Chapter 90: Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Whispers of the Evil Altar (5)

Suddenly, the stone chamber began to shake.

The ground rippled like waves, and stone dust poured from the cracks in the walls like rain. The tremor climbed up through their feet, as though a massive beast was thrashing beneath the earth.

“Why is this happening?”

“Those bastards… they must be trying to crush us alive. Looks like they’ve sabotaged the mechanism.”

“Are they angry because we didn’t open the door?”

“This isn’t the time to talk—find an exit, now! If we’re late, we’ll be buried alive!”

The group frantically began searching for an escape.

It was frustrating. They had been looking for an exit ever since they entered, but none could be found. Even Jin Geonmu, who had discovered this place, had been unable to find another passage and had given up.

The massive stone slab above them groaned.

A sound like the snapping of a giant’s bones echoed through the chamber as a stone the size of a fist grazed Gugwi’s shoulder and fell.

Yeon Sohye shouted urgently and quickly summoned So Ryeonghwa.

A silvery mist burst out from her body like flowing water and spread throughout the chamber. The mist seeped along the walls, then was suddenly drawn into one corner and vanished.

She had learned this from watching Jin Geonmu—the same principle he used to locate the cavern earlier. Just as qi seeped into gaps where space existed, the mist, too, was being pulled into a hidden crevice.

Yeon Sohye pointed with her finger.

It was a crack blocked by a pile of stones. It must once have been a passage, but over the ages, fallen rocks had stacked up to seal it shut.

Jang Unhyeok rushed forward and began pushing the stones aside.

From fist-sized to head-sized, rocks of all shapes rolled and clattered as he cleared them.

His palms tore open, and dust ground into the wounds, but he couldn’t stop.

Cracks as wide as a spiderweb spread across the ceiling.

Stones as thick as a man’s arm began raining down. One of them nearly crashed onto Jin Geonmu’s back before he dodged away. It was a perilous situation.

Jin Geonmu shoved aside a massive boulder with his spear, widening the path.

Each time the spear tip struck rock, sharp metallic sparks flew.

Yeon Sohye’s mist continued to be drawn beyond the crevice. There was no doubt—a space existed past the rubble.

At last, a narrow tunnel opened, just wide enough for a person to crawl through.

One by one, the group forced themselves inside. Their clothes tore and their knees scraped against the rock, but there was no time to look back.

Deeper inside, a broad, dust-filled space appeared.

Though there were no torches, they could tell—it was far larger than the previous chamber.

“This place is quite spacious.”

“And there’s no more tremor. It’s completely separate from the other chamber.”

“Wait! There’s a torch over there. Not sure if it’ll still light after all this time.”

Jang Unhyeok spotted a torch and walked toward it.

If the previous chamber had been a living space, this one clearly served another purpose entirely. Google seaʀᴄh NovєlFіre.net

Wooden shelves lined the walls neatly, filled with hundreds of documents. Though thick layers of dust covered them, most scrolls were intact.

In one corner stood a small altar—barely the size of a hand—but even there, several scrolls were laid upon it.

Gugwi approached the most eye-catching shelf.

At its center rested a thick, leather-bound book. Though its cover was worn and brittle, the unfamiliar letters etched on it remained vivid.

He reached out and picked it up, stirring up a cloud of dust.

He almost sneezed, but held it in.

As he carefully opened it, the parchment exuded the musty scent of age.

Each page was filled densely with strange letters—just like those carved in the first chamber. To others, they would appear as nothing more than drawings.

‘This… this is the personal diary of the Dark Spirit Sect’s Cult Leader.’

Un Serim’s voice trembled.

‘Yes. A record that began after the loss of the Manifest Demon Emperor.’

As Gugwi turned the pages, Un Serim read. His eyes grew darker with each line.

‘As of today, our sect has been completely annihilated by the assault of the Murim Alliance. Only about three hundred followers remain. Yet we cannot give up. For the sake of our Master’s resurrection…’

Gugwi leaned closer. The letters seemed to writhe like living snakes.

“What does it say next?”

‘Wait… this part is important.’

Un Serim’s voice carried tension.

‘I have scattered the remaining believers across the world, giving them new identities as Spirit Summoners. When the time comes, they shall gather again. Until then, they are to hide, cultivate strength, and wait.’

Gugwi’s face turned pale.

‘Yes. This was the true beginning of the Heavenly Sound Cult.’

Un Serim turned another page.

‘There’s a more detailed plan here.’

“Read everything—don’t skip.”

‘They will spread Soul-Summoning Arts. They will increase the number of Spirit Summoners in the world. Many will be drawn in, and over hundreds of years, they will unite the Spirit Summoners of the land to form a vast organization. Its name… Heavenly Sound Cult.’

“Heavenly Sound Cult!”

‘Yes. The Heavenly Sound Cult.’

Gugwi took a deep breath. His chest felt heavy.

He relayed Un Serim’s words to the group.

Even before he spoke, they had already guessed as much. Though they couldn’t hear Un Serim’s voice, they could hear Gugwi’s questions to him.

“So the Dark Spirit Sect created the Heavenly Sound Cult? Ha! Figures.”

Jang Unhyeok shook his head slowly.

“They said they lost the Manifest Demon Emperor… but how exactly did that happen? And if they tried to resurrect him, why did they fail? Those are the real questions. The Cult Leader must’ve been desperate.”

“What about Un Hwamoonju? Has he said anything?”

“Nothing. We still can’t communicate clearly. Having him read the book at all is already a huge step forward.”

Neither she nor Jang Unhyeok could communicate with the Spirit Union Martial Artists.

They could only perform Spirit Union Martial Arts by forming spirit contact with them.

“When the sect was annihilated by the Murim Alliance’s attack, the survivors disguised the believers as Spirit Summoners and scattered them throughout the world. Over the course of centuries, they formed a vast organization known as the Heavenly Sound Cult.”

“If the Dark Spirit Sect was the root of the Heavenly Sound Cult… then there’s a strong possibility the Heavenly Sound Cult Leader is of the Dark Spirit Sect. Whether they’re communicating with the ones outside or if another branch of the Dark Spirit Sect has formed, we’ll need to investigate.”

Jang Unhyeok muttered as he looked around at the documents scattered nearby. His voice carried a hint of despair.

“Then… are you saying all the Twelve True Armies we’ve faced until now were descendants of the Dark Spirit Sect?”

Gugwi shook his head.

“Not all of them. Someone like Sa Hyeollin clearly wasn’t. That woman tried to claim the Spirit Flow Core for herself. Her greed was obvious.”

Jin Geonmu lowered his head, driving his spear into the floor. His face twisted with anguish.

“Then the place I once served… was truly a den of evil.”

At that moment, a faint light flickered from the small altar. The glow resonated with Gugwi’s Spirit Flow Core, which shimmered faintly in his chest even though he hadn’t summoned it.

As Gugwi approached the altar, one of the scrolls upon it unfurled by itself.

Intricate diagrams and densely packed characters appeared.

Un Serim drifted closer to the scroll. As his eyes swept across the contents, his expression stiffened.

‘This… this is the resurrection ritual of the Manifest Demon Emperor.’

“A resurrection ritual?”

‘Yes. The detailed procedure for performing the ritual—every step, from the first to the last, is written here.’

Un Serim’s voice grew quieter.

‘First, awaken the altar with a single drop of blood from the Gatekeeper’s Bloodline. Second, reimplant the Spirit Flow Core into the body of the Manifest Demon Emperor…’

Gugwi’s heartbeat quickened.

‘Third, offer ten thousand souls as sacrifice so they may become the Manifest Demon Emperor’s flesh and blood, restoring his strength. Fourth…’

Un Serim’s voice trembled.

‘The Gatekeeper’s Bloodline shall serve as the vessel—the Minor Mastery Body—and surrender its flesh to the Manifest Demon Emperor.’

Gugwi dropped the scroll. The parchment rustled as it hit the ground.

‘That scroll… it must be burned.’

For the first time, Un Serim voiced his own opinion.

“It should be, yes—but first, we need to understand everything it says. Keep reading.”

Gugwi turned the pages.

Un Serim’s spirit flickered violently, as if wracked by turmoil—shaken even as a soul.

‘The altar’s true purpose…’

“This is a sacrificial altar, isn’t it? One meant to offer sacrifices to the Manifest Demon Emperor. Is there another purpose?”

‘The altar isn’t merely a place of offering. It’s an energy reservoir—built to accumulate power for summoning the Manifest Demon Emperor without the Spirit Summoners realizing it.’

Un Serim’s voice wavered. His form blurred, becoming unstable.

‘Even now… sacrifices are being made. The Heavenly Sound Cult is kidnapping people from across the land and bringing them here—alive. Their deaths are being offered to empower the Manifest Demon Emperor…’

Gugwi’s face turned paper-white.

The document in his hands trembled. His throat went dry, making it hard to swallow.

“Do we know… how long this has been happening?”

Before he could finish, a faint vibration came from beneath his feet—an eerie motion, like countless bodies thrashing below the ground. An earthquake.

Gugwi turned his head to look at his companions—

The stone chamber began to quake again.

This time, it was even more violent. Cracks spread across the ceiling like a spider’s web, and stones the size of fists rained down like a storm. Dozens of them crashed down around Gugwi’s head.

Yeon Sohye spread So Ryeonghwa’s silvery mist into a protective barrier, but there were too many falling rocks. The mist shield managed to block the large stones, yet fine dust rained down like ash.

At last, a massive stone slab fell from the ceiling with a thunderous crash.

The slab, nearly two ja thick, struck between them, splitting the group in two. Gugwi was trapped deeper within the archive, while the other three were forced back toward the entrance.

Dust filled the air, blinding their vision.

Yeon Sohye’s desperate cry came from beyond the pile of rubble. Her voice trembled with panic.

“I’m fine! Not hurt!”

Gugwi coughed as he replied.

The dust in his lungs burned his throat.

At her words, Gugwi looked around the archive.

There was no exit. He had already checked when they first entered. Both Yeon Sohye’s mist and Jang Unhyeok’s qi had scanned this area. There was no way a new escape route had suddenly formed.

He didn’t need to finish—the rest was clear.

“We’ll check from this side. We’ll need to clear the debris. I’ll start here—try to move what you can from your side too.”

Gugwi frowned as he answered.

Where to begin? The collapsed stones were piled high—it was doubtful they could clear them all.

For now, he surveyed his surroundings.

This side of the chamber was relatively safe. Rows of neatly arranged documents filled the shelves here as well.

Escaping was a matter of life and death—urgent beyond doubt. Yet the scrolls here were invaluable, perhaps the karmic burden he would have to bear for life.

Instead of moving the rubble, he picked up the scroll that seemed most important. It was bound with a thread of red silk, older than all the rest.

The moment he opened it, shocking words met his eyes.

Gugwi called out urgently, but Un Serim’s form flickered faintly.

He drifted over, gazed into the scroll—and his face hardened instantly.

‘This… this is a reversal.’

His voice trembled, filled with shock and anger.

‘It says that the Heavenly Sound Cult betrayed the Dark Spirit Sect.’

Gugwi’s heart began to pound twice as fast.