Murim Login - Chapter 372

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 372
“It’s here.”
“A cliff? Quite ordinary.”
I stopped before the steep cliff alongside the others and surveyed my surroundings.
The landscape of the cliff, stretching over a hundred meters high and composed entirely of solid rock, held nothing particularly remarkable.
‘What kind of formation could possibly be here?’
Yet it didn’t take long for my question to be answered.
Following a sudden sense of déjà vu, I walked slowly forward and came to a halt before the tan-colored rock face.
“This is….”
Everything possesses flow and grain. Even energy that cannot be seen or touched cannot escape this principle.
And the heightened senses I’d gained upon reaching the pinnacle of transcendence were more than sufficient to detect the unnatural flow of qi.
“A formation?”
A voice answered my murmur.
“More precisely, an illusory formation.”
Sal-sung—or rather, Moon-kyung as I’d known him—stepped forward with dry eyes fixed upon my face, extending his hand.
With a tremendous surge of qi, the solid rock face dissolved like mist, revealing the dark entrance of a cave.
“You’ve got decent eyes, at least.”
“Uh, yes?”
“Don’t ask again.”
Sal-sung uttered those words curtly and moved toward the cave entrance without giving me time to respond.
‘Is that an insult or a compliment?’
This feels oddly unpleasant.
Yet I couldn’t quite bring myself to actually get angry, for there was no trace of malice in Sal-sung’s words or actions—only the same dry, blunt indifference he showed everyone else.
As a listener, it was more embarrassing than infuriating.
“….”
Of course, given who I was dealing with, I preferred to let it pass gracefully.
If that’s how Sal-sung is, what can I do? I’ll just have to endure the discomfort.
The fact that I’m still standing here intact after bringing up that dream is already fortunate.
‘I nearly turned Sal-sung into a grain of rice—this is nothing.’
As I was thinking this, a low chuckle came from beside me. I turned to see Jeok Cheon-gang with the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Just thinking. That Sal-sung fellow is quite bad at being honest, isn’t he?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t ask again.”
“…?”
What is this? The latest catchphrase?
With that, I and the two sect leaders watched Jeok Cheon-gang’s retreating figure as he walked away, then stepped toward the dark cave entrance.
‘Still….’
A place like this was hidden here.
And it’s only a half day’s journey from Chengdu, the heart of Sichuan—a half day for ordinary civilians, let alone those trained in martial arts.
I walked through the endless cave, surveying my surroundings.
‘The entrance alone is incredibly vast. Several times larger than the Underground Prison of the Sichuan Tang Sect.’
I’d heard briefly on the way here that the monsters of Dark Heaven had stayed in this very cave.
I’d wondered where such numbers could have come from, but it seemed they’d been hiding here, waiting for their moment.
‘But how did they even get here in the first place?’
Under the command of the Western Heavenly Demon Lord, the enemies who attacked the Tang Sect numbered around three hundred.
Adding those who went toward Qingcheng and Emei, the total was a force that couldn’t be dismissed lightly.
‘Is the security in Sichuan really that much of a mess? No, even so, the Beggar Clan and Haowen Sect should have noticed something.’
How long had I walked, harboring this single doubt?
The wide path, broad enough for ten grown men to walk abreast, finally ended, and a new space revealed itself.
In that moment, words escaped my lips unbidden.
“…Well. Look at this.”
An area that could easily accommodate a thousand people. Dozens of night-luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling cast a soft glow, and in one corner were stacked jars and bottles filled with dried provisions and bone-fortifying pills, alongside various weapons and armor.
But what truly astonished me was something else entirely.
‘What is that?’
Strange patterns covering the entire floor of the cave.
Carved in precise arrangements like intricate gears, they resembled the ruins of some long-forgotten ancient kingdom.
“Could that be what you mentioned earlier…?”
At my question, Cheong Poong, the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect, nodded with a grave expression.
“Indeed. That’s the bizarre formation pattern Bindo spoke of.”
I’d half-expected it, but to think it was actually a formation.
I’d experienced various mechanisms and formation techniques, including formations, at the Seongnae Tournament, but I’d never seen anything this large or this strange.
‘This goes beyond strange—it’s downright grotesque.’
Perhaps it was because of the patterns that seemed both mystical and dangerous.
Jeok Cheon-gang, apparently sharing similar thoughts, spoke up.
“But what exactly is that bizarre pattern?”
“That is… something we have yet to determine.”
Myeol-jeol Shinni added to Cheong Poong’s words.
“We cannot make hasty conclusions at this point. We showed sketches of parts of the formation to numerous scholars and renowned figures, but none recognized it. We cannot entirely rule out the possibility that it’s text from the Western Regions that no one knows.”
But then, words tumbled from my lips without my consent.
“Wait, this isn’t text.”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
All eyes turned toward me. Sal-sung, who had maintained silence ever since entering the cave, suddenly spoke.
“Your evidence?”
“E-evidence?”
“If you make such a claim, you must have reasonable grounds. Answer without repeating the question.”
Of course I had evidence. Evidence so certain that neither a renowned scholar who’d mastered tens of thousands of books nor a martial world master with lifelong experience traversing the Murim could refute it.
‘Universal Language Pack.’
The [Universal Language Pack]—a system ability that automatically interprets all languages.
With this alone, communication posed no problem, nor did reading and writing.
The reason I could converse with the Skeleton Warlord in modern times was thanks to the [Universal Language Pack].
However, even with the interpretation function applied passively like a passive skill, the patterns that formed the formation remained exactly as they were. This was definitive proof that those patterns were not text.
The problem was….
‘How do I explain this?’
I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just stayed quiet.
But it was already far too late. As Sal-sung’s gaze deepened, I stammered and opened my mouth.
“I… I drew it.”
“Drew it?”
Sal-sung’s eyebrows twitched. An emotional expression for the first time. He must have recalled the wet dream incident.
“No, no, not that kind of drawing.”
“Then… milk?”
“….”
Please. Don’t say such things with that emotionless face.
“No, that’s not it either.”
Just as I was frantically waving my hands, Jeok Cheon-gang suddenly interjected.
“Are you now intimidating my disciple? How dare you—the successor of the Fire King and the sect leader of the Yeolhwa Sect?”
“Intimidation. There’s no need, but it’s not something I can’t do.”
“By chance, I received a favor from Gumyeong and was holding back, but if you of the Mun Family come at me like this, even I cannot remain idle.”
As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, I squeezed my eyes shut and cried out.
“I drew it!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“I think I saw something similar in a book once… and based on my intuition, it didn’t seem like text, so I drew it.”
A heavy silence descended. Sal-sung, exhaling a barely audible sigh, asked Jeok Cheon-gang.
“So, this one is the successor of the Fire King and the sect leader of the Yeolhwa Sect?”
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been silent for a moment, replied.
“Now that I think about it, we never held a formal initiation ceremony.”
“….”
“So strictly speaking, he’s not an official disciple of the Main Sect. In other words, until now, this fellow should be considered as belonging to the Taewon Jin Family….”
When our eyes met, Jeok Cheon-gang quietly averted his gaze.
“I’ll stop here.”
“….”
Stop here? You’ve already said everything.
Myeol-jeol Shinni and Cheong Poong, who had just witnessed the trust between master and disciple shatter before their eyes, awkwardly changed the subject.
“Ahem. In any case, it seems we must continue investigating this strange formation.”
“Your insights, Mun Dou and Senior Jeok, have been of great help.”
Everyone here—heaven and earth alike—knows that wasn’t helpful at all.
Cheong Poong closed the matter with words so absurd that even a stray dog in a back alley wouldn’t believe them, his face darkening as he spoke to Myeol-jeol Shinni.
“Regardless, this is truly unbelievable. To summon so many people with merely a formation technique. Tsk, remarkable.”
“Indeed. If such a thing is possible, doesn’t that mean those creatures could appear anywhere across the realm?”
Wait, what did they just say?
I, who had been staring at the ground due to the inexplicable frustration and the lingering aftereffects of the whipping, suddenly lifted my head.
“Why do you ask, Patron Jin?”
“No, it’s just that I’m hearing about this formation technique for the first time from what you two were discussing.”
“Hmm? Do you mean the Transposition Formation?”
“…The Transposition Formation?”
“Indeed. According to Sam-gwe’s account, that strange formation technique is called the Transposition Formation. It’s absurd enough that one cannot determine how much to believe, but Dark Heaven supposedly traversed hundreds of li through this formation.”
The Transposition Formation. The Transposition Formation, no less.
Even if a critic in angular-framed glasses suddenly walked out and declared this formation technique deserves four and a half stars, I wouldn’t be as bewildered as I am now.
‘I’ve definitely heard of this somewhere before.’
A formation technique that spans distances and transports hundreds of people.
The more I recalled it, the more my heart pounded fiercely and my lips grew parched.
If this formation technique called the Transposition Formation is indeed ‘that thing’ I’m thinking of?
‘No, that can’t be.’
Yet despite my desperate denial, my throat convulsed involuntarily.
“By chance, is this formation technique still active?”
Though my question was directed at the two sect leaders, it was Sal-sung’s mouth from which the answer flowed.
“Sam-gwe. We captured him directly here.”
“…He was attempting to flee through the Transposition Formation.”
“Yes. But that was merely his intention.”
“What do you mean….”
“Later, as he confessed, he attempted to activate the formation technique, but nothing happened whatsoever.”
“I see.”
“One thing is certain. No flow of qi can be sensed from that formation. It is now nothing more than an empty husk completely drained of power.”
Sal-sung finished his explanation in a monotone voice and added one more remark.
“Based on all circumstances revealed thus far, Dark Heaven is undoubtedly a successor of the Demon Cult. The Demon Cult possessed countless bizarre techniques and forbidden arts, so it would be no surprise if some strange sorcery existed among them.”
I had heard of what the Demon Cult was so many times it had become ingrained in my ears.
A powerful religious organization that could be called the embodiment of the Demonic Heretical Way itself.
Though ultimately defeated in the Great Righteous-Demonic War, the Demon Cult’s ability to dominate the Martial World against all opposition for a considerable period was thanks to the bizarre techniques and forbidden arts it possessed.
‘Then is this formation technique also one of the countless bizarre techniques and forbidden arts transmitted from the Demon Cult?’
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. Perhaps because it was a common subject matter in fusion fantasy novels I’d read before. The confusion only deepened.
‘It went smoothly enough in the previous arc. Sigh, I shouldn’t have watched something that hasn’t even finished.’
Still, just in case, I decided to memorize the arrangement and patterns of the formation technique.
Just as I was intently studying the Transposition Formation and etching it into my mind, Sal-sung suddenly opened his mouth.
“From your demeanor, it seems you know something. Is there anything that strikes you as familiar?”
“….”
How was I supposed to explain this?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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