Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 259

Nangseon’s Adventures – Episode 258

“That can’t be! A token is required to open the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate!

The gate cannot be opened without a divine object from the Upper World!”

Unlike Wan-gyeong, who shouted in disbelief, Pengjo stroked his short beard and affirmed.

“It could be possible.”

“Pengjo!”

“There’s no need to be so certain. The situation is what it is, and isn’t your spirit worm saying the same thing?”

“But Pengjo, you know very well. We searched so hard but couldn’t find it, so we asked Beom Seonsa [a senior, respected Taoist immortal] for help….”

He was asking how Tae-seon had obtained it and entered.

“That’s a foolish question. He must have had a connection, and we had a different one, that’s all.”

What else could it be?

Fate is like that, so there’s no one to blame.

It’s all in one’s destiny.

“Anyway, we need to go inside to catch him.”

That was obvious.

As long as he had Yeon-ah, they had to chase him no matter what.

“Then….”

At the gazes of the Earth Immortals, San-gun nodded.

“We have no choice but to open the gate.”

Steeling himself, San-gun began to place his hand on the round plate in the center of the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate.

Judging from their conversation, the bracelet that Tam-hwa had transformed into would be enough to open the gate.

The Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate was a gate only allowed to those who possessed an object from the Upper World.

In the first place, the divine object that the immortal from the Upper World sent down to the Lower World was the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate, and so was the Heavenly Dew Lamp contained within it.

‘Tam-hwa, who formed a jade with the energy of heaven and earth and possesses great power within her body, will be able to do it.’

Without doing anything special.

It would be more than enough.

Thud.

As soon as San-gun’s hand touched it.

Clank, clank!

Clatter!

The latches automatically opened, and a small light began to leak from the cracks carved into the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate.

“Oh!”

“T, this much energy of heaven and earth!”

As light poured out from the carvings on the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate, a mystical energy rippled along with it, and immediately the images carved into the gate were enveloped in a cloud of light and floated into the air.

The image of the Milky Way was the first to rise, and then the phantoms of the ten symbols of longevity soared into the sky.

Before they knew it, the sky was filled with twinkling constellations and thriving beasts, giving off a sacred feeling.

Thump, thump, thump!

Soon, the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate opened in a spiral, and piles of dirt poured out, the ground shook, and piles of stones fell.

“The gate is open….”

Pengjo and Wan-gyeong couldn’t close their mouths, as if they were moved by that alone, and Ye-un was watching the phantoms of the ten symbols of longevity and constellations created by the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate with interest.

However, San-gun, who had no interest in such things, glared with his red eyes and began to look for Elder Gol, who would be beyond the gate.

“It’s quite spacious inside.”

Inside the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate was another vast space.

It was too dark to see well, so he tried to scan it with his divine sense, but it didn’t spread properly due to the influence of the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate, so he couldn’t guess its size.

Inevitably, he went straight down and took out a few luminous pearls from the Gongjeong River and burst them open, and the inner space began to be seen vaguely.

It was a small light, but since he was neither human nor possessed the Dallyeong Golden Elixir [a powerful elixir in Taoist alchemy], San-gun was able to quickly grasp what was there.

‘It’s like a giant altar.’

That was his first impression.

The inner space was filled with a faint mist, and upon closer inspection, it was a vast, hollow space.

“It’s a mysterious place… It’s as if this place alone is a separate world.”

It was as Wan-gyeong said.

According to him, the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate had doors on all four sides, and therefore it was a space that could not be entered unless the doors were opened.

But when they opened the door and entered, not only was it a vast space, but there were also walls floating in the air along with a faint mist, so it was definitely no different from another world.

“I thought lotus flowers were blooming. What are these….”

Ye-un also couldn’t hide his surprise and expressed his feelings.

As he said, a circular wall was floating in the center.

The circular altar was engraved with mandala patterns, and when viewed from above, it was vividly carved as if lotus flowers were blooming.

There were several of them floating in the air at the same time, like lotus flowers blooming on a pond, creating a mysterious landscape.

“Look at this!”

Turning his head at Pengjo’s shout, he saw that he had descended far below San-gun, and as he lit up the surroundings with fire, a huge figure could be seen.

“Isn’t that a giant?”

The huge figure was a statue.

The statue of a giant wearing armor and holding a spear in one hand and glaring with its eyes overflowed with a strange spirit.

“There’s one here too!”

There was a statue of a similar appearance on the opposite side, but this one was a woman.

The sight of her wearing armor and holding a sword exuded the aura of a heroine, as if she would come to life at any moment.

And in the center of them was a rock close to an oval shape, which seemed to be the center.

“It’s strange. In some ways, it looks like an altar, and in others, it looks like a large-scale formation.”

There were walls engraved with mandalas floating in the air like stepping stones, there were statues of giants, and there was a rock in the center, so it was not easy to figure out what it was.

“Wouldn’t it be an altar?”

It felt a little uneasy, but most people couldn’t help but think so.

In the first place, this place was where the legendary Candlelight Heavenly Woman ascended, so it was natural to think so.

He had doubts, but he had no choice but to think so for now.

It was also a more urgent problem to find Elder Gol, who had sneaked into this place, than that right now.

“This space itself is interfering with the spread of divine sense. I can only feel about thirty yards in half a radius, so it will be difficult to find him.”

“Excuse me? Thirty yards?!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I wonder if Beom Seonsa misspoke. I’m having trouble because I can’t even extend it ten yards, let alone thirty….”

Others nodded as if they felt the same way, and San-gun awkwardly smiled and waved his hand.

“I misspoke. I was so anxious that I said thirty yards instead of ten.”

“Ahem, that can happen. Beom Seonsa is in a hurry to find his disciple, so I fully understand his feelings.”

Wan-gyeong patted his chest, telling him not to worry, and Pengjo and Ye-un also nodded in agreement.

“The space is quite large, so how about we split up into two groups to search?”

It was Ye-un’s suggestion.

“That would be good. Catching him doesn’t require splitting into two groups, we could even split into four, but it would be better to split into two to search in case of any unforeseen circumstances.”

“Pengjo Seonsa is right. Then how should we split up?”

The conversation progressed rapidly.

San-gun stared at Ye-un intently and was about to open his mouth when.

“It would be better for Ye Seonsa to go with me.”

Wan-gyeong suggested that he go with Ye-un.

He knew that if San-gun and Ye-un were together, things wouldn’t go well, so he was preempting it.

San-gun had nothing to say, and Ye-un replied as if he didn’t care.

“Let’s do that. What do you think?”

“I don’t care.”

“I don’t care either.”

“Don’t worry too much. I heard that your disciple’s condition is not good, but if we find him first, we will prioritize his life.”

“Thank you.”

“Then.”

Wan-gyeong and Ye-un walked east, disappearing into the mist.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes.”

And San-gun and Pengjo headed west.

Shortly after.

Wan-gyeong and Ye-un, who headed east, searched the surroundings thoroughly as they walked.

The stone slabs engraved with mandalas, like stepping stones, were so numerous that they could not be counted, and the patterns of the formations sparsely engraved on the floor made them stop.

As a result, the search was bound to be delayed, and they were having difficulties due to the vast space.

“I wonder if we won’t be able to find him even after a few days like this….”

Ye-un cautiously brought it up, and Wan-gyeong also sighed softly.

“It seems that the frustration is doubled because the divine sense is blocked. He seems to be quite clever. How did he know about this place and open the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate to hide? Even though he’s Tae-seon, it would be a disgrace to the Earth Immortal’s reputation if we underestimated him and missed him.”

“That’s right… I didn’t even know there was such a place here.”

Ye-un also stroked his chin and nodded.

“We need to find him quickly so we can talk about finding the Heavenly Dew Lamp.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Still, we came in thanks to Beom Seonsa, so it’s right to find his disciple quickly.”

“But you know.”

Suddenly, Ye-un stopped walking and crossed his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s the one who opened the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate and came all the way here, but would he have come in without knowing anything?”

“That’s….”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

The fact that he opened the Heavenly Dew Flower Responding Gate means that he knows about this place.

If so, it means that he came in with a plan, and if he came here, he also.

“Are you saying he’s aiming for ascension?”

“There’s a high probability of that. Even if it’s not ascension, there’s a very high probability that he’s looking for the Heavenly Dew Lamp.”

That’s definitely right.

He wouldn’t have come here just to hide.

If so, his first goal is to find the Heavenly Dew Lamp here, and then his purpose is to ascend with it.

“Enough….”

It’s a possible story.

“I’ve come across many stories while researching the Heavenly Dew Lamp… Among them was this story.”

“I’m listening.”

“Heavenly Dew means the opening of the path of heaven, and the role of the Heavenly Dew Lamp is to help the ascent by lighting the lamp on that path.”

That’s something he already knows. But Ye-un listened silently because he knew that wasn’t the end.

“According to the ancient books, the Heavenly Dew Lamp was originally a divine object given by the Upper World to send talents from the Lower World.”

“I’ve heard that it’s like that.”

“But the qualification for that talent… It was also written that it was possible even if they were not ascetics.”

“Does that mean….”

“It means that even if we are not Earth Immortals, we can ascend to the Upper World if we have the Heavenly Dew Lamp.”

“Is that true?”

“That’s just what’s written in the literature, and most of it is our speculation. No one knows what it’s really like.”

But if that’s true….

“It seems faster to find the Heavenly Dew Lamp than to find him.”

“Hmm….”

“If he came here after seeing such literature, isn’t that the right thing to do? Even if that’s not the case, we can find the Heavenly Dew Lamp and then find him.”

“But….”

The urgent matter is not the Heavenly Dew Lamp but the life of the Baekseon Sect disciple.

“If he uses the Heavenly Dew Lamp to ascend, we will never be able to catch him, and we don’t know what will happen to the Heavenly Dew Lamp!”

If that happens, they may lose not only the disciple but also the Heavenly Dew Lamp.

Wan-gyeong pondered over and over again.

“It may be a little disrespectful to say this, but isn’t the Heavenly Dew Lamp more important than the disciple’s life?”

“Heo….”

Even with Wan-gyeong’s unpleasant expression, Ye-un began to persuade him without paying attention.

“In the first place, those who defy the heavens are those who walk the path, and isn’t keeping away from personal feelings the shortcut to ascension?”

That’s not wrong.

The teachings of Taoism itself are about pursuing eternal life by defying the heavens.

Those who rebel against the heavens are often swayed by personal feelings, neglect their training, and die because of their emotions.

Therefore, in the Taoist world, cutting ties with the secular world and focusing solely on training was considered the highest virtue.

“Even so, we cannot despise life.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes.”

Even with Ye-un’s persuasion, Wan-gyeong maintained his firmness. It was a part where he could see how upright his heart was.

However, even he could not help but be shaken by the next words.

“Then, Wan-gyeong Seonsa, will you choose a dying Hwanseon [a type of immortal] disciple from another sect, or will you choose the Heavenly Dew Lamp that you can ascend with if you find it?”

“That’s….”

He is an Earth Immortal who has been running towards the goal of becoming a god for nearly three thousand years.

No matter how Wan-gyeong was, the answer was already determined in this extreme choice.

“What is the purpose of asking such a question?”

At that question, Ye-un simply raised the corners of his mouth and answered instead.