reaction. An indescribable, ominous dread flared up within him, sounding relentless alarms in both his mind and heart.
Even after clearing the sealing site, Jekyeong kept running. He desperately wanted to take flight, and the urge to revert to his true form to maximize his speed was nearly overwhelming, but he suppressed the impulse and kept sprinting on foot. He ran day and night, but his anxiety did not lessen in the slightest. It felt as though a colossal apex predator was hot on his heels, its massive jaws gaping wide right behind his back.
'I've really done it this time.'
As he ran, Jekyeong frowned, sensing the instability of his own aura. Jekyeong took great pride in his mastery of the Presence-Concealing Technique. He realized instantly that this anomaly wasn't a failure of the technique itself, but rather a consequence of a massive, fundamental shift occurring within his own presence.
'My aura is expanding. Why?'
It was as if his body were undergoing a sudden growth spurt, leaving his custom-tailored clothes unable to cover him properly. Jekyeong activated his Presence-Concealing Technique once more to force his aura down, but it was a mere stopgap. Unless his presence stabilized, he would have to keep applying these temporary patches indefinitely. Furthermore, a hastily patched-up Presence-Concealing Technique was inherently unstable. If he crossed paths with someone possessing sharp sensory perception, there was a high risk they would see right through it at a glance.
'First, I must get as far away from here as possible.'
Only a single day had passed. The collapse of the seal was likely in its infancy. Once the seal began to crumble in earnest and eventually shattered completely, there was no telling how far the catastrophic fallout would reach. It was entirely possible that some powerful figures had already detected the anomaly. The realization made his already uneasy mind grow even more frantic.
"Lord Dragon!"
Han Cheongyu was waiting quietly inside the formation Jekyeong had erected. However, his condition was terrible. His eyes were heavily bloodshot, veins bulged in angry red and blue lines across his face, and his mouth was smeared with fresh blood. From his appearance alone, one could easily believe he had been afflicted by some lethal poison.
"What happened to you?"
"I... I do not know. My mind keeps thrashing violently, and I can barely keep it under control."
His slightly parted lips revealed a mouth pooled with blood. He had bitten his own tongue raw to force himself to stay within the boundaries of the formation.
"I see. Rest for a moment."