Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Beginning 2
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When one focuses their ocular energy to closely examine someone, a repulsive energy is used to send a shock back to the observer. This is a common power struggle among martial artists.
But to get such a reaction from villagers who looked as if they had never learned martial arts in their lives…
There were two possibilities.
First.
The villagers were all secretly martial artists. Not just any martial artists, but masters at the Harmony Realm… That would explain why they were all protecting their bodies with a powerful repulsive energy, making it impossible for even me, a master at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm, to perceive them.
This…
Was something that could only happen in a dream.
In other words, it was impossible in reality.
Second.
The one who constructed and activated the formation in the village also placed a similar spell on the villagers' bodies. That would be why even I, a master at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm, could not observe the villagers' interiors.
This was likely the case.
That was why there had been no issue when I had only examined their external appearance, but this reaction occurred the moment I tried to look deeper into their physical condition.
“I’m certain of it… There’s something in this village. Something that is showing me and the villagers an illusion. But what have they done to the villagers' bodies to prevent me from sensing what's inside…?”
Mu-heun moved. Sitting here thinking day and night wouldn't lead to any conclusions, so he left the pavilion and began to venture deeper into the village.
He decided to meet the villagers one by one and investigate.
‘I have a mountain of questions, but I wonder if I’ll get any answers.’
How did so many people end up gathered here?
Why were the buildings constructed in such a unique style?
And why were the people walking around with faces so full of happiness?
Were the pale complexions and the shadows under their eyes appearing without their knowledge? Were there signs of overwork? If not, were they even aware of their condition…?
If they weren't even aware, how long had they been living in this village? Did they remember any unusual events?
Once the questions started, they seemed endless. This chain of doubts had never formed before he broke free from the formation.
The formation etched into the village… It must have been designed by a scholar or a sorcerer whose skills were on par with or even surpassed his own.
Either that, or it was something much more ancient and unfamiliar…
For a moment, the inhuman beings described in the *Three Books on the Advent of the Chaotic Heavens' Inhuman Beings* flashed through his mind.
‘No way… Something like that can’t possibly exist in reality.’
To be honest, with Mu-heun's power, he might even be able to leave the village now and destroy the formation itself. His internal energy, having reached the pinnacle of demonic arts, combined with the power of Myriad Fragrances, would likely be enough.
However… that would only provoke an enemy whose identity he had yet to grasp.
Mu-heun didn't know why or how such a high-level formation had been deployed here, but judging by the scale of the enemy’s work, he determined they were capable of striking a blow to the entire Central Plains.
‘I still know nothing about them. But the Heavenly Demon said there might be transcendent beings, so if I can find a clue, I must.’
Mu-heun felt his palms begin to sweat.
‘It has been a long time since I've felt such mental pressure.’
Frankly, he felt he wouldn't be at ease unless he brought Cheon Mu-jin, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, or the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable, Jin Hong, here right now.
He didn't even know if the enemy was a single person or a group.
At this moment, he was just one individual. No matter how much of the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon he had learned or how powerful his internal energy was, he had not yet mastered the art, and there was a limit to what one person could do.
This wasn't a situation like with Dang Baek-ho, where he had come thoroughly prepared. One wrong move, and he could die here.
However…
He couldn't just leave everything as it was. He couldn't pretend not to have seen what was unfolding before his eyes and run away.
If he turned a blind eye to them now, the next time he saw them, they might be corpses. How could he face the arhats who had saved him then?
Moreover, it was clear that an 'enemy' was preparing something beneath the surface.
Therefore.
There is no… next time.
Just as I don't know the 'enemy,' the 'enemy' doesn't know me. Fortunately, I have the Demon-Sealing Paper on my wrists and ankles.
Therefore, to turn this situation around, what I need is, of course, information.
‘There’s no time. I must choose only meaningful questions instead of asking indiscriminately.’
Mu-heun began to organize the information he needed right now.
First.
Who was behind this? In other words, the enemy's identity.
What was their number, or the scale of their organization?
What was their martial prowess, or the extent of their power?
What kinds of formations and spells did they use?
There could also be other mechanisms or artifacts.
Second.
Why did they come to such a remote riverside and mountain village? Why were they gathering people in such a secluded place to carry out their plans? What exactly were they doing with the people of this village?
In other words, their objective.
If he could figure out their objective, he could roughly predict their next move. Then, it would be possible to strike at the enemy's vital point.
‘What reason do you have for causing trouble in such a rugged place, you bastards?’
Mu-heun thought about the third piece of information he needed to find out.
The people of this village were not in a normal state. What kind of spell was cast on them? And how could they be returned to normal?
If he drove out or killed the enemies, would there be any harm to the villagers?
A reckless action could create unforeseen variables, and such variables could lead to a tragic end that the villagers, if not himself, could not handle.
No matter how great the cause, there was no great deed worth accomplishing at the cost of all the villagers' lives.
In the end, Mu-heun decided to gather information on the most microscopic events happening here for the sake of the villagers.
Having organized his thoughts, he looked toward the river.
‘If anything happens, I’ll escape through the river.’
Ultimately, if an enemy he couldn't handle appeared, he should flee rather than fight. After all, what he needed right now was information.
If he could return after obtaining information… he would be able to deal with it somehow.
Just then.
Mu-heun spotted a woman in the distance, perched on a table, looking worried. In a village where everyone seemed happy, she was the only one with a troubled expression.
‘There’s something.’
Mu-heun immediately went to her. He thought he might find a clue if he was lucky.
“Greetings. May I ask you a question?”
“…Yes? You’re not from this village.”
“Haha, yes, I am a doctor traveling from Sichuan to Hubei. I stopped by here on my way.”
“A… doctor? Ah, yes. What is it?”
Seeing her lack of reaction to the word 'doctor,' it seemed no one in her family was suffering from an illness. Then why was this woman the only one with a grim expression…?
“I would like to ask a few questions about this village. My grandfather also used to live near the Yangtze River here. Of course, the village was destroyed by a poisonous fiend from an Unorthodox Sect when he was young.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Yes. I heard that back then, the village near the Yangtze River wasn't this large. I also heard there was a temple nearby called Chipyeong Temple… but now I don't see it.”
The arhats who lived at Chipyeong Temple had disappeared more than fifty years ago, but the place had been managed by monks. Though they were called monks, it was no different from a martial sect like the Shaolin.
Of course, they were unknown arhats who couldn't compare to the Shaolin. But if even they had remained, the village wouldn't have ended up in this state.
Mu-heun continued.
“Things that were once here are gone, and for a rural village, its scale is beyond imagination, so I was curious.”
Mu-heun intended to ask the woman about the changes that had made the village so different from what he remembered. However, since his current appearance was that of a man between twenty and thirty, he invented a grandfather for his story.
“Ah, even if it was when your grandfather was here… I’m not that old, so I don’t know when you’re talking about. However, I do know about Chipyeong Temple. The temple, which was near the Yangtze River, suddenly vanished about half a year ago.”
“It suddenly vanished…?”
“Yes. But no one in the village cares that they’re gone. Because there’s no need. We are living just fine on our own without the help of a sect-like temple.”
Mu-heun knew at once. The villagers were currently being denied the very memory of Chipyeong Temple.
From the way she called it a ‘sect-like temple,’ it seemed she knew what kind of place Chipyeong Temple was…
“Then how did this village become so prosperous? From what I can see, the wood in all the buildings, from the market and shops to the houses, looks new… but there are no signs of trees being cut down here.”
“Of course. All the materials were brought from outside.”
“But isn't it very difficult to bring lumber to a mountain village like this?”
“It wasn’t that difficult. It was all brought from the nearby villages.”
“Nearby villages?”
“Yes. A major epidemic spread in this area not long ago.”
“An epidemic… Could you tell me more? As a doctor myself, I’m interested.”
“I don’t know the details. Only that it was a terrible disease. Besides, we don’t need a doctor here. All the epidemics that spread to us have already been cured by other doctors who came.”
“Other doctors…?”
“Yes. Those doctors not only treated the epidemics that broke out in all the villages but also united the separate mountain villages into one. That is this current village.”
Mu-heun’s eyes gleamed as he nodded.
‘I see… That’s why the village is so much larger than before. The enemies were doctors, and they merged the villages to make them easier to manage.’
It also made sense that they had consolidated the scattered villages into one near the Yangtze River. They would need a water source to supply the villagers with drinking water, making it easier to conduct their experiments on the residents.
It was highly likely that the epidemic spreading in such a mountainous area, especially in the Chongqing plains, was also their doing. If they had deliberately spread the disease to win the villagers' favor under the pretense of treating them…
After gaining their trust, they relocated the villagers to one place and activated a massive formation to render them incapable of independent thought and suspicion.
It might be speculation for now, but if his speculation was true…
‘They are more meticulous than I thought.’