Chapter 1255
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brows, unable to conceal his bewilderment.
"How am I supposed to bring you an egg that doesn't even exist?"
The middle-aged man didn't answer. Instead, he gazed at the distant sky before continuing.
"In Zhejiang's Mercy Temple, there is a renowned silent monk. Make him speak—the one they call Muksung."
Muksung.
A revered monk who had gained fame precisely because he had never uttered a single word, maintaining his vow of silence.
People had wondered when his ascetic practice would end, but he never spoke.
No pleasure, no temptation, could sway him.
What truly made him famous was this:
One day, a member of the Unorthodox Faction, upon hearing rumors of him, declared he would make the monk speak—and in an act of brutality, severed the monk's left arm.
Yet even in agony, Muksung did not so much as groan. Instead, he smiled faintly.
Deeply moved, the unorthodox practitioner dropped to his knees and bowed his head in reverence.
As this tale spread throughout the martial world, Muksung came to be revered as one of the legendary living Buddhas.
His followers built Mercy Temple in Zhejiang's Jinhua Prefecture, forming their own sect.
And now, this man wanted him to make Muksung speak?
"Complete these two tasks, and that will suffice."
Bu Eun-seol nearly let out a derisive laugh at the man's audacity.
"So those two are all I need to do? Nothing else?"
The middle-aged man replied,
"If you believe it impossible, you may refuse."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply.
To summarize everything he had done until now, it was this: making the impossible possible.
Seeing the man's earnest gaze, he sensed this wasn't merely a jest at his expense.
"I'll take care of both and return."
Without hesitation, he turned and left the stable.
The Poison Lightning Daoist's dwelling lay in Ghost Poison Valley, a hundred li north of Ji'an Prefecture.
The valley's very name was ominous, surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs. At its entrance stood a massive log, upon which was deeply carved:
―Those who enter shall not leave alive.
The words had darkened to a bloody crimson, as if written in gore.
Poison Lightning Daoist...
Once, he had been a master of poison arts who dominated Jiangxi. Now, he was but a faded name, a relic of the past.
As Bu Eun-seol stepped into the valley,
the pungent stench of toxic herbs assaulted his nose, while an indescribably foul energy prickled his skin.
The valley floor was carpeted with bluish moss, crawling with venomous insects of every hue.
After advancing about five li, the view opened to reveal a small manor built on a wide clearing.
The gate had broken off and lay discarded in a corner, the windows all shattered.
Splotches of virulent poison stained the walls.
Inside, deadly plants like Seven-Leaf One-Day Blossom, Scarlet Serpent Grass, and Bloody Claw Herb grew rampant.
A rotting pond stagnated with black water, swarming with buzzing flies.
He's truly lost his mind.
Before the residence stood a massive nest-like structure.
Woven from branches, it was large enough to house a colossal roc.
And there, curled within it, was the Poison Lightning Daoist.
Hmm...
Concealed by stealth techniques, Bu Eun-seol observed him closely and swallowed hard.
Once, he had been a peerless master of venom arts,
said to have been a handsome middle-aged man who always dressed impeccably in silver-gray robes.
But the figure in the nest now—
his hair was wild, cascading to his shoulders, his beard unkempt and covering his chest.
His clothes were tattered rags, his exposed skin marred with scratches and bruises.
Most bizarre was his behavior.
"Keeeee!"
Suddenly, the Poison Lightning Daoist leapt to the center of the courtyard, flapping his arms like wings and shrieking.
Madness gleamed in his eyes as he incessantly shook his head back and forth.
After screaming for a while, he retreated back into the nest.
Though the nest was empty, he crouched as if incubating an egg.
Thump, thump.
Then, a venomous toad as thick as a forearm emerged nearby.
Its skin glowed a sickly green under the sunlight, likely saturated with potent toxins.
Thump, thump.
As the toad flicked its tongue and approached—
Whish!
The Poison Lightning Daoist sprang up and lashed out like a whip with his fingers.
Splat!
The toad's head burst, spewing virulent poison in all directions.
Crunch, crunch.
He began devouring the headless toad raw.
It seemed his ability to remain relatively healthy despite years of madness came from constantly hunting and consuming the valley's toxic creatures.
"Keee!"
After finishing his meal, he shrieked again and returned to the nest.
Bu Eun-seol watched from atop a distant wall.
This is troublesome.
The madness was one thing—but how could he steal an egg that didn't exist?
After observing for some time, he noticed the Poison Lightning Daoist guarded his nest fiercely, treating anything that approached as a threat.
He hurled poison at birds that flew too close and slashed at passing rodents with his nails.
He's like a chicken...
The frequency of his wing-flapping imitations, the angle at which he turned his head, the way he scraped his feet against the ground—
Every single motion bore an uncanny resemblance to a chicken's behavior.
'A hen.'
After much deliberation, Bu Eun-seol returned to Chengdu and procured a sturdy rooster with a bright red comb.
He spent a considerable amount of time listening to its crowing and observing its gait.
The way it flapped its wings, the motion of pecking at feed, even the posture it took when relieving itself—
'No, this is beyond me.'
Every person has their innate talents, and each excels in their own way.
After all, weren't those particularly skilled at mimicking animals highly prized even among performance troupes?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Bu Eun-seol—
Whoosh!
—unleashed his movement technique in an instant and returned to the Demon Hall.
Upon his return to the Demon Hall,
Bu Eun-seol immediately questioned the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit about who among them was the best at imitating animals.
"Animal imitations? That would undoubtedly be Won Se-mun, Squad Leader Won."
"He must've been a damn— no, a dog in his past life."
"I heard he even lifts his leg when he pisses?"
The squad leaders and warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit all spoke in unison.
Won Se-mun was exceptionally skilled at mimicking animals.
"I heard he has visions in his dreams, but I didn't know he had such talents too."
Bu Eun-seol sought out Won Se-mun, who was in the middle of training, and addressed him.
"There's something you need to do."
"Me?"
"No time. I'll explain on the way."
Whoosh! Flash!
Bu Eun-seol grabbed Won Se-mun and vanished into the distant sky in an instant.
The warriors who witnessed the scene froze in shock, their mouths agape.
"So the Lord was serious?"
They exchanged glances, their expressions gradually darkening with dread.
"We only said that because he acts like a dog when he's drunk... It was just a joke."
By the time the sun reached its zenith, Bu Eun-seol had returned to the Poison Lightning Daoist.
After explaining the situation, Won Se-mun's face darkened considerably.
But it wasn't as if he could refuse.
Flap!
With a resolute expression, Won Se-mun vaulted over the wall into the courtyard and began imitating the flapping of wings.
He raised both arms to shoulder height and flapped vigorously, bobbing his head left and right as he strode forward with an imposing air.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
At the top of his lungs, he let out a crow—and the Poison Lightning Daoist's head snapped up.
A peculiar glint flickered in his eyes for a moment.
Won Se-mun doubled down on his performance.
Like a rooster strutting before a hen.
He puffed out his chest and walked with confidence, occasionally even mimicking the motion of pecking at the ground.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The Poison Lightning Daoist stared wide-eyed for a long while before—
Shake shake.
—shaking his head with a gaze full of pity and sorrow.
His expression was unmistakably that of someone looking at a madman.
"Old friend. Have you come to your senses?"
As Won Se-mun tried to approach while speaking—
Crack!
The Poison Lightning Daoist suddenly lashed out with a bolt of palm energy.
Swish!
Won Se-mun swiftly twisted his body to evade, but—
The spot where he had stood erupted in a cloud of dust, the surrounding earth blackening and rotting away.
After incessantly consuming poisons,
the Poison Lightning Daoist's poison art had grown incomparably more potent than before his madness.
'Damn it, I almost died!'
Had his reaction been even a fraction slower,
he would've crossed the River of Three Crossings without ever knowing why—all while pretending to be a rooster.
Shake shake!
Won Se-mun turned to Bu Eun-seol, who was hiding behind the wall, and shook his head decisively.
'Not a chicken?'
Realizing that the Poison Lightning Daoist's reaction was not that of one recognizing his same kind, Bu Eun-seol called Won Se-mun back.
Then he scrutinized the Poison Lightning Daoist once more.
Every movement, every sound he made, even the tremors in his pupils.
And at last, he understood.
'Not a chicken.'
Listening again to the Poison Lightning Daoist's crowing, he noticed it was subtly different from that of an ordinary rooster.
The final note was sharper, ringing metallic.
His gait was different too.
More cautious, more wary than a normal chicken's. The angle at which he turned his head was wider, his gaze far more vicious.
'...A poison-feathered bird.'
According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the poison-feathered bird was a legendary venomous bird with azure feathers and a beak red as fresh blood.
A single feather steeped in wine could kill dozens of grown men with its lethal poison.
'If it's a poison-feathered bird—'
poison-feathered bird were known to be extremely sensitive while brooding, never leaving the vicinity of their nests.
But there was one exception.
When they spotted their prey—a venomous snake.
Their obsession with snakes outweighed even their attachment to their eggs.
"In that case...."
After hearing Bu Eun-seol's explanation, Won Se-mun spoke.
"We just need to release a real venomous snake, right?"
Bu Eun-seol immediately scoured the area around the Poison Valley.
Deep within the ravine, wedged between rocks, he found a blood-eyed blue snake—one of the fastest-moving serpents.
It was a massive viper, easily surpassing the length of a man's forearm, its eyes glowing crimson.
"I'll handle this."
Taking the snake from Bu Eun-seol, Won Se-mun carefully carried it back to the Poison Lightning Daoist's dwelling.
Then, from outside the wall, he hurled the serpent into the courtyard.
Sssslither.
The snake writhed as it hit the ground.
Flicking its tongue, the blood-eyed blue snake began slithering around.
At that moment, the Poison Lightning Daoist's head shot up. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of the serpent.
"Keeeee!"
The Poison Lightning Daoist rose to his feet.
Yet he didn't leave his nest, merely stretching his neck out to stare at the venomous snake.
The serpent slithered toward the nest.
Flicking its tongue, it drew closer and closer.
The Poison Lightning Daoist's body began to tremble. The instinct of a raptor spotting prey had awakened within him.
"Keeeeeek!"
Finally, the Poison Lightning Daoist burst from his nest.
But just before his hands could grasp it, the snake twisted away with lightning speed, fleeing in an instant.
The Daoist chased after it, darting wildly across the courtyard.
Swish.
Meanwhile, Won Se-mun made his move toward the empty nest.
"Look at me!"
As expected, there was nothing inside.
Yet Won Se-mun pretended to steal an egg, glancing provocatively at the Poison Lightning Daoist.
"Old friend! I've stolen your egg!"
Paaat!
Cupping his hands as if clutching a translucent egg, he instantly leaped into the air.
"......"
But the Poison Lightning Daoist merely—
—as if dismissing the ravings of some lunatic—
—stared at the empty space where Won Se-mun had vanished, then—
Swoosh.
—promptly settled back into his nest and resumed brooding over the nonexistent egg.
"......"
Won Se-mun wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.
This made no sense.
The Poison Lightning Daoist clearly believed himself to be a poison bird—hadn't he just gone berserk chasing the venomous snake?
So why, when Won Se-mun pretended to steal his egg, did he simply return to brooding without a care?
Sssshhh.
Meanwhile, the snake had slipped into a crevice between rocks.
The Poison Lightning Daoist, still "brooding," glared relentlessly at the rocks.
"I understand now."
Having observed the situation, Bu Eun-seol finally grasped everything and spoke to the returning Won Se-mun.
"Humans are not his enemies."
The Poison Lightning Daoist truly believed himself to be a poison bird.
And to a poison bird, humans are not foes.
Only venomous snakes in nature—are his rivals.
Bu Eun-seol met Won Se-mun's gaze and declared firmly:
"In the end, a human must become the snake."
The Poison Lightning Daoist was once human but became a poison bird. Therefore, a human must now become the snake.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"But I've never observed a snake before."
"You just saw one."
Won Se-mun desperately averted his eyes, but Bu Eun-seol's piercing gaze followed relentlessly.
"Right now, you're the only one who can help me."
"......?"
"Didn't they say you were good at mimicking animals?"
"That's..."
Won Se-mun's face twisted in discomfort.
He knew exactly why the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit had recommended him as an expert in animal mimicry.
But he could hardly admit—"It's because I drink like a dog."
Unable to admit the real reason, Won Se-mun finally answered:
"I'll do it."
At last, with a solemn expression, he brought his hands together.
Ssshhhk.
Without hesitation, Won Se-mun flattened himself against the ground.
He pressed his arms tightly to his torso, flattened his stomach against the earth, and undulated his entire body forward in a sinuous motion.
Just like a slithering serpent.
At first, it was awkward.
His knees scraped raw against the dirt, his belly scratched by pebbles. But he didn't stop.
Gradually, his movements smoothed.
His upper body swayed side to side, his lower half following in fluid curves.
He truly began to resemble a snake in motion.
"Ssshh. Ssshh."
Won Se-mun even flicked his tongue, perfectly imitating the serpent's hiss.
A sharp, grating sound resonated from deep in his throat as he slithered into the courtyard.
The more he did it, the more natural it felt.
'Maybe I really do have a talent for this?'
Just as Won Se-mun began to revel in his success—
Flash!
The Poison Lightning Daoist's eyes gleamed with madness.
From his perspective—
The crawling Won Se-mun was the largest snake he had ever seen.
"Ssshh. Ssshh."
Dusted with dirt, Won Se-mun crept slowly, deliberately, menacingly toward the nest.
The Poison Lightning Daoist's gaze shifted again.
From wariness to excitement—then to the bloodthirsty glint of a raptor locking onto prey.
"Keeeeeek!"
Finally, the Daoist flung aside his imaginary egg and lunged at Won Se-mun.
Whoosh!
Won Se-mun twisted like a snake, barely dodging.
Still pressed flat to the ground, he writhed and slithered desperately to escape.
"Keeek!"
The Poison Lightning Daoist pursued, pecking viciously at Won Se-mun's rear.
"Ow! Hot!"
Claws raked across his back, leaving crimson streaks. The attacks fixated relentlessly on his backside.
'Why is he only targeting my ass?!'
He frantically circled the nest in serpentine loops.
Once he had put some distance between them—
Fwip!
Won Se-mun suddenly gaped his jaws wide, "snatching" something from the nest before fleeing.
The perfect imitation of a giant snake stealing an egg whole.
"KEEEEEEK!"
The Poison Lightning Daoist shrieked in maddened fury.
The piercing screech tore through the valley, sending birds fleeing from the trees and burrowing insects deeper into the earth.
"Keeek!"
The Daoist charged at Won Se-mun with terrifying speed, unleashing a storm of virulent poison.
'Ugh!'
At the brink of death—
Whooosh!
A huge fireball erupted before him.
Bu Eun-seol had intercepted the attack.
"Won Se-mun, now!"
At Bu Eun-seol's shout—
Gulp.
Won Se-mun desperately opened his mouth and "swallowed" the nonexistent egg whole.
"Keeek! KEEEEK!"
The Poison Lightning Daoist wailed like a dying beast.
But gradually, his cries weakened.
Thud.
In the end, he collapsed before the empty nest. Trembling hands groped the hollow—but the egg was gone.
The realization finally struck him—the egg he had been brooding was truly gone.
"My egg. My egg."
For the first time, human words escaped his lips.
Poison Lightning Daoist's gaze wavered.
"My egg?"
His blurred focus gradually sharpened.
"Who... who am I?"
He stared at his own hands—human hands, caked in dirt and blood.
"I'm not a bird...?"
Then, memories surged in like a tidal wave.
He had secretly infiltrated Mad Doctor's hidden vault, where he discovered a single golden egg glowing with radiance.
And he had stolen and consumed it to amplify his internal power.
—That golden egg was meant for her!
But Mad Doctor soon discovered him and roared in fury.
—From this moment on, you shall be a bird!
Mad Doctor's pupils blazed with a chilling light.
—You will spend the rest of your life as a bird brooding an egg, never awakening until you lose it!
"Gah!"
Poison Lightning Daoist screamed.
Only now did he understand.
How long he had lived as a bird. Why he had been reduced to this state.
"What in the world happened?"
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol approached and asked.
Still dazed, Poison Lightning Daoist found himself recounting the events in a low voice.
"I stole and ate a golden egg from Mad Doctor's abode. Enraged, he cursed me to become a bird."
Muttering under his breath, he looked around.
"That was my last memory."
A ruined hall. A garden littered with corpses. Tattered robes. Disheveled hair.
Clutching his own tangled locks, his body trembled.
"To think... I lived like this all this time..."
Staring down at his wretched state, he hung his head and whispered,
"I will never show my face in the Martial World again."
Whoosh!
In an instant, he activated his Lightness Art and vanished from Poison Valley.
"Mad Doctor's golden egg..."
Bu Eun-seol stared at the sky where he had disappeared for a long while.
"So stealing and eating it turned him into that..."
The two tasks the middle-aged man had demanded—
They weren't just unreasonable requests. They were deeply tied to Mad Doctor.
Swoosh.
As the wind blew, Bu Eun-seol slowly rose to his feet.
There was no time for this.
To cure Seok U-haeng, whose body was rotting away, he had to head to Zhejiang—to find the Silent Monk and force him to speak.
"Lord."
At that moment, Won Se-mun, still sprawled on the ground like a snake, called out weakly.
After Poison Lightning Daoist's relentless attacks, the back of his robes was shredded, and blood pooled beneath him.
"You've suffered."
Bu Eun-seol spoke gently.
"Go straight to Medicine King Faction."
"The treatment can wait."
Won Se-mun opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
"Instead, I have one request."
"Speak freely."
"Training methods that mimic the forms and postures of animals have been passed down since ancient times, haven't they? And they've proven effective."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
Many of Shaolin's martial arts were inspired by animal forms.
Even the Beast Palace's Beast Martial Arts imitated the movements and footwork of wild beasts.
"And?"
"I believe the Death Shadow War Unit should also adopt training that disciplines the body by emulating animal stances and movements."
"Animal movements?"
"Yes. Entrust that training to me."
Still lying flat on the ground, Won Se-mun grinned brightly—his eyes so clear they bordered on madness.
Having left Poison Valley, Bu Eun-seol headed east.
Zhejiang had always been a land of abundant water and generous hearts.
Countless temples and hermitages nestled in its mountains, and many followed the teachings of the Buddhist Order.
Bu Eun-seol made his way to Mercy Temple in Jinhua Prefecture, where the famed Silent Monk, Muksung, resided.
This must be the place.
From the foot of the mountain to its midsection, buildings rose in layers, embracing the slope.
The temple gate was a triple-arched structure, with towering gatehouses rising above the central and side gates.
Each gatehouse stood three stories high, its crimson pillars and golden tiles dazzling under the sunlight.
Beyond the gate stood statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, each towering over ten feet tall.
A vast stone-paved plaza stretched out, spacious enough to hold a thousand people without crowding.
At its center stood a bronze censer,
its surface intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes, from which incense smoke curled ceaselessly toward the heavens.
What an imposing presence.
Devotees referred to Muksung as the "Profound Silence Great Master," praising him as a Living Buddha.
Mercy Temple received lavish donations from all walks of life, and pilgrims seeking enlightenment crowded its gates daily.
As if to prove its prestige,
the two-story Great Hero Hall beyond the plaza exuded a grandeur unmatched by ordinary temples.
Built atop massive stone foundations, the hall's red painted decoration and golden ornaments shimmered like sacred flames under the sun.
Its double-tiered eaves stretched skyward as if cleaving the heavens.
By the time Bu Eun-seol arrived at the Great Hero Hall, hundreds of devotees had already gathered.
With palms pressed together, they gazed at the hall with reverent expressions.
Young and old, rich and poor—all waited with a single heart.
—The Profound Silence Great Master will appear soon!
At someone's shout, the crowd buzzed with excitement.
"At last, we can see the Living Buddha!"
"I've waited ten years. If I could just touch the hem of his robe today..."
"They say even a glimpse of the Great Master's compassionate smile can resolve all troubles."
The devotees' voices brimmed with longing.
Bu Eun-seol concealed himself among them.
Disguised in plain clothes and an unremarkable face, no one recognized him.
Finally, the Great Hero Hall's doors slowly opened, and the low toll of a wooden gong echoed out.
A procession of monks filed out in solemn order.
At the forefront were young monks, followed by elder monks chanting sutras in low, measured tones.
And then, emerging after them, came a monk whose age was impossible to discern.
It was none other than the revered Great Master Hyeonmuk—the Silent Monk, Muksung.