Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 363

Nangseon Gi Hwandam – Part 2, Chapter 72

“Are you talking about the Gongbeop [a cultivation technique or martial art] of the Insect Realm?”

“Yes, I don’t know the details since I haven’t mastered it, but this is definitely a Gongbeop created in the Insect Realm.”

Just in case, he recited the related G訣 [key formulas or incantations] of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts, which made the other more certain.

“That’s right, I know someone who has mastered the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts. But it seems a bit different from this….”

The Venerable One muttered that the framework seemed to have been slightly altered.

“Anyway… it’s quite strange how you know that. Can you tell me?”

Bum hesitated for a moment before answering.

When he replied that he had seen it in the Cheon Tong library of the Water Realm, the Venerable One nodded.

“The Cheon Tong Palace’s library… it’s possible that the Gongbeop of the Insect Realm would be there. However, it seems that several of the G訣 are written incorrectly. If you really trained in that Gongbeop, it’s a miracle you’re alive.”

“That can’t be! I’ve interpreted the G訣 of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts several times. I didn’t feel anything was wrong….”

He didn’t feel that way.

But he couldn’t say for sure.

“Hmm… shall I tell you?”

“You mean the incorrect parts?”

“Yes, I don’t have it with me now, but if you go beyond the Mounchung Zone, you’ll find the place where my acquaintance used to live. He’s already dead and returned to the soil, but he left behind related manuscripts.”

However, it wouldn’t be an act of pure goodwill.

“What do you want from me?”

“Why do you think I saved you?”

“For the Six Severed Thirty-Six Doors, I presume.”

“Yes. Then you probably know what I’m going to say.”

“That you’re going to take me with you.”

“Good, you’re smart. But it won’t be a bad thing for you either. If you want, I can help you establish a base in the Insect Realm, and it wouldn’t be difficult to oversee your training. Oh, and among the Hyangseon [ascended immortals] trying to open the Six Severed Thirty-Six Doors, there’s someone who has trained in a similar Gongbeop to you. I feel a similar Hwasintong [a type of spiritual connection or resonance].”

“Hwasintong, you say?”

“Yes, you’re practicing a somewhat unique Hwasintong, aren’t you? I can feel it. That person will be able to give you a lot of guidance.”

Bum thought of Hwagirin, who had passed on the Taecheon Oe Yang Singong, but shook his head.

He was talking about a Hyangseon.

He wouldn’t be in the Insect Realm, and since he possessed the realm of Wonseon [a higher level of immortal], he would be different from the person he was talking about.

“…I’ll think about it.”

He could have refused outright, but he was injured now.

Since he couldn’t use his full strength, it was better to answer ambiguously for now.

In any case, he had contributed greatly to his healing and recovery.

“Yes, there’s still plenty of time.”

The Venerable One told him to focus on recovery first and disappeared leisurely into the bushes.

Soon, beetle-like Seonchungs [spiritual insects] climbed onto Cheonbum’s body again.

The tree trunk wrapped around him again, and sap dripped onto his head.

Strangely, the Seonchungs on his body sucked out the poison, and the tree trunk and sap healed his wounds.

It was an unheard-of healing method, but it had steadily healed him over the past years.

He closed his eyes again and entrusted himself to it.

As he did, he thought.

‘There’s nothing to worry about Saha.’

As she said, she still had plenty of uses, so there was no need to worry about Saha.

Huhae and Gonsabi would be better off in Sangseo. Since he had disappeared, there would be no one to protect them.

The Water Palace and Sangseo were places that would take decades to reach by flying, and even using the transfer gate would take a considerable amount of time.

The fact that there was no Ssangmyeol in Huhae had already spread far and wide.

Those with keen eyes would also think that Yeonghwabi was with Bum, not Gonsabi.

In the midst of all this, he had unintentionally come to the Insect Realm… in some ways, it wasn’t so bad.

‘Not that it’s particularly good either.’

In any case, he would have to stay here for a while.

It would take at least several decades to fly from the Insect Realm to Sangseo.

He didn’t know what method the Venerable One had used to cross that distance in a short time… but in any case, escaping the Insect Realm on his own was a bad idea.

It would take a long time, his body hadn’t recovered yet, and he couldn’t cross the Geonwon Sea in that state.

‘Daechen Mujang is probably roughly estimating where I am.’

Daechen Mujang was the only one who knew that Yeonghwabi was with him.

She could use related secret arts to find the location of Yeonghwabi.

She probably knew he was in the Insect Realm too.

Since he hadn’t unintentionally returned from vacation, would she try to have him removed from his position?

She might.

The court’s laws were strict.

Even so, there wouldn’t be a big problem, but it was a shame that he hadn’t properly enjoyed the benefits of his official position along with the Lawful books.

‘Anyway, recovery first.’

Recovering his body was the best thing to do.

He would think about what to do after that later.

Bum’s consciousness sank into a deep slumber.

* * *

Twenty years later.

Recovering damaged Gi Hyeol [energy channels] was twice as difficult and time-consuming as healing the body.

However, the Gongbeops that Bum had learned and trained in were all extraordinary, which shortened the period.

Thirty years to recover the body.

Twenty years to heal the Gi Hyeol.

It took a total of fifty years.

On the day he ascended to the Upper Realm for eighty years.

Bum, who had reached a perfect physical condition, was flying through the sky of the Insect Realm with the Venerable One.

“Is the Insect Realm always like this?”

“Haha! Isn’t it a lively neighborhood?!”

The Venerable One and Cheonbum, who were splitting the sky and scattering dull light, were being chased by something. Even though they greatly flaunted the energy of Hyangseon, the Seonchungs didn’t care.

Tens of thousands of mantis swarms were fiercely chasing them.

“The Insect Realm is always like this! No matter how strong you are or how high your realm is, there are times when you have no choice but to be chased like this!”

The Venerable One was operating his dull technique, laughing heartily as if he was enjoying it.

Red light and golden light split the sky, and pure white mantises chased after them.

The mantises were pure white and pink, and they were Orchid Mantises (蘭草螳脚) that were easy to mistake for white flowers when they were in the grass.

Mantises were originally solitary creatures, but these guys lived together and were Seonchungs that disguised themselves as flower gardens.

“Can’t you do anything about it?”

“It’s not difficult to deal with them. But if you make a fuss, more Seonchungs will come drooling!”

The Insect Realm was a place where it was more difficult to escape if you wasted your strength for nothing.

The Insect Realm was different from the Water Realm, which was made up of clan societies.

Except for a few intelligent Chungseons [insect immortals], most of the Insect Realm was occupied by such Seonchungs.

The Seonchungs of the Insect Realm were mostly very aggressive, so once they started fighting, they wouldn’t disappear unless they burned down the entire forest.

‘What a damn place to see.’

Thanks to this, the Insect Realm maintained its natural scenery, so there were many beautiful places, but there were also many dangerous places.

That’s why the Insect Realm was a fertile land, but there were few invasions from other realms, and even during the Seonsal War [immortal-slaying war], they didn’t touch this place.

The number of Chungseons was smaller than in other places, but it was also because of the Seonchungs that filled it.

In addition, the Chungseons here were mostly Bokchungs [insect tamers], Chungsa [insect masters] who raised such Seonchungs, so they were difficult to deal with.

“Oh, I think they smelled us!”

It was then.

Suddenly, a swarm of ferocious bees the size of humans appeared in front of the Venerable One and Bum.

The number was only a few hundred, so the number was clearly different from that of the Orchid Mantis.

But the bees were bigger.

“This way!”

The Venerable One grabbed Bum and pulled him, took out a sack from his arms, and put it over his head.

Soon, a war between mantises and bees began to unfold in the forest.

“Do Hyangseons also run away and hide from Seonchungs in the Insect Realm?”

“It’s wisdom to avoid wasting unnecessary strength. And if you deal with those Seonchungs, you’ll get tired. Each of them is so powerful that they’re close to Sangseon [high-level immortals].”

The Venerable One chided that the Seonchungs you met were weaklings who had been eliminated and escaped from the Insect Realm.

“The Insect Realm is a complete dog-eat-dog world. Don’t forget the world of the strong.”

It was as the Venerable One said.

As the Orchid Mantis and the swarm of bees fought, swarms of Seonchungs rushed out from other places and started a commotion.

Among the swarms of Seonchungs that blackened the sky, the Orchid Mantis fought by firing sword energy using their forelimbs.

Swarms of Seonchungs were cut down like falling leaves and poured down like rain.

And soon, bugs hidden in the ground appeared and devoured or dragged away the corpses of the cut-down Seonchung swarms.

‘Insect Realm….’

I think I know a little bit about the true meaning of that word now.

‘A realm for insects.’

A place only for insects.

That was the Insect Realm.

“We’ll slip out in this gap.”

“That would be good.”

It was then.

Suddenly, a transparent giant centipede appeared from the clouds, emitting a roar.

“It’s Uneun Ogong.”

It was Uneun Ogong, a centipede that lived hidden in the clouds.

Its body was transparent, so the organs inside its body were clearly visible.

As soon as Uneun Ogong appeared, it opened its huge mouth and swallowed the Seonchungs as if a whale swallowed minnows.

The Seonchungs were startled, but they soon gathered and tried to attack Uneun Ogong, but they couldn’t attack easily because a hazy mist was emitted from its body.

“It’s a rare guy, but I guess he was hungry.”

“Is that so.”

“Uneun Ogong’s carapace is more transparent than crystal, so there are many places where it can be used.”

It was also hard.

But unlike his words, the Venerable One didn’t seem very interested.

Rather than that, Bum wanted to go to Manmanchungro, where he said there was a manuscript of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts.

Manmanchungro (萬萬衝路).

In the Insect Realm, instead of clans, the rulers of the region were called Guns, and the Venerable One was also called Gun in one side of the Insect Realm.

Manmanchungro was also a place where the Venerable One’s acquaintance reigned, but now it was a place that had been taken away by someone else.

Anyway.

Cheonbum was on his way there with the Venerable One’s guidance to obtain the perfect G訣 of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts.

Since fifty years had already passed, there was nothing he could do about the Water Realm.

He had been saved for his life, although it was out of necessity, so it wasn’t bad to hang out with the Venerable One as far as it was possible.

‘If Saha is with me, she might try to throw her life away again.’

Anyway, it was important to learn the proper G訣 of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts in order to thoroughly investigate the Six Severed Thirty-Six Doors and prepare for any possible events.

Although he had failed and almost died, Bum, who had momentarily tasted the power of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts, could not forget that fullness.

The power to divide and handle the power of the five elements with the eight trigrams. If he properly mastered the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts, he would be able to gain enlightenment on other attribute divine powers that Bum lacked.

Strong Suseons [water immortals] would appear countless times in Bum’s future.

The path of Hyangseon, which had been slightly daunting, might also open up if he practiced the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Arts.

It was a difficult Gongbeop, but none of the things Bum had learned were easy.

He was a little scared because he had tasted failure once, but that’s why he also had a sense of stubbornness.

‘The Venerable One is still friendly.’

I don’t know how far that favor will apply, but there was no discomfort in traveling with him because he exuded a pleasant and subtly comfortable atmosphere.

It wasn’t bad so far.

“Then let’s go. Manmanchungro is quite far.”

Thanks to Uneun Ogong’s predation, the rain of Seonchungs no longer fell.

But suddenly, Bum’s steps stopped, and the Venerable One turned around, wondering why, and narrowed his brows.

“Why are you suddenly laughing and making a fuss?”

“Now that things have come to this, I was wondering if there was a need to rush so urgently.”

“Suddenly? As you said, there’s no need to rush so much, but it’s not good to get caught up in the Seonchungs’ fight for nothing.”

Bum shook his head as if that wasn’t the case and took out Gongjeonggang from his arms.

“I forgot that there’s a child who’s always hungry no matter what he eats.”

Soon, Cheonbum threw Gongjeonggang into the sky.

Amber light flickered, and jet-black clouds of mist rose from within.

A ferocious energy spread from the clouds of mist that had swollen like storm clouds.

In the black clouds, a smooth carapace was reflected in the sunlight like dragon scales.

The body that was glimpsed in the clouds of mist made one guess at its enormous size.

“Fifty years is enough to make you hungry.”

During that time, he had been constantly tearing apart and eating Togapryongs [earth dragons] inside Bum’s Gongjeonggang, so wasn’t it time to give him a proper meal?

Bum twisted his lips and said.

“It’s dinner, Tamhwa.”

Soon, a jet-black Oryong [dark dragon] stuck its head out from the black clouds, let out a strange cry, and jumped into the clouds of mist created by Uneun Ogong in one fell swoop.

And after a while.

A miserable scream spread desperately, and soon, the sound of Kwajik, Kwajik was heard.

It was the sound of something being torn apart and eaten.