Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 260

Flinch.

“What is it?”

Pang Jo asked, his voice puzzled, as San-gun abruptly stopped walking.

“It’s nothing.”

“Hehe, you’re no fun at all.”

With a faint smile, San-gun resumed walking, Pang Jo matching his pace.

“By the way, this is a very strange place.”

“Of course. It’s a divine object bestowed by a god from the Upper Realm, so how could it be ordinary?”

The interior of the Cheonmanggengno [Heavenly Myriad Mirror Path] was a space that defied easy explanation.

Faint clouds and mists swirled, and numerous monuments and pillars stood scattered about.

Moreover, stone walls floated in the air for some inexplicable reason, adding to the bewildering scene.

“But I wonder if the Cheonnodeung [Heavenly Lightning Lamp] is even in a place like this.”

“We haven’t explored the entire area yet, so naturally we haven’t found it. We don’t know how vast this space is, and we’re still ignorant of many things here.”

That was true.

With Shin-sik’s [divine sense] abilities restricted, he couldn’t perceive everything within, and the dim lighting further obscured their surroundings.

But that also made it a suitable hiding place for Elder Gol.

“Hmm…”

The more he walked, the more frustrated he became, but there was nothing he could do but sigh repeatedly.

“A rat in a trap. I understand your concern for your disciple, but shouldn’t you maintain your composure all the more?”

“That’s right. But there’s no guarantee that a rat in a trap won’t bite, is there? Please be a little lenient.”

“Hmm… Um? Preceptor Beom, look at this.”

Pang Jo, who had been nodding, suddenly noticed a monument and narrowed his brows.

“What is it that has caught your attention?”

San-gun approached the monument as well. Unlike the others, this one was engraved with strange patterns instead of incomprehensible letters.

The pattern had a subtle green hue, and it continued onto the floor, drawing Pang Jo and San-gun’s gazes downward, their footsteps following the design.

After a while.

“Hmm…”

Following the pattern engraved on the floor, they reached a dead end.

“What could this be?”

At the end of the wall, a pattern similar to the one on the monument was centered on two regularly engraved squares.

“Well… I don’t know what it is, but judging from the fact that the green color is interrupted in the middle, I think something might be broken or missing.”

As he pointed out, the green color didn’t evenly cover the entire pattern; it was absent from the center of the square, as if it had been cut off.

“There’s a groove here.”

There was indeed a groove in the center of each square pattern, suggesting that something was originally inserted there.

‘What was there?’

The moment he reached out to touch it.

Kugugugung!!

The ground shook violently, and explosions echoed through the space.

“Heot [exclamation of surprise].”

“It seems they’ve found him! Let’s go quickly!”

He unleashed Dun-gwang [swift movement technique] in an instant and flew towards the sound.

San-gun, still uneasy, glanced back at the stone wall for a moment before following.

Shortly after.

San-gun and Pang Jo arrived at the source of the sound, only to stare at the scene with dumbfounded expressions.

The reason was none other than….

“Help, help me! Keheok [coughing sound]!!”

Wan-gyeong and Ye-un were engaged in a bloody battle with giant statues in the center of the Cheonmanggengno.

“What, what is going on!!”

Wan-gyeong was fighting a giant statue wielding a spear, while Ye-un battled a giant wielding a sword.

When Pang Jo shouted in surprise, Wan-gyeong, blocking the giant’s spear with an iron mace, shouted back, blood dripping from his mouth.

“Catch him! Those giants are being controlled by him!!”

He turned his gaze to where Wan-gyeong was pointing, and there he saw Elder Gol floating two green stones in the air, a bitter smile on his face.

“That’s….”

The shape and size of the stones seemed closely related to the grooves in the stone tablet they had seen earlier.

“Long time no see, Headmaster!”

“Elder Gol.”

Gol, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, greeted San-gun with a sneer.

It was an act of audacity he wouldn’t have dared unless he was supremely confident. A mere Tae-seon [Great Immortal] was acting so brazenly, placing his faith in those giant soldiers.

“What is this? I never fully trusted you, but I still thought you were someone who could properly discern things.”

“Isn’t it precisely because I can properly discern things that I’m doing this! No matter how hard I try, if four Ji-seon [Earth Immortals] come to capture me, I’d have no chance!”

But.

“If I have the giant soldiers in my hands, the situation is a little different, isn’t it!”

“You insolent one!! Your arrogance knows no bounds! Do you think you can defeat a Ji-seon, who is practically a god on earth, with just that little trinket!!”

Pang Jo Seon-sa [Immortal Master], unable to contain his anger, fluttered his sleeves, and tens of thousands of Yeong-chung [spirit insects] appeared from within.

“No matter how much the giant soldiers have been touched by the hands of a god, they will not be able to withstand my Pang Jo’s Geumjangjiju (錦將蜘蛛) [Golden General Spider]!!”

Buzzing!!

The golden-winged spider swarm unleashed golden threads simultaneously, instantly immobilizing the giant soldiers.

“Geumjangjiju!!”

San-gun also had extensive knowledge of Yeong-chung.

In fact, the centipede Tam-hwa was able to spew threads because he had fed it Geumjangjitae, a transformed egg of the Geumjangjiju.

Stories said they had become extinct and disappeared during the Manbo era [ancient era], making this the first time San-gun had seen its original form.

‘The Geumjangjiju was ranked 4th on the Baekchungseobang list [List of Hundred Insects].’

If properly nurtured, it could be used in countless ways. The thread it spewed, Geumjangsa [Golden General Thread], was so hard and tough that it could be compared to Geumgangbulgoe [indestructible diamond], and its eggs were considered the elixir of elixirs!

Every part of it was valuable, and even a single Geumjangjiju was a powerful Yeong-chung that could make one forget about ordinary treasures.

‘He raised more than 10,000 adult Geumjangjiju….’

As expected of a Ji-seon. It was said that the Geumjangsa spewed by an adult Geumjangjiju could not be cut or burned by anything.

San-gun, well aware of the power of Tam-hwa’s Geumjangsa, couldn’t hide his surprise at the sheer number of Geumjangjiju.

“Protect me, giant soldiers!!”

Elder Gol, also surprised by Pang Jo’s unexpected divine power, was flustered.

“It’s too early to be surprised!!”

Pang Jo, now invigorated, waved his arms as if shaking them off, chanted a Dharma spell, and threw incense sticks onto the ground.

Puk puk puk puk!

The incense sticks planted themselves in the ground like stakes and burned on their own, simultaneously constructing a formation on the floor.

“Come!!”

As soon as he shouted, ten thousand Geumjangjiju clung to Pang Jo’s body, emitting golden flashes.

The light was so intense that it momentarily engulfed the entire Cheonmanggengno in its brilliance.

When the golden light subsided, Pang Jo had vanished without a trace, replaced by a giant Geumjangjiju exuding a fierce aura.

‘He was a Chung-sa [Insect Master] who handled Bonseon Yeong-chung [Lifebound Spirit Insect].’

Just as San-gun handled Hwaran with Bonseon Beop-pae [Lifebound Dharma Treasure] and cultivated it within his body to grow stronger together, Pang Jo was also a Chung-sa who used Yeong-chung as his Bonseon and his primary divine power.

He had occasionally seen those who used Yeong-chung as a side skill, but this was the first time he had encountered a true Chung-sa.

Pa pa pa pat!

The Geumjangjiju, over a hundred chapters in size, stretched out Geumjangsa in all directions at once. As the spider web formed, the Geumjangjiju’s figure became so fast that it was invisible to the naked eye, darting around, appearing and disappearing with the Geumjangsa.

It was surprisingly fast and ghostly movement for its size.

“On the other hand….”

Elder Gol was aghast, attempting to control the giant soldiers, but victory seemed impossible.

“Move quickly!!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to direct the giant soldiers to kill the Geumjangjiju, but they were entangled in the Geumjangsa and difficult to control, hesitating due to its incredible speed.

“No matter how powerful the giant soldiers are, if the one who controls them is lacking, they cannot exert their power!”

Pang Jo’s upper body protruded from the back of the Geumjangjiju, which was already perched atop the giant soldier’s head.

“Bo, Bonchunghapil [Insect-Body Unification]!!”

Elder Gol’s face paled at the word Bonchunghapil, and San-gun watched with interest.

Bonchunghapil was the ultimate state of Chungsul [Insect Arts], where one could combine one’s Bokchung [Tamed Insect] with one’s mind and body to unleash greater power.

‘It’s very different from what I’ve heard.’

It was said that those who achieved Bonchunghapil, though born as humans, would resemble a young beast after its transformation, but Pang Jo’s transformation was nothing like that.

But even so, its power seemed undeniable.

San-gun could achieve a similar effect with Wiju Hoyeongap [Armor of Spirit Beast] using Tam-hwa, but it couldn’t compare to the combined power of being one with Yeong-chung like Bonchunghapil.

‘I’m just borrowing Tam-hwa’s power.’

He couldn’t use it so freely, nor could he combine Tam-hwa’s power with his own to create greater power, so he could only watch with envious eyes.

Kwaaaang!!

Pang Jo blew off the giant soldier’s head with the body of the Geumjangjiju.

Simultaneously, he scattered Geumjangsa to prevent them from moving, and they seemed unable to move any further.

San-gun didn’t need to intervene; Pang Jo had subdued both giant soldiers in an instant.

Wan-gyeong looked relieved, with an expression of ‘as expected,’ and Ye-un was amazed by his powerful divine power.

“Whenever I see it, Pang Jo Seon-sa’s Bonchunghapil is amazing!!”

“That’s right. We were having a hard time, but he subdued them in an instant, so I feel embarrassed instead.”

At their praise, Pang Jo slightly raised the corners of his lips and approached Elder Gol, who was trembling.

“Preceptor Beom. Wouldn’t it be better for you to finish it off rather than me? Don’t stay so far away; come over here.”

That was obvious.

He had captured the culprit, so he had to save Yeon-a, and then he had to find the Ji-seon and Cheonnodeung.

Elder Gol seemed to have lost his will to fight, sitting down trembling and staring blankly at the sky, while Ye-un and Wan-gyeong also gathered nearby.

“You must judge him quickly and find the Cheonnodeung. I’m very worried that he might have hidden his disciple. Hurry!”

When Ye-un shouted, the others nodded in agreement.

It was a natural reaction, as finding his disciple as soon as possible was the priority.

However.

San-gun didn’t move a single step, a cold smile playing on his lips.

“Why are you doing that, Preceptor Beom?”

Pang Jo asked in confusion, but San-gun only offered a bitter smile.

“I thought I had reached the pinnacle of humanity, and everything seemed newly seen, as if I had opened my eyes… but it seems that not much has changed as much as I thought.”

His voice was filled with bitterness, as if he had swallowed a bitter poison, and the futility of Yeonggoilchwi (榮枯一次) [the cycle of prosperity and decline] was fully expressed.

“…What does that mean?”

Wan-gyeong Seon-sa asked cautiously, a frustrated tone in his voice.

Then San-gun took a step forward.

“Like taking this step, I also had a little trust.”

“What on earth are you talking about!”

In response to Pang Jo’s frustrated shout, San-gun answered by stomping his foot.

Koong!!

Hwiiiiing!!

As San-gun stomped his foot, a huge whirlwind erupted.

Simultaneously, a milky white radiance emanated from his entire body, spreading in all directions, and Ye-un stepped back in horror.

“Hangmasinryeok [Subduing Demon Divine Power]!!”

As Ye-un retreated, the sound of something being crushed echoed in the air, and several landscapes collapsed in vain.

Elder Gol, who was kneeling, disintegrated into dust, and at the same time, the giant soldiers bound by Geumjangsa and all the mysterious landscapes scattered as if they were weathering away.

And what remained visible was.

Two magnificent giant soldiers and a bizarre rock in the middle.

And three Ji-seon standing as if to protect it, and countless demonic claws stretching out from the ground.

“There are many things I want to ask….”

Looking at the situation….

“First of all, you’re going to get hit a little.”