Chapter 395
"This passage was secretly connected to a mechanism leading into the Scripture Pavilion."
Tang Cheong's mouth fell open.
The Pagoda Grove was an area where not only Shaolin disciples but also familiar outsiders could come and go to some extent.
Yet they had built a passageway leading directly to the Scripture Pavilion in such a place?
That meant anyone who knew of this passage could freely enter and exit the Scripture Pavilion, didn't it?
"We must turn back."
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol spoke with a grave expression.
"Other places may be different, but the Scripture Pavilion is an Absolute Prohibition where no outsider may enter."
If their intrusion here were discovered—
Even Tang Cheong, with her extensive connections throughout Shaolin, wouldn't be let off easily... If things went wrong, this could escalate into a full-blown conflict between Shaolin and the Tang family.
"Moreover, if it's the Scripture Pavilion, there must be mechanism formations in place."
"It's fine."
Yet Tang Cheong responded with an unexpectedly relaxed expression.
"There aren't any mechanisms here anyway."
"How can you be sure of that?"
Shaolin has endured countless invasions from outsiders over generations.
Yet not once have their scriptures or martial arts manuals ever been exposed to the outside world.
That alone proves the Scripture Pavilion must not only have mechanism formations but also be heavily guarded with dedicated personnel.
"If there were mechanisms, the alarm bells would have sounded by now, and all hell would have broken loose."
With a faint, reminiscent gleam in her eyes, Tang Cheong continued:
"According to Venerable Gong-ji, the abbot of Tathagata Courtyard, the Scripture Pavilion's floor contains special mechanisms and formations."
"Mechanisms?"
"Yes. He said unless one knows the proper way to stand here, the alarm bells would ring immediately."
The reason Shaolin's scriptures and manuals have never leaked to the outside world all these years—
It's because the Scripture Pavilion has a special device that triggers the alarm bells if one doesn't know the correct stance.
"And yet you're standing here knowing that?"
Bu Eun-seol was flabbergasted.
If that were true, shouldn't the Scripture Pavilion's chief and Shaolin's warrior monks already be swarming this place?
"But it seems to have been a lie. Look—no alarm bells are ringing, are they?"
Tang Cheong firmly declared as she scanned the floor and surroundings.
"And not just the floor—there's no trace of mechanisms anywhere here."
She claimed to have eyes capable of seeing through mechanism formations.
Yet she could find no traces of such formations on the floor or anywhere else... which led her to conclude the Tathagata Courtyard's abbot had lied.
"There are mechanisms."
Then Bu Eun-seol spoke with a solemn expression.
"Just as you said—there are mechanisms in this floor."
"Mechanisms in the floor? That can't be."
"To be precise, not in the floor itself, but deep underground."
Bu Eun-seol's expression grew serious.
"I can sense faint vibrations from mechanisms about one hundred feet below us."
As Tang Cheong had said, there were no mechanisms in the floor.
But Bu Eun-seol, having mastered the Void-Breaking Mind's Eye of the Beast Path, could perceive—
Deep beneath their feet, about one hundred feet underground, the faint vibrations of hidden mechanisms.
"One hundred feet below?"
Tang Cheong wore an expression of disbelief.
No matter how sharp one's senses were, could they really detect vibrations and sounds from one hundred feet underground?
Moreover, even if Shaolin's mechanism formations were advanced, could they really install hidden mechanisms that deep?
Zzziiing.
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol's extrasensory perception triggered an alarm.
He sensed an immensely powerful figure approaching this location.
"Someone's coming this way. We must retreat."
Bu Eun-seol and Tang Cheong immediately turned to retreat through the passage they'd entered from.
But there was no mechanism to open the door anywhere.
"There's no device to open the door."
Tang Cheong's face fell into despair.
"Even if intruders get in, they made sure there's no way back out. They didn't install any mechanism to open the door from this side."
Another reason why the Scripture Pavilion's collections had never been leaked to the outside world—
Along with the hidden mechanisms buried deep underground, they hadn't built any exit mechanism in the return passage.
'No time!'
Whooom!
Dark True Qi began flowing from Bu Eun-seol's body as he channeled his Internal Power.
Simultaneously, that qi transformed into strands as thin as paper.
Ssskreeeak.
Those slender strands of qi gradually began prying open the massive iron gate on the other side that refused to budge.
Crreeeak.
As he forced his power against it, the sound of bending metal came from the mechanisms holding the enormous iron gate in place.
"Young Lady Tang. Go first."
"What?"
"If I force it any further, this gate will be destroyed. Then our intrusion will be exposed immediately."
Crreeeak.
Bu Eun-seol, having released the Willful True Binding, very carefully widened the gap in the iron door.
But the space was barely enough for even the slender Tang Cheong to slip through.
"If we force it any further, the door will break. Then the entire temple will be on high alert, and we'll both be discovered. You need to leave quickly."
"But what about you?"
"I can conceal the fluctuations of my True Qi. As long as you're gone, I can hide myself well enough."
That, of course, was a lie.
If the approaching Shaolin figure sealed the entrance and ordered the disciples to thoroughly search the Scripture Pavilion—
Even someone like Bu Eun-seol would be caught instantly.
'She absolutely cannot be discovered.'
If Tang Cheong were caught here—
It would cause trouble between the Tang Clan and Shaolin, and Bu Eun-seol would never be able to face Tang Gon again.
"Any more force will completely destroy the mechanism. Go!"
"O-okay. I'm sorry."
Tang Cheong seemed to have sensed his urgency, biting her lip as she slipped back into the passageway.
Thud.
Once she was gone, Bu Eun-seol carefully closed the passage door.
Then, moving silently, he concealed himself behind a bookshelf.
Having reached the state of Return to Plainness, no fluctuations of True Qi escaped his body.
Moreover, by deploying the Turtle Breath Grand Art to slow his heart rate, even a skilled Master would struggle to detect him.
But this was an enclosed space. If the Shaolin disciples conducted a thorough search, he would be found immediately.
'What if I eliminate the alarm signaling an intruder? Would they stop the search?'
—According to Venerable Gong-ji, the abbot of Tathagata Courtyard, the Scripture Pavilion's floor has special mechanisms and formations installed.
As Tang Cheong had said, there were indeed hidden mechanisms beneath the floor.
Meaning, if he could deactivate them, they might not conduct a search.
—If you don't know the proper way to stand here, a secret Bell Striking will immediately sound in the Scripture Pavilion Master's quarters.
As Bu Eun-seol recalled Tang Cheong's words, a flash of insight struck him.
'The proper way to stand?'
The abbot had clearly stated that if one didn't know how to stand in the Scripture Pavilion, the alarm would sound.
In other words, the key to deactivating the mechanism lay in how one stood.
Tap. Tap.
As the sound of footsteps drew closer, Bu Eun-seol's mind raced.
The alarm might not be audible, but it was still ringing. If they suspected someone was inside—
There would be no way out.
'The proper way to stand... the proper way to stand... the Divine Calculator.'
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
He remembered the characters engraved on the copper coin the False Divine Calculator had swapped.
'So that's what it was.'
Realizing something, Bu Eun-seol immediately retrieved the Gratitude Coin from his pocket.
Two Hundred Fifty.
Only now did he understand the meaning behind the engraved characters.
'This is the secret to standing inside the Scripture Pavilion.'
Astonishingly, the Divine Calculator had foreseen that Bu Eun-seol would be discovered in the Scripture Pavilion and left him this number.
'No time.'
Bu Eun-seol immediately suppressed his presence and channeled his Internal Power to the Gushing Spring Point on his soles.
At the same time, he activated the Thousand-Catty Drop, gradually increasing the pressure beneath his feet.
Finally, when the pressure reached approximately two hundred fifty jin—
Click.
A crisp sound echoed from the floor.
Thud. Thud.
Not long after, faint footsteps approached from the opposite entrance, accompanied by a detectable presence.
Clank.
The sound of a door opening, followed by slow, deliberate footsteps.
The pace was unhurried but steady, maintaining a constant rhythm.
From the footsteps alone, one could tell this was a Master of unimaginable skill.
Swish.
The shadow that finally entered the Scripture Pavilion was an elderly monk with piercing eyes.
It was none other than Gonggong, the Scripture Pavilion Master, responsible for all of Shaolin's secret manuals and scriptures.
Gonggong swept his sharp gaze across the interior.
Just as he was about to inspect the surroundings—
A middle-aged warrior monk swiftly approached through the open door, pressing his palms together in greeting.
"The Bell Striking has been deactivated."
"Hmm?"
"It was probably just another rat."
The Scripture Pavilion was equipped with intricate mechanisms—if one didn't stand with precisely two hundred fifty jin of pressure, the alarm would sound.
Because of this, even small animals like rats could trigger the Bell Striking.
"I see."
Gonggong nodded, then reached for the Lankavatara Sutra placed on the upper left shelf.
Then he carefully slid the book back into its place.
That Lankavatara Sutra was the very mechanism that reset the Scripture Pavilion's internal defenses to their original state.
"Go on ahead."
But Master Gonggong, as if unsettled by something, gestured lightly to the warrior monk.
"I will linger a while longer."
"Understood."
Once the warrior monk had left, an abrupt silence fell over the Scripture Pavilion.
Tap. Tap.
Master Gonggong slowly surveyed the interior, where a deathly stillness flowed.
To an onlooker, he might have seemed to be merely passing by the bookshelves without a second thought—but in truth, he had unfurled the Thousand-Li Earth-Listening Art, combing through every trace of presence within.
"...Strange."
Gonggong's internal power and senses were extraordinary, yet he could not detect Bu Eun-seol.
Because long ago, Eun-seol had surpassed the realm of Return to Plainness and reached Tranquil Stillness.
No matter how much internal power one mustered, it was impossible to detect his presence.
"Perhaps this humble monk was mistaken."
Shaking his head, Gonggong soon closed the Scripture Pavilion's doors and departed.
Once he was gone, Bu Eun-seol's expression stiffened with shock.
'Is he a god?'
The Divine Calculator—
He had foreseen that Bu Eun-seol would be trapped inside the Scripture Pavilion and engraved the words to disable the mechanism onto a copper coin.
That meant he had predicted everything that would happen with perfect accuracy.
If so, his foresight was no longer human—it bordered on divine.
"...Hm."
Eun-seol swallowed hard.
He had never met the Divine Calculator before, so he couldn't even begin to gauge the limits of the man's abilities.
But after this, he couldn't help but feel a growing reverence for him.
'That's a thought for later.'
Taking another deep breath, Eun-seol surveyed his surroundings.
"A mechanism both simple and profound... To think one could move freely just by balancing the weight."
But then, another chilling realization struck him.
The Scripture Pavilion's mechanism—one of Shaolin's greatest secrets—
The Divine Calculator knew how to disable it.
Didn't that mean he wasn't merely a seer, but...
Someone connected to Shaolin itself?
"Let's keep that as one possibility."
Shaking his head, Eun-seol felt both incredulous and strangely exhilarated.
If the Divine Calculator's foresight and intellect were this advanced—
Then surely, he could easily reveal the identity of the murderer who had killed his grandfather.
That thought alone made his heart race.
"Alright."
Focusing on escape, Eun-seol scanned the area again—
And realized one more thing.
Bu Eun-seol.
He had just become the first person in the martial world to infiltrate the Scripture Pavilion and remain undetected.
The moment that thought struck him, his gaze drifted to the books lining the shelves.
Hundred-Knot Sword Manual.
Southern Heaven Origin-Preserving Divine Art.
Radiant Five-Power Finger.
Linked-Lotus Human-Subduing Sutra...
This place didn't just hold Buddhist scriptures and Shaolin's martial arts—it was stacked with legendary Divine Arts and Supreme Techniques of the Righteous Faction.
"So the Scripture Pavilion doesn't just safeguard Buddhist martial arts... but even the Righteous Faction's hidden techniques."
It was widely believed that the Scripture Pavilion only stored Buddhist scriptures and Shaolin's supreme arts.
Yet in truth, it also preserved the Righteous Faction's most secret manuals.
A low sigh escaped Eun-seol's lips.
These manuals contained secret arts on par with the Martial Emperor's Thirteenfold Qi Induction.
Simply memorizing them would grant him immense advantages in martial arts.
"...No. No."
He shook his head firmly.
He hadn't come here by choice, and these manuals were Shaolin's most treasured legacies.
To read them without permission would make him no different from a thief.
"Let's just leave."
Stepping away from the shelves, he searched for an exit.
Had anyone witnessed this, they would have been stunned beyond words.
To turn away from manuals that could make one a peerless master—just like that?
No ordinary martial artist would dare even consider such a thing.
But who could have known?
By doing so, Eun-seol had unknowingly passed the most dangerous trial of all.
As he examined the exit, a peculiar thought struck him.
Was there really a need for such an elaborate mechanism here?
No matter how valuable these manuals were, was it necessary to dig underground and install such an intricate defense system?
"...Then."
Zzzing.
Activating Empty Mind Spirit Perception once more, Eun-seol began scrutinizing the floor.
The mechanism beneath the Scripture Pavilion was far too complex—its scale too vast for mere manual protection.
After a long inspection, he noticed something: near the corner of the shelves, there were faint, nearly invisible footprints imprinted on the ground.
These weren't footprints left by movement, but rather resembled diagrammatic illustrations depicting the operation of the formation through footprints.
Swish. Swoosh.
Maintaining the Thousand-Catty Drop stance, Bu Eun-seol unconsciously and cautiously began tracing those foot diagrams with his own steps.
Gr-gr-groan.
Then, a section of the corner wall slid open, revealing a descending staircase.
"As I thought."
Bu Eun-seol's prediction had been correct.
Beneath the Scripture Pavilion existed another hidden space.
"If their goal was merely to protect martial manuals from intruders, they wouldn't have needed mechanisms of this scale."
Shaolin, teeming with exceptional warrior monks, was already an impenetrable fortress in itself.
Yet they had gone so far as to excavate deep underground to install such mechanisms.
This could only mean one thing—they had created a secret space, one that no one could anticipate or approach.
Thud. Thud.
Descending the stairs, he was met with towering bookshelves.
This underground chamber was far more expansive than the Scripture Pavilion above, packed with even more volumes.
"Another Scripture Pavilion in hiding?"
Approaching the shelves, Bu Eun-seol carefully examined the titles.
Yaoguang Force Extreme Path.
Bright Jade Flowering Current True Art.
Iron Sand Black-Cap Demon Wall.
Blood-Hand Demon Command.
To his astonishment, every densely packed book on these shelves was none other than the forbidden demonic martial manuals—supreme techniques once mastered by the Great Demons who had dominated the Demonic Path.
"Shaolin has been storing these Demonic Auxiliary Arts all along?"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Beneath Shaolin's sacred Scripture Pavilion lay another hidden library—overflowing with the Demonic Path's most dangerous secrets?
"Could this be where the Martial Alliance stores the original copies of their manuals?"
Just as the Demon Hall had its Myriad Demon Treasury Pavilion, the Martial Alliance also had the Pratyekabuddha Hall—a secret archive.
But whispers claimed that the manuals kept within the Alliance were mere copies, with the originals stored elsewhere.
Could it be that the true Pratyekabuddha Hall was hidden beneath Shaolin's Scripture Pavilion?
"No... that can't be."
The sheer number of demonic manuals here made that impossible.
Would the Martial Alliance really store forbidden texts—each capable of producing a Great Demon—in their archives?
"Besides... this underground space is far too vast."
This hidden archive wasn't just lined with countless bookshelves—multiple passageways branched out from it.
Which meant this wasn't merely a storage space for books.
"Then..."
A long-forgotten term flickered through Bu Eun-seol's mind.
Thud. Thud.
Just then, a deep vibration echoed, and from one of the passageways, a massive silhouette slowly emerged.
A warrior monk—his physique as towering as a mountain—stood before him. His robes were torn, exposing his shoulders, and his eyes...
They had been crudely sewn shut.
Even the bravest man would piss himself at the sight of such a horrifying visage.
"Uuuugh..."
The monk with stitched eyelids opened his mouth, revealing a half-severed tongue, tinged blue.
He had clearly mutilated himself—his tongue cut, his eyes sewn—on purpose.
Huuuung.
Suddenly, a surge of True Qi erupted from the giant monk's body.
Bu Eun-seol couldn't hide his bewilderment.
The sheer force of that Qi was overwhelming, as if dozens of martial artists had unleashed their power at once—chaotic, immense...
And laced with a razor-sharp, clinging killing intent.
A Shaolin warrior monk... radiating killing intent?
In that instant, a single term surfaced in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
The name of a secret organization within Shaolin—one that would employ any means to protect the temple.
"Blood Shaolin."
Bu Eun-seol nodded slowly, as if everything had finally clicked.
"So this is the stronghold of Shaolin's secret faction... the Blood Shaolin."
That fleeting word in his mind earlier—
It had been them.
"Uuuugh!"
The monk's ears were still intact, it seemed. Hearing Bu Eun-seol's words, his entire body erupted with a searing white killing intent.
The giant's massive palm stretched toward Bu Eun-seol—
And in the next moment, hundreds of hand shadows bloomed chaotically in the air, engulfing him completely.
Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm? No.
The Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm was a supreme technique that created dozens of palm shadows to seal an enemy's retreat and counterattacks.
But every one of these hand shadows—launched by the monstrous monk—was aimed at death points, lethal strikes with no room for survival.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the underground chamber.
Bu Eun-seol didn't evade. Instead, he met the monk's palm force head-on—unleashing the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon in retaliation.
Screeeech—
But then, something shocking happened.
When palm met fist, Bu Eun-seol was forced back—two full steps.
In all his years of internal energy battles, he had never been pushed back.
Yet this monk had done it in a single strike.