Chapter 145: Spiritual Realm (3)

Just as Jang Woo-hyun was about to ask for the man’s identity again, the other person quickly moved to the side and cut him off.

“If you were planning to stop by the inn, you should’ve at least given us a heads-up. I nearly turned into a skeleton waiting. But what business do you have with our Hyung-nim?”

The burly man took a step forward in front of Jang Woo-hyun and asked the cultivators.

“It’s not exactly business. I just wanted to check something.”

“Check something?”

The burly man standing next to Jang Woo-hyun scrunched his face.

“We’re currently looking for the Slayer Sword Demon. When we saw someone wielding a sword, we thought we should confirm, just in case.”

“What? Sword Demon?”

The burly man burst into laughter so loud it could’ve shaken the whole inn.

“Ah, my apologies. That’s just so absurd. Are you saying our Hyung-nim is that barbaric bastard? Anyone could tell he’s a cultivator.”

He pointed at Jang Woo-hyun with his hand. Everyone in the inn nodded in agreement. No matter how you looked at it, Jang Woo-hyun was a cultivator, not a martial artist.

“And I’m from Changyeongmun.”

The burly man took out a small token from his robe and showed it. The men who had picked a fight with Jang Woo-hyun had nothing more to say. Changyeongmun was currently scouring the lands with burning eyes for the Sword Demon—no way a member of Changyeongmun would be traveling with him.

“Anything else you’d like to say?”

“……”

“If not, apologize.”

“My apologies… I was just wary because I’d never seen this cultivator before…”

“Of course you haven’t. The Dao doesn’t mean knowing everyone who visits this place. I don’t know what rubbed you the wrong way to start this nonsense, but judging from your behavior here, you seem to be from one of the Eastern Clans. I’ll be lodging a formal complaint.”

The face of the man who picked the fight hardened.

“Um, excuse us for a moment.”

While that man was flustered, the long-faced man next to him gently pulled the burly man from Changyeongmun to the side. He handed him a small pouch and whispered.

“We overreacted. The pressure from above to find the Sword Demon has made us edgy. Our apologies.”

“Ahem. Since you’re offering a sincere apology, I’ll let it slide this time. But be more careful—don’t go accusing the wrong person.”

The burly man accepted the pouch into his robe and offered a final reprimand.

“Truly sorry.”

“Be more cautious. Hyung-nim, let’s go. We’re running late.”

As the cultivators who wore swords apologized, the burly man spoke to Jang Woo-hyun and began walking out of the inn with heavy steps.

Watching his back, Jang Woo-hyun followed him out. Whoever he was, thanks to him, a fight had been avoided.

“This way.”

They walked for quite some time after leaving the inn.

The man stopped at an artificial lake where only a few people could be seen and turned to face Jang Woo-hyun.

“Sorry for stepping in so suddenly. My name is Seok Hae-gang.”

Seok Hae-gang bowed politely. Though Jang Woo-hyun returned the greeting, he did not relax. He kept his hand on the hilt of Yongwangrin.

“I’m not sure what to call you. It’d be rude to call you Sword Demon, wouldn’t it?”

“……”

His grip on Yongwangrin tightened. If Seok Hae-gang made even a slightly suspicious move, he was prepared to strike him down right then and there. Yet, he didn’t draw the blade just yet.

If Seok Hae-gang had meant to attack or play some trick, he would have revealed Jang Woo-hyun’s identity by now.

“Call me Jang.”

“Understood. Then I’ll address you as Jang Senior. Jang Senior, please help me!”

Seok Hae-gang bowed even deeper than before.

To seek help from a complete stranger—it was enough to make Jang Woo-hyun wonder what was going on.

Jang Woo-hyun and Seok Hae-gang moved far away from the city, to a completely deserted place.

Then, Seok Hae-gang explained his situation.

“I visited the Central Heavens Martial Realm decades ago.”

To his eyes, martial artists were clearly different from cultivators. Among martial artists, some were insane or violent by nature, but none were mad enough to grind people into pills like the cultivators did.

While associating with martial artists, Seok Hae-gang had by chance met a woman—and stayed with her.

“That became a problem. Because she was a martial artist.”

Even though he used a Dharma Treasure he created to hide her identity, it wasn’t long before one of the elders in his family found out she was a martial artist. Naturally, his family did not accept a relationship with a martial artist.

In the end, the elders forced Seok Hae-gang and his wife to separate.

“They threatened to grind her into pills, leaving me no choice. But they promised that if I left her, they would at least spare her and return her to the Central Heavens Martial Realm.”

Reluctantly, Seok Hae-gang accepted the separation. It was the only way to save her.

But he later learned that his wife had not been sent back to the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

She had been handed over to another cultivator as if sold. Upon discovering this, Seok Hae-gang was determined to rescue her at all costs.

“No one would help me if I said I was trying to save a martial artist. That’s why I sought out you, Jang Senior, whose reputation is… renowned.”

After hearing his story, Jang Woo-hyun decided to ask what he was curious about.

“How did you find me?”

Seok Hae-gang took out a crystal orb the size of a grown man’s fist from within his Inner Robe. Inside was a blue needle-like wisp pointing toward Jang Woo-hyun.

“It’s a Dharma Treasure that finds people. You’re aware that Changyeongmun is looking for you, yes?”

Jang Woo-hyun silently nodded.

He knew well. Somehow, the trackers sent by Changyeongmun always managed to find him, as if by magic. That was why he never stayed in one place and kept moving.

“Have you seen the Dharma Treasures they use?”

“You mean the disk-shaped ones?”

“Yes, exactly. This one far surpasses those in performance.”

“You’re with Changyeongmun too? That’s what you said inside the inn.”

“No. To be precise, I’m not affiliated with Changyeongmun. But I am connected. Our family supplies Dharma Treasures to Changyeongmun. The disk you saw was also made by my family.”

“How does it work? I’ve asked Changyeongmun cultivators, but they didn’t know.”

“Ah, lower-ranked disciples wouldn’t know.”

Seok Hae-gang returned the orb-shaped Dharma Treasure to his robe and continued.

“When Changyeongmun cultivators are attacked, they emit a distinct scent. It’s part of a spell used for revenge.”

He said the more Changyeongmun cultivators one killed, the stronger the scent became.

“How can it be erased?”

“It’s not hard. If you avoid killing them and stay out of sight for a while, the scent will fade and eventually disappear. The spell activates only when a Changyeongmun cultivator is killed, but it’s not permanent. With time, the scent weakens and vanishes.”

Jang Woo-hyun looked at Seok Hae-gang without saying a word. He didn’t seem like someone approaching with ill intent, given how easily he shared this information.

“You came to me because you needed help, huh…”

“Yes. You probably don’t trust me because of all the cultivators you’ve met. But please, just this once. Just once, I ask for your help, Senior.”

Seok Hae-gang bowed his head deeply again.

As he stared at the nape of Seok Hae-gang’s unmoving neck, Jang Woo-hyun asked,

“Can you trust me? I’m the infamous Slayer Sword Demon.”

Seok Hae-gang lifted his head and let out a bitter smile.

“I know how those who met Jang Senior must have acted. They likely attacked without question, trying to turn you into a Dharma Treasure or grind you into an Elixir. That’s the sickness of cultivators. They don’t treat those who don’t walk the path of Spiritual Ascension as people. Even though we’re all human. I used to be like that too.”

After pausing briefly, he continued.

“Until I met her.”

Meeting his martial artist wife changed Seok Hae-gang’s perspective, and since then, he had grown disillusioned with the world of cultivators.

“My clan treats me like a madman for this. They say I have filthy thoughts for wanting to marry livestock. No acquaintances, no friends, no family are willing to help me. That’s when I heard about Jang Senior and brought the most powerful Dharma Treasure our family has.”

Love with a martial artist—someone whom cultivators regarded as livestock.

With no one to turn to, he had no choice but to seek out the infamous Sword Demon.

It was a reasonably convincing, even somewhat beautiful story.

“Hmm.”

But something felt off. It was too convenient.

‘A trap?’

It was certainly possible. Besides, Jang Woo-hyun had been through enough in a short time to not trust Seok Hae-gang’s words easily, even if they were true.

‘But there’s no need to go through all this trouble to set a trap.’

Up until now, those who tried to lure Jang Woo-hyun simply offered help. No one had brought a story like this.

“Jang Senior?”

“Just thinking a bit.”

“Ah, yes. Take your time.”

Jang Woo-hyun continued to think while watching Seok Hae-gang closely.

‘Right now, I have no better options.’

Inside Jang Woo-hyun’s Inner Robe was the Central Eightfold Needle Compass.

However, the needle that should have pointed to the center of the Central Heavens Martial Realm—Mount Okchu—wasn’t working properly. The distance was too great, and the needle just kept spinning in circles.

‘I don’t even have a map.’

He didn’t know where the path to the Central Heavens Martial Realm was either.

So Jang Woo-hyun had planned to collect information while heading toward the outskirts of the cultivators’ territory. He intended to raid a suitable cultivation sect there and ask for directions to the Murim. That was when Seok Hae-gang had conveniently appeared.

‘It’s not like I have anything to lose.’

It wasn’t convincing enough to trust fully, and there was no clear objective to call it a trap. If they were going to attack, they could just do so without all the theatrics.

‘Or maybe the goal is to lead me to a specific location?’

That would make more sense. To take him to a particular place, there had to be some justification.

“What will you do once you’ve rescued your wife?”

“She can’t live here, so we’ll go to the Central Heavens Martial Realm. And if I can get your help on the way, even better.”

Even the next step aligned with what Jang Woo-hyun needed.

After a short while—

Jang Woo-hyun made his decision.

“Very well. I’ll help you, Seok Hyung.”

“Thank you! Senior! Thank you so much!”

With a smile on his face, Seok Hae-gang bowed repeatedly. Watching that, Jang Woo-hyun thought, if this was acting, then the man was a brilliant actor.

“First, we need to know exactly where your wife is. We can’t just charge in blindly.”

For now, he would observe the situation. If it turned out dangerous, he was ready to walk away.

Jang Woo-hyun gazed at a manor far off in the distance. That was where Seok Hae-gang’s wife was supposedly being held.

‘Doesn’t seem like there are many people inside.’

“There won’t be many guards posted.”

As if reading his mind, Seok Hae-gang spoke from beside him.

“Most of the combat forces are puppets, and the guards are likely puppets too.”

“By puppets, you mean dolls that move on their own?”

“Yes, some don’t trust humans and use puppets instead.”

“Puppets…”

Jang Woo-hyun had never fought one before. He’d only seen them a few times through Cho-su. That’s why he had no idea how strong the cultivators’ puppets were or what their perception range was.

“You don’t need to worry about most of them.”

Again, as if reading his thoughts, Seok Hae-gang quickly added. In his hand was a small cube, about the size of a child’s hand.

When he pressed the center of the cube—

Click.

The top rotated and lifted, and an unknown energy spread outward.

“This will block whatever the puppets use to detect intruders. So you don’t need to worry much about them.”

Everything seemed overly prepared. So much so that Jang Woo-hyun almost wasn’t needed.

‘Definitely suspicious.’

Considering he was a cultivator, the chances of deception were over ninety percent. That’s why Jang Woo-hyun never trusted him from the start.

He had a different reason for following Seok Hae-gang.

Unlike previous trackers, Seok Hae-gang had located Jang Woo-hyun’s position perfectly. And he seemed to have some plan to take him somewhere.

‘There’s likely someone behind this.’

Given that even the wife was prearranged, it might be an organization. Or perhaps an individual with considerable influence.

A tracker or group that could pinpoint his exact location—Jang Woo-hyun intended to follow Seok Hae-gang and crush them all. He couldn’t have someone tailing him constantly.

That was why he followed Seok Hae-gang.

‘If it’s not a trap, I’ll help him.’

Even if it was a small chance that he was mistaken, he could always help sincerely.

“If you have a Dharma Treasure like that, you could go alone…”

As Jang Woo-hyun trailed off, Seok Hae-gang quickly responded.

“No, I can’t. I’m not a fighter. If I get spotted by puppets or a cultivator shows up, I’ll need your help, Jang Senior.”

He explained that although he was skilled at making Dharma Treasures, he lacked combat ability—and that was why Jang Woo-hyun was needed.

“Understood.”

Pretending to be convinced, Jang Woo-hyun nodded deeply and moved toward the distant compound. There was still one more thing he wanted to confirm.

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