Geom Mugeuk walked behind Binggung.

Naturally, he had thought the Binggung Vault would be outside the palace—somewhere deep in the Northern Sea, on a snowstorm-swept mountain where hearts would freeze in the cold.

But Binggung led Geom Mugeuk deep inside the Northern Ice Palace.

“This is the first time it’s been shown to an outsider.”

“An honor, Palace Lord.”

“A reward for saving my palace.”

Passing through the gates guarded by Binggung’s elite warriors, they came upon a frozen lake.

“From now on, step exactly where I step and follow me.”

Geom Mugeuk realized a formation was laid over this seemingly ordinary lake.

The formation’s danger lay in its unpredictability.

He had never experienced a formation set on a frozen lake before. When everyone’s attention was focused on not breaking the ice beneath their feet, the true danger would strike from elsewhere.

Geom Mugeuk carefully stepped exactly where Binggung stepped and followed her.

What if he failed to find the life gate? The floor might break and he’d sink into the freezing lake or be forced to wander on its surface forever.

Silently walking, Binggung suddenly asked,

“The girl named Ian—is she kin of a demonic martial artist?”

“No. She was entrusted to the main sect at a very young age.”

Binggung kept walking quietly. It seemed she wanted to say more.

“Then why do you ask?”

Ian was unusual in appearance and temperament, but Binggung’s personality didn’t seem one to show such interest.

“No reason. Just a sudden thought. Watch your step.”

Binggung pressed on swiftly, stepping on the life gates and crossing the lake.

Passing through the formation, they reached a valley—a narrow path just wide enough for three adults standing side by side.

A chilly wind blew at the entrance. Not just cold, but truly bitter cold.

They were now on the path leading to the Binggung Vault.

“It suddenly got cold.”

Geom Mugeuk spoke, and a faint smile appeared on Binggung’s lips.

“The cold hasn’t even begun yet.”

She was slightly excited to show the Little Pill Master the taste of this cold. Though she was grateful for his saving the palace, she intended to let him feel the fierce northern winds since only those with the Extreme Cold Body could enter here.

“Come on, let’s go.”

This time, Binggung did not lead but walked alongside Geom Mugeuk to monitor his condition. Regardless of whether he was a master, a single misstep here could be fatal.

With every step, the cold deepened.

“Don’t force yourself too much.”

“It’s still bearable.”

The saying about one’s lungs freezing really applied here. It wasn’t just a harsh wind but an approach toward a place of extreme cold. Each step led to colder and colder space, shifting drastically.

A strange whooshing sound accompanied their footsteps, though no wind blew.

“Are you alright?”

From midway on, Binggung checked Geom Mugeuk’s condition with each step.

Yet Geom Mugeuk was fine. Though he felt cold, it didn’t affect him or cause pain.

Binggung worried he might freeze standing still, but he walked sturdily, even more spiritedly than she did.

The strange whooshing sound grew louder as they walked.

Binggung’s surprise grew. If he wasn’t an Extreme Cold Body, this meant there was another martial art allowing endurance of such cold.

‘Could such a martial art really exist?’

The cold intensified. It wasn’t just water freezing instantly in the air; it transcended common sense and limits.

Even Geom Mugeuk, strengthened by the Eternal Snow Pill, and Binggung, relying on her innate energy, could hardly speak. The cold was overwhelming.

At last, they reached the path’s end.

There stood a massive ice block—no, an enormous ice wall.

Not ordinary ice. It felt like the source of all cold in the world, indescribably bitter.

They had walked straight toward the root of all cold on earth.

To their astonishment, the ice wall had a door.

It was incredible that someone had carved out a space here.

Binggung opened the door and stepped inside, Geom Mugeuk following.

The moment Binggung closed the door, silence fell.

The strange noise in their ears vanished, and the brutal cold disappeared as if by magic.

Inside, it wasn’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} that cold. Like entering a house made of ice—actually, a sense that the deeper inside, the less cold it would be.

Now conversation was possible, but Binggung stared at Geom Mugeuk silently for a long time before asking again.

“Are you deceiving me—are you an Extreme Cold Body?”

“I repeat, I am not.”

“Then is there a martial art that allows you to endure this cold?”

“No. No martial art from the main sect could endure this cold.”

Binggung wondered if perhaps the Little Pill Master knew the secret poison martial art passed down only to the Palace Lord.

“There must be some way to endure any cold, isn’t there? The legend passed down in the North Sea.”

Binggung paused, recalling one fact.

“Could it be… you?”

Geom Mugeuk spoke honestly, unwilling to leave her with uneasy doubts.

“Yes. I have taken the Eternal Snow Pill.”

Binggung opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

The Eternal Snow Pill was a legendary elixir.

It was the pinnacle among pills strengthening cold resistance, allowing one to comfortably accept any cold elemental energy.

“Did the Eternal Snow Pill really exist?”

Even Binggung thought it a legend, a mystical presence both real and unreal.

“I was lucky enough to have the chance.”

Binggung shook her head firmly.

“The Eternal Snow Pill isn’t something you get by luck alone.”

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have become a legend.

And the one who obtained it was the sect’s Little Pill Master?

Yet that Little Pill Master saved Binggung. Was it coincidence? The vault was the target of the enemy, but he arrived here with the one who eliminated the conspiracy. Was this all mere chance?

Or were they meeting now as part of an inevitable fate?

“Let’s go in.”

They slowly walked down an ice corridor ending in a vast chamber—the Binggung Vault.

Walls, ceiling, floor, even the display cases were all made of ice.

Unlike other vaults, the treasures were encased in ice, as if frozen inside blocks of ice in various sizes.

The ice was perfectly transparent.

So the weapons inside looked like they floated in midair.

Geom Mugeuk had never seen such a wondrous sight.

“Truly magnificent.”

Binggung smiled.

“Not even a strong heat yang could easily melt this.”

Even reaching here was difficult, and even if one came, taking treasures out of the ice would not be easy.

She wondered what Geom Mugeuk would want here.

He pointed to a sword frozen straight ahead.

“Could that be the Cold Heaven Divine Sword (Hancheon Singeom)?”

“Yes.”

A legendary sword known to multiply its power when wielded by someone trained in Binggong.

“And that beside it is the Shattered Blade (Pasaedo).”

“You truly have great knowledge of weapons.”

Many other new weapons were stored here too, treasures gathered over centuries by the Northern Ice Palace.

Still, Binggung sensed,

‘He won’t choose a sword.’

Though he didn’t draw his Black Horse Sword here, she felt he wore a sword better than any of these.

Indeed, Geom Mugeuk admired and marveled at each weapon but did not choose any.

Nearby, jewels floated in midair, encased in small ice shards, appearing even more mysterious.

Among them were truly valuable jewels—so precious that even the finest rare wines looked plain beside them.

But Geom Mugeuk passed those by as well, moving slowly so as not to trigger the secret burial box (Bikwe) reaction.

So far, the two orbs Bikwe had obtained were not among the treasures; they were discarded and hidden.

He had hoped for a surprise treasure proudly displayed here, but Bikwe showed no reaction.

Next, they reached the shelves of elixirs.

Rare elixirs, impossible to get even with money, lined the shelves. Even the least effective among them were treasures martial artists coveted even in dreams.

Geom Mugeuk passed by without giving the impression he sought anything special.

“Don’t you want anything?”

“I’m trying to find something that appeals to me, but nothing yet.”

Having checked all weapons, elixirs, and devices, Bikwe gave no sign of reaction.

‘Does Bikwe have nothing to absorb in the Northern Ice Palace?’

Perhaps because everything was encased in ice and thus inaccessible. But that was unavoidable.

Just then, a large mural on a distant wall caught Geom Mugeuk’s eye. A soaring white dragon, large enough to see from afar.

He walked toward it.

As he neared, Bikwe reacted.

Geom Mugeuk was startled; he had not expected Bikwe to respond to a mural.

Looking closer, he understood why.

The mural wasn’t just a painting.

In the dragon’s orb it held, a blue jade was set; its eyes held red jades. Numerous jades of various colors adorned its claws and body.

Among them was white jade, which Bikwe reacted to.

‘It’s the White Eye (Baekjeong)!’

If he hadn’t come this way to see the mural, he would never have found it.

Who had hidden these treasures here and why?

He did not yet know, but now that fate had connected them, he hoped the day would come when he would learn.

Geom Mugeuk asked Binggung,

“May I choose one of the jades set in that mural?”

Binggung was surprised. She hadn’t expected him to ask for a jade from the mural.

“You want the dragon orb?”

“No.”

Geom Mugeuk pointed to the white jade at the tip of the tail.

“Please give me that tail.”

Though precious, the white jade was insignificant compared to the other treasures.

“May I ask why you want that one?”

“In the sect, I’ve been called a hidden dragon or a rising dragon. But I always wished to live as a tail. To remember that feeling, I want this white jade.”

Binggung still looked puzzled.

She leapt up and took the white jade embedded in the wall down.

No matter how she examined it, it was just white jade.

“Is this really enough?”

“Yes, it is enough. Even just seeing the Binggung Vault was a priceless experience for me.”

Geom Mugeuk put the jade carefully into his chest.

Not knowing the jade’s meaning, Binggung misunderstood.

‘He does not want to trouble me.’

Then she could not just let him go.

Unexpectedly, Binggung said,

“This is not enough.”

She wouldn’t have come at all, but now that he had saved Binggung, she couldn’t send him off with only one white jade.

Binggung went to the shelf of elixirs and melted the ice on the highest one with her internal energy.

“You’re the only one who can take this anyway.”

As her power infused, the ice melted revealing a small orb—shaped like a frozen pearl.

It was the pinnacle of the Northern Sea’s elixirs.

The Myriad Extreme Ice Essence (Manggeuk Bingjeong).

The greatest elixir of cold attribute, said to be only consumable by one who has taken the Eternal Snow Pill.

“May I take this precious thing?”

“If you don’t, it will remain frozen here forever.”

Though Geom Mugeuk already possessed more internal energy than anyone in the martial world, he was still thirsty for more.

Training the Nine Flames Martial Art and unlocking the Sky Severance Technique within the Time-Space Reversal required vast internal energy. To him, internal energy was time, the power to protect all.

“Please take it.”

“Then I gratefully accept without further refusal.”

Geom Mugeuk immediately consumed the Myriad Extreme Ice Essence.

It was truly a cold energy. If his body were not conditioned by the Eternal Snow Pill to withstand such cold, he would have frozen to death the moment he swallowed it—or never have been able to swallow it at all.

The tremendous energy of the Essence surged through his blood veins like a raging northern wind. After carefully controlling his internal energy several times, the Essence’s force gathered in his dantian becoming a pure internal energy.

He had vaguely thought until now that his internal energy might be the greatest in the martial world. Now he was certain.

He wasn’t glad because his internal energy increased, but because it allowed him to advance the Sky Severance Technique and the Nine Flames Martial Art faster.

Binggung was astonished again. She had not expected the Essence to melt so quickly.

Thus, she easily decided on the third favor.

“Choose one more.”

“This is enough.”

“There are three reasons I give you these three gifts.”

“What reasons?”

“The first is gratitude for revealing the Original Lord’s death and eliminating the masterminds.”

That much she understood. He was a benefactor who saved Binggung.

“The second is because you made me look back.”

Geom Mugeuk understood. She meant that he reminded her of the daughter still standing there. Gratitude for reconnecting a relationship with the daughter she thought forever lost.

“The third is a gift given in advance.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will understand someday. What that means.”

It was an investment for her daughter.

When Hanseol became the Palace Lord, this Geom Mugeuk would be the Demon Sect leader. A preemptive request to care well for the Northern Ice Palace and her daughter. If that was her request along with a single treasure, it was a bargain.

Geom Mugeuk guessed her heart and accepted it.

“Then I will choose one more.”

This time he was more careful because the gift was not for himself.

“Then I will take this last one.”

What he chose was a wine cup.