Chapter 89: Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Whisper of the Evil Altar (4)

“I can’t do anything about this. Why the hell did these things get so strong? Is that even possible?”

Jin Geonmu leaned on his spear, using it to support his exhausted body.

His rough breaths turned into white mist as they mixed with the cold air. His eyebrows twitched faintly. But then—

‘Hm? Something’s off….’

The instincts of a man who had lived his entire life as a spearman caught something unusual.

The air inside the stone chamber was not flowing naturally. It wasn’t the stagnant, heavy air of a sealed cave—this air was fresh. Somewhere, a faint current of wind was seeping in.

“Cover me for a moment.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jin Geonmu stepped back.

“I’m about to die here too, you know. Whatever it is, if it doesn’t work, you’re explaining it yourself! I won’t let you off easy!”

Jang Unhyeok grumbled as he stepped in front of him.

Jin Geonmu slowly closed his eyes.

He steadied his breathing, gathering his internal energy in his Dantian.

A faint current of qi flowed from his hand gripping the spear and traveled toward the tip. When he aimed the spear at the wall, a thread of energy extended out, brushing against the stone.

The first wall blocked the qi. The resistance of solid rock pulsed through his fingertips. The second wall reacted the same—the qi rebounded, crashing against the rock and returning to him.

But the third wall was different.

The qi vanished as if it were being drawn in. Like water soaking into dry earth, it was absorbed without resistance.

Jin Geonmu’s eyes shot open.

He fixed his gaze on the exact spot where the qi had disappeared.

From the altar, a crimson light burst forth like an explosion. The entire stone cavern trembled as if it were a gigantic beating heart. A thunderous roar, like the gates of hell opening, shook the air.

A gasp escaped someone’s lips.

The runes engraved on the altar blazed simultaneously, and the manifestation of the Manifest Demon Emperor grew even clearer.

That power was transmitted directly into the Guardians.

Thick black smoke swirled around their bodies. Their muscles bulged grotesquely, and from their eyes, a blood-red glow streamed like infernal flames. Qi was overflowing violently within them.

“Keuhahahaha! The master’s power drenches my body!”

The leader let out a mad laugh and charged toward Gugwi.

Dark energy swirled around his fist, cutting through the air with a sharp tearing sound.

Gugwi hastily raised his spear to block. But the man gripped the shaft with his Gold Internal Force Technique, bending it as he pushed forward, then struck again toward Gugwi’s chest. In return, Gugwi infused qi into the spear and pressed it down with all his strength.

The two forces collided.

The force pushing down and the force resisting upward clashed fiercely.

A shockwave traveled down the spear shaft, numbing Gugwi’s arms and shaking his shoulders.

He groaned, gripping his spear tightly.

Just then, another Guardian swung his scythe.

The crescent-shaped blade sliced through the air toward Gugwi’s neck.

At the last moment, he twisted his body.

The tip of the scythe grazed his neck, slicing off a strip of flesh. Hot blood ran down, staining his collar.

The assault continued without pause. Every Guardian’s attack was focused on Gugwi. A third Guardian swung a hammer toward his head, red energy crackling around it like lightning.

Yeon Sohye shouted, drawing upon the last of her strength.

Silver Spirit Illusion!

From her body poured a torrent of silver mist. At the same time, Gale Spirit Guest’s blue energy merged with it, forming a fantastical maelstrom of silver and blue that filled the entire chamber.

For an instant, the walls and ceiling rippled like waves.

The Silver Spirit Illusion blurred the boundary between reality and fantasy. Its effect was remarkable—the Guardians lost their sense of direction, slashing wildly at empty air.

The sound of weapons cutting through nothing echoed across the chamber.

In that brief window, Gugwi focused his consciousness on the Spirit Flow Core.

A blue light pulsed from his heart like a beating pulse. The energy spread outward, reinforcing Yeon Sohye’s illusion. The illusion thickened, transforming the entire stone chamber into a dreamlike space.

The Spiritless Zone was ineffective here, but for supporting an ally, it worked perfectly.

Gugwi’s heartbeat became erratic. Inside his chest, the Spirit Flow Core quivered slightly, trembling like a cracked porcelain vase on the verge of shattering.

‘Ah! What’s happening to me?’

There was no time to think. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

“I… I can’t use the Spirit Flow Core.”

Gugwi’s knees trembled as he gasped for breath. His lips turned pale, his fingertips cold.

He withdrew the core’s power.

“Use your qi! Don’t panic! Your qi is strong—trust yourself!”

Jang Unhyeok barked out, swinging his twin blades.

Flames erupted along his swords as he clashed with a Guardian. Every time sword met axe, sparks flew—but the Guardian’s monstrous strength forced him backward step by step.

“Damn it! These bastards really got stronger! How the hell are we supposed to fight this?”

He attacked one, only to be met with counterstrikes from three. Though his twin blades flashed fiercely, he was steadily pushed back under their relentless assault.

“Over here! Gather here!”

He had found the exit.

Digging his fingers into a crack in the stone wall, he pulled with all his strength, and fragments of rock fell away.

Behind it was a narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

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Jin Geonmu’s throat went dry.

It could easily be a dead-end trap. Charging into an unknown space without knowing where it led was reckless—but there was no other choice.

“Gugwi! You go first!”

Yeon Sohye unleashed an even thicker veil of silver mist to cover them.

The group hurriedly forced themselves into the narrow passage.

Their clothes tore and skin scraped against the rough stone as they squeezed through, but none dared to look back.

Ahead, another stone door appeared.

The door was tightly shut, and its lock was unusual—at a glance, it seemed that the altar’s crimson energy was flowing through the engraved runes, sealing it shut like an enormous spiritual lock.

The Altar and the lock were linked together.

“Spirit Flow Core? Qi?”

Following Yeon Sohye’s suggestion, Gugwi immediately drew upon the Nameless Martial Artist’s qi.

Blue energy bloomed from the spear tip, spiraling as it extended toward the door.

The fierce torrent of qi crashed forward as if it would shatter the lock.

But at that very moment, the qi reversed its flow. Like a stream rebounding off a cliff wall, it surged back with a violent backlash. The spear trembled, and a shock ran through his body.

Gugwi dropped to his knees under the crushing pain in his chest.

His heart felt as though it were being wrung dry, and a sweet metallic taste rose up his throat — the early symptom of qi deviation.

Then Namgung Hoyoung’s voice resonated faintly within his mind.

‘Stimulate your acupoints and absorb its power. Do not resist the altar’s energy—accept it.’

‘What does that even mean? How am I supposed to accept the altar’s power?’

Yet, he understood what it meant to stimulate the acupoints and draw in energy.

He immediately recalled the True Acupuncture Sutras. Energy needles sprouted from his fingertips as he struck several of his own points in quick succession.

The Zusamni, Gokji, and Hapgok Acupoints were stimulated in turn.

Then… without him actively doing anything, the Spirit Flow Core began to absorb the altar’s crimson energy. Like a massive whirlpool, the altar’s power was drawn into Gugwi’s body.

The red markings across the altar gradually dimmed.

The sealing threads binding the stone door snapped one by one.

Jang Unhyeok called out to Yeon Sohye, concentrating his qi into his blades.

Catching his intent, Yeon Sohye gathered qi into her dagger. This was no time to borrow So Ryeonghwa’s power—only brute strength would break the seal.

As their qi combined, the stone door groaned and slowly began to open.

Jin Geonmu shouted, pushing the stone door with all his might and leading the group forward.

Once through, his instincts immediately caught sight of a lever built into the wall—a rusted metal handle, clearly part of a mechanism.

He pulled it down with all his strength.

The heavy mechanism rumbled as the stone door closed once more.

When the thick wall sealed shut, the noise from outside faded almost entirely.

From beyond the wall came the pounding of the Guardians’ weapons as they tried to break through. But the wall was over two ja thick—no amount of strength could break it.

It was a completely sealed stone chamber. In the total darkness, without even a single torch, there was no visible exit—nothing but a prison of rock.

Yeon Sohye murmured as she traced the wall with her hand. Despair tinged her voice.

“A perfect dead end.”

Jang Unhyeok drove his twin blades into the floor and let out a deep sigh. Blood dripped from the edges of his swords.

“At this rate… how do we get out? You’ve led us wrong again, haven’t you?”

Jin Geonmu muttered, leaning on his spear shaft for support.

But just then, Gugwi’s gaze fixed on a corner of the chamber. Even in the darkness, something reflected the faint blue glow from his Spirit Flow Core. On a stone slab lay several old manuscripts neatly arranged.

Gugwi approached carefully and lifted one of the manuscripts.

The parchment was filled with ancient letters, the characters writhing as though alive, like serpents slithering across the page.

“What kind of writing is that?”

“Not Sanskrit… nor anything I’ve ever seen.”

Yeon Sohye and Jang Unhyeok tilted their heads, puzzled.

No one could read it—but to Gugwi, it felt strangely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

Gugwi called out to Un Serim.

The Sect Leader of Cloud Flow Sect, annihilated by the Dark Spirit Sect—if anyone could recognize this script, it would be him.

Cold energy swirled, and a faint spirit form materialized.

“Try reading this. If you can.”

Un Serim’s form merged into the manuscript. Rather than reading with eyes, it was as though his spirit was absorbing it. Blue light flickered around him—then dimmed rapidly.

‘This… is a secret document of the Dark Spirit Sect.’

His voice engraved itself into Gugwi’s mind like a shard of ice.

‘It details the resurrection plan of the Manifest Demon Emperor. Using the blood of the Gatekeeper’s bloodline to activate the altar and reversing the Spirit Flow Core to fully reincarnate him.’

Gugwi’s face turned pale as paper. The manuscript trembled faintly in his hand.

Un Serim’s voice grew colder.

‘To achieve that, they already sacrificed ten thousand lives—men, women, elders, even newborns.’

Gugwi’s voice quivered, his throat dry and cracked.

“Then this place… this is where ten thousand were slaughtered?”

‘Yes. The final sacrifice was the daughter of the Dark Spirit Sect Leader. A seven-year-old child—offered with his own hands to prove absolute devotion to the Manifest Demon Emperor.’

Gugwi dropped the manuscript. The parchment hit the stone floor with a dry rustle.

“So that’s… why the energy here feels so heavy and vile.”

‘This entire altar is a massive tomb.’

‘And their vengeful souls still linger here—bound by the Manifest Demon Emperor’s power, unable to escape.’

Gugwi lowered his gaze.

From beneath the cold stone floor, a dark energy pulsed upward, faint but alive.

“But… why doesn’t my Spirit Flow Core respond? It doesn’t affect the altar or the Guardians at all.”

There was no reply this time.

The Spirit Flow Core had evolved enough to allow a degree of communication—an impressive feat compared to before. Yet it still had its limits. Spirits would not answer unless the matter was of absolute importance.

Gugwi fell silent, deep in thought.