Chapter 2102 – 2102. The Ascension To Radiance
I frowned at Park Dal’s words. The Mountain King, who could be called the king of the bandits, seemed to be plotting something.
But soon, I realized it was unrelated to me and relaxed my brow. I had nothing to do with the Mountain King. It was none of my business what he was planning.
“It seems the Mountain King is deliberately trying to cause chaos,” Seong Ji-gon said. Unlike me, he seemed interested in this matter. As a general, Seong Ji-gon was sensitive to bandits causing trouble.
“That is correct, Great Hero. I don’t know the reason, but the Mountain King is trying to create chaos using the bandits. His Majesty the Emperor, the absolute ruler of the Empire…”
“He won’t get involved. There’s no way he’d get involved in something like this. Park Dal, try not to mention His Majesty the Emperor unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’m saying this for your own good.”
“Thank you for the advice. I momentarily forgot my place…”
“Well, even if His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t get involved, those in charge of protecting the cities will find the bandits’ unrest troublesome. The martial world will be a bit noisy for a while.”
I couldn’t disagree with Seong Ji-gon’s words.
There were hundreds, even thousands, of cities in the Empire. Not all of these cities were managed by the Imperial Army; many were managed by famous martial sects. Their attention would inevitably turn to the rampaging bandits. Those with keen eyes would also realize that the Mountain King was planning something.
“Yujin, what about you? You’re active in the martial world.”
“I have no interest in those bandit bastards’ antics.”
I thought for a moment. More accurately, I recalled the contents of the original works. A few episodes of bandits causing trouble came to mind, but none were on this scale. There was a reason I didn’t know about this. And I wasn’t particularly interested.
“More than that, I wish we could leave for the Sima Clan soon.”
“Alright. It’s about your woman, so I’ll cooperate as much as possible. But one last thing. Park Dal, do you know anything about the Mountain King? What do you think his goal is?”
“…Currently, the position of the leader of the Four Kings Alliance is vacant. The Mountain King is known to be a rough and ambitious person. I don’t know the Mountain King’s exact plan, but… I think he might be trying to seize this opportunity to become the leader.”
That was a very plausible story. But this, too, was unrelated to me and Seong Ji-gon.
We returned to the city and then departed for the Sima Clan.
•••
After traveling for fifteen days, we arrived at Jeong-u City, where the Sima Clan was located.
Jeong-u City was a bit far from the capital. Still, it was a fairly large city within the so-called capital region. Seong Ji-gon, who had entered the city, gave a troubled smile.
“It seems we arrived too early. I sent a letter, but we arrived before it did.”
“The letter isn’t that important. We can just apologize if they say anything. It’s not like we came to fight the Sima Clan.”
“That’s true.”
Seong Ji-gon and I headed towards the Sima Clan. The Sima Clan’s location was at the edge of the city.
“Isn’t this city ruled by the Sima Clan? Why is it at the edge of the city? Usually, it’s in the center.”
“I don’t know? Maybe there’s some kind of magical significance?”
Seong Ji-gon was right. The closer we got to the Sima Clan, the stronger the sense of unease became. It was as if something unknown was constantly irritating my nerves. I didn’t want to stay here.
Looking around, I realized that only Seong Ji-gon and I were left on the road.
“It seems like some kind of magic that repels people. The Sima Clan doesn’t seem to want to welcome guests.”
“They’re quite closed off. I wish they would be more cooperative.”
We somehow arrived at the gate. There were no gatekeepers, as there should have been, in front of the magnificent house. All that was there was a signboard with the name Sima and a red-patterned gate.
Just as I was about to open the gate with force, the gate opened by itself with a bang before my hand even touched it.
“…Was it an automatic door? That’s unexpected.”
“The fact that the door opened means they’re welcoming us, right? It’s not a bad sign.”
I walked forward. Seeing how easily things were going, I felt a sense of unease. It felt like walking into a trap.
‘In this world, you can get backstabbed at any moment. I need to be careful not to get backstabbed.’
Soon, I found a middle-aged man dressed neatly.
“I have been waiting for you two. So Cheonma Seong Yujin, and the Little General of Hayang City, Seong Ji-gon.”
“…They know us. Seong Ji-gon said the letter wouldn’t have arrived yet.”
“Yes. There have been no letters that have arrived at the clan recently.”
“How did you know we were coming?”
“The Clan Head was once the Imperial High Priest. One of the essential requirements for an Imperial High Priest is the ability to read the heavens.”
Reading the heavens to know about our visit? It was suspicious. Even Mireong couldn’t easily read the heavens. It was said that it required other special talents. And even if you could read the heavens, matters related to the future were vague and uncertain.
Sima Ryeong, the head of the Sima Clan, might be a sorcerer with tremendous talent… but she might have predicted our visit in another way.
‘For now, it means they have some level of ability. That’s a good sign.’
The guide stopped slightly as he walked. Each time, the direction we were going changed slightly. I felt frustrated and spoke to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, there are dozens of formations installed near the main building of the clan. If you walk carelessly, you’re bound to get lost. Originally, there were no such formations… but recently, the Clan Head seems to be experimenting with something… so we had to install formations for safety.”
It took 20 minutes to break through the formations and reach the main building.
The main building was also strange. The building itself was distorted and bent in various ways. It was as if energy was mixed into the building.
“…No. It’s tangled.”
“As expected of an absolute master who has reached the Three Peaks. You’re right. The main building is tangled with all sorts of energies and spells. It’s the result of all the past Clan Heads of the Sima Clan training and researching here. We don’t fully understand what kind of power this main building has. It was created unintentionally and by chance… Isn’t it amazing? Other sorcerers outside the clan always stare in shock when they come to the main building. It was quite fun to watch their reactions, but recently…”
The man suddenly became talkative. Seong Ji-gon and I followed him into the main building with tired expressions. The man, who I thought would guide us to the end, stopped walking at some point.
“This is as far as I’m allowed to go. Just go straight inside.”
“Thank you for guiding us this far.”
I praised him and walked forward.
And at some point, we entered a room and faced a woman.
She was a composed woman. From a single strand of hair to a single wrinkle in her clothes, everything was neatly arranged. Her jade-like skin, crescent-shaped eyebrows, and tightly closed red lips exuded elegance.
It was difficult to see her figure. She was wearing loose-fitting clothes. The only thing that was clearly visible was her face.
“Are you the head of the Sima Clan?”
“Yes. I am Sima Ryeong, the head of the Sima Clan. I have been waiting for you two.”
“How did you know we were coming?”
“I read the heavens. Before that, I was aware of your information. So Cheonma of the Heavenly Demon Cult, a disciple of Guwol Seonja… You have extraordinary identities, so it was impossible not to know.”
“The Sima Clan’s intelligence network is truly impressive.”
“I cannot explain in detail, but the eyes and ears of the Sima Clan are everywhere on the continent.”
“…Then, do you perhaps know the purpose of our visit?”
“I do not. What I read through the heavens was that you two would come to me and help me. The heavens did not allow me to know more than that.”
We would help her?
Was this a roundabout way of saying that if we didn’t help her, she wouldn’t help us?
I wasn’t particularly angry or annoyed. I had expected that she wouldn’t help us without any conditions.
I stared at her intently. The energy I felt from her was stronger than mine. In other words, Sima Ryeong’s level was above the middle stage of the Three Peaks.
Sima Ryeong invited us to sit down. She then used magic to serve us tea. After drinking the tea, I spoke.
“My woman has fallen into a coma. She tried to reach the Harmony Realm beyond the Three Peaks but failed. My master says she is trapped in her mental world. Because she can’t control her energy, she’s constantly leaking it, and she only has a year left. How can I save her?”
“……Fortunately, I am familiar with the symptoms. Many Clan Heads of the Sima Clan wanted to reach higher places. More than 70% of them failed. Among them, there were those who showed the same symptoms as the woman you mentioned.”
“Do you know how to save her?!”
“I do. She probably moved her mind to her mental world to protect her spirit. However, the mental world would have been corrupted due to the effects of the failure. That is why she is trapped in her mental world and cannot come out. Because the corrupted mental world can no longer be called her own. If you enter her mental world and bring her out, she can then take care of the mental world herself.”
“How can I enter someone else’s mental world? Is there a spell for that?”
“Those who don’t know much about magic think of magic as omnipotent. They mistakenly believe that everything is possible with magic. But magic is not omnipotent. As far as I know, there is no spell to enter someone else’s mental world.”
“……”
I closed my mouth and listened to Sima Ryeong’s words. I sensed that Sima Ryeong was not finished speaking.
“However, if it’s not magic but another power, that’s a different story. The Sima Clan possesses a treasure that can use immortal techniques. With immortal techniques, you can enter someone else’s mental world. It is a proven fact.”
There was a way. I felt a slight release of tension and asked her.
“……Are magic and immortal techniques different?”
“Immortal techniques are a higher-dimensional power. You can do things with immortal techniques that you cannot do with magic.”
“What do I have to do? I hope it doesn’t take too long.”
Sima Ryeong asked me with a blank face.
“Do you know the legend of Domyung Mountain?”
