Chapter 177: The Destination
Mount Thousand Stones.
Around the time when the sky’s sun was tilting westward, Cheol Ryu-heun’s group entered deep into this mountain.
BOOM, KABOOM, BOOM…!
Divine wind, overflowing with energy, continuously thundered with heavy sounds as he leaped high through the steep pathless forest.
As flocks of birds, startled by the sudden noise and vibration, took flight in a hurry, Namgung Sang-rin desperately wished this rough ride would end soon.
‘URGH… My stomach…!’
Because the constant jumping had made him nauseous.
On the other hand.
“WOW!”
Hae Su-yeon continuously let out cheers with a radiant face, enjoying Divine wind’s repeated leaps.
“Hoho, I feel like I’ve become a bird!”
Of course, Cheol Ryu-heun was unresponsive.
Tsk, how annoying.
Those were the only words flowing in his eyes.
Before long, a sheer cliff and waterfall appeared in their view.
KWAKWAKWA… KWAKWAKWA…
Truly a majestic and magnificent sight.
Namgung Sang-rin briefly forgot about his motion sickness and was absorbed in the wondrous appearance of great nature.
‘Oh, a place like this exists! It’s wonderful. As the old saying goes, Mount Thousand Stones is a masterpiece crafted by nature…’
The name was well-deserved.
To the extent that if he ever chose a life of seclusion in his later years, he would want to stay in such a place and quietly depart.
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun pulled the reins sharply to stop Divine wind, then gestured with his chin toward up above.
“That’s our destination.”
It seemed there was something he was looking for at the top of the cliff that was pouring out the huge waterfall.
“You worked hard, so rest.”
Cheol Ryu-heun stepped onto the ground where mist scattered in all directions, stroked Divine wind’s mane, and took out a ginseng root to feed him.
Following that, Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon, having dismounted side by side, looked upward with eyes full of curiosity.
At that moment, an indifferent voice was heard.
“It’s a fortuitous encounter.”
Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon were startled after hearing Cheol Ryu-heun’s words.
‘A fortuitous encounter…!’
How did he know there was one here and came?
Cheol Ryu-heun spoke again.
“There are three things to obtain.”
At that, the two asked in unison.
“Three things?”
Nodding slightly, Cheol Ryu-heun retied the string on his long hair.
“One of them is a sword.”
Then he glanced at the sword hanging at Namgung Sang-rin’s waist.
“You should have a sword that matches that scabbard too.”
“Ah…!”
Namgung Sang-rin’s eyes went round as he let out a quiet sound.
What Cheol Ryu-heun had just said meant there was some sword to give him up there.
“Let’s go.”
Having given that brief command, Cheol Ryu-heun deployed supreme lightness techniques and scaled the cliff.
WHOOSH, WHOOOOSH-
A dangerously dizzying height.
But his movement gave a comfortable feeling as if he were climbing stairs.
“Hmm, this is a bit scary.”
“Oh my, don’t be dramatic. Hoho. Just don’t throw up while climbing.”
Thus Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon also deployed lightness techniques using internal energy and followed behind Cheol Ryu-heun.
PAT, PAPAT, PAT…!
Before they knew it, Cheol Ryu-heun had reached the dizzying top and his figure disappeared beyond it.
‘Already…!’
The two, having inwardly marveled greatly, didn’t rush.
If they carelessly moved like that and missed a step, they would tumble down below and crack their skulls.
Still, their movements were stable, befitting their personal achievements.
Though their movement speed was nothing compared to Cheol Ryu-heun’s, their motions climbing the steep cliff step by step were like feathers.
When the two finally reached the ground beyond the top.
KWAKWAKWA, KWAKWAKWAKWA…
About a dozen pitch-black caves were visible here and there in the rocky cliff zones lined up on both sides of the stream, which was the source of the great waterfall.
The sizes were all different.
But then.
FLINCH.
Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon momentarily detected an eerie energy touching their skin.
Strange.
There were no other suspicious presences.
It was alien.
The energy reaching their senses right now was quite different from ordinary internal energy cultivation, and it even felt as if it had assimilated with the surroundings.
Cheol Ryu-heun, standing ahead, let out a quiet voice.
“The creature will come out now. I’ll handle it, so you two stay quiet in the back.”
What? Creature?
Did he mean the true form of the eerie energy?
Suddenly.
SWISHISH, SHISH… SWISHISH…
A strange sound leaked from inside one of the caves in this area lined with gray bizarre rocks.
It was a cave on the left, not far from where Cheol Ryu-heun stood.
Since no presence could still be detected, Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon wore expressions gripped by tension.
That sound leaking through the darkness was reminiscent of a snake’s.
At that moment, in the middle of the darkness, some deep red light flashed.
‘Could it be a monster…?’
Just as Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon had the same thought, a huge being emerged from the cave.
SLITHER, SLITHER-
“HISS, HISSS!”
It was a pitch-black serpent with its head raised upright, flicking a large tongue.
Moreover, it was so large and long it looked like it could coil around and kill bears, tigers, or any fierce beast in an instant…
And the girth.
It was truly at the level of several large trees bundled together.
Could this be the imoogi that one only heard about in tales?
No.
It was smaller than that.
If it were truly an imoogi, it must be in an underdeveloped state.
The massive serpent, fitting to be called a monster, had its mouth wide open showing its fangs and seemed wary of Cheol Ryu-heun’s group’s approach.
“It’s a Blood-Eye Black Divine Python.”
Only then did Cheol Ryu-heun reveal the identity of the terrifying monster.
Simultaneously, the expressions of the two standing behind changed.
‘Ah…!’
The Blood-Eye Black Divine Python was a legendary poisonous creature and spirit creature with a lifespan of over two hundred years.
It was said that the number of people who had witnessed the real thing throughout the long passage of time was fewer than five, for it possessed tough hide that blades couldn’t pierce, plus extreme poison that could make even martial arts masters hover between life and death.
In truth, nothing else was known about it.
Soon Cheol Ryu-heun took a few steps forward, and the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python opened its mouth even wider.
It looked like it might just swallow him whole.
Yet Cheol Ryu-heun seemed unperturbed.
He already knew.
That the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python was displaying threatening behavior to protect its young inside the cave.
Suddenly.
CHICHICHICHI, CHICHICHICHICHI…
Dense white aura gathered around Cheol Ryu-heun’s form, playing a small sound.
The Blood-Eye Black Divine Python reacted immediately.
SLITHER, SLITHER-
As if drawn by that pure white light, it slowly circled around Cheol Ryu-heun while making sounds.
“HUM, HUUUM, HUM…”
A metallic-sounding cry unique to serpents drummed against the group’s ears, producing a faint vibration.
Watching that, Namgung Sang-rin inwardly clicked his tongue.
‘Wow… Is he actually communing with it?’
Hae Su-yeon beside him thought the same.
Sure enough, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke quietly.
“I didn’t come to fight. The creature has finally realized that.”
At that, the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python, tongue flicking, suddenly lowered its head.
It seemed to have shed its wariness.
‘Incredible.’
Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon marveled again.
Meanwhile.
TAP, TAP-
Cheol Ryu-heun lightly patted the neck of the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python, which had lowered its head before him, and spoke.
“I just need to take that out.”
As if understanding his words, the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python turned its huge body and quickly advanced toward the cave.
Cheol Ryu-heun also moved his feet to follow behind.
A bit of time passed.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s form came into the view of Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon, who had been quietly waiting outside.
But then.
He came out with some dark object bundled up like a small rock.
“It’s heavy.”
Speaking thus briefly, he tossed it down on the ground.
Namgung Sang-rin asked with wide eyes.
“Sect Master Cheol, what is this?”
“It’s the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python’s molted skin that doesn’t rot.”
“Pardon? Why would you want that…?”
“It’s a precious material that will be used to make martial attire.”
“Ah!”
“In the past, the Heavenly Demon used this to make his ceremonial robe. It basically displays the wondrous function of impervious to blades and impervious to water and fire. Also, if the internal energy level of the wearer is high, it’s rare to be torn by an opponent’s energy. Well, it doesn’t have strange divine power like the Ink God Robe though.”
“This is amazing. To think you know even such things…”
Before Namgung Sang-rin’s words were finished, Cheol Ryu-heun disappeared like the wind into another cave.
Before long.
WHOOSH!
Cheol Ryu-heun, having appeared before the two again, held out a sword.
“Here.”
Namgung Sang-rin carefully took it.
“Ah, is this the sword you mentioned earlier?”
“It’s the Heaven Reliance Sword.”
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent answer, Namgung Sang-rin was momentarily shocked.
“…!”
A sword that a famous military commander of ancient times and the ancestral master of Shaolin Temple in the primordial martial world had used – that was precisely the rare famous sword Heaven Reliance Sword.
If tracing the lineage of the world’s greatest treasure swords, it was the sword that received the undisputed highest evaluation in the era after Gan Jiang and Mo Ye Sword had disappeared.
CLANK!
Namgung Sang-rin discarded the shabby sword and sheathed the Heaven Reliance Sword.
It fit perfectly as if made to order.
Following that, he asked with meaningful eyes.
“Sect Master Cheol, but isn’t the last known owner of this the Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya?”
“That’s right.”
It was as he said.
In the past, after Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya obtained the Divine Martial Sword, he had secretly stored the Heaven Reliance Sword in a certain place.
“Ah, then that place is…!”
“It’s the cave where Martial Immortal stayed for a period long ago for martial arts training.”
“My goodness, really?”
“Unbelievable…!”
As Namgung Sang-rin and Hae Su-yeon were startled, Cheol Ryu-heun lightly shook the bundle in one hand.
“As you can see, I’ve also collected the various spiritual medicines that the Martial Immortal arranged. Now we just need to find a suitable place, spend one night, and leave in the morning.”
At that moment, Hae Su-yeon, eyes sparkling, spoke her understanding.
“Ah, I get it. During his lifetime, the Martial Immortal deliberately arranged this fortuitous encounter here. Knowing this place has been the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python’s habitat since ancient times – to make it so not just anyone could obtain it…”
“That’s about right.”
Cheol Ryu-heun followed the brief answer with a chin gesture as an order.
“Carry them.”
Namgung Sang-rin said “Yes” and picked up the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python’s molted skin, and Hae Su-yeon received the bundle piled high with spiritual medicines.
“I’ll go ahead, so you two come down that side.”
The moment Cheol Ryu-heun strode to the edge of the cliff, he disappeared below as if falling.
FLUTTER FLUTTER.
As he moved like the wind while stepping on the cliff face stones, old memories suddenly came to his mind.
-What a wicked beast!
In the past, Dongbang Ya had accidentally set foot in this place and suddenly fought a bloody battle with the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python that had threatened him. After exhausting a full two hours, he had barely subdued it.
But.
Later realizing that the Blood-Eye Black Divine Python had rampaged to protect its newly born young, he had reproached himself.
-Ha, I was truly foolish. This beast… Simply did what it had to do… It was merely because we couldn’t communicate.
‘He was a kindhearted fellow. After that, he constantly reflected on himself in all matters and only pursued the upright path of right mind.’
The character of the last owner, Sagong Woon, had been like that too.
If he hadn’t died in that way, wouldn’t he have awakened part of the Divine Martial Sword’s divine power and grown into a true great gentleman of the martial world?
Soon Cheol Ryu-heun, thinking of the Wanderer, wore a clear smile.
‘Look forward to it. Going forward, our Sect will become an invincible organization. One that won’t budge no matter how powerful a force you lead in…’
Along with that, the sunset of Mount Thousand Stones also grew vivid.
* * *
The next day.
Around the time when the afternoon sunlight was ripening, over a dozen swordsmen belonging to the Sword Seal Sect arrived at the entrance of Pomi Village.