Chapter 48: Everlasting Flame of Calamity (3)

The two of them entered a shabby inn.

Gugwi’s shoulders drooped. Yeon Sohye’s steps were also heavy. They were utterly exhausted from running away for several days. Since they had not even washed, the stench of sweat clung to their bodies.

The waiter approached.

“Welcome. By the looks of it, you’ll be needing a room.”

“Two rooms, please.”

Yeon Sohye said in a tired voice.

“Wouldn’t one be enough…?”

Gugwi carefully asked back.

“Two.”

“Ah, yes! Understood. Please follow me.”

The waiter led them upstairs. The creaking wooden stairs groaned under their steps.

“This is your room, and the next one is another.”

The waiter opened the door.

“Please prepare bathwater as well.”

Yeon Sohye requested.

“We’ll bathe before we eat.”

“Understood. I’ll have it prepared shortly.”

The waiter nodded and went back down.

Yeon Sohye looked back at Gugwi.

“Rest well. Pull yourself together.”

“I should. But more than my body, here’s more exhausted. I really need rest.”

Gugwi pointed at his head as he spoke.

“See you at dinner.”

Yeon Sohye said as she went into her room.

She sat at the desk and took out brush and ink.

Dipping the brush, she began writing on the paper.

「Sambong Valley, find traces of the Cloud Flow Sect.」

She wrote down the request concisely. Folding the carrier message, she slid it between the window frame.

Since entering the village, someone had been following them. It wasn’t someone chasing the Soul-Summoning vessel. The one who followed was a hidden ally, a collaborator from the Cold Wolf Sect, who had seen the secret mark she left behind.

‘If he’s following….’

Yeon Sohye realized something important. Her expulsion had not yet been revealed. Either the Sect Leader was delaying the announcement, or the news was simply late.

‘Either way, it’s a relief I can still use a collaborator from the Cold Wolf Sect.’

She let out a quiet sigh of relief.

A faint shadow flickered past the window. The message was retrieved in an instant.

Leaning against the chair, Yeon Sohye allowed herself a brief rest.

A reply would come soon.

Meanwhile, Gugwi lay sprawled on the bed, exhausted. But his eyes remained wide open. He tried to force himself to sleep, but it wouldn’t come.

His body felt as heavy as lead, weighed down by the fatigue of fleeing all day. Yet his mind was more awake than ever. Perhaps it was the effect of the Spirit Flow Core, for his consciousness remained sharply clear.

From his Dantian, a faint blue light pulsed, keeping him awake.

“Haa…”

He stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. The ruins of the Cloud Flow Sect, the curse of the Dark Spirit Sect, and his father’s vengeance.

Even with his eyes closed, the memories only grew clearer.

Gugwi gave up and sat up.

“I knew it.”

He muttered to himself as he walked to the window.

Even in the darkness outside, his eyes were sharp. The Spirit Flow Core heightened his senses.

Sitting at the desk, he opened the Soul Echo Manual.

Sleep wasn’t coming, and the bathwater would take some time. Until then, he thought he might as well read the manual. Now that he had succeeded in Resonance with Original Spirits, perhaps new content would appear. The Soul Echo Manual revealed different passages depending on one’s level in the Soul-Summoning Arts.

And indeed, his guess was correct.

From the worn pages, a mysterious aura wafted out.

The Spirit Flow Core trembled faintly in resonance. And then, letters that had been invisible before slowly began to appear.

Gugwi’s eyes widened.

“What? The Dark Spirit Sect worshipped the Manifest Demon Emperor?”

He read the newly revealed lines in astonishment, his fingertips trembling.

「The Dark Spirit Sect served the Manifest Demon Emperor as their Lord….」

「The destruction of the Cloud Flow Sect, the deed of the Dark Spirit Sect….」

「The heart of the Manifest Demon Emperor, named the Spirit Flow Core….」

He remembered what Un Serim had once said.

That behind the annihilation of the Cloud Flow Sect was the Dark Spirit Sect. And now he learned that very sect worshipped the Manifest Demon Emperor.

Gugwi frowned.

“If it was worship… then was the Dark Spirit Sect a religious cult?”

The Dark Spirit Sect was not merely a Murim sect but a group that deified a being. If so, the destruction of the Cloud Flow Sect was not just Murim rivalry but had religious motives behind it.

His mind grew tangled.

Un Serim was the spirit that his father, Guun, had united with. And that inheritance had been passed on to him.

At first, he had thought it was simply the legacy of Soul-Summoning Arts. But now, he realized there was a far more ominous truth behind it.

His father had embedded in him the heart of the Manifest Demon Emperor, worshipped by the Dark Spirit Sect. At the same time, he had united the soul of the Cloud Flow Sect Leader, who had been slaughtered by that same sect.

Those two facts could not be mere coincidence.

Could there be some connection to General Madal? When his father crossed into the Cold Wolf Sect’s territory, the task he pursued most obsessively was locating General Madal’s grave and preparing for Soul Union.

“There’s something hidden between them.”

Gugwi muttered. A weight pressed heavily on his chest.

Why had his father placed the heart of the Manifest Demon Emperor, worshipped by the Dark Spirit Sect, inside his body? And why had he chosen to unite the soul of Un Serim, a victim of that sect? What was he thinking?

Suddenly, his chest ached with longing.

“Father…”

His yearning for his father surged.

There were too many questions. But his father had already ascended forever. There was no one left to ask.

“If you left me riddles, you should’ve at least given me more clues. How am I supposed to solve this?”

Gugwi tucked the Soul Echo Manual into his robe.

In the alley behind the inn, the two-sworded swordsman Choi Mongsam appeared like a shadow. At his waist hung a worn sword.

Choi Mongsam cautiously approached Yeon Sohye and spoke.

“The Hoaapji of Sambong Valley… hehe! Its location is right at the groin of Sambong.”

“The groin?”

“The womb. It’s at the womb’s position. That’s why the place was rumored to be especially potent for prayer. But now, it’s said to be haunted, so no one goes there anymore.”

He lowered his voice.

“I think the Cloud Flow Sect used to be there. Though I can’t say for sure. There’s no one left who knows them. What’s strange is… even when a sect collapses, rumors always remain. People always say, ‘There used to be something here.’ But with the Cloud Flow Sect, nothing remains. It’s as if they were thoroughly erased.”

“Did you find out anything about the Dark Spirit Sect?”

“There’s nothing. Even less than with the Dark Spirit Sect. I met with all the old folks, but not a single one knew anything.”

“I see. You’ve worked hard.”

Yeon Sohye spoke with a slightly disappointed tone.

“Recently, it seems people from the Heavenly Sound Cult have been coming and going there. I didn’t catch one to confirm, but… either way, be careful.”

He warned.

“Thank you. I owe you.”

Yeon Sohye handed him a silver coin.

“Captain of the Shadow Moon Unit, survive.”

“…What?”

“Kekeke! News of your expulsion has spread everywhere. Don’t think I helped because I didn’t know. I helped because I was grateful. You were the only one who treated people like us as human beings. Make sure you survive.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving those words behind, the two-sworded swordsman Choi Mongsam vanished without a trace.

Late that night, after resting well at the inn, the two departed once the moon had risen high.

It was the deep of night, when all were asleep. Not a soul could be seen on the streets.

They headed toward Sambong Valley. At first, they moved carefully, unfolding their lightness skills. Once they were beyond the village and into deserted paths, they broke into full speed.

“Maybe because we bathed and rested, but I feel refreshed.”

Gugwi stretched as he spoke.

“They say the Heavenly Sound Cult has been prowling around the ruins of the Cloud Flow Sect. We’ll need to stay sharp.”

Yeon Sohye warned.

“You call this resting? What did you get up to?”

“Better to know even a little more.”

Yeon Sohye shrugged.

The two of them dashed into the mountains with their movement arts.

In the distance, they saw Sambong. Three peaks formed a shape like protective arms, the middle one tallest, flanked by the other two.

Under the moonlight, the peaks looked like a giant bird spreading its wings. Between them lay a deep valley.

“So that’s Sambong Valley.”

Gugwi muttered.

The valley was swallowed in darkness, its depth unfathomable. Mist blanketed the valley floor, adding an eerie aura.

Deep within Sambong Valley, the two searched for the Hoaapji.

“Where exactly is the Hoaapji?”

Gugwi asked impatiently.

There were many places named Hoaapji. Meaning ‘to suppress the energy of a tiger,’ temples were often built in such perilous or fierce locations. Names like Hoaapsa reflected this.

But since it was passed down as Hoaapji, not Hoaapsa, there were no traces of construction there.

Then how was the tiger’s energy suppressed?

To suppress the tiger’s qi, a stake had to be driven into its groin, pinning it down. Something serving as that stake was needed for a place to be called Hoaapji.

There had to be something.

The two searched through Sambong Valley, looking for any structure or massive stone.

But there was nothing.

Even after scouring the valley, they found no land that matched the description of a Hoaapji.

“Strange. There has to be something….”

Gugwi muttered.

Dawn was breaking. The sun began to rise in the east.

Sunlight seeped into the deep mountains. Birds chirped awake. The stirrings of animals could be felt. The morning sun cast its light into the valley, revealing things hidden in darkness.

“Let’s search again.”

Yeon Sohye said.

“Huh!”

As they searched further, Yeon Sohye suddenly burst into laughter.

“We’re ridiculous. Why is this so funny? We came to find souls, but we’re looking with our eyes.”

“Ah! Should I use the Spirit Flow Core?”

“Of course you should here. You do it. My Spirit Union souls are useless at finding things.”

Yeon Sohye laughed as she said it.

Gugwi calmed his Dantian and awakened the blue light of the Spirit Flow Core. A faint aura spread from his body, probing the surroundings.

“Find where the Soul-Summoning vessel has condensed. If there’s deep resentment, it’ll surely remain.”

The blue light swept across the valley.

Most places gave ordinary responses. But… in one spot, he felt a subtle vibration.

“There!”

Gugwi pointed to what looked like an ordinary hill. Thick with grass and trees, it looked no different from anywhere else.

The two moved closer.

“Un Serim!”

Gugwi invoked the Illusory Name Command.

Un Serim’s spirit appeared, scanning the surroundings.

The land Un Serim had longed for… the place where the Cloud Flow Sect once stood. Yet he showed no great excitement. In fact, it seemed he was seeing it for the first time, reacting no differently than usual.

“I thought he’d go into a frenzy….”

“It is strange. Normally, in a land filled with resentment, there’s always some reaction.”

“There’s something buried here.”

Gugwi pointed at the ground where Un Serim stood.

Yeon Sohye cleared away the roots with her sword. Beneath the soil, her hand struck something hard.

“Stone!”

Digging further, they uncovered part of a collapsed stone gate.

A ruined stone gate… but over the long years, it had been buried beneath soil and moss, making it unrecognizable.

“This must be the stake that suppressed the tiger’s qi.”

Gugwi realized.

The stone gate itself had served as the stake suppressing the tiger’s energy.

Though the sect was annihilated and erased from this land, one stone gate still remained, continuing its role.

Shiiiing!

A chilling wind howled through the valley.

“This is the foundation of the Cloud Flow Sect….”

Gugwi traced his hand over the emblem of the Cloud Flow Sect carved into the stone gate.

A flower blooming upon the clouds—its beautiful pattern carried a faint, cold tremor.

“Something’s wrong. It’s too quiet.”

Srrrng!

Yeon Sohye drew her sword.

The mist in the valley thickened, carrying a sinister aura. From the cracks in the ruined gate, Soul-Summoning energy began to seep.

“Be careful. Something’s awakening.”

Gugwi warned as he felt the Spirit Flow Core respond.

The emblem on the stone gate began to glow faintly. As if it had been waiting for Gugwi’s arrival.

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