Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Under the Full Moon
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After that, simple mechanisms kept appearing one after another.
But by utilizing the Mechanism Codex's 'design analysis' function, they passed through them without much trouble.
The two women and Mun Wonbi simply couldn't comprehend Han Ibi, who suddenly seemed like an expert on mechanisms.
Wang Qinglin asked with eyes full of suspicion.
"Come on, tell us. What exactly happened behind that wall?"
Han Ibi replied with utter innocence.
"No, I already told you. That giant frog gave me a gift."
"Did it give you blueprints or something for the mechanisms? If so, let us see them too."
"No, nothing like that."
At that moment, Baek Mihu spoke up with a grave expression.
"I think... we're just going around in circles in the same spot."
Mun Wonbi asked,
"Is it a Strange Gates Formation?"
Baek Mihu shook her head as she replied,
"I'm not well-versed enough to be certain, but it feels like some kind of mechanism... or maybe a very rudimentary Strange Gates Formation."
Han Ibi cut in.
"I heard that once you enter a Strange Gates Formation, fog rolls in, mountains rise up, and seas cave in... but that doesn't seem to be happening here?"
With that, he activated the Mechanism Codex's design analysis.
'Hmm...'
Han Ibi glanced around, spotted something off, and said,
"Alright. It looks like they deliberately made all these rooms and corridors look so similar. But..."
Han Ibi drew closer to the wall as he continued,
"The joint where the stone wall connects to the floor is nagging at me..."
He examined it intently before saying,
"It'd be pretty embarrassing to get trapped in your own mechanism, right? That's why, in this corridor, they distinguished paths using subtle differences in the angle of the digs into the floor."
Of course, it wasn't Han Ibi who had spotted it himself—it was thanks to the Mechanism Codex's markers.
The three others, oblivious to this, could only gape at Han Ibi's astonishing transformation.
Mun Wonbi said,
"Young Master Jongli... by any chance, does the Qingcheng Sect teach its disciples mechanism studies separately?"
Baek Mihu chimed in,
"Or maybe you learned it from the Zhongli Clan? I've heard that families like the Zhuge Clan drill their members thoroughly in mechanism arts and Strange Gates Formations."
Han Ibi replied,
"Nah, nothing like that. I just... pointed it out because it looked suspicious. Let's get going."
The three shot him dubious glances as they stared at the back of Han Ibi, who led the way...
What appeared before them was truly a brand-new path.
Wang Qinglin exclaimed in delight,
"Whoa! Looks like we're finally almost there."
And sure enough, they could now feel the stone cavern's slope gradually rising.
Mun Wonbi said with a joyful expression,
"Seems like the trials are finally over."
Baek Mihu added,
"It really was one long night."
Han Ibi nodded in agreement.
Mun Wonbi said,
"They said the trials conclude in the Grand Hall of Great Tranquil Light. Lifting that cover up ahead has to lead right to it."
Han Ibi remarked,
"This is one ridiculously massive temple."
Han Ibi stepped up onto the platform first and shoved open the wooden cover overhead.
'Please... let us be in first place. Hell, has anyone even made it through these brutal trials...?'
Han Ibi poked his head out through the cover.
And then,
"Huh! This is..."
A muffled murmur emanated from Han Ibi's unseen upper body.
Wang Qinglin urgently asked,
"What's wrong? Is someone there?"
Han Ibi said again,
"This is... kinda weird..."
Growing curious, Mun Wonbi pressed him,
"Brother Jongli. What's going on?"
At that, Han Ibi braced his arms, hauled his lower body up, and climbed onto solid ground as he said,
"There's no one here, but..."
"Then what is it?"
The hot-tempered Wang Qinglin clambered up after Han Ibi without a second's delay.
The remaining two followed right behind.
Han Ibi and Wang Qinglin could be seen looking around in bewilderment.
It was no hall enshrining Vairocana Buddha—instead, they stood in the heart of a thickly wooded forest.
Mun Wonbi said in a daze,
"Young Master Jongli. Where... where is this?"
Wang Qinglin made a sour face as she said,
"Looks like we took a wrong turn somewhere."
Han Ibi replied,
"I heard this temple's been around for ages. That frog thing earlier... what if we've stumbled into some spot even the Murim Alliance doesn't know about?"
Baek Mihu nodded.
"Could be."
Han Ibi said,
"Well... eh, whatever. We busted through the trials and got out, so a win's a win."
Baek Mihu murmured,
"It's nothing like that Iljumun gateway we saw earlier..."
A brief, uneasy silence fell over them.
Then Mun Wonbi clapped his hands with a sudden realization.
"Aha! Now that I think about it..."
All eyes turned to Mun Wonbi.
"...maybe finding the way is part of the test too? So the first team to reach the Grand Hall of Great Tranquil Light is the winner."
The impatient Wang Qinglin jumped in,
"If that's the case, we can't waste time yapping. Let's hurry off in some direction."
The underbrush was impossibly thick, anyway.
They couldn't see a thing ahead.
Mun Wonbi asked,
"Which way should we go?"
There was no clear answer, of course.
The four simply picked a direction and set off.
The night-shrouded mountain path was eerily silent.
Wang Qinglin said,
"It's awfully dark out here."
Han Ibi replied,
"Eh, at least it's not as pitch-black as that underground cave."
About an hour of walking later,
A colossal, rippling presence loomed into view ahead.
The round full moon hanging in the sky reflected perfectly upon it, shattering into fragments.
Wang Qinglin's jaw dropped as she said,
"What the heck is this? The ocean?"
Mun Wonbi shook his head.
"No way. Even the nearest sea is ridiculously far. Even if it looks like one, it's gotta be some vast lake or river."
Han Ibi mused to himself,
'Whoa... I knew this continent was huge, but a lake so immense it touches the horizon? Physically a superpower, no doubt.'
Baek Mihu spoke up then,
"This is odd. We've walked far enough for the scenery to change by now."
Mun Wonbi nodded as he said,
"You're right. This must not be the way. We've been heading left so far... how about we try right for a change?"
Baek Mihu replied,
"Sounds good."
Han Ibi's group pushed through the thickets, heading in the opposite direction from before.
Another hour or so passed.
Wang Qinglin cocked her head in disbelief as she said,
"No way. This can't be happening, right?"
Han Ibi grimaced as he replied,
"That's exactly what I was about to say."
Indeed.
That same impossibly vast lake stretched out before them once more.
Wang Qinglin snapped irritably,
"Why the hell would anyone build a temple in a place like this?"
Mun Wonbi said,
"That's what makes it the Demonic Cult... If we could just peek inside, it wouldn't be the Demonic Cult anymore."
The four stood there pondering for a moment.
Wang Qinglin's expression grew ever more fierce.
"This totally wastes all our effort rushing through those mechanisms."
Just then, Han Ibi let out a deep sigh and gazed up at the sky.
Something seemed to click, and he pointed upward as he said,
"Aha! Check that out."
The group's heads snapped skyward.
There hung a brilliantly full moon in perfect, cinematic roundness...
Han Ibi continued,
"How about we use the moon's position as our guide?"
Baek Mihu nodded.
"It won't be easy, but I can't think of anything better."
No sooner had the words left their mouths than the four set off again, using the moon as their shaky compass.
That was when it happened.
"Uwaaaah! What the hell!"
Wang Qinglin yanked at her hair as if she might tear it out, screaming.
For the first time since joining the Murim Alliance, Han Ibi found himself sympathizing with her plight.
Yet another endless expanse of lake lay spread before them.
Wang Qinglin said in a fit of nerves,
"Are we... trapped on some island or something?"
Mun Wonbi couldn't hide his own bafflement as he replied,
"An island... probably not. I bet we just don't know the lay of the land and keep circling the same area."
Then Han Ibi raised a finger and said,
"No way to tell where we are without a vantage point, so let's climb somewhere high and look around."
Mun Wonbi's eyebrows shot up.
"That's a great idea."
Wang Qinglin was already turning that way; the other three hurried after her.
A gentle hillock stood where Han Ibi had pointed.
It didn't look particularly tall, but it counted as high ground around here.
Even that hill was choked with dense underbrush, just like everywhere else.
Everyone was exhausted, so the four climbed in silence for a stretch.
Mun Wonbi was the first to speak.
"This place is bizarre. It doesn't look that high, but we haven't even hit halfway... it feels just like..."
Baek Mihu picked up the thought,
"A mere low hill, yet it feels like scaling a towering peak."
Mun Wonbi said,
"It's not just me, then?"
Han Ibi answered,
"Nope. Brother Mun, I'm beat too."
Then came Wang Qinglin's voice from farther ahead.
"Oh gosh! Wh-what is this?!"
The three exchanged tense glances before dashing toward her.
"Gah!"
Even Mun Wonbi couldn't stifle the gasp rising in his throat.
An utterly unforeseen sight unfolded there.
Baek Mihu frowned as she said,
"Wh-what are... those things?"
Han Ibi's face twisted too as he stammered,
"Probably... probably..."
Wang Qinglin shouted,
"Graves!"
Indeed.
Tomb mounds lined both sides of the narrow path they were climbing.
Wang Qinglin muttered,
"Ugh... this is creepy..."
Mun Wonbi said,
"What's creepy about it? Everyone has to die someday..."
Baek Mihu added,
"Right. Burying folks in the mountains is common just about everywhere."
Han Ibi said,
"Still gives me the chills, so let's hurry on by."
They all inwardly agreed and quickened their pace.
But...
The farther they pressed on, the graves didn't thin out—they only grew denser...
Han Ibi said,
"Well, this is awkward... looks like we climbed the wrong mountain. This one's basically a cemetery."
Wang Qinglin remarked,
"This is so weird. Why are there so many graves where the Demonic Cult hid that temple...?"
Han Ibi put on a haunted expression as he said,
"Maybe... people the Demonic Culters killed and buried on the sly."
"Eek! Don't even say that. I don't wanna hear it."
That was when it happened.
"Ugh."
This time, it was Mun Wonbi's groan.
Han Ibi asked,
"What's up, Brother Mun?"
Mun Wonbi pointed with his finger as he said,
"Take a look at those."
The rest of the group stared, eyes bulging wide.
And small wonder...
An endless procession of wooden coffins stretched out alongside the graves.
Baek Mihu muttered with furrowed brows once more,
"They went to the trouble of making all these graves... so why leave the coffins outside?"
Wang Qinglin said,
"Maybe they ran out of room to bury them and just dumped 'em there?"
Mun Wonbi replied,
"Could be... but we should pick up the pace."
That was when it happened.
Wooo... woooo...
(To be continued next time)