Chapter 50
Looking down at the White-haired Blade Elder, who had been driven into a corner, Jaseong fell into brief contemplation.
If his suspicions about the White-haired Blade Elder turned out to be a misunderstanding,
if the White-haired Blade Elder was truly the chivalrous protector of the Wandering Warrior Village as rumored, it was only right for him to help.
However, even in the opposite case, he still had to descend into the cave beneath the cliff.
'... The fifth Heaven's Mandate is to eliminate Middle Evil.
Judging by how he's currently fighting, that's probably unlikely, but if the White-haired Blade Elder has ties to Three Souls Hall...
then he would also count as the Middle Evil the Celestial Realm wishes to eradicate.
If that's the case, I'll have to cut him down along with the leaders of Three Souls Hall inside that cave.'
When he saw the White-haired Blade Elder fighting the black-clothed man, aside from his extraordinary lightness skill, the rest of his martial arts didn't seem impressive.
'He seems to be at a level I can easily defeat,' Jaseong judged.
That is, if he activated the Celestial Gate Opening Art.
Thus, the next moment, Jaseong steeled his resolve.
"Let's go down."
"Yes, great hero."
Led by Jaseong, Lee Rin, and Gu Janghu grabbed the rope and swiftly descended the cliff.
With their superior martial arts, they reached the cave entrance midway down the cliff in no time.
But when they reached the cave entrance, an unexpected scene unfolded.
"... Great hero. The White-haired Blade Elder has already subdued the black-clothed man."
Lee Rin murmured with wide eyes.
As she said, the White-haired Blade Elder was pok! pok! sealing the black-clothed man's pressure points.
Because of this, the black-clothed man had been completely subdued.
There was no longer any need for Jaseong's group to come down to help.
[Leader. There's something else strange. Wasn't the leader of Three Souls Hall supposed to be three people? But in this cave, we've only found this one subdued black-clothed man.]
Gu Janghu also spoke through voice transmission with a puzzled expression.
"... White-haired Blade Elder, what is going on here?"
Jaseong asked quietly.
Unnoticed, he had already drawn his sword.
Around him, whoosh! an intense surge of energy swept out.
He had activated the Celestial Gate Opening Art in case of emergency.
At that moment, the White-haired Blade Elder spoke calmly.
"I apologize."
"?"
"I must personally kill all three leaders of Three Souls Hall."
"... What do you mean?"
"I have my reasons. It is difficult to explain to you..."
Just then, Gu Janghu suddenly extended his hand from his sleeve and papapap! shot poison needles and hidden weapons.
It was a surprise attack, difficult to avoid even if anticipated.
But the White-haired Blade Elder moved like lightning, evading all the projectiles.
Then, shuaak! he charged straight at Jaseong.
'Heaven Evading Flash Sword Eighth Move, Heaven Evading Reversal Art.'
Thinking the White-haired Blade Elder was launching an attack, Jaseong reflexively thrust his sword.
Among the twelve techniques of the Heaven Evading Flash Sword, this was a defensive move that extended the blade like lightning to directly respond to an opponent's attack.
But at that instant, the White-haired Blade Elder's body shifted directions, sliding away like water.
He slipped right between Lee Rin and Jaseong.
Contrary to expectations, the White-haired Blade Elder fled instead of fighting them.
And what happened next was even more astonishing.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Grabbing no ropes, the White-haired Blade Elder soared up the cliff using only his mastery of lightness skill.
'That level of lightness skill is unbelievable...! Was he hiding his true ability all along?!'
Jaseong tried to grab the rope above the cave entrance and follow the White-haired Blade Elder up the cliff.
But the White-haired Blade Elder swung his sword and cut the rope.
"What are you doing?!"
Jaseong shouted.
"I know well that your martial arts are astounding for your age. But if you can't exit this cave without a rope, you won't be able to catch Three Souls Hall anyway."
"What?"
"They possess incredible lightness skill. Enough to ascend this cliff without a rope."
"......!"
"So even if you subdue them, they can easily escape from you."
"You can't know that without trying!"
"I will subdue the Three Souls Hall bastards myself and come back to get you out. Just wait a little."
Now standing at the very top of the cliff, the White-haired Blade Elder called down to them.
Jaseong's group was left utterly dumbfounded.
They had never expected such a situation.
Why was the White-haired Blade Elder insisting on facing the three leaders of Three Souls Hall alone?
What history did he have with them?
And above all, just what was he, to be able to scale that perilous cliff so effortlessly?
* * *
"Mm! Mm!"
It was at that moment.
Someone inside the cave began to struggle and make muffled noises.
It was the black-clothed individual who had exuded murderous intent and rushed at the White-haired Blade Elder earlier.
She had had even her dumb points sealed and couldn't speak or move.
'Who is this black-clothed person now?'
One thing was certain—she wasn't one of Three Souls Hall's three leaders.
Then who could she be, that she would fight the White-haired Blade Elder and end up imprisoned in this cave?
Jaseong approached the pressure-pointed black-clothed individual and removed the face covering.
And at that moment,
"......?"
A surprising sight lay before him.
The black-clothed individual was a middle-aged woman appearing to be in her mid-forties.
The area beneath her eyes was darkened, and her lips tinged blue.
Seeing this unique impression, Jaseong recalled Hyang-I's information.
'Could this woman be... Dark Needle Venom Empress, one of the four experts of the Wandering Warrior Village?'
Dark Needle Venom Empress was known as the woman second only to the White-haired Blade Elder in strength within the Wandering Warrior Village.
She wielded various hidden weapons at will, and was especially notorious for her terrifying attacks with the Twelve Celestial Needles.
But why was Dark Needle Venom Empress here, in this cave?
To learn more, Jaseong unlocked her pressure point.
And Dark Needle Venom Empress immediately unleashed her pent-up fury.
"That damned White-haired Blade Elder!! How dare that old man imprison me here?! After all the years we've spent together, how dare he...!"
Her eyes blazed with rage, her voice echoing in the cave.
Lee Rin quickly stepped forward to calm her down.
"Please calm down. The White-haired Blade Elder isn't here anymore. He's disappeared up the cliff."
"How could I possibly calm down! That old man tricked me completely!"
"He tricked you?"
"We agreed to hunt down Three Souls Hall's leaders together and split the renowned name and bounty fifty-fifty! But it was a downright lie!"
"... I don't think the White-haired Blade Elder would do all this just for the bounty. Who is he, really? Why did he lock both you and us in this cave—what's he up to?"
Lee Rin pressed her.
Dark Needle Venom Empress, with an agitated tone, revealed the White-haired Blade Elder's true identity.
"That man was the Shadowless Divine Thief who once shook the Central Plains!"
... The White-haired Blade Elder was the Shadowless Divine Thief?
"A legend of the martial world, a man revered as a chivalrous hero by the lowly. But he raised his disciples poorly!"
Dark Needle Venom Empress continued, still red with anger.
"Some thirty years ago, the White-haired Blade Elder happened to pass through the Wandering Warrior Village and met three boys. Boys who had lost their parents to bandits' slaughter.
Moved by pity, he took them in as disciples and raised them.
They had remarkable martial talent, enough to be worthy heirs.
But they were born rotten! Cunning, cruel, consumed by greed! They even tried to stab their master in the back!
Those traitorous disciples have returned to the Wandering Warrior Village—without doubt to steal Shadowless Divine Thief's final manual!"
To think the White-haired Blade Elder was the legendary Shadowless Divine Thief.
To think he was the master of Three Souls Hall...!
Now, having learned the full truth of the matter, Jaseong's group was left speechless.
"But then why did the White-haired Blade Elder lie and say the three leaders of Three Souls Hall were from the Hainan Sect?"
Lee Rin asked, still puzzled.
"Because that old man holds a deep grudge against the Hainan Sect. He wanted to pin Three Souls Hall's infamy on them."
Dark Needle Venom Empress answered coldly.
"Anyway, the reason he locked us in this cave is simple. He wants to correct his past mistake with his own hands. He intends to cut off his disciples' lives himself."
* * *
Hearing this truth from Dark Needle Venom Empress, Jaseong suddenly recalled the words of Fierce Sky Faction's lord, Pacheon Gong.
'No one in this martial world is without sorrows. Each person must bury their own web of grudges deep in their heart.'
Just as he'd said, the relationship between the White-haired Blade Elder and Three Souls Hall was knotted with deep grudges and stories.
Either way, the urgent matter now was escaping the cave.
The White-haired Blade Elder had boasted he'd defeat Three Souls Hall's leaders and return to free them, but if he lost to them?
Jaseong's group and Dark Needle Venom Empress would remain forever imprisoned.
"... At least the White-haired Blade Elder left plenty of food and water inside. But what is this cave, anyway?"
Lee Rin asked, gazing into the cave's depths.
Jaseong looked as well.
The cave was deeper than expected.
Its walls coated in moss, water droplets fell from the ceiling to pool on the ground.
Inside, neatly arranged bedding and training tools were placed, with traces of martial cultivation left all around the walls.
The space resembled the sanctuary of a reclusive expert.
Seeing this, a thought suddenly flashed through Jaseong's mind.
'Recluses usually store something precious in their sanctuary...
Just as Mount Hua Sect stumbled upon the Sword Demon's lair, sword Heart Cave, five years ago, and discovered the Celestial Thunder Sword there...'
Thus, some in the martial world hunt for the sanctuaries or graves of recluses.
To find special fortunes known as "opportunities".
'Let's take a look around.'
Trusting his hunch, Jaseong activated his Samadhi Eyes.
Time seemed to slow, and myriad colors spread before him.
Threads of life energy released by everything within the cave.
Most came from the faint green glow of the cave moss.
There were no other living creatures here.
But as Jaseong, samadhi Eyes active, arrived at the cave's dead end—
'... Even beyond the cave's end, green energy is leaking out?'
Just as he murmured, faint green energy seeped out from beyond the blocked cave end.
This was naturally bizarre.
The cave's end should be solid rock beyond that wall.
And rock carries no energy.
Yet the green light leaked through?
Jaseong instantly grasped the reason for this strange phenomenon.
'There's a hollow space beyond this blocked dead end.'
There must be moss growing in that hidden area, and the vital green energy from that moss was what he could see.
"Great hero? What are you doing all of a sudden?"
Watching Jaseong intensify his energy to the extreme with the Celestial Gate Opening Art, Lee Rin asked with a puzzled face.
Jaseong answered not with words, but—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He slammed his sword, laden with sword energy, against the cave wall.
Instead of searching painstakingly for a hidden entrance, he just smashed through.
"Leader. What on earth are you—?!"
Before Gu Janghu could finish his words, the secret space of the cave finally revealed itself.
Seeing it, Jaseong grinned broadly.
'So there was a hidden chamber after all.'
Entering inside, a cramped space greeted him.
And at its center rested a single, timeworn manual.
[Shadowless Body Steps]
"This is...?!"
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu simultaneously widened their eyes in amazement.
They realized at once it was a manual of lightness skill containing the footsteps of the legendary Shadowless Divine Thief.
Moreover, it was no ordinary manual.
It was the final manual Shadowless Divine Thief—the White-haired Blade Elder—had left behind in his later years.
Thus, its value was inestimable.
Legendary manuals of supreme experts were considered one of the three great treasures of the martial world, alongside elixirs and divine weapons.
It was no wonder everyone was flabbergasted.
Upon seeing the manual, Jaseong recalled Hong Gukyul's words.
'The Heaven Evading Way begins from enlightenment in All Streams Return To The Source, which unites all martial arts in the world.
So, junior, whether or not it's the Heaven Evading Way's arts, if any martial art in the world seems worth learning, master them all.
Any martial understanding gained in the world will also help you grasp the Heaven Evading Way's enlightenment...'
If Hong Gukyul's words were true, then if Jaseong learned Shadowless Body Technique now, it would make his future mastery of the Heaven Evading Way's martial arts much easier.
Besides, Jaseong currently didn't know a single lightness skill.
To him, muyang Shintu's manual was luck upon luck.
'... And above all, this manual is the only means of escaping from this cave in the cliff's heart.'
Muttering to himself, Jaseong unfurled the Shadowless Body Steps manual.
And for the first time in his life, he began mastering a lightness skill.