Chapter 27
Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: All Worldly Affairs Are Like Illusory Phenomena (1)
As you can tell from the reactions of those around me up to now, the character Yong Yoo is an extraordinarily handsome man.
In the original novel Black and White Immortal Chronicle, there was even a description that he managed to live relatively unscathed precisely because his face silenced his victims.
But I had only heard a brief one-line description of Yong Yoo's face early in the novel, and since it wasn't my original face but one I'd acquired through my previous life, and I didn't make a habit of staring in mirrors, I couldn't grasp the power it held. Moreover, the women around me were all profound cultivators like Hyang Mae or Geum So-ryeo, so I had no way to understand the impact of my face.
On top of that, since Geum So-ryeo had ordered me to wear a face veil at all times, people treated me normally, and I'd gradually forgotten about my face...
Watching the once stiff and secretary-like Wi A-han transform into a shy girl smitten with her first love made me truly realize just how powerful a weapon Yong Yoo's face was.
'I need to always remember to wear the veil.'
Among the demonic cultivators, there are plenty of perverts with twisted tastes. If I went outside and this face got exposed to them, I definitely wouldn't come out unscathed—in all sorts of ways.
Hey, wouldn't it be great if I ran into a beautiful female demonic cultivator and could easily have my way with her?
You wouldn't think that if you knew there's a pervert among those beautiful female demonic cultivators who gets her thrills from capturing men, slicing off their manhoods, and cooking them up with care.
I'll protect my own chastity, thank you very much.
Still, I didn't want to go around wearing a veil even inside the safe confines of High Heaven Sect.
The veil was a decent magical treasure, so it didn't obstruct my vision at all, but it fluttered against my nose and mouth with every breath, which was annoying.
"A-han Junior Sister, let's go."
After calling her a few times, Wi A-han snapped out of it and followed me as we deployed our Wind Escape Art.
We headed to the pavilion on the main peak and met the Chief Steward, where I noticed him glaring at Wi A-han with extreme displeasure.
His reaction was unusually intense... What on earth did this so-called great criminal do?
As we made our way to the waterfall housing the Supreme Sacred Grounds, I chatted briefly with the Chief Steward about Wi A-han.
"Chief Steward."
"What is it?"
"When I took her in, Master didn't give me the full story. Do you happen to know what crime her ancestor committed? Everyone I meet reacts so sensitively to my former slave that it's frustrating not knowing why."
The Chief Steward pondered for a moment, then nodded as if to say that made sense, and spoke.
"Very well. You deserve to know. About what Wi Hong-taek, Wi A-han's ancestor, did."
What followed was a profoundly shocking tale.
Wi Hong-taek.
High Heaven Sect's arch-traitor and blood-sworn enemy.
The crime he committed made it immediately clear why High Heaven Sect reacted so fiercely to his bloodline.
Four hundred years ago, Wi Hong-taek—one of High Heaven Sect's protector disciples—suddenly slaughtered all the descendants of Geum Yang-pyeong, who had been living ordinary lives within the sect grounds without practicing cultivation, along with the protector disciples guarding them, before fleeing.
High Heaven Sect poured out elders and disciples to pursue him, leaving the sect critically short on forces. Taking advantage, three demonic sects allied and invaded, inflicting severe damage.
To protect the sect and its future, High Heaven Sect had no choice but to halt the pursuit and fight the demonic alliance. They barely repelled them, but the damage was already done, and the sect's power plummeted sharply from that day forward.
High Heaven Sect vowed never to forgive Wi Hong-taek, branding him an arch-traitor, and swore to eradicate anything remotely connected to him.
'Ah, so that's why!'
Now I understood why High Heaven Sect was so harsh and strict, punishing sect members' transgressions with utmost severity.
A protector disciple massacring Geum Yang-pyeong's descendants? It couldn't have been a random bout of madness; it had to be the scheme of one of those allied demonic sects.
To prevent it from ever happening again, they had no choice but to enforce ironclad laws so no disciple would dare fall for demonic enticements.
In the original story, High Heaven Sect was just depicted as strict, so I'd only thought to invoke Geum Yang-pyeong's name and Geum So-ryeo's backing to mitigate or dodge punishment for killing Mun Yoo.
'If I hadn't used Geum Yang-pyeong's name and just killed Mun Yoo outright, it would've been a real disaster. Though I failed at the most crucial part—killing Mun Yoo anyway.'
A sudden hunch hit me, so I asked,
"Which demonic sects allied for the attack back then?"
"Golden Ring Sect, Molten Sea Sect, and Falling Star Sect. We wiped out Golden Ring Sect, but Molten Sea Sect and Falling Star Sect are shielded by powerful formations and natural strongholds, so their forces remain intact."
"I see."
As expected.
In the original story, there was no such backstory; it just said Geum So-ryeo lost her composure upon hearing news of an elder from the Molten Sea Sect—with which she had a past grudge—and rushed out blindly...
Was that elder Wi Hong-taek? No way they'd leave out such a key character's name like that!
Even if the story skipped ahead because Mun Yoo was at Soul Harmony Realm by then, they should've explained this! Did the author get lazy? That jerk even gave Yong Yoo a name similar to Mun Yoo on the cheap.
"This girl was personally taken in by none other than Geum So-ryeo herself as your soul-bound former slave, so we have no further say. But if you encounter anyone connected to Wi Hong-taek, Yong Yoo, show them no mercy."
I was deeply shocked by this newly revealed fact.
Not only did it show how vital the hidden backstory was—revealing massive gaps in my original knowledge—but more than that,
Geum So-ryeo had prioritized me over her own grudge.
Having devoted her life solely to cultivation, she likely had no direct descendants beyond her parents, yet her kin and siblings sharing her blood had surely been slaughtered.
'No wonder Geum Yang-pyeong's descendants barely show up except for Geum So-ryeo.'
How furious must she be?
How deep her hatred?
She could've ground everything related to Wi Hong-taek to dust and still not be satisfied, yet she held back for my sake and forgave Wi A-han.
What had I ever done to deserve that?
Wi A-han, apparently unaware of her ancestor's crimes until now, paled at the Chief Steward's tale and began glancing nervously between me and him.
Ha...
I knew Geum So-ryeo's goal.
To nurture a talented disciple by showering him with fortuitous encounters and create a second Geum Yang-pyeong.
Thus restoring High Heaven Sect to its former glory.
That was her one sole wish.
She loved High Heaven Sect, revered Geum Yang-pyeong, and had devoted her life to the home that birthed her and guided her on the path of cultivation.
Yet even she, who worshiped Geum Yang-pyeong like a god, had forgiven the descendant of the fiend who slaughtered his kin.
"......"
Suddenly, all Geum So-ryeo had done for me came rushing back, heavy with her unspoken feelings.
I resolved to train even harder and arrived at the waterfall of the Supreme Sacred Grounds.
"Are we sculpting the statue right here?"
"Yes. Normally, we'd craft it elsewhere and transport it, but every step of this work is a sacred act honoring High Heaven Sect's founding, so we're doing everything—even the smallest tasks—here in the Supreme Sacred Grounds to imbue it with meaning."
I nodded at the Chief Steward's words and stood before a large, white boulder where my statue would soon rise.
"We'll preserve even the tiniest chip that falls during sculpting."
"Wow... That's impressive."
"Heh, isn't it?"
Yes, truly impressive.
The sculptors must be losing their minds. One mistake, and there's no fixing it.
I glanced slyly at the waiting sculptor. Predictably, his face was ashen, his body trembling with tension.
Around the quivering sculptor lay collapsed others, exhausted—it looked like the ones who'd carved the massive Geum Yang-pyeong statue and inscribed the stele beside it.
'...He knows this is no small burden on the sculptors, doesn't he?'
So that's why they gathered a ton of sculptors, had them tackle the most demanding, spirit-draining Geum Yang-pyeong statue first while fresh, and shoved my least important one to the end!
"Master Sculptor. This is the man you must sculpt."
As the Chief Steward introduced me to the sculptor, the man looked at me with a defeated expression.
And then.
'Hm?'
The next moment, I saw something sparkle in the sculptor's eyes.
"M-Me, sculpt someone like you?!"
"W-What's this? Suddenly so motivated..."
The sculptor assigned to me got so excited that even the Chief Steward was taken aback, and the other exhausted sculptors looked my way, their eyes igniting too. It was the gaze of artists struck by inspiration.
And shortly after.
"Ooooooh!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
I watched in awe as over a dozen sculptors swarmed the massive boulder, chiseling me into it like madmen. Stone flew wildly, shaping up in an instant—it was such a spectacle that even the Chief Steward, who'd planned to drop me off and leave, settled in to watch.
"If they'd been that fired up for our sect founder's statue... Instead of that slippery-faced punk mocking our founder... How dare he belittle our sect founder..."
But if you're going to watch, do it quietly—his muttering from a short distance away, loud enough for me to hear, was downright scary.
What was absurd was how the sculptors redoubled their efforts every time the Chief Steward reacted like that, refining my statue with even greater care.
'How badly did they torment them during the Geum Yang-pyeong statue?'
From the sculptors' mutterings, it seemed not just the Chief Steward, but team leaders, protectors, enforcers, elders, and even the sect master had all shown up one by one, nagging the hardworking sculptors.
No... People.
No matter how much you admire Geum Yang-pyeong...
With nothing else to do, I struck a pose and reviewed the secret arts in my mind.
I calmly went over the jade slip's contents, reading the full text first, then the sect master's annotations, following his insights on the secret arts.
Only after mastering both did I pursue my own enlightenment.
Even with the sect master's annotations helping, I couldn't deploy the arts without fully comprehending them myself.
The cultivators-turned-sculptors produced a statue of astonishing quality in just thirty days.
The face was a mirror image of mine, the robes so lifelike they seemed ready to flutter like real silk. Even the under-robes beneath and the hidden arms under the sleeves captured the muscle fibers in intricate detail.
My statue, half the size of Geum Yang-pyeong's, was carved as a diligent High Heaven Sect cultivator modestly following in the majestic stride of the striding Geum Yang-pyeong.
As I gaped in awe at the finished statue, the sculptors grinned happily, and the Chief Steward—who'd returned after handling business upon hearing it was done—said...
"Tch. We should cover the statue's face."
Thinking the same as Geum So-ryeo.
Why are all these high-ranking sect members so obsessed with hiding my face?
Ignoring the furious sculptor—who'd slaved to perfect even a single eyelash on the statue—the Chief Steward patted my shoulder.
"Well then, you can head back now."
"Understood. Thank you, sculptors, for your hard work. I'm grateful you turned someone like me into such a masterpiece."
After thanking the hardworking sculptors and bidding the Chief Steward farewell politely, Wi A-han and I returned to the eastern peak.
"Whew."
Geum So-ryeo had said she'd help with my secret arts training once the statue was done, but after standing in the same pose for a month—except when sleeping—my whole body screamed in protest.
I needed to tend to it first before visiting her.
As I began recovery, Wi A-han—who'd been silent since seeing my face—sneaked closer and sat down nearby.
Her idle sitting felt odd, so I scanned her with divine sense and saw her staring quietly at my face.
I recovered, and Wi A-han gazed at my face.
A few days passed like that after returning to the eastern peak.
Once fully recovered to peak condition, I left Wi A-han at the eastern peak and headed to Peak Lord Pavilion, where Geum So-ryeo awaited.