The Hidden Sanctuary
Following the weasel's guidance, we flew swiftly toward the mountain range northwest of the highlands.
The fluttering snow began to fall heavier and heavier, until it became difficult to even keep our eyes open.
At this rate, tracking the monkey was out of the question; we had to worry about our own survival first.
Yet the weasel seemed entirely unaffected. He kept his Divine Sense spread wide, staring straight ahead without a single tremor.
The surrounding scenery blurred past us. Then, the weasel slowly spoke.
"Below us. Lower your altitude."
Following his instruction, we gradually descended and spotted a dead monkey. It was half-buried in the snow. Bruises covered its body, as if it had tumbled down the slopes multiple times.
"It possesses a faint trace of monster qi. Is this the one?"
Dang Sobaek drew closer to inspect it. Realistically speaking, monkeys all looked remarkably similar, making it difficult to judge by appearance alone.
However...
"It is not."
It lacked the creature's distinct scent of sulfur, and its monster qi was far too weak.
"Hmm... I see."
The weasel examined the monkey briefly before sweeping it into his spatial storage artifact.
"What are you doing?"
"Has it not become difficult to obtain monster beasts? Though it is somewhat regrettable, the corpse is well-preserved. Above all, it seems untouched by that wretched face-spider, so it will serve as an excellent ingredient for alchemy."
Though the concept of refining pills from a corpse was difficult to fully embrace, Sobaek simply nodded.
Had the creature been alive, it would be a different story, but he had no intention of arguing over the utility of a corpse. Moreover, it was merely the carcass of a beast.
No matter how brief their acquaintance had been, it was self-evident that one could never survive in a dog-eat-dog world by harboring such trivial sentimentality.
Furthermore, Dang Sobaek possessed only a handful of knowledge regarding the cultivation world. He assumed the weasel took it simply because it was useful.
Jim-i, who had been looking elsewhere for a moment, tilted her head in confusion. She was likely bewildered by the sudden disappearance of the corpse.
"Mian?"
Dang Sobaek did not bother telling her the truth. Sometimes, ignorance was indeed bliss.
Just then—
Rumble—!
The ground suddenly began to vibrate.
An avalanche triggered in the distance, and massive trees snapped and collapsed with deafening cracks.
Sobaek quickly spread his wings and took to the sky. It seemed to be an earthquake. Such occurrences were common on Gwisu Island, so it was hardly a cause for alarm.
They ventured deeper. It appeared the monkeys had traveled along this path; carcasses littered the area.
"..."
Most were the handiwork of the face-spider. Their chests were hollowed out, or they had already been turned into hosts.
Though he was somewhat concerned about Jim-i's state of mind, there was no better candidate for the task, so he had her burn them all.
At this point, the chances of the monkey beast—even with its unique supernatural abilities—being alive were slim.
The weasel's expression grew increasingly grim.
"This is a massive headache. If that wench fully resurrects, a massacre will ensue."
"A massacre? Why would she bother with something so troublesome?"
"It is simply her nature. In the past, half of Gwisu Island was overrun by her offspring. It only stopped because your mother intervened. Now that there is no one to stand in her way, it will be far worse."
It seemed reproduction itself was her primal instinct.
Back when Sobaek had his first flight training under Mother Jimjo.
A constant stream of hostility—no, pure murderous intent—had drifted from the southern wetlands.
He had not thought much of it then, but hearing the weasel's words, it finally made sense.
I think I understand now.
From the face-spider's perspective, the Jimjo were the mortal enemies who had slaughtered her offspring.
There was likely no grand righteous cause behind Mother Jimjo's actions.
It was merely their respective circumstances.
Or perhaps, nothing more than instinct.
He had already intended to eliminate her, but now he felt the need to be thorough. He had no intention of merely managing her population with half-hearted measures like Mother Jimjo had. There was no need to leave behind future troubles. Pulling up the weeds by their roots—uprooting the evil entirely—was the correct path.
Suddenly, Jim-i surged forward like an arrow. Sobaek hastily followed her. Immediately after, a brilliant flash of light erupted from the mountainside.
"Ugh."
It was so sudden that reacting was nearly impossible. Sobaek winced, his vision momentarily blinded by the glare.
The weasel gasped in astonishment.
"A Grotto-Heaven?"
"What is that?"
"If you are curious, learn some manners first, you wretched brat."
Jim-il had asked, but the weasel clearly had no intention of answering him. Jim-i, of course, did not care in the slightest. Only Dang Sobaek understood what a secret realm or grotto-heaven implied.
After learning the human script, however crudely.
He had once re-examined the library inside the magatama—the spatial storage artifact—that the monkey beast had given him. Most of the texts were written in characters he had never seen before and could not decipher, but there was a single book written in the human language.
It was nothing grand.
It merely contained basic common knowledge about the cultivation world and brief explanations of cultivation realms.
Within its pages, the concepts of secret realms and grotto-heavens were described.
A secret realm, simply put, referred to a pocket world or a specific location left behind by a senior cultivator.
A grotto-heaven was a unique region overflowing with spiritual energy, making it exceptionally suited for cultivation. It was said that cultivation sects and prestigious clans usually established their bases in such places.
If the weasel's words were true, this could well be considered a fortuitous encounter.
Heading toward the source of the light, they discovered a cave. A massive boulder stood beside it, roughly matching the size of the entrance.
As Jim-i mindlessly tried to step inside, the weasel blocked her path and brought them to a halt.
"Wait a moment. There is something inside."
The weasel frowned, concentrating his consciousness for a long moment. However, he seemed unable to perceive anything clearly. It was the same for Dang Sobaek. It felt as though they were drifting through an empty void.
"...Spells have been cast upon this place. Some of them seem to have unraveled. It appears to have been someone's immortal cave dwelling. What shall we do?"
The spiritual energy wafting from within was three to four times denser than outside. A place like this would be of immense help in healing his core.
He fell into contemplation.
Though he still possessed a spiritual fruit he had hidden from the weasel, that alone was not enough to guarantee a full recovery. Right now, he needed to take the risk, even if he knew the dangers.
Furthermore...
"We enter."
From deep within the cave, he caught the distinct scent of sulfur that belonged to the monkey beast.
It was worth investigating.
The moment they stepped inside the cave, the air shifted entirely. It was practically sultry. Turning back to look at the entrance, the heavy snow was still falling outside.
It did not seem to be solely due to the spells cast upon the dwelling.
Dang Sobaek deduced the reason without much difficulty.
There is lava flowing beneath us.
Which meant...
This was a volcano.
Drip. Drip.
The temperature difference was so stark that water vapor condensed on the ceiling and dripped onto the floor.
The weasel was also looking around in wonder.
"Indeed. Just as I have heard, the spiritual energy is densely concentrated. Cultivating in a place like this would make advancing one's realm far easier."
"So this is your first time as well."
"...Quiet."
At Dang Sobaek's remark, Jim-il and Jim-i chimed in.
"Mian?"
"And here you were, acting so high and mighty."
Perhaps he had developed an immunity to their teasing by now, as the weasel simply let it go in one ear and out the other, looking only slightly embarrassed.
Well, it was understandable. Where else on this island would one ever stumble upon another cultivator's dwelling?
The vast majority of monster beasts were mere brutes who had not even unlocked intelligence or speech. Even Mother Jimjo, who was far stronger than this weasel, had never practiced a proper monster cultivation technique.
Those who had walked the path of cultivation on Gwisu Island could likely be counted on one hand throughout its entire history.
The deeper they went, the richer the spiritual energy became. Just breathing felt as though it were healing his core.
He could not help but wonder what lay at the very depths.
Just then—
"Wait!"
The weasel suddenly came to a dead stop.
"What is it?"
"A fork in the road."
Indeed. Just as he said, a little further in, the path split in two. There was no telling which way they should go.
The weasel conjured lightning at his fingertips and hurled it down both paths. The surroundings lit up instantly.
The lightning penetrated deep into the tunnels before suddenly fizzling out.
"So, which way do we go?"
"Regrettably, even I do not know. It seems spells are woven throughout this entire dwelling..."
"It must be some kind of formation."
"At least we can be glad it is not an offensive spell designed to eliminate intruders. Well, had it been such a thing, I would have noticed it long ago."
Judging by how their Divine Sense could not be properly projected inside the cave, it was likely a spell designed to obscure perception and block the senses.
While Sobaek was contemplating a way to break through—
"I think we should go that way."
Jim-il pointed to the right. Jim-i nodded in agreement.
"Your reason?"
"I smell you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"There is a unique poison scent that comes only from you. I can sense it coming from the right path."
Dang Sobaek knew well enough that different poisons carried different scents. The Tang Clan even possessed tracking techniques based on this very principle.
However...
Why?
Why would they smell his scent inside this cave?
"Are you certain?"
"Positive."
Yet, no matter how confident the two of them were, moving forward without clear evidence was dangerous.
Jim-i whimpered, looking as if she had something she desperately wanted to say.
She paced around him in frantic circles. Then, she plucked a single feather from Dang Sobaek's body with her beak.
A feather...?
Dang Sobaek pondered for a moment.
Could it be?
His thoughts turned to his feathers.
Just before parting ways with the monkey beast.
He had given it one of his feathers as a gift.
He had done so because the unique scent of a Jimjo's feather would deter most ordinary beasts from approaching it.
If my guess is correct, the monkey beast might be down that path.
Dang Sobaek briefly explained what had transpired to the weasel.
"Of course, it might not be the case. Do you still intend to go?"
"Did you think we would turn back?"
"No. It is just..."
He simply felt an ominous foreboding.
"Do not worry. I checked to see if any other spells were active, but I felt nothing. The spiritual energy is simply denser there than elsewhere."
If so, that was fortunate, but when did things ever go exactly as planned?
Still...
"Very well."
If the monkey beast had indeed been turned into a host for the face-spider...
I must slay it without fail.
He had to press on, even if it meant ignoring his intuition.
With the weasel leading the way, they entered the right path of the fork.
The ceiling was quite high, allowing them to fly swiftly. As they flew, a bizarre sound echoed from ahead.
Kik. Kiiiiik—!
It was a distorted, unnatural screech.
And it was not just one or two.
"At least ten. Perhaps more!"
At Dang Sobaek's shout, the weasel immediately formed hand seals and unleashed a spell.
Mok-won: Wood Circle
In an instant, trees erupted from the stone floor, intertwining with one another to form a sturdy defensive wall.
And then—
Boom—!
A fist-sized sphere of spiritual energy flew from the front and collided with the barrier. Splinters of wood scattered in all directions. Since they had prepared in advance, they sustained no damage.
However, the real problem lay ahead.
A moment later, the enemies shrouded in the darkness revealed themselves.
They were monkeys.
Monkeys that had already been corrupted by the face-spider.
Some had their heads twisted completely backward, while others had their faces replaced by the grotesque visage of a spider.
It was a grotesque sight.
But Sobaek did not care about their appearance. He had seen far worse horrors in his past life.
The issue was their numbers.
A total of five monkeys emerged from the shadows.
If attacks like the previous one were unleashed in rapid succession, it would be difficult to counter them in this narrow space.
The Jimjo were birds.
No matter how high the ceiling was, there were limits to their aerial maneuverability.
At that moment, the weasel stepped forward.
Crunch! Crackle!
With each step he took, deep footprints were carved into the stone floor, as if he were executing a heavy martial stomp.
Even the mindless monkeys recoiled in instinctual fear.
At the same time, fierce arcs of lightning crackled and surged across the weasel's entire body.
"Keep your eyes wide open and watch closely. This will be an excellent lesson. I shall take this opportunity to show you exactly what kind of power your future master possesses."