Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 497.8 – Side Story 3 Part 1

The Flame Mountain

Meihekou, Jilin Province.

There was a hole about twenty jang in size on one of its cliffs.

The hole was so deep that it was called a bottomless pit from which one could never climb back up if they fell in, and it was said that no one had ever reached its bottom.

Although it seemed there would be nothing at the bottom of Meihekou where not even a speck of light reached, there was something snoring there.

-Snore… Snore… Snore…

Its snoring was so loud that it shook the surroundings.

The regular snoring sound that had been continuing for a while suddenly stopped.

Then white glowing eyes opened.

The chilling white glowing eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for something.

Then,

-Whoosh!

Flames erupted, brightening the surroundings.

The flames revealed the form of the being with the white glowing eyes.

It was a huge, grotesque monkey with a purple face covered in white fur.

However, this giant monkey’s arms and legs were bound by rusted iron chains, making it look difficult to move properly.

-It was here.

At that moment, along with the voice, someone appeared from within the flames.

Seeing that being, the giant monkey with white eyes prostrated itself on the ground.

-Boom!

Though it merely struck its head on the ground, the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

Seeing this, the red-haired beautiful boy who appeared from the flames raised the corner of his mouth and spoke.

-White Ghost King[1]. So you were still here?

As soon as those words ended, the giant monkey with white eyes called the White Ghost King suddenly wailed as if in sorrow.

-Waaaaaaah!

The surroundings echoed.

To this,

-Stop wailing.

-Waaah. I’ve been waiting only for this day. Is He forgiving me now?

-The one you served can’t forgive you or do anything else.

-What do you mean?

-The White-Faced King, no, that fox bitch turned Him into stone.

-How dare youuuuu!!!!!

-Boom!

At the red-haired beautiful boy’s words, the White Ghost King with white eyes struck the ground with both fists, his face terribly distorted.

The ground split and tremendous winds swept in all directions.

Even the surrounding walls crumbled from the storm-like winds.

-Boom! Boom!

He continued striking the ground, showing no signs of stopping.

-Enough.

At the red-haired beautiful boy’s shout, the White Ghost King stopped with an enraged face.

-Grrrr. Where the hell is that damn fox bitch?

Looking at the White Ghost King who couldn’t calm his excitement, the red-haired beautiful boy smirked and answered.

-She’ll come looking for me on her own soon.

-Then should I tear that fox bitch apart for His sake?

-No. You have something else to do.

-Give me any order. I’m willing to do anything for the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. The Red Boy!

***

“Red Boy.”

“Red Boy?”

“Yes.”

Hong Hae-a[2].

As the name suggests, it means “red child”.

Even the Heavenly Demon, who had read all the divination technique ancient books possessed by Jo Taecheong, another Three-Eyes, was hearing this name for the first time.

To this, Diviner Yeo Surin said:

“Just as there are heroes forgotten as time passes, there were beings among the Imaemangyang who were infamous in ancient times. This Red Boy can be considered one of those Imaemangyang.”

“Why is an Imaemangyang that had disappeared even from records suddenly appearing to try and break Great Strength King’s seal?”

“I’m not certain, but there’s something like this in an ancient book.”

“It’s said there is one Imaemangyang who inherited Great Strength King’s bloodline, and that…”

“Is that Red Boy?”

“Yes.”

This is written in one of the ancient books, the Unbroken Summary[3].

Near the Flame Mountain, in Mount Cuiyun, there is a spirit beast called the Iron Fan Immortal, and the Imaemangyang born from her passionate union with Great Strength King, turning the surroundings into a wasteland, is none other than Red Boy.

This Imaemangyang, born in the Flame Mountain which could be called flames all year round, is said to be the very incarnation of fire.

The Heavenly Demon, who had been listening to Yeo Surin’s story, interrupted to ask:

“Is he strong?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? He even managed to trouble for a moment the Imaemangyang born from a stone where all the energy of heaven and earth converged.”

“How strong is that Imaemangyang born from the converged energy of heaven and earth? Is it at a similar level to Great Strength King?”

“Don’t you know the legend of Mount Wuzhi on Hainan Island?”

“Mount Wuzhi?”

There is a large mountain on Hainan Island said to be in the shape of five fingers.

The people living there call that mountain Mount Wuzhi (Five Finger Mountain).

The Heavenly Demon knew most of the well-known place names in the Central Plains, having wandered around to avenge his grandfather.

However, knowing the place names doesn’t necessarily mean knowing the legends related to those regions.

“What’s the legend of Mount Wuzhi?”

“The people living on Mount Wuzhi believe that mountain is the hand of the Tathagata.”

“Tathagata? Shakyamuni Buddha?”

“Yes.”

Shakyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism and the Buddha himself.

Although there are many venerable ones and tathagatas in Buddhism, Shakyamuni Buddha was the first and pioneer.

“Why do they believe it’s Shakyamuni Buddha’s hand?”

“In the local legend of Mount Wuzhi, it’s said that an Imaemangyang born from the convergence of heaven and earth’s energy was trapped under that mountain.”

“Although it’s not known exactly what that Imaemangyang was called, ancient books referred to it as the Stone Monkey or the Railing Monkey King[4].”

“Railing Monkey King…? Was it sealed in Mount Wuzhi?”

“Yes. That Railing Monkey King was born in a stone where heaven and earth’s energy converged and was so strong that it was called a calamity even the heavens feared at the time. Everywhere it moved brought destruction, so all the immortals who couldn’t bear to watch tried everything to seal that Imaemangyang but couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Then why is Shakyamuni Buddha related to the legend of Mount Wuzhi?”

“When the immortals couldn’t do anything with their own power, they asked for help from Buddha Shakyamuni, who was known to have understood all the principles. That’s why in the legend, it’s said that Shakyamuni Buddha descended as a spirit god, breaking the natural order, and sealed that Imaemangyang.”

As she said this, she made a gesture of pressing down on the ground with her palm.

It seemed she was indicating that Mount Wuzhi was in that shape.

“So that’s Mount Wuzhi.”

“That’s right. Ancient books say that Imaemangyang had such invincible strength that it was called the worst and strongest among the Imaemangyang that had existed since the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. There are even stories that say even Great Strength King was no match for it.”

“So you’re saying this Red Boy, who is said to be of Great Strength King’s bloodline, is strong enough to have troubled even that Railing Monkey King?”

At the Heavenly Demon’s question, Yeo Surin nodded worriedly.

“If the ancient books are correct.”

“So it’s not just comparable to the Six Demons, but could be even beyond that.”

“That’s what worries me.”

Even without Great Strength King, said to have the greatest strength among the Six Demons, the other Six Demons were great calamities that could cause the downfall of a country.

She too remembered, having fought against White Phoenix Demon King during the great war between the righteous and unorthodox sects.

It was truly a horrible nightmare.

The only fortunate thing was that there was a greater countermeasure right in front of them.

She had already witnessed his tremendous might with her own eyes.

He surpasses even those Six Demons.

However,

“The danger scale of Imaemangyang can’t be simply calculated based on transmitted records. I know how strong you are, Cult Leader, but if this being really is Red Boy, it would be best to be careful.”

“I have no intention of being careless.”

The opponent was an Imaemangyang with enough intelligence to try to move the Heavenly Demon to get what it wanted.

At that level, regardless of strength, if he was careless, the damage to the surroundings could be great.

Now that he had many precious things, the Heavenly Demon was more wary of them getting hurt than himself.

That’s why he wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible, but,

“The problem is the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.”

She had disappeared without a trace a few months ago.

He had forgotten about her, thinking it was good riddance since he was annoyed by her constant advances, but now he couldn’t even sense a trace of her demonic power, wondering where on earth she had disappeared to.

So the Heavenly Demon asked, just in case:

“Do you know where the Lava Cave is?”

At this question, Diviner Yeo Surin shook her head.

She too didn’t know where the Lava Cave was.

“I don’t know. Ancient books mention that it ate humans at Gusonggan[5] in Six Hundred Ri Diamond Head Mountain[6], but…”

“Six Hundred Ri Diamond Head Mountain. Hmm.”

It was a mountain he had never heard of before.

The fact that even the Heavenly Demon, who knew almost all place names, had never heard of it meant it must be an ancient name that was no longer known.

At that moment, Cheong-ryeong said:

“Why don’t we have Miss Yeo find out what that place name is called now? My husband and I will look for the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.”

“If we find the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox, we might end up breaking Great Strength King’s seal as well.”

Diviner Yeo Surin was concerned about this.

If they were led around as the opponent wanted, it could lead to the worst outcome.

To this, the Heavenly Demon looked at the cliff wall and said:

“I can’t leave Alyu to die.”

“…But Cult Leader. That’s an Imaemangyang.”

“What difference does it make whether it’s an Imaemangyang or a human?”

At these words from the Heavenly Demon, Yeo Surin pressed her lips shut.

She understood that he wasn’t saying there was no difference between humans and Imaemangyang, but that it belonged to him.

“Sigh. I understand. Then I’ll return to the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion to check if my master has returned and find out what the current name of Six Hundred Ri Diamond Head Mountain is. Please take this with you.”

Yeo Surin took something out from her bosom.

It was a magical tool that could be worn on a finger.

“This is?”

The Heavenly Demon had received a similar magical tool from Diviner Yeo Surin before as a result of a bet.

It was a magical tool that could create a gateway to cross space.

“You remember the one I gave you before, right? This is one I made following my master’s method of creating magical tools. It can only be used once, but in exchange, there’s no distance limit.”

“No distance limit?”

“Yes, but the destination is predetermined.”

“Where is the destination?”

“The headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. I connected it there when I visited.”

At her words, the Heavenly Demon nodded in satisfaction and put the magical tool in his bosom.

No matter how quickly he could fly using the Ability to Travel Through the Void, nothing was as useful as this.

It could save that much time, after all.

“Then I’ll head to the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion.”

She took out the large brush she was carrying on her back and was about to draw a circle in the air.

At that moment, the Great Commander of the Guards Go Chan, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, hurriedly said:

“Diviner Yeo, please wait a moment. What should I do about my master? I followed Diviner Yeo here somehow, but…”

After listening to their conversation, it seemed this wasn’t a problem he could solve by following along and assisting this time.

Rather, it felt like he might become a burden.

At Go Chan’s words, the Heavenly Demon shrugged and then asked Yeo Surin:

“Can you take them back to where they were originally?”

“Alright.”

After sending Go Chan and Ha Chaerin back to the Flying Killing Sect where they were originally, Diviner Yeo Surin opened another gateway and returned to the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion.

After she left, Cheong-ryeong asked:

“Dear, but how do we find the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox?”

“Well…”

If she had deliberately hidden herself, there was no way to find her.

They couldn’t search the entire Central Plains one by one, so they had to think of a method, but suddenly the Heavenly Demon thought of a certain place.

“The Flame Mountain.”

“The Flame Mountain? Isn’t that the place Miss Yeo mentioned earlier?”

The Flame Mountain[7].

Certainly, it was said that Great Strength King and a spirit beast called the Iron Fan Immortal had a passionate union near there on Mount Cuiyun, and Red Boy was born.

Then there might be a clue there.

Fortunately, there was a place called the Flame Mountain in Xinjiang.

“We should go there first.”

If there was a place called Six Hundred Ri Diamond Head Mountain near the Flame Mountain, they might be able to find it with his expanded sense of energy.