Chapter 425
Chapter 425
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 111
>Chapter Title: Soul and Po (2)
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“......The moment that person’s alchemy merges your soul and po into one, you won’t escape their grasp forever—not even after resolving a hundred years of resentment.”
‘!?’
Cheongnyeong’s expression hardened at the Heaven-Earth Society Leader’s meaningful words.
What the hell is he talking about?
Alchemy that merges soul and po—what nonsense is this?
Her mind reeled, leaving her speechless as she stared at the Heaven-Earth Society Leader. Soon, her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth.
-......Who’s that bitch?
That bitch.
He meant the Heaven-Earth Society Leader’s youngest disciple, Wi So-yeon.
She had found it strange how eerily similar Wi So-yeon looked to her.
And upon second thought, that wasn’t the only odd thing.
Cheongnyeong recalled attempting to possess her, only for her own spirit body to nearly get trapped inside.
Her voice rose sharply.
-What’s going on? Why does that bitch look just like me?
“......This seat doesn’t know the exact reasoning either, but if the records are accurate, Wi So-yeon was born from your soul.”
‘!!!!!’
Cheongnyeong grew flustered at those words.
Wi So-yeon is my soul? What does that even mean?
As far as she knew, soul and po were one and the same.
That was when someone’s voice rang out.
“I’ll explain that part.”
Cheongnyeong and the Heaven-Earth Society Leader’s gazes turned toward the voice.
There stood a man whose face was horribly burned, leaving him blind.
The Heaven-Earth Society Leader spoke warily upon seeing the staff-wielding man.
“You......”
She remembered him as one of the Elder Hall’s people.
But Cheongnyeong, who had traveled with Mok Kyung-un, knew his true identity.
-Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul.
“Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul?”
-That’s the true identity of this mortal scum. One of the Six Directional Gods, a follower of the Three Eyes—no, Bi Yong-heon. Though not anymore.
‘Six Directional Gods?’
The Six Directional Gods.
They were the pinnacle sorcerers, known as the six directional deities.
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul was one of them and had served the Three Eyes.
But after losing to Mok Kyung-un and spilling known secrets, he nearly died from the taboo the Three Eyes had implanted. To survive, he pledged loyalty to Mok Kyung-un.
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul approached, leaning on his staff, and said,
“Soul and po can both be called spirit.”
-Spirit?
“The reason they’re divided into two is because spirit can be split into two aspects.”
-Two aspects?
“The soul ascends to the heavens for reincarnation and descends again. Meanwhile, the po is the lingering thoughts accumulated through life, the remnant of the flesh.”
-......
“The po must return to the earth, but since it arose from life, it lingers even after death as the body decays. If it harbors strong resentment during that time, it becomes a ghost. That’s what they call a vengeful spirit or specter.”
-I know that much. I just......
At Cheongnyeong’s words, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul waved his hand lightly as if to calm her.
“Of course. But this is where it gets important.”
-What do you mean?
“Though the po is formed from lingering thoughts of the flesh, it’s still one element of spirit. The soul is yang, ascending to the heavens, while the po is yin, returning to the earth. Thus, the soul and po that go to heaven and earth eventually reunite in time, leading to rebirth. Daoism and Buddhism call this......”
-Reincarnation......
Born, then die, then born again.
That is reincarnation.
It was the law of the world, the natural order.
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul nodded and continued.
“Correct. Reincarnation. But as I just explained, reincarnation requires both soul and po. For instance, if the soul achieves enlightenment and enters nirvana, or if the po is trapped by resentment and becomes a ghost without returning to the earth, they can’t reunite—and thus, no reincarnation.”
-So what the hell is that Wi So-yeon?
“It’s exactly as the Leader said.”
-Exactly? You just said reincarnation needs both soul and po......
“Yes. It does. But Mok Gan broke that law.”
-Broke the law?
“Normally, the soul purifies as it passes through the heavenly gate after ascending. But Mok Gan separated and captured your soul and po.”
-Is that even possible?
“Nearly impossible, but he’s existed for ages by switching bodies countless times, so his knowledge rivals that of ancient sages.”
That was why Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul followed him.
Myeong-ryul sought his vast knowledge to heal his incurable burns and blindness from a curse, and to surpass his limits as a sorcerer.
-......So that mortal bitch Wi So-yeon is a body born by holding onto my soul, courtesy of Bi Yong-heon?
“Precisely.”
-But even if he held the soul, without the po......
“It’s only half, so sustaining the body is difficult. From what I’ve heard, the bodies containing your soul, born through various wombs, didn’t last even a few years.”
-Grind!
Cheongnyeong gnashed her teeth at Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul’s words.
Rage surged, making her teeth chatter.
Not content with imprisoning her vengeful spirit for nearly a century, he’d clung to her soul that should have ascended and done this?
Even for obsession with her, this was too much.
-......So that Wi So-yeon bitch succeeded in forming a body without a po?
“Complete success is impossible.”
-What?
“Soul, po, and reincarnation are the natural order of the world itself. No matter how vast one’s knowledge, how could they casually defy that order?”
-You mean?
“The body called Wi So-yeon is also incomplete. That’s why a body with only soul keeps collapsing.”
At his words, the Heaven-Earth Society Leader muttered in an anger-filled voice.
“Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians.”
“......Yes. That phenomenon occurred because the body couldn’t endure.”
The Heaven-Earth Society Leader had thought Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians was simply her innate curse.
But now she knew it wasn’t.
No matter the finest womb, Wi So-yeon’s body was incomplete without a po, so to compensate for the lacking yin energy, her body endlessly generated it internally until it ran rampant.
-Crazy bastard......
A harsh curse escaped Cheongnyeong’s lips.
She hated him, but this madness was truly repulsive.
Even separated, the soul was no different from her.
Clinging to her own soul, forcing rebirths on his whim, letting them die repeatedly—his obsession was the worst imaginable.
-Reviving a body with just soul out of obsession for me?
“......You’d know better than I.”
-Obsession...... obsession...... Hah......
Suddenly, something didn’t make sense to Cheongnyeong.
If he was so obsessed he’d remake her body from her soul, why seal the po separately?
-I don’t get it. With such power, why not just let me reincarnate fully from the start? Wouldn’t he get what he wanted?
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul shook his head at her question.
“Of course. But as I said earlier, the po is made of the flesh’s lingering resentments. Filled with them, it becomes a ghost and can’t unite with the yang soul.”
-Hmph! Then sacrifice himself to resolve my resentments, and be done with it.
“It’s not that simple.”
Self-sacrifice was no different from suicide.
Even if it allowed reincarnation as he wished, he wouldn’t get what he wanted.
And,
‘......One thing is odd.’
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul also harbored a doubt here.
He didn’t know exactly what happened back then, but did Mok Gan over a hundred years ago truly not know that a resentment-filled po couldn’t unite with the soul?
If he knew, was there really need to take everything from her, filling her with resentment?
‘Perhaps this is Mok Gan’s way of dealing with Bi Yong-heon......’
At that moment, Cheongnyeong turned to the Heaven-Earth Society Leader and spoke.
-You said a resentment-filled po that becomes a ghost can’t unite with the soul. So what’s this alchemy that merges soul and po?
“Exactly that. That person has long sought an alchemy to forcibly merge soul and po.”
-Don’t tell me the reason is......
“Correct. To merge you—po filled with resentment—and Wi So-yeon, the body formed from soul.”
-Hah!
Cheongnyeong scoffed.
The one who turned her into a vengeful ghost now wants to forcibly merge her soul and po to satisfy his obsession and revive her?
-Foolish bastard. You think I’d do what he wants if revived that way?
“If he masters alchemy to control soul and po, he can freely manipulate the lingering resentments within.”
The Heaven-Earth Society Leader agreed.
“The records state as much.”
-What?
“By blasting away the parts of Ryu So-wol’s po with deep grudges and unnecessary memories, everything resolves.”
-......
Cheongnyeong’s expression hardened at his words.
She’d wondered why he kept her, burning with resentment, sealed in that heart-shaped manual.
Now it all made sense.
Even after a hundred years, he hadn’t let go of his obsession with her.
All her clan, all she loved—stolen for this vile obsession and madness.
-Bi...... Yong...... heon!
-Grrrrrrrrr!
Her killing intent materialized, the space rippling in deepening purple.
It darkened beyond purple.
-Eek!
‘No way.’
A vengeful spirit’s spiritual power depends on how long it’s existed or the strength of its resentment.
Her spiritual power surged terrifyingly, leaving Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul inwardly stunned, tongue-tied.
He hadn’t intended it, but knowing the full truth plunged her hatred into abyssal depths.
Yet that wasn’t all the strangeness.
-Tremble tremble tremble!
Blind, but with hyper-developed senses relying on his main power, he felt the karmic link connecting to Cheongnyeong’s spirit body tremble violently.
Unsure why, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul furrowed his brow at the unprecedented sight.
Then, in that instant.
-Snap!
The red thread-like karma linking to her snapped.
Karma is akin to the natural law binding shikigami and sorcerers.
For it to break?
‘How?’
-Splat!
In a blink, blood drenched the surroundings.
It happened so fast Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul couldn’t hide his shock.
How could a ghost domain form this quickly?
As he marveled in astonishment,
-Thud! Bang!
His body flew back, slamming into the wall and fixing there as if seized.
“Urk!”
He wasn’t the only one flung.
-Bang!
“Cough cough!”
Though gravely wounded by taboos, the Heaven-Earth Society Leader—having surpassed Wall and reached Profound Realm—couldn’t properly withstand her immense spiritual power either.
Despite channeling qi, barely not being pushed back was all he managed.
Cheongnyeong’s chilling voice overflowed with ghostly fury.
-Tell me. Where is that bastard?
“Cough cough...... I don’t know.”
-If you don’t, starting with your disciples, I’ll slaughter everything alive in the Heaven-Earth Society.
-Splash splash splash!
Blood welled up, enveloping and tightly squeezing his body.
Enduring the agony, the Leader forced his mouth open.
“Hah...... hah...... I truly don’t know. But a way to draw that person out...... You know it too, Ryu So-wol?”
-......Speak.
“The traces of alchemy to forcibly merge soul and po...... The Ghost Sword found them.”
'!!!!'
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul’s ears twitched at the Leader’s words.
He knew the forbidden technique of Soul Transfer he’d barely found derived from a supreme treasure left by a fiend called a calamity in ancient martial times.
‘Did they find Evil Heart Granny’s supreme treasure?’
[End of Chapter 111: Soul and Po (2)]