The Forest of Illusions and Soul Stones
After the trade for the phantom beast hide came to an end, a strange current began to flow through the sect. In the eyes of the junior disciples who looked at me, there was a deeper respect than before. They had realized that I was the one who had struck the deal with the Zhuge Clan, and that I had even built a relationship with Zhuge Hyeonggeon. To them, the Zhuge Clan was a mountain so vast they could scarcely dare look at it, let alone climb it. Of course, I was no different.
That was true only as of one day ago.
Today, something happened that would have left them even more shocked. Zhuge Hyeonggeon came to Jigeom Sect. And not with an entourage—he had come alone, solely to see me. Watching the eager anticipation written all over his face as he stood before me now, it was obvious enough who held the reins in this relationship.
“Hello, Young Lord Hyeon. I’m here. I’ve been looking forward to today far too much.”
“Let’s go find the materials we need first.”
To make the talismans that formed the core of the beast barrier array, I needed one more special material.
“Huh? Right now???”
“Yes. Right now. We can get it not too far from here.”
“Then should I bring a few more people from the clan? I’m not actually that strong when it comes to martial arts.”
“I know. The place we’re going isn’t dangerous, and I’m here, so you don’t need to worry much.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon was a member of the Zhuge Clan, but he wasn’t especially gifted in martial arts. He possessed a genius intellect, but his body was the opposite of suited for cultivation.
“I see. Then let’s go.”
The place I led Zhuge Hyeonggeon to was a mountain some distance from Jigeom Sect. Since the beasts had begun appearing, this mountain had become a place where many three-tailed foxes showed up. As soon as we entered the foot of the mountain, a chill seeped over us—a kind of oppressive, bristling energy that only a martial artist with internal power could feel in full.
“Where is this place?”
Sure enough, Zhuge Hyeonggeon noticed it too and looked around uneasily.
“It’s a place where three-tailed foxes appear often.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon startled.
“Wouldn’t that be dangerous for just the two of us??”
“It’ll be fine.”
As we pushed deeper into the mountain, the sinister atmosphere grew stronger. From this point on, it wouldn’t be strange for a three-tailed fox to appear at any moment.
Tsutsutsu.
Dense mist began to gather, obstructing our sight. Zhuge Hyeonggeon flinched and glanced around, while I moved forward with practiced ease.
“Because of the peculiar energy three-tailed foxes emit, the area around their habitat is always shrouded in mist like this. It serves to keep other beasts from approaching.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes. The energy is especially strong in their tails. A three-tailed fox’s tail is one of the materials we need.”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon looked at me with an odd expression.
“Young Lord Hyeon, there really doesn’t seem to be anything you don’t know. I thought I’d done my own fair share of research into beasts, but compared to you, I’m still woefully lacking.”
“I hope my meager knowledge can be of some help.”
I smiled meaningfully and moved ahead. From here on, this was territory where three-tailed foxes appeared frequently. For Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s safety, I kept every sense on high alert.
Soon after.
Uuuuu—!
With a long cry, a three-tailed fox appeared before us. At first glance it resembled a fox, but its appearance was alien, as though it had no right to exist in this world. Its body was nearly ten feet long, and its swirling eyes glowed red. It had three tails, and those swaying tails were just as dangerous as its eyes.
“Young Lord Zhuge, don’t hold its gaze for too long. And don’t be distracted by the movement of its tails.”
At my warning, Zhuge Hyeonggeon tensed and drew the weapon from his robes. It was a pair of judge’s pens, the same kind used by some of the Zhuge Clan’s martial artists. Gripping them in both hands, he drew in a strained breath.
“It’s my first time seeing one... This is truly terrifying. Especially those eyes...”
He shivered as though something were drawing him in. I rested my hand on the sword at my waist.
“If you know how to deal with it, it’s not that difficult among the Earth Class beasts.”
“Huh? Earth Class??”
I froze. I’d spoken without thinking. Beast ranks hadn’t been formally established yet. It would still take time before Murim encountered enough of them for a proper classification system to emerge. And the one who would eventually organize that system was the man standing beside me now, Zhuge Hyeonggeon.
“Ah... that’s just a classification I came up with.”
“Oh? I see...”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s expression turned interested.
“Then I’ll handle those first.”
Wooooom—
I gathered my internal energy. My dantian, already brimming from reaching the Peak Realm, responded at once. The corners of my mouth lifted. I triggered my movement technique and closed the distance to the three-tailed fox.
Fshh—!
One of the fox’s tails lashed toward me, releasing a surge of pale, rolling mist. I swung my sword, pouring internal energy into the blade.
Slash—
The mist was cut cleanly apart and scattered in all directions. The fragments splashed against Zhuge Hyeonggeon behind me, who stared blankly as the haze suddenly engulfed him.
The mist of illusion.
The fog released from a three-tailed fox’s tail had the power to numb one’s sense of direction and severely weaken spatial awareness.
“Ah...! This is bad!”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon hurriedly flailed, uncertain what to do. In the meantime, I had already reached the fox’s face.
Keiii—!
The three-tailed fox shrieked and stared at me. In the power known as the Abyssal Gaze, it unleashed a powerful mental assault meant to shatter the human mind. But I had already fortified myself with internal energy.
Slash—
My sword neatly severed the fox’s neck. The severed head rolled across the ground, and I flicked the blood from my blade. Once the fox died, the illusion vanished and Zhuge Hyeonggeon regained his senses. He shook his head violently, as if trying to clear the fog from it.
“Ugh... I really thought we were in serious trouble. Still, you took care of that fox incredibly cleanly.”
“You have to sever the neck like that if you want to keep the rest of the hide intact.”
I cut off the fox’s tail with practiced speed.
“Then let’s move on. Before more of them come after us.”
If I’d been hunting alone, this would have been easy enough. But Zhuge Hyeonggeon was with me. Fighting the three-tailed foxes could easily put him in danger. His cultivation was high, but he didn’t seem experienced in combat, and least of all in fighting beasts.
“Ah... what a waste of a hide...”
Regret filled Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s face as he looked at the corpse. But that wasn’t the expression of a man lamenting lost wealth. It was the face of someone brimming with curiosity at the arrival of a new material to investigate.
“Hmm... then let’s only take this one.”
I drew the small knife I used for skinning from my robes and began stripping the hide from the fox. Watching me skin it in an instant, Zhuge Hyeonggeon gasped in admiration.
“You’re remarkably skilled.”
“It’s something I’ve repeated countless times. Still, if we carry this, we may not be able to bring back as many of the other materials. Is that all right? In the end, our real target is the rest.”
“That’s true, isn’t it? Then we’ll leave this one behind.”
I smirked and set the hide back down on the ground.
“Now that you’ve fought one, have you gotten used to them?”
“Yes. There won’t be any more of that embarrassment from earlier.”
Though he claimed to be poor at martial arts, he was still a member of the Zhuge Clan. He looked ashamed of his earlier disgrace in front of the fox.
“It’s a common experience when people encounter a three-tailed fox for the first time. Don’t dwell on it.”
I continued deeper into the forest with Zhuge Hyeonggeon. Along the way we encountered several more three-tailed foxes, and as expected, I dealt with them easily. I didn’t forget to cut off only their tails and collect them.
In that way, Zhuge Hyeonggeon and I eventually reached our destination. It was a cave hidden in the forest. Without hesitation, I went inside. Though it was midday, the cave was dark.
Zhuge Hyeonggeon glanced around and said,
“Should I have brought some fire starters?”
“It’s fine. Only the entrance is dark. It’ll brighten up a little farther in.”
Just as I said, once we went a little deeper into the cave, the darkness gave way to a dim light, enough to make out our surroundings, if not comfortably. The reason was right before our eyes. Embedded all over the walls were stones that emitted a soft glow.
“Wow... what are these?”
“They’re called soul stones. They’re basically like excrement periodically expelled by the three-tailed fox after it absorbs the energy leaking out of the Illusion Gate.”
“E-excrement??”
“Well... beasts don’t exactly defecate the way humans do, of course.”
Three-tailed foxes were beasts that grew by absorbing the energy seeping from the Illusion Gates. That was why they usually lived near such gates. And deep within this cave, there was one as well.
It hasn’t fully revealed itself yet, though.
In a few years, the Illusion Gate in this cave would surface, and this forest would be designated a place of tremendous danger. At the sight of information he had never heard before, and the soul stones he was seeing for the first time, Zhuge Hyeonggeon wore an enchanted expression.
“Ah... these are absolutely beautiful.”
“They’re not just beautiful. If you grind these down and use them to make talismans, you’ll be able to complete the beast barrier array you want.”
Use the phantom beast hide as the base for the talisman.
Use the three-tailed fox’s tail as the brush.
Then grind the soul stones into ink and make the talisman with it.
Using those three methods to create talismans and form a beast barrier array would stabilize the energy circulating within the formation. The reason Zhuge Hyeonggeon had kept failing until now was precisely because he lacked the three-tailed fox’s tail and the soul stones.
Of course, given a little more time, Zhuge Hyeonggeon would eventually figure that out himself.
“For today, let’s just gather a little and head back.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
I drew the knife from my robes and approached the cave wall. Then I began prying the soul stones from the stone with the blade. That was when an unexpected situation arose.
Wooooom—
The Dragon Pearl in my dantian began to react to the soul stone’s energy. At the same time, the energy I was holding in my hand was sucked away all at once. The soul stone, drained of its power, lost its glow and turned into an ordinary rock.
This is bad...
I glanced back over my shoulder. Fortunately, Zhuge Hyeonggeon was too busy examining the soul stones to notice what had just happened.
Hmm... I thought I had decent control over the Dragon Pearl, but apparently not.
I cut another soul stone from the wall with my knife and immediately put it into the leather pouch I’d prepared. After finishing the collection, I turned and said to Zhuge Hyeonggeon,
“This should be enough for...”
At that moment.
Fwoooosh—!
A tremendous light burst forth, and the soul stones around us rapidly lost their glow. The cave filled with the energy of the soul stones.
Wooooom—
Like a predator scenting prey, the Dragon Pearl in my dantian trembled violently and began devouring every trace of residual energy from the stones I had collected.
“Kh...”
A crushing wave of force slammed into me, bringing a sharp pain with it.
And then, in that same instant.
Kwaaaaaaang—!
An explosive surge of energy erupted from deep within the cave. The powerful wave of the Illusion Gate shook the air, and the atmosphere grew heavy and still.
“Good heavens...”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon, staring into the depths of the cave, went rigid.
Fear seeped into his expression.