Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 300
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Chapter 300: Wheel of Wind and Fire
The Three Immortals of Kunlun, who were performing the Divine Eye Technique, along with Namgung Yeon, an expert in illusion formations, were the first to take the mountain path.
Yeon Jeokha sent Guiyeong Ja and the Mountain Slaughter Demon, Hyeok Muchun, after them. He wanted to ensure they did not escape.
Only then did Yeon Jeokha begin to walk slowly along the path.
They climbed the mountain for about seven minutes, but nothing had changed.
Yeon Jeokha, who was at the rear, shouted to the Three Immortals of Kunlun ahead.
“Masters! Are we really inside the Eight Trigrams with Spirits Formation?”
The Immortal Taiyi looked back.
His eyes, enveloped in blue flames, met those of Yeon Jeokha.
“The formation began from the signal we saw earlier. Although you may not notice it, we are surrounded.”
“Surrounded? I don’t see anything different. There are trees and forest all around.”
“That’s how you perceive it, but it’s only a projection of your desires.”
“A projection of my desires?”
Yeon Jeokha tilted his head, puzzled.
From the signal until now, he had only seen the natural landscape of Five Peaks Mountain.
How could that be an illusion?
“We have no other choice. There is no way back.”
“Are you saying we can’t return?”
“Everything is distorted—up, down, east, west, north, and south. Even if we tried to go back, we couldn’t return to the starting point. That’s the terrifying nature of an illusion formation.”
“What does it mean that everything is distorted?”
Namgung Yeon intervened.
“If you’re curious, look at the sky.”
“The sky? Huh?”
Yeon Jeokha’s mouth opened in astonishment.
The blue sky had vanished, replaced by a thick white fog.
“What the hell happened to the sky?”
“Isn’t it just fog?”
Guiyeong Ja and Hyeok Muchun, who were also looking at the sky, made comments.
Guiyeong Ja immediately refuted Hyeok Muchun’s suggestion.
“Idiot, it can’t be fog if we can see the path clearly in front of us.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
Hyeok Muchun scratched his head, embarrassed.
Yeon Jeokha, observing the sky, passed by Guiyeong Ja and Hyeok Muchun, not caring whether they escaped or not, and headed towards Namgung Yeon.
Guiyeong Ja and Hyeok Muchun, fearing being left behind, hurried to follow him.
Soon, they reached a fork in the path.
The Three Immortals of Kunlun and Namgung Yeon took the ascending path.
Not because it was the correct path, but because it was likely the path that Jang Mudeok had taken.
As they walked, Yeon Jeokha spoke to Namgung Yeon.
“Sister, is it normal for formations to be like this? We’ve only been walking. It feels like it’s been half an hour.”
“No, if we’re not at the entrance or an exit, we should be facing great difficulties.”
“Difficulties?”
Suddenly, a dense fog enveloped them.
“Yes, it seems to be starting.”
With the fog covering them, the Three Immortals of Kunlun recited the incantation of the Six Male Spirits’ Protection.
“Im, Byeong, Tu, Ja, Ka, Jin, Yeol, Jeon, Haeng!”
Thanks to the incantation, the fog quickly dissipated.
With the fog gone, a hidden gorge appeared in front of them.
“Ah!”
The Immortal Taiyi stepped back.
About fifteen meters in front of them, a Human-Faced Spider, several times larger than a person, stood still.
If there were only one, it would be a rarity.
But with hundreds or thousands of them, it was terrifying.
Behind the first Human-Faced Spider, there was an army of them, moving like waves.
Watching the spiders, The Immortal Taiyi murmured.
“Great Swordmaster Jang?”
Amidst the spiders, dancing with his sword, was Jang Mudeok, who had disappeared the night before.
At that moment, one of the spiders, noticing The Immortal Taiyi, began to move slowly.
Yeon Jeokha approached The Immortal Taiyi and asked.
“What is that?”
“It’s a Human-Faced Spider, a mythical creature. It has the body of a spider and the head of a person.”
“Can it talk?”
He asked because it had a human head.
“No, it only resembles a person, but it isn’t one.”
As if to confirm what he was saying, the spider emitted a strange sound.
Then, the nearby spiders slowly turned their heads.
One of them, about six meters away, suddenly leaped.
Chichichichi.
The spider shot a web from its mouth towards The Immortal Taiyi.
Yeon Jeokha, in an instant, drew his sword and slashed it like lightning.
The web stuck to Yeon Jeokha’s sword.
Before the spider hit the ground, it shot webs three more times.
Each time, Yeon Jeokha easily cut them with his sword.
The spider landed a meter away, with a strange smile on its face.
“Is it smiling?”
“It seems like it, but I don’t think so.”
The Immortal Taiyi shook his head, as he had never seen a spider smile.
“What an unpleasant face.”
Yeon Jeokha murmured, observing the web covering his sword.
He thought it would be difficult to cut with the sword covered in web, so he tried to wipe it off with his foot.
But the web wouldn’t come off.
Instead, his foot got stuck to the web.
“What is this? Why is it so strong?”
While Yeon Jeokha was trying to free his foot from the sword, the spider jumped into the air again.
It seemed to think its prey was trapped, and it dropped down.
This time, The Immortal Taiyi quickly drew his sword and stabbed the spider.
Thud.
With a dull sound, the spider fell to the ground in front of The Immortal Taiyi.
The Immortals Taimu and Tairyeong quickly attacked.
Puh. Thud.
Their swords cut through the spider’s body and legs.
At first, they bounced back, but after two or three strikes in the same spot, green liquid spurted out.
“Kyaaa!”
The spider screamed and quickly retreated.
The trail of green liquid extended where it had passed.
Namgung Yeon, who had approached Yeon Jeokha, lightly touched the web with the tip of her sword.
“It’s stronger than it looks.”
“Yes. The web of the Human-Faced Spider is stronger than celestial silk, but it’s vulnerable to fire. You could melt it with a Three-Energy Flame.”
“But Great Swordmaster Jang seemed fine; why am I the only one like this?”
“He must have repelled the web with sword wind.”
“Ah! That makes sense. Damn it.”
Yeon Jeokha muttered as he ignited the Three-Energy Flame around his body.
Fwoosh.
Red flames enveloped Yeon Jeokha.
Of course!
Upon touching the fire, the resilient web melted like snow.
Shim Tong clicked his tongue.
“Wow! That Three-Energy Flame could set a mountain on fire.”
The Three Immortals of Kunlun looked at Yeon Jeokha in amazement.
They knew he had great skill, but seeing the Three-Energy Flame surpassed their expectations.
It’s one thing to cover a hand in flames, but to envelop the entire body in them is another matter.
The Immortal Taimu, who was watching the spiders, exclaimed briefly.
“They’re coming in groups now!”
All eyes turned forward.
A dozen Human-Faced Spiders were slowly approaching, as if assessing the situation.
Namgung Yeon spoke to Yeon Jeokha, who seemed ready to charge.
“Great Swordmaster Jang seems to be in a critical situation. It would be better to resolve this quickly.”
“Leave it to me!”
Yeon Jeokha rushed forward like the wind.
The spiders, stimulated by his sudden movement, lunged at him.
Some jumped into the air, while others charged at him like raging bulls.
Chichichichi.
Webs fell from the sky.
Yeon Jeokha’s eyes gleamed with an idea.
He remembered a technique that combined wind and fire, perfect for dealing with the spiders.
The fourth technique of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, Wheel of Wind and Fire, seemed appropriate.
As soon as the thought occurred to him, he unleashed a storm of sword energy.
The sword energy, spreading in all directions, soon transformed into a giant wheel. As its name implied, the Wheel of Wind and Fire combined wind and fire, devouring the webs.
Chichichichi.
With a hissing sound, the webs disappeared.
The Wheel of Wind and Fire didn’t stop there.
Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, it grew in size with each turn.
Roar.
The Wheel of Wind and Fire, now the size of a house, rolled over the Human-Faced Spiders.
“Kyak!”
“Kyaak!”
With brief screams, the spiders exploded.
Though it looked like wind and fire, it was actually sword energy, tearing apart the spiders’ bodies.
Yeon Jeokha directed the Wheel of Wind and Fire towards Jang Mudeok.
Roar.
Jang Mudeok had no time to observe his surroundings.
He was surrounded by spiders and had used up every last drop of his energy; he could barely see.
Webs clung to his body, and he had no strength to pull them off.
‘I just want to rest.’
His will to live had long been broken.
He had only held on to take a few more spiders with him.
Now, he couldn’t even move a finger, so he was at peace.
‘Did I kill a thousand of them?’
If so, that’s not bad.
Trading a thousand mythical spiders for his life was a good deal.
An empty laugh bubbled up from his stomach.
“Hahaha…”
A strange sound came from one of his nostrils, blocked by webs.
‘Why aren’t the spiders devouring me yet?’
He expected his death, but nothing happened.
“Kyak!”
“Kyaak!”
From some point, only the screams of the spiders could be heard.
It seemed they were fighting among themselves over their prey.
‘Someone should eat me quickly.’
Waiting for death like this was torturous.
Having his eyes covered, he didn’t see his life flash before his eyes as they say happens before death.
Instead, the words of the Holy Mother of the Eight Emperors echoed in his mind.
-…If you wish to reach the legendary state, come find me. I will grant you the knowledge.
Facing death, he thought, ‘What’s the point of all this?’
He would soon be devoured by the spiders; what did it matter to reach the legendary state?
Suddenly, he felt pathetic.
‘Hahaha. I’ve lived in vain. Even on my deathbed, I can’t stop desiring more.’
A sense of emptiness overwhelmed him.
At that moment, something appeared before his eyes.
It wasn’t a vision of his past life, but his own current self.
‘Is that me?’
In an instant, something pierced from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
Then, a sharp pain exploded in his head.
“Agh!”
A scream escaped from his one clear nostril.
Shortly after, something warm began to flow from his nose.
It was blood.
Jang Mudeok trembled.
Freed from the spell that had bound him, he abandoned his false self and reclaimed his true self. And with it, his will to live.
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