Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 465

Tales of the Spirit Blade – Part 2, Episode 174

Cheonbeom examined the Evil Aura Talisman in his hand, studying its structure before putting it away.

‘It’s nothing special.’

It had a grand name, but it was simply a talisman that strengthened the mind.

Since the Evil Aura from the Great Evil Tree was said to cause madness, it was just a matter of strengthening one’s mental fortitude.

In short, it was Gongakru’s business tactic.

Cheonbeom lightly burned the Evil Aura Talisman and glanced around.

Thanks to rushing here non-stop from Gyeogyeo-gyeong, he had arrived in a very short time.

Having gained insights from reaching the realm of Fragrant Mountain, his Stealth Art had also improved, allowing him to arrive quickly.

This was because he had used the Flying Shadow Step to increase his Stealth Art speed nearly fourfold.

“So, it begins now.”

The fragment of the Demon Lineage he had captured only knew the approximate location of Gongakchun, not what kind of place it was, so he had already thrown it to Guhwan Island as food.

He had only vaguely listened to the clerk’s explanation at Gongakru, so how to proceed from now on was up to Beom’s judgment.

Tamhwa would soon be ascending, so he could leave her to Gongakchun, but no matter what, he couldn’t just leave, as some misfortune might befall his daughter as she ascended. At the very least, he should help her find a good spot and watch over her, as a father should.

‘I should have gotten the Spirit Pearl from that Misae bastard, but I forgot.’

He also had to find a gift to give Tamhwa when she finished ascending and woke up.

“There’s still time….”

It seemed better to look around Gongakchun and find a suitable spot.

‘They’ve all scattered.’

The merchant ships that had entered Gongakchun had scattered in all directions with their respective groups.

Those who had come here alone wanted to travel with those they got along with, as it seemed dangerous to travel alone due to the powerful Insectoids and Insectoid Kings.

“If you’re alright with it, esteemed cultivator, why don’t we travel together? No matter how strong the Insectoids are in the center of Gongakchun, danger can emerge anytime, anywhere, so it’s better to combine our strength.”

Since he was suppressing his cultivation to avoid standing out, they didn’t know that Cheonbeom was a Fragrant Immortal or a Water Realm cultivator, so they spoke to him without hesitation.

“I have no objections.”

He was going to wander around anyway, and he might be able to hear about the Upper Realm’s situation or various information he didn’t know if he was with them.

“This person will join us too!”

When the merchant immortal who had spoken to Beom shouted, the demon immortals who had been standing some distance away approached one by one.

They were all demon immortals in the Upper Void realm, and there were three in total.

“What should we call you?”

To the question, Beom replied Yujeong.

“So, you’re Cultivator Yu. Pleased to meet you. You can call me Cultivator Ja. And this person is….”

The man who had first spoken to Beom seemed to have the surname Ja, and the large demon immortal later had the surname Sang.

Lastly, the only woman in the group asked to be called Immortal Ha.

After introducing themselves, the group slowly began to walk through the forest.

“What brings Cultivator Yu to Gongakchun?”

Cultivator Ja, with his neat face, asked affably.

“I became interested in the Insectoids here and came with the intention of experiencing various things. If I’m lucky, I might even be able to make an Insectoid that suits me my own, with a somewhat light heart.”

Listening to Beom’s story, the demon immortals nodded as they walked.

“The Insectoids of Gongakchun have not only power but also rare bloodlines that are not easily obtained, so it is a wise decision. Most of the cultivators who come here have that purpose.”

Immortal Ha said as if it were obvious, and Cultivator Ja next to her chimed in.

“As for me, the cultivation method I’ve mastered can only be perfected if I am mentally connected and united with an Insectoid, so I came to find an Insectoid that suits me. What brings Cultivator Sang here?”

At the naturally following question, the large Cultivator Sang glanced at Cultivator Ja before looking ahead and answering.

“I came to find suitable Insectoid materials to increase the power of my magical artifact. This isn’t my first time here, so it’s safer to follow my lead when it comes to Gongakchun.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s reassuring. Do you know what comes out if we go this way?”

Cultivator Sang glanced at Immortal Ha and nodded.

“Gongakchun is where Insectoids form their own territories. The outermost areas aren’t very noticeable, but if you go in a little, the territories are clearly divided. If we go this way, we’ll probably encounter an Insectoid called Gumasu.”

“Gumasu! I’ve heard of them too. They say they’re Insectoids similar to wolves that live in packs. But they’re as fierce as vipers and as clever as wolves, so they’re said to be very strong Insectoids.”

Beom quietly listened to their story and secretly sensed his surroundings.

Indeed, as they said, there seemed to be a pack of Insectoids called Gumasu.

‘Quite a lot.’

Gongakchun was quite large, and the territory of the Gumasu was not small. Sensing with his new senses, there seemed to be about a hundred Gumasu.

‘Roughly four hundred, give or take.’

There were Gumasu directly ahead of the group, and to the left, there were Insectoids with similar auras, as if it were another territory.

“Isn’t this another territory as well?”

“How did you know? If this is the territory of the Gumasu, then to the west is the territory of the Wananu. They often clash with the Gumasu. They have the heads of dragons and the bodies of birds.”

“Is Cultivator Sang not interested in the Gumasu or the Wananu? They seem like strong Insectoids too.”

When Beom asked, Cultivator Sang replied as if he didn’t know anything.

“The Gumasu and Wananu are strong Insectoids, but they always live in packs, so they’re difficult to catch. Besides, they’re not quite enough to strengthen a magical artifact.”

Cultivator Sang advised that if he needed the Gumasu or Wananu, he would lend a hand, but even if he caught them, there would be little use for them.

“Oh dear. Looks like some idiots stirred up a hornet’s nest.”

Cultivator Sang stopped abruptly and frowned. Listening carefully, it seemed like a great commotion had broken out.

“Looks like the cultivators who went ahead stirred up the Gumasu.”

Kugugugugung!

Along with the sound of trees falling, various loud noises began to be heard.

“My goal isn’t the Gumasu, so we can change direction. I want to go a little further inside, past the Gumasu.”

“Me too… what about the others?”

Immortal Ha agreed with Cultivator Ja and Cultivator Sang, and Cheonbeom had no reason to refuse.

“Then let’s pick up the pace a bit!”

The group used Stealth Art and quickly charged forward.

Cheonbeom pretended to be a little strained behind them.

After running like that for about half a day…

“I think this is far enough.”

Cultivator Sang was relieved, saying that they seemed to have left the Gumasu’s territory.

Everyone was covered in sweat on their foreheads and chins, having rushed through the forest path for half a day.

“The Evil Aura seems to have gotten thicker. It seems to have made it a little harder to use Stealth Art.”

“I felt it too. Even though we’ve been running like the wind for half a day, it’s amazing that we’ve only left the Gumasu’s territory. How wide is Gongakchun?”

“Well, if we don’t encounter any Insectoids, I think we’d have to run for a month or two to get close to the Great Evil Tree.”

Saying that, Cultivator Sang suddenly found something at his feet and raised the corners of his mouth before quickly lowering them.

It appeared to be a fragment of crystal with a faint blue tint.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s a trace of an Insectoid living nearby.”

Cheonbeom’s brow furrowed.

“Does Cultivator Sang not know this place?”

“I’ve been here once before, but I was ambushed by an Insectoid and ran away. The reason I came here this time is to repay that debt.”

“That’s what happened….”

“Since we’re connected by fate, I should tell you. The Insectoid that attacked me was the Wigang (蝟犺), which has transparent thorns like crystals.”

Wigang meant hedgehog.

“Its crystal thorns are hard and sharp like awls, so my protective magical artifacts were destroyed at once. If you encounter it, run rather than try to block it.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

Immortal Ha found a crystal fragment stuck in a tree, pulled it out, and was surprised by its unusual energy.

“Even though it’s separated from its body, it has such hardness and strength. If we actually encounter it, it would be difficult to block its attack with most magical artifacts.”

But unlike her words, she was grinning as if it were fun. She looked like a rich young lady who didn’t know any better.

“Hmm? Wait a minute. I think I smell blood.”

When Cultivator Ja spoke in a serious tone, tension filled the air.

Cultivator Ja carefully followed the scent of blood, sniffing as if he had a knack for smell. Beom wanted to tell him where it was, but he didn’t want to be nosy and quietly followed him.

“Here….”

“Good heavens.”

When Cultivator Ja reached the source of the blood, all the trees were fallen and riddled with holes.

Nearby, cultivators were lying dead, swept away as if they had been caught up in it, with holes or tears all over their bodies, along with some smaller Insectoids.

‘Is it rolling around?’

It must have been quite large, as the entire forest was like that.

The trees were fallen as if it had rolled around like a ball. The ground was dug up, leaving clear traces.

“Oh!”

Cultivator Sang looked around and exclaimed with joy.

He ran without hesitation and took out a crystal thorn stuck in a dead Insectoid, grinning from ear to ear.

The crystal thorn was in relatively good condition and neatly cut, perfectly containing the Insectoid’s energy.

It seemed like it hadn’t been pulled out long ago.

“Congratulations!”

“Haha, thank you!”

Cultivator Sang was really happy, as he smiled broadly for the first time and continued to stroke the crystal thorn.

Cultivator Ja and Immortal Ha looked at him with envy and congratulated him, but Beom narrowed his brow, staring intently at the crystal thorn as if something was wrong.

It was then.

“Huh?”

The energy of spatial divine power began to be felt near the crystal thorn.

Cultivator Sang was very flustered, but before he could do anything, his figure disappeared.

“Spatial teleportation!”

Cultivator Sang had been teleported along with the crystal thorn.

Unlike Cultivator Ja, who was dumbfounded as to what was going on, Immortal Ha clapped her hands with a bright face and said.

“I thought it was amazing that there was an intact thorn of the Insectoid left, but it seems that it has the characteristic of automatically teleporting when its thorn is pulled out!”

“Then Cultivator Sang is….”

“Well… wouldn’t he be dead?”

Deureureureureuk, Kugugugugung!!

The sound of nearby trees falling and the ground being torn up began to be heard.

It was approaching here at a very fast speed.

“Let’s hide first!”

“Yes!”

Beom glanced at Immortal Ha and hid with them.

Cultivator Ja took out something like an animal skin from his chest and covered himself, completely erasing his appearance and energy. Immortal Ha took out a strange talisman and attached it to her body, making her feel as if she wasn’t there even though she was right in front of him.

Cheonbeom touched his earring, Yeoui, with them and disappeared with a rustle.

Kugugugugung!!

Something like a crystal ball with thorns rolled over and smashed the area, then unfolded its body and sniffed.

‘Oh….’

Even to Cheonbeom, its appearance was surprisingly strange.

The crystal thorns densely packed on its back shone in the sunlight, and their size was also enormous.

‘Where is Cultivator Sang?’

But Cultivator Sang was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if he was stuck on the Wigang’s back, but that wasn’t the case, and he couldn’t find any trace of him.

Just as he was thinking something was wrong.

“Oh!”

Suddenly, a fire broke out in the empty air, and Cultivator Ja took off the skin he had covered himself with and groaned.

Keureung!

At the same time, the crystal Wigang, which had been twitching its nose, curled up and charged.

“Aaaagh!”

Cheonbeom, watching Cultivator Ja running away in surprise and Immortal Ha running away with a slight smile, finally understood and smirked.