With the Gentleman’s Sword at his waist, Geom Mugeuk looked around the rest of the place.
He thought that the Secret Vessel might cry out.
The orb could have been hidden among the weapons, or perhaps in a drawer of a display cabinet.
However, despite examining every weapon in the room, the Secret Vessel remained silent.
Geom Mugeuk walked towards the door leading to the next room.
Standing before it, he turned and bowed.
"Thank you for letting me see them."
It was a greeting to the souls of the martial artists who had once wielded these weapons.
This exhibition hall seemed to value the lives of the martial artists who used the weapons more than the weapons themselves.
Geom Mugeuk opened the door and stepped inside.
This room was smaller than the one with the weapons, but it was still quite large compared to the first.
Protective armor was displayed here.
As before, there were descriptions of the armor and the people who had worn them.
Geom Mugeuk slowly looked around.
"Oh, I'm seeing the Flowing Robe in person!"
It was the protective armor of the swordsman Yeon Gaek, who had been popular among female warriors of justice in the past.
This robe, with a beautiful woman painted on its back, was his symbol, and it was said that no ordinary Sword Qi could cut through the image.
"I'm so envious! One day, I too will!"
With that half-joke, half-serious remark, he began to properly look at the protective armor.
There were truly all kinds of protective armor.
"So this is what the Silver Scale Armor looks like!"
The silver scales shimmered so brightly they were dazzling.
Of course, it seemed to lack much in the way of practicality.
"The Tyrant Dragon Armor! How magnificent."
The image of a roaring dragon was emblazoned on the chest.
He felt that if he wore this and stood before his enemies, his aura alone would be enough to intimidate them.
And by far the best protective armor here was this one.
"The Heavenly God Armor!"
It was known to be so light and flexible that it felt as if one was wearing nothing at all.
However, one should not underestimate it for its thinness.
It was a protective armor that vied for the title of the best, one that could not be cut even by Sword Qi or Sword Force.
"You rascals, don't even think about deceiving me from now on!"
Since the genuine articles were stored here, if any of the weapons or protective armor from this place were to be traded on the market, they would all be fakes.
But still, a martial artist would just leave this behind? The Heavenly God Armor?
However, he had decided not to choose a piece of protective armor here today.
With this thought in mind.
"Yes, training is the best protective armor."
Consoling himself thus, he moved on with reluctant steps.
As he was looking at the remaining protective armor, something stopped Geom Mugeuk in his tracks.
Ice Dragon Divine Armor.
The moment he saw it, Geom Mugeuk was reminded of that time three hundred years ago.
This Ice Dragon Divine Armor was a gift from the Darkness Palace Master to the Heavenly Will Palace Master, along with the Heavenly Yin Pill.
On that day, Geom Mugeuk had witnessed the scene.
It was given to prepare for the Martial Emperor Divine Sword, the opponent the Heavenly Will Palace Master had to fight, who possessed Extreme Yang internal energy.
However, Geom Mugeuk judged it to have been a trap.
The Darkness Palace Master had wanted the Heavenly Will Palace Master to be defeated.
He couldn't be certain since he hadn't witnessed the fight that day, but he predicted that an attack of Extreme Yin would have been unleashed on the Heavenly Will Palace Master, who was prepared for an Extreme Yang attack.
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword was likely not the only one in that fight.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Sect was clearly involved at that time.
He looked around to see if there was anything else related to the events of that day.
Then, another object caught his eye.
‘Ah! This is?’
It was not protective armor.
It was just a single long piece of cloth.
Heavenly Maiden’s Dream.
Even without seeing the name written below, Geom Mugeuk could tell.
‘It’s the cloth the Divine Maiden used to cover her eyes.’
The Divine Maiden he met in the world three hundred years ago had her eyes covered with this cloth.
He remembered the prophecy she had made.
Darkness will lead you to Heaven’s Will.
At the time, he had interpreted her prophecy to mean that he could find the whereabouts of the large Secret Vessel through the Palace of Darkness.
But now, having confirmed that their descendants had continued to exist for three hundred years, the prophecy felt different.
This fight against the hidden forces was his Heaven’s Will.
Geom Mugeuk slowly picked up the cloth named Heavenly Maiden’s Dream.
The moment he held the cloth in his hand, Geom Mugeuk felt a certain energy.
It was not an energy that could be felt from a person’s aura or martial arts.
This energy was completely different, an auspicious and mysterious one.
Was it because he had received a prophecy from the Divine Maiden? Geom Mugeuk could clearly feel this energy that remained even after three hundred years.
Geom Mugeuk knew instinctively.
This energy was not for him, nor was it for anyone else.
‘It is for just one person.’
At this moment, Geom Mugeuk thought of one person.
The face of a person he felt he should deliver this to.
‘If meeting the divine relic left by the Divine Maiden here is also fate...’
Geom Mugeuk did not hesitate and took the Heavenly Maiden’s Dream.
This was Geom Mugeuk's second choice.
Since both the first and second choices were for others.
‘For the last one, let’s make a choice for myself.’
Having made up his mind, Geom Mugeuk headed to the next room.
The moment he opened the third door, a strong scent told him what kind of room this was.
This fragrant medicinal aroma, always pleasant to smell, meant this was the place where Elixirs were stored.
"Wow! This is incredible."
Countless Elixirs were spread out before his eyes.
The first thing that caught his eye was the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Each Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was displayed in its own box.
Had he ever seen so many Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginsengs in one place? This was truly the first time.
With the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginsengs present, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginsengs displayed separately next to them felt like mere balloon flower roots.
That wasn't all.
Next to them, the Nine Yang Divine Pill, which grants Extreme Yang internal energy, was on display, and across from it, as if to say Extreme Yin internal energy was this way, the Nine Yin Divine Pill was displayed.
In front of that again was the Red Heart Pill.
There were three or four of each Elixir, something one would be lucky to have even one of in a lifetime.
And was that all?
The Great Yang Pill and the Lesser Yang Pill, the Taiji True Heart Pill and the Cloud Gathering Pill, the Bright Light Pill... truly, all kinds of Elixirs were there.
And they were all very well organized.
Seeing this, he could feel anew how incredible it was for Jin Pae-cheon to have let him in here.
What if he ate all these Elixirs?
What if he ate them all like a madman and ran away?
Assuming such a thing could happen, even in the slightest, he would never have been allowed in.
The fact that he was let in showed how much he was trusted.
‘The next room will probably be the room with the secret manuals.
Since I don't need martial arts anyway, I should choose an Elixir here.’
Though he possessed a vast amount of inner energy, to the point where he might wonder if he needed more, more was always better when it came to inner energy.
He didn't need to ponder which Elixir to choose.
As he walked along, following the Elixirs, he met the king of this room in the center.
"Clearstone Essence Oil!"
The pinnacle of all Elixirs!
There was indeed a pristine white bottle containing Clearstone Essence Oil.
He carefully opened the stopper and looked inside.
It seemed there were several drops of milky white Clearstone Essence Oil.
A single drop had an efficacy superior to any of the other Elixirs here.
"I was going to have it all to myself, but you sure are lucky!"
He was speaking to his brother.
He had decided to share it half and half with his brother.
Why would he give all of something so good away? Ah, he had been feeling a bit better about him lately, but still, his brother should be grateful for even getting half.
"Alliance Leader, I told you clearly when I came in. That I would only take the best."
Thus, Geom Mugeuk had chosen all three items he was to select here: the Gentleman’s Sword, the Heavenly Maiden’s Dream, and the Clearstone Essence Oil.
All that was left was to find the orb for the Secret Vessel to absorb.
To Geom Mugeuk, this was more important than the Clearstone Essence Oil.
He meticulously searched the room with the Elixirs, but the Secret Vessel did not react.
Geom Mugeuk opened the next door and entered.
As expected, the last room was a place where martial arts secret manuals were stored in abundance.
Dozens of large bookshelves were filled with precious secret manuals that the Martial Alliance had collected over its long history.
"Ah, what a great smell."
It was a good smell in a different sense from the medicinal aroma, the scent of books.
Geom Mugeuk had been completely absorbed in reading at the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion after becoming the Acting Cult Master.
He was someone who was now beginning to understand the joy of reading.
"I wonder what kinds of books are here."
Geom Mugeuk slowly moved, examining the bookshelves.
They had mainly collected martial arts of the Righteous Path.
As for Demonic Arts and evil arts, they had collected martial arts that were primarily their counters.
He could feel the will and confidence to surely subdue Demonic Arts and evil arts with Righteous Path martial arts.
Peerless divine arts that would make Righteous Path martial artists faint were literally every other book.
Geom Mugeuk didn't take any out to look.
To him, the only martial art was now the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
Thus, Geom Mugeuk slowly walked, passing between the bookshelves.
‘Secret Vessel, cry out! Please cry out! You're hungry too, aren't you? It’s about time you ate something!’
But even after he had circled all the bookshelves, the Secret Vessel did not cry out.
Geom Mugeuk tried his best to shake off his disappointment.
‘Well, it happens.’
Geom Mugeuk did not hurry.
He hadn't been desperately trying to collect all the power of the orbs from the beginning.
He had merely faithfully followed the flow of fate, and in doing so, had collected three.
"No! It can't be! I have to find it!"
Geom Mugeuk returned to the first room again.
He came back inside, carefully inspecting from the beginning.
From the room with the Poison-Resistant Beads to the room with weapons, then to the room with protective armor and the room with Elixirs, and finally to the room with the secret manuals.
He searched every place thoroughly, but the Secret Vessel did not react.
‘Ah! So there was no orb in the Martial Alliance Treasury.’
He had a feeling there would be one.
It was disappointing, but he should at least say goodbye before leaving.
"Thank you for letting me see everything."
Just as he was about to go outside, Geom Mugeuk looked back at the library.
He had looked at the other places well, as a form of greeting, but he was about to leave here without having read a single book.
"Even though I may not look it, I'm a man who's read a few books lately."
Geom Mugeuk picked the thinnest book from a nearby bookshelf.
"It's a commemoration of my entry here, so I should at least read one before I leave."
In the corner of this library space, as if for someone to sit and read, a small chair was placed against the wall.
It was as he approached that chair.
Vroooom.
The Secret Vessel in his chest hummed.
Geom Mugeuk was startled.
He had never thought the Secret Vessel, which hadn't made a sound no matter where he searched, would cry out here.
Come to think of it, he had only walked between the bookshelves and hadn't come to this corner!
This place just had a single chair.
The chair was also very small, so an orb couldn't have been hidden in it.
"There's nothing here."
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk flinched.
"No, there is!"
Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to the Night Light Pearl attached to the wall behind the chair.
It was a Night Light Pearl embedded there for reading.
‘That’s it!’
Indeed, as he approached the Night Light Pearl, the Secret Vessel vibrated even more strongly.
Geom Mugeuk very carefully pulled out the Night Light Pearl.
Then, from behind where the Night Light Pearl had come out, something rolled out with a clatter.
What rolled out was an orb.
A yellow orb, the Yellow Essence.
Geom Mugeuk cheered.
"I found it!"
He wouldn't have been this happy if he had found it from the start.
But finding it after giving up in a state of disappointment made him overjoyed.
There was a reason why he hadn't thought much of the chair in this corner and the Night Light Pearl above it.
Night Light Pearls were embedded in various places in every room.
From the entrance corridor, high-quality Night Light Pearls had been embedded.
Because they were so commonly embedded in every room, he had thought little of this Night Light Pearl in the very corner of the final library.
Geom Mugeuk took out the Secret Vessel from his robes and placed the Yellow Essence on it.
Ssssssk.
As always, the Secret Vessel absorbed the Yellow Essence.
Soon after, the Secret Vessel vibrated greatly, and a golden energy began to flow out from it.
The energy of the Yellow Essence flowing from the Secret Vessel spread through Geom Mugeuk's hands to his entire body and began to be absorbed.
Swaaaaaaah.
The energy flickered like light and spread like waves.
The process felt incredibly pleasant.
The feeling, like drinking cool water when one's thirst is at its peak, gave a sense of refreshment that was simply beyond words.
Geom Mugeuk naturally began to perform the formula he had learned before.
Then, the energies of the Black Essence, Blue Essence, and White Essence, which had been dormant in his body, reawakened.
These three energies began to move in a completely different way from his existing inner energy heart technique, welcoming the newly joining energy of the Yellow Essence.
When the four energies raced through all the meridians of his body together, Geom Mugeuk had a new experience.
His whole body felt as light as a feather, as if it would fly up into the sky.
At the final moment of the formula, the four energies merged into one.
At that moment, he felt the tremendous power contained in that energy.
This power was a different kind of strength from the power given by his existing inner energy.
However, the energies failed to merge into one and scattered again, falling quietly dormant in various parts of his meridians.
Geom Mugeuk slowly opened his eyes.
"Hah."
Now he had perfectly absorbed the energy of the Yellow Essence.
Two colors remained.
Only the red and violet orbs were left.
Where could they possibly be?
What would happen if he gathered all the energies?
For a moment, he was lost in the inspiration of this mysterious energy.
Clink.
The Secret Vessel spat out the orb from which it had absorbed the energy.
The Yellow Essence that rolled out was now an ordinary stone.
"Was it good?"
To Geom Mugeuk's question, the Secret Vessel, as always, just smiled.
Geom Mugeuk placed the depleted Yellow Essence back into its original hole and reinserted the Night Light Pearl.
Then he sat down on that spot and read the book he had brought.
It was a text left by an old master longing for his hometown.
As he read the words, he missed his father and the people back at the Main Sect.
A short while later, Geom Mugeuk placed the book he had finished reading back in its original spot.
If he hadn't thought of reading a book here before leaving, he would never have found the Yellow Essence.
Since he would never have a reason to enter this place again.
Long live the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion! Long live the bookworm Geom Mugeuk!
Geom Mugeuk picked up the three divine relics and walked towards the entrance where Jin Pae-cheon was waiting.
"I have read well and am leaving now!"