Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Scripture Pavilion
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"Haaah."
Jinmu let out a sigh so heavy it seemed like it would cave in the floor.
"Can't become the great disciple? The Two Forms Heart Art slips through my fingers? Damn that sect leader Taoist bastard."
Resentment welled up.
If he'd only told me beforehand, I never would've been swayed by the Supreme Purity Divine Pill.
Internal energy? It might take a bit of time, but I could just build it up.
The realm of qi projection? What's so great about that? Once I get the Ink Dragon Chaos Origin Art, projecting qi will be a piece of cake anyway.
"Haa."
Sighs poured out endlessly.
A complete overhaul of his grand plans had become necessary.
"Should I just take it by force?"
After all, he was now Wudang's top fighter.
If he held a sword to the sect leader's neck and said, "Hand it over, the Two Forms Heart Art," wouldn't he have no choice?
But that damned master, who controlled his instincts, would surely interfere.
If his master said "Stop!", he'd have no choice but to obey. The memories of that wretched Taoist boy were still effective.
"Damn it, what am I supposed to do?!"
That lowlife bastard who sent him to Wudang of all places.
The gratitude he'd felt upon receiving the Supreme Purity Divine Pill had long vanished.
"Haa."
Who knew how many sighs this made? His lungs were probably shriveling up.
As Jinmu slumped his head and sat limply,
"Third Uncle Master! Third Uncle Master!"
Cheongsang flung open the door.
"Grandmaster said to go to the Scripture Pavilion."
"......"
What was this kid so happy about, grinning like that?
And those eyes brimming with respect... Ah, should he gouge them out?
But it was his master's order.
"Why the Scripture Pavilion?"
"They sent word that the copy of the martial arts manual Grandmaster requested is finished. He told you to fetch it."
Damn master. Couldn't even understand his disciple's heart and just sent him on errands.
Ah, so resentful.
"Got it. Let's go."
Jinmu rose with zero enthusiasm.
The path from Void Serenity Hermitage to the Scripture Pavilion wound through mountain trails, including narrow paths clinging to cliffs, making carts unsuitable. Cheongsang and Cheongu followed behind Jinmu's trudging steps, carrying burdens on their backs.
Whatever.
Ah, he didn't want to go.
Perhaps due to his slow pace, it took twice as long as usual to reach Welcoming Grace Hall, where the Scripture Pavilion was located.
"Oh! Isn't that Jinmu?"
During the daytime, Welcoming Grace Hall's Lord Myeonggong spotted Jinmu and feigned delight.
Why did everyone split into grins the moment they saw his face?
"Yes."
As Jinmu replied with an annoyed expression, he spotted Jinhye in the distance.
Resentment, jealousy, envy... A single pair of eyes held such a diverse mix of emotions.
The number of bastards whose eyes he wanted to gouge kept growing.
As Jinmu glared, Jinhye slyly turned his head away.
"So, you're heading to the Scripture Pavilion?"
"Yes."
"Go on ahead. Heh heh."
Myeonggong chuckled heartily, watching Jinmu's retreating back, seemingly in high spirits.
'Jinmu has comprehended qi projection—no, qi rings.'
Myeongjin's single remark had spread throughout Wudang in an instant.
How glorious was this achievement?
When was the last time a Wudang Taoist had reached the realm of qi projection?
If they hadn't saved that dying Taoist boy back then? If they hadn't taken him as a first-generation disciple?
He didn't even want to imagine it.
He was a blessing sent to Wudang, the care of the ancestors.
A treasure who would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the absolute beings called the Righteous Seven Stars and elevate Wudang's name across the Central Plains martial world.
When they gave him the Supreme Purity Divine Pill, no one had expected him to reach the realm of qi projection.
Yet he had achieved it spectacularly.
A miracle no one had anticipated.
"Heh heh, how can he be so exemplary?"
As Jinmu vanished along the cliffside path to the Scripture Pavilion, Myeonggong's eyes grew misty.
Of course, Jinhye, who witnessed this,
'Ah, my lower belly feels like it's going to burst.'
was frowning and heading to the outhouse.
Cheongu and Cheongsang, arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, looked around in wonder.
Though they'd lived in Wudang for over a decade, it was a place forbidden to second-generation disciples, so it was only natural.
"Hurry up and get in!"
With Jinmu's irritated command, the Scripture Pavilion's doors opened.
"You've come?"
A raspy, aged voice came from within.
Ungong, the guardian of the Scripture Pavilion.
A mysterious old man of unknown seniority and age, but Jinmu had zero interest right now.
"Whew, so many. All these useless martial arts manuals."
As Jinmu muttered like a complaint while eyeing the stacks of dozens of manuals bound with string, Ungong gave him a strange look.
"Damn, without the Two Forms Heart Art, what's the point of all these manuals?"
"Hm?"
Ungong tilted his head at the low mutter.
"What? Why?"
Jinmu scowled irritably at Ungong's interest.
"No. I was just surprised that someone shows interest in the Two Forms Heart Art, which no one practices anymore."
"Tch, calling the noble art that only Wudang's great disciple can learn 'that'."
"Heh heh, noble art?"
Ungong chewed over Jinmu's words with a peculiar smile.
"It is noble. However, the Two Forms Heart Art is also a poison."
"......"
What the hell was he saying? Had this old man lost his mind?
The moment Jinmu was about to lose interest,
"It would be good to rediscover the Two Forms Heart Art, long a legend of Wudang, in its original form..."
Jinmu's expression flickered slightly at Ungong's words. Curiosity stirred.
"What do you mean by that?"
What was the original form, and what did rediscovering it mean?
"What do I mean? Just an old man's ramblings. Take the manual and go."
Ungong waved him off dismissively, but Jinmu's curiosity had already peaked.
Words about the Two Forms Heart Art, which he'd thought gone forever.
This old man definitely knew something.
"Cheongsang, Cheongu."
"Yes, Third Uncle Master."
"Head back first."
"Pardon?"
"Tell Master I'll stay a bit longer at the Scripture Pavilion."
"......Yes."
As soon as Cheongsang and Cheongu left with puzzled looks, Jinmu sat beside the old man.
"Elder."
"......?"
"Do you know about the Two Forms Heart Art?"
His tone had already become polite.
"Two Forms Heart Art?"
Ungong looked incredulous.
"Is there anyone in Wudang who doesn't know of the Two Forms Heart Art?"
True enough.
It was one of Wudang's representative arts.
"But what do you mean by poison? And what do you mean by rediscovering it in its original form?"
"......"
Ungong stared silently at the two questions.
"You're a rare one these days. I've seen generations of disciples pass through, but none showed interest in the Two Forms Heart Art."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"What do you mean? Why show interest in the Two Forms Heart Art?"
A strange light gleamed in Ungong's eyes.
"Ah, well..."
"Perhaps you want to learn it?"
As the old man narrowed his eyes, Jinmu pondered briefly.
Should he be honest?
Jinmu looked Ungong straight in the eye.
The peculiar feeling from their first meeting.
And now.
The old man seemed to know something about the Two Forms Heart Art.
An elder of unknown seniority and age.
This man, who had lived longer than anyone in Wudang, might be a ray of hope.
"I want to learn it."
"Learn it?"
"Yes. I have my reasons, but no matter how I think, the Two Forms Heart Art is the only way."
"......"
Ungong gazed steadily at Jinmu.
"You have your reasons... Hm."
Those eyes, deep beyond measure.
Facing that gaze, Jinmu couldn't hide his surprise.
Unlike any eyes he'd seen in his life.
Yellowed with age, they seemed mere cloudy water at first, yet felt like an endless abyss.
"Heh heh, your name's Jinmu, right?"
"How did you know?"
"Foolish boy. How could I alone not know what all of Wudang knows? Even this morning, Myeonggong came by and boasted about you endlessly."
Not just that—Yang Sobang had visited not long ago and mentioned Jinmu's name countless times, leaving his ears still ringing.
From what he'd heard, Jinmu might be the most talented disciple in Wudang's history.
"Reaching the 'strong' realm at around thirty. Impressive indeed."
"I was lucky."
"Heh heh, luck. Heavenly fate doesn't come easily."
Jinmu's expression turned peculiar at Ungong's smile.
It resembled the Buddha's flower-admiring smile, as if containing enlightenment of all things.
'Just what is this old man's identity?'
The more he saw, the more mysterious the old man became. Jinmu was dying to know.
"Curious about me?"
Ungong asked as if reading his mind.
"Yes. If you're of the Ung generation, you must be among the sect's highest elders."
"What? Ha ha hat! Me?"
"......?"
The old man suddenly burst into laughter.
"You must not have heard anything about me."
He hadn't asked, nor had anyone taught him. Naturally.
"I am of the Ung generation, but a forgotten, excommunicated disciple due to crimes. No need for disciple formalities. I should have had my meridians severed and been excommunicated properly, but due to the ancestors' grace, only my internal energy was crippled. Now, I'm just a powerless old man guarding the Scripture Pavilion in name only."
Excommunicated disciple. Ancestors' grace.
Jinmu couldn't comprehend the old man's words. Nor did he particularly want to. Whoever the old man was, the key was the Two Forms Heart Art.
"I heard you received the title of Wudang's Earth Sword."
"Yes."
"Then you must know you can't learn the Two Forms Heart Art."
"Yes."
"Yet why the interest? You've already made your choice."
Jinmu's face fell sullenly at Ungong's words.
"If I'd known I couldn't receive the Two Forms Heart Art, I wouldn't have chosen the Wudang's Earth Sword title."
"But you got the Supreme Purity Divine Pill instead."
"Supreme Purity Divine Pill? Tch, compared to the Two Forms Heart Art, it's just a lump of internal energy in pill form."
Ungong looked at Jinmu's grumbling with a strange gaze, then burst into absurd laughter.
"What? Ha hat! Calling the Supreme Purity Divine Pill that—you're truly mad."
"That's how it is for me."
"Tch tch, greed. Give it up. Mastering even one art is hard enough. More greed leads only to mediocrity. At your age, you've already achieved more than enough—it's like receiving heaven's mandate. Hone that path, and you'll make your name greater than anyone in the martial world."
"Of course. But how does that compare to the Two Forms Heart Art?"
"Tch tch."
Ungong shook his head and clicked his tongue at Jinmu's words.
Greed was unwise.
Especially for a disciple already shining. More ambition would only slow his path.
Ungong, unwilling to see this unlimited potential disciple mired in duality, decided to dissuade him.
"Foolish child. Do you not know the meaning of 'Two Forms'?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you think a normal Wudang Taoist can learn it?"
"......?"
"Taiji is yin and yang. Yin and yang are light and darkness, which are good and evil. Containing both in one body is Two Forms, but divided things seek reunion. Ultimately, good and evil clash endlessly in the heart. If fused successfully, fine—but failure plunges one into heart demons."
"......"
"Do you know what happens if a Taoist disciple succumbs to inner evil and falls to heart demons?"
"......"
"They become a demon. A demonic immortal, bringing harm to the world."
So, naturally, he had to learn it.
Ungong was right. Taoists can't master evil arts, villains can't master righteous ones.
Practicing righteous arts purifies the heart naturally, so evil arts yield no gains.
The Six Yang Divine Art energy in Jinmu's body disrupting the Ink Dragon Chaos Origin Art's evil qi proved it.
Those with corrupt hearts could never fully master Wudang arts.
Wudang's internal arts required patience, polishing the heart to clarity for enlightenment. Thus, Taoist energy was called dao power.
But Jinmu was different from all others.
He wasn't a normal Taoist.