Chapter 350 Spiritual Sword Sanctuary (1)

-Slap!

Ye Song-ah, the granddaughter of the Holy Fire Priestess, was startled awake by a light slap to her face.

“Heuk!”

“Are you feeling better now?”

At this question, Ye Song-ah looked at Mok Gyeong-un with a pale face.

Then she,

“Ughk.”

Immediately ran behind a tree trunk and started retching.

-Tsk tsk. Should have gone a bit slower, huh?

At Cheong-ryeong’s tongue-clicking, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged his shoulders.

To avoid wasting time, he had told the others to follow and then picked her up, flying here using sword flight.

But because they flew at such a high speed, she couldn’t handle the strain on her breathing and ended up fainting.

And as soon as she woke up, she started vomiting like this.

-It’s been a while since we’ve been here.

At Cheong-ryeong’s words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes glinted with interest.

-You say it’s been a while?

-Yes. This place existed even in the era when I was active.

-Really? You didn’t say anything earlier, so I had no idea.

-I was just surprised to hear that the master of this place is said to have knowledge of swords close to being the best in the world.

-Was it not like that before?

-Even back then, their level was quite high. But it seems they’ve finally reaped the fruits of their labor.

-What do you mean by finally reaping the fruits?

-It’s because of their method.

-Is there some special method?

-Indeed, it’s special. The reason their swords are called the best is because they craft them to fit the swordsman’s physique, habits, and sword techniques.

-Physique, habits, that’s… hm? Sword techniques?

Mok Gyeong-un raised one eyebrow as if something was strange.

Then she snorted and said:

-To commission a sword from them, you have to reveal your unique sword technique. That’s one of the conditions for crafting.

-Ah……

Now Mok Gyeong-un understood why she said they had reaped the fruits of their labor.

-If that’s the basic condition, then they must know almost every sword technique out there.

-That’s right. If they know all the sword techniques in the world, their insight into swords would naturally be higher than anyone else’s.

-Did Cheong-ryeong also have a sword made here?

At that question, she nodded.

-As you guessed. They even know the early sword techniques of Yue.

-……Interesting. But if they know so many sword techniques, it seems like a lot of interesting things must have happened.

-Well, I don’t know what happened while I was sealed, but before that, nothing happened.

-Why not?

-Because they weren’t told the qi circulation methods or mental techniques that pair with the sword techniques.

-Ah?

-All they know are the sword paths of the techniques. Of course, even with just this, one could say they know a lot, but strictly speaking, it’s only half the picture.

-So that’s why you said only their knowledge of swords.

-That’s right. Even back then, their insight into swords was higher than mine. That knowledge must have accumulated over time, so I’m curious how advanced they are now.

-Now that you mention it, I’m curious too, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll have any reason to go inside.

-Well, I suppose not.

What they came to retrieve was the Fire Faith Order’s treasure, the orb.

They didn’t come to sightsee Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Ye Song-ah, who had been retching for a while, seemed to have recovered somewhat and approached with a pale face.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Y-yes.”

“Do you know where we are?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, she nodded.

She couldn’t not know, having visited this place once before.

To her, Mok Gyeong-un said:

“By the way, were there usually many people wandering around the manor?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

-Sseuk!

“Mmph!”

Mok Gyeong-un suddenly covered Ye Song-ah’s mouth.

She couldn’t hide her bewilderment at his sudden action.

Then Mok Gyeong-un picked her up and with a light movement, jumped up onto a tree branch.

‘H-how?’

Her eyes widened.

Even though he was carrying her, this slender tree branch didn’t break and remained intact.

As she was marveling at this, footsteps could be heard from below.

Soon, a group of about four warriors appeared, with “Justice” (正義) embroidered on their upper garments.

‘Justice?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes glinted with interest at the sight of them wearing the same outfit.

Then, as they wandered around, they spoke:

“Strange. I could have sworn I heard something like a pig squealing around here.”

“A pig squealing?”

“You know, that ‘kwueok kwueok’ sound.”

At their conversation, Ye Song-ah’s face turned bright red.

To think they’d compare her retching sound to a pig squealing.

It was so embarrassing.

As they looked around, one warrior said:

“But do you think we can find the culprit or any traces by looking around here?”

“We have to do something.”

“There’s nothing else we can do.”

“That’s true. Anyway, the only person with the martial prowess to single-handedly kill that many people would be Master Ou.”

“Right. Staying here is just a waste of time.”

“But isn’t it strange to assume the culprit is Master Ou?”

“Why?”

“Master Ou was working when the incident occurred, wasn’t he? Besides, Master Ou is a swordsman, but all the wounds on the dead were from blade techniques.”

“That’s what makes it more suspicious. Everything seems to point away from the master too conveniently. What if the master is actually a hidden expert in blade techniques?”

“………Well, that’s true, but does it make sense to openly do something like this in their own territory?”

“It’s a matter of true and false. Who would think the master is the culprit when it’s right under their nose?”

“Hmm. It’s difficult. Very difficult.”

“That’s how investigations are. Once you start suspecting, everyone looks like a culprit. Anyway, if we keep loitering around here, the elders might say something, so let’s move.”

“Alright.”

After the warriors left, Mok Gyeong-un and Ye Song-ah descended to the ground shortly after.

-Tak!

As soon as they came down, Ye Song-ah said to Mok Gyeong-un:

“Those people just now were warriors from the Righteous Alliance.”

“The Righteous Alliance?”

“Yes.”

The Fire Faith Order had many enemies, so Ye Song-ah also remembered the attire of those who targeted them.

“Do people from the Righteous Alliance usually come and go here often?”

-How could that be possible?

“No.”

Cheong-ryeong and Ye Song-ah answered simultaneously to that question.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin.

He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but based on their conversation, it seemed that an incident had occurred where many people were killed by a single person.

So the Righteous Alliance warriors were trying to find the culprit.

But they mentioned Master Ou as a prime suspect, which seemed to refer to the Master Ou of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

“Hmm.”

It was an incredible coincidence.

They had just come to find the orb, but it seemed a major incident had occurred, big enough to involve the Righteous Alliance.

However, Mok Gyeong-un soon decided to ignore it.

It wasn’t related to him anyway, and all they needed to do was find the orb.

So Mok Gyeong-un said to Ye Song-ah:

“Where is this cave you mentioned?”

“It’s……”

“Don’t say it out loud, just point with your finger. From now on, we need to move very discreetly.”

“Huh? You don’t mean…?”

“Shh. I told you to keep quiet.”

-Pat!

Mok Gyeong-un moved while carrying her.

He judged that it would be easier to conceal their presence if he moved while carrying her, given his mastery of lightness techniques.

***

In front of a building in Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

-Chang! Chang! Chang!

The crisp sound of hammering flowed out from the building.

Along with these metallic sounds and the heat-filled forge, there was a group of warriors in uniform standing in front.

The warriors’ clothes were embroidered with the word “Justice”.

They were warriors belonging to the Righteous Alliance.

There were two people who seemed to be leading these individuals.

One was a middle-aged Buddhist nun in Taoist attire, standing with her hands behind her back and a benevolent face. The other was a handsome man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

These were members of the Righteous Alliance. The nun was Elder Jeong Myeong Sa-tae of the Hangshan Sect.

And the man in his mid-thirties was Moyong Hak, the eldest son and heir of the Moyong family, one of the Seven Great Families.

“Heo. Amitabha.”

Elder Jeong Myeong Sa-tae of the Hangshan Sect let out an exclamation.

It was no wonder, as the rhythmic hammering sounds were refreshing and invigorating, giving a feeling as if one’s chest was being cleared.

‘Extraordinary.’

She had heard of the reputation, but even just the hammering was enough to leave her speechless.

It was so excellent that it made decades of study feel futile.

Unlike her, the interest of Moyong Hak, the heir of the Moyong family, was focused elsewhere.

‘Are those the failed swords made by the master?’

There were swords stuck in something like a large incense burner outside the building.

The large incense burner was engraved with the words “Broken Swords,” and it was said that swords that failed to properly form a sword core were stuck there before being destroyed.

However, for swords called “broken,” each one boasted an extraordinary appearance.

No, even these could almost be called famous swords.

-Gulp!

Moyong Hak unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

Originally, according to Spiritual Sword Sanctuary’s rules, one could only come to the master’s forge if they were particularly renowned as a swordsman or passed a test given by the master.

However, given the current situation, they were able to enter as special investigators from the Righteous Alliance.

-Creeeeak!

At that moment, the door of the forge opened and someone came out.

They instinctively knew it wasn’t the master coming out because the hammering sound was still continuing.

-Chak!

The person who came out was none other than Ou Woong-hwang, the young master of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

He put his hands together and said in a respectful voice:

“I apologize. Master says he cannot meet you as he is at a crucial point in the birth of a new sword, and asks for your understanding.”

‘As expected.’

At these words, Moyong Hak clicked his tongue inwardly.

He had hoped to build some rapport with the master because of the incident, but he wasn’t showing his face at all.

Yet it wasn’t appropriate to force the issue.

Ou Cheonmu, the master of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary, was one of the Six Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world, and also belonged to the elder generation in terms of seniority, so he couldn’t be treated carelessly.

“That’s unfortunate. I had hoped to at least pay my respects to the eldest, the master.”

“Ah ah. I’m very sorry. Once my father starts crafting a sword, due to his unique stubbornness as a craftsman, he won’t show his face even if the Alliance Leader were to come.”

“Amitabha. I understand. How could a craftsman stop his work? It’s just sad that we haven’t been able to see the master yet, even though we’ve been here for several days.”

Elder Jeong Myeong Sa-tae spoke in a gentle voice, as if to say it didn’t matter.

At this, Ou Woong-hwang cautiously asked:

“But how is the investigation progressing?”

“For now, our Alliance’s warriors have blocked all mountain paths in the surrounding area and are proceeding, but it seems difficult to find the culprit.”

“……I suppose it would be.”

It wasn’t just anyone, but Namgoong Jin, the Skyward Swordless of the Eight Stars, who had been killed.

Although not reaching the level of the Six Heavens, the Eight Stars were also among the greatest martial artists in the world.

He and the elites of the Namgoong family had all met their deaths.

What was astonishing was that the traces suggested it was the work of a single person, not multiple attackers.

“I’ve never seen blade marks like these before in my life.”

Elder Jeong Myeong Sa-tae clicked her tongue as she spoke.

She had been inwardly shocked when she first examined the bodies.

This was because the blade marks left on the bodies each contained trajectories that could not be performed by any existing blade techniques.

‘Blade marks that surpass the limits of joints… Is this really a blade wielded by a human?’

It even raised such doubts.

However, since the bodies were discovered, it was clear that they had died at someone’s hand.

And the most likely suspect was,

“……As Elder Sa-tae knows, my father has known nothing but swords his entire life. That goes for our entire family… as well.”

For just a moment, so brief that it was hard for anyone to notice, Young Master Ou Woong-hwang hesitated in his speech.

It was because of the youngest member of the family, who was considered a troublemaker.

[Why must it be swords? Isn’t our stagnation due to our obsession with swords alone?]

That was what the brat used to say habitually before leaving home.

He didn’t bend his stubbornness even after being scolded by his father, the master, and himself.

But it was truly questionable.

It was strange enough that he suddenly returned just when such a tremendous incident occurred, but he also brought a bizarre orb whose composition was difficult to determine.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“If all the traces left on the bodies are blade marks, shouldn’t our family be excluded from suspicion, even if the deceased was one of the Eight Stars?”

Elder Jeong Myeong Sa-tae put her hands together and answered this somewhat emotional voice:

“Amitabha…… I apologize. As you know, that’s difficult to do.”

“……..”

“Although there are a couple of guests at Spiritual Sword Sanctuary who could match patron Namgoong, it’s absolutely impossible for them to have done this alone.”

“Elder Sa-tae. But my father……”

“I know. There are plenty of people who can testify that he was still here at the time the incident occurred, and he’s originally a swordsman. However, he’s also the only one capable of causing such a massacre.”

“Haa.”

Young Master Ou Woong-hwang sighed in frustration.

Of course, it was true that if father, no, the master, were to make up his mind, he had the martial prowess to slaughter all the people from the Namgoong family who had visited the main hall.

It wasn’t for nothing that he was called one of the Six Heavens.

However, crucially, father had never left this place and wasn’t a blade user.

Yet there were two reasons why they still considered him a suspect.

One was, as mentioned earlier, due to his martial prowess, and the second was,

‘Rejecting Namgoong family head’s request was a big factor.’

Namgoong Jin, the head of the Namgoong family and one of the Eight Stars, known as the Skyward Swordless, had visited and offered to provide rare iron if a sword was crafted exclusively for him.

But this request wasn’t just once; this was the third time.

Coincidentally, father had been dedicating himself to crafting a single sword for two years, and had been rejecting and postponing all recent requests from visitors.

However,

[No matter what rules Spiritual Sword Sanctuary has, refusing to even show one’s face to a guest who has come three times is not the spirit of craftsmanship, but the height of arrogance.]

Namgoong Jin, the head of the Namgoong family, had shown signs of discomfort and left, unable to meet the master despite visiting each time, no matter how great a craftsman he might be. Some guests in the reception hall had witnessed him express the only negative emotions towards the father, and some testified to this, leading to the current situation.

It was truly a frustrating situation.

As if to soothe his state of mind, Moyong Hak said:

“We also don’t believe Master Ou would have done such a thing. However, as we’ve come as investigators, we must be certain and therefore must meet the master. I know it’s frustrating, but please understand.”

There was one thing they wanted to confirm.

Swords and blades are distinctly different.

Therefore, the calluses formed on the palm due to the gripping method would inevitably be different.

Moreover, what they learned from the blade marks was that the joints and muscles of the person who used this blade technique would be in a completely different form from ordinary people.

In conclusion, they couldn’t conclude the investigation until they met the master of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

***

A cliff cave not far from the mountainside where Spiritual Sword Sanctuary’s estate was located.

“T-this can’t be happening.”

Ye Song-ah was bewildered.

She had hurriedly searched inside the cave for the orb as soon as they arrived.

But it wasn’t there.

Rather, as if something had happened here, the walls inside the cave were broken and the floor was cracked, leaving the place in a mess.

Mok Gyeong-un examined this closely.

‘Sword marks.’

Some of the messy traces were unmistakably sword marks.

It seemed that two swordsmen who were quite skilled with swords had fought here.

However, one side had overwhelmingly superior sword skills.

Because of this, it appeared they had been subdued in just a few moves.

‘The subdued side had their back to the inner part of the cave, and despite being clearly outmatched in sword skills, they still tried to move forward. That means…..’

It was someone trying to protect something.

They desperately tried to prevent the opponent from coming inside.

To this, Mok Gyeong-un said:

“Did you hide the orb in the innermost part of the cave?”

“Yes. I’m sure I did…..”

“It seems someone fought in here. One side was desperately trying to protect the entrance, while the other was trying to get inside.”

“I-it’s Yeonwoo!”

“I don’t know who Yeonwoo is, but what’s interesting is that despite being outmatched in skill, they didn’t retreat a single step and desperately tried to stop the opponent.”

Ye Song-ah’s eyes welled up at these words.

From Mok Gyeong-un’s words, she was certain that the one who desperately blocked was Ou Yeonwoo.

Then, as Mok Gyeong-un was examining the traces, he spoke as if he had realized something:

“It seems the opponents knew each other well.”

“What?”

“They’re using very similar sword techniques. And the one trying to enter the inner part of the cave…..”

-Woowoong!

Opening the power of the Three Eyes with his right eye, Mok Gyeong-un could see the trajectories of the sword swings more clearly in his vision.

It was the residual thoughts of true qi remaining after unleashing the sword techniques.

Seeing this made it even more certain.

The one trying to enter the inner part of the cave was using techniques that avoided fatal moves as much as possible, aiming to subdue rather than kill the opponent.

“Rather than enemies, it’s more likely they’re from the same school, brothers, or blood relatives. Didn’t you say Ou Yeonwoo was the third son of Spiritual Sword Sanctuary? Then we have our answer.”

‘!!!!!!’

Ye Song-ah was dumbfounded at Mok Gyeong-un’s deduction.

Was it possible to display such insight from just these messy traces?