Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 52

Tales of a Wandering Swordsman – Chapter 51

Mount Kunlun, a renowned and majestic mountain, was home to the Kunlun Sect, a place that had produced many esteemed Taoists.

“So, the rumors were true,” the Mountain Lord muttered as he descended, having finally arrived at Mount Kunlun.

Before him lay blackened, scorched buildings, collapsed into ruins. It was clear they had been attacked and utterly destroyed by fire.

The same devastation was visible everywhere he looked.

“It seems they truly suffered annihilation.”

“How could they suffer annihilation…”

Rumor had it that this incident was connected to the Seondo Gate. [Seondo refers to a traditional Korean spiritual practice or sect.]

It seemed unbelievable, even absurd.

As far as he knew, Kunlun should not have fallen so easily.

‘Are the things I know starting to crumble?’

A strange sense of unease washed over him.

It felt as though these events were happening because of his actions, as if he himself was altering the very fabric of this world.

“So, that’s why they ended up at the Ice Palace.”

He had heard that Kunlun had fallen more than ten years ago.

For better or worse, it seemed they had somehow found refuge at the Ice Palace after Kunlun’s destruction.

The Mountain Lord gazed at the collapsed buildings with complicated emotions before flying towards the highest peak.

Having ascended Seowang Peak, the highest point of Kunlun, the Mountain Lord scanned his surroundings with a modern eye and then released the Goryun. [Goryun is likely a term for a specific technique or item used for training.]

Instantly, mist filled the air, obscuring him from view. He immediately sat in a lotus position, ready to begin.

As expected, it was the perfect place to train, with a uniformly dense concentration of spiritual energy.

Compared to Subang Peak, the concentration of spiritual energy was more than forty times greater.

‘Look before you leap,’ he thought, wary of any traps the ones who destroyed the Kunlun Sect might have left behind.

Fortunately, he detected no hidden dangers. However, a strange energy fluctuating beneath the ground caused the Mountain Lord to raise his eyebrows and stand.

“Go.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Tamhwa Ogong slipped out and burrowed into the earth. [Tamhwa Ogong is likely a creature or spirit companion of the Mountain Lord.]

Having devoured a leg of Geumgin [Geumgin is likely a rare or magical creature], Tamhwa Ogong had grown even more powerful. It quickly unearthed something black.

It was a jar about the size of the Mountain Lord’s head, covered with sealing tags and tightly bound with thin iron chains.

“What is this?”

The Mountain Lord frowned, swatting Tamhwa Ogong, who was trying to gnaw at the jar, and scooped the creature into his arms.

In that moment, his eyes flashed crimson, and a second pupil appeared. He examined the jar closely, but he could not accurately discern its contents.

-It appears to be a rather old seal. The sealing tags themselves are quite old as well.

“One should not tamper with seals carelessly.”

If it was a seal and restraint that even his Danryeong Geumjeong [Danryeong Geumjeong is likely a powerful technique or ability] could not penetrate, it was best not to disturb it.

* * *

Three days later.

In a pavilion on a sacred mountain near Wolcheon Castle, the Nangseons were gathered in small groups. [Nangseons are likely individuals of a specific rank or affiliation within a martial arts or spiritual sect.]

These were individuals at the Doseon realm [Doseon realm refers to a specific level of cultivation or spiritual attainment], exchanging insights with one another.

“Indeed. The circulation of Qi flows gently like a ripple, yet bursts like a volcano, gradually strengthening the spiritual veins of the dantian [Dantian refers to an energy center in the body].”

“Haha, it seems that Daoshi Mumang will soon ascend to Biseon [Biseon refers to a higher level of spiritual attainment]. I never would have imagined it!”

“Ahem. But isn’t there a risk of internal injury, damaging one’s vitality if one is not careful?”

As they spoke, a hawk flew into the pavilion.

They initially ignored the hawk, but the bird, which had been quietly observing them, suddenly transformed into a person. At this, the Doseons hurriedly rose and bowed.

“S-Seonsa, what brings you here?” [Seonsa is a respectful title for someone of high spiritual attainment.]

The man waved his hand as if to dismiss their formality and suggested they sit down.

The Doseons exchanged glances before awkwardly resuming their seats, each sweating profusely.

Seeing that he was using transformation magic, he was at least a Biseon or higher, so they were naturally afraid. They had to be careful not to make a slip of the tongue and bring disaster upon themselves.

“I am also a Nangseon, so there is no need to be so wary. I have simply come to see if there is anything to be cautious of here.”

At the words of the Biseon in black Jangsam [Jangsam refers to a traditional Korean robe], the complexions of the three Doseons eased slightly, and they began to smile.

“Since Seonsa is treating us so comfortably, we will tell you anything you wish to know.”

The Doseon who seemed to be the leader politely began to recount various rumors.

“Ten years ago, there was a great fire at the Ilwol Gate [Ilwol Gate is likely a martial arts sect or organization]. After that, a war broke out with the Yosu [Yosu is likely a rival group or faction], and the name of a Daoshi named Yujeong spread widely throughout the region. He annihilated the Yosu with various powerful divine powers, and his status was greatly elevated. That is why the Yosu are said to be looking for a man named Yujeong.”

It seemed they understood the reason why the Yosu were searching for Yujeong.

“Is this Daoshi Yujeong still here?”

“Well, after the war subsided, his whereabouts became unknown. Many other sects have also lost many Daoshi since the war and have closed their doors, so it is only natural.”

If it was Yujeong, there was a high possibility that he had hidden somewhere and entered secluded training.

His mood soured, but he was pleased that the guy was not around.

“Ah, and these days, incidents of Doseons disappearing are frequent. Thanks to that, the Nangseons are avoiding leaving their residences as much as possible.”

The Biseon, who had been chatting with the Doseons for a while, transformed back into a hawk and disappeared.

He transformed into a hawk and approached other Nangseons to gather information.

After that, a habit of becoming nervous when seeing a hawk developed among the Nangseons, causing them much distress.

One month later.

In a secret chamber, the Mountain Lord was sitting in a lotus position.

Within his chest were nine inner cores and one pseudo-core. [Inner cores and pseudo-cores likely refer to components of his spiritual energy system.]

Among those inner cores was a faint figure resembling the Mountain Lord, which was his spirit.

The spirit was making hand seals among the inner cores, ceaselessly muttering something.

Then, the nine inner cores stirred, emitting a stream of blue spiritual power that connected to the spirit.

After that, the spirit’s form blurred and flickered, and a new spirit began to form beside him.

“Hoo-”

Half a day later, the Mountain Lord’s entire body was drenched in sweat, but his complexion was bright.

“Now the Split-Merge Hand Seal has finally reached complete 3-Star.”

As the number of inner cores increased, it became difficult to control them, but this made it much easier to control spiritual power.

Moreover, his divine sense became stronger, able to sense a radius of 20 Jang [Jang is a unit of measurement, likely indicating the range of his sensory abilities].

Originally, it was normal for the spirit’s divine sense to only sense 10 Jang, so it could be said that it had greatly expanded by two times.

“Who on earth created the Split-Merge Hand Seal? It’s amazing every time I learn it.”

The Mountain Lord inwardly marveled at the difficulty of the Split-Merge Hand Seal.

His aptitude was not bad, but the profound principles and subtle mysteries contained within were astonishing the more he contemplated them.

“Connecting and controlling the spirit and inner cores is one thing, but to think that even the spirit could be divided.”

A spirit is something that uses a part of one’s soul like a limb through long training.

It is both an incarnation and oneself.

Therefore, one could not help but be amazed by the one who created the Split-Merge Hand Seal.

-Where are you going?

“Isn’t it about time to enter the Ilwol Gate?”

Now he had to meet Geummyeongjiryung again. [Geummyeongjiryung is likely a person or object of importance to the Mountain Lord.]

Leaving the secret chamber, the Mountain Lord fearlessly traversed the mountains. Then, he stopped abruptly on a cliff, observing a certain area.

There, five Doseons were running frantically, as if fleeing from something. He hid his presence and jumped off the cliff.

* * *

“Senior Brother Moon! What do we do! We’re still a long way from the sect!”

“Run instead of talking! How was I supposed to know that a demonic bastard would be hiding!”

The man gritted his teeth as he looked at his fellow disciples.

He had originally led ten disciples, but now only four remained. He deeply regretted his rash judgment.

Glancing back, an old man shrouded in black mist was approaching closely, grinning eerily.

He was a Biseon who had mastered demonic arts, a Daoshi from the Demonic Sect, who could be considered enemies of those belonging to Seondo.

“You don’t actually think that mere Doseons can escape me, do you?”

He flicked his finger, shooting out a black bead. One of the fleeing disciples had a hole pierced through his chest and collapsed.

“Disciple Yang!”

“Damn it!”

“Hehehe! To think you’d crawl in on your own while I was resting and waiting for the right time! Blame your own stupidity if you want to blame someone!”

With that, the old monster took out a dagger from his chest and threw it.

As the dagger was engulfed in demonic energy, it instantly multiplied into four, flying like rays of light towards those who were fleeing.

“Aaaaaah!!”

But at that moment…

Swaeak!!

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

A black sword flew in, blocking the daggers and embedding itself deep into the ground.

The old monster gasped and looked around, but he could not sense any presence, leaving him dumbfounded.

“Who dares to interfere with me! Reveal yourself!”

Then, a man appeared from behind the Doseons.

He was faintly smiling, and the demonic old monster frowned at his relaxed appearance. But he soon regained his composure, realizing the man’s realm was equal to his own.

“S-Seonsa-nim! Please help us!”

The man who appeared had a fierce impression, with unkempt hair and a dirty beard.

“Which sect are you from?”

“W-We are disciples of Ilwol!”

He smiled contentedly and looked straight ahead. The unkempt man was the Mountain Lord, who had changed his appearance with Biun Dunjap [Biun Dunjap is likely a technique for disguise or concealment].

‘I can rest easy now.’

Rescuing the disciples of Ilwol would naturally make it easier to infiltrate the sect.

The shabby-looking old monster glared at the Mountain Lord with a displeased look, emitting killing intent. His seemingly relaxed attitude only fueled his murderous rage.

“Just pass by. You seem young; you wouldn’t want to die a meaningless death in a place like this, would you?”

Most Daoshi do not pay attention to their appearance. Therefore, since they do not maintain their youth, he assumed the Mountain Lord was a young Daoshi.

“Too bad. I have too many questions for you to just pass by.”

With that, the Mountain Lord threw the red prayer beads he was holding. The prayer beads flashed red and shot out in all directions, suddenly transforming into red snakes and rushing towards the old monster.

“Hmph!”

The old monster’s complexion changed. He made a hand seal and placed his hand on the ground.

Kuddeuk!

Something popped out of the ground, blocking the old monster’s path. It was a man and a woman with pale skin.

“Jiangshi?” [Jiangshi are reanimated corpses, similar to zombies.]

They growled, their red eyes flashing. The Mountain Lord showed a look of surprise.

He had only heard of them, but this was the first time he had seen them in person.

“Hehe!”

The old monster became elated and laughed unpleasantly. The Jiangshi possessed a realm comparable to that of a Biseon, and it seemed they were created with some special secret technique.

‘Did he turn corpses that were originally Biseon into Jiangshi?’

It was a little surprising, but that was all.

The Mountain Lord smiled derisively and made a hand seal.

The red snakes merged into one, transforming into a giant serpent.

“What…!”

The old monster frowned as he looked at the serpent, which had grown to the size of three Jang.

And then he was horrified.

The serpent easily bit and tore apart the Jiangshi!

“No way!”

The old monster was horrified, his expression incredulous.

Regardless, the serpent flew towards the old monster. No matter how much the Jiangshi were made from the bodies of Biseon, they were still just human bodies, too weak to block a treasure.

“Damn it!”

As the Jiangshi collapsed helplessly, the old monster’s complexion turned pale.

He flicked his ten fingers, shooting out a dozen black beads.

But the Mountain Lord was not one to allow that.

As he made a hand seal, the serpent split back into twelve, dodging the black beads in an instant.

At that point, the old monster was terrified and backed away. How could he not be, when his divine powers were more powerful than he had expected, and he was no match for him?

The Mountain Lord chanted a spell, turning the snakes back into prayer beads and shooting them towards the old monster’s neck.

“Ugh!?”

The old monster’s neck, which was surely about to be severed, was surprisingly fine.

“This is!”

The old monster, seeing the prayer beads around his neck, reached out to remove them.

But at that moment, the old monster slammed his head against the ground with a thud! and collapsed.

The Doseons, who were watching the situation, tilted their heads. They did not understand why the old monster suddenly became one with the ground when the prayer beads were around his neck.

At that time…

“Kuhhhhh!!”

He let out a groan.

He seemed to be trying to get up by placing his hands on the ground. His face turned red, and veins surged on his exposed head.

But the prayer beads around his neck were stuck to the ground, preventing him from regaining his balance.

The Mountain Lord strode towards him.

The monster’s heart grew cold and pounded with each indifferent step.

“Aaaack!!”

He screamed, but the prayer beads around his neck did not budge.

The old monster turned his head in an instant.

The man was arrogantly looking down at him.

Then, the old monster’s mouth suddenly opened, and a light flashed. Three needles popped out, aiming for the Mountain Lord’s neck like jackals!

The needles were stained black.

They struck like lightning.

But…

Ting!

The purple gourd hanging from his waist released green silk, easily blocking them.

The old monster, whose desperate attack had been thwarted, turned ashen and trembled, chattering his teeth.

“Please spare me! I will never set foot in Bangok again!!”

His face was also thick-skinned.

His change of attitude was as quick as a crab disappearing into its hole, which was ridiculous.

“That’s none of my business.”

He said, dangling the Guhwan Sword in his grasp over the monster’s neck. [Guhwan Sword is likely a powerful weapon.]

“Jiangshi. How did you make them?”