Murim Login - Chapter 693

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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 693
The Beast King Stone.
A term that felt strangely familiar for reasons I couldn’t quite place. And in that same moment, a memory not so distant surfaced from the depths of my mind.
It was a tale from the distant past that I had heard from Beast King Miao Wang roughly seven weeks ago, during my journey toward Ai-nao Mountain.
The reason Ai-nao Mountain came to be called a forbidden land. The existence of the Five Poison Sect that gave rise to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace as it stands today, and the great war that drenched all of the Southern Wilderness in blood.
And… the vanished divine artifact.
‘It is merely a legend passed down by word of mouth. The Beast King Stone is said to be a divine artifact of our palace, one that can command all the fierce beasts under heaven—a treasure once possessed by the First Palace Master.’
I recalled those words that Beast King Miao Wang had mentioned in passing.
– Behold.
A faint intention resonated within my mind, and the specter—or rather, what should now be called the guardian spirit—slowly shifted its steps to the side.
And in the next moment, I could finally see it.
A soft hiss of wind.
As the Black Tiger’s massive form moved aside, the obscured view opened before me. There, standing solitary atop a peak shrouded on all sides by thick mist, loomed an enormous boulder of immense weight.
‘Surely not.’
I understood instinctively.
Why the Black Tiger had guided me to this place. And what that colossal stone truly was.
A measured step forward.
Moving as though entranced, I passed slowly by the Black Tiger and came to a halt before the boulder, which towered nearly three times my height.
A soft hiss of wind.
I could feel it.
An incomprehensible energy that enveloped the massive stone like an embrace.
From the highest point of this mysterious land, it scattered a dim, dark luminescence—mysterious yet perilous in appearance.
Like some divine artifact from legend, buried beneath the weight of countless ages.
“…The Beast King Stone.”
Three characters exhaled along with the breath I had been holding. The Black Tiger, which had drawn near like a phantom, gave a subtle nod.
– Indeed. Long ago, it passed through the hands of a human and received such a name.
“The human you speak of—could it be…?”
– He was as refreshing as the wind, as clear as water, and as unchanging as the trees. He was also the only human who could freely traverse this space without my permission.
“Without your permission? That was possible?”
This place had remained hidden for hundreds of years, perhaps nearly a thousand. We could only enter because the door opened at the Black Tiger’s will. The Black Tiger answered my bewildered question.
– It was possible. Though I myself did not know it, the divine stone that guards this land accepted him before I could grant permission.
I had little difficulty understanding that the divine stone the Black Tiger spoke of was the Beast King Stone’s true name.
At the same time, I began to dimly comprehend the identity of the human he described.
Since people first began to inhabit the Southern Wilderness, he was the one unparalleled leader who united dozens of tribes locked in endless warfare beneath a single banner.
‘But that is not all.’
He who inscribed the five characters “Southern Barbarian Beast Palace” upon this land was also the first and last master of the Beast King Stone, which appeared only briefly.
Or perhaps he was never a master at all.
And my suspicion hardened into certainty as the intention that followed reached my ears.
– Then one day, a great war erupted. Mountains and pastures were consumed by flames, and the corpses of countless beasts and humans clogged the rivers. As time passed, this land grew ever more defiled, and with each defilement, the divine stone gradually lost its power.
Then one day, a massive war broke out. The Mountain and pastures were engulfed in flames, and the River was filled with countless bodies of beasts and humans. As time passed, this land became increasingly defiled, and with it, Seoksin gradually lost his power.
“Lost its power?”
– Commanding the hundred beasts is merely one facet of the Divine Stone’s authority, not its entirety. We call it divine because it has safeguarded this land’s abundance across eons beyond measure.
I turned my gaze from Black Tiger, tilting my head slightly toward the massive boulder.
Even now, the colossal rock scattered a dim, murky radiance, yet it bore countless fractures and fissures across its surface.
“By any measure, it seems far removed from abundance.”
In terms of distance, it would be roughly equivalent to the span between Hanan and the Southern Wilderness—the very path I had traversed.
Setting aside its dingy, grimy appearance, the ominous aura emanating from the Divine Stone was unsettling even to me.
‘No matter how I look at it, this is rather off.’
Divine artifacts aren’t manufactured to standardized specifications like factory goods, yet there exists a baseline expectation nonetheless.
The Water Dragon Stone I had envisioned was a pristine, gleaming pebble—not this colossal, ominous presence that radiated oppressive pressure rivaling even Seorak Mountain’s famous rocking stone.
“…Well, I can’t fathom the abundance aspect, but now I understand why it’s called the Water Dragon Stone. If you crack someone’s skull with this, what beast would dare disobey? I’d wager even humans could be subdued.”
The First Palace Master of the Southern Beast Palace, who once possessed this even briefly, is truly remarkable.
How intensely did he train? Did he perform three hundred repetitions while suspending an elephant from a pull-up bar?
As I pondered the training methods of legendary figures, Black Tiger fixed me with a gaze that descended into profound depths.
– It is because of you.
“What?”
– Once, this land overflowed with peace and abundance. All things flowed according to natural order, and the Divine Stone bore no resemblance to its current form.
Understanding Black Tiger’s meaning, I murmured softly.
“…It gradually lost its power. As humans began inhabiting this land.”
– More precisely, it began when they started slaughtering one another.
I was beginning to comprehend.
The Divine Stone that the Southern Barbarians called the Water Dragon Stone is inseparable from this land itself. As death and destruction overflow across its expanse, the Divine Stone’s power diminishes accordingly.
“Is that why you aided the First Palace Master? Three hundred years ago, as the Five Poison Sect drenched the Southern Wilderness in blood, the Divine Stone’s power would have waned?”
– I. No, we….
A fleeting emotion crossed Black Tiger’s eyes—perhaps longing, or something akin to regret.
– Did not aid him.
“…!”
Caught off guard by this unexpected answer, a tranquil consciousness followed.
– If my mission is to protect the Divine Stone, then my duty is merely to exist alongside this land. We could only observe.
“You simply… watched?”
– Yes, like a certain being you know.
I suddenly recalled the Water Dragon I had encountered months prior—a mysterious entity that had cultivated enlightenment for centuries while guarding the river.
That Imoogi, possessing truly wondrous and formidable power, refrained from actively intervening in human affairs, instead protecting its domain.
But. But if that were so.
“Then what of the legend surrounding the Water Dragon Stone? The tale passed down to the people of this land….”
– A legend. Yes, it was precisely that—a legend. It existed, yet could only be fabricated as fiction.
A bitter expression flickered across Black Tiger’s pale blue eyes.
– He was the sole human capable of understanding our mission, and desired peace more than any other. Thus, to end this war, he created the Water Dragon Stone himself.
“…!”
– I watched everything from unseen depths. Until that day when he proclaimed a mere stone the Water Dragon Stone, became the chosen hero uniting his tribe, and fell after battling other humans.
My breath caught without warning. It felt as though a tome densely inscribed with legends from the distant past unfurled before my eyes.
– Thus did he perish. What humans revered as the Water Dragon Stone vanished as though it had never existed from the beginning, and the war continued for another hundred years thereafter, and I….
Krrrgh.
The cry that escaped trembled with anguish.
Those pale blue eyes, which had gazed upon the divine stone with a look directed toward distant places as if pursuing something beyond grasp, shifted toward me.
– For two hundred years, I have had to live with regret.
A brief silence fell after that final thought.
Standing tall and facing Black Tiger as the wind swept across from somewhere, I suddenly opened my mouth.
“For what reason?”
I continued without waiting for an answer. No—this had never been a question posed in expectation of one.
“Because as the war persisted, the land grew desolate, and with it the divine stone lost its power? Now, as something terrible looms, even that meager strength remaining seems about to vanish? Is that why you regretted it? That you should have helped him then, this futile remorse?”
A heavy, sinking thought resonated within my mind.
– Is this an accusation?
“No. Truth be told, I don’t much care. Rather, I’m grateful you helped us. Whether you believe me or not, I cannot say.”
I care nothing for whether this is the divine stone or a guardian spirit. I don’t even believe I have the right to judge.
It happened centuries ago, and regardless of their purpose, the fact remains that they saved my life and that of my companions.
I simply… had such a thought, suddenly.
“For a so-called guardian spirit, you’re rather petty and cowardly. Well, this much should be acceptable, no?”
– …!
“Won’t work? If I’ve offended you, I’ll take it back.”
Black Tiger regarded me in silence. Unlike the form that appeared infinitely ominous on the surface, those pale blue eyes were large and clear.
And in the next moment.
– Every day, every moment for two hundred years, I have regretted it. That I should have saved that human, even if it meant defying the natural order.
“…!”
– Reckless and young human. Your words too are not without truth. I have been consumed by a single purpose for ages untold, and through it, I made a grave miscalculation. But might you grant me a chance?
“A chance, you say….”
– I wish to recover even a fragment of the divine stone’s power. And this time, I shall correct the mistaken choice of the past.
Whoosh.
The massive tiger’s jaws slowly opened. And in that moment, a crystalline form of pure, luminous blue energy revealed itself.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
– New information has been updated due to condition fulfillment!
–
[Spirit of Mount Aenoe]
has been changed to
[Guardian Spirit]
!
– Hidden text has been revealed!
–
[Sacred Hidden Ground]
has been discovered!
– Hidden Quest activation conditions have been met.
– Hidden Quest has been generated!
– Hidden Quest,
[Last Chance]
has been generated!
A bell tolls abruptly, accompanied by a system notification. Before my eyes materializes the final holographic window.
[Water Dragon’s Expedition]
to strengthen
[Ancient Divine Stone]
Will you proceed?
Y / N
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
And….
‘Then is it spiritual essence for spiritual essence?’
Muttering inwardly, I suddenly gazed upward at the sky.
Blue. Like the eyes of the Black Tiger now watching me. No—like the eyes of the guardian spirit.
“I am….”
* * *
While some had departed from this place, others remained.
Yo-hee and Mu Ya-ho.
But those waiting near the Sacred Pond for one who had not returned found themselves confronted by a change that arrived far more swiftly.
Boom, boom, boom!
The earth trembles, and the waters of the Sacred Pond undulate like waves.
Hundreds, thousands of birds take flight in unison, while even greater numbers of beasts rise from the grass.
Yo-hee’s head snaps upward reflexively, a faint gasp escaping her lips.
“That, that is….”
Roooooar!
A pillar of light pierces the heavens, enveloping the unknown space.

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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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