Chapter 67. Opening the Eyes (1)

I climbed the mountain using my movement technique.

Although it was called Yong'un Mountain, this place was more like a mountain range. Several mountains were clustered together, and each mountain had its own nickname.

Among them, the shape of the highest mountain was like a dragon soaring above the clouds, hence the name Yong'un Mountain, and the mountains attached to its side were also collectively called Yong'un Mountain.

Among them, my destination was not that most rugged and high Yong'un Mountain.

The mountain attached to the right of Yong'un Mountain.

After climbing the slope of that mountain for half a day.

Around afternoon, I arrived at my destination.

A cutting wind whipped around.

The magnificent view of Yong'un Mountain, which soared high with a steep slope, unfolded before my eyes.

But it was impossible to cross over to Yong'un Mountain from here.

Between Yong'un Mountain and this mountain.

A steep cliff was situated, looking as if the mountain spirits of the two mountains had had a territory dispute while merging their lands.

I approached that terrifying cliff and bowed my head to look down.

A steep incline that people could not easily ascend or descend.

An incredible height where even Nam Geon, with his blade and sword immunity, would have his whole body crushed to death if he fell.

I repeated deep breaths to compose myself.

“Hoo.”

The secret grotto of the Sun Moon Divine Sword elder was in the middle of this cliff.

I couldn't tell if it was a naturally formed cave or one artificially made by the elder.

Because it was hidden in a place like this in the first place, no one had been able to find it for five hundred years after that absolute master had died.

No. If the treasure map hadn't been discovered, it probably wouldn't have been found even after a thousand years.

After composing my breath, I lowered my two legs over the cliff.

In my past life, I had slowly descended this cliff, clinging to it with my two arms and two legs like an insect crawling down a wall.

Masters with deep knowledge of movement arts would sometimes run down this cliff as if it were flat ground to find the secret grotto.

I thought about imitating them to train my movement arts and use the enlightenment I had gained from the cliff at Wondrous Ridge Mountain last time.

Then suddenly, Nam Geon’s face came to mind.

- I-it's a promise!

I had promised to return alive.

It wasn't that I was caught in the grotto's traps, but if I died while training my movement arts and went to the underworld, I felt like I would be severely scolded by that fellow.

Pfft.

I smiled faintly and crawled down the cliff on all fours, just as I had in my past life.

I descended, holding onto the uneven surface of the cliff and grabbing the tree branches growing between the rocks.

Occasionally, the part of the wall I stepped on would crumble, or the tree branch I was holding onto would break.

Perhaps because of the strong wind blowing from behind my back, a cold chill ran down my spine each time.

It wasn't a bad feeling.

The chill, as if I were in a life-and-death battle, was rather welcome.

I continued to descend the cliff.

It was a path I had only taken once, but perhaps because it was such a memorable experience.

I was able to arrive at the location of the secret grotto in one go without getting lost.

Trees that grew between the cracks of the cliff rocks.

I threw my body and landed at the cave entrance, which was hidden by the bushes and branches of those trees.

Thud.

After landing at the entrance of the secret grotto, I looked at the path that stretched far ahead.

“It’s very different from that time.”

When I came here in my past life, a scene that was not unworthy of the phrase 'a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood' had unfolded here.

A place where one had to descend a cliff. A narrow entrance. Martial artists whose eyes were clouded with greed, like the me of my past life.

It was an environment very suitable for many people to die.

And that was only the corpses at the entrance. It seemed there were many more bodies that had fallen to the bottom of the cliff without being able to land here.

In that sense, I was quite lucky.

Thanks to hearing about the treasure map late and coming here, the battle for the entrance was already over.

I took a step forward, holding a torch I had prepared in my left hand and the Restoring Name Sword in my right.

Inside the cave, the sound of my footsteps echoed loudly.

Thump. Thump.

I cautiously headed inside the cave with all my senses focused, trying to recall the memories of my past life.

In my past life, because I had entered late, the traps at the beginning of the cave had all been triggered.

At that time, it was good luck, but now it came as misfortune.

Because a trap I didn't know about could pop out.

Whoooosh.

The torch flickered in the wind that blew through the narrow cave entrance.

The moment my shadow, reflected by the torchlight, wavered.

I felt an unnatural sensation from where I had stepped.

Swiiiiiiish.

With a rough piercing sound, dozens of hidden weapons flew in at once.

Perhaps because all my nerves were on edge? The movement of the flying hidden weapons looked slow.

Even though my concentration was at its peak, I couldn't see the trajectories.

Instead, only the optimal trajectories to strike and dodge the flying hidden weapons were embroidered in the air.

It seemed that the trajectory of a weapon not wielded by a person could not be seen in advance.

As I learned new information about my eyes, I swung the Restoring Name Sword and moved my feet along the trajectories embroidered in the air.

Clang-clang!

A series of metallic sounds rang out, and the sound of my new footsteps echoed in the cave.

While lightly taking a few steps and striking down the hidden weapons.

Thump.

I heard some kind of dull noise.

For some reason, a memory from the past suddenly came to me.

Without delay, I threw my body to the right using the Eight Trigrams Flying Stream Steps.

Thump!!

Soon, a large rock fell where I had been standing.

It was a rock I remembered.

In my past life, when I passed the entrance of the secret grotto, there had been a corpse crushed under that rock.

If my reaction had been just a little slower, I would have ended up in the same state as that corpse.

After wiping the cold sweat flowing from my forehead once, I took another step forward.

Various traps continued to appear.

Sometimes the floor would collapse, and I had to hastily use my movement technique to throw my body.

Swiiiiiiish!

In a narrow area where it was difficult to even throw my body, small hidden weapons would suddenly fly in succession.

Clang-clang-clang.

After swinging my sword as if possessed, with extreme concentration, to strike down those hidden weapons.

A smile formed on my lips.

A thought suddenly came to me.

I really have changed.

If I had come here alone with my body from my past life, I probably would have died long ago.

Thanks to the memories of my past life, there were often cases where I noticed a trap before it was triggered.

Because I had seen several corpses lying around already triggered traps.

But there were more traps I overcame with my current ability than with the experience of my past life.

A body that was incomparably lighter than that time. A smaller amount of internal energy, but one that flowed without blockage.

On top of that, a world that flowed slowly and eyes that showed the path of life.

But I could not be satisfied here.

Because the trash I had to kill were monsters even greater than the current me.

As I suppressed the twitching corners of my lips and advanced.

After overcoming a few more traps, an iron door was blocking the path.

I remembered seeing it in my past life. It was just that the iron door I saw then was torn and burst open.

‘Could there be a hidden key?’ I looked around for a moment. I found a strange object.

A latch holding the tightly closed iron door. I naturally thought it was opened with a key, but there was no keyhole.

It seemed it was made to be broken through from the beginning.

To cut through a very thick piece of iron befitting an iron door and pass.

“Sseup.”

I lightly inhaled and closed my eyes, concentrating my mind.

I replayed the most powerful strike I could unleash in my head.

Right after the fog in my head cleared and the most complete form emerged, I snapped my eyes open.

“Hoo.”

I saw a single trajectory leading to the latch.

Instead of rashly swinging my sword, I concentrated my mind as much as possible.

“Sseup.”

Then, the moment even my own breathing felt slow.

“Hoo.”

I slowly exhaled and thrust my sword along that trajectory.

The Restoring Name Sword, advancing like a crawling grub, followed that trajectory precisely without a single error.

Slice!

The Restoring Name Sword, which had at some point formed Sword Qi, split the latch in one go.

Thump.

After the latch fell to the floor with a heavy noise.

I placed both hands on the iron door and pushed with all my might, infusing my internal energy.

Screeeech.

With a rough noise, the iron door slowly opened.

When I picked up the torch I had briefly placed on the floor, a familiar sight came into view.

A fairly large cavern.

The place where I had died.

It was a strange feeling. At that time, a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood had unfolded here as well.

Even when I arrived here, dozens of martial artists were engaged in a chaotic battle.

Among them were several masters I could not dare to challenge.

To break through them, I had released the deadly poison I had received as a final gift from the Poison Immortal here.

Since the wind was blowing from the cave entrance inwards anyway, releasing the poison was not difficult.

While those who had been engaged in a dogfight were collapsing from the poison, with the antidote from the Poison Immortal in my mouth, I had passed through this cavern and moved inwards.

And on my way back after obtaining the secret manual, I was surrounded by those damn Taoist bastards and met my end here.

Recalling the memories of that day, I slowly advanced for a moment.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Heh.”

On one side of the cavern, something crumbled was visible.

It was a pile of grain pills that had decayed and weathered away over a very long time.

Also, on one side of the cavern, there was a puddle of water, and near that puddle, something like moss was growing.

It looked exactly like a place for secluded training.

“Was it a place made for a successor from the beginning?”

At that time, I didn't know because I couldn't see these things due to the blood and corpses.

Perhaps because I had only now realized that this place was a training ground.

The slightly protruding stones scattered throughout the spacious cavern came into view.

They were luminous pearls that had lost their light over the long passage of time.

“Then were the traps at the entrance a kind of test?”

Blocking the hidden weapons in a narrow place was to see the skill of handling a sword or weapon.

The traps where a rock suddenly fell or the floor collapsed were to see the skill of movement technique.

The final iron door was perhaps to see if one had the power to unleash Sword Qi or something equivalent.

I stood still and recalled the image of the Sun Moon Divine Sword elder I had seen just before returning to the past.

He had a rather immortal-like atmosphere, but perhaps, contrary to his appearance, he had a considerably eccentric personality.

“Come to think of it, if I obtain the secret manual, I might meet him again.”

I had many things I wanted to ask.

He had definitely said it. That he would bet on me.

What on earth did he mean by betting?

Also, he seemed to know something about these eyes.

I walked on, organizing the things I would ask in my head in case I met the elder again.

Beyond the large cavern, there was an entrance leading inwards.

After heading inside through it for a moment.

I arrived at a familiar place.

The place where I had obtained the secret manual of the Sun Moon Divine Sword elder.

However, it was not the end of the cave.

There were several corpses lying around in this vicinity, and the secret manual was rolling around among those corpses.

Instead of digging deeper into the cave, I had hidden that secret manual in my clothes and run away.

Well, I ended up dying to those Taoist bastards in the cavern anyway.

This time, I passed that place and continued to advance inwards.

In fact, I had expected that there would be more traps beyond this point.

But since I had realized a moment ago that the cavern was a training ground, my thoughts had changed a little.

Still, to prepare for the unexpected, I concentrated my mind and slowly advanced for a moment.

Without encountering any traps, I was able to reach the end of the cave.

There, a very old book was placed.

A familiar book.

As if possessed, I approached and opened that book.

A book that, in my past life, I didn't even have the leisure to read and had just kept in my clothes.

As if savoring its contents, I carefully turned the old paper and quickly read through it.

And when I was about halfway through the book's contents.

“Ha.”

A sneer escaped me without my knowing.

It was a sneer directed at the me of my past life.

“To think I gave my life to obtain something useless. What a fool.”

This secret manual was not a fake.

The problem was that it was a martial art that the me of my past life could not learn.

The first form of the martial art started with handling Sword Qi.

It was a divine art and peerless technique that required at least the peak level, perhaps even reaching Sword Unification, to even begin to understand the contents written in the secret manual.

Even from the middle part, it was at a level that even I, who had reached Sword Unification, could not understand.

It meant that it was a useless object to the me of my past life, who had been stuck at the end of the first-rate level.

I shook my head from side to side.

“No. Still, thanks to that foolish act in my past life, I got these eyes and returned to the past, so it was a very excellent decision. Indeed.”

Thanks to the crazy act of my past life, I got this chance to return to the past and clean up the trash.

I even managed to obtain a divine art and peerless technique like this, so what greater achievement could there be?

“Yes. Even if the me of my past life couldn't learn it, the current me can.”

It was a sword art that started with handling Sword Qi and aimed for a much higher realm.

I thought that if I could learn this properly, I could certainly catch up to Hyeok Ilso.

However, one regret remained.

“So I could only meet him once after all.”

I had so many things I wanted to ask.

While I stood still for a moment in regret.

A thick and refreshing scent stimulates my sense of smell.

It was a scent I hadn't noticed because I had been focused only on the book.

“Hmm?”

A dark cave. I moved the torch and shone it in the direction where the scent was coming from.

“…”

Without realizing it, I was at a loss for words and just stared blankly at the place illuminated by the torch.

In a corner of the cave.

Underneath an icicle-like stalactite, a very small amount of milky-white liquid, which seemed to be less than a handful, had collected.

And strangely, a thick and refreshing energy, unfitting for that small amount, was flowing out from there.

One of the top-grade spirit medicines like the Ten-Thousand Year Snow Ginseng or the Great Cycle Pill. It was undoubtedly Gongcheong Seokyu.

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