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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: The Thief's Lair
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“Why are you hiding the fact that you found the hidden cave?”
Nohun’s clear eyes trembled beneath his thin eyelids.
He was at a loss.
But Seolhwa didn't back down.
If she retreated now to save his face, she wouldn't be able to cure Nohun's illness.
To uncover the cause of his ailment, she had to reveal the existence of Manrisintu's hidden cave and learn its location.
And to do that, she had no choice but to expose what Nohun was trying to hide.
“…”
Nohun's lips parted slightly.
He opened and closed his mouth several times as if to speak, then finally lowered his head.
“So… you really knew.”
A look of guilt clouded his face.
After another long moment of hesitation, he finally let out a deep sigh.
“I wanted to climb higher.”
The corners of his eyes, visible between the boils, drooped.
“Every time my martial brothers reached greater heights, I couldn't bear the shame of my own inadequacy.”
As the eldest disciple of the ‘Noh’ generation and the Sect Leader's direct disciple, Nohun had received the expectations and acknowledgment of the Hwasanpa's Sect Leader and elders since his youth.
They said the next Sect Leader would be a man of outstanding character and martial skill, more magnificent than any before him.
Back when he was a second-generation disciple, Nohun's martial arts were by no means inferior to his peers.
But when did it start?
“My martial brothers gained enlightenment one by one, their realms ascending, but I remained stagnant no matter how hard I tried. I congratulated them on the surface, but at some point, I realized.”
Nohun placed a hand on his chest.
“I couldn't congratulate my martial brothers on their great achievements from the bottom of my heart.”
Then, one day, he overheard the Sect Leader and the elders talking.
They were discussing how, because the Sect Leader's disciple Nohun remained at the peak realm of Jeoljeong, it would be difficult to teach him the divine art passed down through generations of Sect Leaders.
‘A Sect Leader who couldn't master the Zixia Divine Art.’
To learn the Zixia Divine Art, the peerless cultivation method and supreme martial art known as the greatest in Hwasanpa, one had to reach the transcendent realm.
Until now, there had never been a Sect Leader's disciple who failed to reach the transcendent realm, so the transmission of the Zixia Divine Art had never been an issue.
But Nohun failed to break through the wall to the transcendent realm for a long time, and the looks of expectation gradually turned to worry, frustration, and disappointment.
“I barely reached the transcendent realm and learned the cultivation method, but even now, I've only managed to reach the fifth stage. I suppose I was never a particularly gifted swordsman.”
He had talent, but it wasn't exceptional.
He made an effort, but he wasn't desperate.
Even as time passed, he could not escape his position of simply watching his outstanding and exceptional martial brothers.
“If someone like my junior brother Nomun or Nobaek had become the Sect Leader instead of me, the spirit of Hwasan's ultimate techniques would have been passed down intact.”
After all, there's a difference between someone who has only reached the fifth stage teaching martial arts and someone who has achieved great mastery teaching with an understanding of Hwasan's essence.
“So, I became greedy. When I discovered Manrisintu's hidden cave, I thought I had finally found a fortuitous opportunity.”
Even though the treasures in the cave of a great thief like Manrisintu would have been stolen and unjustly acquired.
“Blinded by greed, I made a shameful choice. I can no longer call myself a Taoist, nor a disciple of Hwasan.”
Nohun raised his hand.
Ssssk—his sleeve slid down, revealing an arm covered in boils.
“Isn't this divine punishment for trying to defy the proper path?”
As he spoke, Nohun looked much more relieved than before he started his story.
Having confessed all the faults he had kept hidden in his heart, he felt a sense of release.
A man who had risen to the position of Hwasan's Sect Leader.
Even a Sect Leader was only human, a martial artist who yearned for greater heights.
“Do you not trust your master and your martial uncles?”
Namgung Mucheon, who had been listening in silence, spoke up.
“Do you think they were unaware of your martial skill? Then why do you think they ultimately made you the Sect Leader?”
“…I am not worthy of the Sect Leader's position. My master and martial uncles don't know this side of me, so…”
“Don't say such foolish things. Do you not realize that you are insulting your master and martial uncles with those words?”
The current Sect Leader was Nohun, but the ones who appointed him were the previous Sect Leader and elders.
There was no way the sect's elders were unaware of the direct disciple's lack of martial prowess.
Nevertheless, they trusted Nohun to the end and acknowledged him as the Sect Leader.
Therefore, for Nohun to question his own qualifications was tantamount to criticizing the will of his predecessors.
“The body and mind cannot be separated. I will consider what you've said to be born from the pain of your body and pretend I didn't hear it.”
The pain was excruciating just to look at.
It was remarkable that he had endured that pain for so long.
Although he was tormented by guilt, believing the pain began with his own greed, it was only because he was a man of Nohun's caliber that he had maintained his current state.
Seolhwa, who had been waiting for the two elders to finish their conversation, asked Nohun.
“Are you saying the symptoms started appearing after you visited the hidden cave?”
Nohun nodded.
“Yes. It happened after I inhaled the poison powder that was set up in the cave. Of course, I brought the powder to a physician, but he couldn't even identify its components.”
“What are the symptoms, exactly?”
“As you can see, boils erupt all over my body, and pus oozes from them. But what's more serious is that my internal energy is scattering.”
“Your internal energy… is scattering?”
“Yes. Like smoke.”
Seolhwa's expression grew grave.
There was only one poison that could scatter one's power.
*Sanggongdok…?*
Sanggongdok, the Power-Scattering Poison.
A poison that, as the name implies, scatters one's power.
Those afflicted by it become completely unable to use their internal energy. The moment they try to circulate the internal energy stored in their dantian, the poison interferes with the concentration of power, causing it to dissipate like smoke.
It's a poison that instantly neutralizes power accumulated over a long time, and it's said that those who are first afflicted by it feel a despair similar to losing their dantian.
While it naturally recovers once the poison's effects wear off over time, the anxiety of not knowing when one might lose their internal energy again always remains.
Thus, Sanggongdok was inevitably fatal to martial artists who used internal energy to perform their techniques.
*That's why the martial world has long striven to completely eradicate Sanggongdok.*
*As a result, I thought even the method for making it had been lost.*
*In my past life, the Daesura Hyeolgyo revived Sanggongdok and used it to assassinate powerful masters who were difficult to deal with.*
But this was a time when even the Daesura Hyeolgyo shouldn't have possessed it.
Sanggongdok is being used in Manrisintu's hidden cave under these circumstances?
Could it be that Manrisintu and the Daesura Hyeolgyo are connected?
*There was no such connection in my past life.*
I need to confirm this.
“You know the location of the cave, don't you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Grandfather.”
Namgung Mucheon gave a short nod.
“We'll set out as soon as the sun rises.”
* * *
“Please be careful. I will guard this place well.”
As soon as day broke, the three of them set off for Manrisintu's hidden cave, seen off by the Black Dragon Captain.
Manrisintu's hidden cave was located in a secluded valley on Nak'an Peak, south of Mount Hua.
Due to the terrain, it was in a location that was not easily visible and could only be seen after going around a cliff, making it difficult to find.
“I was lost in thought and happened to stumble upon it by chance. At first, I thought it was an animal's den.”
The entrance to the cave was small enough to warrant such a thought.
An average adult would have to bend over to get inside.
*If Uncle Cheongsan had come, we would have had to widen the entrance.*
It was just as cramped for Namgung Mucheon, but fortunately, there seemed to be no need to break open the entrance.
“Once you pass the narrow entrance, there's a wide space. The poison powder was set to spray as soon as one entered the space. However, the trap was already triggered when I entered before, so you have nothing to worry about.”
He had visited the cave again when the boils weren't so severe to find out the components of the poison powder.
The mechanism didn't activate then either, so it should be fine, Nohun added.
“Just in case, I'll go in first. I'll call you after I've confirmed it's safe, so don't follow rashly.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Mucheon led the way. Seolhwa and Nohun followed behind him.
Upon entering the cave, they were enveloped in a darkness so profound they couldn't see a thing.
Light should have been able to seep in, but the complete blackness suggested a formation had been set up.
*A formation right from the entrance.*
This is serious.
How long had they walked like that? Namgung Mucheon, who had said he would call after checking for safety, gave no signal for a long time.
Finding this strange, Seolhwa took a few more steps forward.
The darkness gradually lifted, and after a moment, a wide space appeared, revealing Namgung Mucheon looking around.
“Grandfather…?”
Seolhwa deliberately called to him without stepping into the space. However, Namgung Mucheon seemed not to hear, merely glancing around.
Just as Seolhwa was about to call him again.
*Thump—*
“!”
She felt someone push her from behind.
Losing her balance for a moment, Seolhwa took a step into the space.
The instant she did, the narrow passage she had just been standing in vanished without a trace.
“Seolhwa.”
“…Grandfather.”
A moment later, Nohun appeared from another side.
But his expression looked somewhat urgent.
“Did you not hear me calling?”
“…Calling?”
“Something is wrong…! There was no formation on the way in before…!”
“What…?”
“I think we should go back…”
It was then.
*BOOM—!* With a loud noise, the inside of the cave rumbled, and a whitish powder rained down from all directions, engulfing the group.
