Mountain Recluse Jin Myeong
“So you’re a child with a Heavenly Root after all! Tell me, then—where are you from, and who are you?”
With his long black beard flowing grandly in the wind, he looked as mild and benevolent as could be. He had the very air of the immortal that common folk loved to describe in their stories.
And yet, beneath that gentle exterior, I could sense a sharp edge of power that stirred my instincts. Even if he hadn’t been riding through the sky on a birdlike metal board as he was now, it would have been enough to put me on guard.
“Then may I ask where you come from, Senior?”
Speaking softly, I let my hand settle naturally on the hilt of my sword. It was a warning any martial artist would understand.
But the man before me gave no sign that he had read my caution at all. He simply continued, unperturbed.
“I am a mountain recluse staying at Nine Palaces Tower. My name is Jin Myeong. I live a life unbound by the restraints of the masses, and my delight lies in guiding those with whom I have fate. And you, young one—well, you seem to me to be a very great fated encounter indeed.”
He didn’t seem to guard himself against me in the least.
Even so, I did not move my hand from the sword hilt.
I knew the martial world’s old adage all too well: those who come first are never benevolent.
“I appreciate your words, but I intend to go to the cultivation sect Hyeondo Sect.”
Yet even after my refusal, he only smiled faintly and did not step aside.
Frowning slightly, I immediately unfolded Buddha Shadow Flying Steps.
It was a superior footwork art, subtle in motion yet swift as lightning, normally executed with one palm joined in salutation, as befitted a Shaolin technique.
And yet, no sooner had I moved to pass him than my body somehow found itself once more before him.
“So you do know some martial arts. But the martial arts that mortals practice are little more than entertainment to cultivators like me.”
I had no idea what trick he had used, but there was no doubt he possessed formidable ability.
Even so, I did not agree with everything he said.
“Entertainment, you say? Then perhaps you should experience firsthand just how deadly that entertainment can be.”
With that, I drew my sword like lightning, and its point came to rest a hair’s breadth before the center of his brow.
And still he wore that same smiling expression as he said, “What are you doing? I’ve been waiting here after hearing your words, haven’t I? When, exactly, is this deadly move of yours supposed to appear?”
Despite his mockery, I could no longer push my sword forward.
It wasn’t that I feared wounding him. It was that the blade I had thrust out had been stopped by an invisible barrier surrounding him.
Protective qi armor, the kind only a master who had reached the Transformation Realm could manifest!
My power, which had only barely approached the second-rate level, could not pierce that absolute defense.
“Do you understand now? Just how trivial the martial arts you practice truly are?”
He laughed at me again.
So I immediately unfolded the second form of the 18 Plum Blossom Sword Arts.
From frost-laced brilliance, I draw forth silver fragrance.
The principle embedded in this second form, which I had once demonstrated before the members of the Neung family, was precisely covert force.
When I had driven it into wood, it had burst outward from within, leaving a deep hole in its wake. This time, that force exploded inside the enemy’s protective qi armor.
Force, after all, was such a thing.
It was power that made the water inside a jar surge without breaking the jar itself.
No matter how strong one’s protective qi armor might be,
it was not necessarily impossible to send power through it without shattering it first.
Of course, there were conditions: the opponent had to be careless and unguarded like this, and the one attacking had to possess insight on the level I did.
Spat!
Unfortunately, as one who had reached the stage where protective qi armor could be used, he suffered no injury from my force-based attack. Still, when a few strands of his hair were severed in an instant, his startled expression was a sight worth seeing.
“The moment you grow complacent, a flaw is bound to appear.”
“I’ll admit you surprised me. But as you can see, I’m perfectly unharmed. If you become my disciple, you’ll be able to learn this remarkable ability. Even if you were to go to a great sect like Hyeondo Sect, the master assigned to you would likely be nothing more than a Qi Refining late-stage cultivator far inferior to me. Learning from such people could never compare to learning from me, someone who has already reached Foundation Establishment. And if you became my disciple, you wouldn’t receive the scraps of spirit pills and magical tools the great sects hand out—you’d inherit the proper treasures I myself have used. By that measure alone, it would be several times more advantageous.”
What benefit could he possibly gain from me that would make him so desperate to take me as his disciple?
From the way he spoke and acted, I could not bring myself to follow him, no matter what.
But from years of experience in the martial world, I knew something by instinct.
If I rejected him again, he would not simply turn and leave. Rather, he would likely take me by force if need be.
To guard against exactly this sort of thing, I had concealed a portion of my true strength as the martial world taught. Even so, I could not confidently say I could escape his grasp even if I fought with everything I had.
So I looked once more at the man who smelled faintly of flowers and decided to bide my time for now.
“Am I your only disciple?”
He smiled broadly and replied, “That’s right. Someday, every priceless treasure I possess will belong to you, my one and only disciple.”
The moment I heard those words, I was certain he had approached me for no good reason. Anyone who lured others in by stirring their greed could not be a good person, no matter how they dressed the part.
And yet I clasped my hands and bowed politely.
“Your disciple Neung So greets you, Master!”
Not yet. It was not yet time.
Even a tiger crouches before it leaps.
“Ho ho—well then. You certainly made things difficult for me, but in the end you’ve made the right decision. Now come aboard the Silver Swan Board. We’ll ride this to Nine Palaces Tower, where you’ll be staying with me from now on.”
The instant he finished speaking, the bird-shaped metal board beneath him expanded in size.
For a moment I was distracted by its strange appearance, but I quickly gathered myself and stepped onto the board known as the Silver Swan Board.
As if it had been waiting for that very moment, the board shot upward into the sky.
It rose to heights even I, in my former life when I had reached the stage of Walking the Void, had never attained.
The world of immortals and cultivators—the world I had never known—was now spread out before my eyes.
What, I wonder, lies at the end of this sky?
Even though the great trees on the earth below had shrunk to the size of twigs in a child’s hand, the sky still showed no sign of its edge.
This time, I reached out and tried to seize a drifting cloud.
But all I felt was a trace of dampness.
The cloud had vanished before I could hold it.
Just like the life-and-death realm from my past life, which had slipped away so absurdly.
At that moment, I spoke.
“Master, is the sky always something one cannot seize? Or am I simply not yet worthy of grasping it?”
Of course, it was not a question I asked because I truly recognized him as my master and wished to receive his teachings.
I was merely curious what answer a cultivator would give.
Yet the answer that came from him was surprisingly profound.
“It is not only the sky that cannot be grasped. All truth in this world is like water slipping through your hands. Rather than forcing it into a grip, you should simply let it flow. As flowing water becomes a river and a river becomes the sea, so too will your awareness one day connect to the heavens in the same way.”
Let truth flow…
It was a statement I understood and did not understand at once.
So I quietly entered contemplation, observing my own essence, when his voice once again awakened my consciousness.
“We’ve arrived. This is Nine Palaces Tower, where you’ll be staying from now on.”
Though it was only a threadlike sliver of insight, I knew it could be of great help in cultivation. It was a rather irritating interruption.
But I could not continue my contemplation under these circumstances, and so I opened my eyes at last.
Before me stood a three-story pavilion far smaller than I had expected.
At a glance, it was no different in size from the quarters I had once occupied in the Neung residence.
But the man beside me seemed immensely proud of it as he spoke.
“Most mountain recluses who receive no support from a sect live in caves carved into the mountainside. But I am different. That’s because I have this Nine Palaces Tower. Of course, the place you live is only a little more comfortable, but if you’ve chosen the path of cultivation, then you’ll have to make do with Bigu Pills instead of mortal food.”
Surely even the grand name Nine Palaces Tower had been something he’d made up himself.
Just as my expectations of him were beginning to sink again, he strode ahead without hesitation and said, “Follow me. I’ll decide where you’ll stay from now on.”
I quickly scanned the surroundings and memorized the terrain before following after him.
But the instant I stepped inside the pavilion, I felt something strange—an oppressive pressure I hadn’t noticed before.
“Oh? You can feel that? It seems your Heavenly Root is even more remarkable than I thought.”
It felt as though the air around us had grown heavy.
This time, I asked, “What is this?”
He answered with a smile. “This is the spiritual qi flowing through heaven and earth. Nine Palaces Tower was built atop a dragon vein where spiritual qi rises, so the qi here is denser than in other places.”
So this was the spiritual qi cultivators trained in?
It felt almost close enough to touch, like a cloud hanging in the sky.
As I had done just now beneath the heavens, I tried to grasp that vivid energy with my hand.
Unlike the cloud, which had vanished and left only moisture behind, the spiritual qi seemed to gather, if only slightly.
Sensing it, my master turned around in surprise and quickly seized my wrist.
At once, the spiritual qi that had seemed to gather in my hand dispersed.
And the master, who had thus far remained calm, was suddenly filled with elation.
“My heavens! Your talent is actually a Heavenly Spiritual Root! A gift from the heavens that may appear only once in several centuries!”
He was so pleased by my exceptional talent that it was almost as if it were his own triumph.
I silently watched him, studying the laughter that came from his heart.
It was rare indeed for a master to rejoice so sincerely merely because his disciple, whom he had met not even a day ago, possessed good talent.
“It seems I have a talent worthy of not disappointing your expectations, Master.”
“Of course! You’re already beyond my expectations!”
Still, I could not see a trace of falsehood in him.
Yet I never let my guard down.
After all, he was the one who had forcibly taken me as his disciple when I had said I was unnecessary.
“For now, sit there. I’ll teach you right away how to create the law soul needed to enter Qi Refining.”
He pointed to a part of the pavilion floor inscribed with a strange formation. I did not know the power hidden within that formation, so following his directions was somewhat troubling. But I could feel that he had no intention of harming me at this moment, and so I obeyed for now.
When I sat in a cross-legged position upon the formation he indicated, he began to perform strange hand signs.
In response, the formation emitted a low, humming sound.
My wariness surged sharply, and I was just about to change posture when he spoke.
“Sit still. This is the Spirit Heart River Formation, meant to calm your mind. A law soul begins by aligning your breathing and your energy, then looking inward at the soul within you, so close your eyes at once.”
Judging from how serious he looked, it really did seem as if he intended to teach me the method of cultivation.
So, resting my hand lightly on the sword hilt, I closed my eyes as he instructed.
My breathing settled into a steady rhythm for a brief moment, and then my consciousness rapidly plunged deep into my inner self. It seemed this was the effect of the formation he had cast.
But as I searched within with my eyes closed, a brilliant light suddenly appeared.
At first it emerged as a massive glowing mass, then quickly began to shrink, and the shape it formed was one I knew all too well.
Heavenly Demon Ak Bi!
The image of my former self, who once stood above the world and looked down upon all beneath the heavens, appeared in the form of that light.
And though the self I had not seen in so long still radiated majesty, something about it felt strangely alien. The figure of my past, forged from light, felt too different from the me of now.
As if responding to that very thought, the body of Heavenly Demon Ak Bi made of light began to shrink further, until it finally transformed into my present appearance.
My face was still youthful, and my frame was smaller than in my former life, when I had been full of imposing grandeur, but this was the form that felt more familiar to me now.
And the moment I acknowledged that the light-shaped form resembled my present self, light suddenly flooded every direction.
Flash!
For a moment it felt as if my vision had narrowed under the intensity, like staring directly into the sun. Then my consciousness, which had been peering into the depths of my inner being, was rapidly flung back outward.
Glint!
As I opened my eyes, the pure gleam flowing in them seemed to illuminate the surroundings. My master, staring at me with his mouth slightly open, spoke in disbelief.
“You created a law soul in a single try? The talent of a Heavenly Spiritual Root is extraordinary! At this rate, reaching Qi Refining late stage will take not twenty years, but only ten!”
Greed lingered in his eyes even as he looked at me with joy.
Just as I thought—there was clearly something he wanted from me.