Chapter 58: Secret of the Black Shadow (3)

Deep within the forest, Yun Seoha sat on a moss-covered rock, waiting for Yeon Sohye.

It was a hidden place where even moonlight could not seep in.

Ssshh!

Yeon Sohye slipped in like the wind and clasped her fists together in salute toward her.

Her face carried a heavy fatigue along with a rigid tension.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Yun Seoha comforted her while glancing at her shoulder.

“Your resolve is truly remarkable.”

“Lord Leader……”

Yeon Sohye’s voice trembled.

“I don’t think I can return to the Cold Wolf Sect.”

She spoke firmly.

“I must remain by Gugwi’s side. I have to help him accept the Spirit Flow Core and make it possible for him to fight against the Manifest Demon Emperor.”

Yun Seoha frowned with concern.

“Will you be alright? You’ll be exposed to countless dangers.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Yeon Sohye answered with determined eyes.

“No matter what, I must help Gugwi stand against the Manifest Demon Emperor. As a Soul-Summoner… someone has to remain beside a lone fighter, don’t they? It’s far too lonely a battle.”

Yun Seoha let out a sigh.

“Huuh! No one will recognize your sacrifice.”

At those words, a fleeting sorrow passed through Yeon Sohye’s eyes. But soon, she smiled.

“Gugwi, too, is fighting a battle no one acknowledges. Even I cannot truly understand what it means to face the Manifest Demon Emperor. But at least you, Lord Leader, recognize me.”

Yun Seoha’s expression darkened.

“There is important news.”

“Yes.”

“The Cold Wolf Sect is going to attack.”

Yun Seoha spoke heavily.

“At the meeting, they decided to capture Gugwi. Soon, one of the Seven Cold Wolves will come for you.”

Yeon Sohye’s face turned pale.

“Then… I’ll have to fight. Against a member of the Seven Cold Wolves……”

She muttered gloomily.

“If you abandon the Cold Wolf Sect and stand against the Heavenly Sound Cult and the Murim Alliance, the entire world will become your enemy. And from the attackers’ side, there will be no mercy.”

Yun Seoha warned sternly.

“It will be a difficult fight.”

Yeon Sohye spoke with a resolute voice.

“Oh, right! What about the request I asked of you?”

At that, Yun Seoha shook her head.

“I looked into it… but there are no records of the Dark Spirit Sect. None at all. It’s so clean it’s strange. As if someone deliberately erased everything.”

“So, there really is something about the Dark Spirit Sect.”

“This is only my opinion… but groups like the Dark Spirit Sect do not vanish easily. They must still be continuing their lineage. Their ultimate goal is the resurrection of the Manifest Demon Emperor, right? In that case, it’s highly possible they are hiding within the Soul-Summoning Sect.”

“In our Cold Wolf Sect?”

“No. Rather than the Cold Wolf Sect, which is under the Murim Alliance’s watch, it makes more sense for them to be in the Heavenly Sound Cult, where Soul-Summoning is freely practiced. Some of them may even have become people of considerable influence. It’s highly likely that the Heavenly Sound Cult itself is rooted in them.”

“Then the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Sound Cult may know about the Dark Spirit Sect?”

“The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Sound Cult may even be part of the Dark Spirit Sect. Of course, this is only speculation. They have never revealed themselves in the open. Even if they exist, they must be an extremely secretive organization.”

“I underestimated the Dark Spirit Sect, but I must always keep it in mind.”

Yeon Sohye furrowed her brow.

“And… when I dug deeper into the Heavenly Sound Cult’s activities, it turns out that what the Flame-Wind Swordsman said was true. Whenever a Minor Mastery Body appears, the Heavenly Sound Cult either exterminates or banishes the entire family. This time, it seems they chose extermination. Since the Flame-Wind Swordsman once worked in the Intelligence Division, keeping him alive must have been a burden. It’s true that his entire family suffered a tragic fate… but still, do not lower your guard.”

Yun Seoha cautioned.

Meanwhile, the Bloodscent Fiend was tracking Gugwi with the Living Spirits.

“Find their traces.”

The Bloodscent Fiend’s eyes gleamed as he gave the command.

Immediately, the Living Spirits scoured the ground, trying to detect the faint remnants of the Spirit Flow Core’s energy.

As the Living Spirits moved, the Bloodscent Fiend followed behind them.

The spirits drifting between the trees hovered near a crevice by a cave.

Footprints!

“So, they were here.”

A satisfied smile spread across his lips.

“Kukuku…… Wherever you go… you won’t escape my grasp.”

The Bloodscent Fiend spread the Living Spirits wider. Expanding the search radius, he chased after the Spirit Flow Core’s energy.

Sssshhh!

The rustling of leaves filled the forest.

The Blood Orbs in his hand writhed like living creatures. The energy of malicious spirits surged ever stronger.

“I feel it. I feel the Spirit Flow Core’s energy! Kukukuk!”

He muttered in excitement.

Gugwi sat leaning against a rock in the cave. Suddenly, his heart began to tremble faintly.

‘This sensation…….’

A chill surged up from his dantian.

The vibration of the Spirit Flow Core—yet it was unlike before.

When summoning the Gatekeeper of the Realm of the Threshold, the pulse was warm and gentle. When seeking hidden souls, it was sharp and piercing, like needles stabbing.

Now, however, it was a cold, unpleasant vibration.

It felt like rotten water flowing through his veins.

‘Unrefined soul energy… Any soul that enters the Realm of the Threshold releases its turbidity. Which means… this energy belongs to Living Spirits… souls that have never entered the Realm of the Threshold. So this is how the Living Spirits feel? What miserable beings.’

Recently, Gugwi had begun to realize that the Spirit Flow Core sent out various signals.

It was a reaction born from his heightened sensitivity to it.

The pulse from his heart now was rough and violent. Cold and revolting.

“The Living Spirits are coming.”

Gugwi frowned. He had sensed that the malicious spirits controlled by the Bloodscent Fiend were approaching.

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

‘If I am the Gatekeeper of the Realm of the Threshold…… then as Gatekeeper, shouldn’t I be able to control the entry of all souls?’

The Living Spirits were ghosts that had yet to enter the Realm of the Threshold. They were forcibly captured and manipulated by the Bloodscent Fiend. The ones trapped in the Blood Orbs through Soul Transformation were all in the same state.

Ssshhk!

Gugwi closed his eyes.

He focused his consciousness on the Spirit Flow Core and deliberately caused a different vibration. A warm resonance… the key to opening the Realm of the Threshold.

“To the Realm of the Threshold……”

His mind was sucked into the depths.

In an instant, all surrounding sounds vanished. A profound darkness enveloped him.

Without even calling upon General Madal or Un Serim’s name… he entered the Realm of the Threshold using only the power of the Spirit Flow Core.

This too was an ability he had acquired this time.

Pitch-black darkness enveloped Gugwi.

It was the Realm of the Threshold.

Within the endless darkness, souls drifted like the Milky Way. Countless spirits sparkled like starlight… some glowing blue, some silver, others golden, flowing silently. Some appeared like dust, empty of souls.

Gugwi calmed his mind and stirred the Spirit Flow Core into vibration.

Kuuuung!

Blue light burst from his dantian and spread out like rippling waves.

Like concentric circles from a stone cast into water, the rays expanded across the entire Realm of the Threshold.

As the blue waves passed, the drifting souls all turned their gaze upon him.

Thousands, tens of thousands of starlike eyes.

This light might provoke the Manifest Demon Emperor. Somewhere deep within the Realm of the Threshold, the Manifest Demon Emperor slumbered. The powerful waves of the Spirit Flow Core could awaken that sleeping monster.

But Gugwi didn’t care.

‘Let him awaken or not.’

He calmly spread more light.

The blue radiance of the Spirit Flow Core brightly illuminated the darkness of the Realm of the Threshold. Like a colossal lighthouse, its waves rippled through the realm. Then, he gathered the waves in one place.

“Living Spirits, answer my call!”

Gugwi’s voice echoed through the entire Realm of the Threshold.

Kuuuung!

Suddenly, something strange occurred.

The Living Spirits that the Bloodscent Fiend controlled twitched as if struck by lightning, then began thrashing violently.

Kkiaaaak!

“What?!”

The Bloodscent Fiend panicked.

The Living Spirits writhed uncontrollably. Instead of floating quietly, they thrashed wildly, yet like iron filings drawn to a magnet, they shook toward a single direction.

Some glowed red as they struggled, others shone blue as they screamed.

Around the Bloodscent Fiend, all manner of lights ran rampant.

“Damn it! Get in!”

The Bloodscent Fiend tightened his grip on the Blood Orbs.

“Inside! Return to your home!”

He intended to force the Living Spirits back into the Blood Orbs. But the Living Spirits thrashed, resisting his control.

“Our home… is not the Blood Orbs……”

The Living Spirits groaned in defiance.

It was unthinkable. In the world of Soul Transformation, such a thing could never happen. Living Spirits knew nothing but absolute obedience—yet now they resisted their master.

One Living Spirit glared straight at the Bloodscent Fiend. Its red eyes blazed with hostility.

“You… used us……!”

Another Living Spirit clawed his wrist. Sharp nails raked across his skin.

“Aaagh!”

The Bloodscent Fiend screamed. Living Spirits attacking their master? Impossible!

“We hear… another voice……”

All the Living Spirits turned their gaze in one direction—the cave.

Gugwi’s call was stronger than the Bloodscent Fiend’s forced control. The power of the Spirit Flow Core was linked to the Realm of the Threshold itself.

“What the hell is happening?!”

The Bloodscent Fiend roared.

He tried desperately to draw the Living Spirits back into the Blood Orbs. But the spirits, even as they thrashed violently, were dragged away by an overwhelming force.

One by one, the Living Spirits were torn away.

Kkiaaak! Jjeeeek!

The first Living Spirit ripped free from the Blood Orb. With a snap like a breaking rubber string, the crimson thread severed.

The second, the third followed the same way.

They were not merely leaving—their bonds to the Blood Orbs were being violently torn apart.

“No! Come back!”

The Bloodscent Fiend screamed. But the Living Spirits were gone.

Their pitiful forms vanished. They disappeared from his sight completely.

“My Living Spirits… all……”

The Bloodscent Fiend grasped at the air. Nothing remained in his hands.

The Living Spirits that entered the Realm of the Threshold transformed into radiant streams of light.

Those streams would linger here for a time, then move on—to the afterlife, or the gate of reincarnation. If still shackled by grudges from life, they would wander here for days or even longer.

Gugwi watched this spectacle from within the Realm of the Threshold.

Countless Living Spirits drifted as serene beams of light. No more pain, no more rage.

“So this… is my power?”

Gugwi murmured.

He realized his potential as the Gatekeeper of the Realm of the Threshold.

Ssshhk!

Gugwi withdrew from the Realm of the Threshold. He opened his eyes. He sensed that the cave’s air had cleared. The oppressive aura of the Living Spirits had completely vanished. Instead, a refreshing breeze filled the cave.

At that moment, Yeon Sohye and Jang Unhyeok returned to the cave.

“What happened?”

Yeon Sohye asked in surprise.

Outside the cave, she had seen a strange light. Blue radiance shooting into the sky, then vanishing.

“The Bloodscent Fiend came.”

Gugwi slowly moved his upper body as he spoke. His movements felt lighter than before.

“But he retreated. It seems he won’t be coming back for a while.”

“How?”

Jang Unhyeok asked curiously.

He too had heard bizarre noises from afar. The sound of screams, the sound of something breaking.

“How should I put it? Maybe… I realized that I am the Gatekeeper of the Realm of the Threshold.”

Gugwi stretched his arms, yawning. A new certainty gleamed in his eyes.

“I guided the Living Spirits into the Realm of the Threshold. Now, they are at peace.”

Gugwi patted his chest as he spoke.

“Thanks to that, I feel at peace too. For this alone… being a Gatekeeper might be worth it. The feeling is actually quite good.”

Gugwi smiled broadly. It was a genuine smile, the first in a long time.

Yeon Sohye and Jang Unhyeok did not fully understand what Gugwi was saying. But one thing was certain—something had happened. Gugwi’s expression looked more serene than ever before.

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