Heavenly Inquisition Sword

Chapter 302: Spirits and Demons of the Mountain

The nine explorers sat or lay down to rest in a suitable spot. Although they had said they would rest for six hours, within the Eight Trigrams Formation with Spirits, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed as the sky was shrouded.

Old Shim, who was twisting and turning, furtively glanced at Yeon Jeokha, who was lying next to him.

“Young Master.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“It doesn’t feel like my usual sleep time. I can’t fall asleep.”

“Don’t you think this formation isn’t as terrifying as we thought? I expected flames to rain down, waves to surge, or the ground to open up, but here we are, resting.”

“Really?”

When Yeon Jeokha showed interest, Namgung Yeon intervened.

“It’s better to rest while we can. Remember when the Three Immortals of Kunlun said the trigrams were layered?”

“Yes.”

“That means there will be many changes. This path we’re resting on could change at any moment. I told you to rest because there’s nothing else to do for six hours, not because this place is completely safe.”

“Old Shim, did you hear that? Rest while you can.”

Was it perhaps a sign? Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. The people who were lying down stood up one by one. Namgung Yeon looked around and said.

“It seems changes are coming. Immortals of Kunlun, inform us if you see anything new.”

At her words, the Three Immortals of Kunlun immediately activated the Divine Eye Technique. Taemu was the first to point towards the east.

“There are four ghostly flames burning there.”

“What’s the distance and shape?”

“They’re about a hundred and fifty meters away and shaped like an inverted bowl.”

“That’s the Tiger Formation.”

“The ghostly flames are slightly leaning to the right.”

“We move now. Immortals of Kunlun, inform us if more ghostly flames appear.”

Wasting no time, Namgung Yeon dashed to the left. The expert explorers followed closely behind.

Rumble!

The spot they had just left collapsed. Then, the ground sank about thirty meters deeper.

After running for about fifteen minutes, the Immortal Taiyi shouted.

“At ninety meters ahead, there are two ghostly flames aligned!”

Before Namgung Yeon could ask, he had already provided the distance and shape.

“Understood! Immortals of Kunlun, watch the sides! Do you see anything?”

“Three ghostly flames aligned to the left!”

“Also three ghostly flames aligned to the right!”

The Immortals Taimu and Tairyong responded in unison.

“A wave of fire will soon come. Prepare yourselves mentally!”

As they advanced another thirty meters, a gust of wind brought a cloud of black smoke from both sides. The smoke had a pungent smell, like that of a forest fire on the Five Peaks Mountain.

Seeing the ground sink, the group ran, following the person in front of them. Although they were surrounded by smoke, no one hesitated to move forward.

Whoosh! Crack! Boom!

Burning logs flew through the air, colliding with each other and scattering sparks. Jang Mudeok, the supreme disciple of the Tao, swallowed hard.

‘This is truly a blazing hell!’

Fortunately, he had regained some internal energy during the rest, allowing him to survive. He couldn’t comprehend where these fireballs suddenly came from. He felt both shame and awe as he followed Namgung Yeon.

‘She truly deserves the title of Incomparable Among the Ten.’

Although they hadn’t yet escaped the fire, he felt they could survive thanks to her. If it weren’t for her, they would have perished in the chaos.

Old Shim, covered in black ash, asked.

“Miss, how much farther do we have to go?”

“We’re almost there! Right or left, which do you prefer?”

Namgung Yeon’s sudden question made Old Shim stammer.

“Uh, right, no, left…”

He thought a single word could decide his fate, so he hesitated. Through the smoke, they saw two paths.

“We’ll go left!”

Namgung Yeon dashed to the left path. The eight experts following her ran after her. Suddenly, a vast meadow appeared in front of them. The hot wind and smoke disappeared as if by magic.

The explorers blinked, surprised by the sudden change in scenery. A cool breeze blew over the meadow, making the long blades of grass sway with a pleasant sound.

Swish!

Jang Mudeok, amazed by the phenomenon, asked without realizing it.

“Miss Namgung, is this really part of the Eight Trigrams Formation with Spirits?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Incredible that a formation can incorporate nature itself.”

“The human body also contains the harmony of nature. There’s no reason why a formation can’t do the same.”

“Ah, I see. It’s incredible.”

Jang Mudeok nodded. His understanding of the world was expanding, revealing a vaster universe.

At that moment.

Rustle, rustle!

A sharp sound of leaves brushing against each other came from the distance. Namgung Yeon spoke as if she had been expecting it.

“Be careful! This is the end and center of the Tiger Formation. A powerful beast may appear.”

“A beast?”

Yeon Jeokha asked, and Namgung Yeon responded.

“There were human-faced spiders in the gorge. There will be something guarding the gate here as well.”

“Was there a gate in the gorge?”

The Immortal Taiyi glanced at Namgung Yeon. The Three Immortals of Kunlun had some knowledge about formations.

“That was a Serpent Formation. If we had entered with the human-faced spiders behind us, we wouldn’t have escaped. It was difficult to observe the sky. That’s why we retreated.”

The Immortal Tairyong asked curiously.

“Miss, what do you think will be here then?”

“If there were spiders in the Serpent Formation, there will be something equally dangerous here…”

Before she could finish, something emerged from the ground in front of Hyeok Muchun.

Swoosh!

It looked like a giant mantis.

Standing about three meters tall, the mantis swung its sickle-shaped forelimb towards Hyeok Muchun.

Swish! Swish!

Hyeok Muchun, surprised, drew his sword to defend himself. Although the sword struck the mantis’s forelimb, it didn’t manage to cut through. Another forelimb aimed for Hyeok Muchun’s neck.

At the last moment, Guiyeong Ja pulled Hyeok Muchun back.

Slash!

The forelimb grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep wound. Hyeok Muchun flushed with both shame and anger.

“Dammit!”

With a curse, Hyeok Muchun charged forward in fury, using his special technique, the Thirteenth Demon Sword Technique.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The sword energy severed the mantis’s forelimbs, and with another strike, he decapitated the creature. Although the mantis continued moving, thrashing its hind legs on the ground, it finally collapsed after about seven minutes.

Hyeok Muchun shook his head, stunned.

“Wow! What kind of life does this thing have? How can it keep moving without a head?”

Guiyeong Ja approached and frowned.

“The wound is deep.”

“What? Wasn’t it just a scratch?”

“You can see the bone. Its limbs are as sharp as blades. You should apply some ointment.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hyeok Muchun pulled out an ointment from his robe and applied it generously to his shoulder. The pain hit immediately, like his bone was being scraped.

Before he could bandage his wound.

Rustle, rustle!

The sound of leaves brushing together came from all directions. The expert explorers now knew what that sound meant. Their faces darkened.

“Young Master, isn’t that the sound of more mantises coming towards us?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Are mantises that intelligent?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Ah, sorry for asking something stupid.”

“It bothers me a bit.”

As they argued, they kept their eyes fixed on the meadow. Although the wind had stopped, the grass moved as if swayed by a breeze.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Suddenly, mantises emerged from all directions.

Yeon Jeokha, Namgung Yeon, and Jang Mudeok formed a line, unleashing bursts of sword energy. Mantis limbs and heads flew through the air, but there were no cries. Only the sound of their wings cutting through the air.

Rustle, rustle! Swoosh!

Old Shim, the Three Immortals of Kunlun, Guiyeong Ja, and Hyeok Muchun positioned themselves behind, ready to handle any mantis that the other three didn’t take down. The thick skin and sharp limbs of the mantises allowed no room for negligence.

As time passed, Old Shim and the immortals began to groan in exhaustion. Guiyeong Ja and Hyeok Muchun were also tired, but they bit their lips to avoid complaining, fearing they might be excluded from the group.

After about thirty minutes, the wave of mantises began to lessen.

Old Shim, sweating profusely, wiped his forehead and commented.

“Damned creatures! I can no longer say that ‘stopping before a mantis is like stopping a carriage.’ Right, Young Master?”

“Yes. These mantises could cut through a carriage. What are they, really?”

Namgung Yeon replied.

“They’re likely spirits and demons created by the force of male and female spirits.”

“Spirits and demons?”

“In mythology, mountain spirits are called ‘Im,’ and spirits of ancient objects are called ‘Mae.’ According to the classic text of Confucius, mountain spirits and demons are called ‘Wangliang,’ and those of the earth are called ‘Fenyang.’ The human-faced spiders and these mantises are ‘Wangliang,’ spirits and demons born in the mountain. We could call them ‘Wangliang Mantises.’”

“Ah, Wangliang Mantises!”

The Immortal Taiyi nodded.

“It makes sense. These mantises are not ordinary creatures.”

“They are definitely spirits and demons.”

“I believe that as well.”

The Immortals Taiwu and Tairyong agreed. There was no other explanation for these creatures.

Jang Mudeok interjected.

“Spirits and demons or not, if we keep fighting these mantises, we’re doomed. Miss Namgung, do you have any plan to get out of this situation?”

“Fighting these mantises in the meadow is dangerous. But we can’t head towards the Tiger Gate either. Something worse than mantises will be waiting for us there.”

“Then, do you want us to keep fighting until nightfall? That would be impossible.”

Jang Mudeok looked up at the cloud-covered sky. At least four hours remained until nightfall.

He was struggling himself, so he didn’t know if the others could hold out for that long.