Chapter 61: Flags (3)
-Mortal, you're really…
Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue.
She had wondered why he was joining as a teammate when it didn't suit him.
But to think he had this kind of plan.
-Did you intend this from the beginning?
"How could I miss such a convenient opportunity?"
Mok Gyeong-un smiled and approached the last remaining person, no, corpse.
That corpse was the girl named Sohwa, the first one whose neck Mok Gyeong-un had twisted.
Mok Gyeong-un placed his hand on the girl's head and chanted the oral secrets of the Art of Binding technique in his mind, absorbing the remaining death energy.
-Whoosh!
The absorbed death energy spread throughout his body.
Directly absorbing it like this allowed him to secure a larger amount compared to when it tried to disperse into the air during the iron ball struggle.
However,
'I should go in order of who died first from now on.'
Absorbing in the order of who was closest resulted in a significant loss of Sohwa's death energy.
It hadn't completely disappeared, but it was less compared to the others.
'Still, not bad.'
He had already secured a much larger amount of death energy than at Yeon Mok Sword Manor.
If he could just remove the Forbidden Gate Lock inserted in his qi channels, he could greatly expand his danjeon through qi circulation.
"Seems like coming here was a good choice."
-Good choice? Don't tell me…
At that moment, the sound of someone's presence was heard from somewhere.
-Rustle!
Soon, someone revealed themselves.
It was a boy.
Seeing the boy approach with familiar eyes, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said,
"You could have just killed him, but you possessed him?"
"I thought it might be necessary, so I brought him."
As soon as he finished speaking,
-Thud!
the boy's body collapsed, and the blurry form of the evil spirit appeared.
Mok Gyeong-un said with satisfaction,
"Thank you very much."
He had ordered one thing, but to have his intentions understood like this.
He couldn't be anything but an excellent familiar.
Mok Gyeong-un approached the fallen boy.
After twisting the boy's neck, he absorbed the death energy.
It didn't take long.
Having finished all this, Mok Gyeong-un stretched his muscles with a refreshed expression.
"Phew. Feels good."
-Mortal. What do you intend to do?
"What do you mean?"
-From the looks of it, you don't seem like you'll be satisfied with just these guys.
At Cheong-ryeong's words, Mok Gyeong-un smiled.
Then, looking up at the mountain, he said,
"I should have a delightful mealtime until dawn. As much as possible."
Anyway, according to the passing criteria, as long as he left at most seven people, that should be enough.
...
A damp and dark cave at the foot of the mountain.
-Sizzle!
The demon mask walked in with two warriors holding torches.
As soon as they entered the cave, the expressions of the two warriors stiffened.
That's because from the moment they entered the cave, a strange energy stimulated their qi sense.
It was quite different from human presence or energy.
It was unpleasant and gave them goosebumps.
'It's suffocating.'
That was the state of mind of the two warriors.
However, the demon mask entered deeper as if he was used to it.
As he did so, a voice came from deep within the cave.
"Are you the Valley Master of the Corpse Blood Valley?"
"That's right."
"The fire is bright."
At the voice coming from inside, the demon mask signaled the two warriors to stop.
"What?"
"You two wait here."
"But…"
"Wait."
"Yes, sir!"
Leaving them behind, the demon mask went deeper into the cave alone.
Inside, someone wearing a taoist robe with yin and yang symbols was standing.
As if he had been waiting, he clasped his hands together and bowed his head.
"You've come?"
The demon mask asked him,
"Are the preparations done?"
"Is there even a need to ask?"
"What is it this time? I heard they're quite dangerous compared to last time."
At these words, the man in the taoist robe smiled and replied,
"Of course they're dangerous if released carelessly."
"I suppose so. Are they the ones behind the iron bars?"
"That's right."
At the answer of the man in the taoist robe, the demon mask looked back.
But a strange sound came from there.
-Oink oink!
'Hmm.'
It sounded like a pig's cry.
There's no way there would actually be pigs, so what could they look like?
The demon mask was curious and tried to peek at where the iron bars were.
Then the man in the taoist robe blocked him and said,
"It's better not to approach too closely. No matter how controlled they are, even those who haven't reached maturity are fierce beasts."
"Fierce beasts…"
Beasts beyond beasts, was it?
The demon mask looked behind the man in the taoist robe.
There, something dangerous with rat-like eyes was staring intently at him.
"What did you call that thing?"
"It's a Gal-jeo. Brought from the Northern Sea near Mount Beihu."
Gal-jeo…
Even the name sounded ominous.
The demon mask turned around and said,
"Alright. Release them when you see the signal."
...
Half an hour had passed since the flag defense battle began.
The mountain was vast, and perhaps because the flags were meticulously hidden, no one had discovered them yet.
But there was someone who found it first.
It was the boy from the Esoteric Realm Gate.
The boy's name was Yeon Woo-ung, and as soon as he found the flag, he ran towards it with excitement.
'Found it!'
If the flag had been a brighter color, it would have been easier to find, but the color was dark, and the location was cunningly concealed in the bushes, making it difficult to find.
But there was a reward for searching thoroughly without rest.
'The pole is quite long.'
Yeon Woo-ung, who had approached close to the flag, grabbed the pole.
It was to pull out the flag and secure a suitable location.
However,
'Huh?'
the flag, which he thought would be easy to pull out, wouldn't budge from the ground.
The pole itself wasn't that heavy, so why was that?
Puzzled, Yeon Woo-ung soon discovered the reason.
'What?'
The bottom of the flag was connected to a large lump of iron.
The size was quite big, and even for Yeon Woo-ung, who had trained external techniques and had muscular strength, it felt quite heavy to lift.
'Holding the pole and moving will be even heavier.'
In that case, he had to hold the iron lump at the bottom and move.
At first, he wondered why they had made the flag this way, but soon he thought it was rather fortunate.
If it was this heavy, it would be difficult for other guys to move the flag.
Since their internal energy was sealed.
'This gateway might be easier than expected.'
He thought that among those who found the flags, there would be some who maliciously try to eliminate other flags or seize them to reduce the number of people passing.
But if the flag was like this, it would be difficult to carry and move, so there would be few who would go to the trouble of seizing someone else's flag.
'Good. Then I need to gather teammates and defend the location.'
He just needed to endure until dawn.
Meanwhile,
On a mountain ridge 200 zhang northwest of where Yeon Woo-ung from the Esoteric Realm Gate was.
There was someone who had discovered another flag, albeit later.
She was none other than the girl from the Demon Fire Hall.
The girl's name was Mo Ha-rang.
"Ah…"
The joy of finding the flag was short-lived, and she too couldn't hide her perplexity upon seeing the iron lump connected to the bottom of the flag pole.
'Heavy.'
The iron lump was extremely heavy for her to lift.
It couldn't be helped since her qi channels were blocked, and the martial arts she had learned were based on swiftness, so her muscle mass wasn't thick, making it even more difficult.
'Moving is impossible.'
Even if she tried to secure a good location with the flag, she needed teammates.
Defending the flag alone was a difficult task.
'It would be nice if I could break the pole.'
[The flag must be in its complete state.]
There had been a warning beforehand, so the iron lump was also one with the flag.
In the end, the only answer was to wait.
However,
'Huh?'
Mo Ha-rang, who had been fiddling with the upper part of the flag pole by chance, frowned.
It was because something was engraved on the upper part of the flag.
Without holding a torch and only relying on the moonlight shining through the bushes, it was difficult to see with the naked eye, but,
-Rub rub!
when she touched it with her hand, she could roughly tell what was written.
'Yi Won Geom Se Ji Woo Yeok Hyeon… !?'
As she rubbed and deduced what the engraved text said, she could be certain.
It was the stance formula of a sword art.
And it was a bit different from ordinary sword arts.
'Could this be?'
If her guess was correct…
-Tap!
'Huh?'
Mo Ha-rang's eyes narrowed.
The oral secrets had ended.
Up to this point, one might not feel anything particularly strange, but it wasn't the case for her.
'Incomplete.'
In her view, the oral secrets were incomplete.
If it was the stance formula of a sword art, there was no way it would end here.
Most martial arts aim to effectively subdue and kill the opponent, but conversely, they also serve the purpose of protecting oneself.
Mo Ha-rang closed her eyes.
-Swish swish!
A sword art was visualized in her mind.
It was a bit lacking to be called an advanced sword art, but the sword techniques weren't bad.
However, according to these oral secrets, four gaps would be created.
It meant that there were exactly four spots that couldn't be blocked with the available sword techniques.
'… An incomplete sword art.'
This was strange.
If she wanted to overlook it, she could.
But they had engraved the oral secrets of a sword art on the flag pole right below the flag, which could be easily passed over without much thought.
Moreover, it was an incomplete set of oral secrets.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't help but be bothered by it if she just passed it by.
Then, she suddenly had this thought.
'Could it be?'
She hoped it wasn't the case, but she felt she had to check.
She boldly decided to give up the flag she had barely found.
Still, as if she had some lingering attachment, Mo Ha-rang stared at the flag for a while, then broke the upper part of the pole where the oral secrets were engraved.
-Snap!
'If it's not mine anyway.'
There was no need to let other guys have it.
Mo Ha-rang buried the broken upper part of the flag in the ground out of sight and ran.
About two hours had passed like that.
Unlike before, there were people who found flags here and there, and teams were formed.
And naturally, as intended in this gateway, there were also confrontations when two teams simultaneously discovered one flag.
The two teams fiercely fought a bloody battle to claim the flag.
Their internal energy was absent, so it was almost like a brawl, but in the end, the victor was decided.
"Huff huff…"
The winning teammates exhaled rough breaths, covered in blood.
They newly realized how difficult it was to fight without internal energy.
A boy barely got up and surveyed the surroundings.
'Ah…'
Out of the eight teammates, only five survived.
He had hoped no one would die, but that was just wishful thinking.
Fortunately, they had defended the flag, and they just needed to find three more teammates.
Whether that would be easy, he didn't know.
"What should we do?"
"We have to defend the flag and wait, right?"
"Of course. We might lose the flag if we wander around."
Everyone seemed to agree.
But one boy offered a different opinion.
"Wait a minute. If we just stay here and defend the flag, won't we be at a disadvantage if another intact team appears?"
"Ah…"
That made sense too.
It was truly a dilemma.
But they couldn't give up the flag they had barely claimed.
While they were thinking that,
"You found the flag?"
-Gasp!
Everyone's gaze turned to where the voice came from.
Seeing someone standing there, they tensed up for a moment but soon felt relieved.
It was because they saw only one person standing.
'Thank goodness.'
If it had been another intact team, they would have been in trouble.
As that one person approached and revealed his face, the expressions of the relieved teammates stiffened.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
The guy with the cruel hands, whom they were reluctant to accept as a teammate, had appeared.
"Stop right there! Don't move! Who are you?"
A boy stopped Mok Gyeong-un from approaching and asked.
"Who, you ask?"
"Didn't you join the team with some woman?"
This boy had seen Mok Gyeong-un join the team with Sohwa, the sole girl.
That's why he was asking this.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un made a regretful expression and said,
"Ah. They were all defeated."
"Defeated?"
"Yes."
Mok Gyeong-un moved his eyes, glanced at the corpses around, and casually said,
"Our team also fought another team over the flag, like you guys, and they were all defeated, so I barely escaped."
"You escaped alone?"
"Yes. With my tired body, I couldn't face four of them alone."
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, the boys looked at him with suspicious eyes.
But it wasn't just suspicion.
They had just experienced a similar situation, so they thought it could certainly happen.
To them, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a gentle voice,
"Since we both lost teammates, I think we fit together, so if it's not a burden, could you accept me?"
"…"
They hesitated at this proposal.
The reason they didn't accept him as a teammate in the first place was because he was creepy.
That wariness wouldn't easily dissipate.
So they whispered cautiously and discussed among themselves.
"What should we do?"
"That guy is a bit weird. Should we just let him go?"
"But then what about the flag? It's barely been two hours."
There were still more than two hours left until dawn.
If other guys attacked during that time, they would inevitably lose the flag.
Then they would have to find a flag again, but it would be difficult with just five people.
"… Let's accept him."
"Accept him?"
"Yeah. Anyway, even that guy knows that we have to cooperate to pass this gateway, right?"
"Well, that's true. Because eight people are needed to pass."
No matter how reckless he was, he would still think.
That they had to join forces and defend this flag to pass this gateway.
Considering this, no matter how much of a troublemaker he was, he absolutely couldn't harm them.
Having become convinced like this, one of the boys said to Mok Gyeong-un,
"Alright. But remember, until dawn, we are one. If we betray each other, we're dead. Keep that in mind."
At the boy's words, Mok Gyeong-un nodded.
But his lips were twitching as if holding back laughter.
'Ah. This is too good.'
It felt like they were setting the table for him.
Chapter 62: Flags (4)
A dead boy's head was grasped by Mok Gyeong-un as he performed the Ritual of Binding.
Not long after, he absorbed all the remaining death qi from the boy.
'Nice.'
Mok Gyeong-un smiled.
He had absorbed the death qi of a whopping 16 people.
Even without sealing his meridians to gather it in his dantian, his entire body's blood vessels were brimming with qi.
He seemed to be quite lucky.
11 of them had died fighting each other from the start, and the remaining five were considerably fatigued.
As a result, he could kill them without exerting much effort.
"How convenient."
– Those fools have made a foolish move.
Cheong-ryeong agreed with Mok Gyeong-un's words.
Thanks to them sealing everyone's meridians with the Geummunsoe, it became advantageous for Mok Gyeong-un.
If they were in a situation where they could use their internal energy, it would have been difficult to kill the boys in this manner.
But thanks to that, he was easily securing death qi.
'Well, if they're going to die competing with each other anyway, it's better for them to become the death qi of that guy.'
After all, she was a vengeful spirit.
As such, she didn't particularly feel pity.
Besides, in a place where people were killing each other to pass through the barrier, it was meaningless to dwell on such matters.
– By the way, I suppose that must be the flag.
"Indeed."
Mok Gyeong-un set down the severed head and approached the flag.
Although he had no intention of claiming the flag yet, his gaze was inevitably drawn to it as it was the objective of this barrier.
– What will you do with the flag? If you're not going to take it now, break it and throw it away.
"I should."
– Or it might be more convenient to carry one around in advance for later.
"That's not a bad idea either."
As he said that, Mok Gyeong-un reached to grab the flagpole but then stared intently at something.
Even though his internal energy was sealed, his five senses were far more developed than ordinary people.
– What is it?
"There's something written right below the flag, near the base of the pole."
– What does it say?
"Hmm. 'Three Forms Sword Technique, Breakthrough the Haze with Sword Light'…"
As Cheong-ryeong heard the mnemonic Mok Gyeong-un was reading, she immediately realized what it was.
– That… is a mnemonic for sword technique stances.
"Sword technique? Hearing it, it does seem that way."
Mok Gyeong-un agreed as it was a mnemonic describing sword stances.
"But why would such a thing be written here?"
– Read the rest.
"'Unattached Thread Connects, Sword and Man as One, Spirit Moves Unhindered'…"
As he continued reading, Mok Gyeong-un said:
"That's it."
– What? That's it?
Cheong-ryeong questioned, and Mok Gyeong-un asked as if puzzled:
"Is there a problem?"
– The stances seem to be cut off midway.
"Cut off midway?"
– Yes. If these are the only stances, then the Gokji, Sinju, Gonryun, and Wijung acupoints would have gaps.
"So it's an incomplete set of stances?"
– It doesn't seem like that's the case. Rather than an advanced sword technique, seeing how it focuses on the fundamentals and the stances don't overlap…
"Seeing how?"
– It seems like it was created for a sword formation.
"A sword formation, like arranging swords in a formation?"
– Yes. But with only these stances, the weaknesses are glaringly obvious, so even if you make a sword formation, it would be shoddily put together.
"Shoddily put together? Ha. What an interesting expression."
– I didn't say it to be interesting. In any case, there must be a reason for deliberately writing an incomplete sword technique here.
Mok Gyeong-un nodded in agreement with Cheong-ryeong's opinion.
Just as the steel marbles had numbers engraved on them, this was likely a hidden task of the barrier.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been intently staring at the mnemonic, said:
"There may be more to these flags than meets the eye."
– Didn't they say there were forty?
"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about types."
– Types?
"Yes. Could there possibly be other flags with the remaining stances written on them?"
– Oho. That's quite a plausible idea.
This time, Cheong-ryeong agreed with Mok Gyeong-un's words.
It was quite likely.
– If, as you say, the stances hidden on the flags are of two types, then those who discover this will inevitably try to find other flags rather than just defending their own.
"I think the same."
Two types of flags.
It didn't end with just finding one flag.
In the end, having eight people stay at the flag location until dawn was just the visible task, and the hidden task seemed to be completing the divided sword stances.
"Interesting."
It was inciting a fight in one way or another.
Those who didn't notice this would simply end it like that, but any slightly meticulous fellows would make a move to aim for the other flags.
The conclusion was that Mok Gyeong-un also had to find one flag of the other type.
And naturally, seven teammates had to be with that flag.
– It's gotten a bit tricky.
"But now that we know how it works, we'll have to select accordingly."
As he said that, Mok Gyeong-un snapped the flagpole with the mnemonic written on it using one hand.
– Crack!
As Cheong-ryeong had said earlier, it was to dispose of the flag.
But at the moment he broke it,
– Flinch!
Mok Gyeong-un frowned while looking at the flag.
"Hah…"
– What's wrong?
"There was spell power imbued in the flagpole."
– Spell power?
Spell power.
It literally refers to the power of spells or techniques.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had become more sensitive to various types of qi after absorbing death qi with reverse cycling and learning spells, felt it.
However, Cheong-ryeong, who was inside a wooden puppet and unable to sense spell power, asked:
– Could it be a trap?
"It doesn't seem like that."
If it were a trap, the spell power would have remained intact.
But the fact that the spell power disappeared the moment the flagpole was broken meant that,
– Piiiiiii!
Just then, a sound like a horn echoed throughout the entire mountain.
Judging from the regularity of the sound, it seemed like a signal.
– Kkukukukuk!
Hearing this, Mok Gyeong-un lightly crushed the broken flagpole with one hand and muttered:
"There must be something else besides this."
...
Not far away.
At a place where a flag was planted on a mountain ridge, another battle for the flag was about to unfold.
A group of eight who had discovered it first was trying to defend the flag, while a group that arrived later was attempting to seize it from them.
The group of eight defending the flag here was none other than those led by a boy named Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley.
– Thwack!
"Ugh!"
A boy who was hit by Yeom Ga's swift kick was sent flying backward.
'Shit. He's too strong.'
The boy who was knocked back thought in dismay as he recovered.
Since internal energy was banned, he thought they could somewhat evenly match those from Vermilion Slaughter Valley.
However, their fundamentals were on a different level.
It seemed they had diligently trained in external techniques as well, as the power of the kick was no ordinary matter.
'No wonder they're from Vermilion Slaughter Valley.'
He started to think they might have picked the wrong opponent.
The other guys seemed somewhat manageable, but,
– Thud! Thud!
"Ack!"
Unfortunately, there wasn't much difference.
Anyone could see they were being pushed back.
They were no match from the beginning.
Even Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley seemed to realize the difference in skill level as he gestured and taunted:
"Hey. If you're going to charge in, at least show some persistence."
'shit!'
They were angry but couldn't do anything about it.
– Crack!
"Kuk!"
"No!"
One of the boys had his neck broken by a boy from Yeom Ga's group and was defeated.
Not much time had passed since they charged in, but two had already lost their lives.
If they suffered any more losses, their group would be annihilated.
The leader of the boys, judging that it was hopeless, shouted:
"Retreat!"
At the leader's cry, the other boys who had been desperately trying to seize the flag seemed to agree as they fled without looking back.
Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley smiled bitterly and muttered:
"Who says you can leave."
Charging in was up to them, but did he seem like someone who would let them go easily?
He had to kill them all and make an example out of them so that other guys wouldn't thoughtlessly aim for their flag.
"Capture them all…"
– Thwack!
"Ack!"
'!?'
Just then, Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley shut his mouth.
What was that just now?
A boy who was attempting to flee the fastest towards the opposite bushes suddenly disappeared with a scream as a dark shadow swept by.
A momentary silence fell.
From the boys who were trying to pursue with rising killing intent to the boys who were trying to escape, they all looked at where the shadow had passed with startled eyes.
– Crunch! Crunch!
The bushes rustled and sounds of something being chewed could be heard.
That sound was horrifyingly ominous.
"Wh-what?"
"What was that just now?"
The boys unknowingly took steps back at the unpleasant noise.
Then, a sound came from the rustling bushes.
– Oink oink!
What was that?
At first listen, it sounded like a pig's squeal.
However, the bizarre glint faintly visible between the bushes was enough to make one shudder.
The fleeing boys were taking steps back when the bushes shook.
And then, something revealed itself from there.
'!?'
The expressions of the boys who saw it all stiffened identically.
– Thud!
What extended hook-shaped front legs was not human.
It resembled a wolf, but was also different.
It seemed to be about twice the size of an ordinary wolf, with red fur on its head and rat-like, completely black eyes.
'Wh-what is this?'
'A wolf? There are wolves like this?'
'It's… too big.'
– Oink oink!
The monstrous beast making pig noises opened its mouth, revealing razor-sharp teeth filling its entire maw.
– Gulp!
A boy who swallowed dryly out of tension shouted:
"Run away!"
The moment that cry ended, the boys turned their bodies to the right.
Then,
– Pounce!
The red-headed wolf beast instantly caught up to the boy at the very rear and,
– Chomp!
"Aaaahhhh!"
It bit into his calf.
Then, with tremendous jaw strength, it thrashed the boy around.
– Thud! Thud!
"Ugh!"
It only thrashed him around a couple times, but the boy had already lost consciousness, either dead or passed out.
His calf, nearly severed by the sharp teeth, was tattered.
The wolf-like beast approached the boy's head and swallowed it whole.
– Crunch! Crunch!
'!!!!!'
At that sight, the boys defending the flag turned deathly pale.
Right before their eyes, a beast was chewing on a person's head, so it would be stranger not to feel fear.
This was the same for Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley.
'Shit!'
What rotten luck to have such a bizarre creature appear when internal energy was sealed.
It didn't seem to be an ordinary monstrous beast.
Even against regular wolves, it would be difficult to face them barehanded when unable to use internal energy.
Let alone a beast of that size.
It went beyond difficult.
They might have to risk their lives.
'Should we flee?'
It no longer seemed like a situation where they could defend the flag.
But it was also absurd to give up on the flag they had finally obtained because of that damn beast.
Right then,
– Oink oink!
The beast that had crushed and swallowed the boy's head now looked in their direction.
Then, as if it had chosen a target, it scraped its hind legs on the ground and tried to launch its body forward.
At this, Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley tried to shout:
"Run…"
– Pounce!
– Squeeeeaaal!
The moment the charging beast had only taken about five steps, it suddenly saw something and screamed, frantically stepping back.
Then, snorting and exhaling through its nose, it changed direction.
– Swish!
That direction was where the group of boys who had tried to seize their flag and ran away were.
A boy who was fleeing in a panic while screaming said:
"Wh-what? Why is it suddenly acting like that?"
At this, Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley irritably muttered:
"Shit. How should I know."
He also couldn't understand why the beast suddenly behaved that way.
It looked like it was startled after seeing something.
So he turned his head to look in the direction the beast had been looking, and that was,
'The flag?'
...
"Huff! Huff!"
"Uhhh."
Three boys were running like crazy.
They weren't headed in a specific direction but just dashing towards whatever they could see.
The terrified boys felt like their hearts would burst.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!'
While fleeing, another one of them was caught.
Since internal energy was sealed and they couldn't use lightness skills, their running speed was only slightly faster than ordinary adult men.
But that monstrous beast was different.
It seemed to be even faster than a galloping horse.
'At this rate, will we all die?'
As this was happening, the running boy's eyes caught sight of a figure standing on the opposite side.
He was momentarily startled and about to change direction, but realizing it was a person, he inwardly felt relieved.
'What? Who is that?'
And then, upon seeing him, he recognized him at a glance.
It was that guy who had passed through first with a brutal hand during the steel marble competition.
In a different situation, he would have ignored or avoided him, finding him unpleasant, but the boy shouted with a glimmer of hope:
"H-hey! Help us!"
Surely, that guy had also formed a group.
If they all helped, maybe they could somehow face this monstrous beast.
But what was with that guy's clothes, and why was there so much blood on his hands?
– Flinch!
Moreover, looking at them running over, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile reaching his ears.
64: Chapter 63: Gal-jeo (1)
A smile that reached his ears.
Sometimes, someone's smiling face can lower the other person's guard.
However, the moment the boy saw that smile in response to his plea for help, he felt a strong malice that went beyond mere repulsion.
– Flinch!
This caused him to falter in his steps.
But the other two boys weren't like that.
"Huff huff! Hey! Help us! Some monster-like wolf is chasing us."
They ran towards Mok Gyeong-un, pleading for help.
At this, the boy shouted in alarm:
"W-wait a moment, stop…"
Before he could even finish his words.
The moment the boy who had run over to ask for help reached right in front of him, Mok Gyeong-un naturally grabbed his neck and twisted it.
– Crack!
"Kuk!"
With a final scream, the boy with the broken neck collapsed to the ground.
Startled by this sight, the other boy stumbled backward in shock.
"Hic!"
– Thud!
As Mok Gyeong-un approached the fallen boy,
"Y-you bastard, what are you doing?"
The boy who had stopped due to a bad feeling shouted.
In response, Mok Gyeong-un laughed nonchalantly and lightly leaped, pushing his palm and kicking the head of the fallen boy who was trying to dodge backward.
– Crack!
He kicked so hard that the boy's head was bent backward.
The way his mouth gaped open, he seemed to have met his end.
Seeing this, the boy was at a loss for words.
'This… this crazy bastard…'
Even if they were in a competitive relationship, this wasn't a situation where they were fighting over a flag.
Yet he killed the other party who asked for help as soon as they met.
What kind of madman does that?
It was absurd.
– Oink oink!
From behind, the sound of pig-like squeals could be heard.
Along with it, the bushes rustled.
"Shit."
A rough sound escaped the boy's mouth.
He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
Behind him was a monstrous beast, and in front of him stood a madman indiscriminately slaughtering others.
No, perhaps the saying "a tiger in front and a wolf behind" was more fitting.
'Do or die.'
The boy, whose face was covered in cold sweat, chose neither the front nor the back but the steep cliff to the right.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
With a shout, the boy launched his body to the right.
– Tap!
Whether it was the front or the back, if he was going to lose his life either way, he had no choice but to take a gamble.
At that moment.
He felt a strange sensation of something pulling the back of his head.
With that, the body of the boy who was about to fall suddenly floated backward and flew back.
Then,
– Puck!
The boy's head was grasped by Mok Gyeong-un's hand.
'!?'
The boy's eyes widened.
What was this?
It wasn't directly pulled by hand.
Could it be the so-called "empty space grasping" where a profound inner expert could pull objects or something with their true qi?
'… That's impossible.'
It was hard to believe.
How could this guy, who was the same age as him, possess such profound true qi?
Moreover, their meridians were currently sealed by the Geummunsoe.
So how did he do it?
At that moment.
– Oink oink!
Along with the pig-like squeals, a large wolf with a red head and rat-like eyes emerged through the bushes.
Between its bared sharp teeth was a mouthful of bloody flesh.
Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un raised an eyebrow and muttered:
"And what's this?"
The boy whose head was grasped spoke hastily in a frightened voice:
"I told you. Some monster-like thing was chasing us."
"So it was that?"
"This isn't the time for that, we need to run away!"
Although he said that, it seemed too late already.
The distance between the monstrous beast and them was at most twenty to twenty-five steps.
It was too close to run away from that beast, which was as fast as a horse.
– Oink oink!
The beast walked forward, drooling profusely.
As if it thought it could catch them at any time, it narrowed the distance step by step.
Feeling extreme fear from this, the boy muttered in a dazed voice:
"Shit. It's all because of you…"
– Tap!
Before the boy could finish his words.
Mok Gyeong-un released his hand from the boy's head and quickly formed hand seals.
– Puck! Puck! Puck!
Soldier! Fight! Rupture! Formation!
They were the hand seals of the Nine Character Vitality Technique.
'What the …. is he doing?'
As the boy wondered, Mok Gyeong-un made a square with the index and middle fingers of both hands and aimed it at the approaching beast.
Then,
– Swooosh!
Four invisible pillars soared around the approaching beast.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un said softly:
"Four Peaks Linking Technique."
Then, surfaces were created by the four pillars that had become terrifyingly thick.
The boy couldn't see it, but it was clearly visible to the beast's eyes that this had blocked it, so it stopped and rolled its eyes.
Then, as if it had decided to forcibly break through, it launched its body.
– Puck!
– Squeeeal!
The beast that had launched its body like that crashed into something and bounced back.
"Wh-what?"
The boy couldn't understand this sight.
Nothing was visible, so why was that monster-like beast acting like that?
Could it be that this guy did something?
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un made a gesture of opening his palm towards the trapped beast and then clenching it.
"Contract!"
– Swooosh!
At that instant, the four surfaces trapping the beast rapidly compressed.
As the space narrowed, the beast seemed to panic and began thrashing around.
Seeing the beast like this, Mok Gyeong-un clenched his hand even tighter.
– Oink oink!
– Crack crack crack!
The intervals of the beast's thrashing narrowed.
At the moment when the intervals had narrowed to the point where it was difficult to move.
The beast bristled the red fur on its head, and then let out a tremendous roar.
– Squeeeeaaaal!
"Ack!"
The sound was so loud that the boy covered his ears.
Mok Gyeong-un endured this and tried to clench his hand to crush the beast to death, but,
– Crack crack crack!
At that moment, cracks appeared on the compressing surfaces.
Then,
– Crash!
The Four Peaks Linking Technique shattered in an instant and the beast leaped out.
'Damn.'
When a spell imbued with spell power is broken, the backlash is suffered by the caster.
Mok Gyeong-un's body was pushed back about two steps.
– Swish!
– Oink oink!
The beast that had leaped out excitedly scraped the ground with its feet and let out a fierce roar.
"Hic."
At this, the boy who had been covering his ears panicked and tried to back away while supporting himself with his hands.
However, the beast that had leaped out, contrary to its fierce roar, stared intently at Mok Gyeong-un, then turned its body and disappeared into the bushes as if fleeing.
"Huff… huff… ha…"
Seeing that sight, the boy who had been frightened let out a sigh of relief.
It was hard to believe even after experiencing it.
To think he had driven away such a monster-like being in a bizarre way.
Then, a voice was heard near his ears.
"Why are you feeling relieved?"
'!?'
The boy, whose eyes had widened, tried to hastily get up.
But it was already too late.
Mok Gyeong-un twisted the neck of the boy who was trying to get up.
– Crack!
After the boy died, Mok Gyeong-un absorbed the death qi starting from the boy he had killed first using the "tak" ritual.
It was because the longer it took, the more death qi would dissipate.
Only after finishing absorbing the death qi did he open his mouth.
"That red-headed wolf from earlier, what was it?"
– Well. It's my first time seeing it directly, but judging from its appearance and pig-like squeals, it seems to be a Gal-jeo.
"Gal-jeo?"
– It's a man-eating fierce beast that inhabits the northern sea near Mount Beihao.
"I know it's a man-eating beast."
Its appearance alone was completely different from ordinary beasts.
Moreover, being a man-eating beast, it must have been affected by sorcery.
Rather, seeing how it broke the Four Peaks Linking Technique, it didn't seem to be a low-grade man-eating beast, so he asked.
"Judging from how it broke the spell, it doesn't seem to be of a low grade."
According to Sorcerer Jo Ui-gong, the Four Peaks Linking Technique was originally created to eliminate vengeful spirits, so it could only handle the lowest grade of monstrous beasts.
The grades of man-eating beasts were divided into vicious beasts, monstrous beasts, demonic beasts, devil beasts, spiritual beasts, and supreme beasts.
To Mok Gyeong-un's words, Cheong-ryeong replied:
– I heard that a mature Gal-jeo is called a monstrous beast. However, based on its size earlier, it's not fully grown yet.
"It's not fully grown?"
– Yes. Even so, it will be incomparably stronger than ordinary vicious beasts. It probably possesses strength somewhere between a fierce beast and a monstrous beast.
"As I thought."
That seemed to be the reason why the Four Peaks Linking Technique was broken.
It exceeded the capacity that the technique could handle.
For a man-eating beast like the Gal-jeo, it was nothing more than a way to buy time, so there was no need to use this technique.
Mok Gyeong-un got up from his spot and said:
"This is troublesome."
– Why? Are you suddenly scared now that you can't use your internal energy and the spells you learned don't work well? If that's really the case, I will…
"No. That's not it. I think we need to hurry."
– Hurry?
"Before that man-eating beast interferes with my meal, I should move more diligently. No, it might be better to deal with it first."
– ...…
Ah.
So that was his perspective.
He was worried that the man-eating beast would kill more boys than him.
Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue inwardly.
...
Meanwhile, the group led by Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley was moving cautiously.
However, three of them were grunting while jointly carrying the lump of metal at the bottom of the flag, and the rest were sticking close to them in a circle.
One of the boys carrying the lump of metal complained:
"No. If we're going to find a different type of flag, why do we have to carry this like this? Can't we just break off the upper part and go?"
In response to the boy's complaint, Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley urged:
"Stop grumbling and do as you're told. If my prediction is correct, you guys will have to thank me."
At these words, the boys shook their heads from side to side.
Did it make sense to them that the monster-like beast avoided them simply because it was scared of the flag?
No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't understand.
Rather than inefficiently carrying the flag like this, they thought it would be better to just break the flagpole and move quickly to seize or find another flag.
But then, as they were doing that, a sound was heard from somewhere.
– Oink oink!
Startled by the sound, they stopped in their tracks.
It was definitely that thing.
– Rustle rustle!
The bushes in the northwest direction rustled, and soon the beast revealed itself.
Seeing this, the boys were about to put down the flag they were carrying and prepare to run away, but,
"Stay still."
Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley dissuaded them.
No, they should either run away or join forces to confront it, but what did he mean by staying still?
As they were thinking that.
The beast looked at the flag they were holding, then raised its ears in alarm, turned its body, and went back into the bushes.
"Huh?"
The beast really ran away after seeing the flag.
At this, Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley spoke in a triumphant voice:
"See?"
He confirmed that his judgment was correct.
But after confirming this, a sudden thought occurred to him.
'If we do it well, we might be able to use it.'
There were probably few people who knew that the flag served as protection.
The corners of Yeom Ga from Vermilion Slaughter Valley's mouth curled up bitterly.
Chapter 64: Gal-jeo (2)
Not far from the valley where the steel marble competition took place and the mountain where the flag battle was unfolding.
There was another cave there.
– Creak! Creak!
Five carriages in a procession headed towards that cave.
Red-belted warriors were pulling the carriages and entering the cave illuminated by torches.
The carriages that had entered the cave like that stopped at a certain place.
There, numerous bodies of boys were lying down.
"Phew. Is this the last of them? Then shall we move them?"
The red-belted warriors who had pulled the carriages started the task of laying the corpses side by side.
The remaining carriages that arrived one after another were the same.
– Plop!
"Is it because we took them out late? The bodies are bloated."
A red-belted warrior clicked his tongue while looking at a corpse that was swollen with water.
Although it was shallow valley water, there were deep parts, so it seemed the entire body had been submerged.
Then, a middle-aged man wearing a Taoist robe with yin and yang drawn on it approached and said:
"Exclude that one."
"Isn't this much fine?"
"We can't perform the work with this."
"Oh my."
At this, the red-belted warriors moved the corpse to a carriage on the left side of the cave.
As they were moving the corpse to the carriage, one warrior couldn't hold back and vomited.
"Blech."
Seeing this warrior, the other warriors clicked their tongues.
"Tsk tsk."
"As expected of a rookie."
Of course, they said that, but they actually understood.
At least the corpses lying over there had few wounds, so they still retained human form.
However, the ones in the carriage were the "dropouts".
None of them were intact.
Having crushed heads was common, and there were many missing a leg or with organs torn out.
It was so horrific that it made one want to vomit just by looking.
"Get it together. Rookie."
"Ah, yes sir."
The warrior who had thrown up the contents of his stomach barely got up and replied.
As the corpse sorting work was somewhat finished like that, the dropouts nearly filled three carriages.
Then, the middle-aged man in the Taoist robe from earlier approached the warriors and said:
"Let's go."
The Taoist-robed middle-aged man led the way, and the red-belted warriors pulled the carriages piled with corpses.
The carriages moved along a narrow sloped path and stopped in front of a cliff at the foot of the mountain after half a sichen.
The Taoist-robed middle-aged man took out a handful of something from his bosom.
They were talismans.
[Chain]
Was written on them, and the Taoist-robed middle-aged man said as he attached a talisman one by one to the dead corpses on the carriages:
"When throwing them, don't look down the cliff."
"Yes sir."
The red-belted warriors, who answered nonchalantly, threw the corpses with talismans attached off the cliff one after another in a familiar manner.
Seeing this, the rookie warrior was inwardly baffled.
If they were unusable corpses, it would be cleaner to just burn them, but if they threw them all in a place like this, wouldn't the bottom be overflowing with corpses?
Even in broad daylight, it would be too horrific to muster the courage to go down.
The rookie warrior asked his senior who was also carrying corpses:
"Senior. Why are we throwing them off this cliff instead of just burning them?"
"Just do as you're told. Why are you being curious?"
"S-sorry."
As the rookie shut his mouth in dejection, the senior clicked his tongue and said in a low voice:
"Listen and let it go in one ear and out the other. From what I've heard, the stream flowing down from this cliff connects to a branch of the cave below."
"What does that have to do with this?"
"I told you I don't know. Something about becoming nutrients or whatever, but for lowly folks like us, we just need to do as we're told. You'll only bring trouble upon yourself by needlessly having doubts. Got it?"
"… Yes sir."
'Nutrients?'
What the …. was becoming nutrients?
He couldn't understand at all.
Come to think of it, they said they did this every time the barrier of the Corpse Blood Valley was conducted, so just how many corpses have been discarded below this cliff?
Even now, it exceeded a hundred.
– Shudder!
Without thinking, he looked down, and for a moment, goosebumps rose all over his body.
It felt like something ominous and unpleasant was creeping up from the darkness that seemed to suck him in.
– Tap!
"Gasp!"
Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder.
It was the man in the Taoist robe who had been attaching the talismans.
The man in the Taoist robe said to the startled rookie warrior in a low voice:
"What did I say earlier?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked what I said earlier."
"Ah, not to look down the cliff…"
"Then it's best to never look down."
"Y-yes?"
To the flustered rookie, the man in the Taoist robe warned in a meaningful tone:
"You may be bewitched."
Bewitched? What did that mean?
...
It was around the time when a shichen and two ke had passed since the flag defense battle began.
As a considerable amount of time had elapsed, nearly half of the flags had been discovered by the boys, and the fighting to defend and seize them was in full swing.
However, an unexpected variable occurred within this flag defense battle.
That was,
Oink oink!
The appearance of the man-eating beast, the Gal-jeo.
It was already incomparably more brutal than regular beasts, and it could be said to be the worst variable for the boys whose internal energy was sealed and had no weapons.
In particular, the boys who were searching here and there alone to find flags without their teammates were being indiscriminately attacked and killed.
Chomp!
"Aaaargh!"
Another boy was caught by the Gal-jeo in the middle of the mountainside.
The Gal-jeo liked human heads, so it crushed and devoured them with its vicious teeth every time it caught one.
It didn't even eat the other parts.
As a result, corpses with crushed heads were being discovered in various parts of the mountain, heightening the boys' vigilance to an extreme level.
"Shit. What is this? Are you sure they ended up like this from fighting?"
A group that had not yet found a flag was shocked upon discovering a corpse.
This was definitely not a trace of having died while fighting.
"Even if internal energy is sealed, they couldn't have been caught by a beast, right?"
"You're right. These are teeth marks."
"No. No matter how much of a beast it is, can it completely chew up a head? Even a tiger would have gnawed on the skull, no?"
A corpse with its head completely missing.
No matter how they looked at it, they couldn't understand.
Mok Yu-cheon, who was with them, had dark circles under his eyes.
'Hah…'
This place was truly like hell.
While engaging in a flag seizing battle, he had lost three boys who were his comrades, and now the five of them were wandering around looking for another flag.
But in the process, he had seen over twenty corpses.
Among them, only about three seemed to have died while fiercely fighting over a flag, and the rest had met bizarre deaths.
Ten corpses without heads like this one.
And he had discovered seven corpses that had died cleanly.
'… Most of them had their necks broken.'
Not all of them had their necks broken, but most seemed to have been killed in a similar manner.
It didn't seem like they had engaged in hand-to-hand combat or fought fiercely, but rather died without being able to properly resist against someone.
'What the? Just what?'
Those who killed like this seemed to have lost their lives unrelated to the flags.
The problem lay in this.
The flag battle alone was already making everyone struggle with bloodshot eyes, but it seemed that unknown beings were killing boys left and right.
'Just who is doing these things?'
About two hundred jang east from where Mok Yu-cheon was, on the middle of the mountainside.
One of the culprits he was curious about had his hand on the chest of a headless corpse, absorbing death qi.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been quickly absorbing death qi, soon removed his hand.
And as if displeased, he muttered:
"It's lacking."
– You mean death qi?
"Yes."
– Of course it would be. For corpses attacked by man-eating beasts, most of the qi they possessed rapidly depletes as it gets devoured.
At Cheong-ryeong's words, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue.
Even the qi that comes out upon death depletes this quickly.
It was quite troublesome.
"Hmm."
He had diligently moved to kill more boys than the Gal-jeo, a man-eating beast, to obtain death qi, but he was falling behind instead.
"It's starting to annoy me a bit."
Unlike himself who needed time to absorb death qi, this Gal-jeo, a man-eating beast, would just gobble up the heads and go after another prey.
It should be full enough by now, but it kept eating endlessly.
"It feels like I'm eating someone else's leftovers."
– Hmm.
"Why are you doing that?"
– But this bastard… seems to be eating a lot more than I thought.
Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and said:
"It doesn't seem to be full."
– No. It's a lot even considering that. It should be full enough by now, but it's eating quite a lot.
"It may be because it's in a period of active growth."
– … I see.
"What is it?"
– It might be a fellow that's right before becoming an adult.
"An adult?"
– Yes. Among man-eating beasts, there are those that require a lot of qi for reproduction or to become adults.
"So Gal-jeo is that type?"
– Perhaps?
At Cheong-ryeong's words, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin as if troubled.
If this guy kept eating like this, his share would be significantly reduced.
Thus, Mok Gyeong-un decided to change directions.
"This won't do. I'll have to catch that Gal-jeo first."
He had thought that leaving it alone would cause chaos around him and actually benefit him.
But in the current state, it was rather a hindrance.
So Mok Gyeong-un made up his mind to kill the Gal-jeo first.
– How?
"Can you help me?"
– You said you could do it alone, but even you can't help it in this situation, eh?
Cheong-ryeong snorted and said:
– Then take me out of this cramped place.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un held the wooden puppet she was in, formed hand seals, and chanted a spell.
"The origin connects to the earth, the nine turns return to the source, release!"
– Swoosh!
Eventually, a large shadow appeared from the wooden puppet, and Cheong-ryeong slowly revealed herself holding a long pipe.
Having come out, she stretched and said as if refreshed:
– As expected, it's much better than being trapped. Phew.
Cheong-ryeong took a puff from the long pipe and exhaled a long trail of smoke.
To her, Mok Gyeong-un said:
"Can you confirm where that thing is? No, if you can eliminate it, Cheong-ryeong, that would be fine too."
– I'll do that even without you pestering me. Just wait.
Poof!
Cheong-ryeong soon soared into the sky.
Unlike a demonic beast, she was of a higher class, so even without possessing a body, the range in which she could move was extremely wide.
Cheong-ryeong, who had flown higher than the treetops like that, surveyed the surroundings.
Her blood-red ghostly eyes slowly swept over the entire mountain.
'Hmm.'
But Cheong-ryeong, who had been looking around, raised an eyebrow.
She had thought that if it was obsessed with eating humans to that extent, she would find it quickly, but contrary to her expectations, the beast was not visible to her ghostly eyes.
If it was right before becoming a monstrous beast, its appetite should be overflowing, so it was strange.
'Where the hell did it go?'
Was it not in this vicinity?
Thus, Cheong-ryeong flew even higher.
It was because she thought the Gal-jeo might have moved to a more distant place.
As she was looking around like that,
– Flinch!
Her gaze was fixed on somewhere.
'Ha!'
An exclamation naturally flowed out of Cheong-ryeong's mouth.
When she was inside the wooden puppet, she couldn't sense the external qi, so she had no way of knowing this.
But now, she couldn't help but see it.
No, it would be strange if her eyes and ears weren't drawn to this tremendous thing.
From the distant cliff she was looking at, countless screams were spreading upward.
So she immediately descended.
Mok Gyeong-un asked:
"Did you find it already?"
– No. I didn't see it. More importantly, you better quickly follow me now.
At her somewhat excited voice, Mok Gyeong-un couldn't hide his puzzlement.
Regardless of that, Cheong-ryeong flew ahead as if guiding him somewhere.
So Mok Gyeong-un followed her.
...
It wasn't that far.
That place, two ke away, was located deep in the boundary of the mountain towards a certain cliff.
Looking at the ground,
'Wheel tracks?'
The sloped path was full of wheel tracks as if carriages had been pulled.
As he was proceeding with bewilderment,
Flinch!
Mok Gyeong-un's steps momentarily faltered at the ominous qi spreading from ahead.
'What in the world is this…'
Ever since his ghost eyes opened and his sixth sense awakened, he couldn't help but become sensitive to such things, so why hadn't he noticed this until now?
With suspicion, he surveyed the surroundings.
Then he discovered something.
'Ah…'
The talismans and carved spells attached between the cliffs and trees.
They were controlling the ominousness flowing out so it couldn't escape outside.
But even with this many talismans attached, as he approached closer, just what was there for such tremendous ominousness to leak out to this extent?
When he reached the place where the wheel tracks ended, he saw Cheong-ryeong sitting on the edge of the cliff smoking a long pipe.
– Do you see it?
At her question, Mok Gyeong-un's flesh trembled.
Kyaaaaaaa!
Aaaaaargh!
Save meeeee!
Please! Please!
The endless screams spreading from below.
Along with those sounds, ominous qi that made the skin feel prickly was crashing upwards as if desperate to climb up but unable to do so.
– Take a closer look.
Mok Gyeong-un approached the edge of the cliff and looked down.
"Ahhh."
It was like a bottomless pit.
Countless resentments were intermingled, spewing out endless malice and ominousness.
Even with talismans attached all over the cliff, if it was to this extent, those with weak mental strength might lose consciousness just by looking at it.
– Kid. Do you know what gu poison is?
"… How could I not know?"
There was almost nothing he didn't know about medicinal herbs and poisons.
Of course, he had never directly seen gu poison, but he remembered what he heard from his grandfather.
It was a secret art originating from the Nanman region where dozens or hundreds of poisonous creatures were put into a jar and the lid was not opened until only one survived.
The worst one that survived like that was called gu poison.
"Why are you asking that?"
Cheong-ryeong said with the corners of her mouth twitching:
– There's gu poison down there.
Chapter 65: Gu Poison (1)
Dozens or hundreds of poisonous creatures are put into a jar and the lid is not opened until only one survives.
The worst one that survives like that is called gu poison.
Mok Gyeong-un, looking down at the cliff that was like a bottomless pit, asked in a puzzled voice:
"Gu poison…?"
– Yes. Can't you hear them? These screams.
He could hear them.
Very clearly at that.
Kyaaaaaa!
Aaaaargh!
Save meeeee!
Please! Please!
The screams of vengeful spirits suffering in agony were soaring upward.
This was the first time he had seen this many vengeful spirits wailing together.
If taken individually, they were only at the red spirit level and nothing special, but with hundreds, no, thousands of vengeful spirits gathered in one place, it was truly a scene of hell.
– Take a closer look. Your eyes should be able to see it.
At Cheong-ryeong's words, Mok Gyeong-un stared intently at the bottom.
The vengeful spirits wailing there were stretching their hands upward as if yearning for freedom, but iron chains were bound to their ankles and wrists.
Clang clang!
"Those are…"
– You should know well since you learned sorcery. You've done it once too, kid.
At her words, Gochan flashed through Mok Gyeong-un's mind.
Originally, Mok Gyeong-un had used sorcery to turn a soul that would naturally go to the afterlife into a vengeful spirit.
The method wasn't very difficult.
It was enough to somehow hold the departing soul in this world and taint it with the qi of death.
"Ha!"
The corners of Mok Gyeong-un's mouth twitched.
It was quite a sight to behold.
That enormous number of dead souls were trapped under this narrow cliff and transformed into vengeful spirits.
This was absolutely not something that happened by chance.
It occurred forcibly.
It couldn't be anything but a horrific deed.
However, while looking at this, Mok Gyeong-un was more intrigued than surprised.
'Truly peculiar.'
Seeing this, Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue.
No matter how she looked at it, this guy's thinking was far from that of ordinary humans.
But it didn't matter.
Right now, her only thought was that whether it be an evil spirit or whatever, as long as it could resolve her deep resentment, it was fine.
Cheong-ryeong said:
– You should know that there are grades even among vengeful spirits, right?
"… That's right."
– How strong of an obsessive grudge did they have before dying? How long did they hold that resentment? It's influenced by such things.
"…"
– But that's not the only way grades are determined.
"It can also be achieved in other forms?"
– Yes. Don't you see it now?
Cheong-ryeong pointed somewhere with her long pipe.
That place was the darkest spot at the bottom of the cliff that was like a bottomless pit.
That one spot was particularly invisible.
But upon closer look, an astonishing sight could be seen.
"… They're being dragged."
– Yes.
The screaming vengeful spirits.
Those vengeful spirits were being forcibly dragged to that one place as if being absorbed.
The vengeful spirits were desperately resisting, but due to the chains restraining them, they were being sucked in one by one.
Every time that happened, the dark space kept growing larger and larger.
"I understand what you mean now."
Mok Gyeong-un now grasped the meaning of what she had said.
The meaning of the word "gu poison".
– When vengeful spirits are together in one place, there may be cases where they don't clash. But if they are restrained and confined in one place, unable to escape…
"They're harming each other. No, I should say they're devouring each other."
– Yes.
Mere ghosts were devouring each other and transforming into the worst form in one place.
And that transformation into the worst was probably that dark spot.
A darkness that made one shudder just by looking at it.
"Gu poison, huh…"
It was a fitting name.
How much had the vengeful spirit that remained alone like that transformed into the worst form?
At the very least, it was definitely above a yellow spirit, no, a green spirit.
Mok Gyeong-un glanced at Cheong-ryeong.
'Perhaps.'
It might be the process of forming a vengeful spirit on par with her.
As that thought occurred to him, he suddenly drooled.
Then Cheong-ryeong said:
– Now's the chance.
"Chance?"
– A complete gu poison hasn't been born yet. I don't know how much of the worst they're trying to create, but if you can absorb even a little of that qi, it will have a greater effect than killing them one by one.
This was the reason Cheong-ryeong had brought Mok Gyeong-un here.
Killing boys and absorbing death qi was naturally a way to become stronger, but the bottom of this cliff was a concentration of vengeful spirits to create gu poison.
The qi formed in that process had a different potency than ordinary death qi.
– It's already overflowing, so if you perform the Art of Binding here, you'll be able to sufficiently receive the qi.
"I suppose so."
– Hurry up and do it.
At her words, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head.
– What? Don't tell me you're scared.
"No."
– Then why are you refusing to do it?
"I'm not refusing. Rather than doing it here, I'm more tempted by that."
'!?'
What Mok Gyeong-un pointed at was none other than the dark spot.
At this, Cheong-ryeong furrowed her brows.
Then she spoke as if it was absurd:
– Are you crazy and want to die?
"Pardon?"
– That place is the very torrent where vengeful spirits are devouring each other and transforming. And you're saying you'll go there as a living being?
"Is it not possible?"
– Hey, brat.
"Yes."
– There are still hundreds of individual vengeful spirits that haven't been devoured. And if you enter that whirlpool, you may end up being devoured instead. Discard your unnecessary bravado.
It was a sincere warning.
Even if they were restrained, they were vengeful spirits.
If those things came surging like a wave all at once, there was no telling what would happen.
– You'll die showing off with the meager sorcery you've barely learned. Be satisfied with the overflowing qi here as I told you.
At Cheong-ryeong's words, Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly.
Then he approached the edge of the cliff.
– Hey!
Cheong-ryeong urged the approaching Mok Gyeong-un.
To her, Mok Gyeong-un said while looking at the dark spot:
"Even if I take the risk, if I can absorb that concentrated qi, won't I become much stronger than now?"
– … You crazy bastard. You may die before becoming strong. If it seemed easy from the beginning, do you think I would stop you?
The vengeful spirits that were not only trapped but also devouring and being devoured had become agitated.
That alone was dangerous, yet he was going to take that risk?
This guy had really lost all sense of fear, too much at that.
It had been like that since their first encounter, but he too easily risked his life if necessary.
– You and I are one and the same. I don't want us to recklessly commit double suicide.
"As if I would ever wish for Cheong-ryeong to die."
– Then back away.
"Didn't you say it, Cheong-ryeong?"
– What?
"That with my current strength, I can't do anything within Heaven and Earth Society."
– …
"Even if the risk is great, wouldn't it be better to seize the opportunity in any way possible? Enduring hardship and tasting bitterness or whatever, waiting idly doesn't suit my nature."
Poof!
As soon as those words ended, Mok Gyeong-un jumped off towards the side of the cliff where the slope was relatively gentle.
– You!
Cheong-ryeong waved her hand, trying to pull Mok Gyeong-un back up.
But she was blocked by the qi of the vengeful spirits rising from the cliff.
Rather, a useless vengeful spirit was pulled up and,
Aaaaaahhhh!
Sizzle!
It got caught in the barrier blocking the top of the cliff and was incinerated.
At this, Cheong-ryeong burst out in anger.
– Damn you, kid!
He finally went down there.
She had warned him not to, but he ignored it.
If it weren't for being bound by the cord of the flesh-eating supreme-ruler, she would have wanted to leave him to die like that.
But she couldn't leave him like that.
– You're making me annoyed.
– Whoosh!
Cheong-ryeong launched her body downward, following Mok Gyeong-un.
The spell power of the talismans was enveloping the surroundings, making even considerable oddities reluctant to pass through, but she forcefully parted it.
Crack crack crack!
...
It's a flesh body!
A living one!
It's alive!
It was a mess as he descended along the gentle slope.
The cries of vengeful spirits echoed in his ears.
'It's incomparable indeed.'
At the top of the cliff, numerous talismans were attached, suppressing the qi.
But when he actually came down, it was tremendous.
It was as if he had entered a torrent.
The vengeful spirits noticed his presence and quickly approached, and each and every one of them was coveting Mok Gyeong-un's flesh body.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been descending the cliff as if sliding, brought his hands together and formed hand seals.
Puck! Puck! Puck! Puck!
Presence! Soldier! Fight! Those! All! Formation! Lineup! At! Front!
They were the hand seals of the Nine Character Vitality Technique.
By performing all nine hand seals consecutively, the spell varies according to the final hand seal.
Here, if he performed the Hapjangin (Anjali Mudra) with his palms joined together,
Swoooosh!
Numerous threads connected around Mok Gyeong-un, forming a sphere.
This was a barrier to repel oddities.
To properly perform the Nine Character Hand Seals of the Nine Character Vitality Technique, a medium was needed to aid the talismans or spells, and Mok Gyeong-un had a ring on his left index finger.
It was given to him by diviner Jo Ui-gong.
It contained a spell that allowed him to use the full range of the Nine Character Vitality Technique.
'Is this a barrier? It's quite useful.'
A barrier refers to tying a certain space according to a purpose.
Crack crack crack crack!
– Can't approach.
– What is this?
– It's blocked.
The vengeful spirits at the ghost level that had been approaching closely were bounced off.
The hand seals of the Nine Character Vitality Technique could easily handle and repel even red spirits.
Like that, while maintaining the Hapjangin with his hands joined, Mok Gyeong-un slid all the way down and felt the slope becoming steeper at a certain point.
'I think I need to grab on.'
It seemed he had to grab the cliff and climb down.
But when he looked below, he saw water pooled there.
It wasn't visible from above, but if it was that deep, it seemed sufficient to jump into.
Puck!
Mok Gyeong-un pushed off with both feet.
And he jumped towards the place with water.
Splash!
'As expected.'
The water wasn't very deep.
Should he say it was about twice his height in depth?
So he tried to swim up, but,
Ahhhhh!
Uhhhhh!
The screams of vengeful spirits reached his ears.
They came from the bottom of the water, and before he knew it, something white was visible around him.
'Hands?'
They were hands.
Pale white hands, as if swollen with water, without a hint of blood.
Just looking at them was extremely eerie.
Those hands suddenly wriggled and rose up, trying to grab Mok Gyeong-un's ankles.
Crack crack crack!
But since he hadn't released the Hapjangin yet, they were blocked by the barrier of the Nine Character Vitality Technique.
'Good thing I didn't release it.'
He thought, but something was quite different.
The red spirits at the ghost level had easily bounced off the barrier.
But the palms had bounced off the barrier yet didn't give up trying to grab him.
Then soon,
Tap tap tap tap!
The palms adhered to the barrier like an octopus's suckers.
'!?'
They were enduring the barrier.
Suddenly, he remembered what he had seen in the Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang.
[Oddities in water are more dangerous than ordinary oddities.]
'So this is what it meant?'
At this level, they weren't red spirits but vermilion spirits.
Judging it to be somewhat dangerous, Mok Gyeong-un kicked his feet while maintaining the Hapjangin.
He had to somehow rise to the surface.
Splash splash splash splash!
Then, before he knew it, numerous hands surged up from the bottom.
They grabbed the spherical barrier surrounding Mok Gyeong-un and tried to pull it down.
Aaaaargh!
'This… is troublesome.'
At this rate, he wouldn't be able to reach the surface.
Although he could hold his breath better than ordinary people, it would be dangerous if it prolonged.
Crack crack crack!
Just then, cracks appeared on the barrier where numerous palms were clinging.
It seemed like it would shatter at any moment.
Mok Gyeong-un frowned.
'In that case.'
Puck!
Mok Gyeong-un changed the hand seal from Hapjangin to Geumgangji (Vajra Mudra) by raising only his middle fingers.
At that moment,
Swoooosh!
The spherical barrier burst out, and a strong force simultaneously pushed away the palms.
Not missing this opportunity, Mok Gyeong-un kicked his legs powerfully and rose out of the water.
He tried to swim to the shore, but he felt the hands that had been bounced off from below all rushing up to grab him at once.
Swoooosh!
Right at that moment.
Woong!
Mok Gyeong-un's body suddenly floated by something.
Then he was sent flying to the shore.
Thud!
Roughly flying over, Mok Gyeong-un rolled on the ground twice and got up.
Someone gracefully descended next to Mok Gyeong-un.
It was none other than Cheong-ryeong.
– Damn you, kid. You really won't listen to my words.
As she expressed her annoyance, Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly and said:
"Phew. You came just in time."
– What? Just in time?
"I thought Cheong-ryeong would surely help me."
– Tch!
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Cheong-ryeong was about to smack his head with her long pipe but held back.
The impudent kid was desperate to use her.
Anyway, it seemed to be her fate to be entangled with this guy.
Just then,
Swoosh swoosh!
The white hands rose from the water and approached in the direction where Mok Gyeong-un was.
At this, Cheong-ryeong turned her head and glared at the hands with her blood-red eyes.
And in a low voice, she said:
– He's mine. Scram, you young ones.
No sooner had those words ended.
The numerous hands that had been targeting Mok Gyeong-un trembled as if having a seizure, then promptly went back into the water.