Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 169

Roar!

The ominous purple lightning spread, taking root in the sky.

“The sky is not the sky, and the lightning is not lightning; it should be called Neither Heaven Nor Thunder.”

Boom!! Rumble!!

Neither Heaven Nor Thunder painted the sky purple and, unsatisfied, crashed to the ground below.

The dark sky transformed as if splashed with vibrant color, and the faces of the Taoists watching were tinged with purple.

“What ominous lightning.”

Lightning Seon Master [a Taoist title signifying mastery over lightning] was startled by the unprecedented lightning, but quickly regained his composure and gathered his own lightning energy.

He intended to confront Neither Heaven Nor Thunder!

Who was he, after all?

A Taoist who had mastered the Lightning Divine Power to its very extreme.

There was no way he could lose to lightning thrown by Hwasin Tong Yooksa [likely a reference to a specific Taoist technique or figure].

He had been wary of poison when he saw the Golden Pig God Statue, but if no poison emerged, there was no reason to fear.

Wasn’t lightning more familiar to Lightning Seon Master than the morning sun?

“To throw lightning at me is foolish!”

It seemed unusual, but if he couldn’t subdue even this much, how could he be called Lightning Seon Master!

Lightning Seon Master fluttered his sleeves and spun in place.

Instantly, an illusion of the Lightning Duke Dharma Image [a manifestation of a deity or powerful being] appeared, scattering thick lightning.

Suddenly, golden lightning and purple lightning intertwined in the sky.

The harmony of gold and purple emitted a truly mysterious light.

The corners of Lightning Seon Master’s lips rose.

The lightning energy was somewhat strange, but as he grew accustomed to it, it became bearable.

Just when he thought he could handle it.

Crackle!!

Along with the sound of the sky splitting, cracks appeared on Lightning Seon Master’s face.

The purple lightning, which had spread in all directions, rushed towards Lightning Seon Master at once, devouring all the golden lightning as if only now discovering its true target.

“No way!”

He was aghast and stirred his lightning energy even more fiercely, but it was useless.

Neither Heaven Nor Thunder devoured all of Lightning Seon Master’s lightning and surged inward.

Lightning Seon Master, his face turning pale white, immediately dispersed the Lightning Duke Dharma Image and tried to escape, raising his escape light [a technique for rapid escape].

But.

“Cough!”

Suddenly, he vomited blood.

“Poison!”

It was a more potent poison than before.

Lightning Seon Master hurriedly retrieved a blade-shaped treasure from his chest.

It was the Azure Purity Jade Bottle, a treasure that had previously neutralized the Myriad Manifestations Poison Flame.

But would Neither Heaven Nor Thunder simply allow that?

Neither Heaven Nor Thunder seemed to possess sentience, condensing and transforming into the shape of a bird, flying towards Lightning Seon Master.

Zap zap zap!!

“Kuaaaaaak!!”

A streak of purple light was drawn across the sky, and Lightning Seon Master’s scream echoed miserably. It was a bizarre sight: a Taoist who had dedicated his life to Lightning Divine Power being devoured by lightning.

But a Tae Seon [a high-ranking Taoist immortal] was still a Tae Seon.

Even with the power of Neither Heaven Nor Thunder, his breath remained, and even in his dying state, he tried to form a hand seal.

“Do you think I’ll let you?”

San-gun’s cold voice reached Lightning Seon Master’s ears.

“Baeksan Sect, you bastard!!”

With trembling hands, he formed a hand seal and shouted, his body turning golden and emitting a brilliant light.

Boom!!

An explosion erupted, and thousands of lightning bolts, thin as threads, shot in all directions.

It was Lightning Seon Master’s divided soul.

Faced with a life-threatening crisis, he had divided his spirit into thousands and fled.

“A futile effort.”

But San-gun, who had anticipated this, drew a sword from its scabbard.

It was the Cheon Yang Ji Bo, Hye Yeon Recovery Sword [likely a powerful, named sword with specific properties].

A mysterious light spread out. He groaned at the sensation of a lump of spiritual power being drained away.

Neither slow nor fast.

He drew his sword and slashed.

Sreung. With a clear sword cry, the dark clouds split in half, and warm sunlight shone like dawn through the gap.

Lightning Seon Master’s divided souls let out bizarre screams and disappeared in the face of the Hye Yeon Recovery Sword’s enormous sword energy. It was an instant that happened in less than a breath.

The Taoists who watched the scene all gaped in surprise and blinked in disbelief.

“Keuk.”

Puhwak.

San-gun spat out blood, wiping it from his pale face.

He had calculated that he would suffer internal injuries from the severed consciousness link, but his body was a mess after using the Hye Yeon Recovery Sword to ensure a definite finish in that state.

However, he didn’t feel regret.

It was as if all the evil things in his body were being washed away.

He had killed Lightning Seon Master, a Seon Master of the Tae Seon Later Stage.

San-gun, who was in the Early Stage, had achieved this.

Of course, Lightning Seon Master was also at fault for being careless, but San-gun’s strategy of inducing the situation had worked perfectly.

“He, he won! Our Sect Leader has won! He has won!!”

“He killed Lightning Seon Master!”

The Baeksan Sect disciples were overjoyed and shouted cheers.

“How can this be…”

“Lightning Seon Master…”

In contrast, the Taoists of Yookdong despaired and lamented.

It was as if the war had already ended; they looked like defeated soldiers.

San-gun looked at them with a satisfied face and threw the Golden Pig God Statue.

As he chanted a spell, Neither Heaven Nor Thunder was sucked into the Golden Pig God Statue.

It seemed to possess sentience and was anxious to escape, but it easily entered, perhaps because it had lost its strength fighting Lightning Seon Master.

Only then did San-gun look down at the Yookdong group and declare.

“Lightning Seon Master is dead.”

It was a calm tone, but it struck the Yookdong group like lightning.

“Resist if you want to die.”

Who would resist those words?

Who would dare to resist San-gun, who had defeated Lightning Seon Master, the pinnacle of Yookdong?

The Yookdong Taoists all threw away their weapons and knelt.

Among them was a Tae Seon, who trembled and lowered his head when he met San-gun’s eyes.

After that.

The Yookdong Taoists were dissolved and scattered, or they became subordinate sects of the Baeksan Sect, maintaining only their lineage.

It was a natural course of events.

He had single-handedly slaughtered all the Tae Seons of Yookdong and even defeated Lightning Seon Master, so who would dare to stand up to him? In case they caught his eye, the nearby sects pretended not to see or hear and kept their mouths shut.

In that way, Baeksan became widely known as a giant sect, and no one could easily mess with them.

Occasionally, those ignorant of the world, unaware of Baeksan’s prestige, caused trouble, only to be severely beaten.

Yeon-ah was having a heyday.

As if repaying the humiliation she had suffered, she received various goods and treasures from various sects.

They had done something wrong, so they rushed over with treasures without being told, and there was no reason to refuse them.

Thanks to this, Baeksan, which had been damaged by the Seondo War [likely a previous conflict], became more solid and prosperous.

After that, Baeksan was bustling.

The Nangseon [wandering or unaffiliated Taoists] who had no allegiance hoped to enter the Baeksan Sect, and their footsteps never ceased.

Even if they were not Nangseon, everyone wanted to build a friendship with the famous Baeksan Sect Leader and waited eagerly, but they all had to return empty-handed.

“The Sect Leader has said that he does not want to meet anyone at this time.”

Even though she was only a Biseon [a lower-ranking Taoist], she was the Sect Leader’s beloved disciple, so no one dared to say anything bad.

As a result, rumors spread that the Baeksan Sect Leader was secluding himself because he had suffered serious internal injuries, but most people kept quiet and refrained from speaking out.

And after a month had passed.

The highest peak of Baeksan.

Baekun Peak.

The secret chamber of Cheon Ho-gun there opened, and a young man walked out.

He had a slightly pale complexion, but he did not appear to be seriously ill.

“Have you finished your seclusion, Master?”

“We greet the Sect Leader of Baeksan.”

Waiting for him were Yeon-ah and the elders of Baeksan.

Old Man Gohl, as well as Geummyeong Jiryung, looked at him with satisfied faces.

San-gun received reports from Yeon-ah about various matters, dismissed most of them, and first had a private meeting with Geummyeong Jiryung.

“Is your body alright?”

“Not bad.”

He was answering calmly, but Geummyeong Jiryung was inwardly sighing.

Once you reach the level of Yeonggeop [a high level of Taoist cultivation], it is not easy to heal even if you suffer internal injuries.

As the Sect Leader of a sect, he was not showing it, but she could guess how deep the wounds he was enduring were.

He had fought against a Tae Seon Later Stage, so how could it not be so?

Even if he didn’t know, he had only been recuperating for a month, so he would need more time to recover his body.

“It’s a pity that I came out in a hurry and don’t have any spiritual medicines that are good for internal injuries.”

“It’s alright. I also have a lot of things, and there were many useful spiritual herbs and pills in the spoils of war from Lightning Seon Master and the Tae Seons, so I’m using them effectively.”

Even so, it was still a pity.

Geummyeong Jiryung was fidgeting, and when she thought it wouldn’t work, she made a fuss about going to her family for a while.

“If I cause more trouble, I won’t feel good, so just stay here. It’s been a long time since we’ve met like this.”

“Keueung, that’s true, but…”

San-gun barely managed to seat Geummyeong Jiryung and poured her a glass of alcohol.

He was grateful and sorry that she was doing that much.

And naturally, she came to his mind.

“It’s a pity that I can’t go.”

“I heard that you can’t set foot there because of the promise with Hwanmang Seon Master. Ji-soo will understand, so don’t worry about it.”

“……Yes.”

Thanks to the promise with Hwanmang, San-gun cannot set foot in Goseon [likely a sacred or restricted area].

At least.

Until Hwanmang is alive.

“Won’t that old geezer die soon? It’s okay. After all, how much longer can he live as a Jiseon [a type of Taoist immortal] in a human body?”

San-gun only smiled silently.

The lifespan of a Jiseon is said to be three thousand years.

He knew that Yeonggeop was four thousand years, so it was a promise that would naturally disappear if he waited.

“You never know.”

Whether Hwanmang will ascend to immortality.

San-gun drank his glass, and with each glass he emptied, he recalled old memories.

The meeting with Geummyeong Jiryung was something San-gun had been hoping for, and there were many things he wanted to say between them.

Things about Ji-soo and what had happened in Goseon were like that.

“By the way, I was surprised, you know? When Deputy Head of the Escape suddenly came to find me, I was terrified that Hwanmang was going to do something crazy again. Keuhahat!”

After arriving at Baeksan.

It was something he had asked Jangcheon to do.

After recovering the Myriad Manifestations Poison Flame, Jangcheon had said that he would now return to Goseon, so he was able to call Geummyeong Jiryung.

“He has now become my old friend.”

“Your connections are excellent. The first time I saw you was in the movies, but you’ve already become a Daeyooksa [a high-ranking Taoist official] reaching Yeonggeop…. Time really flies. Ji-soo would be very happy to see you grow up like this.”

The two of them silently poured glasses of alcohol for a while, then parted ways, commemorating her.

One of the reasons was that San-gun’s physical condition was not very good, and the main reason was that he had seen her face and said it was enough, so he was going back.

San-gun asked if she would stay a little longer, but Geummyeong Jiryung smiled and disappeared, saying that she had realized her training was insufficient.

Afterwards, San-gun talked to Old Man Gohl and appointed him as the guest elder of the Baeksan Sect.

His previous dissatisfaction had long disappeared, and he praised San-gun, calling him the best Seon Master in Taean.

In that way, the fame of the Baeksan Sect Leader spread far and wide.