Zzzz…
When I woke up in the morning, Choseol’s body moved so smoothly. I might have overdone it a bit.
After getting ready to leave the room, I immediately shouldered my gear and stepped out of the hostel.
Even without giving a tip, the hostel owner treated me with utmost respect until I left, which I appreciated. If there were ratings, I’d give it five stars.
Additionally, he had prepared roasted grains like misutgaru as preserved food. This should keep me going for a long walk.
Holding the strangely brighter western-style gas lamp than when I first grasped it, I headed north.
If I keep going straight north and then veer northwest, I’ll reach Kunlun Mountain. However, even if it is called Kunlun Mountain, it’s still quite a distance inside, just like the faded memory of Seoul National University Station.
Humans live here, as do Taoists, and immortals.
These three places are separated.
The deeper you go, the more colossal the difference in civilization and technology becomes. Especially in the land of immortals, the technology seems to exist at a level that surpasses not just the faded memories of this world but also some others in the cosmos.
So, entering in the proper way is the simplest method.
If I could just barge in and meet them, I would!
But after looking into the memories of the Taoists and immortals, I don’t see any holes to sneak in, so I have no choice but to go through the front.
So, with my plan set in mind, I walked down the street in broad daylight. However, strangely, many eyes were on me.
At first, I thought it was because I was tall, but upon closer inspection, they were looking at the lamp in my hand, not my face or body.
Carrying a lit lamp during the day does seem odd. Originally, using a lamp like this wastes fuel, and it gets quite hot.
But this one, while bright, stays cool.
And just as the sun set, those gazes disappeared.
It’s not so much that the strange stares decreased, but rather that there were hardly any people roaming the streets at night.
Occasionally, a drunkard would pass by, or someone returning from work would shuffle by with a haggard face.
Since the main road wound a bit, I took a side street to quickly exit the city when, shortly after entering, people blocked my front and back.
“Stubborn girl. How can you walk all day without rest?”
“I heard you have loads of gold. So, sorry, but now…”
“Hey! What are you doing….”
Seven men. Among them, three looked to be in their teens.
The numbers were too few, and if it came to gold again, it seems they might attack me. Back then, I could act without restraint since there were so many unknown faces, but here, everyone knows each other and there’s a hierarchy established.
It’s not suitable to create the same chaos this time around.
I was pondering how to fend them off when suddenly their chatter quieted, and their expressions became dazed.
As my lamp glowed a pale blue, they approached me as if entranced and touched the lamp.
Just like that, they shrank as if getting compressed and disappeared into the liquid inside.
Splash!
Suddenly, someone fell from the roof above.
“Uh, uh…”
Wait. There weren’t just seven of them.
In total, there were thirteen.
Some fell from the roof, while others strolled toward me from quite a distance.
One by one, they approached, touched the lamp, and got sucked in as fuel.
Soon, even the kid who looked like a lookout was gobbled up by the lamp.
Okay, that was quick cleanup.
The light became even brighter. I guess this is why people desire good items. No effort is needed, and it cleans itself automatically!
Simple and nice, right?
Huh?
Let’s correct that.
That’s fourteen in total.
Dim light glimmered from a corner. Approaching the light, I found a child trembling, covering their face with their clothes.
They looked like an ostrich from a faded memory. Does it become safe if I don’t look at them?
I didn’t feel particularly passionate about cleaning up, so I just passed by.
Besides, what’s more important is how useful the new toy is.
I can absorb warmth and memories like this. Of course, the memories aren’t perfect like those gained from killing, but hey, anything is better than nothing, right?
Definitely, this is great.
Creating items from this.
I hadn’t thought of that!
If I had to guess, it’s likely impossible for people.
These monsters were born from ghost stories, which means the monster evolved based on that.
They were fundamentally created to lure and devour people by turning on lamps at night.
So, by compressing such monsters into items, we get a lamp that attracts people and devours them.
This means monsters born from ghost stories have the potential to become excellent items like this.
That’s a tricky enough item that might trick people into thinking they can use it.
If given the chance later, I should go hunting for such monsters.
But, not today.
The destination is Kunlun Mountain.
And the goal is the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.
If Cheonma is an alien species from outside the glass jar, then it’s very likely that the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign and the immortals are the native creatures in this glass jar.
Sure, they might also have come from another glass jar.
Regardless, if they possess the tech to defeat Daegon, who crossed over from another world, it’s likely they can also cross worlds themselves.
That’s why I’m walking such a long distance to meet them.
The moment of our meeting is drawing near.
Holding the pale glowing lamp, I moved through the alleyway towards the city gates.
I’m glad to pass through this city quickly.
*
After breaking through nature and traversing the city a few times,
I watched those who had put me here.
Hwasan Sect’s Wonhu-gong arrived at the volcano first. However, rather than listening to him, the Hwasan Sect immediately captured him.
From their talks, it sounded like the Hwasan Sect was in a dire situation. It’s because, from their perspective, Oh Myeong-seong, who was corrupted by inverse Cheonma energy, was originally a member of the Hwasan Sect.
So, the Hwasan Sect is extremely unstable.
First, the Hwasan Sect’s leader, Yoo Jo-young, has died. And this happened not long after the martial arts competition to decide the leader of the Five Factions!
He won the tournament, becoming the new leader of the Five Factions, but just days later, he was suddenly assassinated!
And the villain behind this was Oh Myeong-seong, who had succumbed to inverse Cheonma energy.
In reality, Yoo Jo-young attacked Oh Myeong-seong after hearing rumors that his daughter was killed by him.
On the day of the attack, he shouted, demanding to know why his daughter was killed.
But Oh Myeong-seong didn’t kill Yoo Jo-young’s daughter.
Someone fabricated a false rumor, and Yoo Jo-young fell for it.
It seems definite that Yoo Jo-young’s daughter died at that time, and if a father, who lost his daughter, lost his reason and roared in rage, I can understand the motive.
Anyway, Yoo Jo-young got deceived into starting a pointless fight.
Seeing that Yoo Jo-young was overwhelmed by Oh Myeong-seong’s martial arts, he took Gumi Mil hostage and nearly defeated Oh Myeong-seong.
But at a crucial moment, Oh Myeong-seong entered the Harvesting Period.
And he healed all his wounds, defeating Yoo Jo-young in return.
Later, when Oh Myeong-seong made his way to where the monks are and shared the truth, nobody believed him.
What remained was just the rumor that Oh Myeong-seong was corrupted by the Demonic Cult and that the leader was murdered.
So, when the same corruption was revealed, the people of Hwasan Sect completely erased Wonhu-gong from existence.
Yes.
They killed Wonhu-gong. Yet, right up until he died, he cried out for his disciple, who was killed by Jeongchiljin, to have his vengeance.
With no more stares lingering, it’s unclear how the Hwasan Sect would act next. But,
if I interpret the faces of those I saw through Wonhu-gong’s eyes, the outcome won’t be good.
They wore expressions of not wanting to involve themselves in troublesome matters.
Wonhu-gong’s wish seems likely to vanish trampled underfoot.
Meanwhile, Taesan Sect’s Cheonbaek was in a completely opposite situation.
Returning to the Taesan Sect, even in this state, he felt a need to share the truth, so he met with the elders. And he recounted everything he had experienced.
The elders of the Taesan Sect embraced him and helped him hide his identity.
You can’t hide that pale blue skin, after all.
This side fully trusts Cheonbaek’s words and aims to take vengeance on the Sungsan Sect in the name of the Taesan Sect.
By the way, it’s said that the leader of the Taesan Sect, who went out with his disciples to hunt down the Demonic Cult, still hasn’t returned. If he comes back, there’s a chance this trend will be interrupted, but judging by the reactions around, that guy seems like he’ll be even more ramped up than usual.
I hope the Five Factions and even the Murim Alliance sustain at least a small crack.
Because through that crack, the gaze will drift away from Kunlun.
And lastly, the Sungsan Sect.
The leader of the Five Factions is a member of the Sungsan Sect. Additionally, the deputy leader, Jeongchiljin, is also from the Sungsan Sect.
During the Five Factions leader competition, he lost during the fight but, having gone blind, Yoo Jo-young suddenly passed away, and thus, he became the new leader.
After that, he entered the Murim Alliance and rose to a high position there. However, the leader is blind.
Most duties are performed by the deputy leader, Jeongchiljin.
It’s easy to ascertain who the real power lies with.
Moreover, Jeongchiljin returned to the Sungsan Sect wielding the Makya Sword.
While saying that I killed someone with the Makya Sword there and fled after an inconclusive battle with me, they fabricated that story.
Samabaek was furious.
But, instead of trusting Samabaek, the Sungsan Sect chose to believe Jeongchiljin.
And now, Samabaek has pale blue skin.
He has the perfect appearance to scheme against someone.
The Demonic Cult is trying to use sorcery to resurrect corpses as zombies to sow discord within the Sungsan Sect.
I don’t need to say which side sounds more convincing, right?
The Sungsan Sect members charged to kill Samabaek. But instead of getting captured and killed like Wonhu-gong, Samabaek safely fled from the Sungsan Sect.
And on that very day,
a man seeking revenge against Jeongchiljin emerged.
By the way, I’m currently sending Cheonma Martial Art. With Samabaek’s strong sense of self, I don’t know if he’ll properly receive the memories, but if he does, he might gain the strength to get revenge.
Hwasan Sect stays silent, the Taesan Sect rises up against injustice, and the Sungsan Sect turns outright lies into facts.
This is just the situation with the Five Factions, a part of the Murim Alliance.
And I remember a report that Cheonma received long ago.
It stated that someone presumed to be from the government is currently monitoring the Cheonma Church.
Now that the Cheonma Church has vanished, only the massive Murim Alliance remains. There are no other large power organizations left in the world except for the Murim Alliance.
According to faded memories, warlords in ancient China easily turned into new nations.
That’s a risk factor, right?
If there’s common sense, there would be attempts to split and divide them. A few memories flicker in my mind.
I don’t mind what happens to the Murim Alliance. The government can stay silent without common sense or interfere sensibly.
After all, there’s no need to set up a game like in the past.
I just need to reach Kunlun Mountain.
So please,
I hope there’s no one blocking my path.
