The Trap (4)

“There is something I am curious about.”

While listening, Neung Je-gang suddenly threw out a question.

“What is it?”

“Why has Deung Gak kept you alive until now?”

In truth, that was strange. Dam Ja-cheon had no relationship with Dam Yeo-yeong anymore, and he had even learned all their secrets, so why had they kept him alive?

“Ku-huhu! Because I know the final formula of the martial art he tried to master.”

After Dam Ja-cheon learned Deung Gak’s secret, he was so shocked that his body trembled. If what he had seen was true, Deung Gak was truly evil itself. The greatest demon raised by the Pure Taoist Sect.

Because he had been raised on a foundation of goodness, he was the peak of hypocrisy that no one could detect.

Dam Ja-cheon wanted to put everything back as it had been and leave that place. If they found out he had been there, they would surely kill him.

But alas! Because he was in too much of a hurry, he knocked over a water bottle, and water spilled onto the floor.

“I lay flat on the floor to wipe up the water. But strangely, the water that had spilled onto the floor seeped in at one particular spot. I realized there was another space there.”

“That was truly an exquisite coincidence.”

“It was. One could say it was something in which heaven began interfering with the demon called Deung Gak.”

Because Deung Gak’s sword was in the stone chamber, Dam Ja-cheon was able to take it and open the floor. And inside, he found one book. The title of that book was none other than the Robe-Adding Divine Art.

“Robe-Adding Divine Art!”

Neung Je-gang shouted without realizing it.

“Do you know what it is?”

“The Robe-Adding Divine Art is one of the strongest martial arts in the martial world. If mastered completely, it is a terrifying divine art that can truly make one invincible.”

The Robe-Adding Divine Art was also one of the forbidden martial arts. In truth, Neung Je-gang had only heard its name and did not know very well what kind of martial art the Robe-Adding Divine Art was. All he roughly knew was that it could wrap nine layers of protective aura around the body like clothing, making it impossible to kill with any martial art.

“Kuhuhuhu! So it was something that terrifying. I did not know that book was so important. I rubbed it to remove the water that had gotten on it. But then the very last page of the book tore off. I memorized the phrase on that page, then tore it into tiny pieces and swallowed it so as not to leave any trace. Then I restored the floor to its original state and left Deung Gak’s stone chamber.”

“That was why he did not kill you. But you somehow managed not to tell him.”

“Kuhuhu! It was not that I did not tell him. It was that I could not.”

“……?”

“My head is not that good. At the time, I thought I had memorized it, but I soon forgot it. Deung Gak said he would make me open my mouth with the Necromancer Cult’s secret art, but it seems even that could not make me remember something I had completely forgotten. Kuhuhuhu!”

Dam Ja-cheon truly laughed in exhilaration. What he had done by chance had dealt a very fatal blow to Deung Gak. And because of that, he had been able to avoid dying until now.

“I left Deung Gak’s room and went to find the Kunlun Sect Leader. I wanted to reveal Deung Gak’s true identity to him and stop his ambition.”

“You did something foolish.”

“I did. As it turned out, the Kunlun Sect Leader was Deung Gak’s eldest disciple. He was one of the very disciples Deung Gak had raised to turn into his own power.”

The rest of the story was obvious without hearing it. He must have been captured on that path and had lived here in this state ever since.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

“Deung Gak. Kill Deung Gak. And everything he left behind as well…”

Dam Ja-cheon shouted with a curse.

“He is my enemy as well, so of course I will do that. What I am asking about is you. Do you want to continue living like this, in this state?”

“C-can you kill me?”

“If you want it…”

“Then kill me. Now I truly want to forget everything.”

“That will happen.”

“I am sorry to Yeo-yeong…”

Shuak.

The cold sword energy Neung Je-gang released cut through the iron bars and flew in, embedding itself in Dam Ja-cheon’s heart. Dam Ja-cheon tried to say one last time that he was sorry to Dam Yeo-yeong, but in the end, he could not finish the words and lowered his head.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

At that moment, the Heart-Cleansing Cave began shaking violently. It trembled as if it would collapse soon.

“It was a while ago that I unleashed Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign, so why is this happening now?”

Neung Je-gang thought the stone chamber was shaking because of the Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign he had released while overcome with anger. Whatever the case, the fact that he had to escape as quickly as possible did not change.

Papak.

He kicked off the floor and launched himself through the door. He reached the small plaza where the small stone chambers were gathered in a circle.

But at that moment, the floor began to collapse. The floor of Heart-Cleansing Cave, which he had thought was made of solid stone, had been a hollow space beneath it.

Neung Je-gang launched himself toward the ceiling. He would not be able to endure for long, but for now, he could hang on by gripping the uneven surface with his fingertips.

He looked down below. He could see nothing. He heard the sound of the collapsed floor stones falling and striking something. The fact that such a sound was only now being heard meant that the floor beneath Heart-Cleansing Cave was extremely deep.

“If I fall, it will be hard to come back up. What happened to the young Taoist at the entrance?”

If the young Taoist had fallen, it would be troublesome. Since he did not know the mechanism, he could not open it and leave.

“Could I break that door with one blow using my martial arts?”

The fact that the door was a heavy stone platform bothered him, but it was something he could not know unless he tried.

Using extreme lightness skill and illusion arts, Neung Je-gang made his body as light as possible and crawled while hanging upside down from the ceiling. Once he entered the passage, it became much easier. There was no floor, but the walls on both sides remained intact, so if he spread his feet, he could support himself fully even without using his hands.

At last, he reached the place where the round passage beneath the stone platform was. The young Taoist was nowhere to be seen, perhaps because he had fallen below. Neung Je-gang felt very sorry for causing him to die.

Now the problem was breaking through the stone platform.

He firmly braced himself by putting strength into his feet against both walls of the passage, then raised both hands above his head.

Considering the size of the stone platform, there was no room to spare. He gathered his inner energy with all his might.

In truth, even if he broke through like this and got out, there would still be a problem. The Taoists of Kunlun or Deung Gak’s wicked subordinates would already know that an incident had occurred and would have swarmed there. But that worry was something to think about only after escaping this place first.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, kwakwakwakwakwakwakwaang!

The terrifying palm force of Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign erupted against the stone platform blocking the hole.

Crack.

He had thought it would explode and fly away, but as expected, its size could not be ignored. Still, it was fortunate that he heard the sound of the rock splitting.

But there was a problem Neung Je-gang had failed to consider. It was the recoil caused by the shockwave when Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign struck the stone platform.

Jiiiik.

His feet, which had been supporting him by pressing against both walls, were pushed back with an ominous sound.

“Huh?”

Jiiiiik.

Once the balance of both feet collapsed, his posture breaking apart was only a matter of an instant. He quickly made his body light and tried to fix his feet in place again. But for some reason, the two walls that had been supporting his feet suddenly crumbled at that exact moment.

In that instant, Neung Je-gang realized his body was floating in midair with nothing to support it. The dark hole with no visible end was mercilessly pulling him down.

“You damned shiiiiiiiiiit!”

Neung Je-gang’s long scream echoed for a very long time.