Mujeong Soma (7)
Jang Si-woo tried to flee outward.
The Grand Yao Bat Ship had ventilation ducts scattered throughout, each connecting to the outside.
The openings were too small for a human body to pass through, but a bat body formed from a Nascent Soul split into hundreds of pieces could slip through with ease.
The bats scattering in every direction swiftly burrowed into the ventilation openings here and there.
It looked less like bats and more like rats… no, cockroaches.
But then.
The fleeing vermin all froze mid-motion at once.
Because Cheon Woo-jin's Instant Killing Heavenly Eye had activated.
[What is this?]
Jang Si-woo, realizing something had gone terribly wrong, was bewildered.
[Don't tell me… a Heavenly Tribulation?]
A Heavenly Tribulation — the world's backlash that strikes a cultivator somewhere along the path of cultivation.
Jang Si-woo had survived it twice in his long life.
Surviving two tribulations was a genuinely remarkable feat. Most cultivators die on the spot the very first time one descends upon them.
That was because Jang Si-woo possessed a singularly tenacious vitality.
Yao cultivators were naturally hardier than humans, but this was something unique to Jang Si-woo himself. If anything, his life force was less like a bat's and more like a cockroach's.
Which was why, in the game, he had been so maddeningly persistent.
In the game's story, Jang Si-woo led the Grand Yao Bat Ship across the continent, plundering as he went to recover his strength. Even if the player tracked down the ship and won the battle against him, he would simply escape without dying.
There was exactly one way to bring Jang Si-woo down in the game.
Befriend Mujeong Soma, set out with him to hunt Jang Si-woo down, and trigger the event in which Mujeong Soma perished together with his sworn enemy.
But this time was different.
Jang Si-woo would not be escaping.
And Mujeong Soma would not be losing his life.
[Has the Heavenly Tribulation come for me again?]
[No, this is different. What is this?]
[It's that man's attack. But what kind of attack? Some manner of curse?]
Jang Si-woo was panicking.
He had split into hundreds of bats and scattered in all directions — and now every single one of those bodies was dying at the same moment.
And there was nothing he could do to resist.
[Why can't I do anything?]
[Something like this can exist?]
[This is impossible!]
A cockroach's vitality meant nothing here.
Because Cheon Woo-jin's Instant Killing Heavenly Eye was a power that stood beyond such things.
Had Jang Si-woo still possessed the strength of the Late Nascent Soul realm, he could have killed Cheon Woo-jin before the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye ever took effect.
But the present Jang Si-woo had challenged the Great Completion stage of the Nascent Soul realm, failed, and fallen all the way back to Early Nascent Soul.
[To think I, Jang Si-woo, the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat who withstood even the Heavenly Tribulation, would fall to the power of some Core Formation nobody…!]
Pop-pop-pop!
Hundreds of bats burst apart like exploding fireworks.
Fragments of Nascent Soul sprayed in every direction, only to be sucked out through the ventilation ducts.
Whatever debris was expelled beyond the Grand Yao Bat Ship would scatter into the open sky and dissipate entirely.
And so the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat Jang Si-woo — once counted among the Thirteen Venerables of the Moonlit Thirteen League — met his end.
'I got him.'
Cheon Woo-jin let out a breath of relief.
Jang Si-woo had originally been an enemy who could never have been defeated with mere Core Formation strength.
Victory had only been possible because the aftereffects of his tribulation had dragged his realm down to Early Nascent Soul and left his body in a severely weakened state.
Had a few months passed and Jang Si-woo recovered his condition, even Cheon Woo-jin would have been hard-pressed.
'Without the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye, I'd have lost him this time too.'
That was the problem with enemies who had reached the Nascent Soul realm.
Even if you fought them with everything you had and subdued them, they could still slip their Nascent Soul away and flee. Once they abandoned their physical body and poured everything into escape, the bare soul was maddeningly difficult to catch.
And if a Nascent Soul cultivator who escaped that way recovered their strength and came back for revenge… things became considerably thornier.
At present, the only true solution was to kill them with the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye.
It could guarantee the death of the Nascent Soul itself.
But the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye had its own limitations — it wasn't something he could use at any time, against anyone.
'In the end, there's no choice but for me to reach the Nascent Soul realm myself and lay hands on greater power.'
Cheon Woo-jin was currently still at the Late Core Formation stage.
He would need to reach Great Completion Core Formation soon, then challenge the Nascent Soul realm.
'That's part of why I came here in the first place.'
Cheon Woo-jin first drew out a Blood Life Vessel.
Then he drew the blood from Jang Si-woo's corpse, sprawled across the floor, and stored it inside.
Weakened as he'd been, Jang Si-woo had still been a Nascent Soul cultivator. Blood essence like his would yield a blood servant with power on the level of Core Formation.
'That makes three blood servants now.'
Next, he checked over the items his blood servant had secured for him moments ago.
A wheel-shaped magic treasure that summoned storms — the Annihilation Wind Calamity Wheel.
The reason Cheon Woo-jin hadn't instantly killed Jang Si-woo from the start was that he'd needed to wait for this very treasure to be drawn out.
If he had killed Jang Si-woo first, while the wheel was still held within the Universe in the Sleeve, retrieving it would have become far more difficult.
'Annihilation Wind Calamity Wheel… not the most versatile treasure, but it'll see use in Ghost Head City before long.'
After stowing the wheel in his storage pouch, Cheon Woo-jin collected a few more items from Jang Si-woo's corpse and made his way back along the path he'd come.
Mujeong Soma lay collapsed where Cheon Woo-jin had first encountered Jang Si-woo.
"Ch-Cheon Do-woo…."
Mujeong Soma had already regained his senses, but his body still refused to obey him.
"The Illusion Wing Immortal Bat…?"
Cheon Woo-jin answered as he helped the man upright.
"I brought him down."
"…!"
Mujeong Soma's breath caught in his throat.
"How… how…?"
"I'd rather not go into the specific method, but I had a means of attack that happens to be lethal to yao cultivators like him."
"You had a power like that…?"
"Did I not tell you? That I had my sights set on the Grand Yao Bat Ship from the very beginning."
Cheon Woo-jin explained, his expression unchanging.
"Which means I'd naturally hidden one or two trump cards of my own."
"…."
"Of course, it wouldn't work on an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. It only worked because he'd lost his strength to the Heavenly Tribulation."
Having listened to the explanation, Mujeong Soma spoke in a stiff voice.
"Now that you mention it… how exactly did you know the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat had been weakened by his tribulation, Cheon Do-woo?"
"That, too, is something I'd rather not explain in detail. I'd appreciate it if you didn't press the matter."
"…."
Mujeong Soma fell silent.
The eyes behind his mask bored into Cheon Woo-jin, unblinking.
"I see…."
A sigh escaped from beneath the mask.
"How should I put this… it's a feeling I can't quite put into words. I finally crossed paths with the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat again, only to walk straight into his trap — and while I lay fallen, someone else struck him down…."
Before Mujeong Soma, his voice hollow with futility, Cheon Woo-jin slowly shook his head.
"That is not so, Soma Seonbae."
"Pardon?"
"I could never have made it here alone. I wouldn't have even gotten close to the Grand Yao Bat Ship — I'd have been shot out of the sky."
That much was the truth.
It was only because Mujeong Soma had ridden ahead on the White Sandalwood Divine Vessel that Cheon Woo-jin had been able to approach the ship at all.
"It is true that I've coveted the Grand Yao Bat Ship for some time. But it was thanks to you, Seonbae, that I was able to act on it."
"…."
"And I did not bring down the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat alone, either. You simply took his attack first. Had the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat targeted me first, you would have been the one to strike him down."
Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a level, measured voice.
"So do not think of it as a failed vengeance. The Illusion Wing Immortal Bat was not felled by me alone — he was felled by the two of us together."
"The two of us together…."
"Ideally, one avenges oneself with one's own hands, of course. But that beats failing outright, doesn't it? So think of it this way: the two of us avenged you together."
With that, Cheon Woo-jin reached into his robes.
"And now, please confirm this."
Earlier, he had taken one more item from Jang Si-woo's corpse.
It was… a human skull.
"Jang Si-woo cast his spellcraft using the skulls stashed within his wings, but there was one more skull he kept hidden away, tucked deep inside his robes."
"…!"
"No doubt he was saving it for the moment you recovered your senses and came at him again."
Cheon Woo-jin hadn't needed to confirm it to know.
This was the skull of the woman Mujeong Soma had loved.
Jang Si-woo had claimed earlier that he couldn't remember which one it was — a lie. He had hidden it away as a last resort, reserved for the decisive moment.
"Ah…."
Mujeong Soma took the skull in trembling hands.
Then he cradled it to his chest with both arms and bowed his head.
The mask hid whatever expression he wore.
He made not a single sound. He simply gazed down at the white skull in silence.
But Cheon Woo-jin could tell.
Mujeong Soma — Seong Mu-ryeong — was weeping.
Hundreds of years had passed since the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat Jang Si-woo took his beloved from him.
He had not been able to avenge her with his own hands.
But he had recovered the skull of the woman he loved.
And so Seong Mu-ryeong wept.
His face hidden behind the mask, without making a sound.
Keeping the welling flood of feeling entirely, solely, for himself.
It was his final farewell to the only person in all the world with whom he had ever shared love.
"Thank you, Cheon Do-woo."
Once he had gathered himself, Mujeong Soma offered his thanks.
"Without you, I would never have recovered the skull. I wouldn't have avenged anything — the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat would have killed me instead. I owe you a truly great debt."
"Think nothing of it. I'm the one who benefited from you, Seonbae."
"You do not."
Hands clasped together, Mujeong Soma spoke in a grave voice.
"You are my benefactor, Cheon Do-woo. I will never forget this."
"…."
Those were not empty words.
The Destiny displayed on Mujeong Soma's status window was Faith.
A man of trust and loyalty — Cheon Woo-jin knew that fact well.
"If there is ever anything I can do to help you, tell me anything at all. I will give it my all."
"Hearing that from you, Seonbae, honestly sways my heart. The cool thing to do here would be to graciously decline and move on."
"Haha, you're plenty cool already, Cheon Do-woo."
Mujeong Soma let out a laugh.
"Cheon Do-woo, how does this sound?"
"How does what sound?"
"I'll follow you around for a while and help with your affairs. Whatever they may be."
"…."
That was a startlingly bold proposal.
"Are you sure? Don't you have duties to attend to as the White Face Pavilion Master of the Blood World Mara Sect?"
"I failed to intervene in the succession struggle for the Imperial Throne, so my schedule is empty for the time being. And the practical matters are all handled by others anyway…."
The White Face Pavilion's usual work was espionage and covert operations of every stripe.
But nothing big enough to require the Pavilion Master's personal involvement was likely to come up for a while.
"Honestly speaking, I'm also curious about you, Cheon Do-woo."
"Planning to investigate what kind of man Cheon Woo-jin is and report back to the Blood World Mara Sect?"
"I'll have to report at least some of it, or the higher-ups will raise hell. They'd ask why I'm loafing about in some unrelated corner of the world."
Of course, Mujeong Soma would not be handing over anything truly important to the sect.
He wasn't a man so bereft of loyalty as that.
"I'd appreciate it if you put in a good word, then."
Cheon Woo-jin said in a calm voice.
"I have no intention of fighting the Blood World Mara Sect regardless. And I'd like there to be no lingering misunderstanding over the Gwangse Umnyeong Sect affair from before, either."
"Understood. Then I'll speak of you favorably."
A while back, the Blood World Mara Sect had tried to establish a new sect called the Gwangse Umnyeong Sect and push its way into Ghost Head City.
The one who had driven them out had been none other than Cheon Woo-jin.
But Cheon Woo-jin had no intention of becoming outright enemies with the Blood World Mara Sect proper.
With Mujeong Soma standing between them as a mediator, he would never suffer harm from any conflict with the sect.
"So, Cheon Do-woo — what will you do now? As you said at the start, to Ghost Head City…."
Mujeong Soma's words cut off mid-sentence.
Then he turned his head and murmured in a grave voice.
"This is…."
Boom! Kuoong!
The surroundings lurched as if an earthquake had struck.
Except this was the open sky — no earthquake was possible.
The entire Grand Yao Bat Ship was shaking violently.
"It seems we're under attack from outside."
"Attacked?"
"I'll check through the windows."
Mujeong Soma moved swiftly. Cheon Woo-jin followed.
Peering outside through the windows along the corridor, they saw countless sword qi raining down upon the Grand Yao Bat Ship.
"…!"
Kukukung! Kwakwakwang!
The ship shuddered harder than before.
Pieces of the corridor ceiling even began to collapse.
With the Night Rat Crowd, who had piloted the Grand Yao Bat Ship, annihilated, the vessel could only absorb the bombardment helplessly.
"Cheon Do-woo, those women…."
At some point, dozens of female cultivators had taken flight on their swords, encircling the Grand Yao Bat Ship.
Every one of them wore pristine white robes.
"People I saw on Pyeonghwang Island. The White Flower Sect — a righteous sect famed for its sense of justice."
"That would explain it."
Cheon Woo-jin had crossed paths with them once before, back when he was traveling with Song Yuhee.
They had nearly mistaken him for a demon beast, and a massive brawl had almost broken out.
"If it's the White Flower Sect, I understand why they'd find the Illusion Wing Immortal Bat's ship and open fire… but this has become rather awkward."
"No, it hasn't, Soma Seonbae."
Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.
"I'll go out."
"Pardon?"
Mujeong Soma stared at him in surprise.
"Cheon Do-woo, it's dangerous. Better that I—"
"No. I have to be the one to go."
Cheon Woo-jin shook his head and looked out the window.
"There's a familiar face out there."
Among the white-robed female cultivators of the White Flower Sect —
one mysterious woman stood out, her eyes bound behind a blindfold.