Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Path to the Secret Annex
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The group emerging from the gap finally realized they had set foot on the path leading to the Heavenly Qi Master's secret annex. A road that had been invisible until now came into view, stretching straight toward the heart of Heavenly Central Mountain.
"How in the world did you do it? You didn't destroy the formation—you just sliced it apart... How is that even possible?"
The Sword Demon kept pressing Dan Hyeong-u for an answer. But Dan Hyeong-u offered no reply whatsoever.
When Dan Hyeong-u stubbornly refused to respond, even the Sword Demon gave up. In truth, he had a rough idea of how it had been done.
Dan Hyeong-u seemed to possess an unparalleled ability to read the flow of qi. That's why he had cleaved right through the gap in that flow.
'The flow of qi must have been severed for a moment, which means a hole opened in the formation.'
That was the Sword Demon's conclusion.
But such a method only worked on very rudimentary formations. The one laid by the Heavenly Qi Master was so extraordinary that even the Sword Demon couldn't sense its qi flow.
No formation of that caliber would split apart just from severing the flow. The better the formation, the more fluid and resilient its qi currents—any gap would fill in an instant. The Sword Demon hadn't realized that yet.
Dan Hyeong-u didn't particularly dislike the Sword Demon. From the start, his aura had felt strangely familiar, evoking no real sense of repulsion or urge to kill.
He was fully willing to give a rough explanation if asked. But right now, he couldn't answer the Sword Demon's question. He was lost in his own thoughts.
What had drawn Dan Hyeong-u into this solitary reverie was the formation itself. Something small he had sensed the moment he sliced it apart kept holding him captive.
Dan Hyeong-u had simply swung his sword and cut the formation. It had felt like the natural thing to do. Unbeknownst to him, he had severed it clean through. And on the freshly cut edge of that formation, no more qi gathered.
That single swing refused to let his mind wander elsewhere.
'Unity...'
The instant he brought his sword down, the word that flashed in Dan Hyeong-u's mind was unity. It was the koan he had pondered endlessly while surviving alone in hell, and even afterward.
The unity of qi was something he had achieved long ago. Merging the qi of heaven, earth, and man—that was the first enlightenment Dan Hyeong-u had attained.
The Three Talents Miraculous Art was a breathing technique that drew in heavenly and earthly qi into the body. That was as far as the Heavenly Qi Master had taken it, but Dan Hyeong-u had gone one step further to achieve unity.
Even the Heavenly Qi Master hadn't foreseen this. No, it was an entirely new Three Talents Miraculous Art.
And thanks to it, he had survived hell.
He had also achieved unity in his footwork just before escaping hell.
The movement art created by the Heavenly Qi Master was the Three Talents Step—heaven step, earth step, and human step. It had evolved so much from its original form during his long survival in hell that it bore little resemblance. And that too had reached unity.
All that remained was the sword art. The Three Talents Sword Art left by the Heavenly Qi Master had likewise lost its original form entirely, becoming something new. But he still hadn't achieved unity in the sword.
He had glimpsed that realm faintly once, and it was what allowed him to escape hell.
At first, with hell's brutal intensity gone, he thought he would never grow stronger. He had quietly given up on sword unity. But that wasn't the case.
'Serenity...'
Only now did Dan Hyeong-u realize it. The peace and leisure he had so desperately craved were merely a means to reach sword unity.
That single strike just moments ago had been born from it.
A smile tugged at Dan Hyeong-u's lips. He suddenly had more work to do. Having come this far, shouldn't he complete that final unity?
Dan Hyeong-u turned to look at Jo Seol-yeon.
Jo Seol-yeon was walking while chatting with Umun Hye and Tang Mun-yeong. The smile on Dan Hyeong-u's face deepened.
Thanks to Jo Seol-yeon, tasks kept piling up. And Dan Hyeong-u enjoyed it.
He liked constantly encountering and clashing with people. And he especially liked Jo Seol-yeon for making that possible.
"Good."
The Sword Demon scowled at Dan Hyeong-u's cryptic mutter and shot him a glance.
"Looks like this is the entrance."
Tang Mun-yeong spoke as she cautiously examined the massive cave mouth. An ordinary person might have charged right in, but she didn't.
She held the others back from rash action and scrutinized the cave entrance closely.
"Sure enough, there are mechanisms here."
The cave mouth was riddled with holes of unknown purpose. Likely, something emerged from them to attack anyone passing through.
"Guess we need to disarm these first, huh?"
At Tang Mun-yeong's words, the Sword Demon stepped forward.
"You think we're gonna dismantle every trap one by one? Just smash 'em and go."
The Sword Demon drew his sword. Before anyone could stop him, he swung at the cave entrance.
Pzzt-crackle!
The formidable sword qi pouring from the Sword Demon's blade struck the cave.
Kaboom!
Rocks exploded with a thunderous roar. Astonishingly, though, the cave remained intact. Not even a single pebble dislodged from the Sword Demon's strike.
The Sword Demon's face twisted in frustration. What an embarrassment—this was the second time he'd stepped up cockily and failed.
Until now, the only ones whose swings he couldn't overpower were the Heavenly Demon and Dan Hyeong-u.
Yet while searching for the Heavenly Qi Master's annex, two more had been added. How could his pride not suffer?
A chilling light gleamed in the Sword Demon's eyes. A murky energy began emanating from his sword—an intensely thick demonic qi.
At first flowing like smoke, the demonic qi eventually took form.
It was sword gang.
A jet-black sword gang erupted a full yard from his blade. The Sword Demon swung the ink-black gang, striking the cave once more.
Kraka-boom!
An enormous explosion echoed everywhere. Finally, cracks began spiderwebbing across the cave entrance.
Crack-craaaack!
But that was it. The cracked walls held firm, and no debris fell. Grimacing, the Sword Demon swung again.
Boom!
Rumble-rumble!
At last, the entrance crumbled. Chunks of the cracked ceiling rained down, piling up at the mouth.
"Hoo..."
Only then did the Sword Demon feel some relief. It had taken time, but he'd smashed it regardless.
"That should do it."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than eerie sounds emanated from the cave entrance.
Grrrk-grrrk!
It was like the scraping of stone. As the echoes filled the air, the Escort Leader shouted.
"Everyone, dodge!"
The Escort Leader moved first, leaping as far from the entrance as possible. The others followed suit. The only one who didn't move was Dan Hyeong-u.
As the group spotted this and opened their mouths to call out, something poured from the cave.
Shwick-shwick!
Clang-crack!
From the entrance gushed steel chains. They shot from the holes, whipping the surroundings wildly before retracting.
In the chaos, the chains battered Dan Hyeong-u's body without mercy.
Yet Dan Hyeong-u's expression remained utterly unfazed. If anything, he intently studied the holes from which the chains emerged.
Dan Hyeong-u stepped forward. He drew his sword.
Anticipation flickered in the eyes of the onlookers. Every time Dan Hyeong-u drew his blade, some problem got resolved—that belief dominated their minds.
Flash!
And then lightning struck.
The Martial Alliance group halted before the massive cave entrance. Jegal Jung-cheon stepped forward to inspect it meticulously.
Shattered debris littered the area.
"Hmm. It seems someone came here, smashed the entrance, and cleared the rubble."
Jegal Jung-cheon had deduced the situation almost perfectly.
"So that means someone got here before us?"
At Dugun Un's question, Jegal Jung-cheon nodded.
"Indeed. But we can't rush in recklessly. Smashing the entrance like this means there was some kind of trap. We need to confirm it's fully neutralized."
Jegal Jung-cheon's words made sense. Dugun Un nodded.
"Make haste."
He didn't know how many had entered, but they had to secure at least one thing no matter what.
'Golden Demon Art!'
Dugun Un's mind was consumed by it. He had been stunned to hear the Golden Demon Art was in the Heavenly Qi Master's annex.
The Golden Demon Art had to belong to the Martial Alliance. If it fell into demonic hands, the martial world would drown in blood.
"Rin-ah, come take a look."
As Dugun Un sank into thoughts of the Golden Demon Art, Jegal Jung-cheon called Jegal Rin to examine the entrance together. Though damaged, spotting mechanism traces was child's play for them.
"Something comes out of these holes to attack people passing through."
"I see."
"From the marks... probably steel chains."
Jegal Jung-cheon smiled and nodded at Jegal Rin's forthright analysis.
"Right. Can you disarm it?"
"Let's check how it works first."
Jegal Rin had Jegal Jung-cheon fall back, then tossed a rock into the cave.
Shwick-shwick!
In an instant, countless chains lashed out, sweeping the area broadly. Jegal Rin's eyes gleamed as she watched.
"Someone's already tampered with it."
Jegal Jung-cheon nodded gravely at her words. Several chains were shorter.
Someone had cut them. And that created just enough space for one person to pass. If they all slipped through that gap, they could enter safely.
"Hurry. Before the demons notice."
Jegal Jung-cheon nodded urgently at Jegal Rin's urging. In a flash, the Martial Alliance warriors vanished into the cave.
Only after they were gone did others begin to appear.
The demons came first. They didn't even consider mechanisms.
Shwick-shwick!
A few impatient demons tried entering and got shredded into dozens of pieces by the chains.
Only then did the demons' faces change. They realized this place was truly perilous.
"Just chains. Cut 'em down!"
One demon swung his sword and charged in.
Shwick-shwick!
The chains flew out as expected, and the demon swung.
Clang-clang!
The demon's swordsmanship was superb, but the chains were far superior. His blade shattered on contact, and he too was torn into dozens of chunks.
At last, the area fell silent.
More sacrifices followed. Eventually, the demons found a way in.
Only after all the demons had entered did the remaining martial artists follow. They moved cautiously, hoping for some serendipitous opportunity.
Thus, countless people poured into the Heavenly Qi Master's secret annex.
More mechanisms lay within the annex. But the group destroyed them easily enough.
The entrance trap had been the toughest; the rest shattered with a single swing from the Sword Demon.
The problem was how vast, long, and labyrinthine the interior was.
"I wonder what's inside? If the Heavenly Qi Master left it, it can't be ordinary."
Curiosity filled Tang Mun-yeong's eyes. After dismantling the first few mechanisms, they'd been walking an endless passage for a while, so the tension had eased considerably.
"Who knows? Nothing's known..."
The Escort Leader was curious too about what the Heavenly Qi Master had left. But the Tang Family's intel didn't reveal what it was.
Jo Seol-yeon, listening to the Escort Leader and Tang Mun-yeong, suddenly glanced at the Sword Demon. He walked side by side with Dan Hyeong-u, and no one lingered nearby.
No one wanted to approach due to the Sword Demon's unique aura. Not even Umun Hye stayed close, sticking with Jo Seol-yeon.
Jo Seol-yeon found the Sword Demon uncomfortable too, but she mustered her courage and approached.
The Sword Demon eyed the approaching Jo Seol-yeon with interest. She was one of two people here who piqued his curiosity.
"Something you need from me?"
His voice was chilling, making listeners shiver. The subtle demonic qi woven into it was hard to endure.
But Jo Seol-yeon replied nonchalantly.
"Tell me the intel."
The Sword Demon raised an intrigued eyebrow.
"Intel?"
"What's really inside here?"
The Sword Demon pondered her question briefly. A promise was a promise, and spilling it wouldn't hurt anyway.
"The Golden Demon Art for starters."
"Golden Demon Art?!"
Shocked exclamations erupted from all around at the Sword Demon's words.