Soul Summoning Sword

Chapter 31: Swallowed by the Spinning Wind (1)

– Swept into a vortex

A small village named Cheonghwa Village, about an hour's distance from Silver Moon Valley.

As evening approached, the sky suddenly began to darken. The once clear sky, devoid of clouds, began to gather pitch-black clouds, and in an instant, it turned as dark as if draped with a black cloth.

At the entrance of the village, a man appeared.

The Captain of the Black Blood Unit, Heuk Yeomjo.

Paaaat!

Black mist began to rise from his body.

The mist crept out like smoke, spreading across the ground. Before long, it had engulfed the entire village.

A woman washing clothes at the well collapsed first. She fell over without even a cough.

“Mo-Mother!”

A child ran over.

He shook his mother, but she had already stopped breathing. Soon, the child, too, was swallowed by the black mist and fell.

The farmers working near the village entrance collapsed one by one.

Those inside their homes preparing dinner fared no better. No one even let out a scream.

In just half an hour, Cheonghwa Village became a village of the dead.

All one hundred or so residents had drawn their last breath. Only a chilling silence ruled over the village.

Heuk Yeomjo stood in the middle of the village.

He walked slowly among the corpses. His eyes stopped on the body of a young man.

“This one will do.”

The strongest spiritual energy could be felt from the young man's corpse.

He had not been dead long; his soul still lingered near his body.

Heuk Yeomjo took out Gugwi’s clothing from his pouch. Sent by So Taeryeon. Gugwi’s scent still lingered on the clothes.

He knelt on the ground.

Puk!

Drawing his sword, he stabbed the corpse in the abdomen.

He needed blood. Using the blood on the blade, he began to draw a complex blood formation on the ground. Strange patterns were inscribed within the circular diagram.

“Rise, O dead!”

Heuk Yeomjo chanted the Soul Transformation incantation.

His voice was low and deep. It did not spread widely, but focused solely on the corpse.

Paat!

Clusters of light began to rise from the body.

At first faint, they gradually became clearer. One by one, the souls of the dead began to appear.

The young man’s soul rose first. Then, the souls of the other villagers followed. Light, light, light… The glowing clusters floated in the air.

“What is this?”

“Why am I here?”

The mutterings of the souls… only audible to a Soul-Summoner, the murmurings of the spirits trickled forth.

Heuk Yeomjo held up Gugwi’s clothing.

“Follow this scent. Find the owner of these clothes.”

The young man's soul shook his head.

“No. I’m not a spirit.”

The other souls joined in.

“Why would you make us do that?”

“I have to go home. My family will be worried….”

The dead did not realize they were dead. They still believed they were alive.

Such is the effect of dying from Hoe Yeonmu poisoning.

Though clearly dead, their spirits did not leave their bodies. Nor did they enter the Realm of the Threshold. Perfectly primed for Soul Transformation.

Heuk Yeomjo’s face twisted.

“They always do this.”

Spirits that linger long in the Realm of the Threshold grow furious, making them easier to control. But they cannot wander the world of the living. They can only act while in a state of Spirit Contact. Newly dead souls, however, were different. Their earthly will remained intact, allowing them to wander.

Moreover, newly dead souls harbored powerful resentment and obsession. That made them ideal for pursuit.

“Well then. Shall I tame you? Let’s finish this quickly. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”

Paat!

Black flames erupted from Heuk Yeomjo’s hand.

“AAAAARGH!”

The souls let out horrific screams.

Their very existence shattered and began to vanish. The pain of a soul being completely destroyed was more terrifying than death itself.

The screams shook the entire village.

The remaining souls trembled in fear. The flickering of the lights was visibly violent.

“Do you understand now?”

Heuk Yeomjo spoke in a cold voice.

“If you don’t obey, that’s what happens. You won’t even make it to the heavens. You’ll vanish completely.”

The glowing clusters dimmed. The souls had lowered their heads. A sign they were ready to receive orders.

They chose obedience over complete annihilation.

“Good. Now you’re listening.”

A satisfied smile formed on Heuk Yeomjo’s lips.

He dressed the brightest light, the young man’s soul with the strongest spiritual energy, in Gugwi’s clothes.

“Never forget this scent. Pursue it until you find its owner.”

The glowing light trembled as if nodding. The scent of Gugwi still clung to the clothing.

With the black mist, the spirits began to move.

The young man’s soul took the lead. Wearing Gugwi’s clothing, he sniffed the air.

He fixed his direction, following the faint trail.

Grrrr… grrr…!

A strange sound could be heard.

It was the sound of the young man gesturing to the other spirits. It sounded like he was saying, “This way.”

The other souls followed behind.

Over a hundred dead villagers began to march in a line. From children to elders, every resident of the village had become a legion of the dead.

As the spirits stepped onto the mountain path, something strange occurred. Wherever their feet touched, life drained away. Green grass yellowed in an instant. Petals fell, and leaves withered.

“Uuhhh…”

“Ahhh…!”

The spirits’ cries filled the mountain path.

A wailing of resentment and despair toward death. A sound so chilling it would make the living shudder just by hearing it.

The trees along the roadside began to wither. Sap dried up in the trunks, and branches snapped and fell. The path they passed through became desolate, as though winter had swept through.

The young man’s spirit stopped and sniffed the air again.

“No doubt. It’s toward Silver Moon Valley.”

A smile touched Heuk Yeomjo’s lips.

Gugwi sat on a rock in Silver Moon Valley. The moonlight shone upon his pale face. He placed a hand on his chest.

His heart was pounding.

The heartbeat was different from usual. It felt as if another being was breathing within his chest.

A blue light seeped through his fingers.

“This is… the Spirit Flow Core?”

He muttered to himself.

His breath grew rough. His heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst.

At first, he thought the Spirit Flow Core was located in the Dantian. That’s what everyone believed. That’s what was written in the Soul Echo Manual. But it wasn’t. The Spirit Flow Core was in the heart.

A foreign substance embedded deep within the chest, at the very center of the heart.

A fragment of the Manifest Demon Emperor’s heart had fused with the heart of a human. A dark yet immense source of power.

Gugwi clenched his teeth.

“Why me, of all people….”

His voice trembled.

A mix of resentment toward his father who placed it in his heart, and fear of the Spirit Flow Core, surged within him.

Originally, he had no idea how to use this power. The Spirit Flow Core had been in a deep slumber. Had his father not been murdered, it would have remained locked within his heart forever.

Then the Nameless Martial Artist appeared. He transferred an incredibly strong spiritual energy to Gugwi.

That energy, the foundation of Soul-Summoning Arts, settled in his Dantian.

It was at that moment—

The Spirit Flow Core in his heart awakened. Power that had slept for so long stirred. It chased the spiritual energy down to the Dantian, and as time passed, the energy grew stronger and erupted like an explosion.

Blue light spread through his blood vessels.

All the meridians of his body trembled from that overwhelming energy. That’s when it began—when the Spirit Flow Core truly started to move.

Gugwi observed his heart every night. During the quiet hours, he would place his hand on his chest and feel the pulsing of the blue light.

“This isn’t the Dantian.”

He finally realized.

The light started from the heart, passed through the Dantian, and burst outward. The heart was the source; the Dantian was merely a passage. He discovered this truth after close observation.

Even Yun Seoha of the Seven Cold Wolves did not know this.

–Spirit Flow Core, what exactly is this?

He had once asked her, but she had no answer. Even the strongest in the Cold Wolf Sect knew nothing. The Spirit Flow Core was a thoroughly hidden secret. An unknown power, scarcely spoken of in the Murim.

Gugwi closed his eyes and watched the Spirit Flow Core.

His heart pulsed strongly again. The blue light trickled down to the Dantian and then spread like the tip of a spear.

“Whether this is a curse or a blessing…”

He gritted his teeth.

“It’s mine now.”

Resolve flashed in his eyes. It was determination beyond fear. Whether it was the Manifest Demon Emperor’s heart or not, it would now become Gugwi’s own power.

As usual, Gugwi stepped into the Realm of the Threshold. But something was different this time.

‘What’s changed? Something’s definitely changed….’

For a moment, Gugwi didn’t realize what had changed. But something clearly had.

Then—he saw it. Stars shining like the Milky Way!

The Realm of the Threshold always greeted him with complete darkness. But this time, instead of darkness, a space like the deep night sky spread out before him. A universe filled with countless twinkling stars.

Numerous clusters of light floated everywhere like stars.

Some glowed blue, others red. Some shimmered with a soft white light, moving freely like they were drifting through space. Some shot across like meteors.

A perfect recreation of the night sky.

“All of this… these are all clusters of rage?”

Gugwi was left speechless by the awe-inspiring sight.

In the Realm of the Threshold, light would only appear when summoning a soul. When summoning Un Serim or General Madal, if the conditions were good, the light appeared bright; if not, it was faint.

But now, he saw that the number of souls lingering in the Realm of the Threshold was enormous. Countless. Beyond reckoning.

They weren’t all martial artists. In fact, likely very few were. These were souls who had neither attained release nor entered reincarnation, only stewing in their rage.

And though it might sound disrespectful to them… it was beautiful. Had he not known these lights were clusters of rage, he might have thought it a peaceful place.

Gugwi reached out toward the lights.

He approached the nearest cluster of blue light, extending his hand to touch it. But the blue light drifted away from his touch. His intent had not yet reached them.

“Still a long way to go.”

Gugwi murmured with a hint of regret.

When Gugwi emerged from the Realm of the Threshold moments later, he sat dazed for a while.

–The more you use it, the better you get.

Yun Seoha had been right.

Each time he used the Spirit Flow Core, his control improved. Whether channeling the Nameless Martial Artist’s spiritual energy, or entering the Realm of the Threshold… the blue light flared steadily. No longer surging violently, it now flowed with calm yet powerful energy.

Gugwi swung his spear into the air.

Whirrrr!

A blue trail followed. The Cloud Flow Spear split the air—beautiful and powerful.

“It’s part of me now.”

Gugwi spoke with confident certainty.

The Spirit Flow Core was no longer something to fear. It was becoming his strength.

The wind shifted direction.

The moonlight became obscured by clouds, and darkness began to spread. The tranquil mood of Silver Moon Valley changed in an instant.

Yun Seoha suddenly looked up. Her sharp senses had detected an ominous energy approaching from afar.

“This scent…”

A bloody, poisonous mist wafted through the air. At the same time, the screams and wails of countless lingering souls echoed forth. It sounded like cries rising from the depths of hell.

A noise sharp enough to tear through ears swept toward Silver Moon Valley.

Yun Seoha sprang up like lightning.

“It’s the Black Blood Unit!”

Her face hardened instantly.