Chapter 670: Isn't It About Time You Had One?
Chapter 670: Isn't It About Time You Had One?
Geom Mu-geuk, with the Gentleman’s Sword strapped to his waist, took one last look around the room.
He had expected the Secret Casket to vibrate again. A bead could have been hidden among the weapons or tucked away in a display drawer. However, even after inspecting every blade and polearm in the chamber, the Secret Casket remained silent.
Mu-geuk walked toward the door leading to the next chamber. Before opening it, he turned back and offered a small bow.
"I enjoyed the view."
It was a gesture of respect to the souls of the martial artists who had once wielded these weapons. This exhibition hall seemed to value the lives of the warriors more than the cold steel they left behind.
Mu-geuk opened the door and stepped inside.
This room was narrower than the weapon chamber, but it was still incredibly spacious compared to the very first room he had entered. Displayed here were various types of body armor. As before, each piece was accompanied by an explanation of its properties and the history of those who had worn it.
Mu-geuk strolled through the displays.
"Oh, so this is the actual Wind Flow Garment!"
It was the armor of the Romantic Swordsman, a philandering fencer who had been immensely popular among female martial artists in the past. The robe, featuring a beautiful woman painted on the back, was his signature attire. It was said that even the sharpest sword qi could not tear the image of that beauty.
"I'm jealous! Maybe one day, I'll..."
Starting with that half-serious joke, he began to inspect the armor in earnest. There was a staggering variety.
"So this is what the Silver Scale Armor looks like!"
The silver scales glittered so brightly they were almost blinding. Of course, it looked highly impractical for actual combat.
"The Tyrant Dragon Armor! Now that is cool."
A roaring dragon was embossed on the chest piece. Mu-geuk felt that simply standing before an enemy in this would be enough to cow them with sheer intimidation.
And then, there was the finest piece of armor in the collection.
"The Heavenly God Armor!"
It was a legendary set of armor known for being so light and flexible that the wearer felt as if they were wearing nothing at all. But its thinness was deceptive. It was one of the greatest defensive treasures in existence, capable of repelling both sword qi and sword force.
"You rascals, don't even think about fooling me from now on!"
Since the authentic versions were kept here, any of these weapons or armors traded on the open market would undoubtedly be fakes.
By the way, what kind of martial artist leaves this behind? It’s the Heavenly God Armor!
However, Mu-geuk had no intention of choosing armor today. His reasoning was simple.
"Right. Training is the best armor."
Consoling himself with that thought, he moved on, though his footsteps lingered with a hint of regret. As he continued his tour of the remaining armor, something caught his eye and brought him to a dead stop.
The Ice Dragon Divine Armor.
The moment he saw it, Mu-geuk was transported back three hundred years.
The Dark Palace Master had gifted this Ice Dragon Divine Armor to the Heavenly Will Palace Master along with a Heavenly Yin Pill. Mu-geuk had witnessed that moment personally.
At the time, the Heavenly Will Palace Master’s opponent was the Martial Emperor Divine Sword, who possessed Extreme Yang internal energy. The armor had been given as a countermeasure, but Mu-geuk had judged it to be a trap.
The Dark Palace Master had wanted the Heavenly Will Palace Master to lose.
He couldn't be certain since he hadn't seen the fight himself, but he suspected that while the Heavenly Will Palace Master prepared for a Yang-based attack, he was actually met with an Extreme Yin assault.
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword likely hadn't been the only one present that day. The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had certainly been involved as well.
Mu-geuk looked around to see if there was anything else related to the events of that era. Then, another object caught his eye.
Ah! This is...?
It wasn't armor. It was simply a long strip of cloth.
Dream of the Divine Maiden.
Even without reading the name written below it, Mu-geuk knew what it was.
That’s the cloth the Divine Maiden used to blindfold herself.
The Divine Maiden he had met three hundred years ago had her eyes covered with this very cloth. Her prophecy echoed in his mind.
Darkness will lead you to Heaven’s Will.
Back then, he had interpreted her prophecy as a sign that he could find the location of the Great Secret Casket through the Dark Palace. But now that he knew their descendants were still active three hundred years later, the prophecy felt different.
The fight against this shadowy force was his "Heaven’s Will."
Mu-geuk slowly picked up the cloth named the Dream of the Divine Maiden.
"!"
The moment his fingers touched the fabric, he felt a strange energy. It wasn't the kind of aura or martial power one felt from a person. It was something entirely different—auspicious and mystical.
Perhaps it was because he had received a prophecy from her, but Mu-geuk could clearly feel the energy that had endured for three centuries. He felt it instinctively. This energy wasn't meant for him, nor was it meant for just anyone.
It is meant for one specific person.
In that instant, a face flashed through Mu-geuk's mind—the person he felt he must deliver this to.
If finding this relic left by the Divine Maiden is also fate...
Mu-geuk didn't hesitate to take the Dream of the Divine Maiden. This was his second choice. Since both his first and second choices were for others, he made a mental note.
I'll make the last choice for myself.
With that resolve, he headed to the next room.
The moment he opened the third door, the overwhelming scent told him exactly what kind of room it was. That fragrant medicinal aroma, pleasant no matter how many times one smelled it—this was the storage for spirit medicines.
"Whoa! This is incredible."
A vast array of elixirs was spread out before him. The first thing to catch his eye was the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Several of them were displayed in individual boxes. He had never seen so many in one place before. With the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng present, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng displayed nearby looked like mere bellflower roots.
That wasn't all. Beside them were Nine Yang Divine Pills, which bestowed Extreme Yang internal energy, and across from those were Nine Yin Divine Pills, representing the Extreme Yin side.
In front of those were Red Heart Pills. There were three or four of these elixirs, any one of which a normal person would be lucky to see once in a lifetime.
And there was more.
Great Yang Pills and Small Yang Pills, Taiji Heart-Calming Pills, Accumulated Cloud Pills, Clear Brightness Pills... every kind of spirit medicine imaginable was there, meticulously organized.
Seeing this, Mu-geuk realized once again how much trust Jin Pae-cheon had placed in him by allowing him entry. What if he ate all of them? What if he acted like a madman, consumed everything, and ran away?
If there were even a one-in-a-million chance of that happening, the Alliance Leader would never have let him in. The fact that he had proved how much he trusted Mu-geuk.
The next room is probably for martial manuals. I don't really need more techniques, so I should pick an elixir here.
He already possessed a massive amount of internal energy, but in the world of martial arts, more was always better. He didn't have to deliberate long. As he walked past the rows of medicines, he encountered the "boss" of the room right in the center.
"Sky Blue Stone Oil!"
The pinnacle of all spirit medicines!
There it was—a snow-white bottle containing the legendary oil. He carefully opened the stopper and peered inside. There appeared to be several drops of the milky-white Sky Blue Stone Oil. Even a single drop was more potent than any other elixir in the room.
"I was going to eat it all myself, but you're a lucky man!"
He was talking to his "older brother," Hyeok Do-cheon. He had decided to share it half-and-half. Why would he give the whole thing away? Well, they had been on better terms lately, but still, his brother should be grateful for even half.
"Alliance Leader, I told you clearly when I came in. I’m only taking the very best."
Thus, Mu-geuk had his three items: the Gentleman’s Sword, the Dream of the Divine Maiden, and the Sky Blue Stone Oil.
Now, only one task remained: finding the bead for the Secret Casket to absorb. To Mu-geuk, this was more important than the Sky Blue Stone Oil. He searched the medicine room thoroughly, but the casket didn't react.
Mu-geuk opened the next door.
As expected, the final room was filled with martial arts manuals. Dozens of large bookshelves were packed with precious manuals the Murim Alliance had collected over its long history.
"Ah, that smells good."
It was a different kind of pleasant scent from the medicinal aroma—the scent of old books. After becoming the Acting Cult Leader and immersing himself in the Heavenly Demon Library, Mu-geuk had come to appreciate the joy of reading.
"I wonder what kind of books are here?"
Mu-geuk walked slowly, scanning the shelves. Most were focused on Orthodox martial arts. Regarding Demonic or Evil arts, the collection focused primarily on their counter-methods. He could feel the resolve and confidence of the Orthodox faction to suppress any dark arts.
To an Orthodox martial artist, these were peerless divine techniques that would make them faint with excitement, appearing every other volume. Mu-geuk didn't bother taking any out. For him, the only martial art he needed was the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
He paced slowly between the bookshelves.
Casket, cry! Please cry! Aren't you hungry? Isn't it about time you had one?
But even after he had circled all the shelves, the Secret Casket remained silent. Mu-geuk tried to shake off his disappointment.
Well, I guess it can't be helped.
He didn't rush. He hadn't been desperately trying to collect all the beads' power from the start; he had simply gathered three so far by following the flow of fate.
"No! I can't give up! I have to find it!"
Mu-geuk went back to the first room. He started over, searching every inch as he moved inward. From the poison-repelling pearls to the weapons, then the armor, and the elixirs. Finally, back to the library.
He searched every nook and cranny, but the Secret Casket didn't react.
Ah, I guess there wasn't a bead in the Murim Alliance Treasure Vault after all.
He’d had a feeling there would be one. It was disappointing, but he decided to pay his respects before leaving.
"I enjoyed the view."
Just as he was about to walk out, Mu-geuk looked back at the library. He had inspected the other rooms thoroughly, but he was leaving this one without having read a single page.
"I'll have you know, I've become quite the reader lately."
Mu-geuk picked out the thinnest book from a nearby shelf.
"It's a special occasion, being in here. I should at least read one book before I go."
In a corner of the library, there was a small chair against the wall, seemingly placed there for readers. As he approached the chair...
Vrrr.
The Secret Casket against his chest vibrated.
Mu-geuk was startled. He hadn't expected the casket, which had been silent throughout his exhaustive search, to react here. Come to think of it, he had only walked between the bookshelves; he hadn't come all the way to this corner.
There was nothing here but a single chair. The chair was so small that a bead couldn't possibly be hidden inside it.
"There's nothing here, though."
Then, Mu-geuk flinched.
"Wait, yes there is!"
His gaze fixed on the Night-shining Pearl embedded in the wall behind the chair. It was there to provide light for reading.
That's it!
Sure enough, as he approached the pearl, the Secret Casket vibrated even more violently. Mu-geuk very carefully pried the Night-shining Pearl out of its socket.
As the pearl came loose, something rolled out from behind it. It was a single bead. A yellow bead—the Yellow Eye Bead.
Mu-geuk cheered.
"Found it!"
If he had found it right away, he wouldn't have been this happy. Finding it just after he had given up made the joy overwhelming. There was a reason he hadn't thought much of this corner or the pearl.
Night-shining Pearls were embedded all over the vault. High-quality ones lined the very first entrance hallway. Because they were so common in every room, he hadn't paid any mind to this one in the far corner of the library.
Mu-geuk pulled the Secret Casket from his robe and placed the Yellow Eye Bead on top of it.
Ssssss.
As always, the casket absorbed the bead. Immediately after, the casket vibrated powerfully, and a golden energy began to flow out of it.
The energy of the Yellow Eye Bead flowing from the casket spread through Mu-geuk's hands and into his entire body.
Shhhhhhh.
The energy shimmered like light and rippled through him like water. The sensation was incredibly pleasant. It provided an indescribable sense of refreshment, like drinking cold water when one's thirst had reached its limit.
Mu-geuk naturally began to circulate the oral formula he had learned previously. As he did, the energies of the Black Essence, Blue Essence, and White Essence dormant within him surged back to life.
These three energies began to move in a way entirely different from conventional internal energy cultivation, welcoming the newly joined Yellow Eye energy. As the four energies raced through his meridians together, Mu-geuk experienced something new.
His entire body felt as light as a feather, as if he might float up into the sky.
At the final moment of the formula, the four energies merged into one. In that instant, he felt the staggering power contained within that union. This was a different kind of strength from the raw power of his existing internal energy.
However, the energies could not remain merged; they scattered once more, settling quietly into various parts of his meridians.
Mu-geuk slowly opened his eyes.
"Phew."
He had now perfectly absorbed the energy of the Yellow Eye Bead. Only two colors remained: the red and purple beads. Where could they be? And what would happen if he collected all the energies?
While he was lost in the wonder of this mysterious power...
Clack.
The Secret Casket spat out the bead it had drained. The Yellow Eye Bead that rolled out was now nothing more than an ordinary stone.
"Did you eat well?"
In response to Mu-geuk's question, the Secret Casket seemed to simply smile, as it always did.
Mu-geuk placed the drained bead back into the hole and reinserted the Night-shining Pearl. Then, he sat in the chair and read the book he had picked up. It was a piece written by an ancient master longing for his hometown. As he read, he found himself missing his father and the people back at the Main Cult.
After a while, Mu-geuk placed the book back in its original spot. If he hadn't decided to read a book before leaving, he would never have found the Yellow Eye Bead. He would likely never have the chance to enter this place again.
Long live the Heavenly Demon Library! Long live Mu-geuk the bookworm!
Mu-geuk gathered his three treasures and walked toward the entrance where Jin Pae-cheon was waiting.
"I enjoyed the read!"