Murim Login - Chapter 464

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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 464
Dongting Lake was indeed a lake, but its total surface area spanned a thousand li, and even at its shallowest point, the water depth easily exceeded ten zhang.
Particularly, the section where I was swimming now could be considered the deepest part of Dongting Lake itself. It was only natural that the water depth was far greater and the currents raged like waves.
Finding such a small Cave Entrance under these circumstances was nothing short of divine providence.
‘That is….’
Among the countless schools of fish swimming in formation, a gap just wide enough for a single adult man to pass through came into view.
Simultaneously, an electric thrill coursed down my spine.
‘Found it.’
It was only natural that the Cliff deeply rooted at the river bottom would widen over the long ages through sedimentation and erosion. I had witnessed this phenomenon several times at the four locations I had previously visited.
But this time was different.
My reason and instinct, which always kept their distance, were now whispering in unison.
‘The Secret Place of the Dongjeong Fisherman Elder.’
Everything leaves traces behind.
Though the differences were extremely subtle and minute, through the experience I had accumulated thus far and my keen eyesight, I could discern that human traces had touched the entrance of this Cave Entrance that I was slowly approaching.
‘The area around the entrance is smooth. Someone has definitely touched it deliberately.’
As for the identity of that someone, there was no need to ask.
With my senses drawn to their absolute limit, I cut through the water and advanced. Slowly. And carefully.
It would be foolish to reveal my presence to an enemy I would soon have to face in a life-or-death struggle.
If he prepared himself, the situation would become even more disadvantageous.
‘Fortunately, there is still plenty of time remaining on the title effect. Let me not rush.’
I had seen many people who hurried ten minutes faster only to depart fifty years earlier.
Whether one dies or lives depends on that person’s will and perseverance. I did not rush and surrendered my body to the flow of the water.
Swish.
The colorful fish that noticed me seemed to hesitate, then carefully passed around me.
Since my movements were almost nonexistent, they had undoubtedly failed to perceive me as a threat to themselves.
‘Good.’
If fish so close by could be deceived in this manner, it was sufficient. I suppressed my presence even further and approached the Cave Entrance.
Before the entrance, which was just large enough for a single adult man to barely squeeze through, I took a shallow breath and pushed my body forward, revealing another hidden underwater passage.
‘First, I sense no human presence.’
The passage, as narrow as the entrance itself, was deeper and longer than I had anticipated.
Drawing my senses to their sharpest, I probed the interior for any signs of life, and only after gaining certainty did I resume my movement.
After passing several strangely-shaped fish and aquatic plants, how far had I traveled? A faint light was drawing near from far ahead.
‘Wait, light?’
This place was within the waters of Dongting Lake, yet it was also a passage inside the Cliff. Yet light appeared out of nowhere.
Though the passage did slope diagonally upward, its structure was absolutely not one through which light could seep.
‘Then….’
Swimming smoothly toward the light, I probed my surroundings once more before rising toward the small opening above the passage.
Splash.
“Gasp.”
Damp air seeped deep into my lungs.
At the same moment, I felt the transparent gills that had formed around my throat disappear.
And in the next instant, breaking free from the water and finally discerning the identity of that faint glow, I opened my eyes wide.
‘A Night Luminous Pearl.’
This was a Cave.
The passage stretching far into the distance was narrow and dark, and along the ceiling—barely high enough to straighten one’s back—several Night Luminous Pearls of varying sizes were embedded at regular intervals, dotting the stone like stars.
‘An underwater passage carved within the Cliff, a Cave, and Night Luminous Pearls to boot… at this point, not recognizing this would be pure idiocy.’
The Haowen Sect’s intelligence had been accurate. This was undoubtedly the Secret Place of Dongjeong Fisherman Elder.
My heart pounded with the thrill of finally locating him and the tension of the imminent battle.
Yet it wasn’t merely those emotions that stirred my chest.
‘That is…’
Following the acrid, unfamiliar scent that assailed my nostrils, I turned my head and could see it.
Wooden logs lying overturned on the Cave floor where water pooled, and oil floating upon the surface.
‘A torch? Well, Night Luminous Pearls aren’t infinite, after all.’
The Night Luminous Pearls embedded in the Cave ceiling were clearly of inferior quality at a glance, but that didn’t mean their cost was equally inferior.
Since I’d never heard Dongjeong Fisherman Elder described as a wealthy man, torches would have been essential to illuminate this lengthy Cave.
And that half-burned torch conveyed something crucial to me.
‘It hasn’t been long since it went out.’
The faint warmth emanating from the wooden logs—it was easy to deduce that the torch had fallen for some reason merely an hour or two ago.
And this situation pointed to one unmistakable fact.
‘Dongjeong Fisherman Elder is definitely here!’
Ultimately, what I sought was not a location but a person. Even if I’d found the Secret Place, it would be worthless without Dongjeong Fisherman Elder.
But Dongjeong Fisherman Elder had revealed his presence through that torch.
Had I been in his position, I would never have anticipated an intruder breaching such a meticulously concealed Secret Place.
‘And that’s your mistake.’
Rising to my feet, I began walking slowly along the path that stretched before me.
I possessed excellent equipment—White Flame Blade, Fire Dragon Armor, Thousand Poison Antidote Pill, and other formidable tools—but now wasn’t the time to deploy them.
Instead, appearing empty-handed would lower his guard, allowing me to exploit the advantage my inventory provided.
Drip, drip-drip.
Listening to water droplets falling irregularly from the ceiling, I proceeded with every sound muffled, step after careful step.
Though the passage shifted from straight to winding, with inclines and declines appearing, I never relaxed my vigilance.
‘But… what exactly are these traces?’
It didn’t take long before I sensed something amiss.
While my eye for detail was sharp, the condition of the passage itself was equally extraordinary.
Walls broken and shattered in places, rocks jutting out abruptly—unlike elsewhere where green moss clung thickly, the freshly fractured surfaces stood out unmistakably.
Crumble, crumble-crumble.
The moment my hand touched it, a section of the wall crumbled away.
‘This would be impossible without deliberately applying considerable force.’
This entire Cave was composed of solid stone accumulated over centuries, at minimum.
Such material would require substantial power channeled through impact to damage… but would Dongjeong Fisherman Elder have reason to destroy his own precious sanctuary?
‘Could a battle have occurred here…? No, wait. This is definitely the trace of a single person.’
While I lack the discernment to fully grasp the true nature and origins of such martial techniques, inferring the situation from the traces left behind is hardly a difficult task for one who has reached the pinnacle of perception.
I furrowed my brow in deep contemplation for a moment, then shook my head.
‘First, I must focus on Dongjeong Fisherman Elder. I cannot afford reckless carelessness, nor excessive tension.’
Even as I continued to repeat these thoughts and moved forward, that moment arrived.
Splash, crash!
“…!”
The sudden sound jolted my senses awake as if I’d been doused with cold water.
My heightened perception analyzed the sound, and immediately transmitted the new information to my mind.
‘About fifty paces ahead. Closer than I expected.’
Moreover, the sound echoed with unusual depth and volume. This meant there existed a much larger space beyond this narrow cave passage I was traversing.
Whoosh.
One step. Then another.
I focused all my attention on my feet as I treaded across the damp cave floor.
Fortunately, I had used the Crimson Dragon Qi beforehand to dry the moisture that had soaked into me. Had water droplets fallen from my body and made sound against the ground, my presence would have been revealed to him.
‘I must finish this within this cave. Fighting in the water would be far more disadvantageous.’
My opponent was among the finest masters of water techniques in the realm.
While I was not without confidence in my martial prowess, if I were to fight Dongjeong Fisherman Elder in the water, I would have to bear the full weight of the twenty percent power reduction the system had warned me about.
But this place had solid ground beneath it—true land—and therefore such debuffs simply did not apply.
‘I cannot afford to miss this opportunity.’
Even as these thoughts crossed my mind, the fifty paces of distance rapidly closed.
Tap, screech!
The continuous mysterious sounds served as an excellent guide, telling me distance and direction in real time, and as I reached the bend in the cave passage, I relaxed every muscle in my body.
The preparation was already complete. Dozens of images of how to move and how to finish this flashed before my eyes.
If Dongjeong Fisherman Elder proved to be a formidable opponent, I would kill him with all my might; if not, I would capture him and draw out the greater force behind him.
‘In one breath, swift as lightning, I end this.’
With a short breath, I awakened the Crimson Dragon that slumbered deep within my dantian.
Three jia of Crimson Dragon Qi, continuously filled through circulation, flowed into the hundreds of meridians and limbs throughout my body.
I channeled scorching heat through hundreds of acupoints and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, maximizing every physical capability.
And then….
Burst!
A single step was all I needed.
Treading smoothly against the angled wall, I launched forward.
Toward the white-haired old man crouched with his back turned, in the space at the center of the cave, roughly thirty paces in radius.
‘Dongjeong Fisherman Elder!’
A silent cry resonated within me.
It was hard to believe that this small, shabby figure of an old man had harmed so many, and the anger I had buried away surged forth as cold flame.
‘Inventory open, summon!’
In the slowed world, the mysterious power of the system overlaid itself upon my entire being as I rushed toward Dongjeong Fisherman Elder.
Whoosh, click.
The crimson armor that enveloped my bare upper body—the Crimson Dragon Armor.
Following that, a radiance visible only to me brushed against my fingertips and transformed into the divine artifact known as the Myriad Poison Ring, while a spear with a transparent blade materialized in my grasp.
In the next instant, the scorching heat of thirty years of cultivation poured into all of it.
Whoooooosh!
The humid air vanished, the river water pooled on the ground evaporated, the droplets falling from above disappeared. No—they were incinerated.
Above the transparent blade of the White Flame spear, a cyan-white force erupted like wildfire, burning through everything in its path as it advanced.
Toward the concentrated embodiment of that scorching and destructive power stood a single figure.
‘Die.’
The arrow had been loosed, and the bird resting momentarily in its nest could not evade it.
To me, the Dongjeong Fisherman Elder was nothing but that very bird.
A bird that had believed its nest to be safe.
Even if he realized it too late, he could not stop an arrow already released.
Whether the bird spread its wings in panic or not, death or injury was inevitable.
Just as the Dongjeong Fisherman Elder was doing now, turning his body with agonizing slowness.
‘It is already too late.’
But in the next moment, I understood.
Premature certainty was a grave mistake.
Crash!
A brilliant white beam of light streaked down from somewhere, striking the blade of my White Flame spear.

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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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