With two Six Jia General Talismans on his forehead and chest, and one Thunder Duke Seal Talisman on his stomach, the man in the dark blue Daoist robe chanted an incantation, his face taut with tension.
“Yangmyeongjijeong sinwijangin suseopeummae duneuninhyeong yeongbuildo saetaekmujeok gamayuwigyeok cheonbyeongsanghaeng geupgeubyeoyullyeong!”
The incantation he was chanting was the Talisman Writing Spell, a type of invisibility art. The man in the dark blue robe, his face soaked in cold sweat, ceaselessly scanned his surroundings with vigilance. As long as he chanted the incantation, no one could find him.
The drawback was that he couldn't move and had to chant without rest.
‘Damn it.’
He was regretting his decision. He had thought that since he could handle the Horned Demon Eagle, a lesser beast that had reached the rank of a fierce Beast, and had more experience than Sak, he could uncover the truth as long as he was careful. But that had been his miscalculation.
‘How could this happen...’
It wasn't a Green Spirit rank.
Absolutely not.
If it were a Green Spirit, he would have been able to handle it somehow with the combined power of his occult arts and his Spirit Guardian, the Horned Demon Eagle. But it had instantly broken the binding art he had cast and wounded him. The man's back was drenched in blood.
‘Horned Demon Eagle...’
His Spirit Guardian, the Horned Demon Eagle, had lured the being away. It was to buy him time. But a problem arose.
Just when he thought he could escape the situation thanks to his praiseworthy Spirit Guardian, he didn't know what was happening. Ssk, ssk, ssk! Who were these masked men?
Thanks to the invisibility art, he could avoid their sight, but they didn't seem to be guards of the Lotuswood Sword Manor. If they were, they wouldn't have entered in the middle of the night wearing masks.
“Duneuninhyeong yeongbuildo saetaekmujeok gamayuwigyeok cheonbyeongsanghaeng.......”
It was a difficult situation. He was gradually losing strength due to the bleeding from his back. He didn't know what they were looking for, but these masked men were searching every nook and cranny.
He had to hold on until they left, but it was too difficult.
‘I have to endure. Somehow.’
It was then.
‘What?’
Someone quite different from the masked men who were searching the area appeared. It was a man wearing an eyepatch and leaning on a staff. The moment he saw him, the man knew instinctively.
‘An Occultist?’
The unusual energy emanating from him. This was one of the characteristics that appeared in those who had trained in occult arts for a long time. And even if that wasn't the case, the hand seal he formed with his left hand was a basic of occult arts.
‘The Art of Pursuit?’
It was an incantation used to find a desired target. The man frowned. Seeing the masked men naturally continue their work, leaving the Occultist alone, he could tell they were on the same side.
But there was a crucial rule among Occultists. Since they cultivated the principles of the Dao and practiced occult arts, they were not to directly collude with or come under the command of any worldly group. Until just ten years ago, this was strictly observed.
But that was broken by someone and a certain group of Occultists.
‘Could it be?’
These masked men are...
Swish!
‘Hup.’
The man's breath hitched. The man with the eyepatch was standing right in front of him. He was using an invisibility art, so it should have been impossible to be discovered, but he didn't know what was happening.
As he was flustered, the Occultist with the eyepatch opened his mouth.
“If you wanted to cast an invisibility art, you should have completely erased your tracks.”
‘Tracks? Ah!’
The man finally realized. The blood flowing from his back was dripping onto the ground. At that moment, the man with the eyepatch chanted an incantation and struck the ground hard with his staff.
“Yeongansujeon gagomyeongji geupgeubyeoyullyeong! Release!”
Thud! Shwaaaaa!
At that moment, the space around the staff twisted, and with it, the man who had been completely hidden from view was revealed. The startled man threw himself backward, trying to cast another occult art. But then, Thwip!
Thwip! Thwip! Im!
Byeong! Gae! Jin!
As the hand seals of the Nine Syllable Vitality Art continued, the man's feet stuck to the ground. With that, his body went limp, and his strength drained away. The man's eyes widened.
‘This level of art with just hand seals?’
Occult arts are completed through various combinations. Incantation, Talisman, Word, Seal, and Art. These five achieve harmony to form an Art.
A low-level Occultist must use all four methods to even attempt an Art, but a high-level one can reduce the number.
‘At least Moon-rank or higher.’
Occultists receive one of six titles according to their skill. From the top, they are Divine, Sun, Moon, Adept, Fathomless, and Courier. The man was certain.
This man with the eyepatch was an Occultist with incredible skill, at least Moon-rank or higher. The man spoke, extremely tense.
“I am Mo-go, a Spirit Adept of the Ghost Shadow Pavilion. And you are...”
Squeeze!
"Ugh!"
Before he could finish his words, the man with the eyepatch clamped a hand over the mouth of the Ghost Shadow Pavilion Occultist who had identified himself as Mo-go. Then, he twisted his lips into a smirk and said.
“How dare you interfere with the affairs of this Grudge Killing Pavilion. You must have been prepared to die, yes?”
‘Grudge... Grudge Killing Pavilion?’
Unfortunately, his ominous premonition was correct. A group of Occultists who, despite being a member of the Occultist’ Council of Sixty-Four Divisions, had entered under the banner of a great faction of the martial world. That was the Grudge Killing Pavilion.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Clang, clang, clang, clang! The front of the main hall grew noisy with the sound of clashing weapons.
Thud!
“Wh-what is this?”
The brothers of the Mok family, led by Manor Lord Mok In-dan, could not hide their bewilderment as they came out of their rooms. The interior of the Lotuswood Sword Manor, which had been quiet just moments before, had turned into a battlefield.
The guards of the Lotuswood Sword Manor and unidentified masked men were entangled in a fight, and it was hard to guess how this had happened.
“My lady. What in the world is going on?”
The Manor Lord asked Great Madam Seok, who was standing helplessly in front of the main hall. The vassals and Inner Hall Master Jang Myeong-in were fighting the masked men, so the only people he could ask were her and the second wife, Madam Jang. Great Madam Seok replied in a flustered tone.
“I-I don't know. It wasn't long after the outer hall guards shouted about an enemy attack that the masked men suddenly swarmed in, and it became like this.”
“My elder brother-in-law's wife is right. It happened so quickly, we don't know what's going on either.”
At his wives’ words, the Manor Lord's expression darkened. No matter how much of a surprise attack it was, a force capable of breaking through the outer hall defenses of the Lotuswood Sword Manor so quickly was no ordinary group.
Shing!
Manor Lord Mok In-dan drew his sword with his unfamiliar left hand. He didn't know who they were, but it was too much for the vassals and guards to handle alone. The Manor Lord roared, unleashing his sword energy.
“Who dares to invade the Great Lotuswood Sword Manor? You should be prepared to lose your lives!”
“Waaaaaaah!!!”
At the sight of the Manor Lord, the guards confronting the masked men cheered. With their lord, who had been bedridden for a long time, appearing, their morale was bound to rise.
“Let's go! Let's protect the Lotuswood Sword Manor!”
Fwoosh!
As Manor Lord Mok In-dan took the lead and shot forward, the Mok brothers and the two wives, who were from martial families, seemed to be moved, shouting as they followed him.
“Protect the Lotuswood Sword Manor!”
Of course, not everyone was the same. Mok Gyeong-un was the only one who did not participate in this battle. He pretended to follow them naturally, then slipped to the side and moved to a secluded spot.
‘Is it time to leave?’
There was no reason to defend this place. He didn't care whether they died fighting the masked men or not. Only one thing bothered him.
‘The scar.’
The scar on Manor Lord Mok In-dan's side. It was similar to that mark. He wanted to ask how he got it, but coincidentally, an incident occurred.
‘Should I help?’
He was conflicted. Just then, Mok Gyeong-un felt something strangely filling him. 'This is... ah!'
It was none other than the aura of death. Mok Gyeong-un closed his eyes, took a long breath, and savored the rapidly increasing death energy.
‘Good.’
It seemed quite a few people had died in a short time. Otherwise, there was no way the aura of death would be overflowing everywhere like this. So, he couldn't just ignore it.
‘I want to absorb it.’
Such an opportunity was quite rare. However, masked men were popping out from everywhere, so he could be in danger if he let his guard down for a moment.
Fwoosh!
Just then, someone appeared by his side. It was a beautiful woman with a captivating appearance, Guard Go Chan, who had possessed Ha Chae-rin's body.
“Young Master. Are you alright?”
He had rushed to find Mok Gyeong-un amidst the sudden attack. Finding him wasn't too difficult since their connection was still linked. Mok Gyeong-un smirked and said.
“This is good. Could you stand guard for a moment?”
“Pardon?”
“I'll be counting on you then.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un sat down in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes. He then began to absorb the aura of death that was constantly flowing in from the surroundings using the Reverse Energy Circulation Technique.
‘No. What is he doing right now?’
Seeing this, Go Chan was momentarily dumbfounded. No matter how little attachment he had to the Lotuswood Sword Manor, he was either incredibly bold or utterly fearless. To think of performing energy circulation in what was essentially a battlefield.
But he thought he knew why Mok Gyeong-un was doing this.
‘He wasn't absorbing qi, but this?’
Though he had possessed Ha Chae-rin, Go Chan was a vengeful spirit. Therefore, he possessed spirit eyes, and he could see the energy of the dead flowing from all directions being absorbed into Mok Gyeong-un at a rapid pace. To the spirit eyes, the yang energy or vitality of a living human was clear and warm.
But the sight of Mok Gyeong-un absorbing the aura of death was the complete opposite.
‘Is he really human?’
To think he would learn this fiend's true nature only after dying. For some reason, he became even more frightening. It was then.
Ssssk!
‘Huh?’
Just then, a massive monk with skull prayer beads around his neck appeared from somewhere. He was the Demonic Monk who had possessed the body of the Outer Hall Master. But why had the Demonic Monk reappeared in his vengeful spirit state?
‘That startled me.’
Startled by the sudden appearance, Go Chan soon remembered that Mok Gyeong-un had mentioned another Spirit Guardian besides the Blue Spirit.
‘I'm sure he said he possessed the Outer Hall Master's body.’
Go Chan asked with curiosity.
“A-are you perhaps Senior Brother Demonic Monk?” …
The Demonic Monk nodded and then said something. It sounded like he was mumbling, which was a bit strange, but he understood what he was saying.
“You lost your body to someone stronger?”
Did losing his body mean the flesh he was possessing was defeated? He knew that the Outer Hall Master, Sang Ung-baek, was a master at the initial Peak Realm. If he lost his body, just how strong was his opponent...
Crack!
“Gack!”
Just then, with the sound of something being crushed and a final scream, a tall, scar-faced man with a thick-bladed long blade slung over his shoulder vaulted over the pavilion. He exuded an unusual aura, and the Demonic Monk frowned and pointed a finger at him. …
“What? That man?”
That man killed the body the Demonic Monk was possessing? As he was thinking that, the scar-faced man's eyes met Go Chan's. At that moment, Flinch!
‘Wh-what?’
The spiritual sense of Ha Chae-rin, who had reached the Peak Realm, was sounding a strong warning. It was telling him that the man before him was an incredible master. If Ha Chae-rin's body was instinctively on extreme alert, just what level was he?
He couldn't even begin to fathom it.