Chapter 370: Ambush (1)
“It’s been a while, Clan Leader.”
“Yes, it has been a while.”
I replied coldly to Hwan Jeong, who bowed politely to me.
“However, I don’t recall granting the Hwan Clan permission to enter the mountain yet.”
Just as I said, the Hwan Clan was currently waiting at a short distance from here.
Despite having achieved the tremendous feat of capturing the soul of the Grand Heavenly Lord, I had received prior warnings and thus postponed their entry for a while.
Hwan Jeong bowed his head to me.
“My apologies, Grand Duke. I sensed a great calamity approaching our Cult and dared to commit this offense.”
“……”
Excuses were easy.
Even if he claimed to have sensed a calamity, Hwan Jeong wasn’t that type of sorcerer.
He was probably suspicious of my delay.
“It certainly seems that something extraordinary has happened. I understand now why you forbade our entry.”
“I’ll deal with the punishment for disobeying my orders later. That aside, did you just mention a mental-type spell?”
Hwan Jeong nodded.
“Yes. It appears Your Grace has also captured a fragment of it... Please observe.”
Hwan Jeong raised his index and middle fingers and recited a spell.
“Urgent command, Ye Yul-ryeong.”
Then, a murky dark-purple energy gathered at the tips of Hwan Jeong’s fingers.
“This is it. The unique mana of mental spells often emits this kind of gloomy hue.”
“Are you referring to something like the Soul Summoning Spell?”
A glimmer sparked in Hwan Jeong’s eyes.
“So you’re familiar with the Soul Summoning Spell. However, that spell tends to emit an energy closer to pink.”
“Is that so?”
“If you’re truly skeptical, you can ask Lord Baek Cheong. You’ll immediately learn the truth.”
Indeed, Lord Baek Cheong was a master of the Soul Summoning Spell. If we summoned her, we’d know right away.
However, I shook my head.
“I believe you. There’s no reason for you to lie about something that can be exposed right here.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyway, can you trace it based on that energy?”
“Hm…”
After a moment of thought, Hwan Jeong shook his head.
“Judging by the way the traces were erased, it will be difficult. It’s hard to say for sure just from a fragment, but the opponent’s level is certainly not below mine. The trail will likely be cut off midway.”
I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
Then, Hwan Jeong gave a faint smile.
“But it’s not like we have no options at all.”
I frowned slightly at his probing tone.
“…I’d prefer you tell me that kind of thing right away. What is it?”
“We ask the Grand Heavenly Lord directly.”
“……!”
I froze momentarily at the unexpected suggestion.
“According to the records of the previous Clan Leader, it is said that all sorcery and techniques of the Heaven-Defying Society originated from him. If that’s true, then he would surely know the root of this incident.”
If it’s the Grand Heavenly Lord, there’s indeed a chance.
However—
“Would he obediently answer if we asked?”
“Of course, not willingly.”
Suddenly, Hwan Jeong’s expression turned grim.
“However powerful he may have been, right now he’s nothing more than a sealed soul. If he doesn’t want to vanish forever, he’ll have to cooperate.”
“……”
Indeed, contrary to his soft and harmless appearance, Hwan Jeong, true to being a descendant of that Hwan Pyeong, had his own ruthlessness.
That’s something our Yu Cheong ought to learn someday.
Hwan Jeong gave a meaningful smile.
“In any case, you’ll need to assess the Grand Heavenly Lord’s condition. I will escort you.”
“…Let’s go, then.”
I gave a resigned smile and nodded.
‘So this was your plan all along? You have the makings of a tactician.’
There was no way the Hwan Clan didn’t have an expert tracker.
But instead of introducing such a person, Hwan Jeong offered a compromise to help resolve our situation together.
‘If talking to the Grand Heavenly Lord doesn’t lead to progress, we can still track them later.’
The Hwan Clan, not being in a hurry, would naturally prioritize achieving their objective first.
I followed Hwan Jeong as he led me to the location where the soul of the Grand Heavenly Lord was sealed.
“This is the place.”
Guided by Hwan Jeong, I arrived at the location where the remnants of the Heavenly Illusion Clan were hiding.
Surprisingly, the place they were hiding in was—
“Well, it’s been a long time.”
I looked around, feeling somewhat sentimental.
Before me knelt three trembling old men.
“I-It’s been a long time, Your Grace!”
“It is an infinite honor to see you again!”
This was Eunru Valley, a place where even the Cult’s outcasts had gathered.
And within Eunru Valley, this was its deepest recess.
“It has been a while.”
This place used to be one of the Heavenly Illusion Clan’s medicinal supply sites, now maintained by three elderly men known as the Three Elder Soldiers, who had retired after losing their limbs.
I chuckled quietly as I sensed the presence of people lurking in the shadows beyond.
“Seems like you haven’t cut ties with the Hwan Clan. Seeing those people hiding here confirms it.”
“P-Please spare us!”
“We’ve committed a grave sin!”
The Three Elder Soldiers pleaded for mercy.
Knowing they were still associated with the Hwan Clan, which had been expelled from the Cult, it wouldn’t have been strange if they were executed on the spot.
I reassured them briefly, then made my way deeper to where the remnants of the Hwan Clan were hiding.
And before long—
“This is the sealed form of the Grand Heavenly Lord.”
I came upon an enormous crystal, nearly the size of a human torso.
As I approached the crystal—
A completely unexpected voice rang in my ears!
“My disciple, you’ve come?”
“…Master?!”
Second Heavenly Lord, Old Han.
After parting ways in the South, I hadn’t heard from him—who would’ve thought his voice would suddenly resound now?
I rushed toward my master, filled with joy.
“Did Master help them?”
Master gave a faint laugh and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, yes.”
I had wondered how the Hwan Clan could have captured the Grand Heavenly Lord on their own, but if Master had helped, that would be a different story...
“Be careful, my disciple.”
“……!”
“You’d better not approach that guy recklessly.”
I stopped in my tracks at Master’s words.
“I still can’t shake off a feeling of unease.”
“What do you mean…?”
Master warned me in a low voice.
“It was certainly no easy battle. The Hwan Clan also suffered tremendous losses. However, I can’t help but feel that he allowed himself to be captured on purpose.”
“Master thinks so too?”
Master nodded.
“It’s possible that the Grand Heavenly Lord is targeting you as well.”
“That’s nothing to worry about.”
It wasn’t like I came here unprepared.
“Yorang.”
–Did you call?
Yorang immediately leapt out from inside my robes.
Once the mortal enemy of Cheonak.
And even now, one who bore endless hostility toward Cheonak.
If it was Yorang, she would surely be of great help in this situation.
“G-Gah!”
“W-What is that ominous beast?!”
Some of the elders of the Hwan Clan recognized Yorang’s power and gasped in horror.
Master, too, frowned as he looked at Yorang.
“You’re raising quite a dangerous thing.”
“She’s bound by a spirit contract, so there’s no need to worry.”
I replied calmly and approached the Grand Heavenly Lord’s seal.
“I’m going to make contact with him. Can you protect me?”
–Hmm…
Yorang examined the seal of the Grand Heavenly Lord before speaking.
–I don’t mind, but this is a fragmented shard.
“…Fragmented?”
–Yes. This one has split his soul. Not into countless pieces, but nearly in half…
Yorang snorted quietly.
–Even if you beat the one inside here, you won’t gain much. Especially memories—those are likely with the other half.
“……”
–Splitting the soul is usually done to prepare for the future. Like my previous host. But this one… feels like there’s some other motive behind it.
“What makes you so sure?”
–The timing. There’s no reason to prepare for the future when the time of destiny is now, is there?
“……”
Then where did the other half of the Grand Heavenly Lord go?
That question naturally arose, but I wouldn’t find the answer just by thinking about it now.
“All the more reason to make contact. Can you help me?”
Yorang smiled faintly.
–Didn’t I already say I don’t mind? Let’s see what he left behind.
Master looked on with concern from the side.
I wanted to ask what kind of connection led him to assist the Hwan Clan, but that was something to save for later.
Without hesitation, I reached my hand toward the crystal.
My field of vision flipped.
Regardless of Yorang’s support, I gripped the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, ready to fight at full strength at any moment.
But then—
Whiiiiing!
I frowned as a bone-chilling blizzard suddenly swept in.
Darkness so thick that I couldn’t see a step ahead, and terrain so treacherous that a single misstep could send one plummeting into the abyss.
And in that snowy haze stood a dilapidated, solemn shrine.
A clearly strange place to exist within the mindscape of the Grand Heavenly Lord.
Yet, somehow, it all felt strangely familiar.
I looked around and became certain.
‘This place is definitely…!’
The scenery had changed a bit, but there was no mistaking it.
This was the Ten Thousand Great Mountains of the past—specifically, the site where the past Cult Leaders had held their succession ceremonies.
The Ascending Demon Seal!
“An uninvited guest has arrived.”
“……!!”
A woman’s voice rang out unexpectedly, and I turned my head.
And my eyes widened slightly at the unexpected figure.
“You’re… the Priestess Han Yeong?!”
“I’m no longer the Priestess. Now, I am…”
“Then I suppose I should call you Grand Heavenly Lord Han Yeong.”
At my quick correction, Han Yeong covered her mouth and laughed.
“Hehe, yes. Though what stands before you now is merely the outer shell of a soul fragment left behind by my future self.”
For Han Yeong to appear instead of the Grand Heavenly Lord—this was certainly unexpected.
But she, too, looked at me with a surprised expression.
“How strange. I doubt my future self anticipated this situation.”
She slowly approached me.
And when she had closed the distance to about three jang—
“From that sword, I feel a very dear and familiar presence.”
For some reason, Han Yeong asked with a gentle expression full of affection.
“My beloved Yoo Jeon’s descendant… What do you need from me?”
“……”
Roughly half a keun after Jin Yeomyung made contact with the sealed crystal of the Grand Heavenly Lord.
***
“Hoo… I had a feeling.”
Old Han let out a deep sigh as if he had sensed something.
At that sight, Hwan Jeong spoke confidently.
“Don’t worry. Even if the Grand Heavenly Lord targets His Grace’s soul, we are prepared to respond at any moment.”
Elite sorcerers of the Hwan Clan surrounded the crystal tightly, ready for any emergency.
“Honestly, I’d prefer if the Grand Heavenly Lord tried something. It would be a perfect opportunity to repay His Grace.”
“I doubt it’ll go that easily.”
Still harboring doubt, Old Han’s expression remained skeptical.
“You still don’t trust the main family’s strength?”
“That’s not the issue.”
Clack!
Old Han picked up his sword and turned toward the entrance.
“Seems like an unwelcome guest is arriving.”
–■■■■■■!!!
A roar echoed throughout Eunru Valley, so strange it was impossible to tell whether it was human or beast.
And shortly after—
A monstrous figure wearing a mask, missing one arm, was approaching directly toward them.