Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Dark Fragrance Secret Cave
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Cheonhwi lifted his head and gazed at the antique yet imposing tall hall.
The Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion, where the Mount Hua Sect's history and martial arts manuals were gathered and organized, consisted of a total of three floors and was quite tall.
And matching its height, each floor had vast space, clearly divided.
The unique system where the higher the floor, the more advanced the martial arts scriptures it held.
This was precisely the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion.
And Cheonhwi had already read most of the books contained within it.
'But a new martial arts scripture is inside this pavilion?'
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed.
He looked at the pavilion with a face full of curiosity before flinging the door open.
Kiiieek—
The moment he stepped through the open door.
"You've come."
Hyeoncheong, who had been organizing the scriptures on the desk, welcomed Cheonhwi.
"Where's the martial arts scripture?"
Hyeoncheong smiled faintly as he looked at Cheonhwi, who got straight to the point.
"Wait just a moment."
Hyeoncheong set down the scripture, rose from his chair, and gestured for him to follow.
"This way."
Hyeoncheong walked ahead with his hands behind his back.
Cheonhwi, watching his back, had a puzzled look in his eyes as he thought.
'Not going up?'
Hyeoncheong was heading not to the stairs but to another area on the first floor.
Step— Step—
Cheonhwi followed after Hyeoncheong's receding back.
Kiiik— Kiiik—
With each step, the creaking wooden floorboards led him deeper into the pavilion.
How much time had passed?
As Cheonhwi followed Hyeoncheong, who strode confidently toward the dead-end western wall, his eyes suddenly sharpened.
'That place...'
Upon reaching the obstructing wall, Hyeoncheong scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes before cautiously halting.
"This is the spot."
Cheonhwi, shaking his head while looking around, narrowed his eyes sharply.
This space, surrounded by bookshelves on all sides, was a place he had visited long ago. And it was also the place that had sparked his suspicions back then.
Swipe—
He glanced down subtly.
In the past, while wandering the first floor of the library, he had always felt that the floor below was hollow.
'So there really was something here.'
As Cheonhwi stared at the floor with eyes full of interest and stroked his chin.
Swipe—
Hyeoncheong bent down sharply at the waist.
He fumbled over the wooden planks a few times, then moved as if digging into the floor.
At that moment.
Click—
A unique sound echoed through.
Hyeoncheong then straightened his bent back and dusted off the dirt from his hands.
"Pull this chain, and the arcane formation will activate, so remember it well."
As Hyeoncheong pointed to the iron chain hidden between the wooden planks.
Grrrind—
An ominous sound rang out, and the bookshelf opposite slid to the side.
A pitch-black hole appeared.
Cheonhwi stared at the empty hole like an abyss before looking at Hyeoncheong.
Then, he raised the corner of his mouth and said.
"Interesting."
Hyeoncheong smiled softly at Cheonhwi, who wore a highly intrigued expression.
"Watch your step when going down."
Hyeoncheong earnestly warned Cheonhwi before entering the hole.
Soon, he was swallowed by the darkness.
'An arcane formation in a place like this...'
Cheonhwi's lips curled up.
Typically, Daoist sects dismissed arcane formations as sorcery and avoided them.
Yet for the Mount Hua Sect, one of those Daoist sects, to deploy one meant...
'Something important is inside. This might have better martial arts scriptures than I thought.'
Cheonhwi's eyes gleamed.
A moment later, he stepped forward.
Upon entering the hole, he felt something touch his foot.
Soon, he channeled inner energy into his eyes to dispel the thick darkness.
The passage came into view in his brightened vision, and his interest grew even deeper.
The stairs and passage leading downward were pristine, as if recently constructed.
'This is quite elaborate.'
"We'll arrive soon."
At Hyeoncheong's words from ahead, Cheonhwi quickened his pace in anticipation.
As he descended the pitch-black stairs like an abyss, filled with expectation.
Flash!
A blinding light swirled in.
Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes against the intense light filling his vision and looked ahead.
'A cavern...?'
A massive underground cavern lay before him.
And on the walls and ceiling of this cavern, countless night-luminous pearls emitted brilliant light.
'To think it's a space this large.'
As he took in the cavern, larger than he had anticipated before entering.
"This place is called the Dark Fragrance Secret Cave, a hidden chamber known only to the sect leader and a handful of elders in our sect."
Hyeoncheong, who had arrived first and was waiting, explained about the space.
"Quite the impressive secret cave."
Cheonhwi scanned the surroundings in admiration.
It was extraordinary at first glance.
The numerous night-luminous pearls illuminating the cave.
And the thick traces deeply carved into the walls encircling the cave each contained astonishing energy.
'Not carved by one person.'
As Cheonhwi closely examined the traces on the wall, his eyes sank deeply.
'Scripture...?'
Upon closer inspection, the chaotic traces on the wall revealed themselves to be writings.
"The martial arts scriptures I mentioned last night are exactly those."
"Where?"
Cheonhwi, who had been examining the traces, whipped his head around like the wind.
There, he spotted a stone desk on one side of the cavern.
And atop it, worn-out scriptures.
Step— Step—
Before he knew it, Cheonhwi stood before the scriptures.
The old scriptures seemed written long ago, so fragile that they might tear if handled improperly.
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed as he looked at them.
'Most are torn and hard to make out.'
As he glared at the incomplete scriptures, Hyeoncheong approached and explained.
"These are martial arts scriptures or formulas from our sect's early days, but so much has been lost that they can't even be practiced."
'That's why the scriptures are in such a mess, and they've been kept separately here in this Dark Fragrance Secret Cave instead of the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion.'
After hearing his explanation, it made sense why there was an underground cavern and why the scriptures were stored here separately.
Practicing martial arts with heavily missing formulas was a deadly gamble.
Not only could they not be properly learned, but a single mistake could lead to qi deviation and madness.
'Still, they're in too poor a condition.'
Cheonhwi frowned at the scriptures, none of which were intact.
Naturally, as he pushed aside a few of the scriptures on top.
'This is...'
His hand stopped.
The half-torn cover of the martial arts scripture he held now captured his attention.
Though most of the text was blurred from tears, the boldly written title on the cover stood out clearly above all.
"...Jade... Ring... Wondrous..."
As Cheonhwi read the characters haltingly.
"It's the true Jade Ring Wondrous Step."
Hyeoncheong interjected from the side.
Watching Cheonhwi's surprised reaction to the Jade Ring Wondrous Step reminded him of his own past.
He too had reached for this Jade Ring Wondrous Step first when he arrived here following the previous Pavilion Lord.
And he had even taught it directly to Seollan.
"As you know, there's also a Jade Ring Wondrous Step on the third floor of the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion, but that's a new interpretation based on this original..."
Regardless of Hyeoncheong chattering beside him, Cheonhwi opened the Jade Ring Wondrous Step in his hand.
'This matches the Jade Ring Wondrous Step I know.'
As he read the formulas, similar yet slightly different from the one in the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion, Cheonhwi's eyes grew sharper.
'Did they interpret and place the one in the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion based on this?'
Cheonhwi's mind raced.
Formulas, insights, and whether it was the original.
He, who knew the Jade Ring Wondrous Step better than anyone in the current Mount Hua Sect, quickly scanned the scripture.
"...The current Jade Ring Wondrous Step was restored by borrowing formulas from other footwork..."
Hyeoncheong, continuing his explanation, belatedly noticed Cheonhwi engrossed in the scripture and fell silent.
'Heh, remarkable. Such concentration to dive straight into the martial arts scripture...'
Admiring him, he smiled faintly.
Then he turned his body.
"I'll have to come back later."
While conversing with Cheonhwi was important, it was more crucial that the existence of the Dark Fragrance Secret Cave not be known to others.
'This is the essence of the Mount Hua Sect...'
Even if other Mount Hua Sect scriptures were taken, these could not be.
They were the roots of the Mount Hua Sect.
'Fortunately, Cheonhwi has shown interest here, so he'll help restore the scriptures.'
Hyeoncheong watched Cheonhwi frantically turning the pages, a soft smile on his lips as he patted his chest in relief.
It was more successful than expected.
For a moment, he turned and ascended the stairs they had come down.
Step— Step—
About fifteen minutes after Hyeoncheong left, Cheonhwi frowned.
"What? It ends here?"
Confused by the abruptly cut-off formula, he furrowed his brow, flipped through the scripture, and inspected the back thoroughly.
But there were no more formulas.
"No wonder the Jade Ring Wondrous Step in the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion was restored so poorly."
Cheonhwi criticized sharply.
Of course, his criticism was directed not at the restorer but at the scripture itself.
The true Jade Ring Wondrous Step matched the formulas he knew, but only the first half remained, with most of the latter half torn away.
Specifically, the explanations and formulas for the most crucial Eight Trigrams were missing.
It couldn't be anything but a different art.
"Still, the Mount Hua Sect got lucky. If I hadn't been reborn as a disciple here, restoring the Jade Ring Wondrous Step would have been impossible forever."
Cheonhwi puffed out his chest and stated matter-of-factly.
And his confidence was, perhaps, only natural.
He possessed peerless martial knowledge unmatched throughout history.
Moreover, having seen the old woman perform the Jade Ring Wondrous Step, restoring its true form was easier than flipping his palm.
It was heaven's fortune for the Mount Hua Sect.
'No need to read this further.'
Having confirmed the scripture in his hand was the Jade Ring Wondrous Step, he tossed it aside.
Then he eyed the scriptures before him.
The Jade Ring Wondrous Step was one of the top footwork techniques he knew.
'If even the Jade Ring Wondrous Step is here, the others should be comparable.'
Cheonhwi's eyes curved like half-moons.
Gazing at the tattered, worn scriptures with intrigued eyes, he felt a rare surge of intense curiosity.
What kind of martial arts scriptures were they to be kept separately in this underground space?
"Shall I start reading then?"
With those words, he reached out and picked up one scripture, opening it.
About an hour after devouring the martial arts scriptures.
"...A pretty decent finger technique?"
Cheonhwi smiled in satisfaction.
The scripture in his hand was in such a wretched state that the formulas were unrecognizable, yet it was clearly a high-level martial art.
"Similar to the Soul Destroying Finger but a bit different—this must be the righteous sect's finger technique?"
Muttering to himself, Cheonhwi stroked his chin, then opened the scripture again to examine it.
Though there were torn sections with illegible formulas here and there, they posed no great obstacle to him.
Like this.
Cheonhwi extended his right index finger straight and channeled inner energy according to the formula in the scripture.
Puk!
A flash pierced the wall of the Dark Fragrance Secret Cave.
"...Just this much?"
Cheonhwi wore a dissatisfied expression.
Only a tiny hole had been made in the cave wall—pathetic compared to what was described in the scripture.
"It'll be different once I restore the missing formulas."
A spark of competitive spirit lit in Cheonhwi's eyes.
Soon after, he counted the number of scriptures before him and nodded.
"...Fourteen."
As he whispered the number of scriptures needing restoration, his eyebrows arched high.
"Hmm, a year should do it."
Smiling, Cheonhwi declared confidently.
But he did not know.
That it would take five years just to restore these fourteen scriptures.