Chapter 68: The Tomb of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden (5)

I, too, was startled by Cheon Yura’s words.

‘What’s even scarier is that that wasn’t sarcasm—it was a genuine compliment.’

Cheon Yura’s eyes, after witnessing Baek Sang-ah’s fiery battle, had become noticeably gentler.

“Join the Cult? Are you trying to ruin my family or something?”

“Really? I thought your aggressive nature would make you a good fit. That’s a shame.”

Cheon Yura didn’t press further and simply nodded.

That sight triggered a strange thought in me.

‘Didn’t they say the Namcheon Baek Clan is in a dangerous situation right now?’

If she really joined the main sect, it could very well deliver the final blow to that situation.

After all, a defector emerging from the clan’s direct line would be fatal.

Of course, there’s no way that would ever actually happen—just a fleeting thought.

“Phew! But seriously, what was that centipede doing here?”

“Indeed. For a trap, it seemed rather weak.”

An enormous centipede suddenly appearing in an enclosed space. It was certainly threatening, but nothing someone from the Murim couldn’t handle.

‘I do recall Bang Manhu mentioning some traps where beasts or monsters might appear…’

But those were designed to work in conjunction with other mechanisms to maximize lethality—they never appeared alone like this.

Did the creator of this passage have some kind of intent?

“Let’s just keep going for now.”

With the current clues, we couldn’t piece together the whole picture.

We continued forward, studying the murals.

After the twins—believed to be Na Gye, the founders of the Sun and Moon Sect—sealed the monsters, the murals depicted stories of humans who followed them.

“This looks like it’s depicting the history of the Sun and Moon Sect.”

The murals, presumed to illustrate the Sun and Moon Sect’s history, depicted a rather complex web of causality.

It would take considerable time to infer each and every detail.

While fascinating as a historical artifact, we decided to skim over the less important parts.

And at the end of the mural—

More monsters appeared.

‘They just keep popping out, huh?’

They emerged like cockroaches—so persistent it was almost comical.

But the ones depicted this time were different from the monsters we had seen up until now.

“Humans?”

These were half-human, half-monster—hybrid creatures that looked like some form of chimera.

Unlike previous monsters, who had rampaged directly through the human world, these hybrids quietly emerged from the darkness, slowly reaching out to humans.

‘So they changed their strategy.’

Makes sense. If they kept getting blocked, and they had even a bit of intelligence, they’d try a different approach.

“Subterfuge.”

Someone muttered, describing the contents of the mural.

These monsters, based on human forms, bided their time underground and worked in the shadows.

And their method was quite effective.

Many humans succumbed to their whispers and manipulations, turning against each other.

Those presumed to be from the Sun and Moon Sect stepped forward to quell the situation, but instead, the humans—incited by the monsters—attacked the Sun and Moon Sect, making things worse.

Many members of the Sun and Moon Sect scattered, and it looked as though the sect would soon perish.

As the world burned once again and chaos reigned—

At the temple where the Sun and Moon Sect had been founded—

Something cloaked in black appeared.

“……”

“……”

Everyone fell silent and exchanged glances.

That was where the mural ended.

“There’s nothing more beyond this point.”

“Hm…”

A human figure wreathed in black light.

We could more or less guess what that figure represented.

“One thing’s for sure.”

Cheon Yura looked around and said,

“This tomb was not built by Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden.”

At her words, Bang Manhu also nodded.

“Yes, and the history of these ruins likely goes back far beyond three or four hundred years.”

“What do you mean?”

Only Baek Sang-ah, who was the sole outsider here, wore a confused expression.

Bang Manhu pointed to a section of the mural with his finger.

“If my guess is correct, that black figure is a depiction of the First Heavenly Demon.”

“T-The First Heavenly Demon?! The greatest demonic figure in history?!”

At the word “demonic,” all eyes in the room turned to Baek Sang-ah. She was the only orthodox faction member here.

She immediately shrank back.

“Our Nine Moons Blade Hall is technically a splinter group from the Sun and Moon Sect. We share some historical ties with the Heavenly Demon Cult. That’s how I can roughly follow the flow of this mural.”

There was a subtle pride in Bang Manhu’s voice.

Well, I suppose being from a sect with a thousand-year history is something to be proud of regardless of current strength.

“You mean your ancestors ran away when the Sun and Moon Sect was—urk!”

Cheon Yura was about to jab at a sore spot when Sa Biyeon quickly intervened to stop her.

Bang Manhu pretended not to hear and continued.

“Ahem! There are no records here of what happened after the First Heavenly Demon appeared.”

The First Heavenly Demon emerged at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties era—a time when the world was still shrouded in turmoil.

“By contrast, Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden was active about four hundred years ago. Back then, this region was under the Western Xia and was relatively stable.”

“If these ruins were truly from four hundred years ago, then they would definitely have records of what happened after that.”

“Exactly.”

Cheon Yura, now released from Sa Biyeon’s grasp, spoke again with a slightly displeased look.

“There’s still one question. If these ruins are tied to the Cult, how come I—its Young Cult Leader—have never even heard of this place?”

“……”

No one had an answer for that.

Because no one knew.

“I suppose we’ll find out if we go inside.”

Bang Manhu pointed further in.

“That’s…”

Another door.

But unlike before, this one emanated a chilling, eerie aura.

‘That’s… a Cold-Iron Door!’

It looked almost exactly like the one I’d seen before!

The only difference was that this one had no sword path engraved upon it, and each of its massive panels had a giant orb embedded in it.

“T-That, that thing! Don’t tell me it’s solid Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?!”

“And those orbs in the door… those are Qi-Absorbing Gems!”

“H-How much is all that worth?!”

Many people widened their eyes in shock.

Especially Bang Manhu, who was practically drooling, and even Sa Biyeon, despite being a direct descendant of one of the Six Great Demonic Clans, had a look of intense greed clouding her expression.

‘Looks like the Bang Manhu from my past life never discovered this place.’

With that amount of Cold Iron, it far exceeded the value of any treasure Bang Manhu would come to obtain from this ruin in the future.

More than anything, if that much Cold Iron made it into circulation, neither I nor the noble houses would’ve failed to notice it.

“Silence, all of you.”

Cheon Yura’s single command instantly quieted the uproar.

“It seems what lies beyond that is the end of this ruin. Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s tomb should be within. Wouldn’t you agree, Jin Yeomyung?”

“Most likely, yes.”

“From now on, whoever shows greed toward anything that appears in this ruin, regardless of reason, will be executed.”

“……!”

“I will personally oversee the fair division of the spoils, so do not lose yourselves over mere wealth. Understood?”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader!”

Everyone responded with a booming voice. Everyone except for one.

Bang Manhu darted a desperate sideways glance at me. He was probably panicking that our agreed 50-50 split was going to be rendered void.

When I gave him a thumbs-up as if to say “Don’t worry,” he looked a bit relieved, but… well.

‘Sorry, Bang Manhu. Even I can’t stop her.’

Whether he vents his frustration later or not, that’s a matter for after all this is over.

“So, we just need to inject internal energy into these two sides?”

“That’s right. But given the size of those Qi-Absorbing Gems, it will likely require a considerable amount of energy.”

“Ah, wait.”

“Young Cult Leader, allow us to handle this.”

Just as I was about to step forward, recalling my past experiences, two elite masters from the Law Enforcement Hall suddenly shot ahead.

“In terms of internal energy reserves, we’re confident.”

“Hmph, very well.”

Cheon Yura nodded in approval.

‘…Damn.’

If my guess was correct, those Qi-Absorbing Gems were likely similar to the ones embedded in the Cold-Iron Door of the main sect—they only accepted a specific kind of internal energy.

“Hmph!”

As the two Law Enforcement martial artists activated their explosive internal power, a tremendous gust of wind blasted out from them.

But shortly after—

“W-Wait! This—!”

“My internal energy… it’s coming back!”

“No! I can’t control it!”

Thud!

The two who had confidently stepped forward were immediately flung back, unable to control the energy that the Qi-Absorbing Gems spat back at them.

Cheon Yura’s face showed visible surprise as even the Law Enforcement masters—people of considerable strength—were overwhelmed by mere enchanted artifacts.

“Lord of the Nine Moons Blade Hall, what exactly is happening here?”

“Uh, that, well…”

Bang Manhu broke into a cold sweat as he examined the gems. Only after casting a few detection spells did he finally identify the conditions placed on them.

“Each of the Qi-Absorbing Gems has a specific condition applied.”

“A condition?”

Bang Manhu swallowed and replied.

“Yes. Each gem is imbued with sorcery equivalent to that of a treasured artifact or relic. If the condition isn’t met, the gem expels the Qi violently, as you just saw.”

“Spare me the chatter and get to the point.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am! The left orb requires ‘the most destructive demonic energy,’ while the right orb requires ‘the purest demonic energy.’ Only then will the door open.”

“The most destructive and the purest demonic energy? What does that even mean?”

“S-Sorry. I can only discern the conditions based on the enchantments. I don’t know the exact martial cultivation techniques needed…”

“Hmph!”

It was certainly asking too much to expect exact answers.

Even within the Cult, there were at least several hundred internal cultivation techniques, and if you added all the fringe ones, the number easily went into the thousands.

“At the very least, I know what the most destructive demonic energy is.”

“Young Cult Leader?”

Cheon Yura strode boldly toward the left side of the door.

Without hesitation, she began injecting her internal energy into the Qi-Absorbing Gem.

‘Heavenly Demonic Divine Art!’

The most destructive demonic technique in all of existence—past or present, heaven or earth.

There was no martial technique more destructive than the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art.

And thankfully, the gem did not reject her energy like before, but accepted it calmly.

Zzzzzzzz…

The left gem turned black and emitted a soft glow.

“Of course!”

“As expected of the Young Cult Leader!”

Cheers erupted from those around her at her success.

She then looked at the gem embedded in the right side of the door and slightly furrowed her brow.

“Now I’m really curious… What in the world is the ‘purest demonic energy’ supposed to be?”

Just to test, she tried injecting her internal energy from the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art again.

Thunk!

Unfortunately, the right-side gem rejected her energy.

“There exists an internal technique with demonic energy purer than the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art?”

The Law Enforcement Hall masters began to show uneasy expressions at her muttering.

This was something that could potentially escalate into a serious issue.

After all, it could damage the prestige associated with the names of the Cheon Clan and the Heavenly Demon.

“I-I’ll give it a try!”

Bang Manhu stepped forward with confidence.

“If nothing else, I take pride in the Nine Moons Blade Hall’s ability to cultivate pure demonic energy—we won’t lose to the Heavenly Demon Cult in that regard!”

It was a statement that might sound arrogant or disrespectful in any other context, but the Nine Moons Blade Hall had the right to say such things.

Even I had considered using their techniques to refine the murky energy of my subordinates.

Their secret techniques, honed over a thousand years, were not to be taken lightly.

“Huuaaaah!”

Bang Manhu confidently began injecting his internal energy into the right-side Qi-Absorbing Gem.

BOOM!

“Gyaaaaah!”

Due to the intense rebound from the injection, he let out a painful scream as he was sent flying far into the distance.

“……”

“……”

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