Chapter 35 - The Second-Rate Warrior Seeking Legends (7)

The destination was the unconfirmed area at the edge of the map.

The person who had wandered the cave said they returned after seeing the Amitabha Holy Water beyond this unconfirmed area.

The cave was formed of interconnected rooms of all shapes and sizes, making people even more confused.

In particular, there were many cases where people retreated after fighting in a room, wandered into the wrong room, and were killed after running into their previous enemies again.

"A fight has broken out up ahead. We will turn back."

I took a roundabout path, avoiding battles as much as possible, and headed toward the destination.

"... You heard that already?"

Seong Moran, who had stuck closely to my side at some point, listened for a moment and spoke with a surprised expression.

"Just how much internal energy do you have?"

Since the five senses were influenced by internal energy, expanded senses were also proof of vast internal energy.

However, since I couldn't tell her everything, I offered a rough excuse.

"It's probably because my internal energy is pure. The Taiyi mental cultivation method is famous for its purity, isn't it? What you gave me last time also helped."

"Ah..."

Nodding as if to say, *'That's a relief,'* she followed me without any further complaints.

As a result of moving forward while observing the entire cave, I was able to roughly grasp the patterns of the battles.

But at the same time, it was hard to easily accept that five hundred people had died here.

Sporadic fighting continued to break out, but it was not so desperate as to silence the injured through murder, and since these people knew that their own damages would not be small if a fight escalated too far, they often stopped at an appropriate battle of nerves.

"... Damn."

While having these thoughts, I stopped at a forked road.

Seeing my troubled expression, the warriors all began to grip their swords tightly.

"What is the matter?"

"One path has a fight going on in full swing, and the other has a group of people waiting."

"And?"

"The side that is waiting smells quite heavily of blood."

"...!"

"What should we do?"

"We didn't come in here just to keep avoiding people."

As Namgung Seonhwa drew her sword, the warriors of the Namgung Clan unleashed a fierce momentum.

It was a good thing I brought them along in preparation for a situation like this.

"I will take the lead."

Seong Moran and the rest of the Iron Sword Sect took the rear, and the Namgung Clan stepped to the front.

"We should go left, right?"

"Yes."

Upon entering the room, three men in extravagant clothing and a dozen men in red martial attire were standing in the middle of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood inside the cave.

'Nine-Fingered Divine Sword Ma Gosan, Golden-Horned Bronze Man Sa Muin, Paradise Boy Seo Hyunjae.'

Among the Underworld figures I saw on the streets of Yueyang, the experts I had to be especially wary of were blatantly occupying the cave.

"My, my, to think the young lady of the Namgung Clan would come all the way to such a dangerous place."

Paradise Boy Seo Hyunjae, known as the Yin Demon, licked his lips and spoke.

"Didn't you come in here to find the Amitabha Holy Water? No matter how much you belong to the Underworld, is it acceptable to commit such meaningless slaughter?"

"Truthfully, we didn't want to spend our time in a place like this either. It's just that we have unavoidable circumstances of our own."

"What is that?"

"Our map disappeared during a battle."

"... I doubt that's it."

It was obvious that they either lost it while fighting an opponent or it got damaged.

"Either way, we need a map to find the Amitabha Holy Water. At this rate, we will be so disappointed at not obtaining the Amitabha Holy Water that... we might just keep killing people."

Seo Hyunjae flashed his eyes and smacked his lips.

"You must think the Namgung Clan is a joke."

All three of them belonged to the Blood Death Gang, a massive Underworld faction based in Guiyang, Guizhou Province.

But even so, they shouldn't be able to go against the Namgung Clan, a core pillar of the Murim Alliance. I was quite curious as to what kind of confidence allowed them to act like this.

"How could that be? Moreover, we look this pathetic because we lost quite a few men on the river path. That is why we prepared something else."

The guy pulled out a sphere the size of two human fists from his clothes.

Someone among the warriors groaned as they spat out the object's identity.

"A Thunderbolt Bomb...!"

"!"

"!"

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran's eyes widened roundly as well, unable to hide their surprise.

Since Thunderbolt Bombs were military items, they were not things easily obtained even in the black market.

Let alone objects that absolutely shouldn't fall into the hands of the Underworld.

"If you use that, you all won't be safe either."

"If we can't find and bring back the Amitabha Holy Water, it'll be better to die here."

"Even so, did you think the Namgung Clan would give in to threats?"

I tilted my head as I looked at the Thunderbolt Bomb.

I was quite surprised when the Thunderbolt Bomb first appeared, wondering if it was the object responsible for the deaths of five hundred people, but in reality, I couldn't help but be puzzled when I sharpened my vision and saw its size.

While a Thunderbolt Bomb's destructive power was tremendous, it couldn't collapse the entire cave at that size.

I knew this for sure because, toward the end of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, the desperately cornered Minor Orthodox Unit had actually robbed a military armory and used Thunderbolt Bombs against the bastards.

Moreover, the rock quality of the Demonic Spirit Plateau's cave was quite hard, so a collapse in one spot didn't seem likely to spread elsewhere.

"Prepare the sword formation."

At Namgung Seonhwa's chilling words, Seo Hyunjae pulled a fire striker from his clothes and lit a flame.

And right then, I intervened.

"Are you sure you followed a map to get here?"

Seo Hyunjae furrowed his brow and glared at me.

"Who the hell are you?"

As expected of an unrooted Underworld thug, the guy only showed manners depending on who he was talking to.

"I'm with this group. And I'm the one managing the map."

"Why are you curious about that?"

"Because if you came here looking at a map, you should know that there isn't much further left to the destination from here."

"... Hmm, is that so? The bastard burned the map as he died, so I couldn't confirm it."

"Did you perhaps lose the map while betraying someone? And lost the path you saw on the map as a result?"

"...!"

The guys exchanged glances without a word.

"I suppose that's correct."

"Shut up. If you don't want to die here, you better hand over the map you have in your chest."

"Understood."

Astonished gazes flew at me from Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa's group.

I ignored them, pulled the map out from my clothes, and tossed it to them.

"It's a map marked all the way to the destination. Don't ask me where this place is."

"Hmph! We also know where roughly everything is."

Saying so, Seo Hyunjae licked his lips with a regretful expression and put the Thunderbolt Bomb back into his clothes.

"What a shame, my lady. Even so, I would prefer it if you didn't follow too closely. You never know when the Thunderbolt Bomb might go off, after all."

Taking a cautious stance, Seo Hyunjae and his gang slowly entered the leftmost of the three paths.

"Young Master Jin, what on earth are you doing!"

Namgung Seonhwa approached with a deathly pale face.

"Ah, please don't worry. They won't ever reach the Amitabha Holy Water anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"The map they took is a fake."

"Pardon?"

"It's obvious that fights over maps would break out inside the cave, isn't it? Of course, I didn't know there would be a crazy bastard who brought a Thunderbolt Bomb to a place like this, but I intentionally made a few extra maps just in case."

I spoke as I showed them a few scrolls from my pack, and Namgung Seonhwa, Seong Moran, and Yu Jiryang looked at the scrolls hidden in their own clothes with disbelieving eyes.

"Ah, those are real. You don't have to worry."

"By the way, is it true that we've reached the destination?"

"That is correct."

"Then let's hurry."

As we started moving again, this time Namgung Seonhwa stuck closely to my side instead of Seong Moran.

"Young Master Jin, may I perhaps ask a favor?"

"A favor... you say?"

"Yes. After hearing it, you can refuse if you do not want to do it."

"Let's hear it."

"If by any chance Young Master Jin obtains the Amitabha Holy Water, could you sell the rest to me, excluding your own share?"

"If we are moving together, wouldn't your chances be higher, my lady? Why are you saying such a thing?"

"Because for some reason, it feels like Young Master Jin will be the one to obtain the Amitabha Holy Water."

I did prepare a separate canteen to hold the Amitabha Holy Water, but I knew how the ending of this Amitabha Holy Water played out in my past life.

In this incident that produced five hundred victims, the Amitabha Holy Water never revealed itself in the end.

"Why do you think that?"

Namgung Seonhwa pointed to my canteen.

"Because the Amitabha Holy Water holds extreme Yin properties, it must never be grabbed with the human body. Because it freezes everything around it, you also cannot carelessly put it in just anything. Yet, coming all the way here, I've seen fewer than ten people who prepared a canteen like this."

It seemed she kept glancing at me the whole way here to guess the purpose of this canteen.

"I decline."

"What? Why?"

"I intend to give it to a suitable child among the kids in my sect."

"Ah... Is something going on?"

"I plan to take the Murim Academy's standard exam."

"From the Taiyi Sect?!"

"..."

Only after letting out a gasp did Namgung Seonhwa realize she had made a mistake.

Because asking if the Taiyi Sect was going to take the exam was no different from looking down on the other party.

"Ah... I-I'm sorry."

"I understand."

After saying that, I began to walk a couple of steps ahead.

Her reaction was nothing new, but just because it was familiar didn't mean it didn't bother me.

After passing through a few more caves like that, a group possessing tremendous aura was approaching from a path to one side.

I had the group stop for a moment and stepped forward.

Since we could reach the destination once we passed this place, my intention was to observe the other party and let them pass first.

SWISH! THUD!

Right then, a blast of finger-wind was fired right past the side of my face, and a few shattered rocks from the ceiling fell to the floor.

At the same time, Yong So-ah and the Daoists of the Wudang Sect approached in an orderly manner.

There was not a single drop of blood on Yong So-ah's body, and there were no signs of a major battle on the Daoists' clothes either.

However, the group following them—Ha Minjung, Ak Muheon, and Yang Insu—had been reduced by half, and moreover, their conditions didn't look entirely intact either.

"You had some petty tricks, so did you survive all alone?"

Yong So-ah said that after giving me a quick look, and at the same time, Ha Minjung's group was snickering from behind, as if finding something incredibly amusing.

I ignored Yong So-ah and shouted toward the back.

"Come out. They don't seem to be enemies."

As Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran's group began to come out of the rear cave one by one, a faint crack appeared on Yong So-ah's face, and the faces of Ha Minjung's group distorted as if they had chewed on shit.

"As expected, it's a good thing we didn't follow your side."

"..."

At my words, Yong So-ah glared at me with chilly eyes.

"... I'll be watching you until the end."

Ha Minjung and his group stared at the Namgung Clan's group like cows being dragged to a slaughterhouse, then followed behind Yong So-ah.

When we finally reached the destination, a massive cavern the likes of which we hadn't seen until now appeared.

Rather, not a single person could be seen in the cavern large enough to hold hundreds of people.

That wasn't the only strange thing.

Unlike the other cave rooms that were circular, this massive cavern was situated as if one side had been cleanly sliced off, and instead of a wall in the cut-off section, a dark shadow was sitting right there.

"It seems everyone went in here."

Yu Jiryang cautiously slipped his hand into the black shadow.

When he did, his hand was completely obscured by the shadow and could not be seen.

"Fortunately, the array installed here doesn't seem too dangerous. It's a bit like a natural array, too..."

"Is there something strange about it?"

"It's not that, but the energy forming it is quite mighty. Even if it's an array that has been maintained for three or four hundred years, it is far too powerful."

"Will that be a problem?"

"I was just calculating for any contingencies. Since it takes the form of a natural array, it will easily break against any considerable force."

Perhaps having listened to Yu Jiryang's explanation together with us, Yong So-ah immediately moved his steps.

Namgung Seonhwa panicked and tried to stop him.

"Great Warrior Yong So-ah! How about waiting just a little longer and entering once the analysis is finished?"

"It's an array that even a herb gatherer escaped from. There is no way a martial artist cannot pass through it."

With those final words, Yong So-ah and the Wudang Daoists slipped right in, and then Ha Minjung's group also entered the array one by one.

"As Great Warrior Hyeoncheong said, there might not be a big problem. Everything is just in case."

But right then, a sound that rang loudly through the cave echoed out.

"Namgung Clan! You waste that name, daring to pull such trickery!"

It was the voice of Seo Hyunjae, whom we had met just a moment ago.

"Unfold the Cangqiong Sword Formation!"

At Namgung Seonhwa's shout, the warriors began to move in unison.

Within that, the three spellcasters of the Mount Mao Sect quickly inserted their hands to grasp the array, completely absorbed in their calculations as they wrote drawings and numbers on the floor.

"You bastard who handed over the map! I will definitely pluck out your eyeballs and eat them!"

The voice began to sound closer and closer.

At that moment, Yu Jiryang jumped up and spoke.

"The calculation is finished. We can go in."

"Hurry and move!"

This time, Yu Jiryang stood at the very front, followed by me, and then Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa began to enter in that order.

It was a place filled only with pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see an inch ahead, but Yu Jiryang, who had been walking left and right for a good while, eventually found an exit emitting a faint light.

The moment we crossed the exit.

At the suddenly thrusting sword blade, I quickly kicked the back of Yu Jiryang's knee to knock him down and drew my sword at the same time.

CLANG!

The moment our swords clashed, I realized the opponent did not have much internal energy, and simultaneously gathered eight stars of my martial power to slice off his neck.

SLASH!

"Gah!"

The Underworld martial artist staggered away, spraying a fountain of blood.

The sight that appeared beyond the array was of people bleeding out fountains of blood while fighting inside a massive cavern of the exact same size as the one we just passed through.

"Maintain the sword formation!"

"Iron Sword Squad! Unfold the Ninefold Sword Formation! Eliminate the blind spots."

We stood off to one side, observing the pattern of the battle.

The faces of those divided into two sides and fighting fiercely were strange.

In particular, those standing on the opposite side of the ones who had entered with us all had scrawny bodies and were wearing dirty clothes, as if they hadn't changed clothes in days.

"Lady Namgung!"

Right then, Yu Jiryang called out to Namgung Seonhwa in agitation for the first time.

"We have a huge problem!"

"What is it?"

Namgung Seonhwa, who was watching the pattern of the battle, only gave an answer instead of her gaze.

"It seems we are trapped."

"What?"

"The arrays on the inside and outside are different from each other."

"I don't know what you mean. Please explain it simply."

"It seems the natural array on the outside is a product of coincidence created as the original array collapsed."

"!!!"