The Heavenly Demon Heads to the Spirit Realm (1)

It wasn't for any particularly pleasant reason that I first set foot in the Spirit Realm. Back when I was wandering the world, those immortal bastards had attacked me. They charged in screaming that I was a being who would bring threat to the world. At first I dealt with it by crushing the one or two who dared come at me, but when the same thing kept repeating with different people, it gradually became a nuisance. All I wanted was to roam the world and see as many places as possible, yet they treated me like some kind of great demon king.

So I threatened a few of them, learned the path to their realm, and went there to settle the matter once and for all. To put it simply, things back then did not go well. It was not that I had been defeated, but that even after I turned the entire Spirit Realm upside down, those immortal fools still refused to give up. In the end the assaults stopped only after I defeated that old man Geomseon.

Thanks to that incident I still roughly remembered the way to reach the Spirit Realm.

“Ooh. As expected, this truly is a sacred mountain.”

Baru gazed at the enormous peak stretching beyond the clouds and let out an admiring sigh. Even to a layman like me the place looked steeped in countless powers. To someone like Baru, who had wielded dosul for so long, it must have appeared far more extraordinary.

“Such thick, rich energy. It really does feel like a place where immortals would live.”

“Correct.”

“...What?”

“You can meet immortals here.”

To see proper immortals one would have to shatter the formations they had set on the mountain, climb all the way to the summit, and forcibly twist open the gate to the Spirit Realm, but it remained an undeniable truth that this was where immortals dwelled.

After hearing my explanation Baru stared at my face, then turned her gaze to the distant peak and stared blankly for a moment before looking back at me.

“What?!”

Her reaction was fierce. I had brought her here without warning precisely because I expected something like this, yet I hadn’t imagined she would make quite such an entertaining expression. She looked as if she had no idea what to do with the sudden mention of immortals.

“What do you mean by coming here!”

“Didn’t you tell me to find a place filled with strong energy?”

“I did say that! But there has to be a limit!”

“It’s fine. What can those immortal bastards possibly say?”

“Immortal… bastards…”

Baru muttered like an idiot, seemingly stunned by my casual shrug. Did this fellow truly view immortals as transcendent beings? They had undergone ascension, so one could call them transcendent, but in reality they were not such monstrous existences. In the end they were still living, breathing creatures. If anything, the black thing I had seen upon first entering the VR world was far more terrifying.

“Well, as long as we don’t approach the Spirit Realm itself we won’t disturb the immortals, so this should be a suitable place for training.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? We are going to the Spirit Realm.”

Hadn’t she asked for a place brimming with energy? Then the most ideal location for training would be beyond that gate, would it not?

When I answered as though it were obvious, Baru stared at me with wide eyes before stammering.

“Are you truly serious?”

“Of course.”

“What kind of insane drivel is that! Are you an immortal yourself?! How can you speak of heading to the Spirit Realm! The Spirit Realm is…”

Baru let out a loud “Waaaah!” and began explaining exactly what kind of place the Spirit Realm was. Most of it was information I had already heard while threatening immortals, so I let the words flow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in one ear and out the other.

Come to think of it, twisting open the gate to the Spirit Realm would surely cause a massive phenomenon. Someone would take a screenshot or video and upload it to the community. Then the community would once again begin their condemnation of me. I had already gone through the headache of calming them down today; I could not afford to set them ablaze again. Besides, even if I entered the Spirit Realm, nothing particularly troublesome should occur.

Leaving Baru to her continued complaints, I manipulated the interface and started the broadcast. Despite the late hour in the real world, viewers flooded in the moment the stream went live.

“It is a mountain that exists in the Murim. People commonly call it the Dwelling of Sages, saying it is where immortals reside.”

“To explain in detail would take too long, but when I said we were going to the Spirit Realm she reacted like this.”

Every new viewer seemed to question my mention of the Spirit Realm, so I gave them a rough summary of the current situation. That I had decided to learn dosul from Baru. That we had come to Mt. Sinseon-geo because we needed a place filled with powerful energy.

“Ran away? What are you saying. Call it an efficient choice.”

If they called it running away, I would look like a coward. I had simply calculated that learning dosul would be more efficient.

“Ahem. Do you want to be banned?”

While I watched the chat flip from criticism to sudden praise, another donation flew in.

“He probably got caught in the immortals’ formation. If you cannot pass the formation you will never reach the place where the immortals are.”

“From the atmosphere it seems no one has ever entered the Spirit Realm.”

It was good news that no one had entered the Spirit Realm yet. Simply looking at its appearance, it was one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Murim. There would definitely be visual enjoyment in seeing it.

“Are you even listening to me?!”

Baru suddenly realized something was off in the middle of her rant. She stepped in front of me, glared straight into my eyes, and shouted.

“In the end what you’re saying is that place can only be entered by those who have ascended, right?”

“Yes! That place can only be reached through ascension!”

“That is nothing but your prejudice.”

“Huh?”

I had entered that place and come back without ever attempting ascension or striving to become an immortal. The belief that one must ascend to reach it was merely the prejudice of the world. There was a gate and a path; why would one need to become an immortal to cross over?

“Follow me. I will show you.”

“No, Min-ga! Min-ga!”

Even while throwing a tantrum, Baru eventually followed behind me. When we reached the foot of the mountain I placed her on my shoulder and walked across the air above the forest. Mt. Sinseon-geo was famous for its rugged terrain. Anyone unfamiliar with its paths would easily lose their way. There was no reason to suffer by climbing on foot.

As I leisurely ascended, at some point my senses twisted. We had arrived.

“A formation is installed here. Step back and watch my analysis.”

“It’s fine. I already know how to pass through it.”

I finished my light steps and descended into the forest.

“What exactly do you take me for?”

Of course destruction was one excellent solution, but it would cause a huge commotion, so it was not a good choice right now. Not to mention that while I might be fine, guaranteeing Baru’s safety would be difficult. Since there was another method, there was no need to choose that path.

“Then what do you plan to do? Even I can tell this formation is extremely tricky.”

“Just watch.”

When I had stormed this mountain in the past I had been a person with no reason to look back, so when the formation annoyed me I had tried to smash it. One of the immortals had stopped me, saying it was a formation containing the history of the immortals. He begged me not to break it and offered to teach me the way past it. I had not fully trusted his words, but since I was confident I could destroy it no matter what trick he tried, I followed the immortal’s instructions. Surprisingly, his words had been true. By doing as he said I was able to reach the gate to the Spirit Realm beyond the formation.

I still remembered that method.

First, move forward…

The moment I stepped into the formation to use what I had learned before, the surrounding scenery changed. A wooden gate standing on the barren rocky summit looked out of place, yet the energy contained within it was by no means light. It was the gate to the Spirit Realm as I remembered it.

Huh? What is this?

“Ooh! Min-ga! So you did have a plan after all!”

Baru’s surprised expression was matched by the heated reaction in the chat window.

“…Yes. Didn’t I tell you?”

In truth there had been no plan and nothing had gone the way I wanted, but I acted confident anyway. As long as the result was good, that was all that mattered.

“It has been a while since I last saw this face.”

At the voice I turned my head and saw an old man sitting beside the gate. Geomseon? Why was that old man here of all places?

“Is the one beside you a divine spirit?”

“Yes. I am called Baru, the mountain deity.”

Baru bowed her head to Geomseon in a polite tone I had never once seen her use. What was this, Baru? Was the immortal inside your heart such a magnificent existence? If we spoke only of strength, I was greater than those beings, yet you had never once shown me such courtesy!

“Not much time has passed, yet you have grown greatly. Is your body finally catching up to your spirit?”

“Thank you for the compliment, but would you step aside? I need to go beyond this gate.”

“Hmm. I cannot allow that. You are still lacking to pass beyond.”

Seeing Geomseon block the gate with a smile, I realized things were about to become troublesome.