Chapter 666
At some point, a miscellaneous worker who was excellent at laundry, wood-chopping, and cleaning had begun working at Sohwa Pavilion.
It was none other than So Ok-rim.
After much deliberation, she had disguised herself with a tenacious yet slightly dim-witted personality and a rustic face.
And the moment she applied to be a handyman at Sohwa Pavilion, she was hired on the spot.
To fully embody the role of a woman who had lived a hardscrabble life, she used the Bone Shrinking Art to reduce her height and plumped up her body further.
Except for the time she had turned Liangguang Murim upside down, she had never engaged in public martial world activities.
Thus, having transformed into a stout, strong woman who didn't shy away from dirty work and toiled away tenaciously,
no one could even begin to suspect she was So Ok-rim.
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol also frequented Sohwa Pavilion incessantly, drinking without pause.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out Sohwa Pavilion had separate courtesans who entertained martial artists and high-ranking officials.
The courtesans who attended to high-ranking officials had been at Sohwa Pavilion for over three years, and all of them had trained in martial arts.
Conversely, the courtesans who entertained martial artists did not practice martial arts but were required to master musical instruments.
Was it to surveil the inner workings more smoothly?
Of course, martial artists were highly vigilant and sharp-eyed, capable of instantly detecting those trained in martial arts.
So while it made sense to create a relaxed atmosphere with ordinary courtesans,
it was baffling why they specifically selected martial-trained women for high-ranking officials.
'Information and control.'
Only after pondering at length did Bu Eun-seol finally grasp the reason.
For martial artists, they crafted an atmosphere to coax out secrets and extract information.
For high-ranking officials, it wasn't about information.
Rather, they sent martial-trained courtesans to monitor or restrain certain actions.
And so, as Bu Eun-seol, So Ok-rim, and Yu Cheong-rim combined their efforts to investigate Sohwa Pavilion relentlessly—
—Found it!
The three of them finally uncovered a secret mechanism within Sohwa Pavilion.
It was none other than the well.
A well that should have been filled with water,
but at specific times, the well disappeared entirely.
This could only mean there was some secret facility or mechanism beneath the well.
However, another obstacle arose.
The difficulty of breaching the mechanism installed within the well was beyond imagination.
In the end, the three regrouped at the annex of Anpyeong Inn.
"Damn it! So all I can do is open the entrance gate?"
So Ok-rim spat out irritably.
"What kind of absurd mechanism is this?"
Having worked as a handyman, she was the first to enter the well and inspect its interior.
At the bottom was yet another gate leading underground, and its weight was staggering.
The problem was that the mechanism to open the gate was enveloped in a mysterious Esoteric Ritual Art that nullified Internal Energy.
Fortunately, So Ok-rim possessed Innate Divine Strength, allowing her to lift the thousand-jin iron gate without relying on Internal Energy and force it open.
But the next gate proved troublesome.
Descending further, they encountered a door embedded with various geometric shapes on its surface.
So Ok-rim reached out and touched the shapes.
They shifted under her fingers, allowing her to rearrange them into different patterns.
She tried her best to assemble the shapes, but no matter how hard she struggled, the door refused to budge.
"That's the Heart-Concealing Form-Hiding Section Gate."
Yu Cheong-rim, who had been listening, spoke up with a grave expression.
The Heart-Concealing Form-Hiding Section Gate.
A mystical locking mechanism created by the legendary Divine Thief, Guyang Pung.
It required arranging hundreds of geometric shapes into a single prescribed pattern within fifteen minutes.
"What? What gate?"
"You've never heard of the Heart-Concealing Form-Hiding Section Gate? It's practically a legend in this field."
"Why would I know something only thieves are familiar with?"
When So Ok-rim snapped at him, Yu Cheong-rim coughed awkwardly and changed his tone.
"To explain in detail, tampering with that mechanism recklessly will trigger a bell alarm. Moreover, the time limit is so strict that almost no one in the world can solve it."
"Then what do we do?"
"Do you know who I am?"
Yu Cheong-rim bared his teeth in a grin and pointed at his own face with his thumb.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Who are you?"
"You really don't know who I am?"
Yu Cheong-rim widened his eyes and spoke in the sharpest voice possible.
"I am none other than Shandong's Thousand-Faced Divine Thief, Yu Cheong-rim."
"So?"
"I am Shandong's Yu Cheong-rim... Ah, never mind."
Yu Cheong-rim, who had been confidently pointing at himself, noticed So Ok-rim's murderous glare and silently bowed his head.
The next day.
Yu Cheong-rim entered through the gate So Ok-rim had opened and immediately set to work solving the Heart-Concealing Form-Hiding Section Gate.
He barely managed to complete the pattern within the time limit and stepped inside, only to face yet another problem.
Upon solving the gate, an extremely narrow passageway lay before them.
There, mechanisms alternating between the scorching heat of Scorching Hell and the freezing cold of Freezing Hell had been installed.
The passageway was so narrow that movement techniques couldn't be employed.
Even Yu Cheong-rim, with his slender frame, had to use the Bone Shrinking Art to pass through.
In short, So Ok-rim, with her massive build, couldn't get through even if she used the Bone Shrinking Art.
"So in the end, the three of us must combine our strengths to open them one by one."
Eventually, the three of them gathered again, crossing their arms and putting their heads together.
The first gate would be opened by So Ok-rim.
The second gate would be opened by Yu Cheong-rim.
And the final gate would be passed through by Bu Eun-seol.
'This place is undoubtedly connected to the Three Realms—or perhaps to Neither-Human-Nor-Beast.'
A flash flickered in Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
So Ok-rim, who possessed terrifying divine power and martial arts.
Yu Cheong-rim, one of the Four Great Divine Thieves of Murim.
And himself, who had mastered the supreme techniques of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions.
For the three of them to have to combine their strength just to open a gate—
The only factions capable of creating such a mysterious mechanism were those very forces.
But why?
Why had they built such gates in Sohwa Pavilion? Who were they guarding against?
And what exactly lay beyond them?
"Then, let's take turns."
Bu Eun-seol spread out a detailed map of Sohwa Pavilion's interior on the table and began meticulously explaining the plan he had devised.
If this plan succeeded—
They would undoubtedly unravel the secrets of Sohwa Pavilion, which had long been veiled in mystery.
Under the bright moonlight, the surroundings of Sohwa Pavilion were steeped in silence.
All the guests had retreated into the halls to drink, leaving only a few servants bustling about on errands.
Swish!
At that moment, a shadow streaked across the rooftop of the main hall.
Clad in tattered servant's garb despite her enormous frame, her movement technique was as swift as lightning.
It was So Ok-rim.
Fwoosh!
The shadow that had sliced through mid-air leaped into the large well inside Sohwa Pavilion in a single bound.
At this hour, the well was drained of water, allowing her to enter without issue.
"Hmph."
Descending to the underground in one breath, So Ok-rim lifted the massive door embedded in the floor.
Creak... creak...
Carefully opening the iron gate, she muttered under her breath:
"I've done my part."
Then, in an instant, she activated her movement technique and shot out of the well, vanishing into the distant sky.
Meanwhile, in a small annex on the western side of Sohwa Pavilion, a drinking party was in full swing.
Plink... twang... plink...
The beautiful sound of a zither continuously filled the air.
Bang-juk, the Chief Steward who had been patrolling the premises, nodded slightly before disappearing once more.
"Lord, I'll be going now."
At Bright Beauty Pavilion inside Sohwa Pavilion—
A courtesan rose from her seat the moment she sensed Bang-juk's departure.
It was Yu Cheong-rim, disguised as Yak Hong.
Nod.
As Bu Eun-seol gave a slight nod, Yu Cheong-rim slipped out stealthily, weaving between the halls.
Plink... twang...
Even in Yu Cheong-rim's absence, the sound of the zither continued to drift outward from Bright Beauty Pavilion.
Bu Eun-seol was playing the instrument with astonishing skill.
'He learned well.'
In the past, to eliminate a target disguised as a Mount Hua Sect Elder, Bu Eun-seol had infiltrated as a woman and mastered musical arts.
Thus, his zither skills were no less impressive than Yu Cheong-rim's.
'Hurry.'
Meanwhile, Yu Cheong-rim's heart pounded as he dashed toward the well using his movement technique.
The time he could afford to be absent was merely a quarter of an hour.
If nothing but the sound of the zither continued for too long—
The Chief Steward and others would grow suspicious and immediately investigate.
Swish! Thud!
Diving into the well in one swift motion, Yu Cheong-rim landed gracefully on the ground.
He then slipped beneath the iron gate So Ok-rim had left open.
Before him stood a wall engraved with chaotically shifting geometric patterns—the Heart-Concealing Form-Hiding Section Gate.
"Damn it. It's nerve-wracking every time."
Taking a deep breath, Yu Cheong-rim began moving his hands like a madman.
Using only the sensitivity of his fingertips, he had to discern the subtle weight differences between the pieces and form them into a perfect circle.
The problem was that the arrangement changed every time he entered.
No matter how much he practiced, if luck was against him, he might not solve it within the time limit.
Flick-flick-flick-flick!
His hands moved so fast they became a blur.
The golden fragments seemed on the verge of forming a complete circle—only to collapse again and again.
'I rushed too much.'
Sigh.
When Yu Cheong-rim stopped his hands, the nearly completed circle fell completely apart.
In his haste, the blueprint had reset to its initial state.
"Damn it all!"
At this rate, he wouldn't solve it within a quarter of an hour.
The real problem was that an opportunity like this would never come again.
"Huuuuh."
Yu Cheong-rim closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'Let go of greed.'
His master, the Profound Divine Thief, had always said that only by abandoning greed could one become a Great Thief capable of stealing the world itself.
But Yu Cheong-rim had scoffed every time he heard that.
—If a thief abandons greed, are they even a thief anymore? Why not just become a philanthropist instead?
—That's not what I mean. Greed makes your hands dull.
A true Great Thief must maintain a state of emptiness in both heart and hand. Only then can you be faster than anyone else.
It had all sounded like nonsense to him.
If you're supposed to keep your hands in a state of emptiness, then why train in pickpocketing until your fingers bleed?
Back then, Yu Cheong-rim had snorted and dismissed those words.
—Master, you can keep your emptiness or smash it to pieces for all I care.
'Complete emptiness.'
But now, Yu Cheong-rim finally understood.
Tranquil Emptiness.
When greed is discarded, all obsessions vanish, and the spirit and mind become utterly serene.
Only in that state could one truly command their physical body as they wished.
It was no different from a swordsman who had reached the pinnacle of sword techniques, maintaining their spirit and mind in a state of stillness.
'I'm not here to steal. I'm here for the Great Cause!'
Swish.
Yu Cheong-rim closed his eyes again and placed his hands on the mechanism.
Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh-shhhk!
This time, his hands moved so fast they were nearly invisible.
A white qi gathered at his fingertips, and a brilliant light shimmered in his pupils.
The patterns on the wall began to shift rapidly, forming a perfect circle in an instant.
Zzzzziiing!
Finally, a massive, sun-like circle took shape—
Clack-clack-clack!
—and with a series of metallic clicks, the door began to open.
'Got it!'
Whoosh!
Yu Cheong-rim activated his movement technique and shot back up the well.
His secret art, the Great Lightning Shadow, had reached the Extreme Realm, making him as swift as a lightning flash.
'Just a little faster!'
The Chief Steward would be returning soon.
Before that, he had to get back to Bu Eun-seol and resume playing the bowed zither.
Halt.
Yu Cheong-rim stopped mid-step as he was about to return to the Bright Beauty Pavilion.
In the distance, a middle-aged man in official robes was walking toward the pavilion.
'The Chief Steward.'
Yu Cheong-rim's heart raced.
Bang-juk, the Chief Steward, was a master from the Demonic Path—his martial arts were formidable.
If Yu Cheong-rim carelessly used his movement technique now, he'd be detected instantly.
'The Lord truly is a ghost.'
Bu Eun-seol had foreseen this exact scenario and had given So Ok-rim a specific instruction beforehand.
[So Heroine!]
The moment Yu Cheong-rim sent the Thousand-Li Voice Transmission—
BOOM!
—a massive impact reverberated from the stables.
It was So Ok-rim, stationed there as planned, creating a loud disturbance in response to Yu Cheong-rim's signal.
Swish!
Seizing the moment, Yu Cheong-rim activated his movement technique and vaulted over Bang-juk's head.
"Hmm."
Fortunately, the noise had masked Yu Cheong-rim's presence, and Bang-juk turned his head toward the stables instead.
Click.
Yu Cheong-rim slipped back inside and immediately stopped playing.
Clearing his throat, he spoke in a clear, feminine voice:
"That should be enough for the performance. I'll call another girl for you."
Bu Eun-seol responded in a low voice:
"No need. I prefer drinking while listening to the harp anyway."
Halt.
Bang-juk, who had been approaching the pavilion, stood outside for a long moment.
"..."
After assessing the atmosphere inside, he turned and walked away.
He had come to investigate the lack of conversation and the repetitive harp music, but finding nothing amiss, he left.
'Thank goodness.'
As Bang-juk retreated, Yu Cheong-rim let out a sigh of relief.
Now, all obstacles were cleared.
If it was Bu Eun-seol, he could perfectly conceal his presence and infiltrate any situation.
"It's open, Lord."
Bu Eun-seol gave a slight nod.
Plink. Plunk.
As Yu Cheong-rim resumed playing, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated his movement technique and descended into the well.
Tzzt-tzzt-tzzt-tzzt!
Bu Eun-seol's Swift Shadowless was inherently optimized for infiltration.
While as fast as Yu Cheong-rim's Great Lightning Shadow, its stealth was on another level—like a ghost's.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Darting between buildings like a phantom, Bu Eun-seol shot straight into the well inside Sohwa Pavilion.
Thud.
Landing silently, he passed through the open iron gate and descended underground.
Creaaak.
The door of the Se-sim Ik-hyeong Dan-gwan that Yu Cheong-rim had unlocked was just beginning to close.
Bu Eun-seol moved swiftly, slipping inside before it sealed shut.
Then, an extremely narrow passageway came into view.
The width was so tight that even Bu Eun-seol, with his slender frame, had to employ the Bone Shrinking Art and sidle through sideways.
Crack.
As Bu Eun-seol activated the Bone Shrinking Art, thinning his body to traverse the passage—
Whoooosh—
A transparent current of energy surged from the walls, followed by an overwhelming wave of scorching heat.
'The Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy?'
Bu Eun-seol was stunned.
The heat pouring from the walls wasn't ordinary Extreme Yang Force—
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy, a power intrinsic to the Hot River Great Essence True Qi.
'Could it be...?'
A chill ran down his spine.
The Ghostly One Realm was known to replicate the powers of countless past masters...
Had they somehow even restored the Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace's master?
A fleeting thought crossed his mind—what if they had even revived the Glacier Great Emperor or the Blazing Flame Holy Venerable?
'So that's why they planted spies from the Three Realms in both sects.'
The North Sea and Rehe—two colossal factions where agents of the Three Realms had schemed in the shadows, only to be thwarted by Bu Eun-seol.
Could some among them have been operatives of the Ghostly One Realm, seeking the physical remains of past masters?
'No... It might just be a coincidence.'
Fortunately, Bu Eun-seol had discovered the remains of those two masters first, and they had since vanished back into secret facilities.
Even if the Ghostly One Realm had the ability to fly, they would never find that place.
Fwoosh.
As Bu Eun-seol slowly advanced through the passage, violet flames flickered to life around his body.
When the Extreme Yang force, similar to the Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy, enveloped him, his Thunder Essence Divine Qi instinctively activated, embracing the heat.
Shooo—
The scorching energy that could have melted his organs in an instant, upon meeting the Thunder Essence Divine Qi, instead transformed into a pleasant, warm breeze.
Shhh, shhh.
After traversing the narrow passage for some time, he arrived at a space where a chilling aura swirled.
The moment Bu Eun-seol stepped inside, an immense wave of cold energy poured down—
A force strikingly similar to the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
'They've recreated martial arts akin to the two supreme arts of Beyond the Frontier...'
His chest tightened with dread.
If they had restored even the supreme arts of the North Sea and Rehe, it was undeniable proof that their influence extended beyond the Central Plains Martial World, reaching even Beyond the Frontier.
Zzzzing—
A transparent energy flowed from Bu Eun-seol's body, absorbing the frigid onslaught.
This time, his Water Essence Divine Qi activated on its own, embracing the Extreme Yin force.
'So this is why the Infinite Realm coveted the Death God's power so desperately...'
From a purely martial perspective, the Death God's power was merely at the level of an advanced martial technique.
But from the standpoint of Esoteric Ritual Arts, the Death God's power was nearly invincible—
Because it could resist any form of sorcery.
Moreover, now that Bu Eun-seol possessed two of the Death God's powers,
He could not only counter various forces beyond just sorcery but also apply them in countless ways.
Thud.
By then, Bu Eun-seol had finally passed through the narrow passage. Another small door awaited him.
'Footprints.'
And there—countless tiny footprints marked the ground.
'So that's it.'
At last, he understood why the mechanisms here were so cramped.
'This was a passage for smuggling children in.'
This wasn't a normal mechanism—it was a hidden path used to secretly bring in kidnapped children and force them through.
Most likely, the mechanism was kept active normally, only used when transporting children.
Ssshh—
Bu Eun-seol cautiously stepped inside.
Gradually, the passage widened, and before he knew it, he found himself in a prison-like space with large doors on either side—
Strikingly similar to the scenery he had once witnessed on Cold Moon Island.
'Don't tell me...'
He carefully opened a door to inspect the interior.
Inside, unfamiliar tools and stacks of books were scattered about.
What appeared to be human organs, barrels filled with blood, and piles of preserved human skins were stored in abundance.
'Please, let it not be true.'
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
When he opened another door, he found numerous medicinal pills—
And there, too, byproducts resembling human organs were dried like medicinal ingredients.
Flicker.
Suddenly, a faint presence brushed against his senses from a door ahead.
Moving silently, Bu Eun-seol approached the large door.
Fortunately, the upper half was barred, allowing him to peer inside without opening it.
The room was illuminated by Night Shining Pearls embedded in the ceiling, casting a soft glow.
At the center lay a bed where a gaunt, middle-aged man rested.
Though his upper body was bare, his dignified features suggested a man of high status.
Around him, masked figures bustled about.
In their hands were the same piles of human skin and barrels of clear blood he had seen earlier.
After a flurry of movement, the figures finally stopped.
The middle-aged man's pallid face regained color, and his skin took on a healthy sheen.
Bu Eun-seol turned his attention to the opposite stone chamber, where another presence lingered.
There, an elderly woman lay on a bed. As the masked figures performed what seemed like a Great Art using the human skin—
Her face began to morph into that of a middle-aged beauty.
Crunch.
Bu Eun-seol clenched his fists so hard his bones creaked.
'Using children's bodies as materials for their rituals...'
In the end, the very thing he had feared—the thing he had prayed wasn't true—
Had become reality.