Rebirth of the Thunder God

‘Then shall I proceed with the dismantling work for a change.’

Namgung Hui, recalling the knowledge of formations he had learned from the First Senior Brother along with the complete understanding of formations, thoroughly analyzed the formation spread out before him.

Just as the incantations of martial arts came to mind, all sorts of formulas for formations were listed.

Starting from the directions, the reverse-engineered solution, and other points to be careful of, all came to mind.

After neatly arranging the tangled skein of knowledge in his head, Namgung Hui nodded.

‘Alright. I’ll proceed right away. First is Jungcheongeon, next is Jungtaektae, Junghwari, Jungnoejin.’

As he carried out the solution step by step according to the formula, the presence of the formation that was felt from the display stand disappeared.

Indeed, the solution formula of the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong, was of considerable help.

Hoping inwardly that he would not turn into an enemy, he walked in front of the display stand.

Namgung Hui took Chichi out of his robes and asked.

“Chichi. What do you think is the best item here?”

[Well, there are too many good things. It’s the first time in my life that my senses have been so dizzy. There are too many, so I’m confused.]

Indeed, too much is as bad as too little.

With so many precious items piled up, it was natural for a treasure-sensitive Chichi’s senses to be confused.

Still, Namgung Hui, hoping that Chichi had changed a lot from before, asked again.

“Still, you’ve changed after eating the fruit of evolution, so isn’t it worth a try?”

[Hmm… Wait a minute. Go to that corner over there. I think something was calling me.]

“Alright. As expected of Chichi.”

Namgung Hui walked to the right corner that Chichi was pointing at and scanned the display stand up and down.

But in Namgung Hui’s eyes, there were no items that looked precious at all.

A rusted longsword, an already damaged scabbard, and besides that, there was nothing but a broken ring and a crumbled breastplate.

“Chichi. Are you sure there’s something precious here?”

[Of course! There is. Do you see that small box over there? I think there’s something amazing in there.]

Namgung Hui bent down towards the small chest that was covered in dust.

After blowing off the dust, he examined the chest, and there was some kind of formation installed here as well.

Looking at the formula roughly, it was used for the purpose of thoroughly protecting the chest.

As if something inside should not pop out, it seemed that more attention was paid to the internal function than the external.

That was why no matter how much he touched it from the outside, or even lifted the chest, no particular trouble occurred.

Perhaps because of that, Namgung Hui was particularly curious.

‘What’s inside. That it’s sealed so tightly? It’s tied up so tightly as if it should never be opened.’

Namgung Hui, this time too, began to dismantle the formation according to Hae Wicheong’s solution method.

As he pointed out various directions and trigrams and carried out the solution, it was definitely more difficult and older than the formation that was on the entire display stand.

Still, as the saying goes, the blue that comes from the indigo plant is bluer than the indigo plant itself, it seemed that the later generation had created a more outstanding formula than the previous generation.

The sealing formation, which had seemed complicated, was finally broken according to Hae Wicheong’s solution method.

-Cheolkeok.

With the sound of something falling off inside the chest, the chest slowly began to open.

At the same time, a sudden cold energy swept through Namgung Hui’s entire body.

At the sudden sense of foreboding, Namgung Hui put some distance between himself and the chest and immediately put his intent into the bracelet.

-Seuseuseu…….

A wind stirred from the chest, and a tangible energy slowly seeped out.

It was a black and ominous energy, so clear that it was visible to the naked eye.

Although Namgung Hui did not believe in the existence of ghosts, seeing the strange energy in front of him, a doubt about such an existence arose.

[Hoho! It’s been a while. I finally get to see the world.]

“What? This voice. Don’t tell me you said that?”

[Oh? Human. Can you hear me? You’re a human with an open upper dantian. Then you must have broken the seal too?]

Namgung Hui half-closed his eyes as he looked at the black energy flickering in the air.

It was not just a suspicious energy, but it even spoke, so it couldn't be explained unless it was a natural-born ghost.

“What on earth is your identity? A ghost? A spirit?”

[Hmm… Yes. Not a ghost. It would be easier to see me as a soul that has lost its corporeal body.]

“A soul. I see, a spirit. But why were you trapped in such an old chest? You’re not an evil spirit or something like that, are you?”

[What are you talking about! Why would I be an evil spirit!]

“Seeing you get so worked up makes you even more suspicious.”

[No. It’s because it’s absurd. In my lifetime, I was a certain…]

“A certain?”

[…I lost my corporeal body, so I don’t remember well, but anyway. I was a divine being.]

Namgung Hui tilted his head as he looked at the pitch-black energy in front of him.

“For such a divine being, the energy I feel is extremely ominous. And you even look pitch-black.”

[Don’t judge others by their appearance. And that ominousness is not because of me, but because the one who trapped me contaminated me. So I’m saying, can you purify me? Then I’ll definitely repay you.]

“By purification, do you mean entering nirvana?”

[No. I’m talking about breaking the curse that’s on my soul right now. The method is not that difficult. You just need to drop a drop of blood from an inexperienced virgin and a virgin on me. Ah, and they both have to be over twenty.]

“Hmm… I’ll think about it. I need to see if you’re really an evil spirit or not. Until then, I’ll seal you again…”

[Ah! No! It’s too stuffy. I’m really not an evil spirit… Sob sob!]

Namgung Hui was also at a loss.

The existence of a ghost, which he was seeing for the first time in his life, was strange, and he had no way of knowing whether such a ghost was a wicked evil spirit or a sacred soul.

The ominousness he had felt at first was only when he opened the chest, and now it just looked like a darkish cotton ball in front of him.

-Chichi. What do you think? Does he seem like a bad guy? A good guy?

-For now, he doesn’t seem like a bad being. From what I see, he looks like that because of a curse. In reality, he’s probably a divine being. In the first place, if he were an evil spirit, he would have attacked us right away.

-Hmm… If even you say so. Shall I give it a try?

Putting aside the matter of trust, it was about how to carry such a spirit around.

Since it was said that there was a curse on it, he was also worried that something unfortunate might happen if he carried it around.

“Hey. Spirit. Is there any harm to me from the curse on you?”

[Although this is extremely terrible, it’s a curse that’s bound only to me. It probably seals a part of my memory and thoroughly neutralizes my power.]

“Then it seems there’s no problem in carrying you around. But how am I supposed to carry you out in that form?”

[Ah. Don’t worry about that. I can just dwell in a suitable vessel among your belongings. Let’s see… All the items you have are precious. You must be quite rich. Are you perhaps the crown prince…?]

The black spirit showed a sign of anxiety as it brought up the word ‘crown prince.’

Did it have a grudge against the imperial family?

Indeed, to be sealed in the Imperial Palace’s secret repository, it might be natural to have a grudge against the current imperial family.

“Do I look like the crown prince?”

[Hmm… From your tone, it doesn’t seem so. Indeed. It’s unlikely that the crown prince would be this handsome. And it’s also unlikely that he would possess such a clear soul.]

“I’m glad you know now. So you’re saying you’ll dwell in one of my belongings?”

[Yes. The leather that looks like a travel pouch is amazing. The protective gear on your arm is also a great item. There’s a divine artifact made by an immortal hanging from your neck, and, oh! This is it!]

The black spirit suddenly flew towards Namgung Hui’s waist.

There was a single sword there.

It was the Thunder God Sword that Namgung Hui had made with ten-thousand-year-old cold iron.

The black spirit slipped into the scabbard and let out a satisfied voice.

[Wow~! This is it. This is it. It’s really comfortable and cozy~ This is ten-thousand-year-old cold iron, right? Right?]

“…Yes. It’s ten-thousand-year-old cold iron. Have you decided to make that your home?”

[Yeah. I’ll be in your care for a while. Anyway, no one will notice even if I’m here. It’s the first time in 100 years that I’ve had someone to talk to.]

Since Chichi also said it wasn’t an evil spirit, it seemed he had no choice but to believe it for now.

Or it would be okay to go to the Divine Treasure Fortress, the descendant of the immortals, and ask for advice.

It wouldn't be too late to decide whether to break the curse or not after that.

‘Or it wouldn’t be bad to ask the divine beast, the Blood Qilin, or Cheongi-ja for advice.’

After that, he just had to break the curse with the blood of an inexperienced virgin and a virgin.

Anyway, he had as good as obtained the virgin’s blood, and as for the virgin’s blood…

‘Should I ask Seolhwa…?’

Although getting another virgin’s blood was one way, in a curse-like act like this, it was difficult to procure just anyone’s blood.

The backlash of the curse could be directed to the owner of the blood.

And if this spirit turned into an evil spirit, it could also harm the person involved.

If so, the success rate of the solution would increase and he would be free from the backlash only if he collected the blood of the strongest person.

Even if he assumed the worst-case scenario, he could try to suppress it with force.

‘I’ll have to hint at it to Seolhwa when I have the chance. A question like this between close friends is fine… right… Ahem.’

[Ah, right. Human. What’s your name?]

Namgung Hui, who had come to his senses at the spirit’s words, answered.

“My name is Namgung Hui. I don’t know if you know the Namgung family, but I’m the youngest son there. And what’s your name?”

[Oh! The Namgung family! I remember this. It’s a very famous family. My name is… I don’t remember. I think I’ll remember when the curse is broken.]

“Then I’ll give you one. A black spirit, and a spirit dwelling in a sword, so how about Sword Spirit?”

[Oh! That sounds plausible! Alright. I’ll go with Sword Spirit.]

“Sword Spirit. Do you happen to know where this place you were trapped in is?”

[Hmm. Well. I was trapped in that box for 100 years, so I don’t know well. I’m sorry I can’t be of help.]

From its simple tone and even apologizing for such a trivial thing, it certainly didn’t seem like an evil spirit.

Still, it was a bit disappointing that he couldn’t get advice about the secret repository.

“Chichi. Are there any other useful treasures here?”

As Chichi poked its head out of his robes again, the Sword Spirit shouted before Chichi could answer.

[Wow! What is this? It’s so cute. Ooh. I want to hug it, but it’s a shame I don’t have a body.]

Perhaps because the Sword Spirit’s shout was also heard by Chichi, Chichi looked at Namgung Hui and said.

[You’ve picked up a troublesome guy. Hmm… I can feel treasures on the first floor, but I feel an even stronger energy on the upper floor.]

Although it would be a good thing if he could get more precious swords, since they were stored on the first floor, their weight and volume were also large.

In other words, it was difficult to carry a lot of them back.

That was why he decided to take just one spare sword.

“Then Chichi. Can you pick just one sword for me? Preferably one that doesn’t stand out.”

[If it’s that, I think that one will do.]

Namgung Hui picked up the sword on the other side that Chichi was pointing at.

As Chichi said, it was extremely simple and had no special features, to the point where there would be no sense of disharmony if he took it to the marketplace.

But the fact that Chichi had chosen it meant that there was no doubt about its performance.

‘Anyway, it’s for use when I’m in disguise, so it doesn’t matter. As long as it can withstand the One Yang Divine Art.’

And so, he took the sword and immediately went up to the second floor.

The second floor was where the spirit medicines that Namgung Hui had been looking forward to so much were displayed.

But the moment Namgung Hui came up to the second floor, he almost collapsed in despair.

“What… It’s empty?”

It seemed someone had already swept away all the spirit medicines.

(End of Chapter)