Within Reach of Aid
Close enough that reinforcements could easily be dispatched if they so desired.
"Whether it's true or not, they say more than ten Great Demons have appeared."
"Has Gyeongwang Palace made its move?"
"Most likely."
Gwak Jeong-sin's face darkened. Hesitation flickered in his eyes.
Gyeongwang Palace. Gyeongwang Palace, is it?
Gwak Jeong-sin knew Jekyeong was a Guest Elder of Gyeongwang Palace. A Guest Elder was merely a symbolic title indicating a decent relationship rather than official belonging, so normally he wouldn't have thought much of it. But now...
After pondering for a moment, Gwak Jeong-sin spoke resolutely.
"Increase our speed."
The Garden of No Forgetfulness.
Jekyeong met with Choi Ju-tang there every day to talk, and today was no different.
"It seems Gwak Jeong-sin has firmly made up his mind," Choi Ju-tang said.
"I expected him to hesitate a bit more, but he's quite decisive," Jekyeong replied.
"Yes. He's a merchant, after all, so he's quick with calculations."
Jekyeong sneered upon hearing that Gwak Jeong-sin had even gone so far as to persuade the Foundation Establishment cultivators to speed up their march. He could easily guess Gwak Jeong-sin's inner thoughts.
"The atmosphere isn't great," Choi Ju-tang noted.
"Because the low-level guys have already filled their bellies?"
"Filled? They're on the verge of indigestion."
The low-level water beasts Jekyeong had mobilized had been slaughtered in droves, and a significant portion of them had been loaded onto the human ships to serve as both food and spoils of war.
"It's an unprecedented luxury. Normally, they wouldn't even dream of tasting demon beast meat, but now they have so much they're throwing away what they can't finish."
Unlike the Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had exhausted themselves without gaining much, the Qi Condensation cultivators—though many had died—had all secured satisfying harvests. Consequently, their morale was actually better than that of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, but at the same time, their motivation was scraping the bottom. Simply put, they had no reason to keep fighting.
"If we were to leak the news of Seogammun right now, their morale would shatter so completely that even Gwak Jeong-sin wouldn't be able to salvage it. But... you won't do that, will you?"
"It would be a waste to stop now, wouldn't it?"
"Haha. You must have built up quite a lot of anger. Well, you did take quite a beating during this time."
Jekyeong didn't bother to reply to Choi Ju-tang's mischievous joke.
"Aren't you just as eager, Senior?"
"Hmm. I won't deny it. This is the biggest score of my life."
It might have been his imagination, but Jekyeong felt that Choi Ju-tang's spiritual body seemed to glint with bloodlust at that moment.
"Do you plan to lure them all the way to your island?"
"No. I've poured too much effort into Heukgyodo. We have a sturdy grand formation, but... I don't want to take unnecessary risks."
"I understand."
Jekyeong and Choi Ju-tang briefly discussed their future plans. The broad strokes were already decided, so only the fine details remained.
"I will do my best to manage things, but as you know, once the battle begins, there's no guaranteeing how things will unfold," Choi Ju-tang said.
"I know. Don't worry about it. We can't guarantee safety in this line of work anyway. Those guys followed me knowing the risks. If they die... well, that's just their fate. More importantly... what about the reinforcements you mentioned before?"
"He has agreed to join us."
"Excellent. Is his skill reliable?"
"Yes. It should be," Jekyeong said, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty.
"We should be able to see Heukgyodo within two days."
At the weak words of the shabby-looking human man, Gwak Jeong-sin frowned slightly. Seeing this, his subordinate immediately placed a hand on the human man's shoulder, and the spiritual energy flowing from his palm roughly invaded the man's body.
"Aaargh!"
The man screamed, collapsing to his knees and gasping for breath. A few fragments of broken teeth fell along with a long trail of drool.
"What you need to give us is an answer, not a guess."
"I-I am certain! Two days! In two days, we will reach Heukgyodo!"
Only then did Gwak Jeong-sin nod and turn around.
After the limp human man was dragged out, the silent Foundation Establishment cultivators began to chime in.
"Human collaborators of the beast race. How utterly absurd."
"Vermin. If they had crossed my path on the way here, I would have wiped them all out."
"I heard the Black Flood Dragon evacuated all his collaborators. Once we cut off his head and scour the south for a few days, we'll be able to find them."
"Don't be too reckless with them. They are spoils of war as well."
"What does it matter if they're spoils? We don't even have room to load any more anyway."
Gwak Jeong-sin looked away from those babbling about trivial matters and cast his gaze toward a man who looked beyond serious, even slightly worried.
"Fellow Daoist Choi. Is something troubling you? Please, speak freely."
"Ah, no. It is nothing. I was just... wondering if my brothers will be safe in the upcoming battle. That is all."
"Oh. Your affection for your brothers is deep indeed, Fellow Daoist Choi."
Gwak Jeong-sin knew that Choi Ju-tang had subordinates in the Qi Condensation realm. Though Choi Ju-tang referred to them as his "brothers," Gwak Jeong-sin hadn't thought much of it initially, wondering how a Foundation Establishment cultivator and Qi Condensation cultivators could truly be brothers when they shared no blood relation. But seeing him now, it seemed Choi Ju-tang genuinely held deep affection for them.
"We have been together since our hardest times, so it naturally became so. I am embarrassed."
"Not at all. Cultivators are human too, are they not? I am simply filled with admiration for your loyalty, Fellow Daoist Choi. Do not worry too much about your brothers. I will have them stationed in the rear."
"Ah. Thank you. I will not forget your consideration, Fellow Daoist Gwak."
Gwak Jeong-sin smiled warmly and nodded.
Choi Ju-tang. He is a good man.
Where you stand determines what you see. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to remember old ties, call Qi Condensation cultivators his brothers, and treat them as such was an incredibly rare sight in the cultivation world. In that regard, this Choi Ju-tang could truly be called a loyal and good-natured man. Such a person was well worth befriending.
Perhaps I can scout him into the merchant association after this is over. Since he's a rogue cultivator with brothers to look after, if I offer him decent treatment...
While Gwak Jeong-sin was indulging in these pleasant calculations, a thin mist began to roll in outside the window. At first, no one paid it any mind, but as the thin mist grew increasingly dense, people began to sense something was amiss one by one.
"What is this?"
"This mist... there's something strange about it."
Gwak Jeong-sin, snapping out of his thoughts, rushed out of the cabin. Looking around, he saw that the thick fog had already blanketed the area, obscuring the midday sky and casting an untimely darkness over them.
"Hmm?!"
A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had flown up into the sky to survey the surroundings suddenly stiffened and reached his hand downward.
"Aaargh!"
But before his Dharma Power could even move, a piercing scream echoed from one of the ships.
A Qi Condensation cultivator had slammed an axe down onto the head of the comrade standing right next to him. Though the suddenly attacked cultivator reacted quickly enough to protect his head, his body was split halfway down instead.
"What!"
"Jang Ho! Have you lost your mind?!"
The surrounding cultivators recoiled in shock, drawing back or attacking the cultivator named Jang Ho. But before their attacks could land, another incident occurred. And this time, it wasn't just one.
"Aaargh!"
"You crazy bastards!"
Commotion erupted simultaneously across more than ten ships. As if they had suddenly lost their minds, cultivators kept launching surprise attacks on their own allies.
"T-this is..."
Not to mention the Qi Condensation cultivators, even the Foundation Establishment masters were too bewildered to react quickly. For a brief moment, they thought of the demonic disaster that had broken out in Jimagwon, but they quickly dismissed the possibility. The disaster in Jimagwon was said to have been caused by the heaven and earth spiritual energy laden with murderous intent, but there was no such murderous intent here.
"Who is it?! Who is playing tricks?!"
The mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had first reached down from the sky roared in fury, but no answer came.
A stone peak just large enough for three or four people to sit around. Atop that peak, situated right in the center of a softly glowing circular formation, Myeong-ha—transformed into a form vastly different from his usual self—was busily moving his legs.
Watching him tirelessly twitching his eight legs, Jekyeong was suddenly reminded of a pianist from his past life. A pianist who, as if drunk on his own performance, closed his eyes and leaned over the piano, completely absorbed. That image, faintly rising from his hazy memories, overlapped with the Myeong-ha of today.
The only difference was that while a pianist moved the ten fingers of his two hands, Myeong-ha moved eight legs, and what he pressed was not piano keys, but a formation.
A formation... is it really a formation?
Even though he had heard a rough explanation beforehand, Jekyeong was still confused.
Heavenly Cursed Thread. It was Myeong-ha's Divine Ability. Myeong-ha hadn't told him whether it was an innate Divine Ability or not, and Jekyeong hadn't asked. At any rate, Myeong-ha had said that this Divine Ability, the Heavenly Cursed Thread, could pierce an opponent's soul. However, its raw power was negligible, so it only worked if used against an opponent with a massive gap in cultivation realm, or if the target was incapacitated beforehand.
In this aspect, it shared similarities with Cheongo's hypnosis, but Myeong-ha's control was far more extreme. Once a target's soul was pierced, even if they managed to break free from Myeong-ha's control, recovery was nearly impossible. Unless the Heavenly Cursed Thread connected to their soul was severed, Myeong-ha could manipulate them like a puppet whenever he pleased. It was truly an ability worthy of the name "Divine Ability."
Myeong-ha had used this very Divine Ability to mass-produce and utilize Lost-Soul Puppets. However, because this ability lacked raw power and had a limited range of attack, it was difficult to employ in active combat.
Knowing this better than anyone, Myeong-ha had devised a method to use the Heavenly Cursed Thread more effectively.
That was the Spider Thread Curse Method he was currently manipulating.
A grand curse technique that weaves a web of Heavenly Cursed Threads to manipulate the souls of multiple targets over a wide area.
The softly glowing formation centered around him was actually a sort of spiderweb made entirely of Heavenly Cursed Threads. And upon that web, tiny points of light clung like flies caught on sticky paper—each point representing one of the bewildered human cultivators far off in the mist.
"Mmh."
Myeong-ha wrapped the Heavenly Cursed Threads around those presences, like a spider spinning a cocoon.
"Impressive," Jekyeong murmured in admiration.
Myeong-ha, who was engrossed in "spinning cocoons," shrugged. His upper body managed to maintain a somewhat human shape, but it was starkly different from when he was fully human. Not only was his frame several times larger, but his skin was cracked in various places, revealing dark lines. From those cracks, unrefined monster power leaked out. Rather than being wild or violent, it carried a deeply eerie aura, feeling distinctly different from ordinary monster power. Jekyeong couldn't tell if this was because Myeong-ha was a half-demon, or because half of his bloodline originated from a demon.
"It's nothing special. I have to prepare all this beforehand just to barely make use of it. In truth, I'm no different from a formation master."
Myeong-ha spoke humbly, but Jekyeong disagreed. Myeong-ha's application of his Divine Ability indeed shared similarities with formations. While it might lack raw power compared to some of the more formidable grand formations, it was far more potent in terms of stealth and bizarre nature than any formation Jekyeong had ever heard of. In particular, this Spider Thread Curse Method had no warning signs. Even the mist was generated from spiritual energy he had laid down beforehand, not an effect of the Spider Thread Curse Method itself.
"How far can you take this?"
"If you can create an opening, Fellow Daoist, I should be able to exert some influence over the Foundation Establishment cultivators as well."
"Good."
"Fellow Daoist, wait."
As Jekyeong prepared to submerge himself into the water, Myeong-ha held him back and said, "Do not forget what you promised. You must leave three of them for me."