Chapter 176: Heavenly Moon Palace (天月宮)-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 176: Heavenly Moon Palace (天月宮)-2
When Sun-woo first arrived at Mount Qilian, he couldn't hide his bewilderment.
He had come to the mountain where the Heavenly Moon Palace was located with the sole intention of rescuing Tang Seo-yoon, but the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation blocked his path.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Shouldn't they have taken this down already?"
Sun-woo spat out a curse.
Before departing for Mount Qilian, he had clearly sent a carrier pigeon to the Heavenly Moon Palace. He told them he was coming to pick up Tang Seo-yoon and instructed them to either deactivate the formation or send someone to guide him.
Yet, upon reaching the mountain, he was met with smoke and mist so thick it blinded his vision.
Sun-woo fell into thought.
Should he wait for the formation to be deactivated or for a guide to descend, or should he just force his way through?
His heart leaned toward the latter, but he knew that if he acted on impulse, he would likely end up losing more than he gained. He had heard that even a master of the Transcendent Realm could not easily handle the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation.
That meant even Sun-woo, who had reached the Transcendent Realm, could be in danger.
On the other hand, choosing to wait felt like giving the enemy time to prepare, and the thought of waiting indefinitely was frustrating.
Sun-woo agonized over the decision.
Then, he finally made up his mind.
Thud.
Sun-woo sat down on the spot.
He intended to wait until the formation cleared. There was no guarantee he could break through the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation, and he didn't want to waste his strength unnecessarily.
Even if he were fully prepared, Joo So-yang was a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm. If he wasn't in peak condition, he might not be able to seize victory.
Although he had reached the Mid-Transcendent Realm after achieving Divine Sword Union, the gap between him and someone at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm was greater than one might imagine.
He had no intention of making a stupid mistake driven by emotion. Having fallen into the Murim and made countless blunders, Sun-woo had learned a great deal.
He vowed never to repeat the same mistakes.
But since when did things in life ever go according to plan?
Wooooooong.
Suddenly, the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor on his chest began to resonate.
"What the...?"
Sun-woo looked perplexed at the sensation in his chest. Why was it acting up all of a sudden?
Then, it began to lift Sun-woo's seated body into the air.
"What!?"
Sun-woo was forced to his feet by the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor. And then, it started to fly toward the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation.
Panicked, Sun-woo struggled with all his might to resist being pulled into the formation. What kind of madness was this?
It was then.
Suddenly, he felt a significant pressure around his waist as well.
"What's wrong with you now!?"
It was the Dragon Tail Soft Sword. The sword was also trying to pull Sun-woo into the formation.
Sun-woo concentrated his internal energy and began to flow it into the Dragon Tail Soft Sword and the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor. He intended to suppress them.
His Yin-Yang Harmony Qi took hold of the two mystical artifacts and began to restrain their power. He felt the pressure decrease significantly.
Sun-woo felt a sense of relief. It seemed he had prevented himself from being dragged helplessly into the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation.
However, his relief was shattered by an unexpected ambush.
Flash!
In an instant, Sun-woo felt a force pulling his entire body.
It was the Black Dragon Robe.
Sun-woo tried to summon his internal energy to resist, but it was useless. His Yin-Yang Harmony Qi was already occupied with suppressing the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor and the Dragon Tail Soft Sword.
Ultimately, Sun-woo was forced to take a step into the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation by the Black Dragon Robe.
The moment his foot touched the ground, thick smoke and dense mist began to swirl around him.
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
Sun-woo spat out a curse.
*
Once inside the formation, various types of smoke and mist enveloped Sun-woo's body.
"Cough! Hack!"
Sun-woo coughed as the smoke seeped into his respiratory system.
"Ugh."
He quickly held his breath. No matter how high his martial arts were, he couldn't survive with lungs full of smoke.
Holding his breath, Sun-woo began to look around. He couldn't see a thing. The mixture of mist and smoke surrounded him on all sides.
Shit, shit, shit.
Sun-woo cursed inwardly. Because of those damn mystical artifacts, he had been placed in an unintended situation. It would have been stranger if he wasn't swearing.
He felt the acrid smoke beginning to sting his eyes.
Sun-woo closed them. He couldn't see anything anyway, so there was no reason to keep them open.
With his eyes closed, Sun-woo began to walk, relying on his senses. The milk was already spilled. It was an unexpected situation, but he couldn't just sit there. The pungent smoke would only tighten its grip on his throat as time passed.
Sun-woo walked endlessly. He walked and walked and walked.
Thump.
Before long, he bumped his head against a tree trunk. Sun-woo frowned. Since he couldn't see, he couldn't even avoid obstacles.
Sun-woo reached out his hands. He began to walk while fumbling forward, preparing for any potential obstacles.
He moved his feet as quickly as possible. He had to get out of here before he ran out of breath. No matter how great a master of the Transcendent Realm he was, he was still human at his core. There was no way he could survive without oxygen.
Sun-woo simply kept walking without rest.
.
.
.
.
.
How much time had passed?
Sun-woo slowly opened his eyes. All he could see ahead was the same thick smoke and mist.
A sense of despair washed over him. Despite walking for so long, he was still inside the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation.
He felt his breath becoming increasingly labored. It meant he didn't have much time left.
If I keep this up, I'm going to die.
Sun-woo began to activate the internal energy throughout his entire body. He realized that if he didn't do something, he was finished.
Yin-Yang Harmony Qi flickered across his body. Sun-woo began to sprint forward.
Crash!
Before long, he slammed into a tree. But Sun-woo didn't stop; he kept charging straight ahead.
Crack, snap!
He heard the sound of the tree trunk breaking.
Thud.
Soon, the tree Sun-woo had collided with collapsed. He didn't stop and ran forward again.
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
Soon, the sound of trees shattering began to shake the ground. One might call it a waste of internal energy, but in a life-or-death situation, internal energy didn't matter.
Sun-woo continued his relentless charge.
Crash!
Once again, Sun-woo's torso collided with a tree.
Thud.
The tree collapsed shortly after.
How much longer had it been?
Sun-woo felt his physical strength beginning to wane. He still had plenty of internal energy, but the lack of oxygen was causing his stamina to drop.
This is dangerous.
Sun-woo felt the urgency. By his rough count, he must have smashed through dozens of trees. If he still hadn't escaped the mist zone after all this, it was over.
Sun-woo slowly began to open his eyes, praying that he had finally made it out.
When he opened them, a clear landscape met his gaze.
"Haaah!"
Sun-woo exhaled the breath he had been holding all at once. Fortunately, it seemed he had escaped the mist zone.
"I almost died."
Sun-woo let out a sigh of relief. It seemed the crisis had passed.
He began to look around. After leaving the mist zone, all he could see was a vast, endless plain.
Sun-woo felt a sense of confusion. Mount Qilian was a forest area filled with trees. Moreover, since it was a mountain path, there were numerous slopes.
But a vast plain? It made no sense.
"Sun-woo!"
It was then. A familiar voice called out from somewhere.
Sun-woo hurriedly turned his head. And then, his mouth fell open in a daze.
He saw someone who shouldn't be there.
"Fa... Father?"
"Yeah, you brat! How long are you gonna stay slumped over like that?"
"What!?"
Sun-woo asked back, confused by the words.
"Father, what are you doing here?"
"You brat! Can't a father visit his own son's house?"
His father shouted at Sun-woo. At his father's words, Sun-woo began to look around.
What!?
A familiar sight entered his eyes.
The bed where he always lay down to use his phone, the dining table he used for work, and even the small refrigerator that used to be full of beer.
What Sun-woo saw was his small, roughly 280-square-foot studio apartment.
Sun-woo's eyes widened. The sight of the endless plain had vanished without a trace.
Pinch.
Unable to believe the situation, Sun-woo pinched his cheek.
"Ouch."
He felt a sharp pain in his cheek. It seemed this wasn't a dream.
How on earth did this happen?
"What are you doing with that dazed look on your face? Here, take this."
As Sun-woo stood there blankly, his father approached and handed him a black plastic bag.
"Wh... what is this?"
"Chives. You know this is the best for a man's stamina, right?"
At Sun-woo's question, his father gave a thumbs-up and chuckled.
"Let's make some chive pancakes for the first time in a while. I bought some makgeolli, too."
His father continued, lifting the bottle of makgeolli he held in his other hand.
Sun-woo could only stare at his father in a daze.
*
"Kaaaah! This is what living is all about, don't you think?"
His father took a sip of makgeolli and let out an exclamation of satisfaction.
"........."
Sun-woo just watched his father in silence. Everything was suspicious.
He had clearly stepped into the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation. So why did his father suddenly appear out of nowhere, and why did his surroundings change to his studio apartment?
He couldn't help but be suspicious. He carefully observed his father, trying to find anything out of place.
Slap!
It was then.
"Hey, you brat, what are you daydreaming about in front of the food?"
His father smacked Sun-woo's forehead and spoke.
"Ow!"
Sun-woo cried out at the pain in his forehead.
"That hurts!" Sun-woo shouted at his father.
"Then stop daydreaming and eat your pancake, you punk."
"Mmph."
His father forced a piece of pancake into Sun-woo's mouth.
Chew, chew.
Sun-woo chewed the pancake in his mouth. He could clearly taste the oil and the unique scent of the chives.
Sun-woo's mind fell into even greater confusion. It wasn't just his sight. His senses of touch, smell, and taste were all perfectly functioning.
A doubt began to creep in. Was this really an illusion?
"Man, this is great."
His father exclaimed, continuously drinking the makgeolli.
"Father."
Sun-woo looked at his father and spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Are you really my father?"
Thwack!
He felt a sharp pain in his forehead again.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
After hitting Sun-woo's forehead, his father began to drink again.
Sun-woo fell into deep thought. Judging by his behavior, this was definitely his father. Yet, an inexplicable sense of disharmony made Sun-woo feel a strange disconnect.
What was the source of this disharmony?
"Father, where's Mother?" Sun-woo asked, looking at his father.
"Don't even get me started on your mother. She went on a trip with your aunts again."
His father spoke while chewing on a pancake.
"She just boiled a pot of beef bone soup and left. That damn woman."
At Sun-woo's question, his father grumbled about his mother.
"Why didn't you go with her, Father?"
"It's not my style. Why would I follow them all the way there?"
His father shook his head and continued.
"Forget that, have a drink. It's been a while; I need to see how much my son can hold his liquor."
Glug, glug.
His father picked up the makgeolli and poured it into Sun-woo's glass. Sun-woo accepted the drink and continued the conversation with his father.
Sun-woo spent time drinking back and forth with him.
How much time had passed? His father got drunk first and sprawled out on the floor.
Sun-woo covered his father with a blanket. Then, he sat on the bed with a serious expression.
Immense confusion had taken hold of Sun-woo's mind.
Although he felt a sense of disharmony, his father was exactly as he remembered him. A father who loved alcohol but had a low tolerance, who was foul-mouthed but full of playfulness.
He had asked several probing questions just in case, but his father's answers left no room for doubt. He was the perfect father.
That was why his mind was even more confused. He was certain this was the father in his memories, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance.
Over a year had passed since he fell into the Murim. During that long time, Sun-woo had missed his family countless times. But when he actually saw his father, the emotion he felt wasn't joy or sorrow, but disharmony.
He couldn't figure out what was going on.
Could it be that everything was a dream?
Sun-woo immediately shook his head. It couldn't be a dream. The sense of loss, loneliness, love, friendship, compassion, lust, anger, and sadness he had felt were all as vivid as reality. He didn't feel like those emotions were false.
Then what was this situation?
The scenery was exactly as he remembered it. His mother and aunts who had gone on a trip to Jeju Island, and his father who had come to visit with chives and makgeolli because he was sick of beef bone soup. Even his father sleeping on the floor after passing out from drinking.
Everything was exactly as he remembered.
Wait?
It was then. Sun-woo felt something was off.
"Father! Father!"
He quickly began to shake his father roughly to wake him up.
"What, you brat!"
Perhaps because of Sun-woo's rough touch, his father woke up with a face full of irritation.
"Let me sleep, you punk!"
His face was still very red, as if the intoxication hadn't worn off yet.
"Father, where did Mother go on her trip?"
"You woke me up just to ask that?"
His father asked back, sounding incredulous.
"Hurry, Father! Hurry!" Sun-woo began to urge him.
"Jeju Island, Jeju Island! She said she won a prize draw at the supermarket..."
In an instant, Sun-woo began to look around for his phone. He searched his pockets, the drawers, and around the head of the bed, but the phone was nowhere to be seen.
"Father, give me your phone!"
"Why?"
"Just give it to me, hurry!"
Sun-woo began to pester his father.
"Here."
Perhaps because of Sun-woo's strange intensity, his father tossed his phone from his pocket to Sun-woo.
Click.
Taking the phone, Sun-woo quickly pressed the button on the left side.
Flash.
The screen turned on with a bright light. And then, the date began to appear in the center.
The date written was May 15, 2020.
In an instant, Sun-woo's face turned pale.
The date Sun-woo had fallen into the Murim was July 10th.