Chapter 531: Southern Flower Radiant Taiji (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 531: Southern Flower Radiant Taiji (2)
The air flowing through the room grew pure and pristine. It felt as though not a single speck of the turbid qi that naturally accumulated from human habitation remained. Everything had become crisp and distinct.
In the next instant, Jeong Yeon-shin was already on his feet, looking back.
Whoosh—
An afterimage flickered at his heels. The form of Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been lying down just moments ago, dispersed a beat too late.
Transposition. In a mere fraction of a second, the subtle principles of the Radiant Wing Step, the Wind Body, and the Ten-Mile Light Grace had seamlessly blended together—without him even intending for it to happen.
He questioned his own movement even after executing it.
'Something is still strange.'
From the Desolate Fortress until now, his mind—which should have been as sharp and precise as a drawn sword—felt no different from Wudang's Cloud-Ladder Step. Everything was vague and indistinct.
Although the physical sensations he experienced were vivid, his mind had lost its precision, resembling a completely ruined stance.
It was excessive.
Ambiguous.
Unable to harmonize with his surroundings.
He was even failing to properly perceive the flow of time.
'Why?'
What was the problem?
But Jeong Yeon-shin pushed the thought aside for now. An unbelievable figure had entered his field of vision.
It was the translucent, shimmering form of an old man, flickering like a mirage in the Great Desert.
He was tall.
He wore a gray Taoist robe, but the sleeves were too short, leaving his thick, yet surprisingly smooth wrists exposed.
And his face...
He gave off a jovial, hearty impression.
Despite his wrinkled skin, his age was impossible to gauge.
He was positively overflowing with vitality. His eyes held the full spectrum of human emotion—joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. He looked like a man who wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to express what he felt.
However, the time Jeong Yeon-shin could keep his eyes on the man was extremely brief.
Bzzzzzzzzzz!
His Upper Dantian vibrated violently, buzzing like a swarm of bees.
“……!”
He almost screamed.
A sharp, intense pain struck him. For an instant, it felt as if his eyeballs were catching fire. It was as though every meridian, fine vessel, and acupoint running from his eyes up into his head was being scorched black.
'Crazy...!'
Just by laying eyes on the old Taoist, he had nearly lost consciousness. The old man's tiny gestures, the extremely subtle movements of his muscles, and his flawless posture all assaulted Yeon-shin's senses as an overwhelming stimulus.
Countless trajectories surfaced in his mind, tangled together, and vanished. Then, they exploded in a white-hot flash. Every single one of them was a sword path that bordered on the incomprehensible.
'No.'
If he had the time to examine those trajectories one by one, it might be a different story. But he wasn't afforded such leisure. It was like trying to dam a vast, raging ocean.
Jeong Yeon-shin hastily averted his gaze.
Shhh—
The vibration in his Upper Dantian stopped immediately. However, the aftermath lingered like residual heat, causing his eyes to twitch. It felt as if a feather made of pure fire was tickling the fine vessels inside his head.
“…….”
The old man was the world itself.
Unlike the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, who considerately used the subtle principles of the unseen Nature Sword to shield his body from eye techniques, this old man did no such thing.
He was not someone from whom one could simply draw martial inspiration.
Keeping his gaze slightly averted, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke cautiously.
“Are you... the Founding Ancestor of Wudang?”
But the old Taoist did not answer. He merely glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin before turning his gaze toward the distance, as if he could see right through the wall.
It was an unfamiliar disregard.
“Senior...?”
He called out a few more times, but the old Taoist simply stood there with his hands behind his back, like an immortal in a painting. His demeanor was as natural as a painted landscape.
Jeong Yeon-shin's Baihui Point, which had been constantly burning as if to prove his approaching death, grew even hotter.
“Old man... No, Senior.”
[…….]
He received no response.
The old Taoist continued to shimmer faintly, like a candle flame.
It was an incredibly bizarre sight. Was it because of the vast gulf of time separating them?
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly closed his mouth.
Glancing down, he suddenly realized that the Dharma Treasure that had summoned this unstable Nascent Soul was resting at his waist.
Perfected Zhang Sanfeng's Songmun Ancient Sword.
'And...'
At this moment, the sword felt not like a weapon, but like a part of nature itself. Was it because it resonated with the spiritual Immortal Qi of the sacred Mount Wudang? Or perhaps because this land was filled with the traces of Perfected Zhang Sanfeng.
In any case, it was exactly like when he had first seen the Lord of the Desolate Fortress's Extinction Sword.
Even though it wasn't being wielded by its original owner, the Songmun Ancient Sword had completely slipped past the Sense of Qi of every expert present.
It was both mysterious and chilling.
It was a phenomenon presumed to be a function of the legendary Nature Sword.
This was also why not only Jeong Yeon-shin himself, who wore the sword, but also Perfected Mystic Concord and the other masters of the Wudang Sect had failed to perceive it.
Since when had this been happening? As far as Jeong Yeon-shin could recall, it started after he encountered those emitting Wudang's internal power waves back at the Desolate Fortress.
Suddenly, a faint coolness washed over him. He vaguely realized the questions he needed to solve, and at this moment, he crushed one of them underfoot. This was only the beginning.
Bowing his head, he slowly clasped his hands in a polite salute.
“Thank you, Senior.”
Once again, the old Taoist remained silent.
But he was definitely not an illusion.
Whether the old Taoist was ignoring Jeong Yeon-shin or simply failing to perceive him, he was undeniably present, gently diffusing pure, clear air throughout the room.
'Am I not qualified to speak with him?'
Just then, Ju Se-hwa's voice rang out from outside.
“Lord Jeong, may I come in for a moment?”
At the same time, the old Taoist suddenly pointed to one of Jeong Yeon-shin's hands. It was the hand gripping the box he hadn't let go of, even while asleep.
The Stone Box containing the head of Perfected Ancient Sword.
Previously, the Sect Leader Deputy, Perfected Jade Cliff, had entrusted the box to Jeong Yeon-shin without urging him to give up or pushing any other agenda.
In an instant, Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes sharpened.
Whoosh!
His hand blurred, hiding the Stone Box behind his back. It was the subtle principle of the Infinite Flower of Time Hand's fist flower, a move executed purely on reflex.
Watching this quietly for a moment, the old Taoist's expression began to change for the first time.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
He was smiling.
At this moment, the most transcendent illusion in the world reacted to human decency.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt it, if only through a faint presence. He didn't dare meet the old man's gaze directly, fearing his eyes would burn up once more.
Since he was even refraining from sensing the old Taoist through his Sense of Qi, this change felt exceptionally profound.
Soon after, an aged voice swept through Jeong Yeon-shin's mind like a phantom.
Your Taiji will surely have color.
In an instant, Jeong Yeon-shin's head snapped up.
* * *
Blue robes fluttered in the gale.
Whoosh!
Clad in a blue robe, Shin So-bin traversed the wilderness using her Lightness Skill. With every wide stride she took to kick off the ground, a faint halo of light was left upon the earth.
The character for "Desolate" (荒) embroidered on her shoulder shook continuously.
Internal power surged through her meridians.
Beneath her sleeves, her fair wrists, faintly tracing blue veins, were clearly visible. She had grown quite tall before she even realized it.
'...Sleeplessness, moonlight, swing, our poor Commander. Ten-Mile Strife, Death Star Light.'
She constantly recited the mnemonics of her Dynamic Cultivation Art and Lightness Skill.
Though not to the extent of Jeong Yeon-shin, she, like her same-aged Grandmaster, had welcomed the New Year at eighteen.
The contours of her muscles had become extremely firm, reminiscent of Jeong Yeon-shin in the past. Needless to say, her legs had grown longer as well.
It was likely thanks to the Jeong Family Dynamic Art.
Or perhaps it was because she had forced herself to eat the side dishes Jeong Yeon-shin used to push toward her during every meal.
Just like all the Demonlight Wing warriors who were shorter than the Deputy Commander, Shin So-bin was now a dazzling, fully matured expert in every aspect.
Whoosh!
At the front, the black-robed swordsman, Cheong-myeong, Commander of the Demonlight Wing, glanced back and smirked. He was running as smoothly as a drifting leaf.
“Your footwork is quite impressive. Yes, the successor of the Ten-Mile Light Grace should be at least this good. After all, you're the only one in the world.”
It was a rare compliment.
However, there was no response.
Shin So-bin merely panted and shouted something else entirely.
“Let's get horses too! Let's take some horses!”
“They said it would be troublesome for them if we stopped by the government offices.”
Cheong-myeong gestured forward with his eyes. In the distance, the backs of horses and riders galloping ahead were shrouded in a cloud of pale dust.
Shin So-bin shook her head even while running furiously.
“What's the point of being from the Desolate Fortress then?! We're feared precisely because we can use the post stations however we please!”
“I'm a bit disappointed.”
The smile vanished from Cheong-myeong's lips.
“Of course, the White Ranks and Blue Ranks of the main fortress are feared because of the post stations, but that's not something the successor of the Ten-Mile Light Grace should say. Your words and actions must carry weight.”
It was a light scolding, but it also carried Cheong-myeong's chilling sincerity.
“…….”
Shin So-bin shut her mouth. Then, she stomped her foot down even harder.
Instantly, her figure shot forward, as graceful as a comet blending into a cluster of stars. It was her way of showing she wouldn't argue.
Only then did Cheong-myeong's smile return.
Meanwhile, from among the Demonlight Wing members running in a line behind them, the Moon-Shooting Bow Ghost, Wi Ye-ryeong, spoke up.
“Setting aside whether heading to the Wudang Sect like this is correct, even if Wudang's mountain gate is indeed our destination... this isn't the right direction. We have to take a complete detour. All the gates of Jade Purity, Supreme Clarity, and Great Clarity are on the opposite side of the mountain foot.”
Cheong-myeong replied without even looking back.
“They must have a plan. We just need to closely monitor the actions of those fellows who claim they're going to meet our Commander right now. We're just preparing for any unforeseen circumstances. Thanks to them, we were able to send the Radiant Sword Unit and even their Commander back to the main fortress.”
It was just as he said.
The Demonlight Wing had completed their mission.
They had successfully gathered the Commander of the Radiant Sword Unit—who had been recuperating in a minor heterodox sect as if it were his own home—along with his surviving members, and sent them back to the Desolate Fortress.
It was all thanks to the crowd from the Northern Jianghu.
They had demonstrated astonishing information-gathering capabilities in completely foreign territory. They had even tracked Jeong Yeon-shin's movements in Hangzhou and pulled off the bizarre feat of predicting his next destination to be Mount Wudang.
This came along with their claim that they first needed to gauge the caliber of the Deputy Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.
In the process of locating the Radiant Sword Unit martial artists scattered near the Yangtze River, they had shared a brief but crucial conversation. They had not hesitated to declare that they had raised a banner of rebellion against the Northern God of War.
At their forefront was a monster of the Strange, Violent, Chaotic, and Supernatural.
A figure who had once served as the Fighting God's left hand and deflected a strike from Emperor Geonreung. He was a person of interest and a peerless expert designated by the imperial court as the North Blade.
Boom!
The pathless mountain foot shook violently.
The warhorse of the bamboo-hat-wearing North Blade had suddenly kicked off the ground with immense force. In an instant, a faint wave of internal power rippled from the back of the North Blade, who carried his Crescent Blade slung across his shoulder.
His disposition was profound.
At the same time, it was extremely destructive.
Clang!
As if defying reality, the warhorse leaped high into the air and began to step upon the empty void as if it were a sheet of glass. It was Void Stepping, executed to a divine degree.
Every time the horse's hooves struck the air, a colossal tempest slammed down onto the earth, tearing the ground to shreds.
It seemed poised to cross straight to the Wudang Sect in a single, direct line. It was no ordinary human means of transportation.
“What in the world is...”
Just as Shin So-bin's eyes widened in shock, something fell.
Whether it was due to the recoil of that unbelievable Void Stepping, or an intentional move to show just how prepared the Northern Jianghu was, a book plummeted from the horse and rider crossing over the mountain of bare branches.
Propelled by the rebound force of the warhorse's Void Stepping, it shot downward like a fired arrow.
“Commander, I'll catch it!”
Thud!
Shin So-bin soared up using the Ten-Mile Light Grace and snatched it out of the air. At the same time, she scanned the cover.
Three characters were written on it.
Register of Names.
Shin So-bin immediately flipped through the pages in midair.
Rustle!
The pages were packed with text.
It consisted entirely of names widely known throughout the world. It even seemed to rank them by their level of danger.
It was a chilling sight.
“Crazy...” she muttered under her breath without realizing it.
As she read from bottom to top, figures as distant as the clouds unfolded before her eyes. Shin So-bin activated the Sight of the Lowly. In a fraction of a second, she read the list in reverse order.
The moment Shin So-bin read up to that point, she whipped her head around in midair.
She stared in the direction where the North Blade and his horse had already dwindled into a tiny speck.
Toward Mount Wudang.