Radiant Sword Tomb (3)

Meanwhile, Seonu Jin, who had chosen the left path and ran for quite some time, slowed his steps after sensing that no one was following from behind.

Then he whispered quietly to Tang Yeo-eun.

“Lady Tang, it seems they went the other way. We don’t need to hurry so desperately anymore.”

“Ah, yes.”

Only after stopping could the two of them finally look around at their surroundings at leisure.

The inside of the cave consisted of a circular passage constructed from massive bricks.

The intricately fitted bricks appeared to have been laid with tremendous care, leaving almost no gaps between them.

Moreover, although they were deep inside the cave, the two could distinguish their surroundings with their naked eyes without difficulty.

That was because a faint green light flowed throughout the cave.

Tang Yeo-eun gazed in wonder at the green-glowing night pearls embedded irregularly along the ceiling of the passage.

“I’ve never seen this many night pearls before. Even if we brought every night pearl in the Tang Clan, I don’t think there would be this many.”

Seonu Jin answered with a bitter smile.

“So those are night pearls. I’d only heard about them before, and this is my first time seeing one in person. I heard they were incredibly expensive, so using them in place of torches is rather intimidating. Well, at least we don’t need to light any torches.”

He carefully examined the arrangement of the night pearls and the characters engraved into the stones around them before speaking again.

“Lady Tang, doesn’t it seem as though the energy attempting to invade our minds is coming from there?”

“What? From those night pearls?”

After hearing Seonu Jin’s words, Tang Yeo-eun concentrated for a moment and examined the energy constantly seeking an opportunity to invade her mind.

Just as Seonu Jin had said, she could sense that the energy was coming from the night pearls and the characters engraved around them.

She spoke with a startled expression.

“You’re right! It really is coming from there!”

Seonu Jin looked at the night pearls embedded all along the passage ahead.

It appeared that the passage itself was an enormous formation designed to drive people insane.

He suddenly swallowed hard and muttered.

“What in the world did the Radiant Sword want? Why would he create such an enormous formation…?”

He could not understand why the man had turned the place containing his legacy into such an enormous trap.

It was not even a place designed to test one’s abilities, but a trap that drove people insane.

However, there was no way they could discover the reason now.

For the time being, the two decided to continue forward.

The passage remained unchanged even after they had traveled for a long time.

It was merely the same passage stretching straight ahead.

At first, they carefully examined their surroundings in case there were other traps, but aside from the strange energy continuously attempting to breach the barrier formed by the Great Lotus Mind-Purifying Art, no other traps appeared.

Tang Yeo-eun asked uneasily.

“Why does the path only continue straight ahead? The fact that there aren’t any other traps actually makes me more anxious.”

Seonu Jin shook his head and answered.

“I don’t think it actually goes straight ahead.”

“What?”

“The path curves slightly to the side. It’s as though it’s drawing an enormous circle.”

At those words, Tang Yeo-eun carefully examined the passage ahead before nodding.

“Oh, now that I look closely, you’re right. It’s slightly curved. But does that have any particular significance?”

Seonu Jin frowned slightly as he answered her question.

“If this truly is a circular passage and it continues connecting like this, then perhaps…”

At that moment, Seonu Jin sensed someone rapidly approaching from farther ahead.

Seonu Jin hurriedly sent Tang Yeo-eun a voice transmission.

—Lady Tang, someone is running toward us from ahead!

—What? From ahead? Who?

—Most likely… Mak Ujeon. Assuming this really is a circular passage.

—What?! What do you—ah!

Tang Yeo-eun instantly understood what Seonu Jin meant.

Because the passage was circular, even if they traveled in opposite directions, they would eventually meet.

That was apparently why Mak Ujeon, who had run in the opposite direction, was now appearing ahead of them.

However, even after understanding that fact, Tang Yeo-eun’s doubts remained unresolved.

If Seonu Jin was correct, did that not mean the earlier fork merely led in opposite directions around the same circle and held no significance at all?

If this passage was merely a circular road, why had the Radiant Sword created this place?

Seonu Jin had been thinking something similar.

However, that was not important at the moment.

Seonu Jin pushed those thoughts aside and first began considering what they needed to do now.

He quickly examined his surroundings and racked his brain.

‘This is bad. Even if Lady Tang and I join forces, we can’t confront Mak Ujeon head-on. Moreover, considering how he broke past Ga Yuak earlier, his martial prowess may have risen even further after falling into madness. The environment is unfavorable as well. It’ll be difficult to use my specialty, phantom swordsmanship and movement arts, in such a narrow passage.’

The situation was dire.

Seonu Jin bit his lip and looked at Tang Yeo-eun.

Had he been alone, he might have hidden using his concealment art, but that was impossible while accompanying Tang Yeo-eun.

‘I have no choice.’

It happened then.

A tremendous vibration suddenly came from ahead, shaking the passage walls as it swept toward the two of them.

Wooooooooong!

It was an enormous vibration that shook the cave as though an earthquake had struck.

“What is this?!”

The tremendous vibration surged through the walls, and Seonu Jin immediately realized what it was.

“Damn it!”

Gritting his teeth, Seonu Jin hurriedly lunged toward Tang Yeo-eun, covered both her ears with his hands, and pulled her into his embrace.

He had acted in an instant, the moment the vibration reached them.

Tang Yeo-eun’s face turned bright red when she was suddenly pulled into Seonu Jin’s arms.

“Y-Young Master?!”

But at that exact moment, a massive tidal wave of sound engulfed them.

—Roooooooooar!

It was a tremendous roar that reverberated throughout the entire passage.

Mak Ujeon’s roar had been amplified inside the cave and swept over Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun like a storm.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Tang Yeo-eun could only scream as the enormous wave of sonic force violently battered her body.

The sonic attack was so powerful that it made her skin ache. She could endure it only because Seonu Jin had covered her ears and shielded her body. Had she been caught by surprise, both her eardrums would have burst.

The tidal wave of sonic force battered their entire bodies for a short while before passing.

Tang Yeo-eun hurriedly pulled away from Seonu Jin’s embrace and looked at him.

Since he had covered her ears with his hands and shielded her body, Seonu Jin himself must have taken the sonic attack completely unguarded.

There was no way he could be unharmed after enduring such a tremendous sonic attack without even covering his ears.

“Young Master!”

Tang Yeo-eun called out to him with tears welling in her eyes.

Fortunately, however, Seonu Jin appeared unharmed in Tang Yeo-eun’s eyes.

Although he looked slightly pale, he was still smiling at her.

Seonu Jin gave her a gentle smile and said.

“Don’t worry, Lady Tang. I blocked my ears with internal energy, and since I’ve trained in external arts, ordinary impacts don’t affect me.”

Then he urgently continued.

“More importantly, Mak Ujeon is coming. Judging from that sonic attack, it’s certain that his martial prowess has risen even further since he fell into madness. We need to flee at once.”

Tang Yeo-eun nodded.

“Yes! I understand! Let’s hurry!”

However, Seonu Jin shook his head and spoke again.

“No. We’ll be too slow if we flee together. He’s faster than you, Lady Tang, so he’ll catch up to us soon. You should run first. I’ll delay him for a while before escaping.”

Tang Yeo-eun shouted as though the idea were absurd.

“You can’t do that!”

However, Seonu Jin smiled confidently to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, my lady. I’ll flee immediately if things become dangerous. You know my movement art, don’t you? He’ll never be able to catch me.”

“B-But!”

“Now, there’s no time. Run as quickly as you can and return to the place where we entered. I’ll follow shortly.”

Just as Tang Yeo-eun was about to say something else, she began hearing Mak Ujeon’s footsteps approaching from afar.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

Seonu Jin was right.

They truly had no time left.

“Hurry! Quickly!”

Seonu Jin gently pushed her in the opposite direction.

Tang Yeo-eun’s body floated into the air as she was sent flying. She looked back at Seonu Jin once with tear-filled eyes, then left him with a final sentence before beginning to run.

“Please be careful, Young Master!”

Seonu Jin watched Tang Yeo-eun recede into the distance for a moment.

Then he coughed up the blood he had been holding back.

“Cough!”

Splash!

Nearly a bowlful of crimson blood spilled onto the cave floor.

“Ugh!”

What he had told Tang Yeo-eun about being unharmed had been a lie.

Seonu Jin had suffered internal injuries and was currently in no condition to move properly.

When the passage had vibrated as though an earthquake had struck, he had known that a sound wave would soon follow because sound traveled faster through solid earth than through air.

That was why he had immediately realized that a tremendous sound was approaching the moment he felt the vibration traveling through the cave walls.

However, for the same reason, he had never imagined that his own body would be especially vulnerable to the sonic attack.

Who could have known that his solidly trained body would transmit the vibrations inward more easily?

Thus, although he had shielded Tang Yeo-eun with his body, he had actually suffered even greater damage than Tang Yeo-eun, whose body had not been trained in external arts.

Seonu Jin smiled bitterly and muttered.

“Damn it. What am I supposed to do now?”

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

The sound of Mak Ujeon’s approaching footsteps drew closer and closer.

Even amid the faint green light, Mak Ujeon’s eyes shone with a vivid crimson glow as he raced madly through the passage.

No memories or rational judgment remained in his mind.

Only his rage toward the Azure and Crimson Twin Swords remained distinct, boiling fiercely within him.

However, no matter how far he ran, he could not see them.

As Mak Ujeon failed to find them, rage continued accumulating within his chest.

Like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

After running for some time without seeing any sign of them, Mak Ujeon finally became unable to contain his fury. He poured all his internal energy into the rage boiling within him and released it in a roar.

“Roooooooooar!”

As he stopped and roared like a lion, his voice transformed into a tremendous tidal wave that surged through the passage.

A moment later, Mak Ujeon’s sharpened ears seemed to catch something resembling a woman’s scream.

It was a faint sound, as though it had come from very far away, but Mak Ujeon had definitely heard it.

There was something ahead.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Mak Ujeon growled like a beast once more and began charging forward.

Like a beast pursuing its prey, his gaze remained fixed solely ahead.

He could not allow them to escape again.

At the same time, Seonu Jin listened to Mak Ujeon’s terrifying presence drawing closer before finally clinging to the ceiling like a spider.

Judging from the force of the man’s approach and the condition of his own body, he had concluded that confronting him head-on was impossible.

The only thing he could do was hide.

However, because the circular passage was narrow and simple, there was nowhere suitable to conceal himself.

Thus, Seonu Jin decided to cling directly beside one of the stones containing a night pearl.

The brightest place was darkest beneath the lamp. Because it was directly beside the light source, that spot was ironically the only place in the narrow passage where even a slight shadow formed.

‘I hope this works.’

With an uneasy heart, Seonu Jin listened to the sound of Mak Ujeon drawing closer.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

He had recently gained some confidence in his concealment art, but there was no guarantee it would work against a master possessing more than ninety years of internal energy.

Moreover, this was hardly an environment suited for hiding.

It seemed as though he would be discovered easily if the man examined his surroundings with even the slightest care.

And if that happened, it would likely be the end of him.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

He could now see the man with his naked eyes.

With crimson light pouring from his eyes, Mak Ujeon charged forward fiercely like a predator hunting its prey.

Gulp!

A moment later, he shot past directly beneath Seonu Jin’s head.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Seonu Jin released a deep sigh of relief inwardly.

It seemed Mak Ujeon had failed to notice him.

Thank goodness.

Just as Seonu Jin was about to prepare his next move, however, Mak Ujeon abruptly stopped running and skidded to a halt.

Screech!

At the same time, Seonu Jin’s heart sank.

Mak Ujeon stood still and flared his nostrils.

“Sniff, sniff!”

He looked as though he had smelled something.

Seonu Jin’s mind went blank when he saw it.

The smell of blood!

He seemed to have detected the scent of the blood Seonu Jin had coughed up earlier.

Like a beast, Mak Ujeon lowered his nose toward the floor, sniffed, and turned back around.

He headed toward the place where Seonu Jin had coughed up blood earlier.

As Seonu Jin watched him, his heart pounded without pause.

Then Mak Ujeon suddenly raised his head.

He was standing in a position where merely lifting his gaze would bring his eyes directly into contact with Seonu Jin’s.

Seonu Jin felt as though his heart would burst.

‘Damn it!’