Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 201

Nangseon’s Adventures – Episode 200

“Uwaaaaaaaack!!”

Hori, held in Sangun’s arms, screamed as if the sky were falling.

Who would have thought that opening the door would lead to throwing oneself inside?

But it was possible.

Wasn’t the reason for opening a door to go inside in the first place?

The reason it wasn’t okay wasn’t that.

“D-Devil! It’s a devil! There are devils!!”

A blood-red sky.

And small, dark red devils.

Not one, not two, but thousands, tens of thousands of devils were welcoming them.

“Don’t make such a fuss, Blackie.”

Sangun, soothing Hori who was clinging to his neck like a child, made a hand sign with his left hand.

Swish!

Behind Sangun, the Original Immortal Law manifested.

Hwaran immediately split into hundreds of swords, crisscrossing the area.

Like a flock of eagles flying in the sky, they quickly gathered and scattered, then shot towards the devils.

“Y-Yes! That’s the kind of divine power worthy of my old friend! W-Well, not as good as this lady, but you’re quite useful too!”

Hori was still clinging to him like a child, yet he was spouting such nonsense.

Sangun chuckled, but his face soon turned serious.

“Annoying bastards.”

Most of the devils rushing towards the Hwaran of Myriad Swords as One Sword were swept away, but soon they disappeared like ash, and the space rippled as they began to reappear.

‘Is it a divine power similar to the treasure that Yoo Jeong had?’

But the demonic energy that the devils were emitting was no mere imitation.

“W-What are you doing! Kill them quickly!”

Hori urged, but Sangun rolled his eyes with a cautious look.

His crimson eyes created multiple pupils, unfolding the Divine Eye of Discernment.

‘There’s nothing. All there is…’

The devils, who were up to his waist in height, and the statues of the devils corresponding to the Outer Gate, Three Gates, Four Gates, Five Gates, and Six Gates that he had seen from the outside.

That was all.

Sangun had Hori open the door and entered here through the First Gate.

That was within expectations, but he didn’t expect the devils to be unkillable.

[Y-Youkwi!? Save me!]

To make matters worse, Sipkwi, caught in the midst of the devils, was also there.

He was in the form of a giant turtle, hiding inside his shell.

Sipkwi’s body was indeed sturdy, as the devils couldn’t do anything to him.

But that was it; he couldn’t do anything either.

“Tsk, I shouldn’t have come in.”

Things had become troublesome.

He thought he could just sweep everything away, but since that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

[W-What do you mean, you shouldn’t have come in! What about me!]

Sipkwi complained, having heard his mutterings.

“Quiet, if you want to live…”

Whoosh!

Blue flames flickered on Sangun’s body.

“You’d better get out of that shell quickly.”

Kugugugung!!

Along with the blue flames, thunderous roars echoed throughout the area.

-Kyaaaaaaak!!

The devils’ screams grew even louder.

[W-Wait a minute!]

Sipkwi let out a desperate voice, but there was no time to wait.

Sangun unleashed the Azure Blaze of Bongak from his entire body and stomped his foot.

Kuuuuuung!

Whoaaaaa!

As it spread out in a circle in an instant, the devils engulfed in the blue flames disappeared without a trace.

The sight of thousands of devils disappearing without even a final scream was truly spectacular.

“Uwaaak, uwak! T-This! Youkwi!!”

Sipkwi, who had already transformed into his true form, flailed about, trying to shake off the Azure Blaze of Bongak clinging to his sleeves.

Sangun sighed softly and swallowed the flames on his sleeve.

“T-Thank you. Haa….”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s time to relax yet.”

He had cleared out the gathered devils, but the situation was not over.

Sangun looked around and raised his eyebrows as if displeased.

“It doesn’t work even with the Azure Blaze of Bongak.”

He had clearly erased them without a trace, but the devils were still appearing, rippling through the air.

The speed wasn’t fast, but it was happening simultaneously, so in the blink of an eye, a bunch of them had already appeared, giggling and staring at him.

At this rate, they would multiply into the thousands again in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

“S-So, does that mean they’ll keep increasing endlessly?”

“T-That’s truly an Avici hell….”

Hori and Sipkwi’s faces turned pale.

Why is Avici hell [the deepest level of hell in Buddhist cosmology] Avici hell?

Because it repeats endlessly.

It wasn’t difficult to deal with the devils, but if they kept appearing endlessly without a break, it was bound to be overwhelming.

He could confidently say that a day or two wouldn’t be a problem, but if it went on for more than a week or a month, even Sangun wouldn’t be able to stay unscathed.

That was the horror of this place.

“Y-Youkwi! Do something!”

Hori, clinging to him with a pale face, kept urging Sangun, but even he couldn’t do anything about this situation.

“Shut your mouth, it’s annoying.”

Sangun flipped his left hand, and a silver wooden sword appeared. Sangun summoned the twelve Swords of Subjugation and immediately planted them on the ground, creating a Sword Formation of Barrier.

Giiiiing.

As a milky white barrier in the shape of a semicircle unfolded, the devils rushing in flinched and slowly backed away.

It was an anti-demonic energy that opposed evil.

It was only natural that they reacted that way.

“I’ve bought some time.”

Now, all that was left was to think about how to get out of this place.

“T-Thank you.”

“Haa….”

Sipkwi and Hori sighed in relief, but the situation hadn’t changed.

“It’s an anti-demonic energy that stands against evil, but it can’t last forever. Besides, the Golden Ring Incense itself only lasts a week.

If we’re trapped here for too long, we might end up spending a thousand years trapped in the Golden Ring Incense, let alone escaping.”

The Golden Ring Eclipse happens once every thousand years.

If they made a mistake, they might end up being trapped in the Golden Ring Incense for a thousand years, even if they escaped the Demon Nest.

A whole thousand years.

No matter how long-lived a divine beast was, a thousand years was not a short time.

An eon was said to be roughly four thousand years, but even so, it was a long time.

“We need to get our heads working quickly.”

Otherwise, they would die.

* * *

At the same time.

“Hoo, I wondered what the Immortal’s Secret Realm would be like, but it’s like this.”

Several Demonic Path practitioners passed through a huge door, repeatedly expressing their admiration.

Ahead of them, a woman in palace attire was walking, bound.

Her face was pale, but her tightly closed mouth and eyes showed that she hadn’t given up hope yet.

She was Jisool, the precious daughter of Haechong Lord, one of the Three Kings of the East Sea [powerful figures in the Sea Dragon Clan].

“The paths made of east, west, south, and north, and the poems of divine beasts and devils at the end! This is the Immortal’s trial and test, right?”

“We came from the east, so we must have passed through the Azure Sky Trial Gate.”

Hyangno of the Scent Sect asked, and Bulcheon of the Unchanging Sect retorted with a hearty laugh.

It wasn’t the time to be chatting while holding a woman captive, but this was the most polite they could be.

If she hadn’t known the clues to the Secret Realm or been a princess of the Sea Dragon Clan, they would have cut off one of her limbs long ago.

“Not bad.”

As they passed through the Azure Sky Trial Gate and entered, picturesque scenery and several buildings came into view.

Thousands of years had passed without human touch, yet it was as clean as new.

They passed the antique buildings and went to a medicinal herb garden where various divine herbs were planted, and the fragrant scent of grass intensely stirred the air. The three great leaders of the Demonic Valley examined every nook and cranny, collecting lucky encounters.

“A treasure-grade folding fan that was dropped under the drawer. As expected, the Immortal’s Secret Realm is a Secret Realm. An item worth a treasure is just lying around.”

“Brother Hyang, look at this. The straw shoes under the thatched house are not ordinary.”

At first glance, they looked like ordinary straw shoes, but they were also no ordinary items.

But.

“The lucky encounters here are quite impressive… but I can feel the traces of those who have passed through here before us.”

Yeun of the Returning River Sect clicked his tongue regretfully.

As he said, the inside of the Azure Sky Trial Gate still held many precious items.

There were divine herbs and treasures that were hard to find in the Lower World, so what more needed to be said? However… the things that would catch the eyes of the three great leaders of the Demonic Valley seemed to have been taken away by those who had arrived here first.

“Princess, why don’t you guide us? This place is also very excellent, but if we take the transfer formation to the deeper underground, as you said, the lucky encounters here would be a joke.”

At his subtle words, Jisool lowered her head with a gloomy face.

“Guide us.”

Jisool sighed deeply and led them to the place where the transfer formation was located.

* * *

The Northern Dark Sky Trial Gate.

“A thousand years ago, I didn’t even think about crossing this place.

The treasures and divine herbs here were enough, and I thought anything more would be greed.

Among the lucky encounters I obtained here, there was also a divine herb that could extend one’s lifespan, so I was even more so.”

The white-clad old woman, Seonnyeo Choeum, said as she activated the transfer formation.

It was quite different from the transfer formations in the Lower World.

If the transfer formations in the Lower World felt like they were directly based on the form of a talisman, the transfer formation here resembled a circular magic circle.

“Aren’t you curious? The lucky encounters obtained by passing through the Dark Sky Trial Gate are this much, so what would it be like to go deeper?”

The difference in level was like heaven and earth.

They couldn’t even imagine it. They might gain enlightenment and open their eyes just by looking at it.

The arrangement of the Immortal, the object of their longing.

It was a treasure of the gods.

Perhaps, if they were lucky….

“We might obtain a clue to the Immortal World, or a clue to ascension.”

Click.

Flash!

With a flash of light, the transfer formation was activated, and the woman and the old woman standing there disappeared.

* * *

At the same time.

In the west, there were men who had opened the Trial Gate corresponding to the Tiger’s Den Trial Gate.

One was a man with another head that looked like a lump, and the other was a man with a plump physique.

“Third Ghost, is this really okay?”

The identities of the two were the Ghost Kings of the Ten Seas, Third Ghost and Fourth Ghost.

“Then what should we do? Are we going to risk our lives to find the two who we don’t know where they went? What if we all get annihilated? Can you take responsibility for that?”

“Cough….”

Fourth Ghost let out a thick sigh at the harsh tone.

“And anyway, didn’t we obtain lucky encounters like this because we did as I said? The south was probably a bust.”

When Tenth Ghost and Sixth Ghost entered the gate, Third Ghost and Fourth Ghost hesitated.

Whether to follow him or head elsewhere.

The reason Third Ghost brought Sixth Ghost was to prepare for any possible danger.

His divine power was so great that even First Ghost acknowledged it, so it was an excellent choice.

However….

‘There’s no need to risk my life to save him.’

That’s why they came to the west.

The Western Tiger’s Den Trial Gate.

When they opened the gate with the divine beast and devil drawn on it, a scenery like a paradise unfolded at once.

A thatched house and a medicinal herb field on a cliff surrounded by a faint mist.

There, Third Ghost obtained blue armor.

Fourth Ghost took a scroll with a painting of Dharma [Buddhist principles] and divided the divine herbs.

This alone was enough to be called a lucky encounter, but when they looked for a more secluded place, they discovered a transfer formation.

Their luck couldn’t be better.

How could this be possible unless the heavens were protecting them?

“Let’s go right away.”

Like splitting bamboo [an idiom for effortless progress].

When else would they have such a lucky day?

Luck also has its timing.

“Of course, we should.”

They came to find the treasures of heaven and earth, but who knew they might obtain even greater treasures?

No one knows what will happen in the world.

That’s why life is fun and worth living.

“Hmm!”

Soon, the transfer formation was activated, and their eyes flashed with light.

And a moment later.

“Hoo….”

A green-haired woman with her long hair neatly tied up looked at the Ghost Kings with interest. Their surroundings were full of lush vines, and bizarre monster flowers were dripping saliva like beasts.

“You guys are demonic beasts… Judging by the spirit plaques you’re wearing, you’re the Ghost Kings of the Ten Seas. Third Ghost and… Fourth Ghost?”

A thick smile appeared on her face at the word Third Ghost. The murderous intent that was pressing down on the surroundings intensified at once.

“I have some bad blood with Third Ghost.”