Chapter 297: Heaven-Defying (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 297: Heaven-Defying (3)
True Human Heo-do was an eccentric figure among the Taoists of the Wudang Sect.
Most Wudang priests completely severed their ties with the secular world. Even those who maintained some contact usually limited it to hearing occasional news or taking the rare excursion.
Heo-do, however, found joy in regularly venturing down the mountain to observe the state of the mortal realm.
After all, there was no fixed answer to the Tao.
Even within the Wudang Sect, Heo-do was deeply respected by his peers for the profound depth of his cultivation. Furthermore, among the Super Peak masters bestowed the title of "True Human," his martial prowess was exceptional. Mu-hye, a man obsessed with the martial path, often sought him out for guidance.
Today was no different.
Mu-hye had come seeking his teachings, while also hoping to catch up on news from the outside world. Given the many shocking developments lately, Heo-do was more than happy to share both his wisdom and the latest rumors.
Naturally, the figure dominating these tales was none other than the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, Lee Seo-jun.
And right now, that very man, Lee Seo-jun, was sitting in front of Heo-do, asking a question.
"By any chance, what would it take to bring harmony between two opposing forces?"
* * *
Lee Seo-jun, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, was an anomaly even among those in the Transcendent Realm.
Heo-do could say with absolute certainty that he had never met a Transcendent master as peculiar as him. One could spend a day and a night detailing his eccentricities, but Heo-do was particularly struck by his surprisingly informal attitude.
When three people walk together, one of them must be my teacher.
There was a saying that one could learn something from anyone in the world. However, it was practically unheard of for a martial artist in the Transcendent Realm to maintain such an outlook. Having already shattered the limits of humanity on the martial path, it was exceptionally rare for them to gain any new insights from ordinary humans.
Thus, while Heo-do was inwardly surprised by Seo-jun’s question, he didn't let it show. Instead, he openly shared his thoughts.
"I believe you are well aware of the Taiji that Taesang Nogun passed down to the Mortal Realm."
"Taesang Nogun?"
"I am referring to the Grand Pure One, the Lord of the Tao and its Virtue—one of the Three Purities."
"Ah, one of the Big Three."
"Ahem..."
Heo-do offered an awkward smile and continued.
"At any rate, does not Taiji represent the harmony of Yin and Yang?"
Taiji gives birth to the Two Forms; the Two Forms give birth to the Four Symbols; the Four Symbols give birth to the Eight Trigrams; and the Eight Trigrams give birth to the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, which become the foundation of infinite change.
Taiji was the state where Yin and Yang existed in perfect harmony. The Yin and Yang that split from it—the Two Forms—ultimately became the foundation of all things.
"However, Yin and Yang are usually described as opposing forces."
"Ah... now that you mention it, that's true."
Hearing Heo-do’s explanation, Seo-jun realized the priest was right. This concept of Taiji that he had been utilizing all this time represented the harmony of Yin and Yang. Yet, whenever Yin and Yang were explained, they were invariably described as opposing energies.
But...
Was Taiji really just a concept of Yin and Yang achieving harmony?
Hadn't it been said that Yin and Yang split from Taiji?
Perhaps they were only able to achieve harmony because they had originally been one within Taiji.
If so, where did Taiji begin?
It wasn't as if Yin and Yang had existed at the dawn of time and then created Taiji by harmonizing, right? After all, Heo-do had just explained that Taiji gave birth to the Two Forms.
When Seo-jun voiced this question aloud, Heo-do let out an exclamation of pure admiration.
"Exactly! In the Wudang Sect, we believe that Taiji emerged from Wuji. There is a saying that Wuji is Taiji, meaning Wuji and Taiji are one and the same, but that refers to their essential nature."
Because Wuji and Taiji are the same, even if that energy splits into Yin and Yang to give birth to all things, their core essence never changes.
Wuji is like the ocean, and Taiji is a single ripple upon that water. Whether there are waves or not, the ocean remains the ocean.
"However, they are named Wuji and Taiji for a reason. Wuji is Stillness, while Taiji is Movement. Taiji begins the moment Wuji moves, and from that point onward, Taiji gives birth to all things."
As Seo-jun had realized long ago, Wuji was a void—a potential that had not yet begun. Based on that, he understood Heo-do’s explanation perfectly.
Wuji had no form, while Taiji possessed form.
The principle of Wuji is Taiji ultimately meant that the essence of Wuji and Taiji were identical, with the only difference being Stillness and Movement.
Using the ocean analogy, it meant that the ocean had to exist before the waves could.
Their essence was the same, but since Taiji emerged when Wuji moved, one could say Wuji preceded Taiji...
"Gaaah..."
Having used his brain for the first time in a long while, Seo-jun clutched his head as if it were cramping.
Glancing to the side, he saw Ju Won-jang and Namgung Su-ah nodding along. Bi-yeon seemed to be listening intently, but she didn't look like she actually understood a word.
And his Chun-bong?
She was just spacing out with the most vacant expression in the world.
Our Chun-bu-i used to be smart...
Had she forgotten how to use her brain after hanging out with him for so long?
Seo-jun gave Chun-bong’s head a sympathetic pat and forced his stiff brain to keep turning.
"So... anyway, Wuji then Taiji. Taiji then Yin and Yang... Even though Yin and Yang have opposing energies, they're basically buddies that split off from the exact same source, right?"
To put it simply, Wuji moved to become Taiji, and the forces that split from Taiji were Yin and Yang. So, in the end, Yin and Yang were originally one.
Probably.
"That is correct. Hmm... Certainly, if you approach it that way, the harmony between opposing forces you seek might be somewhat different from Taiji."
As Heo-do pondered, he suddenly looked up.
"By the way, what brings you to the Wudang Sect?"
"Wait, you're asking now?"
Wasn't the order of his questions a bit strange?
* * *
"Ho ho, as one gets older, one tends to become forgetful."
As Heo-do laughed and stroked his long beard, Ju Won-jang let out a snort.
"What is this green brat talking about?"
"Oh..."
Heo-do’s eyes darted around.
"Well... since Your Majesty has already surpassed humanity..."
Seo-jun smacked the back of Ju Won-jang’s head.
"You rude brat! Just let it slide. Why do you have to make things difficult for people?"
"Wow... I'm so wronged I might actually die. Hey, you said your name was Heo-do? Do you think this is right? Seriously?"
Heo-do’s eyes darted around again.
Unable to say a word, he just opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Then, utilizing the wisdom gained from his long years (though quite a bit shorter than Ju Won-jang’s), he executed a swift evasive maneuver.
"If you haven't met the Sect Leader yet, perhaps you should go see him. He has attained a much deeper level of cultivation than someone like me, so he should be more than capable of answering your questions."
"The Taiji Sword Immortal?"
"Yes, him."
"I already met him."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. We even sparred."
"Sparred? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"I came to the Wudang Sect specifically to spar with the Taiji Sword Immortal in the first place."
"......?"
Heo-do frowned in thought for a moment before nodding as if he’d realized something.
"Ah, so you came to request a spar with the Sect Leader? You must have set a date for it, then. Did the Sect Leader grant his permission easily?"
"Huh? I told you, we already did it."
"The spar?"
"Yes."
"......?"
That shouldn't be possible.
A spar between experts in the Transcendent Realm was an incredibly sensitive matter.
Transcendent masters were superhumans who had far surpassed the limits of the human species, and their very existence determined the status of their respective organizations. In other words, a spar between Transcendent masters was equivalent to a contest to determine the absolute hierarchy of their factions.
Furthermore, since those in the Transcendent Realm were close to perfecting their martial arts, observing each other's techniques could cause dangerous confusion in the Dao principles they had realized on their own. Not only would such a spar expose the high-level martial arts each had mastered, but a bout with restricted power couldn't truly determine a winner, leaving the results frustratingly ambiguous.
And if even one person crossed the line during the fight, the devastating aftermath could completely wipe out the surrounding cities.
To begin with, Transcendent martial artists didn't have much to gain from sparring. They already possessed unfathomable combat experience, and the possibility of gaining new enlightenment from a few casual bouts was extremely slim.
Most importantly, the Taiji Sword Immortal did not engage in meaningless fights. The idea of him privately exchanging blows was something Heo-do found incredibly hard to imagine.
So, what on earth had this man done to have already sparred with the Sect Leader?
"...Did you perhaps have a prior arrangement?"
"No?"
"Then how...?"
"Originally, I figured if I just swung my sword at him, he'd block it on his own..."
"What?"
"Pardon?"
"No, so what happened?"
"He took one look at the situation and realized things would get really ugly if he didn't spar with me, so he just went along with it. I guess being the Sect Leader of Wudang makes him pretty good at reading the room."
"......?"
Heo-do fell into a silent stupor.
Seo-jun tilted his head.
"But you didn't know? Even though I was holding back quite a bit, the clash was at a level someone in the Super Peak Realm definitely should have noticed."
"...I only just returned to Wudang today."
"Aha."
Accepting that explanation, Seo-jun sank back into deep thought. It wasn't about the spar. Honestly, it was weird that the topic of the spar had even come up in the first place.
Anyway, Seo-jun began deducing the relationship between Primordial Unity and Heaven-Defying, using the relationship between Wuji, Taiji, and the Two Forms as a foundation.
One thing was for certain: Heaven-Defying and Primordial Unity were not a pair of equal concepts.
At first, he had vaguely thought of them like Creation and Destruction—wondering if they were perfectly opposing forces. But looking at it now, that wasn't the case at all.
What was Heaven-Defying to begin with?
It was the will to defy the Heavens.
Since the "Heavens" in this context represented Primordial Unity, it meant Primordial Unity existed first, and Heaven-Defying only came after.
In other words, this "Heaven-Defying" concept was fundamentally twisted from the start.
Defying the Heavens? The very premise of the concept already admitted a certain level of defeat to the Heavens.
Wasn't Heaven-Defying basically just some guy who got the living daylights beaten out of him by the Heavens, and was now huffing and puffing in a corner, gnashing his teeth in resentment?
"Ah...!"
Seo-jun gained a profound new realization.
No wonder they always said practicing Demonic Arts made a person's personality turn sour!
The "Demonic" was the sheer will to achieve Heaven-Defying. If Heaven-Defying itself was just the equivalent of a sore loser grinding his teeth after getting thrashed by the Heavens, how could the minds of those who inherited that will possibly stay sane?
The reason those demonic bastards went around slashing people in fits of blind rage was all because of Heaven-Defying!
"You poor thing..."
As if possessed, Seo-jun wrapped Heaven-Defying Qi around his hand. The murky energy wriggled and flickered, suddenly looking somewhat pitiful to him.
How pathetic.
As the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons looked upon the Demonic with pity and embraced it, the Demonic Qi wriggled its body in great joy.
However, even if the power of Heaven-Defying was a step below Primordial Unity, its very essence was a power meant to negate the great existence that was Primordial Unity.
It might not be the top dog, but it was at least second in command. Seo-jun quickly realized its utility.
This stuff would be like rat poison to the people of the Nine Great Sects and One Clan, wouldn't it?
As if to prove his hypothesis, Heo-do, faced with the sudden emergence of Heaven-Defying Qi, jumped back in sheer shock.
"Gasp...! W-What on earth is that...!?"