Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 227

The Great War (2)

A short while later.

On the ground, a complex magic circle was meticulously drawn, and upon it stood San-gun, Cho-ah, and Cho-eum.

Scattered rocks floated freely in the air, creating a surreal scene, while the massive form of Tam-hwa, resembling a giant dragon, encircled them protectively, preventing any unforeseen events during the transfer of the Geumje [a type of magical restriction or seal].

“You must be careful, as even the slightest emotional disturbance can affect the Geumje,” Cho-eum warned, placing her palms on San-gun and Cho-ah’s chests.

She began to chant a spell, her voice serene yet clear, like reciting Buddhist scriptures.

As time passed, the magic circle began to glow faintly, and beads of sweat formed on Cho-ah’s forehead.

From Cho-eum’s left hand, small clumps of cold energy gathered, swirling and dancing like flames. These clumps grew larger and larger, gradually taking shape.

At times, it resembled a dragon; at others, a wheel. Its form was elusive, lacking a solid substance, making it all the more ambiguous.

Yet, this was the very Geumje, the Hanryeong Oryunje [Cold Spirit Five Wheel Seal], that resided within Cho-ah’s body.

“It’s going,” she announced.

The Geumje’s form, the Hanryeong Oryunje, left Cho-ah’s body and immediately penetrated deep into San-gun’s core.

“Keup!” He grimaced in pain. Cho-eum watched him, feeling an indescribable emotion—a strange feeling she couldn’t express or articulate.

Cho-ah, looking at San-gun, clenched her fists as if feeling resentful and aggrieved, while he simply closed his eyes, enduring the Geumje.

The mutual care they showed was palpable, making Cho-eum feel peculiar.

‘If I had met such a man…’

Would my life have been different?

Could I have been happy?

Such questions stirred in her mind, multiplying rapidly.

Unknowingly, Cho-eum hid her trembling hands behind her back, but she couldn’t conceal her wavering pupils. However, these thoughts didn’t linger for long.

Her long-held distrust of men couldn’t be dispelled in an instant.

Cho-eum shook off the thoughts and breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she was no longer in mortal danger.

As long as the Geumje remained unbroken, San-gun couldn’t kill her.

And Cho-eum, bound by her duty to protect San-gun, couldn’t harm him either.

But she could at least save her own life, which was a relief.

‘It can’t be helped. It’s impossible in the Geumhwan Seonhyang [Golden Celestial Fragrance World], but the Lower World is different.’

She knew that even immortals couldn’t fully exert their power in the Lower World due to the pressure from the heavens.

Unable to unleash their full strength, San-gun would hardly be a threat to her in the Lower World, unlike here.

All she had to do was escape this place.

And after that…

‘The day to repay will come.’

If not for Su-seon’s backing, he would be nothing more than a mere Yeonggeop Yuksa [Calamity Preventing Warrior].

How could she let go of the humiliation and disgrace she suffered at the hands of such a being?

The humiliation was so great that she would kick her blanket in her sleep; she could never let it go.

This incident could become a Simma [a seed of inner conflict or trauma], so she had to settle the score.

“Alright, it’s all done!”

Ssshhh. The Hanryeong Oryunje completely permeated San-gun’s body, concentrating all the cold energy within him.

As the cold energy was sucked into his chest, his entire body turned as white as a sheet, his lips turned blue like someone with frostbite, and frost formed around him.

Cho-ah, looking at him with a worried expression, fidgeted anxiously.

‘How much of this Geumje…’

Has he been carrying inside him?

Perhaps for decades, or even centuries.

San-gun looked at his hands, which were barely moving.

Even a slight movement caused his flesh to tear and crack.

It was called the Manbo Sidae Geumje [Ten Thousand Era Seal], and it seemed to live up to its name.

Even though he was a Hwasintong Yuksa [Incarnation Warrior], he hadn’t expected the backlash from the Geumje to be so severe.

“How is it? Are you feeling a little better?” Cho-eum asked, as if teasing him. San-gun stared at her intently for a moment.

His body was being eroded by the cold, and it was difficult to move, but strangely, his mind was clearer than ever.

Pondering her words, San-gun chuckled and replied,

“I feel great.”

Whirrrrr!

Suddenly, his entire body was engulfed in blue flames.

Ssshhh.

At the same time, pure white cold energy emanated from San-gun’s chest.

Thump!

Suddenly, San-gun grabbed Cho-eum’s hands tightly.

“Wh-what are you doing!” She was dumbfounded by his sudden action.

But an inexplicable sense of unease washed over Cho-eum’s entire body.

“Isn’t it common sense in the Dogye [Taoist world] to settle debts?”

Crack!

“Keuk!” She tried to shake him off, but his grip was too strong. It felt like her wrist would be severed.

‘He’s not even wearing the Oryong’s armor [Five Dragon Armor], yet he has this much brute strength…!’

And that wasn’t all.

Saaaa!

Incantations flowed from San-gun’s hands, connecting to Cho-eum’s hands.

Golden letters, as if alive, danced and spread from his arm to Cho-eum’s entire body.

“Wh-what is this!”

“It’s nothing much. Just returning the favor.”

“Returning?” She asked, contorting her face in various expressions, and San-gun chuckled in response.

“You placed a Geumje on my wife, so I’m just returning it!”

“Foolish! Have you already forgotten that you have the Hanryeong Oryunje in your body?”

Activating the Hanryeong Oryunje would cause San-gun’s body to freeze to death.

It wasn’t just a simple freeze.

Initially, he would feel a coldness from within, like being naked in a snow mountain, and then slowly freeze, breaking into pieces and turning to dust.

“The foolish one is you, Cho-eum. Despite your beautiful appearance, your mind doesn’t seem to be very sharp.”

“Wh-what?”

“I don’t know if you had faith in the Manbo Sidae Geumje or if you underestimated me, but you made one mistake.”

“Mistake?”

“Even if it’s called the Manbo Sidae Geumje, it’s still just a Geumje created by a Taoist from the Lower World. Did you think a mere immortal couldn’t do anything about it?”

Immortal!

“Could it be…”

“This mere Geumje is like child’s play to him, the divine beast of the Upper World.

So, I’ll return it to you!”

At that moment.

Hooong.

Suddenly, a young boy appeared behind him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Hooooooong!

Kwaaaaa!

San-gun twisted Cho-eum’s wrist, and immense cold energy spread through her hand.

In an instant, the Hanryeong Oryunje was transferred from San-gun’s body to Cho-eum’s body.

“Keoeok!” Cho-eum staggered, clutching her chest in shock.

She spread out her hands.

Her trembling hands spoke of her state of mind, and her wavering pupils and pale complexion revealed her current predicament.

San-gun looked down at her with a chilling gaze and said,

“Did you think I would let it go after what you did to my woman?”

Not a chance.

Repaying debts meant adding more, not less.

Especially when it involved something so precious.

“Any last words?”

Cho-eum was silent.

She was kneeling, looking down at her hands.

Her eyes held both despair and emptiness, and her lips were filled with deep regret. San-gun turned to look at Cho-ah. Cho-ah nodded as if she had been waiting, and stood before Cho-eum.

“I wanted to do this with my own strength. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.

You were the worst teacher to me, but not all of your teachings were useless. I pity you, but I don’t want to deny what you did to me, so receive my sword, my disciple’s sword, willingly.”

She placed her hands together.

Then, with a small burst of light, a sword with a transparent blade appeared.

It was her Bonseon Beopbae [Original Immortal Dharma Treasure], the Hanwoneum Sword [Cold Sound Sword].

Cho-ah sighed softly and plunged the Hanwoneum Sword into Cho-eum’s chest.

Thwack.

Whirrrrr.

As the sword pierced her, pure white flames ignited, burning Cho-eum.

Cho-ah’s white flames were not fire, but cold energy.

They were made of Hanyeom [Cold Flame].

So, it looked like flames, but in reality, it was completely different.

“It’s cold.”

Her flames were cold.

Flames that were too piercing and cold.

Cho-eum, her entire body engulfed in white flames, stared blankly at the sky.

The sky of Geumhwan Seonhyang was blue without a single cloud.

It was a shame to die on such a beautiful day.

‘Haa…’

But there was nothing she could do.

Her body was bound by the Hanryeong Oryunje, and she was being frozen by the white flames.

The combination of the Hanryeong Oryunje and the white flames had already rendered her body immobile, and she was gradually freezing.

‘Even if I could move, it would be useless.’

The one who uses Su-seon is here.

How could she escape?

She was completely defeated.

No, she was foolish and lacked composure.

She lost her composure at the sight of San-gun trying to take the Geumje in place of Cho-ah.

If she had thought a little more, she could have been careful, but she missed it.

“The greater the trust, the greater the pain when betrayed.”

“That’s also true when betrayed.”

“Can you be sure?”

“Yes.”

“…You look happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Okay… then that’s enough. That’s enough.”

Saaaaaa….

Pure white cold energy spread widely across the ground, and ice began to form on her burning body.

The formed ice gradually grew, swallowing Cho-eum and turning into an iceberg.

After a while.

In the center of the towering iceberg, Cho-eum was closing her eyes.

She looked as if she was asleep in the frozen iceberg.

“I heard that the Hanryeong Oryunje shatters not only the body but also the Hwaryeong [Soul Spirit] into ice fragments and disappears into dust…”

On the surface, it looked like she was sealed in an iceberg.

“She’s dead.”

“She’s dead?”

“Yes.”

San-gun looked at Cho-ah’s wavering eyes and then raised his hand to grab her shoulder tightly.

“If you say so, then that’s how it is.”

It was her choice and decision.

As time passed, she would merge with the iceberg and disappear naturally.

San-gun looked at Cho-ah with deep eyes and opened his mouth.

“I have a lot to say.”

“I have a lot to say too.”

But it was still too early.

There was a mountain of things to do.

He had dealt with Cho-eum and rescued Cho-ah, so the major tasks were settled for now.

However, he didn’t know where Ho-ri had gone, and Dang-chun could appear anytime, anywhere, so he had to prepare.

‘I can’t go to the Lower World.’

If he went, Dang-chun would follow him right away.

If he went to the Lower World, there would be no one to oppose him.

‘It’s better here.’

Geumhwan Seonhyang.

In this place, he could fully utilize Tam-hwa, and he could also get help from Bong, so it was better here.

‘But…’

In two days, this place would be closed.

The path to the Lower World would be closed.

If that happened, he would have to spend a thousand years here, which was very troublesome.

“What are you going to do?”

“…I don’t know.”

There was no suitable solution.

A situation where he couldn’t do this or that.

“Bong, please come out for a moment.”

Whirrrrr.

Blue feathers landed on the ground, creating blue flames, and Bong, in the form of a boy, appeared from within.

“You can’t go to the Lower World.”

“I guess not. I don’t know when or where that Dang-chun will appear.”

“You can’t stay here either.”

“You’d be trapped for a thousand years, so I guess not.”

Bong pondered for a moment, then tilted his head and looked at San-gun.

“What you’re thinking…”

San-gun silently nodded as Bong narrowed his eyes and asked.

“You’re crazy. Do you know where that is? And you’re saying a cultivator from the Lower World should set foot there?”

He was sternly rebuking him.

San-gun was a little embarrassed because he didn’t expect Bong to get so angry.

But he had to say what he had to say.

“As Bong knows, I’ve only just met my wife. But the enemy is targeting me. If I go to the Lower World, I can’t avoid it, and I can’t resist.”

But he couldn’t stay in Geumhwan Seonhyang either.

There was no guarantee that the guy wouldn’t come to this place, and he didn’t want to be trapped for a thousand years.

“So, you’re going to Yumu-gan [Endless Void]?”

“…Yes.”

“Yumu-gan is an infinite space between spaces. There is no end to it, and only infinitely spreading darkness exists. Yumu-gan is a dangerous place where even high-level immortals don’t dare to set foot.

Let alone a cultivator from the Lower World, who would instantly have their existence erased or become a meal for the ferocious beasts that reside there. Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

Bong stared intently into San-gun’s eyes and then raised the corners of his mouth as if sneering.

“You’re trying to go, trusting me.”

Then San-gun smiled slyly.

“I heard that all the primordial divine beasts were born in a place called Yumu-gan. So, it’s right that Bong knows the geography of that place well, isn’t it?”

Another name for Yumu-gan is Chaos.

At his words, Bong narrowed his brow.

“You’re thinking boldly.”

As if seeing through something, Bong narrowed his eyes and probed San-gun.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied,

“Even if it’s not Bong, Dang-chun might be trapped in Yumu-gan for life.”