Let's Enter Slowly

The Heavenly Demon’s Chamber has been discovered.

When people first heard this rumor, they scoffed, saying someone was spreading false rumors again.

It seemed impossible that the hidden chamber, which tens of thousands of people had combed through the Lake Dongting area searching for like looking for lice but never found, would be discovered now, and information about the real hidden chamber couldn’t possibly have spread so widely that even street thugs knew about it.

Of course, not everyone thought that way.

Martial artists are those who would do anything to become stronger.

People who had crossed the Central Plains just hearing rumors about a secret treasure map immediately moved to verify the truth of the rumors, and before long, the situation changed drastically.

“Huh, you still haven’t found a boat?”

“Hey, you there! I’ll pay twenty silver taels, no, thirty silver taels, so please let me aboard!”

“Surely you don’t not know about the Black Demonic Path? Hand over the boat while I’m asking nicely.”

“You must have a death wish. How dare you mention the demonic path here!”

The Lake Dongting harbor was suffering from the flood of people trying to secure boats.

This was because word had spread that the rumors about the Heavenly Demon’s hidden chamber, which they had thought was false, might actually be true.

The harbor, which had been so noisy you could barely hear the person next to you speaking, gradually began to quiet down at some point.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Along with synchronized footsteps, a group approached the harbor.

Though their attire varied, the character for “evil” engraved on their backs revealed which organization these martial artists belonged to.

The Evil Emperor Alliance.

It was a force created after the Demonic Cult, which had once unified the martial world, collapsed miserably due to internal power struggles and counterattacks from martial artists, and was now the representative group of demonic paths that divided the martial world along with the Murim Alliance.

“Blood Shadow Death God Seo Moo-geuk. What brings you here?”

Elder Muwon of Shaolin Temple, who held the highest rank and reputation among the martial artists present, spoke while looking at a middle-aged man with red hair and red eyes.

“What brings me here, you ask. What a ridiculous question. Did you think I came for a boat ride? I came to enter the Heavenly Demon’s Chamber.”

“Honam is Murim Alliance territory, a place the Evil Emperor Alliance shouldn’t enter.”

“If you wanted to argue that point, you should have done it a year ago when people started gathering at Lake Dongting. You stayed quiet all this time but now that the hidden chamber has been found, you tell us to leave? Do you take me lightly?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

The Blood Shadow Death God, leader of the Evil Emperor Alliance, had personally led his elites here.

As the situation could potentially escalate into a full-scale war between the righteous and evil paths, Elder Muwon immediately backed down to avoid giving any cause for trouble.

A moment of silence passed.

Both Elder Muwon and Blood Shadow Death God knew they had no choice but to cooperate here, but neither could easily speak up first.

If they worked together to tackle the hidden chamber, naturally they would have to share the rewards.

They didn’t mind sharing gold and treasures, but they absolutely could not share the secret techniques of the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon who had unified the martial world for the first and last time.

At that moment.

“It’s the White Light Heavenly Lady!”

Everyone present looked up at the sky.

Elder Muwon and Blood Shadow Death God were no exception.

High in the sky, a gray-haired woman was descending toward the ground holding hands with a young man.

“Amitabha.”

“So the rumors were true.”

Elder Muwon chanted Buddha’s name while Blood Shadow Death God muttered in a trembling voice.

She was called the White Light Heavenly Lady because she flew through the sky and punished people with white light – though they weren’t sure about the white light, her appearance freely flying through the sky was indeed worthy of being called a heavenly maiden.

Thump!

The attention that had been focused on White Light Heavenly Lady instantly shifted to the young man who landed on the ground.

“You who travel with White Light Heavenly Lady, are you the Mountain Lifter?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Pleased to meet you. This humble monk is called Muwon of Shaolin. What is your name?”

“Mok… My name is Han Yuseong.”

“Han Yuseong. A good name.”

Though he made a respectful fist-palm greeting, a faint killing intent could be felt in his voice.

Yuseong, who had been wondering why Elder Muwon was hostile toward him, remembered the damage he had inflicted on Mount Hua Sect and gave a bitter smile.

“Mountain Lifter, White Light Heavenly Lady. Have you come targeting the Heavenly Demon’s Chamber?”

Blood Shadow Death God, who regarded Yuseong as a competitor targeting the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s treasure, also showed hostility.

Sensing the atmosphere growing heavy, Yuseong moved his lips to send a sound transmission to Elder Muwon and Blood Shadow Death God.

-Now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves, but rather to enter the hidden chamber as quickly as possible.

-Why do you say that?

-Just as I arrived shortly after Blood Shadow Death God, as time passes, more people who believe the rumors will come here. Can you handle it if more people gather here?

-Damn it.

Both men’s foreheads creased simultaneously.

It was already giving them a headache, and now more competitors might show up?

-Hey, bald one. How many people did you bring?

-485 people.

-I only brought 220 subordinates, so you take only 220 as well.

-What nonsense is that! And if we’re matching forces, we should go by cultivation level, not numbers. Your people are the Crimson Blood Corps elites of the Evil Emperor Alliance – if we bring the same number, won’t we be at a disadvantage?

-Tch. Then how many wandering warriors should we bring?

-Since we don’t know how large the hidden chamber is, we can’t bring too many people, but wouldn’t around 200 be appropriate?

After exchanging sound transmissions for quite a while, the two seemed to reach an acceptable agreement as they faintly nodded.

Seeing this, Yuseong inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

Getting the right number of people into the hidden chamber at the right timing was the biggest challenge of this operation, but contrary to his worries, it had succeeded almost embarrassingly easily.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this alone meant half the mission was already successful.

-Wait, come to think of it, we didn’t ask how many comrade Han will bring.

-One person is enough for me.

-That’s quite some confidence.

Elder Muwon’s voice carried a mocking tone.

Even ordinary hidden chambers were full of dangerous traps, let alone the hidden chamber of the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon who was called the greatest of all time.

Even Blood Shadow Death God, the supreme being of the demonic path, had brought his elite forces and even hired wandering warriors on top of that, yet they planned to enter with just two people?

‘Their liver must be hanging outside their body. No, maybe they just lack any thought at all?’

Elder Muwon turned around with a sneer.

And Yuseong threw a sneer at the back of Elder Muwon’s head.

* * *

There were several reasons why martial artists who had searched Lake Dongting for over a year believing only in a secret treasure map that might be real or fake dismissed the rumors about the hidden chamber’s location as false.

The biggest reason was the content of the rumors themselves.

‘If you jump into the water at a special place near the island north of Lake Dongting, you can enter the Heavenly Demon’s hidden chamber.’

Utterly preposterous content.

How could jumping into water possibly lead to a hidden chamber?

Most people who heard the rumor sneered, saying they should at least make their lies somewhat plausible, and even among those who reached the special place marked on the map, almost no one truly believed such a method could lead to the hidden chamber.

They just tried it like a drowning person grasping at straws since there was no other way.

And that attempt yielded surprising results.

Splash!

A single dagger sinking into the water with a small sound.

Amazingly, the sinking dagger suddenly disappeared at some point.

“Unbelievable. What could the principle behind this be?”

Blood Shadow Death God, who had dropped the dagger himself and observed with wide eyes, ended up clicking his tongue.

The result was the same no matter how many times they repeated it.

As if there were an invisible door, objects disappeared without a trace upon reaching a certain position.

“According to legend, Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon Hae Cheongyeong was not only a supreme martial artist who reached the peak of martial arts but also a great sorcerer who mastered all sorts of bizarre magical arts. Though I don’t understand the principle, it seems he used sorcery to create a door here that can transport to another location.”

At Jegal Yong’s speculation from the Murim Alliance military, everyone wore blank expressions.

A great sorcerer?

Sorcery that could transport to another location?

It was an absurd story that should only appear in legends, but having witnessed it with their own eyes, they had no choice but to believe it.

“The door’s position is about two zhang below the water’s surface. If you fall in the wrong direction, you seem to be randomly bounced to a location about ten zhang away. Though it’s quite large so the possibility of being bounced elsewhere is low, the problem is…” ^[1]

“We don’t know if this actually connects to the hidden chamber.”

“Yes. Someone needs to go in and verify.”

At Elder Muwon’s muttering, Jegal Yong nodded with a serious expression.

It was certain that there was something that transported whatever touched it somewhere.

But there was no guarantee anywhere that the destination would be the Heavenly Demon’s Chamber.

The middle of the ocean, an uninhabited wilderness, even up in the sky were all possibilities.

Everyone just watched each other’s reactions, no one stepping forward readily.

“Among the wandering warriors, anyone…”

“I’ll check it out.”

“What? W-wait!”

Jegal Yong unconsciously turned his head, realized Yuseong had stepped forward, and hurriedly reached out his arm.

However, Yuseong had already dived into the water before Jegal Yong could even raise his arm.

And like the objects that had disappeared before, Yuseong’s form sinking into the water vanished without a trace.

“W-what is this…”

Not just Jegal Yong, but Elder Muwon, Blood Shadow Death God, and everyone present wore shocked expressions.

Why would he dive in himself when they could have sent a wandering warrior?

But there were still more surprises to come.

“I’ll go take a look too.”

“What?”

Swoosh!

This time there wasn’t even time to stop her.

Alice instantly threw herself into the water, and likewise vanished from the world.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the scene.

How much time passed?

Elder Muwon finally managed to open his mouth.

“…Are they dead?”

“We’re alive.”

Startled by the sudden voice, people turned their heads and gaped at seeing Yuseong floating on the water.

Regardless, Yuseong calmly swam to a nearby boat and climbed aboard.

“It’s definitely the hidden chamber. There was text saying ‘Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s Tomb’.”

“Is that true?”

“If you don’t believe me, go down and check yourself.”

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to doubt you. I was just so surprised that I… How big is the hidden chamber?”

“It’s massive enough to fit everyone here.”

“Were there any traps?”

“I was only there briefly and the space was so vast that I couldn’t check for traps.”

“Then…”

After exchanging several questions and answers, Jegal Yong nodded with a confident expression.

“It seems to definitely be connected to the hidden chamber.”

“Then now we need to decide the order of entry…”

“Obviously I go first! Crimson Blood Corps! Follow me!”

“Yes sir!”

Jegal Yong watched with incredulous eyes as Blood Shadow Death God and the Crimson Blood Corps collectively threw themselves into the water, then muttered in a tired voice.

“…Let’s enter slowly.”