“This is...”

A sudden gust of wind swept over them, and Namgoong Mucheon furrowed his brows.

What had appeared before them as they continued along the path was a massive space, hollowed out endlessly above and below.

From the unfathomable abyss below, wind surged upward without pause. The roar of the wind echoed through the chamber like a beast howling.

Strangely, not even a hint of that wind flowed out through the tunnel they had entered from.

It felt as though a dragon were flying and twisting through the space.

“Is it a formation art?”

“I do not know.”

Whether it was a formation or not could be faintly sensed through energy.

But now, with their internal energy rendered useless by the Scattering Energy Poison, it was difficult to discern.

Namgoong Mucheon stepped forward and looked down into the gaping chasm.

It was darkness with no end in sight.

‘I have lived over sixty years, but never have I seen a place like this.’

Was this not a tunnel so narrow one had to bend down to enter? How could such a vast space exist within that narrow passage?

A sigh was all he could muster.

“Where are we to go from here?”

Namgoong Mucheon turned to No Un.

But No Un shook his head.

“I, too, was never able to go beyond this point.”

Only then did Namgoong Mucheon notice the inscription carved high on the wall above the tunnel they had passed through.

[Open Heart, See Hidden Blade]

‘If one opens the eye of the heart, the hidden path shall be seen.’

No Un also looked up at the inscription.

“I could not unravel the meaning of those words. In the end, I had no choice but to leave and hope for another chance.”

Of course, that “next time” never came.

Soon after leaving the cave, his body had begun breaking out in boils.

He turned to Seolhwa.

“Then tell me—how did you know this phrase? Do you understand its meaning?”

Seolhwa lifted her head and fixed her gaze on the six characters.

In her previous life, Oh Hyeolju had never fully explained the solution to this puzzle. He had only mentioned those six characters and added one comment.

‘The Ten-Thousand-League Phantom is a madman obsessed with formation arts.’

That was all the clue Seolhwa had.

“When I was in Hwaoru...”

Seolhwa stepped closer to the cliff’s edge.

Namgoong Mucheon came up beside her, warning her to be careful.

“I once met the Ten-Thousand-League Phantom.”

She could not say she had heard the answer from someone who had solved the hidden cave in a previous life.

So she reflected: what had the Ten-Thousand-League Phantom intended to convey through this cave?

“He said this: people get so distracted by what is right in front of them, they fail to see what they truly need to.”

Though she had never met him, Seolhwa thought that perhaps this was what the Ten-Thousand-League Phantom had wanted to say through the cave.

A powerful wind gusted once more.

It was strong enough to make standing difficult.

The tunnel howled, and the walls trembled as if issuing a warning.

“Seolhwa. It is dangerous—step back.”

“Grandfather.”

Seolhwa turned to face Namgoong Mucheon and No Un.

“Did neither of you find anything strange along the way here?”

“Strange?”

At first, I thought the Ten-Thousand-League Phantom might be associated with the Blood Demon Cult.

When she heard from No Un that Scattering Energy Poison had been used, she had wondered if the Phantom was one of the cult’s blood masters.

But as they passed through the cave’s traps, her certainty grew.

The Ten-Thousand-League Phantom is not from the Blood Demon Cult.

If he were, he would never have designed such a forgiving cave.

“The traps in this place are meant to trouble intruders—but not to kill them.”

Rodless poles. Wooden puppets with clubs.

Pits filled with filth. Flying sandbags.

“This hidden cave was not constructed to guard a treasure.”

Its traps were not meant to eliminate trespassers, but rather to make them realize something.

And the inscription they had seen at the cave’s entrance—

He who possesses courage shall gain the world.

“It is more as if the treasure is awaiting its rightful owner.”

She lifted her gaze toward the ceiling, which seemed to stretch endlessly upward.

And she wondered:

Was it that the end could not be seen? Or that no one had truly seen it?

What had the Ten-Thousand-League Phantom wanted others to witness through this cave?

A madman obsessed with formation arts.

Why had Oh Hyeolju said that?

There could be only one answer.

This is all a formation.

The vast chamber. The wind.

The howling echoes. Even the trembling of the cave itself.

And that is the true terror of formation arts.

The belief that it is real.

The moment fear blinds one and convinces them it is all real, they are subject to the illusion's rules.

Even if the cliff is not real, one could still fall to their death. Even if the fire is not real, one could still be burned alive. Even if the water is not real, one could still drown.

Formation arts are powered by belief.

They are completed through conviction.

In other words, whether one sees the path or not depends on how they open the eye of the heart.

In reverse, that means—

If one truly believes they are safe, then rather than being trapped by the formation, they may instead master it.

Tap!

“Seolhwa...!”

Seolhwa leapt toward the cliff.

Namgoong Mucheon reached out in shock, but Seolhwa’s movement was just a beat faster.

No Un also gasped and rushed forward.

But Seolhwa plummeted over the edge in an instant, disappearing from their sight.

And then—both men froze.

The girl who had clearly fallen now floated calmly before their eyes.

“Wh-what is this...?”

Seemingly standing on empty air, Seolhwa hovered midair and smiled at them.

“Please wait here, Grandfather. Sect Leader. If you do not believe, do not follow. It is dangerous.”

If one did not truly believe, a fall to death could happen in a heartbeat. It was better not to leap at all than to leap in doubt.

“I will return shortly.”

Leaving those words behind, Seolhwa soared upward, riding the wind.

It was nothing short of ascension.

Watching his granddaughter grow smaller in the distance, Namgoong Mucheon could not close his mouth.

Behind him, No Un approached.

His hand, pointing toward the ceiling, was trembling.

“Sw-Sword Emperor... could your granddaughter... possibly be capable of Void Step?”

“...That is impossible.”

Even he, a master of the Flowing Realm, could not easily perform Void Step.

No matter how exceptional his granddaughter was, she had not yet reached the Flowing Realm.

“It was not Void Step.”

“If not Void Step, then how can a person fly through the sky?”

“...I do not know.”

Namgoong Mucheon lowered his gaze to the abyss of darkness far below.

The howl of the raging wind was sharp and fierce.

Could it be possible, if one threw themselves into that place? Was the wind the answer?

He felt he might be starting to understand, faintly—but he had no intention of testing it himself.

After gazing down into the darkness for a moment, Namgoong Mucheon sank down into a seated cross-legged posture.

“What are you doing?”

“Did she not tell us to wait until she returned? I must restore my internal energy in the meantime. So that I might be of some help, even a little.”

“Ah...”

No Un, too, sat down beside him in the same posture.

Though he had long been unable to circulate his internal energy, he wanted to do something—anything.

No, the sight of that child just now had stirred his heart so deeply that he could not sit idly.

When was the last time I felt something like this?

It had been so long since he had witnessed someone discover something, leap without hesitation, and finally succeed.

He, too, in his youth, had once thrown himself in without thinking of the consequences.

Perhaps the reason his growth had stagnated was precisely because he had lost that kind of spirit.

“...”

Whooooooo—

The fierce wind howled through the cave.

It sounded like the roar of a dragon.

Seated cross-legged beside that swirling gale, the two men recalled memories long buried in the past.

****

Whooooo—

As Seolhwa entrusted her body to the wind and rose ever higher, at some point her entire vision was consumed by darkness.

It was the same pitch-black void as when she had first stepped into this hidden cave.

In that moment, she felt as though something were pushing gently against her back. The same sensation as when she had first been shoved into the cave.

It was not a human hand.

It felt as though the darkness itself were guiding her somewhere.

Seolhwa quietly closed her eyes and focused all her senses.

Whooo...

The violent howling of the wind gradually died down. The feeling of floating slowly faded.

When stillness filled the space completely, Seolhwa opened her eyes slowly.

Something was ten steps ahead.

“...”

She walked forward to it.

Atop a table no taller than half her height, there was a box. Seolhwa carefully lifted it with both hands.

Whooooom—

“!”

A strong gust of wind surged from somewhere and swept over her. Seolhwa squinted, clutching the box to her chest.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing alone in a wide field.

The sunlight was dazzling.

She squinted slightly and looked around. Not far off, Namgoong Mucheon and No Un were seated cross-legged.

Seolhwa ran toward them.

“Grandfather.”

Namgoong Mucheon opened his arms to her.

As Seolhwa dove into his embrace, Namgoong Mucheon pulled her onto his lap.

“I am relieved you are safe.”

“You too, Grandfather. Uh...”

Seolhwa looked at him intently.

“Have you already recovered your internal energy?”

There should still be time before the effects of the Scattering Energy Poison wore off. Had ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) so much time passed?

“When you are doing something... how could your grandfather just sit by and do nothing?”

Namgoong Mucheon chuckled and brushed aside the strands of hair falling over Seolhwa’s face. His warm gaze turned toward the box cradled in her arms.

“Well then, what did you obtain?”