Chapter 528
WHUUUNG—!!
A vibration that made my soul react. And when I saw the flame burning from my body, I froze in confusion.
What is wrong with this?
Why had karmic fire suddenly started burning? I frowned at the phenomenon that had manifested against my will.
I lifted my head and looked somewhere.
WHUUUNG—! The direction that vibration was coming from. Something far away, located on Mount Tai. Was that it? Was that what had made the karmic fire react with it?
It seemed that way.
What’s there?
I did not know what was there. But I was certain something was.
What should I do?
My eyes shifted. Those Sky-Crushing Palace bastards in front of me. Should I deal with them first, or should I head toward the place where that vibration was coming from?
I hesitated for an instant, but the answer came faster than expected.
What am I even hesitating for?
I could catch and beat those bastards down anytime. If I had to deal with them or go somewhere else, it was better to head the other way. And even without that reason—
It’s annoying.
That vibration was grating on me terribly. I could tell something was connected to it. In any case, it meant I had to go there first.
Rustle. I lowered myself in the undergrowth and moved. Then I shot toward the mountain.
No one’s gaze was drawn to me, but—
There are a lot of them.
There were many people stationed on the mountain. I could not tell whether all of them were patrolling or standing guard.
Among them...
Some possessed Sky-Crushing Palace energy, and some did not. In other words, most of them were likely moving under orders from above.
Fwoosh.
The karmic fire kept burning and would not go out. Was there no way to extinguish it? Usually it went out at my will, so why was it acting like this now?
I increased my speed. If I wanted to pierce through their presences and move, I could not remain this slow.
The fortunate thing is...
The levels of the people stationed here were relatively low. Breaking through people like this would not be very difficult.
Before long, I reached my destination. It looked like the summit of the mountain.
The unfortunate part was that there was no undergrowth, and the terrain was almost barren, making it awkward to hide.
I pressed myself against a huge nearby boulder and concealed myself.
This was at least better than nothing.
The location...
WHUUUNG—! WHUUUUUNG—!!! The vibration was strong. What sat at the summit was a cave. Apparently, something was inside that cave.
It looks hard to sneak in there.
I could see the people stationed in front of the cave. There had to be a shift change, but... even so, it looked difficult to simply enter in this situation.
Then—
Should I just break through?
The easiest yet hardest method. There did not seem to be another path. I considered turning back, but—
The day they gave me.
The one day of grace. There was a high chance something would happen within that time. So if possible, I had to handle this now.
No helping it.
I gripped my sword and was about to move.
Fwoooooosh—!
Huh?
The karmic fire blazed up. It could burn, sure, but—
What is this?
The state of the karmic fire was strange. The blue-shining flames did not merely flicker; they began forming a line. What was this?
Fwoosh.
The continuing line pointed not to the cave entrance, but somewhere else.
What was this, seriously? As I stared at it in puzzlement—
No way.
Was it trying to show me a path? My eyes widened. It might be.
I decided to move along the line. It looked like shimmering haze rising to show me the way.
I wondered if something like this was really possible, but for now, I moved. If this was not it, I would have no choice but to crash straight in.
After following it like that, I arrived in front of some unknown wall. A stone wall, at that. It looked so solid that it would not break.
The flame keeps going into this.
The flame was busy seeping into it. What was I supposed to do?
So it wasn’t showing me a path?
I had come because I thought that was what it was doing, but if this was the result, I would have to go back.
Tsk. Just as I thought I had followed it for nothing and was about to turn away—
...Wait.
I stopped before turning. Something bothered me. The wall and the haze. In that case—
Ssssss—
I opened my Moon Eye. I was testing it just in case.
“Well. Look at this.”
What entered my eyes was different. The haze was one thing, but—
There’s a line.
The Moon Eye was showing me a new line. This was, well—
Just looking at it...
It meant I should cut it.
Clank. I gripped the Divine Sword and swung.
Four swift sword strikes. Once I cut completely along the line—
Clatter! A sound came from inside. It seemed like some mechanism was moving. Whatever it was, it did not matter. I watched for now.
Rumble.
The wall opened, and an entrance appeared. This actually worked.
What are you, really?
This karmic fire. It seemed more useful than I expected. The haze still pointed beyond the opening. That meant I had to go.
Without releasing the Moon Eye, I entered.
The darkness was no obstacle because of the Moon Eye. I walked in slowly.
Human presence—
I did not feel much. This passage was not very long either. There were only a few sets of stairs going up and down. From that, I could tell it was a space made by human hands.
Tap.
There was a door ahead. That was when—
Human presence.
I felt presences. Something was beyond that door. People.
Two of them. I sensed nothing else. I ran the calculations in my head. The possible outcomes if I went in as I was.
I won’t be able to open the door safely and enter.
Then what other method was there?
The presences were close to the wall. Realizing that, I swung my sword.
Whoooosh—! Radiant Moon Flash Aura carried light. I raised its power to the maximum, but applied pressure within it.
Not roughly.
I refined the Sword Aura. If it was too violent, it would make too much noise. I focused not on destructive power, but on cutting power.
Ziiing.
The sword cried. That meant it was ready. I thrust it out as it was.
Slice—!
A single line cut through the door.
Crack. The severed door fell to the floor. When I went inside, I saw corpses whose upper bodies had been cut apart and killed.
“......”
I could see Sky-Crushing Palace energy. That meant the ones inside had been Sky-Crushing Palace’s ilk. I was not very surprised. I had already known that from the moment I sensed their presences.
“......”
I passed the corpses and checked inside. When I looked back at the door I had entered through, from the outside it seemed like an ordinary wall. So it had been a hidden entrance?
The fact that someone made something like that...
Who had made this space? I was very curious about that, but—
More than that...
What I needed to look at now seemed to be the object in front of me.
Water sat in a hollowed-out place. And something was submerged in that water. A stone? It was green.
Fwooooooosh—!!!
“......”
The moment I saw it, the karmic fire blazed like mad. So that was it.
WHUUUUUUNG—!! The vibration was the same. That seemed to be the thing my instincts had reacted to.
Then—
Is that the jade stone?
Was that perhaps the thing Seomdo had mentioned? Since he had called it a stone, it seemed right.
What exactly is this?
Puzzled, I reached out. The moment I grabbed the stone and lifted it—
Fwoooooooooosh—!!!
The flames blazed up. The karmic fire reacted as though it would wrap around my entire body, and the flames swallowed the jade stone I held.
It was not hot, nor was it uncomfortable.
I did not feel anything in particular.
Whooooong—!
“Mm?”
I felt something from the stone I was holding. Some unknown energy from the jade stone was being absorbed into my hand.
The feeling is...
Energy? Spiritual energy? It was hard to say definitively which one. I could feel both. I had never felt anything like this before.
I waited quietly, and the energy slowly gathered in my heart. The amount was considerable.
Fwoosh—! The more it did, the larger the karmic fire became. It felt as if I had swallowed a spirit pill.
The power given by the thing called a jade stone was absurdly vast.
When I had absorbed nearly all of it—
“Fuuu.”
I exhaled the breath I had been holding. I had sensed it instinctively. This was a situation where I should not carelessly breathe out.
And when I released that held breath—
Ziiing.
I felt a sensation in my heart. It seemed the energy had settled properly.
I think I obtained almost all of it.
Energy that would normally have leaked away or scattered did not waver even slightly. This was rather precious.
I was surprised that I had taken in all the energy. Usually, a great deal was missed.
Has my strength increased too?
The thought that I wanted to test it suddenly crossed my mind.
—So, anyway.
—This one too...
I heard human presences outside. I immediately put the stone down. If I stayed like this, I was in danger of being discovered. I turned at once and launched myself toward the entrance I had come through.
“What the!”
The moment I disappeared, a voice rang out.
“Damn it! What is this!”
I did not properly listen to their reaction. I escaped swiftly. I had not left any particular traces behind.
*****
I descended the hill as I was and headed toward the lodging.
“Where have you been?”
When I arrived, Poison Dragon spotted me on his way out for morning training.
“Oh. Just somewhere for a bit.”
“In the middle of dawn?”
“Something came up. Going to train?”
“Yes.”
“...Have a good one.”
When I patted his shoulder, Poison Dragon looked at me strangely. What was with those eyes?
It was an odd gaze, but I ignored it.
Whew.
I kept catching my breath. I headed somewhere with few people.
This is driving me insane.
It was good that the power of the jade stone or whatever had entered me, but the energy was far too vast. When was I going to regulate all of this?
It was good that it had entered, but regulating it was the problem.
I had to circulate the energy as if tidying it away. For that, I closed my eyes.
Focus.
Since I had obtained it, I could not lose it like this. I sat cross-legged and concentrated deeply.
Whoooooosh—!!!
I repeated the process of sending the energy through my entire body as if circulating it. How much time passed like that?
“Haa.”
I sighed and opened my eyes.
Done.
The sensation that made me feel like I was going to vomit had disappeared, and my state had become a little lighter. Only now did it feel like my body was moving properly.
I rose.
Maybe something had changed. I was about to circulate my energy slightly and head out when—
—Excuse us...!
I felt a sudden rush of human presences outside.
—Moon Hero, are you here?!
It was a voice I had heard recently. Seomdo. When I opened the door and went outside, I saw Alliance martial artists.
“What is this now?”
Peng Dojun was receiving them with an extremely delinquent posture.
Yu Yeon was the same.
At a glance, the mood did not look very good.
“What is the matter?”
When I came out and spoke, Seomdo looked at me. Urgency and impatience hovered over his expression.
“...I am Seomdo, the branch chief. I greeted you yesterday, but may I have a word with you for a moment?”
“...Mm.”
Seeing the situation, I understood.
He came because of the jade stone.
The mess I had secretly gone in and made.
It was obvious he had come because of that.