Chapter 580
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 580
Chapter Title: Un-roe, I'm Sorry
After Elder No left, only three people remained in the room.
"What shall we do? Move out right away?"
Gui Hwi spoke first, stepping in for the still awkward Yu Chu-eun.
"Let's finish this tea first. It's truly delicious."
Ha Mu-baek smiled faintly.
The teacup was already half empty.
"You and your habits with people."
Gui Hwi shook his head and lifted his teacup.
It was tea made from wild tea leaves hand-picked on Mount Huashan itself.
It was bound to be exceptional.
A moment later.
Ha Mu-baek drained the last of his tea and stood.
"Shall we go?"
"Indeed."
The three left Mansu Pavilion.
"Where to first?"
"Let's start where Sword Fragrance stayed."
Gui Hwi nodded at Ha Mu-baek's words.
While on Huashan, Yu Chu-eun would guide them, so she took the lead.
The three unleashed their lightness skills and raced toward the peak of Lotus Flower Peak.
They scaled sheer cliffs no ordinary person could climb as if it were nothing.
Kicking off the walls, they shot upward effortlessly.
It wasn't long before they reached the summit of Lotus Flower Peak and the training cave.
Ha Mu-baek had already begun circulating the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
Scanning the surroundings, he found no traces of demonic energy.
"We've searched here several times already, but found nothing."
Yu Chu-eun said calmly.
"Still, let me take a look myself."
Ha Mu-baek meticulously examined the narrow summit.
It felt cramped with just the three of them.
Though there was actually a bit more room.
The area was small enough that there was scarcely anything to inspect.
In the end, Ha Mu-baek's gaze settled on a small rock cave.
"Grandmaster stayed there mostly."
Yu Chu-eun explained, following his line of sight.
Ha Mu-baek entered the rock cave.
It was a tiny space, just big enough for one person to sit in lotus position for meditation or lie down to sleep.
A small table sat in one corner, and atop it were traces where Huashan Sect manuals had been placed.
"The manuals were all standard Huashan ones."
They had been recovered and examined before Ha Mu-baek's arrival.
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly at Gui Hwi's words.
It wouldn't do to ask to see other sects' manuals.
Ha Mu-baek sat in lotus position where he imagined Un Se-hyeok had sat and focused his mind.
Ha Mu-baek's expansive energy sense compressed toward the rock cave.
His energy sense grew far more precise and sensitive as a result.
He could indeed sense faint traces of demonic arts.
"Hm. Just traces of demonic arts leaking while Sword Fragrance cultivated."
Opening his eyes, Ha Mu-baek spoke calmly.
"Pardon?"
Yu Chu-eun started in surprise.
And small wonder—Huashan Sect members had sensed and found no traces of demonic energy here.
"It's so faint it's hard to detect."
Ha Mu-baek said it as if it were no big deal and exited the cave.
"Well, I'll be."
Gui Hwi could only shake his head in disbelief.
"Then let's head down."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, they returned to the Huashan Sect grounds.
And for the next two days, Ha Mu-baek probed every corner of Huashan Sect.
His energy sense had been confined to Huashan Sect grounds during that time.
Nowhere did he find the source of demonic arts.
Not demonic arts themselves, nor even the traces of Taecheon or Manhwang he had suspected.
He had wondered if Taecheon or Manhwang's schemes might manifest as demonic arts, but no traces at all.
In truth, that was why Ha Mu-baek had come to Huashan specifically seeking demonic arts.
No one but him could detect traces of Taecheon or Manhwang.
Sect Leader No Hu-myeong received constant reports in his office on Ha Mu-baek's every move.
Yu Chu-eun had been sending updates via her second disciple.
"Hm. Of course. Even Ha Mu-baek couldn't possibly find anything. Not when we threw our full strength at it and came up empty. Tsk."
A satisfied expression crossed No Hu-myeong's face as he clicked his tongue.
He hadn't expected the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader's cooperation request, but so what?
If no demonic traces were found on Huashan, he'd just leave empty-handed in the end.
"Demonic arts on Huashan, eh. Hm."
A brief break amid busy duties.
So Hwi-woong murmured as he set down his teacup.
"Something I hadn't even considered."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong, who had come to the Alliance Leader's hall for reports on various matters, sipped his tea from the prepared seat below the dais and spoke.
"Wherever Mu-baek goes, waves follow. Is it something he's born with?"
So Hwi-woong said with an inscrutable expression.
"Who knows. Sword Fragrance dabbling in demonic arts—who could predict that? If not for the Shangnam incident, we'd still be in the dark, right?"
So Hwi-woong nodded at Gong Son Dan-gyeong's question.
"True. We'd have a bloodbath with no culprit. He'd have silenced all witnesses. Lucky Mu-baek was there just then."
"A fortunate turn."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong meant it sincerely.
It had prevented their own workload from exploding.
And Huashan would handle it themselves for just one cooperation writ.
Under the condition of no needless uproar, So Hwi-woong had issued it.
Who knew how many messenger birds and replies had flown between Ha Mu-baek and them.
"Will Mu-baek find it?"
"Given his track record, he'll manage somehow."
"Storms keep sweeping the jianghu that weren't there when Mu-baek led Hocheon Corps. We're at the point of thanking his demotion."
"I thought demotion might spark change, but I didn't expect this."
Their leisurely talk ended as break time closed.
The teacups emptied right on cue.
"Next item on the agenda, then."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong checked the hour and dove back into work with precision.
So Hwi-woong's brow furrowed slightly, but he soon focused as well.
Duty as Alliance Leader demanded it.
"It has to be here somewhere. Well hidden."
Ha Mu-baek murmured, sitting in lotus position on the bed in his Huashan-provided quarters.
Day four already.
No shadow of demonic energy outside the training cave.
Truly well concealed.
"Old monster. He didn't awaken demonic arts on his own; he got them from somewhere... Learned something random from the war? Or someone brought demonic manuals to the cave? Or injected demonic arts directly?"
Three possibilities.
From probing Huashan and questioning people occasionally.
Un Se-hyeok had scarcely left the cave.
And only one person had met him.
His martial uncle and Huashan Sect Leader, No Hu-myeong.
His disciples had died in the war or left Huashan.
Only No Hu-myeong had met him face-to-face; distant disciples got occasional letters via messenger birds.
That expanded the scope to those disciples.
But Ban Yun was out—he'd nearly died to his demonic master, whom Ha Mu-baek had seen.
"Manuals unlikely."
Ha Mu-baek murmured, recalling the cave visit.
Yu Chu-eun and Gui Hwi didn't know, but he'd searched every speck of dust.
No scorch marks from burning books anywhere.
Even years later, traces of hasty ash should remain, but spotless.
Un Se-hyeok hadn't scrubbed the whole cave that thoroughly, judging by its preserved state.
To eliminate manuals, he'd have to eat every page.
Or burn them elsewhere after leaving.
None fit Un Se-hyeok's habits.
So Ha Mu-baek suspected transmission via person.
And only one candidate.
Hushan Sect Leader No Hu-myeong.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue.
Stuck here.
Couldn't harass a great sect's leader without evidence.
Especially since Ha Mu-baek wasn't certain No was guilty.
Just the last one standing after eliminating others.
No traces or proof anywhere on Huashan—just process of elimination.
No solid grounds.
How long did he ponder?
Ha Mu-baek settled on one approach.
"If I can't find it, make them come out themselves."
He murmured with resolve.
Demonic arts.
The key was demonic arts.
If the transmitter lingered on Huashan.
Demonic energy might lure them out.
Night passed.
Dawn approaching.
Ha Mu-baek rose from the bed.
His form vanished in an instant.
Elders and protectors planted by No Hu-myeong watched his quarters, but none detected him.
Not even Yu Chu-eun.
Only one.
Plum Blossom Sword Immortal Gui Hwi sensed it—by Ha Mu-baek's design.
"Hm?"
At pre-dawn, Gui Hwi—awake early for his daily circulation meditation—felt Ha Mu-baek move while focusing in lotus position.
'Sneaking off so stealthily... where to?'
Gui Hwi moved at once.
Ha Mu-baek headed for Lotus Flower Peak's summit.
The training cave where Un Se-hyeok had trained alone.
Gui Hwi suppressed his presence and circled behind the cave.
The front was visible from inside.
The narrow summit had a skillful spot behind.
Gui Hwi held his breath, heightening his senses to observe Ha Mu-baek.
'The old man's here too...'
Of course, by Ha Mu-baek's intent.
'Let's see what takes the bait.'
Ha Mu-baek sat in lotus position and focused.
Demonic Cult demonic energy.
Just emit it here.
Of course, never having learned demonic arts, he couldn't emit true ones.
In principle.
But.
Tracing Demonic Cult arts to their root led to one martial art.
Or precisely, Taecheon's void.
That power birthed Demonic Cult demonic arts.
And Ha Mu-baek had witnessed a fragment of that void.
Dan Mok Clan’s hereditary heart method, Void Billowing Heart Formula.
Demonic Cult had even schemed at Dan Mok Un-roe's home to obtain it.
Ha Mu-baek knew the entire formula.
Dan Mok Un-roe had shown him the manual while begging instruction.
He'd only glanced at what was needed for teaching, but it etched perfectly in his memory.
He'd never circulated or practiced it.
Another clan's art, unnecessary for him.
'Un-roe, sorry. Borrowing it briefly.'
But.
This time, he had no choice.
Not the full Void Billowing Heart Formula, but insights Ha Mu-baek gained teaching Dan Mok Un-roe.
Endless fights with Demonic Cult foes gave him no small understanding of demonic energy.
Enough to mimic it with the void energy in Void Billowing Heart Formula.
Ha Mu-baek closed his eyes and slowly circulated Void Billowing Heart Formula.
His energies.
Ultimate Freedom's energy.
Radiance's energy.
Ice Crystal's energy.
Earthly Demon's energy.
Poison Crystal's energy.
Tiny fragments of void and chaos from Shaolin's sutra pavilion.
The void fragment alone fell short for circulating Void Billowing Heart Formula.
So he added Poison Crystal's poison aura.
Closest to demonic energy, ideal for mimicry.
Ha Mu-baek circulated Void Billowing Heart Formula in earnest.
Slowly, thick demonic energy began to rise from his body.