Chapter 156: Master Of The Ghost Valley (2)

Yi-gang had actually anticipated the attack from the Master of the Ghost Valley.

How could he not? A voice had been heard in this underground place, audible only to Yi-gang.

Then, the owner of that voice must undoubtedly be the ghost of the Master of the Ghost Valley.

It was known that the Master of the Ghost Valley, obsessed with eternal life, was an eccentric, a fact even Yi-gang was aware of.

The word Living Ghost, found everywhere, must have been an alteration of the Master of the Ghost Valley’s name.

「Let’s crush him,」 the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon suggested.

Yi-gang agreed. How many had died because of Master of the Ghost Valley? He had resolved to shatter the intentions behind the Five Elements Tomb’s design, never expecting to actually encounter its creator.

But then, the ghost of the Master of the Ghost Valley possessed Yi-gang’s body.

Part of it was because Yi-gang had let his guard down.

Another reason was that the spirit of the Master of the Ghost Valley turned out to be exceedingly weak and shabby.

Unlike the Immortal Divine Sword or the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, whose presences were solidified by the spiritual power they harbored, perfectly preserving their appearances from life.

All Yi-gang could see was the ghostly apparition of a pale skull.

It had suddenly popped out of the ceiling and entered through the top of Yi-gang’s head.

As was often the case with evil spirits, it attempted to seize control of Yi-gang’s body.

Indeed, this was different from an ordinary evil spirit. The skill to wrest control of the body was considerable.

「Muahahaha!」

The laughter of the Master of the Ghost Valley echoed inside his head.

He seemed pleased to have taken over the body.

Yi-gang was dumbfounded.

‘What is this guy.’

「Just a lowly ghost.」

Had the Master of the Ghost Valley heard that conversation, he would have been furious, but he couldn’t even hear the voices of Yi-gang and the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon.

Yi-gang realized that he could expel the Master of the Ghost Valley. The reason the Master of the Ghost Valley had easily possessed Yi-gang’s body was that Yi-gang was accustomed to the process of possession.

He wandered around, muttering to himself, unaware of this. But Yi-gang could expel the Master of the Ghost Valley at any time.

「Wait.」

‘Why.’

「Rather than expelling him now, shouldn’t we first see what he intends to do? Check if you can control the body too.」

Yi-gang tried to move his body.

Swoosh!

As expected, he could easily slap his own cheek.

The Master of the Ghost Valley was shocked and became more cautious.

“Was there still consciousness left? I was sure it had been obliterated…”

Then, as control of his body returned, he muttered in relief.

“Of course, how could such a being oppose my 300 years of grand plans.”

Yi-gang and the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon couldn’t help but laugh.

Still, they let the Master of the Ghost Valley do what he intended for now.

Above all, they needed to find an exit.

Yi-gang’s choice ultimately proved to be correct.

Finding his belongings inside a chest, he took a staff and tapped various parts of the wall.

Thump- Thud- Thump—

He was someone who greatly enjoyed mechanisms. A secret device that even Yi-gang couldn’t find was activated.

Soon, the ground began to shake.

“What are you doing!!”

“Hmph, grgh.”

The Master of the Ghost Valley had gagged Namgung Shin and Moyong Jin’s mouths with wire.

Soon, a wall opened, revealing a dark hole with stairs leading upwards.

“I’m creating an exit, so keep your mouths shut. Of course, you guys won’t be able to leave. Kahahaha!”

Hope and despair were reflected simultaneously on the faces of Moyong Jin and Namgung Shin.

They thought Yi-gang was utterly defeated, so it couldn’t be helped.

Just when Yi-gang was considering finishing off the Master of the Ghost Valley.

The Master of the Ghost Valley undertook an even more exciting action.

Thump, thud, thump—

This time, he tapped the floor with the staff.

A stone slab on the floor went “pop” and disappeared, revealing a hidden space stuffed with miscellaneous items.

What had he hidden in such a space again? It was a tremendous obsession and greed.

Such a person would have dedicated everything to create a place called the Five Elements Tomb.

“What bad luck to have obtained a body only to find it’s such a cripple… Who knows when it’ll collapse.”

He couldn’t stop talking to himself.

Yi-gang momentarily thought about getting rid of him right then but decided to forgive the Master of the Ghost Valley’s cursing after seeing what he pulled out from the floor.

“Well gathered.”

What was contained in the golden dish was a murky liquid.

But the value of that liquid was more precious than pure gold.

“With a newly obtained young body, consuming this Pure Sky Oil will finally allow me to surpass Heuk-am…”

“Heup!”

Moyong Jin exclaimed, “You’re insane!”

Yi-gang thought the same about the Pure Sky Oil.

「It’s all bluster! How can there be so much Pure Sky Oil gathered like that?」

‘It must be an exaggeration. But it seems to be something similar.’

Pure Sky Oil is considered among the most precious of elixirs.

A milky liquid that accumulated over thousands of years at places where natural energy condensed, under exceptional environmental conditions.

There’s a legend that a single drop can grant a year’s worth of internal energy, and two drops can extend one’s life. It’s an elixir of supreme value, surpassing even a ten-thousand-year snow ginseng.

However, the dish the Master of the Ghost Valley pulled out contained enough for a sip.

It couldn’t have been gathered over thousands of years, so it was likely artificially accumulated using hundreds of years of time and special methods.

But it was undoubtedly precious.

“Kahaha—!”

After ingesting the artificially created Pure Sky Oil, the Master of the Ghost Valley took out a long needle.

Then he began to insert needles into various acupuncture points on the body.

The body of Yi-gang, suffering from meridian blockage disease, absorbed the efficacy of the elixir less efficiently than other warriors. This was to compensate for that.

「It’s a serendipitous opportunity.」

‘Yeah, it really is.’

Had they expelled the Master of the Ghost Valley right away, they wouldn’t have found the exit or consumed the elixir.

The Master of the Ghost Valley absorbed the power of the elixir splendidly.

But soon, his expression turned sour.

“This is…”

The vital energy accumulated in the lower dantian had easily surpassed twice the amount before.

However, the Master of the Ghost Valley felt it. His essence was gradually fading.

“My spiritual energy is… scattering… No, could this be…”

Yi-gang no longer left the Master of the Ghost Valley to his own devices.

Suddenly, the Master of the Ghost Valley raised his head.

Kwoong—

Lightning struck inside his head, enough to eject his consciousness.

His eyes rolled back, showing the whites.

The Master of the Ghost Valley could no longer move Yi-gang’s body.

What lay before him was a vast darkness.

At his feet, golden waves pooled.

Looking down at his limbs, he saw his old, withered body had returned. It was right before death.

“Mental world…”

He recognized it immediately. It was the original body owner’s mental world.

The gold pooled at his feet… could it all be spiritual energy?

The little of his own spiritual energy that was left was gradually being drained and absorbed by it, like a small thing being drawn by the gravitational pull of something larger.

It was the Master of the Ghost Valley’s spiritual energy, which had been sustaining his consciousness, being taken away by Yi-gang.

“No, stop! Stop taking it!”

He tried to gather it, but it was ungraspable.

The Master of the Ghost Valley realized that the death he had long staved off was finally catching up to him.

“Ah, aah…!”

“It’s useless.”

Turning around, Yi-gang was standing there.

The notion that his consciousness had been obliterated was merely the Master of the Ghost Valley’s misapprehension.

Empowered by the spiritual energy of the Immortal Divine Sword and harboring the soul of a yokai, Yi-gang’s spirit was strong. There was a difference that couldn’t simply be quantified by the amount of spiritual energy.

Moreover, the change that occurred after eating the Three-Element Sacred Flower…

“…Wh-who are you?”

“Baek Yi-gang.”

“C-could it be, you’re from the Cult?”

“The Cult?”

Yi-gang frowned, puzzled by the question.

Was he mistaken for someone from the Evil Cult?

He drew his sword and aimed it at the Master of the Ghost Valley’s neck.

“Now that you mention it, you talked about Heuk-am or something earlier. What’s your relation with those guys?”

“Heh, hehe…”

Despite being terrified, the Master of the Ghost Valley let out a twisted laugh.

After all, his spiritual energy would soon disperse, leading him to complete death.

What does a sword to his neck matter at this point?

“Yes, that’s right. You are the Cult’s arch-enemy.”

“Arch-enemy?”

Yi-gang realized the Master of the Ghost Valley knew quite a bit.

“Fate has already begun to turn. The words of the lost soul were true.”

“Are you not going to explain?”

“What’s the use of explaining?”

The Master of the Ghost Valley’s obsession with life was terrifying.

Thus, Yi-gang didn’t expect him to become so detached all of a sudden.

“The seal will be broken…”

“Speak!”

Feeling a sense of ominousness, Yi-gang pressed the sword closer.

Despite the cut on his neck, the Master of the Ghost Valley laughed. His body had become half-transparent.

“There was no need to worry about death after all…”

Yi-gang’s sword passed right through the Master of the Ghost Valley’s body.

The form of the decrepit old man completely dispersed.

Yi-gang felt the Master of the Ghost Valley’s spiritual energy being absorbed as nourishment, but he couldn’t laugh.

Moyong Jin struggled with the wires binding his mouth and body.

Unlike Namgung Shin, who was hung on the wall, the tightness around his entire body caused him immense pain.

Even circulating his internal energy was insufficient to break the wires that enveloped him.

The Master of the Ghost Valley had suddenly collapsed a moment ago.

If he were to rise again, Moyong Jin and Namgung Shin might truly be killed.

“Ugh!”

Then, the Master of the Ghost Valley, who had possessed Yi-gang’s body, stood up.

“Son of a bitch…”

Moreover, he spat out curses with murderous eyes.

Yi-gang would never look at Moyong Jin with such eyes, so it must be the Master of the Ghost Valley who had completely taken over Yi-gang’s body.

Moyong Jin felt like he was about to cry.

Yi-gang was to be pitied, but Moyong Jin was not in a position to sympathize with him, given that the Master of the Ghost Valley had raised his sword.

“Ugh, grrrgh!”

He resisted, but the Master of the Ghost Valley showed no mercy.

The Shooting Star Fang fell towards Moyong Jin.

Moyong Jin, trying not to soil his pants, tightly closed his eyes.

“Mother!”

Was calling out to his mother in the face of death a sign that he had not yet become an adult?

Soon, Moyong Jin realized that the wires binding his mouth and body had been cut.

“…Huh?”

It was Yi-gang who had precisely cut only the wires.

Moyong Jin looked at Yi-gang with a touched expression.

Yi-gang gave him a slight smile in return.

“I’m not your mother.”

“…”

Moyong Jin was left speechless.

Fortunately, Yi-gang did not press Moyong Jin further.

He quickly freed Namgung Shin from his restraints as well.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Moyong Jin thought things might have been different if Namgung Shin had been freed first.

To this, Yi-gang said, “Let’s go up.”

Stairs leading upwards had appeared.

Yi-gang gathered all of the Master of the Ghost Valley’s belongings.

There were many strange items.

A metal canister with a handle. A small jar containing deadly poison and various hidden weapons. Small ornaments that were clearly treasures.

Yi-gang poured all of what seemed to be the Master of the Ghost Valley’s treasures into his bag.

They had to go up right away.

“The tremors were huge, so they must have felt it above.”

“That’s likely.”

“They might not know we’re coming out.”

Yi-gang looked at Namgung Shin and said, “Namgung Yu-baek wanted you to find the Five Elements Divine Art here, didn’t he?”

Despite referring to the highly respected Namgung Yu-baek in such a casual manner, Namgung Shin dared not say anything.

“Probably, that’s the case.”

“And he wished for your death here?”

“…That might be true as well.”

“Let’s go before he notices our escape.”

Yi-gang and his companions climbed the stairs.

However, the problem occurred while they were ascending the stairs.

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon stopped Yi-gang.

「We’ve been found.」

It wasn’t meant to be taken literally.

Namgung Shin, who had the Blue Eye Gem embedded in his chest, seemed not to have felt it, but the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, the original owner of the Blue Eye Gem, seemed to have noticed something.

「It seems like they’ve found us from over there. That guy… to think he has learned to use such tricks.」

It meant Namgung Yu-baek had realized Yi-gang and his group were ascending.

“We can’t just go on.”

Yi-gang stopped in his tracks.

“Let’s prepare a bit before going up.”

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