Chapter 89
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Revealed Identity
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"Already, the renowned Lee Sin, the Odd One Lee Seon, has taken his position here in the martial world, and who knows how many other masters will gather. No matter how elaborate the trap, it will surely be crushed, and we’ll recover the treasures of each sect."
Now, everyone in the gathering nodded and began to smile in satisfaction.
But only Ilseonja maintained a stern expression as he posed his question.
"But which faction do you think is spreading these maps and rumors?"
"That faction must be the one that set this trap here, right?"
As Sayunbo gave a simple reply, Ilseonja continued without pause.
"Of course. And who that faction is should be obvious to all."
"Who exactly are they?"
When Jingwae countered from the side, Ilseonja began his explanation.
"You all know that this 'Great Ming Treasure Trove' doesn’t refer to the current Great Ming Empire, correct?"
"Of course not. It means the Demonic Cult, doesn’t it?"
As the name of the Demonic Cult left Jingwae’s lips, everyone’s faces hardened.
"That’s right. Here, 'Great Ming' is an abbreviation for the Great Cloud Bright Religion. It’s referring to the treasure trove of the Great Cloud Bright Religion, which we now call the Demonic Cult."
"Then the force that dug this trap must be that Demonic Cult."
As Jingwae concluded firmly, Sayunbo immediately raised an objection.
"But the Demonic Cult lost its power decades ago, and there’s been no trace of them in the Central Plains for years. How could they dare set such a trap now?"
Ilseonja shook his head at Sayunbo’s reaction.
"Listen to this. A few months ago, I met a truly astonishing figure."
"An astonishing figure? Who might that be?"
"It was none other than the Nine Provinces Demon Immortal, U Cheonso."
At Ilseonja’s answer, the assembly fell silent for a moment, as if at a loss for words.
"Where and how did you meet him?"
When Sayunbo asked belatedly, Ilseonja began to briefly explain the events that had unfolded at the Lotus Flower Pavilion in Chengdu.
Some time later, after Ilseonja finished his tale, Geumjeong Sunim spoke up.
"Namo Amitabha. If Master U has truly returned to the secular world, then this is indeed something entirely different from before."
"Exactly. Even decades ago, he was already beyond the mortal realm. Imagine how much stronger he must be now."
As Jingwae nodded in agreement with Geumjeong Sunim, Sacheongbo, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up.
"On my way here, I heard some suspicious rumors."
"What rumors?"
Ilseonja asked with a grave expression, and Sacheongbo gave a curt reply.
"Rumors that the Hunyuan Great Demon God Kuluyi is dead."
At those words, the entire group fell silent once more.
The death of the Hunyuan Great Demon God at someone’s hands was no small matter.
No one present could confidently claim they could easily subdue him.
"I heard that rumor too, but I dismissed it as mere idle gossip and paid it no mind."
Sayunbo added his words as if to smooth over Sacheongbo’s sudden remark.
Yet no one in the group seemed to regard it as baseless rumor.
"But tell me, what did that U Cheonso look like?"
Ilseonja brought up U Cheonso again.
"What did he look like?"
Geumjeong Sunim immediately asked back, and Ilseonja began to describe him.
"He had already undergone Shedding Bones and Rebirth, appearing as a man in his thirties. No one alive has seen his youth, so no one can know for sure, but he was a strikingly handsome man."
"It’s not surprising, but with hardly anyone left who could recognize him, how could we guard against him? Were there no distinctive features?"
"Nothing particularly notable, but as I mentioned, he carried a seven-stringed zither and seemed devoted solely to its music."
At that, Azure Purity Divine Sword Sacheongbo suddenly interjected.
"You said a seven-stringed zither?"
"Yes, why? What is it?"
"We came here from the west, to Xi’an. I just recalled something that happened there a few months ago."
As Sacheongbo spoke, the assembly began to show keen interest.
Jingwae was the first to ask.
"So, what happened in Xi’an?"
Now Sayunbo answered in Sacheongbo’s place.
"You all know Jin Ichang, the Shenzhou Divine Fist and master of the renowned Shenzhou Merchant House in Xi’an. A few months ago, he appeared with a young man said to be the disciple of Thunder Sound Zither Immortal Seong Manjo, a disciple of Shaolin Temple."
"I’ve never heard of Thunder Sound Zither Immortal Seong Manjo having a disciple..."
Jingwae muttered, renowned in the martial world for his extensive connections.
"Would someone like Jin Ichang lie about it?"
With that, Sayunbo began recounting the events in Xi’an.
The Shenzhou Merchant House had checked the tyranny of the Xingyang Merchant House, leading to a clash between the two. In the end, thanks to the prowess of the youth claimed to be Thunder Sound Zither Immortal’s disciple, it ended in victory for the Shenzhou Merchant House.
"I see. Now I recall hearing something similar. I remember a report from Chiljigae Gang Muung, who oversees my faction’s branch in Xi’an. Though he mentioned some odd expert from Wudang got involved..."
Jingwae had indeed received a report on the incident in Xi’an.
"Yes. The man who went by Dogwang, infamous in Xi’an’s back alleys for every kind of rogue deed, turned out to be Son Mugi, the youngest of Wudang’s Seven Immortals."
"Right, that’s the one. I only focused on the story about that Blade Immortal Scholar Son Mugi. But could that young master really be connected to U Cheonso?"
At that moment, Ilseonja, who had been listening to the two, asked Sayunbo.
"Did you happen to hear that young master’s name?"
Sayunbo nodded and replied.
"Of course. I could never forget it. It was Seonwoyong."
At Sayunbo’s answer, Ilseonja exclaimed in admiration and slapped his knee.
"That’s it exactly. It’s him. That’s the new name he’s using: Seonwoyong. I heard it myself at the Lotus Flower Pavilion in Chengdu."
The others also let out gasps of surprise.
"Namo Amitabha. We must never forget the name Seonwoyong."
Geumjeong Sunim’s murmur voiced everyone’s thoughts.
Now they reflected on how the former Nine Provinces Demon Immortal U Cheonso, after Shedding Bones and Rebirth, had reemerged into the martial world under the new name Seonwoyong.
Only Ilseonja’s face remained unbrightened.
He had indeed made a promise to Seonwoyong, the former U Cheonso.
"That man named U from the past died over sixty years ago. Never speak of it again."
Ilseonja’s ears still rang with Seonwoyong’s final words to him.
Now, he had clearly broken that promise.
But he was, after all, one of the representatives of the orthodox factions, embodied by the Nine Great Sects and One Clan. With this trap looming before them, he could not keep that promise.
In any case, once Seonwoyong’s name was confirmed, accounts of his various deeds began to surface.
In particular, the Sa brothers, who had shadowed the Shenzhou Merchant House—the longtime overlords of Xi’an—had heard all the rumors from the places they passed.
The incident with the mountain bandits at Absolute Light Mountain, the events at the Drunken Hero Tavern in Lanzhou, and even the fact that the Black Wolf Band had escorted the caravan—all came to light.
"But the caravan’s name was Great Cloud Merchant Group, wasn’t it?"
When Ilseonja asked Sayunbo, he replied calmly.
"Yes. They moved alongside the Shenzhou Merchant House but under a distinctly different name."
"Great Cloud. How brazen."
Jingwae muttered with furrowed brows, and Geumjeong Sunim added in a worried tone.
"Indeed. It seems they’re coming here with full intent."
"Something big is definitely brewing. We’d best prepare thoroughly."
As Sayunbo spoke again in a concerned tone, Ilseonja shook his head and objected.
"But if this is truly a trap, could it even be part of the Nine Provinces Demon Immortal’s plan? I don’t think so."
"Then you believe the Great Ming Treasure Trove here and his journey from the western regions are unrelated?"
When Jingwae asked, Ilseonja nodded.
"Probably so. It was just a few months ago that I met him in Chengdu. At that time, he had only just emerged into the world and knew nothing of its affairs. That wasn’t something feigned—it couldn’t be. Yet in mere months, could he orchestrate and execute a conspiracy of this scale?"
Everyone nodded at Ilseonja’s point.
But Jingwae thought differently.
"Then who devised this plot? Didn’t these maps start circulating right as U Cheonso broke decades of seclusion, drawing sects from across the Central Plains to Dunhuang?"
Ilseonja refuted Jingwae’s point strongly.
"Look here, Drunken Dragon Divine Beggar. Have you forgotten his moniker, Nine Provinces Demon Immortal? The one who saved this world. That title wasn’t fabricated—it was what everyone in the martial world at the time called him with one heart.
He handed over his only son to us and secluded himself for the sake of this Central Plains realm. Does it make sense that such a man would emerge after sixty years only to unleash a bloodbath?"
As Jingwae flushed and tried to speak, Geumjeong Sunim’s voice rang out.
"Your words are spot on, Ilseonja. I’ve met him two or three times in the past. Even if I know little else, I know he’s not the type to scheme for the martial world with petty traps like this. He’d simply conquer it all by force and divide north and south as he pleased."
"Then if this incident here and that U Cheonso’s movements are unrelated, we needn’t worry about him at all?"
When Jingwae asked again, Geumjeong Sunim shook her head and concluded.
"How could that be? Don’t all great events in the martial world start small and grow? We can only do our utmost and prepare for the worst."
It was then, as the five masters continued their discussions and worries.
Suddenly, on the slopes of the hill where they sat—on one of the peaks of Mingsha Mountain—torches flared to life.
And with that as the signal, several surrounding peaks lit their own torches in the same manner.