Өмнөх шөнө (5)

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A blue flash engulfs the interior of the battleship.

For a moment, even the golden radiance emanating from the dharma treasure is overshadowed by Seo Ran's breath.

All around, everything is steeped in a blue light.

-----!

A terrifying explosion resonates, scattering clouds of dust.

With my dwindling spiritual power, I protect my ears and assess the situation.

And then, I am able to see the blood-red domain of consciousness.

'He hasn't fallen yet!'As the dust cloud clears, the state of the ghost spirit becomes visible to the naked eye.

[Heh, heh heh heh...]

The ghost spirit's long robe is completely tattered, and its fluctuating ghostly form is more unstable than ever.

Above all, there are numerous small cracks on its skull.

[Heh..haha, that attack was quite thrilling...]

Hoo, huk...

Each time the ghost spirit opens its jaw, a clump of black ghostly energy bursts forth.

'Seo Ran got him good, he's not unharmed...!'

Slowly and cautiously, I gather my spiritual power and internal energy, healing my body.

Although not unscathed, he could launch an attack at any moment.

That's when it happened.

Kukukuku...

From the eye sockets of the ghost's skull, thick black ghostly energy pours out, staining the surroundings.

[Though I had the upper hand in elemental affinity, I underestimated you, mere Qi Building novices... Now, I too shall stake my life, which is limited by time...!]

"Oh no...!"

Seo Ran's expression contorts.

"Hurry up! That old ghost has given up resisting the underworld!"

"What...?"

"Until now, it’s been dispersing its ghostly and yin energy in resistance to the underworld. But now, it's gathering all of it to fight..!"

"If it's given up resisting the underworld, doesn't it mean it will pass on if we just endure?"

"Normally, that would be the case for an ordinary ghost. But this old ghost will resist with its consciousness and try to kill us..! After quickly killing us, it can redirect its energy to resist the underworld and avoid death..!"

Kukukuku!

A massive ghostly creature emerges from the dark abyss.

[You, fools... will, not, take...]

'Damn... it's gotten stronger...!'

This is the Core Formation level.

A living natural disaster.

[None, you... , take, the, sect's... treasure...]

Somehow more mentally unstable than before, the ghost spirit speaks in broken sentences, reaching out its hand.

Swoosh!

A ghost claw extends from the hand of the ghost spirit.

'Damn!'

I roll away with all my strength.

Swish!

The ghost claw passes by the place I just vacated with terrifying speed.

[You... cannot... take...!]

"Ugh...!"

I force myself up, barely managing to stand, drawing on my internal energy.

The ghostly monster's hands sprout another set of ghost claws.

[Mad, Lord...! You, can't, take, anything, from, sect..!]

Confused in mind by using its ghostly transformation, it shouts at us, calling us the Mad Lord.

[As, long, I, here...! You, can't, anything..!]

Pew!

Kuang!

"Ugh!"

'I almost died!'

I barely evade, accelerating my thoughts and pulling out the Gang Sphere.

The ghost spirit lashes out with its claws in all directions, wildly rampaging.

I had to retreat outside its consciousness domain, reading its intent to narrowly dodge its attacks.

'What about Seo Ran..!'

Seo Ran, not as fast as me, is hit several times by the ghost claws and is covered in blood.

'The speed and power of the ghost claws have increased since before.'

Each hit causes Seo Ran's scales to be ripped off, spilling blood.

"Seo Hyung!"

I dodge the claws and approach him.

"Let's escape! We can't win!"

"It's not... possible..! If we leave now, there's no telling what the old ghost will do with what I'm seeking. If only I can readjust the jade pieces..."

"Damn it...! Is that more important than your life!"

Seo Ran looks confused for a moment, then closes his eyes tightly.

"...Yes. It's important."

I read his intent.

His current emotions are too complex to fully understand, but it seems true that it is more important to him than his life.

"...Understood. Then I'll go under the old ghost to collect those things. Then we escape!"

"What…Can you do it?!"

"I have to make it possible."

I concentrate my energy and focus my consciousness.

I simultaneously heighten my perception of intent and the sensory acuity of the demon race.

At the same time, I wring out my Inner Core, accelerating my thoughts to the extreme.

'If I'm hit even once, I'll die.'

The power of those ghost claws surpasses even the Gang Sphere.

‘Don't even think about blocking them head-on; just focus on dodging and getting close enough to pick those things up.’

"Cover me!"

After shouting to Seo Ran, I step forward, enveloped in extreme concentration.

The tension is akin to when I used the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts in the domain of the Core Formation three-tailed demon fox .

A single mistake means death.

Death.

Though I have been liberated from death, I fear it just as much.

To die once means to sever all ties created and seen in this life.

A single death is no different from real death.

Even if you cheat time and open your eyes again.

Such a regained life must inevitably differ from the previous one.

The people I would meet again wouldn't be the ones I knew.

I execute Mountain Lord’s Soaring Flight..

Combining Mountain Lord Martial Arts and Transcending Peaks Step into a single body-movement technique.

The overall flow of Mountain Lord’s Soaring Flight resembles a tiger.

Moving lightly and nimbly like a great tiger leaping over mountains.

Dodging a hunter's arrow like a tiger, I dodge the ghost claws and gradually approach.

The remaining distance to the bell and jade pieces Seo Ran wants is about 20 zhang.

'It's definitely possible.'

The ghost spirit, seemingly out of its mind, is indiscriminately hurling ghost claws, rendering the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts useless.

However, it’s easier to read the flow of intent.

'I see it.'

The flow of intent, the flow of Yin and Yang.

It is all visible to my eyes.

Accelerating my thoughts, I evade the ghost spirit’s attacks.

I moved 5 zhang.

15 zhang to go.

As I approach the ghost spirit, the aura of the ghost claws, even without touching me, seem to slice through my body.

I am clearly dodging, yet still getting cut.

'It's not deep.'

I can endure it.

Of course, enduring doesn't mean it’s easy.

Stepping into a storm and not getting hit by a single raindrop would be easier than this.

'I need to be faster.'

The deeper I go, the more frequently the ghost claws scatter.

Whooosh-

Wind gathers around me.

My consciousness transforms into the form of a dragon, lightening my body.

Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation!

Bang!

My Inner Core vibrates as if it would shatter, but I squeeze out more internal energy and quicken my pace.

Like a dragon and tiger, I dodge the ghost claws, closing another 10 zhang.

Only 5 zhang left.

About 15 steps!

Three ghost claws swoosh towards me.

Inside the ghost spirit’s consciousness domain, I can't read intent.

I can only predict by reading the Yin and Yang flow with the demon senses.

Swoosh!

I hastily duck, and ghost claws pass over my back.

I dodge three ghost claws and move three steps forward.

12 steps to go!

Eight ghost claws wildly lash out.

I twist my body to dodge three, duck to avoid another three.

But the two crisscrossing ghost claws are hard to dodge.

That's when it happened.

Boom!

A blue flash burst forth, shattering the ghost claws.

It’s Seo Ran's support.

Outside the ghost spirit's domain, Seo Ran is bleeding while exuding complicated intent.

On his forepaw is an unfamiliar dark-colored bead. It seems to be a separate dharma treasure he had brought.

However, Seo Ran's intent looks darkened overall while holding the dark bead.

'What's his state of mind? No, focus.'

Trust Seo Ran.

He'll back me up.

I walk seven steps.

Only five steps left!

'Until now, it was hard to interfere because of the ghost claws...'

But at this distance.

Whoosh!

I project my intent, manipulating the jade pieces and bells with the principle of sword control, making them float up.

Swoosh!

The bells and jade pieces fly into my arms.

'I've got them!'

Now, just to get out!

As I refocus on returning by using Mountain Lord’s Soaring Flight, something happens.

Wobble-

My legs give way.

'What?'

My Inner Core is completely drained.

I am out of internal energy.

As the energy forcibly moving my muscles disappear, my body stops responding.

A ghost claw quickly approached.

I thought it was my ninth return.

Swoosh!

Blood splatters before my eyes.

A huge shadow shields me.

It’s Seo Ran.

"...Thank you."

He looks at the jade pieces and bell in my arms and smirks.

But I urgently shout,

"Hurry, dodge..."

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

However, several ghost claws strike Seo Ran again.

Blood begins to flow profusely from his entire body.

'It's a fatal wound..!'

Just then.

A warm energy begins to flow into my dantian.

My Inner Core, accustomed to the energy of the demon race through Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation, begins to absorb Seo Ran's energy voraciously.

"Seo Hyung…What are you doing...! Hurry.."

"According to fate, feed on my blood and unleash your power. Ghost Controlling Bell!"

Boom!

Red energy begins to emanate from Seo Ran's body and is absorbed by the golden bell that is suppressing the ghost spirit's strength.

Golden chains burst forth from the golden bell, restraining the ghost spirit.

[Aaaahhh!]

The ghost spirit, in agony, screams and can no longer wield its ghost claws, struggling in vain.

"Wait…What are you doing! Seo Hyung! Your life is draining away!"

"I know.."

But Seo Ran continues to transfer his energy to the bell.

"Stop it right now."

"If I stop, the old ghost will go berserk, and we'll both die."

Boom!

Blue light begins to emanate from Seo Ran's body.

Simultaneously, the blue-enshrouded Seo Ran begins to shrink.

"What.."

Seo Ran transforms into a young man with blue hair, somewhat resembling Seo Hweol.

His skin is dotted with scales, and a tail protrudes from his buttocks.

He wore a tattered blue robe, his complexion dangerously pale.

"That form is..?"

"Originally, members of the demon race cannot transform into human form before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. So, this is my true form."

"Your true... form..?"

Seo Ran smiles faintly.

"A prince of the great Sea Dragons and a disciple of the Black Ghost Valley fell in love and had a child. The child was treated as a bastard among the Sea Dragons and as a stain born from the filth of the demon race in the Black Ghost Valley, becoming a target for bullying and discrimination."

"Seo Hyung, stop the nonsense and let's get out of here. My strength has returned somewhat, so I can carry you.."

"No. I know my wounds. I was destined to die from the wounds I received long ago."

He shakes his head.

"Even if you carry me, I'll just be a burden. Even in my demi-human form, my weight is no different from my Sea Dragon form. Just escape on your own."

"What nonsense are you talking about! Didn't we agree to leave together!"

Seo Ran smiles bitterly and speaks.

"...Anyway, our King, despite my origin, accepted me as his descendant. I was grateful to him and considered him like my own father."

"Seo Ran!"

I approach him, intending to drag him away.

The energy Seo Ran had shared with me is bubbling inside my Inner Core.

Suddenly.

Freeze-

'What's going on..?'

My body wouldn't move.

"However... maybe because I've been observing others since birth. I naturally observed the King's intentions. Observing him, I came to understand his true nature.

Eun-hyun, the King of our tribe, the ancestor, is incredibly devious. The real name of Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation he gave you is Summoning Wind, Coagulating Core Transformation.

The deeper you cultivate, the more your dantian or demon core turns into a medicinal elixir beneficial for the cultivation and recovery of the Sea Dragon Tribe, turning the cultivator into a slave bound to obey the Sea Dragon Tribe's commands – a type of devilish art."

"......!!"

Shocked by this unimaginable truth, I feel as if I had been struck hard on the head.

'The method... Seo Hweol gave me...?'

"I couldn't... sense any devilish energy."

I speak blankly, still in shock.

"Ha... not all devilish arts must accumulate devilish energy. Any power built on sacrifice is a devilish art. You were in the process of sacrificing yourself to become a palatable elixir for us. How could that not be a devilish art.."

He looks into the void with a bitter expression.

"Our Sea Dragon Tribe, generations ago, began to cultivate techniques that involved sacrificing others under the King's lead. We bred numerous races as livestock, teaching them techniques similar to Summoning Wind, Coagulating Core Transformation, and consuming their dantian as medicinal elixirs for our cultivation.

One day, the Mad Lord raided our breeding grounds, destroying them and turning three of the royal family managing the grounds into living puppets. Chaos ensued, and many of the livestock escaped.

From what I know of history, among the remaining human cultivator clans not yet ascended, the Makli Clan is likely the descendants of the livestock bred by the Sea Dragon race.”

I am stunned by the truth of history.

The Makli Clan, known for capturing and consuming mortals like livestock, turned out to be the descendants of the livestock bred by the Sea Dragon Tribe.

"I heard that they managed to escape the influence of our Sea Dragon Tribe by transforming the stolen techniques into real devilish arts, but I'm not sure if it's true. Anyway, the Sea Dragon Tribe once enhanced the overall strength of our kind by creating such elixirs under the King's leadership.."

Seo Ran continues with a bitter smile.

"The King probably sent you to me, thinking that the elixir made from the same demi-human would be of great benefit to me...

Even now, if I consume your demon core, I could heal most of my wounds and survive this place."

"Why... are you telling me this?"

"I pondered over this many times. But seeing you follow my request without hesitation to retrieve my mother's keepsake, I realized my folly. You are my friend!

Who in the world would sacrifice their friend just to save themselves?"

"......"

Seo Ran smiles at me.

"I'm sorry. I lied to you, saying there was something inside that would aid my cultivation, and I never showed you my true form. I, including the King, have continuously deceived you.

Don't forgive me for confessing the truth only when facing death."

"I always thought the Sea Dragon King was a good person because he always had a smiling face."

"The King always maintains a dignified, smiling face. But he wears dozens of thick masks, always contemplating how to use even insects."

"You also earnestly taught me the method, so I thought you were a good person."

"I'm sorry."

"You are not a good person."

I smile at him.

"You are not just a good person, you are truly my friend."

I knew Seo Ran had his own schemes.

It was impossible not to know, with all the complex intent he continuously exuded.

But in the end, he chose our friendship over his schemes.

'Then I must respond to this loyalty with loyalty.'

"How can I, as a friend, do nothing when there's a way to save my friend?"

Creak, creak..

I begin to break free from Seo Ran's control, reaching towards my dantian.

Death is frightening and painful.

But my life is many, while Seo Ran's life is just one.

If I can sacrifice one of my lives to save a friend who has confided everything in me...

‘It's definitely worth it.’

Seo Ran forms a hand seal.

"No."

Crack..!

The energy Seo Ran gave me spreads throughout my body, completely controlling my movements.

"Do you think I would be happy if I survived that way? I knew I was meant to die here."

He took out a small bead.

It’s the dark bead he had been gazing at earlier.

"The King ordered me to find my mother's keepsake and completely destroy the Nether Crossing Ship using this dharma treasure. It was supposed to counteract all the spatial techniques of the ship and destroy it, releasing the countless ghost souls trapped inside, including those of our Sea Dragon Tribe...

But as I prepared to activate the treasure today, I realized it would certainly kill me. The King probably wanted to get rid of me, a blemish of the tribe, with this opportunity.."

Tears stream down Seo Ran's face, yet he continues to smile.

"Only now do I truly understand how cruel and cunning you are, Seo Hweol. Eun-hyun, I will die along with my mother's keepsake, so please, you must live."

"Seo Hyung! Must you really carry out Seo Hweol's mission..!"

"I've lived clinging to the King's mercy all this time. Now that I know even that mercy was a facade, I no longer wish to live..."

Boom!

He throws a blue bead into my arms, using a technique to force it inside.

"It's hardly a reward, but here's the key to the secret vault in my quarters. Everything in my quarters is now yours."

"Seo Hyung..!"

"Farewell, my friend."

As he finishes speaking, my body involuntarily activates Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation.

Wind envelops me, and I am forcibly lifted outside.

Seo Ran manipulated Eun-hyun's Summoning Wind, Coagulating Core Transformation to forcibly expel him, while feeling his vitality escape.

The Ghost Controlling Bell is draining his vitality, and he is bleeding profusely from the ghost claws' fatal wounds.

"Grandfather Seo Hweol, I won't become like you."

He had followed Seo Hweol.

Even when he knew that Seo Hweol, his distant ancestor and King of the Sea Dragon Tribe, stirred discord among many races with his cunning strategies and cruel acts.

When Seo Ran's talents didn't meet Seo Hweol's standards, he was decisively left behind without hesitation. Even so, when Seo Hweol told him about his mother's keepsake and the mission to completely destroy the Nether Crossing Ship and free the souls of the Sea Dragon warriors trapped within, Seo Ran followed and respected him.

But now, he realized the truth regarding Seo Hweol. Seo Hweol is either heartless or a being whose heart had been long destroyed.

"Rather than living by devouring my friend, I choose to die here. Perhaps you, Seo Hweol, even calculated this outcome..."

Memories of Seo Hweol's attitudes and his many heinous acts done behind a gentle mask haunt Seo Ran.

'I was neither of the Sea Dragon Tribe nor human.'

He had no one.

Seo Ran slowly pieces together the jade pieces that surely belonged to his mother.

Click, click.

Simultaneously, he begins to activate the Breaking Space Pearl.

'As I'm going to die anyway, I'll complete your mission as my last act of respect for you.'

The dark bead starts to tremble and shine.

Seo Ran's life force is fading.

But at the last moment.

Seo Ran successfully reassembles the jade pieces and begins to read them.

Whooom!

The Breaking Space Pearl radiates shining light.

The Ghost Controlling Bell, which has been consuming Seo Ran's life force and holding the ghost spirit at bay, loses its power, and dark ghost claws target Seo Ran.

In his final moments, Seo Ran reads the jade pieces, tears streaming down his face.

"So it is."

As space collapses, numerous black storms envelop Seo Ran.

His father had died immediately after his birth, and he had been separated from his mother all his life.

The only one who had ever treated him with a smile was Seo Hweol.

But today, he realized even Seo Hweol was not his family.

His life had been manipulated from beginning to end.

Yet, reading the jade pieces, Seo Ran cries and smiles.

"I had a family after all..."

With a burst of white brilliance, Seo Ran endlessly reads the contents of the jade pieces as he perishes.

"Mother... Father..."

"Seo Ran!!!"

I cry out for Seo Ran, flying back towards the Nether Crossing Ship.

But in an instant.

Light explodes from the ship, and numerous spatial storms erupt.

A tremendous light scatters, spreading the accumulated ghostly and yin energy in all directions.

At the same time, the sources of that energy, the countless souls stored by the Black Ghost Valley, begin to ascend into the sky.

[Freedom, freedom!]

[We're leaving this cursed ship!]

[This time we're really heading to the afterlife!]

Numerous souls ascend to the heavens and disappear.

I clench my teeth, tears streaming down my face.

The Nether Crossing Ship completely collapsed.

Today, my friend has died.