Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Inner World - 1
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I borrowed the Ami Sect's kitchen to prepare some food for the Thousand-Ri Flying Chick. Being a temple and all, meat dishes were probably off-limits.
But isn't a falcon a carnivore?
Just in case it might eat them, I whipped up some simple cookies—and to my surprise, it pecked away at them with gusto.
As expected of a spirit beast...!
Anyway, buying time wasn't a bad idea at all.
I piled the freshly baked cookies in front of the Thousand-Ri Flying Chick.
- Piiik~!
It seemed delighted by the mountain of cookies, flapping its wings and dancing around joyfully as it pecked away. Meanwhile, I picked up my brush.
But what should I write...?
"......."
This couldn't be happening.
I had nothing to say!
Thoughts swirled in my head, but when it came to putting them into words on paper, my hand just wouldn't move. What was I supposed to do?
- Piiik~?
The Thousand-Ri Flying Chick tilted its head at me curiously, and I felt intimidated by its gaze.
It almost felt like it was urging me on, so I averted my eyes discreetly. That's when a few young nuns approached.
I was baking a fresh batch of cookies, so they must have been drawn by the smell.
"Namu Amitabul. I'm Jin Hyun, currently staying at the guest quarters."
"Namu Amitabul..."
"Namu Amitabul..."
"Would you like some, if it's alright?"
There was nothing meat-related, so it should be fine for the nuns. I offered them the cookies, and I watched their faces light up as they cautiously nibbled.
"If it's okay, may I ask you to share them with the others too? I'd love to deliver them myself, but..."
"Thank you so much!"
"Things have been rough these past few days, and the sisters have been struggling... These treats are sure to lift everyone's spirits!"
Rough times, huh. They must mean the friction with the Four Black Alliances.
Come to think of it, I needed to experience the Thoughtless Sword Form, but what if the nun who could perform it was injured...?
"Do you know of any nun skilled in the Thoughtless Sword Form?"
"The Thoughtless Sword Form? Well... Nun Yunbeop should be able to use it."
"But she's no longer involved in worldly martial affairs... She didn't fight this time either, so it's questionable if she'd demonstrate it."
Were they chatty because of the cookies? They even shared details I hadn't asked for.
Nun Yunbeop was currently performing her 108 prostrations in the main hall, so I could meet her right away. After telling me that, the nuns left carrying the basket of cookies I'd given them. I turned to the Thousand-Ri Flying Chick.
It was still completely absorbed in its cookies, so I gave it a gentle pat. It looked up at me with a swipe of its head.
"Can you wait a bit?"
- Piiik~!
It nodded, which I took as agreement.
Good. My mind wasn't working right now anyway... I'd experience the Thoughtless Sword Form first, then finish the letter afterward.
The talk of recent clashes with the Four Black Alliances didn't seem like exaggeration. The more I wandered the Ami Sect grounds, the more injured nuns I spotted.
And among them, a few eyed me warily.
I arrived at the main hall, ignoring those gazes.
As I stood gazing at the massive Buddha statue in the hall, an elderly nun who had just finished her prostrations noticed me and approached.
"Namu Amitabul. What brings you to the main hall, benefactor?"
"Namu Amitabul. I'm Jin Hyun of Sword Heaven. Are you Nun Yunbeop?"
"Yes, that's me, but..."
"I'd like to use this. Is that possible?"
I pulled the Ami Sacred Tablet from my robes. The elderly nun, Yunbeop, stared at the jade plaque engraved with Kannon, then smiled faintly and took it.
"What do you desire?"
"I'd like to experience the Ami Sect's Thoughtless Sword Form."
Namgung Cheon had said experiencing it would greatly benefit me.
Of course, I had no idea what kind of benefit. But it was advice from one of the Eight Great Heavens of the Nine Provinces.
I doubted it was idle talk.
"The Thoughtless Sword Form... Very well. Will you follow me?"
She smiled softly and led me deeper inside.
The further we went, the fewer people we saw. How long had we walked when she stopped before a crumbling hermitage and raised her hand with a gentle smile.
- Tap.
I'd thought she was just an ordinary elderly nun, but that was Void Grasping.
She lightly gripped a sword leaning against the wall and spoke calmly to me.
"I shall show you the Thoughtless Sword Form, granted by the Buddha's will. May you gain great insight."
I sensed no aura at all. But the moment she drew the sword, everything changed. Just from her holding it, my entire body screamed.
Flee.
The one before you can kill you in a single strike.
So flee.
My survival instincts kicked in, and the Five Elements Circulation Art within me stirred, sensing her overwhelming power.
"Urk..."
"A sword exists to harm others. Thus, in the Buddha's teachings, we do not wield it lightly. We draw it only to vanquish the Buddha's enemies—becoming wrathful yakshas ourselves, prepared to descend into hell."
Her explanation intensified the killing intent. Was this truly the sword of Buddhism?
Forcing down my trembling body, I reached for my sword hilt.
Watching me, Yunbeop slowly raised her sword toward me. Unable to bear the focused pressure, I finally drew mine.
- Chaaang!!
And I moved it. As her sword qi shot toward me, I channeled the prepared inner energy of my Five Elements Circulation Art into my blade, deflecting it—and that's when I saw it.
Hundreds of sword qis gathered around Yunbeop.
"The Thoughtless Sword Form is a form without form. Thoughtless—unfolding naturally because no thoughts arise."
- Chaang! Chaang!!
A formless sword style? Like the Taiji Sword, then.
To counter it, not the Three Ultimates Sword Art, but Taiji Sword. I formed a domain around me and readied my blade.
Yunbeop smiled faintly and took a step toward me.
- Chaang!! Clang!!
I deflected the launched sword qi and stepped forward.
Ignoring my instincts screaming to retreat, I advanced, and Yunbeop's expression shifted.
But only briefly. She smiled even more gently and swung her sword.
This time, five sword qis flew at me. I deflected even those and pressed forward—only for hundreds to target me now.
"When you think of nothing, possess nothing, desire nothing—that is thoughtlessness. Benefactor, what are you thinking now?"
"...Nothing at all. Just..."
"Just?"
"I want to cut."
"Then cut."
The moment she spoke, the bundle of sword qis surged. Gritting my teeth at the hundreds of razor-sharp qis hurtling toward me,
- Boom!!
I stomped my true stance.
My expanded domain was now primed to meet the onslaught from all directions.
Maintaining sword qis extended a zhang, I inhaled deeply and cleaved everything entering my domain.
One, two, three, ten, twenty, forty, a hundred.
The clashes shook me to my core.
But I had no intention of stopping.
Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.
Amid the endless barrage of sword qis, I thought of nothing. I simply cut.
How much time passed?
Drenched in sweat, my dantian nearly empty, Yunbeop slowly raised her sword.
A colossal sword qi, incomparable to the previous ones, barreled toward me.
Could I block it? No room for doubt.
All I could do was swing at the massive qi oncoming.
- Chaaaaang!!
The needle-thin qi clashed with the giant one.
Yet my sword didn't break. By angling it and sweeping lightly, I deflected the Thoughtless Sword Form's qi.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Was this too much? My mind reeled. Blood surged up my throat, but I barely swallowed it.
Yunbeop approached and placed a restorative pill in my mouth from her robes.
"Circulate your energy. Thoughtless—think of nothing, just circulate."
It must have been a spiritual elixir. Just one pill, and my empty dantian filled rapidly.
I began circulating based on its effects, and when my dantian brimmed full, Yunbeop smiled gently.
"Do you grasp what the Thoughtless Sword Form is?"
I stood still, eyes closed, and recalled the memory while operating the Five Elements Circulation Art.
Think of nothing. Just recreate the storm of countless sword qis from before.
The art stirred, gradually transforming it into Taiji Sword forms.
"Hup!"
One swing birthed three sword qis. Not the hundreds from before, but I had a sense of how.
"...Just a little, but I think I get it. Thank you."
"To reach that level after one experience—impressive. Namu Amitabul. Surely the Buddha's guidance."
"And... the elixir. My thanks."
"It merely went where it was needed."
I used the Ami Sacred Tablet for the Thoughtless Sword Form experience.
And got an elixir to boot—definitely came out ahead. Best to settle accounts cleanly.
"Is there anything you need?"
"Something I need... In that case, may I ask a favor of you, benefactor?"
"What is it?"
"The Ami Sect and Four Black Alliances are clashing due to misunderstandings. If possible, could you help resolve it?"
I'd heard from Yul Hwan earlier that they were fighting.
Even someone attacked by the Four Black Alliance leader... Could I smooth that over?
"I'll give it a try... But no guarantees."
"Whatever happens, it is the Buddha's will."
This felt even more burdensome.
Still... after receiving so much, I'd better see it through.