Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 261

As a thick, murderous aura surged in the silent stillness, Preceptor Wan Gyeong urgently shouted,

“Please, listen to what we have to say!”

“You set a trap, and now that I’ve fallen in, you want me to listen to your story?”

Before him, the ground was as black as spilled ink, filled with the countless vile clutches of demons.

It was certainly one of Ye Un’s demonic arts.

He was fortunate to have noticed it beforehand; otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble.

Even if Mountain Lord was strong, there were three Earth Immortals, beings practically considered gods on land.

A moment’s carelessness could cost him his life, so he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

‘I thought Earth Immortals would be different.’

But they were just the same.

His fate to live in such a world was so sad that he could only lament.

“We didn’t intend for things to turn out this way from the start! We swear there’s not a single lie in what we said about finding the traitor of the Baekseon Clan and fighting him!”

But the problem arose after that.

When they found Elder Gol, he moved the Giant Spirit Warrior to stop them, which even the Earth Immortals found astonishing.

The way that guy manipulated the Giant Spirit Warrior with a strange green stone, and the scheme of digging a trap and waiting, were also brilliant.

Wan Gyeong glanced at Elder Gol, who was bound by a spell, and continued,

“That bastard was trying to kill us all using the Giant Spirit Warrior and attempt ascension with the Heavenly Path Lantern.”

But it had failed, and they had been captured by him.

“You found the Heavenly Path Lantern?”

“Yes. The Heavenly Path Lantern is…”

Wan Gyeong glanced back.

There, he saw the mandala stone slabs and steles floating in the air that he had seen when he first entered, and in the center was an altar with an oval rock.

“That’s the Heavenly Path Lantern…”

Mountain Lord, who had imagined something like a *Hwadeung* lantern [a traditional Korean paper lantern], didn’t quite grasp the appearance of the Heavenly Path Lantern, which was different from what he had expected.

In many ways, it certainly didn’t resemble a lantern in appearance.

“We found the Heavenly Path Lantern, but it seems that the Heavenly Origin Energy of the Heavenly Path Lantern is insufficient because it has been neglected for too long. If we use it once, there will be no more chances!”

With those words, he looked at the bracelet Mountain Lord possessed.

“So, you’re saying you’ll put the energy contained in my bracelet into the Heavenly Path Lantern…”

That seemed to be what he meant.

The Heavenly Path Lantern was a divine object from the Upper Realm, so to move it, it needed a power condensed with Heavenly Origin Energy, in other words, great power.

“Even if the Heavenly Origin Energy of the Heavenly Path Lantern is consumed, it wouldn’t be impossible to replenish it over time.”

Even though the Heavenly Origin Energy of the Human Realm was a drop in the bucket compared to the Upper Realm or other spaces, it wasn’t entirely scarce.

If they just took the time, they could fill it with great power.

“That’s true. But we don’t have bodies like yours, a spirit beast. We don’t have plenty of time, and we all know that gathering Heavenly Origin Energy isn’t easy. It might take thousands of years, so these old men with not much time left can’t reach those days.”

The lifespan of an Earth Immortal is about three thousand years.

Unlike spirit beasts, they don’t receive Heavenly Tribulations [trials or tribulations sent by the heavens], but their lifespan is also short.

If they had the body of a spirit beast and six *Hwaryeong* [spiritual orbs], their lifespan would also be different, and their means of dealing with the Heavenly Path Lantern would also be different, but unfortunately, they were clearly human.

Therefore, they craved eternal life and were more desperate for ascension, so they came to the conclusion of killing Mountain Lord and taking the bracelet with great power.

With a sense of futility, Mountain Lord let out a hollow laugh and took a deep breath.

“We never had any intention of taking your life! If you just hand over the bracelet, we won’t do anything else!”

“You’re spouting bullshit so desperately.”

The sound of a passing dog would be more trustworthy.

They said that, but once he handed over the bracelet, they would try to get rid of him somehow.

Wasn’t it obvious?

If Mountain Lord told Hwanmong about this fact, he would spread their misdeeds to the other Earth Immortals, and their position would become quite difficult.

They would try to ascend with the Heavenly Path Lantern before that, but they would also need time to prepare for ascension.

They wouldn’t want unnecessary rumors to leak out and competitors to come.

In any case, killing Mountain Lord was beneficial to them.

“Then die!!”

With a sudden change in attitude, Wan Gyeong shouted while holding the green stone, and the Giant Spirit Warrior, who had been waiting, brought down its spear in an instant.

KWAANG!!

As the enormous spear came down, the ground shook and a whirlwind swept through.

No matter how close one was to the Eternal Realm, even a *Yooksa* [a powerful warrior] would not be able to come to their senses if they were caught off guard by the Giant Spirit Warrior.

But.

“With bare hands?”

Mountain Lord was blocking the Giant Spirit Warrior’s spear with a cold gaze.

Crack!

The spearhead of the blocked Giant Spirit Warrior cracked, and Mountain Lord’s eyes began to glow with a clear red light.

“Preceptor Wan Gyeong, that’s your problem.

If you’re going to commit to something, you have to do it without hesitation. Why do you give the opponent time to think by rambling on and on?”

“Cough…”

Wan Gyeong closed his mouth as if he had nothing to say.

“Since things have come to this, there’s no need for all three of us to step in. I’ll take care of it all, so just watch!”

Paengjo once again fluttered his sleeves, sending out thousands of golden-armored beetles.

The sound of the wings fluttering on their backs echoed throughout the area, making it incredibly eerie.

Paengjo made a hand seal with a spirited look, and accordingly, the golden-armored beetles moved like a wave, spewing out golden silk, and before he knew it, they were quickly creating a net and shooting it out.

“A spirit beast who has reached the Eternal Realm has many uses!

Considering the time we’ve spent together, I won’t kill you, so don’t be too anxious, hahaha!!”

As he spoke of him as if he were a material to be used for forging, Mountain Lord responded by raising the corners of his lips.

“I’ve heard that spirit beasts like to drink liquor made with the *Hwaryeong* of Earth Immortals. I’m going to get a taste of that liquor this time, so I feel like shit today!”

“You bastard, very well. If you’re so confident, try blocking my Paengjo’s golden-armored beetles!!”

In the blink of an eye, a net of golden silk poured down from above, and Mountain Lord quickly spread his hands. Then, a round wheel appeared spinning, which was Mountain Lord’s ancient wheel.

“Go.”

Ssiing!! As the ancient wheel flew out with a clear sound and collided with the net of golden silk, surprisingly, a rough metallic sound rang out and sparks flew!

‘As expected.’

It wasn’t easily cut.

They were adult golden-armored beetles.

And they were even the main spirit insects of an Earth Immortal, so they weren’t easy golden silk.

He wanted to sweep them away right away and burn them with Bongak Cheonghwa, but Mountain Lord couldn’t do that because Paengjo wasn’t the only one he had to deal with.

‘Should I take it slow?’

He still had many cards to use.

Rather than revealing his strength hastily, it was right to proceed cautiously, observing the situation.

“I can hear you thinking! If you’re a man, why don’t you compete with your divine powers in a cool way! Don’t act like a woman!”

Paengjo seemed frustrated and angry, and he shook his sleeves again, releasing ten thousand more golden-armored beetles.

The sound of wings filling the space and the bodies made of gold filled the surroundings with golden waves, making it even more beautiful.

Not only that, but he stomped his feet to form the golden-armored beetles into a formation, and built a formation with their positions.

One by one, letters appeared on the backs of the golden-armored beetles, and as the golden light became more brilliant, a formation was created in an instant.

“Insect Citadel (蟲鎭)!!”

It was a high-level formation made of spirit insects, known to be so difficult that no one used it, even among insect arts.

“You won’t be able to escape with this!”

Kiiiing!!

As letters appeared from tens of thousands of golden-armored beetles and the formation was completed, the surroundings were covered with golden silk and an unknown force pressed down on Mountain Lord.

“Kugh.”

His body became as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn’t move as if he were carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

“Bind him!”

Paengjo Seonsa [a Taoist immortal], not missing the opportunity, quickly used the golden-armored beetles to tightly bind Mountain Lord’s body with golden silk.

As ten thousand of them simultaneously spewed out golden silk, he was instantly entangled and unable to move, and was captured.

“This is really too easy. I boasted that I would make liquor with my *Hwaryeong*, so I thought you had a hidden card, but it seems that wasn’t the case! You’ve been captured so easily!”

Paengjo’s laughter echoed all around.

Nevertheless, there was no change in Mountain Lord’s expression, and Paengjo immediately became suspicious, wondering if it was a puppet or a clone, and approached a little closer.

“Have you already lost your will to fight?”

However, Mountain Lord, seeing Paengjo approaching within reach, silently raised the corners of his lips and sneered.

“Not a chance.”

The ancient wheel could not cut the golden silk, and he could not escape due to the Insect Citadel.

However.

That doesn’t mean Mountain Lord can’t escape.

The moment Paengjo thought something was wrong and tried to step back.

Kureureung!!

Thunder rumbled from Mountain Lord’s body, which was bound by golden silk.

When purple electricity fluttered and soared.

“This!”

Kwajijijijik!!

Mountain Lord’s *Bulcheonbulbyeok* [an untranslatable term for a powerful technique] spread in all directions, riding on the golden silk.

“Keueueueueuk!!”

Paengjo, who was close by, stepped back in an instant and avoided the vital points, but was within the range of *Bulcheonbulbyeok*.

His sleeves were torn and his forearms were scorched purple, with smoke rising.

“Damn it!!”

Not only that, but it soon swelled up and began to mortify, due to the poison of *Bulcheonbulbyeok*, which was originally a chronic poison flame.

Paengjo, whose face was dark due to the poison, quickly stabbed his pressure points to exclude the invasion of the poison, but even that was useless, and he gritted his teeth and cut off his arm.

Tuk!

The fallen forearm rose with purple bubbles and burst on its own, melting the flesh and causing an extreme stench.

After that, it ignited on its own and disappeared without a trace, and if he had been a little late, his whole body would have been burned away.

Unlike Paengjo, who was gritting his teeth, Mountain Lord shook off the golden silk that had bound him with a relaxed face.

The golden-armored beetles that had surrounded him had already fallen to the floor, turned upside down, and even the ones that survived because they were relatively far away were not in good condition due to the poison.

“The golden silk is fine.”

But strangely, the golden silk was neither melted nor burned and was fine.

*Bulcheonbulbyeok* is a lightning energy created by mixing chronic poison flame, Bongak Cheonghwa, and Doryeon Mahwa’s golden flame.

However, the fact that it withstood it showed how strong this golden silk was.

Even with the same golden silk, the strength varies depending on how the spirit insects are raised.

Although he was his enemy, Paengjo was undoubtedly a talented insect master.

“Seeing the golden silk intact even against my *Bulcheonbulbyeok*, it seems that Paengjo Seonsa’s talent is indeed outstanding?”

“You son of a bitch!!”

It was a compliment in its own way, but Paengjo, who was furious, couldn’t take it as it was.

He was furious and shouted as if he wouldn’t let it go.

“I’m not deaf.”

“I will definitely send you to the underworld!”

He made a hand seal with his remaining arm and summoned the golden-armored beetles, and they quickly clung to his body. At the same time, before he knew it, incense sticks were stuck in the floor, completing a simple formation, and golden flashes were emitted.

It was the union with the main insect.

“Although I was caught off guard, there will be no such luck now!!”

Certainly, if he became one with the golden-armored beetles through the union with the main insect, he would undoubtedly wield even greater power.

If that happened, it would be quite annoying.

“Who’s going to wait for you.”

But Mountain Lord is not going to wait quietly until the union with the main insect is complete.

In a bloody battle where life and death are decided in a moment, how could he afford to act with such leisure?

Mountain Lord quickly flicked his finger and sent a strand of black thread towards Paengjo.

Piing!

A strand of black thread that was barely visible flew out, but Paengjo had a sneer on his face.

The strongest thread among the top three was golden silk, and Paengjo, as an insect master who used golden-armored beetles, had mastered most of the various sorceries.

How could an ordinary person dare to fly a strand of thread at him?

There was no sorcery that could pierce his golden silk after reaching the level of Earth Immortal.

“Hmph, you stupid bastard!”

Paengjo quickly wrapped the golden silk around his body.

Since it was clinging to his body during the union with the main insect, it was as easy as breathing to cover his whole body with golden silk.

The golden silk was quickly woven together like a net, creating a solid structure.

Even the sharpest sword would have difficulty cutting through the golden silk.

That strand of black thread coming towards him would be bounced off by the golden silk!

Puk!

But contrary to his expectations, it pierced through the thousands of strands of golden silk that were tied together so lightly.

“Keoeok!!”

The golden-armored beetles that had been clinging to Paengjo’s body plummeted to the floor like dolls with broken strings, and Paengjo, whose appearance was revealed, had his chest pierced by a strand of black thread that Mountain Lord had flown, with a painful expression.

“How….”

He had an expression of disbelief.

Mountain Lord answered his question simply.

“Difference in spirit insects?”