Chapter 319 : The Demonic Spirit Realm (4)
Chapter 319: The Demonic Spirit Realm (4)
Jang Woo-hyun discarded the shattered stone tablet and picked up another.
Since they all contained the same writing, he immediately continued reading.
—Just as I expected, Lee Tae-seong came from Earth. I don't know whether time became distorted or if there was another reason, but he arrived in this world a very long time ago.
'Twenty thousand years ago.'
He already had a rough idea of when Lee Tae-seong had lived after obtaining information about the Sky-Sighing Heavenly Treasure Earth Dragon.
Kim Min-su continued following Lee Tae-seong's trail.
Eventually, he encountered a group of enemies he could never seem to escape.
'The Ascension Sect.'
A group of cultivators who worshipped the Three Thousand Vast Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
They had crossed into the Demonic Spirit Realm and obstructed Kim Min-su.
—The Ascension Sect cultivators formed a contract with a Demon King of the Demonic Spirit Realm. I couldn't defeat them with my own strength. Even now they're still hunting me down, so I've been scattering these records while avoiding the Ascension Sect, unable to pass on everything I wanted. I only hope these records reach you.
Unable to stop running from the Ascension Sect, Kim Min-su had neither the time to prepare properly nor to hide the stone tablets well.
The only thing he could do was create as many copies as possible and scatter them everywhere.
'They must've interfered with his attempts to contact his clone as well.'
There had been a reason all communication stopped after he entered the Demonic Spirit Realm.
Jang Woo-hyun let out a quiet sigh before reading the final section.
—I don't know who you are, but I'll leave behind the location I intended to visit last. The lowest mountain within the Living Mountain Range. There, you'll find something Lee Tae-seong left behind. Perhaps... that place will also become where I meet my end.
—Whoever you may be, I sincerely hope this record reaches you.
Kim Min-su had always been cheerful and playful.
But because this record had been left while fleeing from his enemies, its tone was completely different from usual.
Thanks to the Wind-Passing Great Sage, Jang Woo-hyun had found traces of Kim Min-su the moment he entered the Demonic Spirit Realm.
He even knew where Kim Min-su had been headed.
"Monkey, where's the Living Mountain Range?"
"The Living Mountain Range? You mean the Living Spirit Mountain Range? How do you... Ah, is it written there? You need to go there?"
"Yeah. It's urgent."
Even as Jang Woo-hyun urged him, the Wind-Passing Great Sage merely folded his arms and fell into thought.
"Hehehe..."
Apparently finishing his thoughts, the monkey let out an unsettling chuckle.
"What are you plotting?"
"I was thinking about something. Before we head to the Living Spirit Mountain Range, we need to stop somewhere first."
"You don't know where it is? We can't go straight there?"
The Wind-Passing Great Sage looked at him as though he were hopeless.
"Of course I don't know. What did you just call it?"
"The Living Spirit Mountain Range?"
"Not that."
"You mean... the Living Mountain Range?"
"Exactly."
Even after answering, Jang Woo-hyun still had no idea what the monkey was getting at.
"You said it yourself. It's a living mountain range."
"Yeah, I know that. I just said it's a living—... Huh?"
His mouth slowly fell open.
The thought that suddenly occurred to him was absurd.
"Don't tell me... it's literally alive and actually moves?"
"I told you it's a living mountain range. Of course it moves. That's why I don't know where it is right now."
"...Ah."
Once again, Jang Woo-hyun was reminded exactly what kind of place he had entered.
La la la la—
Behind his bewildered expression, the singing of the reed field echoed on.
---
After Jang Woo-hyun departed—
The Demon-Slaying Corps received an unexpected visitor.
It was an extraordinary guest.
Fortunately, Jin Ha-un and Gun Yu-hye already had some familiarity with him, so they weren't overly flustered.
"He crossed into the Demonic Spirit Realm?"
"Yes. He said there was someone he had to find, so he went there alone."
Like a child confessing she'd done something wrong, Gun Yu-hye nodded vigorously.
Standing before her—
Was one of the Six Heavenly Lords, the Heavenly Sword Lord Seon Woo-baek-rin.
"So, old man. What are you going to do?"
Seon Woo-baek-rin frowned slightly before turning his head.
His gaze landed on Jang Sam-bong, who was speaking with Jin Ha-un.
"So he left because there was someone whose kindness he had to repay."
"Why are you nodding like that's admirable? What kind of lunatic goes to the Demonic Spirit Realm just to repay a favor? Wait... would it even be okay for someone like Jang Woo-hyun to go over there?"
Long ago, the Central Heavens Martial World had established an agreement with the Great Demons of the Demonic Spirit Realm.
It wasn't an absolute contract—
Merely a loose promise.
Still, since the party involved was a reasonable and relatively gentle being, it had been maintained without major issues.
Because of that agreement—
The powerful demons of the Demonic Spirit Realm had refrained from invading the territory of the martial world.
Yet now—
An Immortal Realm martial artist from the martial world had crossed into the Demonic Spirit Realm.
"One person is fine. The Great Demons might even welcome it. They'll think they've gained a new opponent."
"What about us? Can I come too?"
At Seon Woo-baek-rin's question, Jang Sam-bong shook his head.
"One person is one thing. But if several of the Six Heavenly Lords cross over, it could become a problem. The Demon Sovereign is gentler than the other demons, but he's also much more particular."
"Then we just wait? I wanted to have a talk with him."
He'd thought they could meet Jang Woo-hyun almost immediately.
Instead, the young man's movements had been completely unexpected.
"He didn't say exactly when he'd return, did he?"
"He said he'd come back... but he never told us when."
"Old man, let's just go over there for a bit. That world's already a complete mess anyway. What's it matter if we show up?"
"Even if we wanted to go immediately, we can't."
Just as Seon Woo-baek-rin was about to ask why—
He immediately understood.
"Right... we couldn't get there right away anyway. It takes forever to reach the Demonic Spirit Realm. The previous Sword Heavenly Lord sealed every passage we could've used from this side."
"That's correct."
"So unless we discover a brand-new route, even we would need years to get there. Jang Woo-hyun received help from the giants?"
"Yes. He said he'd be using a ship called the Radiant Wing."
"He's something else. Even borrowing a Great Nation ship. What a strange kid. Looks like all we can do is wait. You don't have any other ideas, old man?"
"I'll have to think about it."
"Thinking won't magically produce a solution. We can't get there right now. Even if we asked the Great Nation for help, I doubt they'd be able to move anytime soon. A ship that consumes that much power can't be used whenever they feel like it."
"There is another way."
"What is it?"
Instead of answering—
Jang Sam-bong merely smiled.
"Why are you hiding it again? Just tell me."
"I don't think you'd approve."
"Do you know some powerful sorcerer? Could the Dream Heavenly Lord do it? That'd be difficult... Then who else could...?"
As Seon Woo-baek-rin pondered—
His expression suddenly twisted.
"Don't tell me... that black-haired bastard? Absolutely not. If you associate with someone like him, you'll turn black too."
The very thought of that person disgusted him.
There was one individual within the Central Heavens Martial World who freely crossed between worlds purely to fight.
The Demonic Heavenly Lord, Muk Geom-yeong.
Thanks to his unique ability, he could freely travel between different Middle Realms.
Jang Sam-bong had expected exactly this reaction.
That was why he hadn't mentioned it.
"...Let's just wait."
Although Seon Woo-baek-rin settled on waiting—
Jang Sam-bong reached a different conclusion.
'I may have to meet the Demonic Heavenly Lord.'
Fortunately, he had won their wager.
That meant he could ask for at least one favor.
If both he and the Demonic Heavenly Lord crossed into the Demonic Spirit Realm—
The situation would become much larger than expected.
Yet somehow...
He felt it had to be done.
'My connection with that child hasn't ended.'
Just as he'd felt the urge to see Jang Woo-hyun before—
The same sensation returned now.
Something beyond their understanding was about to occur.
And he felt compelled to help Jang Woo-hyun.
This wasn't merely intuition.
It bordered on prophecy.
Finally—
Jang Sam-bong made up his mind.
"I must meet the Demonic Heavenly Lord."
Naturally, Seon Woo-baek-rin stared at him in disbelief.
"What kind of crazy nonsense are you talking about now?"
Ignoring the continued complaints—
Jang Sam-bong bid farewell to the Demon-Slaying Corps.
His next destination—
Was the Demon Suppression Hall.
---
"There's a village? I heard there weren't any villages or cities in the Demonic Spirit Realm."
"Hmph. Just how uncivilized do you think we are? Naturally, intelligent demons gather together, form groups, and live in villages."
"Then there are cities? Countries?"
"Of course not."
"Why?"
"Because whenever anything grows too large, someone like me destroys it on sight."
The Wind-Passing Great Sage puffed out his chest proudly.
Jang Woo-hyun let out a quiet sigh.
"...What a thing to brag about."
After claiming demons weren't primitive—
The monkey immediately proved they actually were.
Could anyone possibly be this violent and uncivilized?
And none of it made any sense.
Villages were acceptable.
Cities and nations had to be destroyed.
'Does he just hate anything that gets too big? Or maybe he becomes wary whenever a power grows too large... No. Stop overthinking it.'
The Wind-Passing Great Sage wasn't human.
Expecting ordinary reasoning from a demon was a mistake.
Deciding that the monkey was simply insane, Jang Woo-hyun spoke.
"So the place we're heading has someone—or rather, some demon—who can guide us to the Living Spirit Mountain Range?"
"Yep. A demon from that area lives there. If we bring him along, he'll know where it is. Before that, though, hide your aura."
While flying through the sky, the Wind-Passing Great Sage opened his mouth wide and pulled out a translucent beast hide.
"Wear this. Then nobody will realize you're human."
"It smells. Do I really have to wear this?"
"If you don't mind causing a commotion, then stay like you are. Hehehe... Personally, I'd enjoy that a lot more."
The monkey opened his mouth again to put the hide away.
Jang Woo-hyun quickly snatched it first.
He needed to find Kim Min-su as quickly as possible.
There was no reason to stir up unnecessary trouble.
Besides—
If he acted exactly as the monkey wanted, he'd probably end up fighting endlessly.
"But why are you being so cooperative?"
"Me? What about me? You came all the way to the Demonic Spirit Realm. Of course I'm going to help."
Jang Woo-hyun stared at him suspiciously.
No matter how he looked at it—
Something was off.
Instead of eagerly seeking fights like always—
The Wind-Passing Great Sage was deliberately avoiding battles while helping him.
'He's definitely plotting something.'
For now—
There was no way to know what.
"Where did you find those stone tablets?"
"Those? I picked up a few at my younger brother's place. There were more, but they all seemed to say the same thing."
"Younger brother? You mean one of the other Seven Great Sages?"
"That's right. Oh—and my younger brother's probably coming to capture you."
The Wind-Passing Great Sage said it casually.
To Jang Woo-hyun, however, it was anything but casual.
"What? Why me all of a sudden?"
"You know that True Immortal who's after you? My brother made a contract with him. I even found out who that True Immortal really is."
"I already know."
Jang Woo-hyun briefly explained his encounter with Baekan.
"Then that's settled. Anyway, my brother made a deal with that True Immortal, so he'll be coming after you."
"...The bird demon too?"
"Probably. The human who destroyed his avatar back in the Lower Realm showed up in the Demonic Spirit Realm. Of course he'd come charging over. I would too."
Hearing that even the Roc Demon King would pursue him, Jang Woo-hyun sighed quietly.
It was fortunate that he'd found Kim Min-su's trail so quickly thanks to the Wind-Passing Great Sage.
But now—
Immediately after arriving in the Demonic Spirit Realm—
He was being hunted by two of the Seven Great Sages.
"You're really okay with this?"
"With what?"
"My enemies are your brothers. You're really fine staying with me?"
The Wind-Passing Great Sage grinned.
"Of course! If I'm with you, I get to fight again."
"...Ah."
At last—
Jang Woo-hyun understood why the monkey had been so cooperative.
'He wants an even bigger fight.'
Brothers or not—
He'd simply chosen whichever side promised the most excitement.
A True Immortal was after Jang Woo-hyun.
Two Great Demons wanted him as well.
To the Wind-Passing Great Sage—
Nothing could be more entertaining.
"So that's why you're helping me so willingly."
Realizing the monkey's true intentions, Jang Woo-hyun shook his head.
Beside him—
The Wind-Passing Great Sage simply kept smiling.
His motives were painfully obvious.
Even so—
Jang Woo-hyun couldn't send him away.
The monkey had already found Kim Min-su's records for him.
He would continue to be useful.
And beyond usefulness—
They had grown genuinely close.
Regardless of race—
The two of them were now little different from friends.
While they talked—
They crossed an enormous mountain range and arrived at a vast gray wasteland.
Boom! Boom!
Across the barren plain where not a single blade of grass grew—
The footsteps of a turtle carrying a mountain the size of Mount Tai upon its back echoed throughout the world.
Watching an entire mountain move was certainly astonishing.
Yet Jang Woo-hyun simply accepted it.
After all—
He had already seen living mountain ranges.
And demons whose wings covered the heavens.
Compared to those—
A turtle carrying Mount Tai seemed almost ordinary.
"The one I mentioned lives there."
The Wind-Passing Great Sage and Jang Woo-hyun flew toward the mountain resting atop the turtle's shell.