By Zephyria 
Having been forced into getting lost, Ho-yeon strove to regain his composure. First, he decided to focus on escaping Flame Mountain.
Though he suffered from an endless chill, Flame Mountain was no place for a human to live. The smell of sulfur was so pungent that he felt his lungs would be ruined if he stayed any longer.
He wandered around the area where the barrier had been, and in an attempt to do something, he released cold energy from his dantian, but it only added steam to the heat of Flame Mountain. Even when he crouched on the ground and tried to freeze the earth with his hands, the result was the same.
How on earth had Cheon Mu-gyeong opened the barrier in the past? And for what reason had another barrier been created now? Had he truly crossed over to this side?
Covering his mouth with his sleeve, Ho-yeon looked around with anxious eyes.
It seemed to be a place where not even beasts could survive, let alone humans; not a single bird sang, nor was there the sound of a single insect. Looking down from the wasteland-like mountain consisting only of rocks and ash, he could see a densely formed forest area. It seemed that regions far removed from the volcanic ash and toxicity remained intact.
The more he thought about it, the less certain he became that the man had truly set foot here. Since he had been the only one in the massive cavern of the Eternal Snow Mountains, he had naturally assumed that Mu-gyeong had crossed over to this place. But what if he had gone to the place where they had fallen, rather than the underground cave…?
Ho-yeon shook his head slightly. Cheon Mu-gyeong had absolutely no reason to return to that place.
‘Let’s try going to the demon sect first.’
After staring down at the lush forest for a long time, Ho-yeon finally made up his mind as dawn broke and the sun rose to the middle of the sky. In truth, he had been unable to leave the spot, hoping that the barrier might open again or that Cheon Mu-gyeong might appear from somewhere to find him.
However, if the sun set while he stayed like this, he would have to spend an entire day in the mountains. And that would be with a desolate, active volcano brimming with lava right above him.
Before descending the steep mountain path, Ho-yeon looked around. However, he did not know which direction led to the headquarters of the demon sect. Since Flame Mountain would be deep within the hundred thousand great mountains, he figured he could head north, where the North Sea should be…
Feeling as if the lava flowing from the mountain peak was almost within reach, Ho-yeon hurried his descent.
Utilizing the lightfoot technique he had learned from Mu-gyeong to the fullest, he made his way down. At points where the path ended and cliffs loomed, he created patches of ice along the cliffside, just as he had when descending from the thatched cottage among the strange rocks. Though not as fast as Cheon Mu-gyeong, he built the ice patches one by one, steadily putting distance between himself and the heat-emitting Flame Mountain.
Since the headquarters of the demon sect would be surrounded by numerous barrier formations, his only hope was the Mist Valley. Before losing his sense of direction, Ho-yeon climbed a ridge with an open view and looked around once more.
Since water is essential for human survival, he intended to look for a valley first. However, in the valleys he saw, it seemed only beasts lived, as there were no visible paths for people. Even as dusk approached, he could not spot a single plume of smoke from someone cooking a meal.
Isolated in the middle of vast nature, Ho-yeon regretted being in the underground cave, even if it meant being left alone. But if by some chance Cheon Mu-gyeong had headed for the demon sect, there would be no way back for him either. Either way, being left alone was the same.
He could have at least told me where he was going.
Ho-yeon resented Mu-gyeong for the resentment that kept welling up, but then his thoughts spiraled into a bizarre delusion—wondering if he had been abandoned entirely because he slept too much. Once he sank into negative thinking, his vision became extremely clouded.
But thinking about it, there was no reason for Cheon Mu-gyeong to abandon him. Given that the man had given a firm promise not to kill him, he must have agreed to some extent to the idea of living while helping each other, as Ho-yeon had expected.
Instead of letting negative thoughts take over, Ho-yeon willfully shifted toward positive thinking.
‘Still, the hundred thousand great mountains are better than an underground cave with no way out. There is a way forward somehow.’
Ho-yeon moved his legs quickly toward the direction of the valley. The internal energy in his dantian was still sufficient, so there was no strain in performing the lightfoot technique.
Since Mu-gyeong had saved him from qi deviation, it had actually become easier to handle his internal energy than before. Judging by the level of the lightfoot technique Ho-yeon displayed, it was enough to say he had reached the peak.
With his white hair fluttering wildly, Ho-yeon gauged the path down. Then, he saw a place turned to ash far below his field of vision. Because he had used his internal power to the fullest for the lightfoot technique, he was already far from Flame Mountain. Naturally, lava should not have flowed that far… Not only that, but the mountain on the opposite side in the distance was also covered in black ash.
Had there been a slash-and-burn fire? But it wasn’t a terrain suitable for farming. Ho-yeon was momentarily distracted by the strange phenomenon but soon regained his focus. This was no time for that.
Once the sun set completely, he would have to try to sleep even if it were in a tree, so the key was to descend the mountain as quickly as possible. The wind was chilly, but it was nothing compared to the North Sea.
It was around the time he crossed several ridges and discovered a new valley. The stream was quite large, and he swelled with anticipation that this time, following the waterway might lead him to a village.
If he hadn’t learned the lightfoot technique from Mu-gyeong, he might still be unable to escape Flame Mountain. Thus, while he felt resentful, he was also grateful.
It had been less than a day since they were separated, yet the void left by the man was too great. Cheon Mu-gyeong did not leave his mind for a single moment. Even though he flew through the mountains as if the shackles that had bound his legs for a lifetime had been released, he could not feel happy.
If Mu-gyeong were by his side, he would have boasted about how much he had improved, telling him to look… Of course, in the eyes of the heavenly demon, he would be nothing more than a child who had barely taken his first steps into the world.
The sun was already casting twilight over the mountains. Ho-yeon knew well how quickly the sun, which had shone all day, vanished when it set. Forced to stop running, Ho-yeon looked for a tree suitable for camping. Among them, he found a tree with the thickest trunk.
Ho-yeon kept a certain distance from the tree, then put internal power into his legs to take a running start and leaped onto a branch. Where Ho-yeon had passed, thin ice formed, and blue-tinted dew clung in droplets. Climbing onto a branch sturdy enough to support his weight, Ho-yeon leaned his back against the thick limb.
Whether it was because he had slept too much or because he was nervous, sleep seemed unlikely to come easily. He already missed the disappearing sun, as spending the night wide awake would be too much. And more than that, he missed Cheon Mu-gyeong.
To avoid being spotted by the ferocious beasts or monsters of the hundred thousand great mountains, Ho-yeon curled his body up tightly. He seriously contemplated what he would do if a snake like the python Cheon Mu-gyeong had stabbed to death appeared. Since he had no blade, the only method that came to mind was to gather internal power in his hands and freeze it to death.
Rustle. Just then, a sound was heard that made Ho-yeon shrink his body even further. It wasn’t the sound of leaves shaking in the wind, but the sound of a beast of considerable size trampling through the grass.
The horizon had grown dark, so the source of the sound was not visible. He hoped it would simply move away from him, but the sound of stepping on fallen branches and lush leaves was gradually drawing closer.
Ho-yeon pressed himself against the tree as if trying to become one with it. Then, raising his vigilance to the maximum, he stared directly at the approaching beast with his blue-grey eyes.
Black fur resembling the darkness, a bulk that felt overwhelming by its silhouette alone, and white breath that continuously sliced through the dark due to the sudden drop in temperature.
The black beast leaped in place and threw something it had been holding in its mouth. At first, Ho-yeon thought the thing flying fiercely was a tree branch, but seeing the way its mouth was open, it was a snake. Judging by the fact that it was short compared to its thickness, its body seemed to have been torn by the beast’s teeth.
Puhing! At the sound, Ho-yeon’s eyes widened. Bolting upright on the branch, Ho-yeon stared at the beast that had approached, without taking his eyes off it.
When even the remnants of light left by the sun were completely erased, Ho-yeon jumped up and shouted.
“Tae, Tae-pyeong!”
At the same time, Tae-pyeong, who had been wildly waving his front legs in the air with a neigh!, snapped his head up.