Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 385 – Sudden Change (2)

The vengeful spirit Wi Maeng-cheon couldn’t hide his bewilderment as he faced the golden eyes staring directly at him.

Then, Young Master Na Yul-ryang raised the corner of his mouth and said, “Well, this is interesting. So vengeful spirits actually exist.”

‘…How?’

He was definitely aware of Wi Maeng-cheon’s presence.

Wi Maeng-cheon didn’t know what to do.

He needed to escape this place, but he couldn’t move since Young Master Na Yul-ryang had sliced his spiritual body in half.

Though he didn’t understand why this was happening, he had to flee quickly to alert others about Na Yul-ryang’s schemes and his ability to see spiritual bodies.

Just then—

-Grab!

Na Yul-ryang’s hand seized Wi Maeng-cheon’s neck.

Wi Maeng-cheon’s eyes widened in shock.

Not only could Na Yul-ryang see him, but he could also grasp a spiritual body as if it were solid?

How was this possible?

As Wi Maeng-cheon marveled at this, Na Yul-ryang raised the corner of his mouth and said, “But you know what? Why does the vengeful spirit that came out of Ho Jong-hyeok’s body resemble Wi Maeng-cheon?”

At these words, Wi Maeng-cheon immediately froze.

***

Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s residence.

Na Yul-ryang, who had returned after finishing his business, snorted and spoke to someone.

“You come and go as if this were your own home now.”

At his words, someone emerged from the shadows beside a pillar in the courtyard.

It was an envoy from the Elder Council, his face covered with a veil due to horrible burn scars.

“Even if it’s the Elder Council, you should show some restraint. There’s no place within the inner city that escapes Master’s eyes.”

“I’ve been as discreet as possible, Young Master.”

Na Yul-ryang shook his head at the envoy’s words.

While he had hoped for active support from the Elder Council, their overzealous involvement was proving to be quite troublesome in a different sense.

If these retired members kept interfering, they were bound to draw attention.

As long as he hadn’t surpassed the Society Leader in martial arts, caution was necessary.

Just then, the envoy from the Elder Council spoke with sudden interest.

“By the way, Young Master. You seem to be holding something interesting in your hand.”

‘!?’

Na Yul-ryang raised an eyebrow at this comment.

It was understandable, given that he was currently holding a vengeful spirit in his hand, its limbs severed and writhing in agony.

“You can see this?”

Na Yul-ryang’s bewilderment was simple to understand.

The envoy from the Elder Council was blind, having lost both eyes to burns.

While heightened other senses could be attributed to losing sight, this was an entirely different matter.

The envoy approached and said, “Have you already forgotten who brought you those eyes, Young Master?”

“…Are you saying I can see this because of these eyes?”

“Of course. Those eyes are from a spirit beast-level evil spirit, completely different in caliber from the eyes you had before. That’s why you can even see vengeful spirits.”

“That may explain me, but how can you see it? Are you just pretending to be blind?”

“How could that be? I truly cannot see with my eyes. However, I have achieved spiritual enlightenment, so I can perceive such things.”

Na Yul-ryang snorted at these words.

He really was an unpleasant fellow.

Even though Na Yul-ryang’s martial arts had been progressing rapidly since obtaining these demonic eyes after his seclusion, he still couldn’t clearly see the limits of his power.

Could this mere envoy from the Elder Council really be a match for him?

As his doubts grew, he had tried to investigate the envoy’s background several times, but each time the man vanished like a ghost, leaving no trail to follow.

‘…For now, think that you’re playing me like a puppet in your hands.’

He wasn’t someone to be trifled with so easily.

It wasn’t them using him, but the other way around.

Once he achieved his goals and their usefulness diminished, he would show them the true meaning of being discarded like worn-out shoes.

But not now.

“Yul-myeong, was it? Whether you’ve achieved spiritual enlightenment or not is none of my business. Get lost.”

“Already dismissing me?”

“A guest from the Primal Killing Pavilion will be arriving soon.”

“Primal Killing Pavilion? My, what a coincidence.”

“What?”

“As it happens, I was waiting to inform you about something, and seeing that you’re looking for the Primal Killing Pavilion, this is perfect timing.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You won’t need to wait for the guest from the Primal Killing Pavilion. Please follow me.”

‘!?’

***

The office of the Primal Killing Pavilion’s main branch leader.

As Na Yul-ryang entered with his hands behind his back, his eyes caught sight of something strange.

There, In Seo-ok, the leader of Primal Killing Pavilion, was visible, his skin pallid and his appearance grotesque.

With black smoke emanating from his mouth, In Seo-ok’s face was contorted in agony, yearning for something, but his arms and legs were restrained, preventing him from moving.

Na Yul-ryang asked Yul-myeong, the envoy from the Elder Council, “What’s wrong with him? Has he been poisoned?”

“Why don’t you look with those eyes of yours, Young Master?”

“Look with my eyes?”

Puzzled, Na Yul-ryang lowered the eye patch covering his right eye.

As he did so and gazed at In Seo-ok with his small, golden-focused pupil, Na Yul-ryang furrowed his brow.

This was because he couldn’t sense even a trace of life force from In Seo-ok.

He was no different from a corpse.

“This is… What is this?”

“It’s a living corpse spirit.”

“What?”

“Using the forbidden secret art of Six People Spirit Summoning Technique, Pavilion Leader In Seo-ok has become a living corpse spirit.”

“A corpse spirit?”

“Yes.”

Na Yul-ryang asked, unable to comprehend, “I heard this man was a highly skilled diviner personally recruited by Master, I mean, the Society Leader. How did he end up like this?”

This was the inner city of the Heaven and Earth Society.

How could something like this happen in a place so thoroughly protected from outside threats?

As Na Yul-ryang wondered, the envoy Yul-myeong answered.

“It seems another diviner was involved.”

“Another diviner?”

“Yes, normally someone of Pavilion Leader In Seo-ok’s caliber, being a high-level diviner, wouldn’t be easily overcome. But if the opponent is even more powerful, the situation changes.”

“Are you saying an even stronger diviner was involved?”

“Yes.”

“Have you found out who it was?”

“We have a suspicion.”

“Who might that be?”

“The branch leader of Harmonious Immortal Pavilion.”

“The branch leader of Harmonious Immortal Pavilion?”

“Just as martial artists have a hierarchy of martial prowess, diviners have their own ranking system. Those who have reached the pinnacle are called Divine-level diviners.”

The titles given to diviners are divided into Conveying, Profound, Technique, Moon, Sun and Divine.

Among these, the highest is referred to as Divine-level diviner.

“So this branch leader of Harmonious Immortal Pavilion is a Divine-level diviner?”

“Yes, quite renowned too. And quite troublesome due to their unique technique.”

“Unique technique? Do you mean what was done to Pavilion Leader In Seo-ok?”

“No, this is a forbidden technique with rather low utility that anyone could learn if they practiced. Though it’s prohibited.”

“Then what are you referring to?”

“A technique that folds space.”

“Folding space?”

Young Master Na Yul-ryang showed interest in this.

Doesn’t folding space mean being able to move freely to any location?

In some ways, it was a convenient yet potentially very dangerous technique depending on how it’s used.

“Yes, you can think of it as a type of space compression. It’s a unique technique that only they can use, having mastered mystical arts close to immortal techniques.”

“Only they can do it?”

“Yes, I believe even within Harmonious Immortal Pavilion, only they are capable of it.”

At this response, Na Yul-ryang raised an eyebrow as he looked at Yul-myeong and said, “For an envoy of the Elder Council, you seem to know quite a lot about occult arts. Including bringing me these eyes.”

“Hehehe. I’m just interested in various odd things.”

“Can this really be called mere interest?”

“I’m simply trying to help with the great work you’re going to accomplish, Young Master. Please don’t be so wary.”

“……”

Na Yul-ryang snorted at these words.

The more he learned about this man, the more his wariness increased.

But one question arose.

“How can you be so certain that Harmonious Immortal Pavilion is behind this?”

To this question, Yul-myeong bowed his head and answered, “Regrettably, I narrowly missed capturing the woman controlling Pavilion Leader In Seo-ok. It was my oversight.”

“Woman?”

“Yes, quite an audacious wench.”

Though he couldn’t see her appearance due to his lost eyesight, he remembered her voice and the scent from her body.

He couldn’t catch her because she escaped by opening space, but as far as he knew, even that technique had weaknesses.

She probably couldn’t have gone too far.

Judging that she was still within the inner city, he had the surrounding areas blocked off.

“We’ll catch her soon, so don’t worry. But before that, I think we can teach that audacious wench a bit of a lesson.”

“What do you mean?”

“That vengeful spirit you captured, Young Master. May I borrow it for a moment?”

“I haven’t yet extracted the exact information about who’s behind this from it.”

Na Yul-ryang had been planning to seek help from Primal Killing Pavilion, a group of diviners, because no matter how much he injured the spirit body, it kept its mouth shut.

“Vengeful spirits are different from humans. You can’t extract information by simply inflicting pain on the spirit body.”

“…Are you saying there’s another way?”

“Yes. Through this method, we can even track down who’s behind the vengeful spirit.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Will you entrust it to me?”

At this, Na Yul-ryang handed over the vengeful spirit of Wi Maeng-cheon, whom he had been holding by the nape of the neck.

Like Na Yul-ryang, Yul-myeong could also directly grasp the vengeful spirit with his hand.

Holding the vengeful spirit, Yul-myeong immediately formed a simple hand seal with his left hand.

-Tchk!

Lim (臨)

Byeong (兵)

Gae (皆)

Soon, a thick smoke began to seep out of Yul-myeong’s palm.

-Hiss hiss hiss hiss!

It was a strange occurrence, as there was no fire lit.

As the smoke thickened, the corners of Yul-myeong’s mouth turned up in a sinister smile.

When Na Yul-ryang looked puzzled,

“As I thought, it’s definitely a spirit servant.”

“Spirit servant?”

“Yes. It’s a type of technique where one forcibly creates a subordinate by forming a spiritual connection. However, it’s quite unexpected.”

“Unexpected?”

“Yes. For someone of Divine-level diviner level like the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion Leader or their disciples, it should be quite easy to control a lower-level vengeful spirit as a spirit servant… But this seems uncharacteristic for someone who practices mystical arts, wouldn’t you say?”

“What are you talking about?”

Na Yul-ryang asked, clearly not understanding.

Yul-myeong shook his head and replied, “Never mind. In any case, they must pay the price for interfering.”

“How do you mean?”

“As I mentioned earlier, spirit servants have a spiritual connection. This connection is essentially a link between souls.”

“Linking souls?”

“Yes. Therefore, if we forcibly sever this connection, the spirit servant will be annihilated, and its master will receive a strong spiritual impact.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“By adding a bit more to this process, we should be able to quickly locate where that audacious wench is.”

“You sound quite confident.”

“Hehehe. It’s not particularly difficult.”

Na Yul-ryang’s eyes narrowed at this response.

He knew this man was extraordinary, but seeing his proficiency in such dark arts made him even more curious about his true identity.

Just then, Yul-myeong formed a hand seal with his left hand and stroked the vengeful spirit’s head with his right.

Then, suddenly,

‘What’s this?’

Na Yul-ryang’s right eye saw something like a red thread.

But the moment it touched Yul-myeong’s hand,

-Crack!

With a bright spark, the red thread was severed.

Along with this, Yul-myeong grasped the severed red thread and formed the Immovable Mind Seal with both hands, beginning to chant something that sounded like an incantation.

“Heaven’s essence, earth’s essence, sun and moon’s essence, heaven and earth’s combined essence, sun and moon’s combined light, spirit and ghost’s combined form, twenty combined with my heart, my heart combined with this heart, heaven’s heart, ten thousand hearts, ten thousand ten thousand hearts, all combined with my heart, Supreme Elder Lord, urgent as the law commands!”

The method he was chanting was a type of Summoning Harmony Method, which usually requires a talisman, but he was forming the technique using only the incantation.

It was a level of skill that would astound other diviners if they saw it.

However,

-Crack crack crack crack!

Suddenly, Yul-myeong, who had his hands clasped together, staggered backward.

Then,

“Puh!”

He spat out a mouthful of black blood like a fountain.

Seeing this, Na Yul-ryang frowned and asked, “What are you doing?”

Wondering if this was also part of the technique,

-Grind!

Yul-myeong gritted his teeth and spoke with a somewhat angry voice.

“…The technique was deflected.”

“What?”

***

-Crunch!

“Phew.”

Mok Gyeong-un lightly stretched his body and let out a long breath.

He didn’t know who it was, but someone had tried to track him while severing the spiritual connection.

However, Mok Gyeong-un, who had reached the Realm of Life and Death and gained extremely heightened sensitivity to all energies, had reversed and repelled the attempt.

Along with that, he saw a terrifying face full of burn scars, and,

‘…Na Yul-ryang.’

He could also see that man’s face beside him.

Mok Gyeong-un looked at his subordinates around him and spoke.

“It seems it’s time for us to return.”