Lianma Grotto
After recovering our magical power through qi circulation meditation, we regrouped into a reverse triangular formation and channeled our power into the artifacts once more.
The grayish-white barrier seemed to have faster regenerative properties than the previous black one, so it would likely take even longer to destroy.
Absorbing spiritual energy from the spirit stones while simultaneously infusing the artifacts, three hours passed before Jo Mihyeon's face paled and her arms began to tremble—she had clearly depleted her power.
Hwang Danha was showing signs of strain as well, and even I was starting to feel the fatigue, though not quite as intensely as Jo Mihyeon.
"S-Senior... this is my limit."
As Jo Mihyeon collapsed after exhausting her power completely, the three-colored beams of light lost their harmony and began to crack.
If we stopped here to meditate and recover, the barrier's regeneration would restore it to full strength, so we had to push to the end.
Hwang Danha gritted her teeth, retrieved the blue disc artifact Jo Mihyeon had dropped, and gripped it in one hand while holding her purple disc in the other, maintaining the three-colored beams on her own.
We had already poured power into them for three hours, and now she had to bear double the burden.
Sweat beading on her forehead, Hwang Danha said, "Junior Yuseong, how much longer can you hold out?"
With Jo Mihyeon out, if I gave up too, Hwang Danha alone couldn't break the barrier.
"About half an hour at most."
"Let's go all the way, then."
With both hands occupied by the disc artifacts, Hwang Danha couldn't hold a spirit stone to absorb its energy. Then, she opened her mouth and bit down on one.
The spirit stone was half inside her mouth.
"...!"
Could you absorb spiritual energy from spirit stones through your mouth too?
I stole glances at the bizarre sight of Hwang Danha—disc artifacts in both hands, spirit stone in her mouth—finding it strangely fascinating.
As time dragged on, I could see saliva dripping from the corners of her mouth, trailing down her chin.
Her resolute expression as she gave her all contrasted sharply with the drool from the massive spirit stone in her mouth, stirring something exciting in me.
Sensing my gaze, she sent a transmission: "Junior Yuseong! Don't get distracted at a time like this!"
She was right. This wasn't the moment for stray thoughts.
Another quarter-hour passed, and my power hit bottom, pain starting to radiate from my dantian.
"Senior Hwang, I'm almost at my limit too."
The grayish-white barrier was trembling violently, on the verge of shattering.
I endured the agony in my dantian and kept channeling power into the disc artifact.
The three-colored beams were weakening from their initial might.
The pain felt like someone was wringing out my dantian—I could barely stand.
Please, just break already!
Ku-ku-kwang!
Did my desperate wish get through? At last, the nightmarish grayish-white barrier shattered, revealing an open door.
"Whew. Let's meditate to replenish our power first, then head in."
Hwang Danha sat cross-legged in a corner, her face etched with exhaustion.
I couldn't just leave the passed-out Jo Mihyeon, so I went over and roused her.
She should've set the artifact down and rested once her power ran out—instead, she'd pushed until she blacked out. What a tenacious woman.
"Senior Jo, we succeeded. Wake up."
Jo Mihyeon came to and gave me a puzzled look. "How is it that you, at Qi Refining 10th star, have more power than me, a Core Formation cultivator?"
Thanks to the Yin-Yang Art. "I practice a special technique. Hurry and meditate to recover."
A short while later, our power restored, we finally entered the ruins.
The cave ceiling soared ten zhang high, and lining the passageway on both sides were rows of unidentified statues.
The statues varied in size, from human height to massive ones five zhang tall.
They resembled ferocious demons—none looked like normal humans. Some had four arms, others multiple eyes, all grotesque in form.
"Senior Hwang, this doesn't seem to be the ruins of a righteous sect, at least."
Leading the way down the passage, Hwang Danha replied, "I think the same. Still, we busted through that formation to get here. Even if it's a demonic sect ruin, we should scour it for anything worth taking."
Scanning the statues with my divine sense as we passed yielded nothing unusual.
After the long passage, stairs descended deeper underground.
"I'll go first."
Hwang Danha took the lead down the stairs—likely checking for traps, given her highest cultivation among us.
Descending about fifty zhang, we emerged into a vast plaza.
In the center stood a coffin blanketed in hundreds of talismans, as if sealing something within.
"Let's take a look."
Ever curious, Hwang Danha approached the coffin. Jo Mihyeon and I followed.
The coffin was made of some special material—clearly not something we could smash easily.
The talismans covering it were sealing talismans, far superior to any I'd seen.
Hwang Danha rapped on the coffin with her fist. "Hey, if there's someone inside, say something."
Shocked by her reckless move, Jo Mihyeon and I grabbed her. "Senior Hwang, what if a jiangshi or something jumps out?"
Shrugging, Hwang Danha said, "Look at this dust. No telling how many years it's been. You think whatever's sealed in there is still normal?"
She had a point—the ruins felt ancient everywhere. The entrance statues, the dust on the coffin, even the worn plaque at the plaza's far end.
A dilapidated hall with a faded plaque.
"Senior Hwang, there's writing on that plaque over there. Should we check it first?"
"Let's do it."
Lianma Grotto
Seeing the plaque, Jo Mihyeon looked uneasy. "Senior Hwang, this isn't the ruins we thought. Maybe we should just leave?"
The coffin and the ominous "Lianma Grotto" plaque were unnerving enough to rattle even the sharp-edged Jo Mihyeon.
Grinning, Hwang Danha said, "Haha, now we know this is Lianma Grotto. No need to be scared."
Jo Mihyeon asked, "Senior, do you know something about Lianma Grotto?"
"Long ago, before the Brahm Heaven Kingdom was founded, Buddhist sects there drove out all the demonic sects and established the kingdom. The expelled demonic sects vowed revenge and scattered across the Seosan Continent. Lianma Grotto was one of the hideouts they made to quietly build their forces."
Were the demonic sects in the Gaun Mountains, like Blood Shadow Sect and Black Dark Sect, connected to this?
"Senior Hwang, does that mean Blood Shadow Sect and Black Dark Sect flowed into the Gaun Mountains back then too?"
"Exactly. They were originally Magic Sect, chased out by the Buddhists, fled to the Gaun Mountains, and split into Blood Shadow Sect and Black Dark Sect. That's why they hate the Brahm Heaven Kingdom's Buddhist sects more than any overseas invaders."
Striding boldly forward, Hwang Danha smashed the "Lianma Grotto" plaque.
"That's how you deal with demonic scum. Got it?"
"Yes, Senior."
"Understood."
Her fearless action made me realize this wasn't the same Hwang Danha I knew from Mibong Shop.
The boldness she showed seemed hard-won from dancing on the edge of life and death.
I'd assumed she'd grown soft, holing up in her sect and relying on pills from her master. Clearly not.
"Let's see what's inside the hall first."
Hwang Danha opened the creaky hall door and stepped in. It groaned—kiieeeik—then splintered with a kwajik.
Inside were shelves and bookshelves, strewn with scattered items in disarray.
Pills on the shelves had lost all spiritual energy to the ravages of time—useless without jade boxes for preservation. A shame.
Besides pills, there were bowls of unknown purpose and bottles of liquids.
We just eyed them for now, not touching anything rashly.
Books were torn or scattered on the floor; some jammed haphazardly into shelves, many spots empty.
At least the paper on a desk near the entrance was intact.
"We failed. To kill those damn monks, our masterpiece—born from countless failures—proved uncontrollable. So we sealed it here and fled. If demonic descendants find this place and read my words, come fully prepared before opening the coffin...."
Hwang Danha and Jo Mihyeon read the note over my shoulder.
"Senior Hwang, looks like something really is in that coffin."
"Just don't touch the coffin. Let's check the other halls for anything useful."
"Understood."
A dozen halls lined the plaza's interior. We split up to search our assigned areas.
Cracked demon beast bones, worn-out artifacts—most ruined by time, worthless.
Still, we stored them in our storage rings just in case.
My search area seemed to be an experiment room—shelves full of empty bottles, traces of dried liquids, and unidentified worn hides, maybe from some demon beast.
Deeper in, I found a sealing formation.
Probing with divine sense, it was much weaker than the entrance one—no need to call the others; I'd handle it.
Targeting the weak spot, I melted it with Flame Palm heat. The formation shattered easily.
With the sealing formation gone, a black jade box sat in the center.
A sealing talisman clung to it—carefully removing it to avoid damaging the contents. Ages had weakened both formation and talisman.
I peeled off the talisman and cautiously opened the box.
Inside lay a palm-sized black orb.
To figure its purpose, I sent a thread of divine sense at it. The black orb twitched slightly... and a mouth formed.