Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 246

Whirr!

In that instant, a wave of pure white chill spread outwards. The Earth Immortals fluttered their sleeves, creating protective barriers, while the Lower Realm Daoists hastily retreated.

“What are you doing?!”

“Not only did you trespass into Tahl’s Sacred Mountain, but now you commit such rudeness…!”

The Earth Immortals beside Hwanmong stepped forward, applying pressure.

However, they soon fell silent and frowned. What appeared after the chill dissipated was a blood-soaked man held by a woman.

“What…”

The man’s face was as white as paper, as if he were dead, and he was bleeding profusely.

It was so much blood that one wondered if a human body could even contain that much. In an instant, the area was soaked, forming puddles everywhere.

“He’s not human.”

One of the Earth Immortals, as if noticing something obvious, spoke.

There was no need to point it out. The man had horns on his forehead and four wings on his back, so it was impossible to miss.

“The divine energy is very weak, but he seems to be an Earth Immortal like us. No, it looks like a Spirit Origin Sixth Order [a high level of cultivation in this world’s power system].”

“The woman is a Celestial Immortal, though.”

At that, the angry voices disappeared. Even if he was on the verge of death, he was still a Spirit Origin Sixth Order, so they were naturally worried about the consequences of speaking carelessly.

“You said he was Hwanmong’s guest. Could you explain this to us?”

Just as Hwanmong was about to speak, the crowd parted, and a man rushed out, shouting.

“Daeho!! And Madam…!”

The woman, who had been sharply wary, softened her expression slightly at his appearance.

“W-What is going on…”

“Vice Leader, do you know them?”

“Yes. I…”

He glanced at San-gun and then spoke firmly, as if having made up his mind. “I have sworn a brotherly oath with him.”

The two Earth Immortals glanced at Hwanmong’s face and stepped back. If Tahl’s Vice Leader said so, there was no need or reason for them to intervene.

Immediately after, Tahl’s Vice Leader, Jangcheon, knelt on one knee before Hwanmong and pleaded, “Please save my brother!!”

However, Hwanmong simply looked down at Jangcheon, narrowing his eyes.

“Master!!”

He called him Master, not Great Leader. Seeing that, Hwanmong realized Jangcheon’s desperation.

“Do you speak so even knowing the current situation?”

“What does the current situation matter when it comes to saving my brother? Living together if we live, dying together if we die—that is the brotherhood of those who share a cup instead of blood.”

Hwanmong clicked his tongue as if displeased with Jangcheon’s words and turned away. “Do as you please.”

“Thank you!”

With the Earth Immortals watching them with interest, Hwanmong disappeared.

* * *

One year later.

A sacred mountain in Goseon’s hidden space.

In Bidong, located halfway up Mount Talmyeong, various formations were constantly activated, emitting light.

At the center, a man was lying down. Among the many wounds on his upper body, the one that pierced his abdomen would not heal no matter what was done.

“It’s already been a year. Why isn’t the wound healing?”

Jangcheon, looking with worried eyes, asked the person beside him. He was one of the few Earth Immortals who interacted with Hwanmong, a man with a plump physique and a friendly face, called the Perfect Mirror (Wan Gyeong) Seon-sa [a title for a Taoist immortal]. The formations here, the Knife Point Array (Dogyujin) [a type of magical formation], were all medical formations created by him.

“It looks like a simple sword wound, but a powerful divine ability is acting on the wound. That’s why it’s not healing.”

In short, the wound was not healing because of a curse-like effect.

“But he will wake up soon.”

“What do you mean?”

How could he wake up soon when he was not being treated at all?

“His divine sense is abnormally strong.”

It was then that the light of the Knife Point Array flickered off, and at the same time, his eyelids opened.

“Daeho!”

Jangcheon rushed over, but since the woman was already by his side, he had no choice but to wait.

“Y-You’re awake?”

Her lips uttered simple words, but her eyes held a lot of meaning as she looked at him.

“Yeah…”

San-gun stared blankly at Cho-ah and then looked behind her, recognizing a familiar face.

“Jangcheon… is that you?”

“You recognize me.”

San-gun smiled bitterly. “I haven’t deteriorated so much that I can’t recognize my own friend.”

“I thought you would never wake up.”

Jangcheon smiled brightly, overcome with joy.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. I’d like to share a drink and catch up right away, but… your condition isn’t very good, so we’ll have to postpone it.”

Jangcheon said, looking at Perfect Mirror Seon-sa beside him.

“We’ll step back now.”

Perfect Mirror Seon-sa nodded in agreement, and Jangcheon left with him.

After they left, San-gun heard the whole story from Cho-ah.

“I’ve been lying down for a year?”

“Yes. And…”

The wound on San-gun’s abdomen was no different from a year ago. No blood was coming out, but the fact that the wound was not healing was a big problem.

San-gun frowned, gently touching his abdomen. He had some idea of what it could be.

“Don’t frown.”

Cho-ah didn’t like that San-gun was starting to worry about many things as soon as he woke up, so she pressed his forehead with her thumb.

“Even if you’ve woken up, your condition is still not good. I’ll explain everything to you slowly, so lie down for now.”

When she laid him back down, San-gun couldn’t say anything and complied.

“After my husband collapsed, Bong escaped from Yumu-gan [a mythical prison] and opened a space.”

“So that’s how I ended up here.”

“Due to the Heavenly Law, Tamhwa, as well as Bong, will not even be able to show themselves for a while.”

Fortunately.

“We obtained a treasure that Dangchun had, so he said that he would be able to show himself in the near future, so he will be out soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

Due to the laws of the heavens, it is difficult for beings from the Upper Realm like Tamhwa and Bong to appear in the Lower Realm. Thanks to that, Bong was inside San-gun’s body, and Tamhwa turned into a bracelet that wrapped around his wrist.

It was unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘It seems like it’s not just them.’

San-gun thought, feeling something dormant inside him. He stretched out his left hand. At the same time, a sword full of floral fragrance appeared, but then lightning crackled and it disappeared as if seeping into the air.

“Husband, what was that just now…”

“I can’t summon Hwaran anymore.”

It was probably highly related to the wound in his abdomen. In the first place, the Gyuncheon Great Sword (鈞天巨劍) [a powerful magical sword] that San-gun had completely mastered was a realm that beings of the Lower Realm could not handle.

Naturally, Hwaran also seemed to have fallen asleep and could not be summoned carelessly.

‘Can’t be helped.’

It was a pity, but it couldn’t be helped.

However, it wasn’t a big concern. San-gun was the Spirit Origin Sixth Order at the pinnacle of the Lower Realm. Even without Tamhwa, Bong, and Hwaran, there were hardly any enemies here who could threaten him.

“Rest more now. You don’t know how worried I was, really.”

“Okay…. I understand. I understand, so rest easy now too, wife.”

When he stroked his wife’s hand, she bit her lip and held back tears. Her tearful eyes were filled with tears, trembling.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“No…. I haven’t done anything. Rather, my husband has suffered more.”

She said that, but she seemed to have been suffering a lot inside, and the burst of tears could not be easily calmed.

“I wasn’t going to cry anymore…”

She wiped away tears with her sleeve, and her sobbing appearance was quite lovely.

“Why weren’t you going to cry?”

“Because I, I only cry and don’t help at all…”

Then the corners of San-gun’s lips went up.

“Well, that’s true.”

When he said that in a playful tone, Cho-ah’s lips trembled. Soon, tears that had barely stopped welled up, and tears streamed down her face.

“It’s a joke.”

“Don’t lie…. You’re serious.”

“No…. I’m telling you it’s a joke.”

Could it be that she had really been suffering inside? She didn’t stop crying even when he said it was a joke.

Seeing her sobbing, he was reminded of her childhood and felt pleased.

“Originally, a man goes to the battlefield to protect his woman and his family, and a woman protects the home for such a man and welcomes him.”

“I don’t want that. I want to be a woman who walks that battlefield together.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes.”

San-gun raised his hand and wiped away the tears flowing down Cho-ah’s cheeks.

“Come to think of it, you were always such a child.”

She was a child who, when he thought she was just crying, would gather her courage and do something again.

In the old days, she thought San-gun was dead and burned with revenge on her own, eventually killing that Substitute Daoist.

She was originally such a child.

And.

‘She was a child who lived and died like that.’

He had a bitter look on his face, but he felt drowsy from Cho-ah’s attentive care and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile.

“How did he seem?”

Perfect Mirror Seon-sa, who had left the place, was sharing a drink with another Earth Immortal.

“He was no different from a half-corpse, but his eyes seemed clear, and the unwavering purity of his energy was not to be taken lightly.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

The Earth Immortal next to Perfect Mirror Seon-sa was a man with a long, fox-like face, called Pengjo (烹調) Seon-sa [another title for a Taoist immortal]. He tapped his wrist and continued.

“I’m talking about the bracelet that looked like a centipede on that man’s wrist. You can’t not know about that.”

“Hmm…”

Perfect Mirror hummed and tilted his glass. Pengjo, frustrated, gulped down the bottle and slammed it down.

“You don’t intend to answer?”

“Of course not. However…. It’s something I can’t be sure of either. I think he has an item from the Upper Realm as we expected, but wouldn’t it be a big disaster if it wasn’t?”

“That’s…”

When Pengjo closed his mouth, Perfect Mirror gave a gentle smile.

“Let’s wait a little longer. In the first place, even if it’s an item from the Upper Realm, wouldn’t there be a chance to test what kind of item it is and what kind of divine power it has?”

And.

“Hwanmong Seon-sa also seemed interested in the bracelet he had.”

“Really? That Hwanmong Seon-sa?”

“Yes. We’re investigating, but there’s no way Hwanmong Seon-sa, who is infinitely close to Ascension, wouldn’t know.”

Pengjo’s face lit up.

“If we do well…”

“We might be able to connect with a god from the Upper Realm.”

If that were to happen, the path to ascension would not seem so uncertain.