Chapter 85: Lure into the Trap (5)
Jin Geonmu stepped into a small cave.
The cave was damp and dark. Moss clung stickily to the floor, and moisture seeped from the walls.
Drip… drip… drip….
The sound of water droplets echoed from deep within.
A breeze slipped through the cracks, carrying a chill. At least the poison miasma and the hateful aura of the Poison Blood Forest did not reach this far. The air was clear and pure.
“Let’s rest here for the night.”
Jin Geonmu leaned against the wall as he spoke.
Yeon Sohye looked around the cave and said,
“This place is quite safe. The pursuit squad will have trouble finding it.”
“I stop by here from ti to ti.”
“Is there anything to eat? Now that we’ve relaxed, I’m starving.”
Jang Unhyeok plopped down heavily.
“There is. Sweet potatoes, radishes, carrots, burdock, lotus roots. Maybe a few apples too—if they haven’t gone bad yet.”
“There’s that kind of thing here?”
Jin Geonmu pointed at the ground beside Jang Unhyeok.
“I buried them around there. Go ahead and dig. Don’t tell you expect to do it for you?”
“Bu–buried them? Hah!”
Jang Unhyeok looked dumbfounded, glancing between Jin Geonmu and the ground.
He’d heard that the Ten Wolf Generals road like lonely beasts, but… he hadn’t known they lived like this.
With a sigh, he pulled out a dagger and began digging.
A numbing sensation spread through Gugwi’s entire body—especially around his neck and shoulders. The thorns of the Bloodfang Whip had left wounds that still pulsed with venom.
‘I need to… treat the injuries first.’
Gugwi muttered under his breath.
Just then, Namgung Hoyoung’s thought echoed clearly in his mind.
“Unfold the True Acupuncture Sutras. Stimulate the poisoned ridians and push the toxins out.”
It was strange. He hadn’t called for Namgung Hoyoung, yet he could hear his voice. It felt as if the man’s knowledge had been engraved into Gugwi’s mind—as if he’d always known it.
‘What is this?’
Curious, Gugwi focused his consciousness.
Unconsciously, his gaze followed his heartbeat. Following Namgung Hoyoung’s guidance, he began forming silver needles with the energy of the Spirit Flow Core. From his fingertips, one by one, fine, sharp needles appeared, shimring faintly with a bluish hue.
“What are you doing?”
Yeon Sohye watched him with interest.
“I saw it in Namgung Hoyoung’s mories, so I’m trying to imitate it….”
Gugwi spoke with wonder in his voice.
They were not real needles but Spirit Needles. He had thought only spirits could create them—yet here they were, ford by human hands. These needles were invisible to ordinary eyes, though a Spirit Summoner could sense them like faint ripples of energy.
Gugwi located the acupoints on his neck and shoulders and inserted the needles—Injung, Hapgok, Zusamni, Gokji Acupoint….
Tatatatak!
A vibration spread through him as black smoke oozed out from the wounds left by the Bloodfang Whip’s thorns. His skin, once tainted green, slowly returned to its normal color.
The wounds closed visibly fast—the torn flesh nded, the swelling subsided.
“Amazing… your recovery speed is far quicker than before.”
Yeon Sohye said in awe.
“Huh?”
Gugwi murmured in surprise.
As he created the Spirit Needles and inserted them by instinct, Namgung Hoyoung’s dical insights resurfaced vividly in his mory. It felt as though he himself had spent decades mastering the dical Arts.
‘Why do I rember this? Could it be… that the spirits of the Spirit Union retain mories? No, ordinary mories shouldn’t remain—only skills do. Wait… I can test this.’
Driven by curiosity, Gugwi decided to experint. He called out,
“Un Serim.”
From the Realm of the Threshold, Un Serim appeared.
He didn’t form a direct link. Just like he’d done with Namgung Hoyoung, Gugwi infused Un Serim with energy from the Spirit Flow Core and allowed him to move freely.
Whoosh!
Un Serim began practicing martial arts.
Before being a martial artist, Un Serim was the Lord of the Cloud Flow Sect, tasked with halting the Manifest Demon Emperor. But what Gugwi needed most right now was his martial prowess.
And so, Un Serim demonstrated it.
‘I can see it… the mories are inside !’
In Gugwi’s mind, countless martial manuals unfolded.
The advanced forms of Celestial Cloud Spear, the intricate variations of Cloud Flow Step, the refined applications of Cloud Flow Spirit Heart—each appeared before him as if he were reading ancient scrolls, every character perfectly clear.
“This… these are real manuals.”
Gugwi exclaid in shock.
Then he summoned General Madal.
“General Madal.”
Suddenly, the bloody battlefield ca to life—visions from four hundred years ago, scenes of slashing, thrusting, and death. The fierce techniques honed through real combat flashed vividly before his eyes.
Everything felt as if he himself had lived through it.
“So this is what it is.”
Gugwi realized sothing profound.
Through the evolution of the Spirit Flow Core, he could now fully share the spirits’ mories and experiences.
It went far beyond simple transmission of martial arts.
He could now make all the knowledge and experience those spirits had accumulated over their lifetis his own.
“Can you… see the manuals too?”
Gugwi asked the others.
Yeon Sohye summoned So Ryeonghwa, just as Gugwi had done with the Spirit Union Martial Artists. She infused So Ryeonghwa with the energy of the Spirit Flow Core and released her.
But after a mont, she shook her head.
“No, I can’t. I can just use her martial arts as usual.”
Jang Unhyeok tried the sa with the Blazing Fire Warrior and the Wind Sword Wolf, but the result was the sa.
“Sa here. I can use their techniques, but I can’t see the manuals. This must be a special ability tied to the Gatekeeper’s bloodline—or maybe your Spirit Flow Core evolved enough to enable complete communion with the spirits.”
Excitent surged through Gugwi. He could now freely wield all the spirits’ knowledge.
With this newfound power, Gugwi decided to heal his companions. Namgung Hoyoung’s voice continued to guide him.
“Yeon Sohye is in the worst shape. If you don’t treat her shoulder now, it’ll fester. Stimulate the Gyeonjeong Acupoint and Gyeollyo Acupoint.”
Gugwi approached Yeon Sohye.
“Let check your shoulder.”
“Thanks.”
Yeon Sohye exposed her shoulder.
The wound grazed by the Poison Dart had yet to heal completely.
Gugwi ford Spirit Needles and inserted them into her shoulder acupoints.
Trrrng!
Gugwi flicked the tip of the Spirit Needle with his finger. A sharp vibration spread out—Yeon Sohye’s pale face slowly regained its color.
“Wow….”
Yeon Sohye spoke in amazent.
“My body feels so much lighter. Now you can even use dical Arts… I wonder what the limits of the Spirit Flow Core are?”
“I don’t know either.”
Next was Jang Unhyeok’s turn. The Poison Dart of Sa Hyeollin was still embedded in his shoulder. Finally, Gugwi treated the Red Spearman’s leg. For the leg paralyzed by the Poison Mist Binding, he stimulated the Seungsan Acupoint and Yangneungcheon Acupoint.
“Ah!”
The Red Spearman stood and tested his leg.
“It’s completely healed! This feeling… I think I’m even stronger than before.”
After finishing the treatnts, Gugwi felt a new change within his body.
Sothing unexpected had happened during his battle against Sa Hyeollin’s poison.
The venom had seeped into the Spirit Flow Core and caused an unforeseen fusion. Normally, such poison would have tainted the core—but instead, it was absorbed and purified by it.
As a result, Gugwi’s ridians developed resistance to poison.
He could now absorb toxic energy and convert it into strength. When he focused his mind on his palm, black venomous energy gathered there—but it was no longer harmful. Rather, it rged with a blue hue, turning into a potent force.
“This power… Sa Hyeollin’s poison made stronger… but nothing in this world cos for free.”
The price for this new strength was the irregular pulse of the Spirit Flow Core.
Just like an erratic heartbeat, sharp pain coursed through his chest.
Thump-thump… thump… thump-thump-thump…!
The irregular rhythm pounded within him. It seed he would have to endure this pain for a while.
@
Jin Geonmu lit a fire inside the cave. As the warmth spread, their cold bodies began to relax.
Yeon Sohye suddenly spoke, as if recalling sothing.
“Gugwi, I saw what you did today. It feels like just yesterday you learned the Soul-Summoning Arts….”
Her gaze turned serious.
“You expanded the Spiritless Zone and purified the Stray Spirits. That light… it was incredible. Beautiful, even.”
Yeon Sohye paused, staring into the flas.
“This isn’t just from , but from all of us. You should be our leader. Every group needs a head. I, the Head of the Intelligence Division, and the Red Spearman—we all agreed.”
Gugwi had grown. He was no longer the novice from their first eting. He was now a true Soul-Summoner.
Gugwi smiled faintly.
“Being the leader—does that co with any perks? Why bother?”
“Gugwi, before I t you, there was only despair. You know that, right? But now, I truly believe I can save my son. That’s why I’m giving everything to this. The Captain of the Dark Blood Unit just said it—we all agreed. Be our leader.”
Jang Unhyeok’s tone was firm, carrying a silent determination that he would not back down.
“So, what do I gain from being leader, anyway….”
“Please do it!”
Smack!
While polishing his spear, Jin Geonmu patted Gugwi’s shoulder.
“I have only one wish.”
His voice was low and heavy.
“To send my wife Eunhwa’s soul to the heavens. Once I achieve that, my resentnt will be gone. Killing that Taoist of Wudang is my burden. But looking at you, Lord, such things seem like nothing. There’s finally soone capable of it. Truly fortunate. Please, be our leader!”
He rembered his late wife—an innocent woman who was executed simply for being a Spirit Summoner.
“Well, this is awkward.”
“Do it. Every group needs a leader. And besides, we already follow your lead anyway. When you say go this way, we go this way. When you say go that way, we follow. We’re just saying—whatever you plan next, do it freely. Use us however you need.”
“I appreciate that, but still….”
Thwack!
The Red Spearman struck Gugwi’s shoulder again, this ti harder, with emotion behind it.
Gugwi staggered slightly.
“Please do it!”
Holding his sore shoulder, Gugwi looked at Jin Geonmu.
The man raised his hand again—it seed he wouldn’t stop until Gugwi agreed.
“Fine, fine! I’ll do it! I will! Ha… seriously….”
“Hahaha!”
Yeon Sohye laughed cheerfully, finding the scene amusing.
But their peaceful mont didn’t last long.
A detachnt led by Ma Ungyeol, who had been investigating the remnants of the Poison Blood Forest, gradually closed in on their trail.
Dudududu…!
The sound of hooves echoed from afar—faint at first, then growing closer.
The group heard it while roasting sweet potatoes.
“The pursuit unit again. These bastards really don’t let us rest.”
Jin Geonmu sensed their approach.
“It slls like Ma Ungyeol. This ti they’re serious. The encirclent seems wide.”
Yeon Sohye perked her ears and spoke.
The Red Spearman imdiately gripped his spear.
“Lord, if Ma Ungyeol broke your Spiritless Zone, have you prepared a counterasure?”
Gugwi shook his head.
“I haven’t had ti to think it through properly… honestly, I don’t even know where it went wrong.”
He muttered in deep thought.
“Then facing Ma Ungyeol head-on will put us at a disadvantage. Let’s move to the altar of the Dark Spirit Sect. We were heading there anyway.”
He pointed to the map.
A faint smile crossed Gugwi’s lips.
“In the end, as long as we’re within the Heavenly Sound Cult’s territory, we’ll always be hunted. We’re in soone else’s ho. Still… I’d rather fight while heading toward our goal.”
“Please give the order, my Lord. We await your command.”
“This isn’t an army, so there’s no need for orders… I said we’d take things slowly, didn’t I? You’ll get used to it eventually. Right?”
Yeon Sohye quickly packed up their supplies.
“Let’s conceal ourselves with the Silver Spirit Illusion. My mist can cover our tracks for a while.”
Jang Unhyeok studied the map once more.
“The altar’s a day away. There are several routes through the mountains to shake off pursuit. Let’s go. We might make it without fighting. Ah! I should be more formal now—you’re the leader, after all.”
“So that’s why you wanted to be leader—to have sothing to tease with.”
Gugwi stood up as he spoke.
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