In a room where all four walls were filled with talismans and numerous magic tools. A white-haired Daoist, who had been meditating with his eyes closed within a circle of candles arranged in the directions of the five elements, opened his eyes.
‘!?’
His pupils trembled. The sharp-featured, white-haired Daoist could not hide his bewilderment.
‘Impossible.’
Seized by a sense of foreboding, the white-haired Daoist rose from his seat. He left the room and walked down the corridor. The sensation he had just felt was the backlash that should only occur when a curse he had cast was broken.
But that was impossible.
‘Even if the Gu poison had been completed, it could not have broken this pavilion master's art.’
Soon, the white-haired Daoist stood before a door. The Daoist opened the door. The Daoist's expression hardened as he opened the door.
On the floor of the room was a formation that looked like a barrier, and within it, a thick jar with a talisman attached was bound by iron chains. But… -tremble tremble!- As if surging with anger, the white-haired old man's beard trembled violently. And for good reason.
The talisman attached to the candle was torn, and the iron chains were severed. The old man approached and grasped the broken chain with a trembling hand. Then, closing his eyes, he recited an incantation.
“Buyeonjusang yeonwonbigyeong mujujisin geupgeubyeoyullyeong.” -Shiver!- The chain trembled violently.
‘What in the world happened? Show me the reason.’ -Creep…- Something began to form in the mind of the old man with his eyes closed.
It was the process of countless vengeful spirits devouring one another and transforming. On the days Corpse Blood Valley was active, he checked on this periodically, two or three times a day, to ensure there were no problems. Hadn't it been fine just a moment ago?
But what in the world had happened? At that moment, a form that appeared entirely black was seen approaching the Gu poison that was nearing completion.
“Mujujisin geupgeubyeoyullyeong!”
‘Show me. What is it?’
He had to know what variable had appeared. As he infused more curse power through the incantation… -Crack!- At that moment, blood streamed from the old man's left eye, and the broken chain he was holding completely disintegrated into dust and scattered. The old man staggered for a moment and was pushed back.
‘........’
What was that just now? Something heinous, cloaked in an aura of death, had interfered with the completing Gu poison. It was definitely not an anomaly in the form of a specter, like a vengeful spirit.
In that case, ‘Did an evil spirit monster break through the talisman barrier on the cliff and enter?’ The old man wiped away the bloody tear that trickled down with his sleeve.
An evil spirit monster capable of breaking the cliff's talisman and meddling with vengeful spirits that, though incomplete, had transformed and risen to such a high rank, would have to be beyond a fierce Beast.
‘Could a demon beast or a devil beast have appeared?’
No. A devil beast was too much. If it were of that level, he would have noticed it immediately, no matter the distance. For if a devil beast had appeared here, the casualties would have been substantial, even for a martial arts faction. -Gnash!- But even if it wasn't of that rank, he couldn't suppress his rage.
The Gu poison he had been slowly trying to perfect over a period of fifteen long years had turned to nothing in an instant. -Bang!- The old man violently threw open the door, passed through the corridor, and went outside the building. Someone was kneeling there. It was none other than Occultist Jo Ui-gong.
Seeing the old man emerge, Jo Ui-gong raised his head with a brightened expression.
“Master, no, Pavilion Master!”
The sharp-featured, white-haired old man. He was In Seo-ok, the pavilion master of the Grudge Killing Pavilion, which served as the occult arts consultant for the Heaven and Earth Society.
He was also Jo Ui-gong's Master, and a Sun-rank Occultist who had reached the highest realm of occult arts, a rank so exclusive that only fourteen occultists in total had attained it.
Excluding the Six Divine Occultist, who were called the pinnacle of the Divine, Sun, Moon, Adept, Fathomless, and Courier, he was a master whose skills in occult arts were unmatched by almost anyone.
“Pavilion Master. Are you going to speak to the Lord?”
To Jo Ui-gong's question, Pavilion Master In Seo-ok shook his head, his face frightfully stiff. At this, Jo Ui-gong could not hide his disappointment. Among all the talents he had ever seen, that boy was the best.
That was why he had intended to ask the pavilion master to somehow get him out of Corpse Blood Valley. But it wasn't that his mind had changed.
‘Aaaah......’
As he was thinking this, In Seo-ok spoke.
“That is not the problem right now.”
“....... What do you mean by that?”
“A high-rank evil spirit monster has ruined everything.”
“Don't tell me......”
“This pavilion master's Spirit God Gu Poison Art has been broken.”
‘!!!!!’
Occultist Jo Ui-gong was utterly aghast. The Spirit God Gu Poison Art was something his Master, Pavilion Master In Seo-ok, had painstakingly worked on for fifteen long years.
“How could such a thing happen? No matter what kind of evil spirit monster it is, to break through your barrier, Master, no, Pavilion Master, is.....”
“It must be a demon beast or higher.”
“A demon beast!”
An evil spirit monster that surpasses the rank of a lesser beast and a fierce Beast. Even a fierce Beast required a Spirit Adept or higher to face, and a demon beast, which was above that, could be difficult for even an Occultist with the title of Moon-rank to deal with, depending on its type.
‘Wait, the cliff valley where the Spirit God Gu Poison Art is being performed......’
It was adjacent to Corpse Blood Valley. Even if the Spirit God Gu Poison Art hadn't been broken, if a demon beast had appeared on that mountain, it was a situation that could not be ignored. Pavilion Master In Seo-ok clicked his tongue and said.
“Immediately gather your talismans and magic tools and prepare to go to Corpse Blood Valley.”
At his Master's command, Occultist Jo Ui-gong thought to himself that this was for the best. His Master was displeased because the Spirit God Gu Poison Art had been broken, but this could become a pretext to halt the gates of Corpse Blood Valley.
Mok Gyeong-un absorbed the remaining aura of death here and began a reverse energy circulation. Seeing him like this, a strange light appeared in the eyes of Gyu So-ha, his new Spirit Guardian. And for good reason.
In Gyu So-ha's spirit eyes, she could see that Mok Gyeong-un's energy was not circulating normally, but in reverse. Not only that, she was circulating not yang energy or vitality, but the aura of death.
‘Is my Master truly a living human?’
That had been a constant question for her. It was strange for a human to absorb such a tremendous amount of death energy and still be perfectly fine. Gyu So-ha glanced to the side.
Blue Spirit was sitting perched on a large rock, leisurely smoking a long pipe. At this, Gyu So-ha carefully approached and began to speak. -Ahem. Excuse me... -Excuse me?
Hmph!
You should call me Elder... Just as she was about to say that, Blue Spirit stared intently at So-ha, then snorted and said, -Just call me sister. Green Spirit or not, being called 'Elder' by that young girl felt rather embarrassing.
Of course, the difference in their age and rank was too vast for her to call her 'sister' either. But... -This one... -This what?
Try spouting that 'this young master' nonsense again. -This one is a man... you see. -........ -Keep spouting nonsense and I'll just annihilate you, whether that boy made you his Spirit Guardian or not. -No. This one is... Blue Spirit abruptly raised her long pipe. At this, Gyu So-ha squeezed her eyes shut and raised both hands.
Her half-white hair was unusual, but anyone would see her as nothing more than a girl of about fifteen. -Don't loiter in front of this master.
Hmph!
One more word about being a man or whatever, and my patience ends. Blue Spirit clicked her tongue, then waved her hand as if to shoo her away. In the end, So-ha couldn't ask what she wanted to ask, and came away with nothing.
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un, having absorbed all the energy, opened his eyes.
“Hoo.” -You absorbed it all?
“Yes. Gathering the remaining energy amounted to quite a bit.”
By gathering all the death energy left on the cliff, he was able to collect at least as much as he would from killing fifty people. It was far more efficient than roaming the entire mountain to hunt.
‘His energy has stabilized, more or less.’
Blue Spirit watched Mok Gyeong-un and clicked her tongue inwardly. He had managed to take all that death energy and, through circulation, make it completely his own. The level of his middle and lower dantian, in terms of internal energy, had almost surpassed the maturity of the Peak Realm and reached the extreme.
‘Absurd.’
The order of things was completely jumbled. He had almost no acquisition or enlightenment regarding qi, so he didn't even know how to handle things like sword energy or energy release, yet his level of internal energy had reached the extreme of the Peak Realm. This too was due to the bizarre principles of the Eight Arts of Shattering Thought.
‘....... It's like having double the internal energy of someone at the extreme of the Peak Realm. However, since the middle dantian can only be obtained after overcoming a wall, its potential is also unknown.’
Right now, even she found it difficult to definitively judge Mok Gyeong-un's level. She was certainly curious. Just what level of masters could this boy handle now?
As she was thinking, Mok Gyeong-un asked.
“How much time has passed?” -Uh.....
Since you've been here, Master... -If you're asking how long until dawn, not even half a shichen is left. At most, about three gak? Blue Spirit cut off Gyu So-ha and spoke.
At her words, Mok Gyeong-un looked up at the night sky. Indeed, the once completely black sky had already started to change to a faint indigo.
“Hmm.”
It seemed he had spent more time here than planned. Of course, it wasn't a loss. He had obtained several times more aura of death than he would have by killing the boys searching for flags, and he had even gained a powerful Green Spirit.
But now, not much time was left. Mok Gyeong-un licked his lips.
“That's a shame.” -What is?
“I was planning to leave only seven, but with just three gak, that would be impossible.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Blue Spirit clicked her tongue. His way of thinking was truly different. His original purpose was to secure more death energy, but now it seemed that drastically reducing the total number of participants was also part of his plan.
Clicking her tongue, Blue Spirit said, -Instead of that, you should find a flag and group members first. If it were just about finding any flag, it might be different, but he had to find one with the remaining half of the Sword Art incantation written on it.
If he were unlucky, he might only find flags with the same incantations. And there had to be boys worthy of being accepted as group members. That's why he had to hurry.
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un took something out from his robes. -You should be in a hurry, what are you doing?
“I have to put them back in.”
What Mok Gyeong-un took out were none other than the needles of the Forbidden Gate Locks that he had removed from the vital points on his spine. If he didn't put these back, he would arouse suspicion. -This master can do that for you.
“What?” -Whoosh!
Before his question was even finished, Blue Spirit lightly waved her hand. At that, the Forbidden Gate Locks needles on Mok Gyeong-un's palm flew and simultaneously embedded themselves into the Qi gates on the vital points of his spine. -Th-th-thunk!
“Hup.”
Removing the needles was painful, but inserting them was agonizing as well. It was painful to insert even one, so having them all inserted at once made even Mok Gyeong-un, with his high tolerance for pain, let out a sharp gasp of air.
Watching this, Blue Spirit said with a satisfied expression, -Removing them requires a tool, but I can at least do this much.
But you...
Blue Spirit's gaze shifted towards Mok Gyeong-un's chest. That was where his middle dantian was located. When the Qi gates were blocked, unlike the lower dantian whose energy scattered and was cut off, the middle dantian was still alive.
One gak later, Mok Gyeong-un found a group that had taken a flag. There were exactly eight of them, and it seemed they had succeeded in defending the flag a couple of times, as the bodies of nine boys were strewn about nearby. A boy who recognized Mok Gyeong-un spotted him and sneered.
“Hey. Where'd you sell off your group members? Wandering around alone?”
“Puhahahaha.”
“Yeah, seriously.”
At his question, the other group members all let out scornful laughs. With not much time left until dawn, they were confident that Mok Gyeong-un couldn't handle them alone, which was why they were acting this way. As they laughed together, the boy who had provoked Mok Gyeong-un waved his hand dismissively and said.
“We're full up over here, so get lost.”
“So you're full up.”
“Are you deaf? I said get lost. Oh, right. There's only about two incenses left until dawn. I wonder if you can even find a group that'll take you...” -Thwack!
"Guk!" -Thud!
In that instant, the boy collapsed mid-sentence. Mok Gyeong-un was in a throwing stance, and a rock was embedded in the center of the boy's face. It seemed he had been killed instantly by the impact.
“Wh-what is this.....”
“He can't even use internal energy, so how?”
The boy's group members couldn't hide their bewilderment. Who would have imagined he would kill one of their own just by throwing a pebble? As they stood there, Mok Gyeong-un's lips curled into a sneer.
“Oh my... looks like you have a spot open now.”