Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 29

Nangseon’s Romantic Tale – Chapter 28

The Taoists of the Ice Palace boarded the teleportation array first. As the array activated, their figures vanished instantly.

After them, the Sword Immortals boarded the teleportation array only after the Taoists from the other sects had gone.

“Hurry up. There are so many of you.”

He hadn’t said a word when sending off the Taoists, but as soon as they disappeared, he revealed his true colors and scowled.

He was also a Taoist belonging to the Ilwol Gate, but it was just a pointless outburst.

The Sword Immortals couldn’t say a word and kept their mouths shut. Whether it was herd mentality or something else, even Sangoon lowered his head.

-The name of Sangoon of Mount Baek will be tarnished.

-It’s not like we can fight here.

Sangoon sighed softly and stepped into the teleportation array.

Then, the array glowed faintly, flickered, and in an instant, the scenery drastically changed.

“Ugh.”

Crossing space made him feel nauseous and gave him a headache.

Most of the other Sword Immortals were also clutching their heads, and many were retching. Some even ran to the corner to vomit.

Sangoon also tapped his head to ease the dizziness and looked around.

A slightly dim space, with luminous pearls embedded in the rock walls, faintly illuminated the surroundings.

Yeongnae Mountain is the core that the sacred mountain holds.

In other words, they had moved close to the mountain’s inner core by riding the teleportation array.

“To be so weak from just riding the teleportation array… tsk, tsk.”

About thirty Taoists from each sect, who had already arrived, were looking at the Sword Immortals with disdain.

When an old man with a fierce expression said that, the surrounding Taoists nodded in agreement.

“Do we really have to take these guys with us?”

“Haha, Brother Byeokryeop. You never know. Please take our Ilwol’s Sword Immortals and use them as you see fit.”

The old man called Byeokryeop was a Taoist wearing a gray robe with his white hair tied up. His impression was like that of a maverick, and even the surrounding Taoists seemed to find him difficult to deal with.

“Ahem. Since Brother Yeom says so, I have no choice.”

However, he couldn’t raise his voice at Taoist Yeom, who was also a Taoist of the Ilwol Gate.

Even a mongrel dog gets half a meal in its own home. But what good would it do to offend them in the mountains where the Ilwol Gate was practically at home? It was only wise to hold back his temper, at least in this place.

“Haha, let’s go now.”

Taoist Yeom smiled bitterly and urged the others. It was obvious that the Sword Immortals would only continue to embarrass themselves if they stayed still.

Sangoon gritted his teeth as he watched the Taoists looking at the Sword Immortals with contempt.

He was speechless at how arrogant and presumptuous those who were supposed to be cultivating the Tao were.

“By the way, what brings the Ice Palace to the Ilwol Gate?”

The Taoist Byeokryeop of the Wudang Sect asked, looking at the White Lotus Seonja [Seonja: A Taoist immortal or hermit] of the Ice Palace.

However, the Taoist called White Lotus Seonja remained silent to his question.

“Haha, White Lotus Sister is practicing silent meditation.”

“Haha, I see.”

“The Ice Palace also came to seek opportunities in this Yeongnae Mountain. Is there anything else?”

Amidst the conversation between the Ice Palace and Wudang, Sangoon’s eyes gleamed.

‘Wudang, huh.’

It wasn’t bad for them since they had lost the Dobonghwan [Dobonghwan: likely a significant artifact or treasure].

However, as a result, Sangoon was the one who suffered the most damage from the Wudang Taoist. So, he couldn’t just see it in a positive light.

Sangoon stared at the Byeok elder with cold eyes before averting his gaze.

The Taoists of the Ilwol Gate, Wudang Sect, Yeomyeongjong, Ami Sect, Taesan Sect, and Ice Palace turned away one by one and approached a small pond.

There, a wolf spirit beast with a single horn on its forehead was lying down.

It looked at the Taoists with only one eye open, but they didn’t get scared at the appearance of the spirit beast; instead, they exclaimed in admiration.

“Is that the gatekeeper of Yeongnae Mountain?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s Boksu, who guards our Yeongnae Mountain. As you can see, it has achieved satong [Satong: spiritual enlightenment or understanding]… the spirit of Geummyeongji (金明池靈) [Geummyeongji: Golden Light Spirit]. It has been the guardian spirit protecting the Woljisu (月池水) [Woljisu: Moon Pond Water] of Yeongnae Mountain for 600 years!”

“Haha, we should pay our respects! Its pure spiritual power and unique energy are truly like a divine beast!”

The reason why there were only Taoists here was because the satong Boksu was guarding the entrance to Yeongnae Mountain.

The wolf, called Geummyeongji, looked at the Taoists with a nonchalant gaze, then glanced at Sangoon and its eyes lit up.

‘This is a bit dangerous.’

Sangoon’s Myeong-eun術 [Myeong-eun術: Art of Concealment] and disguise術 [Disguise術: Art of Disguise] weren’t ordinary, but it was a different story if it was a spirit beast matching a Hwanseon [Hwanseon: Transcendent or immortal being].

Like a mouse in front of a cat, he couldn’t even breathe and cold sweat ran down his spine.

But that was only for a moment.

Geummyeongji soon lost interest, closed its eyes again, and pretended to sleep as if it had no interest.

“Haha, this Byeokryeop is impressed to see the divine beast of your sect!”

“Haha, let’s go quickly.”

Taoist Yeom and Byeokryeop, who were exchanging words, raised the corners of their mouths and moved on.

Taoist Yeom took out a mirror decorated with silver from his chest, and the energy emanating from the mirror was extraordinary.

-A treasure?

-Is it really a treasure?

-Yes, I’m sure. That unique energy is definitely a treasure.

“This is the key to entering Yeongnae Mountain. It is a precious item that has been passed down in our sect for a long time.”

Taoist Yeom smiled triumphantly and injected spiritual power into the mirror.

Then, a faint glow emitted light, and the mirror soared into the air on its own and stuck to the ceiling.

And after a while.

The mirror suddenly spat out particles of light. It gradually increased from dozens to hundreds, creating subtle ripples in the Woljisu and emitting a brilliant light.

“To enter the Yeongnae Mountain of our sect, you must have this Josiryeong (照示羽) [Josiryeong: Illuminating Feather]. This Woljisu is the entrance to Yeongnae Mountain!”

After saying that, Taoist Yeom stepped into the Woljisu and approached the place where the light was dancing.

“This Josiryeong will create a door for the next three days. I have to stay here in case something happens, so please go in.”

The place where Josiryeong and Woljisu met was the Yeongnae Mountain of the Ilwol Gate.

Everyone exclaimed in admiration and walked one by one on the pond, entering the Woljisu.

* * *

Yeongnae Mountain.

Yeongnae Mountain was like another world.

There was a sky, and for some reason, there was a sun and mountains. The mountain peaks were covered in fog due to the dense spiritual power, creating a serene atmosphere as if immortals lived there.

It is said that even if the outer mountain burns, the mountain does not die because there is such an inner mountain.

‘Not bad.’

Here, they obtain materials to train and strengthen their divine powers.

This time, the Ilwol Gate opened Yeongnae Mountain, so next time, another sect will open it.

That is the reason for opening Yeongnae Mountain, to allow Taoists to gain experience in turn.

“Then I’ll go first.”

Byeokryeop of the Wudang Sect led his group to the west. The Taoists of other sects did the same.

“White Sister. Let’s go too.”

“You guys follow well too.”

Seeing him, the Ice Palace also hurried along.

The group consisted of three women and one man.

They were slender women and a skinny, skeletal man, but the coldness they subtly exuded was befitting of the Taoists of the Ice Palace.

‘It’s damp.’

Since the entrance was a pond, the place connected to the inner mountain was also in the middle of an unnamed pond.

Sangoon followed them with a sulky face along with the other Sword Immortals.

It was true that he was a little excited to enter Yeongnae Mountain, which he had only seen in writing.

But that feeling disappeared cleanly after an hour.

‘It’s damn wide.’

It was too wide.

It would be one thing if he were traveling alone, but moving with others was inevitably slower.

It was a mountain hike with nothing to see except for the occasional spirit insects running away in surprise at the sound of people.

With four Taoists and over twenty Sword Immortals, who would dare to attack?

If there was any good thing, it was that rare spirit herbs were occasionally seen, so they took breaks to collect them.

Even so, it wasn’t like the spirit herbs were coming to the Sword Immortals, so Sangoon was so bored that he kept yawning.

* * *

There are a total of 7 peaks in Yeongnae Mountain.

They were called the Seven Inner Peaks (七內峰), and the third peak was strangely muddy.

Perhaps because of the coniferous trees that soared high into the sky, only this place was not exposed to the sun, giving off a gloomy atmosphere.

Most sects didn’t seem interested in the third peak and didn’t climb it. They thought there would be no spirit herbs or opportunities in such a place.

“Master, is this really the right place?”

On that third peak, people wearing gray robes were using Taoist skills (道術) to rush forward.

“How could it not be?”

The old man, called Master, looked at the paper crane flying in front and his eyes lit up.

If it weren’t for the paper guiding crane (紙導鶴) that flew nimbly through the narrow and rugged mountain terrain and guided them, even he would have doubted it.

The Taoists who had been following the guiding crane for a while stopped.

“We finally found it!”

The place where the guiding crane stopped was under a humble tree stump.

The old man, who was the master of the Taoists, was filled with joy and immediately dug up the ground.

Then, a yellow light flashed.

What the old man took out was a small jade box.

The old man quickly scanned the jade box with his divine sense and was filled with joy.

“I found it……!”

Soon, when he took out the item, a skull that seemed to belong to a beast came out.

The old man examined it and nodded, filled with emotion.

“300 years ago, when Master was a Taoist, he hid it because he didn’t have the confidence to handle it…… I’m glad. I’m so glad.”

“Master. What is it that Master told you to find no matter what?”

“Hehe, it’s also called the egg of the Golden General Spider, or… it’s also called the Golden General Moss (錦將蜘苔) [Golden General Moss: A rare and valuable substance].”

At that moment.

The old man’s expression suddenly hardened. He narrowed his eyes, stood up from his seat, and began to emanate energy.

“Stop hiding and come out!”

At his sudden outburst, a man’s laughter echoed softly.

“Taoist Byeokryeop’s level is truly amazing!”

Suddenly, a man walked out from behind a tree. Behind him were also Taoists who seemed to be from the same sect.

He was a Taoist with a pleasant impression, but he couldn’t hide the blatant greed in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Byeokryeop. I have no grudge against you, but what can I do? The item I must find is that one.”

The one holding the skull was Byeokryeop, the old man of the Wudang Sect.

He frowned and put the beast’s skull back into the jade box.

“This old man also came to obtain the Golden General Moss (錦將蜘苔), so I cannot give it to you!”

“I will compensate you with something else. I know that the Taoist’s lifespan is not long… How about this? I have an elixir that extends your lifespan by 50 years, so let’s exchange it for that.”

“Hmph, you don’t need to worry about this old man’s lifespan! If I offer the Golden General Moss to the sect, I have a promise of a Seondan [Seondan: A special elixir or pill] to become a Biseon [Biseon: A higher level of Taoist immortal], do you think I would fall for that mere elixir?”

If he could become a Biseon beyond a Taoist, his lifespan would increase to 600 years, so Byeokryeop would not fall for a mere 50 years.

As a result, the killing intent emanating from the Taesan Sect’s Taoists became even stronger. Since the negotiation had failed, all they could do was kill and take it.

It wasn’t something that Taoists who cultivated the Tao should do, but the number of treasures was limited and there were many Taoists, so it was a common occurrence even in the Taoist world.

“There is such a thing, so my uncles told me to take good care of my protective gear.”
The Taesan Sect’s Taoist chuckled and took out a treasure from his chest.

His gaze was entirely fixed on the Golden General Moss that Byeokryeop was holding.

Feeling that gaze, Byeokryeop and the Wudang Taoists also took out one treasure each and scattered killing intent.

“How amusing. I wonder if you know what protective gear means?”

The Taesan Sect’s Taoist sneered and sent the talisman in his hand flying in an instant.