Soul Summoning Sword

Chapter 38: Bloody Poison Abyss (3)

The Bloody Poison Mist began seeping into the cave entrance.

The mist touched the walls and corroded the stone, making a sizzling sound. It was the sound of stone burning.

Yun Seoha hurriedly summoned Baek Soryeong.

“Come out!”

The white crow spread its wings and appeared.

Baek Soryeong seemed to greatly dislike the bloody poison, for with powerful flaps of its wings, it pushed back the toxic mist. Everywhere its feathers brushed, the red haze turned into white vapor and poured out fresh air.

But the poisonous fog was simply too thick and strong. The amount Baek Soryeong purified was limited.

“We have to buy time!”

Yun Seoha shouted.

They had to block it before the poison completely seeped into the cave.

“You really force me to use this.”

Yun Seoha placed her hand on the Soul-Summoning Arts pattern etched into the cave wall. Warmth surged from the cold stone, but that was all… no power immediately awakened from the pattern.

“Silver Moon Valley, protect us.”

As she whispered desperately, the pattern began to glow faintly.

Gugwi stared in surprise. The wall patterns lit up one by one with a blue radiance as if awakening.

“What is this?”

“A gift left behind by the seniors.”

Yun Seoha answered.

The light from the patterns grew stronger and enveloped the entire cave.

In that moment, Gugwi felt a change in the Spirit Flow Core within his chest. It pulsed far more vigorously than usual. Even the surrounding Soul-Summoning energy felt several times thicker than just moments ago.

“My Spirit Union….”

Yeon Sohye exclaimed as she stared at her own hand.

Without even calling So Ryeonghwa, a silver aura bloomed at her fingertips.

“These patterns here are vessels that gather Soul-Summoning energy. They lend power to Soul-Summoners like us.”

“Let’s see then!”

Gugwi swung his spear lightly. Immediately, the spearhead released a force far stronger than usual. Even without Spirit Contact with Un Serim, it felt nearly as powerful as if he had.

“How long does this last?”

“Only temporarily. But this doesn’t just empower Soul-Summoners, it also strengthens our spirits. That means we’ll be able to face the Blood Demon Witch.”

A light of hope flickered. The cave’s patterns pulsed like a heartbeat, surrounding the three of them.

Baek Soryeong’s white mist collided with Sa Hyeollin’s poison.

Red mist and white mist intertwined and clashed in a vortex at the cave’s entrance. Like oil and water that would never mix, the two energies pushed and pulled against one another violently.

For a brief moment, the air inside the cave cleared.

“This is our chance, combine your strength!”

Yun Seoha cried out to Gugwi and Yeon Sohye. There wasn’t much time.

Sshhhik!

Gugwi unleashed Cloud Flow Step, moving out of the cave in an instant. His body flowed like water, climbing the wall, then kicking off the ceiling to drop down over Sa Hyeollin’s head.

“Sa Hyeollin! Stop!”

Cloud Flow Spear surged with the spiritual energy of the Nameless Martial Artist.

Smooth and fluid in motion… but the spearhead contained the power to pierce through stone.

Whoosh!

The spear tip coiled like a viper, aiming straight for Sa Hyeollin’s nape. Though it was pure spiritual energy without Spirit Contact, the amplification of the Soul-Summoning Arts patterns gave it lethal power.

“How refreshing. To think someone would attack me this way. Where did you find the courage to come so close? Kikiki!”

Sa Hyeollin tilted her head slightly and swung the Bloodfang Whip upward.

Crack!

The whip split the air with an ear-piercing shriek. Stretched out ten zhang long, the leather whip writhed like a serpent, wrapping around Gugwi’s spear.

The problem was the sawteeth!

The whip’s jagged teeth dug into the shaft, grinding with a dreadful noise like a saw cutting wood. Deep grooves tore into the spear’s shaft as wood splinters flew.

At that moment, Gugwi’s Spirit Flow Core reacted violently.

Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded as if it would burst, and blue light threatened to flare from his chest.

‘No!’

Gugwi clenched his teeth and restrained it.

Yun Seoha’s warning flashed in his mind. Do not expose the Spirit Flow Core!

The blue light of the Spirit Flow Core didn’t burst outward but instead seeped into his spiritual energy. Though not visible on the outside, it coursed through his blood vessels like lightning, repelling the poison.

Fwaaaash!

The toxic energy was forced out of Gugwi’s body.

The Blood Demon Witch’s poisonous mist could not invade him.

‘This energy! It’s pushing out the poison!’

Bolstered with confidence, Gugwi thrust the Cloud Flow Spear even more ferociously. The thought of being unaffected by the poison drove him to launch reckless attacks.

Whooosh! Shhhkkk! Huuuuk!

His spear carved three arcs in the air as it rained down upon Sa Hyeollin. The spear tips grazed the cave wall, sending stone dust flying.

‘Even the Blood Demon Witch will be forced back if struck just once!’

“Kikik! These pests are climbing higher than I thought.”

Boooom!

Sa Hyeollin summoned a Dark Spirit.

The black spirit appeared, exhaling a dark mist, and swung a nine-section whip menacingly. The nine iron joints writhed like a serpent and shot toward Gugwi.

“I warned you, didn’t I? I said I’d cut off your limbs. Kikiki!”

Whiiish!

The Bloodfang Whip split the air, striking like lightning. Its sawteeth rasped against the wind with a grating shriek.

In that instant, the snake tattoo on Sa Hyeollin’s left arm glowed crimson. And then—

Fwaash!

A flash burst in Gugwi’s sight. Blinding! The world turned white, and nothing was visible.

‘Danger!’

Even without instinct… even a commoner who knew nothing of martial arts… in a moment like this, anyone would feel the threat.

Then, his heart shriveled as if being crushed, thumping as though it had dropped. A foreboding sense of death wrapped around his whole body. That dread transmitted directly to his right knee.

Shhhkkk!

Gugwi reflexively bent his knee. At that exact moment!

Sshhhwaaak!

The sawteeth of the Bloodfang Whip grazed his shoulder. His leather armor tore as his skin split open. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, his arm would have been severed entirely.

The Spirit Flow Core saved his life in that instant. Had he not bent his knee… but that didn’t mean he escaped unharmed. The sawteeth that grazed his shoulder carried venom.

Sssrrrkkk…

He could hear the poison seeping into the wound and spreading.

It was a grotesque sensation, like poisonous insects crawling into his flesh.

“Urghh!”

Gugwi groaned.

Blackened blood dripped from his shoulder. The poison spread along his veins, racing toward his heart.

“Blood Demon Witch… just how strong is she!”

The spear techniques he had relied on couldn’t even touch the hem of the Blood Demon Witch’s robe.

Sssshhhraaak!

The sawteeth of the Bloodfang Whip sliced through the air again. This time it scraped the cave wall into powder, scattering stone dust. Poisonous mist spread thickly, obscuring vision.

Gugwi leapt back. With his martial arts, he could not face the Blood Demon Witch. Not even when he fought the Captain of the Blue Blood Unit had he felt such deep despair.

‘Cloud Flow Step cannot evade her attacks.’

“Such a cute one.”

Sa Hyeollin sneered and whipped the Bloodfang Whip again. This time it came at him as though to truly sever his arm.

“Step back!”

Yeon Sohye charged at Sa Hyeollin with the Silver Spirit Sword Technique. At the tip of her sword, silver light flashed, bursting into brilliance.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

So Ryeonghwa spread mist continuously. The silver haze tried to cloud Sa Hyeollin’s sight. But!

Sssshhhraaaak!

The sawteeth of the Bloodfang Whip glinted through the air, ripping So Ryeonghwa’s cloud apart like paper. The mist shredded and scattered. So Ryeonghwa staggered as if her main spirit had taken damage.

“Tch! My Soul-Summoning Arts… I thought they had grown stronger.”

Yeon Sohye muttered through clenched teeth.

She had indeed grown stronger. There were few Soul-Summoners who could enter Resonance. But Sa Hyeollin existed on another plane altogether.

Sshhhiiik!

Yeon Sohye switched to the movement art of the Gale Spirit Guest. She moved as swiftly as the wind. She had to attack while evading the Bloodfang Whip. Yet… wherever she went, the Bloodfang Whip was already waiting.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The Blood Demon Witch’s whip was faster than the Gale Spirit Guest. Each strike split the air with a sharp hiss.

Sshhh! Sshhh, sshhh! Ssshhiiiik!

Gugwi unleashed the Cloud Flow Spear in a flurry.

Thrusting, striking, sweeping… more than a dozen moves poured out in an instant. His spear techniques showed relentless effort. Yet Sa Hyeollin dodged lightly, almost dancing.

“Annoying. If not for the order to capture you alive….”

She spoke playfully and swung the Bloodfang Whip lightly.

Booom!

Gugwi’s spear struck against the whip, sending out a shockwave. Gugwi was blown back, slamming against the wall with a thud.

“Gugwi, I’ll hold her off! Just get away!”

Yeon Sohye thickened So Ryeonghwa’s mist. Silver fog filled the cave.

“How bothersome to deal with one at a time.”

Sa Hyeollin summoned Blood Bone Insects.

Poisonous creatures said to burrow into the brain and gnaw at it… an evil spirit that controlled blood insects.

“From now on, this place is a land of death!”

Sa Hyeollin declared and swung the Bloodfang Whip wide.

Ssshhhrrrsss….

Countless venomous insects poured from its sawteeth. Black worms the size of fingers squirmed out in droves.

Screee! Screee! Chk, chk, chk!

The insects swarmed across the cave floor, crawling upward.

They climbed the walls, reached the ceiling, and spewed poisonous mist with a hiss.

The Soul-Summoning Arts patterns sizzled under the venom and were corroded away. The power of Silver Moon Valley faded.

Gugwi and Yeon Sohye found themselves surrounded by the swarm before they could even move.

Rrrumble…

Thousands of insects crawled toward them. Where had so many come from… if Blood Bone Insects had summoned them, could this be an illusion? Either way, it was a suffocating crisis.

“More! More!”

Yun Seoha urged Baek Soryeong to purify the poison. It pushed the insects back. But it wasn’t enough. Their sheer numbers made its effort hardly noticeable.

“Hold on, this isn’t over yet!”

Yun Seoha cried out, placing her hand upon the Soul-Summoning Arts patterns.

Boooom! Bang, bang, bang!

Soul-Summoning energy burst out of the patterns. That energy… granted strength not only to Yun Seoha’s party, but also empowered the Blood Demon Witch and the Blood Bone Insects. It did not distinguish between Soul-Summoner and spirit.

Ssshhhooo!

The wave of insects did not stop.

Sa Hyeollin used the Blood Demon Jade to command the original spirits.

The patterns of the cave trembled violently, the energy of Silver Moon Valley pressed down hard.

Snap! Snap!

Sa Hyeollin lashed the Bloodfang Whip, advancing deeper into the cave.

She raised the sawteeth to aim straight at Gugwi’s chest.

“Gugwi, I will tear out your heart!”

Her voice brimmed with murderous intent. The insects crawled up the walls, closing the encirclement.

Gugwi once again felt the blue light of the Spirit Flow Core. Fierce energy surged within his chest, pounding violently. It clamored to fight this battle itself.

‘Can this power withstand it….’

The urge to unleash the Spirit Flow Core overwhelmed Gugwi. But Yun Seoha’s warning echoed in his mind.

“Gugwi, I’ll stop her, run!”

Yeon Sohye tried to block Sa Hyeollin with So Ryeonghwa’s mist. She stood in front of him, prepared for sacrifice.

Drip, drip, drip….

Insects rained down from the ceiling, swarming toward Gugwi and Yeon Sohye.

The snake tattoo on Sa Hyeollin’s arm glowed red again. In that instant, Soul-Summoning energy exploded with a bang!

The entire cave quaked violently.

‘Danger! No! Ahhh….’

At that moment!

Gugwi could no longer restrain the Spirit Flow Core.

Fwaaaash!

Blue light burst out of his chest. Like a star exploding, radiant brilliance filled the cave.

Sa Hyeollin’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“That power, what is it?”

Her voice came too late… the Bloodfang Whip struck first. At the sight of the blue light, her eyes widened, and she lunged recklessly. The sawteeth flew at Gugwi with a deadly hiss.