By Zephyria 
Once someone belonged to the Demon Cult, they had to be buried in Heavenly Mountain even in death.
This was common knowledge, not just among the Demon Cult’s followers. Therefore, Jin Geum-ryeon was also aware that as long as Ak Mujin was alive, he hadn’t completely escaped the Demon Cult.
However, after hearing Joo Mu-jeong and Chun-wol’s testimonies, Jin Geum-ryeon learned exactly what Ak Mujin had almost suffered in the Demon Cult, and a huge fire blazed in his heart. When he heard that Ak Mujin had been ordered to marry the 3rd Young Master, he thought it was a bit strange, but he assumed it was just a simple succession issue.
But… he never imagined what was hidden behind it.
He belatedly realized how dangerous it had been for him to roam the Central Plains so carefree, unaware of these facts. Now, Jin Geum-ryeon’s mind was filled with the thought that the only way to protect Ahn Do-hyun’s safety was to execute the Cult Leader. Therefore, he didn’t show even a hint of hesitation when he ordered to return to the headquarters and behead the Cult Leader.
When Jin Geum-ryeon stepped forward, none of the Sandow Union’s leaders dared to disobey his command. Rather, they had been wondering when the Lord would go to Heavenly Mountain himself, as his resentment towards the Demon Cult seemed to have deepened over time.
As they approached Heavenly Mountain, they split into three groups according to their affiliations. The Green Forest, the largest force in the Sandow Union, headed south of Heavenly Mountain, the Black Dragon Fortress went east, and elite martial artists from the Water Transport Alliance and Haoh Gate planned to attack from the northeast.
The remaining elite forces directly under the Evil Cult Lord began to follow Jin Geum-ryeon towards the secret passage connected to the Demon Cult. But when he arrived, Jin Geum-ryeon found it quite coincidental. It was quite close to the place where he had reunited with Ak Mujin, whom he thought was dead.
That was because this passage, which had been discovered relatively recently, was learned about through Hao Mun-ju’s report during a pre-expedition meeting. Jin Geum-ryeon, who was puzzled by the fact that Ak Mujin, whom they hadn’t been able to find a trace of for three years, had suddenly emerged from this place, ordered Hao Mun-ju to search the surrounding area, and they found it by chance.
Suppressing his agitated heart, Jin Geum-ryeon finally reached the vicinity that Ok-ryeong had told him about. The surroundings were quiet as if no one was around. Thanks to this, Jin Geum-ryeon, who felt the sound in his heart even more noisy, suddenly slowed down and walked, caressing the cliff with his fingertips.
“…Lord?”
When Jin Geum-ryeon didn’t give any specific orders even after arriving at his destination, Cheong-aeng, the head of the elite forces, carefully asked him. Awakened by the voice, Jin Geum-ryeon stopped walking, coldly composed his expression, and immediately looked around.
“This must be the place Hao Mun-ju mentioned.”
“Yes. She said there was an entrance somewhere around this point… but there doesn’t seem to be anything that looks like an entrance.”
As Cheong-aeng faithfully replied and also began to look around, the people following them quickly moved and began to search the vicinity. Jin Geum-ryeon walked slowly again. As he did so, a large rock suddenly caught his eye. As he cast his gaze further, there were rocks of similar or smaller sizes scattered here and there.
At that moment, Jin Geum-ryeon looked at the wall he was touching with his hand. Indeed, the rocks that had fallen on the ground clearly had the exact same pattern as the nearby cliff, as if they had once been part of the wall.
“It seems like it hasn’t been blocked for long.”
Meanwhile, the cliff in front of him had a very subtly different pattern from the surroundings, so Jin Geum-ryeon finally smiled, twisting his lips. And in an instant, he seemed to take a breath, gathered his energy, and strongly struck the wall with the hilt of his sword. Then, the rocks collapsed with a crash, revealing the empty inside of the cliff.
“…!”
The people who were searching the surroundings stirred and gathered at the sound. Cheong-aeng, who was closest, looked inside and said.
“…This is it.”
Jin Geum-ryeon nodded once, gestured without hesitation, and quickly stepped inside.
*
When he first stepped into the passage, it felt like an ordinary cave, but as he walked inside and gradually became accustomed to the darkness, some traces began to be seen little by little.
In this cave, where there was no trace of grass, there was a very shallow and sparse bed made by forcibly scraping them together in the inner part with a slight difference in height. Below it, there were traces of soot as if a fire had been lit, and on the other side, stalagmites were densely rising near the stagnant groundwater, but most of them were broken. The wall near it was also not intact. There were traces of hitting it several times with something blunt.
There were also traces of someone trying to clean it up roughly, but because it had been repeated for a long time, things that could not be completely erased even made him feel a sense of life.
The group following Jin Geum-ryeon couldn’t hide their puzzled expressions. Who on earth lived in such a place, broke the rock pillars, and hit the walls? There was no way fish could live in the groundwater, and there wasn’t even anything to eat around.
But Jin Geum-ryeon knew very well who had lived here. So his heart collapsed miserably. He had already forgotten that he had a major task ahead of him, and he followed the traces with slow steps.
Cheong-aeng also followed him and said quietly.
“Lord… This is….”
She spoke cautiously, guarding the surroundings, but Jin Geum-ryeon lightly lowered his eyes and shook his head. And suppressing his heart, which was beating too hard, he turned towards the long passage leading inside and began to move as quickly as possible.
But this narrow path continued quite long. In addition, it was a passage used only in really urgent situations, so there was no light source at all, so if the level of Martial Arts was low, he would not have been able to see even an inch ahead. The road was not properly paved, so it was quite uncomfortable to walk, but nevertheless, Jin Geum-ryeon had no intention of wasting any time.
How long had they moved? They encountered another wall in addition to the trap, but after solving it by simply breaking it, they were able to move into a space with a completely different atmosphere. Jin Geum-ryeon did not let his guard down and began to pass through the small stone chambers, suppressing his presence. He could see elaborately decorated coffins here and there, so he knew that this was the Demon Cult’s Spirit Mausoleum that Ak Mujin had once mentioned.
Jin Geum-ryeon knows that he was trapped here for quite a long time. So he could guess that the Spirit Mausoleum had been opened once after Ak Mujin left this place.
Ak Mujin must have searched every corner of the tomb for survival. But the stone coffins, as well as each of the lion statues guarding the stone chambers, and even each of the railings were quite clean, and the stone floor was neatly arranged. The excessively managed attitude proved that it was a space that the Demon Cult’s followers regarded as quite sacred.
Jin Geum-ryeon groped through the maze-like winding path and finally found a space that seemed to be the antechamber of the Spirit Mausoleum. Even the path to it was very well paved, so he felt like he was in a sanctuary rather than a cemetery.
But when Jin Geum-ryeon finally faced the entrance to the Spirit Mausoleum, he couldn’t say anything.
The walls of the stone chamber where the coffins were enshrined were uneven but fairly straight, but on the other hand, this wall was covered with traces of someone trying to scratch and break it in a miserable way.
*
Ak Mujin swore that he would never return to Heavenly Mountain on his own feet. But now, he is chasing after Jin Geum-ryeon and going there himself, so isn’t it ridiculous?
Even so, he couldn’t just go to Heavenly Mountain right away, so he first headed to the Sandow Union headquarters with a hopeful heart. He arrived as quickly as possible, but Jin Geum-ryeon was already gone.
Ak Mujin, who confirmed through Hao Mun-ju, who was guarding the headquarters in place of the Evil Cult Lord, that he had really headed to Heavenly Mountain, hurried with an anxious heart.
If Jin Geum-ryeon had decided to strike the Demon Cult, he would have taken a large group with him. But judging from the fact that there were no traces left on the way, it seemed that he was moving closely with only elite martial artists.
In the end, Ak Mujin, who couldn’t even catch Jin Geum-ryeon’s tail throughout the journey, had no choice but to reach near Heavenly Mountain alone.
He took a breath and looked up at the mountain. He was watching from a very far distance, so it was as small as sesame seeds, but Ak Mujin felt as if the colorful pavilions would swallow him up. His eyes trembled uncontrollably, and the trembling was transmitted to his fingertips and toes, so he had to clench his fists tightly.
Judging from the fact that the mountain was still quiet, it seemed that he was not too late. After thinking about how to infiltrate Heavenly Mountain, Ak Mujin decided to find the secret passage leading to the Spirit Mausoleum, which he had escaped from.
But the scenery he found while recalling his memories was quite different from when he had just escaped. He was so flustered at the time, but there was no way that the fragments of the rocks he had broken inside would be facing inward, right?
As soon as the thought of ‘maybe…’ entered his mind, Ak Mujin’s feet quickly headed into the cave.