Murim Login - Chapter 719

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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 719
Quest,
[Fallen Divine Stone]
Do you accept?
Y / N
The hologram window that suddenly materialized before my eyes was far from the only one.
I quickly scanned through the newly generated Quest information.
Quest
[Fallen Divine Stone]
The Divine Stone that once protected this land has already lost its original form.
Consumed by demonic energy, it has become a spark of yet another calamity, and you must dispose of this Fallen Divine Stone by any means necessary.
Rank
: Transcendent
Restriction
: Jin Tae-kyung
Objective
: [Fallen Divine Stone] Disposal (Incomplete)
Reward
: Varies depending on method of completion
Failure
: Increase in demonic energy of [Fallen Divine Stone]
After reading through the entire Quest information window, I quietly cursed inwardly.
‘Accept.’
– Quest,
[Fallen Divine Stone]
has been accepted!
Unlike several Quests that had been conducted semi-forcibly until now, this time there was a proper choice, but for me, it was an offer I could not refuse.
‘I cannot suppress the demonic energy indefinitely.’
The Divine Stone—or rather, the [Fallen Divine Stone] consumed by demonic energy—was a bomb that could explode at any moment.
It was fortunate that the one holding it was Beast King Miao Wang; even an ordinary master at the peak would have been unable to withstand the demonic energy contained within it.
‘Just as the Quest information states, I must dispose of it somehow.’
How many sacrifices had we paid to close the Rift?
For the sake of Su-ho-ryung, who had thrown himself forward in that final moment, I had to prevent that bomb from detonating.
And at this very moment, I was not the only one harboring such thoughts.
“Such demonic energy… this won’t do.”
Jeok Cheon-gang, frowning deeply, gestured toward me and Beast King Miao Wang.
“Step back. I shall handle it.”
As if grasping the meaning behind Jeok Cheon-gang’s words, Beast King Miao Wang’s eyes widened considerably.
“Elder Jeok, surely you don’t mean—”
“That ‘surely’ you’re thinking of is exactly right. If there’s any possibility of it becoming a source of trouble, we must uproot it entirely.”
“But this is… not something that can be destroyed so easily.”
And Jeok Cheon-gang’s response to Beast King Miao Wang’s concern was, in truth, brief and concise.
“That’s only true for you.”
“….”
“I can do it.”
A truly arrogant man’s way of speaking.
With just a short phrase, Jeok Cheon-gang silenced even Beast King Miao Wang, the greatest beast-man of the Southern Wilderness, and slowly extended his hand.
Whoooosh.
Scorching heat began gathering along his hand, exhaling a terrible warmth. The shimmering haze rising from all directions even created the illusion that space itself was warping.
But….
“Old Master Noya.”
A single phrase that suddenly burst forth after much deliberation.
Jeok Cheon-gang, who was about to strike, suddenly stopped his movement.
“What?”
“I don’t think you should do that.”
“Why?”
“I’ve given it some thought, and it seems like it would be unwise to touch it carelessly.”
“What?”
At my grave tone, Jeok Cheon-gang’s eyes widened.
“Are you saying you actually thought about something?”
“….”
I’m at a loss for words, truly.
Jeok Cheon-gang let out a dry cough while observing my bitter expression, then opened his mouth.
“If we leave it as is, it will become a source of trouble eventually. The faster we deal with it, the better.”
“I understand that too.”
“Then why are you acting like this? Don’t you trust me?”
“Goodness, why do you speak like that? Who else would I trust but Old Master Noya?”
I gave that answer, but truthfully, about half of it isn’t entirely sincere.
To be more precise, it’s not that I distrust Jeok Cheon-gang, but rather a concern born of uncertainty.
‘What if he cannot destroy it completely?’
The [Fallen Divine Object] right now is… like a teacup placed before me, for example.
If the cup remains intact, the tea won’t overflow. But if the cup shatters, the tea will spill everywhere.
‘If the demonic energy can no longer be contained, then we’ll have another disaster on our hands.’
A single mad tiger, no matter how much it rages, can be dealt with once subdued. But if demonic energy spreads, it becomes troublesome.
No, if that happens, we’d be fortunate if it ends at merely troublesome.
That’s why I had to stop Jeok Cheon-gang.
Regardless of how much I trust him, I cannot stake another person’s life as the wager in such a gamble.
‘Even if the odds are only one in a thousand, one in ten thousand, it’s not acceptable now.’
Too much blood has already been spilled.
Some died fighting valiantly, some became monsters devoid of reason and perished, and even those who had never once grasped a sword died in considerable numbers while escaping that hellscape.
If Su-ho-ryung hadn’t sacrificed himself to close the Rift, the damage would have snowballed by now… Wait.
‘Su-ho-ryung?’
Along with a sudden sense of déjà vu, those three syllables spun endlessly through my mind.
Memories from the day I first met that creature until now flickered past my eyes and ears in sequence, finally rushing toward a single thread of realization.
And at some moment.
“Ah.”
An involuntary exclamation that escaped my lips.
Jeok Cheon-gang and Beast King Miao Wang, who had been staring at me with expressions asking why I was suddenly acting like this, opened their mouths in turn.
“Yeah, why are you suddenly going crazy all by yourself? Let the old man in on it too.”
“Have you perhaps thought of some brilliant stratagem?”
Well. I’m not sure if what I have in mind qualifies as a brilliant stratagem.
At least not yet.
But if my current suspicion is true… it’s definitely worth attempting.
‘At least there’s nothing to lose.’
Muttering to myself, I looked at the Quest window still left unclosed and then at the faces of the two people waiting for my answer in turn. Then I shrugged my shoulders and opened my mouth.
“Both of you, come get some fresh air with me for a moment.”
* * *
Thud thud thud thud!
A group cutting through the wind in unison was modest in scale. Or rather, looking at just the headcount, the word “group” itself might be a contradiction in terms.
Three tigers and three people.
But if you examine them closely from nearby, the story changes. Just look at the two people running on either side of me.
“I wondered how fast a beast could possibly be, but this isn’t half bad. The saddle’s comfortable too.”
To Jeok Cheon-gang, who was examining the tiger running with interesting eyes from every angle, Beast King Miao Wang answered readily from the left.
“This is one of the bravest and fastest among those of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace. It’s also a descendant of the one who fought alongside me during the Great Hall Campaign.”
“Oho. That big fellow crouching in front of the Military Camp? I remember it. I had a feeling I’d seen it before.”
Yeah. What’s so special about the Azure Dragon on the left and White Tiger on the right?
My chest swells naturally at this insane lineup of Fire King on the left and Beast King on the right.
A terrifying force that could even overwhelm the Nantian Demon Empress if she came back to life.
Feeling a sense of security even more reassuring than a bowl of rice soup, the conversation of the two people beside my ears drifted to me in hushed tones.
“The more I see this one, the better it is. Good stamina. Fast feet and clearly intelligent-looking too.”
Beast King Miao Wang smiled contentedly.
“I raised it with special care. When it was young, it had such a poor appetite that I suffered greatly, but each time I hand-fed it milk myself while raising it.”
“What? You personally?”
“…That’s just a figure of speech. It’s not what you’re imagining, Elder Jeok.”
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been examining Beast King Miao Wang’s impressive chest muscles carefully, nodded.
“Well, let’s leave it at that.”
“No, if you say it like that, something feels odd….”
“Anyway, that’s settled. I’ll be taking this one.”
At that moment, the smile that had been on Beast King Miao Wang’s lips vanished.
“Pardon?”
“What are you questioning? Were you planning to have something go missing on the way back to the Central Plains as well?”
“N-no, of course not, but the beast you’re riding now is one my junior raised like a son in his later years….”
“Give it to me.”
“No, well.”
“Hand it over.”
“….”
“If you really don’t want to, take that one instead. It looks like a spiritual creature at first glance.”
Beast King Miao Wang, following Jeok Cheon-gang’s gaze to the creature in question, shook his head frantically.
“Heavens, no. Not that one. I only borrowed it temporarily in the first place.”
“What if I become an old man?”
“I didn’t raise it myself, and how could I send away a beast that my subordinate thinks of like a brother, as if he were its father?”
“The sky is clear today. Your tongue certainly is long.”
Beast King Miao Wang, who had fallen silent for a moment, answered in a dejected voice.
“…Very well. I shall give you the beast you’re riding.”
“Since you’re offering so readily, I suppose I have no choice. I accept your kindness.”
“….”
Majestic, my ass.
Was that really the senile Fire King? The Fire King is truly a legend….
And as I was trying to compose my deflated heart, the creature carrying me, who had been running so diligently, let out a low whimper.
Grrrr.
From the way it even glanced at me, it was clear the beast understood it had just barely escaped from the clutches of this Fire King, that merchant of dogs.
Feeling pity, I gently stroked its trembling snow-white fur.
“It’s alright, old friend. You survived.”
Whimper.
Mu Ya-ho, letting out a pitiful cry like a motherless puppy, gradually slowed its pace.
It had instinctively realized that showing off its speed in front of Jeok Cheon-gang would only increase the probability of being dragged all the way to the Central Plains.
Fortunately, Jeok Cheon-gang’s attention had already shifted elsewhere.
“That is…?”
His voice trailed off gradually.
At the end of the direction Jeok Cheon-gang was gazing, there stood a barren mountain that had been almost completely burned to ash.
No, even that unsightly barren mountain had a name.
Ai-nao Mountain—a name that no one living in these lands could possibly not know.
And just as I was about to explain about it, Jeok Cheon-gang’s eyes widened as he cried out.
“How dare some wretched fox bastard burn away the precious mountains and forests!”
“….”
“….”
In that instant, Beast King Miao Wang and I exchanged a heated glance. And I answered in a voice filled with fury.
“Dark Heaven.”
Sometimes, certain truths are more beautiful left unknown.
* * *
It was only when Jeok Cheon-gang realized that this barren, desolate mountain was indeed our destination that his brow furrowed deeply.
“Did we come all this way to plant trees?”
“…Well. I’m genuinely curious, but do you perhaps think I’m some kind of madman?”
It was absurd.
Today wasn’t Arbor Day, and even if it were, I wouldn’t be planting trees. My purpose in seeking out Ai-nao Mountain—now a barren wasteland—alongside these companions had been determined from the very beginning.
“This way.”
And it didn’t take long for Beast King Miao Wang to grasp where I was heading.
“The Poison Blood Land. Or… should it now be called the Sacred Ground?”
It would have been stranger if Beast King Miao Wang didn’t know. Even if the details weren’t extensive, he must have heard the gist of what happened from Yo-hee.
But upon hearing his murmur, I shook my head.
“They are different. The Poison Blood Land is the Poison Blood Land, and the Sacred Ground is the Sacred Ground.”
The two spaces are distinctly separated. If the Poison Blood Land is a land of death created by humans, then the Sacred Ground is the heart of the Southern Wilderness and a land of life.
‘Yes, life itself.’
Muttering inwardly, I lowered the [Fallen Divine Object] I held in my hand to the ground.
Demonic energy flowed out like mist, and Mu Ya-ho released a low cry.
Yet even consumed by darkness, its essence remained unchanged.
Shhhhhhh.
The ground pulsed like a beating heart. And with it, another world that had been hidden for eons was peeled back by one layer.
At the same moment, it appeared.
Another space suffused with warm radiance in all directions. And at its center, a small Sacred Pond shining more brilliantly than anything else.
“Ah.”
“That is…”
The exclamations that Jeok Cheon-gang and Beast King Miao Wang uttered scattered without reaching their end.
But I know. What they felt. And what I must do now.
‘Purification.’
Today was the day a new Divine Stone would be born.

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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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