Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 153

낭선기환담 – 152

He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip.

He felt like his funny bone was about to burst.

It was already hard enough to hold back laughter with Man Sam, but with Myung-hwa acting like this, it was almost impossible.

However, when Myung-hwa didn’t receive an answer, she seemed flustered and sent another telepathic message.

-Can’t you hear me?

He felt like he should say something, but he was afraid he would burst out laughing if he did.

For others, this would be a stroke of luck that they would immediately accept and perform the proper greetings, but not for him.

‘Just go away, Myung-hwa.’

It was then.

Suddenly, a strange wave of spiritual energy spread out like ripples.

Myung-hwa’s head turned, and the other flying immortals’ gazes also focused in one direction.

Only then could he breathe a sigh of relief. What had caught the attention of the Taoists were none other than the monkey spirit leaders.

They still hadn’t opened their eyes, perhaps still under the influence of the Dream Haze Art, but most of them were swallowing groans.

On the surface, it seemed no different, but the energy they were subtly emitting was eerily strange.

‘Demonic energy.’

It was the demonic energy unique to the Demonic Path.

It seemed they were still trapped in the Dream Haze Art and hadn’t realized what was happening.

Then, Myung-hwa gestured to the flying immortals, and they gathered around the spirit leaders.

“Capture them.”

There were a total of four monkey spirit leaders.

The four flying immortals formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, creating magical characters around them that covered all directions.

“Seal!”

The golden magical characters shot towards the spirit leaders all at once.

The magical characters transformed into golden ropes, binding them tightly in an instant.

[Wh-What is this!]

Only then did the Dream Haze Art seem to dissipate, and the creatures struggled in a panic.

However, their bodies had already been bound for a long time.

[What are you doing!]

But Myung-hwa, with a cold gaze, spoke calmly.

“Take them away.”

“Understood!”

Whether they were guilty or not could be examined after interrogation.

It was the right decision.

Myung-hwa glanced at San-gun one last time and disappeared with the spirit leaders.

The other flying immortals moved with her, leaving behind only Baek Ji-cheon and Man-ho.

San-gun subtly looked around.

Some people were slowly emerging from the Dream Haze Art. Their complexions weren’t good, but their expressions looked relieved.

Having safely passed this test, their acceptance as inner disciples was confirmed.

The woman in the green robe and the man had also passed long ago.

And those with eye patches as well.

Un-mo and Ryu-aeng hadn’t woken up yet, but it seemed to be only a matter of time.

“Those who withstood the Dream Haze Art, come forward.”

“A-Are we moving already?”

“The sooner we go, the better, right? The Upper Gate has twice the recovery rate of the Middle Gate.”

At Baek Ji-cheon’s words, most of the examinees showed a faint look of joy.

San-gun also stood up from his spot and joined their group.

“Ah, you’ll go with the next group. Right now, the only available supervisors are me and Taoist Man-ho.”

Baek Ji-cheon said, looking at San-gun.

However, Man-ho was startled by his words and waved his hands.

“No! Baek Ji-cheon, you stay here a little longer. I’ll take them to the Upper Gate first!”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Ah, ah! Now that I think about it, I remembered something the Head Elder asked me to do! I need to rush to the Upper Gate!”

“What nonsense are you spouting again… I know you were close to him, but it’s been over a year since you were separated. What’s with the sudden talk about something he asked you to do!”

“Eii! Then it’s nothing!”

Man-ho stubbornly pushed Baek Ji-cheon away and took the lead, guiding the examinees to the Upper Gate.

In the meantime, he didn’t forget to glance at San-gun.

‘Seriously, that old man has a cute side to him.’

San-gun gave him a slight smile, and Man-ho’s face lit up even more.

The path to the Upper Gate was quite steep and treacherous, but the rewards were thorough.

The spiritual energy felt different from that of the Middle Gate in terms of purity itself.

To put it into words, it was like…

‘Falling into a lake made of spiritual energy….’

That’s how it felt.

It is said that too much is worse than too little.

However, that saying didn’t apply to the spiritual energy of the Upper Gate.

‘A spiritual vein is inherently helpful.’

The Upper Gate was more magnificent than the Lower Gate.

Moreover, various traces of spells could be seen. When Man-ho took out a spirit tablet from his pocket, it seemed that it was made so that no one could enter without it.

‘The security isn’t very reassuring.’

To put it bluntly, one could just snatch the spirit tablet from that Man-ho and enter.

This part should be reviewed later.

While waiting and resting in a corner of the Upper Gate, the next group arrived from behind.

Ryu-aeng and Un-mo were with them.

The number of examinees, which had been over 100 just yesterday, was now less than 30.

Most had dropped out due to the Dream Haze Art.

“I knew it, you’re a tiger. If you become the Head Elder’s direct disciple, don’t forget me and Ryu-aeng, okay?”

They had only met a short time ago, but they were already acting so friendly.

When San-gun replied that he understood, smiles spread across Un-mo and Ryu-aeng’s faces.

“Making such a fuss just for withstanding the Dream Haze Art.”

It was the guy with the eye patch.

“Our Tiger is much more amazing than a mean-spirited guy like you.”

“Just a mere mixed-blood….”

It was clearly a dismissive tone.

San-gun smiled as if he found it amusing.

But then.

Clap! With a clap of his hands, Man-ho smiled faintly and began to speak.

“Well, as you heard earlier, you have been confirmed as inner disciples of the White Mountain Sect, and the one who performs the best in the test will be given the opportunity to become the Head Elder’s direct disciple along with the Seungseondan [a special reward or title].

Of course, I would be happy to accept you even if you become my disciple instead of the Head Elder’s direct disciple.”

With a sly bit of nonsense, Man-ho explained the final test.

“The final test is also simple. From now on, you will head to the innermost part of White Mountain.”

The innermost part.

San-gun’s brow furrowed.

“Is there anyone who can guess where that ‘innermost part’ is? As a reward, I’ll give you a Yeongseongbu [a talisman or magical artifact].”

The woman in the green robe raised her hand.

“Perhaps, it’s Yeongnaesan?”

“Oho, how insightful! You got it right!”

Yeongnaesan of White Mountain!

From the beginning, White Mountain was one of the most famous mountains where the Phoenix was born.

The years it had been around couldn’t be ignored, and there were few places with spiritual veins like White Mountain.

It would have been stranger if there wasn’t a Yeongnaesan.

‘Good.’

It hadn’t been created because Bong-ak Cheong-hwa was sealed, but he thought it would have been created by now.

If there was an Inner Mountain, it would be good to balance the spiritual energy with the Outer Mountain, and the spiritual herbs, trees, spiritual insects, and spirit beasts raised in the Inner Mountain would make White Mountain’s wealth more abundant.

‘But there was no need to open Yeongnaesan for the entrance exam….’

Opening Yeongnaesan in the current situation was a bit questionable.

Even though they were now inner disciples, there were still no people he could trust.

There might be someone among the disciples with bad intentions, or there might be a spy sent from another sect.

In the midst of all this, opening Yeongnaesan….

‘It would be good if it was intentional.’

If not, he would have to discipline them a bit.

As he was thinking this, a young monk suddenly appeared.

The disciples were surprised, but Man-ho bowed deeply towards the boy.

“Have you arrived, Elder Man?”

If there was a Yeongnaesan, it was natural to think that Man-sam would be the one managing it.

Born as Yeongsam, Man-sam was more suitable for managing the Inner Mountain than anyone else.

With his unique Moksin Tong [a special ability related to wood or nature], there would be no one more suitable than Man-sam.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll explain the rest! You will enter the renowned Yeongnaesan of White Mountain. The previous two tests were tests of patience and perseverance, but the final test is different. What a Taoist cannot do without is opportunity and luck, wouldn’t you agree?”

Man-sam moved his finger, shooting green energy into the ground, and spoke.

The green energy spread a green light from the ground, taking the shape of a formation.

“Enter Yeongnaesan and bring back the most precious thing. That is the final test for entering the White Mountain Sect!”

Soon, a formation of transfer circles was drawn on the ground, and the transfer began.

* * *

At the lowest peak of White Mountain, Gwanmyeon Peak, Yeon-ah and Myung-hwa were together.

In front of them were the monkey spirit leaders and the black-clothed man who had been captured earlier.

They were in terrible shape, as if they had been tortured.

“Have you found out who is behind them?”

“Um…. These monkey guys seem to be part of Siphaemancheok [a demonic organization], calling themselves Gwisoo. They seem to be low-ranking guys under Samgwi.”

Siphaemancheok Gwi!

It seemed that even the Gwisoo were now eyeing White Mountain.

“This person….”

It was the black-clothed man who had been captured at dawn.

He was a man of ordinary build, and his appearance was also unremarkable.

“He must be a puppet of Yukdong.”

“Hmm….”

Yukdong (六同) is a union of sects located in the east. Six sects united and called Yukdong, and they were one of the groups pressuring White Mountain.

After a moment of contemplation, a few flying immortals approached Yeon-ah and whispered in her ear.

“The disciples have headed to Yeongnaesan. I should go ahead.”

“Go ahead. Handle things roughly, and I’ll follow soon. Whether those guys reveal their true colors in the final test or not, it will eventually be decided!”

“Yes, then….”

Before leaving.

Yeon-ah seemed to have remembered something and asked him.

“But didn’t you say there was a suspicious guy?”

“Ah…. I was about to throw bait when these guys popped out and ruined it. If he’s not a spy, I would have made him a disciple….”

“You must really like him?”

“He has the perfect energy to inherit my Hwasin Tong [a fire-based martial art or technique]. He has the potential to quickly ascend to Hwanseon [a high level of immortality].”

“Is he that good?”

“Yes. If San-gun returns and sees that child, he will probably be very satisfied. I’ve never seen a child with that much fire energy.”

“I didn’t expect you to praise him so highly. As someone who also practices Hwasin Tong, I’m looking forward to that child. I can only hope he’s not a puppet of those guys!”

With that, Yeon-ah disappeared, and Myung-hwa remained for a while, casting a Jinhon Sul [a soul-searching spell] on the guys to examine them thoroughly, and then locked them up tightly with Geumje [a powerful sealing technique].

“Come to think of it, he kind of looks like San-gun….”

Myung-hwa tilted her head and turned into a streak of red light, splitting the sky.

* * *

At the same time.

San-gun entered the center of White Mountain with those who had been confirmed as inner disciples to take the final test.

The temporary transfer circle disappeared as soon as they entered this place.

San-gun looked around and was filled with emotion as soon as he saw the dark blue cliffs.

This was where San-gun had trained alone to contain Bong-ak Cheong-hwa in his body.

“Ugh, it’s hot.”

It was where Bong-ak Cheong-hwa had been sealed.

Moreover, White Mountain was still an active volcano, so the center was bound to be hot.

San-gun looked around and saw a bead floating on top of a cauldron.

It was a transparent bead, but blue flames were burning around it.

The inner core of White Mountain.

It was Yeongnaesan.

“Prepare yourselves.”

He raised one hand and drew a Dharma [a mystical symbol or gesture] in the air, throwing it in. It was a kind of password to open Yeongnaesan.

San-gun himself couldn’t even grasp whether it was a self-created Dharma.

A golden flash occurred, and the Dharma entered the inner core, and soon the flames rising from the inner core subsided.

After that, the transparent Yeongnaesan began to project something.

It was a space that looked like a world with mountains and fields spread out.

“Enter!”

At Man-sam’s shout, the hesitant disciples approached Yeongnaesan.

The woman in the green robe stared at the glistening bead and reached out her hand.

Soon, the woman was sucked into the bead and disappeared.

After that.

“Oooo!!”

“Wow….”

Yeongnaesan was filled with rich spiritual energy.

Moreover, there were mountains and bizarre rocks soaring high into the sky.

“Tiger, over there… Huh? Where did he go?”

Un-mo called for Tiger, pointed to the other side of the mountain, and tilted her head.

He had been by her side just now, but she didn’t know when he had disappeared in an instant.

She looked around, but he wasn’t there, nor was he among the disciples who were scattering in excitement.

Un-mo shrugged her shoulders and began to search every nook and cranny as she climbed the peak.

Top of Yeongnaesan.

San-gun looked down at the foot of the mountain and couldn’t help but swallow his groan.

“What on earth are you thinking….”

At the top of Yeongnaesan, Hangbosinmok [a sacred tree] was planted.

Beneath it, there were thousands of Sindan trees [another type of tree, possibly medicinal] densely packed.

“It was a good thing to move the Sinmok to Yeongnaesan… But why did you open it?”

He couldn’t not know that there were spies, so why did he do this?

San-gun’s worries deepened.

“Who is it!”

At that moment, a Taoist with the realm of Biseon [a high level of Taoist cultivation] popped out from behind Hangbosinmok.

He had a familiar appearance.

He had insect antennae on his head, pointed ears, and butterfly-like wings on his back.

It was the mixed-blood of Hojeopryangchung [a butterfly-insect hybrid].

He seemed to be one of the mixed-bloods he had relocated. But he was strangely familiar.

“Ah, are you a disciple taking the entrance exam? No, there’s a Geumje [a powerful seal or restriction] here, so you shouldn’t have been able to come up here?”

San-gun silently stared at him and let out a small exclamation.

“Chong-maru.”

The mixed-blood of Hojeopryangchung he had a connection with.

It was Chong-maru. As three hundred years passed, the young boy had grown up and reached the realm of Biseon.

Time was truly terrifying and resentful.

“How do you know my name?”

Chong-maru, startled, pulled out a spear hanging on his back and became wary.

However, San-gun asked about his well-being with a benevolent face, putting his hands behind his back.

“Is your mother doing well?”

Then Maru’s face contorted like a demon, and he thrust his spear.

“My mother passed away a hundred years ago!!”