Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 174 – Three Eyes (2)

-A scroll? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

“…”

At the eyeball’s answer, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

He had naturally assumed the eyeball was the Three Eyes and had sealed the monstrous raccoon dog in the Corpse Blood Valley’s secret chamber.

But the eyeball itself seemed to have no clue.

If that was the case…

‘…It means it wasn’t this guy.’

This was a completely unexpected result.

Then who on earth had sealed that monstrous raccoon dog there?

They had definitely said it was a diviner with three eyes.

At that moment, the eyeball spoke.

-I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’ve never been to the secret chamber of the Corpse Blood Valley.

“You’ve never been there?”

-That’s right.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been frowning, stared intently at the eyeball and asked, “Do you really not know about a beast that looks like a raccoon dog?”

-A raccoon dog-like…beast?

“Yes.”

Then the eyeball trembled severely and convulsed.

Its appearance seemed as if it was feeling fear.

Why was this eyeball reacting like this all of a sudden?

As he wondered…

-C-Could you be referring to the Usurping Sea King, the Guhwancheonggu[1]?

“Guhwancheonggu?”

Mok Gyeong-un asked back at the unfamiliar name.

Could that be the name of the monstrous raccoon dog?

Meanwhile, Yeo Su-rin, who had been keeping her distance due to the earlier embarrassment, suddenly showed interest with a surprised face.

“What did you say just now?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you mention Guhwancheonggu?”

Mok Gyeong-un turned his head towards Yeo Su-rin and asked back.

“Do you know about it?”

“Of course I do. My master told me about it.”

“Your master, you mean…?”

“Yes, that person.”

Scarlet-Tailed Old Immortal.

Yeo Su-rin’s master and the pavilion master of Harmonious Immortal Pavilion, known to be one of the two most mysterious among the sixty-four pavilions of diviners.

Yeo Su-rin answered with sparkling eyes, as if intrigued.

“My master had told me about it.”

“What is it?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you don’t know about the six spiritual beasts that have existed since ancient times?”

“The six spiritual beasts?”

Of course, there was no way he could have known.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction, Yeo Su-rin made a perplexed expression.

Is this man really a diviner who learned sorcery?

Meanwhile, the eyeball spoke in a trembling voice.

“…They are the ones at the pinnacle of beasts. They are not beings that a human wench like you can carelessly judge.”

At this, Mok Gyeong-un asked, “The pinnacle of beasts? Are they divine beasts by any chance?”

According to the The Classic of Mountains and Seas that he had memorized, it was known that beasts were divided into six grades based on their level of danger and power.

The lowest grade was fierce beasts.

The beast Guyeo that Mok Gyeong-un had first encountered in Mt. Yeo-a was precisely the fierce beast with the lowest level.

Of course, even if the level was low, they were still stronger than ordinary vengeful spirits.

The next grade, called the fourth grade, was precisely the monstrous beasts.

The wolf-shaped monster that had made the sound of a pig’s cry, encountered during the path of the Corpse Blood Valley’s gate, was the monstrous beast called Galjeo.

The next grade, the third grade, was the demonic beasts, and Heum-won, the beast from Kunlun Mountain whose wing was being held by Mok Gyeong-un’s hand and was struggling, belonged to this category.

Next was the second grade, the diabolic beasts, which were so rare that even renowned diviners could hardly see them, and they were called moving disasters.

And there were beasts that were called natural disasters if even one of them appeared, and they were referred to as spiritual beasts.

These spiritual beasts were beings that might appear once every few hundred years, and even if only one of them emerged, they were beasts in the realm of calamity that could devastate an entire city.

‘Divine beasts.’

The final grade, divine beasts.

According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, divine beasts were beings that might appear once every few thousand years, and they were in the realm of heavenly energy or divine punishment that humans could not handle, so they could lead to the destruction of a nation and the extinction of the human race, known as a great calamity.

Therefore, Mok Gyeong-un wondered if they were divine beasts since they were referred to as the pinnacle of beasts.

However…

-Divine beasts? They can’t exist in this world in the first place. If the demonic energy reaches that level, it surpasses the natural order.

“Natural order?”

-You don’t know what the natural order is?

“What is it?”

-The natural order is what sustains this world. Well, it’s difficult for humans to understand.

“You’re speaking ambiguously.”

-The natural order is the natural order. If you go beyond that realm, you have no choice but to cross over to the other side of the boundary due to the natural order.

“The other side of the boundary?”

As he wondered, Yeo Su-rin interjected.

“It refers to ascending to immortality.”

“Ascending to immortality?”

Curiosity flashed in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.

Come to think of it, he had heard about this when learning the sword and martial arts from Cheong-ryeong.

[The origin of internal energy, the foundation of martial arts, stems from the Taoist breathing techniques. Taoism cultivates internal energy through breathing methods and thereby evolves the physical body.]

[The evolution of the physical body? Do you mean becoming stronger?]

[That’s part of it, but the evolution Taoism refers to means breaking through the limitations of the physical body, realizing the flow of heavenly energy, and reaching spiritual awakening.]

[Spiritual awakening?]

[Yes. That’s what they call ascending to immortality or undergoing metamorphosis and ascending to immortality.]

[Undergoing metamorphosis and ascending to immortality? Does it mean becoming an immortal and ascending to the heavens?]

[Yes. Those who practice martial arts naturally aim for ascension by attaining enlightenment through martial arts. Of course, nowadays, it has faded, and martial arts have become a mere symbol of power and a tool to protect oneself and kill others.]

[Oh. But isn’t that the truth?]

[Yes. The essence of martial arts was originally not to cultivate the Dao but to easily kill others. However, if you want to reach a higher realm, you need to think more transcendentally.]

This was Cheong-ryeong’s teaching.

She said that if one wanted to learn martial arts and reach a higher realm, one should aim for ascension.

Of course, Mok Gyeong-un had no interest in that at all.

His goal was to gain the power for revenge rather than becoming an immortal.

But out of curiosity, he had asked.

[By the way, Cheong-ryeong. Have there been any actual cases of ascension?]

[There have been.]

[Bodhidharma, known as the founder of the Chinese martial arts, Zhang Sanfeng, who founded the Wudang Sect, and the Sword Immortal who was said to have beheaded a dragon with a single strike. Apart from them, there must be unknown extraordinary individuals as well. The world is full of unknowns.]

[So there have been actual cases of ascension?]

[Of course, that’s why it’s the goal.]

If the metamorphosis and ascension to immortality that Cheong-ryeong mentioned referred to crossing over to the other side of the boundary as the eyeball said, did it mean that humans could also reach the realm of divine beasts, as described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, by honing their martial arts?

Somehow, both the world of sorcery and the martial world seemed to converge towards the end.

As his thoughts deepened, the eyeball spoke again.

-Yes, I think that was the case. Humans referred to crossing the boundary due to the natural order as ascending to immortality.

“Hmm. So those six beasts you mentioned…”

-The Six Demons.

“Pardon?”

-beasts who have awakened intelligence call them the Six Demons or the Six Demon Kings.

At the eyeball’s words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes slightly narrowed.

He had considered it a deformed creature, but this confirmed the eyeball’s true identity.

The guy itself also recognized itself as a beast, in other words, a monster.

Well, it was strange to dismiss a being with this level of demonic energy and self-will as a mere byproduct of deformity.

“The Six Demon Kings? That’s quite a grandiose title.”

“Wow…This is the first time I’ve heard of this too.”

Yeo Su-rin spoke with sparkling eyes.

She was also very interested in beasts, but encountering a beast with intelligence was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Therefore, when she talked about the leader of the six spiritual beasts that she had heard from her master from the perspective of a beast, she naturally found it intriguing.

“Eyeball, tell me more. I want to know if the Six Demons you’re talking about are the same as the leaders of the six spiritual beasts I know.”

-…

At her pestering, the eyeball tightly shut its mouth.

It was already trying to please this guy, so it wondered if it really had to reveal this to this wench as well.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un spoke up.

“Regardless of what they’re called, anyway, that monstrous raccoon dog is called Guhwancheonggu, right?”

-It’s the Usurping Sea King.

A voice filled with fear.

Just from this reaction, the eyeball seemed to have considerable reverence for the monstrous raccoon dog.

Come to think of it, the monstrous raccoon dog possessed tremendous demonic energy even when it was sealed and its strength was significantly weakened.

It was understandable for the eyeball to be afraid.

“Well, whatever it is, the Usurping Sea King or Guhwancheonggu, there are six beasts of that level, right?”

-That’s right.

“Do you know all of those beings?”

-How could I not know?

At the eyeball’s words, Mok Gyeong-un pondered for a moment.

He wondered if he really needed to know about those beings, but it was just in case.

Who knew if that monstrous raccoon dog, no, Guhwancheonggu, was also sealed in the secret chamber of the Corpse Blood Valley?

It wouldn’t be bad to know about these beings to some extent for the future.

“Can you tell me what kinds of beings they are?”

“What do you call the white ox spiritual beast?”

At that moment, Yeo Su-rin interrupted.

Mok Gyeong-un looked at her with an annoyed expression.

Then she pouted her lips and said, “I helped you too, so I can at least ask this much.”

“…”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged his shoulders as if telling her to do as she pleased.

With that, Yeo Su-rin asked with a delighted face and a grin, “What do you call that huge white ox spiritual beast whose length reaches hundreds of jang from head to tail?”

-…The Great Strength King.

“The Great Strength King? Ooh, so beasts call that giant ox spiritual beast that. Then what about the dragon that couldn’t ascend to the heavens and fell into depravity?”

-The Dragon Demon King.

“What about the spiritual beast of the North Sea, the phoenix whose wings have turned white?”

-The White Phoenix Demon King.

“Literally. Then what about the spiritual beast in the form of a lion with black wings and sharp spiky mane?”

-The Lion Demon King.

‘Hmm.’

Thanks to Yeo Su-rin’s questions and the eyeball’s answers, Mok Gyeong-un naturally learned about the appearance of the spiritual beasts and their titles.

He thought he did well to let her ask the questions on purpose.

Meanwhile, Yeo Su-rin continued to ask, “That stone ape trapped in the Five Finger Mountain…”

-No.

“Huh? How do you know what I’m going to ask before I even ask it?”

-The being you mentioned has already disappeared long ago due to the natural order. It no longer belongs to the Six Demons.

“Ah…It’s a bit different from what my master told me.”

At Yeo Su-rin’s words, the eyeball asked in disbelief, -You wench…Who the hell is that master of yours? How does he know about the Six Demons from long ago?

“Heh, come to think of it, you pretended to be a diviner, so you must know who our master is, right?”

-What?

“Have you heard of the Scarlet-Tailed Old Immortal?”

-…Could it be the pavilion master of Harmonious Immortal Pavilion, one of the Six diviner Gods?

The eyeball immediately recognized which pavilion and who it was upon hearing the name.

Since it shared a body with master diviner Cho Tae-cheong, it naturally knew about the existence of renowned diviners.

They were natural enemies to the beast eyeball.

Yeo Su-rin looked at Mok Gyeong-un with a triumphant expression and said, “See? Even this deformed creature knows about my master.”

“Yes, yes.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s dry response, Yeo Su-rin’s lips pouted like a duck.

Is this person really a diviner?

How could he show no interest at all when her master was so renowned and famous?

Ordinary diviners would usually try to establish connections by any means.

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Yeo Su-rin asked the eyeball again, “No, if it’s not the spiritual beast trapped in the Five Finger Mountain, then what is the remaining one of the Six Demons?”

-The Hundred-Face King.

“The Hundred-Face King?”

-That’s right.

“A hundred faces? I’ve never heard of it…What kind of spiritual beast is it?”

At Yeo Su-rin’s question, the eyeball held by Mok Gyeong-un’s hand trembled.

Even more than when it talked about the Usurping Sea King Guhwancheonggu.

The eyeball shrank and began to speak.

-It is said to be even worse than the Great Strength King, who is known to be the oldest among the Six Demons. That being is the embodiment of evil intent itself and leads everything to destruction.

“…Leads to destruction?”

-Because of that being, several nations, such as the Yin and Zhou dynasties, have been destroyed since ancient times.

“Yin and Zhou? Don’t tell me, the spiritual beast you’re talking about…”

Before Yeo Su-rin could finish her sentence, the eyeball spoke in a meaningful voice.

-A fox with golden fur and nine tails. The Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.