Cheonhwi lifted his head and gazed at the antique, towering pavilion.
Mangeongak, where the history and martial arts manuals of the Hwasan Sect were gathered and organized, consisted of three floors and was quite tall.
Matching its height, each floor was spacious and distinctly separated.
It featured a unique structure where higher floors housed more advanced martial arts manuals.
This was precisely what Mangeongak was.
And Cheonhwi had already read most of the books within Mangeongak.
'Yet, there's a new martial arts manual inside this Mangeongak?'
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed.
Looking at Mangeongak with an expression full of curiosity, he pushed the doors open.
Creak—
The moment he stepped through the opened doors.
"You've come."
Hyeoncheong, who had been organizing books on a desk, welcomed Cheonhwi.
"Where is the martial arts manual?"
Hyeoncheong looked at Cheonhwi, who got straight to the point, and smiled faintly.
"Wait a moment."
Hyeoncheong set the books down, rose from his chair, and gestured for him to follow.
"This way."
Hyeoncheong walked with his hands clasped behind his back.
Watching his back, Cheonhwi wore a puzzled look and wondered.
'We're not going up?'
Instead of heading for the stairs, Hyeoncheong began walking toward another part of the first floor.
Thud— Thud—
Seeing Hyeoncheong's retreating back, Cheonhwi stepped forward.
Creak— Creak—
Following the creaking wooden planks with every step, he headed deeper inside.
How long had they walked?
Following Hyeoncheong as he strode toward the dead-end wall to the west, Cheonhwi's eyes grew heavy and settled.
'That place is...'
Just then, having reached the blocked wall, Hyeoncheong scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes before carefully coming to a halt.
"This is the place."
Cheonhwi's eyes flashed sharply as he looked around.
This space, hemmed in by bookshelves on all sides, was a place he had visited long ago. It was also a place that had sparked his doubts back then.
Swish—
He casually glanced downward.
In the past, whenever he wandered around the first floor of the library, he had always felt that the floor beneath was hollow.
'So there really was something here.'
Just as Cheonhwi, staring at the floor with brimming interest, was about to rub his chin—
Swish—
Hyeoncheong bent his back low.
He then fumbled along the wooden planks a few times before moving them as if excavating the floor.
At that moment.
Click—
A distinct sound echoed.
Hyeoncheong straightened his bent back and dusted off his hands.
"If you pull this chain, the Qimen Formation will activate, so keep that in mind."
Just as Hyeoncheong pointed to an iron chain hidden between the wooden planks and spoke—
Rumble—
A heavy, ominous sound rang out as the bookshelf opposite them slid to the side.
And a pitch-black hole revealed itself.
Cheonhwi stared into the hole, which gaped as emptily as an abyss, before looking at Hyeoncheong.
Then, the corners of his lips curled up as he spoke.
"How interesting."
Seeing Cheonhwi's highly intrigued expression, Hyeoncheong smiled gently.
"Watch your step as you go down."
Emphasizing this to Cheonhwi, Hyeoncheong stepped into the hole.
Soon, he was swallowed by the darkness.
'A Qimen Formation in a place like this...'
The corners of Cheonhwi's mouth curled inward.
Normally, Daoist sects dismissed Qimen Formations as sorcery and kept their distance from them.
Yet the fact that the Hwasan Sect, a Daoist sect, had employed a Qimen Formation meant...
'It means something important lies within. There might be even better martial arts manuals here than I thought.'
A fierce glint flashed in Cheonhwi's eyes.
A moment later, he took a step forward.
As he entered the hole, he felt something beneath his feet.
He immediately infused internal energy into his eyes, piercing through the thick darkness.
A passage came into his brightened view, and his interest only deepened.
The stairs and passage leading downward were pristine, as if recently constructed.
'This is quite elaborate.'
"We will arrive shortly."
Hearing Hyeoncheong's voice ahead, Cheonhwi grew anxious and quickened his pace.
As he descended the abyss-like, pitch-black stairs, anticipation swelled within him.
Flash!
Blinding light surged forth.
At the intense light flooding his vision, Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.
'A cavern...?'
There was a massive underground cavern.
And on the walls and ceiling of this cavern, countless luminous pearls radiated a brilliant light.
'I didn't expect such a massive space.'
Just as he was taking in the cavern, which was far larger than he had anticipated before entering—
"This place is called the Amhyang Secret Cave. Even within our sect, aside from the Sect Leader and a few Elders, only a handful of people know of its existence."
Hyeoncheong, who had arrived first and was waiting, explained about the space.
"Quite a magnificent secret cave."
Cheonhwi looked around and marveled.
It was clearly an extraordinary place at a single glance.
The numerous luminous pearls illuminating the secret cave.
And the deep, thick marks carved into the walls surrounding the cavern each contained an astonishing energy.
'These weren't carved by just one person.'
Cheonhwi's eyes grew heavy as he meticulously scanned the marks carved into the walls.
'Inscriptions...?'
Upon closer inspection, the chaotic marks carved into the walls were actually inscriptions.
"The martial arts manuals I spoke of last night are those very things."
"Where?"
Cheonhwi, who had been examining the marks, snapped his head around like the wind.
There, on one side of the cavern, he spotted a desk made of stone.
And old books resting upon it.
Thud— Thud—
Before he knew it, Cheonhwi stood before the books.
The old books appeared to have been written quite a long time ago; they were so fragile that a single misstep would tear them apart.
Cheonhwi's eyes crinkled as he looked at them.
'Most of them are torn; it's hard to make out what they say.'
As he glared at the incomplete books, Hyeoncheong approached and explained.
"These are martial arts manuals that detail our sect's early martial arts, or manuals that have lost too much of their formulas to even be learned."
'So that's why the books are in such a ruinous state, and why they were kept separately in this Amhyang Secret Cave instead of Mangeongak.'
After hearing his explanation, it made sense why this underground cavern existed and why the books were kept separately within it.
Learning martial arts with heavily lost formulas was a life-threatening endeavor.
Not only was it impossible to learn them properly, but the slightest mistake could lead to Qi deviation, effectively turning the practitioner into a madman.
'Still, they're far too ruined.'
Cheonhwi's face scrunched up as he stared at the books, none of which were fully intact.
And as he naturally pushed aside a few of the books resting on top—
'This is...'
His moving hand stopped.
The half-torn manual he had just grabbed caught his eye.
The manual was torn, making most of the text blurry, but the characters distinctly written on the cover were clearer than anything else.
"...Okhwan... Myo..."
As Cheonhwi read the characters haltingly—
"That is the true copy of the Okhwanmyobo."
Hyeoncheong interjected from beside him.
Seeing Cheonhwi's surprise at the Okhwanmyobo, he recalled his own past.
For he too, upon arriving at this place following the previous Keeper of Mangeongak, had reached for this very Okhwanmyobo first.
Besides, hadn't he personally taught it to Seol-ran?
"As you know, there is an Okhwanmyobo on the third floor of Mangeongak as well, but that is a newly interpreted version based on this true copy..."
Whether Hyeoncheong was rambling beside him or not, Cheonhwi flipped open the Okhwanmyobo in his hands.
'This is the same as the Okhwanmyobo I know.'
Reading the formulas that were similar yet slightly different from the Okhwanmyobo in Mangeongak, Cheonhwi's gaze grew increasingly sharp.
'Did they interpret the Okhwanmyobo in Mangeongak separately after seeing this?'
Cheonhwi's mind raced.
The formulas, the insights, and the existence of the true copy.
Knowing more about the Okhwanmyobo than anyone else in the current Hwasan Sect, he quickly read through the martial arts manual.
"...The current Okhwanmyobo was restored by taking formulas from other footwork techniques..."
Hyeoncheong, who had been continuously explaining, belatedly noticed Cheonhwi was completely immersed in the manual and closed his mouth.
'Hehe, how astounding. To possess such concentration that he's already this deeply immersed in the manual...'
Marveling, he held back a smile.
He then turned around.
"I shall return later."
While conversing with Cheonhwi was important, it was even more crucial that the existence of the Amhyang Secret Cave remained unknown to others.
'This place holds the true essence of the Hwasan Sect...'
Even if the Hwasan Sect's other martial arts manuals were stolen, the ones inside here must never be taken.
For they were the very root of the Hwasan Sect's martial arts.
'Still, it's a relief that Cheonhwi is showing interest in this place. He will surely help in restoring the manuals.'
Looking at Cheonhwi flipping through the pages like mad, Hyeoncheong held a soft smile and breathed a sigh of relief.
It was more successful than he had anticipated.
A moment later, he turned and made his way back up the stairs they had descended.
Thud— Thud—
About an hour after Hyeoncheong left, Cheonhwi frowned.
"What? It ends here?"
Flustered that the formulas cut off halfway, he scowled, flipped the manual over, and meticulously examined the back.
But there were no further formulas.
"No wonder the Okhwanmyobo in Mangeongak was restored in such a pathetic state."
Cheonhwi criticized harshly.
Of course, his criticism was directed not at the Taoist who restored it, but at the manual itself.
The true copy of the Okhwanmyobo matched the formulas he knew, but it only contained the first half; the second half was mostly torn away.
The most crucial part of the Okhwanmyobo—the explanations and formulas of the Bagua—had been lost.
It was inevitable that it would become an entirely different martial art.
"Still, the Hwasan Sect is lucky. If I hadn't reincarnated as a disciple of the Hwasan Sect, restoring the Okhwanmyobo would have been forever impossible."
Cheonhwi puffed out his chest and spoke as if it were a matter of fact.
And such confidence was only natural for him.
In this era, he possessed peerless martial knowledge that was unparalleled throughout history.
Moreover, having even seen the Okhwanmyobo performed by the old woman, restoring its true form was easier than flipping his hand.
For the Hwasan Sect, it was nothing short of heavenly fortune.
'There's no need to read this any further.'
Having confirmed that the manual in his hand was the Okhwanmyobo, he tossed it aside.
He then glared at the remaining manuals before him.
The Okhwanmyobo was an exceptional footwork technique, ranking among the best he knew.
'If a manual like the Okhwanmyobo was kept in this place, the others must be comparable.'
Cheonhwi's eyes curved into crescents.
Looking at the torn and worn books with intrigued eyes, he felt an intense curiosity flare up for the first time in a long while.
Just what kind of martial arts manuals were they, to be kept separately in this underground space?
"Then let's get right to reading."
Saying so, he immediately reached out, picked up a manual, and flipped it open.
About a shichen after devouring the manuals.
"...Quite a decent finger technique, isn't it?"
Cheonhwi smiled in satisfaction.
The manual in his hands was in such a disastrous state that the formulas were nearly indecipherable, but even so, it was clearly an advanced martial arts manual.
"It's similar to the Myeolhonji, yet a bit different. Is this a righteous sect's finger technique?"
Muttering to himself, Cheonhwi stroked his chin before opening the manual once more and looking it over.
There were some torn, completely indecipherable formulas scattered throughout, but they weren't a major obstacle for him.
Like this.
Cheonhwi extended his right index finger and channeled his internal energy according to the formulas written in the manual.
Stab!
A flash of light pierced through the wall of the Amhyang Secret Cave.
"...Only this much?"
Cheonhwi wore a dissatisfied expression.
Only a minuscule hole was bored into the wall of the Amhyang Secret Cave, utterly insignificant compared to what was described in the manual.
"It'll be different once the torn formulas are restored."
A competitive spirit flickered in Cheonhwi's eyes.
Shortly after, he counted the number of manuals laid out before him and nodded.
"...Fourteen."
His eyebrows arched deeply as he muttered the number of manuals he needed to restore.
"Hmm, two years should do it."
Cheonhwi smiled and spoke with confidence.
But he did not know.
That restoring these fourteen manuals alone would take him five years.