Chapter 25 Did you come from Jongnam? (5)

"First, let's check the surroundings."

I must not make a careless mistake.

Cheongmyeong turned his head rapidly.

He was checking if any other mechanisms would activate when the door was opened.

If it were the sect leader, he might have set up a signal to alert him if someone else opened the door.

He was a very cautious person.

"Nothing particularly visible."

Cheongmyeong confirmed that there were no devices and fixed his gaze on the upper part of the corridor.

There was a hole big enough for a child's fist.

Not just one, but several spaced out in a row.

"Tsk."

Originally, there would have been a Nightlight Pearl embedded there.

It would have been a bright corridor illuminated by the light of the pearl, not the dark corridor it was now.

Each time money was tight, one would have been sold off, making the corridor darker with each passing day.

What thoughts did the sect leader have while watching the corridor grow dimmer? Did he not think that as the corridor darkened, so too did the future of Hwasan?

"Ugh."

Cheongmyeong scratched his head.

"I should have just not looked."

It felt heavy.

Very heavy.

He had known this.

He wasn't a fool.

Just because the sect leader and the top disciples did not show such expressions did not mean he could not guess their inner thoughts.

They must have been unable to sleep, burdened by the weight of the name Hwasan and the pressure that it might fall apart in their generation.

"That's unfair."

He was not the only one who had made mistakes.

It was true that he, known as the Plum Blossom Sword Master, had elevated Hwasan's reputation, but the decisions regarding Hwasan's affairs were made by the sect leader and the elders, not him.

They all shared the blame, yet Cheongmyeong had to bear the aftermath alone.

Where was the justice in that?

Cheongmyeong clicked his tongue and approached the door.

He would keep his complaints to this level and see if he could open the door.

"But… how do I open this?" Cheongmyeong tilted his head.

There was no handle on the door.

The long line in the middle only hinted that it was a door; without that line, it could easily be mistaken for a wall.

"And what are these lines?" The long line in the center was a mark where the door was joined.

So what were these chaotic lines crisscrossing it? It looked as if someone had practiced swordsmanship against the wall.

"…Is this even a door?" Cheongmyeong placed his hand on the spot where he couldn't tell if it was a wall or a door and quietly channeled his energy into it.

But he had to withdraw his hand almost immediately.

"Crazy."

The energy could not extend.

This could not happen with an ordinary rock.

Something terrifying lay just behind this rock. 'Eternal Iron.' At least an inch thick.

"…Is money rotting away?" They must have built a storage room with that expensive Eternal Iron and surrounded it with stone.

"That’s why the sect leader couldn’t even think of opening it."

What was Eternal Iron? It was the best metal in the world, capable of forging the finest swords and creating impenetrable armor.

Moreover, it was a treasure more valuable than gold at the same weight.

Yet, to make a door with such Eternal Iron…

"Haha."

Depending on how one thought about it, the sect leader might seem foolish.

To leave such an expensive metal untouched.

But Cheongmyeong understood why the sect leader had not dared to touch this door.

Eternal Iron was, quite literally, the hardest metal in the world.

Cutting it was impossible even for Cheongmyeong now.

If it were an inch thick, only the former Plum Blossom Sword Master could barely manage to cut it.

So, if he wanted to cut this door, he would need to summon a top-tier master.

But would such a person really leave the treasure alone?

"Absolutely not."

If Hwasan possessed a treasure like this, it would be a death sentence in itself.

Those with power would not let the weak sell the treasure legitimately.

They would do whatever it took to seize it.

If he carelessly brought in outsiders, Hwasan could face annihilation.

"The sect leader's choice was not bad. Bringing in a master to solve an immediate crisis is like calling a tiger to escape from a wolf."

What was inside was important, but Eternal Iron was a treasure in itself.

Such a quantity of Eternal Iron was worth a fortune.

"The problem is that I can't cut this…" Cheongmyeong's face twisted slightly.

In the past, he could have cut through such Eternal Iron with his bare hands.

He was, after all, the Plum Blossom Sword Master! At the peak of swordsmanship…

"Enough!" He pushed aside meaningless past stories.

Cheongmyeong focused his energy and stared at the chaotic patterns engraved on the wall.

If this was a door and the sect leader had passed through it, there must be a way to open it.

The sect leader's martial arts level was not higher than his.

So if he could just figure out the method…

"Huh? This?" Twenty-four Styles of Plum Blossom Sword? The patterns engraved on the wall, no! The sword path! Some of the sword paths resembled the Twenty-four Styles of Plum Blossom Sword.

And as the clues unraveled, he recognized the identities of the other patterns.

"This is the Death Leaf Tree. This is the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. And this is the Six Harmonies Fist."

From shallow patterns to deep ones, the techniques of the unlearned that could not be mastered without being a disciple of Hwasan were engraved in one place.

"That’s why the sect leader couldn’t open it."

The Plum Blossom Sword Technique and the Twenty-four Styles of Plum Blossom Sword had not been passed down in Hwasan for a long time.

Those who knew the unlearned could follow the sword paths, but it was impossible to create the unlearned just by looking at the paths.

"This depth…" Cheongmyeong sighed.

"It’s based on the Zaha River Technique."

It connected the Six Harmonies Fist, the Death Leaf Tree, and the Twenty-four Styles of Plum Blossom Sword, then unfolded the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

That was the way to open this door.

It seemed that if he accurately followed the sword paths, the door would open on its own.

He had no idea how such a mechanism was created.

He had unraveled the clues.

The remaining problem was just one. "…How am I supposed to unfold this?" If it were the past Cheongmyeong, it would have been no problem.

No, even the elders would have been able to open the door without much difficulty.

But the current Cheongmyeong was just a novice who had not properly mastered the Twenty-four Styles of Plum Blossom Sword.

He could follow the form of the sword.

But to infuse this sword technique with energy and unfold it in one go was impossible for him now.

"Huh."

Cheongmyeong took a deep breath. 'What’s impossible?' If it’s impossible, make it possible.

There is nothing in this world that cannot be done.

It’s just difficult.

Cheongmyeong gritted his teeth and gathered his energy in his dantian. "…I really don’t want to do this."

If it were a life-or-death situation, it would be different.

But he didn’t want to push himself for something like this.

Yet no matter how he thought about it, this was the only way.

"Let’s think of it as a month of recovery."

Cheongmyeong gritted his teeth.

Then he manipulated his energy to gently tap the innate energy residing deep within his dantian.

Innate energy.

The power that everyone possesses from the moment they are born.

It is different from internal energy.

Even if one loses all their internal energy, they do not die.

They would just suffer from a great sense of powerlessness, but it would not hinder their survival.

After all, internal energy is a force artificially created by humans.

But innate energy is different.

A person who loses their innate energy can no longer sustain life.

In other words, innate energy can be considered the life force that maintains human life.

Those who have reached the realm of the unlearned can use innate energy like internal energy.

However, innate energy is the force that sustains life.

If one uses it, they must be prepared for the consequences.

If overused, they would meet death.

Even if used appropriately, their vitality would be greatly damaged, and they would be unable to live normally for months.

'I’ll only use a little.

Just a little.' If Cheongmyeong died trying to save Hwasan, it would be meaningless.

Right now, Cheongmyeong might be more important than Hwasan itself.

Tap.

He carefully stimulated his innate energy.

It couldn’t be too much.

Just enough to use! Really just enough!

The stimulated innate energy began to surge.

The rising innate energy pushed into his dantian. 'More than I expected.' Cheongmyeong cleared his mind and grasped the sword.

Could it be done? It must be done! Mixing innate energy with internal energy to create a grand force, he followed the operation of the Zaha River Technique and circulated his internal energy throughout his body.

The internal energy, flowing through an unfamiliar path, shook his entire body.

"Ugh!" A scream slipped through his lips.

Terrible pain followed, but Cheongmyeong's eyes sparkled instead. 'Just once! I must do it in one go.'

A purple sword energy gathered at his fingertips.

He had not learned the unlearned properly.

He was merely awkwardly reproducing the martial arts and sword paths his mind remembered with a body that was not used to it.

So there would be no second chance.

Cheongmyeong's hand darted through the air like a beam of light.

The purple trajectory pierced into the wall.

Scrape! Scrape! The sound of scraping against the wall echoed through the quiet corridor.

It was a technique that needed to be unfolded in one breath, but due to the limits of his body and internal energy, it was painfully slow.

"Ugh…!" His dantian felt like it was being torn apart.

But Cheongmyeong did not stop and continued to swing his hand.

As the strenuous movements continued, his muscles felt like they were about to tear, and his face burned as if it would explode.

'I am the Plum Blossom Sword Master!' If he couldn’t do it, he would do it out of sheer will.

After biting his tongue to hold onto the consciousness that wanted to fly away, Cheongmyeong finally released all the sword paths.

Suddenly, his hand stopped in mid-air. 'Did it work?' His legs trembled, and his chest felt like it would burst from the heavy breathing, but he had no energy to care about his body now.

If it didn’t open after this, it would truly be the end.

Then it happened.

Creak! A strange metallic sound rang out, followed by a clunk! Something opened with a sound.

The massive door moved slightly forward.

"Ah!" It opened! He had thought the mechanism would move the door open on its own, but it seemed that only the locking mechanism had been released.

But that was something.

Now, he could go inside…

"Uwaaaah!" Suddenly, Cheongmyeong doubled over, clutching his stomach.

Blood poured from his mouth like a fountain.

It gushed out, unable to be swallowed back down.

"Tsk."

Cheongmyeong wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

It seemed that he had severely injured himself by using more innate energy than he had anticipated.

At this rate, he would need to recuperate for at least two months with internal injuries.

"Ha… Saving Hwasan is really tough."

After spitting out the blood in his mouth, Cheongmyeong clicked his tongue and pushed the door of the hidden chamber with all his might.

Creeeak! The door of the hidden chamber, which had been closed for many years, swung wide open.

"Now, shall we see what the sect leader has been hiding?" Cheongmyeong stepped into the hidden chamber with a meaningful smile.