The Secrets of the Evil Heaven Treasury
The more he chewed, the more the sweet and sour flavors seeped out.
It was the distinct taste of well-dried hawthorn berries.
Mmm, delicious.
Chew, chew.
No matter how much he chewed, the rich flavor kept coming.
Hawthorn berries were the main ingredient in the candied tanghulu eaten during winter, but they were also a wonderful delicacy when dried like this.
The tough texture was a bit of a drawback, but if you chewed long enough, it became soft—
"Leader Jeok, are you even listening to me?"
The voice of Hu Seong, the leader of the Law Enforcement Division, interrupted Jeok-un's culinary appreciation.
Step.
Jeok-un stopped in his tracks in the long corridor deep within Sadocheon.
Hu Seong, who had been walking beside him, halted as well.
He spoke with earnest concern.
"Leader Jeok, please focus. You must know how incredibly grave the responsibility you've taken on is."
Hu Seong's attitude had changed significantly.
Knowing that there was a close relationship between Dok-go Cheon and Jeok-un, Hu Seong had begun to place his trust in the young man.
Rustle.
"Don't ignore me and take this. You need to familiarize yourself with all of this to resolve the matter of the Yaju Branch."
Hu Seong held out a thick stack of documents.
It was obvious what they were without even looking.
Nine times out of ten, it was the information the Law Enforcement Division had gathered so far regarding Ji Jung-yeong, the Lord of Yaju.
And within those pages, there would surely be the connection between Ji Jung-yeong and Do Ye-cheon that Hu Seong had been secretly investigating.
However, Jeok-un pushed the papers away, showing little interest.
Slide.
Instead, he pulled a small pouch from his robes and held it out to Hu Seong.
Inside the pouch were dark red, well-dried hawthorn berries, each about the size of a fingernail.
"Here, don't get so worked up. Have one."
"Why, you...!"
Hu Seong swallowed his rising anger and forced himself to speak calmly.
"Do you have any idea how hard the members of the Law Enforcement Division worked all night for this?"
"Tsk, you wasted your effort. Why put your subordinates through all that trouble?"
"W-what did you say?"
As Jeok-un replied nonchalantly, Hu Seong's patience wore dangerously thin.
But Jeok-un paid it no mind.
"I told you from the beginning. We only need to 'pretend' to investigate."
"..."
Then, Jeok-un whispered.
"As long as we achieve our goal, does the process really matter?"
"What do you mean by...?"
The annihilation of the Vice Lord's faction. And the execution of Do Ye-cheon.
"!!"
At Jeok-un's timely sound transmission, Hu Seong's eyes shook violently, as if hit by an earthquake.
"Just keep drawing their attention as you are doing now, Leader. I will handle the rest."
"..."
Jeok-un spoke playfully.
Yet, the eyes that met Hu Seong's were infinitely serious.
Jeok-un had already decided on the conclusion.
He would pull them out by the roots—eradicating the Vice Lord and his entire faction once and for all.
"...Are you truly only in your twenties?"
Hu Seong asked in spite of himself.
"To be honest, if you count my past life, I'm well past fifty."
"...What?"
"It's a joke, just a joke."
As Jeok-un grinned and chewed on another hawthorn berry—
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
The guards stationed at their destination raised their voices in salute.
"Well, chatting made the trip fly by."
Jeok-un looked up at the plaque hanging above the pavilion.
Sacheonbogo—the Evil Heaven Treasury.
It was the name of the treasury where the artifacts that would help him take Oh Chu-baek's head lay sleeping.
The Evil Heaven Treasury was one of the most strictly guarded locations in Sadocheon.
A portion of the mountain bordering the main headquarters of Sadocheon had been hollowed out to create an artificial cavern.
A massive gate was installed at the entrance, sealing the treasury.
Thus, opening the main gates of the treasury always gave the strange sensation of stepping directly into the maw of the mountain.
"I say this out of caution, but do not let greed get the better of you."
The keeper of the Sadocheon treasury warned Jeok-un with a solemn expression.
Hu Seong had already departed.
Even the leader of the Law Enforcement Division could not enter the treasury without permission.
However, his expression before leaving had seemed quite relieved.
He looked like a man who just had a rotten tooth pulled. I should bring him Do Ye-cheon's head as soon as possible.
With Hu Seong's capabilities, he had likely already investigated Ji Jung-yeong and uncovered all of Do Ye-cheon's dirty deeds and treasonous acts.
Yet, fearing the political fallout within Sadocheon, he had come to propose that they work together in secret.
But Jeok-un had simplified everything.
He would be the one to kill Do Ye-cheon.
He probably assumed I already discussed this with the Lord.
Hu Seong likely believed there was a grand plan orchestrated with Dok-go Cheon.
Of course, there was no such thing.
I don't care about doing it secretly. I'll just slaughter them all.
In any case, the keeper of the treasury possessed quite a backbone.
"A thorough search will be conducted upon your entry and exit! You may not bring out a single item more than the permitted number!"
Even though he must have known of Jeok-un's recent achievements and power, he maintained this strict attitude. It could only be explained by his naturally upright character.
"Of course. Don't worry about it."
"Understood!"
"By the way, what is your name?"
"...Geum Seok-san."
"Ah, I see. I'll remember it, Seok-san."
"!!"
Jeok-un did not view the keeper unfavorably.
It was men like him who served as the true pillars of Sadocheon.
"Oh, I can bring this in, right? My mouth gets lonely."
"Yes. But we will inspect the contents of that pouch when you exit as well."
"Suit yourself. There's nothing but berries in here anyway."
"...Understood."
Seok-san trailed off and stepped back.
Perhaps it was his long-honed intuition as a keeper.
But the subtle smile on Jeok-un's face made him feel strangely uneasy.
Well, it shouldn't matter. I will inspect him thoroughly.
Shaking off the thought, the keeper authorized Jeok-un's entry.
"Close the gates!"
Rumble!
At the keeper's command, the massive stone doors ground shut.
Since it was carved out of a mountain, there were naturally no windows, and no sunlight could penetrate the depths.
However, the interior was well-lit by night-glowing pearls, and there was no trace of the musty, stagnant air typical of caves.
This was thanks to mechanical arrays that meticulously regulated the temperature and humidity.
"No matter how many times I come here, this place is still damn huge."
Jeok-un remarked as he surveyed his surroundings from the central corridor of the treasury.
It went without saying, but having seized control of Sadocheon and formed the Evil Hegemony Alliance in his past life, Jeok-un had been here before.
He had entered as the master of Sadocheon before his regression.
"Sector One is the Library, Sector Two is the Armory, and Sector Three is the Vault. It's exactly the same."
The Evil Heaven Treasury was divided into three distinct sectors: the Library, the Armory, and the Vault. As their names suggested, they housed martial manuals, divine weapons, and miscellaneous treasures respectively.
"Now, let's get this over with quickly and get out."
Jeok-un strode forward without hesitation.
There was no reason to waste time here.
He had already decided exactly what he was going to take.
Whoosh.
In an instant, Jeok-un bypassed the Library.
Though the towering bookshelves reached so high he had to crane his neck, holding thousands of martial arts manuals, he did not spare them a single glance.
Jeok-un had no intention of taking anything from the Library.
The reason was simple.
Why look at things I've already read?
As mentioned before, Jeok-un had been inside the Evil Heaven Treasury.
The very first thing he had done upon ascending to the position of Lord was to read every single manual in the treasury.
Thus, every technique stored here was already engraved in his mind. There was not a single book he needed to take.
Whoosh.
The second sector, the Armory, was no different.
Although there were several divine weapons radiating chilling demonic energy or pure, brilliant light, Jeok-un had no need for them.
There's no way any of these are better than my Seven Sacred Artifacts.
The Patriarch's Seven Sacred Artifacts were more than enough.
While there were a few relics that rivaled the Snow Soul Gauntlets used by Seo Do-yeom, they were only on that level.
Nothing more.
"Why carry around useless junk? It'll only get in the way."
"Pointless" was the right word.
He was only allowed to take two items. Wasting a choice on a mediocre weapon would be a terrible waste.
Step.
Having passed the Armory, Jeok-un finally stopped at the third and final sector: the Vault.
"Hehe."
Standing before the Vault, Jeok-un's lips curled into a wide grin.
He looked like a greedy, newly rich merchant.
Anyone else watching would have mocked him for his foolishness.
They would ask why he would choose mere trinkets from the Vault after gaining entry to the legendary Evil Heaven Treasury.
But if one thought about it, it made sense.
Normally, anyone granted access to the treasury would already be an established master of their own right.
In other words, someone of that caliber would naturally seek supreme martial arts or divine weapons, not mundane treasures.
Furthermore, there were no treasures of exceptional value left in the Vault anyway.
As Sadocheon's finances grew tight, the first things they had sold off were the precious jewels and treasures stored in the Vault.
Consequently, only items of ambiguous value remained.
But that did not apply to Jeok-un.
Only I know what truly lies sleeping here.
How could he not be thrilled?
He was the sole person who knew that a treasure capable of driving the entire Jianghu mad with greed was hidden in this very Vault.
"Now, where was it..."
Compared to the other packed sectors, the items in the Vault were noticeably sparse.
Thanks to that, Jeok-un quickly located his first target.
"Ah, here it is."
The first treasure Jeok-un selected was a ring.
However, its material was peculiar.
It was not made of precious metals like jade or gold, but rather looked as though it had been carved from the bone of a beast.
Sadocheon had acquired this mysterious ring entirely by chance.
No one knew who had crafted it or who its previous owner had been.
The only reason it had been placed in the Vault was its unique aesthetic appeal.
"Everyone would be shocked if they knew the chaos this Baek-su-ji-hwan caused in the past."
Jeok-un chuckled, recalling the events before his regression.
He picked up the ring and slipped it onto his finger.
I'll keep this for when I head to Yunnan in the future.
Having secured the ring, Jeok-un immediately moved on.
In truth, the Hundred Beasts Ring was not an item that would be of much use in dealing with Do Ye-cheon or the Golden Sovereign.
"Right now, I need... Ah, found it!"
Just a few shelves away from where the ring had been, Jeok-un grinned with delight as he found what he was looking for.
What Jeok-un picked up was none other than a large, dark-colored Buddhist rosary.
Despite being a rosary worn smooth by a monk's hands, a strange, sinister energy flickered around it.
But that was only natural.
"So this is the rosary of the Broken-Precept Blood Monk."
A mad, apostate monk who had fled his sect, Shaolin, and unleashed a horrific bloodbath upon the Jianghu.
The rosary of that legendary master of the past generation, whose current whereabouts were unknown, was also kept here in the Vault.
Anyone standing beside him would have tried to stop Jeok-un's choice.
The Blood Monk's primary martial art was a fist technique he had modified from Shaolin's ultimate technique, the Hundred Steps Divine Fist.
The rosary he carried was literally just a rosary, possessing no special martial properties of its own.
That was why it had been placed in the Vault rather than the Armory, where divine weapons belonged.
But Jeok-un did not care.
I don't need the rosary itself either.
Jeok-un slowly circulated his inner energy as he held the rosary in his hand.
*Shhhhh!*
The rosary began to react to Jeok-un's energy.
It twitched slightly, as if attempting to resist.
Don't struggle. Kneel.
*Crackle!*
Under the overwhelming divine pressure of the Overlord's True Qi, it was instantly suppressed.
*Click!*
The sound of something unlocking echoed.
There we go.
The beads of the rosary split in half, revealing the true treasures hidden inside to Jeok-un's eyes.