Chapter 1020: The Divine Tree and the Master.

A presence is felt.

So, I immediately moved towards that place.

A rocky mountain with nothing on it.

It was funny how I was flustered because I couldn’t feel a single living creature, but countless presences were being felt by my senses.

How could something I couldn’t feel suddenly reveal itself like this?

I moved with Cheonma to confirm this.

Not long after, I discovered a space.

It was a place filled with rocks, not much different from elsewhere, but there was a gap just big enough for one person to enter.

Beyond that…

‘There it is.’

Something was visible.

Someone was standing guard in front of what looked like a gate.

However.

‘…It’s not human.’

It wasn’t human.

Actually, I hadn’t seen anything that could be called human since coming to Man-gye. This means it wasn’t even remotely similar.

The Wolya tribe, who had beast ears and tails attached to their human forms. If they were considered somewhat human-like.

‘That’s really not it.’

What was reflected in my eyes right now certainly couldn’t be called human.

A complete beast.

It was similar to when the Wolya tribe turned into beasts under the moonlight.

It only stood on two legs; its appearance was vastly different from a human. It was truly a beast itself.

‘Looking at it… it’s kind of like a dog?’

A dog standing on two legs. If I had to pick a breed, it looked like a stray dog.

It was a stray dog standing on two legs, holding a spear in one hand.

‘What is that now?’

I shouldn’t be surprised anymore. I’d seen walking lizards and even short old men. What’s there to be surprised about seeing something like that?

What’s just important is…

‘That it is a living creature.’

The fact that presences I couldn’t feel at all were now being picked up countless times by my senses.

The center must surely be beyond there.

‘Hmm.’

It’s a location covered by rocks on all sides. Even that gate is inside a cave, so do I have to go straight through to break in?

I stepped back slightly.

I didn’t want to cause unnecessary friction.

Maybe there’s another way? I stepped back and leaped straight up.

I went high into the sky and looked down at the mountain.

‘Let’s see.’

Visually, it was still just a mountain made of rock. The space that should have appeared, connected to the cave I just saw, wasn’t visible from the sky.

If it’s like this, do I really have to break through?

‘Ssk.’

Just as reluctance started to rise, feeling like I’d have to use force inevitably,

‘Hmm?’

Something foreign caught my eye as I looked down.

Thump.

A sensation that tapped my heart. As soon as I felt it, I focused my eyes.

My Mind’s Eye opened, and I scanned the rocky mountain again.

Then.

‘Got it.’

Confirming the scenery, which was the same yet different, I lifted the corners of my mouth.

Tak-!

I landed my body, which had been high up, onto the ground. Not the place I just went to, but on a hill higher than that.

As I landed, Cheonma flew over beside me as if it had been waiting.

I ignored it and focused on my Mind’s Eye.

Then, threads extended out in all directions. A curtain made of golden threads filled my vision.

This meant only one thing.

‘It’s a spell.’

A spell was cast upon Mareongsan Mountain.

And quite densely at that.

‘Should I call this fortunate?’

It felt strange to call it fortunate, but a sense of relief welled up inside me. The fact that spells were cast all around like this…

‘Means I don’t necessarily have to go through the cave entrance.’

It meant the gaze that would fall elsewhere was blocked by the spell, and that also meant there wasn’t just one entrance.

“Let’s see…”

I wonder how this formation was made. I examined each part with a calm mind.

‘This way of structuring threads is something I’m seeing for the first time.’

It was somewhat different from what the turtle showed me or what I’d seen so far. So this is how it can be used.

As I examined it back and forth, I suddenly chuckled.

‘Am I crazy?’

Just moments ago, I was frowning heavily, saying the situation was complicated, but as soon as I realized there was a spell, my mind calmed down.

It was ridiculously funny.

Swoosh.

I moved my hand, touching the spell. Since I wasn’t trying to grab it, my hand passed through the threads.

‘Can I touch this?’

I assessed the angle.

Whether I should pull this, or perhaps violently blast my way through the entrance.

Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind, but I had already decided on the answer.

I changed the movement of my hand passing through the threads.

Woooooong—!!!

My heart reacted. The spell’s loop, which had been coiled up, rotated slightly.

At that moment.

Jiiing-!!

I grabbed a few of the threads that were stretched out in all directions. I held my breath right there. All five of my senses focused entirely on the threads.

Where they originated from, how they extended, how these threads were structured.

What was at the end I was holding.

My mind raced to grasp all of it.

Giiiiiiing.

Simultaneously, the loop also sped up as if resonating, and the more it did, the more strength entered my hand touching the threads.

If I touched it wrong, it would break. That’s how fine and thin the threads were.

Knowing that, my hand showed no hesitation. To an outsider, it would look like I didn’t care whether the threads broke or not.

One.

‘…Back from here.’

Just because I’m not hesitant doesn’t mean I’m thoughtless.

I was concentrating all my senses on my fingertips and the threads I was touching.

It was obvious I’d be in trouble if I made a mistake, but separately from that, I simply didn’t hesitate.

It was strange, but it had been like this since long ago. From the time I first encountered spells, even though I possessed a nature burdened with excessive worries, whenever I faced spells, my hesitation vanished.

It felt as if I already knew how I should act.

‘Re-tie the knot that was woven backward.’

Both my hands moved quickly. Each time my fingers moved, the air briefly fluctuated.

‘The knot I tied…’

Woooooong—!!!

Following that, energy was drawn out.

I didn’t mind.

‘Weave it one more time.’

I just focused on the action I was performing, consecutively weaving knots with the threads.

A moment passed just like that. By the time I realized it, I had pulled out all the threads and tied them into one knot. Though it looked complex and tangled, a consistent pattern was woven within.

“…Hoo.”

Letting out a tired sigh, I reached out my hand for the finishing touch.

My outstretched hand grasped the loop I had made above the knot, and as I gently pulled it.

Whoooooosh—-!!!

The bound threads were released and unfurled in an instant. Their appearance was like a flower made of gold. The flower, spreading out with brilliant light, filled my vision.

Beautiful. The light scattering from the fluctuating threads was enough to blind my eyes.

I watched the scene, unconsciously admiring it slightly, when…

Wooooong.

As soon as the threads unfurled, the air before my eyes shimmered. As if multiple colors were tangled, it distorted the space little by little,

“Oh.”

and then completely changed the scene before me.

The floor, which had been entirely made of rock, dissolved like smoke, revealing the hidden space.

It was as if the clouds had parted.

What appeared was another region within the large, circular mountain range.

“…Well, look at this?”

I was slightly surprised seeing this. I hadn’t seen a single tree or blade of grass before. But this revealed mountain range had plenty of them growing.

It’s a lovely sight. Just looking at it made me say that involuntarily.

Water trickled down a valley, and lush, blue-green foliage grew abundantly. The scent of grass, filled with a vitality I hadn’t felt until just now, brushed against my nose.

Feeling that, I looked at Cheonma.

“Let’s go. It’ll close soon.”

I hadn’t completely dispelled the spell. I knew it was just a blindfold, and besides, I didn’t know what might happen if I dispelled it entirely, so I simply created a momentary opening to enter.

Soon, the things covering the ceiling would rise again. Since I had to enter before then, I went inside with Cheonma.

Tuk-!

I dropped from a high position and landed lightly. Until just now, I was on a stone floor, but this place, as I had seen, was a dirt floor.

Moreover.

“…It’s not fake.”

As if the presences felt from outside weren’t fake, as soon as I entered the space, presences could be felt from all directions.

Jjaek jjaek-!

Not to mention the chirping of birds perched on trees,

Jjireureureuk–!!

but also the sounds of insects crying out from the bushes.

Things that were absent and felt awkward were now all audible and perceptible.

As I felt this and looked around,

Woooooong-!!

A vibration could be felt in the air. It wasn’t actually vibrating; the spell had started working again, beginning to cover the ceiling.

A thick, cloud-like mist covered the ceiling again.

What was strange was that although it seemed to be covering, it was translucent, allowing the outside to be seen. The sky, dyed in crimson, came into view clearly.

That means…

‘It means you can’t see out from the outside, but you can see out from the inside.’

This is quite fascinating.

‘Hwasan Sect just formed the space itself.’

Is this just a screen here?

If I had my way, I would have liked to examine it more closely.

So, just as I was about to subtly turn on my Mind’s Eye to look deeper into the spell,

“Excuse me.”

“…!”

I turned my head at the voice that suddenly came from beside me. There.

“What the…?”

A small, white butterfly was fluttering its wings in front of me.

“I do not know where you may have come from, but this lowly one dares to greet a noble being.”

A voice came from the butterfly. From what I heard, it was a woman’s voice.

“…What is this now?”

As I asked, my flustered gaze fixed on it.

“I am a guardian spirit who is in charge of this place.”

The butterfly introduced itself like that.