Heavenly Demon of Mount Hua

Chapter 22

—–CROW—– 

Cheon-hwi raised his head and looked up at the tall, elegant pavilion.

The Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion, a three-story building of considerable height, housed and organized the history and secret martial arts manuals of Mount Hua Sect.

Each floor was spacious and distinct, with higher floors containing more advanced manuals.

This was the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion.

And Cheon-hwi had already read most of the books within it.

‘But there are new martial arts manuals inside this pavilion?’

Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed.

He looked at the pavilion with a curious expression and pushed the door open.

Creak—

As he stepped inside.

“You’re here.”

Hyeon-cheong, who had been organizing books on a desk, greeted Cheon-hwi.

“Where are the manuals?”

Hyeon-cheong smiled as he looked at Cheon-hwi, who immediately got to the point.

“Just a moment.”

Hyeon-cheong put down the book, stood up from his chair, and gestured for him to follow.

“This way.”

Hyeon-cheong walked with his hands clasped behind his back.

Cheon-hwi followed, a puzzled look in his eyes.

‘He’s not going upstairs?’

Hyeon-cheong wasn’t heading for the stairs but walking towards another part of the first floor.

Step— Step—

Cheon-hwi followed Hyeon-cheong.

Creak— Creak—

He followed the creaking wooden floorboards deeper into the pavilion.

After a while.

Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed as he followed Hyeon-cheong, who was striding towards the western wall.

‘That place is…’

Hyeon-cheong, reaching the wall, stopped and carefully scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.

“Here it is.”

Cheon-hwi’s eyes sharpened as he looked around, shaking his head.

The area, surrounded by bookshelves, was a place he had visited a long time ago. And it was a place that had raised his suspicions back then.

Sweep—

He glanced down.

He had felt a hollowness beneath his feet whenever he walked around the first floor of the library.

‘So there was something there after all.’

As Cheon-hwi looked at the floor with interest, stroking his chin.

Sweep—

Hyeon-cheong bent down.

He then fumbled with the wooden floorboards for a moment and moved them as if digging.

At that moment.

Click—

A strange sound echoed.

Hyeon-cheong straightened up and dusted off his hands.

“Pulling this chain will activate the Qi Formation, so keep that in mind.”

As Hyeon-cheong pointed to an iron chain hidden between the floorboards.

Rumble—

An ominous sound echoed as the bookshelf opposite them moved sideways.

A dark opening appeared.

Cheon-hwi stared at the gaping hole and then looked at Hyeon-cheong.

He then smiled and said,

“Interesting.”

Hyeon-cheong smiled gently at Cheon-hwi’s intrigued expression.

“Be careful where you step when you go down.”

Hyeon-cheong gave Cheon-hwi a final warning and entered the opening.

He was swallowed by the darkness.

‘A Qi Formation in a place like this…’

The corners of Cheon-hwi’s mouth curled upwards.

Qi Formations were usually considered sorcery and avoided by Taoist sects.

Yet, Mount Hua Sect, a Taoist sect, had implemented a Qi Formation…

‘That means there’s something important inside. There might be even better martial arts manuals than I expected.’

Cheon-hwi’s eyes gleamed.

A moment later, he stepped into the opening.

As he entered, he felt something beneath his feet.

He channeled his internal energy into his eyes to dispel the darkness.

He saw the passageway revealed by his improved vision, and his interest grew even stronger.

The stairs and passageway leading downwards were clean, as if recently constructed.

‘This is quite elaborate.’

“We’ll be there soon.”

Cheon-hwi’s heart pounded with anticipation as he hurried down the dark stairs after hearing Hyeon-cheong’s voice.

As he descended the pitch-black stairs, filled with anticipation.

Flash!

A blinding light engulfed him.

Cheon-hwi narrowed his eyes against the intense light that filled his vision and looked ahead.

‘A cavern…?’

There was a massive underground cavern.

Countless luminous pearls embedded in the walls and ceiling of the cavern emitted a bright light.

‘To think it was this big.’

As he looked around the cavern, which was even larger than he had anticipated.

“This is the Hidden Fragrance Secret Cave, a place known only to the Sect Leader and a few elders within our sect.”

Hyeon-cheong, who had arrived first and was waiting for him, explained.

“It’s quite a splendid secret cave.”

Cheon-hwi looked around in admiration.

It was an extraordinary place at first glance.

Countless luminous pearls illuminating the cave.

And thick, deeply carved marks on the walls surrounding the cave, each containing an astonishing energy.

‘These weren’t carved by one person.’

Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed as he examined the marks on the walls.

‘Inscriptions…?’

Upon closer inspection, the seemingly random marks on the walls turned out to be inscriptions.

“The martial arts manuals I mentioned last night are those.”

“Where?”

Cheon-hwi turned his head swiftly.

He then spotted a stone desk in one corner of the cavern.

And old books on top of it.

Step— Step—

Cheon-hwi stood before the books.

The old books looked so fragile that they might tear if handled carelessly, as if they had been written long ago.

Cheon-hwi frowned.

‘Most of them are torn and difficult to decipher.’

As he was staring at the damaged books, Hyeon-cheong approached and explained,

“These are manuals containing the early martial arts of our sect, or manuals that are completely unlearnable because too many of their mnemonic verses have been lost.”

‘That’s why the books are in such bad shape, and they’re kept separately in this Hidden Fragrance Secret Cave instead of the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion.’

His explanation made sense of the underground cavern and the separate storage of the books.

Practicing martial arts with missing verses was dangerous.

Not only were they unlearnable, but they could also lead to Qi Deviation and madness.

‘Still, they’re too damaged.’

Cheon-hwi’s face crumpled as he looked at the completely ruined books.

As he casually moved a few of the books aside.

‘This is…’

His hand stopped.

The half-torn cover of a manual caught his eye.

Most of the characters on the cover were faded, but the title was exceptionally clear.

“…Jade… Ring…”

As Cheon-hwi read the characters haltingly.

“It’s the original Jade Ring Cat Steps.”

Hyeon-cheong interjected from beside him.

He saw Cheon-hwi’s surprise at the Jade Ring Cat Steps and was reminded of himself.

When he had first arrived here with the previous Martial Arts Instructor, the first book he had reached for was this very manual.

Moreover, hadn’t Cheon-hwi just taught it to Seol-ran?

“As you know, there’s a Jade Ring Cat Steps manual on the third floor of the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion, but it’s a reinterpretation based on this original…”

Ignoring Hyeon-cheong’s rambling, Cheon-hwi opened the Jade Ring Cat Steps manual.

‘This is the same Jade Ring Cat Steps I know.’

Cheon-hwi’s eyes sharpened as he read the verses, which were similar yet slightly different from the ones in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion.

‘Was the Jade Ring Cat Steps in the pavilion a reinterpretation based on this?’

Cheon-hwi’s mind raced.

The verses, the insights, and the authenticity.

He knew more about the Jade Ring Cat Steps than anyone else in the current Mount Hua Sect and quickly read through the manual.

“…The current Jade Ring Cat Steps was restored by borrowing verses from other footwork techniques…”

Hyeon-cheong, who had been explaining, finally noticed Cheon-hwi’s engrossed state and stopped talking.

‘Huh, amazing.  Such concentration, completely absorbed in the manual…’

He smiled in admiration.

He then turned around.

“I’ll come back later.”

Talking to Cheon-hwi was important, but it was more important that the existence of the Hidden Fragrance Secret Cave remained a secret.

‘This place is the essence of Mount Hua Sect…’

Even if the other manuals of Mount Hua Sect were stolen, the ones in here couldn’t be lost.

They were the roots of Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts.

‘Fortunately, Cheon-hwi seems interested in this place, so he’ll help me restore the manuals.’

Hyeon-cheong smiled gently and sighed in relief as he looked at Cheon-hwi, who was frantically flipping through the pages.

It had been even more successful than he had anticipated.

He turned around and walked back up the stairs.

Step— Step—

A moment after Hyeon-cheong left, Cheon-hwi frowned.

“What?  This is it?”

He was flustered that the verses ended abruptly, and he frowned, flipping through the pages and checking the back cover.

But there were no more verses.

“That’s why the Jade Ring Cat Steps in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion was restored so poorly.”

Cheon-hwi criticized sharply.

Of course, his criticism wasn’t directed at the Taoist who had restored it, but at the manual itself.

The original Jade Ring Cat Steps had the same verses as the one he knew, but it only contained the first half, with most of the latter half torn out.

The most crucial part, the explanation and verses of the Eight Trigrams, was missing.

It was inevitable that it became a different martial art.

“Still, Mount Hua Sect is lucky. If I hadn’t been reincarnated as a Mount Hua disciple, restoring the Jade Ring Cat Steps would have been impossible.”

Cheon-hwi puffed out his chest and spoke as if it were a matter of course.

And his confidence was perhaps justified.

He possessed unparalleled martial arts knowledge.

Moreover, having seen the old woman execute the Jade Ring Cat Steps, restoring the complete technique was easier than turning his hand.

It was a stroke of luck for Mount Hua Sect.

‘I don’t need to read this anymore.’

Having confirmed that the manual in his hand was the Jade Ring Cat Steps, he tossed it aside.

He then looked at the other manuals.

The Jade Ring Cat Steps was one of the best footwork techniques he knew.

‘If a technique like the Jade Ring Cat Steps is here, the others must be similar.’

Cheon-hwi’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

He looked at the worn and tattered books with interest, feeling a strong surge of curiosity for the first time in a while.

What kind of manuals were they that they were kept separately in this underground space?

“Let’s read them then.”

He reached out and picked up a manual, opening it.

After about an hour of devouring the manuals.

“…This is quite a decent finger technique.”

Cheon-hwi smiled in satisfaction.

The manual in his hand was in terrible condition, with almost illegible verses, but he could still tell that it was a transcendent martial art.

“It’s similar to the Soul Extinguishing Finger, but slightly different. Is this an Orthodox Sect finger technique?”

Cheon-hwi muttered, stroking his chin, and looked at the manual again.

Although there were some torn and illegible verses, they weren’t a major obstacle for him.

Like this.

Cheon-hwi extended his right index finger and channeled his internal energy according to the verses in the manual.

Thud!

A flash pierced through the wall of the Hidden Fragrance Secret Cave.

“…Just this much?”

Cheon-hwi’s expression showed dissatisfaction.

Only a small hole had been created in the wall of the Hidden Fragrance Secret Cave, a far cry from the power described in the manual.

“It’ll be different once I restore the torn verses.”

Cheon-hwi’s eyes gleamed with competitive spirit.

He then counted the number of manuals in front of him and nodded.

“…Fourteen.”

He muttered the number of manuals to be restored, and his eyebrows curved upwards.

“Hmm, two years should be enough.”

Cheon-hwi said confidently with a smile.

But he didn’t know.

That it would take him five years just to restore these fourteen manuals.

—–CROW—– 

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