Soul Summoning Sword

Chapter 25: Radiant Fusion and Shatter (5)

Sasaha quickly scanned the cave.

Contaminated Spirit Essence spread through the air, emitting a black aura. As the vengeful spirits rampaged, cracks began to form in the cave walls. This place would collapse soon.

‘I can’t stay here any longer.’

Jin Mukran’s Specter Descent had caused greater side effects than expected.

Collecting the contaminated Spirit Essence would only harm the Cult Leader’s body. More importantly, an unexpected variable had emerged. Something abnormal was happening to the man inside the cave. There was something in the unfamiliar man that differed from an ordinary Soul-Summoner.

The Spirit Essences responded to his energy and trembled, and even the vengeful spirits seemed to recognize him.

Such a phenomenon had never been seen, even within the Heavenly Sound Cult.

‘I must find out who he is.’

“Jin Mukran! We’re retreating!”

Sasaha shouted like thunder. At the same time, the Silver Spirit Technique erupted.

Black mist gushed out like a waterfall and engulfed the entire cave. The mist writhed like a living creature, completely blocking the pursuers’ sight.

It was laced with poison, stifling the breath of any who approached.

‘Tch!’

Jin Mukran bit her lower lip hard.

It was supposed to be an effortless task—what went wrong? She’d analyze the cause later; for now, she had to move as ordered.

Swiish!

She clutched the torn leather pouch to her chest and followed Sasaha.

Her legs wobbled. The backlash from the Specter Descent had drained her energy, but she couldn’t let go of her last hope.

“You fool!”

Sasaha grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

Mok Sogang tried to push through the mist.

“I can’t let them escape!”

But the toxic air stabbed his lungs.

“Cough!”

He burst into a fit of coughing. Wi Unseo’s Silver Spirit Technique wasn’t just a smokescreen. It was a deadly mist mixed with lethal poison.

“Senior Brother!”

Yun Seoha swept the poison away with the Overlord Fan Technique.

“Chasing the Twelve True Armies is just as dangerous as fighting them. That’s the kind of people they are.”

“But…!”

Mok Sogang hesitated. He hated letting Sasaha go.

“Especially Sasaha—she’s a master of dark arts. Dok Unji’s Poison Cloud Technique, Jin Mukgyeol’s Dark Blood Point Technique, Wi Unseo’s Silver Spirit Technique. Entering the mist is choosing death.”

Yun Seoha’s voice held firm conviction.

“We’ve barely held them off so far. Just driving them away is fortunate enough. For now, our priority should be calming the spirits rampaging through the Spirit Essence Mine.”

“Mmgh!”

Mok Sogang clenched his teeth. But Yun Seoha’s judgment was correct. Even the previous battle had been overwhelming—pursuing them now was too much.

“You’re right. Those bastards from the Twelve True Armies… Haa!”

He let out a sigh and nodded.

The black mist slowly cleared, and silence returned to the cave. The presence of Sasaha, Jin Mukran, and the Soul-Summoners from the Heavenly Sound Cult had completely vanished.

Gugwi had three broken ribs from crashing into the wall. Every breath stabbed his chest with pain. Blood seeped from his left side. His internal organs appeared damaged as well.

But there was something more urgent. The rampaging vengeful spirits, unleashed by Jin Mukran’s Specter Descent, now filled the entire cave. Their screams and resentment turned the air into poison.

“Revenge! Revenge!”

“Blood for blood!”

The vengeful spirits’ cries echoed in Gugwi’s ears. But he could feel their pain.

The sorrow of spirits bound here for hundreds of years reached him.

‘I can’t leave them like this.’

Ignoring his wounds, Gugwi activated Cloud Flow Spirit Heart.

The Spirit Flow Core in his Dantian began to throb with heat. A blue light enveloped his body.

“Haa!”

With a soft shout, he unleashed the power of the Spirit Flow Core.

Blue energy burst from his Dantian, flooding the cave with the core’s light. It was a warm light—a merciful aura that soothed the rage and sorrow of the vengeful spirits.

The rampaging spirits began to quiet down, one by one. The light of the Spirit Flow Core embraced them and brought peace. Gugwi endured the pain and opened his heart.

‘Rest now. Don’t suffer anymore.’

The Spirit Flow Core opened the Gate of the Realm of the Threshold. A sanctuary in the depths of darkness, a place where spirits could sleep peacefully. The blue light swirled and began to draw in the vengeful spirits one by one.

At first, only a few followed. But soon dozens, then hundreds of spirits responded to the call of the Spirit Flow Core. At last, they escaped the chains of earthbound torment and headed toward the Realm of the Threshold.

Entering the Realm of the Threshold didn’t guarantee rest. They were still beings of wrath. But at least they had stepped within the boundary of another path.

More than half the spirits bound to the Spirit Essence Mine had moved on to the Realm of the Threshold.

The cave slowly grew quiet.

With the last of his strength, Gugwi calmed the Spirit Flow Core.

“Urgh…”

A wave of pain hit him, but his mind was at peace.

Yeon Sohye slung his arm over her shoulder to support him.

“Incredible. The Spirit Flow Core can even do this? So many of the Spirit Essences have vanished.”

She looked around in amazement.

“Ugh!”

Gugwi grimaced in pain from his broken bones.

“Don’t overdo it.”

She firmly supported him. Gugwi’s condition was worse than expected.

“There’s one mistake.”

She spoke.

“Pulling spirits into the Realm of the Threshold is good, but… to those unfamiliar with the Spirit Flow Core, there’s no explanation. On the surface, it’ll look like Sasaha took the Spirit Essences.”

“Can’t we make up an excuse?”

“No. So if someone says that, just play dumb. That’s the only way to keep the Spirit Flow Core hidden.”

The two walked slowly toward the western hill outside the cave.

Every step brought Gugwi pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured. He used Cloud Flow Spirit Heart to suppress his internal injuries and the pulsing of the Spirit Flow Core. Whenever the blue light tried to leak from his Dantian, he consciously blocked it.

“Rest here.”

Yeon Sohye sat Gugwi on a rock.

She looked around carefully before speaking again.

“What happened in the mine… I’ll say I was the one who chased Jin Mukran. You were injured early on—your ribs were broken and you lay unconscious the whole time. Got it?”

Gugwi realized she was trying to protect the secret of the Spirit Flow Core. He nodded.

“Thank you. But if you lie—”

“Sigh! This lie… it won’t last long. The Seven Cold Wolves will suspect something, and so will Sasaha. The Spirit Flow Core… no, never mind. Let’s talk about the rest after you recover. Just rest.”

Gugwi felt a lump form in his chest.

Yeon Sohye was the only fellow disciple who truly understood him.

As Yeon Sohye returned to the cave entrance, members of the Black Kill Squad surrounded her.

“Captain Yeon Sohye!”

One of the squad members shouted in excitement.

“That was truly amazing!”

“How did you tear the pouch so precisely?”

“To pull off such a precise attack even inside the mist!”

Yeon Sohye looked flustered.

She didn’t even need to claim credit— the Black Kill Squad had already assumed it was her doing.

Yeon Sohye replied stiffly.

“It was just luck.”

“Luck? That was pure skill! Haha!”

Another squad member heaped praise on her.

“You’re truly the star of the Shadow Moon Unit!”

Yeon Sohye accepted the events at the mine as her own achievement.

It was her way of protecting Gugwi’s Spirit Flow Core.

Mok Sogang approached Yeon Sohye.

“I didn’t expect it… but the Shadow Moon Unit played a big role. Well done.”

But his eyes were filled with suspicion.

Looking at Gugwi, he muttered to himself.

“With injuries like that, he took a focused hit. Jin Mukran’s Spirit Union soul is the Four Sun Swordsman. Usually, that means stabbing through the chest with a sword… but this injury looks like hand-to-hand combat. Did he go blow for blow with Jin Mukran? Someone who just reached Spiritual Sensitivity?”

Mok Sogang’s suspicion began to take shape.

“Gugwi was injured early on and couldn’t move? Then who did Sasaha fight? The Captain of the Shadow Moon Unit? Gugwi withstood a joint assault from Sasaha and Jin Mukran? That doesn’t make sense… And Yeon Sohye’s Silver Spirit Sword Technique isn’t precise enough to just tear the pouch. Usually, it would cut through the person too.”

He began inspecting the cave with So Imbaek’s Iron Wall Spear Technique.

He stabbed the ground with his spear tip, searching for traces.

He examined the spot where the pouch was torn, the place the Spirit Essences spilled, and the location where Gugwi had stood.

“This is strange. If you measure the distance and angle from where Gugwi stood to the pouch… it would’ve been easier for Gugwi to attack than Yeon Sohye. Then how did Yeon Sohye strike first?”

Mok Sogang’s doubts deepened further.

Meanwhile, Yun Seoha quietly approached Gugwi.

Her sharp eyes examined his injury.

She noticed a faint blue light leaking from the wound.

‘This boy has some kind of special power.’

Yun Seoha recalled everything that had happened since she first met Gugwi.

From Initial Contact to Spiritual Sensitivity in just half a year.

The strange phenomena at the grave, the way vengeful spirits responded to him, and now, the mysterious aura she sensed from his wounds.

There was clearly something extraordinary.

But she decided to support Yeon Sohye’s lie.

Her reasons were layered.

First, she knew Yeon Sohye well.

She was one of the few genuine Soul-Summoners in the Cold Wolf Sect— someone who sincerely wished for the spirits’ peace.

If Yeon Sohye stayed by Gugwi’s side, there was a good chance Gugwi would follow that same path.

‘This child is walking the same path as Yeon Sohye.’

Yun Seoha made up her mind.

Whatever Gugwi’s true identity, his pure heart was real.

“Senior Brother, a lot happens in battle all at once. It just shows how exceptional Yeon Sohye’s Silver Spirit Sword Technique is.”

Yun Seoha said bluntly.

She resolved to protect Gugwi’s secret.

She would support Yeon Sohye’s lie.

Sitting alone on the hill, Gugwi recalled the grudge of Un Serim.

How deep must her resentment have been for her to scream like that?

He could still picture the Cult Leader’s enraged expression.

The downfall of the Cloud Flow Sect, ruined by conspiracy, and the unresolved grudge.

Gugwi fell into deep thought.

Could he, like the Nameless Martial Artist, free Un Serim from the Realm of the Threshold and return her to Eternal Rest?

Could it be done with the power of the Spirit Flow Core?

But right now, he had no idea how.

More importantly, he knew far too little about the Cloud Flow Sect.

Why did it fall? What was the true source of its Cult Leader’s wrath?

He would need those answers to find a solution.

‘Is there a way to help a spirit full of resentment ascend?’

Gugwi looked up at the sky.

The stars were twinkling.

Could today’s events at the Spirit Essence Mine be a clue?

‘What exactly is the Spirit Flow Core? What can it do?’

Not long ago, he hadn’t even known it existed.

But in a moment of crisis, it had activated on its own, soothing the vengeful spirits and guiding them into the Realm of the Threshold.

How had that been possible?

Honestly, Gugwi didn’t even understand what had happened in the mine.

‘What happened back there?’

He carefully retraced the events.

How he had drawn out the Spirit Flow Core, how the spirits had been drawn into the Realm of the Threshold.

What was certain was that it hadn’t been through his will alone.

The Spirit Flow Core had responded on its own, and the vengeful spirits had followed voluntarily.

It was as if everything flowed in a natural order.

It felt like a resonance between the Spirit Flow Core and the spirits— like the Soul Resonance Technique.

‘If I can understand this power… could I save the Cult Leader too?’

Gugwi clenched his fist.

He still didn’t know much, but there was hope.

Unraveling the Spirit Flow Core’s secret and uncovering the truth of the Cloud Flow Sect— that would be the path to saving Un Serim.

A breeze blew, rustling his hair.

Gugwi made a small vow.

Cloud Flow Cult Leader Un Serim… he would open a path for her to ascend, just like the Nameless Martial Artist did.

No—there was another he had to send off.

Wasn’t there also General Madal?

And not just them.

The countless resentments within the Realm of the Threshold…

His mind became tangled.

One thing was clear—neither the Heavenly Sound Cult nor the Cold Wolf Sect had any intention of helping Spirit Union souls ascend.

Gugwi gave a bitter smile.

To them, Spirit Union souls were nothing more than tools.

Helping them ascend was no different from losing power for Soul-Summoners who could only bond with one spirit.

Just look at Sasaha.

She wielded the power of four powerful Spirit Union souls.

If she let them all ascend?

She’d be no different from a regular martial artist.

Mok Sogang was no different.

Spirit Union souls like Yeon Socheong, So Imbaek, and No Kyunghwan were the source of his strength.

‘To them, spirits are just weapons.’

Gugwi shook his head.

But he was different.

He could feel the spirits’ pain.

They were once living people too—each with dreams and hopes of their own.

‘I’ll walk a different path.’

To liberate spirits with the power of the Spirit Flow Core.

That might just be the true path of a Soul-Summoner.

Gugwi began to believe in that idea.