Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor - Chapter 291

Chapter 291:

After staying up all night, the lifting of the formation was completed.

I got up from my seat, followed Damun’s instructions, and walked forward, passing the workers who were retreating in a hurry.

‘It took longer than I thought.’

The attack on Bidong, which had been in progress even before the rescue mission to Gansu, has only now been completed.

I thought it would be over in a month or two at the most, but it took much longer than I thought.

Should we really say that it is the secret of Muyeong Shintu, who was called the greatest sword in the world?

“For now, the three of us will go in and out first.”

“yes?”

“Master, me, and Hao Wen-ju. “I’m saying we’ll go first, just the three of us.”

The people around me looked perplexed at my sudden declaration.

Damun narrowed his eyebrows and said.

“Just because Reporter Cheon’s position has been lifted does not mean that Bidong’s attack has been completely completed. “It’s unlikely, but there could be traps out there.”

“On the contrary, it means that there are likely to be no further obstacles.”

“…….”

“Even if the trap is triggered, there won’t be any danger. “Aren’t there just two absolute experts?”

“It looks like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“Actually, I think it would be okay for me to accompany you until the dam stand. But……”

“……You are saying that you want to minimize the number of people. All right.”

Damwoon sighed heavily, nodded and stepped aside.

After thanking him with a glance, I passed him and entered the narrow street.

Hao Wenzhou and Master quietly followed behind.

Hao Wen-ju glanced sideways in the direction of Master and softly opened his mouth.

“It looks like you revealed a secret to the Thunder King in the meantime.”

“yes.”

“Should I call this bold or careless?”

“It seems that Moonju is still keeping the secret to himself.”

“…….”

As Damun expected, no organs or techniques were activated to stop the group.

For some time we traveled along a long and winding road.

A cavity of appropriate size, neither too wide nor too narrow, came into view.

It was a humid and damp space.

As soon as I entered, an unpleasant sensation struck my body.

‘I don’t think Nanman (南蠻) was like this either.’

The water was so thick that it was difficult to even breathe.

The vision was blurry and the walls and floor were covered in moss and were slippery.

It was never a suitable place to store things.

‘It is not a naturally created environment.’

There was a knee-high altar in the center of the cavity, and a table was placed on the left wall.

There was a stand placed on top of the altar, but I couldn’t see the actual item on display, which gave me a strange feeling.

“…….”

In the blink of an eye, Hao Wenju stood on the altar, bent down and picked up something.

I strained my eyes to see what the object was and tilted my head.

‘Oracle bone?’

Turtle’s shell.

The items that were originally placed on the display stand seemed to have weathered and broken and fallen to the floor.

The size was considerable.

If it was split in half and joined together, it would be three feet wide.

I left Hao Wen-ju, who was looking at the carapace with a serious expression, and headed towards the rotted, crumbled table.

There was a book on the table.

Perhaps because of the poor preservation environment, the condition did not look that good.

‘It’s hard to recognize because there are missing parts here and there.’

I knew one thing for sure.

This was not a secret book in which the martial arts feats of the rise were recorded.

Rather, it was closer to Muyeongsintu’s handwriting.

‘It’s not very nutritious content.’

What kind of thing was stolen on a certain day?

I was chased by someone and almost died.

They say they released the stolen goods and started a rescue operation, but as a result, the entire village burned down.

Most of the content was gossip.

My guess is that Muyeongsintu would not have considered this book very important.

If you cared about it, you wouldn’t have left it in a humid space like this.

‘Are there any other items from which information can be obtained?’

Putting the book back on the table, I moved along the wall and looked closely at the inside of the cavity.

Master, who was walking at the right pace, pointed to the ceiling with his index finger and asked.

“Shouldn’t we take a look at that?”

“…I guess so.”

There were unidentifiable objects stuck all over the ceiling.

I thought that they were probably the fetishes that made up the method of maintaining the humidity of this community.

Master climbed into the air and pulled out the items and lined them up on the ground.

Hao Wenzhou, holding an oracle bone in both hands, came to the side and spoke as if throwing it.

“It’s the inner altar of the Brass-crowned Sea Dragon.”

In the direction his eyes were looking, there was a bluish ring.

The number was not one, but a whopping three.

I picked up a single ring and examined it, letting out a low exclamation.

A golden crowned sea dragon.

Isn’t it a type of spiritual creature that cannot be found in the central region in the first place?

‘Did you say it’s something that lives in the sea outside the sea?’

An elixir containing the energy of water.

I had only heard about it, but it was my first time seeing it in real life.

Apparently, this inner altar was used as the central axis of the Jinbeop, increasing the humidity inside the cavity.

‘What a shame. Even if you take it, you won’t gain much energy.’

The surface of the inner altar had become slightly hardened, as if a considerable amount of spiritual energy had already been consumed.

It felt like it would crumble if I applied even a little bit of force.

Hao Wen-ju, who was lost in thought while adjusting his mask, sighed as if he were sighing.

“Is that something like that?”

“Did you notice something?”

“Look at this.”

I took the oracle bone handed to me by Hao Wen-ju, looked at it, and narrowed my eyes.

Characters of unknown meaning were densely engraved on the shell.

‘Is it an ancient text?’

I looked back at Hao Wen-ju with a questioning expression.

What on earth did he find out through this unknown object?

“Don’t you know yet?”

“Are you able to interpret this text?”

“No way. “Although Haomun is the largest intelligence group in the Central Plains, its history is not so deep that it has been around since ancient times.”

“…….”

“But I have a rough idea of what it was used for. It is said that the first script, commonly called oracle bone script, was used to tell fortunes and record them.”

“……?”

“Surprisingly. I thought you would have figured it out slowly. “I can’t believe you didn’t understand even though I told you this far.”

“Please tell me in a little more detail.”

“If you think about it, there was a difference in perception between you and me. “I don’t know if it’s natural that we don’t think of the same thing when we look at the same object.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Let’s talk nonsense for a while.

Hao Wen-ju said, pointing with his index finger in the direction of the altar.

“You can tell just by looking at the layout, right? “That oracle bone is the most important object that exists in this cavity.”

“Of course.”

“In all likelihood, the oracle bone is the cause of the strange phenomenon you and I experienced. Or it could be letters written on the oracle bone.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Didn’t I tell you? “It is said that oracle bone inscriptions were used to tell fortunes and record them.”

“……no way.”

“Divination and prognosis. Don’t you think there are many similarities?”

“…!”

“Although he was from a noble family, there is a tradition that the person who created the first writing system was Changhil. A being revered as a god in Taoism. It is said that his writings were imbued with mystical power…”

Now I understand.

The reason why Hao Wen-ju was convinced that the oracle bone was the cause of the strange phenomenon.

What is the ‘difference in perception’ he mentioned?

“You seem to think you have regressed, but I think differently. Perhaps you have the same precognitive abilities as me. It’s just that the quality of his abilities is so high that he can’t even be compared to mine. Well, in the end, it may not be much different from regression.”

“…….”

“Some action by someone in the future triggered the artifact to activate, and as a result, you and I were able to glimpse the future. If you think about it that way, it makes sense. “Isn’t that right?”

It was a convincing hypothesis.

It was also the hypothesis that best fit the given clues.

‘First, the power contained in the oracle bone was passed on to me, and the remaining residue was passed on to Hao Wenju. The oracle bone, which had used up all its stored power, was broken and lost its original form, turning into an ordinary carapace without any sense of magical energy. If you think that way, everything falls into place.’

From the moment when I realized my precognitive ability to the reason why the quality of my abilities is different from that of Hao Wen-ju.

Everything was explained clearly.

‘Then why did Muyeongsintu obtain such a useful item but keep it instead of using it himself?’

The questions that arose in my mind were quickly resolved.

I took the book I had put down on the table a moment ago and looked at the contents of the second half.

‘Right.’

Even though there were missing letters here and there, I was able to get a general idea.

It was not that Muyeongsintu did not use the power contained in the oracle bone.

It wasn’t used.

The reason was simple.

This is because there is not enough water energy accumulated in the oracle bone.

‘Is that why they created this strange environment?’

I thought it was strange.

This humid environment could be said to be the worst for storing items.

『What can I do in this life… I can’t protect…』

『Respect…my mother, my dear sister…even my lover.』

『To the past. According to what was written in the memoir , Muyeongsintu

seemed very excited about the idea of using the oracle bone to change the past.

Then, I fell into despair when I realized that it would take decades to replenish the lacking water energy.

‘The person who engraved those phrases was, of course, Muyeongsintu.’

The words engraved throughout the ruins passed through my mind.

A phrase that seems to be written in an old Sijo scripture.

Phrases that focus on words such as regret, regret, and regret.

It felt like the scattered pieces were coming together.

Although not all questions were resolved, I still gained some income.

‘Thank goodness. At least I won’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back by Hao Wen-ju.’

I sighed in relief and continued turning the pages.

There was no way that Muyeongsintu could have obtained the oracle bone in a normal way.

In order to solve the secret of return, it was necessary to find out where Muyeongsintu stole the oracle bone.

Hao Wen-ju and Master quietly came to the side and looked at the contents of the book together.

Some time passes.

I was finally able to find the verse I wanted.

After reading the words written in the corner of the book, I frowned and muttered.

“The secret temple of the Demonic Cult…?”