Chapter 127: The Surprisingly Ordinary Spirit Realm with a 1:39 Gender Ratio (3)
There were those who believed that truth could be attained through purity and chastity.
They rejected all that was impure, nurturing their cultivation by upholding their ideals of innocence and virtue.
Thus was born a sect that allowed only women to belong to it.
Their name was Spirit Realm — the Fragrant Sect of Immortal Maidens.
But for reasons unknown, their influence began to wane as the end times approached.
Their teachings vanished, their members faded from memory, and their once-hallowed domain became nothing more than a testing ground.
A test of survival… in Hell.
Yet Kirieon, once of Spirit Realm people, remained silent even as she looked upon what had become of her sect.
She said nothing — only stood there with a bitter expression, staring at the gate that once led to Seonnyeohyang.
“You look conflicted,”
Said Jobaek, the man beside her.
“Shut up.”
Kirieon’s voice was cold.
Jobaek smirked as he watched her.
“Are there any survivors of Spirit Realm? The elders, except you, must be dead by now.
If there are any left, it’d be nothing but a bunch of children.”
“I told you to shut up.”
A murderous aura radiated from Kirieon, but Jobaek only chuckled in response.
“The children of Spirit Realm will never know what I’ve become.”
Kirieon muttered, her gaze falling to the ground.
“They’ll never know what this world is really like.”
“And they’ll live out their lives clinging to the hollow hope that you’ll return someday.”
Kirieon glared at him with eyes sharp enough to pierce flesh.
Jobaek, unaffected, let out a yawn.
“Boring. I thought you’d at least lunge at me to tear my mouth open by now.”
“...If you don’t shut up, I really will.”
It was a threat spoken in an emotionless tone, with no shift in expression, no change in cadence.
But even Jobaek knew better than to press further.
“You’re learning more and more, Qi Master.”
Kirieon didn’t reply.
Realization breeds more realization.
And once one has awakened, there is no turning back. Enlightenment is a path of no return.
Jobaek, ever nonchalant, gave a small nod before turning his eyes to the crowd — the ones preparing to challenge Hell.
Who among them, he wondered, might offer him some entertainment?
The first to catch his eye was an elderly man.
Snow-white hair.
A sharp gaze that clashed with his black hanbok.
Noticing Jobaek’s gaze, the old man gave a courteous bow.
Jobaek acknowledged the gesture with a slight nod before looking away.
Soho, was it?
He was once the Sub-Master, but I heard he lost his seat after nearly a hundred years of failing to ascend.
Rumor has it he turned to dark arts for his final shot — sacrificing hundreds of innocents to the demonic path. Judging by the look of him now… I’d say it failed.
Jobaek scratched the corner of his mouth and shook his head.
Soho, huh. Just another boring man.
The rest of the challengers were just as uninspiring.
A serial killer devoured by his own foundation; a demonic sect leader whose lifespan as a Earthly Immortal was nearly over; a young master on the verge of being disowned in a family feud.
Each and every one of them —
People whose only truth was enlightenment.
Not those seeking understanding to escape Hell,
but those willing to fall into Hell itself just to find it.
They couldn’t quite hide the tension as their eyes flicked toward the gate to Hell.
These were those who had ascended to Earth Immortal Realm — beings so powerful they appeared monstrous to ordinary humans — and yet they were visibly nervous.
Some, however, were excited.
Thrilled by the possibility of soon obtaining a Ghost Gate.
That contrast, at least, amused Jobaek.
With a smirk, his eyes drifted to the last remaining man.
What was his name again? Yoo Hajin?
The man… was playing a mobile game.
While every other challenger was preparing for descent into Hell — muttering incantations, inscribing seals onto their skin, painting talismans in blood — this guy was furiously tapping away at his phone.
“...?”
Jobaek tilted his head.
‘No way. I must be seeing things.’
Then again, today’s MZ-generation cultivators sometimes used phones as mediums for power. Maybe it’s one of those?
But no — the sound effects coming from the device clearly said:
“Soul Archive—!”
Yeah. That was definitely a gacha game.
He’s really playing a gacha game… right before falling into Hell?
“...What the hell are you doing?”
Jobaek asked Yoo Hajin, baffled.
“Oh, this? Just a wholesome little anime girl gacha game…”
“No, I mean—That’s a mobile game, right? And you’re playing it now? Now? Right before falling into Hell?”
Yoo Hajin simply nodded and replied without hesitation:
“I figured phones wouldn’t work in Hell, so I’m just quickly knocking out my daily quests. I mean, come on. Who can skip dailies? You get it, right?”
Dailies?
Was that some new kind of modern wisdom?
No—wait.
‘We’re moments away from literal damnation, and this guy is giggling over anime illustrations?’
Jobaek looked around in disbelief.
Every other cultivator in Earth Immortal Realm was either locked in tension or trembling with excitement.
But this guy… was just different.
“Now this—this is interesting.”
Jobaek grinned.
Not that Yoo Hajin noticed — he was too busy capturing footage for his gacha-daily-movie.
“Phew.”
In truth, Yoo Hajin wasn’t fearless.
He was nervous.
It’s just… the daily quests really were important.
And after suffering through so many betrayals and madness (DMZ wipeouts, that suspicious curry, Louisville’s blackout day, and so on), he’d developed an unfounded but oddly firm belief:
Hell couldn’t possibly be worse than that.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Baekdu Jobaek gathered the participants.
Soon, they were all standing before an enormous gate.
“I’m not going to waste time, so listen up. See that door?
Once you walk through it, you’ll fall into Hell.
Survive for more than one day, then come back here.”
Jobaek let out a big yawn before continuing.
“Do that, and you’ll earn one point.
The one with the most points becomes the rightful master of the empty Ghost Gata”
He spoke lazily, not even trying to hide his indifference.
“Questions? No? Good.”
Then, without warning, he jabbed a finger toward the elderly man standing furthest to the left.
* * *
“Any questions? No? Good.”
Jobaek looked young.
Too young for someone to be pointing fingers at an elder like that.
Still — these ability users were something else.
Their arrogance was always beyond imagination.
“You go first.”
The elderly man gave Jobaek a polite nod, then stepped forward and opened the door.
I leaned in slightly, trying to get a look inside —
but there was nothing. Just pure darkness.
Not long after the door closed…
“K-KAAAARGH! THE TREE—THE TREE!!!”
A shriek rang out.
What the hell?
That was horrifying.
But it was too late to back out now.
This involved Harin.
“You were so composed a moment ago, and now you’re scared?
Screaming the moment you set foot in Hell is only natural.
Don’t let it shake you too much.”
Jobaek chuckled, clearly amused by my reaction.
What the hell?
Why did that piss me off?
One by one, the participants stepped through the door.
And every time someone went in, a new wave of screams followed.
“THE HUNGRY GHOSTS—THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!!!”
“That voice—wait, is that…?”
“Huff, huff… heh… heheheheheh…”
And then…
It was my turn.
Damn it.
Just as I was psyching myself up, Jobaek threw another jab with that annoyingly playful tone.
“It’s okay to quit, you know.”
“Who said I was quitting?!”
I threw the door open like a man.
Like I said before — beyond that door was only darkness.
What was going to come out?
Would it be ghosts, like some cliché vision of Hell?
If so, there was no reason to hesitate.
It was exactly what I wanted to see.
With that, I cast aside all hesitation and stepped into the darkness.
* * *
“Maybe I’ll just take a nap.”
After sending all the participants through their respective Ghost gates, Jobaek casually pulled a mattress out from his own.
Without a shred of shame, he laid it down, pulled out a sleep mask from his pocket, and got ready to snooze like he was at home.
Watching the surreal scene unfold, Kirieon finally spoke.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
“Didn’t I say? I’m going to sleep.”
“As the proctor of this trial, shouldn’t you be monitoring the challengers?”
Jobaek sat up on the mattress at her remark.
“How do you expect me to monitor people who’ve fallen into Hell? If I could do that, I’d be Mireuk themselves.”
“Still, you should at least be able to observe something.
You’re officiating this trial on behalf of Cheonji — that means you’ve borrowed the powers of the True Sect Master.”
Kirieon looked down at him, her voice sharp.
Jobaek, feeling the weight of her gaze, let out a sigh.
“Ugh, I hate troublesome stuff.”
Still grumbling, he clasped his hands together and began chanting an incantation.
As the words left his lips, blood-red tears trickled from his eyes.
“I’m not that person, so I can’t clearly sense the ones passing through the gate.
Just keep that in mind.”
Then, in a detached tone, Jobaek began describing what the challengers were experiencing.
“This one is enduring the pain of being shredded apart, little by little…”
It was a Hell where trees made of blades hunted people like prey.
“A vast, frigid terror is approaching…”
In an endless cold sea, a monstrous creature—something like an enormous, twisted eel—was grinning as it lunged at its victim.
From the deep, a massive human face surfaced.
“A replica of an all-powerful city… Hm, looks like this one got lucky.
Then again, it’s probably just this once.”
It looked like a bustling, advanced metropolis.
But oddly, there were no animals — only humans.
And those humans… enjoyed eating meat.
“And then… hmm…”
“And then? What?
Can you see what’s happening with Yoo Hajin?”
Jobaek tilted his head.
“...Boing. Boing boing?”
“Boing…?”
Kirieon echoed, confused and slightly unnerved.
****
Meanwhile, deep within the darkness of the cave…
I was thinking.
What exactly was Hell supposed to be?
Would it be the Western kind — with a demon wielding a trident?
Or the Eastern kind — with a ghost swinging a crescent blade?
Or maybe… something stranger altogether?
Would it be a blazing inferno filled with sulfur and flame?
Or a glacial wasteland cold enough to freeze a soul?
And then, I saw light.
That must be it — Hell must be beyond that glow.
Cautiously — not fearfully, mind you, just… carefully — I stepped toward the light.
And what I saw beyond it was…
A crowd.
A massive crowd of girls.
“...?”
They were all cheering.
At me.
“This… is Hell???”
And just like that,
I arrived in Harem Hell.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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