Pride and Sloth (3)
The fog still hadn't lifted.
The curtain surrounding Gwilyeongsan was so thick and sticky that it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
Within it, something was stirring.
The mountain's pulse.
It wasn't merely the breathing of the earth.
An ancient conception.
An existence too powerful and alien to be called life.
A supernatural product born from the collision of heavenly and earthly energies.
It was the purest of energies, yet also a treasure that summoned countless desires.
"Divine beasts are like natural enemies to yokai, but it's a different story if it's a newborn."
The yokai instinctively knew.
What was about to be born, and how much power it would bring.
A divine beast is born with an inner core.
Absorbing it would grant immense energy in an instant.
Even a low-level yokai could become a great yokai that shakes heaven and earth.
That's why things that normally wouldn't show themselves were gathering so openly.
"Where desires gather, blood always flows."
Seomun Hwan was no exception.
What use was knowing the greatest martial arts in the world?
Without absolute internal energy, he couldn't use them.
But if he obtained the inner core, the story would change.
"Creating an opportunity is a skill, and seizing it when it rolls your way is the Dao."
He had rushed here because of his father's danger, but in the end, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
"Hongran. I have a task for you."
"Command me as you will."
"I must go to the mountain. More yokai may come, so protect my father and the others until dawn."
"As you command."
Hongran signaled, and the elite members of Haomun scattered throughout the village.
Quite agile.
They seemed to have mastered the martial arts he taught and become at least twice as strong in a short time.
At that level, there was no need to worry for a night.
"Well then... shall I get moving too?"
Seomun Hwan used his lightness skill and moved to the mountain in an instant.
The moment he set foot at the base, he could feel the flow of energy intensifying.
"Is it about to awaken? I timed it perfectly."
From beneath the earth, from above the sky, an unknown spiritual energy was gathering, writhing.
Its center was deep within Gwilyeongsan.
"No ordinary creature. Among divine beasts, it's top-tier. If it's born with this kind of presence... could it be a dragon?"
With this level of earthly reaction, it could be a sacred being born from the primordial veins, or a monster on par with one.
At that moment, he felt countless gazes.
Gazes of desire writhing in the darkness of Gwilyeongsan.
Yokai.
They too knew.
How tremendous the value of what was about to awaken was.
So it was only natural they didn't welcome uninvited guests.
The gathered yokai instantly surrounded Seomun Hwan.
Even though yokai filled every direction, Seomun Hwan remained relaxed.
"Why? Planning to attack?"
The yokai showed their answer through action instead of words.
Crack!
The sound of a dry branch snapping somewhere served as the signal, and shadows rushed in from all sides.
Kuaaaaaah!
Unidentified beasts,
Half-human, half-beast forms.
Winged ghosts.
Headless wraiths.
Vicious shapes born from blood and ash poured down like a waterfall, collapsing the mountainside.
What reached him first was the energy the yokai emitted.
Demonic qi.
A chilling, thorn-sharp, swamp-sticky and sinister energy.
The wrath of those who had swallowed death.
The coldness of beings that should never have been born.
Malice that denied living souls.
Unorthodox yokai energy.
It was completely different from mere killing intent.
Killing intent was the will to 'kill you,' whereas yokai energy was the totality of desire to 'complete myself by killing you.'
'Quite prickly.'
A sensation as if his skin was rotting.
His qi flow scattered on its own, and even breathing became suffocating fear.
Exposure to yokai energy rotted the skin and flesh, gradually contaminating the mind.
Not just the body, but the mind was in danger too.
It sank into oblivion, and the fear in one's heart seeped into the bones, eventually leading one to deny one's own existence.
Even Peak masters, no, even Transcendent experts would struggle against this number of yokai surging like a wave.
Seomun Hwan spoke calmly.
"You lot are unlucky."
His gaze toward the yokai shone calmly like moonlight.
"I am originally a spellcaster."
Not just any spellcaster, but the greatest spellcaster of all time.
An existence that had reached the pinnacle that neither cloud-wandering Taoists nor world-transcending monks could attain.
He was more confident than anyone in subduing ghosts, wraiths, and yokai.
Placing his hand on the hilt of the soft sword at his waist, he took a gentle step forward.
"I don't have any treasures, but this sword should suffice."
In the next moment, as the sword flashed and cleaved the air, a spell was inscribed in the void with a single stroke.
Whoosh!
The soft sword sliced through the air as if cutting it, and along its trajectory, a blue spell ignited.
The forms of yokai flying like arrows melted away with smoke, like flesh touched by salt.
Swoooosh!!
[Kuaaaargh!]
[Kyaaaaah!!]
Their bodies twisted, and without even screaming, the yokai began to fade like bubbles.
Faced with this overwhelming power, the other yokai that luckily survived froze in place.
He had only swung his sword once, but that trajectory was both a spell formation and a suppression zone for evil spirits.
"For things that live in shadows, burning the shadows is enough."
Seomun Hwan lightly spun the soft sword again and flicked his finger.
Snap!
As the sound rang like thunder, the ground beneath the yokai began to boil like a volcano.
By the time the yokai sensed something was wrong, intense pillars of flame erupted from beneath their feet and swallowed them.
Fwoooosh!!
Fire possessed purifying properties.
It was the antithesis of yokai.
As dozens of yokai turned to ash at once, the other yokai dared not approach and began trembling in the darkness again.
Seomun Hwan was about to flick his finger again to wipe them out when he lowered his sword as if his interest had waned.
"Tsk! Nothing but low-level yokai pushed out of power struggles?"
Whether human or yokai, only one could claim the divine beast.
Near Mujuhyeol where the divine beast would be born, a truly powerful great yokai would have taken its place.
The low-level yokai here were merely circling Gwilyeongsan, drooling in vain.
"No time to brawl with small fry. If you don't want to be annihilated, get out of the way."
Wooong!
As he swung his sword again, the yokai blocking the path split to both sides.
"Annoying pests."
Seomun Hwan's footsteps reached the middle of Gwilyeongsan.
The thick fog still lingered, but the density of energy was growing thicker.
The earth's veins were surging, and even the wind felt heavy with spiritual energy.
"This area is unusual."
Seomun Hwan paused for a moment and surveyed his surroundings.
Soon, he discovered something alien.
"A formation?"
Things hidden between rock crevices and among ancient trees caught his eye.
It was a position ordinary people wouldn't notice, but Seomun Hwan's eyes were different.
On tattered cloth hanging from an ancient tree was drawn a complex talisman pattern, and on the rocks flowed a faint formation energy with a dark red glow.
On the ground were traces of something buried, along with remnants of an altar that seemed to have been smoking until just moments ago.
Seomun Hwan slowly bent down and peeled off the talisman stuck to the rock.
The paper was still damp, and the ink's energy hadn't completely dried.
"It hasn't been set up long."
This was a sophisticated spell device combined with advanced Qimen formations.
A design that gathered spiritual energy and drew it to a specific point.
Moreover, instead of suppressing that energy, it stimulated and encouraged it to awaken.
"It means someone already knew about the divine beast's birth and prepared for it."
Seomun Hwan slowly twirled the talisman between his fingers and narrowed his eyes.
"Whoever it is, they're quite skilled."
The precision of the design, the binding of the talismans, even the flow of the formation.
Seomun Hwan was impressed for the first time in a while.
"Is there a spellcaster of this caliber in the present age?"
When a divine beast was born, it wasn't only yokai who targeted it.
Human greed was no different.
And this was clearly a spell with intent beyond mere greed.
"...A formation to attract yokai."
The area around Gwilyeongsan was teeming with all sorts of evil spirits and sinister beings.
It was natural for the energies to become unstable when a divine beast was about to be born, but this level far exceeded common sense.
The reason was the influence of the formation installed on the mountain.
"They knew the divine beast would be born and prepared, but they deliberately gathered this many with the formation."
Seomun Hwan examined the traces of the altar on the rock.
Burnt incense, a bowl with dried beast blood. The spellwork was delicate, yet absurdly violent.
Rather than stabilizing the divine beast's energy, it stimulated and shook it.
That meant...
"Reversing Heaven."
The moment of a divine beast's birth was the most unstable.
If the surrounding energies fluctuated too violently, its originally pure energy would be disturbed, and in severe cases, the being in the process of awakening could mutate.
"So... that was the goal."
A cold smile formed on Seomun Hwan's lips.
"They didn't want a pure divine beast. They wanted to corrupt it into a demonic beast."
The yokai coveting the divine beast's pure inner core had been drawn by greed, but the master of this formation was different.
"They want a weapon they can control."
Seomun Hwan rolled the talisman caught between his fingers for a moment before tearing it apart with force.
Rip!
A heavy ripple spread outward.
The moment the talisman tore, the hidden energy knot unraveled, and the surroundings shook as if a crouching beast was rising.
"Now it's revealing itself."
A faint energy spread along the mountain's veins.
Following that flow, the existence of the one who orchestrated this slowly came to light.
Energies numbering well over dozens.
"More than I expected."
The people arranged in a circle below the middle of the mountain weren't ordinary martial artists moving carelessly.
Body markings, unified black uniforms, and the energy they emitted.
Even hidden, the distinctive killing intent and the sinister aura unique to heterodox sects could be felt.
"Who are they?"
Contrary to expectations, they weren't Heavenly Demon Cult members.
But they were a group just as powerful.
"Could they be the ones who attacked the Black Dragon Faction before?"
The spellcraft they used was astonishing.
Not merely at the level of scattering energy, but enough to manipulate the divine beast's awakening.
Even Seomun Hwan couldn't help but admire the principle of this spell that lured yokai while subtly controlling the flow of spiritual veins.
"Is there anyone left in the present age who can wield this level of spellcraft?"
Seomun Hwan slightly narrowed his eyes.
In his past life, there had been others besides himself who handled spells, but all were at a trivial level.
But the spellcraft these people used—wasn't it on par with his own realm?
"Interesting."
Seomun Hwan closed his eyes briefly before slowly opening them, gazing down at the remnants of the talisman fluttering in the wind.
His gaze shone coldly.
"No matter how elaborately built a dam, it can collapse from a single tiny crack."
Seomun Hwan muttered lowly while slowly scattering the talisman's remnants with his fingers.
"Even a barrier built over months of effort is ultimately for the yokai. They couldn't have accounted for a variable like me."
A faint blue energy seeped from his fingertips.
The delicate yet sharp energy spread along the barrier inscribed between rocks and ancient trees.
Without a single inch of error, it precisely targeted only the barrier's vital points and subtly twisted them.
As if planting small cracks.
Crackle crackle!
The spell gradually spread, gnawing at the barrier.
The long-quiet flow of the barrier began to undulate like waves.
Like a leak seeping from the bottom of a dam, invisible cracks grew larger and larger.
Eventually...
Crack!
A low bursting sound emerged, as if the barrier was crying out while holding its breath.
For a brief moment, the barrier's pressure loosened.
The yokai wouldn't miss that opening.
[Kuaoooooooh!]
Demonic qi that had been suppressed from all directions exploded outward.
The yokai hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity, finally sensed the barrier's weakening and threw themselves forward all at once.
Dozens, hundreds of yokai charged as if unleashing their long-suppressed instincts.
A black wave surged toward the mountainside.
"Kh! What the—why is the barrier like this?!"
One person on guard grabbed a barrier stone and shouted.
But there was no time to answer.
Black shadows were already bearing down on them.
Kwaaaang!!
The first wave reached the cultists.
Blood and demonic qi mixed, splitting the air, and the yokai's sharp claws tore through the cultists' armor, splattering blood.
"Don't just stand there! Restore the barrier first!!"
The one who appeared to be the commander bellowed.
The others soon began their counterattack.
They were by no means a sloppy group.
Shiiik!
Zap!
Swords flashed like lightning, cutting down yokai.
Some cultists used spells combining evil arts and poison to seal the yokai's movements, while the barrier restoration team desperately tried to close the gaps by inscribing spirit blood on the shaking Qimen stones.
"Hoh! They channel their inner force into their swords? These are truly interesting fellows."
A relaxed smile formed on Seomun Hwan's lips as he looked down at the scene from afar.
Channeling inner force into attacks made them more specialized against yokai.
Even at the same level, they would show several times the efficiency in anti-yokai combat.
However...
"Even if they hold out, holes have already formed in the barrier."
Seomun Hwan lightly spun the soft sword and hung it at his waist.
The barrier hadn't completely collapsed, but what he needed now wasn't a total collapse.
Just a gap he could pass through was enough.
Crunch! Crackle!
From afar, the barrier's vital points shook, and bursting sounds continued.
The Heavenly Demon Cult cultists struggled desperately to close the gaps, but with yokai constantly attacking and holding the front lines, they were overwhelmed.
Pa-ba-bat!
Seomun Hwan activated his lightness skill, his body cutting through the fog as he advanced.
Seomun Hwan's presence melted perfectly into the fog.
Kwaaaang!
Behind him, the clash between yokai and cultists erupted, shaking Gwilyeongsan.
But Seomun Hwan moved through the commotion too naturally, too easily, passing through the barrier and heading toward the heart of Gwilyeongsan.
"Let's see what kind of bastards they are."