The Return (3)
Seo Seol-ryeong's shop had been reduced to a complete wasteland.
Cheon Woo-jin tried to right a chair that had toppled over on the floor, but the moment he touched it, one of its legs snapped clean off. With no other choice, he leaned himself against a storage cabinet lying fallen nearby.
On the 6th floor, at least, there was no one who could touch us.
Over time, Cheon Woo-jin had proven his strength throughout the 6th floor of Ghost Head City. In the battle over the Spirit-Summoning Demon-Subduing Banner, he had stood against all three great factions, Manyeon Ice Palace included, and even afterward he had made his presence unmistakably known, driving back the Flame Emperor Gate among others. When Core Formation cultivators had ambushed them in the back alleys of Junggyeongjin, his overwhelming power had stunned the crowds. It was because of all that that he had left Ghost Head City without a shred of worry.
But if they've started moving from the 7th floor—the upper reaches of Ghost Head City—that's a different story.
The upper layers could only be entered by those at Core Formation or above. At the same time, it was the home ground of the Nascent Soul cultivators—a place entirely unlike anywhere Cheon Woo-jin had set foot before, where only true masters dwelled. The Core Formation cultivators who strutted about the middle floors throwing their weight around at Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators were, up above, nothing more than slaves groveling before the Nascent Soul realm.
"Right after you two left, things stayed peaceful enough, nothing worth mentioning……," Won Pil-so said weakly amid the ruins of the shop. "But about a month ago, the atmosphere turned ugly. That's when they stormed into Junggyeongjin."
"They?"
"Disciples of Byeokpung Valley."
"……!"
Byeokpung Valley of the mountain region. Manyeon Ice Palace of the snow mountain region. Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect of the wetlands. Those three sects had always been counted as the three great powers of the 6th floor of Ghost Head City. Among them, Byeokpung Valley was a prestigious orthodox sect, and with Manyeon Ice Palace weakened, it had effectively become the foremost power among the righteous sects of the 6th floor.
They had clashed with Byeokpung Valley once, briefly, back in the fight over the Spirit-Summoning Demon-Subduing Banner. But afterward there had been no particular conflict, and everything should have gone on as before.
"They raided this shop, smashed everything to pieces, and looted every item that had been stored here. Not only that—they did the same to the talisman shop my senior brother and I had just opened……"
So they had wrecked even the talisman shop that Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so had opened only recently. That was why Won Pil-so looked so utterly haggard.
"What happened to Elder Jang?"
"He was badly hurt. He's recuperating now—the healers say he won't be getting up for a while."
"……"
Hearing Won Pil-so's answer, Seo Seol-ryeong bit her lip for a moment.
"Won Pil-so, we had maintained perfectly amicable relations with Byeokpung Valley until very recently," she said in a hard voice. "You said earlier that they had begun moving from the 7th floor. Which means…… was this ordered by Byeokpung Valley's patriarch up on the 7th floor?"
"That's right……"
Byeokpung Valley's patriarch was Gwak Woo, a Daoist of late Nascent Soul. He had shown his face briefly to watch when the battle over the Spirit-Summoning Demon-Subduing Banner drew to a close. Back then, Gwak Woo had left Cheon Woo-jin with the words, I'll remember you. Let's meet again.
They hadn't been particularly threatening words…… but thinking about it now, there had been teeth in them. At the very least, they carried none of the warmth that Yo Won-gyeon, the Nascent Soul patriarch of the Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect who had appeared alongside him that day, had shown.
"Why would Gwak Woo of Byeokpung Valley attack us?"
"That's……"
"Byeokpung Valley is an orthodox sect as well. They would have moved under some kind of justification. Which means……"
As Seo Seol-ryeong pressed the question like an interrogation, Won Pil-so shrank into himself. Watching him, Cheon Woo-jin spoke up.
"Seo Seol-ryeong. It would be better to move somewhere else first."
"……!"
At some point, other cultivators had gathered around and were peeking in at them. On top of that, the Hundred Flowers Sect and Mujeong Soma were still waiting behind them.
"Forgive me. I lost my composure."
At Cheon Woo-jin's remark, Seo Seol-ryeong readily admitted her mistake. "You're right, Cheon Woo-jin. It would be better to talk after moving somewhere else."
"Where should we go? The Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect?"
"No. Somewhere more discreet would be better."
"Agreed."
Having settled on a course of action, Cheon Woo-jin turned to leave—but just then, he caught sight of Seo Seol-ryeong picking something up off the floor. It was the tea-leaf canister he had once given her as an opening gift for her shop. Watching her tuck the dust-covered thing into her breast, Cheon Woo-jin opened his mouth to say something.
"……"
But in the end, he said nothing. And then, as though he had seen nothing at all, keeping his expression cool and composed, he left the ruined shop behind.
"I owe an apology to the ladies of the Hundred Flowers Sect and to you, Seong Jun, for guiding you into such a dark and dreary place," Seo Seol-ryeong said in her characteristically flat voice as they walked along the underground waterway.
Their destination was the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate. If one wished to escape prying eyes, there was no better place to hide than beneath the earth.
"And…… the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate we are about to visit is a dark sect that makes use of human corpses. I would ask that you restrain your anger on that account."
"You seem to be misunderstanding us somewhat, Seo Seol-ryeong," said Shao Xiaofu, the Sect Leader of the Hundred Flowers Sect, who was following behind them, her voice calm. "The reason we ordinarily purge the evildoers of the dark sects is that they persecute the powerless and throw the world into chaos. But the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate is not one of those. I've heard that they actually perform the service of gathering up corpses so they don't rot where they fall in the streets. They even hold a rite of consolation for the dead every year, do they not?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"The Hundred Flowers Sect is not so narrow-minded as to condemn any dark sect that handles corpses as villains outright. Have no fear on that score."
And so, having reassured Seo Seol-ryeong, Shao Xiaofu frowned.
"If anything, it's Byeokpung Valley that troubles me. Smashing shops the moment their owners were away—shameful conduct, utterly unworthy of a prestigious orthodox sect."
"……"
In truth, there were far more righteous sects that committed such shameful acts without a second thought. If anything, it was sects like the Hundred Flowers Sect, which strove to remain fair in all things, that were the minority.
"Welcome."
Out of the dark underground space emerged a man whose face was crossed with scars. It was Lee Jin-gang, a core disciple of the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate. "The Sect Master is already aware of the situation. I will guide you."
Lee Jin-gang led Cheon Woo-jin's party inward, and the Sect Master of the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate, Wi Ju-seon, came hurrying out to meet them.
"Seo Seol-ryeong! Cheon Woo-jin!"
Wi Ju-seon was Seo Seol-ryeong's friend, and she had fought alongside Cheon Woo-jin before as well. And so her joy at their return was entirely genuine.
"Thank heavens you made it back safe. You have no idea how worried I've been……"
"I'm sorry for the worry we caused. More importantly……"
"Ah, right. Let's talk inside the Sect Master's hall first."
The Hundred Flowers Sect disciples were left waiting outside, while the rest of the party entered the hall.
"It seems the state of Ghost Head City has changed a great deal in the two months we were away," Seo Seol-ryeong said in her cool, level voice. "Would you tell us what happened?"
"Hmm…… where should I even begin."
As Wi Ju-seon fell into thought, Won Pil-so, who had come in with them, spoke up. "When they raided the shops, the Byeokpung Valley people claimed that you two, Cheon Woo-jin and Seo Seol-ryeong, were agents of the Demonic Path."
"Agents of the Demonic Path?"
"That's absurd."
In the past, Cheon Woo-jin had purged the Gwangse Heretic Spirit Sect, a puppet organization of the Blood World Mara Sect. Accusing him of serving the Demonic Path was a slander with no basis whatsoever.
"Won Pil-so, did they present any sort of evidence?"
"There was nothing. They simply insisted you were agents of the Demonic Path, that was all."
"So they dressed it up as a nominal pretext."
Orthodox sects only move when they have a justification. But to lean on such a flimsy one like this was rare indeed.
"We looked into it here at the Corpse Ghost Extreme Jade Gate as well, and there wasn't a shred of evidence. They were simply spouting whatever came to their mouths in order to slander you," Wi Ju-seon said, picking up where Won Pil-so had left off. "What's more, it seems they've made a demand of their own. They're saying that Cheon Woo-jin and Seo Seol-ryeong must present themselves at Byeokpung Valley, confess their crimes, and accept punishment."
"……"
A silence settled over the Sect Master's hall. Everyone was dumbfounded by the sheer absurdity of the demand.
"Heh heh. Now I have a feeling about this."
Just then, Mujeong Soma, who had been listening quietly from the lowest seat, spoke up.
"Who might you be?"
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sect Master. I am Seong Jun, a loose cultivator who wanders the world."
Mujeong Soma put on the false name. "From what I can see, Byeokpung Valley has no intention of harming Cheon Woo-jin or Seo Seol-ryeong. If anything, their aim appears to be capturing the two of them intact."
"Capturing them intact……?"
"An orthodox sect demanding a young Core Formation cultivator turn himself in on a nonsensical pretext? With a Nascent Soul patriarch involved on top of that? Then there can be only one reason."
With those words, Mujeong Soma turned his gaze toward Cheon Woo-jin and Seo Seol-ryeong.
"They intend to perform Seizure of the Vessel—stealing your bodies."
"……!"
Seizure of the Vessel. The characters meant to seize and to house—but it did not truly refer to stealing a house. What was being stolen was not the house that sheltered the body, but the house that sheltered the soul: the flesh itself.
"Among Nascent Soul cultivators, there are those who seek to abandon their own bodies and replace them with another's. It appears an old monster has set its sights on the bodies of you two."
Nascent Soul cultivators could expel their Nascent Soul from their flesh—and send it back in again. And at that moment, it was possible to enter not one's original body, but the body of another. Naturally, no one would offer up their own body willingly. And so it became a matter of taking a body by force. That was Seizure of the Vessel.
"You two possess talent at the very pinnacle of the Core Formation realm. The intent must be to steal those bodies and reach for an even higher plane of cultivation."
"What a horrifying thing……!" Shao Xiaofu, who had been listening in silence, bristled with fury. "To think a patriarch of a prestigious orthodox sect would stoop to such a deed—I can scarcely believe it! This must never be tolerated!"
In truth, such things were not a matter of faction. Righteous sect, dark sect, demonic sect—wherever you looked, there were those who would stop at nothing to raise their own cultivation. It was simply that Seizure of the Vessel itself was not so common an occurrence.
For it was exceedingly difficult to find a body attractive enough to warrant going that far. Reaching the Nascent Soul realm meant, in itself, that one had been born with extraordinary talent. Most Nascent Soul cultivators felt no need to replace a body they had used for centuries. And so Seizure of the Vessel was attempted in only two kinds of cases: something had gone wrong with the body one had been using—or one had discovered a body possessed of a rare and exceptional talent. It was always one of the two.
"Then Byeokpung Valley's patriarch Gwak Woo must be after your body, Cheon Woo-jin," Seo Seol-ryeong said, turning her gaze to him. "I've heard that Gwak Woo suffered incurable wounds in the conflict that broke out in the upper reaches of Ghost Head City. He would dearly wish to move into a new one."
"Mm, I've heard the same," Wi Ju-seon nodded. "But why would Seo Seol-ryeong be targeted as well? With a Seizure, it's best for the sexes to match."
"Which would mean the Nascent Soul patriarch attempting it is not just one person."
With that, Seo Seol-ryeong looked back at Won Pil-so. "Isn't that right, Won Pil-so?"
"Ah……"
Won Pil-so had said the 7th floor had moved. If it had been Gwak Woo alone, he would simply have said Byeokpung Valley's patriarch had moved.
"Y-yes, that's right. And not just Gwak Woo—another name came up, the biggest power on the 7th floor. The claim that you two served the Demonic Path supposedly came from that person as well," Won Pil-so said, his face gone pale with fear. "Bukgung Jeongmyeol…… they were speaking of that female Daoist who claims descent from the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace."
Bukgung Jeongmyeol. She was established as the strongest Nascent Soul Daoist on the 7th floor. Belonging to no sect, a loose cultivator, she nevertheless wielded enormous influence over the entire floor—for she led the Ghost Bone Alliance, the gathering of the 7th floor's Nascent Soul cultivators. Even Gwak Woo, patriarch of Byeokpung Valley, observed proper courtesy before her.
"So Byeokpung Valley intends to seize you two and hand you over to Gwak Woo and Bukgung Jeongmyeol," Mujeong Soma murmured, as though the whole affair delighted him. In following Cheon Woo-jin to Ghost Head City, he had borne witness to a scene of utter, lawless pandemonium. As the White Face Pavilion Master of the Blood World Mara Sect, he could hardly fail to find such a situation intriguing.
Narrowing his eyes, he turned his gaze upon Cheon Woo-jin and Seo Seol-ryeong.
"So then—what will you do, Cheon Woo-jin, Seo Seol-ryeong?"
Monsters of the Nascent Soul realm were demanding their bodies be handed over. How would they answer that? Mujeong Soma posed the question to them both.