Chapter 108: The Second Flow
The one who inherited the Flow....
The moment I read the first line revealed on the wall...
my heart dropped.
The underground training ground beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.
That strange martial intent left behind by True Immortal Cheongun.
The word used to describe it...
had appeared right in front of me.
“...Flow?”
Elder Hyeoneom muttered beside me.
He was staring at the wall with a frozen expression.
It was the first time I'd ever seen that old man look like this.
I instinctively stepped closer.
Then focused on the inscription carved into the wall.
To the one who inherited the Flow. Or to the witness of the promise.
I do not know by what connection you have come this far... but if I, once known in the secular world as Immortal Yeonha, have one final wish,
it is only that you too are a Taoist who walks the proper path.
...Immortal Yeonha.
Just as I'd expected.
The person who had left this inscription...
was Immortal Yeonha, the creator of the other Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword.
I continued reading.
Three years have already passed since I entered the Seclusion Cave.
Though I resolved to sever every connection with the secular world, a disturbing existence I learned of by chance has tormented me to this day.
A great evil hiding itself within unseen darkness.
The ominous future that existence would one day create became a heart demon, threatening to destroy even my final cultivation.
A great evil.
The inscription True Immortal Cheongun had left behind flashed through my mind.
The words carved into the wall beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.
The unknown existence Cheongun had warned about so urgently...
was mentioned here too.
It has to be the same thing.
A chill ran down my spine.
Kunlun.
Mount Hua.
Two absolute masters produced by two different sects...
had both seen the same danger.
I swallowed and kept reading.
Fortunately, there was another person who, like me, could perceive the workings of heaven.
True Immortal Cheongun.
Meeting him showed me a new path.
“True Immortal Cheongun?”
This time...
the words escaped my own mouth.
Cheongun and Immortal Yeonha had actually met?
I'd never heard anything like that in my life.
My heartbeat grew louder as I continued.
With True Immortal Cheongun's help, I was able to resolve many things.
I shattered the heart demon that had tormented me.
And we discovered a path for the generations who would one day face that great evil.
A new path called ‘Flow.’
We also found a way to guide a qualified successor toward that Flow.
At that moment...
I remembered the final sentence from Cheongun's inscription.
The next Flow you must seek is Hwa (華)....
So that was it.
The next Flow Cheongun had spoken of...
had been in Mount Hua.
I slowly nodded and read the rest.
To the qualified one, and to the witness of the promise I created together with True Immortal Cheongun...
the ‘Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword.’
Prove here that the promise has been completed.
Then inherit the ‘Flow’ I have left behind.
You must seek the remaining ‘Flows’ as well.
Only then can the ‘great evil’ that disturbs the workings of heaven be erased from this world.
The inscription ended there.
And instinctively...
I knew.
The qualified one Immortal Yeonha spoke of...
was me.
“Hoo.”
I let out a breath without realizing it.
Then Elder Hyeoneom spoke beside me.
“Flow...”
His voice trembled slightly.
“What in the world is this...?”
A moment later...
he slowly turned toward me.
“Young Hero...”
His eyes narrowed.
“You don't look surprised at all.”
"..."
“Almost as if...”
He studied my face.
“you've seen something like this before.”
That old man really was absurdly perceptive.
Hyeoneom stepped closer.
He tapped his staff against the floor.
“Are you...”
His expression sharpened.
“the one mentioned there?”
“The one who inherited the Flow?”
I didn't answer immediately.
I thought carefully about what I should say.
There's no point lying after coming this far.
If I gave some half-hearted answer...
I'd only risk turning this old man against me.
“Yes.”
I met his eyes.
“I am.”
Hyeoneom's eyes widened.
“You are?”
Then his voice rose.
“Then explain it!”
“What is this Flow?”
“And what is that great evil?”
“Tell this old man everything!”
He sounded genuinely agitated.
I gathered my thoughts for a moment.
Then slowly began speaking.
“It started with...”
“...That's what happened.”
I gave Elder Hyeoneom a condensed explanation of what had happened in the hidden training ground beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.
The inscription left by True Immortal Cheongun.
The warning that had been cut off.
The existence referred to as the great evil.
And the martial intent Cheongun had left behind...
Flow.
Of course...
I didn't tell him everything.
I left out things like my awakened martial arts analysis ability.
"..."
After hearing the entire explanation...
Hyeoneom remained silent for a long time.
His eyes were closed.
He seemed to be thinking deeply.
It took quite a while before he finally spoke.
“...Something from two hundred years ago is still continuing today.”
His voice was low.
Then he opened his eyes.
“Fine.”
“Let's assume what you say is true.”
He looked at me.
“Then what exactly is this ‘promise’ Immortal Yeonha mentioned?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know for certain either.”
Then I looked toward the wall.
“But judging by what she wrote...”
“Immortal Yeonha seems to have regarded the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword as proof of some promise she made with True Immortal Cheongun.”
Hyeoneom grunted.
“Hmm.”
I continued.
“Based on the inscription...”
“it seems the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword was a martial art the two of them created together.”
“Ugh....”
Hyeoneom's brow creased.
