Chapter 50

<Chronicles of the Martial God's Return – Chapter 50>

Trembling-!

Everyone in the surroundings trembled and swallowed hard.

There was no one who could shake off the sweeping fear, making no distinction between friend and foe.

Even the three Sect Leaders, who had obtained several times their strength for a short time using Chu Bang-ji's drug, could not budge upon seeing Dan Woo-hyun's divine feat before their eyes.

Realizing that the power they possessed was merely a struggle at best, they felt a heaven above heaven.

“Keuuugh……”

“Gurgle!”

The three Sect Leaders were paralyzed with fear and could not gather their senses. Was it because of that? Their qi and blood became tangled, and their internal energy began to flow backward.

The immense pressure they still felt fueled it further, and they soon had to suffer from qi deviation.

“Keugh!”

“S… Save me……”

Everything flows according to the natural order.

Those who, with the sole thought of wanting to become strong and standing above others, did not refuse even using dirty tricks, were losing everything one by one as they met an unexpected disaster.

Thud, thud-!

Their meridians burst and blood splurted.

It was not because someone had laid a hand on them, but the result of their bodies self-destructing, unable to overcome the extreme fear.

“Turn your heads away.”

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun's voice was heard.

Gwon Mu-jin and Jang Sam-tae hurriedly turned their heads.

Soon.

Bang-!

With a massive sound, the bodies of the three men exploded. They had exploded, unable to withstand the power of their backward-flowing qi and blood.

Fragments scattered in all directions rolled right in front of Namgung So-hye.

At that disgusting sight, Namgung So-hye dry-heaved and turned her eyes away.

“Ugh!”

Although she had seen many corpses until now, it was the first time she saw something this gruesome. It was worse than the hideously distorted faces of the masked men.

“I will leave the remaining matters to you.”

Dan Woo-hyun then turned his back.

* * *

A man panted as he laboriously moved along a mountain path. A worn-out sword hung at his waist, and a large bundle was on his back.

It contained food and a blanket to use when sleeping.

This man's name was Sa Geuk-jeong.

He was an ordinary man with terrible martial arts skills and nothing particularly exceptional.

The place he was walking was none other than Gunja Island, a small island located in the center of Dongting Lake, north of Hunan.

“Pant, pant. It is damn hard.”

Sa Geuk-jeong wiped away his trickling sweat and caught his breath.

He did not know how many days he had already stayed here.

Even though he searched the mountain and checked the places where people rarely traveled multiple times, he could not find anything in particular worth mentioning.

Fortuitous encounter hunter.

People called those like Sa Geuk-jeong by that name.

Those who did not have the slightest desire to become strong by systematically learning martial arts, but only possessed the desire to gain a fortuitous encounter to sell it off or become a master in an instant.

Although there were many in the Central Plains blinded by such empty desires, it was no exaggeration to say that those who succeeded were close to none.

Sa Geuk-jeong had drifted all the way to Gunja Island in search of such fortuitous encounters.

“Hu, they say this place, which had been a forbidden area where humans could not enter for a thousand years, has become accessible for people to come and go since a while ago?”

Although it was a story handed down, it was said that originally, those who set foot here were cursed and no one made it out alive.

Since no one returned alive, there were not even any people who knew what had transpired inside.

It was said that hundreds of martial arts masters and hundreds of government troops from the Imperial Court had entered Gunja Island together once, but none of them returned.

Yet since it was said to have changed into a normal island at some point, it was certain that some fortuitous encounter was hidden.

Thump, thump-

If only he could find it, he would be able to become a tycoon in an instant.

Sa Geuk-jeong walked and walked with a silly grin.

He searched every nook and cranny of the island, trying hard to find anything that could be a clue, but it was not easy.

“What on earth is here……?”

The moment he let out a long sigh and took another step.

Sink-!

All of a sudden, the ground collapsed and he began to plunge downward.

“Arghhh!”

His body fell endlessly. It was as if he had jumped off an endless cliff.

If he fell all the way to the very bottom like this, he would surely die!

Regaining his senses, Sa Geuk-jeong quickly searched his bundle and pulled out a rope.

Falling from a cliff was a common occurrence when wandering around looking for fortuitous encounters.

Judging by the fact that his scream did not echo back, it seemed there was still some time left before hitting the bottom.

Before long, he threw the rope and hooked it onto a protruding rock.

Thud!

His fall stopped for an instant, and a great pain, as if his arms holding the rope would snap, was transmitted to him.

However, knowing it was his lifeline, he never let go.

“Pant… pant… pant…!”

He panted heavily and composed himself.

He must not panic.

The moment he panicked, he had no choice but to die.

What was the next thing he had to do?

He slowly slid down the rope.

Although he carried a long rope in anticipation of such an event, judging by the depth of this cave, he thought it might be deeper than the length of the rope.

‘Well, then I die.’

Sa Geuk-jeong sweated cold sweat as he diligently went down.

Before knew it, the rope was almost completely let out, and the bottom was dark and invisible.

Since it was a situation where he could not climb back up again, Sa Geuk-jeong was put in a position where he had to gamble.

‘One, two-!’

He let go of the rope from his hands.

It was all or nothing.

Since he could not continue to support himself on this rope anyway, it would be either falling to his death or surviving.

“Am… Am I alive?”

Contrary to Sa Geuk-jeong's expectation that he would fall for a long time, he was able to step on the ground after falling only a short distance.

Judging by the fact that the impact was not that great, it did not seem to be very deep.

Sa Geuk-jeong realized he had escaped death by a hair's breadth and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness… but what is this place?”

The surroundings were dark and nothing could be seen.

Seeing that his spoken words echoed, it seemed to be a large cavern, but it certainly did not feel like something created by human strength.

He unpacked his bundle and took out a torch.

He lit it using flint and looked around.

“This is……?”

His eyes widened at the sight that instantly appeared.

It was correct that it was a large cavern.

However, looking at the traces left on the cavern walls, he fell into the illusion that his breath was stopping.

Something massive had created it.

“Scales… traces? A snake?”

On the walls, patterns like snake scales were seen here and there. If so, it meant this was a place highly likely where a spiritual beast had lived.

Although the traces were extremely old and it seemed it no longer existed, if it was of this size, he thought it had to be at least an imugi right before becoming a dragon.

Gulp-!

Saliva swallowed down on its own.

If such a creature was guarding this island, it was natural that no matter who entered, they could not survive.

Because it was known that an imugi right before becoming a dragon would become extremely ferocious and swallow everything in its path.

Of course, it was a legend handed down, and no one had actually seen one.

And yet, Sa Geuk-jeong had found the traces of that legend just now.

“Ha… Hahaha! Jackpot! This is a jackpot!”

Sa Geuk-jeong burst into a loud laugh. Just by taking this information and selling it to the Murim Alliance, he would be able to live grandly for the rest of his life.

Walking along the path with a smile plastered across his face.

Whether the imugi had already ascended or died was unknown.

From Sa Geuk-jeong's perspective, he hoped it had died and at least its bones remained, but seeing that there was no smell at all, the possibility was slim.

Therefore, he continued to move forward.

The cavern was incredibly wide and long.

Indeed, since it was a place where an imugi had lived, it made sense.

One double-hour, two double-hours.

After walking for a considerably long time, he came to a dead halt.

He heard the sound of water.

He ran toward it in a hurry.

Having walked for a long time, he had been longing for water anyway.

Soon, the sound began to get closer and closer, and at the scene that suddenly unfolded before his eyes, Sa Geuk-jeong came to a dead stop, unable to move like a stone statue.

A large space.

It was a place where even the feeling was somehow different from before.

Water was flowing on one side, and several weeds were growing around.

On the walls all around, traces carved by something were distinct although old, prompting him to wonder if they were sword marks.

However, what stimulated Sa Geuk-jeong's gaze even more was.

“A… A person?”

It was a human corpse.

Three corpses that appeared to be on the verge of crumbling into white bones sat in the center.

They, who were bowing their heads while looking at something in the exact same posture, made him think that they might have commemorated someone here.

As if to prove it, there was a memorial tablet commemorating the deceased in front of them.

Sa Geuk-jeong swallowed hard and slowly approached.

One step, two steps.

Could footsteps give this much tension?

Every time he approached, cold sweat trickled down Sa Geuk-jeong's face. The air here was just that strange and bizarre.

Stopping there as he finally arrived, he looked at the three corpses.

Although he did not know who they were, one person seemed to be a woman and the other two seemed to be men.

Of course, he inferred this from the worn-out clothing that seemed like it would crumble if touched.

He then turned his head to look at the memorial tablet.

A person's name was written there.

However, there was something else that caught his eye.

The wall of the cavern visible across from the memorial tablet.

Large characters, perhaps carved with a blade, were visible.

In memory of the Martial God, I have seen the place where he began.

In memory of the Martial God, I praise his achievements.

In memory of the Martial God, I vent his resentment.

In memory of the Martial God, I shed tears for what could not be protected.

In memory of the Martial God, I lay his memorial tablet to rest.

In memory of the Martial God, the Three Heavens sleep here.

Tae Gong-jin.

Nam Ju-ryeon.

Cheon Mu-gwang.

“M… Martial God?”

Swallowing hard, he turned his gaze.

Staring at the memorial tablet that entered his eyes, he uttered the name character by character.

“Dan Woo-hyun.”