253. What They Call an Unprecedented Sword Cultivator!
Yeop Hyeon knew exactly what the family head's command implied. It was proof that represented the family head himself.
With the addition of the Sado family registry, he figured he could accomplish a great many things.
Yeop Hyeon carefully stored away the family head's command and registry before examining the second tribute box.
Inside, he discovered over a thousand resource crystals and a palm-sized Snow Lotus.
As Yeop Hyeon gingerly picked up the Snow Lotus, a chill seeped through its crystalline glow.
There were plenty of other miscellaneous items besides the Snow Lotus, but nothing worth spending money on.
Yeop Hyeon wore a somewhat disappointed expression. At some point, he had stopped even glancing at ordinary goods.
He tucked the tribute box away and resumed walking with a joyful heart.
Though he had consumed over two billion top-grade spiritual stones to revive the Gyeok Ok Tower this time, his gains far exceeded that cost.
In the end, he had come out ahead.
This time, Yeop Hyeon decided to use the concealment technique called Dun to hide his presence.
With Dun, no one below the True Law Realm could see him. Even a True Law Realm expert would struggle to sense his qi unless actively searching for him.
Thus concealed, Yeop Hyeon slipped away from the market.
Not long after he left, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared in the spot where Yeop Hyeon had stood.
The shadow silently scanned the surroundings before murmuring softly.
"Miss, are you watching? The young master has already reached the Sword Emperor realm at just nineteen. Even among our Dokgo family, he's unparalleled. And young miss Yeop Ryeong hasn't even turned fifteen yet, but she's entered the early Myriad Laws Realm—and her constitution is extraordinarily unique. If you could see how they've grown in the Yuok, you'd be overjoyed."
With those words, the shadow faded into transparency and vanished in an instant.
The Namryeon Mountain Range lay in a desolate, sparsely populated region at the southern tip of Qingzhou. Nothing but endless peaks could be seen here.
It was here that the Dochik Yeop Hyeon sought awaited.
He could no longer delay finding the second Dochik. After his battle with Sado Myeong, he had confirmed that using the Gyeok Ok Tower with a Dochik greatly reduced its backlash.
Without one, he had nearly died from the strain. But just recently, despite paying a price, it hadn't overwhelmed him to the point of collapse.
Yeop Hyeon believed the Dochik mitigated the side effects.
The next day, upon arriving at the Namryeon Mountain Range, Yeop Hyeon followed the guidance of the second-floor entity deep into the mountains.
As he swiftly traversed the layered peaks, he encountered several yosu—demonic beasts—but none detected him.
After about half a shichen of travel, Yeop Hyeon halted before a massive pit. It spanned well over a hundred zhang across, its bottom lost in darkness.
Moreover, a black mist crept up from within, lending the scene an eerie aura.
Yeop Hyeon instantly sensed this was no ordinary place.
At that moment, a sharp voice rang in his ear.
GO IN!
Into the pit?
Yeop Hyeon took a step toward the pit and peered down. Black mist filled it completely, revealing nothing.
Suddenly, every cell in his body screamed a warning. Entering recklessly would spell disaster.
Then, pounding sounds began echoing from the second floor of the Gyeok Ok Tower, urging him on.
Hesitating slightly, Yeop Hyeon addressed the second-floor entity.
"Uh... mind if I ask something? If you knew where the Dochik was, why didn't you retrieve it yourself?"
In truth, the second-floor entity was powerful enough to infiltrate Hogye Meng and slay multiple True Law Realm experts. For such a being to find the Dochik and return empty-handed was suspicious.
The tower fell silent at his question. Then vibrations started from the second floor, soon shaking the first floor violently as well.
Yeop Hyeon felt dizzy, barely able to stand.
"S-stop! I get it! I won't ask anymore, just stop!"
His pleading cry quieted the tower. The voice echoed in his mind once more.
JUMP DOWN!
Hearing it, Yeop Hyeon took another step toward the pit. With a self-deprecating smile, he muttered,
"When did I become so cowardly?"
With that, he leaped into the abyss.
Truth be told, since the Heavenly Maiden left, Yeop Hyeon had noticed his confidence waning in all things.
But when a necessary task loomed before him, he had to push through any fear.
The more one overthinks, the more problems arise—and constant setbacks breed hesitation.
Finally, Yeop Hyeon boldly plunged into the pit. Cold wind whistled past his ears.
As he surrendered to the endless darkness, his feet touched something solid.
Opening his sword eyes, Yeop Hyeon saw he stood not on ground, but on a protruding rock ledge along the cliff face. The pit wall was overgrown with vines and moss.
CLIMB DOWN!
The second-floor entity's impatient voice rang in his head.
Yeop Hyeon grabbed a vine dangling from the wall and slowly descended.
After another half shichen, his feet finally touched solid ground.
Water lapped at his shins. A closer look revealed it was no water—but blood.
Startled, Yeop Hyeon scanned his surroundings warily and shouted,
"Is there something dangerous here?"
[...NOT TELLING!]
Yeop Hyeon's temper flared at the response.
Damn it, toying with me at a time like this!
Had it not been stronger, he would have given the entity a thrashing long ago.
But instead of raging, Yeop Hyeon sighed to calm himself. He couldn't beat it. Donning his gentlest smile and softest tone, he asked again,
"Please, just tell me. Is there something dangerous here?"
[YES!]
In an even sweeter voice, Yeop Hyeon pressed,
"What kind of danger?"
[DON'T KNOW!]
His face hardened at the curt reply.
Don't know? As if that ends it!
Shaking his head, Yeop Hyeon trudged deeper into the cave.
The blood underfoot grew thicker and denser with every step.
After walking some distance, he spotted a will-o'-wisp flickering ahead like a candle in the wind.
His heart raced. Though he feared no ghosts, the unknown nature of it set him on edge.
The wisp burned blood-red, about the size of an adult's palm. Each dance made his pulse pound harder.
Steeling himself, Yeop Hyeon advanced slowly, muttering loudly,
"Father, seriously! I said I could handle it alone, but he insists on sending ten True Law Realm experts with me! How am I supposed to train like this? With hundreds of True Law Realm powerhouses in the Ye family, who would dare touch me... sheesh."
The wisp paused at his words, then drifted deeper into the cave.
Yeop Hyeon kept hyping himself up while radiating his qi—the aura of a Sword Emperor.
He did it in case the foe didn't realize his level and attacked blindly.
Continuing onward, he never stopped talking.
"Grandfather's so weird too, forcing me to suppress my realm like this... If I hadn't restricted myself, I'd have surpassed Sword Emperor and become a Sword Immortal by now! Sigh... no choice, it's his order, so I hide my power usually."
The red wisp ahead accelerated and vanished into the darkness.
Yeop Hyeon quickened his pace, shouting,
"Such dense yin qi—looks like we've found the real deal! Hope it's a strong one!"
Suddenly, the space ahead rippled, as if an invisible wall barred his path.
Only someone at least True Law Realm could manipulate space like this.
Glancing around coldly, Yeop Hyeon bellowed,
"Who dares block Yeop Hyeon's path?!"
A sinister voice echoed from the darkness.
"This is no place for a blood clot like you. I'm not in the mood for killing right now, so scram before I change my mind!"
"Scram? Haha... hahaha... hahahaha!"
"What's so funny?"
Ignoring the reaction, Yeop Hyeon laughed louder.
"In this Qingcang Realm, even Hogye Meng is but a dog to the Ye family—yet you tell me to scram? Don't you know one word from the Ye family could flip this place, nay, the entire Qingcang Realm upside down?"
"Ye family? This emperor has never heard the name!"
"Hmph! Then surely you've heard of me, Yeop Hyeon?"
"Never heard that name either!"
Yeop Hyeon shook his head at the voice from the shadows.
"Not knowing me means you're either not from here or you've been holed up too long! Listen well. I, Yeop Hyeon, am the most outstanding sword cultivator this Qingcang Realm has ever produced—a warrior hailed for my unprecedented talent!"
Finishing, he unleashed his Sword Emperor aura once more.
Silence fell briefly before the voice returned from the dark.
"Sword cultivator... A thousand years ago, one called the Cangjie Sword Lord came here. But by aura alone, you fall short of him."
Yeop Hyeon panicked inwardly.
What now? How do I bluff my way out of this?