Chapter 459
Chapter 459
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 117
>Chapter Title: Supreme (5)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘This is…….’
In the vision within his mind, a massive imugi covered in sleek, pure white scales.
It resembled a dragon, the kind that only appeared in legends or fantasies.
Its presence was so majestic it drew forth an involuntary gasp of awe.
However, what set this imugi apart from a true dragon were its horns—far shorter than expected.
Compared to its enormous body, the horns were only just beginning to grow.
He had been pondering this curiously when,
He saw a figure wearing a bamboo hat hurtling toward the white imugi.
The man held a pitch-black, charred sword, and the moment the imugi laid eyes on it, it let out a roar as if seized by a fit.
-Kraaaaaargh!
The tremendous roar unleashed a shockwave, sending the bamboo-hatted man flying back.
Yet he quickly steadied himself and launched toward the imugi once more, igniting a fierce battle between the imugi and the man.
Each time the imugi moved, the ground quaked like an earthquake, dirt and debris cascading down as if a natural disaster had struck.
-Boom! Kra-kra-kra-boom!
The clash between the imugi and the bamboo-hatted man devastated the surroundings.
But their fight did not last long.
It was because the charred black sword in the bamboo-hatted man’s hand sliced through the imugi’s scales.
-Kraaaaaaaaagh!
As a massive scale was severed and the sword pierced its body, the imugi writhed in agony.
Seizing the moment, the bamboo-hatted man climbed onto the imugi’s horned head and drove down a massive burst of energy.
-Paaaaang!
Struck by the force, the imugi staggered and collapsed.
-Kuoooong!
Its body was so long and enormous that the ground shook when it fell.
Once the imugi lay defeated, the bamboo-hatted man descended from its head and examined the area below its chest.
Then, someone approached him.
It was Pa Je, the First Rank cadre of the secret council.
As Pa Je drew near, the bamboo-hatted man shook his head regretfully and spoke.
[To think it came to this… Its core essence hasn’t fully formed yet.]
[It’s this huge, though?]
In response to his question, the bamboo-hatted man raised the charred black sword and said,
[Among the Five Sacred Beasts, this is the leader, the most auspicious of them all. If this imugi fully matures, it becomes a true dragon—and beyond that, transcends the natural order.]
[The natural order? What do you mean?]
[Think of it like ascension to immortality in human terms.]
[Ascension to Immortality!]
Pa Je could scarcely hide his astonishment.
Then, with growing curiosity, he asked,
[So, you’re saying that before this imugi was born, its predecessor had already become a dragon and ascended?]
[It could have. But it didn’t.]
[What do you mean, it didn’t?]
[Do you know what happens when a sacred beast falls to corruption?]
[……What happens?]
[Sacred beasts are born from the convergence of natural energies, making them embodiments of the immortal way—unlike the yin-spirit beasts born from yin qi. But if they corrupt, they veer toward the demonic or the malevolent.]
[So you’re saying this imugi’s predecessor fell to corruption.]
At this, the bamboo-hatted man chuckled and replied,
[Exactly. It fell completely. It even tried to wipe out humanity.]
[Huh…….]
[The Human-Demon War may not be recorded in the official histories, but it’s not that ancient for your kind—and yet, born as royalty, you know nothing.]
[When I was young, that damned father of mine erased every record related to the martial world. What could I do? But speaking of which, that sword…… Wasn’t it forged from dragon scales? Don’t tell me that dragon was…….]
[Yes. Scales from the dead dragon.]
As the bamboo-hatted man spoke, a flicker of greed flashed in Pa Je’s eyes as he stared at the sword.
The bamboo-hatted man sheathed it in a special scabbard and warned,
[Don’t even think about it. Unless affinities match, it’ll only ensnare you in demonic influence.]
Pa Je smacked his lips in disappointment.
Then, he approached the fallen imugi, touched its horn, and asked,
[So what now? Didn’t you promise me its core essence? If it’s still young…….]
[You’ll have to settle for this. Even this much should suffice for your path to eternal life.]
-Puuk!
No sooner had he spoken than the bamboo-hatted man thrust his arm into the imugi’s chest.
He reached in to extract the core essence, but then,
-Kraaaaaargh!
The imugi’s eyes snapped open, and it roared.
The blast hurled Pa Je and the bamboo-hatted man backward.
As they flew back, the roaring imugi burrowed into the ground and vanished.
Crashing into a wall, Pa Je regained his senses and rushed to the hole the imugi had made.
[Damn it!]
To think it would awaken in that brief moment.
As he panicked, the bamboo-hatted man called out to him.
[Enough.]
[Enough? We mobilized so many to hunt this one imugi…….]
[This will do.]
[This will—……Ah!]
Pa Je’s eyes lit up as he turned.
In the bamboo-hatted man’s hand was a fragment that appeared to be part of the core essence.
Pointing with his other hand to a massive scale shed on the ground, the bamboo-hatted man said,
[We got everything we need.]
[But letting it escape…….]
[Overdoing it brings the opposite result, human. If you must have it, wait until it fully matures. Sacred beasts rarely stray far from their birthplace anyway.]
Heeding the advice, Pa Je gazed wistfully at the hole in the ground.
Their figures gradually faded, and Mok Kyung-un snapped out of the vision.
The vision had lasted only an instant, and upon returning to his senses, he saw Pa Je—gaunt, skeletal, like a living skull.
“Grooo…… I…… my…….”
-Shoooo!
As Pa Je gasped his last, trying to speak, his head finally slumped.
Mok Kyung-un stomped on Pa Je’s skull once more.
-Kwachik!
There was no reaction from the crushed head.
Having absorbed all the imugi core essence’s energy through the Landing Technique, the body could no longer regenerate.
Confirming Pa Je’s complete death, Mok Kyung-un hurried to Gui Geom.
He checked his pulse.
As Jin Ye-rin approached after Pa Je’s death, she asked,
“Are you alright?”
Mok Kyung-un shook his head.
If even a shred of vital energy remained, Mok Kyung-un would have infused some of the absorbed core essence or used healing arts to mend the wounds.
But all that required at least some vital energy left.
Gui Geom had already exhausted everything fighting Mok Gan’s clone and was on the verge of death.
‘…….’
His death itself didn’t matter.
But there were still things Mok Kyung-un needed to hear, so he tried infusing some core essence energy—akin to pouring water into a broken jar—to prolong his life even slightly.
Then,
“Don’t…… waste…… your effort…… needlessly.”
“Accept the energy. There’s more I need to hear.”
“Chun…… Chun-chu…… Cough, cough.”
Gasping for breath, Gui Geom desperately sought his daughter.
Aware his end was near, he yearned to see his blood kin one last time.
The old Mok Kyung-un would have ignored it entirely.
But having deepened his bond with Cheong Ryeong and come to understand emotion, he quickly asked Jin Ye-rin,
“Can you bring someone named Chun-chu from outside the death forest?”
“Chun-chu?”
“His daughter.”
“Ah…… Understood.”
Nodding, Jin Ye-rin shot out of the death forest.
For now, no major presences lingered outside.
Though Mok Gan’s clone had descended personally, raising concerns, it seemed the subordinates outside had been left untouched.
Likely, fearing the gold cauldron would fall into his hands, it had rushed straight into the forest.
Then, Gui Geom waved his dazed eyes and hand.
-The limit has come.
As Cheong Ryeong said, his fading pupils confirmed death was imminent.
Growing urgent, Mok Kyung-un moved to ask something, but Gui Geom spoke first.
“Bi…… Bi Yongheon…… young master…… I won’t…… beg you…… to spare him.”
“What are you talking about? More importantly, Grandfather…….”
Mok Kyung-un tried to get what he wanted, but Gui Geom ignored it and continued.
“That man…… left…… with his remaining self…… the truth of the past…… for the current…… Alliance Leader…… Cough, cough. Bi Jung-seon…… the Leader…… twisted everything…… to set it right…… did his utmost.”
“I don’t care about that…….”
-Pak!
Gui Geom gripped Mok Kyung-un’s hand tightly.
Tears of blood streaming, he forced out words.
“They…… they were…… merely…… ensnared…… by his schemes…… Please…… please…… free them…… from him…….”
Even unable to breathe properly, Gui Geom strained with all his might.
To convey his final wish.
Sensing the end, Mok Kyung-un infused core essence into Gui Geom’s hand and urged,
“About the Moon Vein’s secret scripture convincing the avatar—what did that mean? Cut the nonsense and tell me quick!”
-Shoooo!
The energy leaked out as fast as it was infused.
Like water in a broken jar.
Gripping Gui Geom’s weakening hand, Mok Kyung-un pressed,
“Gui Geom!”
“Ryu…… So Wol and you…… you are…… connected…….”
His voice failed, lungs heaving audibly.
Judging it hopeless, Mok Kyung-un began forming hand seals for a sorcery.
-Pak! Pak! Pak!
‘Reverse Eight Human Spirit General Summoning Technique’
A sorcery using Eight Human Talismans to command spirits.
He aimed to bind the soul as a vengeful spirit before it fully dispersed to heaven and earth.
At that moment,
“Nooooo!”
Someone rushed in with a heart-wrenching scream.
It was Chun-chu, the First Rank of the secret council.
Bloodied all over, she shoved aside Mok Kyung-un—mid-seal—and embraced Gui Geom.
Tear-streaked and sobbing, Chun-chu cried out,
“No. Please…… please…… Ah…….”
-Suk!
Gui Geom placed a hand on her back.
Her tear-filled eyes trembled.
“Please…….”
Over a hundred years, she’d never…… truly called him even once. How could he leave like this?
Clutching Gui Geom tightly, Chun-chu choked out,
“Fa…… ther.”
Her voice echoing in his ears, a faint smile touched the cooling, stiffening face of Gui Geom.
Then, he leaned his head on her shoulder.
Chun-chu stifled her sobs, holding him.
-Suk!
Watching them, Mok Kyung-un—who had been gathering curse power—lowered his hands from the seals.
-Why…… are you stopping?
To Cheong Ryeong’s question, Mok Kyung-un exhaled softly and replied.
-Because he can’t become a vengeful spirit.
[Chapter 117 Supreme (5)] End