Chapter 379: Trapped in the Cave (1)

Even after going around the villages surrounding Mount Dabie to gather information, I could not find out that the warriors of the Dabie Sect had left in large numbers.

If they had moved secretly, that would have been one thing, but otherwise, I thought the Dabie Sect had not yet completed their preparations for war.

After scouting the villages around, I decided there was still time and headed toward the pond halfway up Mount Dabie, where I had gone before.

“This time, it’d be great if we found a wild ginseng.”

Mo Biyoung also remembered the place, since she had been here once.

“Since we’ve come all the way here, we might as well drop by.”

Climbing halfway up Mount Dabie, I searched for the pond.

Heading toward the cliff on the right side of the pond, I gasped.

“As I thought!”

The cliff, which had been intact before, was now cracked and partly collapsed.

I grinned broadly, delighted.

Mo Biyoung, finding it strange that I was happy about a collapsed cliff, asked in puzzlement.

“Is a collapsed cliff really something to be happy about?”

I smiled faintly and asked back.

“Don’t you smell it? The scent of wild ginseng is coming from there.”

“Wild ginseng grows in the cracks of rocks?”

She looked at me strangely, as if I were spouting nonsense.

Then, when I tried to enter the collapsed cliff, Mo Biyoung was startled.

“Young Sect Leader! What are you doing!”

“I’m going to take a look inside.”

“Are you crazy? If the collapsed cliff falls again, you’ll be crushed to death!”

“Don’t worry.”

As I stepped into the collapsed cave, Mo Biyoung, though worried, followed behind me.

Not long after the two of us entered, a figure appeared at the entrance.

“So you scouted the Dabie Sect and then entered here? I really can’t figure out your intentions.”

The woman speaking was holding a pipa.

It was Seon Ok, the Blood Sound Witch. She had barely escaped with her life because her master had sacrificed himself to hold the enemy back.

She could not return to the Holy Heaven Cult.

Instead, she had secretly trailed me, seeking the chance to exact revenge.

“Today’s finally the chance. To walk into your own grave…”

The Blood Sound Witch planned to bring down the collapsed cliff again and seal the entrance.

But curiosity got the better of her—she wanted to know why we had entered this place, so she followed us inside.

‘First, I need to find the weakest point. That’s where I’ll bring it down.’

Even though it was a collapsed cliff, the rocks were still thick and massive. They could not be easily destroyed.

So Seon Ok decided she would find and strike the weakest point.

“Why on earth did you come in here?”

Though I had insisted there was wild ginseng inside, Mo Biyoung still worried.

“Places like this often harbor spiritual things. There must be something.”

The cave, partly collapsed on one side, stretched deep inside.

We kept descending, without knowing where it would end.

“At this rate, we’ll come out the other side of the mountain.”

Though Mo Biyoung chattered nervously, I said nothing and pressed forward. Soon, darkness engulfed the passage, and I halted.

No more light reached us.

‘According to the herb gatherer, it should have been less than ten zhang down. But I feel like we’ve gone farther. If so, it must be somewhere around here.’

The Bell Spirit Stone Milk could only be formed where earth energy abounded and yin and yang were in balance.

‘I’ve been foolish. I should have blended my true qi with the natural energy to seek out the places with strong earth essence, instead of searching with just my eyes.’

I sat down to meditate, merging my inner qi with the natural energy to seek where earth essence was rich.

My qi diffused into the cave surroundings, blending with the flow. Suddenly, I felt a chill from one spot.

‘There.’

I walked toward where the energy led me.

It was a spot where water trickled down the wall and collected.

‘It looks like ordinary water. Such water couldn’t form Bell Spirit Stone Milk.’

I dipped a hand into it, tasting it, and felt disappointed. But then, as my hand touched the floor beneath the water, I froze.

Cold surged upward, numbing my hand and pressing down my qi.

Normally, when cold qi invaded the body, it disrupted inner qi. But this cold made my body feel warm.

‘There’s only one thing in the world with both qualities. It’s Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade.’

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade was so rare that it had appeared in Murim only a handful of times in history.

To find it hidden so deep underground—it was nearly impossible to break.

I remembered reading in an old text that water collected on Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade would take on spiritual essence and transform into a spiritual substance.

The water never rotted, cooled by the jade, and after centuries of absorbing its earth essence, became the legendary Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water.

I breathed out in awe.

‘So it wasn’t Bell Spirit Stone Milk—it was Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water!’

The sudden rise of the Dabie Sect’s power had not been because they acquired Bell Spirit Stone Milk, but because they had gained Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water.

If left alone, within a month the Dabie Sect would surely discover it and claim it.

If too many of their masters consumed it, even the Heavenly Central Sect could suffer great losses.

“This energy… it’s unusual. Could this really be Bell Spirit Stone Milk?”

I crouched down, pulling out a ceramic vial from my robes and scooped the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water.

Mo Biyoung remembered when I had told her to buy fine ceramic vials when purchasing supplies. She had been puzzled why I would need such expensive containers just for water.

I had even asked her to buy two.

She had wondered what I intended to use them for.

But I had never filled them with water—until now.

‘Could it be… Young Sect Leader already knew this spiritual substance was here, and that’s why he prepared the vials?’

The thought gave her chills.

‘But how could he possibly have known?’

She asked me, watching as I carefully collected every drop into the vials.

“Young Sect Leader, what exactly is this water?”

I replied with a satisfied expression.

“This is what they call Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water.”

“You mean… the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water said to be several times more potent than Bell Spirit Stone Milk?”

“That’s right.”

“You came here once before. And today, you actually found this spiritual treasure. That means… you already knew about it beforehand?”

I had already prepared an excuse.

“Of course I knew. You see, long ago I acquired a book. It described this region as rich in earth energy, where not only ginseng but many spiritual herbs grew.”

“By the way, you said it was a spiritual herb, so why did you prepare a ceramic vial? Wouldn’t it have been better to prepare a basket for herbs? It’s as if you already knew this would be here.”

Mo Biyoung was sharp and did not miss the flaw in my words.

“Haha, well, that’s because…”

Feeling a pang of guilt inside, I quickly headed toward the entrance.

“Let’s talk outside.”

I wanted to buy time to come up with an excuse, but suddenly, a foul aura drifted from behind.

“Who’s there!”

I sensed a presence other than Mo Biyoung and myself.

When I turned, I saw a woman holding a dagger to Mo Biyoung’s neck.

“Do you remember me?”

I cast her a cold glare.

“How could I not? Weren’t you the disciple who abandoned your master and fled?”

The Blood Sound Witch’s cheek twitched.

Though enraged by my taunting tone meant to provoke her into attacking, she vented her fury by cutting Mo Biyoung’s neck instead.

“You’d best not provoke me. Otherwise, this girl’s throat will be split open.”

A thin red line formed where the dagger touched, blood trickling down.

“What do you want?”

I asked, and the Blood Sound Witch nodded.

“That’s right. That’s how a bargain should begin. What I want is that ceramic vial.”

She had followed us into the cave and overheard everything.

The cave’s acoustics made it easy to hear our voices even from afar.

Too afraid to come close, she had stayed back—but thanks to that, she learned the vial contained Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water.

She knew she could not match me with her own strength.

Even her master had not been able to stand against me.

So she intended to use the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water to raise her cultivation and take revenge.

With it, she could gain decades of internal energy. Then, her sound arts would be enough to challenge me.

Mo Biyoung immediately spoke.

“Young Sect Leader, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me—just go.”

She believed that even if I handed over the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Water, the Blood Sound Witch would not spare her life.

Better to die than let me lose the chance to become an unmatched master because of her.

I smirked.

“Things like this can always be found again. But Instructor Mo’s life is irreplaceable and precious. Of course, her life is more important to me.”

The Blood Sound Witch was pleased that everything was going her way.

She also had another plan to stop me from chasing her.

In her bosom was another dagger coated in venom from a highly poisonous serpent. If struck, without immediate treatment, death would come within moments.

If she stabbed Mo Biyoung and fled, I would be forced to treat her and unable to pursue.

She had brought it when leaving the cult just in case, and now was the time to use it.

“Fine. I’ll give it. Just let her go.”

I spoke politely, careful not to provoke her.

“Throw me the vial first. Then, at the entrance, I’ll release this wench.”

“Then I’ll also hand you the vial at the entrance.”

What she really meant was to use her sound arts to collapse the cliff entrance once she got there.

Mo Biyoung blamed herself for being careless, unaware of someone approaching from behind.

That shame turned into stubborn resolve.

Even if she died, she wanted to take the Blood Sound Witch with her.

Though her blood vessels were sealed and she couldn’t circulate her qi properly, she secretly gathered it all into her right Yongcheon Acupoint.

She couldn’t use it to escape—but there was one thing she could do.

In the middle of the cave, a stone pillar supported the ceiling.

If that crumbled, a cascade of rocks would come down.

As I moved first toward the entrance, Mo Biyoung suddenly kicked the pillar.

Boom!

The stone supporting the ceiling shattered, and rocks came crashing down from above.

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