Rebirth of the Thunder God

The reason Namgung Hui had no choice but to stick out his tongue was.

‘That bastard. He's brought out a liquor bottle again.’

Perhaps because the warehouse was a warehouse, it seemed they also stored liquor inside.

Unable to resist, Chichi held a liquor bottle in his mouth and poked his head out.

[There's a vent up there. I think you can come in through there.]

Any warehouse needs air circulation so that the stored goods do not spoil.

Wasn't a warehouse usually a good environment for germs to breed because it didn't get much sunlight?

If they were to let precious goods rot for no reason, there would be nothing more foolish and pathetic.

Although Namgung Hui had thought that if it were the warehouse of the Hebei Peng family, it could be so, it seemed someone had given them advice, as they had managed to make a vent in the warehouse.

But as soon as Namgung Hui changed his mind and climbed onto the vent.

‘What. Where is there a vent made so carelessly? If it rains, all the goods will be ruined.’

As expected of the empty-headed Peng family fellows, their finishing touches were extremely clumsy.

And if they were going to give advice, they should have taken charge of the management and supervision until the end.

What kind of a situation was this?

Although Namgung Hui had no reason to be angry here, if the Sword Spirit's corpse were to be damaged, the loss would be borne entirely by Namgung Hui and the Sword Spirit.

Well, the imugi's corpse would not be damaged by a mere rain.

Besides, it hadn't been long since it was stored here.

As he came down to the warehouse through the vent, as expected, he saw the body of the Sword Spirit covered with a large tent.

Still, seeing that they had used a rather luxurious tent, it seemed it could be taken into consideration to some extent.

"This must be the Sword Spirit's corpse. It's really big. If I didn't know it was an imugi, I would have believed it was a dragon."

"If we just find the Yeouiju, he might succeed in ascending. By the way, brother. Is it possible to resurrect the Sword Spirit?"

"Wait a minute. I'll go and take a look right away."

Namgung Hui, so that Jang Hwang could examine the state of the body in detail, leaped high and removed the tent.

Fortunately, this time, no barrier or mechanism was installed on the Sword Spirit's corpse.

It was indeed like the Peng family.

And so, Jang Hwang carefully examined the revealed body of the Sword Spirit.

He touched it here and there, muttered a spell under his breath, and even lifted its eyelids.

"Alright. Rather, because of the excellent sealing technique, the condition is extremely good. We can perform the resurrection ritual right away."

"Oh. Then you mean you can revive the Sword Spirit?"

"Revive. In fact, this is not a dead body. So it's not that I'm reviving it. It would be easier to understand if I said that it is currently in a state of astral projection."

"I see. I was wondering how the Sword Spirit could stay in this world for so long, but it was because his life had not yet been cut off."

"That's right. You understood well."

It was the way of the world for the dead to go to the underworld.

Although this was common sense, as he learned about the law of causality, his understanding deepened more fundamentally.

Namgung Hui, without even realizing it, was contemplating what kind of causality would be needed for the Sword Spirit to exist in this world.

As a result, the reason the Sword Spirit could maintain his reason in this world was that he was not yet a member of the underworld.

Anyway, since he said he could resurrect the Sword Spirit, he drew the Thunder God Sword with a happy heart and stuck it in front of his body.

"Sword Spirit. Are you ready?"

[Yes... I'm ready.]

At the Sword Spirit's answer, this time Jang Hwang spoke.

"Don't be too nervous. It won't hurt, and it won't take long. Instead, you might feel a little dizzy or a strange sensation, so don't be too surprised."

[Alright.]

Since the Sword Spirit also said he was ready, Jang Hwang immediately took out a talisman and a small bamboo tube and began to chant a spell.

At that, a blood scent leaked out from the bamboo tube, and smelling the thick fishy smell, it seemed to be the blood of a snake.

‘It seems the blood of a similar entity is needed as a medium to guide the soul.’

As he attached the talisman to his forehead and drew a strange pattern with the snake's blood, a faint radiance arose from the Sword Spirit's body, and the Sword Spirit's soul floated up.

A strange sight he had never seen before.

This was the same for Chichi, so he put down the liquor bottle he had been sipping and was lost in admiration.

[Oh. That snake bastard is finally getting his body back. The thought of a snake's tongue flicking is disgusting.]

And so, the sparkling light faded.

And when Jang Hwang's mouth, which had been chanting the spell, stopped.

The Sword Spirit's body, which had been stopped in time, began to slowly raise itself.

[Ah... Finally. Finally. I've found my body!]

The Sword Spirit, who was so overjoyed that he even shed tears.

Although he had failed to ascend, his spirituality had not yet been corrupted.

That meant that the Sword Spirit's nature was clearer and cleaner than that of other imugis.

Originally, an imugi that failed to ascend would have its spirituality corrupted and would fall into being a monster.

That's why sometimes fallen imugis were also subjugated.

Perhaps the Dragon's Fang Sword that Beak Seolhwa was holding was also the fang of a subjugated imugi.

"Sword Spirit. I know you're happy, but it's not good to be discovered, so you have to be quiet. And is there a way to get out without being discovered with that huge body? For example, digging the ground, or floating in the sky, things like that."

Just as the Azure Dragon handled the energy of lightning.

Usually, the dragon race had their own attributes that they handled.

The Earth Dragon that handled the energy of the earth.

The Water Dragon that handled the energy of water.

The Wind Dragon that handled the energy of the wind, etc.

Each had their own specialties and characteristics, and if it were an imugi that had been aged for a thousand years, it would surely have such a skill.

Perhaps seeing his body call the rain, he was close to a water dragon.

‘If it were an earth dragon, he could have escaped by digging the ground.’

And since the earth dragon had a tremendous resistance to lightning, there was a time when it was also called the natural enemy of the Azure Dragon.

Of course, since it was an earth dragon, its ability would be greatly reduced if it floated in the air or moved away from the ground.

Well, it wasn't that he was going to fight an earth dragon, and since it was difficult to even gauge its existence, Namgung Hui's thoughts stopped there.

[You may know, but I'm close to the water attribute. So right now, the way to escape is far off.]

Jang Hwang, who looked tired for a moment, perhaps because of the aftermath of the spell, wiped his forehead and said to the Sword Spirit.

"It's not that there's no way. Didn't I learn the transformation art before? Mungchi and Nahi also learned the spell. There's no reason why you, the Sword Spirit, can't learn it. Now. I'll teach you, so let's learn it right away."

And since the spirituality of the thousand-year-old imugi would be superior to that of Mungchi and Nahi.

On top of that, if the brilliant Jang Hwang were to teach him, he would be able to learn the transformation art in less than half a day.

Namgung Hui decided to spend his time rummaging through the warehouse until then, and after setting up a soundproof formation around the Sword Spirit, he began to wander inside.

[Namgung Hui. Look at this. It looks very expensive, doesn't it?]

The treasure detector... no, Chichi, without fail, found all sorts of precious items.

The various jewels and accessories seemed like they would fetch a good price even if they were put up for sale at the black market that On Yuha would soon open.

"Well done. Chichi."

[Then. Can I put a few of these liquor bottles in your bag?]

It seemed he was paying the price because he wanted to take the liquor bottles.

Although it was a funny behavior, Namgung Hui found such a Chichi so cute that he gladly opened his bag and put the liquor bottles in.

Besides, the precious items that Chichi had brought were not bulky, so even if he put them all in the bag, there was still some space left.

And so, while looking through the rest of the warehouse, there were items that particularly caught Namgung Hui's eye.

‘Isn't this the armor made of rubber?’

A precious item that the General had created to counter lightning.

It was an item that Namgung Hui had had quite a hard time with because of its high resistance to lightning.

Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't break through if he poured a massive amount of lightning, but it was still a rather tricky matter.

And since pouring that much lightning meant a huge consumption of internal energy, he had to deal with them with other means if possible.

Hadn't he sought a second-best plan with the One Yang Divine Art and the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art?

But since the One Yang Divine Art was a hastily made martial art, it was difficult for it to work if it was a master of the absolute level.

The Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art also contained half of the Zidian Divine Art, so it could not be completely free from rubber.

Well, now that he was going to practice the Heavenly Demon Divine Art or the Sun and Moon Divine Art, even this rubber would become meaningless.

Since there was still some time left until he became proficient, the effect of the rubber armor could be seen as significant.

‘If so, all I have to do is get rid of all of this. Didn't they say that rubber burns well in fire?’

Namgung Hui, since he was going to escape anyway, decided to set a fire as a smoke screen operation.

Since the warehouse also stored oil for wiping saber blades, it was in the optimal state for setting a fire.

Of course, before that.

‘I have to sweep up all the valuables.’

At times like this, it was a little disappointing that the space formation bag was not large.

They say that the military of the East across the sea has a bag that can hold an unusual amount of things.

If he could obtain that later and even install a space formation, he might be able to put in quite a lot of things.

And so, Namgung Hui swept up all the gold bars and jewels, and even the expensive-looking accessories, and then returned to Jang Hwang.

"What are you carrying so much for? Are you perhaps going to give it as a gift to your lover?"

"If she likes it, I can give it to her as much as she wants, but wouldn't it be a little strange to give stolen goods as a gift?"

"Well, what does the source matter? As long as the other person needs it and likes it, that's all that matters. Yes. Now that the Sword Spirit has also finished his transformation, I'll go and look around the warehouse once."

"Yes. Please go ahead."

Jang Hwang also must have had things he needed.

They say that the sorcery of the Maoshan Sect consumes a lot of precious items.

Especially since some spells require jewels, it is said that it causes a huge expenditure.

‘Was that spell the one that calls the dead?’

Although he didn't know if it was a death fee or a travel expense, it was said that if one paid a certain price, one could call a vengeful spirit from the underworld.

Namgung Hui suddenly wanted to call his sworn brother, but he didn't want to disturb him, who was resting in peace in the underworld.

Namgung Hui, for now, followed the form of the Sword Spirit, who had finished his transformation.

He was wearing loose clothes, as if he had picked them up from the clothes scattered in the warehouse.

From the outside, he looked about two years younger than Namgung Hui.

Although his gender could not be specified, it was judged that he was probably male.

"Um... How do I look? I don't look strange, do I?"

Namgung Hui looked at the Sword Spirit from all sides and then nodded his head.

"There's nothing particularly strange. There's no tail, no scales, and no horns. However, there's a scar-like thing on your chest. Is this the reverse scale?"

The Sword Spirit hurriedly straightened his collar and answered.

"Uh, yes. This is the reverse scale. It's a bit of an embarrassing part for an imugi."

It seemed he was more than a little embarrassed.

Because it was proof that the imugi had failed to become a dragon.

Because it was a part that was no different from his own shame.

He would have no choice but to be embarrassed.

‘Even though it's an imugi that has lived for a thousand years, it has not yet become a dragon, which can be called perfect. Is that why he can't take on the form of an adult?’

In a way, a rather pitiful being.

Other spirit beasts could become adults even if they didn't live for a thousand years.

But an imugi had to fill a thousand years to be given the qualification to ascend.

Although it was a little sad, it was said that the realm that an imugi could reach was also high.

Hadn't even the Azure Dragon been the best among the Four Symbols?

Although the other Four Symbols might not acknowledge it, at least Namgung Hui thought so.

"Sword Spirit. Can you run in that body?"

"To some extent? But I can't run as fast as you. It seems I'll have to be carried on your back when we escape."

Compared to the huge imugi, the Sword Spirit, who looked like a boy, was like a firefly in front of the sun.

Carrying him on his back was a piece of cake.

"Alright. When my brother comes back, we'll escape right away. We're going to set this place on fire, so if there's anything you need to take, take it."

"Really? Alright. I'll just take this one bead."

From what Namgung Hui saw, it was just a simple jade that didn't seem to have any value.

But to the imugi, it must have felt like a substitute for the lost Yeouiju.

Namgung Hui looked at such a Sword Spirit with pity, and Jang Hwang, who had finished his harvest, returned.

"I've taken all the things I need. I wonder if I can carry both you and the Sword Spirit with this much weight."

"It's alright. I can just carry the Sword Spirit."

Although he had changed his form with the transformation art.

The weight itself did not change.

It meant that Namgung Hui had to carry the Sword Spirit with his own strength and escape, but it wasn't that there was no way.

‘I can just increase the overload of my muscles to the maximum by using the electric pole opening. However, I'm worried about the aftereffects, but escape comes first.’

Namgung Hui immediately put the plan into action.

He laid out the rubber armors at regular intervals, poured oil on them, and even created a Samadhi True Fire.

Now all he had to do was transfer this flame to the rubber armors.

But the moment he was about to set it on fire, someone came into the warehouse.

(End of Chapter)