Chapter 54: Flame Sword Alliance (4)

“Is there anywhere we can look into the Dark Spirit Sect?”

Gugwi asked.

“There’s a link to the Cloud Flow Sect… and it’s also related to the Spirit Flow Core. We should investigate, but it’s a place that was annihilated long ago. No records remain.”

Yeon Sohye said as she walked along the forest path.

The morning sunlight seeped through the trees, casting speckles of light on her face.

“But I know a place where traces might still remain.”

“Where is it?”

Gugwi asked. His voice still carried a cold, piercing edge.

“It’s probably nothing more than ruins now… but I saw it in some documents during a Shadow Moon Unit mission. It’s the place where the sect leader of the Dark Spirit Sect stayed for ten years. I doubt anything remains.”

Jang Unhyeok suddenly interjected with a laugh.

“Dark Spirit Sect? Heh! You should be asking me about that. I was the Director of Intelligence for the Heavenly Sound Cult. The captain’s right. The place where the sect leader resides is the core of the sect. You're talking about Danhong Valley, right?”

Jang Unhyeok looked at Yeon Sohye.

Yeon Sohye nodded.

“Director of Intelligence? That’s quite the position. The Heavenly Sound Cult really does dispose of their own without mercy. Someone in that role must’ve been quite the treasure, no?”

“Heh! The Lesser Vessel is a treasure in itself. Someone like me is easily replaceable.”

There was a trace of bitterness in Jang Unhyeok’s voice.

“……”

Gugwi let their conversation drift past his ears. He could feel the faint resonance of the Spirit Flow Core. The cold vibration rising from his dantian warned of something ominous approaching.

‘What is this? Every time I’ve felt this… it’s never been good.’

Gugwi furrowed his brow. The Spirit Flow Core usually reacted when danger was near.

The three of them followed the forest path, dense with trees, toward the ruins. The rustling leaves in the wind gave off an eerie sound, and the silence was so complete that not even the birds sang.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, the Bloodscent Fiend was leading a horde of Living Spirits, tracking the trail of Gugwi’s group.

“This energy… it’s definitely a trace of the Spirit Flow Core.”

The Bloodscent Fiend muttered as he sniffed the ground, lying prone.

He scattered the Living Spirits across the ground to detect the faint energy trail left by Gugwi’s Spirit Flow Core.

The Living Spirits moaned in the air as they followed the trail.

Seeping between the trees, they spread like living mist. Chasing every corner of the Spirit Flow Core’s energy… wherever the Living Spirits passed, the grass withered and turned black.

Even the sword scars left by Jang Unhyeok’s Flame Wind Sword Technique and the footsteps concealed by Yeon Sohye’s Silver Spirit Technique became clues for the pursuit.

“Two… now three. One’s been added?”

The Bloodscent Fiend spread the Living Spirits wider in a clearing in the forest.

It was not just a pursuit of Gugwi’s presence—he was attempting to lure them in. The surrounding grass wilted further under the energy of the Living Spirits, turning the path to the ruins increasingly desolate.

Suddenly, the air in the forest grew heavy. The wind stopped, and even the birds fell silent.

“Now everything’s ready… Heh heh! Before I enjoy the game… I can’t take responsibility for this. If it goes wrong, I’ll lose my head. Kekeke!”

The Bloodscent Fiend reported to Ma Ungyeol.

“Gugwi’s group seems to be heading for Danhong Valley.”

“Danhong Valley? What’s there?”

Ma Ungyeol’s voice rang out coldly.

“It was once the headquarters of the Dark Spirit Sect. They were a cult that worshipped the Manifest Demon Emperor as a god.”

“Dark Spirit Sect. Heh… Spirit Flow Core, Manifest Demon Emperor, Dark Spirit Sect. Words you’d be lucky to hear even once a year keep popping up. So, you’re saying… Gugwi, who has the Spirit Flow Core, is going to the old headquarters of the Dark Spirit Sect?”

“Yes.”

“Then we should go ahead and wait.”

“I’m planning two preemptive operations.”

“……?”

“One is to draw some blood using the Living Spirits. I need to divert the Blue Blood Unit’s attention elsewhere.”

“Specifically?”

“In the villages Gugwi has already passed… maybe three or four… I’ll unleash the Living Spirits for a massacre. An event of that scale should force the Blue Blood Unit to take action.”

“A massacre like that would definitely force the Murim Alliance to respond. Which means! It could lead to war. An official war between the Heavenly Sound Cult and the Murim Alliance.”

“That’s why I’m reporting this first. It won’t be an official action, just an unsanctioned deviation… by someone unknown. If we frame it that way, I’ll handle the rest…”

The Bloodscent Fiend trailed off.

“You said there were two operations. What’s the other?”

“There are two purposes, but just one action.”

“……”

Ma Ungyeol frowned.

The Bloodscent Fiend continued.

“It’s to massacre the villages using the Living Spirits… but I plan to split the focus. The villages Gugwi already passed—massive slaughter. The ones in his path—more provocative.”

“You… you’re enjoying this.”

“I’ll start with the children and move on to the elderly. Torturing them slowly to death. If the screams reach the Realm of the Threshold, the Spirit Flow Core will be the first to react. If this works, we might be able to lure that bastard Gugwi to where we want.”

Ma Ungyeol looked at the Bloodscent Fiend.

“Excuses of every kind. You’re just hungry for blood, aren’t you?”

“Please consider it as offering fresh prey to the Living Spirits…”

“Do it.”

Ma Ungyeol granted permission.

“We’ll be waiting in Danhong Valley. As you said, draw the Blue Blood Unit elsewhere and send Gugwi to Danhong Valley. Once news of the village massacres spreads, the Blue Blood Unit will have no choice but to go suppress it. In that window, if Gugwi arrives at Danhong Valley, we’ll catch him. Pull this off, and we’ll cover for the Living Spirits.”

“It’ll go exactly as planned.”

The Bloodscent Fiend grinned. A cruel anticipation gleamed in his eyes.

“Aaaargh!”

An old man suddenly changed expression and began choking his granddaughter beside him.

A Living Spirit had entered the old man’s body.

“Grandpa… what are you doing?”

The girl gasped for air, but the old man didn’t stop. His eyes had already lost all vitality, replaced only by the malice of the spirit.

“Gghh…”

As the girl took her final breath, the old man suddenly regained his senses.

“Huff! No! This can’t be! What have I done?!”

But it was already too late.

While the old man wailed in despair, the Living Spirit left his body and moved on to another villager.

“Please! Spare me!”

A young mother held her infant in her arms. Suddenly, her eyes changed.

The woman’s hand slowly reached for the baby’s neck. The baby burst into tears, but the mother’s expression didn’t change. She placed the baby on the ground and began to strangle it.

“No! You wench!”

The husband rushed over to stop his wife. But she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the chest. As the husband collapsed, the Living Spirit left her body.

“Aaah! What have I…?”

The wife, regaining her senses, saw her husband’s corpse and screamed hysterically. Then she took the knife and slit her own throat.

A young man suddenly snapped the neck of the person next to him. The woman beside him then struck the young man’s head with a farming tool. When the man fell, she turned and attacked someone else.

A chain of murders had begun.

People began killing one another, and even those who were already wounded, under the control of the Living Spirits, attacked others.

A farmer, with his neck half-slashed by a sickle, still managed to slash open another person’s belly. Bleeding to death, he did not stop killing until the very end.

“Kuhahaha! With this much, the Spirit Flow Core won’t be able to endure it!”

The Bloodscent Fiend burst into manic laughter.

The cries and groans of villagers slaughtering each other were music to his ears.

Gugwi suddenly stopped walking.

“Huh?”

A cold vibration rippled through his dantian. The Spirit Flow Core began to tremble violently.

“What’s wrong?”

Yeon Sohye turned back.

Gugwi didn’t answer and closed his eyes. He extended his consciousness toward the Realm of the Threshold, following the power of the Spirit Flow Core.

“Ghhk!”

Gugwi’s body trembled. Terrible screams flooded into his mind.

“Grandpa… why are you doing this?”

“Please! Spare me!”

“No! What have I done!”

The sobs of children, the groans of elders, and the wails of mothers in despair echoed in his ears. Transcending space and time, the screams of the Living Spirits from the villages overwhelmed his thoughts.

“This is…”

Gugwi’s face turned pale. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

The Spirit Flow Core traced its roots and revealed the locations of the villages where the massacres had occurred. The first village, the second, the third… every scene was a bloody disaster.

“Guhh!”

Gugwi suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching the earth.

The cries of the Original Spirits from the Realm of the Threshold crushed his mind.

“Gugwi!”

Yeon Sohye rushed over and grabbed his shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

Gugwi raised his head. Flames of fury blazed in his eyes.

“Those bastards…”

His voice sank cold and low.

“The Living Spirits… they’re controlling the villagers… making them kill each other.”

“What?!”

Yeon Sohye gasped.

Gugwi stood up abruptly. A flash of blue light flickered in his eyes—Spirit Flow Core energy.

“We have to go. Right now.”

“Where?”

“I have to save those spirits.”

Gugwi pointed toward the direction of the villages.

“It’s not too late. I must guide them to the Realm of the Threshold.”

Following the path led by the Spirit Flow Core, Gugwi discovered the horde of Living Spirits.

Dozens of black shadows moaned as they drifted in the air.

“Those things…”

Fury blazed in Gugwi’s eyes. Among the Living Spirits were the Original Spirits of those who had died in agony. The souls of children, elders, and mothers writhed in torment.

“To think that being a Soul-Summoner… means all I can do is guide the dead. It’s truly wretched.”

Paang!

Gugwi activated the Spirit Flow Core.

As the blue light burst forth, the Living Spirits screamed and recoiled.

“Return to the Realm of the Threshold!”

Gugwi unleashed the Illusory Name Command.

His voice echoed all the way to the Realm of the Threshold, and the wrongly slain spirits began to vanish one by one into the light.

“So Ryeonghwa!”

Yeon Sohye also unleashed her Silver Spirit Technique, casting the Soul Annihilation Technique. A silver mist enveloped and purified the Living Spirits.

“Blazing Fire Warrior!”

Jang Unhyeok stepped forward, merging with the Blazing Fire Warrior. But instead of Flame Slash Tempest, he used the Soul Return Technique. The righteous aura of the Blazing Fire Warrior soothed the spirits and led them into the Realm of the Threshold.

“Ghhk!”

Gugwi collapsed to his knees from the overuse of the Spirit Flow Core. Blood dripped from his hands, but he did not stop. He maintained the blue light of the Spirit Flow Core until the last Original Spirit ascended.

“May you find rest…”

Gugwi murmured, watching the departing spirits.

The souls of the unjustly killed children, elders, and mothers were wrapped in peaceful light and vanished into the Realm of the Threshold.

“Kukuk! So you finally appeared!”

The Bloodscent Fiend stepped out from behind a tree. A smile of anticipation curled across his face.

“You’re the Flame Wind Swordsman, aren’t you? I figured one had been added. So it was you. The idiots in Intelligence couldn’t even take out a single one like you. Kekeke!”

He mocked Jang Unhyeok.

“Bloodscent Fiend… Heh! I figured it was you.”

Murderous light flashed in Jang Unhyeok’s eyes. His hand reached for his sword hilt.

“Even back when we worked in Intelligence, I knew you’d do something like this. A bastard who’d even transform comrades into spirits—what wouldn’t he do?”

“Kuhaha! Don’t you miss those days? The times we tortured people together?”

The Bloodscent Fiend licked his lips.

“The Spirit Flow Core’s confirmed… guess I’ve done my job. Kukuku!”

Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. His scheme had worked perfectly. He had baited Gugwi to Danhong Valley and confirmed the power of the Spirit Flow Core.

“No. There’s one more thing you need to do. You need to die now.”

Jang Unhyeok reached for his sword, but the Bloodscent Fiend had already leapt back. He kept his distance, clearly uninterested in fighting the Flame Wind Swordsman.

“It’s not time for us to fight yet. I’ll see you later. Hahaha!”

Shwik!

The Bloodscent Fiend dashed deep into the forest with wind-like speed.

Jang Unhyeok drew his sword and tried to pursue him, but the trail had already vanished without a trace.

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