The Chunbong Elixir Exploration Team traveled for about half a day before arriving at an unnamed mountain.

Due to the densely growing trees, sunlight couldn’t penetrate, leaving the forest dark. Seo-jun quietly muttered, "Light."

Whoosh!

Flames flared up, illuminating their surroundings.

Chunbong tilted her head in confusion.

“Lai-tu? I’ve definitely heard that before.”

“It means 'light.' It’s a Western word,” Namgung Sua explained.

“Ah, I see. But then, why is he doing that?”

“Perhaps Seo-hyup has a deeper purpose in mind?”

“I doubt it. I know him too well.”

Correct, Gold Chunbong!

Seo-jun had encased his hand in a flame to use it as a makeshift torch, and he began to look around.

“So, which way do we go now?”

“Hmm... probably that way,” Chunbong said, after checking her compass and the map alternately.

Kaak— Kaak—

Crows cawed in the distance, providing an eerie backdrop as Seo-jun pressed forward energetically, only for Namgung Sua to stop him.

“Seo-hyup, maintaining that flame is consuming too much of your internal energy. We can also enhance our vision with inner energy, so there’s no need for you to exhaust yourself.”

“It’s fine. I’m replenishing it as I walk.”

In fact, ever since he’d opened his Ren and Du meridians, the efficiency of his energy circulation had become absurdly high.

From what Seo-jun had observed, other martial artists who had reached the pinnacle could likely replenish their energy to some extent while walking as well.

“I understand that those who reach the pinnacle can circulate energy while moving, but I’ve heard that it’s not very efficient. The mental strain is considerable, and recovering internal energy doesn’t make much of a difference at that level,” Namgung Sua explained.

Oh, was that how it worked? Seo-jun nodded in understanding.

Seeing this, Chunbong sighed deeply.

“Leave him be. He’s been like this even before reaching the pinnacle. He always burns through his internal energy.”

“What?”

“I’ve seen him run until his dantian was completely empty, only to fill it up again within a few minutes.”

“…How does he do that?”

“I have no idea.”

Seo-jun interjected.

“Hey, Gold. I definitely explained it to you.”

“You call Sss and Hup! Whack! an explanation?”

“It’s real, though.”

“...Forget it.”

Chunbong shook her head and pointed ahead.

“It’s that way. We’re almost there.”

After walking a bit further, they reached a towering cliff with what looked like a cave entrance near the middle.

“Whoa…”

How were they supposed to climb that? Seo-jun pondered for a moment before drawing his sword.

He could lighten his body with qinggong (light body technique) and use the suction principle to run up the cliff as if it were flat ground, but that would be tiring.

Whoosh!

Golden sword energy enveloped Seo-jun’s blade.

“Wouldn’t stairs be more convenient?”

“Yay,” Chunbong cheered half-heartedly, lightly patting Seo-jun on the back.

That gave him the boost he needed.

With a grin, Seo-jun swung his sword swiftly.

Swish, swish, swish!

This wasn’t just for show.

The sword energy carved out evenly spaced footholds along the cliff face.

“Let’s go.”

Leading the charge, Seo-jun leaped onto the first foothold, then jumped to the next when his momentum slowed. Repeating the process, he ascended the cliff with ease, reaching the cave entrance in no time.

“YAHOOOO—!!” Seo-jun shouted.

YAHOOOO— echoed back faintly.

From the echo, Seo-jun could tell that it wasn’t far-reaching. There was probably a rock blocking the entrance further inside.

Chunbong and Namgung Sua soon arrived, nodding in agreement.

“Shall we go in?” Namgung Sua asked, holding her large sword close as she surveyed the cave.

“Hm... This cave seems quite old. Judging by the shape of the walls, it was likely man-made... It might really be a Bidong.”

“Then why is it still intact?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Fair point.

As they ventured deeper, they soon came across a massive rock blocking the path, just as the Haomun’s information had said.

Seo-jun knocked on the rock a few times and nodded.

“I think this is why no one’s been able to enter.”

It wasn’t an ordinary rock.

As Seo-jun stared at the rock, Namgung Sua drew her sword.

“I’ll take care of it, Seo-hyup.”

With a sudden flash in her blue eyes, lightning crackled along the blade of Namgung Sua’s greatsword.

“Whoa!”

Seo-jun quickly stepped back.

Rumble!

Namgung Sua dashed forward with the sound of thunder following her.

BOOOOM—!!

Dust billowed up around them.

“Ah, my poor Chunbong.”

Seo-jun covered Chunbong’s nose and mouth with his hand, waving away the dust.

“Whadt's habbening?” Chunbong mumbled, her voice muffled.

Seo-jun glanced ahead and widened his eyes in surprise.

“Oh.”

Despite Namgung Sua’s powerful strike, the rock hadn’t shattered completely. Only a small crack had formed.

Namgung Sua frowned and stepped back.

“This rock... it absorbs internal energy. I’ve never heard of such a material. What could it be?”

“I’m not sure. Should I give it a try?”

Namgung Sua blinked at Seo-jun and then smiled softly, nodding.

“Thank you, Seo-hyup.”

“Oh…”

If it were Chunbong, she would have swung her sword tirelessly until she collapsed from exhaustion. Namgung Sua was definitely different.

Seo-jun, realizing the obvious anew, placed his hand on the rock.

“Let’s see…”

As he channeled his internal energy, just as Namgung Sua had said, the rock absorbed it.

He could continue pouring energy into it until it cracked, but being the clever martial artist that he was, Seo-jun wasn’t about to do something so foolish.

He altered the nature of his energy to yang energy and carefully observed the rock.

The extreme heat from his yang energy caused the surface of the rock to heat up rapidly, distorting the air around it.

Yin-Yang Reversal.

The yang energy shifted into yin energy.

At the same time, the rock, which had been burning hot, cooled down unnaturally fast.

Crack, crack, crack—

Large cracks spread across the surface of the rock, bringing it to the verge of collapse.

“Nice! Big sis, I’ll leave the final blow to you. Revenge!”

Seo-jun stepped back, and Namgung Sua, after blinking in surprise, chuckled and struck the rock with the palm of her hand.

Crash!

With a strong blow, the massive rock crumbled to pieces.

Namgung Sua looked over at Seo-jun, who was clapping his hands in approval, and licked her lips with her crimson tongue.

“If you keep doing that... you’re making things difficult for me, you know?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, really.” Namgung Sua smirked playfully, her eyes curving in amusement.

At that moment, Chunbong, who had goosebumps all over, hurriedly clung to Seo-jun’s waist.

“Hey, hey! I just got a really weird feeling!”

“Yeah? Me too.”

Seo-jun and Chunbong hugged each other tightly, trembling, as Namgung Sua blinked in surprise.

“Oh, I won’t eat you.”

“Gah!”

“Hey! You’re in big trouble now!”

“Save me, Chunbong!”

“You save me!”

“What the heck?!”

Amidst their playful banter, the comedic scene finally came to an end.

After overcoming the challenges, they stepped into the cave, which seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness.

Whoosh!

Seo-jun conjured flames into his hand.

Tap, tap, tap.

Their footsteps echoed ominously as they walked deeper, the atmosphere growing more eerie with each step.

The chilling air brushing against his skin made Seo-jun shiver.

“What is this?”

“Do you sense something?”

“Hmm... Let’s just keep going for now.”

Thankfully, there were no branching paths.

Deeper inside the cave, they found themselves in a large chamber. Seo-jun furrowed his brow.

The unsettling energy he had felt earlier was now concentrated here.

“It’s death energy... the air is thick with it,” Namgung Sua muttered as she scanned the area.

“What could this be? Isolation? A seal?”

All around them lay countless bones, many of which didn’t appear human.

Namgung Sua, who had been examining the enormous bones, beckoned to the group.

“It seems, whether intentionally or not, something here created gudu.”

Gudu was a practice where venomous creatures were sealed in a box, and the one that survived after consuming the others would become the most poisonous. But instead of venomous creatures, it seemed that monsters had been used here.

Where Namgung Sua pointed, a massive snake occupied nearly half of the vast chamber.

Seo-jun, finally noticing it, widened his eyes.

“How is it that big?”

He approached the snake and tapped its enormous body, hearing a strange rattling sound.

Blinking in confusion, Seo-jun turned his head and locked eyes with a massive pupil the size of a person’s torso.

“Eek!”

Startled, Seo-jun instinctively threw a punch.

BOOOOM—!!

The snake’s head was obliterated in one blow.

“Huh…?”

It didn’t seem like a creature that would go down so easily.

Its aura had been close to the pinnacle, and with its size, a proper fight would have been quite troublesome. Yet it died in one hit?

While Seo-jun stood there puzzled, Namgung Sua chuckled and pointed to the snake’s withered body.

“It must have starved for a very long time and was on the verge of death. For a monster of this size to die of starvation... I can’t even imagine how old this cave must be.”

“Geez.”

As Seo-jun grumbled, something caught his senses, and his eyes widened.

“Oh?”

Without hesitation, he drew his sword, infused it with energy, and swung at the snake, cutting it open. A flood of blood and guts poured out.

“Ew...! Couldn’t you have warned me first?” Chunbong complained, but it was worth the trouble.

Amid the pile of guts, Seo-jun found an inner core, roughly the size of an adult male’s fist, and smiled with satisfaction.

“Wow, jackpot. I’ve struck gold!”

Ah, the sweet taste of easy gains.

It was too good.

 

Meanwhile, Soul-Stealing Demon Hyeok Mu-gang was running for his life.

Facing Shaolin alone was suicide. Even a demon brimming with demonic energy knew better than to charge headfirst into a fire pit.

‘At least I succeeded in sneaking into Hanam.’

Long ago, Hyeok Mu-gang had come across a record left by the previous generation’s Magical Physician.

‘What happens if you use monsters to create gudu?

Monsters, in order to reach the next level, form inner cores. So, the monster that survives gudu would undoubtedly possess a powerful core.

Even if I fail to retrieve the core, it’s fine. The monster that survives gudu will devastate Hanam.’

After reading the record that came with the map, Hyeok Mu-gang had promptly destroyed it.

According to the text, there weren’t any formidable defenses set up around the site.

Though the cave in the middle of the cliff had been sealed with dirt and gravel, time had likely revealed the entrance by now.

Beyond that, there was only one large rock that would be difficult for anyone below the pinnacle to break through.

The stone itself was a special material created by the Demonic Cult at the time, but it wouldn’t be much of a challenge for someone at the pinnacle level.

Most pinnacle-level martial artists were either isolated, focused on reaching the next stage, or wandering the world in search of worthy opponents.

For those at the pinnacle, small fortunes like this held little significance unless they stumbled upon a truly legendary martial art.

So, there was still a chance that the gudu remained intact.

‘If the inner core is still there, I’ll put it to good use, Magical Physician.'

For an ordinary martial artist, consuming an unrefined monster core would be suicidal, hastening the onset of deviation, but Hyeok Mu-gang was different.

Absorbing all kinds of energy was his specialty.

After all, Soul-Stealing Demon was a master of the Absorbing Star Technique.