Chapter 58: On the Edge of a Hundred-Foot Pole

In the depths of the Blazing Flower Sect.

We were able to find the entrance to a bottomless, dark cave.

Saying it like this makes it seem like we found it quickly, but we went through quite a bit of trouble.

It was because the Blazing Flower Sect had tampered with it to make it blend naturally with the surrounding landscape, as if a formation had been laid out.

“This seems to be the place.”

“I think so.”

Anyway, we presumed that the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure would be here.

There was a reason we could be fairly confident without looking inside, thanks to the smell of sulfur that sharply stimulated the tip of my nose.

It was because both I and the Emperor Breaker had the knowledge and experience to connect the smell of sulfur with a volcano.

It was truly fortunate, because if that sulfur smell hadn't leaked out, there was a high possibility that we wouldn't have found this place within today.

“Hey, so, you could have left at least one of them alive.”

“Ahem.”

Since the trouble was caused by the Emperor Breaker's resolute hand, it was inevitable that I would chide him like this.

“How could I leave alive those who had ignited their latent potential with demonic arts?”

Yeom Gi-ha made an excuse, giving his own reasons.

“The Blazing Flower Sect leader was left.”

“That one deserved to die.”

Logically, I could win, but this time, Yeom Gi-ha was right.

“……That's true.”

It meant that I had no choice but to agree with Yeom Gi-ha’s words.

While all the Blazing Flower Sect members were igniting their latent potential with demonic arts, the Blazing Flower Sect leader did not, so I guessed that the Blazing Flower Sect leader knew the true nature of the demonic arts.

Since he was a fellow who treated the lives of his gang members, who were like family, as consumables, the Emperor Breaker who had cut down the gang leader with a single stroke might have actually bestowed the mercy of a Buddha.

“Should we go in?”

Yeom Gi-ha asked, his eyes shining.

The cave was drilled towards the bottom.

It was pitch black without a single ray of light, a faint heat could be felt, and the musty smell of sulfur was added to it.

It was also a space so full of ominousness that one would believe it to be the entrance to the gates of hell.

Nevertheless, the Emperor Breaker seemed eager to enter that place.

I wasn't sure if it was because he originally enjoyed adventure, or because the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure inside was his lifeline.

“Wait.”

In terms of martial arts, the Emperor Breaker was far ahead of me, but in terms of elixirs, it was right to say that I was a step above him, so the Emperor Breaker followed my words and calmed his excitement.

I rummaged through my bosom and took out a box that I had kept well.

Dal-kak.

When I opened the box, a cold chill instantly filled the surroundings.

“Ooh.”

It was the supreme elixir, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng, that made even the Emperor Breaker unable to hold back his admiration.

However, even with the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng in his eyes, not a trace of greed could be felt from the Emperor Breaker, so it was right to describe him as a truly extraordinary person.

I broke off a single fine root hair of the snow ginseng and handed it to him.

“Eat it.”

Saying so, I also tore off a fine root hair and quickly chewed and swallowed it.

Although it was a fine root hair, it was from the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng, so the yin energy contained within it would serve as an excellent protective barrier.

“Preserve the yin energy of the snow ginseng in your Gate of Vitality acupoint. It will serve as a lifeline in case of an unforeseen situation.”

“You do it yourself.”

Yeom Gi-ha returned the snow ginseng root to me.

If it were the root of a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng, I would have taken it for my health, but it was right to describe him as a person truly without greed.

However, I was not like Yeom Gi-ha, so I quickly chewed and swallowed the root he handed me as well. I couldn't just throw away what had already been detached, could I?

Since I was on my way to face the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, which the Healing Sage had repeatedly warned me was dangerous, this level of preparation was essential.

“Let's go.”

As I said that and leaped into the cave, I could feel Yeom Gi-ha following behind.

Shuuuuung.

‘Hmm.’

The cave was deeper than I thought.

Having been falling for more than twenty breaths, I knew its depth was unusual.

‘It seems this wasn't it.’

Considering the martial prowess of the Blazing Flower Sect leader or the members, this did not seem to be the official entrance.

The fortunate thing was that I could see the ground below.

If the bottom had been lava, even with my martial prowess that had reached the State of Harmony, I would not have been able to avoid a disaster.

Tat.

When the bottom was near, I lightly unfolded the Stepping on Clouds Gait and kicked off the side wall.

Teok.

I landed stably on the ground.

It was the form of a skilled martial artist.

But the Emperor Breaker was quite different.

Shuuuuung— Uuuung—

Yeom Gi-ha’s figure, which had been descending in a stiff posture as if standing on the ground, gently slowed down…….

Sappun.

His figure quietly landed on the ground. I would describe it as a lightness skill that had reached the divine.

However, my gaze did not have the time to watch such a Yeom Gi-ha and admire.

“It seems we've come to the right place.”

It was because my gaze was stolen by a majesty more brilliant than Yeom Gi-ha’s martial prowess.

“It seems so.”

A brilliantly shining orange crystal was floating serenely on top of the boiling lava, so no one could deny that this was the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

The preparations to enter the Fifth Stage of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art were complete.

* * *

It was scorching hot.

I wasn't talking about my state of mind after discovering the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, but the temperature of the cave that held the blood treasure.

Indeed, the Healing Sage's warning was not wrong; the temperature of the cave holding the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure was something an ordinary person could not endure.

Even by circulating my internal energy, which had reached the State of Harmony, and unfolding the barrier of my protective formidable qi, I could not completely block the heat.

I circulated the yin energy stored in my Gate of Vitality acupoint. Only then did my stuffy breath become easy to breathe.

“Hoo—”

I observed the Emperor Breaker.

Undaunted by the fierce heat, he showed not a single sign of being disturbed.

“Are you alright?”

“I am the Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha, who created the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art.”

That's right.

I often forgot, but that person was not a troublemaking old man, but a Grandmaster who vied for the best in Jianghu.

“What will you do?”

Yeom Gi-ha asked.

His question was not difficult, so I understood that he meant to decide the order of taking the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

“Alliance Leader, you go first.”

I answered as such without hesitation.

“You're not going first?”

In truth, his question was reasonable.

It was I who had brought information about the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure and guided us here.

However…….

“Isn't the peace of the Jianghu Murim more important than my own well-being?”

I said so with all my heart.

Although it would be difficult to say I was a person as detached from material desires as the Emperor Breaker, it was because I was at least a person with clear priorities.

“Take this before you proceed.”

I tore off a small piece of the snow ginseng's tip and handed it to Yeom Gi-ha.

No matter how great a person he was, having created and mastered the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art, I knew that a protective barrier was necessary until his body could fully accept it.

The energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng would serve as that protective barrier.

The reason I gave him only a small piece was not because I was stingy with the snow ginseng.

Yeom Gi-ha’s purpose was to suppress the violently expanding fire spirit with the power of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, so excessive yin energy would instead be a hindrance.

“Alliance Leader, save your life.”

My act of handing over the snow ginseng was as casual as the Emperor Breaker's, so he looked at me with an unfamiliar gaze.

“I will acknowledge you as my successor.”

I chuckled at his uncharacteristic seriousness.

“Didn't you do that already?”

“You are right.”

Leaving those words behind, Yeom Gi-ha chewed on the corner of the snow ginseng and leaped up in front of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

“You must be careful.”

I didn't know if he heard my words.

Yeom Gi-ha, who had thrown himself into the lava, grabbed the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure without hesitation.

* * *

Struggle.

I knew that living in the Jianghu Murim was a continuous struggle.

Most martial artists knew this because the Jianghu Murim was not a world lenient enough to allow one to survive without knowing this.

Martial arts is a struggle with oneself.

To reach a higher achievement, one must constantly overcome oneself.

Martial arts is a struggle with others.

I would say that no one can deny that one of the characteristics of martial arts is that it is a killing art.

To some, martial arts may be a means of seeking the way, but everyone knows that the transcendent power one reaches in the process of seeking the way is closely related to destruction.

This is the reason why stricter precepts are applied in the righteous Murim.

And when a harsh period like the Great War of Righteousness and Evil arrived, the Jianghu Murim has always become a stage for a struggle for survival.

And I was now standing guard, witnessing a fierce struggle I had never seen before in my life.

I would describe that struggle as a spectacle that surpassed the contest between the absolute ones of Jianghu, the Emperor Breaker and the Demonic Emperor, that I had witnessed before.

Chiiiiik—

Hwarreuk.

Kwagwagwang!

It was right to describe it as a struggle between fire and fire.

Watching the contest between the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure and Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha, there was no other way to express it.

Steam continuously rose, and the fire demon repeatedly devoured the space.

Kwagwang!

The heat of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure and the searing Yang palm force of the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art repeatedly clashed.

However, I was not worried, because it seemed that the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art was suppressing the heat of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

Under the pretext of standing guard, I captured everything about Yeom Gi-ha in my eyes and memory.

Everything he was demonstrating now was a supreme martial study, so it was right to describe it as an unprecedented miraculous encounter.

‘This is the Heaven-Shattering Flame Spirit Divine Art.’

I had no choice but to admit it.

As Yeom Gi-ha had said, the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art was a peerless art that was not lacking in being called a divine art.

In truth, I had known for a long time.

How could the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art be the only supreme martial art in the world?

I had once called the Healing Sage a Grandmaster, and I had placed Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha on the same level as him.

That was the public evaluation, and I also agreed.

To put it differently, it meant that the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art created by the Emperor Breaker was a martial art as profound as the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

Just as I had planned to take the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure using the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, Yeom Gi-ha was taking the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure in his own way through the Fire Spirit Heaven-Breaking Art.

A life-and-death struggle that lasted for a good hour.

By the time the red energy surrounding the Emperor Breaker's entire body turned bluish.

The Emperor Breaker left the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure behind and leaped back.

“Hoo—”

When I met the eyes of the Emperor Breaker, who was taking a deep breath, his gaze shone brightly.

I knew instinctively.

“Congratulations on your great achievement.”

He had not just suppressed the fire spirit and saved his life, but had also broken down another wall that was blocking his way.

It meant that he, whom I had already considered the greatest under the heavens, had taken another step forward, so I knew that there was no end to the advancement of martial studies.

“Now it's your turn.”

Yeom Gi-ha said so.

“This time, I will stand guard for you, so hurry up and go.”

He accepted his advancement casually, so I would describe it as the demeanor of a true Grandmaster.

“Alright.”

Although Yeom Gi-ha had extended his lifeline and gained achievement with the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, it did not mean that Yeom Gi-ha had won against the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

As proof of that, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, still burning vividly, existed before me.

I was once again reminded of how great this blessed nature was.

Teobeok.

I stood before the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.

Hwareuk.

A fierce fire energy enveloped me as if to devour me.

“Ugh.”

I didn't know if it was right to describe Yeom Gi-ha, who had engaged in a one-on-one fight with something like that, as a human.

I had to admit it.

I could not become Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha.

But there was no need to despair.

It was because I had the provision of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng and the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

Kwadeuk.

I chewed and swallowed the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng.

A cold energy, incomparable to when I had swallowed a single piece of root, invaded my body.

The heat that had tried to invade my body even from a distance subsided. To be precise, it would be right to say that I no longer felt it.

When the energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng had completely circulated through my body.

Deolkeok.

My heart froze.

-You must not suppress the extreme yin energy possessed by the snow ginseng.

You must fully accept the extreme yin, and then accept the extreme yang.

That is the only way to overcome the blood treasure and reach the state of Wuji, so I hope the practitioner trusts this one and shakes off their fear.

The feeling of my heart stopping was not pleasant.

Whether it was the State of Harmony or the Fifth Stage, I knew that I could not survive if my heart stopped.

There was no time to delay.

Without hesitation, I leaped towards the lava that held the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure.