“I knew you would be here.”
At Geomguk’s words from behind, Hyeolcheondoma turned his head with a surprised face.
“How did you know I was here?”
This place was the very peak of Daecheon Mountain. Hyeolcheondoma stood at the summit, looking up at the stars in the night sky. Long ago, Seodaeryong had told him that his master would climb this mountain when he wanted to clear his head.
“Am I not someone who knows everything about you?”
Hyeolcheondoma said to Geomguk.
“You must have come up because you were frustrated too.”
Geomguk smiled without denying it.
“The celebration banquet?”
“It ended well.”
His father and Hyeolcheondoma had not attended from the beginning, and most of the Majon had also left after briefly keeping their seats. It was because only if they left would Seodaeryong be able to comfortably enjoy himself with his comrades.
After quietly watching Seodaeryong and Dana enjoying themselves in that boisterous place, he slipped out. Perhaps they would end up seeing the Hwangcheongakju reciting poetry while drunk.
“The officiant was truly wonderful.”
“I didn’t know you would forget your lines so many times.”
“It’s because I’m old.”
Hyeolcheondoma laughed while looking up at the stars.
“I’ve even sent off my right-hand man to get married. What will you do now?”
Until now, he had only spoken of distancing himself from the Great Accomplishment of the Nine Transformations Demon Art. But now the answer was different.
“Now I will run toward the Great Accomplishment of the Nine Transformations Demon Art.”
When he felt the Great Accomplishment of the Nine Transformations Demon Art was right before his eyes and tried to enter closed-door training, Hyeolcheondoma had stopped him.
If you desire something too desperately, it often slips further away.
He had gained great enlightenment then. The process of building everything he had achieved until now had been a result obtained among people, yet he had abandoned all that and been led by the desire to achieve the Great Accomplishment.
But the Great Accomplishment he spoke of now was different from then.
Because those were words spoken after having seen Daeryong through his wedding.
A changed desire dwelt in Geomguk’s eyes. Now Hyeolcheondoma did not stop him.
“If you’ve decided to desire it, desire it more desperately than anyone else.”
* * *
That morning, Geomguk packed his things.
A change of clothes, spices needed for cooking, leather to spread on the floor when sleeping, dried foods that could be kept for a long time, and a few extra things just in case.
Having prepared a full bundle like that, he climbed Daecheon Mountain again.
He found a suitable place among the various spots on the mountain. After searching, he found a place with a wide clearing that no one visited because the terrain was rugged. There was even a cave in the cliff rising at the back, and a stream flowed nearby.
Behind was a cliff, in front was wide-open space. It was perfect for training.
Geomguk put down his baggage in the cave.
He planned not to use the Spatial Heaven Secret Technique of the Space-Time Shifting Art in this training. Because the Great Accomplishment was approaching as if within arm’s reach, he resolved to train while feeling the energy of Daecheon Mountain with his body.
Long ago, his father had told him: if you feel stifled or hit a wall while training, climb this mountain. The energy of Daecheon Mountain would help.
He began training the next morning.
First, he felt the primal energy of Daecheon Mountain, sat in a meditative posture, and meditated.
And after eating a solid meal, he formally trained in the Nine Transformations Demon Art.
He unfolded the first through fifth stances in the clearing, and only for the sixth stance, Heavenly Demon World Annihilation, did he open the Space-Time Shifting Art to perform it.
Because if he performed Heavenly Demon World Annihilation here after even absorbing the energy of the Bihyeolsa, the surroundings would all be annihilated.
Only after performing even Heavenly Demon World Annihilation like that and expending all his internal energy did he come out of the Space-Time Shifting Art.
Geomguk, having completely exhausted his internal energy with Heavenly Demon World Annihilation, sat down and began to replenish it.
“One time!”
He planned to repeat this process continuously. Because he unfolded the stances with all his heart and effort, it was by no means an easy task.
Five times a day was the goal.
How many times would he have to remain here?
A hundred times? A thousand? Or perhaps ten thousand?
* * *
Eat, train, stroll, sleep.
That routine was repeated every day.
The Great Accomplishment that had seemed as if it could be grasped right before his eyes was not so near.
Something that seemed to be right in front but was actually far away—perhaps he had mistaken it for being close because it was too enormous?
Fortunately, Hyeolcheondoma’s teachings exerted their power when he entered into full-scale training. The two teachings he had passed on.
Don’t be too desperate.
Yet be more desperate than anyone.
Geomguk put both of these contradictory pieces of advice into practice.
On days when impatience arose wondering if this training method was wrong, he recalled the first teaching.
When his mind tempted him to go down and find another method, he recalled the second teaching.
People thought he was good at forming relationships among others, but his true strength was accomplishing something alone. He was someone who could devote his entire life alone to a single goal.
And today, when he had performed the two hundred and twenty-fifth Nine Transformations Demon Art, an unexpected visitor appeared.
The man who climbed up there as if taking a stroll with his hands behind his back was Geom Woojin.
“Father!”
Geom Woojin made a look of pity.
“Your appearance is like that of a beggar.”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t shaved his beard recently, and his attire was a sight to behold as he devoted himself solely to training.
“Will you meet them in that state?”
“Who?”
From his father’s gaze silently fixed on him, Geomguk could tell who that opponent was.
He meant that in the moment the Heavenly Demon Soul manifested, would he meet it in such a state?
It was something he had longed for so much; he couldn’t possibly do that.
“Please sit here, Father.”
Geomguk quickly unrolled the tiger skin he had rolled up in his pack. What was already spread on the floor was ordinary leather.
“Did you know I was coming?”
“I brought it just in case.”
He wouldn’t have brought it to another location. But this was the place his father had recommended. He had thought that perhaps his father might come by at least once.
Geom Woojin sat on the tiger skin.
“Have you eaten?”
“I have not.”
It had taken a very long time to hear those words from him. His father had come to share a meal with his son.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll quickly catch a wild boar or something.”
As Geomguk tried to go hunting, Geom Woojin stopped him.
“Let’s eat what you eat.”
“They are all cold.”
“It’s fine.”
Geomguk brought the meat and food he had left over.
He raised his Yang energy to warm the food and served it to his father. Of course, he had prepared clean tableware in his pack in preparation for his father’s arrival.
The two ate in silence. They only ate without speaking, but now it wasn’t awkward at all.
After the meal, Geomguk steeped tea. He also had his father’s favorite tea in his pack.
“I didn’t bring alcohol because I thought I might want to go down if I drank.”
“The tea tastes good, so it’s fine.”
The two sat facing each other and drank tea.
Geomguk conveyed his honest feelings.
“It feels like I’m almost done, like I’ll achieve it if I just finish this training. Is the Great Accomplishment originally like a mirage in the desert?”
Geom Woojin answered after taking a sip of tea.
“Originally, you wouldn’t have even been able to enter that desert.”
It meant that Geomguk’s progress was that fast.
Achieving the Great Accomplishment and becoming stronger was important, but in fact, his greater desire was to see his Heavenly Demon Soul.
What would it look like?
Did the Heavenly Demon Soul truly exist?
How would it commune with him?
There was so much he was curious about, but he didn’t ask his father. Because he wanted to experience everything directly.
But he had to ask this one thing.
“After achieving the Great Accomplishment, how do you call forth the Heavenly Demon Soul?”
“You will become able to call it forth with your will.”
“How much internal energy is needed?”
“No internal energy is needed for the Heavenly Demon Soul to descend. However, the Heavenly Demon Soul needs your internal energy to use martial arts.”
In the end, it meant the Heavenly Demon Soul was deeply connected to the one who performed martial arts.
The descent of the Heavenly Demon Soul.
His heart trembled just hearing those words.
After drinking the remaining tea, Geom Woojin rose from his seat.
“When you come down from the mountain, let’s play a game of baduk.”
His father didn’t say a single word of “do this” or “do that”; he truly just ate and left.
But one change came with this visit.
* * *
The day after his father’s visit, as always, he took a stroll after finishing his training.
Because it was training with all his might, his mental energy consumption was enormous, and when training ended, he was completely exhausted. But he never neglected taking a stroll.
He contemplated while walking. He thought about things from before his regression, about enemies he had killed. He also recalled martial arts formulas and pondered new training methods.
Then a giant tree that had collapsed as one side of the valley crumbled came into Geomguk’s eyes.
“What a pity.”
A giant tree that must have been a thousand years old lay fallen and broken.
Geomguk, who had been about to pass by, returned to the tree.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Geomguk cut the tree with the Black Demon Sword.
And he brought wood cut into a fairly large box size back to his dwelling.
Geomguk began making something from it.
Swoosh, swoosh.
As it was carved away by the sword, what gradually revealed its form was a thick baduk board with legs.
The reason Geomguk didn’t just pass by the giant tree was that this broken wood was a spindle tree, the finest material for a baduk board. It was even a thousand-year-old spindle tree.
“When you come down, let’s play a game of baduk.”
He wanted to personally make a baduk board and give it to his father as a gift. There could be no better gift for a father who loved baduk.
Geomguk made the baduk board with all his heart.
Training continued, and he devoted his spare time to making the baduk board.
After ten days like that, the baduk board was finally completed.
It was so splendid that one could believe it was bought from a master craftsman.
Now one step remained; the most important task remained.
After briefly looking down at the baduk board and composing his mind, Geomguk began drawing lines on the board with the Black Demon Sword.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Lines drawn without deliberation.
Nineteen horizontal lines were drawn, and soon vertical lines were drawn again.
Though a single mistake would ruin the whole thing, Geomguk did not lose focus.
Between the lines, they were drawn with not an inch of error, perfectly accurate.
Geomguk was satisfied. It was made even better than he had imagined.
Now that he had made the board, he felt like making the baduk stones himself too.
He cut more spindle tree wood and made a baduk container. Rather, making the container was more difficult than the board. It required more professional skill than it looked, and only after a few failures did he make a satisfactory baduk container.
And finally, he made the baduk stones.
While strolling, he found white rocks that shone like crystal, and a few days later, he found black stones that emitted a pitch-black light.
Geomguk began to emit sword qi from the Black Demon Sword to make the baduk stones.
Even if it was a bit more uncomfortable and difficult, he used the Black Demon Sword rather than a dagger. He controlled minute sword qi to carve the baduk stones. Finally, he used Gang qi to smooth the baduk stones.
He had never imagined he would use martial arts to make baduk stones.
Making the first stone took a long time, but gradually that time decreased.
He had almost never tried such minute control with sword qi before.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The more he made, the more accustomed he became to the minute control of sword qi and Gang qi.
Train, make stones, train again, make stones again.
One or two, or at most three or four—he carefully made stones every day like that.
No matter how tired he was, he did not rest from training and making stones.
Days repeated like that, and Geomguk overcame the tedium.
Finally, today he made the last stone—the three hundred and twenty-first in total.
“It’s finally done!”
Geomguk placed the last stone he had made into the baduk container with trembling hands. Baduk stones of identical size sparkled inside the container.
After touching them with an overwhelmed heart, Geomguk carefully placed them in a corner of the cave and covered them with tiger hide. There was something he had to do now, more than enjoying this emotion.
Geomguk came out of the cave and drew his sword.
It was already night when today’s training had ended, yet he was trying to perform the Nine Transformations Demon Art again.
At the moment he completed the last baduk stone, the thought came to him that he had to perform the Nine Transformations Demon Art. He couldn’t know why such a thought came. He just felt that way.
The moment he unleashed the first form, Annihilation.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
The four evil spirits that appeared from the east, west, south, and north cleaved a single space.
Before they could even vanish, he unleashed the Second Form, Great Annihilation Style.
Now Geom Mugeuk was executing these five forms in succession.
Sssssssss!
The terrifying evil spirits split apart before his eyes. Their number was twenty-six!
Kwakakakakakakakakakakakakakak!
They charged forward, tearing space to shreds.
Even before seeing the result, Geom Mugeuk’s sword was already unleashing the next form.
Whoooosh!
With the sound of a gust of wind, a wall of gang qi arose before Geom Mugeuk.
Before the transparent radiance of the Third Form, Great Demon Wall, had fully faded, the Fourth Form, Dark Flash, was unleashed.
Huk.
A deep darkness seemed to settle over everything.
Shiiiiing.
A single streak of light crossed through the dark.
When the surroundings brightened again, sword qi was pouring down from the sky like lightning. It was the Fifth Form, Soul-Severing Demon Strike.
Shukshukshukshukshukshukshukshukshukshuk!
Pakpakpakpakpakpakpakpakpakpak!
Fragments of stone flew up.
The traces of sword qi left in the ground were spaced at even intervals. And the depths of the holes were identical as well.
Even though he had unleashed the First Form through the Fifth Form in succession, Geom Mugeuk felt no strain on his body whatsoever. The Ninefold Demonic Art was unfolding with true freedom.
He could not unleash the Sixth Form, Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World, here.
He could not destroy Daecheonsan.
Geom Mugeuk opened the Space-Time Transposition Art and unleashed Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World there.
Flash!
The instant light burst from the Black Demon Sword and covered the world in white,
the world within the Space-Time Transposition Art was extinguished.
It was Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World, which he had repeated hundreds of times after climbing Daecheonsan.
Normally, after completely annihilating the world within the Space-Time Transposition Art, he would release the technique himself and come out.
But today’s Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World was different. After flying endlessly and annihilating everything,
Kwijijijijik!
Cracks spread through the world inside the Space-Time Transposition Art in every direction, and it began to shatter.
‘!’
Cracks were forming in the Space-Time Transposition world that Geom Mugeuk was looking at. Even though he had not released it himself.
‘The Space-Time Transposition Art is breaking!’
Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World was smashing through and destroying the Space-Time Transposition Art. Since this had never happened even once before, Geom Mugeuk was flustered.
Kwaaaaaang!
As the Space-Time Transposition Art shattered, Geom Mugeuk was flung out into the outside world.
Peok.
With a tremendous impact, Geom Mugeuk slammed into the cliff. With no internal energy, he was helpless.
Kwakakakakakwang!
Even after destroying the Space-Time Transposition Art, the remaining shockwave of Heavenly Demon Annihilates the World smashed the surroundings apart.
Kwaang! Kwareureureung!
In the aftermath, the cliff where the cave had been behind him collapsed.
Wareureureu!
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes flew wide open. He rolled his body and dodged, but there was no avoiding another enormous boulder. It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
‘No!’
Kuuung!
Darkness came with a thunderous roar.
‘Am I dead?’
Judging from the way his entire body felt as if it would burst from the impact of hitting the wall earlier, he was not dead. How on earth had he survived?
At that very moment!
The darkness surrounding him began to move, then slowly started to open its eyes.