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I didn’t rush, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Feeling like something might jump out at any moment, I remained on high alert, focusing intently. What I feared wasn’t beasts or people.

Even in complete darkness, I could handle them with my eyes closed. Surely, there wouldn’t be a master so powerful that I couldn’t handle guarding this cave that no one could find.

What I feared were possible poisons or mechanical traps. Like tiny ants with deadly venom, or mechanisms that could launch unexpected attacks.

I could handle mechanisms that shot hidden weapons.

But what if the ceiling opened and poured down poison? Or if the floor collapsed, dropping me off the cliff?

Such mechanisms were installed in important buildings of the Martial Righteous Alliance. At the very least, dozens of hidden weapons would fly out, poison would spray from all directions, and the room would instantly seal itself as poisonous smoke erupted.

Fortunately, there were no such mechanisms in this cave.

How far had I walked in?

Suddenly, the cave widened, revealing a large space.

“Ah!”

An exclamation of wonder escaped my lips. The first thought that came to mind was this:

How could such a place exist inside a cave?

The pond in the center caught my eye.

I slowly walked towards it. I didn’t know where the water came from, but it was very clear. Moreover, sunlight was streaming in through small holes in the wall.

Looking outside through these holes, which were as numerous as arrow holes, I could see the sky. They seemed to be openings on the cliff side.

Moss was growing on the cave walls, and unknown plants and flowers were growing here and there.

It was an amazing sight that one might only see in dreams, truly worthy of being called a fairyland within a cave.

Then, a single flower caught my eye. Just as Song Hwa-rin would stand out alone when among people, this flower did the same. It showed a unique presence among the various flowers.

An even greater exclamation burst from my lips than when I first saw this space.

“Aah!”

I knew exactly what that sun-red flower was.

“Solar Sedge[1]!”

Solar Sedge was a high-grade elixir among elixirs, difficult to obtain. It was known as an elixir among elixirs that could instantly grant a martial artist internal energy equivalent to one lifetime when consumed.

“The fact that Solar Sedge is here means…?”

I leaped back swiftly.

And quickly surveyed the surroundings. I had heard that around Solar Sedge, there’s usually a Dark King Serpent guarding it.

The Dark King Serpent[2] was a completely black snake from head to tail, not just an ordinary venomous snake, but a guardian spirit protecting the Solar Sedge.

Just as light and darkness coexist, the Dark King Serpent was known to live by consuming the essence of the Solar Sedge. When the Solar Sedge dies, the Dark King Serpent dies with it.

Moreover, the venom of the Dark King Serpent was so potent that unless one was immune to all poisons, they would die instantly when bitten. It was such a rare snake that even seeing it was difficult, so naturally, no antidote existed.

Indeed, a pitch-black snake was coiled in the grass nearby.

The Dark King Serpent, having sensed my presence, raised its head. As our eyes met, it flicked its tongue.

The poisonous aura it emitted was so strong that I felt dizzy even at a considerable distance.

I slowly drew my sword.

I was about to kill it instantly with a sword energy strike, but I stopped.

Some sense of incongruity made me think that I shouldn’t kill it.

I stepped back significantly. As I moved away from the Solar Sedge, the Dark King Serpent buried its raised head back into its coils.

Suddenly, a question arose in my mind.

Why didn’t the person who made the figurines kill the Dark King Serpent and consume the Solar Sedge? Why did they go to the trouble of creating a special mechanism in the box to bring someone who solved the secret of the figurines here?

I felt that I might be missing something.

I went back in.

I examined the inner space from as far away as possible without provoking the Dark King Serpent.

Then I discovered a passage that looked like a small crevice in one corner of the wall.

It was in a place that would be difficult to find unless examined closely. Moreover, if one were distracted by the Solar Sedge and the Dark King Serpent, it would have been impossible to notice.

That’s it!

I thought I should go there first.

I didn’t know if I could enter that cave without provoking the Dark King Serpent.

It seemed possible because it was somewhat distant from where the Dark King Serpent was, but it also seemed like it might rush at me.

Killing it would be easy. The problem was getting there without killing it.

Is it worth taking the risk?

I answered that question by trusting my instincts.

I moved slowly, sticking to the wall. Very slowly, persistently. When the Dark King Serpent showed slight reactions, I stopped moving.

It was clearly aware of my movements. But because my movements were so slow, it didn’t perceive them as a threat.

It took nearly an hour to reach the crevice this way. Indeed, there was a passage large enough for an adult to pass through.

Going inside, there was another small space. Light was coming in here too, and plants were growing.

In one corner, a skeleton was leaning against the wall.

A book was placed in front of it.

I carefully picked it up.

Immortal Crane Secret Art[3]

Flipping through the secret manual, the first page read:

In my later years, I accidentally discovered this place. While enjoying my time here, I had some new insights and wrote down a few words.

The contents of the manual were about the martial arts of the figurines. It detailed how to move the vital energy and emit internal force for those five techniques. It seems he named it the Immortal Crane Secret Art after Immortal Crane Peak.

On the last page, there was another note left by him:

I intended to take the Solar Sedge and the Dark King Serpent, but I discovered that the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb[4] grows here. It will take several decades for it to bear fruit, so I leave everything for the one who will inherit my martial arts. Even if my insights are not passed on, that too is heaven’s will and the law of nature.

Indeed, the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb was growing to one side.

The All-Poison Neutralizing Herb was a flower that bore fruit once every hundred years. The fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb was known to be able to neutralize any poison that exists in the world.

“Ah!”

Now I could understand everything.

When the deceased discovered this place, the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb had not yet borne fruit.

He left it for someone in the future to use this All-Poison Neutralizing Herb to consume even the inner core of that Dark King Serpent.

It was a choice that an ordinary person could never make. In a normal case, one would kill the Dark King Serpent and consume the Solar Sedge.

But the deceased left all of this for a future person who would inherit his martial arts.

That was the end of the writing. There was not a single word of common advice about who he was or how to live righteously with this elixir and martial art.

“Ah!”

I had exclaimed several times since coming here, but the emotion at this moment was the greatest.

I realized what it truly means to empty one’s mind and follow the natural order.

“Thank you so much.”

I formally bowed to the skeleton.

I was curious about who this person was. If it was within the last hundred years, it might be someone I knew.

Who could it be?

If I properly learned the martial art he left behind, I might be able to get a sense of it.

Anyway, that’s for later. Now it’s time to deal with this precious opportunity given to me.

If I kill the Dark King Serpent and eat its inner core, then immediately eat the fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb, I should be able to absorb the energy of the inner core as internal force. I might gain at least half a lifetime’s worth of internal force. Plus the Solar Sedge, which is worth a full lifetime.

But I hesitated.

I realized that another opportunity had presented itself.

The Poison-Immune Body.

With the Dark King Serpent and the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb, I could attempt to achieve immunity to all poisons.

I would need to consume the inner core and wait until it spreads sufficiently throughout my body. I would have to control my internal force with the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique and a few necessary incantations, and then eat the fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb just before the point of death.

If I could pull it off, I wouldn’t have to worry about poison for the rest of my life.

But if I failed, I would die.

Should I attempt it without knowing how powerful the Dark King Serpent’s poison is?

If I fail, my body might never be found. My disappearance would deeply sadden my father, mother, and Gwang-du.

The reason I was still considering it was that while internal force can be increased anytime, the chance to become immune to all poisons might come only once in a lifetime.

My deliberation didn’t last long.

Discovering the figurines at the Black Market, finding the map from those figurines, and then coming here to discover all this.

All of this came to me like fate. I’ve always chosen to face such situations head-on.

Once I made up my mind, I immediately put it into action.

First, I carefully picked the fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb.

With my sword drawn, I quickly exited the passage and walked towards the Dark King Serpent.

Hisssss.

The Dark King Serpent raised its head fiercely.

“I’m sorry. Let’s do something better together.”

Swish!

The Dark King Serpent’s head was cut off by my sword.

I quickly split open its body and extracted the inner core.

Even before consuming it, I felt nauseous and my head was spinning.

“Please, I beg you.”

I put the inner core in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Instantly, the poison began to spread. It was truly horrific. My mouth and throat felt like they were burning.

I endured the pain while exerting the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique to its limit. Along with the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique, I had to circulate the specified incantations to spread the poison to every corner of my body.

If I lost consciousness, it would be over.

“Aaaaaargh!”

I deliberately screamed.

I focused on my voice.

In an instant, my entire body began to turn black. It felt like my internal organs were melting and my limbs were being severed.

No! Eat the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb quickly!

Not yet! If you eat it now, you’ll fail!

Emotion and reason clashed. It was a situation where I couldn’t tell which was reason and which was emotion.

I endured and endured.

I felt the poison spread sufficiently to the tips of my toes.

Alright, now’s the time.

I tried to eat the fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb, but my arms wouldn’t move. My body had already left the control of my mind.

Ah, this is the end.

My consciousness gradually faded. In that final moment, what I recalled was my mother. My mother from my past life.

I was eating with my mother.

Me in my younger days.

I remember this day. It was the day I returned home after a long time, having defeated the Fist King.

I was excitedly telling her about it.

Mother was smiling at me. Only now do I see. Her snow-white hair, her bent back, her deepened wrinkles.

The me back then didn’t see it.

Because I only thought about myself.

Mother raised her chopsticks and fed me some side dishes.

Well done, my son. Eat a lot. Eat a lot and stay strong.

Mother’s words telling me to eat a lot echoed in my ears. My heart swelled, and my fading consciousness returned. I felt tears flowing from my eyes.

Yes, I have to eat. I can’t die like this.

I used my last bit of strength. My body wouldn’t move, but I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to die like this. There were too many things I still had to do.

The face of my current mother came to mind.

“You can do it, can’t you, son?”

I remembered the warm embrace as she hugged me with a smile.

Then my arm began to move little by little.

My trembling hand gradually approached my mouth.

…Mother.

Using my last bit of strength, I put the fruit of the All-Poison Neutralizing Herb in my mouth.

I forcibly chewed it. I felt the fruit burst in my mouth.

Feeling the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique activate, I lost consciousness.

How much time had passed?

When I opened my eyes again, the pain was gone.

I slowly got up. My skin, which had turned black, had returned to its original color.

With a tense heart, I examined my internal force.

If my internal force had increased even a little, this attempt would be a failure.

But the internal force in my danjeon remained the same.

Success!

I had achieved the Poison-Immune Body. Now, no poison could harm me in the future.

It was thanks to both mothers.

I felt especially sorry towards my mother from my past life. These days, I was showing filial piety to my new parents that I couldn’t fulfill in my past life.

Please understand, Mother.

Instead, I will become happy.

Now, having endured the pain, it’s time to receive the reward.

I walked over and picked the Solar Sedge. After washing the dirt off its roots with water from the pond, I chewed and swallowed it. I ate everything, including the red petals.

The energy of the elixir spread throughout my body.

Perhaps because I had just experienced such terrible pain? I felt better than when consuming any other elixir.

Swoosh!

The elixir spread throughout my body. I absorbed all the energy while exerting the Heavenly Martial Heart-Guarding Technique.

After circulating my vital energy several times, I examined the internal force in my danjeon.

I succeeded in absorbing all the internal force equivalent to one lifetime.

Now, the internal force in my danjeon had reached one lifetime and fifty-two years, approaching two lifetimes of internal force. Now I could finally use the Four Initials Formula.

By this time next year, I would reach two lifetimes, and then I would be able to use up to the Five Initials Formula. Just thinking about it made my whole body tingle with excitement.

Truly, from the moment I discovered the location in the figurine box until now, I never dreamed I would obtain such an amazing opportunity.

The Immortal Crane Secret Art.

The Poison-Immune Body.

One lifetime’s worth of internal force.

And that wasn’t all I gained.

I had gained this cave that no one in the world knows about. I could come here to rest whenever I wanted. It could also serve as a perfect hideout in urgent situations.

I buried the deceased, now a skeleton, in a sunny spot inside the secret chamber.

“May you have attained paradise.”

Just as he left many things behind without saying much, I too did not say much to him. I would show it through how I live.

“Hahaha.”

With a laugh of joy that made me feel like I could fly, I walked out of the cave.