Chapter 184

The wall that emitted a blue glow was carved with intricate patterns. They bore an uncanny resemblance to the golden inscriptions engraved on the Heavenshaking Spiritblade that Kang Cheonwoo had given him. Unhwi traced the patterns one by one, attempting to interpret their meaning.

Suddenly, something unusual caught his eye at his feet. The floor of the cave was entirely made of ice, but one part of it had a subtly different structure.

Unhwi knelt down and examined it closely.

This is...

The ice on the floor possessed a grain, as though water were flowing through it.

The flow appeared to begin at the center of the cave, spiraling outward before converging again at a specific point—and his instincts screamed at him.

This was it.

Following the flow, Unhwi arrived at one side of the cave wall.

At first glance, the wall was no different from the others.

But upon closer inspection, one of the carved patterns was subtly different from the rest.

It protruded ever so slightly, as if inviting him to press it.

Unhwi carefully placed his hand on the pattern. He expected it to feel like hard, cold ice, but to his surprise, it moved smoothly.

A mechanism?

Yet, strangely, nothing happened.

He had clearly pressed it—so why was there no reaction?

Unhwi realized it immediately. This was the right place—but he was approaching it the wrong way.

He looked down at the floor again. He mentally retraced the strange flow patterns he had seen on the way here.

He gathered False-Origin True Qi and traced the flows into the empty air.

Direction...? Numbers? No... that's not it.

As he continued observing, it clicked.

It was a sequence.

Following the path of the flow, Unhwi pressed five specific patterns on the wall in order. The moment he pressed the final one, a subtle vibration could be felt.

Kugung.

With that sound, the wall slowly began to open.

Once it had fully parted, a narrow passage revealed itself beyond. It glowed faintly with a blue light and descended downward.

Unhwi stepped into the passage without hesitation.

The path continued downward, growing tighter as it went. The walls were etched with the same patterns, but here, they seemed to move—alive and pulsing.

How far had he gone?

It felt like an eternity—long enough to distort his sense of time.

When he finally reached the end of the passage, Unhwi inhaled sharply.

The sight that awaited him was nearly impossible to believe.

"...Ha..."

A vast underground space spread out before him.

Its expanse exceeded even the main hall of the Everlasting Snow Palace, and the ceiling was so high it could not be measured.

The entire space formed a perfect circle. And at its center—

“...The Eternal Ice Crystal.”

The very thing that had existed only in legend was now before his eyes.

A massive pillar of ice rising from floor to ceiling. But it was not mere ice. It had the clarity of pure crystal, and within it, a vortex of blue spiritual energy swirled.

Centered around the Eternal Ice Crystal, several concentric layers of icy terrain stretched outward. Within the innermost ring, smaller crystals—similar to the Eternal Ice Crystal—floated in midair.

...These were clearly Millennium Ice Crystals.

And it didn’t stop there.

In the outer rings were immense crystalline structures, forming new centers in their own right.

“...Two-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal... Three-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal...?”

Unhwi gazed at the sight, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The famed coldness in his expression had vanished—he looked utterly overwhelmed.

That such a place actually existed. It was a secret even his previous life had never uncovered.

A hidden sanctuary buried for thousands of years in the heart of the Everlasting Snow Mountains.

Unhwi slowly stepped forward. The blue light radiating from the ice crystals lit his face. Beneath that glow, his eyes grew infinitely deep.

The closer he got to the central Eternal Ice Crystal, the colder the air became. And yet, strangely, the cold wasn’t painful. On the contrary—it brought clarity to his mind.

Standing before the Eternal Ice Crystal, Unhwi could finally see its true form. It wasn’t just a pillar of ice.

Words failed him.

No exaggeration—just selling the crystals inside this space alone would be enough to gather all the gold and treasures of the martial world in one place.

That’s how ridiculous this was.

Unhwi silently reached out his hand.

The instant his fingers touched the Eternal Ice Crystal, an intense blue light exploded and completely enveloped his body.

***

The moment the blue vortex engulfed Unhwi, his vision blurred.

And in the next instant, Unhwi found himself standing in an entirely different space.

An endless, white expanse of snow.

A vast realm where the boundary between sky and earth was invisible.

Unhwi stood alone in that place. Or rather—he wasn’t alone.

A man stood before him.

Though not tall, his frame radiated majesty.

A white robe. White hair. Clear, deep eyes.

And a plain, patternless iron sword.

Unhwi had the strange sensation that this man’s appearance was somehow familiar.

Then, the man began to move.

At first, his motion was slow. His sword flowed like a breeze brushing across a calm lake—it was so graceful it appeared less like a weapon and more like a living creature.

And then suddenly, it quickened.

The sound of iron cutting through air echoed across the snowy field.

Jjeo-oong!

It wasn’t swordplay so much as a part of nature itself. It was like the crack of a glacier breaking, or the roar of a blizzard.

The man’s body began to dance with the sword. It was sword dance—but not mere performance. Each movement held the principles of Heaven and Earth, and with every swing, strange phenomena occurred across the snowfield.

At the first sword stroke, snow began to fall from the sky.

At the second stroke, the snow turned to ice.

At the third stroke, the ice hung suspended in midair.

As if paying homage, the energies of Heaven and Earth began to gather around his sword.

The fourth stroke—

The frozen air split apart. Beyond it was a sky, clear and blue. As if the world itself had been torn open.

Unhwi’s heart thundered. Even though he had attained the realm of Sole Sovereign of Chaos, he had never witnessed swordsmanship like this. This went beyond martial arts. This was sword dance akin to a divine way.

His dance continued.

The fifth stroke—

Now his sword moved faster than light. Its trajectory could no longer be followed with the eye—only sensed.

The sword’s path left a blue mark across the snowfield—forming a massive octagon. The emblem of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and now the crest of the Everlasting Snow Palace.

The sword dance reached its peak.

From the man’s body, Ice-Snow Qi burst forth with explosive force. It was so powerful that even Unhwi’s soul trembled. The snowy field before him began to transform entirely.

A massive mountain range rose up from the snow. It was the birth of the Everlasting Snow Mountains. Along the path traced by Seolheon’s sword, the snow mountains took shape.

And at last, the man unleashed his final stroke.

His sword cleaved the air, releasing a blinding flash. Brilliant white light blanketed the snowy field.

When the light faded, a breathtaking scene appeared.

The snowy field had become the Everlasting Snow Mountains, and below them stood the Everlasting Snow Palace. Everything had begun with his sword dance.

The man who had finished his sword dance turned to Unhwi.

From the very first movement, Unhwi had known.

He knew exactly who this man was.

The last palace lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the founding lord of the Everlasting Snow Palace—

Thousand-Year Snow Emperor, Seolheon.

Eyes filled with deep wisdom and the weight of centuries gazed at Unhwi—and then, his sword began to move.

Like lightning, the blade shot straight toward Unhwi’s forehead.

Unhwi did not flinch.

There was no reason to.

The sword carried no killing intent.

The blade stopped precisely before Unhwi’s brow. Not even a hair’s breadth off.

Seolheon’s lips parted.

"Did you see it?"

His voice crossed hundreds of years to reach Unhwi, who nodded as he replied.

"I saw it."

"What did you see?"

Unhwi’s eyes fell to Seolheon’s sword. Within it lay infinite profundity.

The laws of Heaven and Earth. The truth of nature. The source of ice and snow.

Unhwi summed it up in a single phrase.

“I saw the Eternal Snow Sword.”

A faint smile spread across Seolheon’s lips.

"Then that is enough."

Seolheon’s figure began to dissolve into light. His body turned into snowflakes and scattered across the snowy field.

***

He blinked—and knew instantly that he had returned to the cave.

A natural smile formed at his lips.

Honestly...

He didn’t know.

The world was truly strange.

Just when you think you understand it, something new appears. Beyond strange—it was almost fun.

He picked up one of the nearby ice crystals that looked to be about a hundred years old.

This was a place where ice crystals formed naturally as spiritual energy swirled. Taking one or two wouldn’t be a problem. Even taking the Eternal Ice Crystal wouldn’t cause any issues.

But for now, there was no reason to.

Even if he consumed it at his current level, it would be nearly impossible to absorb it fully. At the very least, he would need to reach Void-Transcending Limitlessness or Sole Sovereign of Chaos.

A hundred-year-old ice crystal—

That was enough.

Then a curious idea came to mind.

The Everlasting Snow Palace would last forever. He would ensure that.

Which meant there would be worthy individuals to carry the palace’s future. As things stood now, his eldest brother—soon to be appointed Sub-Palace Lord—would be one of them.

Perhaps his brother could visit this place upon becoming Sub-Palace Lord.

And when he later became Palace Lord, and a new Sub-Palace Lord was chosen, that successor could be brought here as well.

If this were turned into a kind of rite—it would have great significance.

Above all, if the people of the Snow Palace could witness Seolheon’s sword dance, their very spirits would be uplifted... and if they could comprehend even a fragment of the martial truths within, it might even raise their realm.

In every way, it was not a bad idea.

In silence, I reversed the flow of energy—just as I had when I entered this place.

I closed and opened my eyes.

An immense snowstorm slammed into me, leaving my entire body tingling.

And through that blizzard, I saw Hyeonsim rushing toward me, her face pale with shock.

“Master Hyunseol...! Are you safe?!”

As she looked at me in worry, I smiled faintly.

***

It had been only about a quarter of an hour.

But as the saying goes, a moment felt like three autumns—that short span of time had felt like three whole years.

No—it had to feel that way.

Unhwi, who had gone off in search of something, had suddenly vanished. And as if it weren’t enough that he’d forced his internal energy to settle despite his injuries, the truly absurd part was this:

He had completely eluded Hyeonsim’s senses—even though she had attained Limitless Manifestation.

She hadn’t noticed a thing.

He ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) had just vanished.

And during that fleeting moment, Hyeonsim had come to understand Commander Seong.