Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 95

“This is truly astonishing. I’ve heard tales passed down, but its size is beyond imagination.”

Elder Geon’s words rang with genuine awe.

It was almost unbelievable that they were actually inside the body of a Ferocious beast.

The surroundings resembled hard rock walls, creating the sensation of being within a colossal cave.

“It’s vast enough to accommodate a large army with room to spare.”

“I can’t even fathom how enormous it must have been when it was alive. It’s truly incredible!”

It was said to be comparable to Mount Tai [a mountain in China, often used metaphorically for its size and importance], and the comparison seemed apt.

The Taoists marveled at the sight, relieved that such a Ferocious beast was no longer a threat.

“I was worried it might smell foul, but it’s surprisingly odorless.”

“Indeed. However…”

The Taoists exchanged knowing glances and nodded.

“It seems there are some who aren’t exactly welcoming us.”

Tada, tadadak.

The sound resembled firewood crackling.

Inside the Ferocious beast’s body, where no light penetrated, ominous glints of light flickered.

“Yochung [lit. important bug, likely referring to a type of pest], I see.”

They resembled beetles, but were as dark as pitch.

“Chakjangchung [likely a made-up name for these specific insects]! They aren’t too difficult to deal with individually, but they are annoying creatures that move in swarms. And there seem to be quite a few…”

Their size was only that of a palm, but their coordinated attacks made them troublesome.

They moved as one, in groups ranging from hundreds to thousands.

“Leave it to me.”

Lady Nak stepped forward and turned her palm over, revealing a large mirror.

The mirror was transparent, as if made of pure energy, giving it an ethereal and mystical appearance.

“Chabugyeong [likely a made-up name for this specific mirror]!”

Lady Nak smiled faintly and moved her lips in a silent incantation. The transparent mirror rotated smoothly, gathering particles of spiritual energy.

The moment the gathered spiritual energy was drawn into the mirror, the surroundings plunged into near darkness.

Tadadadadak!

In the dark space, only the sound of insects could be heard.

Kieeeeeeeh!!

A straight, powerful beam of light shot out from the mirror.

“Oh!”

The Chakjangchung moved with disciplined coordination, but those directly hit by the light of the Chabugyeong had their carapaces melted, dying in droves.

“There are more than I thought!”

The cave, illuminated by the Chabugyeong, was teeming with Chakjangchung, densely packed on the rock walls.

There were too many.

There must have been thousands.

A frown was inevitable, but there was no time to dwell on it.

The Illusionary Immortals drew their swords or brandished their respective treasures, attacking the creatures.

Soon, explosions echoed, and fragments of the spiritual insects scattered in all directions.

* * *

Jeobeok, jeobeok.

Sangun and Jangcheon furrowed their brows as they surveyed the scattered insect corpses on the floor.

“Chakjangchung, I see. There must have been quite a few. They aren’t too difficult to deal with, but their numbers would have consumed a considerable amount of energy.”

Jangcheon said calmly, looking at the crushed remains of the spiritual insects under his feet.

Sangun wore a subtle, knowing smile.

“More challenges will undoubtedly appear from now on. It seems we just need to patiently follow the path they’ve cleared. Is this what they call getting something for nothing?”

If they hadn’t been present, they would have had to deal with these creatures themselves. Moreover, they would also be spared the trouble of dealing with future threats.

“But if you only chase after their rear, won’t you risk being deprived of the Heavenly Treasure that Sixth Uncle desires right before your eyes?”

Sangun sneered silently.

Even if Samgwi [likely a character’s name or title] had hidden the treasure within Ha Hoominong’s body, he wouldn’t have simply left it unguarded.

‘Still, little by little…’

As Sangun wore a sinister smile, Gwiyul [likely a character’s name], who was next to him, tried to pick up an insect and put it in his mouth.

“Don’t eat it. It’s dirty.”

Tak!

When Sangun slapped Gwiyul’s hand away, Gwiyul glared at him with fierce eyes. Sangun ignored the glare and summoned Tamhwaogong [likely a creature’s name] from Gongjeonggang [likely a location or dimension].

“You eat it.”

Tamhwaogong chewed on the Chakjangchung with glee, and Gwiyul glared at Sangun even more murderously.

“But it’s strange. According to Sixth Uncle, even if you knew about this place, it wouldn’t have been easy to enter.”

“That’s right. Samgwi isn’t one to blabber carelessly.”

It was indeed strange.

Knowing about Ha Hoominong’s existence was one thing, but how did they know that the Heavenly Treasure was located here?

It was incredibly mysterious.

“We’ll see as we go. Let’s follow them for now. Even if we can deal with the spiritual insects and beasts here, we’ll surely be blocked by the Geumje (禁制) [Restriction] or Hwanjin (幻陣) [Illusionary Formation] that Samgwi has set up.”

Sangun placed his hand on Gwiyul’s head and whispered something. Gwiyul shook his head as if disgusted and disappeared into the air.

* * *

At the same time, the six Illusionary Immortals breathed heavily.

Their surroundings were littered with corpses, both spiritual insects and beasts.

“There are more than I thought.”

As Ha Hoominong’s body was enormous, so were the creatures living inside it.

Most of them were comparable in strength to Samtong [likely a unit of measurement for power or a type of creature], but there were hundreds to thousands of them, making them difficult to kill.

“It’s fortunate that they have no intelligence.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? If they had intelligence with that number, we would have been in great trouble.”

“Let’s go! If we delay any longer, other creatures will smell the blood and come!”

Of course, no one objected.

Seon Elder stretched out his hand, conjured a sphere of spiritual energy, and moved forward.

He would have preferred to fly, but it was impossible.

They walked like that for a long time.

Except for short breaks along the way, they walked straight for several days.

Spiritual insects appeared without fail, but they could not stop them.

“Seon Elder, what is this?”

Suddenly, a dark green river appeared before them, and the stench was so foul that they felt like vomiting.

“Well, I suspect it’s Ha Hoominong’s bile… but I’m not entirely sure.”

“It’s vile.”

It was hard to even estimate how many tens of thousands of years had passed since Ha Hoominong’s death.

But it was astonishing that his bile had formed a river.

“Let’s go. If this is really bile, then the destination is not far off.”

“I’ll go first!”

Hearing that the destination was near, two unnamed Illusionary Immortals eagerly flew up.

“Now, let’s go too.”

It was then.

“Uh oh?”

The two Illusionary Immortals who had flown up first began to stagger.

“Uwaaaaaaack!!”

Suddenly, they screamed and plummeted straight down!

“Oh no!”

Seon Elder was startled and shook his sleeve, throwing a silver disc.

The disc quickly expanded to fourteen feet and flew towards the falling Illusionary Immortals.

However.

“What is this!”

Seon Elder’s face contorted as he lost control of the disc.

The disconnected disc fell into the bile, and so did the Illusionary Immortals.

Plop!

“Kkeuak! Kkeuaack!”

“Save me! Please save me!”

But there was no way to save them.

The struggling Illusionary Immortals soon melted away without leaving a single trace.

The remaining Taoists were dumbfounded and could only stand there blankly for a long time.

“Seon Elder! What happened?”

Lady Nak asked, aghast, as if she had received a terrible shock.

Chok Mungyeong also looked at Seon Elder, equally bewildered.

But how could he know?

He was speechless, only moving his lips.

The woman who was with Lady Nak suddenly spoke.

“It seems the owner has played a trick. Otherwise, there’s no way Illusionary Immortals would have fallen so easily.”

“Geum Sojeo [likely a character’s name or title], what do you mean by the owner of this place? Isn’t the owner obviously Ha Hoominong?”

Lady Nak asked, but all she received was a contemptuous look.

“Isn’t it Ha Hoominong who hid the Heavenly Treasure?”

She spoke as if Lady Nak was pathetic, and Chok Mungyeong’s complexion turned doubtful and then disappeared. It seemed that the power dynamic between Lady Nak and Geum Sojeo had shifted.

“If it’s a trick…”

“It’s a Gogyo Geumje (lit. high-level restriction) [a powerful magical restriction]. It blocks flight and severs the connection with treasures by freezing spiritual power.”

Only then did Seon Elder grasp the situation, and he grabbed his chin and pondered.

If what she said was true, then crossing the river of bile would not be easy.

“How about destroying the Geumje?”

Chok Mungyeong suddenly asked.

“That’s a bad idea. We don’t even know where the Geumje is located, and we may not be able to destroy it. This level of Geumje is likely to have been cast by a Seonsa (仙師) [Immortal Master] who has reached at least the late stages of Yeong… no, Taeseon (太仙) [Great Immortal].”

Geum Sojeo tucked her black hair behind her ear.

“Geum Sojeo, then how should we cross this place? You wouldn’t be saying that without having a secret plan, would you?”

“Are you venting your anger? Are you asking for advice? Please be clear.”

Perhaps because two Illusionary Immortals had died so suddenly, the atmosphere was tense.

Seon Elder paused for a moment with a look of realization and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I was overwhelmed with emotion and committed a rudeness.”

“It’s alright. Would we have known that Elder Mun and Elder Gyeol would die so easily? I fully understand. Moreover, Seon Elder had a good friendship with the two of them.”

Lady Nak soothed him with a smiling face, easing the tension.

Seon Elder asked Geum Sojeo again with a much more respectful tone.

“I would like to ask for advice.”

“Alright. There’s nothing I can’t tell you. It would be strange if I was indifferent to the death of two fellow elders. It’s not so much a secret plan, but there is a way. However…”

Geum Sojeo nodded, but she turned her head slightly and narrowed her brows.

“It’s a bit difficult to say because there’s someone eavesdropping. It’s about time you came out, don’t you think?”

Then, with a faint chuckle, two men appeared from the air.

A man wearing a black robe and a man holding a golden staff.

“We came uninvited because you were having quite an interesting conversation.”

The Illusionary Immortals glared at the man who spoke so affably.

Their vigilance was extremely high, as two of their companions had already perished.

They were all of the same realm, but they were outnumbered four to two.

It was best to address the potential threat immediately.

“Did you come here aiming for the Heavenly Treasure?”

It was a direct question.

But the man simply laughed it off and answered.

“That’s true, but that’s a problem for after we cross that river.”

“Do you have a way?”

“If I didn’t, I would have simply observed your efforts. How about it? Would you like to hear it?”

Seon Elder looked around.

Lady Nak and Chok Mungyeong nodded in agreement.

What was unexpected was Geum Sojeo, who was looking at the man and twitching her cheeks.

If he wasn’t mistaken, she seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

“Let’s hear it.”

There was no harm in listening.

“I heard there’s a Geumje that freezes spiritual power.”

“But that method…”

Before he could finish speaking, the man interrupted.

“I found the location of the Geumje, but it seems it will take quite a while to destroy it because it’s in a rather deep place.”

Seon Elder had no choice but to swallow his saliva at the man’s calm words.

In other words, he had located the Geumje and possessed the ability to destroy it, but he wouldn’t because of the time it would take.

Seon Elder pondered whether it was a simple boast or a bluff to save his own skin.

If it was true, the man possessed great divine power, and if it was a bluff, he was desperately trying to survive.

But his worries were quickly dispelled by the words that followed.

“So I think I’ll have to borrow the power of my Bokchung (腹蟲) [belly bug, likely referring to a type of familiar or summoned creature].”

“Bokchung?”

“Yes, it’s quite a clever fellow, and it seems he likes that bile, judging by how eagerly he’s reacting.”

Suddenly, the man in the black robe emitted the light of Gongjanggang and summoned the Bokchung.

It was a giant centipede-shaped spiritual insect that could swallow a person whole in an instant.

Setting aside its size, it shimmered faintly with golden light, making it impossible not to exclaim in admiration.

The man’s Bokchung moved quickly and plunged into the river.

“Hehe…”

The Illusionary Immortals were initially surprised by the appearance of the Bokchung, but they soon clicked their tongues in disapproval.

They didn’t know what kind of Bokchung it was, but it was entering a river where an Illusionary Immortal had melted away in an instant.

There was no way the Bokchung could survive.

As expected, the Bokchung writhed in the river of bile.

Soon, bubbles and strange smoke rose above the river.

Its body was dissolving.

The Illusionary Immortals looked at Geum Sojeo, dismissing the man’s attempt. Since this method was clearly failing, they had no choice but to rely on her insight.

However, Geum Sojeo raised the corners of her lips and admired softly.

“Heot…”

The centipede, which had been writhing as if it was about to die, began to swim leisurely.

With its mouth wide open.

“It’s Tamhwaogong! I’ve heard of it. I heard that all kinds of divine powers become that guy’s food… It seems that Ha Hoominong’s bile is no different.”

Tamhwaogong!

Everyone’s mouths dropped open at the name.

Only Geum Sojeo looked at the man in the black robe with a strange look and asked.

“What is your name?”

The man stared at Geum Sojeo for a moment, then smiled and said.

“I am Yujeong.”