< Episode 113: Collapsed Old Castle Site (3) >
[The site of an old castle that collapsed… Ryu So-wol you know where that is.]
-A place where those who worship martial arts gathered to form a high castle. A place where the legend of Gumurim lived.
[Cluck cough cough… As expected you know better.]
-Where is he? Give up any thoughts of deceiving. If that happens you will be with me all the way to the bottom of hell.
In response to this threat from the young spirit the head of Cheonjihoe coughed blood and said with a bitter smile.
[Hell… If that’s what you want I don’t think there’s any reason for me a member of the Heavenly Veil clan to refuse. Cluck cluck. But have you ever thought that the world we live in now is even more hellish?]
-….
[I think I said something useless. The ghost sword… Sigh… The ghost sword was reported to be waiting… in a bamboo grove not far from the ruins of the old castle.]
-Bamboo forest? Did you mean bamboo forest?
[exactly. If you take this from the belt… you will know that I sent it.]
Since he was unable to move because he was possessed by the spiritual power of the young spirit he pointed to his waist belt with a wink.
On the belt was the flag of Hoeju.
Seeing this Cheongryeong suddenly remembered the story Baek Sa-ha the King of Seomdog told Mo Gyeong-un when he was inside the wooden doll.
He said that while competing with him he asked Hoeju to deliver that card to him.
Is that the medium through which Hoeju can move the ghost sword?
As his status reached its peak and he was a young spirit whose spiritual body could directly influence matter he took his hand without any hesitation.
she asked gritting her teeth.
-But there is something I don’t understand.
[Cluck cough… What do you mean?]
-A ghost sword.
[….]
-I obtained the golden drink but why is it staying there instead of sending it to you?
In response to her probing question the head of the Cheonjihoe was silent for a moment with a strange expression but then opened his mouth.
[that….]
* * *
Seven days after that.
‘I found it.’
As a spirit she can roam the sky freely and does not need to eat or sleep so she was able to reach the northern tip of Shaanxi Province in just seven days.
If she had been able to fully exercise her spiritual power during the day she would have arrived faster.
Even if her status had reached its peak if she was exposed to the sun which was the peak of her positive energy for a long time her spiritual body which consisted only of negative energy would inevitably be weakened.
‘What are those?’
Unexpectedly she found that Jukrip who was assumed to be a ghost sword was fighting with dozens of warriors.
But when Cheongryeong saw him like that he couldn’t help but be surprised.
He knew that he was a member of Palseong (八星) the highest expert of the current martial arts world and that he belonged to the first world of secret societies but this was unexpected.
-Okay! Okay!
With minimal movement he targeted only the enemy’s blood vessels and killed them in one day.
There was not a single unnecessary action.
As long as there were no variables caused by the enemies’ joint attacks he killed most of the enemies with one sword in an efficient manner.
However what impressed Cheongryeong was that the sword technique was unstoppable.
It was made up of nothing but attack.
It was a sword technique aimed at killing the enemy or rather annihilating him even at the risk of risking his own life.
‘A swordsmanship that excludes one’s own safety…’
In a way he learned a truly dangerous sword technique.
However I was able to overcome this shortcoming with just one thing.
‘…It’s a monster.’
He sent away all of the enemy’s fatal attacks with his sword.
This is the first time I have seen such a perfect and extreme number of pear grafted trees.
I think I now understand why this person is called a ghost sword.
But that wasn’t the important thing.
-Sigh!
When Juklipin presumed to be a ghost sword killed the last enemy Cheongnyeong opened the blood realm which is the realm of the spirit.
The conditions were good.
The surrounding area was dark thanks to the towering bamboo forest and the area was overflowing with death energy as dozens of people died.
Therefore if you use this condition appropriately
-Sneaking!
We were able to build a stronger field of refuge.
Her spiritual power combined with the morale of those around her stained all directions with blood and before she knew it the surroundings were filled with only blood.
There was only one reason why she tied him up like this even though he brought her Hoeju’s card which was said to be able to move her demon sword.
It was because of what she said.
[… Sigh… Sigh… He seems to have encountered some problem in the process of approaching the forbidden arts.]
-Are there any problems?
[I don’t know why… but I periodically received letters with the same phrase from him.]
-Same phrase?
[exactly.]
-What is that?
[We are getting closer to the epicenter of the golden drink. This is all.]
-what?
[Literally. There have been repeated reports that we are getting closer to the epicenter of Jinsul.]
-How many times is that?
[Twelve times.]
-!?
It is said that Cheonjihoeju delivered a secret letter containing the same content as many as twelve times approximately every five days.
Because there was a watchful eye on the secret society the secret treasure chest was usually recovered once a month but as the Presbyterian War began to move in earnest it inevitably had to be recovered in the second month.
However when the same report was made every five days in the two months’ worth of secret records recovered in this way the Lord of Heaven and Earth could not help but find this strange.
[…Originally I planned to go there myself once the affairs within the society were resolved but now it seems that you Ryu So-wol will have to find out the secret of Jeon Seo-gu.]
Cheongryeong who recalled what Hoeju had said came to one conclusion.
I don’t know what the secret is but if the ghost betrayed Hoeju or if there was some problem with Ilshin and I lost him I wouldn’t know anything so I had to suppress him somehow.
In response she opened her blood system and moved her blood.
-Sneaking!
Numerous bloody thorns soon sprouted from the blood.
The thorns of blood that sprouted all at once rushed towards the bamboo person who was presumed to be a ghost sword.
-Choo! Chop! Chop!
At the flying thorns Juklipin pulled out his half-holstered sword.
A lightning-like sword light flowed out and in a split second the red thorns of blood covering Jukripin split and melted into blood.
‘Yes I have to do at least that much.’
Her status was difficult to compare to before.
The anger that had been burning like fire while coming here calmed down to some extent and although his spiritual power was not as maximized as it was at the Heaven and Earth Association it became strong enough to at least deal with the Seven Heavens in peacetime.
-Sigh!
In an instant two hands emerged from the blood and grabbed Juklipin’s ankle and pulled him.
As a result Juklipin lost his balance and tried to fall backwards.
At that moment a spear made of blood came out and flew towards Jukripin’s hands and thighs.
however
-Poof!
-Pot!
Juklipin who was about to fall leaned back and stuck his sword on the floor then turned his body over using this as support and at the same time pushed away his hand holding the sword causing his body to float upward.
When Jukripin whose body was floating like that swung his sword
-Ch-ch-ch-ch-chak!
Her sharp spirit flowed out and cut down the spears she had made out of blood.
When Juklipin pretended to pull his hand in that state his sword stuck on the floor jumped out and was sucked into his hand.
-widely!
The Jukripin holding the sword immediately raised his sword and launched a barrage of bullets in all directions.
-Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chach!
The blue sword that flew in had the power to shatter her blood system and split the blood stains everywhere.
As it split a part of the bamboo forest which was the real world and not the blood world was revealed for a moment but it was soon covered with blood.
‘Is this not enough?’
Jukripin who confirmed that the world created by spiritual power could be destroyed by a strong true spirit fired a new weapon at a place covered in her blood.
-Gooooooo!
The size of the sword steel on his sword soared to nearly five feet.
But it didn’t end there; the sword that had soared began to shrink as if condensed and the blue light became even darker.
‘That won’t work.’
The young spirit soon realized that he was trying to force his way out of the blood world by concentrating as much energy as possible.
-Okay!
He jumped out of the blood and appeared.
Blood stuck to the bear blade in Cheongryeong’s hand forming the shape of a sword.
She gathered the spiritual power of her resentment into a sword made of her blood and its energy was comparable to that of Juklipin’s condensation of the sword.
It was just as the sword made of spiritual power and the condensed sword were about to collide.
“Sigh.”
Suddenly Juklipin was forced to stop swinging his sword.
If you try to force yourself to stop while simply moving your body vigorously the aftereffects of that force will hit you and overload your body.
Even more so if the energy has been generated to such an extent that it condenses the sword it is impossible to force it to stop.
-Wow! Wow!
The hand holding the sword trembled strongly along with the sound of muscles twisting in Juklipin’s body.
The palm that was holding the sword was torn and blood was flowing out.
The young man could not understand his appearance like this.
What is your intention?
hereto
-Okay!
The young spirit also stopped swinging the blood sword made with spiritual power.
Unlike him who had a physical body she who was composed of a spirit body did not experience an overload to stop the power she exerted.
Cheongryeong who stopped the bloody sword right in front of Juklipin’s neck asked in confusion.
-Why did you stop the sword?
Juklipin who had been silent for a moment in response to her question soon opened his mouth.
“You are truly free.”
-what?
“It’s only been a hundred years but the fact that his status as a vengeful spirit is so high means that he was released by your will not by contact with the Avatar?”
‘!?’
Cheongnyeong’s expression hardened at Jukripin’s words.
What she knew about her was that she was an official of the Secret Society but for some reason she was on the same page as the Lord of the Heaven and Earth Society.
But now listening to the way he spoke to her she felt as if she knew something.
-What are you? What on earth do you know about this place?
“…The fact that you who should have been burning a grudge even though you were released from the seal have come all the way here means that you have found out that he is still alive and well and that there has been a setback in the work of the Lord.”
Cheongnyeong’s eyes became sharp at his words.
Going a little further I thought it was related to the death of Mok Gyeong-un’s grandfather Haeyeong Yak-seon Jang Mun-no but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
In order to have the insight to understand the situation to this extent with simple information you had to know a lot.
Soon the corners of Cheongnyeong’s mouth rose.
-If I make you open your mouth I think you will learn a lot.
“….”
-Would it be better to force it to open? Or you can choose whether it would be better for you to open it yourself.
-Sigh!
Cheongnyeong showed him the plaque he had received from Hoeju.
Jukripin who was presumed to be a ghost sword saw this and remained silent for a moment.
Then she spoke with a faint sigh.
“If you brought it you either obediently received it from him or you took it by force.”
-If it was the latter how do you think they would have known your location?
“Now that even he is closer to the traces of the golden drink finding out about this place is no longer difficult.”
Jukripin nodded and pointed to the bodies lying on the floor.
The very fact that they came here meant that they had discovered traces of shamanism in their secret meeting.
-If I were to tell you that you repeatedly sent me the same message would you consider it to be the former?
“Repeatedly… sending the same ex-seo-gu? “What does that mean?”
Jukripin frowned and asked in an incomprehensible tone.
The young man said this.
-They say you repeatedly sent Jeon Seo-gu saying that you were close to the traces of Geumsul but this is enough… You… Why are you doing this?
‘!?’
When Juklipin looked somewhat embarrassed Cheongnyeong couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
He said that the guy was saying something over and over again and that it couldn’t be possible.
Why are you doing this?
It was that moment.
-Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
At that time Cheongnyeong looked at the surroundings with startled eyes.
As expected he was still maintaining the blood system which was his realm of refuge but he suddenly saw the space around him bending.
I wonder what kind of phenomenon this is but before long
-Blah blah blah!
Surprisingly beyond the distortion of space her blood system was forcibly broken.
Since her spiritual power has become stronger she is confident that she will not be easily broken but what on earth is going on?
As her blood system was broken even the exposed bamboo forest was bending.
‘What is this?’
While I was puzzled the Jukripin who I guessed was a ghost sword opened his mouth.
“It looks like a simple bamboo forest but this entire bamboo forest is one formation.”
-…This is the true law?
“It’s not a simple lineup. “If you look at the locations where the bamboo is placed it is made up of advanced techniques. It is not just one but hundreds of combinations and it is a technique that cannot be entered or exited unless certain conditions are met.”
-Is this really…
“Yes this bamboo forest formation is the entrance to the trail of Geumsul.”
It was that moment.
-Jejeojeojeop!
The space of the bamboo forest that had been bent like that was completely twisted into a whirlpool and soon Cheongnyeong and other bamboo forest people were sucked into it.
-Sooo!
And the moment the twisting of the vortex ends and the space is restored to its original state.
Before I knew it Jukripin was standing alone in the middle of the bamboo forest.
As the breeze blew the bamboo swayed and the leaves fluttered and fell Juklipin who was hit by it glanced at the arrangement of the surrounding bamboo and muttered softly.
“I finally found it. “I have to send Jeon Seo-gu.”
< Episode 113: Collapsed Old Castle Site (3) > end
ⓒ Hanzhongwolya
