Chapter 116: Radiant Sword Tomb-2
Chapter 116: Radiant Sword Tomb-2
The next morning, Do Mun-seung was finally released from his restraints and could walk toward the entrance of the Light Sword Tomb.
Beside him, Sucheonhoe leader Mak Woo-jeon was loosening up, swinging his sword.
Mak Woo-jeon spoke to him.
"As you saw yesterday, Vice-leader Ga Yoo-ak, who has fallen into madness, is lying in wait inside there. For some reason, he never comes out beyond a certain distance from the cave, and only targets and attacks those who try to enter."
At those words, Do Mun-seung frowned.
Ga Yoo-ak attacks people trying to enter the cave?
He asked Mak Woo-jeon with a disbelieving expression.
"If he is Vice-leader Ga Yoo-ak daehyeop, isn't he a peak-level master who has surpassed the wall of eighty years of internal energy? If someone like that is guarding the cave, wouldn't it be absolutely impossible for me to enter?"
Mak Woo-jeon chuckled and replied.
"Of course that would be the case. Moreover, surprisingly, after falling into madness, his martial prowess has even risen by another level. I fought him briefly, and now his skill is on par with my own."
"What?!"
It was nothing short of astonishing.
Ga Yoo-ak's martial prowess had increased after falling into madness.
No, wasn't he saying that Ga Yoo-ak had even attained skill equal to Sucheonhoe leader Mak Woo-jeon, who had surpassed the wall of ninety years of internal energy and was looking toward the transcendent peak?
Falling into madness had actually elevated his skill.
As a martial artist, it was a story that couldn't help but pique one's interest.
But for Do Mun-seung, there was something more important than that.
Right now, wasn't Mak Woo-jeon telling him to break through such a person and enter the cave?
The more he heard, the more impossible it sounded.
Mak Woo-jeon, who had been watching Do Mun-seung's expression, patted his shoulder as if telling him not to worry and said.
"Don't concern yourself so much. Dealing with him is my task. I will go first and fight him at the entrance, tying up his feet. So you, without missing that moment, simply need to leap inside the cave."
At those words, Do Mun-seung looked toward the cave again.
The entrance of the cave, not particularly wide—he briefly tried to imagine the scene Mak Woo-jeon described.
Suddenly, a hollow laugh escaped him.
At that not-very-wide cave entrance, masters with over ninety years of internal energy would be fighting, and he was supposed to exploit the gap and go inside?
Did Mak Woo-jeon truly believe that was possible?
And after entering, what then?
Do Mun-seung asked with a dumbfounded expression.
"What if you lose your hold on the vice-leader? No, in any case, aren't you unable to enter inside yourself? Then what should I do if the vice-leader completely ignores you and follows me in to attack?"
Mak Woo-jeon let out a sigh with a grave expression and answered.
"I will do my utmost to hold him back. You may not know this, but I too am in quite a desperate state of mind right now. So please, try to trust me."
That too was a laughable statement.
He was asking to be trusted by someone he intended to kill anyway.
A hollow laugh escaped Do Mun-seung again, but he decided not to add any further words.
In truth, weren't these people those who didn't care whether he lived or died anyway?
No, if he miraculously survived, they were people who would deliberately kill him, so gambling with his life or death was perhaps only natural.
Do Mun-seung, who had been staring at the crimson glare visible from inside the cave for a moment, eventually let out a dejected sigh and nodded.
"I understand. Since you have no other way, this must be what you have to do."
At Do Mun-seung's words, which seemed to convey acceptance, Mak Woo-jeon smiled faintly.
"Yes, thank you for understanding."
From Mak Woo-jeon's perspective, this was a young man he grew more fond of the more he saw.
Had they not met under such circumstances, he might even have felt regret enough to truly take him as a disciple.
But Mak Woo-jeon did not know.
What thoughts Do Mun-seung was harboring right now.
Whose telepathic transmission he was listening to at this very moment.
Having finished speaking, Mak Woo-jeon now drew his sword and began walking toward the cave.
And he shouted toward Vice-leader Ga Yoo-ak, who was emitting a crimson glare from within the cave.
"Yoo-ak! I have come! Can you recognize me?!"
But even as he spoke, Mak Woo-jeon already knew that would not be the case.
Wasn't the ominous bloody light still pouring from his eyes and the killing intent, intense enough to sting the skin, only growing thicker?
Mak Woo-jeon slowly heightened his tension.
As had happened before, if he approached beyond a certain distance, Ga Yoo-ak would leap out of the cave and attack.
Pabak!
Just like right now.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Chaechaechaeng!
Ga Yoo-ak's sword, flying like a ray of light, clashed countless times with Mak Woo-jeon's blade in the air.
It was an exchange of offense and defense at a tremendous speed that Do Mun-seung and the other warriors could not even follow with their eyes.
He thought as he clashed swords with Ga Yoo-ak.
'His martial prowess is the same as last time.'
Facing Ga Yoo-ak, who was unfolding sword strikes nearly equal to his own, Mak Woo-jeon felt a slight sense of relief.
Because Ga Yoo-ak's martial prowess had suddenly risen after falling into madness, he had worried that it might grow even stronger as time passed.
But this time as well, Ga Yoo-ak's martial prowess was at a level similar to the last encounter.
It seemed the increase in martial prowess only occurred once, at the very beginning when he fell into madness.
Now reassured, Mak Woo-jeon shouted behind him while dealing with Ga Yoo-ak.
"Now's the time! While I am holding him, quickly send him inside!"
At this level, it seemed he could hold Ga Yoo-ak long enough for Do Mun-seung to enter.
No, he could hold him even after Do Mun-seung went inside.
He had given the signal with that confidence, but as soon as Mak Woo-jeon gave the signal, something no one had expected occurred.
"Kihahahahaha!"
"Ohohohohoho!"
Suddenly, chilling laughter rang out.
It was laughter all too familiar to Mak Woo-jeon—the laughter of those he had been desperately searching for until just yesterday.
The Blue-Red Twin Swords, those very bastards had appeared.
The Blue-Red Twin Swords who had toyed with Mak Woo-jeon and then vanished.
"What?!"
Even while dealing with Ga Yoo-ak, Mak Woo-jeon turned his head toward the source of the sound in astonishment.
Then, along with the laughter, they emerged from the forest like phantoms and charged straight at the Sucheonhoe warriors positioned around the cave.
In an instant, fountains of blood exploded forth.
Puhahaaaak!
"Guaaaaaak!"
"Aaaaak!"
The Sucheonhoe warriors had been wholly focused on the duel between Mak Woo-jeon and Ga Yoo-ak until just moments before.
Thus, they had no choice but to receive the Blue-Red Twin Swords' ambush in a defenseless state.
The blood of Sucheonhoe warriors scattered like a shower wherever the Blue-Red Twin Swords passed as if through unguarded territory.
No one could slow their steps.
Among his subordinates collapsing and spraying blood, Mak Woo-jeon fixed his gaze on a single face.
It was the face of Do Mun-seung, who had been standing by, waiting to enter the cave.
Struck by the male fiend's palm, Do Mun-seung was flying through the air, blood spurting from his mouth.
Do Mun-seung, whom he had thought of as his last hope.
"Keuheok!"
Watching him float into the air and then crash to the ground, Mak Woo-jeon cried out in anguish.
"No!"
But thrown helplessly to the earth, he sprawled limply and moved no more.
His final hope was vanishing.
"You bastards!"
Mak Woo-jeon felt as though he would go mad.
But Mak Woo-jeon, who was dealing with Ga Yoo-ak right before his eyes, could do nothing.
He who had meant to hold Ga Yoo-ak had instead become the one held captive by Ga Yoo-ak.
Moreover, the Blue-Red Twin Swords did not halt their steps there.
Having slaughtered the Sucheonhoe warriors as if through unguarded territory, they passed right beside Mak Woo-jeon and Ga Yoo-ak without hesitation and entered the cave just like that.
Like wind sweeping past without obstruction.
Straight toward the place where Gwanggeom's legacy lay sleeping.
Mak Woo-jeon was utterly aghast.
"What?!"
In that moment, a thought suddenly surfaced in Mak Woo-jeon's mind.
'The bastards already knew about Gwanggeom's legacy! Their attack on the Hoe and toying with me was all for the sake of seizing Gwanggeom's legacy!'
It drove him near madness.
At this rate, wouldn't the bastards snatch Gwanggeom's legacy right out from under him?
The violent flames he had been restraining with reason inside his chest surged up like an active volcano.
The enraged Mak Woo-jeon roared.
"You baaastards! Did you think you could steal it from the likes of me?!"
The flames of mind fire he had pressed down in a corner of his heart blazed up into a colossal fire demon.
His eyes could now see nothing else.
Only the cave entrance the bastards had entered remained nailed before his eyes.
Mak Woo-jeon's sword erupted with terrifying force and lashed out at Ga Yoo-ak.
"Get out of my way!"
KWAKWAKWAKWANG!
It was a tremendous strike.
Ga Yoo-ak, who had been fighting him evenly until now, could not withstand it and had no choice but to be hurled backward.
"Grrrrrrr!"
With that, Mak Woo-jeon abandoned him without a second thought and leaped into the cave.
"You baaastard!"
His eyes were now staining a red hue similar to Ga Yoo-ak's.
***
Last night, Seonwoo Jin, who had secretly made contact with Do Mun-seung, was able to hear the full account of the matter from him.
And he understood everything.
"The legacy of Gwanghyeopgeomgoe Jeong Myeong-gang! So that was it!"
Indeed, in his past life, Mak Woo-jeon had obtained it and was thus able to ascend as one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World.
Seonwoo Jin's mind spun rapidly.
Now, merely rescuing Do Mun-seung held little meaning.
He had to ensure Mak Woo-jeon did not obtain Gwanggeom's legacy.
If left alone, he would somehow acquire Gwanggeom's legacy, and in time, just as in his past life, he would become the Blood Demon's demon sword and wash the world in blood.
Furthermore, the fact that he who had once been the Heaven-Ascending Swordsman transformed into the Thousand Murder Demon Sword was likely not unrelated to this very cave, said to drive people insane.
'What do I do.'
Seonwoo Jin, who had been mulling over his options, muttered.
"The best method would be to kill him and take Gwanggeom's legacy for ourselves..."
At that, Dang Yeoeun, who was beside him, spoke with a worried expression.
"But neither will be easy. Fighting a master like Mak Woo-jeon with over ninety years of internal energy is one thing, but more than anything, we have no guarantee we'll be fine once we enter a cave that's said to drive people insane."
"Hmm, you're right."
In that moment, there was one thing that surfaced in Seonwoo Jin's mind.
In truth, it was something that had come to him the instant he heard that only those possessing a steadfast mind could enter.
'The Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol.'
When he had memorized every single book in the Seon-woo Clan's martial archive, Seonwoo Jin had once read a book by that name.
It was a rather strange book.
It was neither an internal energy cultivation method for building inner power, nor was it a scripture—just an odd set of incantations.
So he had considered just glossing over it, but because the martial arts right next to it were Shaolin martial studies like the Iron Arhat Mind Technique or the Arhat Fist, he had read it three times and memorized it just in case.
Afterward, he had pushed it to the far reaches of his memory, but now, the moment he heard the word "steadfast mind," it had resurfaced.
In particular, the phrase written in the first chapter of the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol was strongly seizing Seonwoo Jin's heart.
- It shall deliver you from all wicked delusions. However, beware the Heavenly Demon's Soul Shackle.
That was the phrase written in the first chapter of the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol.
Inferring from the term 'steadfast mind', it seemed to mean that it protected one from external mental assaults.
What's more, though he did not know what the Soul Shackle was, if the 'Heavenly Demon' written there referred to that 'Heavenly Demon' of the demonic cult, then didn't it mean it could block everything except the Heavenly Demon?
Somehow, that felt more trustworthy than a claim of being able to block everything under heaven.
In the end, Seonwoo Jin resolved to give it a try.
"Alright, let's do it!"
There was nothing to lose anyway.
Nor was there any other sharp solution available.
Learning the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol was not particularly difficult.
Since it consisted solely of incantations rather than a mental technique requiring the accumulation of internal energy, there was no particular sense of anything being achieved or of advancing through stages.
However, after practicing it for about half an hour and then approaching the cave in concealment as a test, Seonwoo Jin could clearly feel the unknown energy attempting to infiltrate his heart and soul the closer he drew to the cave, as well as the barrier of the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol blocking it.
It was a success.
A resounding success at that.
"Huh, unbelievable."
Seonwoo Jin let out a hollow laugh.
To think he had memorized such a secret art and neglected it all this time.
It was as if he had been carrying a gem in his pocket and treating it like a pebble.
Had he realized its effectiveness back then and taught it to his comrades, perhaps they could have even blocked the Blood Cult's soul-possession art.
Myeong Sa-hyeon's face, who had died so tragically, suddenly surfaced in his mind.
But Seonwoo Jin soon shook his head and cast the thought aside.
It seemed wiser to think himself fortunate to have learned of it even now.
After that, Seonwoo Jin spent the entire night learning the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol together with Dang Yeoeun.
Additionally, just in case, he taught it to Do Mun-seung through telepathic transmission.
Of course, it seemed unlikely that he, currently playing dead outside the cave, would have cause to enter this place.
And now, having entered the cave, Seonwoo Jin could smile with satisfaction, feeling his own mind remain astonishingly tranquil despite the wicked energy attempting to shake his heart and soul.
He asked Dang Yeoeun through telepathic transmission as well.
- Lady Dang, are you alright?
- Yes! Strangely, my mind is at peace! I can also clearly feel the energies trying to infiltrate from around us! Truly remarkable!
It was a relief.
He had been worried since Dang Yeoeun had a tender heart.
Seonwoo Jin had originally intended to leave her behind and enter alone.
But she had stubbornly insisted that she could not send Seonwoo Jin alone into a dangerous place, so they had come together. Fortunately, it seemed the Daeyeon Jeongsimgyeol's effect was functioning reliably for her as well.
It was then.
From behind, Mak Woo-jeon's violent roar rang out.
"You baaastards!"
He had shoved Ga Yoo-ak aside and was entering the cave after them.
Sensing this, Seonwoo Jin urgently spoke.
- Let's hurry, sojeo!
The two swiftly entered deeper into the cave.
Then, before the dark, straight passageway, a path splitting into two forks appeared.
Seonwoo Jin immediately sent a telepathic transmission.
- Left!
He could not discern any difference between the two paths, but Seonwoo Jin chose one and quickly flung himself in that direction.
Then, just after they vanished to the left, Mak Woo-jeon arrived at the fork.
"Grrrrrrrr!"
He was already spewing a crimson blood-light from his eyes and growling like a beast.
Yet even so, he intermittently shouted.
"It's mine. Grrrrrr! It's mine, I tell you! I will never let it be taken! Grrrrrr!"
It seemed that at least his original greed did not vanish.
Having been outside in the bright light before entering the dark cave, Mak Woo-jeon had not seen where those ahead of him had gone.
Moreover, not even a sound could be heard from the two who were moving as stealthily as possible.
So, after glancing left and right at the fork for a moment, Mak Woo-jeon finally flung himself to the right.
"Grrrrrrrng!"
And immediately after he threw himself forward, Ga Yoo-ak, who had followed right behind him, also dashed to the right in pursuit.