SYM 47

A faint mist filled all directions. Ha Yeo-un was starting to get annoyed. The fog was so thick, he couldn’t see an inch ahead. It was as good as being blindfolded. He had to rely on something other than his eyesight to navigate.

Ha Yeo-un spread his senses wide. He observed the subtle flow of the formation technique, watching the direction in which the energy within the formation technique was being drawn, and headed towards the life gate.

The problem was that even if he knew the direction, he couldn’t see ahead because of the fog. There were so many things to be careful of: densely packed trees and roots, an uneven ground, and unexpected rocks appearing everywhere.

Normally, Cheonma himself wouldn’t feel fatigue from something like this. It wasn’t fatigue, but annoyance. He kept thinking he should have just cut off Madam Hwang’s head without hesitation. He kept feeling like he’d made the wrong choice.

Ha Yeo-un glared at a point that seemed to be the summit of the mountain. A violent impulse surged within him, the desire to leap up right now, destroy the formation technique all at once, and cut off the heads of those who dared to play such tricks in front of him.

“Heeuuuuum.”

Just then, Eun-hyeon, who had been sleeping on his back, stirred. Ha Yeo-un suppressed his surging, ferocious Demonic Energy and sighed.

Unlike his complicated feelings, seeing Eun-hyeon sleeping peacefully, making soft snoring sounds, made him feel weak.

Right, in this situation, sleeping so comfortably must mean he trusts him that much.

Ha Yeo-un abandoned the thought of finding a safe place to leave Eun-hyeon and going on a rampage alone. Unless he had a Dark Shadow, there was no safe place in a place like this. Besides, he didn’t know what kind of shock would be inflicted on those inside the formation technique if it were forcibly broken.

Dark Soul Pill had vanished without a trace the moment it entered the formation technique. It seemed like it had fallen into another space. This was probably why he hadn’t heard from the Dark Shadow he had sent ahead.

“Well, at least one of us is sleeping comfortably.”

Ha Yeo-un patted Eun-hyeon’s bottom with his hand, and a faint smile escaped him.

If the Dark Shadow guys saw this, they would be horrified. Even he was unfamiliar with this side of himself.

Eun-hyeon was a truly strange being. Just a moment ago, if his Demonic Energy had surged like this, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it back and would have unleashed it, but Eun-hyeon’s snoring alone was enough to calm it down.

“Heeuuuung. Great Hero Ha?”

Eun-hyeon’s voice, drawn out at the end, was heard. He glanced back and saw Eun-hyeon, still half-asleep.

“Looks like you’re awake now.”

“Uh…?”

Eun-hyeon blinked, his face still drowsy with sleep.

No matter how much he looked around, he could only see the faint mist, and for a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was.

“If you’re sleepy, why don’t you sleep a little more?”

“…It’s okay.”

He still hadn’t fully woken up, as his words trailed off. But Eun-hyeon forcibly shook his head, trying to wake up.

Eun-hyeon looked at the fog and rubbed his eyes with both hands, wondering if he was really awake. The fog was so thick that he couldn’t even see his own hands when he reached out.

“What kind of fog is this…”

“It’s been foggy since earlier, and it’s gotten like this. The weather and environment are all over the place. This must be the influence of the formation technique.”

Looking at the fog made him feel dazed. Eun-hyeon forcibly washed his face to clear his head.

“If the weather can be changed like this with a formation technique… this doesn’t seem like an ordinary formation technique.”

According to what Eun-hyeon had learned, the basis of a formation technique was distortion. Distorting the terrain or perception, making it impossible to properly recognize objects or terrain. He had heard that high-level formation techniques could even manipulate the weather and environment at will.

“You don’t need to be so frozen. It just means it’s a stronger 진 than we initially thought. Nothing changes. After all, all formation techniques end when you get to the life gate.”

In the fog where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, let alone a path, Ha Yeo-un was walking as if he could see everything clearly.

“Uh, where are we going?”

“Where else? We’re going to Godeok Temple.”

Eun-hyeon strained his eyes, wondering how Ha Yeo-un could see ahead. But he couldn’t even tell which direction was east, west, south, or north, let alone find a path.

“There’s a cave over there. Let’s rest there for a while since we need to eat.”

Eun-hyeon raised his head to see where the cave was, but all he could see was fog.

Before long, the cave that Ha Yeo-un had mentioned really appeared. Eun-hyeon was only able to get off Ha Yeo-un’s back right in front of the cave. It wasn’t very big, but it seemed sufficient for a short rest.

Did he find this by instinct? Or with his senses…?

Eun-hyeon couldn’t even guess how Ha Yeo-un had found the cave in a situation where he couldn’t see well.

Whatever method it was, it was something that Eun-hyeon’s abilities couldn’t do right now. Eun-hyeon sighed softly.

It wasn’t that he thought he would be of any help, but he didn’t know he would be such a burden.

“First, we need to get rid of some of the moisture.”

Ha Yeo-un flapped his sleeves, infusing them with internal energy, as soon as he finished speaking. The internal energy contained within caused the fog to recede not only inside the cave but also in front of it.

At the same time, the stuffiness in his chest disappeared.

“…Great Hero Ha. How long will it take to get to Godeok Temple?”

Ha Yeo-un glanced at Eun-hyeon.

He saw Eun-hyeon pulling at his fog-soaked clothes, shrinking his body. Eun-hyeon, who was already small, looked even smaller when he hunched over like that.

For some reason, Ha Yeo-un didn’t like the sight, and he clicked his tongue inwardly.

“It seems far, but we’ll arrive in an instant. First, we need to start a fire. I’ll go gather some branches, so stay there.”

Ha Yeo-un glanced back at Eun-hyeon as he left the cave.

Eun-hyeon definitely looked tired. He had been constantly carrying him and subtly injecting him with energy, so it was strange that he was so exhausted.

On closer inspection, it seemed that the formation technique was absorbing his energy. Ha Yeo-un didn’t care about this much internal energy leaking out, but it seemed to have had a big impact on Eun-hyeon.

He would have to help him recover by injecting him with energy while resting in the cave.

Ha Yeo-un stirred up the wind once more to drive away the fog, then gathered some branches haphazardly. He focused on small branches that would be easy to ignite rather than large ones. And before taking them to the cave, he subtly generated heat with his internal energy and injected it into the branches to remove the moisture they contained. It was a kind of Samadhi Fire.

Ha Yeo-un, nonchalantly wasting internal energy that martial artists would be horrified to see, returned to the cave.

Then, he piled the branches loosely and lit the branches inside with Samadhi Fire again.

“…Oh? Is that perhaps Samadhi Fire?”

When Eun-hyeon recognized the Samadhi Fire, Ha Yeo-un nodded.

As the flames rose, the damp air inside the cave quickly dried up. As a result, it became more comfortable and easier to breathe.

“It seems difficult to find food inside this formation technique, so eat this.”

“Is this an energy pill?”

“Yes. Fortunately, I had a few in my pocket.”

Eun-hyeon nodded and put the energy pill that Ha Yeo-un handed him into his mouth.

He had eaten them endlessly during his Taoist Eun-hyeon days, but it was his first time eating them in Namgung Eun-hyeon’s body, so he was a little happy.

When he chewed the energy pill, he felt a refreshing sensation and a clear energy entering his body. It wasn’t just an energy pill, but something like a spiritual elixir.

Ha Yeo-un watched Eun-hyeon eat and pretended to eat one himself, but put it back in his pocket.

It was called an energy pill, but the ingredients used were so high-grade that it was close to an Elixir. He didn’t need to eat it himself, so he was going to save it and feed it to Eun-hyeon instead.

“Can I close my eyes for a moment?”

At Eun-hyeon’s words, Ha Yeo-un nodded.

Eun-hyeon had been sleeping on Ha Yeo-un’s back the whole time, but he still seemed sleepy.

Perhaps he was unable to gather his strength because he was not only tired but also deprived of energy.

“It’s cold coming up, so lie down here.”

Ha Yeo-un took off his long robe and spread it on the floor. Eun-hyeon hesitated for a moment, then lay down on it. It was hard, but he didn’t feel any coldness at all.

Eun-hyeon, who was thinking of resting for a moment and then getting up, soon fell into a deep sleep.

Ha Yeo-un watched the sleeping Eun-hyeon for a moment, then closed his eyes. It was to circulate his energy and spread his senses to explore the surroundings.

He had been looking for it all the way, but he couldn’t find any trace of Dark Shadow. As a result, he had no choice but to be satisfied with leaving behind the secret code used by the Demonic Sect for now.

If Dark Shadow was here, he would see it and come to find him.

Ha Yeo-un took a deep breath and spread his senses even wider.