Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Forgetting Sword (2)
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“What in the world is this kid doing?”
It had already been a week since Ouyang Jue entered the Sword Immortal's Cave.
The Omniscient One glanced repeatedly at the Sword Immortal's Cave with an anxious gaze.
‘The Sword Immortal's Cave erases the sensation of hunger for those who enter, but staying too long has severe side effects!’
Above all, the existence of the Forgetting Sword was the most troublesome for the Omniscient One.
“The old man…!”
Among the arrangements of the Heavenly Escape, the only one older than himself, with skills surpassing even Nameless, was the Forgetting Sword.
What the Omniscient One had said before Ouyang Jue went in was no joke.
The Forgetting Sword would unconditionally cut down anyone who entered without the proper qualifications.
It didn't matter if they were from the Zhongnan Sect or the Mount Hua Sect. To the Forgetting Sword, the only true Taoism was the Quanzhen School.
The Omniscient One couldn't hide his impatience.
“Did he get himself killed for being disrespectful to the old man?”
Beside him, Dae-ung was leisurely playing in the water.
***
Clang! Kang!
Ouyang Jue's eyes widened as he crossed swords with the Forgetting Sword.
Mind, qi, and body.
If even one of these three fundamentals for performing martial arts was lacking, the chances of being defeated by the Forgetting Sword were high.
Using the All-Seeing Eye would have lessened the burden considerably, but that wasn't what Ouyang Jue wanted.
Skills capable of facing the Eight Evils even in the most extreme situations.
That was what Ouyang Jue aimed for.
‘No one could guarantee that circumstances would align perfectly as they did during the fight with the Black Dragon.’
In that respect, the Sword Immortal's Cave was a place that perfectly matched his purpose.
The darkness was so sticky and unpleasant that it made him wonder if Lü Dongbin had built the Sword Immortal's Cave with this very intention.
He couldn't even see the floor, and sometimes he would misstep while performing his footwork.
Of course, the Forgetting Sword never did. In fact, he would even lure Ouyang Jue into the areas where one might misstep to engage him.
At first, he had been annoyed, but now it was different.
“...Hmph!”
Ouyang Jue frowned, putting strength into his ankle that threatened to buckle.
At the same moment, as if he had been waiting, the Forgetting Sword thrust forward cleanly.
Ouyang Jue's wrist twisted smoothly.
Screeeech!
A harsh sound echoed as the Severing Manifestation and the Forgetting Sword's blade clashed.
It seemed like a contest of strength at a glance, but the reality was different.
‘Just what is this person's identity…’
Ouyang Jue clenched his teeth and channeled the Purple Mist True Qi into the Severing Manifestation.
It was to satisfy his curiosity.
If he tried to push forward with immense power, just as the Black Dragon had done to him in the past, how would the Forgetting Sword respond?
The result was astonishing.
The Forgetting Sword's Bewildering Steps, performed without any discernible true qi, was deflecting half of his Purple Mist True Qi.
Peak level—no, 'peak level' wasn't even enough to describe his fundamentals.
It was as if the Forgetting Sword was demonstrating the very essence of the Wave-Riding Steps that Nameless had so often spoken of.
Could martial arts be this wondrous, this magnificent?
Ouyang Jue found himself smiling unconsciously.
Watching the Forgetting Sword, he naturally began to hold his sword more lightly.
Soon, he began to respond by following the Forgetting Sword's sword path.
He struggled greatly at first, but he felt himself adapting more and more as time went on.
This was possible because the techniques the Forgetting Sword used always flowed in a similar pattern.
‘But I can't seem to break through it easily…’
Ouyang Jue, with a dissatisfied expression, tried his best to dismantle the Forgetting Sword's techniques.
Watching this, the Forgetting Sword was inwardly very pleased.
‘Does this kid know? That the sword art I'm using is the Heavenly Escape, and that the reactions his body is learning are also the Heavenly Escape…’
No matter how outstanding Ouyang Jue's talent was, he would never be able to notice.
The Forgetting Sword was delighted that he could discipline this arrogant junior in such a way.
He also wanted to see how Ouyang Jue would react when the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts became more familiar to his hands than the Plum Blossom Sword Arts.
Though he didn't know if the heavens would permit such a moment to come.
A deep sense of regret flickered across the Forgetting Sword's face.
At the same time, the tip of the Forgetting Sword's blade dulled for an instant.
“...!”
Not missing the opening, Ouyang Jue immediately executed the technique of Plum Scent Piercing the Bones.
Like the fragrance of plum blossoms seeping into bone, a sharp, swift sword thrust dug into the Forgetting Sword's wrist.
Puk-
As the Forgetting Sword easily allowed the attack to land, it was Ouyang Jue who was surprised.
“Senior, are you alright?!”
“...I was lost in thought for a moment.”
Then, the Forgetting Sword suddenly realized how much time had passed.
He clenched his bleeding wrist, forcing back tears.
It wasn't because his wrist hurt.
A week had already passed, and he was saddened by the fact that it was time to send the boy out.
Above all, he lamented that he had become greedy.
‘Didn't I promise not to hold back any junior who came seeking the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts...!’
A single misstep, and Ouyang Jue could have become a phantom of the Sword Immortal's Cave, just like him.
If that had happened, the lineage of the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts would have been severed.
The Forgetting Sword looked at Ouyang Jue with somber eyes.
“I was so lost in thought that I even lost to you.”
“Your wrist?”
“It's fine, you brat. You think I'm a man of the martial world for nothing? I have my ways.”
The Forgetting Sword approached a corner of the cave and pressed a mechanism.
Rumble...!
One of the cave walls seemed to split open, revealing a dense forest filled with pine trees.
‘To think there was something like this inside the cave!’
Ouyang Jue's mouth fell open as he let out a cry of amazement.
“Good heavens, what is this?”
“...”
“Senior?”
When Ouyang Jue finally turned his head, the Forgetting Sword's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the voice of the Forgetting Sword echoed from a distance.
“I will wait for the time your martial brothers arrive!”
“...Understood, Senior.”
Ouyang Jue clasped his hands in a formal bow from where he stood, holding the gesture for a moment before stepping into the forest.
***
The forest was unusually lush and dense for early spring.
Moreover, it was as humid as the southern lands in midsummer.
Ouyang Jue began to get his bearings, cutting through branches here and there with the Severing Manifestation.
“What exactly is this place that he opened for me?”
Whether this was a trap was not even worth considering.
The Forgetting Sword, an arrangement of the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts and a distant senior in Taoism, would never lead him into a trap.
Above all, the faint wistfulness he had sensed at the end dispelled any suspicion.
If anything, he would offer help.
Ouyang Jue kept his eyes on the sky as he advanced as far as he could toward the center of the forest.
Then, he finally came across a strange object.
“...An inner elixir?”
Ouyang Jue picked up the pill that was placed on an altar.
The pill was nearly the color of water, and the refreshing clarity he could sense with his nose was beyond description.
The energy felt within the pill was even purer than that of the Heavenly Escape Heart Technique that Nameless possessed.
His Purple Mist Divine Arts was already known as a divine art of universal harmony.
‘With the internal energy contained in this, the Purple Mist Divine Arts should be two or three times faster than other heart techniques.’
Without any hesitation, Ouyang Jue sat in a cross-legged position and swallowed the pill.
Then, he clenched his jaw.
If he acted without properly refining the pill's energy, there was a high chance of suffering from qi deviation.
The purer the energy, the easier it was to absorb, but also the easier it was to corrupt.
To neglect the circulation of his qi and render such a pill meaningless would be an act that anyone would consider idiotic.
Ouyang Jue closed his eyes and listened to the flow of his surroundings.
“...”
The energy of the forest was as pure as the pill he had consumed, without a single impurity.
His body also felt incredibly light and refreshed, to the point where it was hard to believe he had fought countless times with the Forgetting Sword.
‘In an environment like this, couldn't I even open the Heavenly Thousand Veins?’
He had the thought, but he couldn't act on it immediately.
Last time, there was a fellow master from the orthodox sects to help him circulate his qi, but not this time.
A single misstep and he might lose control of the elixir's energy, like a child swept away by a torrent, and explode.
However, Ouyang Jue sank into thought as he refined the energy.
‘If I stop here, will there really be any further improvement?’
There was the clear benefit of his internal energy increasing due to the pill.
But that was all.
Having a large amount of internal energy could be an advantage. But with just that, he wouldn't be able to defeat Nangong Cheon, let alone the Eight Evils.
Thinking this, Ouyang Jue adjusted his posture once more.
To maximize the advantage of having abundant internal energy, he had no choice but to succeed in the Grand Circulation, opening his Upper Dantian and the Heavenly Thousand Veins.
It was an act that bordered on the impossible. However, Ouyang Jue slapped his cheeks to steel his resolve.
‘With this environment and the pill I've just taken, it's possible.’
Ouyang Jue assumed a cross-legged position and focused all his senses.
***
“He didn't really kill him, did he?”
“Guooo-!”
“Dae-ung, don't just cry, answer me.”
When the Omniscient One slapped its cheek with his folding fan, Dae-ung whimpered once before heading to a burrow near the Sword Immortal's Cave.
He felt sorry for Dae-ung, but the Omniscient One couldn't relieve his frustration any other way.
It had been seven days and one more.
If another day or two passed, even if he came out of the Sword Immortal's Cave, he would immediately shrivel up and die.
‘Even if I wanted to undo the spells on the Sword Immortal's Cave…’
It was a formation set up by dozens of high-level sorcerers like Shin An-ja.
No matter how much of a genius the Omniscient One was, who had inherited all their legacies, he couldn't break the barrier of the Sword Immortal's Cave and undo the spells.
Above all, within that place was the Forgetting Sword, an arrangement of the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts himself.
To meddle with the Sword Immortal's Cave out of frustration would be to commit the folly of stirring the grass to startle the snake.
“Just when is he going to come out?”
The Omniscient One muttered with a sigh, his heart heavy with frustration.
According to the original plan, he had intended for Ouyang Jue to train alone after he came out.
He had never imagined it would take this long.
Just as the Omniscient One was fidgeting anxiously, Dae-ung roared.
“Guooong?!”
“Dae-ung, can't you be quiet!”
As the Omniscient One snapped in anger, Dae-ung's cries gradually subsided.
In its place, a familiar voice was heard.
“Were you bothering the spirit beast again?”
“Jue!”
When the Omniscient One approached with his arms wide open in a happy greeting, Ouyang Jue dodged with a look of disgust.
“What are you doing? I'm not into men.”
“I'm just happy to see you.”
“I think Dae-ung is happier to see me than you are.”
At those words, the Omniscient One glanced at Dae-ung and saw that it was clinging more to Ouyang Jue than to him, its master.
The phrase 'you reap what you sow' suddenly came to mind.
But that didn't mean he wasn't upset.
“Dae-ung, you little…”
“Enough. Is there anywhere else to go?”
At Ouyang Jue's words, the Omniscient One lightly shook his head.
“What more do you want? It looks like you've had quite a fortuitous encounter. It's about time you returned to the Mount Hua Sect, so you can come out again next time.”
When the Omniscient One spoke as if telling a child to go home, Ouyang Jue retorted indignantly.
“How many days has it been?”
“Considering the day we first met... at least thirty days have passed, haven't they?”
“What?”
Ouyang Jue asked reflexively. He couldn't quite believe that thirty days had passed.
But even Dae-ung nodded its head slightly.
The Omniscient One added an explanation.
“You've been inside the Sword Immortal's Cave, so you should know, but it's designed so you can't tell how many days have passed.”
“How many days was I in there?”
“Between eight and nine days.”
“...That's ridiculous.”
Ouyang Jue shook his head as if he couldn't believe it, but when he looked up at the sky, he had no choice but to accept it.
The positions of the stars were clearly different from when he had entered the Sword Immortal's Cave.
How else could this be explained, if not that many days had passed?
‘No, in the first place, who could I even tell about what happened last night?’
Ouyang Jue recalled what had happened after he consumed the inner elixir.