Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 123

Sword Spirit Island.

Looking at the towering peaks rising like pillars in the thick fog, one might think this was a fairyland where immortals lived.

The thousands of peaks that stood tall were called Geon-gon Pillars, meaning ‘pillars connecting heaven and earth’.

Sword Spirit Island had thousands of Geon-gon Pillars, and among them, the five Geon-gon Pillars that reached high into the sky and were shrouded in mist were the tallest and grandest.

It was then.

From atop the central Geon-gon Pillar, a golden giant sword suddenly appeared and plunged down like lightning.

Kwaang!

The dense mist, gathered in clumps, spread out in a ring shape due to the intense air pressure.

Then, swordsmen sitting cross-legged on the edges of the surrounding peaks and bizarre rocks looked at the spot with envy, jealousy, and surprise before turning their heads.

Above the sky.

Several point-like lights flickered.

They were giant swords of white light falling with long tails.

“That’s unusual, so many swordsmen appearing at once,” a man carefully polishing a sleek longsword chuckled.

The falling of giant swords signified the arrival of new swordsmen.

Expectations surged as a new wind was about to blow on the quiet Sword Spirit Island.

* * *

Thud!

The man who appeared as the thick mist cleared was San-gun, wearing the Wiju Hoyeon Armor.

“Kuh-euk…!”

San-gun clutched his head in pain as soon as he landed on the Geon-gon Pillar.

‘Man-geuk Il-geom…!’ [Ten Thousand Extremes, One Sword]

The reason was the vast amount of sword technique formulas that flooded his mind as soon as he entered Sword Spirit Island. It was a process everyone who entered Sword Spirit Island went through.

After about an hour.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

He suddenly burst into mad laughter as if he had gone crazy.

San-gun laughed like that for a while before glancing around.

The swordsmen training on top of the Geon-gon Pillar were looking at him as if he were a madman.

He paused for a moment and muttered.

“It’s done. It’s done now.”

He took off the Wiju Hoyeon Armor and took out a lotus-shaped treasure from his chest.

As he chanted a spell, a black light slowly emerged from the lotus and took shape.

“Hwa-ran!”

It was Hwa-ran.

Hwa-ran slightly opened her eyes and replied with a faint smile.

“Why are you calling me so affectionately? Anyone would think we were a separated couple reuniting.”

She still threw playful remarks, giving a strange certainty that it was really Hwa-ran.

San-gun smiled bitterly and hugged her, expressing his deep longing.

Hwa-ran, embraced in his arms, also felt the warmth with a pleased look before pulling away.

Then, she suddenly slapped San-gun’s cheek.

Thwack.

It was more like a touch than a slap.

“Didn’t I say? I would slap you when we meet again,” she said with a smile. What could he say?

San-gun had forcibly ordered her to be put in the incense burner in the first place.

He had nothing to say.

“So.”

Hwa-ran lightly crossed her arms.

“What is it? You must have had a way, so you kept me alive in there.”

Of course.

“Do you know where this is?”

“Well, I’ve never seen a place like this before.”

“This is Sword Spirit Island.”

“…!”

She was a high-level Taoist in her previous life, so she couldn’t not know the name of Sword Spirit Island.

An island said to have been created by an immortal who had mastered all kinds of swordsmanship for the sake of future generations.

“Could it be….”

“Yes.”

He intended to make her a Sword Spirit.

“That’s absurd!”

But Hwa-ran shouted vehemently.

It made sense.

A Sword Spirit is essentially a manifestation of the sword born from within the sword.

But how could she, who is merely a ghost, become a Sword Spirit?

It was absurd.

“Besides, most people who train in swordsmanship their whole lives die without creating a Sword Spirit!”

“I know.”

“Unless I go back into that incense burner, my lifespan is only about 10 years! Even if I go into the incense burner now, it’s only 30 or 40 years at most, so how…!”

San-gun patted her as if he understood everything. He didn’t know if it would work or not.

She was afraid that San-gun, with a bright future ahead of him, would spend his whole life because of her.

That’s why she was angry.

Because she might become a hindrance.

“It can be done. That’s why I came here, isn’t it?”

San-gun said so with a kind face.

Hwa-ran forgot that she was angry and stared blankly.

“Is it just ‘because’ again…?”

“Yes.”

A slightly sad look.

Hwa-ran sighed softly as she looked at it and nodded.

“…If it’s San-gun’s ‘because,’ I’ll have to be fooled. I understand.”

“…Thank you.”

San-gun, finally relieved, began to tell her the mysteries of the sword techniques that had been injected into him as he flew to Sword Spirit Island.

“Does that make sense?”

“I also think it doesn’t make sense, but it’s according to my thoughts. Believe me. I will definitely make you a Sword Spirit!”

The sword technique he obtained upon entering Sword Spirit Island.

Man-geuk Il-geom (Ten Thousand Extremes, One Sword).

Ten thousand extremes into one sword.

It was a very simple and clear sword technique.

It was a 14-star sword technique formula, but San-gun considered it more of a manufacturing technique than a sword technique.

Based on the user’s consciousness, ten thousand swords are created in the 1st star, and one’s soul is divided into ten thousand pieces and implanted into the swords.

Thus, as the level increases, the ten thousand swords gradually merge with each other, and when it reaches the 14th star, a single sword is completed.

That sword is influenced by the user’s spiritual power, consciousness, and heart, and is born as the only sword in the world.

Because it is a sword created in this way, the Sword Spirit cannot betray the user either.

Moreover, since it is a sword without substance, it can appear anywhere the user’s consciousness extends and attack the enemy.

It could be said to be a sword specialized in surprise attacks and hidden techniques.

Furthermore, when it reaches the 6th star, one can reach the realm of Sword Dew Rebirth [검노탁생 – Geomno Taksaeng] and awaken the soul of the sword. At that time, Hwa-ran’s consciousness also awakens.

Originally, San-gun did not know the details of this sword technique.

He only knew the general outline, but he was even more confident when the formula directly entered his mind.

Sword Dew Rebirth refers to the realm of awakening the soul of the sword.

This realm is originally one of the advanced realms that can be manifested only when one lives and dies with the sword they have chosen, regardless of the sword technique manual.

However, San-gun was able to reach it just by awakening the Man-geuk Il-geom in order. Moreover, since the soul was already inside, it could be said to be a sword technique manual for Hwa-ran and San-gun!

‘It can be done.’

As much as it is made with consciousness, he was somewhat confident.

San-gun, who possesses the Boon-hap Su-gyeol and Hang-bo Sa-in Sword, is a Level 6 Taoist with twice the consciousness of other Taoists of the same level.

Without knowing for sure, he probably had a consciousness comparable to Yeong-geop Cho-gyeong.

The fact that the consciousness that senses all things is wide also greatly affects the mind.

To think that he was making a sword with that, it was natural that he was more confident than anyone else.

‘Starting with creating ten thousand swords.’

That’s the beginning.

There was enough time.

Wouldn’t 30 or 40 years be more than enough to reach the 1st star!

“Then, is it a temporary farewell until San-gun reaches the 6th star… that is, the realm of Sword Dew Rebirth?”

“It’s not really a farewell….”

In a way, that was right.

He could quickly reach the 1st star, but he had no idea how long it would take to reach the 6th star.

It could take 10 years, or it could take 100 years.

“If something goes wrong and we end up parting ways forever, I’d be very sad, so let’s spend about a year together here. The scenery isn’t bad, so you can think of it as coming for a vacation.”

“Well, that’s fine.”

It wouldn’t matter.

“But do we have to stay on this peak? Can’t we go down…?”

“Ah, you can’t go. This place is covered with High Altitude Restriction and Illusion Formation.”

“Yes? Why is that?”

“Well, I don’t know the details about Sword Spirit Island either….”

Perhaps it was to prevent fights between swordsmen.

If one could use stealth techniques to wander around, they might interfere with others’ training.

“I know that the restriction is lifted once every 100 years, so it wouldn’t be bad to tour this place then.”

It was a very large island.

The island was shaped like a giant sword, but its size was truly vast.

And there were quite a few rare creatures living under the Geon-gon Pillars, so if you looked for them, there would be quite a few places to see.

“Is that so? Well, this place isn’t that small either.”

The top of the Geon-gon Pillar was not small.

The place chosen as San-gun’s residence was twice as large and tall as other Geon-gon Pillars.

There was no reason to be uncomfortable.

Moreover, there were a few thatched houses and secret chambers that someone had used before.

San-gun flew a few paper dolls from Gong-jeong River and summoned puppets.

They were faceless golems.

He entrusted them with cleaning the surroundings with his consciousness and took off the Wiju Hoyeon Armor.

“Oh? Is this child Tam-hwa?”

“Ah, yeah. Say hello. This is Hwa-ran.”

“Huh? Oh! It’s Hwa-ran!”

Tam-hwa hugged Hwa-ran as if she was happy to see her, and she was bewildered.

Before she fell asleep, Tam-hwa was a giant centipede, so it was natural.

Seeing them like that, it was nice to see a mother and daughter reuniting.

He took out a rolled-up jade slip and brought it to his forehead, copying the formulas of Man-geuk Il-geom in his head one by one.

He might forget them, and if he wrote them down on the jade slip, he might realize the mysteries he had overlooked again.

After copying all the Man-geuk Il-geom formulas, San-gun took out a wooden box from his chest.

Inside was a black cocoon. When he made a hand seal, the cocoon swelled twice in size, and then it slowly unraveled, revealing Gwi-yul inside.

Gwi-yul was holding the Nine Ringed Blade in his arms and had his eyes tightly closed.

‘Hmm….’

After obtaining the statue of Bulgu Daechunma [佛軀大天魔 – Buddha-bodied Great Devil], Gwi-yul’s energy became even more violent.

The statue had formulas related to Bulgu Daechunma written on it, and he thought that Gwi-yul would not be able to unravel them. However, as if to laugh at him, Gwi-yul seemed to have accepted the energy of Bulgu Daechunma.

‘Evil and demonic energy coexist….’

A chilling sense of unease lingered, as if it could explode at any moment.

He had placed a stronger restriction on him because he could suppress it now….

‘I don’t know when he’ll break it on his own.’

Still, it would take a lot of time to do so.

San-gun wouldn’t let that happen.

“But I can’t just keep him locked up like this.”

He took out Blood Collapse Water and flicked a drop of blood, and Gwi-yul’s eyes flashed open.

Gwi-yul glanced at Hwa-ran and shone a strange light in his eyes.

“If you want to die, covet her.”

The tremendous killing intent suppressed Gwi-yul, and even she frowned.

“If you touch my people, I won’t let you off the hook, no matter who you are.”