Guerrilla Warfare (1)
“Argh……!”
Lee Geuk-gyeol screamed as his lower body was impaled.
His attention had been entirely on his comrades, who had suddenly vomited blood and collapsed, and so he failed to notice the shadow approaching from his blind spot.
Only after the pitch-black blade erupting from beneath his feet pierced through his lower body did he finally understand what was happening.
“You bas… bastard……!”
Lee Geuk-gyeol tried to counterattack with a coarse snarl, but Cheon Woo-jin did not slow his assault.
After all, in terms of cultivation, Lee Geuk-gyeol — at the Peak stage of Foundation Establishment — was the higher one.
He could not be given time to properly cast his arts. He had to be pressed relentlessly with surprise attacks until it was over.
Knowing this, Cheon Woo-jin had already sent his lightning qi streaming into the shadows.
“Kraaaaaagh……!”
Lightning qi surged up from the black blade skewering Lee Geuk-gyeol's lower body.
A wretched scream tore from the mouth of the man who had been preparing his spellcraft.
With Lee Geuk-gyeol's original strength, lightning of this magnitude could have been defended against with spiritual power — but with a hole bored through his body, that was impossible.
Electrocuted from the inside out, Lee Geuk-gyeol convulsed for a long while before finally going limp.
Cheon Woo-jin seized him by the nape of the neck and hurled him out the tavern window.
Falling from the third floor, Lee Geuk-gyeol crashed onto the main thoroughfare below.
He twitched a few times, then stopped moving altogether.
The passersby murmured in alarm, but when a sinister cultivator came bounding out of the back alley and dragged off Lee Geuk-gyeol's corpse with a beaming grin, they each went their own way.
So the middle layer is no different from the lower one.
He suddenly found himself recalling the days shortly after he had first entered Ghost Head City.
Back then, simply walking down the street had been enough to draw trouble.
But as time passed, the people who pestered Cheon Woo-jin simply stopped existing.
Everyone in the lower layer had learned what happened to those who crossed him.
The middle layer was no different.
If someone picked a fight, he had to answer it head-on.
If he went around being modest and keeping his head bowed, they would sneer at him for still reeking of the lower layer and keep despising him forever.
He needed to prove, before the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the middle layer, that he was not a man to be trifled with.
“Say, uh… young friend.”
Just then, Jang Ryang approached, swallowing hard.
He looked utterly overwhelmed by Cheon Woo-jin, who had erupted into an attack out of nowhere and subdued Lee Geuk-gyeol and his crew in moments.
“Your, your skills are something else. I thought you were just a junior, but I suppose I was wrong……?”
Still can't recognize me, huh.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a quiet laugh.
“Fooled us completely!”
Clack!
Won Pil-so set his cup down on the table with a bang, raising his voice.
With the earlier commotion settled, they had moved to a new spot and were now on their second round of drinks.
“Plenty of people's appearances change after reaching Foundation Establishment, but I've never seen anyone transform as drastically as you did, Cheon Do-u!”
“If you look closely, there's still a trace of the old face in there. Frankly, I never expected to run into you here, so that's partly why I didn't catch on. So don't take it too hard that we didn't recognize you.”
Jang Ryang spoke to Cheon Woo-jin in a gentle voice.
“It's been less than a year since we last met, hasn't it? To think you reached Foundation Establishment in that time — truly astonishing. How on earth did you manage it?”
“I had a fortuitous encounter or two.”
“A fortuitous encounter, hm……”
Jang Ryang smiled and did not press further.
“Congratulations, regardless. I hope you'll keep growing by leaps and bounds from here on.”
Back in the day, Jang Ryang had told him he had the makings of Foundation Establishment and encouraged him to break through as soon as he could.
He had celebrated Cheon Woo-jin's growth with pure sincerity.
“By the way, what was that business with Lee Geuk-gyeol about?”
Won Pil-so asked from the side, downing a bowl of rice wine in one gulp.
“From what I overheard, it sounded like some kind of wager.”
“There were… complications.”
Cheon Woo-jin gave a brief account of what had happened.
Both men's jaws dropped.
“No — something like that actually happened?”
“Cheon Do-u, are you really sure you're at early Foundation Establishment?”
Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so both clicked their tongues in disbelief at his tales of valor.
A man who had ascended to the middle layer less than a month ago, brushing past other cultivators to fell a Core Formation disciple-in-progress of the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect… Even to these two veterans of the cultivation world, it was a staggering story.
“Lee Geuk-gyeol was in the wrong, sure… but I can understand how he felt. His pride must have taken a brutal beating.”
Jang Ryang murmured with a bitter expression.
“The truth is, Lee Geuk-gyeol had been stuck at Peak Foundation Establishment for forty years. So when Cheon Do-u appeared out of nowhere, he must have felt deeply inadequate.”
“Tsk. Still, he should have accepted it and moved on. To bring his crew along to stomp the kid and end up losing his life instead.”
Won Pil-so clicked his tongue, lamenting the waste.
“I had no idea the fight between the Jinshi Sect and the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect had gotten so fierce. I'd heard the Six Evils Sect was after the Jinshi Sect's Dharma treasure, but had things really progressed that far already?”
“You didn't know?”
“I've been outside Ghost Head City for the past few months.”
“Ah, so that's why we haven't seen your face around.”
And here I thought it was just because you were on a higher floor and our paths never crossed.
“Were you carrying out a commission for Seo Seol-ryeong?”
“No, it wasn't a job Seo Do-u referred to me. A major trading company was recruiting cargo escorts, so I went and applied directly.”
“Cargo escorts?”
“Weijin Country's been in turmoil across the board lately. Those Dark Sect bastards keep raiding trading companies' cargo, so escort work is on the rise.”
Not long ago, the Cheongun Trading Company had been attacked by the Blood Fiend Sect as well.
If similar incidents were erupting everywhere, it meant the appointed hour was drawing near.
The great upheaval that would shake all of Weijin Country — the day Cheon Woo-jin had been anticipating since the moment he first arrived in this world — was approaching.
“But it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.”
Jang Ryang said with a sour look.
“They tried to change the terms midway, tried to dump work on us that was never in the agreement… In the end, we didn't even receive our full payment. They picked at this and that and docked our wages.”
“And you just put up with that?”
“How are loose cultivators like us supposed to stand up to a major trading company? Those of us with no backing have no choice but to bow our heads.”
Truthfully, this was one of the inherent weaknesses of loose cultivators.
With no sect to stand behind them, there was little recourse when they were treated unfairly.
“Work through Seo Do-u really is a different story. Next time, I'll have to ask her to refer some jobs to us again.”
Though Seo Seol-ryeong operated out of the second layer, she had connections reaching into the upper reaches of Ghost Head City.
More than that, she simply never introduced work from places that couldn't be trusted.
Which meant that taking commissions through Seo Seol-ryeong carried no risk of being stabbed in the back.
“Cheon Do-u, if we end up working together again, it'll be a pleasure.”
Before the smiling Jang Ryang, Cheon Woo-jin drank his wine slowly.
Five days later.
Cheon Woo-jin visited Seo Seol-ryeong's shop.
He wanted to move forward based on the information he had gathered in the meantime.
“As it happens, the Jinshi Sect has been reaching out with various propositions.”
Seo Seol-ryeong said in her calm voice.
“But seeing as you're the one bringing it up first, Cheon Do-u, I take it you've already made up your mind.”
“I have.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded.
“I intend to side with the Jinshi Sect and strike the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect.”
That was the conclusion Cheon Woo-jin had reached.
He already had bad blood with the Six Evils Sect dating back to the auction house incident, but independent of that, he judged this course to be the most advantageous.
“If the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect topples the Jinshi Sect and seizes their Dharma treasure, they'll be able to mass-produce any poison they please. Their power would swell far too much.”
In the game, when he had climbed to the middle layer of Ghost Head City, the Six Evils Sect had been so overwhelmingly strong that they were nothing but a nuisance.
Presumably because they had already obtained the Jinshi Sect's Dharma treasure by that point.
“If that happens, it'll become difficult for me to operate in the middle layer. Every time I set out to do anything, I'd have to be watching my back for the Six Evils Sect.”
“That's true.”
And then… the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect had a great many things worth taking.
If he raided them while looting thoroughly, the profits would be considerable.
Admittedly, the most valuable prize was the Dharma treasure held by the Jinshi Sect… but that was not something Cheon Woo-jin could handle.
Across the vast expanse of the Dongcheon, a single man could not hope to farm it alone.
“From the Jinshi Sect, I'd like to receive rare seeds or saplings as compensation. Think that's feasible?”
“Seeds or saplings……”
Seo Seol-ryeong fell into thought.
“The Jinshi Sect is wealthy precisely because they cultivate rare crops from the Dongcheon and reap enormous profits from them. If you demand their seeds or saplings, they'll be reluctant to part with them.”
“I'm not trying to go into business with them. I just want to be self-sufficient.”
“Understood. Then I'll make the request and see.”
This part he could leave to Seo Seol-ryeong's negotiating skill.
“Also, I'd rather refuse to work alongside other loose cultivators this time, like before.”
“I heard about the clash with the loose cultivators on the fourth layer as well. Are you worried it might happen again?”
“That's part of it, but they'd be a nuisance in the field.”
The Jinshi Sect was directly recruiting loose cultivators and employing them as mercenaries.
But being deployed into the field alongside them was something he wanted to avoid.
“Then shall I ask them to have you move together with the Jinshi Sect's own cultivators?”
“I'd rather decline that too.”
“You mean to fight alone? Even for you, Cheon Do-u, taking on the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect single-handedly is far too dangerous.”
Before Seo Seol-ryeong's worried expression, Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.
“I have no intention of fighting alone either.”
“Then……?”
“Instead, I'd like to choose my own fighting companions.”
As he said this, Cheon Woo-jin turned his head.
“Looks like they've arrived.”
“I'm sorry?”
Just then, two men entered the tent.
It was Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so, whom he had met on the fourth layer five days prior.
“Seo Do-u, it's been a while.”
“Mm… this feels oddly embarrassing.”
“Gentlemen… so you've returned to Ghost Head City.”
At the sight of the two scratching their heads as they came in, Seo Seol-ryeong's face registered surprise.
“They mentioned they were looking for work these days, so I told them to join us.”
“Cheon Do-u… you really shouldn't arrange things however you please like this.”
Seo Seol-ryeong said, exasperated.
“Negotiations like these are my responsibility.”
“Then consider it me lightening your workload.”
Faced with Cheon Woo-jin's unflappable response, Seo Seol-ryeong let out a sigh.
“When did you become so much like a fox……? I miss the fresh-faced young man who first came looking for me.”
“Was I fresh-faced?”
“You were. Compared to now, back then you still had an unweathered air about you. Almost endearing, really.”
“I appreciate the kind assessment.”
Watching Cheon Woo-jin respond to Seo Seol-ryeong's barbs with utter placidity, Jang Ryang tilted his head.
“You two seem quite close. Almost like brother and sister.”
“Sa-hyeong, leave it be.”
Won Pil-so waved his hands, shutting Jang Ryang's mouth for him.
“Seo Do-u, we've heard the gist of it from Cheon Do-u here. We're looking for work ourselves these days, so if you could connect us with the Jinshi Sect, we'd be truly grateful.”
“I know your capabilities well. Introducing you to the Jinshi Sect would be no trouble… but the fight against the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect will be anything but easy. You must understand that this is dangerous work.”
“And yet you're the one who referred us to Cheon Do-u for exactly such dangerous work?”
“Cheon Do-u is… the sort of man who deliberately seeks out those very places to dive into.”
At Seo Seol-ryeong's answer, Won Pil-so chuckled.
“And he's still alive despite diving into them on purpose. Being at Cheon Do-u's side really does seem like the way to stop worrying.”
“Mm, I also think that with Cheon Do-u along, it's well worth a try.”
Before the two men's evident enthusiasm, Seo Seol-ryeong nodded.
“Very well. If that's your mindset, I have nothing more to say.”
“We don't need anything else — just make sure they stuff our pouches full of spirit stones. We've been a bit strapped lately after getting stiffed on wages at our last job elsewhere.”
“Then I'll convey that to the Jinshi Sect.”
The fiddly details of negotiation could be left to Seo Seol-ryeong.
The time had come to strike the Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect directly.
“I should ask the Jinshi Sect to propose targets the three of you could strike together.”
“No, there's no need.”
Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.
“I already have a place in mind.”
An underground space in the north of the fourth layer.
Unlike the world outside, the enclosed chamber maintained a damp, humid air — and within it, countless mushrooms grew.
None of them ordinary mushrooms, of course. Only poison mushrooms, laden with lethal toxicity.
“Sa-hyeong, is it true what they say — that Elder Danmok-gil was attacked recently?”
Bok Si-wan, the overseer of the poison mushroom cultivation facility, frowned at his junior's question.
“So I'm told. The Jinshi Sect raided our spirit fields, burned the poison herb gardens to the ground, and killed Danmok-gil.”
“I can't believe it. Elder Danmok-gil was a man of truly exceptional talent.”
“No doubt Gwak Gyeong-in of the Jinshi Sect led his subordinates in a combined assault to bring him down.”
Bok Si-wan spoke in a hard voice.
“The Jinshi Sect's forces have been greatly weakened, yes — but capable ones like Gwak Gyeong-in still remain among them. We'll need to keep a close eye on their movements.”
“Sa-hyeong, is this place safe?”
“There's nothing to worry about here.”
The Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect cultivated the raw materials for their poisons at sites scattered throughout the middle layer of Ghost Head City.
But the great majority of those locations were hidden with the utmost care, beyond the reach of any raid.
This place was no different.
The recently attacked site had been a mountain exposed to the open sky, but this one lay buried deep underground.
“So put such thoughts aside and focus on the work.”
Cultivating poison mushrooms was no small labor in its own right.
It wasn't simply a matter of scattering spores onto blocks of wood.
The environment had to be continuously maintained through formations powered by spirit stones, with a steady supply of spiritual qi fed into them at all times.
Spiritual power was required even when sorting and harvesting the fully grown poison mushrooms.
And yet every cultivator working here did so with a sense of duty.
The Ten Thousand Poisons Six Evils Sect could wield its present strength precisely because of the poisons produced in places like this.
“The finer the poison mushrooms we produce, the stronger the sect becomes. Keep that in mind and work hard. Don't waste your energy on needless worry, and……”
Just as Bok Si-wan was saying this —
A cool, refreshing wind suddenly swept through the perpetually damp underground chamber.
“Why is outside air coming in?”
“That's strange. I'll go check the formation.”
“Right… no, wait!”
BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!
A violent storm of flame swept through the mushroom cultivation facility.
Watching the flourishing mushrooms go up in flames, Bok Si-wan's eyes flew wide open.
“What in the world?!”
“An — an attack!”
The Jinshi Sect? It couldn't be.
There's no way they could know where this facility is.
Feeling his heart hammering against his ribs, Bok Si-wan rushed to smother the flames —
— when a man of sharp, finely chiseled features emerged through the storm of fire.