Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

As I stepped into the Dongyeong Mansion, ghosts suddenly began pouring out from the dilapidated buildings all around. It was a phenomenon I hadn't seen back when Miho ruled the place, so I glanced at them warily. Cheon Woo-jin spoke up.

"The evil spirits are reacting to us and starting to awaken. That's why the weaker floating spirits are fleeing in panic."

"Where might Myocheong be?"

"No idea. It's thoroughly concealing its energy, so without something like the Subduing Yao Mirror, it's hard to pinpoint its location."

"Subduing Yao Mirror?"

"It's a treasure that reveals the true nature of a yao demon, weakening it, and detects its location no matter where it hides."

It sounded like a pretty useful treasure. My curiosity piqued, I asked,

"Where can I get a Subduing Yao Mirror?"

"Hmm..."

"You've got a bunch of legendary treasures for some reason, but normally, these treasures are mythical items that even adventurers who spend their whole lives searching might only find one—if they're lucky."

His words made me stare at the sword hanging from Cheon Woo-jin's waist: the Mountain and River National Protection Sword.

"You're carrying one yourself."

Cheon Woo-jin looked a bit flustered that I'd recognized it right away.

"My master gave it to me."

"Master Mangangyang gave it to you?"

"He handed it over to commemorate me pulling my weight. Don't ask more."

He answered curtly and trudged ahead. Then, stopping at the entrance to the first floor, he extended both hands and shouted loudly.

"Urgent Subduing Thunder Command!"

"Boom!"

In the next instant, massive bolts of lightning and flames crashed down from the heavens, forming pillars of fire on the ground. The spell was so powerful it incinerated the Dongyeong Mansion's ruins in a flash—I involuntarily stepped back a little.

"Five Elements Magic?"

As expected of the mortal realm's strongest sorcerer, his Five Elements Magic packed a serious punch. Thick smoke billowed from the Dongyeong Mansion buildings, which had crumbled into three piles in an instant. From the sight, I could tell Cheon Woo-jin had chosen to smash the yao demon's nest first rather than entering personally.

"Rumble..."

Staring into the thick smoke, Cheon Woo-jin said,

"It's underground."

"A separate entrance?"

"Not sure. But there's a strange sense of incongruity."

Cheon Woo-jin pondered for a moment before turning to me.

"Baek Woong. How strong are your martial arts?"

"Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"I'm about to find and enter the evil spirit Myocheong's lair, and it'll likely be extremely dangerous. I'll need your skills to back me up."

"Just blast it with Five Elements Magic like before."

When I retorted, Cheon Woo-jin snapped irritably.

"I'm doing this because that won't work! Myocheong seems to have created its own alternate dimension to hide in, so we'll have to find the door and take it down ourselves."

"Evil spirits can do that?"

"Damn it. I asked first—answer me."

As Cheon Woo-jin glared at me, I chuckled and said,

"Well... excluding the White Lotus Cult and the Twelve Laws, I'd rank in the top five under heaven."

"Not sure about martial artists' standards, but that's saying you're pretty damn good."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Growl..."

"Grumble..."

"Then deal with those things while advancing. I need to conserve my sorcery."

Beyond the ruins Cheon Woo-jin was eyeing, grotesque yokai had been summoned. They weren't quite bipedal enough to call humanlike, but no matter how I looked, they weren't human. It seemed the evil spirit Myocheong had awakened, sensed the threat, and called forth these yokai.

"Whoosh!"

The massive bull-headed yokai in front swung a giant axe at me. The strike was powerful enough to crater the ground and kick up dirt, but I'd already circled to its side, pressing both palm hearts against its waist.

Thunder God Fist

Flipping Expanding Double Palms

"Boom!"

[ "Krooaargh!" ]

The bull-headed yokai's body exploded, collapsing in a pitiful heap. I could've killed it with a basic Thunder Spirit Seal, but I'd wanted to try this derivative technique of the Thunder God Fist. It was one of its ultimate arts, shaking the internals to cause instant death. After felling the bull-headed yokai, I scanned the surroundings.

"About twenty of them?"

Each was huge and powerful. Any ordinary exorcist would struggle desperately against a horde this size. But I realized I had no reason to feel burdened facing them. I'd fought far worse demonic beasts to the death in the Aokigahara Forest, and compared to supreme experts' techniques, these were laughable.

"Boom!"

I mixed Soul Extinguishing Step and Phantom Images repeatedly, repelling the yokai approaching Cheon Woo-jin with Thunder Spirit Seals and sword auras. After taking down about ten, the yokai hesitated noticeably. Cheon Woo-jin eyed me with renewed surprise.

"You're quite strong for a return-to-youth expert."

"Still far?"

"Finish off the rest first. I can't focus."

Following his order, I unleashed every martial art at my disposal to eliminate the remaining yokai. It took exactly half a shichen, and the area was strewn with their shredded flesh, dyed red. Cheon Woo-jin muttered an incantation, then thrust his hand forward.

"Urgent Subduing Thunder Command!"

"Whoooosh"

Suddenly, dark spectral energy erupted from somewhere in the ruins. Cheon Woo-jin approached it and pointed at a rectangular entrance with his finger. Moments later, reacting to his sorcery, the entrance slid open visibly. Somewhat surprised, I said,

"Underground entrance?"

"Looks like it. I had my suspicions, but it was hidden with advanced sorcery. No physical method could've breached it normally."

"Hmm..."

Listening to Cheon Woo-jin, I pieced together why Miho hadn't immediately absorbed Myocheong despite coming for it. A massive shock would awaken Myocheong, summoning hordes of yokai, and the entrance was concealed by spells. Miho must've feared exhausting her power breaching such formidable magical defenses, so she'd seized the Dongyeong Mansion first to establish a base.

"Step..."

Descending the dark staircase into the underground entrance, I felt the path twisting spirally. And I realized the staircase's shape was familiar.

"Spiral..."

Was this another biped ruin? Cheon Woo-jin glanced at my mutter but dismissed it as nothing, focusing ahead.

After descending the stairs for a while, a pitch-black mass appeared ahead. The moment Cheon Woo-jin saw it, he warned me.

"It's casting illusions on us! Focus your mind."

Illusions?

I braced my mind at his words, but unexpectedly, no mental attack came.

"What the?"

Glancing aside, I saw Cheon Woo-jin concentrating to resist the illusion. Had the beast ahead overlooked hitting me with a mental assault? I strode forward boldly, but still felt no illusion. Reaching within a zhang of the beast, I finally saw the black mass's true form.

I'd thought it a black lump because the highly compressed demonic energy visually stained it pitch-black. Inside that dense demonic energy sat a skeleton clad in monk's robes, cross-legged, staring at us.

I realized our eyes had met—the skeleton's and mine. It clacked its jaws and spoke to me.

[ You... why isn't the illusion... working... ]

"..."

[ Leave... this is... my dwelling... ]

Just to check, I asked the monk skeleton,

"Are you Myocheong?"

[ Leave... get out now... ]

I figured it was Myocheong nine times out of ten, but the monk skeleton seemed intent only on repeating itself. Deciding to take down the foe before me, I drew my sword aura and unleashed a strike infused with intent at the monk skeleton.

"Slash!"

[ "Kraaaagh..." ]

The monk skeleton split diagonally and crumbled. Simultaneously, the thick demonic energy shrouding it dispersed like mist. Cheon Woo-jin, arriving late from behind, said incredulously,

"What are you? It didn't affect you at all?"

"No clue. I didn't feel a thing."

"..."

Cheon Woo-jin stared at me silently before turning to the monk skeleton.

"Good work anyway. Guess we just obliterate it in one go."

As Cheon Woo-jin formed hand seals and extended his hand toward the monk skeleton—which was clattering on the ground—it cried out desperately.

[ "Kraaaah... stop... not content with killing me... now you steal my home too... ]

"Evil spirits like you taint the land just by existing, harming innocent people with yin energy. May you achieve Buddhahood."

[ "Keh heh... as if... ]

The monk skeleton rattled its bones violently as it spoke.

[ I, Myocheong... for the persecuted Western Capital... used every scheme... but fools grew fearful... and the great undertaking failed... yet none shall know... that right here, a god resides... and all will regret it! ]

"Done with your last words? Urgent Sub—"

"Cheon Woo-jin. Hold on a moment."

Curiosity piqued, I stopped Cheon Woo-jin from chanting Urgent Subduing Thunder Command and questioned the self-proclaimed Myocheong.

"A god? What god?"

Thinking me frightened, Myocheong spoke in a wormlike voice.

[ The great one... sealed since ancient times, whose traces none found... ruler of the moon... who led the great clan and reigned as the creation god of Dongyeong... dwells in this city... that one shall revive someday... ]

"......!!"

[ Heh heh heh... kill me if you dare, but you can't stop Lord Ijina-si from reviving! ]

"Rumble!"

In that instant, the ceiling collapsed, and bizarre tentacles like those of demonic beasts poured from all directions—front, back, left, right. They filled heaven and earth. Cheon Woo-jin grimaced in horror before bellowing in rage.

"Urgent Subduing Thunder Command!"

His spell erupted, sending divine thunder energy everywhere. The dozens-of-zhang-long tentacles extending to devour us exploded, filling the air with eerie screams. Cheon Woo-jin shot me an urgent look, and I swiftly responded, unleashing Intent Severing Technique at Myocheong ahead.

"Boom!"

[ "Kraaaagh..." ]

This time, Myocheong truly vanished, its pitiful scream echoing as it was devoured by the summoned tentacles. Cheon Woo-jin, maintaining his barrier spell, shouted,

"Let's get out—now!"

I grabbed Cheon Woo-jin's robe to use Flying Ascension, but it had no effect. Panicking, I said,

"Back the way we came?"

"Yes!"

"Fwoosh!"

Using Soul Extinguishing Step, I tucked Cheon Woo-jin under my arm and flew to the entrance, slipping through just as it began closing. We barely made it out.

Emerging on the surface, Cheon Woo-jin sighed.

"Damn it... why didn't you just let me wipe it out? It was gathering its last demonic power to summon those tentacles."

I scratched my head.

"Sorry. Seemed like it had important info."

"That place was apparently an alternate dimension belonging to the [Ancient Ruler]'s domain from the start. Myocheong must've made it its hideout for its final stand and slumbered there for centuries."

"...Why?"

"How should I know? Damn it all, coming to this eastern land to exorcise a great evil spirit—what a hassle!"

Cheon Woo-jin vented irritably, but I wasn't inclined to react to his temper.

"Ijina-si."

The 'god slumbering in the Western Capital' Myocheong mentioned!

I'd heard that name before.

[ If you go there, you might find clues to the Seven Essentials you're seeking. ]

[ It's called Takamagahara, like the divine realm you imagine. But on second thought, it seems to be the bipeds' stronghold. ]

[ Secretly transmitted only to the emperor: Takamagahara isn't where gods arrived—it's where ominous beings are sealed, a passage. Those who came through wielded great power, reigning as gods in Dongyeong. I believe it's the bipeds' dwelling. ]

[ In Goryeo's Geochang region, there's a passage to Takamagahara. You might find clues there. ]

This was info from Dongyeong's emperor, who pretended to be enthralled by Miho. Back then, Jin So-cheong and I had gone to Geochang to scout for Takamagahara, breaching a dimensional rift in the Geochang Plateau to enter its inner realm.

There, I'd realized it connected to Dark Heaven Village—and found a stele.

[ Domain of Emperor Ijina-si ]

I'd guessed then that Ijina-si was the first sovereign, become Dongyeong's god. And now, unexpectedly, Myocheong had uttered the name again.

"Then..."

A chilling hypothesis dawned on me. I urgently asked Cheon Woo-jin,

"Cheon Woo-jin. That thing just said a god slumbers here. Do you sense any such powerful being in this Western Capital city?"

Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.

"That'd be at least demon king level. I'd have known if something that strong was around. Nothing like that."

"But if it's inside that alternate dimension..."

"...Could be."

Cheon Woo-jin caught my drift and fell silent.

Exactly.

Right here in this Western Capital lay Dongyeong's creation god—a demon king—slumbering, its entrance in the alternate dimension where Myocheong hid! Myocheong must've relocated to the Western Capital to borrow Ijina-si's power.

I'd unexpectedly learned the whereabouts of the mighty demon god Ijina-si.

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