novelraw Chapter 123 : Ash Rekindled (3)
Chapter 123 : Ash Rekindled (3)
Chapter 123: Ash Rekindled (3)
Gugwi came out of the cave and paced around.
The enormous gaze of the Manifest Demon Emperor still lingered vividly in his mind. That greedy stare and whisper echoed in his ears. In his heart, the Spirit Flow Core vibrated irregularly, exuding a cold aura.
‘I have to stop this thing from growing any further… but how?’
The cold wind of the Valley of a Thousand Deaths brushed across his face.
Stream water flowed over the rocks, making a clear, refreshing sound. But even that peaceful noise couldn’t calm Gugwi’s heart. The unease kept surging.
“Haa!”
Crash!
Gugwi let out a deep breath and struck the rock by the stream. He had to shake off the frustration somehow.
The rock split, and water splashed up.
Blood seeped from the back of his hand, but he didn’t care.
“Father, did you see that? This is the gift you left me. Why would you leave something like this behind?”
He muttered to himself.
At that moment, Sasaha emerged from the cave and looked at him.
Gugwi’s shoulders trembled slightly, and the back of his hand, wrapped in red energy, was exposed.
“What’s wrong?”
She cautiously approached him.
Gugwi turned around. His gaze was dark and heavy.
“The Manifest Demon Emperor is getting stronger, and I don’t know what to do. It’s just frustrating.”
Despair tinged his voice.
The Manifest Demon Emperor growing stronger meant that Gugwi would lose. It meant he’d have to give up his body to the Manifest Demon Emperor. No—before that, he’d have to end his own life.
“It’s accelerating. At this rate….”
His voice trailed off.
Sasaha sat down beside him.
“Do you think it’s because of the Heavenly Sound Cult Leader?”
Her voice was grave.
“He must be doing something while in isolated training. And that’s what’s feeding the Manifest Demon Emperor.”
Gugwi clenched his fist. More blood dripped from the wound.
“So what do you want to do?”
“I need to slow down the growth. Whether I kill Sajingun or the Cult Leader—something must be done. But I can’t think of any way….”
“If you meet Sajingun, do you think you can win? For reference… I’ll lose. Miserably.”
“Mm!”
Gugwi remained silent.
“Besides, Sajingun’s experiments are all failing. So it’s probably not Sajingun… the Cult Leader must be up to something, but we don’t even know where he is. In the end, we can’t touch the Heavenly Sound Cult. Not for now.”
The sense of helplessness weighed on his chest.
Sasaha reached out and held Gugwi’s hand.
“The Manifest Demon Emperor’s food. There’s a very specific kind. While we can’t say that’s the reason for his growth… how about we start by getting rid of that?”
“The Four Altars of the Dark Spirit Sect!”
Gugwi jumped up and shouted.
His foot sank into the stream, but he didn’t care.
“That’s right. You destroyed one before, right? I know a place too. We have to stop the altar’s power from flowing to the Manifest Demon Emperor. The Four Altars might be powerless right now, but if they get the chance, they’ll definitely become food.”
Gugwi’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Where is it?”
Sasaha paused in thought. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then she spoke.
“It’s a temple called Eumhyeolsa.”
Gugwi’s eyes widened.
“A temple?”
“On the surface, yes. But the altar is underground. They’re still performing rituals.”
Her face darkened.
“If they’re still performing rituals?”
“They’re capturing and killing innocent people.”
Rage welled up in Gugwi’s chest.
“You’ve just been watching?”
“I told you. The Heavenly Sound Cult is leaving the Dark Spirit Sect alone because they think its power might be useful someday. A few dozen people dying means nothing to a Heavenly Sound Cult member. Hoo…”
Sasaha sighed.
Gugwi’s face hardened with resolve.
“Then we’ll have to start by destroying Eumhyeolsa.”
“This won’t stop the Manifest Demon Emperor from growing. But doing nothing isn’t an option. Let’s start by eliminating the Dark Spirit Sect. Let’s remove the certain food first.”
As they left the valley, a cold wind greeted the group.
Dawn mist clung low around their ankles, and the sound of gravel crunching echoed softly in the silence.
The group walked in silence.
The mountain path was narrow and steep. Twisted pine trees cast shadows on either side, and the rustling leaves stirred by the wind broke the stillness. The air was mixed with the scent of earth and grass.
They were headed for Eumhyeolsa.
The route was marked on the Cold Wolf Sect’s map.
There would be no encounters with the Heavenly Sound Cult on the way. They had already chosen resting spots in advance. They believed it would be a relatively smooth journey until they reached Eumhyeolsa.
On the third afternoon, a rough mountain breeze brushed their cheeks.
Gravel crumbled underfoot. Pine trees cast shadows, blocking the path.
Suddenly, Gugwi stopped.
His gaze sharpened. The surrounding air turned cold.
“Someone’s here.”
His voice was low and tense.
Even before he spoke… everyone had sensed it. A foreign presence was felt in their spiritual energy.
Sasaha’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her hand reached for the handle of her whip.
“They’re not soul-summoners.”
“Mm! It’s the Lang-ah Ten.”
Surprisingly, the one who responded to Sasaha was Jinggeommu.
“The Lang-ah Ten?”
“Yes. This smell… I’ve smelled it before.”
Jinggeommu adjusted his grip on his spear as he spoke.
“I told you, right? That map doesn’t include the Lang-ah Ten. Hoho! Ijin-gun’s decided to kill us.”
Swish!
The sound of a whip unraveling echoed lightly.
Ijin-gun was the Heavenly Sound Cult’s battle commander. All battles began and ended in his hands.
The Lang-ah Ten were under his command.
Though known as mercenaries of the Heavenly Sound Cult, in truth, they were assassins personally managed by Ijin-gun.
The Heavenly Sound Cult deployed the Lang-ah Ten specifically to assassinate soul-summoners, because soul-summoning arts didn’t work on them. They carried special talismans that repelled spirits, completely blocking individual attacks from spirits or independent combat.
Even Jinggeommu had been given special talismans when carrying out certain missions.
There was only one way to fight them: pure martial arts. Spirit union was still possible, but the techniques had to be executed by oneself. In the end, it had to be resolved through one's own martial arts.
A rustling sound came from the forest leaves.
“Pundokfi So Cheol. Those little pouches hanging all over his body are all poison. It spreads like a living organism through the respiratory system and skin. There’s no antidote. Hyeoljacheolwang Banghwa. That big woman. The iron shards embedded in her fingers are her weapons. If you get hit, you'll feel your insides twist in agony.”
Jingeommu spoke quickly.
“This smell. The one like frying fish—it comes from Pundokfi’s body. If any scent other than this one invades, stop breathing immediately. You’ll be poisoned in an instant, so don’t make a mistake.”
While Jingeommu spoke, two figures seeped in like mist.
The first was a short, scrawny man. The tiny pouches hanging from his body rattled in the slightest breeze, and his fingertips gleamed black.
The second was a large woman.
Though unarmed, her fingers were abnormally long, and small iron shards were embedded in each joint.
Jang Unhyeok instinctively summoned a Soul Warrior.
Red flames flared from his body, but with a sizzling sound, the spirit screamed and vanished.
“What the—?”
Jang Unhyeok’s face turned pale.
The small man twisted his lips into a mocking grin. Yellow talismans flashed all over his body.
“These are talismans to repel ghosts, you damned spirits!”
Snap!
His fingers flicked, scattering black powder into the air.
A sweet scent clung tightly to the nostrils.
The moment Jang Unhyeok inhaled the scent, dizziness overcame him and his legs buckled. The powder continued to seep in. As it clung to his skin, his meridians burned as if they were melting.
“Urgh!”
Jang Unhyeok collapsed to his knees, muscles spasming.
Even though Jingeommu had warned them about the poison, there wasn’t even enough time to defend. In that instant—
Tssssss!
Gugwi’s Spirit Union physician clung to Jang Unhyeok.
Namgung Hoyoung began urgently inserting acupuncture needles as if Jang Unhyeok’s condition was critical.
“Will acupuncture be enough?”
Sasaha muttered.
“That’s not just any acupuncture. It's rippling like when a stone hits water. He’ll be fine.”
Yeon Sohye spoke quickly.
Namgung Hoyoung’s figure was invisible to those unfamiliar with Soul-Summoning Arts. Even Jingeommu could only barely sense the flow of air. There was no way the enemies could notice.
“Huh? Why isn’t that bastard collapsing?”
“That’s why I told you to go all out from the start!”
Swish!
The bulky woman charged toward Jang Unhyeok.
She kicked up dirt with her toes, closing the distance, and stabbed at the nape of his neck with her iron-sharded fingers. In that moment—
Shhk!
A spear blocked the woman’s path.
“Jeokchang Musa!”
“I remember what you said before… that my spear was soft. Want to see if that’s still true?”
“You traitor!”
“What betrayal? Mercenaries go where the pay is better. Didn’t you two fight as enemies once too?”
“Jingeommu!”
The small man opened another pouch.
White powder blew in on the wind. But as Jingeommu spun his spear, a whirlwind formed. The incoming white powder turned back toward the short man.
Shwaaa!
In that moment, the large woman lunged.
Her massive body shook the ground as she closed the gap, aiming her iron-sharded fingers at Jingeommu’s nape. A precise strike at his acupoint—once, it might have worked.
The shards pierced his skin, ready to twist his qi flow.
But Jingeommu was no longer the same. After meeting Gugwi, his martial arts had tripled in prowess.
His body moved like flowing water.
The red spear blade flashed fast enough to leave afterimages.
“Too slow, Banghwa.”
Jingeommu’s spear sliced through the air.
Blood Spear Three Forms unfolded, and the tip of Bloodpoint Breakthrough grazed Banghwa’s shoulder.
Red blood spurted, and her iron-sharded fingers trembled weakly. She gritted her teeth and reached out again, but Jingeommu’s spinning spear flowed into Bloodstorm Combo.
The spear shaft struck her wrist, sending the iron shards clattering to the ground with a sharp metallic clang.
Banghwa’s face turned pale.
Her attack couldn’t keep up with Jingeommu’s speed and strength.
“H-how…?”
Banghwa gasped, retreating.
Her long fingers flailed in the air.
Jingeommu stopped his spear and looked down at her. A faint trace of sentiment for an old comrade flickered in his eyes.
“I’ll spare you, for old time’s sake. Just this once.”
Banghwa’s eyes trembled.
She looked at the short man and nodded.
The man clenched his teeth, brushing off the poison powder.
“You’ve gotten strong. You weren’t like this before. But you know, right? This isn’t over. Heh heh! Watch your back. I’m coming for you one by one. Even when you shit, stick together.”
His voice was cold, but it trembled slightly.
The two retreated like smoke into the darkness.
Jingeommu knew they hadn’t disappeared entirely but were hiding in the forest, watching. As they said, the fight wasn’t over. The Ten Fang Gang never stopped until the enemy was dead.
He slung his spear over his shoulder and turned his head.
“You heard him, right? Stick together—even when you shit. Haha!”
Jingeommu spoke lowly.
Jang Unhyeok groaned and rose.
No matter who a Soul-Summoner faced, they always began with a Spirit Union warrior. Even knowing the enemy had talismans, he instinctively repeated the same mistake. And paid the price.
“Haah! Those bastards… At least we got one today. If I were the only target, I’d be dead.”
Jang Unhyeok let out a deep sigh.
The group resumed their steps into the darkness. The cold mountain wind followed behind them.