Ilhwa Sword Venerable gave up on memorizing the route.
For a while after entering the cave, she had at least tried to keep track of the path. But now she had given up completely.
She looked back at the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon. He was following Geom Mugeuk with a relaxed expression, as if he had given up long ago.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable asked Geom Mugeuk,
“How do you know the way so well?”
“I suppose I was born with an instinct for finding paths.”
“Even the Cult Leader wouldn’t be able to find his way this well. Do you have some kind of secret?”
“It’s instinct, instinct!”
In truth, it was the result of training and experience. As for this Ten Thousand Blood Cave, he simply knew it inside and out; and his sharp sense of direction was something honed from wandering countless places in his life before regression. If he did not remember properly, he would end up wandering the same place again. Back then, there was nothing in the world he hated more than being lost.
A moment later, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon teased him.
“That instinct led us to a dead end!”
The path they had walked for quite some time had turned out to be a dead end.
“I was sure this way felt promising.”
As if unable to let go of his lingering hope, Geom Mugeuk went all the way to the end of the dead end and examined the wall.
“There’s something down here.”
At the very bottom of the left wall, Geom Mugeuk discovered a narrow passage. At a glance, the protruding stone hid the passage beneath it from sight. One had to lie flat on the floor to see it.
That was why ordinary people would never have discovered it. After wandering through a complicated maze and realizing a path was clearly a dead end, who would go all the way to the end, lie on the floor, and check both sides?
How had he found it back then? He had not found it from this side, but from the opposite side.
“As expected, Young Cult Leader has sharp eyes.”
When Ilhwa Sword Venerable praised him, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon grew needlessly peevish.
“You just stumbled onto it. How could anyone know that was there?”
“Half of it was thanks to you, Elder.”
“Because of me?”
“Since you teased me, I thought I should find something, so I came all the way to the end.”
“What about the other half?”
Geom Mugeuk looked down at the hole and said,
“I felt a new current of air from this direction.”
At that answer, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon and Ilhwa Sword Venerable were startled. They had not realized Geom Mugeuk had been paying attention to even such things.
“I’ll go in first.”
No matter how much he acted out of spite, the one most worried about Geom Mugeuk was the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon.
“Be careful.”
Geom Mugeuk crawled along the ground and entered the passage.
Soon, Geom Mugeuk’s voice came from within.
“Please come in this way.”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon and Ilhwa Sword Venerable also entered. Naturally, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon did not look pleased.
“I have no idea how many decades it’s been since I last crawled like this.”
Admiration flashed in the eyes of the two Demon Venerables who entered. The place was outside the cave, an isolated space surrounded by cliffs.
Water flowed there, and flowers, grass, and trees grew as well. Truly, it seemed like the perfect place to build a house and live.
Because of the unique terrain, unless one jumped down from that endlessly high sheer cliff, it would be difficult to discover this space from the outside.
Before his regression, Geom Mugeuk had climbed down that cliff. Back then, to exaggerate only slightly, he had climbed every cliff there was.
After descending to this place, he had discovered that hole. He had only learned that the passage connected to the Ten Thousand Blood Cave after entering it.
‘So this place was this beautiful.’
When he had come here before his regression, he had only checked whether there was anything that would be useful to him. At the time, he had not known this space possessed such charm.
“I’ll go take a look up there.”
Geom Mugeuk launched himself toward the cliff.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable slowly looked around the place. The first things that drew her eyes were the flowers blooming in the corner. There were some flowers she had never seen before.
“It would be nice to build a house in a place like this someday and live quietly.”
“It wouldn’t be easy to invite guests.”
At the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s words, Ilhwa Sword Venerable smiled. As he said, it would become a house where only peerless experts capable of climbing up and down that cliff could come as guests, let alone live there.
A moment later, Geom Mugeuk descended back to the place, carrying something none of them had expected.
“I found these on a tree halfway up the cliff.”
What Geom Mugeuk had brought were three peaches.
“You must be hungry. Please have one each.”
The peaches gave off a brilliant glow and a profound energy, and their fragrance was anything but ordinary.
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon, who had been wearing an expression of disbelief, widened his eyes.
“Surely these aren’t… Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits?”
At his trembling voice, Geom Mugeuk smiled and answered,
“Why wouldn’t they be?”
Astonishingly, these peaches were the elixir known as Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits. Like the Stalactite Immortal Embryo they had found earlier, they were rare treasures not easily seen in the world.
“They’re especially known to be excellent for women. Your skin is already good, Sword Venerable, but now you’ll have the skin of a baby. Here, please eat.”
If the Stalactite Immortal Embryo from before had been more beneficial to the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon, then this Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit was an elixir beneficial to Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
Geom Mugeuk handed Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits to the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon and Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
They had obtained the Stalactite Immortal Embryo, and now they had found Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits? And he was handing them out as if they were peaches bought at a market?
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon did not eat his.
“Elixirs each have their own destined owner. This is a fortuitous encounter that came to you, so you should take them all.”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable nodded, as if she thought the same.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the two Demon Venerables. Yes, before his regression, he had eaten them all alone.
“My fortuitous encounters are the two of you.”
“!”
“You’ve seen what I’ve done up until now, so don’t you already know?”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon could not refute him. Yes, he knew better than anyone what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was, and what kind of effort he had made. He knew very well that Geom Mugeuk would never eat them alone.
“Even so, you eat them.”
Geom Mugeuk quietly looked at the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon, then said with a mischievous smile,
“Very well. I’ll eat two.”
“Why two? There are three!”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon looked at Ilhwa Sword Venerable. She was smelling the fragrant scent of the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit.
“Being too reserved wouldn’t be proper etiquette either, would it?”
At her words that she would eat it, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon flinched.
Geom Mugeuk smiled and held out his hand to the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon.
“I’ll only eat yours, Elder.”
When Geom Mugeuk tried to take the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon smoothly pulled his hand back. He could tolerate it if none of them ate, but he could not stand being the only one who did not!
“Now that I think about it, I do feel a little hungry.”
Geom Mugeuk burst into loud laughter, and the two Demon Venerables also smiled. He was sharing such spirit fruits without the slightest hesitation; how could their gratitude possibly be expressed in words?
“Please eat quickly. I’ve heard Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits are effective only if consumed within half a gak after being picked from the tree.”
Geom Mugeuk took a large bite of the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit in his hand.
If there truly was such a thing as the taste of heaven, then this must be it. Sweet juice unlike anything he had ever tasted flowed out and slid down his throat in an instant.
Geom Mugeuk no longer needed more internal energy, but consuming this Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit was still worthwhile.
The Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit did not merely have the effect of increasing internal energy.
Even if it could not grant eternal youth and immortality, it made the body resistant to illness and strengthened the five senses. In addition, it regrew lost hair and rejuvenated the skin.
“Ah, it’s delicious!”
At Geom Mugeuk’s exclamation, Ilhwa Sword Venerable also took a large bite of the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit. She usually ate with elegance and dignity, but this time she ate while trying hard not to let even a single drop of juice spill.
Her expression said everything about the taste. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life.
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon then ate the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit as well.
“It’s sweet. So sweet.”
Who could have known when he left the cult that he would end up eating the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit he had only ever heard about?
Ever since leaving the cult with Geom Mugeuk, he had truly been experiencing one unexpected thing after another. And those things were far too intriguing and enjoyable.
The three sat down in their respective places and began circulating their qi.
Each of them began melting the miraculous energy of the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit into their internal energy through their own unique mental cultivation methods. Was it because a pleasant fragrance rose from both inside and outside their bodies? It felt fresher and more pleasant than absorbing any other elixir.
After dissolving the immense energy contained within the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit into his internal energy, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon opened his eyes. Not only had his internal energy increased, his body also felt lighter.
Geom Mugeuk, who had finished circulating his qi first, was looking up at the small patch of sky visible between the surrounding cliffs.
Fortunately, he had obtained both fortuitous opportunities within the Ten Thousand Blood Cave. The fact that exactly three Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits had grown there might also have been fate.
After the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon, Ilhwa Sword Venerable also finished circulating her qi.
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader.”
For Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who was striving to become stronger, the effects of the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit had been truly helpful. And as an added bonus, she had gained a healthy body and taut skin as well.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been looking up at the sky, turned to her with a bright expression.
“I should be the one thanking you instead. If you had not left the cult this time, how could I have gained such a fortuitous encounter? This is all thanks to you, Sword Venerable.”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable silently gazed at Geom Mugeuk. What could she say to a man who even credited this to her?
She said to the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon,
“You heard him, didn’t you? You should be grateful to me.”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon touched his own cheek and replied,
“I really do feel like my skin has improved.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk drew his sword and reflected the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s face on its blade.
“Is that all? Look here. Your wrinkles have smoothed out quite a bit too.”
“Is that so? It’s not just my imagination?”
“If you take the Stalactite Immortal Embryo later too, even the Poison King’s skin will have nothing on yours. What does age matter? As long as your heart is young and your body is healthy, that’s enough.”
Geom Mugeuk praised him to the skies in front of Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
Since there were few compliments more pleasing than being told one looked young, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon could not hide his smile.
‘Please live young and live long.’
Geom Mugeuk walked back toward the hole they had entered through.
“Now, let’s go.”
Geom Mugeuk crawled out first.
“How was it? Wasn’t it worth crawling along the floor?”
Behind him, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon grumbled for no reason.
“I still hate crawling!”
If it had been the usual him, he would have suggested breaking the wall and walking out, but for some reason, he obediently crawled out of the place.
After coming out, Geom Mugeuk once again took the lead and retraced the path they had come from.
“This way feels promising this time!”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon followed behind and said,
“That feeling got us Immortal Peach Spirit Fruits, so I suppose we should follow it.”
And so the two Demon Venerables once again walked after Geom Mugeuk.
Outside, the hellscape still continued to unfold. The screams ringing out from every direction made them feel that they had returned to reality.
How long had they walked? Ahead of them, two martial artists stood facing each other with their weapons drawn.
Their auras were anything but ordinary, and indeed, they were men worthy of such presence.
One was the Azure Sky Great Axe, renowned throughout Hunan for his single axe, and the other was the Strange Blood Saber, an expert from Jiangxi who had come all the way here after hearing rumors of the treasure map. As fate would have it, experts of similar skill had met head-on.
The force emitted by the two filled their surroundings. Because they knew each other well, neither moved rashly.
“You are someone I should be fighting at the very end.”
The Azure Sky Great Axe esteemed both himself and his opponent that highly.
He wanted to avoid this fight. The Strange Blood Saber, on the other hand, intended to settle the match here.
“If we must fight once anyway, is there any need to put it off?”
It was because the place where he had encountered the Azure Sky Great Axe was narrow, and if a fight broke out, he thought he would have the advantage over his opponent, who used a large axe.
Just then, as tension hung in the air as if a blow might fly at any moment, someone’s voice was heard.
“If you aren’t going to fight…”
What followed was truly something they had never expected.
“I’ll just pass through for a moment.”
The two men were startled.
Pass through where? Here?
Here, where the Azure Sky Great Axe and the Strange Blood Saber had their blades aimed at each other to kill? And in this narrow passage, no less?
They thought, surely not, but someone began walking toward them.
Truly, the thought naturally occurred to both men: Is this bastard insane? But that insane bastard really did pass between them.
As he walked between the flashing blade and axe, he even greeted them.
“My, my. You’re both working hard.”
The two martial artists were truly dumbfounded. They were so dumbfounded that they could not even laugh.
There was not just one madman. A woman striking enough to seize the eye followed after him, and last of all, an old man with something large strapped to his back passed by, constantly patting his own cheek. These lunatics did not so much as glance at them.
While they passed one after another, the two men could not move. If they moved recklessly, they would give the other an opening to attack. And if those lunatics joined forces as well, an even greater disaster might unfold.
“What was that just now?”
“They must have gone mad from fear.”
Of course, despite their words, they could feel that those people were no ordinary figures.
Whether they were lunatics or true masters, for some reason, the battle of a lifetime had suddenly lost all its momentum.
As if by mutual agreement, the two slowly put away their weapons and disappeared in opposite directions.
Geom Mugeuk continued onward.
The two Demon Venerables following behind him held torches and looked around. Caves appeared in every direction. The path had been complicated until now, but this place was truly a maze. In one space alone, there were as many as ten openings. When they entered one of them, five or six more forks appeared. Every path was like that.
They could clearly understand why this place was called the Cave of Death.
On top of that, the paths in this area had been made to wind round and round, so unless one knew the exact route, one would be forced to circle the same paths endlessly.
“Even someone who knows the way would get lost here.”
At Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s words, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon nodded. Sweat continued to pour from him. Even spirit medicine could not dispel the stifling feeling of being in such a narrow place.
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk spoke to the two of them with a meaningful look in his eyes.
“So if someone were hiding, wouldn’t they hide somewhere around here?”
The two Demon Venerables looked at each other and exchanged glances.
They understood. Geom Mugeuk was trying to find the one who had the treasure map here.
Earlier, Geom Mugeuk had spoken to them as though the person with the treasure map might have deliberately entered Manhyeoldong. He had clearly had some sort of conjecture in mind.
When they arrived after following Geom Mugeuk, a new sight unfolded before them. The tightness in the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s chest was swept clean away.
A magnificent spectacle wrought by the passage of ages spread out before their eyes.
The place, as large as a plaza, was filled with enormous stalactites and stalagmites.
Stalactites that had grown long like a beast’s fangs hung down from the ceiling, while stalagmites towered upward toward it.
Among them were some where stalactite and stalagmite had nearly met. They looked as though heaven and earth were about to touch.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of water droplets falling from the stalactites broke the silence and echoed through the cavern.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been quietly gazing at the place, began walking into that mystery.
“Somehow, this feels like a place where something good might happen, doesn’t it?”