Soul Summoning Sword

Chapter 44: Hidden Echo Resonance (4)

Silver Moon Valley outskirts.

Between the pine forest draped in thick fog, black shadows slipped in soundlessly.

Ma Ungyeol appeared with the Red Blood Spear slung across his shoulder.

The dignity of the Eleventh General, known as the Iron Bone, emanated from his solid frame. Beneath his short black hair, his resolute eyes pierced through the darkness as he fixed his gaze on Silver Moon Valley.

“Do not clash with the Blue Blood Unit.”

His low voice spread to the warriors of the Heavenly Sound Cult.

The Blood Wind Armor, engraved with silver patterns, fluttered in the breeze. He was extremely composed.

“First, spread out along the outskirts… focus on surveillance. Be careful not to provoke anything first.”

Ma Ungyeol raised his hand and summoned the Spirit Union phantom.

Ssshhhhh!

A red energy split the air as the spirit of a general revealed itself. The oppressive might of the Red Blood Spear King coiled around the area.

“Detect the Soul-Summoning energy of the cave.”

The phantom of General Sa Maun thrust his spear toward Silver Moon Valley. The crimson aura of the Red Blood Spear Technique bled like blood from the spear tip, resonating with the faint Soul-Summoning energy in the air.

Screeeech!

In an instant, Sa Maun twisted violently, reacting with intensity.

Ma Ungyeol’s eyes narrowed.

“It is definitely a Spirit Flow Core.”

He tightened his grip on the spear shaft as he muttered. But he did not move. The Blue Blood Unit had already taken control of Silver Moon Valley. Though their numbers were few, each of them had trained in Spirit-Breaking Martial Arts that suppressed Soul-Summoning Arts.

He was confident he could crush the Blue Blood Unit, but the cost in blood would be inevitable.

When moving, one must strike like a storm. When waiting, one must be as immovable as a mountain.

Now was the time to sit and watch.

The Captain of the Blue Blood Unit stepped into Silver Moon Valley. His aura of the Overlord Fist forced the fog aside, exuding an overwhelming presence. Each of his steps made the earth tremble.

Am Ilho rushed forward to report.

His face clearly showed dismay.

“Captain, the Soul-Summoning energy of the cave is beyond imagination. That bastard Gugwi… it seems our judgment back then was mistaken.”

Receiving the report, the Captain of the Blue Blood Unit hardened his face. His eyes grew cold.

“Am Ilho.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Speak clearly.”

The Captain’s voice carried a sharp edge. The air around them grew taut with tension.

“Is Gugwi a genius, or does he possess some special ability?”

Am Ilho unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword as he answered. That overwhelming energy he had felt inside the cave resurfaced in his mind.

“I believe it is the latter. Judging from the density of Soul-Summoning energy spread throughout the cave, it is absolutely impossible for it to be at the level of Spiritual Sensitivity.”

His voice trembled slightly.

The Iron Fist Daoist, listening nearby, cut in. His hand, which had been fiddling with the Knuckle Duster, stiffened.

“We must first capture that bastard and drag him to the Murim Alliance. Investigation can wait until afterwards.”

His fist trembled faintly. Recalling the overwhelming Soul-Summoning energy inside the cave made his body react instinctively. After decades of contact with Soul-Summoning Arts, never before had he experienced such an aura.

A gleam of killing intent flashed in the Captain’s eyes. His aura spread across the area, freezing even the fog.

“A dangerous Soul-Summoner…”

He murmured slowly. His lips curled into a cold smile.

“Huhu! Then we must seize him. Capture him alive at once!”

His proclamation echoed across Silver Moon Valley. The valley rocks returned the reverberation in waves. The surrounding warriors of the Blue Blood Unit simultaneously reached for their weapons, exuding killing intent.

Yun Seoha stood atop a high rock and released the White Spirit Swallow. As she unfolded her Silver Wind Fan, a white bird spread its wings and soared above Silver Moon Valley. Her hand trembled faintly.

The wind scattered her long hair. Her eyes sharpened, sinking coldly.

‘The Eleventh General has come?’

The information carried back by the White Spirit Swallow tensed her.

The moment she confirmed both the Heavenly Sound Cult’s troops stationed along the outskirts and the Red Blood Spear aura of Ma Ungyeol, she realized the severity of the situation.

It was not common to encounter the Twelve True Armies one after another within mere days. Even though the Eleventh General ranked below the Seventh General in hierarchy, to the Seven Cold Wolves, both the Seventh and the Eleventh General were overwhelming opponents all the same.

‘We barely managed to repel the Seventh General, and now if the Eleventh General comes….’

Her lips pressed tightly together. Veins stood out on the back of her hand.

‘With the Heavenly Sound Cult deployed, we cannot stay here any longer!’

Yun Seoha furrowed her brow.

As she watched the White Spirit Swallow flying back, she steeled her resolve. Gugwi and Yeon Sohye had to escape immediately.

She descended from the rock and hurried toward the Blood Spirit Cave.

Her steps quickened.

Sect Leader of the Cold Wolf Sect, Un Hojin, unfolded Yun Seoha’s carrier pigeon letter in the great hall. The flickering candle cast wavering shadows on the paper.

His eyes narrowed as he absorbed its contents.

His fingers brushed the paper’s edge.

‘Gugwi is an exceptional Soul-Summoner, but if captured by the Blue Blood Unit, he will surely die…. Huhu! It seems she worries much.’

Although Yun Seoha avoided mentioning the Spirit Flow Core, Un Hojin was already convinced that Gugwi possessed it. All the circumstances up until now aligned too well.

“We must spirit Gugwi away….”

He muttered to himself as his hand clenched the table. The wood creaked.

He could not afford to miss the chance to monopolize the Spirit Flow Core.

Of course, intervening here risked conflict with the Murim Alliance. But the Spirit Flow Core was worth wagering one’s life for. It was a sacred object capable of shaking the entire world.

Still, he could not act openly. Direct confrontation with the Murim Alliance was not an option.

‘I must send a letter first. Reply that I will help….’

Un Hojin rose from his desk. His steps quickened.

‘I will have to smuggle him out elsewhere. Then it will be treated as Yun Seoha’s independent action from that point onward….’

Greed gleamed in his eyes.

‘For now, begin by extracting him from the Blood Spirit Cave.’

Un Hojin walked toward the window.

The gourd cage holding the carrier pigeon hung from the window frame. He took out a sheet of paper and picked up his brush.

Moonlight illuminated his face, revealing an ambitious smile.

The chance to seize the Spirit Flow Core was right before his eyes.

As Gugwi resumed cultivation, the blue glow of the Spirit Flow Core once again illuminated the cave.

Energy spread from his Dantian, wrapping around his entire body as it flowed through his veins.

As the pulsation of the Spirit Flow Core grew stronger, the ancient Soul-Summoning patterns carved into the cave walls began to shine one after another. At first, they glimmered like faint threads of blue light, but gradually grew intense.

Like the cave in Silver Moon Valley, the Blood Spirit Cave was also brimming with Soul-Summoning energy.

Perhaps that was why? This time, the Spirit Flow Core shone even more fiercely. The entire cave was dyed in blue radiance.

The patterns on the walls reacted in succession, waves of blue light rippling outward. The stalactites hanging from the ceiling glowed blue. A mysterious spectacle unfolded.

The air itself was so filled with Soul-Summoning energy that just breathing sent shivers through his entire body.

“The Spirit Flow Core is this intense… I can’t hide it any longer.”

He murmured.

In his heart… he accepted reality. The power of the Spirit Flow Core was gradually slipping beyond his control.

The troubled faces of Yun Seoha and Yeon Sohye came to mind.

Their worried expressions, their hesitant eyes, remained vivid in his memory.

“I can’t tear them away from the Cold Wolf Sect. That place is their home.”

A spark of resolve flashed in Gugwi’s eyes.

He decided to leave alone. He could no longer put them in danger.

“Un Serim.”

As the spirit appeared like mist, Gugwi commanded.

“Search the cave. Find a secret passage.”

The spirit of Un Serim turned into gray vapor and spread throughout the cave.

He had taken inspiration from how the Black Blood Unit used Living Spirits sealed inside Blood Orbs for searches. Yun Seoha, too, often transformed the White Spirit Swallow for reconnaissance or watch duty.

It was the realization that a spirit could be used to find a path.

Just as the cave in Silver Moon Valley had an emergency tunnel, so too must this Blood Spirit Cave hold another exit. Since it had existed since ancient times, it surely concealed hidden paths.

Ssshhhhh!

Un Serim dissolved into gray vapor and seeped deep into the cave’s interior. His spirit flowed along cracks in the rocks and splits in the walls, probing for hidden spaces.

Gugwi leaned his spear against the wall and waited for Un Serim’s search.

A part of him keenly felt that the time to part ways with those who had cared for him was drawing near.

Yeon Sohye cloaked her body in mist and moved silently. The Lightfoot Technique of the Gale Spirit Guest unfolded faintly.

Ssshhht!

Her form blurred and merged with the fog.

Her movements made no sound at all… yet her speed was astonishing. Too fast for the eye to follow.

She slipped between rocks and trees like a drifting shadow.

The deployment of the Heavenly Sound Cult’s warriors gradually came into view.

Behind the pines, black shadows crouched low. Between the rocks, spear tips glimmered faintly. Atop the old trees, archers waited with bows drawn.

At least over a hundred of them.

Then it struck. An overwhelming force crashed down upon her.

‘This is—!’

The impact was crushingly intense.

Following the aura, she saw Ma Ungyeol’s Red Blood Spear.

Yeon Sohye’s hand instinctively reached for her sword hilt. It was pure reflex. The crimson Soul-Summoning energy split the air, radiating murderous intent. Breathing itself was difficult under that aura.

Yeon Sohye studied the formation of the Heavenly Sound Cult in detail.

Warriors deployed at the outer perimeter, Soul-Summoners stationed in the middle, and Ma Ungyeol commanding the whole formation from the center.

It was a perfect encirclement.

‘The Eleventh General… this is dangerous.’

Cold sweat rolled down her back.

A formidable foe, as troublesome to face as Sa Hyeollin. A direct breakthrough would be suicide.

After completing her reconnaissance, Yeon Sohye returned to the Blood Spirit Cave and reported to Yun Seoha. Her face was pale.

“We either wait for the Blue Blood Unit to arrive, or find another way. A frontal breakthrough is impossible.”

Her voice carried a hint of despair. The encirclement of the Heavenly Sound Cult was far tighter than expected.

While Yun Seoha and Yeon Sohye were out scouting, Gugwi quietly wrote a letter.

The candle flickered, casting shadows across his face.

Calmly, Gugwi moved his brush. Ink seeped into the paper, forming letters.

‘Lord of the Sect, Captain. I thank you both. Because of you, I was able to come this far.’

The brush paused. His heart was in turmoil.

‘I know the Sect Leader has sent a letter. To defy it would be to betray the Cold Wolf Sect… so now I will go my own way. One traitor is enough, and that will be me.’

Gugwi carefully folded the letter. His hands trembled faintly.

‘This is right. This is how it must be.’

He rose to his feet.

He stepped toward the secret passage Un Serim had discovered. The damp cave air brushed across his face.

Yet something struck him as strange. Yun Seoha and Yeon Sohye surely knew that a secret passage existed within the cave, and yet they had made no move to use it. They hadn’t even spared it a glance. Why?

Step. Step.

Gugwi walked deeper into the cave where the darkness thickened. Only his footsteps broke the silence.

Exiting the narrow passage, the night view of Silver Moon Valley spread before him. Moonlight seeped between the trees, casting a soft glow. Mist curled around the valley, weaving a mystical atmosphere.

The Heavenly Sound Cult’s warriors were deployed afar, just as Yeon Sohye had scouted.

Ma Ungyeol’s Red Blood Spear glowed crimson through the fog, radiating killing intent. That aura alone made his body shrink in on itself.

At that moment, Gugwi sensed the presence of the Blue Blood Unit.

That fierce aura of the Overlord Fist, the same one he had once clashed with before, was approaching the Blood Spirit Cave.

The air grew heavy.

It was fortunate he had escaped. Had he still been inside, not even Yun Seoha could have prevented them from giving him up. Facing the Blue Blood Unit was like striking a boulder with an egg.

Gugwi drew his spear and crouched low.

He held his breath, warily scanning his surroundings.

Thinking of the two, a dull ache pressed at his chest. Strangely, he already missed them. Though barely half a shichen had passed.

“We’ll meet again. Without fail.”

He whispered to himself as he concealed his body.