Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Entering the Tomb
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“Big brother, what happened?”
Yeoseol's question brought a smile to my face.
“Young Master Dang had reached the peak of first-rate. It seems he'd been stuck there, unable to find a way forward. The fact that he gained insight from something so simple proves it.”
“Hm. Looks like he's breaking through to peak now.”
Dang Jiin, floating a full zhang in the air, was enveloped in a transparent energy flow.
“How did you know that, Yeoseol?”
“Mm, I just... saw it.”
“Really? You're sharp.”
Even as I said it, this was Yeoseol's first time witnessing such a phenomenon. Her intuitive grasp that he was ascending to the peak realm was proof that Mae Yu-yeon's consciousness had intervened.
I couldn't tell if this was part of her growth or a negative influence from Mae Yu-yeon.
But since everyone goes through such growing pains with their consciousness as a rite of passage, I couldn't make a precise judgment.
An hour later, Dang Jiin opened his eyes.
“Thanks to Scholar Cheon, I've gained great enlightenment.”
Dang Jiin rose and cupped his hands toward me in gratitude.
“If my words sparked your insight, then that's all thanks to Young Master Dang's own fortune.”
“No one has ever given me sincere advice or helpful words for my sake in all my life. I've always had to compete and check each other just to survive. Obsessed with mere survival like that, I've lived a life far from true enlightenment.”
I nodded.
'That's why he gains insight from something so trivial.'
Dang Jiin muttered as if to himself.
“Poisonous herbs grow in places thick with poison. They can't thrive in sunny spots with good soil, nor can venomous insects survive there.”
Dang Jiin gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“Our clan is no different from a poisonous swamp. People raised in such a place grow like toxic weeds. How could they be righteous or overflowing with chivalry?”
“But environment can be changed if you set your mind to it. With thinking like yours, Young Master Dang, nothing is impossible.”
“……Do you really think so?”
“Of course. So if the chance arises for you to become family head, don't refuse—embrace it fully.”
“Would such a chance ever come to me?”
I felt the need to plant a firm conviction in Dang Jiin right then.
“The Sichuan murim is at war with the Demonic Cult right now. The Tang Clan doesn't want calamity, but these are times when anything could happen.”
Dang Jiin nodded.
“I understand. Don't slack off and steel your resolve, right?”
“Exactly.”
In the end, I couldn't tell Dang Jiin the Tang emblem was fake.
It could create too many variables if he knew.
'What am I hoping this fake emblem will do to the Tang Clan?'
Letting the fake emblem be was precisely that intention.
Being in the Murim Alliance, I'd come to know the Tang Clan all too well.
They were an orthodox sect under the Alliance on paper, but in truth, they were closer to unorthodox or even demonic paths.
Their actions spoke for it, as did their history.
For their own gain, they disregarded all propriety, and any backlash was swept under the rug as 'grudges and enmities.'
That's why the Sichuan Tang Clan was a name shunned in murim.
The Tang Clan didn't hesitate at insidious,, lowly deeds.
The number of Tang Clan-related incidents the Alliance's Inspection Unit had covered up was beyond count.
Touch them, and they bared their fangs without distinguishing friend from foe; cover for them, and the aggrieved weren't just one or two.
Even the division leader telling me to kill him and investigate made sense now.
So I believed the Tang Clan needed to change—and for it to change for the better, someone like Dang Jiin had to get close to power.
Leave them as is, and sects mimicking their vicious style—impossible to call orthodox or demonic—would sprout like mushrooms.
I held one firm belief.
'The bystander of good is the fertilizer that nurtures evil.'
That's why I couldn't stand by the Tang Clan.
Yeoseol, who had been listening intently to my conversation with Dang Jiin, spoke up.
“My servant.”
After a long while without her jokes, Dang Jiin played along.
“What is it, my goddess?”
Yeoseol flashed a bright smile.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
“A smile this lovely... truly befitting my goddess.”
Yeoseol's smile deepened.
“As big brother says, if the chance comes, it wouldn't be bad for my servant to become the Tang Clan head.”
Yeoseol tossed out words that would be hard for others to say so casually.
It was the privilege of the young.
“Hahaha, my goddess. If the chance comes, I shall become the Tang Clan head.”
“That would be nice.”
Yeoseol laughed, and Dang Jiin laughed with her.
I gave a wry smile at the sight. Dang Jiin chatted a bit more before leaving the room.
“Yeoseol. Did you use Mesmerizing Soul Eye on Young Master Dang?”
“Yeah. You seemed to want him as clan head, big brother, so I just planted a suggestion.”
I couldn't scold Yeoseol for it.
If anything, I wanted to praise her.
But for her moral sake, I had to advise her.
“Still, next time something like this comes up, don't do it unless I say so separately.”
“So, don't use Mesmerizing Soul Eye on your own whim?”
“Right.”
If she started using it whenever she felt like it later, it'd be a problem.
“Got it. If I ever do, I'll tell you first, big brother.”
Yeoseol had used it to help me.
Now, if trouble arose in the Tang Clan and a chance came, Dang Jiin wouldn't hesitate to seize power.
The fake Tang emblem bearer, Yuk Bo, was busy.
From the moment he entered the Tang Clan grounds, he'd been scurrying around based on the info from the real emblem, trying to scout the poison formations surrounding the family estate.
But the Tang Clan's poison formations were accessible only to the family head, leaving no way to breach or sabotage them.
'No choice but to take down Dang Myeong and become head myself.'
Even that wasn't feasible.
Dang Myeong was a transcendent realm master, far beyond Yuk Bo's level to challenge.
With his Reverse Yin Technique at risk of exposure, he couldn't even approach closely.
'Staying like this, I'll be found out soon. This family's the most paranoid of all.'
So Yuk Bo sought another way.
The Tang Clan's poison formations didn't just scatter poison powder—they utilized living venomous creatures.
That was what made them unparalleled.
Thousands of venomous beasts inhabited the Tang Clan's poison grounds.
Breaking through such formations would cost the Demonic Cult heavy losses.
Thus, Yuk Bo planned to release the poison creatures, turning the Tang Clan upside down.
Then, when the main cult attacked, seizing control wouldn't be hard.
With thousands of venomous beasts loose in the clan, it'd be trapped in its own formations.
A moment later, using an excuse of errands, Yuk Bo slipped out and contacted Sin Eung via a spy.
In two days, at night, he'd release the poison beasts to sow chaos in the Tang Clan.
I occasionally observed Yuk Bo in secret.
Two days ago, after going out, he'd holed up without seeing anyone, so I suspected he was up to something.
'Finally making his move today.'
Yuk Bo ventured deep into the inner quarters, where I couldn't follow.
Only direct kin like Dang Pae could enter there.
I tracked his movements via his blood flow.
He stopped at one spot.
'That's one of the poison grounds where Dang Jiin was punished—and close to the ancestor's tomb.'
The poison grounds neighbored the ancestor's tomb.
Seeing him linger there for a while, a thought flashed through my mind.
'No way—is he planning to release the poison beasts?'
The Tang Clan's poison grounds were marshy enclosures walled and ceiled to prevent escape.
Just opening the doors or roof would unleash all manner of venomous horrors.
I wondered how he'd evade the guarding warriors.
“Hm.”
His blood flow halted abruptly—it seemed he was slaughtering the nearby guards without hesitation.
Yuk Bo apparently didn't care about killing guards since he'd open the doors anyway.
Soon after, he flung open the doors and windows, even ripping off the roof.
Winged venomous insects took flight from the grounds.
Legged ones scurried swiftly out the doors.
From atop the roof, watching the grounds, the creatures poured out like spilling ink, spreading everywhere.
'My chance has come.'
Sure enough, the blood flows of hidden guards near the ancestor's tomb grew frantic.
They were fleeing the beasts.
I hurried back to the guest quarters.
“Yeoseol. Let's go.”
Seeing my excitement, Yeoseol grinned.
“Finally heading to the ancestor's tomb?”
“Yeah. Yuk Bo released all the poison beasts from the grounds. The Tang Clan's in an uproar catching them.”
Mindful of bites on the ground, I donned thick leather boots reaching my ankles—prepared in advance—and headed for the Tang ancestor's tomb.
Yeoseol, having learned the Ghost Infant Shadow Divine Technique from me, followed silently without a trace.
Even right behind me, her breathing and presence were undetectable—the technique was flawless.
Over the Tang walls we went; the clan was in pandemonium.
Clan members, gloved and clad in leather to catch the beasts, dashed about chaotically.
With venom everywhere, alarms blared.
Thanks to that, we easily vaulted roofs into the inner quarters housing the tomb.
No Tang warriors or direct kin remained inside—all had fled outdoors.
The beasts must have swarmed the inner quarters most thickly.
We slew more than a few on the way to the tomb.
Killed green-horned snakes attacking from trees, venomous bees ambushing from eaves.
Creatures with instantly fatal venom.
Plus poison toads, centipedes like snakes, scorpions, venom ants—every kind.
“This won't do. Yeoseol, use your icy qi to clear the path.”
We had to breach the poison grounds to reach the tomb.
Yeoseol drew natural qi and exhaled glacial energy.
Frost settled instantly around us.
Shaaa!
As the area chilled, the swarming beasts startled at the cold and scattered swiftly.
So many lingered in the grounds; without Yeoseol, we couldn't have broken through.
'Good thing I brought her.'
I still couldn't produce cold as intensely as Yeoseol.
Not enough to keep freezing the path ahead consistently.
We pierced the grounds and reached the ancestor's tomb.
“Is that it?”
We approached the mound-like tumulus.
A massive stele confirmed it was the Tang ancestor's burial site.
The tomb entrance was a stone door that slid open when pushed.
This place was off-limits without the antidote badge, and few even sought it—no need for extra security, it seemed.
Inside the ancestor's tomb, we closed the stone door. Like a royal mausoleum, the passage was spacious.
Both walls bore murals of the ancestor's exploits.
Passing stone walls filled with exaggerated paintings, we saw the sarcophagus.
“Must be the Tang ancestor's coffin.”
Yeoseol muttered, then asked me,
“But where's the Spirit Mountain Flower?”
Before bringing her, I'd explained the Moon Shadow Divine Throw and Spirit Mountain Flower.
She needed to know what I sought and why.
And now, she had the intellect to grasp such personal tales fully.
As I stared piercingly at the coffin, Yeoseol's eyes widened.
“No way—it's inside the coffin?”
“Exactly. They said this stone coffin is designed to block moisture, perfect for preservation. Plus, being the ancestor's, no one dares open it casually—safe too.”
As Yeo Woong-won said, I wondered anxiously and curiously if the Spirit Mountain Flower was preserved undecayed.
Grrrrr!
I opened the sarcophagus lid.
The thick lid would take four or five strong men to shift, but I pushed it off with one hand.