Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 221

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 221
Near the cave where the monstrous ape, Simian, had made his lair.
With my eyes fixed to the ground, meticulously scanning every direction, I suddenly let out a sharp cry.
“Found it!”
My eyes gleamed brilliantly as I lay sprawled on the earth.
A red flower shaped like a wild strawberry.
Leaves split into five sections.
A thin, elongated stem as well….
‘Jackpot! It’s a mountain ginseng!’
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Crouching down, I began excavating the surrounding soil with the kind of skill that would make even a dog weep.
The radiant form that emerged.
Using both my inner energy and sensory perception to preserve every rootlet, I extracted the mountain ginseng and let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Whoa! Look at that color! How many years old is this thing?”
But wait, this doesn’t seem like an ordinary ginseng. Doesn’t its shape look too much like a human?
‘Well, what does it matter? Either way, it’s radiating the most unusual aura of anything I’ve dug up so far. This should definitely qualify as a spiritual herb!’
Powerful supernatural creatures typically established themselves where terrestrial energy accumulated.
In such places, anything that grew would be extraordinary.
Especially since this one had grown in the domain of Simian, who dominated the creatures at the heart of this sacred mountain?
I had been combing through the sacred mountain hunting creatures to carve a path toward the Immortal Sanctuary, but I’d also been searching for spiritual herbs along the way.
Concentrating all my focus, I carefully placed the ginseng along with moss into a bamboo container and sealed it.
“Well, at least I found something in the end. I was starting to think I’d only be gathering medicinal herbs with no creatures left to hunt.”
I had found quite a few things that enhanced inner energy cultivation, but there were hardly any that could be called true spiritual medicines. Such genuinely mystical power would be possessed by divine spirits rather than mere creatures.
‘But I haven’t encountered a single one myself.’
My lips naturally pouted with disappointment.
Those children had definitely said the sacred mountain had plenty of divine spirits, so I should encounter them without difficulty.
‘Without difficulty, my foot. All I’ve been running into are creatures, day after day.’
Still, having eliminated this many creatures, shouldn’t I be thanked with something? Usually when you clear out a territory, you’d receive protection fees or tribute….
‘Ah, that’s not quite right, is it?’
In any case.
It wasn’t mere speculation—something was genuinely wrong. Very wrong indeed.
Whoooooosh!
In the silent mountain.
Wind swept through, causing the trees to sway violently.
It felt desolate.
How was it that not a single bird’s cry or insect’s chirp could be heard?
“…If there’s such a thing as balance like the Village Chief said, then a sacred mountain like this shouldn’t show only creatures.”
Muttering to myself, I suddenly kicked at a stone lying on the ground.
Whistle! Crack!
“Screech!”
A massive rat the size of a cat lunged at me, only to burst apart in an instant.
I clicked my tongue as I glanced at the scattered remains.
This has gone beyond merely having many creatures—they’re practically swarming everywhere.
Wild beasts are scarce to find, and I haven’t caught even a glimpse of anything worthy of being called a spiritual creature….
‘Well, that’s not entirely true.’
I subtly turned my head.
The moment I scanned my surroundings, rolling only my eyes without making it obvious.
Rustle!
Something appeared in the dense brush not far away.
A tuft of fur with golden base and black-and-white striped markings poked its head out above the vegetation.
Ssshhh!
As if sensing my observation, the creature vanished in the blink of an eye.
I closed my mouth.
“That looks like the same one that’s been following me since that village.”
I’ve chased after it several times, but I’ve never gotten a proper look at its face.
If it’s curious, let it come forward. If it’s cautious, then stop trailing me.
‘Well, we’ll meet when the time comes.’
I grasped the Simian’s corpse and set off.
With the Simian caught, I’d cleared a path to Seonmyo and harvested mountain ginseng as well.
It was time to return to my dwelling.
* * *
Roooaaar!
The refreshing sound of water cascading echoed from afar.
A wide clearing near a rather impressive waterfall.
This was my dwelling.
“I’ve been here long enough that it’s starting to feel like home.”
Soon the surrounding landscape came into view.
Home.
Could this really be called a home?
Had anyone laid eyes upon this place, they would have trembled in fear and spoken thus.
A hellscape unfolded in the mortal realm.
Or perhaps the lair of a hungry ghost.
A fairly well-constructed wooden dwelling stood here, yet the landscape sprawling around it could only be described in such terms.
All manner of bones, teeth, and hides—byproducts of the creatures—lay scattered in every direction. Woven baskets placed here and there brimmed with unidentifiable herbs and fruits.
The pièce de résistance was a bamboo shelf standing alone in the shade. The bottles of liquor arranged upon it trembled and writhed intermittently with a dull clattering sound.
And that wasn’t all….
Whoosh! Hiss!
The nearby brush rustled.
Soon three massive beasts emerged into view.
“Grrrrrowl!”
A stray dog. Or rather, something that resembled a dog.
A ferocious creature I’d encountered before entering the sacred mountain—a demon beast known for its taste for human flesh.
None other than…
“Woof! Woof!”
The Creatures.
I slowly raised my hand toward them.
“Tsk! Still don’t recognize your master? Where are you barking from?”
At that lethal threat, the Creatures trembled for a moment.
“Grrr…!”
“You see these beasts? Not hiding your fangs? Did you lose all your fear just because I was gone for a bit? Want to cross the rainbow bridge to join your pack?”
Crack!
The moment I clenched my raised fist.
“Yelp!”
Three Creatures quickly hid their fangs. They certainly didn’t understand the words.
Their tails naturally drooped as they crept toward me with submission…
Thump!
They flopped down and exposed their bellies.
The entire sequence unfolded as naturally as flowing water, as if this had happened countless times before.
“Pant pant pant!”
“Whine! Yelp!”
The Creatures began showering me with affection, their legs folded beneath them.
It would have shocked the Daesan clan beyond measure, but I simply nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
“I’ll let it slide this once. Behave yourselves. Otherwise, I’ll have to make you behave. Understood?”
“Woof, woof!”
“Good. Have you been guarding the place well?”
“Pant pant!”
“That’s right. Our Baek-gu, Heuk-gu, and Hwang-gu!”
I chuckled and vigorously rubbed the bellies of the three Creatures.
“Growl!”
Suddenly, one of the Creatures clenched its fangs.
Memories flashed through the mind of the most intelligent one in the pack—those days when they’d ruled the entrance to the sacred mountain.
How glorious those times had been.
When the pack appeared, even savage demons fled in terror, and creatures dwelling on the mountainside dared not encroach on their territory.
Happy days spent wetting their throats with blood and filling their bellies with flesh.
…Until that day when everything changed.
-Woof! Woof woof woof!
The day the pack had caught the scent of a human at the mountain’s entrance and rushed to attack.
In a single night, he’d slaughtered the entire pack.
And they, who had survived by hiding because of their exceptional cunning…
-Come to think of it, aren’t these just dogs after all? Shall I try taming them?
Thus began a life of humiliation and contempt.
A surprise attack? I tried it. And got beaten for it.
Running away? I attempted that. And received even more beatings.
Though the Creatures had hunted humans several times before, this one was fundamentally different.
“Whimper.”
The Creatures were forced to resort to desperate whimpering, their eyes squeezed shut.
Even if they were demonic beasts… their lives were precious.
After tormenting the Creatures for a while, I rose to my feet.
‘Just as I thought—even demonic beasts eventually become docile.’
I rubbed my hands together and began surveying the area around my dwelling.
There was a reason I had taken the trouble to tame the Creatures to guard my home.
Whether you called them spoils of war or household goods.
Everything I had obtained from the sacred mountain was gathered in this space.
‘Yes, everything is accounted for.’
Thick, elongated ho shou wu, strange fruits with the taste of alcohol, wild ginseng, spirits brewed from countless ingredients, and more.
Clatter!
The wild ginseng I had recently acquired was placed among my collection in its bamboo container.
In my previous life, this collecting was Dokgo Gyeon’s domain, so I simply consumed anything that appeared unusual and stored the rest.
‘From eating so many different things, my body has frozen solid, my dantian has boiled violently, and I’ve sweated black liquid like water.’
Well, I survived, so that’s what matters.
Moreover, thanks to it, I had recently begun sensing changes in my vital energy.
I could not know where this transformation would lead me, and it seemed far from a simple change.
The fierce daily life on the sacred mountain, the vast accumulation of experience, the enlightenment of sensory awareness, even knowledge of the Eight Divine Techniques.
I could sense that a new transformation was approaching—one I had never experienced even in my previous life.
“Guard the house well. If you run away, you know what happens, right?”
I warned the Creatures before entering my home.
“Woof!”
“I brought that monkey I caught recently, so eat that while keeping watch around here. Understand?”
“Growl?”
The Creatures’ eyes gleamed as if they understood, and they scampered off in a rush.
I entered my home, crossed my legs in meditation, and began cultivating my vital energy.
Recently, whenever I cultivated, I would see certain visions.
In the visions, my Sect Leader, Baek Mu-heun, Hyeok Wi-sang, and Dokgo Hyeon appeared in sequence. Occasionally, Dokgo Cheon would appear and demonstrate sword techniques to me.
And when I turned my gaze away from all of that, I could discover a massive black dragon quietly gazing down at me.
Then at some moment, it would turn to look at something, and I would follow, turning my head as well.
There, a bizarre serpent resembling the dragon writhed and coiled.
And that serpent would invariably open its mouth wide toward me.
* * *
Above the waterfall where I made my dwelling.
A colossal creature loomed, overlooking my wooden home.
“Grrrrrowl….”
With each shallow breath, muscles rippled like those of a wild stallion. Though standing motionless, an aura of divine spirituality naturally emanated around the creature, making one’s breath catch.
Lustrous golden fur and black-and-white stripes. At first glance, it resembled a tiger the size of a house.
Yet protruding from its mouth were tusks as thick as an adult man’s forearm, and a mane like a lion’s covered its face.
A visage as if tiger and lion had been blended in equal measure.
The divine creature stood silently atop the waterfall, its gaze piercing toward where Dokgo Myeong stood.
“Screech!”
At that moment, a tuft of fur hidden within the mane suddenly burst free.
The creature pressed down the struggling tuft’s head with its front paw and tucked it back between the strands of its mane.
But in that instant.
Uuuuuuuuuung!
An ominous vibration resonated from the deep mountain valley.
The direction where Dokgo Myeong stood and the direction from which the vibration came.
A strange light flickered in the divine creature’s eyes as it alternated its gaze between the two locations.
* * *
Daesan Clan, the center of the village.
Dan-hu’s face hardened as he knelt before a tree strung with colorful cloth, making an offering.
He suddenly turned his head toward the ancestral mountain.
Hong Lu and Hong Ta, the siblings sitting behind him, startled.
“Village Chief? What’s wrong?”
“Something terrible has happened.”
“Pardon?”
Dan-hu shot to his feet with an alarmed expression.
“Something terrible has occurred on the ancestral mountain. How could the aura have become like this….”
“But Myeong-i’s brother just entered the mountain!”
“What, what on earth has happened?”
Dan-hu spoke with a face that had darkened rapidly, cold sweat beading on his brow.
“The scent of blood… The elder said that those with sinister auras had secretly infiltrated the mountain. Someone has invaded the ancestral mountain without our notice.”
“What?”
“The iron nets have hunted down all the divine creatures. Dokgo Myeong is in danger!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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