Chapter 763: Hey, It’s Been a While
Chapter 763: Hey, It’s Been a While
Geom Mu-geuk stood in a new space.
It was shrouded in absolute darkness.
He activated his New Eye Technique to survey his surroundings. He found himself standing before a stone staircase leading deep into the earth.
By surrendering his body to the wind, a mysterious formation had transported him here.
This is it.
Geom Mu-geuk knew instinctively that this was the true entrance to the tombs of the successive Alliance Leaders.
Thank you, Clan Head Dan.
Dan So-jin had indeed left a clue in his farewell. Though he could not violate his family laws, he must have hoped for this—that the dangerous object would be removed from the tomb.
Of course, he likely never imagined that Geom Mu-geuk would actually find the place.
The location was a perfect example of a "truth-and-falsehood" strategy.
If it were a secret cemetery, one would naturally assume the entrance was hidden deep within rugged mountains. Who would imagine an entrance hidden in such a wide-open space?
Geom Mu-geuk was truly impressed by the formation.
A formation that could only be entered by completely entrusting one's body to the wind? He had never experienced a formation with such a poetic, refined flair.
He didn't know who had created it, but one thing was certain: the person who designed this was undoubtedly a grandmaster of formations. They were likely a figure known and respected by everyone who studied the craft today.
Geom Mu-geuk felt a surge of tension. Below him, more traps created by such a person would be waiting.
He began to descend the stairs cautiously.
Already, he could feel the mystical aura of the space itself. It was an energy incomparable to the fake Sword Tomb where he had fought the Twelve Zodiac Kings.
The surroundings grew brighter as he descended. At the bottom of the stairs lay a long corridor, at the end of which was another staircase leading further underground.
The first gate.
Geom Mu-geuk examined the walls on both sides of the corridor. The floor, walls, and ceiling were riddled with countless holes. The moment he stepped into that corridor, mechanisms would trigger, firing hidden weapons or blades. Fortunately, it was a mechanical trap, not a formation.
After carefully observing the mechanism, Geom Mu-geuk made his decision.
I’ll break through with Rapid Speed Step.
He had no intention of damaging the mechanisms just to show off his skills. He had come here as a quiet guest, after all. He intended to leave without anyone ever knowing he had been there.
After steadying his mind with a deep breath, Geom Mu-geuk lunged forward. Having recently reached the limits of speed, he exerted himself fully.
Swish!
Simultaneously, the mechanisms reacted in unison.
Shuck-shuck-shuck-shuck-shuck!
In a flash, Geom Mu-geuk landed at the end of the corridor. His breathing remained undisturbed. He had reached the end before he could even take a single breath.
Behind him, hundreds of spearheads had thrust out from all directions like a spiderweb before retracting. The spearheads had followed him like a wave, like a trail of fire, but they could not catch lightning.
Screech, clatter, screech.
Geom Mu-geuk’s breakthrough had exceeded the maximum speed the creator of the mechanism had envisioned for an intruder. No matter how great a master, they shouldn't have been faster than that. But Geom Mu-geuk was.
His lightness movement method had surpassed the very imagination of the engineer.
Passing through without leaving a single scratch on the machinery, Geom Mu-geuk descended the next set of stairs.
The second basement level.
The second gate awaited him there.
This trial was far more dangerous than the previous one—at least, it would have been if the intruder weren't Geom Mu-geuk.
The moment he stepped off the last stair, he felt it.
A faint trail of poison entering with his breath.
Formless Poison.
The trap was designed to make the intruder worry about what lay ahead in the passage, only to administer poison at the very foot of the stairs. It was subtle, leaving one unaware of how or where they had been poisoned.
This gate, which utilized the incredibly expensive Formless Poison, carried a clear message:
Just die here.
Even a master who successfully passed the first gate would not have survived this.
Geom Mu-geuk easily bypassed the first and second gates and descended once more.
The third basement level.
At the third gate, a formation was activated.
Ssssh.
The space where Geom Mu-geuk stood shifted. His surroundings transformed into a desolate field, and dark, shadow-like illusions began to manifest. Illusions wielding all manner of weapons rushed toward him.
Geom Mu-geuk tilted his head, wondering what the intent was.
Whoosh!
He cut down the illusions charging from all sides. Though they attacked in immense numbers, Geom Mu-geuk was not the man he used to be.
Sword Qi unleashed from the Black Demonic Sword swept them away. Even using the same amount of internal energy, the number of enemies he killed was on a different level.
The illusions continued to swarm over the corpses of their predecessors. For an ordinary master, their internal energy would never have sustained them against such numbers. The creator of this formation had miscalculated. Surely, no one could withstand this many enemies?
And yet, here he was.
Slash!
As Geom Mu-geuk cut down the final illusion, the formation was dispelled.
Ssssh.
His skill had utterly overwhelmed the gate. The three trials had demanded speed, poison resistance, and internal energy beyond human limits, and Geom Mu-geuk was like a natural predator to these challenges.
Well, it couldn't be helped. The creator could never have anticipated someone this strong entering.
With the third gate broken, a massive stone gate revealed itself.
He had finally reached the tomb.
As Geom Mu-geuk pushed open the stone gate and entered, a magnificent interior was revealed.
The incredibly high ceiling overwhelmed the observer, and stone statues stood in every direction.
There were statues of warriors wearing swords, and others holding sabers. Some statues were depicted throwing a punch, while others sat regally in Grand Tutor's chairs.
Their dignified countenances made it clear they were the successive leaders of the Unorthodox Path Alliance.
Murals were painted on the walls in every direction.
Was it a depiction of the Great Demonic-Orthodox War?
Flames roared, and corpses littered the ground. In the center stood a lone warrior. He, too, must have been one of the former Alliance Leaders.
In the center of the room stood a display case containing the legacies left behind by the leaders. There were martial arts manuals and the Divine Weapons they had once wielded.
Since these were the techniques and weapons of the leaders of their respective eras, their value was self-evident.
And among them sat the object.
Placed upon a pure white cloth was the final purple bead, Midnight.
"Our youngest is right there."
Geom Mu-geuk strode toward it.
He picked up Midnight and gazed down at it silently.
The sixth and final bead.
The masterminds had exerted every effort to obtain the energy within this bead.
Geom Mu-geuk looked down at it with deep, unreadable eyes, and then—
Crash!
He suddenly hurled Midnight onto the floor.
The bead shattered into pieces.
Ssssh.
Even as the purple energy began to dissipate in all directions, Geom Mu-geuk simply watched in silence.
It was then.
"Why would you do this?"
A secret door in the wall opened, and a man rushed out.
Surprisingly, it was Dan So-jin, the head of the Baek Chong Family who managed this tomb. He had apparently been hiding there, secretly watching the situation inside.
"Was that bead not what you were looking for?"
"It was. I fought those bastards because of this."
"Then why did you break it?"
Geom Mu-geuk looked down at the shattered fragments of Midnight and spoke calmly.
"Because it's a fake."
Dan So-jin asked with a shocked expression.
"It was a fake?"
Geom Mu-geuk nodded silently.
"How did you know it was a fake?"
Geom Mu-geuk stared at him for a moment before deciding to answer honestly.
"I’ve obtained the other beads before. Those beads were hidden in places that were difficult to find. But the bead here was displayed openly. It was in the most conspicuous spot."
"You broke it for that reason alone? Could it not have been displayed for some other reason?"
"Of course, that wasn't the only reason."
When he had picked up the final bead, neither the Secret Casket nor the energy within his body had reacted. How could that be? It was the final piece of energy; there was no way there would be no reaction.
Shocking words flowed from Geom Mu-geuk’s mouth.
"This tomb is a fake, too."
Dan So-jin looked bewildered.
"A fake? What on earth are you talking about when I am standing right here?"
Geom Mu-geuk looked at Dan So-jin.
"It’s a fake because you are here."
"!"
Dan So-jin’s expression stiffened.
"What do you mean by that?"
"The moment I saw you, I became certain."
Dan So-jin did not hide his displeasure.
"Is this how you repay the favor I bestowed upon you?"
He was beyond bewildered; he was furious.
Geom Mu-geuk’s calm explanation continued.
"The wind formation at the entrance was an incredible feat."
He had truly never experienced such a magnificent formation before.
"But compared to that, the formations inside were far too ordinary. The entrance formation is that grand, yet the gates guarding the interior are merely this? Launching spearheads, spraying poison, and illusions attacking within a formation? These are common mechanisms and formations found anywhere."
Geom Mu-geuk spoke with conviction.
"I realized that the person who created the entrance formation would never have designed such mundane traps for the interior."
This was why Geom Mu-geuk had tilted his head in doubt while breaking the third gate.
"So I thought: if he were to create a formation here, what kind would it be? If someone were to enter this place, they would undoubtedly be after the legacies of the former leaders. That’s when a certain legendary formation came to mind."
A name escaped Geom Mu-geuk’s lips.
"The Wish-Granting Illusion Formation!"
It was an ancient formation that allowed the person trapped within to obtain exactly what they craved most.
To those who wanted treasure, it gave treasure; to those who wanted martial manuals, it gave manuals.
However, the moment they claimed it, they could never escape the formation. While they wandered within the illusion, rejoicing over their prize, their physical body in reality would eventually die as their True Qi was exhausted.
There was only one way to break it.
The moment you obtain it, you must reject it. Just as Geom Mu-geuk had shattered Midnight.
This method of breaking the formation was the most difficult for a human being to achieve.
"I was already inside the formation from the first gate."
The formation had been active from the moment he first descended into the darkness.
"A Linked Formation."
It was a level of skill worthy of the one who created the wind formation. Whoever they were, they deserved to be called a god of formations.
"What’s even more surprising is that the formation didn't break even after I rejected what I wanted."
At that, Dan So-jin’s demeanor shifted.
"You truly are remarkable, Young Cult Leader!"
He marveled loudly, as if he had been testing everything all along.
He pulled another box from his robes and handed it to Geom Mu-geuk.
"This is the real bead. I apologize for testing you. I wanted to see if you could truly break the Wish-Granting Illusion Formation."
Geom Mu-geuk took the box and opened it. Inside was a purple bead that glowed even more brilliantly than the previous one.
"Truly incredible."
At Geom Mu-geuk’s remark, Dan So-jin asked curiously.
"Is that bead really that amazing? What exactly does it do?"
"I wasn't talking about the bead."
Geom Mu-geuk picked up the bead and—
Crash!
Without hesitation, he shattered this one as well.
Dan So-jin stared at Geom Mu-geuk in shock.
"He didn't just create a Linked Formation; he created a formation that requires a double-layered dispelling."
"Double-layered? What do you mean?"
Geom Mu-geuk revealed the shocking truth.
"It’s you. You are a part of the formation, the second layer designed to prevent the formation from being broken."
"!"
"It seems you don't even realize you're playing that role."
Dan So-jin shouted angrily.
"What kind of crazy talk is this?"
Geom Mu-geuk asked abruptly.
"What kind of person are you?"
"What?"
"Think about what kind of person you are."
After a brief pause, Geom Mu-geuk asked again.
"You are a loyal man. A man who would gladly give his life to protect this tomb. Those final words you said to me were the best you could do, the maximum consideration you could offer. Even that must have taken a great deal of resolve. And yet, you’re waiting for me here? You tested me while holding that hard-to-find bead in your robes? In this sacred tomb that you cherish more than your own life? Are you that kind of person?"
At the question, Dan So-jin looked confused.
"I... I am not that kind of person."
The moment he admitted it—
Ssssh!
Dan So-jin’s form began to vanish. He truly was the second layer of the trap. Had someone else broken through to this point, the second layer would have appeared as someone else they shared a bond with, rather than Dan So-jin.
Anyone entering this place not only had to overcome the three gates within the formation but also had to reject what they desperately desired.
And even if they rejected that, they had to reject the second temptation as well.
In the end, it was a formation that could never be broken by anyone who entered with greed in their heart.
Thud.
A booklet fell where Dan So-jin had vanished.
— Comprehensive Guide to Heavenly Secret Formations.
Geom Mu-geuk opened the cover and read the inscription:
— I leave the realizations of my final years to the successor who breaks my Linked Formation. — Void Ghost.
Geom Mu-geuk did not know of Void Ghost. But if he was the one who created these two formations, then this manual he left behind was likely the equivalent of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art for the world of formations.
Geom Mu-geuk tucked the booklet carefully into his robes. He considered it heaven's will to obtain such a fated encounter at a time like this.
"I will use this to benefit the world."
Only then did the formation finally begin to dissolve.
Ssssh.
Geom Mu-geuk’s surroundings shifted. The interior of the tomb vanished, and he was back in the darkness where he had first fallen.
And before his eyes, a massive stone gate appeared.
It was the entrance to the true tomb.
As if to prove it, the face of a wolf—the guardian statue that stands on the path to the Alliance Leader's Hall—was carved into the center of the stone gate.
It looked incredibly valiant, as if guarding the souls of the former leaders.
"Hey, it’s been a while."
Geom Mu-geuk pushed the gate with both hands.
Rumble.
The moment the accumulated history of the Unorthodox Path martial world opened, the very scent of the ages felt different than before.