Chapter 59

Among the three revealed holes, the two from which the water had drained were both sheer precipices. Therefore, Yushinyun and the Jeongwongak members entered the third hole by opening its iron gate. Inside the hole, a sloping uphill path stretched out. As they struggled to climb, only the sound of their heavy breathing echoed.

Dang Halin and Zhuge Jun had a mountain of questions for Yushinyun, but they did not utter a single word. Or rather, they could not.

'Why does he suddenly seem so imposing?'

This was due to the overwhelming aura emanating from Yushinyun. After a while of climbing, Yushinyun suddenly stopped.

"We seem to have arrived."

Ma Rek gently placed Huang Nuo, who had been carried on his back, on the ground, while Zhuge Jun and Dang Halin surveyed the surroundings. They soon noticed the words "Ji Guan" inscribed on one of the walls and a long, straight corridor stretching out before them. The corridor was so long that it would take about half an hour (approximately 7 minutes) to walk from one end to the other, with only faint light visible at the starting and ending points.

It seemed that to pass through Ji Guan, they needed to reach the end of the corridor. At that moment, Zhuge Jun, who had been examining the pitch-black middle section of the corridor, spoke up.

"Hmm, there's not a single bit of light in the middle section. We'll need to light torches to move forward."

As he was about to take out a flint to light the torch, Yushinyun suddenly raised his hand to stop him.

"Why are you doing that?"

Zhuge Jun, puzzled, asked, but Yushinyun did not answer him and turned to someone else.

"Huang Nuo."

"Yes, Lord Guozhu."

"Arm yourself."

As soon as Yushinyun finished speaking, Huang Nuo took out his unique weapon, which he had been carrying on his back. A bow slightly smaller than the average size in the Central Plains appeared.

Through the White Bone Eye, Huang Nuo did not possess the Boneless trait like Ma Rek. However, he had a rare and unique characteristic that was not inferior to Ma Rek's.

[Huang Nuo / Pseudonym]

Boneless: None

Trait: Super Hearing (A-)

Super Hearing.

One of the rare traits that only a very few lucky archer hunters among the high ranks possess.

Zhuge Jun, who had been carefully examining the bow, spoke in surprise.

"Is that bow perhaps the Goryeo horn bow?"

"Yes."

"Remarkable. To see the bow from the land of the legendary archers, which I had only heard about."

"...I had a brief connection with someone from there when I was young."

A small trace of melancholy appeared on Huang Nuo's face but quickly disappeared.

"Let's stop the idle talk. Huang Nuo, did you bring the arrows I mentioned?"

"Of course."

As he answered, Huang Nuo took out an arrow from his quiver that looked nothing like a regular arrow. The tip of the arrow had a long, trailing line attached to it.

These were specially made arrows prepared by Yushinyun to allow for retrieval.

"Shoot it into the darkness in the middle section."

Following Yushinyun's command, Huang Nuo drew the bowstring without hesitation. As he opened his eyes, which he had been keeping closed, his White Bone Eye was revealed.

Pii! Swoosh!

The arrow flew into the darkness with a whistling sound.

Thud!

It hit something.

And in the next moment.

Sssss! Tzzzz!

A bizarre and chilling sound began to echo throughout the corridor.

As Huang Nuo stood in confusion, Yushinyun shouted loudly.

"Pull it back!"

"Grunt!"

The line was already taut. As Huang Nuo struggled, Yushinyun quickly approached and pulled the line with all his might.

Snap!

The arrow began to return rapidly. ...But something black was embedded in the tip of the returning arrow.

"Wh-what!"

As the object became more visible, Zhuge Jun's face turned pale.

Soon, the retrieved arrow was in Yushinyun's hand.

"Ah!"

Zhuge Jun screamed, and the other Jeongwongak members looked bewildered.

It was understandable. A monstrous insect, the size of a human head, was writhing on the arrow's tip.

Splat! Bang!

Yushinyun threw the arrow to the ground and stomped on the insect, crushing it.

Squish!

The insect's innards oozed out, emitting a smoky, acrid smell.

The darkness in the middle of the corridor was indeed caused by these insects.

A cold silence fell again.

As expected, it was the work of Man Sangja. He had created another insane mechanism.

Just as the Jeongwongak members were still in shock, Yushinyun suddenly turned to Dang Halin and asked a question.

"Baogue."

"Yes?"

"What is the nature of this venomous insect?"

"..."

Dang Halin was taken aback.

It wasn't because she didn't know the name of the insect. She couldn't not know, as she came from the most orthodox family in the martial world that specialized in poisons.

The problem was that Yushinyun had asked her as if it were a given, despite not having told her anything.

'Does he know my true identity?'

She felt her lips burning and her heart racing.

'...No, that's impossible. We've never made a mistake that could reveal our identities.'

After sorting out her thoughts, she responded as if it were nothing.

"...Based on my limited knowledge, this venomous insect seems to be the Heisha Feiliao (Black Sand Cockroach)."

"Hmm, Heisha Feiliao? The most venomous insect that lives in the Great Desert?"

Zhuge Jun, shocked, asked, and Dang Halin nodded.

The Heisha Feiliao is a deformed cockroach known to live in the deserts of the Great Desert. They live in groups and can devour any creature, leaving no bones behind.

Dang Halin continued.

"...The most terrifying aspect of the Heisha Feiliao is that their venom has the properties of a muscle-relaxing poison."

Muscle-relaxing poison is a toxin that forcibly disrupts the opponent's inner energy, the most lethal effect for martial artists.

'This is absolutely impossible.'

Dang Halin and Zhuge Jun thought simultaneously.

They had managed to overcome the previous gate thanks to Yushinyun's superior inner energy and martial arts, which exceeded their expectations. However, it was clear that reaching the end point while dealing with these venomous insects that could prevent the use of inner energy was impossible.

But Yushinyun seemed to be completely unaware of the severity of the situation.

"Just that much? Good, we can save time here."

He was even pleased. Yushinyun then called out to Huang Nuo with a bright expression.

"Huang Nuo."

"Yes."

"Sit in a meditative position here."

'...Could it be?'

Faced with a familiar situation, Dang Halin and Zhuge Jun were shocked.

It had been less than an hour, yet Yushinyun was attempting to perform a physical cultivation technique again.

However, regardless of their shock, Yushinyun began the cultivation technique as he had with Ma Rek.

The Donghua Xianqi and Leiyun Shenqi began to flow through Huang Nuo's eight meridians.

However, unlike Ma Rek, who was in the prime of his youth, Huang Nuo, who was in his seventies, was in a different situation.

'Hmm, not good. Is this an old injury?'

Due to his age, his meridians had already weakened, and one of the important meridians leading to his dantian was severely damaged.

He must have endured immense pain to survive until now.

'In this case, there's only one way.'

Whoosh! Whoosh!

After making his decision, Yushinyun drew the natural energy within his body and infused it into Huang Nuo's body. The meridians that had naturally weakened with age could not be restored, but the damaged meridian leading to the dantian could be reconnected.

The wound began to heal slowly.

"Cough!"

Suddenly, Huang Nuo spat out a mouthful of black blood.

However, Dang Halin and Zhuge Jun did not try to stop Yushinyun.

Or rather, they dared not.

'...The aura I felt from that person, how could it be in this person?'

They were simultaneously recalling a person and were in shock.

On the day they joined the Martial World Alliance, a Taoist from Xianfeng Cave was giving a retirement speech on the platform.

He was handing over his responsibilities to the next generation and stepping down from the front lines. His true identity was none other than the former leader of the Wudang Sect, the Sword Immortal Yu Xu Zhenren, the greatest swordsman and Taoist of the righteous sects.

The aura that had emanated from him was now felt from Yushinyun.

Only then did the two of them completely understand Yushinyun.

'Completely wrong.'

'...This person is definitely not someone who has mastered dark arts.'

The way they looked at him had completely changed.

But Yushinyun's attention was not on them. He was solely focused on restoring Huang Nuo.

And soon, his efforts bore fruit.

Huang Nuo's complexion began to improve.

But then,

'What?'

Unexpected system messages began to appear before Yushinyun's eyes.

[Hidden Quest, 'The Path to the Bow I' completed.]

[Quest condition, 'Treating 30 critically ill patients' achieved.]

[As a reward, you gain a significant amount of additional experience for the 'Medicine' trait.]

The message indicated that he had successfully completed the 'The Path to the Bow' quest, which he had obtained while removing Dao Jinwu's curse. The condition required treating 30 critically ill patients, which he could not understand how he had achieved.

But then a thought came to him.

'Ah!'

It seemed that the women he had rescued from the prison in the brain, who were addicted to drugs, had all been counted. And Huang Nuo was the thirtieth.

But what followed was even more surprising.

[Successfully discovered the 'First Unknown Medicine'.]

[The 'Medicine (A+)' trait has reached its limit.]

[The 'Medicine (A+)' trait has evolved into 'Immortal Medicine (SS)'.]

[New skill, 'Reverse Purification (S+)' obtained.]

[New skill, 'Power Enhancement (S+)' obtained.]

[New skill, 'Protecting a Hundred Wishes (A+)' obtained.]

[Hidden Quest, 'The Path to the Bow II' obtained.]

Even Yushinyun, who rarely showed surprise, was taken aback this time.

'Immortal Medicine? And it's SS rank?'

Using natural energy to restore Huang Nuo had unexpectedly led to the evolution of the 'Medicine' trait to the superior SS rank.

Moreover, he had obtained three new skills specialized in 'healing' and 'buffing'.

'To think a necromancer would gain the power of a healer...'

It was truly an unexpected and great fortune.

This event would undoubtedly elevate Yushinyun to a higher realm.

"Huff, huff!"

Huang Nuo was regaining his composure with deep breaths. Yushinyun, for the last time, checked Huang Nuo's status through the White Bone Eye.

And he saw it.

[Huang Nuo / Pseudonym]

Boneless: None

Trait: Listener of Darkness (S-)

He could see the fully evolved trait of Huang Nuo with his own eyes.

The martial world's reborn top-tier player.