This time, too, there was a stone pedestal.
Three of them.
Something rested atop each pedestal.
The first pedestal held a bottle.
A jade bottle.
Its contents could not be seen.
The second pedestal held a sword.
A short sword.
Its blade was dark crimson.
A chilling energy flowed from it.
The third pedestal held a book.
Another book.
Namgung Wonyang approached and read the cover.
Blood God Return Art.
“...Another demonic art.”
Namgung Wonyang sighed.
“Is this entire secret realm filled with demonic arts?”
“They're relics of sects destroyed during the Thousand-Year Chaos.”
Chief Seong spoke.
“Many of the sects annihilated in that era were demonic sects. Naturally, there would be many demonic arts.”
“Then are there no righteous martial arts?”
“There are many. But I doubt they are here.”
Ju Soa nodded and approached the second pedestal.
She examined the sword.
“This is a weapon. Not a demonic art.”
“Do not touch it.”
Chief Seong stopped her.
“Touching it carelessly could be dangerous. Weapons inside a secret realm may have restrictions placed on them.”
“Restrictions?”
“Something like a protective mechanism. If you tamper with it carelessly, it activates.”
Ju Soa withdrew her hand.
“What about the jade bottle?”
Namgung Wonyang approached the first pedestal.
She examined it carefully.
She did not touch it.
“...I think it's medicine.”
“Medicine?”
“I think there are spiritual pills inside the jade bottle. I can smell it. Medicinal herbs.”
Ju Soa cut in.
“Since most of what we've found has been demonic arts, couldn't that be medicine that raises blood energy?”
It made sense.
It was reasonable as well.
Chief Seong spoke.
“Since it was placed alongside demonic arts, it is likely a spiritual pill meant to assist in cultivating them.”
“Then it's useless to us.”
Namgung Wonyang shook her head and interjected.
“Not necessarily.”
“Hm?”
“If it's medicine that raises blood energy, it can also be used to regulate blood energy, depending on how it's applied.”
“How?”
“If the flow of energy is operated in reverse, poison becomes medicine, and medicine becomes poison. That's basic medicine.”
Chief Seong looked at Namgung Wonyang.
“You know medicine as well?”
“I learned the basics.”
After saying that, Namgung Wonyang brought her nose closer to the medicine bottle.
“...A bitter scent. And a sweet scent. This is...”
She thought for a moment.
She had definitely smelled this before.
This scent.
Where had she...
Ah.
A bolt of realization struck her mind.
“This... this is that.”
“That?”
“Stone Milk of the Empty Blue.”
At those words, Chief Seong and Ju Soa widened their eyes.
“It smells very similar to the one my lord gave me before. Back then, that one was somewhat faint, but this...”
“This?”
“...It's concentrated. Terribly so.”
There was certainly some mechanism placed on the medicine bottle.
An immense amount of time must have passed, after all.
Yet the scent was still leaking out through it.
There was nothing more to say.
This would be a great help even to Unhwi.
That much was certain.
What the three of them needed most had appeared before them.
Unhwi had told them not to become greedy, but this was different.
This was worth being greedy for.
No.
It was right to be greedy for this.
“...I'll pick this up.”
At Namgung Wonyang's words, Chief Seong and Ju Soa briefly looked at each other.
They were thinking the same thing.
Whatever else they left behind, this had to be taken.
Since something lying there so openly was highly likely to be a trap, their next action was only natural.
The two silently drew up their energy, ready to react to whatever might appear.
Namgung Wonyang carefully picked up the jade bottle.
Then she stayed still.
Nothing happened.
It seemed there was no restriction.
“...I'll take this. It may help my lord recover.”
Chief Seong nodded.
“Take only that, and let us leave the rest behind.”
The three were about to leave the chamber.
Then footsteps sounded.
Many of them.
The three turned toward the entrance.
A group was entering.
Ten people.
Their clothes were uniform.
A plum blossom pattern was embroidered on their chests.
Mount Hua.
At their head stood that man.
The Heaven-Human realm master they had seen outside.
A young man.
Neat in appearance.
But his gaze was sharp.
The man looked around the chamber.
He saw the stone pedestals.
He saw the sword.
He saw the book.
And he saw the jade bottle in Namgung Wonyang's hand.
He spoke.
“...You already took it.”
His voice was low.
Namgung Wonyang did not hide the jade bottle behind her back.
Hiding it would only invite suspicion.
She held it openly.
“We arrived first. According to the laws of the secret realm, first come, first served, is it not?”
“First come, first served.”
The man gave a faint laugh.
“Indeed. The laws of a secret realm are first come, first served.”
He stepped closer.
“But are the laws of the martial world not somewhat different?”
“How are they different?”
“The strong take what they want.”
Silence settled.
Chief Seong stepped forward.
Namgung Wonyang raised a hand and stopped him.
Chief Seong flinched to a halt.
Namgung Wonyang looked at the man.
“If you are impersonating the destroyed Mount Hua Sect, that must mean you came into this secret realm fully intending to spill blood.”
The man smiled faintly.
“Something like that.”
“May I ask your name?”
“My name?”
The man gave a short laugh and answered briefly.
“Calling me First Man will do. Anything more is bothersome.”
First Man.
It was almost certainly not his real name.
If it was, then he ought to resent his parents.
Namgung Wonyang answered just as briefly.
“Then please call me First Woman.”
“Are you trying to play word games?”
“Rather than word games, why not consider it clarifying our positions?”
“...Positions?”
“We only need this jade bottle. You may take the other two.”
First Man let out a hollow laugh.
“Why should we?”
“Because otherwise, we will draw our swords and respond.”
“If you do, you'll die. Miserably, at that.”
“We won't be the only three who die.”
“...”
“And I have a decent eye and some experience, so I can say this with confidence. I don't know about the others, but you, First Man, will definitely die.”
“Huh... First Woman, was it?”
“Yes.”
“You speak quite boldly. Do you know who I am?”
“It doesn't matter who you are. On our side, there is someone who can kill anyone, no matter who they may be, if he is prepared to die with them.”
Naturally, that someone was Chief Seong.
First Man's gaze moved toward Chief Seong.
Chief Seong silently drew the daggers at his waist.
First Man quietly stared at him, then let out a soft laugh.
“Now I see. You were on the same side as us.”
“...”
“You clearly changed your face with disguise arts... and now you want each side to take only what it wants and each yield a step?”
“Something like that.”
“We take ‘three,’ and you take ‘one’?”
With that, she was certain.
They had taken the Blood Demon Heart Scripture from earlier.
Namgung Wonyang answered.
“Yes.”
First Man thought for a moment and quickly calculated in his head.
If they fought, there would certainly be losses.
No matter how superior their numbers were, nothing was more precious than one's own life.
Strictly speaking, they had come prepared to massacre everyone.
But if they could avoid a fight by yielding a single item...
That was clearly a profitable bargain.
Most importantly, fighting would take time.
If time passed, other martial artists would arrive.
Wasting time in a secret realm was foolish.
“...How dull.”
First Man sighed.
“You're rather capable.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It is. We have no intention of risking our lives over one jade bottle either. Fine. Take it.”
“A wise decision.”
“But.”
First Man pointed at Namgung Wonyang.
“First Woman, was it?”
“Yes.”
“I'll consider this a debt.”
“A debt?”
“Next time we meet, I will not yield. Whether inside this secret realm or outside it.”
Namgung Wonyang gave a faint smile.
“The same goes for us. The next time we meet, there will be no yielding. At that time, you should be prepared to lose everyone.”
A strange smile appeared at the corner of First Man's mouth.
This bold woman.
The more they spoke, the more he liked her.
“I'll remember you.”
First Man turned toward another branching path.
“Let's go.”
His companions followed behind him.
Their footsteps receded.
Then vanished.
“...Whew.”
Ju Soa exhaled.
“I thought my heart was going to drop. Hey, you're pretty good.”
“Thank you.”
“You seem different from when we were in Yangryeong. I'm not sure how, though. Has your vessel grown wider?”
“Probably.”
Ju Soa smiled faintly.
Chief Seong patted her shoulder lightly, then spoke to Namgung Wonyang.
“You handled that well. And your judgment was good.”
“...I'm relieved.”
Namgung Wonyang tucked the jade bottle into her clothes.
Her hands were trembling.
Truthfully, she had been afraid.
If they had refused to yield, they would have had to fight.
Even if they survived, they might not have been able to protect the jade bottle intact.
For Namgung Wonyang, it had been a gamble.
Their objectives differed from that group's,
but both sides were hiding their identities.
In that case, she believed they would not risk their lives in an unnecessary battle.
Her calculation had proven correct.
Namgung Wonyang took a deep breath and spoke.
“Let's go. Deeper.”
The group began moving again.
The third passage grew deeper still,
and even darker.
The glow of the luminous stones gradually faded.
The ground beneath their feet was becoming difficult to see.
Now Chief Seong took the lead.
He walked while examining the path ahead with his senses.
After some time,
the smell changed.
Blood.
The thick smell of blood.
Chief Seong raised a hand.
“Stop.”
The three halted.
A wide space was visible ahead.
The fourth chamber.
But this time, it was different.
There were corpses inside.
Two.
Three.
Five...
Seven corpses.
Blood pooled across the floor.
It had not yet dried.
They had not been dead for long.
Ju Soa spoke.
“...Recent. Probably less than an hour ago. The blood hasn't dried yet.”
Chief Seong examined the corpses.
The wounds varied.
Some had been cut by swords.
Some had been hacked by blades.
Some had been struck by palm techniques.
They had killed one another.
Namgung Wonyang looked around the chamber.
There was a stone pedestal.
One.
It was empty.
Whatever had rested there was gone.
Only a °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° mark remained in the dust.
The outline was the size of a book.
“Someone took it.”
Namgung Wonyang spoke.
“They fought over whatever was here. And the survivor took it.”
There were seven corpses.
Then how many had survived?
Chief Seong examined the bloodstains on the floor.
There were footprints.
Footprints leading away through the blood.
One set.
“One person.”
“One person killed seven people?”
“No. They killed one another, and one person survived at the end.”
Chief Seong rose.
“Let's go. There's no need to linger here.”
The three walked past the corpses.
Namgung Wonyang looked down at them.
Their faces were twisted.
Rage.
Greed.
Terror.
Faces that had resented one another even in the moment of death.
A place where people died over treasure.
A place where greed stole lives.
Unhwi had said,
Do not become greedy.
Only now did she truly feel the weight of those words.
The fifth chamber.
The sixth chamber.
The farther they went, the more corpses appeared.
Some chambers held only corpses, with no treasure.
Some held treasures, but only demonic arts.
The three did not lay a hand on the demonic arts.
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