Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Omniscient One (1)
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A few days later.
Upon arriving at the Mount Hua Sect, Ouyang Jue and Liu Zhangming excused themselves from the disciples who came to greet them and headed straight for Bai Duanxian.
“What’s all this? You didn’t even send a single messenger pigeon after reaching the Shaolin Temple.”
Bai Duanxian tilted his head, chiding Ouyang Jue in a tone tinged with disappointment.
But it couldn’t be helped.
If he had tried to send a message about what had happened at Shaolin and it was intercepted, there was no telling what the consequences would be.
Especially if it was about the former Guardian Monk, the Great Monk Museong…
Ouyang Jue shook his head as if he didn’t even want to think about it.
“The situation was too urgent to send a pigeon.”
Liu Zhangming nodded with a serious expression, agreeing with Ouyang Jue.
Seeing the unusually grave reactions of his two disciples, Bai Duanxian inwardly guessed that something must have happened at Shaolin.
“Even as I sent you with him, I hoped Shaolin wasn’t plotting some kind of scheme…”
As Bai Duanxian showed his deep disappointment, Ouyang Jue immediately spoke up.
“Shaolin did nothing wrong.”
“……?”
“It seems the Great Monk Museong, who sent the letter, was actually a demonic practitioner who had learned demonic arts.”
At those words, Bai Duanxian naturally recalled the incident with Cheol Geum-san and frowned.
He was then struck with astonishment.
It was even harder to believe than when he had learned that Cheol Geum-san was a demonic practitioner.
“Good heavens. The Great Monk Museong is a demonic practitioner? Is that truly the truth?”
“Yes.”
Ouyang Jue answered curtly, hoping Bai Duanxian would let go of his discomfort towards Shaolin.
In truth, Shaolin was not entirely blameless in this matter.
Even if the Great Monk Museong had instigated the discord, the fact remained that they had been manipulated from within their own temple.
However, Ouyang Jue was rather pleased with this situation.
‘Now is the time to use this situation to establish a subtle hierarchy with the Shaolin Temple.’
As Ouyang Jue steadfastly took Shaolin’s side, Bai Duanxian’s expression softened as if he understood.
To be precise, his mind was changed after hearing about the martial prowess of the Great Monk Museong—or rather, the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon.
“What was he like, facing him in person?”
“If it weren't for the Buddha’s Shadow Gate, I’m certain… I would have lost a limb or two.”
Following Ouyang Jue, Liu Zhangming answered honestly.
“I was lucky that Jue protected me; I almost died. For some strange reason, he only targeted me.”
“Hah, it is a relief you returned in one piece.”
Bai Duanxian looked over his two disciples with worried eyes.
“Are you injured anywhere else?”
“I am, but I was treated at the Shaolin Temple.”
“Let me have a look.”
At his words, Liu Zhangming hesitated for a moment before undoing his robe to reveal the wound inflicted by the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon.
A gash ran from his right chest to his left flank.
Though it was brief, demonic energy must have seeped in, as the meridians were severed much more deeply than the wound suggested.
Bai Duanxian’s face filled with deep anger as he touched the wound.
“……The Eight Evils, you said?”
At those words, Ouyang Jue realized Bai Duanxian was about to draw his sword.
But he couldn’t reveal who the Eight Evils were.
It was far too dangerous.
Even the most renowned peak masters of the martial world were powerless before the Eight Evils.
There was a high chance that even Bai Duanxian’s Profound and Limitless Sword would be ineffective against them.
Therefore, he hoped Mount Hua would not directly confront the Eight Evils.
“Yes. They are…”
Though Ouyang Jue knew what Bai Duanxian wanted to know, he had no intention of revealing the true nature of the Eight Evils.
Hadn’t even the Omniscient One warned him not to even think of challenging them unless he was the successor to the Heavenly Escape?
So, he omitted the core details and listed only what was publicly known.
Bai Duanxian watched Ouyang Jue intently before speaking.
“Enough.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, that’s enough.”
Ouyang Jue stopped talking and carefully studied Bai Duanxian’s expression.
Was it sorrow?
Or was it the pain of not being trusted by his own disciple?
As Bai Duanxian seemed to sink into grief, Ouyang Jue bit his lower lip hard.
Presently, Bai Duanxian’s calm voice filled the room.
“Until now, myself and the other elders have overlooked your deviations and incomprehensible actions. It was because we believed that you would one day tell us everything.”
“……”
“But the longer we wait, and the more you return injured, the more worried I become. Elder Gwak, especially, would raise his voice trying to persuade me…”
Bai Duanxian continued in a choked voice, placing a hand on Ouyang Jue’s shoulder.
He could feel a wound beneath the thin robes.
The scab from the fight with the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon was rough to the touch.
Bai Duanxian gave a bitter smile.
“Just because I didn’t ask, doesn’t mean I wasn’t worried about you. It’s just that, just… the look on your face so desperately pleaded for me not to ask, so I didn’t.”
Ouyang Jue felt as if his breath was catching in his throat.
The consideration of the elders who had watched over everything without intervening, and his own arrogance in assuming they wouldn’t know, stabbed at his heart.
Then, suddenly, Bai Duanxian’s head turned. Ouyang Jue’s gaze followed his.
There, lined up in a row, were the memorial tablets bearing the names of the past Sect Leaders.
From the previous Sect Leader, whom he had only heard of by title, to the founder of the sect, Hak Daetong, at the very top.
Bai Duanxian’s blinking became more frequent.
“As you know, I did not cultivate my practice in hopes of ascending to immortality. I simply strove to be a Taoist who would not bring shame upon our predecessors, and I took in orphans left on the battlefield because I did not wish to discriminate in my teachings.”
The other three, besides his first disciple, Ha Jin-ak.
Liu Zhangming, Ouyang Jue, and Jo Hun.
All three disciples were the children of slash-and-burn farmers swept away by the northern barbarians.
For that reason, there had been great opposition within Mount Hua.
How could a Taoist of high rank and status defile his dignity by taking in orphans who couldn’t even read? Many of his sect brothers had rebuked him.
But with the help of Jin Mu-wol and other like-minded sect brothers, he was able to bring all three disciples into the Mount Hua Sect.
Of course, it was not an easy task.
For not accepting disciples from high-ranking official families or those with superior physiques, some called him honorably poor, while others criticized Bai Duanxian for having a temperament unsuited for the martial world.
When he became the Sect Leader, even those who had supported him believed that the Mount Hua Sect would soon fall into ruin.
Indeed, after Bai Duanxian, who had no interest in wealth or authority, took the helm, the Mount Hua Sect gradually began to decline.
Those well-versed in information cursed Bai Duanxian’s incompetence, saying that if it weren’t for a capable disciple like Ouyang Jue solving problems one after another, the sect would have collapsed long ago.
But Bai Duanxian did not react to any of it.
He never grew angry or suppressed his rage at the gossipmongers’ slander.
He was simply grateful for each day, believing that as long as the Mount Hua Sect was at peace, that was all that mattered.
But what about now?
“……”
The children he had taken in as disciples were returning injured from other sects, and they were even hiding the truth to spare his feelings.
It was so sad, so ridiculous, that despair felt as though it was carving out his lungs.
Hiding such emotions, Bai Duanxian wore a solemn expression.
“Do you intend to show such cheap consideration to your own sect brother?”
“No, I do not.”
“The Taoists gathered under the single roof of the Mount Hua Sect are not outsiders, but family! And yet, Jue, you have not trusted us and have continued to hide a part of the truth.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue felt his fingertips go numb.
Had his desire to become strong for the Mount Hua Sect and live alongside them somehow turned into him acting like a mother bird sheltering its chicks?
As he was regretting this, Bai Duanxian’s next words made Ouyang Jue hang his head low.
“I am sorry for letting you act… alone all this time, for only watching from a distance.”
Ouyang Jue’s eyes reddened.
* * *
Negating everything he had said before, Ouyang Jue spent the next two hours confessing everything about the Eight Evils and the Heavenly Escape.
However, he could not reveal the fact that he had regressed.
There were various reasons, but… above all, he lacked the courage.
He couldn't bring himself to tell Bai Duanxian that the disciple who had once led the sect to ruin was now trying to revive it.
When Ouyang Jue’s story ended, Bai Duanxian let out a low hum.
“Hmm… Demonic creatures that have lived since the time of Ancestor Lü Dongbin. They are terrifying fiends just to imagine.”
“The Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon who appeared at Shaolin is one thing, but it is highly probable that the other members of the Eight Evils have also infiltrated large sects.”
As he said this, Ouyang Jue thought of Jeok Sang from the Mount Tai Sword Gate.
To be precise, he recalled what Jeok Sang had said before he was driven mad by demonic energy.
His desperate cry, calling him a great demon who had led the war against the old Demonic Cult.
‘Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine.’
Ouyang Jue rubbed his left hand and turned his gaze to Bai Duanxian and Liu Zhangming.
“Do you have any more questions?”
At his words, Liu Zhangming spoke up as if something had occurred to him.
“That… the Omniscient One you met at Mount Mao, was it?”
“That’s right.”
“If what you say is true, he is the most knowledgeable about the Eight Evils and seems to have a connection to the successors of the Heavenly Escape… Is it truly alright to leave him out there?”
Liu Zhangming continued in a strong tone, as if half-convinced.
“As you just said, we don’t know when the restrictions on the Eight Evils will be lifted, but didn’t this happen right after the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon showed his strength?”
At those words, Ouyang Jue’s face hardened.
‘As Senior Brother says… have the restrictions on the Eight Evils loosened to some extent?’
Ouyang Jue immediately understood what Liu Zhangming was trying to say.
“Are you saying the Eight Evils will target the Omniscient One?”
“……It’s just a conjecture that came to mind from listening to you, but they don’t seem like the type of fiends to let the Omniscient One be.”
Indeed, he wasn’t wrong.
Thinking so, Ouyang Jue prepared to leave at once and clasped his hands before Bai Duanxian.
“My apologies, Sect Leader.”
“Are you going to save that sorcerer? Zhangming, you too?”
“Yes.”
As the two disciples answered with firm voices, Bai Duanxian sighed as if he had no choice.
“You’ve only just returned, and you’re trying to leave again. There’s a limit to how recklessly you can treat your bodies.”
“But as Senior Brother said, there is a high possibility that the Omniscient One will be attacked. To know this and not go is the same as condoning it.”
A clear determination to save the Omniscient One could be seen in Ouyang Jue’s expression.
‘I suppose I can’t stop him.’
Letting out a worried sigh, Bai Duanxian accompanied the two disciples to the main gate to see them off.
As Ouyang Jue and Liu Zhangming bowed and turned to leave, Bai Duanxian sent a telepathic message to Ouyang Jue.
—Do you know why the Plum Blossom Cave Dweller did not speak of the Eight Evils’ existence?
At those words, Ouyang Jue recalled Jin Mu-wol’s strange smile.
—…Frankly, I do not understand Ancestor Jin’s true intentions. Nor do I know why he constantly resides in and guards the Plum Blossom Cave.
Sensing that Ouyang Jue did not think highly of Jin Mu-wol, Bai Duanxian recalled a past event.
—But do not be too wary of the Plum Blossom Cave Dweller. He is not one to forsake the Mount Hua Sect.
—Is that really so?
—Indeed.
Bai Duanxian continued speaking as he watched Ouyang Jue depart.
—Over a decade ago, when the Mount Hua Sect was ambushed, it was the Plum Blossom Cave Dweller who stepped forward to protect us.
—……?!
At those words, Ouyang Jue frowned.
In his past life, wasn’t Jin Mu-wol someone who never intervened, no matter what happened?
And yet, in the past of this life, he had stepped forward to protect the Mount Hua Sect.
‘What on earth are Ancestor Jin’s intentions…?’
Ouyang Jue glanced once in the direction of the Plum Blossom Cave, then descended from Mount Hua with Liu Zhangming.
* * *
“Grrrrowl…!”
“Woong, don’t cry. Even if he is an uninvited guest, he is a guest nonetheless.”
The Omniscient One wore a sardonic smile as he looked at the man who had appeared from the darkness.
“It’s been a while.”
“You’ve also had your hands full, inheriting such a worthless art.”
“A worthless art…”
A strong sense of revulsion filled the Omniscient One’s face.
“That’s not something you should be saying, Demonic Seed, Heaven-Bearing Asura.”