Chapter 762: A Martial Artist Should Greet Others First

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk stared sharply into the distance. After a long moment, he rubbed his eyes.

"Oof, my eyes hurt."

He had used the Divine Eye Technique to gaze intently at the opposite cliff face, searching for any holes or devices. No matter how hard he looked, however, he found nothing special.

He started walking again.

"Youngest, where on earth are you?"

He had first checked the ponds on the peak opposite the Grave of Swords. The twin ponds were like a pair of eyes representing Mount Tianmu. Since the fake Grave of Swords was under one pond, he thought the real entrance might be in the other pond.

Unfortunately, there was nothing. He searched the pond's bottom thoroughly but found no passage.

After that, he began searching the nearby peaks one by one, but it was not an easy task. The tomb wouldn't have a sign that read 'Tomb of Evil Alliance Chairmen'. It was likely hidden in plain sight, designed to be overlooked.

Can I really find that secretly hidden tomb in this vast Mount Tianmu?

Geom Mugeuk realized he could not rush around using movement arts out of impatience. He had to feel for changes in his body or vibrations from the Secret Box.

The problem was that if the final bead was hidden deep inside the tomb, his senses and the Secret Box might not react at all. After all, until now, the Secret Box had only reacted when it was very close to a bead. His only hope was that it would react more strongly since this bead was the final piece of energy.

Geom Mugeuk ascended the mountain and focused all his senses on his surroundings. He released his qi as he walked, spreading the energy like a spiderweb to scan the area. He could feel insects rustling under rotten leaves, but detected no other special energy.

Right, this is to be expected. It would be stranger if I found it easily.

After walking for a while, he heard the sound of water, so he went down to a valley and washed his face.

His own reflection stared back from the stream, and the face of his older self from before his regression overlapped with it.

Compared to the hardships of that time, this is nothing.

"Alright, let's go find our Youngest!"

Geom Mugeuk searched the area thoroughly until late but could not find the tomb's entrance. Someone unfamiliar with searching would grow anxious, wondering if they had missed something and were now wasting their efforts elsewhere.

Still, he had to move on without lingering regrets. He knew from experience that a place once missed would not be easily noticed, no matter how many times he looked again. He had to move on to the next place without looking back. He had to push forward to search without getting exhausted.

"Don't worry. The one thing I'm better at than killing people is finding things."

That night, Geom Mugeuk camped alone. Most of his camping until now had been with other people, but today's camp was just for him.

He lit a campfire, made a spot for himself, and sat on a soft animal hide. He grilled and ate meat while drinking by himself.

CRACKLE!

Having a drink while watching the blazing campfire was not bad. No, it was enjoyable. He had always been a person who liked being alone. Even the difficult times he spent alone before his regression were not hard because of loneliness, looking back on them now.

What if I can't find the materials for the grand technique? What if my life ends just searching for materials like this?

The anxiety from such thoughts had made it difficult, but he had overcome it well in the end. He had overcome it and come this far.

Therefore, he felt he deserved to give himself a pat on the back, especially now that he had dealt with all the Twelve Zodiac Kings.

"You're doing well, Mugeuk."

Geom Mugeuk praised himself. After regressing, he had praised others until his mouth went dry, but he had forgotten to praise himself.

Rather, he did not know when he had last praised himself so openly. Had there ever been such a time?

"Mugeuk, you're really doing a great job!"

Only the stars filling the sky seemed to applaud this precious praise with their twinkling light.

The Flower Sword Supreme stood alone, looking up at the night sky.

"Can't sleep?"

She turned to see the Blood Heaven Blade Demon walking toward her. After parting with Geom Mugeuk, they had taken a room at an inn in the village. She was now at the village entrance, a short walk from the inn.

"I can't seem to sleep today for some reason."

It was not just because she was in an unfamiliar bed.

"The image of the Young Cult Leader fighting keeps coming to mind."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded in understanding. It was the same for him. What they saw today would probably stimulate and torment them for some time.

"What do you think, Orabeoni?"

"About what?"

He thought she was asking about the Young Cult Leader's martial arts, but her question was about something else.

"I mean this trip out of the cult. I don't think I've ever had a journey as fun as this one in my entire life."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded. It was the same for him. A journey with Geom Mugeuk and the Flower Sword Supreme could not be anything but enjoyable. "It's because Mugeuk took such good care of us."

The Flower Sword Supreme nodded in agreement. "The Young Cult Leader seems to like you a lot, Orabeoni."

"That kid? No way."

Though he said that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew Geom Mugeuk's heart. He knew the kid intended to boost his morale in front of the Flower Sword Supreme with every word. He knew it from watching Geom Mugeuk pile up those youth-restoring miracle herbs.

Understanding such feelings was a gift from a journey that could only be experienced by leaving the cult together.

"You've changed a lot too, Orabeoni. In the past, you wouldn't have asked that person to come with us."

The Flower Sword Supreme had been inwardly surprised when the Blade Demon asked the Sword King to join them at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. He was not that kind of person. She had naturally assumed he suggested it for the Young Cult Leader's sake.

"I didn't say that because of the Young Cult Leader, but because of you."

"Because of me?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said something unexpected. "I thought you would want to fight him one more time."

The Flower Sword Supreme looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon with an unreadable smile. "It was the first time I've felt this way. Three swordsmen gathered in one place, yet I'm the weakest one?"

She could accept that the Young Cult Leader was stronger than her. Not only had Geom Mugeuk mastered the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, he was also a more special person than anyone else.

The Sword King, however, was a different case. He was an enemy she had met and a fellow swordsman.

She knew she could not defeat him. Although the result looked like a draw, she could tell that he had held back in fear of inflicting a fatal injury.

"Shall I make a confession?" she chuckled.

"……" The Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched. The Flower Sword Supreme had never said such things in her life.

"There was a time when I came to hate the sword."

Perhaps the greatest gain for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon from this trip was his relationship with her. She now revealed her inner thoughts so freely. They had become comfortable before, but never to this extent.

"Tsk, the Sword Supreme hating the sword?" the Blood Heaven Blade Demon joked.

The Flower Sword Supreme drew her sword with a faint smile. "No matter how much I trained, my swordsmanship stagnated. I felt like I had reached my limit. Just thinking about it was suffocating."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew. Since she was young, she had a strong competitive spirit and a great desire to become stronger.

"I was very irritable back then, and I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't show it on the outside, but my inner self was a complete mess."

The Flower Sword Supreme looked at her face reflected in the sword. Her face from that time overlapped with the image. It was a time when her makeup grew progressively heavier.

"Back then, the Young Cult Leader destroyed the obstacle blocking my path in a single stroke and showed me a new, higher limit. The moment I saw that, all my problems were solved. That's when I realized. All my problems were because of my swordsmanship."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon regretted that he had not been able to help her back then. Thinking about it now, it would not have been difficult to talk comfortably and share their inner thoughts like this. He should have gone to her first, apologized, and accepted her feelings.

Why was that so difficult back then? Thinking about it now, it was really nothing.

"But during this vacation, the Young Cult Leader completely blew away that limit again. So I don't need to fight that person again."

She looked up at the night sky.

"Because now, the sky is above my head."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon understood her words. The Flower Sword Supreme intended to truly go all the way to the end with the sword.

"Is this a blessing? Or a curse?" he muttered out of concern for her, but it seemed it was a blessing.

The Flower Sword Supreme smiled. "The Young Cult Leader may have blown away our imagined limits, but he also breathed new life into us, didn't he? Let's start over."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew her words about starting over were related to martial arts. Nevertheless, in that moment, he could not help but wonder what it would have been like if her words had a different meaning.

He did not reveal such feelings. Even though they had shared some moments, there was still an invisible barrier between them. The Flower Sword Supreme was someone who would take a step back for every step he took forward.

Instead, he warned, "Don't you dare lose to that sword-wielding punk!"

The two Demon Supremes talked, oblivious to the deepening night.

The next day, Geom Mugeuk continued to wander through the mountains. He emitted a spiderweb of energy from his body to search for anything different. Whenever he found a clear view, he examined the opposite cliff with the Divine Eye Technique.

It was a daunting and difficult task, but he continued his relentless, silent search for the entrance.

"How do you like it? Is the view nice there?"

On a sunny hill across from where Geom Mugeuk stood, he could see the tomb of the Flower Sword Supreme's maternal uncle.

"You know, right? That's quite an auspicious site too. Traditionally, an auspicious site must have a mountain behind it and water flowing in front…"

A thought suddenly struck Geom Mugeuk, and his eyes widened. He recalled a passage about feng shui from a book he had read at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's house.

"Ah, that's right!"

He immediately soared into the air.

"…The mountain ranges on the left and right should appear to embrace the auspicious site, the wind should be hidden, and the water should meander. The soil must be firm and not damp, and it should be red or golden in color."

It was the content about auspicious sites he had read back then.

"I have to find the auspicious site!"

No matter how important secrecy was, it was still the tomb of the past Evil Alliance Chairmen. They must have found a location according to feng shui. It was obvious, but he had not thought of it until he saw the tomb of the Flower Sword Supreme's maternal uncle.

Geom Mugeuk flew between the peaks of Mount Tianmu, searching for the most likely auspicious site.

Soon, he found such a place.

"This is it!"

It was Immortal Peak, located in what could be called the most auspicious site on Mount Tianmu.

Geom Mugeuk went straight to the base of the peak. He did not know if the tomb was here, but it was wise to check the most likely place first.

He ascended the mountain and examined his surroundings with even greater care. While climbing, he met an old herb gatherer who was descending.

"Greetings!" Geom Mugeuk bowed his head lightly as he passed.

The old man asked, "Are you perhaps a martial artist?"

"I am."

"I was surprised because this is the first time a martial artist has greeted me first."

Geom Mugeuk smiled and gave him a clasped hands greeting. "On behalf of all the rude martial artists you've met until now, I apologize. A martial artist should greet others first."

The old man waved his hands, flustered by the unexpected response. "There's no need for that. I'm sorry and grateful for your words alone."

Having exchanged greetings, they both paused to talk.

"The scenery here is truly wonderful," Geom Mugeuk remarked.

A vast expanse of grass stretched out on a hillside, where the grasses grew to the height of an adult's waist, dancing in the breeze.

"This is a place where you can play with the wind, so it's called the Wind Garden," the old man explained.

Geom Mugeuk blinked in confusion. "Play with the wind? What do you mean…"

Just then, a long blade of grass caught the wind and fluttered along with it. It moved this way and that, up and down. Mysteriously, the wind blew from various directions.

"Isn't it interesting?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded. This was a name and a place he would not have known if he had not greeted the old man.

"Well then, travel safely."

After saying goodbye, the old man continued on his way.

Geom Mugeuk watched his retreating back, then looked at the Wind Garden. The blade of grass was still playing there like a child.

As he was about to start climbing again, Dan Sojin's parting words suddenly came to mind.

"When I see you, Young Cult Leader, I think you're like the wind. I hope you continue to live a wonderful life, entrusting your body to the wind like this."

Could it be? Could he have given me some kind of clue?

Geom Mugeuk's gaze returned to the windy field. A tomb entrance would never be on a sloping field like this, so if he had not met the old man, he would have passed by without a second thought, thinking this was too wide-open a space to hold anything secret.

Because of Dan Sojin's last words, however, he felt drawn to it.

Watching the blade of grass entrust itself to the wind, Geom Mugeuk walked toward the spot. He pushed into the waist-high grasses and, just as Dan Sojin had said, completely entrusted his body to the wind.

WHOOSH!

He walked forward with the wind that blew from behind. When the wind shifted to his left, he walked to the right. His body and steps were incredibly light.

When the wind stopped, Geom Mugeuk also stopped.

Entrusting one's body to the wind was easier said than done. He had to feel the wind perfectly to move precisely. He had to stop exactly when needed and react immediately when the wind blew from another direction.

He moved exactly as the wind blew. In that moment, he became one with the wind, as if he were dancing with it. He kept moving.

A thought that this was a crazy act crossed his mind, but he continued to entrust his body to the wind.

He followed the wind for a long time.

When he stopped, following the final gust of wind, his figure vanished with a short sound.

"……"

If anyone had seen it, they would have thought he had collapsed in the tall grass, but he truly wasn't there anymore.

Geom Mugeuk did not know that from above, the flattened grasses where he had moved had formed a pattern in the shape of a five-pointed star, the symbol of the Five-Pointed Starry Wind Array.

WHOOOOSH!

With a single gust, the flattened grasses instantly returned to their original state, as if nothing had ever happened. In the place where the mystery had vanished, only that single blade of grass still fluttered in the wind.