Chương 288: My Name Is (5)

I wandered around the Great Tomb Domain for quite a while.

The tombstones in the Great Tomb Domain seem endless. No matter how much I walk or even fly around, the end is nowhere in sight.

'Well, that's not really a problem.'

The real issue is that the 'Ghost Kings' Heo Gwak had mentioned are nowhere to be seen, not even the slightest hint of them.

'Where do I have to go to find these Ghost Kings?'

Whether I leave this place or not, the first step should be to meet these Ghost Kings.

'What a mysterious space.'

I think to myself as I look across the never-ending plains of tombstones.

There can't possibly be no end to this.

Even if there are plains this large in the Bright Cold Realm, there should have been some changes as I kept moving.

At the very least, there should've been changes in the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, but this mysterious space stretched on endlessly without any such variations.

'And, I feel a sense of déjà vu...'

Looking at this Great Tomb Domain, I feel a strange familiarity.

At first, I didn't realize it, but as I continued to look around, it started to feel like I had been here before.

'Hmm...'

I pause my walk and concentrate on my Nascent Soul.

That's when it happens.

"Huh?"

I realize something is off.

"Wait, this is..."

Wo-woong!

I spread my fingers and move the devilish energy within me.

As the energy flows from my fingertips, it forms a mirror-like shape in front of me.

And looking at the mirror, I can't help but be startled.

'My face...!'

At some point, my face had changed from Yuan Yu's to my original, Seo Eun-hyun's.

And it isn't just that.

Even my clothing had changed from Yuan Yu's blood-colored robe to the usual clothes I wear.

If there is a difference, it's the color of the robe.

The robe turned completely black.

'When did my appearance change? No, more importantly, if I change like this, could my identity be revealed? No, that's not it...'

I observe myself and realize why I had suddenly reverted to my original appearance.

'Yes. This Great Tomb Domain reflects the soul's form unknowingly. Even if I use the name Seo Li, I am ultimately Seo Eun-hyun, so it changed back to my original appearance at some point.'

I assume that once I leave the Great Tomb Domain, I will return back to the form of Seo Li.

'But there's something strange...'

I look at my black robe.

'Why has the robe turned black?'

And somehow. I know the answer myself.

'Death... My appearance changing in this Great Tomb Domain is related to death. Perhaps those who came wearing colors other than white also had their clothing transformed into black..'

Suddenly, the word 'death' seems to give me a clue as to why I can't see the Ghost Kings.

'Back when I found the Nether Crossing Ship with Seo Ran... the minor ghosts living near the Nether Crossing Ship called me a great ghost...'

Perhaps, the 'death' accumulated around me has become even stronger than before, causing something to happen.

'For instance, it's not that I can't see the Ghost Kings. They might have sensed my energy and all fled somewhere...'

That seems quite plausible.

"Hmm..."

Then, there is only one thing to do.

I sit cross-legged and take a deep breath.

If the Ghost Kings are fleeing from me, making them invisible to me...

'I just need to chase them faster than they can flee.'

Up until now, considering this Great Tomb Domain as a sort of sacred place for Black Ghost Valley, I had been walking slowly or flying without using the Flying Escape Technique.

But it seems I've been too polite.

'These damned creatures, they don't even greet their guests properly...'

Using the pure spiritual force within me, I begin to generate Gang Spheres around me.

'They dare ignore me and run away?'

One, two, three, four...

Seven, eight, nine...

And then.

Ten, eleven, twelve...

The Gang Spheres around me continue to increase.

In the world of intent, the number of my avatars gradually increases.

At the Ultimate Pinnacle, the maximum limit is nine Gang Spheres.

At Entering Heavens, they melt into the Formless Sword, and the Gang Spheres disappear. At Treading Heavens, I become one with my Inner Core and accelerate with up to ten Gang Spheres.

Of course, during Treading Heavens, just accelerating with the Formless Sword alone exceeds the efficiency of tenfold acceleration, so I felt no need to create more Gang Spheres.

Now, at Tribulating Heavens, I feel that the number of Gang Spheres I can create has been 'squared.'

As the 'heart' within the Formless Sword awoke, Ten from the Formless Sword, Ten from myself.

And as the Formless Sword and I intertwine, the spirit amplifies, and ten is multiplied by ten.

That is, I can create one hundred Gang Spheres.

One hundred avatars of intent appear around me.

"Combine."

Pababababatt!

As the 100 avatars of intent fly toward me, the world begins to slow down.

Yuan Yu's body is not seasoned enough to wield the full power of the Formless Sword.

But simply accelerating with Gang Spheres poses no problem.

Flash!

Accelerated by a factor of 100, I use the Flying Escape Technique and begin to fly madly towards a certain location.

Kugugugu!

The speed surpasses the Heavenly Being stage and reaches the early level of the Four-Axis stage!

How long have I flown like this?

I smile as I spot the rippling waves of intent in the distance.

'As expected, I found them!'

Indeed, it wasn't that the Ghost Kings were invisible. They just sensed my energy and were fleeing.

The intents that are increasingly growing in terror are getting closer.

And then, I feel the terrible screaming of the ghost valley.

[Aaaaaaaaaah!] [The great ghost has come!!!] [Run away! Run awaaaaay!]

"Hmm..."

Flash!

I quickly rush towards one of them.

As I charge at one who appears about mid Heavenly Being stage, I increase the plane of my hand to be able to grasp the soul. After seizing the creature, the mid Heavenly Being Ghost King begins to scream terribly.

[Hiyaaaaaaah! Huuuuaaaah! Kaaaaah! Hi, Hiyaaaaah!]

"..."

Looking at this trembling creature in fear, I ponder what to do.

'White Orchid Blessing Incantation is the best for calming the mind...'

The White Orchid Blessing Incantation is ideal for restoring the spirit of this terrified creature.

However, I can't shake the ominous feeling that using the White Orchid Blessing Incantation would dissolve this Ghost King entirely.

'Maybe just a little...'

Wo-woong!

I conjure a tiny White Orchid Blessing Incantation and blow it into him.

Then, I'm forced to hear an even more terrible wailing than before.

[I'm dying!!! Aaaaaaah! Hiyaaaaah!]

"..."

Apparently, the White Orchid Blessing Incantation, having anti-devilish properties, is fatal when infused into a Ghost King filled with ghostly energy.

'What should I do with this damned thing?'

Thinking for a while, I activate the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation.

Kugugugu!

A dense aura of curses rises around me.

'If I infuse him with this, he'll writhe in pain...'

Simply injecting the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation, which has the opposite nature of anti-devilish energy, is not an option.

The essence of Yin Soul Ghost Incantation is 'pain,' and regardless of whether it suits the ghost or not, this creature would be overwhelmed by agony.

After pondering for a moment, I transform the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation into spiritual power and infuse the Ghost King with the Yin spiritual power.

At the same time, I begin to cultivate the Ghost King's mind by manipulating the Yin spiritual power in the manner of the White Orchid Blessing Incantation.

Tstststst!

After a while, the Ghost King, who had been screaming terribly, gradually reduces his wails and smacks his lips.

[Uh... ah...]

"Are you alright?"

[Uh...]

"... You seem off."

It seems that because cultivating the mind with the power of Yin is new to me, it resulted in some strange effects.

'Rather than cultivating the mind, it feels like I've hypnotized him...'

"Can you please say something?"

[Something.]

"... Damn."

As I mutter a curse under my breath, the Ghost King suddenly begins to cry profusely.

[I'm, I'm sorry, so sorry. I've been rude, so rude to the noble one, so sorry...]

"Stop, stop crying. What's going on?"

I ask, trying to get some coherent speech from the Ghost King whose eyes have regained some clarity.

The Ghost King replies to my question.

[Noble, noble one... what, what do you, ask of, me?]

"Why does everyone run away when they see me?"

[Be-because you are, the, the noble one. Please, do not, not take us, us to the Netherworld.]

"... Did you also stutter like this in life?"

Frustrated by the Ghost King's trembling and stuttering speech, I ask him directly.

The Ghost King shakes his head with tears in his eyes.

[N-no, it wasn't like this. When lesser ghosts like us, meet a great ghost such as yourself, we mostly lose our reason.]

"You lose your reason?"

[Yes, it is true.] As I inject more Yin spiritual power and surround his soul, he begins to speak more clearly.

[It's the essence of the Ghost Path Method. The more ghostly energy one accumulates and the clearer one perceives the Netherworld, the stronger a ghost one becomes. And the stronger the ghost, the easier it is to command lesser ghosts. When a strong ghost is near, weaker ghosts lose their intellect, their reason blurs, and only their instincts remain, forcing them to either submit or flee.]

"Hmm..."

Finally, I understand why even the Ghost Kings, all at least of Nascent Soul stage, failed to keep their composure upon seeing me and fled in a complete panic.

"... Wait a minute. I once met a lingering soul of a Grand Elder from Black Ghost Valley named Song Jin. However, he did not have any mental issues upon seeing me...

As I speak, I realize that when I met Song Jin, I was not as marked by death as I am now.

[If the lingering soul of the Black Ghost Valley's Grand Elder was fine upon seeing the noble one, it could be one of two things...] Now the Ghost King seems completely hypnotized, speaking in a dazed voice as if intoxicated by the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation I had melted into spiritual power.

[Though called a lingering soul, it was either a living being's split soul or... connected to the Nether Crossing Ship.]

"Was it because of the Nether Crossing Ship…?"

The Nether Crossing Ship seems to have quite a few functions beyond just spatial transmission.

I ask the Ghost King while looking at him.

"So, everyone runs away because they see me as a 'great ghost'?"

[Correct. Is the noble one not perhaps a Rakshasa or a Yaksha, maybe even an Asura or a Yama from the Netherworld? Has a Reaper from the Netherworld themself descended upon Black Ghost Valley?]

"No... I'm not one of those."

[What do you mean...? Please do not regard us Ghost Kings as mere lowly spirits... While we may not understand the essence of death as the Immortal Seats (仙座) do, we are still souls who have walked the path of cultivation and have perceived the Netherworld.] It seems that 'Ghost King' is a term indicating a ghost soul that can perceive the Netherworld, regardless of their level.

"You misunderstand. I have just entered Black Ghost Valley as a disciple, and I am a living being, not a great ghost."

[If you are not someone who has attracted the gaze of the God of the Netherworld from the deepest depths of the afterlife, you could not possibly possess such a great death around you. You jest that you can do this in a living body. The noble one must be one of the high-ranking Reapers who served the God of the Netherworld...]

"Um..."

[Please do not chastise us too harshly for not following our prescribed fates to the Netherworld and are still pathetically remaining in this earthly realm... We are merely building great mausoleums and arks (方舟) for our descendants and waiting for the natural cycle of the heavens.] Even under the influence of the Yin spiritual power, he seems overwhelmed by my presence and begins to reveal things he hadn't been asked about.

[Even though that madman destroyed all 12 Nether Crossing Ships of the Bright Cold Realm division 120, 000 years ago, we have brought the Nether Crossing Ships from the Head Realm, so collecting souls from the Middle Realm at the end of times will not be a problem... The great immortals of the Netherworld must also find it convenient to just leave us be... Please do not destroy Black Ghost Valley...] The Ghost King, mistaking me for a Reaper that came to punish Black Ghost Valley for defying death, begins sobbing and begging for forgiveness for Black Ghost Valley.

Not knowing what else to do, I release the crying Ghost King.

It seems true that ghosts lose their reasoning when meeting a higher level ghost.

As soon as he is freed from my Yin spiritual power, he seems to forget the conversation we just had and begins to rave.

[Hayaaaaaa! It's a great ghost! A great ghost!!! Hayaaaak!] Just like that, the one who spoke as such quickly flees to somewhere in the Great Tomb Domain and I grab my throbbing head.

'Damn, it's chaos everywhere.'

I furrow my brows at the sudden developments on my main body's side.

"... What is this?"

'I' had just secured a cave residence in Heavenly Human Island and sent a message to Jeon Myeong-hoon to come here, when I received a letter that made me furrow my brows.

Wi Ryeong-seon, who delivered the letter to me, clicks his tongue and says,

"First... it's a letter sent by someone called the Ark Controlling Envoy of the True Dragon Alliance from the Earth Tribe."

"... Why would that person... send this to me..."

"Well, I wouldn't know. Think hard about any grudges you might have incited."

I sigh as I receive the death threat letter in front of me.

The letter is filled with a grudge as thick as the dragon's blood it was written in. The handwriting alone is enough to give one chills.

'That damned Seo Hweol.'

It seems he had somehow communicated who had killed him to Gyu Ryeon.

―I will kill you as soon as possible. Wait for it.

"... This is driving me insane."

I grab my head as I read the letter from Gyu Ryeon.