Chapter 219
Translator: uly
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Taoist Reflections
A few days passed.
Amid the time flowing as naturally as water, Wi Seongcheon felt a pang of regret. He had pinned considerable hopes on his duel with Sang Gwanho. Just as Wi Seongcheon had made great strides over the past few months, he hoped Sang Gwanho had achieved more than when they first clashed.
But that wasn't the case. Sang Gwanho's skills hadn't changed much, so the duel ended in Wi Seongcheon's overwhelming victory. He had anticipated something from the fight that would propel him to the 'next level,' but his premature expectations only led to disappointment.
Even so,
Wi Seongcheon's daily routine remained unchanged. He still made his home in the shabby hut near the coast rather than Blood Palace, and the White Flame Witch returned to Blood Palace at nightfall but sat in the hut's shade during the day, watching him.
Under that gaze, Wi Seongcheon resumed his now-routine training.
Heavenly Flower Chain Skill, Heavy Hand Subduing Demons, Supreme Purity Secret, Ghost Soul Hundred Escapes. The Green Forest Demon Emperor, who usually sparred with him, hadn't returned to the coast for the past few days, but Wi Seongcheon was accustomed to training alone.
"That Green Forest Demon Emperor used to give me some entertainment when he beat you black and blue."
"Would the White Flame Witch care to teach me a move?"
"No, pass. It's too hot anyway. I don't feel like moving around in this salty sea breeze."
Cold Heat Immunity overcame heat and cold. But that didn't mean one felt nothing in summer or winter.
The piercing sunlight, the muggy air, the salty sea wind. The White Flame Witch disliked them all.
"Watching you won't be much fun anyway, so I think I'll go see that storyteller."
"You seem quite taken with her."
"Being with that girl is refreshing. That's the good part, but the annoyances outweigh it, so it doesn't balance out."
The White Flame Witch brushed the sand off her clothes and stood.
The Green Forest Demon Emperor had chosen Paeng Yeonhwa and Hwangbo Seongu, while the White Flame Witch had selected the storyteller Ha Ji-eun. In truth, the White Flame Witch hadn't wanted anyone, but with the Green Forest Demon Emperor picking two orthodox juniors, she had no choice but to take Ha Ji-eun.
"If you dislike it that much, you don't have to do it."
"I wouldn't have if the Black Demon King hadn't 'asked' me."
The White Flame Witch emphasized 'asked.' She often built her pride on such petty things.
"I won't be coming back tonight."
"No surprise there. You always slept at Blood Palace anyway."
"It's just hard to understand. With the crashing waves right beside you and the sandy, salty wind never stopping—what could be so appealing about staying in this reeking place?"
The White Flame Witch clicked her tongue and turned away. She vanished into the distant woods, and Wi Seongcheon meant to dive back into training immediately. But he couldn't.
"...Honestly, I'm surprised. I thought you'd grab me right away that day."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord wore a bitter smile.
Wi Seongcheon had received many favors and lessons from the Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord. He acknowledged Heavenly Flower Sect's techniques as supreme arts, taught him about his immortal body, and when he lay dying from the Blood Ghost Demon's poison, yielded the precious Dawn Heaven Rejuvenation Pill.
Wi Seongcheon respected the Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord. Among the orthodox masters he'd met, he was the most 'orthodox.'
Though called Sword Ghost decades ago for his ferocity, Wi Seongcheon knew nothing of that era. The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord he knew was benevolent, respectful to even the most junior juniors, and a righteous man who shared teachings freely, blood brother or not.
That was why Wi Seongcheon felt regretful. The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord's sect, Wudang. The largest Daoist sect among the Nine Great Righteous Sects.
Though its history fell short of three hundred years, Wudang's founder, 'Zhang Sanfeng,' was a figure revered by all Daoist warriors, and the Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord was hailed as the greatest master since him.
That made the emptiness all the more profound. Three hundred years. Kunlun Mountain was inseparable from talk of immortals. Compared to Kunlun Sect, which began there, or Qingcheng Sect from one of Taoism's birthplaces, Wudang's history was inevitably short.
Over those three hundred years,
Wudang had lost much. Not just the oral secret Tenfold Golden, but all Daoist immortal arts. And it wasn't just Wudang.
"I needed time to sort out my thoughts."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord spoke with that same bitter smile.
"Fortunately, this island... Black Forest has all the Nine Great Righteous Sects' leaders gathered in one place. Many sects claim the Daoist mantle in the orthodox martial world, but the oldest Daoist sects among them belong to the Nine Great Righteous Sects."
Kunlun, Qingcheng, Wudang. Once Huashan, Jeomchang, and Kongdong were Daoist too, but at some point they shed that identity for secular sects. Denying their roots caused great uproar back then, but that was centuries ago.
"The heads of Kunlun, Qingcheng, and Wudang met. Huashan, Jeomchang, and Kongdong joined us. There... we looked back on our sects' histories."
"..."
"And reached the obvious conclusion. We—no, the martial world's Daoist sects—from some point onward, had only the name Daoism left, wearing it like a cloak. Just as the Black Demon King said. I'm Wudang's top master, flaunting Daoism, yet I couldn't recognize your immortal arts. Nor was I alone. Every Daoist sect leader was ignorant of immortal arts."
"...Too much time has passed..."
"It can't be just that. Kunlun, Qingcheng, Wudang, Huashan, Jeomchang, Kongdong. Six sects rooted in Daoism, and none had records of immortal arts. Only philosophies remained... absorbed into martial arts."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord shook his head with a hollow laugh.
"Is that enough? Yes, it was. Honestly, I've always thought so. Legends say immortals ride clouds and wield bizarre immortal arts. I can't ride clouds, but I fly on my sword, and though not immortal arts, I wield wondrous skills. Not just me—everyone believed the 'martial arts' left in our sects were the evolution of immortal arts. But Seongcheon, your 'true' immortal arts and the 'true' elixir immortals known to the Black Demon King and the other Ten Evils... they showed us our delusions were laughable."
Wi Seongcheon didn't know what to say. He had learned the Supreme Purity Secret, but that didn't mean he deeply understood immortal arts.
He'd only been taught by Dawn. Nor did he know much about the Seven Black Elixirs.
"You don't need to worry. This is just venting. The Black Demon King is off the island, and Dawn, that bastard..."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord trailed off with a low cough. Thinking of Dawn made blood rush to his head. He'd taught Paeng Yeonhwa the Unmoving Mind Technique to calm the heart, but he himself couldn't fully master it.
"...Dawn's hiding so well I can't even question him."
"...Um, Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord. I know nothing about immortal arts or immortals..."
"I know. No need for you to know everything. That's why I said it's just venting. And..."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord's eyes darkened.
"It's also a warning and a transmission."
"...Pardon?"
"I can't agree with the Black Demon King's intentions."
He walked over casually and plopped down beside Wi Seongcheon.
"He knew about the Seven Black Elixirs and immortal arts long ago. But he didn't tell the orthodox martial world—or even all the Ten Evils. Black Demon King Baek Ri-mu... His words at the conference were right. If the Martial Alliance knew of the Seven Black Elixirs, they'd seek contact somehow, even if not through subjugation."
"They're said to transcend human cognition."
"Even so, they exist in this world. Not beyond reason or providence. We just don't know. So we must learn— even if they become enemies."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord's fist clenched slowly.
"I know the Black Demon King and Dawn still withhold things. The White Flame Witch and Green Forest Demon Emperor too. Maybe even you."
"..."
"I knew from first seeing you—no, from seeing Heavenly Flower Sect's previous lord, Wi Seonak, in the Demon Realm—that Heavenly Flower Sect was no trifling faction. But... there are deeper secrets. Still, Seongcheon, I won't pry from you. So don't say a word either."
"...Why?"
"The Wi Seonak I saw in the Demon Realm, the Heavenly Flower Lord at the Imperial Palace... neither spoke. They endured scorn and humiliation without changing how their sect was viewed. That repeated across generations must have grave reason. I don't take it lightly."
Wi Seongcheon was moved. If pressed, he'd have been in a bind.
"...Thank you for your consideration. But Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord, I don't know everything about my sect either."
"Then I can't ask all the more. I won't trample the Heavenly Flower Lord's mission."
The Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord smiled faintly and unclenched his fist.
"I'm not here to probe your secrets or immortal arts. As I said, I spoke much with the Daoist sect leaders and pieced together info to reach a hasty conclusion."
[Shut that long-nosed bastard up.]
A clear transmission echoed in his mind. It was Dawn. His stealth fooled even the Supreme Ultimate Sword Lord's senses. Weak among the Ten Evils in martial arts, he excelled in odd skills.
Wi Seongcheon ignored Dawn's transmission.
"It aligned thanks to the Kunlun Sect leader's tale."
[Shut him up now!]
"He spoke of an old legend handed down in Kunlun Sect."
"...The God-Sealing Platform?"
It happened on the conference's first day. Kunlun Sect's leader, Jin Cheon Dojang, questioned Dawn about the God-Sealing Platform, but Dawn never answered.
"Yes."
[Shut up, I said!]
'Handle it yourself—why hassle me?'
Unable to locate Dawn, he couldn't reply via transmission.
"Kunlun Sect had to abandon Kunlun Mountain about a century ago. They couldn't suppress the rampant demonic beasts. Kunlun always saw it as a grave shame marring their traditions and avoided mentioning it, but now they've realized traditions are the least of their concerns."
[Damn Taoists, calling our ancestors' duty a mistake. No, they're not even Taoists! Just fixated on combat tricks unworthy of true immortality...]
"Kunlun is called the immortals' sacred mountain. But at some point, true immortals stopped dwelling there—around the time Wudang and other Daoist sects lost immortal arts and martial arts took precedence."
[Blabbering nonsense as expected. They failed to guard it properly—no, blinded fools craving fame through martial arts over true immortality flooded the place. In my day, those truly pursuing immortality under Kunlun's waterfalls could be counted on one hand!]
"We can only speculate on why. No records, and it's a hundred to hundreds of years ago. But circumstantially... the 'true' immortals of that era must have taken the remaining immortal arts from the sects."
[What bullshit. You know nothing! The last immortal of this era was Zhang Sanfeng.]
Dawn bellowed. Wi Seongcheon's head throbbed; he frowned.
"Dawn's shouting in my head right now."
"That bastard Jinchung was hiding nearby after all."
"Ji...nchung?"
"Ahem. A foul word slipped out. Anyway, what does Jinchung say?"
"That Zhang Sanfeng was the era's last immortal..."
[Why are you blabbing on your own!?]
"Well, what am I supposed to do? Just come out and say it yourself..."
"Zhang Sanfeng as the last immortal? That means..."
[Hey, relay this exactly. Wudang never had immortal arts to begin with! Zhang Sanfeng was a true immortal, but the Wudang Sect he founded pursues no immortality—it's just a sword sect, and later generations slapped on the Daoist label themselves.]
Wi Seongcheon's jaw dropped. How to relay that?
Dawn was denying three hundred years of Wudang's history outright!
[Huashan, Jeomchang, other Daoist sects too! They didn't lose immortal arts—they never had them! What even are immortal arts?! If you awaken profundity yourself, mere breathing builds immortal energy via breath control! Immortal arts aren't tricks turning men to immortals or weird spells!]
"Wait... hold on!"
Not just Wudang. Dawn now denied all Nine Great Righteous Sects' Daoist factions.
[Daoist sects are just self-applied hats. Isn't it ridiculous for killers honing murder skills to strut as Taoists? True immortality pursuits for cultivation were in nameless dojos, not famed orthodox sects. Yuanxiang Sect once was, but now it's a lust den jiggling lower parts! That's Daoism's end!]
"Uh... uh..."
"What does Dawn say?"
"Uh... well..."
[Frustrating! Replacing self-cultivation with sword-waving, and calling it what? Daoist? Taoist? Immortal?! You damned fools!]
Hearing that explained why Dawn was the weakest of the Ten Evils.