Heavenly Dragon's Secret Chamber (2)
The space behind the stone wall was far more spacious than expected.
It felt like wandering through a cave only to stumble into a vast cavern. Since this wasn't underground to begin with, sunlight streamed in through a small high window, and a stream flowed across the chamber. Flowers and grass bloomed in spots here and there. Just looking at the scene before him, it was hard to imagine this was indoors.
The most striking feature was the small hot spring in the center. Large enough for two or three adults, steam rose gently from its waters. Anywhere else, it would have been just a hot spring, but here it exuded an extraordinary aura.
"They call it the Dragon Spring. Soaking in it heals internal injuries, and cultivating here yields more inner power than outside. It also invigorates the body. I should have brought you here three years ago."
That's where they would have seriously attempted to repair Baek So-cheon's dantian. But after the Heavenly Outer Manuscript entered his body, any thought of bringing Baek So-cheon here had vanished entirely.
"I should have brought you sooner..."
Baek So-cheon comforted Ak So-gun amid his regret.
"Don't worry about it, Alliance Lord. It wasn't your intention, was it?"
"No amount of comfort changes the fact that I failed to overcome my bias."
Perhaps this endless self-recrimination was inevitable. After all, he occupied the top spot in the Murim Ranking Record. It would likely take the Alliance Lord quite some time to fully overcome this.
"What's that?"
A dozen or so jars lined one wall.
"Provisions for long-term training here."
Indeed, they contained wall-grain pills and various other preserved foods. With sunlight and good ventilation, the place was remarkably comfortable. There was even a bed for sleeping, and a privy in the corner for bodily needs. The expansive space made it ideal for martial arts cultivation.
"Rest and recover here for the time being. But it won't be that simple..."
Ak So-gun retrieved a box stored carefully in one corner of the Heavenly Dragon's Secret Chamber.
"I kept this for emergencies. With your insight, you might find a way to restore your dantian using the Dragon Spring and this."
Opening the box Ak So-gun offered revealed a single root of snow ginseng, its intense, fragrant aroma wafting out.
Baek So-cheon's eyes widened.
"This is!"
"Correct. Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng."
Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng!
Among spiritual herbs and elixirs, it was the supreme remedy, unmatched in efficacy.
Ak So-gun's sincerity made Baek So-cheon realize it was time to reveal the truth. He'd planned to do so after recovering more inner power, but with the Alliance Lord offering even this, he could hide it no longer.
"Alliance Lord, the truth is... I've already succeeded in healing my dantian."
Ak So-gun gasped in surprise.
"Really? When?"
"Just recently."
Baek So-cheon explained meeting Ban Yun-saeng and how his body had been restored, including the removal of the poison.
"Oh! That's a relief! Truly a relief! Heaven hasn't abandoned us."
Ak So-gun rejoiced as if it were his own victory.
"So please take this Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng yourself, Alliance Lord."
"No. If you've healed your dantian, you're the one who needs it more—to fill your depleted inner power."
"You take it, Alliance Lord."
As Baek So-cheon declined again, Ak So-gun spoke gently.
"As you know, my inner power is already ample."
The more inner power one had, the less one gained from elixirs. Up to one gapja, they yielded full effects; beyond that, half or less; from three gapja, the cost-effectiveness plummeted.
In simple terms, at three gapja, gaining two years' worth required hundreds of thousands of nyang.
The Alliance Lord's inner power was three-and-a-half gapja. The Black Heaven Alliance Lord's known power was around four gapja.
Baek So-cheon, at three gapja, had fought him evenly before losing—a remarkable feat.
"Even with the Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng, I'd gain at most a dozen years. But you could absorb a full gapja."
Baek So-cheon felt the Alliance Lord's genuine care. Without sincerity, he wouldn't have opened the Heavenly Dragon's Secret Chamber or offered this so readily.
"Thank you, Alliance Lord."
Baek So-cheon accepted without further refusal. To resolve the current murim crisis, he needed to regain his strength anyway.
For a martial artist, the Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng granted one-and-a-half to two gapja of inner power. Baek So-cheon could fully absorb it, yielding about forty years—equivalent to two-thirds of its power.
Added to his existing fifty-one years of pure inner power, it would be like gaining one final wing.
'And if I dissolve it in the Dragon Spring?'
He anticipated perhaps a bit more than forty years.
Revealing his true state brought another reward.
"If you can use inner power again, you can learn this too. Come here."
Ak So-gun led Baek So-cheon to a bookshelf beside the bed.
Dozens of books lined it. This was the true final chamber of the Murim Alliance's Ten Thousand Scroll Library—superior manuals inaccessible even to division heads, alongside rare volumes hard to find on the market.
One book stood out at the top.
Anyone could tell it was the most precious among them.
Ak So-gun took it down and handed it to Baek So-cheon.
"Since you've recovered your inner power, this should help."
Recognizing the manual, Baek So-cheon was stunned.
"This martial art!"
One of the four supreme manuals hailed as the greatest of past and present.
Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword.
It was one of the two remaining manuals Baek So-cheon had sought. He'd thought it the hardest to obtain, yet here it was.
"This is too much for me."
"I prepared this for you as well—as reward for stopping the war. Without you, the Black Heaven Alliance Lord would be soaking in that Dragon Spring now. You deserve it. Take it."
"You learn it, Alliance Lord."
"It's too late for me. Letting such a fine art gather dust would be a sin for any martial artist. You take it."
"I won't refuse then. Thank you, Alliance Lord."
Baek So-cheon bowed to Ak So-gun. He felt anew the sting of having misunderstood such a good man.
"I shouldn't say this, but if the Black Heaven Alliance wins the war by some chance, this manual could fall into their Lord's hands. I absolutely cannot allow that. Memorize it fully, then burn it. Pass it to a worthy successor before you die."
"Understood."
Baek So-cheon received the manual reverently.
"I've heard spiritual medicines are hard to obtain lately. I'll try to gather more."
Baek So-cheon waved it off.
"I'm fine. The Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng is more than enough."
"I'm not fine with it."
He seemed determined to make up for three years of mistreatment.
"The Black Heaven Alliance Lord doesn't know I've recovered my inner power yet. Best to keep it secret for now."
"Agreed. I'll keep it between us for the time being."
"Thank you."
"The Black Heaven Alliance has allied with the Blood Cult. I'm sorry to say it, but I need your strength again—for me, for this jianghu."
"If we can't break their alliance, facing them won't be easy."
In the last war, their forces had been evenly matched. Excluding Baek So-cheon, the Black Heaven Alliance held a 7-3 advantage. He'd single-handedly elevated the Murim Alliance to force a truce.
"That's why you must recover quickly. From now on, this is your space. Don't worry about outside matters—cultivate at your pace and emerge when ready."
"Thank you."
As Ak So-gun turned to leave, Baek So-cheon cautioned him.
"Now that our reconciliation is known, the one behind this may plot again. Please be careful."
"I will."
Ak So-gun exited the Heavenly Dragon's Secret Chamber.
Alone now, Baek So-cheon took a deep breath.
"Alright, let's begin."
He first took the Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng to the Dragon Spring.
Stripping off his clothes, he immersed himself.
The pleasant heat enveloped him. The energy seeping into his skin marked it as no ordinary spring.
Baek So-cheon slowly circulated the Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method.
The accumulation rate was noticeably faster—over three times that of outside. For average martial artists, it might double at most, but his realm plus the heart method's potency yielded three times or more.
And more: cultivating here invigorated his meridians with vibrant energy.
This was the Dragon Spring.
A place you entered once and never wanted to leave!
After several weeks of circulation, Baek So-cheon opened the box.
His heart raced gazing at it. He'd consumed many elixirs filling three gapja, but this top-tier one was a first.
He began chewing the Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng.
The sweet-bitter fragrance bursting in his mouth surpassed any elixir he'd tasted.
Chewing thoroughly, he swallowed and dissolved it with the Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method.
Shhhh...
Perhaps due to the Dragon Spring, he absorbed more energy than expected.
The total: fifty years. Ten more than the anticipated forty.
"Yes!"
Baek So-cheon let out a cry of joy.
Combined with his prior fifty-one years, it made one hundred years of pure inner power. Just nineteen years shy of two gapja.
And incomparably purer than before. Slightly weaker in prolonged fights, but now he could unleash attacks rivaling his peak.
'No. Still not enough.'
The Black Heaven Alliance Lord alone had over four gapja, and the Blood Cult Lord's undisclosed power was no joke.
Submerging in the Dragon Spring, Baek So-cheon quietly began studying the Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword manual.
Three days later.
Baek So-cheon stood in the center of the Heavenly Dragon's Secret Chamber, holding his cherished Ghost Shadow Sword.
In those three days, he'd meticulously memorized the Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword's formulas. Verifying it multiple times, he burned the manual as ordered. He'd pass it to a disciple before death or leave it as a manual.
With over a century of pure inner power and his beloved sword in hand, Baek So-cheon's heart pounded.
He was midway through mastering the supreme fist art Heavenly Thunder Nine Fists, but above all, he was a swordsman.
Now, making the Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword his signature sword art, Heavenly Thunder Nine Fists as auxiliary, and Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method as core—perfect synergy.
Ah, one more art would crown it perfectly, but that too was elusive.
'Focus on swordsmanship now.'
Swinging his sword, he executed the forms.
The Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword was a quicksword art.
Not just quick—ultra-quick.
Aiming for light-like speed.
Forms one through four posed no issue; from five onward, he'd need deep study.
The form he now displayed was the first: Heavenly Pivot Form.
Baek So-cheon thrust his sword.
Shick! Shick! Shick!
A dozen sword trails etched the air.
At great success, all trails would form a single image, the manual stated. All converging into one picture.
Even Baek So-cheon, who had reached the world's pinnacle, doubted its possibility.
Leaving even the first form's trails fully was challenging now.
The seventh form—all trails? It required unleashing seven forms in a blink.
If possible, it would be the pinnacle of quicksword. Perhaps the ultimate human sword art—or beyond human limits.
Challenge ignited in Baek So-cheon. War aside, as a martial artist, he'd one day achieve great success and behold that image.
For the first time in ages, Baek So-cheon forgot the world's complexities and swung his sword freely.