Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Must Taste Searing Terror Before Plunging into Death's Abyss
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The underground cavern was about two hundred paces in diameter.
The sound of water came from a spot some ten-odd paces to the right of the cave where the group stood. There was a small tunnel there, and water flowing from it cascaded down the cliff, winding around the cavern below.
"Where are we?"
Luha asked.
"We'll find out once we go down."
Ak Muyoo scanned the area below. To the right was a staircase leading downward.
"Zab Jong, go first."
Zab Jong stepped onto the stairs and descended. The other three followed.
Once down on the cavern floor, Ak Muyoo looked up at the ceiling. It seemed at least twenty paces high. The cavern was filled with moss-covered rocks and pillars.
"It's damp here."
Gwangja said, his face lit with excitement.
"Damp?"
"Look at this."
Gwangja pointed to one of the pillars. In his hand was moss he'd peeled off it. The moss was about an inch thick.
Ak Muyoo and Luha approached the pillar. Words were engraved into it—astonishingly, they were martial arts incantations.
"Is this the place we're looking for?"
He asked, eyeing Gwangja.
"Truth be told, it's not. Or rather, I don't even know what we're looking for. I just had a vague hope that coming here might reveal some light. But we've found something incredible."
"Let's head back. Put the moss back."
"Why...?"
"There's nothing here right now. We should come back once we have enemies in tow."
"Understood."
Gwangja replaced the moss and turned around.
The three retraced their steps and headed south across the plain.
"You two check this out. Gwangja, head down."
"Take this."
Gwangja held out an object wrapped in black cloth.
"What's this?"
"Isn't this what you threatened me over to take away?"
"Right, the luminous pearl you lent me. But did I threaten you?"
Ak Muyoo took the luminous pearl and pocketed it.
"That's how it sounded to me. Anyway, I'm off."
Seeming in a hurry, Gwangja descended immediately.
Ak Muyoo and Luha climbed upward. The southern woods were quite steep. They had to cling to the slope to make progress.
"Maybe the people from the Bliss Realm never came down from the mountain at all?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Going back and forth on a slope this steep isn't easy."
"You're saying there might be another path?"
"Yes."
"Even if there was, too much time has passed."
"True enough."
Ak Muyoo nodded.
The two climbed the incline, scanning their surroundings.
After a while, they spotted people. Central Plains martial artists. Behind them loomed a staircase nearly thirty paces high—that led up to the Western Pure Land Plain. The two standing before it seemed to be guarding the passage.
"Let's go back."
They turned and descended.
Their third stop was toward the eastern peak.
"Huh?"
Ak Muyoo's eyes widened as he gazed up at the peak.
"What's wrong?"
Luha asked, looking at him.
"I've seen this before."
Ak Muyoo said.
"Seen what?"
"Over there."
Ak Muyoo spread his arms slightly and extended them forward. The landscape ahead filled the space between them.
"Where did you see it?"
"On a ceiling."
It was true. The painting on the ceiling of the room where the three had slept naked matched this very scene.
"Which ceiling?"
"The one in the room where the three of us fell asleep—the painting there was drawn from this vantage."
"You mean the room where you forcibly stripped us?"
"Did I really do that?"
"You don't remember?"
"Not at all."
"Let me whisper in your ear."
"Why whisper...?"
"It's embarrassing, so I'll say it softly."
Luha leaned in and whispered into Ak Muyoo's ear.
"No way. Me...? That's impossible."
Ak Muyoo shook his head in disbelief.
"You really remember nothing?"
"I swear."
"What a shame. It was your favorite."
"Ugh."
Ak Muyoo grimaced and stepped back. From their current spot, only the middle to upper part of the painting was visible. They needed to go a bit lower for the full view.
After retreating about fifty paces, he stopped.
"Here."
Ak Muyoo said.
"There's a massive rock over there..."
Ak Muyoo approached a small hill about five paces high. Covered in soil and topped with a pine tree, it looked like a hill, but up close, it was a gigantic boulder. Soil had piled up on it, turning it into what appeared as a hill.
"Hit the center bottom with your palm force."
Ak Muyoo pointed to the base of the rock.
Whoosh!
Luha thrust both hands forward swiftly.
Thud!
Her palm force slammed into the center bottom of the rock.
Sss...
The struck spot crumbled into powder.
Crash!
The mound of earth collapsed soon after.
"It's a cave."
Luha said.
The two entered.
"It's not a cave—it's a passage."
Ak Muyoo said.
"Does it lead to the Western Pure Land Plain, by any chance?"
"Yes. But did I really say we should have five kids? And that night, start with two first?"
"Don't you like kids?"
"It's not about like or dislike. Kids should come when you're prepared—that's my view."
"What kind of preparation?"
"Preparation to be a father. A father has to be a role model for his child in every way. But me...?"
"You've lived diligently."
"Living diligently lets me face myself squarely, but to others, it looks incompetent. A child would see it the same way."
Ak Muyoo pulled out the luminous pearl.
The passage was in good shape. The floor and side walls were smooth. No moss like in the underground cavern. Torches were mounted along the tunnel walls.
"The torches look pristine."
"They're made of stone."
They kept walking. How far had they gone? The path began spiraling upward like a snail shell. Soon, they reached the end. A broken stone wall stood obliquely, blocking the exit. They slipped through the narrow gap between it and the wall.
The spot they emerged into was inside a ruined building. Roof and walls had collapsed, leaving only rubble scattered about. Hiding amid the debris, they surveyed the surroundings. Spotting the peak, they gauged their position.
"I see quite a few people."
"Let's head back."
Ak Muyoo reentered. The two exited and returned to base. Only Ara and Ageukta were there.
"The others must have gone there?"
He asked, looking at Ageukta.
"They took paper and ink."
"Why didn't you two go?"
"Knowing a lot of martial arts doesn't make you strong."
"You mean master what you have properly?"
"Exactly."
"And you?"
Now he looked at Ara.
"The real thing probably isn't there, so no point going."
"No real thing?"
"Why leave a manual in a public place? Besides, focusing on you seems more efficient."
"Me?"
"You're the only one in the world with the Fear Demon, the Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink, and the Solar Heaven Sword."
"You know about them?"
"Didn't at first, but I remembered something from when I was very young."
"You heard about those three items?"
"Yeah."
Ara nodded.
"But you didn't see them?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"See what?"
"My robe pocket, inside."
"I did."
"And?"
"It's not mine."
"Hmm! You're doomed to live well."
"Why?"
"They say you live well if you're tenacious and resilient..."
"You can just call for me."
"You're as sharp as Seo Haran."
"I'll pass for now."
"I'll circle once more and call you then. You decide what you want to hear."
"You really have them all?"
This time, Ara looked shocked.
"Were you testing me?"
"I saw the Solar Heaven Sword incantation, so that was sure. Fear Demon and Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink were shots in the dark."
"If I told you I buried those three and even ate the inner pills they left behind, you'd faint."
"......"
Ara stared blankly at Ak Muyoo.
"Funny thing is, I wasn't even full. Be back soon. Rest up, ladies."
Ak Muyoo headed out.
"It's not a lie, right?"
Ara asked the two.
"No reason to lie about that."
Ageukta said.
"Good lord..."
"You must have had high hopes..."
Luha murmured, gazing into the darkness where Ak Muyoo had vanished.
"Hard to say if he's blessed or cursed."
Ak Muyoo returned two hours later.
"Decided?"
He asked Ara.
"The Secret Heaven Lord was a woman, right?"
"Yeah. Want that one?"
"Yes."
"I'll recite the incantations but not the technique names."
"Do whatever."
"Here we go."
Ak Muyoo recited the incantations for Chaos Veil, Phantom Demon Twelve Forms, and Heaven-Splitting Earth all the way through. With nothing else to do, he kept reciting until Ara memorized them, over and over.
"You haven't memorized it all?"
He asked after reciting it over a hundred times.
"Not yet."
"Take back what I said about your head."
Ak Muyoo recited again. Only after another hundred recitations did he stop.
"Thanks."
Truth was, she'd memorized it long ago. She'd pretended not to because of Ageukta and Luha—giving them a chance to memorize too.
"Thanks, my foot. I want to see the Twelve Forms' power once completed. You'll show me, right?"
"Yes. Definitely."
"Good. Rest now. When those guys return, we head down."
"Down?"
Ara asked, puzzled.
"Mission accomplished. Time to go. No need to get dragged into trouble."
"Right."
Ara nodded.
"Rest."
Ak Muyoo went to a corner of the cave, spread his windbreaker, and lay down. The rock's chill seeped up instantly.
"Cold, kid."
Ageukta approached, pressed her palm to the rock, and unleashed Samadhi True Fire. The rock warmed quickly.
"Nice."
Ak Muyoo smiled brightly.
* * *
Around a thousand camel riders arrived at the south gate of Chacha Kingdom. The riders were Parap and the Black Dragon Division members.
"Is that Chacha Kingdom?"
Parap asked as the walls came into view in the distance.
"Yes."
Answered Naul Mok, the Black Dragon Division's deputy leader.
"We rest here first!"
"......Rest?"
Naul Mok asked after a moment's thought.
They could just pass by, but stopping to rest clearly meant they planned to attack Chacha Kingdom.
"If they'd gone another way, we wouldn't bother coming here, but since it's on our path, we can't just pass it up. We need to show them what happens when you attack our Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven."
"Shouldn't we preserve our forces until we reach the Western Pure Land Plain?"
"Can Chacha Kingdom affect our forces?"
"Not really, but resting here will alert them."
"That's the point."
"......"
"They need to realize we've come, feel searing terror, and then plunge into death's abyss. That way, all the Border Wastelands folk will learn what happens when you defy our Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven. That's why I'm striking Chacha Kingdom."
"When do we attack?"
"At dusk."
"Understood."
Naul Mok bowed and withdrew.
Soon after, a thousand Black Wind Division members sat resting on the sands.
Parap watched the front, still mounted on his camel.
The sun moved slowly but steadily westward.