Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 35

Nangseon’s Adventures – Episode 34

“Kuh-heuk!”

Samgui, with the Nine Ring Blade lodged in his chest, was engulfed in the Blue Flame. Yet, above him, San-gun clutched his own chest, struggling.

‘I used too much power.’

The moment San-gun’s spiritual energy bottomed out, the Bongak Blue Flame within him began to rampage.

It seemed not even a sliver of spiritual energy remained within his body.

-San-gun! You must finish him off for good!

-I know!

He groaned, grimacing as he spat out the words with difficulty.

Even if it was temporary, he had raised that bastard to the realm of Spiritual Enlightenment, so he had to end it for good. Reaching the realm of Spiritual Enlightenment grants a spirit beast an extra life. This isn’t a metaphor; it’s a fact.

Like Hwanseon [a type of powerful spirit beast], the inner core nestled in the dantian [energy center in the body] gradually ascends, reaching the head when one attains Spiritual Enlightenment.

If that happens, even if the body burns away, they can survive by moving only their head.

“Kuh-heuk!”

Patches of Blue Flame flickered around San-gun’s body. Each time, San-gun groaned in agony, beads of cold sweat streaming down his face.

“Damn it!”

He bit his lower lip, forcefully extracted the Nine Ring Blade, and plunged it into the bastard’s head in one swift motion.

Thwack!

[Keo-heo-eok!]

He twisted the Nine Ring Blade he had shoved into the bastard’s head, splitting it in half in one go.

Then, a red light burst out from the gap.

It was the bastard’s spiritual awareness.

[Spare me! The ghost soldiers I must lead are waiting only for me!]

“Who cares!”

The worst!

Even that was sliced away, and the bastard’s scream echoed mournfully before disappearing.

“Hoo!”

Only then did San-gun heave a sigh of relief and slump to the ground.

-Congratulations, San-gun. It’s as if a Doseon [a practitioner of Taoism] has caught a Hwanseon.

It was definitely a great feat, but he didn’t have the energy to celebrate it.

-Congratulations, my ass. Just look at my state right now.

A thousand fires raged within his body.

If he exerted even a bit more strength here, his entire body would be engulfed in the Bongak Blue Flame, burning like Samgui’s corpse.

Each time the symptom of Blue Flame erupting and subsiding from various parts of his body appeared, San-gun gritted his teeth.

‘This is a mess.’

If there was any saving grace, it was that Samgui had killed all the Oryuk Chohak [a type of monster].

That was a stroke of incredible luck.

If that bastard hadn’t killed all the Oryuk Chohak, San-gun might have had to face them now that Samgui was dead.

Baekryeon, having extracted the transparent sword from Samgui’s corpse, glanced at San-gun.

The Ice Palace’s female disciples seemed to have all died in the chaos.

He wondered if she would attack, but the possibility was extremely low.

The surroundings were littered with corpses, but only the two of them were alive.

San-gun stared at her, then took out elixirs and pills from his Gongjeong River [a magical storage space, like a pocket dimension], tossed them into his mouth, and sat cross-legged.

He had to circulate his energy and control the Bongak Blue Flame.

Otherwise, he would suffer backlash and be consumed by the flames, dying.

For now, he had no choice but to trust her.

* * *

Inside a stone chamber in a renowned mountain.

The black, glossy scales shimmered faintly in the light of the night-shining stones.

They were layered, coiling around. The head resembled that of a snake, but if one looked at the white horn protruding from its forehead, it was no different from that of a dragon, a creature called a divine beast.

The spirit beast in the form of a snake gently opened its eyes, its green pupils glowing ominously.

[Samgui is dead.]

Flash!

As a burst of light erupted, the massive snake transformed into a human.

The man with long hair took a step forward, and the scenery instantly changed.

The man, looking at the various spirit beasts bowing their heads, said,

“Samgui is dead.”

[!]

The spirit beasts were all startled.

Samgui, who was in the realm of Eternal Calamity, had died! Spirit beasts of the Eternal Calamity realm were akin to overlords of a region, rarely dying except from old age.

But for such a Samgui to die meant he had fought against an even stronger opponent and died in battle.

“We must choose a new Samgui, so tell the Siphaemancheok Ghost [a powerful group of ghosts] to carry out the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts.”

[[Understood!]]

The spirit beasts, having received their orders, scattered, and the man, staring silently at the sky, also vanished as his form blurred.

* * *

Inside the Inner Sanctum Mountain of the Ilwol Gate [a martial arts sect].

He spent a full day circulating his energy and recovering his spiritual power.

Then, he divided the corpse of Samgui and the byproducts of the Oryuk Chohak.

To be honest, he really wanted to have Samgui’s horn, but San-gun chose Ryugokja [a type of artifact], whom he had used like his own limbs, instead.

He was more interested in a tool he could use right away than the horn.

He had tasted Ryugokja’s power enough through Samgui’s use.

After that.

When Baekryeon retrieved the Gyeonghwan Token [a token of authority].

San-gun easily gathered the centipedes clinging to it, put them into his Gongjeong River, and then watched her carefully.

-Why are you being so cautious?

-What do you mean cautious? I just… want to take the Gyeonghwan Token, that’s all.

-You’re just greedy…. Give up. Even if it were Bokchung [a powerful figure], you wouldn’t be able to take the Gyeonghwan Token, as it belongs to the Ice Palace.

San-gun clicked his tongue in disappointment but soon forgot about it.

‘Still, I gained a lot. Mansam did well.’

He took out a few Gongjeong Rivers from his chest, infused them with his consciousness, examined them, and then raised the corners of his lips.

Inside were quite a few Gongjeong Rivers, all belonging to those who had been killed by Samgui.

Of course, there was Samgui’s as well.

He couldn’t check properly now, but there would surely be plenty of treasures not only in the Geumjangjitae [a type of treasure] but also in Samgui’s Gongjeong River.

‘I’ve even obtained the byproducts of the Oryuk Chohak, so it wouldn’t be bad to try making a Hwanjin Talisman [a powerful talisman].’

He had fully realized and experienced the power of Hwanjin through this incident.

Even if it was a Doseon with more powerful divine abilities than himself, if they were properly caught in the Hwanjin, it would be easy to deal with them, and in case of emergency, he could trap them in the Hwanjin and run away, so it would definitely be helpful.

From his perspective.

Having a Hwanjin Talisman would definitely be useful.

* * *

Two days later.

Yeom Doseon of the Ilwol Gate, standing at the entrance of the Inner Sanctum Mountain, opened the gate.

Then, as if waiting, several people appeared.

“Ahem….”

He had expected it, but the number of people who returned was smaller than he thought.

There were two from the Ice Palace. The Taesan Sect, the Wudang Sect, and the Emei Sect were nowhere to be seen, and there were only a few more Yeomyeong Sect Doseons.

Yeom Doseon glanced and asked the Ice Palace’s Doseon about the details.

He asked Baekryeon, but he remained silent, and only after the Yeo Doseon next to him told him the story did he nod.

“Oryuk Chohak…. I didn’t know there were still such spirit beasts left. You’ve been through a lot, Yeon Doseon.”

“Not at all. I’m worried that we’ve caused trouble for your sect.”

“Not at all. Isn’t this what happens when opening the Inner Sanctum Mountain? This must also be the will of heaven.”

They exchanged various pleasantries for a while before parting ways.

Yeon Doseon was, of course, San-gun disguised as Yeon Doseon with the help of the Muscle Transformation Pill.

If most of the Doseons died and he survived as a Sword Immortal, he would surely be suspected.

So, with Baekryeon’s consent, he disguised himself as the dead Yeon Doseon. Since the Ice Palace wouldn’t mind staying as a guest of the Ilwol Gate, he intended to use that to find the Four-Month Sacrifice.

San-gun silently looked at Baekryeon standing next to him and stood on the teleportation formation.

But then.

-Did you kill Samgui?

Geummyeongjiryung [a powerful spirit beast], who had been lying prostrate like a dead mouse, suddenly sent a telepathic message to San-gun.

-How could a mere Doseon like me kill Samgui, one of the Siphaemancheok Ghost?

San-gun, startled, calmly sent a telepathic message.

-I know that you are not human. I thought you would die to Samgui, but you managed to return alive.

The beautiful eyebrows of San-gun, disguised as Yeo Doseon, furrowed. He wondered why he had just left him alone, but there was such a calculation behind it.

-Are you going to kill me?

If it was Geummyeongjiryung, who possessed the realm of Spiritual Enlightenment, he could do it.

Samgui also raised his realm to Spiritual Enlightenment at the end, but it was not complete.

But Geummyeongjiryung was originally Spiritual Enlightenment, so killing San-gun, a Cinema Spirit [a lower-level spirit], would be easier than breathing.

However, he chuckled and replied.

-Why would I do that? What would I gain by killing you?

-Then….

-You owe me a debt. That was the same for Samgui as well…. But it doesn’t matter. I only want one thing. Bring me the damn Bokjwa Token [a powerful artifact]. That’s all I want.

‘Crazy.’

If he possessed the Bokjwa Token, which used Spiritual Enlightenment as a reward, he would be at least a Hwanseon or a Seon Master [powerful cultivators] in the realm of Taeseon [a high realm of cultivation].

How could a mere Cinema Spirit bring something possessed by such a person!

-Do you think that makes sense?

-Don’t be angry. What can I do? My lifespan is only about 500 years left. I can’t raise my realm while trapped here, but if I can get out of here, I can face the time of Eternal Calamity, so it wouldn’t be so bad for you either.

‘What kind of dog barking sound is that?’

-And my Bokjwa Token is jointly managed by the Ilwol Gate. That means the Hwanseons are managing it.

-Even so, I am a Cinema. In human terms, a Doseon. But how can I bring the Bokjwa Token managed by the Hwanseons!

-I can’t tell you the details. But if you accept, I’ll tell you the clues to the secret treasures that can lead you to Spiritual Transcendence. What do you say, will you do it?

‘Secret treasures….’

San-gun’s face became strange at the word secret treasures. If he received the secret treasures that could lead him to Spiritual Transcendence, it would surely be helpful.

Cinema obtained Dobonghwan [a rare herb] by chance and easily raised his cultivation, but there was no guarantee that it would be the same when he reached Spiritual Transcendence.

No matter how much he obtained elixirs that helped with cultivation, those who were destined to die would not be able to overcome the calamity of True Fate.

But after a moment of consideration, San-gun shook his head.

-I can reach Spiritual Transcendence on my own without Geummyeongjiryung’s help. I refuse.

It would be nice to have it, but he knew the circumstances and opportunities to reach Spiritual Transcendence on his own without Geummyeongjiryung’s help.

There was no need to jump into a sea of fire for just that.

-Please! If you refuse, I have no choice but to reveal who killed Samgui. Will you still refuse? The ghost soldiers of Siphaemancheok will chase you.

Since Samgui is gone, his subordinates will be burning with anger and trying to kill you.

If they do, they might become the new Samgui!

‘…….’

To think he would threaten him with that.

San-gun gestured to Baekryeon, who was staring blankly at him, to wait for a moment, and then sent a telepathic message.

-What if I still refuse? I can tell the Ilwol Gate right now that you are trying to escape from revenge.

-Can’t you change your mind? I can give you a lot of help. I will treat you generously, and if you really want, I will swear on my blood!

His words were not a lie.

A spirit beast of Spiritual Enlightenment.

Now looking towards Eternal Calamity, it would be very helpful to receive his favor.

As long as he lived in this harsh world, there was nothing bad about having connections with people of high realm.

-If you bring me my Bokjwa Token, I will not only protect you when I reach Eternal Calamity, but I will also not forget your contribution and provide you with the enlightenment and elixirs you need for cultivation!

In addition, you will be able to reach Spiritual Transcendence at once with the secret treasures I have hidden!

‘Geummyeongjiryung….’

San-gun exchanged telepathic messages with a strange look and then boarded the teleportation formation.