Volcanic Age - Chapter 9

Yu Jong Mok went out to the periodical assembly.

I’ll probably come back in four days. Stay secure until I return.

“Master, travel well.”

Yu Jong Mok was dispatched by Ju Seo Cheon after a respectful bow.

The time has come, so good.

Four days were sufficient. He already knew where the Water Spirit Fruit was growing and where the underwater cave was.

Even though it would be exhausting, he could go back to Hua Sect in three days.

Two hours after Yu Jong Mok descended the mountain, Ju Seo Cheon surreptitiously deserted the group.

“Thanks to the inner disciples, slipping away is not that difficult.”

The precious children of senior yangbans or wealthy businessmen made up the majority of the inner followers.

The youngest among them didn’t have much patience, so they felt constrained by the community lifestyle and the regulations, skipped lessons, or plotted methods to get out.

The most illustrative of them all was to dig a hole beneath a deserted, old wall and flee.

They typically exited via this hole, embraced women, and drank wine before returning.

Furthermore, the cult knew about this secret tunnel but was only acting as if they hadn’t noticed it.

It was because inner disciples descended the mountain after finishing their training in three years at most, or possibly more if their comprehension was slow.

They acted more spoiled because they were about to leave anyhow, so it would hurt more if the cult didn’t put up with it.

Even if you were an inner disciple with a high position or children of a wealthy donor, the sect couldn’t treat you how they wanted.

They simply left the corridor unattended while also sending a professional to keep an eye on it in case somebody tried to enter from outside.

All of the sect’s disciples were aware of its secret.

This text was often employed even by the head temple’s disciples, though there weren’t many of them.

It was because, in contrast to the largely unrestricted inner disciples, the disciples of the head temple were conscious of their masters.

Ju Seo Cheon didn’t experience many days like today as a result. Approximately once a year.

Even though he still had five years remaining, he didn’t have much free time.

He had to leave as soon as he had the chance.

Furthermore, there was no need to stress over what transpired in the Nakan hell in the afternoon.

They only give them a thorough examination at first, but after approximately a year of round-trip travel, they stop caring as much.

It was a result of an excessive number of disciples entering Nakan Hell each day.

Only when they were very young or when it had not been long since they joined the group could they keep an ongoing eye on them.

Without drawing too much notice, Ju Seo Cheon and a few other core disciples left the cult through the hidden entrance.

This time, quite a few disciples secretly left the group since numerous notable individuals, besides Yu Jong Mok, joined the quarterly conference.

Because of that, they avoided being halted by the experts who were anticipated to be close to the hole.

He removed some worn-out supplies, essentials, and funds he had accumulated since his soul had taken up residence in his younger body.

“Ha, how long has it been!”

As soon as Ju Seo Cheon left the mountain and took a deep breath, he grinned broadly.

It was the ambiance outside. After a very long time, he finally crossed the sect border, and he took a deep breath in while doing so slowly and with tremendous delight.

There were limited opportunities to descend the mountain because he had to manage his work after becoming one of the Five Elders before reincarnating.

He was likewise unable to force his way outside after being reborn, making it impossible for him to even approach the entrance.

“It’s cold.”

His mouth let out the white steam.

After turning around, he noticed a river.

“I hate that I would consider swimming in this weather.”

Ju Seo Cheon shivered.

Especially because it was winter. The worst time to leave was the one he had selected. Still, he was powerless.

Ju Seo Cheon adjusted his cold-weather attire before checking his pocket for cash and other valuables.

He then performed the Light Step Arts while facing north toward Zuo Yin.

“The Dark Essence Diagram!”

In addition to the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques and Plum Blossom Qi Arts, Ju Seo Cheon secretly studied other martial arts.

The Dark Essence Diagram, one of the Hua Sect’s emblematic Light Step Arts, was one of them.

It used to be an art that one could only study after turning thirteen or fourteen, but that had no relevance to the present Ju Seo Cheon.

He was already familiar with the Purple Haze Arts, which were only taught to the Hua Sect’s top martial artists.

He traveled to Zuo Yin for a full day.

“Pant pant, damn it.”

Learning the Light Step Arts was beneficial for saving time, but sadly, it required more internal energy than swordsmanship or footwork techniques.

Although Ju Seo Cheon had greater internal energy than his contemporaries, this did not allow him to continuously practice the Light Step Arts.

Despite how harsh and exhausting it was, he continued to move because there wasn’t much time left. Because of so, he arrived at the location without significantly going over his time limit.

I’m fortunate that I didn’t come across any thieves.

Shnsè had excellent security because it served as the headquarters for the Jong Nam Sect and Mount Hua Sect.

Even if it was excellent, it wasn’t flawless.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any bandits or mountain thieves.

He even put on a disguise to demonstrate that he wasn’t doing it on purpose for this reason.

He should be able to deal with five of them, but he didn’t have the strength or internal resources to deal with them anymore, so he had to exercise caution.

Because of this, Ju Seo Cheon had to take a chance on this situation.

Whatever the case, as soon as Ju Seo Cheon arrived in Zuo Yin, he rested, then left the hamlet after purchasing some items to aid him in fending off any adversaries.

He would simply be wasting his strength if he got into a fight with someone.

He purposefully didn’t eat on the way down the mountain because there were many instances in which they looked down on kids and thought of them as easy victims of robberies.

Being young wasn’t without its drawbacks. He was sincere in his desire to develop swiftly.

Let’s begin by warming up.

He had no trouble getting where he needed to go. The route leading to the undersea cave was at a far-off location that was simple to recall and wasn’t overly difficult.

“Ha, I really don’t want to enter.”

To go to the underwater cave, you didn’t need to master the Arts of Water; you could just dive.

Normal individuals would choke in the middle, but martial artists, whose breathing capacities were several times more exceptional, made an exception. It was accessible to children as well.

Due to its distant location and lack of nearby amenities, this location was unknown for a considerable amount of time.

There was no reason for martial artists to go all the way to this location and dive into the cave in the first place.

You could see how the ronin, who was asleep when he fell into the river and allowed himself to be swept downstream by the current, managed to stumble onto the underwater grotto.

One, two, one, and two.

After performing numerous warm-up exercises to release his muscles, Ju Seo Cheon removed his stuff and stashed them nearby.

A beast was able to take this remote location because no one else would, so he dug a hole and filled it with dirt.

“The last thing I want is to freeze to death.”

Ju Seo Cheon’s footsteps began to resonate across the silent cave.

“I was concerned about the darkness, but I’m pleased there is moss.”

The moss that grew on the boulders and gave off a little light, though it wasn’t much, illuminated the path.

Without the moss, he would have had to carefully stroll around the walls and stick to them.

He could see if he used his internal energy and developed his understanding, but he had to save his internal energy for when he fell to the ground.

After approximately fifteen minutes.

When the trail came to an end, an area that could contain 100 people suddenly appeared, replacing the narrow passageway that could barely accommodate two individuals.

Moss covered the vacant space, and when the dim lights came together, they displayed a remarkable brightness.

“I found…hup!”

Ju Seo Cheon was going to applaud but stopped himself.

He then hunched over and covered his mouth.

“Just what…”