Chapter 41 — Discovery
After catching a glimpse of Azure Cloud True Person’s ‘Flow’ in the underground space beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall, my five senses had changed from before.
I could see and feel more than ever.
It was the same now.
Following the traces of Sedation Powder, I continued moving.
The faint scent of Sedation Powder carried on the wind could be felt.
‘That way.’
I turned my body toward the direction where the scent of Sedation Powder grew stronger.
While continuously using movement technique, I also didn’t forget to scatter Night Glow Powder little by little.
‘This should be enough for the other search party members to find me.’
With that thought, I was about to increase my movement technique speed again.
“Wait!”
A breathless shout came from behind.
I reflexively turned my body.
Two figures were visible in the darkness.
It was Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah.
‘Why are these two here?’
I spoke to the two who had arrived in front of me.
“I told you earlier. Wait until Master joins us before moving together.”
Then Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah replied almost at the same time.
“So you were just going to go alone? While we sit still?”
“And you didn’t even properly explain the situation, you just told us to wait.”
“But…”
As I tried to respond, Yu Seol-ah continued immediately.
“And Myeong-jeon went to inform Elder Gwang-ung of the situation. The two of them should join us soon.”
I let out a sigh inwardly.
‘I didn’t expect them to follow right away.’
I felt heavy-hearted at the thought of dragging these two into danger.
As if reading my mind, Yu Seol-ah smiled.
“You weren’t really planning to go alone, right? Three people are better than one, don’t you think?”
Hyun-kwon also snorted and said.
“I can’t just let you take all the credit alone, Mujin.”
“Credit?”
“If you really find where the missing people are hidden, people will say you solved this incident by yourself. I can’t allow that. Absolutely not.”
I was dumbfounded by Hyun-kwon’s words.
He was willing to take on this great risk just for that?
No matter how blinded he was by competitiveness and desire for recognition, this seemed excessive.
Then Hyun-kwon added in a mutter.
“And… like you said before… I do need ‘real combat experience.’ Even if it’s very dangerous… I can’t let you go alone.”
Though he grumbled, there was a strange hint of worry mixed into his words.
‘…Look at these guys.’
Yu Seol-ah’s words about moving together being better, and Hyun-kwon’s awkward excuse-like statement.
In the end, both meant they wouldn’t let me jump into danger alone.
I let out a small chuckle inside.
‘They’re more loyal than I thought.’
I looked at the two and spoke with a wry smile.
“Fine. Since you’ve already followed me this far, I can’t send you back anyway. But if the situation feels off, don’t hesitate and run away immediately. Don’t worry about credit or anything.”
“I’m not weak enough to need your worry. I am Hyun-kwon, Junior Hall Master of the Hall of Martial Law.”
“Yes, don’t worry. We weren’t planning to clash with the Heavenly Demon Cult anyway. We just need to find the missing people.”
I pretended to sigh, but inwardly felt a strange sense of relief.
However, I didn’t show it.
“Then follow me closely from now on. We won’t stop moving from here.”
I immediately activated my movement technique.
Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah followed right behind me.
While moving, Hyun-kwon asked.
“By the way, how did you know the location of the missing people?”
To his question, I gave the answer I had prepared in advance.
“After learning Azure Cloud True Person’s sword path, my five senses have greatly improved.”
“Your five senses?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I can see things that weren’t visible before and feel things that weren’t noticeable. That’s how I roughly sensed the location of the missing people.”
“…Really?”
I explained to the two that thanks to the development of my five senses, I could detect the faint scent of the poison powder in the air.
I told them I was moving in the direction where that poisonous scent was coming from.
At first, both Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah looked skeptical of my explanation.
But since I had inherited the martial arts of Azure Cloud True Person, who had ascended to immortality, they seemed to accept it as something that might be possible.
We continued following the traces of Sedation Powder while exchanging such words.
The terrain of the valley was relatively wide at first.
The cliffs on both sides were dozens of zhang apart, opening up like a long, refreshing path.
But after advancing a few hundred steps, the terrain gradually began to change.
The width of the valley narrowed more and more, eventually becoming a narrow passage where three people could barely stand side by side.
It was then.
‘…Hm?’
The scent of Sedation Powder, which had been growing thicker, suddenly cut off.
It disappeared as if it had never been there.
‘How is this possible?’
I stopped walking and looked around.
That was when something caught my eye.
On the right cliff wall of the valley, a thin stream of water was flowing.
It wasn’t falling like a waterfall from above, but seeping out from a crack in the middle of the cliff.
The rock surface there was noticeably darker than the surrounding areas.
The water flowed down the cliff, bent once along the rock grain midway, and disappeared as if being sucked into a narrow crevice below.
‘…Something feels off.’
I approached the cliff wall.
Then I brought my face close to the narrow crevice where the water was being sucked in.
‘…It’s here.’
The scent of Sedation Powder could be felt through the narrow gap.
It was only a very faint amount, but it was definitely the lingering trace of Sedation Powder.
I struck the cliff surface hard with my palm.
Thud. Thud.
A unique hollow resonance came from it — solid on the outside but empty on the inside.
Hyun-kwon approached me and asked.
“What are you doing? Suddenly knocking on the wall.”
“This cliff wall seems hollow behind it. There’s even wind coming through the gap.”
Yu Seol-ah asked back with a surprised expression.
“What? Are you saying there’s a space people can enter and exit?”
I nodded and answered.
“There’s a high chance the missing people are inside here too.”
“Really… inside here?”
“We’ll know for sure once we check.”
I carefully examined the cliff surface.
I ran my palm over the entire wall, checking for any artificial traces.
And then.
‘Found it.’
A subtle twist in the wall surface felt through my palm.
An unnatural groove that didn’t match the natural rock surface was detected.
When I brought my face close to the spot where the texture was felt, a very narrow groove became visible.
It was barely wide enough for one finger to fit.
I pushed my index finger into the groove.
A cold metallic touch, not stone, reached my fingertip.
‘As expected.’
I lightly pushed the metal piece with my finger.
Then—
Rumble rumble rumble…
One side of the wall slowly began sliding sideways.
Stone powder poured down, and a dark gap gradually revealed itself behind it.
Yu Seol-ah swallowed hard.
“How is something like this possible?”
“It looks like an artificially created cave.”
I looked at Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah and said.
“Are you both ready? Once we go inside, we might not be able to come back.”
Hyun-kwon snorted and replied.
“Hmph, you think I’d run away after coming this far? Actually, this is perfect. I’ll gain that ‘real combat experience’ here.”
Yu Seol-ah also nodded.
“Let’s go in quickly. We need to check as soon as possible whether our sect members are really inside.”
After looking back and forth between the two, I turned my body toward the front again.
“Let’s go.”
I was the first to push my body into the hidden cave entrance.
***
The narrow, damp passage twisted like a snake’s intestines.
The structure was so tight that we had to crouch and crawl through, making it difficult to even look back.
Every time my shoulder brushed against the rock, I felt a rough texture.
How long had we been crawling?
The dark field of vision suddenly began to brighten.
“The space… is getting wider here.”
Yu Seol-ah whispered from behind.
I felt around the end of the passage with my hand and carefully pushed my body forward.
What unfolded before my eyes was not a narrow cave.
‘A stone chamber in a place like this?’
Contrary to expectations, the interior was a massive stone chamber.
Stone pillars stood in various places.
Torches illuminating the inside were also installed at regular intervals on the walls.
It was definitely not a space that could have been created in a single day.
And in the center of the stone chamber, people were lying collapsed.
They were the missing Kunlun Sect disciples.
Hyun-kwon tried to rush forward, but I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
“Wait.”
“Why? Our sect members are right there—”
“Think about it. What does it mean that the missing people are here?”
I held my breath and carefully scanned the surroundings.
And then.
“Hide.”
I pushed Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah between nearby pillars.
A moment later—
Step… step… step…….
From beyond the darkness at the end of the stone chamber, a group of about a dozen people walked out in a line.
As they drew closer, their appearance was completely different from what I had expected.
‘……They’re not the Shadow Corps?’
They weren’t wearing the black uniforms the Shadow Corps usually wore.
They didn’t look like the Heavenly Demon Cult either.
I couldn’t feel any of the demonic energy unique to the Heavenly Demon Cult.
‘Who the hell are these guys?’
Hyun-kwon muttered in a hushed voice.
“Are those the Heavenly Demon Cult bastards?”
“Shh!”
I signaled for silence with my finger.
It was then.
The group of a dozen or so people began to split to both sides as if making way.
And then.
Someone slowly walked out from between them.
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